2017-05-12
Good Morning Dear Ones,
Last week, the subject was how Christ fulfilled prophecy. This week, the Holy Spirit commands me to write about issues mentioned in EPH about how our relationship should be with the Lord. You’ll remember we learned from PS 8: 5-6, “You [the Father] made Him [Christ] a little lower than the heavenly beings and crowned Him with glory and honor. You made Him Ruler over the works of Your hands; You put everything under His feet.” The question is why, after doing so many miracles and more, didn’t the people recognize Who Christ is? The book of EPH has a lot to say that we need to hear. EPH 2: 14-16,18 addresses itself to breaking down the barrier that divides believing Jews from believing Gentiles. “For He Himself is our peace, Who has made the two one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility, by abolishing in His flesh the law with its commandments and regulations. His purpose was to create in Himself one new man out of the two, thus making peace, and this one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross, by which He put to death their hostility…For through Him we both have access to the Father by one Spirit.” God intends that we stop our prejudice against those different from us culturally, but who share our faith in One God with His three personalities [Father, Son, and Holy Spirit]. By Christ’s sacrifice on the cross, His blood shed for us, the barrier is broken that kept us out of the heavenly Holy of Holies and access to the Father [HE 9: 11-12, 15]. We who believe in Christ know that He is our Advocate and our peace.
The unity of the Spirit described here is shown in EPH 4: 4-5, “There is one body and one Spirit---just as you were called to one hope when you were called ---one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, Who is over all and through all and in all.” This is what is meant by “the church is filled by Christ, Who fills all.” Christ gave Himself on the cross, so that the Church could be prepared for the different kinds of service that is the Lord’s will for it to do [EPH 4: 11-12]. EPH 5: 22-23, 25 is a passage that deals with Christ’s will for marriages. “Wives, submit to your husbands as to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, His body, of which He is the Savior…Husbands love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her.” Pondering these precious words, it can be seen that no kind of abuse, either from a husband or a wife, is approved. EPH 5: 28,30 gives further clarification. “In this same way, husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself…for we are members of His body (the church).”
One of the features which make the Scriptures different from any other book is the consistency of God’s teaching throughout them. This is perfectly describing God’s mystery, which is Christ in the believer, giving him or her total access to God’s knowledge and wisdom through His teaching [COL 1: 26-27; COL 2: 2-3]. There is nothing accidental about Christ’s will that we, as believers, should reflect the love He has taught us-- both in our vertical relationship with Him and in our horizontal relationship with others. This is the cross, made up of vertical and horizontal members. Faith in Christ is crucial to our lives, both earthly and eternal. Hover over these beautiful words: EPH 2: 19-22, “Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and aliens, but fellow citizens with God’s people and members of God’s household, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus Himself as the chief Cornerstone. In Him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. And in Him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by His Spirit.”
PRAYER: O Lord, today we have been recalling important concepts given in the book of Ephesians concerning the church. As we learned in RO 12: 4-6, “Just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to the others. We have different gifts, according to the grace given us…” One body, Your church, is to use her gifts to glorify God. We know that You have the right to expect from us genuine faith, righteous decisions and actions. In today’s prayer, we acknowledge Your supremacy and righteousness, and we offer You thanks and praise for giving us words from Your extraordinary knowledge and wisdom. We pledge to do our best to follow Your wisdom and allow the Holy Spirit to lead in our decisions, perceptions, and actions. Showing the love that Christ has taught us is essential and a measure of the faith in Him we have. His righteousness is meant to fill the church in every level of service provided by its members to others. He resides in our houses, directs our relationships, impels us to serve, blesses us, and fulfills our spiritual needs. Who can ask for more? We offer this prayer in the holy/mighty name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
NEXT WEEK: As we have considered the faith- unity of believers, regardless of cultural differences this week, we will more closely examine the mystery of God (mentioned here) next week. Examination of the book of Colossians really demands a look at this issue from Ephesians too. Our lives are truly interconnected as members of the body of Christ. We recently moved 1200 miles to another state in obedience to the Holy Spirit. It was hard to leave our former congregation, so I’ve done my best to remain in touch with our friends in it. A good friend took ill after having several falls. Her illness was causing her to lose her balance among other side effects of it. She was hospitalized and tested to find out the cause of this problem. In addition, she was treated for her injuries from the falls. She then went into transitional care for several days. Throughout this ordeal, we have been praying on her behalf and that of her husband, who also has health issues. Because of her moving around, I called the pastor in our former congregation charged with pastoral care. He was brought up to speed on her condition, and I asked him to visit with her—something he will now do. (I had the family’s permission to do this). There is nothing unusual about this way to show Christ’s love. It is what He has the right to expect of us. Showing His love gives us internal peace, like can be gotten from no other source. It’s part of what our Lord always does us for us when we are obedient. Praise and thanks be to Him!
Grace Be With You Always,
Lynn
JS 24: 15
© Lynn Johnson 2017. All Rights Reserved.
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