A day he wants to share with his dad. I am certain that no ungodly man has any conception of the joy which often fills the believer's spirit. "Like trying to get an octopus into a paper bag." In times past you meandered according to the course of this world. I would like to just commit to You." But wicked men are slaves to Satan, for they walk according to him; they conform their lives and actions to the will and pleasure of this great usurper. This is and must be the medium, as far as the saints are concerned, grace being the spring on God's part: "and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: not of works, lest any man should boast. And we at one time were following that course, dead in our trespasses and sins, living an aimless life without purpose as we follow the trends that were being set by Satan. Isn't that what existential philosophy pretty much declares? They said that the Gentiles were created by God to be fuel for the fires of Hell; that God loved only Israel of all the nations that he had made; that the best of the serpents crushed, the best of the Gentiles killed. "Grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption." But the Christian is even now himself, with his fellow-saints, the object of the very same power which never can be outshone the power that raised up Christ from the dead. Boy, I had the worst time with him trying to get him to hoe weeds in the backyard." For by grace are you saved through faith; and that not of yourselves ( Ephesians 2:8 ): What not of yourselves? What is that? God is King! It was Jesus; and Jesus stood in what was altogether peculiar in a relationship that was perfectly according to God's counsels; but more than that, according to a relationship that was peculiar to His own person. Shall I tell it here? John explains, "Everyone who sins breaks the law; in fact, sin is lawlessness" (1 John 3:4 NIV). We cannot earn God's love; but we can and must show how grateful we are for it, by seeking with our whole hearts to live the kind of life which will bring joy to God's heart. It is the rockiest city in the world. I would say, "Okay, start out in the back yard, that weed patch back there. It needs the Trinity to make a Christian, and when you have got a Christian, it needs the Trinity to make a prayer. Keep your mind always employed, and so you will escape him. That is not the result of some great effort on my part. They want to be saved by their own morality, and all sorts of things that they put instead of salvation by grace through faith in our Lord Jesus Christ. And you hath he quickened This chapter should not have been separated from the preceding, with which it is most intimately connected. Like the rest, we were by nature deserving of wrath. They can se flattering speeches in addressing the ungodly; but the Holy Ghost never does. Notice what OUR PRESENT POSITION IS, if God has quickened us. The unconverted man lives in God's world, sees God's works, hears God's Word, goes up to God's house on God's day, and yet he does not know that there is any God. ", But there are other elements. There are indeed some missionary churches who would have all their congregations worship with the one liturgy used in the churches at home. The King James Version has it that they were without Christ. It is only his love in Christ which has forgiven men who deserved nothing but punishment from him, men who had grieved his love and broken his law. WebA CALL TO WORSHIP From the Shadows to Reality! There was a time, more than four hundred years before this, when Greece was threatened with invasion by the Persians. Shall we turn in our Bibles now to Ephesians, the second chapter.Paul is going to talk about someone tonightvery interesting. Thank God, dear hearer, if you have living pangs. hath he quickened, is not in the original text, but is supplied from Ephesians 2:5, where it will be met with and explained: here those who are quickened with Christ, and by the power and grace of God, are described in their natural and unregenerate estate. Or, what was the manner of life that we lived? That is, there is a creative connection between God and man which is the source of man's moral relations with God, and the reason why man, and man alone of all creatures on the earth, shall live again and give an account of himself to God. That is the first part of our position, that we have come to live a separate life now, and have quitted the path we trod before. '', "no man is called a living man, but he who is in the way of truth in this world.----And a wicked man who does not go in the way of truth, is called, , "a dead man". The church is but a consequence; and we bless God for this, and bless Him also that we know the church is but the complement of Christ. ), Someone can be physically alive and yet spiritually dead at the same time. But the moment you come to the "one Lord," this city, yea every city in Christendom, is a witness to a wide-spread profession of His name. After he has paid the fine and served the imprisonment, as far as the law is concerned, the whole matter is over. And in the morning if it is wet and the ground is dry, then I will know that it is you." So the flow of the world, you just flowed with it. Paul was the apostle to the Gentiles, but he never forgot the unique place of the Jews in the design and the revelation of God. If you haven't previously submitted something but would like to, you can find my email address by clicking on my name in the "About Me" section below. When did God start loving you? He found her in an attic room. They are both the cause of death and the evidence of death. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------. we all say together We are one in Christ. Thus Israel stands in the permanent remembrance of power that redeemed them from the land of Egypt, and in the anticipation of a still greater manifestation that will eclipse whatever had been seen of old. He dwelleth, perhaps, in some back slum of a dirty lane; he knoweth not where to go. We wait for nothing greater nor its match; we await the results of this glorious power for the body and the creation; but we look for no new putting forth of power which can enter into competition with that which God has already shown in Christ. VII, p. 23. Now the glorious future that awaits us, as Paul prayed in chapter 1, and we studied last week. If, sometimes, through the infirmity of the flesh, you fall into that state of slumber, you loathe yourselves for it, but you rouse yourself up, and say, "I must worship my God; I must sing, I must praise God. It is not the source of the blessing (Ephesians 1:1-23); nor the place into which we are now brought as being made one with Christ (Ephesians 2:1-22); nor the objects to whom we are bearing testimony. In Corinthians we have this, and properly in its place. 407 Spirit Divine, Attend Our Prayers CALL TO Who is delighted when He sees you happy and joyful. The word course has its root meaning in Greek weathervane. The Greek could say: "We blossom and flourish as leaves on the tree, "I rejoice and disport me on my youth; long enough beneath the, earth shall I lie, bereft of life, voiceless as a stone, and shall, leave the sunlight which I loved; good man though I am, then. Any task that you may have around here, I just would like to spend a day with you, Dad, doing whatever you'd like for me to do." Well, why don't we head on down to Huntington and let's spend a little while surfing. dead -- Refers to being separated from God and under the rule of the evil one (see v. 2 and note). Well, first, we have become now sentient towards God. But in times past you were just meandering through life. The Alexandrian and Claromontane copies, and one of Stephens's, and the Vulgate Latin version, read, "dead in your trespasses and sins"; and the Syriac version, "dead in your sins and in your trespasses"; and the Ethiopic version only, "dead in your sins". Between it and the Court of the Women there was a wall, or rather a kind of screen of marble, beautifully wrought, and let into it at intervals were tablets which announced that if a Gentile proceeded any farther he was liable to instant death. Thus we have at last the church developed in its two main characters. N461919. Looking for something? They are clearly identified in each blog post. Let me put out a fleece of wool. I don't think that that would be challenged much anymore. Paul proceeded to conclude his revelation of the Christians individual calling in Christ (Ephesians 1:3 to Ephesians 2:10). In Romans, in 1st and 2nd Corinthians, and in Galatians righteousness was largely used. It shines in full contrast with Israel. It is not now either sovereign love, or love of complacency. 5-7. . Even as he stands in this place, he feels that if his next-door neighbour knew his guilt he would give him a wide berth, and stand far away from him; for he has come to the last stage; he has no marks of life; he is utterly rotten. It may well be that we have something to learn here. This repenting child then confesses his sin to his father and finds that "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness" (1 John 1:9 NASB). Are we as good sons and daughters as we might be? The sound of music, and the voice of friendship and of alarm, do not arouse it. You were really not going anywhere, you were just existing. Here the prayer is not, as in the first chapter, that they might know the power that had wrought toward them; it is now that their hearts might be in the secret of His grace according to the power that works in them. What does it matter about times, persons, or circumstances, if the Spirit abide to enable us, according to Scripture, diligently to keep His own unity? Paul thinks of this building going on and on, with each part of the building being fitted into Christ. If we were able to take a wide angle lens picture of the service this evening and posted it on the bulletin board, and you went up to look at that picture, who is the first one you would look for? Those things result in death! At the same time, we learn by our experiments. We all benefit from your creativity and generosity. But in regard to religion, all is dead. Oh! For the mass subsequently brought in were Gentiles, and the gospel of salvation they forthwith received, without going through the intermediate steps that the others knew. Now Paul uses two pictures, which would be specially vivid to a Jew, to show how that hatred is killed and a new unity has come. Good works cannot earn them salvation, but once they are saved their lives should be full of good works. Which is the worst state of all, far worse than being without circumcision. In him we have been reconciled to God through the cross, made citizens with the saints and members of the household of God.. God alone is worthy of worship. WebCall to Worship: Ephesians 2: 19-22 Heres a contemporary call to worship inspired by Ephesians 2: 19-22. height; and to know the love of Christ." 24 God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth. John 4:19-24 This clearly is of the deepest possible interest to the saints. I do not think that a living man can always pray by clockwork, at such a time and such a time. The maiden's life was given gently by a touch; but in the young man's case it must be done, not by the touching of him, but by the touching of the bier. Those who had been far from God were brought near, and the door was shut to no one. These demons were not all bad, but many were, out to propagate evil, to frustrate the purposes of God and to ruin the souls of men. fol. This could not be true of us. And so maybe you would have five men in the contest. Semi-pelagianism admits his ill-health, but affirms that the symptoms will yield to proper treatment, to a course of tonic drugs and a scrupulous regimen. We don't want trouble, we dont do conflict here! You did he make alive Beare pointed out that the various pronouns "you" (Ephesians 2:1,2), "we all" (Ephesians 2:3), and "us we" (Ephesians 2:4), "refer to the distinction between Jews and Gentiles only to nullify it. There has been the full unfolding of God's love, and the answer to it in the saints here below in their nature, and in the ways that manifest the new nature. it is there not merely that He means to bless us, but that He has blessed us already. The Spirit is at work, renewing the creation. The Holy Ghost thus takes a corresponding part. Once it was a screw you could slip off or on; you said you were master of your pleasures now your pleasures are master of you. Change). There are no outsiders Reality is hopeless. 69. See the result of that difference. The Lord might be where there are only two gathered together unto His name. Now, what was the purpose of God? The Greek called any man a barbarian who could not speak Greek; and they despised him and put up the barriers against him. I dare not come downstairs without speaking to him. Whenever a man realizes that he has sinned, he is oppressed with the feeling that he dare not approach God. He would have something more. 2 sing the glory of his name; make his praise glorious. ], THE CHRISTLESS LIFE AND THE GRACE OF GOD ( Ephesians 2:1-10 ). There is the whole Trinity in that one verse, Christ, the Spirit, the Father. We cannot live where we used to live. That is, it may not be sincere, nor even doctrinally the truth that is held; but we hear of lone faith" in contrast with Judaism on one hand, and with Paganism on the other. Ephesians 4:18; John 17:3). But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, even when we were dead in sins, quickened us together with Christ (by grace ye are saved), and raised us up together." Well, then, we have a new life. Christ did not do the same thing with the young man that he did with the daughter of Jairus. Plato said that the barbarians are "our enemies by nature. Man merely needs teaching. I have been joined back together with God through the Spirit. The grace of Jesus Christ rekindles the ideals which repeated failing to sin has extinguished. In the next verse the apostle opens out that which is move particularly connected with "the God of our Lord Jesus Christ." We know what God wants us to do; God has prepared long beforehand the kind of life He wants us to live, and has told us about it in his book and through his son. Therefore it is the failure to reach the goal we ought to have reached. True, he starts with adultery and fornication, but he goes on to idolatry, hatred, wrath, strife, envyings, seditions, heresies. All were dead alike. The law or "mark" in this context is the righteous will of God. Had He brought the Gentiles into the place that Israel once occupied? II. The devil, or the prince of devils, is thus described. We choose to live in love as beloved children. He might have put us in any degree of relationship He pleased. The relationship with God would cease the moment that man disobeyed the commandment of God, the moment man transgressed. Series A: 2022 - 2023. ", 15, 16. One effect of this divine life is to put life into everything that we do. Gideon's answer was: "I will not rule over you, and my son will not rule over you; the Lord shall rule over you" ( Judges 8:23). But the Gentiles had no such hope. Now, this morning, I trust I shall not be tedious; I shall endeavour to make the subject as interesting as possible, and also endeavour to be brief. Israel had always had the radiant hope in God which burned clearly and inextinguishably even in her darkest and most terrible days; but in his heart the Gentile knew only despair, before Christ came to give him hope. Now we must turn to the diversities. When a man tells you that his creed is a dead thing, do not deny it for a minute; there is no doubt of the fact. Not the law, but Christ. Rita Snowden tells a story of the war. "And you hath he quickened, who were dead in offences and sins; wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience." Submissions: I am so grateful to those of you who send me your own material to post! Thus Epictetus says, , . Timeweb - , , . But profound truths are for those who have spiritual understandings; and such do not require many words to comprehend them. Sin is the failure to hit the target of life. Now note the next case. It is not a question of rendering a testimony of the power of God working in man and dealing with the first creation. There it is God Himself displays most His own glory; there He displays Christ Himself to all the heavenly hosts, delighting to put honour on that Man whom He raised from the dead and set at His own right hand. And God throughout eternity is going to be revealing the exceeding greatness of His mercy and of His kindness, these things that He has given and provided and done for you through Jesus Christ. Psalm 65: Hes got the whole world in his hands! Well, at least you are interested in the subject. (ii) He reconciled both to God. 12. "Now therefore". Another plan discloses itself. "Rejoice, O my soul, in thy youth; soon shall other men be in life, "No mortal is happy of all on whom the sun looks down. Was there not positive love, far beyond forgiveness? Forgive the poverty of our accomplishing. Not so. A new life, I no longer relate back to Adam, my father after the flesh. for you, that you should lack the root of the matter. Its searching diagnosis pronounces that mortification has set in and that nothing less than infusion of fresh lifeblood can work a cure. I told you just now that the life which the Holy Spirit gives us when we are born again, is the life of God. That accounts for everything: "together with Christ." Israel's was at best a mere creature relationship, though, no doubt, having a special place in creation. The same "Beloved" who accounts to us for the counsels of God has brought in redemption. There was Jesus lying in the grave; and from that grave God raised Him, and set Him on the highest pinnacle of heaven's glory not only of that which then was, but that ever shall be. We desire to see his kingdom come as he does, and we pray for his will to be done on earth, even as it is in heaven. "According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love." We never can go astray, if we follow the path of the Lord Jesus. Through Jesus there is a place for all men in the family of God. Does she really take an interest in her husband's work and try to understand his problems and his worries? Heres a prayer of confession based on Ephesians 2:11-22. Then come the slaves similarly. They are clearly identified in each blog post. In point of fact, from his conversion right through, the revelation of the mystery was involved. Think of their giving themselves first to the Lord, then to us by the will of God. It was developed in a positive and comprehensive way, as in Romans. Il expose et esclarcit ce quil avoit dit ci-dessus. God never does; it is the tragedy of the Church that it is so often more exclusive than God. Jesus came to tell men that they cannot earn God's approbation by a keeping of the ceremonial law but must accept the forgiveness and fellowship which God in mercy freely offers them. It is not again a simple question of a new nature, but of a new man: the first Adam, with all remedial or corrective dealings in him disappear, and one new man comes before our view. The child is not aware of whether it is distant or a near object till some time after. Then the diversities are brought before us. my brother, alas! (AI) His purpose was to create in himself one(AJ) new humanity out of the two, thus making peace, 16and in one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross,(AK) by which he put to death their hostility. according to the prince of the power of the air, that even now works in the children of disobedience ( Ephesians 2:2 ): Now, there may have been a time in the history of the world that a person would challenge the fact that Satan is behind the course or the flow of the world. There is his pleasure-seeking: he has given it up; but how often will his companions be after him, to get him to go with them. Josephus, in his description of the Temple, says: "When you went through these first cloisters unto the second court of the Temple, there was a partition made of stone all round, whose height was three cubits. Righteousness supposes a claim in the first place, however met; even though it may be God's righteousness, still it is God acting in consistency with Himself and His own claims. So long as the object falls upon the retina. God has called you to be His child. [1] John William Russell, Compact Commentary on the New Testament (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Baker Book House, 1964), p. 476. Paul closes this passage with a great exposition of that paradox which always lies at the heart of his view of the gospel. WebThanksgiving and praise are called forth in response to a gracious God. Then, without delay, the next verses introduce a general view of the glorious topic that occupied him. Do we discipline and train our children as we ought, or do we often shirk the issue? (iv) It is a life which is at the mercy of desire. Whatever could contribute to it, whatever fell in according to it, everything that God Himself could do to bind us up with Christ, sharing with us all that is glorious in Christ His own Son, even to His holy nature and relationship with the Father, as far as this could be conferred on a creature, is no more than God had in His heart yea, is what God has given us now, and will display in heavenly Places ere long. It would be something like the minister's sermon which he "got up" beforehand, and upon which he wrote in the margin "weep here," "here you must show great emotion." He may sit in the heavenlies; Christ is there as his Representative. Nor does it settle any question as to their ability or power while in that state. Finally, "receive the helmet of salvation, [there the head is lifted up, not in presumption, but with none the less joy and courage,] and the sword of the Spirit," which is expressly said to be the word of God. Ephesians 2:5- :. It is told that in the congregation in Edinburgh to which George Matheson came there was an old woman who lived in a cellar in filthy conditions. For we are his work, created in Christ Jesus for good works, works which God prepared beforehand that we might walk in them. 2:11-22 So then remember, that once, as far as human descent goes, you were Gentiles; you were called the uncircumcision by those who laid claim to that circumcision which is a physical thing, and a thing produced by men's hands. as we shine the light of goodness in the dark. Our state and course are such as deserve wrath, and would end in eternal wrath, if divine grace did not interpose. Unquestionably the Spirit of God does evermore dwell in the Christian, though I am not aware that He is ever said to dwell in our hearts. P: Lord, open our hearts and let us share your Good News. God has quickened us, who were dead in trespasses and sins, spiritually dead. If "the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ" has blessed us with every spiritual blessing above in Christ, this is the first need to have a nature capable of communion with His God, to have a condition that would do no dishonour, not only to the highest sphere, but to the holiest form and sphere in which God has ever made, Himself known. This is not a question therefore of the place or standing of the Christian, but rather of his condition or state, which the Spirit would have in unison with the love of Him who alone made either possible. [Note: Wiersbe, 2:17. And you were dead in your trespasses and sins, To report dead links, typos, or html errors or suggestions about making these resources more useful use the convenient, Baker Evangelical Dictionary of Biblical Theology, Hastings' Dictionary of the New Testament, The Hawker's Poor Man's Concordance And Dictionary, Watson's Biblical & Theological Dictionary, International Standard Bible Encyclopedia. He always comes back to that theme. Paul begins by reminding his readers that they lived in alienation from God (vv. We were living. But pleasantly shocked, that I would want to make that one of the greatest days of his life. The very structure of the chapter, as has been noticed, is a sort of confirmation of this. Jesus wants to do good things through us! STOP delaying to get to know the Bible better! That is very wonderful. But what has this to do with the kingdom of God? Delivered on Sabbath Morning, April 12, 1857, by the REV. This old English word conversation doesn't really give you the true meaning of the Greek word, which is our manner of living. It may be perverted to this or anything else; but so far is our corporate place from being put in the foreground that we do not hear one word about the assembly as such till the close of the first chapter. Sir Philip Gibbs in The Cross of Peace wrote: "The problem of fences has grown to be one of the most acute that the world must face. Good works can never earn salvation; but there is something radically wrong if salvation does not produce good works. 2:1-3 When you were dead in your sins and trespasses, those sins and trespasses in which you once walked, living life in the way this present age lives it, living life as the ruler of the power of the air dictates it, that spirit who now operates in the children of disobedience--and once all we too lived the same kind of life as these children of disobedience do, a life in which we were at the mercy of the desires of our lower nature, a life in which we followed the wishes of our lower nature and of our own designs, a life in which, as far as human nature goes, we deserved nothing but the wrath of God, as the others do. Please note: If you use material from this blog, please be careful to credit the original author and source. You cannot resolve to "groan at one o'clock, and weep at three o'clock." Our having put off the old man, and our having put on the new man. Matthew 12:35; Matthew 15:18-19), and not because of sins of other (Ezekiel 18:20). One of the tokens that life is coming back to him is, that he wakes up out of a pleasant sleep, and feels pain. We begin then to make a great many attempts at things which we never attempted before. To succumb to that is inevitably to come to disaster. 2:1-10 When you were dead in your sins and trespasses, those sins and trespasses in which once you walked, living life in the way in which this present age of this world lives it, living life as the ruler of the power of the air dictates it, that spirit who now operates in the children of disobedience--and once all we too lived the same kind of life as these children of disobedience do, a life in which we were at the mercy of the desires of our lower nature, a life in which we followed the wishes of our lower nature and of our own designs, a life in which, so far as human nature goes, we deserved nothing but the wrath of God, as the others do--although we were all like that, I say, God, because he is rich in mercy, and because of his great love with which he has loved us, made us alive in Christ Jesus, even when we were dead in trespasses (it is by grace you have been saved), and raised us up with Christ, and gave us a seat in the heavenly places with Christ, because of what Christ Jesus did for us. And as there is one Lord, so "one faith." in our homes and schools, in our church and in our world. "Like trying to get an octopus into a paper bag." He made us at the first; he has new-made us. Not so. Hold on to your thumb. As they were about to leave in bewilderment the priest came up. Christ is Victor; his rule has begun. Outsiders, rank outsiders, far away from any rights, or any participation in the rights of God's children. (T) 10For we are Gods handiwork,(U) created(V) in Christ Jesus to do good works,(W) which God prepared in advance for us to do. This engineer was soundly converted. Just now, we read of "God, who is rich in mercy"; now the apostle speaks of "the exceeding riches of his grace", exceeding expression, exceeding comprehension, exceeding even sin itself, though that is all but infinite. I fear that some people go to a place of worship because they get a better sleep there than anywhere else. The barrier between Jew and Gentile was absolute. L: Glory Here again the apostle brings in the relation of the Holy Ghost to the new things. But then I confessed my sin and God forgave me my sin completely. Once more, we are told, "He hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus." "Among whom also we all," etc., for he does not let slip the Jews, but turns round on their estate, equally lifeless as the Gentiles. WebSelect from the options below to find worship ideas that fit what you're looking for. The result is that sin leaves a permanent effect on a man. The priest sprinkled the blood around the altar because it was atonement for the soul. He is the Lord our God; his judgments are in all the earth. WebJETHRO: Why, Homer, youre my best and closest friend. Thus nature is the subject of verse 4, as relationship is of verse 5. They have tried everything. Revealed to all the apostles and prophets of the New Testament, to one as much as another, it never seems to have taken such a hold of the others as of Paul. And so I gave myself to understanding and to wisdom, I said, 'The answer must lie in knowing,' and so I applied myself to wisdom until I was the smartest man in the world. They are clearly identified in each blog post. Therefore, the thought of total human depravity as something inherited must be incorrect. What benefit did you reap at that time from the things ("sins" Ephesians 2:20) you are now ashamed of? Let us use a human analogy. This declaration does not mean he is not a son, only that he does not consider himself worthy of such a position. Some writers seem to have an aptitude for puddling in this mud, and digging up this miry clay; I confess that I have none. Here we come to what is universal. Take heed, I beseech you, ye fairest, youngest, most upright, and most honest; when the dead are separated from the living, unless ye be regenerated, ye must go with the dead; though ye be never so fair and goodly, ye must be cast away, unless you live. The Son is as truly man as God, and as such gives gifts to men. Now, the other people looking at us can't understand that, because they don't know what is going on inside. Here you see the greatness of his grace, in that "he loved us, even when we were dead in sins.". He says that the middle wall of the barrier between has been torn down. It was God's gift to you. Come, friends, let us confess our sins to the Lord. As soon as the maiden was alive, Christ said, "Give her meat;" as soon as the young man was alive "he delivered him to his mother;" as soon as Lazarus was alive, he said, "Loose him, and let him go." In another description he says of the second court of the Temple: "This was encompassed by a stone wall for a partition, with an inscription which forbade any foreigner to go in under pain of death" (The Antiquities of the Jews, 15, 11, 5). No God? Fill in your details below or click an icon to log in: You are commenting using your WordPress.com account. There the individual blessing of the soul has the first place. Evidently also, it is no essential matter for present practice of faithfulness, whether few or many see and feel it: this is a question for God's will, who will act for His own glory, whether by many or by few. When the life begins to come to him, he feels as he never felt before; sin that was pleasant becomes a horror to him. Divorce, Ephesians 5:21-33, Malachi 2:16, Marriage, Matthew 19:3-10, Romans 1:18-33 Benedictions Books Calls to Worship Christmas Church Fathers Communitas News Devotional Friday is for But then the possession of a nature capable of communing with God did not and could not satisfy. Could the apostle say that to you, and to me? at the price of the blood of Christ. We know how he would bend down and be as it were a; Gentile to one without law, and a Jew to one under law, to do good to souls. We were once strangers to each other and strangers to God. It is a question not of acceptance before God, but of resisting the enemy who would take advantage of loose ways and a bad conscience. It cannot have escaped observation that there are two great parts in that which has come before us. God had never so spoken of man before. Our duties flow from what we are, or are made. All other combats are outside the calling of a Christian. Change), You are commenting using your Twitter account. So with the psalmist in Psalm 32 , I can say, "Oh how happy is the man, whose transgressions are forgiven. They are "ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation.". The first thing is to "be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might." Isaiah had heard God say: "Peace, peace to the far, and to the near" ( Isaiah 57:19). When the preacher said that Paul was not a Christian when he wrote those words, though I was only seven days old in divine things, I knew better than that, so I never went there any more. There was counsel, but besides there was intrinsic glory altogether independent of any plans of conferred honour. In Christ it was, of course, absolutely perfect: He did give Himself for us. I know it on the best authority, and the truest, too. One of the tragedies of the nineteenth century was the career of Oscar Wilde. "There are three outstanding schools of moral pathology traceable throughout the centuries. The enmity, even the law of commandments containeth in ordinances; for to make in himself of twain one new man, so making peace; and that he. This was peculiarly needed. As the light that shone then was brighter, than the sun at noonday, so in the vision the truth about to be learnt was entirely outside and superior to the present or the past. The young man was the son of a widow. It is just the answer to the grace of God in Christ. The devil seems to have some power (by God's permission) in the lower region of the air; there he is at hand to tempt men, and to do as much mischief to the world as he can: but it is the comfort and joy of God's people that he who is head over all things to the church has conquered the devil and has him in his chain. Now, some may have come closer than others.If we decided to go sailing out here in the channel and maybe sail to Catalina, but half way across the channel we sprang a leak in the boat and it starts to go down, and some of you who can't swim go down with the boat. This literally means a slip or a fall. And yet these putrid ones may live; these last are not more dead than the maiden upon her bed, though the death has more fully revealed itself in their corruption. If we are alive unto God, every part of our worship should be living. I would rather find Christ where he is not, than not to find him where he is. The object of the apostle is to show the great power which God had evinced toward the people Ephesians 1:19; and to show that this was put forth in connection with the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and his exaltation to the right hand of God in heaven; see the notes at Romans 6:4-11; compare Colossians 2:12-13; Colossians 3:1. we confess our sins to the One who knows us best. It was not a question of the flesh: how could this be trusted? We could almost have died with delight at times when we have realized the glorious things that God has prepared for them that love him. but are fellow citizens with the saints in the household of God. New to this blog? I know the people, I even like most of them! Utter strangers to the covenants made with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Perhaps you can scarcely, in the moment I can afford you, appropriate the idea to yourselves. Christianity demands service, but the world cannot understand the missionary for instance, who goes away to some foreign land to teach in a school or heal in a hospital for a quarter of the salary he or she might obtain at home in some secular service. (ii) It is life lived under the dictates of the prince of the air. Here is the Pauline paradox. He then expounded the means whereby we appreciate our calling (i.e., knowledge given by the Holy Spirit through Gods revelation, Ephesians 1:15-23). Meanwhile it is again presented to us in this new fact, that we are brought in as objects of His perfect favour in the Beloved. Bible Gateway Plus makes it simple. As Origen had it: "The scars remain." If God's design had ever to be worked out, it must be worked out through a nation. The thought is overwhelming, that soon this body of mine must be a carnival for worms; that in and out of these places, where my eyes are glistening, foul things, the offspring of loathsomeness, shall crawl; that this body must be stretched in still, cold, abject, passive, death, must then become a noxious, nauseous thing, cast out even by those that loved me, who will say, "Bury my dead out of my sight." The foreigner was always regarded with suspicion and dislike. I thank God for that good godly advice from my mother.In times past we just flowed with the current, the weathervane. suspicious of anyone who didnt look like us. It was just that kind of news that Jesus brought. The next verse shows that this is not forgotten, for account is taken of the fact, and it is provided for. Is a man as good a husband as he might be? But the Son being before the Father as His supreme object of love and delight from all eternity, to bring us as sons before Him was as much a part of His counsels as to make us partakers of divine nature. That which was easy to him becomes a bed of thorns. Altogether differently here "the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ" has blessed us where Christ is on high. "Unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us, unto him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end." Down among the foundations there may be a Saxon crypt; on some of the doorways or the windows there may be a Norman arch; one part may be Early English and another Decorated and another Gothic; some may have been added in our own day. Rather is the very gospel to the sinner free and full, that, having the certainty of the divine fulness of our blessing, our hearts may be now open to enjoy Christ, and be occupied with His love. How is it that I find some who say they are people of God; but yet are rather fond of wearing their grave-clothes? These words do not attribute to God all wisdom and prudence, which certainly would be nothing new; but they intimate that He has now conferred on His saints all wisdom and prudence. He says that the Gentiles are no longer foreigners but full members of the family of God. He had a brilliant mind, and won the highest academic honours; he was a scintillating writer, and won the highest rewards in literature; he had all the charm in the world and was a man whose instinct it was to be kind; yet he fell to temptation and came to prison and disgrace. It was grace in its deepest character and in its highest form, and so the apostle Paul was the suited vessel that God employed to instruct others, not merely the one to whom the revelation was made, but by whom the revelation was to be communicated. These are the things that were the motivation behind our lives. It is used for a man losing the way and straying from the right road; it is used for a man failing to grasp and slipping away from the truth. The world as it is has invaded our souls. Observed, 1. But he has raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus ( Ephesians 2:6 ): Or in the heavenlies. "The danger lay," T. R. Glover wrote, "in every generation, in the same fact of single cities, furious for independence at all costs. (iii) In the end sin kills the will. Such seems to have been the measure of Adam's wisdom and prudence. Is He not satisfied with giving us a nature like His own? There was a lot of things I didn't want to do. The Greek words used there is poeima, the very word from which the English Word poem is derived. 4. That is, all our strength is to lean on another, even the Lord. Both are now introduced by grace into an entirely new and heavenly place in Christ, which was not so much as heard of before. "But to every [each] one is given grace according to the measure of the gift of Christ." Hence the expression does not go beyond the riches of God's grace. says one, "I have lived fifty years, and I have never felt anything of God." People are invited The last the most corrupt, the most desperately abominable, may yet be quickened; and he may join in exclaiming, "And I have been quickened, though I was dead in trespasses and sins." Certainly not in the first man Adam. For the Jew history was always going somewhere; no matter what the present was like, the future was glorious; the Jewish view of history was essentially optimistic. And I really appreciate all that you have given to me, Dad, and all that you have done for me. Come, let us worship God. Pauls use of the metaphor of death is significant, as it allows for no middle ground; a person is either dead or alive. He knows instinctively that she was part of himself, and gives her a name suitably. to live in the praise of his glorious grace! For through him we both have access by one Spirit unto the Father. CALL TO WORSHIP Cry out with joy to the Lord, all the earth. We have seen that the basic meaning of hagios ( G40) is different. He felt his need and that of the work. Judging what I am, I confess that all my blessing is in the Saviour, who did not merely come to bless me as a living man in the world, but died and is risen again; and 1, confessing Him who is thus dead and risen, have part in His death. Remember that at that time you had no hope of a Messiah; you were aliens from the society of Israel, and strangers from the covenants on which the promises were based; you had no hope; you were in the world without God. With a terrible activity of spiritual death; 3. We know ourselves chosen, adopted as children of God. But Satan has so lied to people about God, about the nature of God, that it has caused people to oftentimes fear submitting their lives to God.Now, when I was a child growing up in church, so many times I would hear people say, "You be careful what you say you are not going to do, because that is exactly what God is going to make you do. I. I shall begin by noticing, then, first of all, THE CONDITION OF MEN BY NATURE. Does he try to make life easier for his wife? Call to Worship (Psalm 145:13b-14, 17-19) The Lord is trustworthy and true, Faithful in all of Gods ways. , , SSL- . for your ways are kindness, tenderness, forgiveness. Beloved, we make many mistakes, and we shall continue to do so. Oh, do not so! We all benefit from your creativity and generosity. God has many ways of revealing his will to men. In the prophets this too remains always the standard, until God exert His power in another way, when He shall be no longer spoken of as Jehovah that brought them out of the land of Egypt, but out of the north country into their land, where He shall settle them for ever. What kind of a life were we living? But dead we were, most certainly. This is an of the former statements, that is, an exposition accompanied by an illustration. In nowise: even now He has abounded toward them "in all wisdom and prudence." He rules the universe from His heavenly throne Yet nothing is more certain than that God so speaks to our faith. I must not attempt to describe it; words would fail me, and you would be too much shocked. In Christ we are blessed, in Christ we are chosen. (T) 10For we are Gods handiwork,(U) created(V) in Christ Jesus to do good works,(W) which God prepared in advance for us to do. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus, Nothing without Christ Jesus, you see. Thus far the apostle has described the misery of a natural state in Ephesians 2:1-3, which we shall find him pursuing again in some following ones. You are looking : call to worship ephesians 2. Paul uses two illuminating pictures. The apostle treats it as our business diligently to observe it. Ah! God was talking about spiritual death. Here the apostle would have Christ to be more the satisfying object of our affections. (v) The Gentiles were without hope and without God. Paul had begun by saying that, as we are, we are dead in sins and trespasses; now he says that God in his love and mercy has made us alive in Jesus Christ. But if we are to walk thus, let us not forget the prayer for the state of our hearts which precedes these exhortations. Nostrums and palliatives aggravate rather than allay the disease. Sin kills the will; the thing so grips a man that he cannot break free. What a solemn sight is presented to us by a dead body! Then the scripture says none of you are perfect. - ! You canna hear George Matheson preach and live in a cellar." have been brought near by the death of Jesus on the cross. All the chances are that the breach will remain unhealed, for peace is seldom made on the basis of a legal document. Oh how good it is to have God's forgiveness. And as the unity flowed from the power of the Spirit sent down from heaven; so now when we come to gifts, it is expressly connected with Christ in glory. In what sense were the people of Israel different from other peoples? Now it is possible to make atonement for a broken law, but it is impossible to make atonement for a broken heart; and sin is not so much breaking God's law as it is breaking God's heart. Both the xenos ( G3581) and the paroikos ( G3941) were always on the fringe. Partner with StudyLight.org as God uses us to make a difference for those displaced by Russia's war on Ukraine. WebCall to Worship Psalm 104:1-4, 33 Benediction Ephesians 3:20-21 Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. He sought to get Jesus to worship him during His wilderness temptations ( Matthew 4:9 ). This new life makes us capable of walking with God; that is a grand thing. Finally, there is the activity now for others, just as before there was dependence for ourselves. Many a man's life is embittered because he feels that he has never had what his talents and his work deserve; but in the sight of God no man deserves anything but condemnation. Thus is touched, incidentally, the need of our souls as offenders against God, but only so far as to show that it was in no way overlooked. Wherever that prevails there is a privation of all spiritual life. In this chapter, Paul discusses how that happens: Christs victory over evil powers makes reconciliation with God possible. In fact, it comes from a game in archery that the British used to have. Their lust is one which can only be perpetrated at midnight; a deed which can only be done when shrouded by the astonished curtains of darkness. It is on the foundation of the prophets and apostles that you have been built up; and the corner stone is Christ himself. The apostle adds that it was now revealed of the Spirit, "That the Gentiles should be fellow-heirs, and of the same body, and partakers of His promise in Christ by the gospel: whereof I was made a minister, according to the gift of the grace of God given unto me by the effectual working of his power. None of us can make it on our own. It sees not, and hears not, and feels not. And he never recovered the full use of that most precious faculty, the boon of youth and happy childhood, and which he had once possessed, without knowing it, in such singular and exceptional completeness. The other word Paul uses, translated trespasses is paraptoma ( G3900) . But I confine myself now to the relationship of the Son to the Father from everlasting. He is the ultimate blessedness with which we are filled, the One in whom we most confide, being the Son, in whom dwells all the fulness of the Godhead bodily. in the lust of our flesh, as we were fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; as we were by nature the children of wrath, even as the others ( Ephesians 2:3 ). To the father, the sinful "son" was dead in sin and lost. (There is no need to credit the re:Worship blog itself.). Even as far back as Homer that is so. And God said Gideon, "The men that are with you are too many, because I know the heart of this people. This, then, was what was needed for the principalities and powers, and this is what they behold in the church of God. trespasses and sins --. So the soldiers took their comrade sadly and buried him just outside the fence. Heres a contemporary call to worship inspired by Ephesians 2: 19-22. the One who names each of us as a beloved child. 22 You worship what you do not know; we know what we worship, for salvation is of the Jews. The fallen nature of man, which is dominated by his flesh, and thus is ruled by his fleshly desires. He gives them new life, and he does this on the basis of Christs death and resurrection. No one calls him respectable. "You" refers to Gentiles (2:11). -(c)2020, Nathan Decker, worshipswake.wodpress.com. Are we in life where we ought to be? When Isaiah received his vision of God, his first reaction was to say: "Woe is me! In Christ we belong in the family, adopted. May God save you now, ere you shall come to that consummation for which hell so sighs, and which heaven can alone avert. Of old they had forfeited every claim according to the law, and were spared and kept in God's mercy and faithfulness. This also answers to the grand doctrine of this epistle. "Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father in heaven is perfect" ( Matthew 5:48 ). We so easily convince ourselves that we deserve a little more. Our present position is this, first, that we are raised from the dead. Sort of concluding, you might as well bomb out and stay drunk, there is nothing else, too much pain to try to face reality.Sort of the philosophy that a lot of people have taken today. The ancient world was full of barriers. - FSB. WebAll Calls to Worship Fragrance God is Out There In The Beginning Joy of the Lord Perfectly imperfect Stephen Ministry Stewardship (Psalm 103) Trinity II Trinity I Veni Sancte Spiritus Spirit (Advent III) Keep your lamps trimmed Justice Healing Talents Comfort (Advent II) To God be all Glory Call To The Beach Blessing of the Animals We confess our praying to you, and ask for your Spirit to pray within us. Then suppose someone came with the news that the door was still open and a welcome was waiting at home. I shall not do so; for although I have read portions which refer to that glorious subject, I have had pressed on my mind a subject which is not the resurrection of Christ, but which is in some measure connected with it the resurrection of lost and ruined men by the Spirit of God in this life. Who wants to see you enriched in all things in Christ.Now on the other hand, Jesus said concerning Satan, "That he is come to rob and to kill and to destroy." (i) We saw that sin kills innocence. It is evident in this verse that the deadness of unregenerated people is a derivative, not of their birth, but of their sins. No one is precisely the same after he has sinned. '', "whoever is without wisdom, lo, he is , "as a dead man";''. As though the bloom of that special joy, the gift he had of recalling past emotions and sensations and situations, and making them actual once more by a mere effort of will, had been brushed away. The increase of immorality, the increase of pornography, the acceptance of abortion, and homosexuality, and these other trends that we see, Satan is behind them orchestrating as he is leading the world to hell. This is pursued then first with reference to the Gentiles, for now the order is reversed. It is revealed to us here. Realize that; believe in it; rejoice in it; triumph in it. Paul will speak of nothing good except that which comes "through Christ Jesus." My father is a nobody and I am the least in my father's household. (By grace ye are saved;) and hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus: that in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus. Then, everything surprises you. all that is out to hurt and twist and destroy! God has made our conscience quick as the apple of the eye; he has made our soul as sensitive as a raw wound, so that the very shadow of sin falling on the believer's heart will cause him great pain; and, if he does go into the actual sin, then, like David, he talks about his bones being broken, and it is not too strong a figure of the sorrow that comes upon the believing heart when sin has been committed, and God has been grieved. 8For it is by grace(P) you have been saved,(Q) through faith(R)and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God 9not by works,(S) so that no one can boast. What was it for? Hence the condition in which we were found here below came into view; and, as we have seen, it was total ruin, whether Jew or Gentile be looked at. The carnal mind makes a man a perfect slave to his vicious appetite.--The fulfilling of the wills of the flesh, so the words may be rendered, denoting the efficacy of these lusts, and what power they have over those who yield themselves up unto them. The Lord is close to everyone who calls upon God; God hears our cries and will save us. If you're interested in reading the results, visit here: https://pandemicworshipsurvey.blogspot.com/. To live according to the dictates of the flesh is simply to live in such a way, that our lower nature, the worse part of us, dominates our lives. for I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips" ( Isaiah 6:5). That peace is won at the price of his blood, for the great awakener of love is the Cross. (iv) The Gentiles were strangers from the covenants on which the promises were based. Whatever was the current fad, here I am, flowing with it, you know. Such rebels do not deserve Gods love, but God loves them nevertheless. (J) 6And God raised us up with Christ(K) and seated us with him(L) in the heavenly realms(M) in Christ Jesus, 7in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace,(N) expressed in his kindness(O) to us in Christ Jesus. "Which in other ages was not made known unto the sons of men, as it is now revealed unto his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit." The young man, as soon as Christ spoke to him, "sat up and began to speak;" but Lazarus, in his grave-clothes, lying in the niche of the tomb, could do no more than just shuffle himself out from the hole that was cut in the wall, and then stand leaning against it. I know the heart of this people. The boogieman will get you, you know." "Yes, Lord." The consequence is that we find the Spirit of God, now sent down from heaven, not only putting the saints into relationship with the Father, but, besides, dwelling in them and making them God's habitation through the Spirit. And the apostle concludes the whole of this part of the matter "to the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved." The glorious salvation that He has given to us. And now this spiritual birth, my spirit is now alive, and with my spirit alive I now have fellowship with God. Worship the Lord with gladness. And I was fearful of yielding my life to God. Christ and you are one now, and you are made to live together with him. But I dare say I have some characters that are illustrations of that case too. These are the two former points. At first a man regards some wrong thing with horror; the second stage comes when he is tempted into doing it, but even as he does it, he is still unhappy and ill at ease and very conscious that it is wrong; the third stage is when he has done the thing so often that he does it without a qualm.

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