Stand

Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armour of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armour of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, Ephesians 6: 10 – 14

One of the hardest yet most essential abilities for the Christian is to be able to stand especially in the face of the devil’s attacks.

It can be so hard to stand when things go wrong in our marriage, or with family, colleagues and especially in the church. The first desire is to run or to hide. How often do you know people who have left their church, their job, family or marriage when things have not gone well?

When Adam and Eve sinned, they hid. When Moses killed the Egyptian he ran and hid in the desert for 40 years.  King Saul hid in the baggage when God’s call came. Elijah ran away and hid in the desert after confronting King Ahab. Jonah did not want to be part of God’s plan for mercy on the Assyrians so he fled in the opposite direction.

Of course this is what the devil wants. Paul is wise to remind us where our struggle is because we so easily forget that our struggle is not against flesh and blood but against the devil and his cohorts. He doesn’t want us to stand.  He wants us to run away.

Too often we get bogged down in the politics of work or church and let personalities determine our words and actions. Instead it is helpful to try and see how the devil is manipulating people and circumstances and our response must be to stand firm and pray. James reminds us ‘to resist the devil’ and the promise that goes with it is most encouraging ‘and he will flee from you’ James 4: 7.

These verses from Peter are a great reassurance.

Resist him (the devil), standing firm in the faith, because you know that the family of believers throughout the world is undergoing the same kind of sufferings. And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast. 1 Peter 5: 9 – 10

When circumstances are hard, when everything in you wants to run, to hide, to get away at all costs – stand. Stand firm. Resist the devil. Pray and let God bring triumph out of adversity.

Dealing with cynicism

Live as children of the light (for the fruit of the light consists of all goodness, righteousness and truth) and find out what pleases the Lord.  Ephesians 5: 8 – 10

From Ephesians 4: 17, through chapter 5 to chapter 6: 9, Paul urges the Ephesians into Godly living. His teaching is very specific, comprehensive and practical and is a wonderful if rather challenging exhortation of how to live. Only some of Jesus’ teaching is even more challenging.

Ephesus was a major centre of commerce with flourishing temple worship to the Roman goddess Diana so the Christians in Ephesus had a lot to contend with. This must be why Paul gave them so much advice on how to live right in the midst of idolatry and a Godless society.  The problems we face in our societies today may not have much to do with worshipping Diana but the challenges are just as real and difficult for the modern day Christian. We too must live as children of the light in our Godless societies and it can be very hard.

In UK one of the major obstacles to Godly living, very prevalent in society is cynicism. Cynicism is ‘an inclination to question whether something will happen or whether it is worthwhile.’ Cynicism’s first cousin is scepticism which doubts the truth of something. Cynics tend to look down on the kind of advice Paul gave the Ephesians with a certain amount of derision. People feel it is not worthwhile to live the sort of life Paul was talking about in today’s culture; there is nothing in it for them. Cynics doubt people’s motives so if Christians are kind, loving, generous, merciful and so on cynics are sceptical about why they are doing it. 

Cynicism though is also prevalent in the church and people extravagant in worship or giving or who are enthusiastic about God and his love are viewed very cautiously and as ‘over the top.’ The same love, kindness, grace and mercy are viewed suspiciously as ‘too good to be true’ but that is exactly what God is – too good, kind, generous, loving, and merciful to be true except it is true!

Cynicism and scepticism like unbelief need to be rooted out of our lives. Cynics find it very hard to trust God and to believe that he wants good things for his children because for a cynic there is always an ulterior motive – God must want something so what is this going to cost me and so doubt clouds their minds. However we know the full price for salvation, forgiveness and a life of love was paid by Jesus on the cross and all we need is to walk by faith – hard if you are a sceptic.

The solution is to put out arms of love and trust to God, declaring and believing that what he has said is true and so silence cynicism and scepticism with words of life and faith.

Grace in our strengths

For it is by grace you have been saved.  Ephesians 2: 8

I became a servant of this Gospel by the gift of God’s grace given me through the working of his power. Although I am less than the least of all God’s people, this grace was given me: to preach to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ. Ephesians 3: 8

We are all very familiar with the fact that we are saved by grace; there is nothing we can do to save ourselves – it is all the work of God and we rejoice in this. However grace is so much more than the key to our salvation which unlocks the door to eternal life in Christ Jesus.

Grace not only saves us but enables us to ‘do the good works which God prepared in advance for us to do’ Ephesians 2: 10.  I think there can be a tendency to do the things we are good at in our own strength and then ask for God’s grace to help us in our weaknesses. We know when Paul was battling with his ‘thorn in the flesh’ he found that ‘God’s grace was sufficient for him, for God’s power is made perfect in weakness’ II Cor 12: 9.  However I also believe we need God’s grace to help us in our strengths.

Paul makes plain that he was a great Jew before his conversion and was faultless in legalistic righteousness (Philippians 3: 6).  He knew the law and he persecuted anyone who didn’t keep the law especially these new followers of the Way.  There was no grace! When Jesus met with Paul on the road to Damascus, he didn’t just save him by grace but he used him to write and preach such profound truths that Christians today are still poring over the Scriptures trying to fully understand the revelation that Jesus gave him. The Scriptures were his area of strength before his salvation, yet God’s grace touched this and transformed it into something that Paul could never have attained in his own strength and studies.

God has prepared wonderful works for us to do but we need his grace to touch our lives and transform them in order to do these works for his glory.  Many Christians I know who are used greatly by the Lord, just wonder at what he does through them. They say things such as, ‘I just and stand and watch what God is doing and am amazed.’ It is not false modesty but a genuine sense of wonder that God uses them even in their strengths and the result is something far greater than anything they could do. Their participation is vital but the outcome is divine.

God’s grace is waiting to touch and transform both our strengths and weaknesses so we may bear great fruit for his glory. Ask God to touch those areas of your life which are your strong points and be amazed at what God will do through you – so much more than you can ask or imagine.

Seated in heavenly places

But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in our transgressions – it is by grace you have been saved. And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus Ephesians 2: 4 – 6.

I always wondered how we could be living here on the earth but at the same time be seated in the heavenly realms with Christ. It just didn’t make sense. If we look at the preceding verses of chapter 2 it says that we were all dead in our sins, cravings and lusts with no hope of release till God came along and because of his great love, he rescued us.  It was the work of grace; there was nothing we could do to help ourselves or gain any measure of favour with God.

Yet God feels so mercifully towards us that he was prepared to take us sinners, dead in our sins and make us alive in Christ Jesus. We literally have new life, now and forever.  This though is where the puzzling verses come in. Not only have we been made alive and resurrected from death to life but we have been seated with Christ in the heavenly realms. The last few verses of chapter 1 explain that when Jesus was raised from the dead by the awesome power of God, every power, ruler and authority now and in the future was put under his feet.  He has complete authority over every principality and power and he is seated in the heavenly realms exercising that authority.

God has placed our spirits next to Christ in that place of authority. Our bodies may be busy going about our daily lives on earth but our spirits are seated, not anxious, fretting and worrying but at peace and rest knowing they are seated next to the one who has all authority in heaven and on earth. This means we have access to that same authority over every situation in our lives; sickness, poverty, insufficiency, oppression, unemployment, family worries and everything we have need of  is gained because we are sitting next to Jesus.

If you are feeling anxious and worried about life, let the truth that whilst you may be here on earth, your spirit is seated and at rest next to the one who has all authority over everything, now and in the future. His love is for you, his grace has paid the price and lifted you from death to life and now the authority of Jesus over every situation and circumstance is just a whisper away. Lean close to him and hear his loving voice and trust him to bring hope, peace and rest to you right now.

 

Our future inheritance

And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. Having believed you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession – to the praise of his glory.  Ephesians 1: 13 – 14

These are more wonderful verses from Ephesians chapter 1 which are worth a longer look.  I was surprised how often Paul spoke in his letters about the Holy Spirit being a seal, a deposit guaranteeing what is to come. I quickly found 3 other references using almost exactly the same.  This is an important truth that Paul wanted the early church to hear. 

Paul assures us that having believed in the word of truth, our salvation, we were sealed with the Holy Spirit. The seal denotes ownership not in a slave and master way but in a loving Lord looking after his own.   The Holy Spirit was also given us a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance. Now we know that an inheritance is something we receive when someone dies and it is usually something very nice. When my father died I received an inheritance from him which was certainly a great blessing.  

A deposit is a down pavement on something so the Holy Spirit is a deposit guaranteeing what is to come. So what is our inheritance that we have received down payment for? The Bible refers to it as the kingdom of heaven (Matthew 25:34) or kingdom of God (James 2:5) or kingdom of light (Colossians 1: 12).   When we are born again we are able to see the kingdom of God (John 3:3) and we have in some measure access to the kingdom but because of our fallen world it is only a measure.

When we die, we inherit full access to the kingdom and full rights as co-heirs with Christ of that kingdom (Romans 8: 17).  What is more our bodies will be transformed, glorified so we are completely like Jesus (Philippians 3: 21). That is some inheritance!! 

Now that is probably enough theology for one day as I am struggling to get my head around these wonderful promises. However I know that as we let these truths of our future inheritance sink into our spirits; truths that Paul was so keen to try and help the early church understand, it will transform the way we think about life here and now. The more we realise what a wonderful future we have both in this life and the next, the more it will stop us living just for now. It should help us build for a glorious tomorrow while at the same time making the most of every moment and opportunity today.  

Adopted into the family

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love he predestined us for adoption to sonship through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will— to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves. Ephesians 1: 3 – 6

These first few verses of Ephesians are just so rich and give us a wonderful insight into all that God has done to redeem his loved ones and make them his own.  Every sentence is full of wonderful promises; he has blessed us, chosen us to be holy and blameless, he has predestined us, adopted us to sonship because he loves us and this is his pleasure and will. It has all been freely given to us through Jesus.

God has taken people living in the gutter of sin, often completely unaware of their real plight and the desperateness of their situation and lifted them out to become his sons and daughters and be adopted into his family. Jesus was God’s son by nature but we are God’s children by adoption. Nevertheless we still have all the privileges of natural sons and daughters of God as well as full inheritance rights.

Adopted children are not second best – they have been adopted so that those who had no choice or chance before could now be treated just as if they were natural sons and daughters and born into the family. In the natural that is marvellous enough. I am sure we all know of children who have been born with little or no chance in life, who have been adopted into families where they have been treated just as if they had been born into that family. They have been given a chance they could do nothing to earn or deserve. It is even more wonderful in the spiritual realm.

We were dead in our sins, destined for a life in eternity separated from God forever and with no hope of being able to do anything about it ourselves. We may have even not been aware of our situation but God, because of his rich love for us, did all that was necessary to rescue us. What a wonderful God!  He took us and made us his own with all that implies. All those spiritual blessings are ours. 

Perhaps we need to start to realise just how much God loves us. This was a marvellous, carefully thought out plan.  God knew all about us but he did not reject us, instead he predestined us which means he had a destiny for us before we were even on the scene to love us, save us and bring us into his family. The cost for God was high – very high – because it cost him the life of his natural son, Jesus, on the cross. I do not think any of us really have any idea what Jesus had to go through to gain our redemption. However I am just so thankful that he did so that today I know I am part of God’s family – holy, loved, righteous and all given not because of anything I had to offer but through his glorious grace which he has freely given us.

Words just cannot express our thanksgiving but we are surely oh so grateful.

Living in the joy of God's truth

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love he predestined us for adoption to sonship through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will— to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves. Ephesians 1: 3 – 6

There are times when words are just not enough to explain the wonder of the things that God has done for us.  These amazing verses which Paul wrote to the Ephesians just cannot really do justice to the enormity of God’s incredible love for us. We need the wonderful revelation from God’s Holy Spirit to bring these words of God’s love to life.

Too often we get through life believing all sorts of things about God and ourselves that are just not true and these lies consistently rob us of the joy that God wants us to live in. Too often when things go wrong or God does not seem as close as he did on another occasion, our first thought can be that we have done something wrong and God is cross with us or something else that is just not true.  We then spend far too much time apologising, repenting and feeling sorry for ourselves but instead II Corinthians 10: 5 tells us to ‘take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ’. We must capture these lies and force them into obedience to Christ. God wants us to live in the joy of the truth and not in the doubt and insecurity of lies and ungodly beliefs.

The truth is that God loves us so much that before the creation of the world he chose us. Yes he chose you – stop and consider that truth for a minute. Why did he choose us? Well it certainly wasn’t because of the wonderful people we were or anything we had or could do but because he loves us. He knows all about us and yet he loves us. Even if we get things wrong he still isn’t cross with us as we may be with our children. He doesn’t deal with us that way. Instead he takes us gently by the hand and asks us to look in the mirror and see the sin. All we have to do is repent and ask God’s forgiveness and the wonderful relationship between us and God that he chose us for is restored. Do not believe the lies; he disciplines those he loves (Proverbs 3: 12) in order to renew and strengthen our close personal relationship with him.

My prayer is that God will increasingly reveal to each one of us just how much God loves us and that these words of life will become so real to us that the truth will shine like a beacon of hope completely eclipsing the lies of the enemy that he has sown in our hearts. May the truth cause the lies to wither and die and be a source of increasing encouragement and joy on the path of life.