Life on the edge

Peninsula Community Church

Ephesians – And You Were Dead

September 14, 2014

Ephesians 2:1-7 And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ-by grace you have been saved and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.

How many of you love a good rescue story? If you are like me, I know you love a good movie or book where the hero arrives on the scene to rescue the damsel in distress or the soldier behind enemy lines. Or the hero could be the last one standing against the enemy. We love movies like Spiderman who rescues his MJ, Superman who rescues his Lois Lane, or Captain Miller played by Tom Hanks in Saving Private Ryan who does not give up until they find and rescue private Ryan. Who could forget Gladiator or William Wallace in “Braveheart.”

Just this week, we were reminded of one of the greatest stories of heroism is in our lifetime or at least my lifetime. The brave first responders who were on their way into the trade towers when every one else was one their way out were truly heroes. They offered their lives so others could live. That is the mark of a true hero. It was a true hero who spent days pouring through the massive amount of rubble in hopes of finding one more person alive. Michelle and I knew many of these brave men who risked themselves on behalf of others. They are our heroes. As we turn our attention to this passage before us what unfolds is the story of such a hero. Mankind entrapped by the power of sin and the curse of an evil nature is rescued by a powerful hero, Christ.

As we begin this morning, it is noteworthy that there is no separation from the end of chapter one and the beginning of chapter 2. These breaks are placed here by the translators so that the text is easier to read and it is easier to reference. Because there is no break between chapter one and two, Paul is in essence continuing his discussion on the immeasurable greatness of God’s power. Paul enters a discussion here that evidences the greatness of His power by comparing the depth of man’s sin to the power of Christ to save. John Stott suggests that “Paul plumbs the death of pessimism about man and then arises to the heights of optimism about God.” The immeasurable greatness of God’s power is evidenced in His ability to make a dead man live.

Paul begins the discussion with the emphatic statement “and you were dead…” The word used here in the Greek is the word “NEKRO.” It is a word that denotes a body without life. This term refers figuratively to the spiritual condition of those who are unable to attain the life of faith. They have no power to bring life in and of themselves. Lost men are spiritually and eternally dead. They are not merely weakened, incapacitated, disabled or sick, they are dead without any life. And most of all, this death is a separation from God and all that God has given as spiritual blessings. Sadly, there are two other components to a dead man. For one, dead men do not grow, in fact they are being corrupted and are in a state of deterioration. They are dead and yet are in the process of continuing to die. Secondly, dead men are impotent. They are powerless to accomplish anything of eternal value. Notice I said eternal value.

You might wonder why one could be dead and yet still seem to have such success in life. We look at athletes who run fast and accomplish great feats. We see those who have great intellectual ability to achieve greatness. These people are capable of great discoveries and yet they do not know Christ. The appearance is that they are alive and successful but outward success is not a measure of inward life. One can be successful and achieve great things but still be dead inwardly.  Jesus referred to these people as whitewashed tombs. They are clean on the outside but dead on the inside.

How are these people dead? They are dead in their trespasses and sin. Paul uses two words here for sin. The first is the word trespasses. The word trespass in the Greek is the word “PARAPIPTO” and means to fall aside or to stumble on something by chance. It is the idea of being led astray. It carries the idea of a sin that was unintentional. For example, in the Old Testament economy, when God established the law it is noteworthy that one of the elements of the law was a provision to offer a sacrifice in the case one who happens upon a dead body. For the Jew, this was a sin even though he did not plan it or execute the sin on his own. It was unintentional.

On the other hand, the word here for sins is the word HAMARTIA which means to miss the mark or to fall short. It is the idea of missing the bullseye. You know the target, you know the goal, but you miss it. Sin is therefore a violation of God’s righteous character and of His law.

Paul continues this discussion by using a familiar Hebrew phrase in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked. The idea presented in this phrase is that it is a former habitual lifestyle or behavior but there is also a sense of past bondage that relates to this phrase. With that in mind Paul continues by listing three influences that controlled the way we lived before Christ.

First, they followed the course of this world. The phrase of this world represents a whole social value system that is alien to God. This worldview permeates and dominates non-Christian society and it holds people in captivity. When human beings have a worldview that is foreign to God they are dehumanized by political oppression or bureaucratic tyranny by an outlook that is secular. They repudiate God, They are amoral. They repudiate absolutes. They are materialistic. They glorify the consumer market. When this occurs the tendency is that people do not have a mind of their own but they are slaves to the pop-culture of television and glossy magazines. This becomes a cultural bondage.

Secondly, they were held captive to the works and schemes of the devil. Here Paul describes the devil as the prince of the power of the air. You see the devil prefers darkness to light. At times he is not interested in total darkness but in establishing a foggy atmosphere of confusion and disruption. Earlier Paul discusses the powers that Christ is over. The fact is, we must know that these are the same powers and authorities which Christ has exerted power over. Remember from last week’s lesson that God through Christ has exerted absolute power over every authority, ruler or spirit. Certainly, the devil must be in subjection to God. Once again we must understand that the rule of satan was disrupted by the death and resurrection of Christ. We also know that there will come a day that satan and his minions will be cast into the lake of fire. That will be his ultimate judgement. But in this current world he is that roaring lion that seeks to devour. He seeks to rob, kill, and destroy all he can.

The third influence that holds us in captivity is the lust of the flesh. These passions are the desires of the mind, body and emotions. To lust is to desire what one cannot have. If not brought under control, one will act on the desire and bring greater consequences upon their life. Paul reminds the Thessalonians that they were to live as holy and not be driven by the lust that was pervasive in their life before Christ (1 Thessalonians 4:5). In 2 Peter 2, we are warned that judgement will come to those who continue to live after the flesh.

When we began this message this morning we talked about how we all love to have a rescuer come save the day. The greatness of the redemption story is that God sent His son to save the day but not just the day but to rescue all of mankind. He did not ride a white horse or bring a army with him, but his rescue mission was not any less important or powerful.

It is for that reason that Paul transitions this part of His letter with “But God.” This is one of the most awesome phrases in all of the New Testament. What a powerful thought. Listen to Paul’s words. But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ-by grace you have been saved and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.

Do you hear what Paul is saying? While we were dead. While we were hopelessly living in captivity and bondage to a mixed up way of living, Christ died for our trespasses. Notice here that there is no caveat that when we got better or did the right thing Christ did what he did. No, before we could, He did. Not only did he provide forgiveness of both our trespasses and our sin, He also made us alive. So think about that. We could be forgiven but dead but He breathed life into our spiritual being and has spiritually set us in heavenly places. How exciting is that.

Copyright © Robert W. Odom 2014 All rights Reserved

For Audio of Message go to PCCMinistry.org

Peninsula Community Church

Ephesians – the Exaltation of Christ

September 7, 2014

Ephesians 1:15-22 – For this reason, because I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love toward all the saints, I do not cease to give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers, that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him, having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the working of his great might that he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come. And he put all things under his feet and gave him as head over all things to the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all.

Today, we move to the final verses of chapter one. This section of scripture focuses on the power of Christ that is at work in our lives. We saw last week that the power of Christ is revealed through the resurrection of Christ. The resurrection of Christ is the hallmark of Christ’s work here on earth. It is the resurrection that sets Christianity apart from all other all religions in the world. By way of the resurrection we have power over sin. We have power over death. We are assured eternal life, as Christ is the example of what is to come on our behalf.

As we look at the last few verses, we find the focus turns to the exaltation of Christ. In this section, we find three key aspects of Christ’s exaltation. He is seated at the right hand of the Father. He has authority over every power on earth and in heaven. He is the head of the church and the fullness of what the church needs.. It has been noted that without the exaltation of Christ none of the blessings that Paul outlines for us in the earlier verses would be possible. It is exactly because He is at the right hand of the Father that we are blessed the way we are. 

The first aspect of Christ’s exaltation is that the power of Christ is revealed through the position of Christ at the right hand of the Father. The wording here is significant because to sit on one’s right side was always a sign of honor in Biblical times, as it is today in many circles. If you were to read the Book of Hebrews, you will find several references to Christ being seated at the right hand of the Father. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, having become as much superior to angels as the name he has inherited is more excellent than theirs. (Hebrews 1:4). Now the point in what we are saying is this: we have such a high priest, one who is seated at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in heaven, a minister in the holy places, in the true tent that the Lord set up, not man (Hebrews 8:1). But when Christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God, waiting from that time until his enemies should be made a footstool for his feet. For by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified (Hebrews 110:12-13). These verses remind us of the purpose of Christ’s position with God and for us which is to establish His authority on earth and in heaven. Paul in Romans 8 reminds us that He, Christ is at the right hand of God making intercession for us. He is praying for us. He is standing in the gap on our behalf.

It is notable that Christ was not only positioned next to the Father; but the power of Christ is revealed through the authority that Christ has over every known and unknown power.  There is nothing more frustrating than to be given a position without any authority to accomplish what is necessary to finish the task given. We find here that God not only positioned Christ in the place of honor but He also gave Him the authority He needed to accomplish His goal and His purposes in light of redemption.

As I prepared this message, I was reminded of a story involving General Robert E. Lee who is one of my favorite historical characters. I admire him because throughout his life he presented himself as a man of character and integrity, even in the midst of difficult times. One of the stories I found interesting, and in many ways connected to this lesson, was in Charles Flood’s book “Lee, the Last Years.” Flood details a time that, after the war, an insurance company offered General Lee a job where he would make more than $10,000 a year. This salary would be three times his current salary at Washington College, where he was president. But Lee, being a man of integrity and vision, stated that he did not wish to leave the post at the school he had just started. The agent for the insurance company responded to him by saying “Sir, we do not want you to discharge any duties. We simply wish the use of your name; that will abundantly compensate us.” Lee’s response without hesitation was “Excuse me sir, I cannot consent to receive pay for services I do not render.” In essence, Lee did not desire to receive a salary without some authority and being tasked with some responsibility that would make him worthy of His pay. He did not want to be a figure-head. Neither did Christ. He wanted His position next to God to mean something and so did God.

Imagine, if you will, any power or force that is out there. No matter the power or the force, Christ is positional and authoritatively over that power and every other power that has been or ever will be created. Let me ask you, this morning, what holds you back from the freedom in Christ that you desire? Is it fear? Is it past failures? Is it people who have let you down? What about your mistakes? The group that went with us to see Moses heard a clear message that God overcomes all of these things to bring us to the place He desires for us to be.

This verse is a direct fulfillment of Psalm 110:1 where David proclaims The Lord says to my Lord: “Sit at my right hand, until I make your enemies your footstool. Christ is seated next to God far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come. Notice that his ottoman is all evil and every power in the world. 

What are these powers as listed by Paul? It would be easy for us to define each of these powers but rather than doing that I will simply say that if there is a force or a power that impacts us, Christ has been empowered through the resurrection, ascension, and authority of God to deal with that power or force. Not only has he been given power to do so, but we are also empowered by Christ through the Holy Spirit to have power over the works of darkness. These powers could be defined as anything that is at work against God and anything godly. These powers were released in full force at the time of Adam’s sin. 

But in Christ, these things are powerless to effect us unless we allow them to or we live a life punctuated by sin, evil, or the rejection of God’s will and His ways. To work against us, we must give ourselves over to the evil domain for them to effect us spiritually. Paul had a glimpse of this reality when he wrote these words to the church at Rome. Romans 8:31-39. What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things? Who shall bring any charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died-more than that, who was raised who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? As it is written, “For your sake we are being killed all the day long; we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.”  No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. Notice here in this language that we would not be immune from the issues of life but that they were powerless to diminish the love Christ has for us.

Paul clearly states For though we walk in the flesh, we are not waging war according to the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds. We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ, being ready to punish every disobedience, when your obedience is complete (2 Corinthians 10:3-6).

And finally, the power of Christ is revealed through the relationship Christ has with the church as He is the head of The Church. A couple of things stand out here in this regard. Notice the verbiage that is used. Christ is the head and the church is the body. Without Christ the church is like a body without a head. It is walking aimlessly and hopeless in darkness. It is moved by emotion but does not have much wisdom and direction. This idea of Christ being the Head of the Church has a two-fold implication; His dominion over every power on earth and our union with Christ. Christ is also all that the church needs to accomplish its task. Through Christ, the church is filled with everything it needs. This view of the church is two fold. 

I can remember growing up that my dad was the head of our home. In that headship came protection, safety, wisdom, and direction. I did not see it when I was growing up but as I have matured I release the power of headship in the home. The problem today too often is that we do not want to have an authority over us. We want to run our own game. We want to do what is right in our eyes and not what is being projected onto us by God. 

Sometimes we tend to think that it is our faith that is the problem but it is not our faith as much as it is our view of God. We think that the problem is that our faith is not big enough or used enough but it is that our understanding of God is too small. When we have a small view of God and an expansive view of ourselves we are destined to failure. God wants us to have a right view of who He is and what he has done and for that matter continues to do for us.

The question for us this morning is do we recognize what God has done on our behalf, do we know that Christ is at the right of the Father intervening on our behalf? Do we know that he has authority and power over everything? Do you know that is the head of the church? Understanding these ideas are critical to our success as believers. 

Copyright © 2014 Robert W. Odom All Rights Reserved

Peninsula Community Church

Ephesians – Enlightened Heart

August 31, 2014

Ephesians 1:15-22 – For this reason, because I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love toward all the saints, I do not cease to give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers, that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him, having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the working of his great might that he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come. And he put all things under his feet and gave him as head over all things to the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all.

Today, we will pick up where we left off last week where we reviewed the prayer Paul prayed as it related to the eyes of the church at Ephesus being opened to a greater understanding of God. Once again it seems that Paul’s purpose here is to encourage the church toward a continued, growing understanding of who God is. That is not to diminish the value of their current testimony but to encourage ongoing depth and growth. Remember, we talked about the difference between being “nominal” and “phenomenal.” This does not mean that we become world renown as individuals but that we do great exploits for God right where we are and where we have been called. 

Last week we also discovered that Paul prayed for the church at Ephesus to have the Spirit of Wisdom and revelation. In the second part of this prayer, Paul prays that the eyes of their heart would be enlightened. It is interesting to note that Paul uses the term the eyes of the heart. As we noted last week, the eyes are often used as measure of a person’s inward character and life. It has been said that the eyes are a window to the soul. The eyes can betray us or they can provide a testimony to the purity of our walk. In writing these words, it is possible that Paul is reminded of the writings of Solomon who stated Keep your heart with all vigilance, for from it flow the springs of life (Proverbs 4:23). Think about it for a moment. How many sins do we deal with that involve the eyes and our emotions which are seated in our hearts? I can think of a few off hand: lust, covetousness, pride, anger, hatred, and others.

The focus of the prayer was to know God better and to get to know Him better by understanding what He has accomplished on our behalf. You see Paul understood a key reaction to knowing God better and that is that they would be motivated toward godly living by way of the application of truth. The fact is, throughout Paul’s writings there is a tone of encouraging the body to do more than just know facts about God. While facts are good and facts can be good discussion starters, we need the facts to bring change and new direction into our lives.

For Paul this was not a do as I say but Paul was actively involved in growing in His knowledge of God. Listen to the words Paul wrote to the Philippians: I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith— that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead (Philippians 3:2-11). What is Paul saying here? He is saying I have all the head knowledge I need, and I have all of the degrees and pedigrees I need, but the greatest desire and need I have is to know Christ by way of His resurrection and by sharing in His suffering. Paul understood that there was more to life than personal or social status. There was more to life than a grand list of accomplishments. Paul needed and he desired a deeper understanding of the work of God in His life. That is what he is praying here for the Ephesians. 

The heart is one subject that is dealt with through Scripture. Our hearts can be open to the workings of God or they can be hardened so that the word of God cannot penetrate. Listen again to Paul’s words in Ephesians 4:18-24. They are darkened in their understanding, alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, due to their hardness of heart. They have become callous and have given themselves up to sensuality, greedy to practice every kind of impurity. But that is not the way you learned Christ! — assuming that you have heard about him and were taught in him, as the truth is in Jesus, to put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness. 

Paul seems to insinuate that there are some in the body of Christ who have allowed their hearts to become calloused and hardened by the events and issues of life. We sometimes believe that only unbelievers can have calloused hearts but Christians can succumb to calloused hearts as well. I love his phraseology here. He says, “but that is not the way you learned Christ.” You see Paul did not want a hardened and callous heart to be their testimony. Instead he wanted them to visualize and understand the work that God had done on their behalf. For that reason he focuses on three outcomes of an enlightened heart. First, the enlightened heart will know the hope to which you have been called to. Secondly, they will know the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints. And, thirdly they will know the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe as evidenced by the resurrection. 

Paul wanted the Church at Ephesus to know that they had been called to a great hope. They needed a perspective of hope rather than one of fear or desperation. How many would agree there is already too much in the world that brings discouragement and desperation into our hearts. But Christ gave us hope. Listen to the words of Peter in I Peter 1:3-5. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who by God’s power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.

Paul wanted the church to know the hope they had been given but he also wanted them to understand the inheritance that awaited them and he wanted them to understand the power that God had given them. We have a hope, we have an inheritance, and we have power in and through Christ. Paul in essence is saying look guys I am praying that your perspective about life will change and that you will have an eternal perspective about what you do or what you seek to accomplish. I pray you are shaken from the doldrums of life to one that has a hope. When we know His hope, His inheritance, and His power we have a new outlook on life. 

Notice that the greatness of His power is immeasurable. Notice here that Paul piles up words to attempt to define the God’s power that is at work in us and for that matter for us. Paul says that His power is immeasurably great. There is no way to measure how great it is because we have not fully experienced all of His power to date. There is no way to calculate the value or depth of His power which is revealed by way of the resurrection of Christ. This is the testimony of His great power…the resurrection and God and as we see the positioning of Christ at God’s right hand. Paul’s goal here was not to impress the Ephesians with a just sense of Divine grace as much as it was to give them an exalted views of the glory of Christ’s kingdom.

For audio of message, go to PCCministry.org 

Copyright © 2014 All Rights Reserved Robert W. Odom

Peninsula Community Church

Ephesians – Prayer and Praise

August 24, 2014

Ephesians 1:15-22 – For this reason, because I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love toward all the saints, I do not cease to give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers, that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him, having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the working of his great might that he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come. And he put all things under his feet and gave him as head over all things to the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all.

Once again we are confronted with one of those passages that we could literally park on for several weeks. There is so much contained in these few verses. It is noteworthy that in the original Greek language, this is the second longest verse in the book. It contains 169 words. But as Paul often does, he packs the text with great theological truths and encouragement for the body of Christ.

Paul commends the church at Ephesus because of their faith in Christ and their love toward all the saints. We must remember that Paul was in prison in Rome so this news had been brought to him by those who had been directly effected by their testimony. The key to this testimony is that the church at Ephesus not only had their vertical relationship with God right, but they also had their horizontal relationship right. Notice that Paul’s commendation was two-fold. He commended them for their faith in Christ that was being worked out by way of how they interacted with others. 

The problem too often is that we believe that all that matters is that our vertical relationship is in tact. Some people believe that all they need to have is a good relationship with God. But that does not jive with Scripture as we find throughout the Bible that our horizontal relationship is just as critical. Biblically our relationship with others is the defining factor of our Christian experience. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” (John 13:35). Throughout Scripture, God instructs us on how we are to deal with those with whom we have a relationship.

Let me ask you a question this morning. It is a relevant question. If you had someone write a letter to you or they were to write a commendation, what would they say about you? How about our church? Could they commend us on our faith? Would they have evidence that we love one another? Notice that Paul did not say that they loved some of the saints but they loved all of the saints. I have to be honest with you there have been times in the church that I have witnessed some things that would cause me to struggle that this is evidenced all of the time. But the Ephesian church was know for their faith and their love.

After his commendation of the church, Paul turns now to pray for the church. If you look closely at his prayer, you will find that Paul combines both praise and petition. While Paul is grateful for the church in Ephesus, he also makes certain petitions on their behalf. He does this, I believe, because while the Ephesians had a positive testimony, Paul did not want them to become complacent and/or apathetic in their view of God or their place in the kingdom. They were not to rest on their laurels or accomplishments of the past but were to ever be in a mode of growth and a deeper revelation of truth. Throughout scripture and life for that matter, we are constantly challenged to guard ourselves against complacency and a spirit of settling.

Paul opens his prayer by asking that two things would be accomplished in them. Paul prayed that God would give them the spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of Him, God. There are two parts to this section of the prayer. First, Paul prayed they would receive the spirit of wisdom. The Greek word for wisdom is the word “sophia.” In this context, the word means to apply the knowledge of God’s will to life’s situations. It is the right application of truth. You see wisdom is more than head knowledge, it is knowledge that is transferred from the brain to the heart and in so doing it begins to affect one’s daily life and actions. This reminds me of my closing remarks from last week’s service. God is not just interested in us knowing the truth but He desires that we make application of truth. Truth alone does not make us wise. It is the application of truth that creates a heart or mind of wisdom. Wisdom can also be defined as the ability to judge correctly and follow the best course of action based on knowledge and understanding.

The second thing Paul prayers for is that they would have a revelation of the knowledge of Him, God. The Greek word “revelation” means to uncover something that is hidden. It is the idea of taking the lid off of something to reveal what is inside. In Scripture, this revealing of truth adds to our knowledge and understanding of a subject. Paul’s prayer was that they would have the truth revealed to them. What was the truth to be revealed? It was an understanding and deeper knowledge of God. This is a critical need for us. Sometimes we focus on knowledge and that is important. I do not want to minimize that but knowledge for the sake of knowledge is futile. And as Solomon says it can make one mad. The knowledge we seek is a greater understanding of God and His workings in us. 

The problem is that when it comes to the concept of revelation, there are some who believe they have been empowered with some new revelation that is not contained in God’s word already. This is a dangerous path to venture down as we already have all of the Word we will ever need. The word is complete so we do not need a new word. What we need is a revelation of God who is the Word. As we get to know His word better and we are given wisdom to discern who He is, we will grow. I am also concerned that too many today are attempting to get some corner on a specific doctrine that will define their specific ministry but I am convinced that I do not want a specific doctrinal nuisance to define me as much I want to be known as a man of God’s word. May that be true for our church as well.

Now lets tie the two elements of wisdom and revelation together. As God reveals spiritual truth by way of revelation we are to apply this truth to our lives so that we are positively effected. Here in this text we also apply wisdom and revelation to understanding who God is and what He has done in us. This is how it works. We uncover a truth about God or His word, through revelation. We take that idea or truth and we apply it to our lives. We make a change. That is wisdom. We see that lying is wrong so we change our habits so we do not lie any more. We see that all we possess belongs to God, so we give freely and graciously to God. We see that devouring the word of God is food for our soul and is a protection for us, so we have a daily and consistent Bible reading and Bible study time. The revelation of truth changes our lives and results in wisdom. That is the prayer of Paul here in this passage.

In the second part of this prayer we find that Paul prays that the eyes of their heart would be enlightened. The purpose of this prayer was motivated by his desire to see their hearts enlightened so they would know that He is all they need. It is interesting to note that Paul uses the term the eyes of the heart. Eyes are often used as measure of a person’s inward character and life. It has been said that the eyes are a window to the soul. The eyes can betray us or they can bring testimony to the purity of our walk. It is possible that Paul is reminded of the writings of Solomon who stated Keep your heart with all vigilance, for from it flow the springs of life (Proverbs 4:23). 

In essence, Paul recognizes that what we choose defines the world we will inhabit. The eyes follow the heart and therefore seeing is a matter of inner attitude. Perception is a matter of the heart and so Paul here is praying that the Church of Ephesus will have a new perspective on who God is and what He has promised. The truth is Paul wanted them to see that.

Paul focuses here on three reasons for the eyes of the heart to be enlightened. First, his desire was that they may know what is the hope to which he has called them. Secondly, his desire was that would know what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints. And, thirdly he wanted them to know what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe. 

Paul wanted the Church at Ephesus to know that they had been called to a great hope. They needed a perspective of hope rather than of fear or desperation. This hope was found in the person of Christ who came to give His life for all.  Listen to the words of Peter in I Peter 1:3-5. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who by God’s power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.

Paul wanted the church to know the hope they had been given but he also wanted them to understand the inheritance that awaited them and the power that God had available for them. With these words there is no reason for any believer to live in discouragement and fear. We have a hope. We have an inheritance and we have power in and through Christ. Paul in essence is saying look guys I am praying that your perspective about life will change and that you will have an eternal perspective about what you do or what you seek to accomplish. 

Copyright © 2014 All Rights Reserved Robert W. Odom

Peninsula Community Church

Ephesians – We Are Sealed

August 17, 2014

Ephesians 1:11-14 In him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will, so that we who were the first to hope in Christ might be to the praise of his glory. In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory.

So far in our study we have learned that God has bestowed upon us all of the spiritual blessings we need. This is in keeping with Peter’s words in 2 Peter 1:3 where he states that we have been given all we need for life and godliness. In our previous text we found that God set in motion the plan of salvation before the foundation of the world. God knew that man would need a Savior and He set in motion His plan long before we existed or in fact before the world existed. In His plan, we were predestined to be children of God by way of Christ’s work of adoption satisfied by His sacrifice on the cross. Through the cross, He made a way for us. Because of the cross, Christ secured both our redemption and our forgiveness. On the cross, Christ paid the ransom payment for our freedom and thus we are released from all past sin.

While we spoke about forgiveness a couple of weeks ago, it is to be noted that the spiritual blessing of forgiveness is not some new idea suddenly revealed in the New Testament but the act of forgiveness was revealed throughout the Old Testament. One of the most poignant examples of this is the story of David as captured in David’s own writings of Psalm 51. David’s prayer was “blot out my transgressions, wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse my soul from sin.” David had a grievous sin that had to be spoken to by Nathan. Once he encountered this directness from Nathan, David immediately responded and asked God for restoration and forgiveness.

Today, we want to look at another blessing bestowed upon us by God. The inheritance promised to us by God has been sealed by the Holy Spirit. Paul states that our redemption has been sealed by the Holy Spirit which is the guarantee of future blessing. In 2 Corinthians 1:21-22 Paul states, And it is God who establishes us with you in Christ, and has anointed us, and who has also put his seal on us and given us his Spirit in our hearts as a guarantee. The Scripture before us states that we have obtained an inheritance and that inheritance has been sealed by the Holy Spirit. Some theologians would also say that this passage could carry the meaning that we are His inheritance and therefore we have been sealed by the Holy Spirit.

This word sealed in the Greek is an interesting word. The seal in Biblical times served as a legal protection and guarantee in many ways especially in relationship to one’s property. Any object suitable for sealing could be marked as the property of the owner. The idea of sealing was a part of everyday life. Everything in one’s house was marked with a seal to assert the true owners identity. The marking of slaves by notching, slitting, or branding was a common practice in those days. 

The seal belonged to its owner and its owner alone. No one else had the right to it. The seal not only marked one’s property but it was also a proof of one’s identity. The seal was a means of accreditation as well. Measures and weights were sealed to show that they were accurate and correct. And finally, to ensure the identity of transferred prisoners their fetters were sealed. In Greek times it is important to note that the holder of the seal is the holder of power and has his place in the a duly constituted order.

Think about what that means for us in terms of our being sealed by the Holy Spirit. We have been possessed by God. He redeemed us. He forgave us. And then He put his mark upon us to establish His ownership of our life. The Holy Spirit as the pledge of one’s inheritance is now the seal with which the believer is marked, appointed, and kept for redemption. 

We are sealed by way of a guarantee. The seal of the Holy Spirit guarantees us access to God, the Father, and our eternal salvation now and into the future. By being sealed with the Holy Spirit, we are guaranteed access to God the Father, and we are guaranteed eternal salvation. What we experience here on this earth in terms of the blessing of God is just a down payment for what is yet to come. It is noteworthy that the idea of a guarantee is that it implies an act that engages something bigger. We put a deposit on a new house, a new car and so forth. 

This guarantee has a now and a yet to come aspect to it. We enjoy the blessings of God now but there is more to come. The Bible says that eye has not seen what is in store for us. But, as it is written, “What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man imagined, what God has prepared for those who love him.” (1Corinthians 2:9). We now look through a glass dimly but then we shall see clearly. For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known. (1 Corinthians 13:12). The point made is that our inheritance is beyond description and it is beyond comparison. 

The down payment we receive now is only temporary compared to the eternalness of heaven’s reward. Think about here on earth we receive a healing and yet we will still die one day unless Christ returns. But in heaven, there is no sickness and there is no death. Our healing here is but a down payment on future blessing. Here on earth God dries the tears of the one in sorrow. But in heaven there will be no more tears. He will forever dry up the tears of sorrow. We could continue but I think you understand the point I am making.

At the point of salvation the work of the Holy Spirit is initiated in our lives. The fact is we are filled with the Spirit at Salvation. For that reason, we must live our lives as one filled with the spirit. Because we are sealed, we are blessed to be able take advantage of the Holy Spirit’s work in us and for us. This idea of the work of the Spirit is presented in the writings of John. Let us look at these things together.

The Holy Spirit is a Helper to guide our steps. As a helper He does two things. First, He teaches us all things and secondly, He brings to remembrance the things we have learned. We find this in John 14:25-26. Look at what Jesus says. “These things I have spoken to you while I am still with you. But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you.

Secondly, the Holy Spirit bears witness of the Son who bears witness to the Father. But, because of being sealed by the Holy Spirit we will bear witness of Christ and the Father. John 15:26-27 “But when the Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father, he will bear witness about me. And you also will bear witness, because you have been with me from the beginning.

Thirdly, the Holy Spirit convicts the world of sin, righteousness and judgment. This is a huge benefit because we don’t have to struggle to cause people to turn to Christ.  It is the Holy Spirit’s role and task to convict. We simply speak the truth. Listen to John 16:4-15“I did not say these things to you from the beginning, because I was with you. But now I am going to him who sent me, and none of you asks me, ‘Where are you going? ’ But because I have said these things to you, sorrow has filled your heart. Nevertheless, I tell you the truth:it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you. But if I go, I will send him to you. And when he comes, he will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment: concerning sin, because they do not believe in me; concerning righteousness, because I go to the Father, and you will see me no longer; concerning judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged.

Fourth, the Holy Spirit leads us to truth. It is of note that the Holy Spirit not only teaches all things but He always leads us to truth. It is the Holy Spirit that assisted in the writing of Scripture so he is most directly available to teach the truth of the gospel. Jesus had this say, “I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come. He will glorify me, for he will take what is mine and declare it to you. All that the Father has is mine; therefore I said that he will take what is mine and declare it to you.

I don’t know what kind of inheritance you have here on earth but God’s inheritance is worth more than all of the riches of earth. It is emotion, mental and spiritual. We get to live with God forever. We live whole and complete. We will live without the carnal nature knocking at our door. We will live without sorrow and pain. It’s worth it all. It’s worth the momentary trails we face here. What is it going to look like. I don’t know for sure but I know this it will be bigger, better and more exciting than anything we have experienced on this earth. How is this inheritance guaranteed? It is guaranteed through the acceptance of Christ into our hearts. In so doing we are sealed by the Holy Spirit. To God be the Glory.

Copyright © All rights reserved Robert W. Odom 2014

Peninsula Community Church

Ephesians- Redeemed and Forgiven

August 3, 2014

Ephesians 1:3-10 – Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love he predestined us for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved. In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight making known to us the mystery of  his will, according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth.

The last time we were together we began looking at the blessings that God has bestowed upon us. We saw that God chose us before the foundation of the world and that He has predestined us to be adopted as sons. Because of this, God has set in motion His plan for redemption long before we could even consider the prospects of salvation. We were reminded that the Bible is in essence God’s plan of redemption that is laid out for us. In our discussion, we also looked at the balance between the sovereignty of God and man’s free will. This is not an either/or but both. God is sovereign but He created us with free will.

This morning we will continue to look at the blessings that God has given us and what He has bestowed upon us by way of redemption and forgiveness. It is noteworthy that as we look at this portion of scripture that there are a couple of notable things. First, there is a Godly design in all of this. He chose to create and form man with the ability to choose right from wrong. Just because God created man with the ability to choose right from wrong does not mean that God created sin. This is because it is beyond His ability to do so. A holy God could not and would provide the mechanism of sin. God cannot sin, not because He lacks the free will to do so, but because it would be inconsistent with His character and His Divine nature. 

Then why do we sin? To understand this we must realize that a large part of sin is the rejection of all that is holy and good in God. It is the opposite of God’s intent. It is like light and darkness. The absence of light is darkness and so the absence of good is evil. God created man with free moral agency with a desire that he would choose right from wrong. God wanted a people who would freely choose Him for their own and not be forced to accept His will. That is grace and mercy. God is not a control freak because He in fact allows you to make the mistakes you make because of free will. As everything created by God, free will was pure but once man sinned free will was distorted and convoluted at best. 

The second aspect of this is that in God’s ability to foreknow all things, he also knew that man would reject His plan and would fall into sin and disobedience. This concept of the foreknowledge of God is one of those Biblical principles that can blow our minds as we try to wrap our minds and intellect around the fact that God has no beginning or end. Because of this truth, God does not view time as we do. He has no watch to measure time as there is no need for a timeline. The fact is, God is in the ever-present moment of time. David understood this when he stated that God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble (Psalm 46:1).

We see this concept as well when Moses asked God about who Moses was to say was sending him to the Israelites. God’s reply was that he was to say that “I AM” has sent you. In that “I am” statement is this concept of an ever-present existence of God. Norman Geisler, Theologian and apologist, has said that since God created time, He sees all events in time equally vividly. Think about the implications of that for a moment. God who is all knowing, sees all things, and knows everything about you. He knows the beginning of your life, He knows the end of your life, and He knows everything that is in between. He knows what is best for us even though we may choose other avenues.

This brings us to a third point here. Too often we blame the wrong person for our sin and our faults. Too often, we blame God for our choices. It is true that God guides us and He speaks to our hearts about the issues of our life but in the end it is the choices we make that cause us to sin. Secondly, we can blame the devil and his demons for our faults and wrongs. A number of years ago Flip Wilson’s character Geraldine popularized the saying “The Devil Made Me Do It.” When Geraldine would do anything wrong she would blame the devil and would proclaim “The devil made me do it.” Now certainly the enemy of our souls can tempt us, distort truth, discourage, and distract us but he cannot force us to sin, that is our choice.

We are to blame for our decisions and thus we come to the second set of blessings; redemption and forgiveness. Listen again to what Paul said in this passage. In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight making known to us the mystery of  his will, according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth.

Let’s define these words.The first word here is the word “redemption.” The word redemption is one of those words that must be interpreted in light of its usage in the original Greek language. In particular, the term was used of the setting free of slaves after a payment was made. The literal meaning of the word is “to release on the payment of a ransom.” It carries a two-fold sense of “payment’ and “freedom.” Notice in this verse we see how the payment was transacted for those who follow Christ. It was transacted through the blood of Christ. By way of the sacrifice of Christ on the cross the payment for our slavery to sin was made. In so doing we were set free.

The second blessing established here is that we have forgiveness. Forgiveness is the result of redemption. It is the immediate response to accepting the payment of sin upon the cross. Forgiveness comes by way of the payment for sin being made. Forgiveness is a legal term which means one is released from a legal charge or one is released from prison. The word for sin here is the word “misstep” or “a failure to rich a goal.” It is the term “trespass.” It is the idea of crossing over a boundary established by God.

As we look at this, we must understand three aspects of forgiveness. There is a past, present, and future to forgiveness. In the past by way of the cross, we have been given forgiveness. The provision of forgiveness has already been accomplished. We are already forgiven because of what Christ has accomplished on our behalf. We do not have to debate or discuss the work of the cross. We are forgiven.

There is also a future sense to the work of forgiveness. There will be a day that all sin will be dealt with and we will no longer battle with the sin nature or sin any more. The sin nature will be forever destroyed once and for all. We will be set free eternally.

But then we reside in this world where the sin nature has not been eradicated. The flesh is real and therefore we need to understand present forgiveness. There is the initial act of forgiveness obtained through repentance upon accepting Christ. And then there is the daily act of forgiveness as we are aware of the sin or sins we may commit. This is in keeping with Christ’s model prayer where He stated that we should request that God forgive our debts as we forgive the debts of others. It is also in keeping with I John 1:9, when John by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit stated that if we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 

It is critical to note how these blessings come to us. Our redemption is a legal work that is taken care of by His blood. His blood, his death has brought our redemption. On the other hand our forgiveness comes as a work of grace. This grace is the unmerited and undeserved favor of God. Notice Paul does not just say grace but we have forgiveness because of the riches of His grace. The idea here is that there is no end to his riches therefore there is no end to His grace. The visual here is that his wealth is full or filled to overflowing. What Paul is saying is that it took the wealth of God’s grace to pay for the sin of humankind. He did so gladly. He did so freely. The good thing is there is no end to the riches he has to pay the debt of sin. 

One of my favorite movies is one called “the Ultimate Gift”. It is a story of a rich tycoon who died and wanted to leave his money and assets to his grandson who had been spoiled by the riches of his family. His was angry at the world and at both his dad and his grandfather. After preserving through several tests of character and endurance he met one last time with the grandfathers lawyer who announced that he just inherited the grandfathers estate worth over 2billion. The idea here is that his wealth was limitless. So it is with God, his grace is available to all without fear of running out.

If these are the blessings of God, then we must live as one that is redeemed and one that is forgiven. Life is too short to hold onto personal unconfessed sin and unresolved issues with people. To refuse to do so is to reject the work of God fulfilled on our behalf. These blessings are freely given and they are to be freely received. The purpose is to unite us as one body to accomplish the work of the kingdom. As we get deeper into Ephesians, we will find that God’s desire is for us to walk in unity. This act and lifestyle cannot be accomplished without God’s act of redemption and forgiveness.

So as we close have you accepted his payment of redemption. Do you live as one redeemed or one still under slavery? How about forgiveness? Are walking in the forgiveness given to us by Christ? Notice something here. The grace that provided forgiveness is still available for today. Every sin committed is covered but we must walk in forgiveness. 

Copyright © All Rights Reserved Robert W. Odom

Peninsula Community Church

Ephesians Finding Our Identity

We Are Blessed

July 20, 2013

Ephesians 1:3-10 – Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love he predestined us for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved. In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight making known to us the mystery of his will, according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth.

This verse would cause the modern English teacher to gasp for breath. The reason is that while we read only verses 3-10, verses 3-14 are in fact in its original language it is one long sentence with no periods. The total verse contains 202 words. It was such a long sentence that many scholars considered this to be the most “monstrous sentence conglomeration” ever found in the Greek language. To resolve the readability of the passage, translators have placed periods at obvious breaks in the passage to achieve better readability. Why was this verse so long? It was that Paul was overwhelmed with the majesty of God and all that God has done for us as believers. It was as if Paul was so excited that he could not control his tongue in that moment.

With that said, we open this verse with a view to the blessings given to us by Almighty God. It is noteworthy to see that this particular passage opens with the idea of God the Father and God the Son are to be blessed. This idea of being blessed is a declaration of praise. Paul’s intent is to establish the fact that God is worthy of our praise and that He is the focus of not only this particular text but the entirety of the Book of Ephesians. Paul proclaims that God is to be blessed. The word used here in the Greek for blessed is the word “eulogeo.” Our english word “eulogy” is a derivative from this word. The word literally means “good word.” In other words, do you have a good word to say about God. This idea or concept of calling God blessed was nothing new to the New Testament era as the Jewish people of Paul’s day would offer blessing to God three times a day in their prayers. Through these prayers, they were honoring God for who He is and what He had accomplished on their behalf. This is in essence a call to speak well of God. We speak well of God in adversity, frustration, opposition, pain, struggle, and trial. And, we speak well of Him when we are feeling blessed and things are going well. And as we witness the works of God in our lives, we can certainly speak well of Him.

It is here that we are reminded of Psalm 103. The Psalmist proclaims: Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless his holy name! Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits, who forgives all your iniquity, who heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit, who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy, who satisfies you with good so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.

Why should He be blessed? Paul suggests that it is because “the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ” has done amazing things for us. He has blessed us with amazing spiritual blessings. Notice that the blessing are in heavenly places. This means that many of God’s blessings for us are intangible because they are spiritual blessings. While we might be able to feel them we cannot touch them. It should also be noted that these blessings were given to us. You see before creation and before we were known here on earth these blessings were already provided for us. God considered us and our well being before even the worlds were created. It is at this point that we must note that the blessing that was given was not determined by the one receiving the blessing but by the one giving the blessing. God has predetermined that He will bless those who receive Him. 

The next part of these verses lay out the spiritual blessings we have received.  The first of these blessings is that we have been chosen by God to live holy and blameless before Him. Note that we have been chosen. The one great God of all creation and the sustainer of life has chosen us. How amazing is that? In spite of God knowing every wrong that we have done and our insatiable desire and capacity to commit sin, He still chose us. The second blessing is that we have been predestined by God to be His children.

These two terms bring us to one of the great doctrinal debates in history. In this study, we could go into the depths of this debate but for our purposes this morning I will simply highlight a couple of thoughts about being chosen and the term predestination. For some the terms chosen and predestined means that before the foundation of the world, God predetermined who would be saved and who would not be saved. This has been termed as election or pre-determinism. On the other side of the equation there are who would say that this is not the case at all. It was solely man’s decision to choose God and through this rational process man is saved. The variance within these two theological ideas lies with one’s understanding of the sovereignty of God and man’s free choice. 

The extreme Calvinist would say that God is totally in control and man does not have a choice in the decisions they make. They would propose that we have free will but God is still directing the choices that we make to the degree that in reality we do not make our own decisions and therefore our decisions are really God’s will and God’s choices. God directs every step we make and there is not much we can do about this. This concept breaks down when we begin to deal with the issue of sin and wrong choices. Because to say that God ultimately chooses for us and that God determines our decisions can then be extrapolated to mean that God would in fact cause us to commit sin. But God does not sin nor does He cause others to sin. For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God (2 Corinthians 5:21). Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am being tempted by God,” for God cannot be tempted with evil, and he himself tempts no one. But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire (James 1:13-14).

On the other hand, the extreme Arminian view would tell you that every choice we make is our own and that God has no bearing on own decision other than to speak to us and direct us toward Him. This problem here is that often God is taken out of the equation and He is relegated to a being that is not engaged in the life of man which in fact is a form of Deism. Deism is the belief that God created everything and then flung it into existence and stepped back with a hands off position in response to His creation. The difficulty here is that when man is responsible for every decision he makes, this can lead to confusion, pride, and a debate over whose way is correct. When this happens in the church we have competing visions and competing directions with each person doing what is right in their own eyes. What is amazing is that those holding to these ideas would say that they are following the leading of God. 

The fact is I believe that Biblical truth falls somewhere in between. Let me say this as clearly as I can. The Bible teaches that God is sovereign. God creates, sustains, and controls all things. For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together (Colossians 1:16-17). The Lord has established his throne in the heavens, and his kingdom rules over all (Psalm 103:19). He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power (Hebrews 1:3). God is not a passive observer, He sustains, and He upholds what His creation. 

And yet, while God is sovereign, at the same time we have been created with free will or free choice. The plan is that God would give us His word and His example to guide our decisions. It is for that reason we have such scriptures as “trust in the Lord with all your heart and he shall direct your paths” (Proverbs 3:5-6). And Joshua admonished those who listened to him to choose who they would serve (Joshua 24). Notice he stated that if they were to choose God that would be great but if it would Baal then they were to worship Baal wholeheartedly. His point was that they needed to just make a decision and stick with the decision.

In the New Testament, we find the sovereignty of God and man’s choice converge together in a partnership. God is Sovereign and yet at the same time God has deposited in us and has created us with free choice and free moral agency. While God chooses us and ordains many things in our lives, we can counter God’s will through disobedience, a rejection of God’s word, and a willful neglect of God’s purpose or call on our lives. God intervenes in a way that He directs our steps as noted by Proverbs 16:9. The heart of man plans his way, but the Lord establishes his steps. This is the junction of sovereignty and choice. Man plans, God directs. And yet we can rebel against God and do our own thing. We find this throughout the Old Testament when God proclaims that Israel had rejected God. Over and over we see the cry of the prophets for Israel to return to their rightful place as the Bride of Christ. He in fact suggests that their rebellion could be compared to a wife that leaves her husband for another man. 

So what does this mean for us today. We must recognize God’s sovereignty as the sustainer and guide of our life. We do not see him as a passive God, He is active in our lives and in creation. While He is sovereign, God will never force His way into our lives. We must invite and allow Him in. We must be obedient to His word and His ways. In this way we develop a partnership which lasts forever.

Copyright © All Rights Reserved Robert W. Odom

Peninsula Community Church

Book of Ephesians: Finding Our Identity

July 13, 2014

Ephesians 1:1-2 Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus through the will of God, to the saints that are at Ephesus, and the faithful in Christ Jesus: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

This morning we begin a new and exciting study. Over the next several weeks, and perhaps for a couple of months, we will take a journey through the book of Ephesians. This is a great study for the church and it is a great study for individuals as well. The theme for this study is “Finding our identity” as individuals and as a church. The Book is divided into two primary parts. The first part, Ephesians 1-3, focuses it readers on the doctrinal aspect of our relationship with God and Christ. The second part, Ephesians 4-6, focuses on the duties and ethics of living this Christian life out in way that honors God, encourages the church, and expands the kingdom. To put this another way. The first section tells us what we are do, while the second section tells us how we are to live it out. Paul intimately understands that we do not just need to hear about the benefits which are ours in Christ but we also need to understand how we live this out in both practical and spiritual ways. Through the letter to the Ephesians, he accomplishes this. 

For today, let’s focus our attention on the first two verses of this letter. The letter to the church of Ephesus begins with an introduction of the author, an acknowledgment of who was to receive the letter, and a salutation. In this verse we find that Paul is the author. To most this may not seem to be very important but when we remember the story of Paul life, we are reminded of the miraculous conversion experience Paul had (Acts 9). To refresh our memory, Paul who was once known as Saul, was a tormentor of the church (Acts 8:1-3). He hated the church and he hated what the church stood for. It was Paul, if you remember, that stood at the feet of Stephen when he was stoned to death (Acts 7:53). But through his conversion experience, Paul was changed and empowered with the Gospel. This gives us hope today because it speaks to us that no matter what we have done in the past we can be covered by the blood and the power of forgiveness exerted upon the cross. If Paul can become a pillar of the church and an effective force for Godly good, then we all have that opportunity. No one is beyond the touch of God’s amazing grace. 

Paul also identifies himself as an apostle of Christ Jesus through the will of God. There are a couple of things that stand out here. First, we find that Paul is an apostle. In our modern culture, the idea of an apostle has been distorted or diverted from its original intent. In the days of Paul, the idea of an apostle was that of an envoy or emissary sent on a mission. In classical Greek, the term most often referred to a ship that was sent out for cargo or on a military expedition. In classical Greek, the word rarely referred to an individual person. But as Christians adapted this term, they began to use it for those called of God for a specific purpose or calling. Therefore, it carries the idea of one being sent on a special mission. We find here that it is not only the idea of the sending of a messenger but also the authorization of the messenger’s task. Paul wants to let the church that he is an official delegate possessed by Christ for the purpose of propagating His message. Paul purports that he is not only owned by Christ but he is a fully authorized ambassador sent out by Christ. In essence, Paul is giving the church his credentials. It is his resume of sorts. 

It is amazing when people understand that you have been given the credentials to accomplish a task. As you may know, I was asked to be the chaplain for Sussex County Emergency Medical Services. Once I accepted that role I noticed something different occurring. Prior to accepting that volunteer position, I would wear my street clothes when I would do a ride-a-long. I had little or no interaction with the people I encountered. But, immediately after becoming the chaplain, I was given a uniform that I wear when I am riding. I have watched an immediate difference in how people accept me and interact with me. I am received much better when I am identified as having authority and that I am a representative of SCEMS. This was the point and reasoning that Paul was giving. By his credentials, he was asking to be received and accepted.

How did Paul receive this commission? It was by way of the will of God. God called and placed Paul in this position. Notice that there is no self-elevation or self-promotion in this. There is no presumptuous human ambition displayed here. It is simply an acknowledgment that his calling comes from God. It was God’s will that he be in the place that he was in. He did not necessarily choose this but it had been thrust on him. Though thrusted upon him, he willingly accepted the call to be an ambassador for Christ.

Secondly, Paul identifies those to whom he is addressing this letter. He states that he is writing to the church at Ephesus. The city of Ephesus was a major city of commerce, religion, and political power. In terms of commerce it provided access to the harbors of the Mediterranean Sea as well as roadways that allowed the easy transport of goods and people. In terms of political power, Ephesus was established as one of the provincial capitals of Asia Minor. Religiously, Ephesus was effected by emperor worship and the worship of Artemis. Paul by direction of the Holy Spirit chose this city as a point of ministry as it was both influential and had the capacity to spread the Gospel by way of the multiple visitors and guests that entered the city.

After announcing his credentials, Paul now describes the church for us. He uses two adjectives to describe the church. First, they are described as saints and secondly they are described as faithful. These defining words are important. The first is the word “saints.” This is a common word in the writings of Paul. It is noteworthy that Paul uses the term saints to identify the recipient of the letter even when the church he is writing to has issues and problems. For example, we see this introduction used with the church of Corinth in both of Paul’s letters to them. The actions seen in the Corinthian church were not worthy of the title saint. They were not inherently holy in themselves, but they had been given the position of saint as a result of the work of Christ in them. As a believer in Christ, we are empowered to approach God only because we have obtained a righteous standing or position on the basis of Christ’s work by faith. In other words, we stand as saints not because we are perfect but because we are called of God as saints. As a believer, you are a saint today. Your position as a saint is not based on who you are as much as who He is and how He sees you.

The second word Paul uses here is the word “faithful.” Paul in fact was stating that even in the difficulties faced, they were still faithful. The idea communicated here is not so much that they had been completely faithful but they were trusting in God and in Christ’s work to guide them. Paul once again was looking at them as God saw them and not how they were living things out in their present setting.

Thirdly, Paul greets the church of Ephesus. Here he defines what God has done on behalf of the church at Ephesus. He uses two words that are often used in the Pauline epistles. The first word used is the word “grace.” Throughout the Bible the word grace is interpreted as the unmerited or undeserved favor of God given to mankind by way of providing salvation to sinners through Christ’s sacrificial death and empowerment of the believer. Not only do we receive salvation by grace but all of our gifts and abilities are a work of grace as well. In this one simple word, grace, the whole message of salvation is contained. By grace we are saved. We did not deserve it and we were powerless to achieve it without an influence greater than us. The focus of this grace is you. Imagine that you are the benefactor of grace. We have grace today. We live in grace. The wording here implies that Paul desires that the Ephesians would appreciate, accept, and appropriate God’s undeserved favor in their life. That is the call for us today. We must be in the position to appreciate God’s grace and all that means to us. We must accept His grace. And, we must appropriate all that grace has to offer us. We must make God’s grace our own.

The second word used here is the word “peace.” While grace expresses the cause of God’s work, peace shows us the effects of God’s work. “The grace of God that brings salvation to sinners effects peace between man and God, and that same grace enables believers to live peaceably with one another.” You see the work of grace effects our relationship with God and it effects our relationship with one another. How do we live out this life? We do so by grace that brings peace.

Finally, there is one last item to look at in this verse. Paul notes that this grace and peace comes from God the father. But notice that He is not just a father, He is our father. This denotes personal relationship with God and with His son. And if we are God’s children then, in the church we are brothers and sisters. We are living live together because we are born into a fresh and new kingdom of sons and daughters. We are a part of the family of God. 

So what do we learn from this today?

1. We are called of God to be ambassadors or apostles.
2. We all have a testimony of God’s grace in us.
3. God looks at us as faithful saints, even with all of our faults, blemishes, and failures.
4. Through the appreciation, acceptance, and appropriation of God’s grace we find true peace.
5. We are children of God which means God is our father and Christ is our brother.

Copyright © 2014 All Rights Reserved Robert W. Odom

Peninsula Community Church
Stewardship of Our Freedom
July 6, 2014

Galatians 5:1-15 For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery… (verse 6) For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision counts for anything, but only faith working through love. You were running well. Who hindered you from obeying the truth? This persuasion is not from him who calls you. A little leaven leavens the whole lump. I have confidence in the Lord that you will take no other view, and the one who is troubling you will bear the penalty, whoever he is. But if I, brothers, still preach circumcision, why am I still being persecuted? In that case the offense of the cross has been removed. I wish those who unsettle you would emasculate themselves! For you were called to freedom, brothers. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another. For the whole law is fulfilled in one word: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” But if you bite and devour one another, watch out that you are not consumed by one another.

This weekend as Americans we have been celebrating our nation’s independence. When we center our thoughts on our nation’s independence, we are reminded that a group of rag tag militia, on a mission, won this nation’s independence. They did so by battling a well organized, well funded, and well trained military. As we review the facts of history, we will find that the events that molded and shaped our nation in its inception were not accidental or mere acts of fate. It is my belief, these events were in fact evidence of the hand of God moving and directing those outcomes not so much to build a Christian nation but to build a people whose focus was God and His ways.

Regardless of what what modern society will tell you, this nation was built on a Judeo-Christian foundation. This does not mean that all were Christians, but rather that they lived their lives modeled on Biblical truth. Most worshipped God and celebrated His grace over their life and their efforts. They gave Him thanks and honored Him for what He had done. Listen to the words of just one of the signers of the constitution, Gouvernuer Morris. There must be religion. When that ligament is torn, society is disjointed and its members perish… [T]he most important of all lessons is the denunciation of ruin to every state that rejects the precepts of religion. Your good morals in the army give me sincere pleasure as it hath long been my fixed opinion that virtue and religion are the great sources of human happiness. More especially is it necessary in your profession firmly to rely upon the God of Battles for His guardianship and protection in the dreadful hour of trial. But of all these things you will and I hope in the merciful Lord.

But the freedom achieved for our nation did not come easy, it was bought by the blood of our forefathers who had a passion for life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness apart from the constraints of a dictator/king or a government that imposed its will on its people at will. They fought hard to bring us freedom, and so, on July 4th, each year, we celebrate the freedom achieved by those who were passionate about the success of their new venture. It is of note that 50,000 people were either killed or severely wounded to provide our freedom as a nation. It is also of note that many suffered from a loss of their homes, their wealth, their family, and more. And yet they fought hard. They fought with vision and they fought for a purpose that was greater than themselves.

We are also reminded today that another freedom has been achieved for us. The God of Mercy sent His Son to fight for us. He came to fight an organized enemy bent on destroying mankind and the Kingdom of God. In this fight, He took on all sin. He took my sin and He took your sin upon himself. His goal was to give us spiritual freedom which came to us by mercy through grace by faith.

So how do we steward our freedom? To understand the stewardship of our freedom, we must first understand what freedom is and what it is not. Let me be clear and to the point here. True freedom is not experienced in one’s ability to do anything they want but true freedom comes as one submits to God and to His ways of living life. Let me illustrate this in a couple of ways. The first illustration is this. A train is free only so long as it stays on its tracks; a train that jumps the tracks is “free” of the rails but no longer free in the most important sense of the word. It’s a freed wreck that can’t go anywhere. “Free,” but no longer truly free.

A second illustration comes from the theologian, John Howard Yoder who wrote “True freedom is found not in insisting on one’s own rights, but in freely giving them up by being a servant to Jesus Christ first and the people of God second.”

Societal leaders will tell you that true freedom comes as we cast off all restraints, morals and absolutes. That is why there is a pervasive sexual overtone in our nation today. We find it in our commercials. We see in on our TV shows. We find it in the billboards around town. We find that drugs are now pervasive in our culture. We are witnessing a move toward the total legalization of all drugs. I am not sure if it is true, but I just read that Colorado is now investigating the idea of making Heroine legal. Society today says you are free to marry whomever you will and then divorce them at will. Leaders of society tell us do whatever you want. They purport that as freedom. True freedom in the mind of a secular society, and I should say a godless society is the casting off of all restraints.

The writer of Proverbs deals with this when he penned these words. Where there is no prophetic vision the people cast off restraint, but blessed is he who keeps the law. (Proverbs 29:18). For years, I interpreted this that the church needed to have a prophetic vision of where it is going and what it is about, but as I was preparing this study for this morning, I realized that this passage offers us much more than this. When people do not have a vision for God’s ways or for His righteousness, they cast off restraint. They cast off “rules.” They cast off “boundaries.” Their focus is on designing a hedonistic culture without restraint, boundaries, or rules. But, when we throw off restraint, there are consequences.

Secondly, to steward our freedom, we must understand that we are free. Too often, even in freedom, we live as if we are still in bondage. In our passage today, Paul makes this declaration. “For freedom Christ has set us free.” This text gives us a clear and refreshing statement of Christ’s will for our lives. He wants us to live as free men. Where you go to school, where you work, and where you live is not as critical as understanding that we can and must stand fast in our freedom. When we walk in real freedom; while our job, our school, and our housing is critical; a positive understanding of freedom will change us and help us to achieve greater things.

As believers, we are liberated from sin and the power of sin. This happens to us in three ways. First, the work on the cross has been accomplished. We are free. But there is a “yet to come” aspect to our freedom. One day we will reach ultimate freedom when either Christ comes to redeem the world or we pass from this life to the next. But there is also this “in between” place. It is where we live life out every day. We look back and realize that we have been set free, but complete freedom will not be fully and totally witnessed until we are released from this world captivated by sin and immorality. This does not mean that we sin but that we need to walk circumspectly as those who are wise to recognize that we have a devourer that would love nothing more than to rob us of our freedom. And his task is easy at times because we live in this mortal body and in a culture that is motivated by the carnal nature.

Third, we must not confuse liberty with keeping the law. Freedom is a work of grace for us. Please do not misunderstand me, the law is important, but when we relegate our Christian experience to simply keeping the law, we misunderstand the purpose of the law. The fact is this can be a confusing part of Scripture. Jesus said that He did not come to destroy the law and yet we find that there are several times that Paul suggests that the law is inherently evil. But to understand this we must understand what the law is. The law instituted by Moses was two-fold. There was the ceremonial law and there was the moral law. The ceremonial law was in essence an illustrative view to how we worship and in essence how we reach God. The ceremonial law was in place to point to Christ while the moral law never changed. In fact, as we have mentioned before, Christ summed up the moral in two phrases. “Love God,” “Love people.”

The Galatians believed in error that they were morally and spiritually superior to everyone else because they continued to practice circumcision. The problem was that they often emphasized the act of circumcision over the act of salvation. Rather than Christ being the focus, the act of circumcision was the focus. You see the act of circumcision had no power for salvation or change, it was simply an outward sign of the promise of God.

Fourth, we must never take our freedom for granted or cheapen our freedom by falling back into destructive patterns and behaviors. We must never take our freedom for granted. In America many of our freedoms have been lost because we thought this would never happen in America. After all we are a free country. But, we must maintain our freedom as Americans and we must maintain our freedom as believers. We continue to push for continued freedom. In the last couple of weeks we have seen some glimmer of hope that all is not lost in our nation. We have seen the Hobby Lobby Supreme Court Ruling that was in favor of religious liberty. Here, locally, the Delaware Senate chose to table a bill that would have changed the face of end of life decisions here in Delaware. Because of the action taken by people like you the message is getting out there. But we must not take these decisions and think we have won the war. There are still forces at play.

We must also never take our spiritual freedom for granted, either. In our passage, Paul asks this question that brings it all into focus. You were running well. Who hindered you from obeying the truth? Paul also reminds the Galatians that they must refuse to use their freedom as a license to sin or do wrong. He refers to this action as giving an opportunity to the flesh. We do this by feeding the flesh rather than the spirit. We allow unchecked thoughts into our minds that can form strongholds and put blinders on our life. Peter added this commentary. Live as people who are free, not using your freedom as a cover- up for evil, but living as servants of God (1 Peter 2:16).

The writer of Hebrews brings this home for us when he stated Therefore let us also, seeing we are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising shame, and hath sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

We must guard our actions, our thoughts and those things that come against us so that we do not fall into the falls of sin and thus into slavery and bondage.

Go to http://www.pccministry.org for an audio version of this message.

Copyright © 2014 All Rights Reserved Robert W. Odom