Gifts of Grace: Peace, Love, and Grace

In last week’s sermon (“Gifts of Grace: Redemption of Ignorance”) I said that God wants to redeem ignorance as much as he wants to forgive sin. By removing ignorance from your life, God’s intention is not so much to change what you know, but rather to change how you act. Jesus once told the Sadduces, “You are in error, because you do not know the Scriptures or the power of God” (Matthew 22:29).

Knowing the Bible doesn’t automatically lead you to trust in God during the trials of life. (For example, you can know a ton of stuff, but not know forgiveness that comes from God alone.)

Knowing the power of God in your life doesn’t automatically teach you which way to go when you reach a momentous decision. (For example, living with the knowledge that you are forgiven is wonderful, but in John 8:11, Jesus also said, “Go now and leave your life of sin.”)

You need both the head knowledge and the heart knowledge.

Ephesians 6:18-24

Commentary

v18-22 Just a reminder from last week—the three important words repeated in these verses are: pray, fearlessly, and know[n]. We learn to see & understand the work of God in the world, and God becomes a reality for us in community when we are fearlessly open in our prayers & needs and we are built up & woven together.

v23-24 In Paul’s final benediction, three blessings are offered: peace, love, and grace. Each of the three is only realized in relationship with others—the world, the church, or God. Each of the three is the realization of God at work in our lives.

Of the 3, love is mentioned 3 times. Regarding the priority of love, I am reminded of 1 Cor. 13:13, where Paul says, “Now these three remain: faith, hope, and love. But the greatest of these is love.”

Undying love. The adjective is probably better translated as “uncorrupted” or “sincere.” John Calvin says of this verse,

This prayer conveys to us the instruction, that the only way of enjoying the light of the Divine countenance is to love sincerely God's own Son, in whom his love toward us has been declared and confirmed. But let there be no hypocrisy; for most men, while they are not unwilling to make some professions of religion, entertain exceedingly low notions of Christ, and worship him with pretended homage. I wish there were not so many instances in the present day to prove that Paul's admonition, to love our Lord Jesus Christ in sincerity is as necessary as ever.

Application

In the beginning of his letter, Paul wrote:

I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom & revelation, so that you may know him better. I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, & his incomparably great power for us who believe. (Eph. 1:17-19)

His prayer for the Ephesians was realized to the extent that God’s life-changing peace, love, & grace were realized in their lives. By these gifts they would be empowered to live as a force for God in the world.

Points to Ponder

Why does Paul say “Peace to the brothers [and sisters]”? Why is peace in church so hard to come by?

What difference does faith make in love? How does “love with faith” differ from love alone?

Which comes first, grace or undying love?

Peace, grace, and love—three blessings from God to be lived out in relation to others that will change how we understand God at work in the world. Which of the three are you most likely to misappropriate selfishly, thereby robbing yourself of the chance to know God better and trust him more?

Gifts of Grace: Redemption of Ignorance

What is an ignorant Christian?

Is it the caricature of Christians portrayed by the media? (If you believe this, by the way, what are you doing to counter the misrepresentation?)

Is it the attitude, "The Bible is the only book I need to read," expressed by some Christians? (If you believe this, by the way, do you want your Christian doctor or lawyer to have the same attitude?)

Is it ignorance of certain sins, e.g., "I don’t know what it’s like to cheat on my spouse."?

Is it ignorance of how the world works?

Adlai Stevenson, two-time candidate for President and former governor of Illinois, when asked by a heckler what he believed, once said, "For my part I believe in the forgiveness of sin and the redemption of ignorance." What would an ignorant Christian—and a not-so-ignorant Christian—look like to Adlai?

In the NIV, the word ignorant occurs 12 times: Ps. 73:22; Pr. 30:2; Is. 44:9; 45:20; Rom. 11:25; 1 Cor. 10:1; 12:1; 15:34; 1 Th. 4:13; Heb. 5:2; 1 Pet. 2:15; 2 Pet. 3:16. [1] What do these ignorant people have in common?

Ephesians 6:18-22

Commentary

v18 This verse is on the cusp of last week’s sermon and this week’s. Vigilant prayer is a necessary part of the armor of God (v10-18) and it is also a necessary part of the ongoing revelation of the kingdom of God. Where is God at work? In part, the more you pray, the more you see where God is working. The one who despairs is least likely to be looking to see God in action.

v18-20 is one, long run-on sentence in Greek and it is difficult to render into readable English. The grammar is more accurately conveyed in the NKJV. Whereas the NIV gives three commands to pray—as well as commands to be alert & to keep on praying—in fact these verbs are all participles. As such, praying, being alert, and persevering in prayer are not extra orders to follow, but rather the means by which we are to accomplish our other orders (i.e., last week: being strong, standing firm, and putting on the full armor of God).

v20 ... as I should. Three little words, so easily skipped over—looking like an afterthought—and yet so important. Not speaking is not an option; speaking without boldness is unacceptable. Paul knows his commission is to speak boldly on all occasions about the mystery of the gospel. Now, about the necessity to speak: is that a special commission given just to Paul, or are we all expected to speak as well?

v21-22 Building up the body has been a theme throughout Ephesians, and Paul is sending Tychicus for the sake of building up the Ephesian church. Tychicus will tell them everything (v21): the good (e.g. the spread of the gospel) and the bad (e.g. Paul in chains, v20).

That you may know … Three times Paul reveals his intention—that people might know (v19, 21, 22) the power of God in the advance of his kingdom and the preservation of the saints. [2] In the Bible, knowledge implies understanding, and understanding is meant to change how we live and act.

Points to Ponder

Ignorance in the Bible always refers to ignorance of God, his ways, and his mighty deeds. Frequently the Bible calls us to remember what God has done; more often it calls us to know, to understand, and to act.

What you think is what you know, but what you believe is what you do. Paul’s revelation is solely for the purpose of building the Ephesians up—changing how the Ephesians live & act. When we practice our faith in private, when we are quiet about the highs & lows of our spiritual life, we fail to build each other up.

It’s easy to understand how praises build us up as a church, but how does sharing problems build us up?

You might not see yourself as a Paul, but can you be a Tychicus? What would that look like in church?

End Notes

1 - How curious that the people called ignorant most frequently is the church of Corinth, which was preoccupied with spiritual gifts. What statement is Paul is making by calling them ignorant?

2 - When I preached in church this morning, I gave one of the youths the assignment to search for all of the important words that get repeated in this Scripture. The answer is: pray (5x); fearlessly (2x); and know/known (3x). That's just about the entire sermon right there: Pray fearlessly that you (and others) might know the power of God at work in your life.I think fearless praying really is talking about praying in public for the good and the bad in your life--often are we don't want to draw attention to ourselves by talking about the good and we are ashamed of the bad, but Paul says pray fearlessly about it all!

Gifts of Grace: A Man of Steel

Happy Fathers' Day!

Somewhere, in between The Sixth Sense and Signs, M. Night Shyamalan made what I believe is his best movie, Unbreakable, about a son who idolizes his father, and the all-too-human father who has trouble believing that he is, indeed, the hero his son yearns for him to be. In one scene, the father picks up his son at school after the son has been in a fight on the playground:

Son: It was Potter and another guy I play football with. They were messing with this Chinese girl. She's kind of fat. She doesn't talk to anybody. I tried to make them stop. They kept pushing me down and wouldn't let me get up ... I thought maybe cause you were my dad, I thought I might be like you ... I'm not like you.

Father: You are like me. We both can get hurt. I'm just an ordinary man ... I'm not what you think I am.

Son: Why do you keep saying that?

Fathers struggle to be the person that their children envision them to be. Later, as their children grow up, they fight to retain some dignity as their children begin to see them as frail, fallible, and full of flaws. Later, if they are lucky, they reach an accommodation with their children, as their children learn to see them, and treat them, as human beings deserving of grace. Mark Twain said it best:

When I was a boy of fourteen, my father was so ignorant I could hardly stand to have the old man around. But when I got to be twenty-one, I was astonished at how much the old man had learned in seven years.

Fathers will always struggle with being the hero their children expect them to be, but what sort of a hero does God expect us to be?

Ephesians 6:10-18

Commentary

v11 This verse summarizes most of the important points of the passage. The armor is the full armor of God. Given all of the possible words for armor, and the various pieces of armor, this particular word is mentioned twice (v11, 13). The point of the armor is to permit us to stand, or withstand (v11, 13, 14), the devil’s attacks. The evil nature of our enemy is mentioned repeatedly as well (v11, 12, 16).

v12 An elaboration of the nature of the enemy. Even when opposition wears a human face, the real power, the real nature of our enemy is spiritual. Various worldly powers may appear to be evil, but they are just the shadow of a spiritual evil in the heavenly realms. Does the notion of evil in heavenly realms bother you? Martin Luther once said if one considers how much God and Satan converse in the Bible, one must conclude that, “The devil is God’s devil.” God is in control, but in the spiritual plane, good and evil are both very active!

v13 The full armor of God is called panoply. In English, panoply can mean either: a wide-ranging and impressive display; special dress or equipment; a protective covering; or a complete set of armor. Regardless of the particular meaning, the emphasis is always on the comprehensive nature of the item.

v17 The NKJV version is much better for showing the correct verb tenses for this passage, particularly which verbs are commands. We are commanded twice to put on the full armor of God (v11, 13); we are commanded to be strong (v10) and stand firm (14); and here we are commanded to receive the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit. Is it significant, do you think, that only these items we are ordered to take?

v18 Up to here, prayer has been the missing ingredient.

Application

I think most sermons preached on this passage have missed the point for two reasons.

First, many preachers have found great significance in various pieces of armor, often thereby missing the main point. John Calvin declares:

We must not, however, inquire very minutely into the meaning of each word; for an allusion to military customs is all that was intended. Nothing can be more idle than the extraordinary pains which some have taken [for example] to discover the reason why righteousness is made a breastplate, instead of a girdle. Paul's design was to touch briefly on the most important points required in a Christian, and to adapt them to the comparison which he had already used. (Commentaries on Galatians and Ephesians)

Instead, the emphasis of the passage is that we need complete armor. A Roman soldier would not go into battle without wearing all his armor any more than a football player would hit the field without a helmet, pads, or a cup. However, how often do we head out for work without prayer? How often do we grapple with conflicts without being committed to truth & righteousness? How often do we hit a wall and doubt our faith & salvation? Our spiritual conflicts require complete preparation, because the evil one hits us where we are least prepared.

Secondly, the conclusion most of us reach after reading this passage is that we are supposed to be invulnerable. “A spiritual hero of the faith should be invulnerable to the attack of the evil one,” we think. Armor is intended to protect, so holy armor should wholly protect us, right? Why would we ever have thought that?

We serve a God who was being to be vulnerable to the point of death. We believe in a Savior who reminded us, “In this world you will have trouble” (John 16:33). We remember that Paul described our spiritual life as “treasure in jars of clay” (2 Cor. 4:7):

We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body. (2 Cor. 4:8-10)

God never asked us to be a spiritual Superman. [1] He has never expected us to be invulnerable. He has asked us to stand against the devil and to trust in God to restore us to wholeness … after we have prepared for spiritual conflict and have strived to stand in the Spirit and in the certainty of our salvation.

Points to Ponder

Your spiritual gear includes truth, righteousness, readiness, faith, salvation, the Spirit, and prayer. Where do you tend to slack off on your preparation?

Where have you tended to trust in yourself and failed to count on God’s power to restore you after you have done all you can do?

Be silly for a minute: What superhero might be a better model for us as a hero of faith?

Superman (It’s Not Easy)
by Five for Fighting

I can't stand to fly
I'm not that naive
I'm just out to find
The better part of me

I'm more than a bird, I'm more than a plane
More than some pretty face beside a train
It's not easy to be me

Wish that I could cry
Fall upon my knees
Find a way to lie
About a home I'll never see

It may sound absurd, but don't be naive
Even Heroes have the right to bleed
I may be disturbed, but won't you concede
Even Heroes have the right to dream
It's not easy to be me

Up, up and away, away from me
It's all right, you can all sleep sound tonight
I'm not crazy: or anything:

I can't stand to fly
I'm not that naive
Men weren't meant to ride
With clouds between their knees

I'm only a man in a silly red sheet
Digging for kryptonite on this one way street
Only a man in a funny red sheet
Looking for special things inside of me

It's not easy to be me.

End Notes

1 - One website lists 118 pop songs referring to Superman.

Gifts of Grace: Blossom Where You are Planted

From prison, Paul wrote to the church in Philippi:

… I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do everything through him who gives me strength. (Philippians 4:11b-13)

We delight in reminding each other to be content, whatever the circumstances—and it sounds good in the abstract—but do we realize the radical nature of this call?

Ephesians 6:5-9

Commentary

Compare Eph. 6:5-9 with Col. 3:22-4:1. How does this parallel passage help you to understand today’s text?

v5 Slaves, obey ... A more literal translation is, "Slaves, obey your lords in the flesh with respect and fear in sincerity of your heart, as to Christ." There is a parallel between our fleshly master and our spiritual master—there should be no difference in the respect and awe rendered to either.

v6 The proverb, "Character is what you’re doing when no one is watching," applies here. Whether we are slaves to God or slaves to sin, what we are doing when earthly masters cannot see defines who we are.

v7 The "if" in the NIV translation is unnecessary & misleading, for indeed we are serving the Lord even as we serve men.

v8 In a sense, doing good when nobody is watching is storing up treasure in heaven (Matthew 6:20).

v9 Masters, just as slaves, are to do good when no one is watching. Indeed, in the Bible, those in power are held to a higher standard, for they have the wherewithal to do what is right (Micah 2:1-2).

Application

Paul’s instructions to slaves (1 Cor. 7:17-24; Eph. 6:5-8; Col. 3:22-4:1; 1 Tim. 6:1-2; Titus 2:9-10; Philemon) historically have been misconstrued to justify slavery. [1] In Paul’s time, it is estimated that 85-90% of the Roman Empire was slaves. There were very few freemen, nothing like the modern-day middle class. Not only was most of the working class slaves, many artists, physicians, teachers, and philosophers were slaves as well. Children of slaves were slaves; however, financial pressure might force freemen into slavery as well.

How does that differ from how you seek employment today? How often does an employer make demands on your time to which you accede in order to retain your job?

On the other hand, slaves frequently earned a wage & could buy their way out of slavery. Often masters leased their slaves out for work, e.g. working in a mine, where the slaves would work side-by-side with freemen. The slaves retained 1/3 of their wages, while their masters received the other 2/3. In the same way, slaves often ran a business in their spare time; they would split the profits from the business with their masters. In either case, the slaves could use their savings to buy their freedom.

How does that differ from employment today? In capitalism, owners make their profit from the surplus value of the work of the employees; by that logic, employees are not paid their full value.

Some will say that our lives are different today, because slavery was often involuntary and one could not easily extricate oneself from slavery.

How is that different from employment today? Can you quit your job tomorrow? Karl Marx considered all workers, in a sense, slaves until they took control of the means of production.

However, slavery was frequently voluntary, and one submitted to a master willingly.

How is that different from your spiritual life today? The things that control your life—are they material, or spiritual? Are you a slave to sin, or to God? To which do you submit willingly?

As much as Paul spoke of slaves submitting to their masters, Paul much more frequently spoke of slavery as bondage to God or, on the other hand, bondage to ungodly forces (e.g. Romans 6). Your earthly boss, your master—whether a supervisor, owner, teacher, or client—is the visible image of your invisible God. How you serve the one you can see—especially when he cannot see you—Is evidence of whom you serve.

As in the case of Paul’s earlier instructions to husbands and wives (Eph. 5:22-33) Paul was addressing the church in Ephesus, a Christian community. The expectation was that those reading or hearing Paul’s letter were Christians, or working with Christians. The expectation was that either the slave, the master, or both, were Christians. Paul spoke about slaves and masters only because that was the economic system of his day. He was not condoning slavery; he was simply speaking to the culture of the day. The problem in every age for Christians is, "Now that I am a Christian, free to live for God, what have I been freed from?" (Do I have to work? Do I have to abide by what society says? Can I just live above the law and do whatever I want?)

Paul’s answer is simple, but not necessarily what we want to hear. Paul’s answer is, "Stay put."

You, my brothers, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature; rather, serve one another in love. (Galatians 5:13)

In the context of Christians primarily relating to other Christians, the rule is an act of trust: trust that God has you where he wants you; trust that you serve God best by serving your boss (or your subordinate) to the best of your ability; trust that you are earning a reward in heaven for those good deeds that go unseen.

Points to Ponder

If Paul had lived during the Middle Ages, he might have said instead, "Serfs, obey your feudal lord." If Paul lived in America, he might have said, "Employees, obey your bosses." What might Paul say to somebody today living on welfare? What might Paul say to somebody today working in a union?

Do you work differently if people are watching you? (I wonder if the shame and guilt are losing their power to motivate. I know lots of people who seem pretty apathetic about work regardless of who is watching. What do you think?)

I maintain that Paul is giving advice to Christians primarily working with other Christians. Do you think Paul might give different advice to Christians primarily working with non-Christians? Is there any Biblical basis for thinking that he might give different advice regarding working with non-Christians? [2]

What if you’re slave to a job that forces you to make compromises—working Sundays, shady business practices, taking advantage of clients and vendors, etc.—what would Paul say to you?

End Notes

1 - For an overview of the history of Christian attitudes towards slavery, check out the Wikipedia article "Christianity and Slavery". Verses like the ones today were used by the Confederate states to justify slavery. Most denominations split prior to the Civil War over the issue of abolition. For example, the Southern Baptist Convention was formed in 1845 when the American Baptist Home Mission Society refused to appoint a slaver owner as a missionary. Likewise, the Presbyterian Church in the United States was formed in 1861 by churches in Southern and border states.

The fact that Christians can simultaneously interpret the Bible to condone and forbid slavery should give us pause when we assert that our interpretation of the Bible is the one and only correct interpretation. God’s word is true and completely infallible; however, our interpretations of God’s word can be very fallible and perhaps even false. If Christians 150 years ago tried to justify slavery, and 75 years ago tried to justify segregation, what will Christians in 75 years shake their heads in disbelief that we could have believed?

2 - Hint: how about 2 Cor. 6:14? The warning to not be unequally yoked is frequently interpreted as applying to marriage, but read the verse in context. A yoke in the NT always has the sense of being a burden (insert your favorite marriage joke here ...).

Gifts of Grace: Train a Child in the Way He Should Go

Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it. (Proverbs 22:6)

This is a frequently-quoted proverb … but what does it mean?

Ephesians 6:1-4

Commentary

v2 Honor. Honor is such an abstract word. A practical definition for honor is "count it as valuable." Do we count our parents as valuable?

v2-3 Paul is referring to the fifth of the Ten Commandments. Specifically, he is quoting the commandment from Deut. 5:16,and not from Exodus 20:12. (Why do I say that? How are these two versions of the commandment different? Look them up!) In either case, the commandment promises that the Israelites will live a long time in the promised land. Paul has subtly changed the promise, presumably to make it apply to a more Gentile, more geographically distant, set of believers.

v4 Exasperate. The verb can mean to make angry, or to bring one to the point of deep-seated anger. The verb tense implies a habitual action. Therefore, the point is not that fathers should not discipline their children. Rather, they should not be so constantly overbearing and domineering as to squash their children and give them a cause for resentment.

Bring them up. The verb can also indicate nurturing or tender caring.

Training and instruction. These refer to discipline according to the law, on one hand, and warning (if necessary) on the other. The word for training is only used on other place in Paul’s letters (2 Tim. 3:16) but it is used 4 times in Hebrews 12:5-11 in the sense of discipline. Encouragement and warnings can assist keeping a foolish child on track, but ultimately it is up to the child to change (e.g. Titus 3:10).

Say It Again, Paul ...

Compare Eph. 6:1-4 with Col. 3:20-21:

Children, obey your parents in everything, for this pleases the Lord.
Fathers, do not embitter your children, or they will become discouraged.

How does this parallel passage help you to understand today’s text?

Application

Parents, especially fathers, are most likely to exasperate their children when they impose capricious and arbitrary rules on the children. Usually, parents focus on obedience, "Just do what I’m telling you to do!" We make up a law—our law—and impose it on our children; then we wonder why our children are angry.

These verses advocate a different approach: nurturing our children in God’s law, giving them encouragement, and warning them when they stray too far. Nurture might begin by learning what God’s law is and why it is good.

Blessed is the man
who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked
or stand in the way of sinners
or sit in the seat of mockers.
But his delight is in the law of the Lord,
and on his law he meditates day and night. (Psalm 1:1-2)

Nurture might involve telling stories which point to the goodness of God’s law. Nurture might allow for children to learn by living with the consequences of bad decisions. Nurture will require us to love our children in the process of them learning God’s law.

Psychologists will tell you that when you give your child a rule to follow, an order to be obeyed, you give him something to resist. All of the energies of the child can become focused on resisting the rule—proving that they can make their own decisions. Nurture with empathy might look like talking problems through with you child, helping them to understand where things went wrong, leading them along so they can discover for themselves what they need to do.

With kids lots of times I end up having conversations like:

That problem you’re having—don’t you feel like you’re pushing a rock uphill? Don’t you think there might be another way to go on this? I wonder ... where could you have done something differently? How do you think that might have worked out?

Nurture is going to look like that a lot—not being bossy, not insisting on compliance, but sitting with your child and helping them to glean God’s way to go. Meditating on God’s law might begin with something as simple as that.

Points to Ponder

So … are we supposed to become Old Testament scholars of the law? Are we supposed to be like the Pharisees living by a strict interpretation of the law? Are we supposed to teach our children to stone spiritists and mediums (Lev. 20:27)?

On the other hand, are we supposed to live by a New Testament law? What might that be? Does the Sermon on the Mount (Matt. 5-7) give us a law to live by?

Is it possible that Jesus and the New Testament show us what it means to be nurtured in God’s law?