1As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. 2Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. (Ephesians 4:1-2)
Last week, we focused on the exhortation in Ephesians 4:1. Our calling emerges from God’s saving, healing, renewing, life-giving work through Jesus Christ, that work which was revealed in the opening chapters of Ephesians. When we embrace what God has done through faith, we accept God’s calling to live in a whole new way for His purposes and glory. How should we start living out our calling? If I had been writing Ephesians (I am glad is not the case), I would have been inclined to start big. I would have issued some challenge to do grand things for Christ. Perhaps focus on bold preaching and justice seeking. I confess I would not begin where Paul begins. Paul was writing this letter under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit rather than under my insufficient wisdom. Look where Paul starts. Immediately after encouraging his readers to lead a life worthy of their calling, he tells them to do this by being “completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love” (v. 2). These things won’t get much attention from the world. They are not especially grand and, at first glance, don’t appear to advance the kingdom of God much. Humility, gentleness, patience, and forbearance are just fine. But they don’t exactly shake up the world. In fact, they seem like things that might easily be ignored or forgotten. Yet, according to Ephesians, why ought we to begin with such primary priorities if we’re going to live out our calling? First, humility, gentleness, patience, and forbearance are essential characteristics of Jesus Christ. Jesus claimed to be “gentle and humble” (Matt. 11:29). Philippians 2:5-11 celebrates Jesus' humility by becoming human and going to the cross. After calling the Ephesians to walk worthy of their calling, Paul could also have said, “Do this by imitating Jesus” (see 1 Cor. 4:16, 11:1). If we want to live out our calling faithfully, it is never a bad idea to do as Jesus did. In fact, it is a great place to start. Second, Paul’s prioritizing humility, gentleness, patience, and forbearance reflects his pastoral experience in his churches. He knows how easy it is for Christian communities not to get along. He is aware of the dangers of division and strife. He has seen it happen far too often in his churches. But Paul is not merely wanting people to get along because it makes church life nicer. Unity among Christians is absolutely essential to our calling as God’s people. One of the things I love about Ephesians 4:2 is its utter practicality and feasibility. You and I can start right now to work on humility, gentleness, patience, and forbearance. Each day brings many opportunities to reflect one or more of these Christ-like characteristics. Why not begin doing so today? Help us, Lord, to be like Jesus today! For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. (Ephesians 2:10)
The annual theme of our church is “To Know Him in His Glory,” and the theme scripture is taken from the Book of Ephesians. Ephesians is one of my favorites, and I have read it many times even before I became a minister. Looking through my bible, I have underlined many verses of Ephesians and written many notes in the margins of the Bible pages. This book has had a profound impact on my spiritual growth and understanding of my purpose as a Christian, and one of my favorite verses is 2:10, "For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do." Paul started the letter to Ephesians with praise and prayer to give the reader a sense of the great joy in his heart for the salvation of Jesus Christ. He then spoke with excitement about the marvelous work of salvation among us sinners which is based on the wonderful plan of the God who loved us, created us, and chose us from before the foundation of the world. Why did God save us? Because we are His workmanship in the first place, and "workmanship" means "masterpiece." What is a masterpiece? Just like Van Gogh's "Starry Night", Monet's "Water Lilies", Da Vinci's "Mona Lisa's Smile", Handel's "Messiah", Beethoven's "Symphony No. 5"... These are all great "masterpieces" that we are familiar with, and they are great works that will make us praise and marvel at the talents of these authors. "Wow, I am God's masterpiece!" is my inner monologue after reading Ephesians 2:10. Each of us is God's masterpiece, but we fall short of God's glory because of our sins (Romans 3:23). People should make a sound of praise when they see this masterpiece, however this is covered with dust and its’ brilliance is obscured. Therefore, God sent His only begotten Son to be crucified for our sins and raised from the dead three days later to restore this elaborate masterpiece to its original glory! God's purpose in restoring His glory to us is not to show off ourselves, but to enable us to “do good works.” Doing good works is not simply doing good deeds, but doing what God has prepared for us to do. By following and obeying God’s will in everything of our daily life, we are glorifying God. I pray that we can all be God's most precious masterpiece so that people can see His own glory in us! As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. (Ephesians 4:1)
There is an unusual and remarkable use of the word “calling” in Ephesians 4:1 The Apostle Paul, imprisoned because of his missionary work, writing to the Ephesians, doubles down on the use of “calling” in this verse. The letter’s recipients are to “live a life [literally, “walk”] worthy of the calling to which [they] have been called.” We want to ask the obvious question: “So, what is the calling to which we have been called?” The answer to this question is not quite as obvious as the question itself. Paul spoke in Ephesians 1:18 of “the hope to which He has called you.” I talked about this last week. This hope, according to Ephesians, certainly includes our personal salvation by grace through faith (Eph. 2:8). But our hope is much more than that. Because of what God has done in Christ, we have the confident hope that, one day, God will bring “all things under Christ” (Eph. 1:10). God will mend this broken world, unifying that which has been divided by sin. We, who are called to this hope, should not just wait for God to fix everything. We are to be participants in God’s work of salvation and restoration. When we accept God’s grace through faith, we are “created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do” (Eph. 2:10). We are not just observers of God’s work in the world, but partners in that work. The phrase in Ephesians 2:10 translated as “good works . . . to be our way of life” reads more literally “good works . . . that we should walk in them.” Notice how similar this is to the language of 4:1: “live a life [“walk” in Greek] worthy of the calling to which you have been called.” We walk worthy of our calling by walking in the good works God has prepared for us. Our calling emerges from the grand story of what God has done and is doing in Christ, the story that fills Ephesians 1-3. This calling is shared by all who belong to Christ by grace through faith. It is not our specific calling to a particular work or life situation. Instead, it is the calling to embrace and to share in God’s saving, healing, renewing, life-giving work. When we say “Yes” to God’s invitation to faith, we also say “Yes” to God’s summons to live our lives in light of all He has done and will do through Christ. Help us, Lord, to walk worthy of the calling You have given to us. I pray that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you a spirit of wisdom and revelation as you come to know Him, so that, with the eyes of your heart enlightened, you may know what is the hope to which He has called you, what are the riches of His glorious inheritance among the saints. (Ephesians 1:17-18)
God calls us to many things: to be His special people, into fellowship with Christ and His people, to believe the good news of salvation through Christ (see 1 Cor. 1:2, 9, 22-24). We are called to peace in our relationships (1 Cor. 7:15), to belong to Christ (Rom. 1:5-7), and to unexpected freedom (Gal. 5:13). In Ephesians, Paul prays for another dimension of God’s calling: that “you may know what is the hope to which He has called you” (Eph.1:18). The Greek reads more literally, “that you may know what is the hope of His calling.” God’s calling is primarily God summoning us into relationship with God through Jesus Christ. God invites us to be His special people, live in His love and walk in the good works He has designed for us (Eph. 2:10). Paul says, earlier in Ephesians, that God’s mission for the cosmos will be culminated in the future when God “gather[s] up all things in [Christ], things in heaven and things on earth” (Eph. 1:10). The universe, shattered by sin, will be put back together through Christ. God’s peace, permeated by righteousness, justice, and blessing, will fill the whole creation. So, when God calls us through the Gospel, we are called to a compelling vision of the future. We are called to hope. In today’s culture, hope is wishing for something, longing, even anticipating that we might get it. Hope sounds like, “Oh, I hope the Lakers will win the championship. Oh, I hope I get that promotion. Oh, I hope the economy will recover.” You can even hope for things that are quite unlikely: “Oh, I hope we won’t have any fires in California this year.” Hope is longing, wishing, and desiring, whether what you hope for will happen or not. Biblical hope is different. Far beyond wishful thinking, it is deep confidence. It is a conviction about the future. Christian hope is knowing that what God has begun in Christ, God will complete when the time is just right. We are called, not just to any old hope, but to confident hope. This kind of hope isn’t something we conjure up through our own efforts. It is something to which we are called, given to us as a gift of God’s Spirit. Paul did not tell the Ephesians to be more hopeful. Rather, he prayed that God would help them to know of the hope of His calling. Hope comes from God’s work in us through the Spirit. When we embrace the hope of the Gospel, not only do we look forward to God’s future, but also we are empowered to live boldly and courageously every day. Lord, may the confident hope of Your calling help me to live fully and fruitfully today. Teach us to number our days that we may gain a heart of wisdom. (Psalm 90:12)
To what has God called you? Most Christians think of God’s calling in terms of the work God has for us to do, whether in our professional lives, our families, or our participation in the church’s mission. We may also associate God’s calling with an invitation to know God and God’s love for us. But Ephesians adds something more, something unexpected. It says we are called to hope. In Ephesians 1, Paul prays that those who read his letter will receive from God “the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know Him better” (v. 17). Then Paul asks that, in addition to knowing God better, we might also know “hope to which He has called” us, “the riches of His glorious inheritance in His holy people,” and “His incomparably great power” (vv. 18-19). There you have it. Hope comes at the top of the list of things for which Paul prays. What does it mean to know the hope to which we have been called? The phrase rendered by the NIV as “the hope to which He has called you” reads more literally, “the hope of His calling.” Although Paul can elsewhere refer to “your calling” (Ephesians 4:4), here he emphasizes that the calling comes from God. We have a calling because God calls us. Though God first called us in the past, the content of that calling points to a glorious future. Right now, we belong to God because we have been called into a relationship with God. In the future, we will participate in the fullness of salvation, in the unifying of all things in Christ (Ephesians 1:10). Thus, when we consider God’s calling, we respond with hope. Notice that our hope is not something we conjure up in ourselves through positive thinking or by trying to have a good attitude. Rather, it is our response to knowing God and all that God has given to us in Christ and will give us through Christ in the future. Therefore, in this passage, Paul does not exhort us to be hopeful. Rather, he prays that God will enable us to know the hope that is already ours in Christ. Genuine hope is a gift of God and a response to God’s gracious calling. Hope of this sort depends, not on some emotional high, but rather on the bedrock of God’s calling to us. Moreover, it depends on the reality of the resurrection of Christ. Why does Easter matter? Because the resurrection gives us hope and reassures us that our hope will not disappoint us. Teach us to number our days that we may gain a heart of wisdom. (Psalm 90:12)
Today is the last day of the year. As we get ready to say goodbye to 2023, Psalm 90 speaks to our hearts. The context of Psalm 90 is not a pleasant one. It was written in a time when the people of God were “consumed by [God’s] anger” and “terrified” by God’s indignation (v. 7) because of their “iniquities” and “secret sins” (v. 8). Nevertheless, underneath the bad news of God’s righteous judgment lies a bedrock of confidence in God’s everlasting goodness. Rejoicing and prosperity will come again (vv. 14, 17). Psalm 90 reframes the way we think about time and its passing. The psalm begins with good news: “Lord, You have been our dwelling place throughout all generations.” (v. 1). Moreover, God exists outside of time, “before the mountains were born” (v. 2). Indeed, the psalm writer exults, “from everlasting to everlasting You are God” (v. 2). Because God is timeless, God views the expanse of time differently than we see it: “A thousand years in Your sight are like a watch in the night” (v. 4). Framed by God’s eternal existence, our time on earth is short: “Our days may come to seventy years, or eighty, if our strength endures; yet the best of them are but trouble and sorrow, for they quickly pass, and we fly away” (v. 10). The shortness of our life could be discouraging. But it can lead to wisdom: “Teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom” (v. 12). The phrase “number our days” means “know that we have a limited number of days on earth.” Knowledge of the shortness of our life can help us become wise, according to this psalm. How? What about our few days helps us to become wise? To begin, when we count our days, we are reminded of our smallness compared with God’s unlimited greatness. This recognition leads us, on the one hand, to want to use well the time given to us. On the other hand, it also reminds us of our utter dependence on God. Thus, the final verse reads, “May the favor of the Lord our God rest on us; establish the work of our hands for us – yes, establish the work of our hands.” When God’s favor rests on us, when God prospers us, then and only then will our work be truly fruitful. What a fascinating – and relevant – conclusion to this psalm! The psalmist’s reflections on God’s timelessness, the relative shortness of our lives, and our dependence on God’s grace lead to a prayer that God “prosper” our work. In this prayer, we hear an echo of the creation story in Genesis 1, in which God worked to create us in God’s own image so that we might work in this world as God’s agents and co-laborers. Though our time on earth is limited, our work still matters. It matters to God. And it matters to this world. What we do as workers will prosper as God’s grace is active in our lives. Thus, as the year changes from 2023 to 2024, and as we remember the shortness of our lives, we do not despair. Rather, when we count our days, we renew our trust in our timeless God and we ask for God’s favor so that we might make a difference through our work in the brief time allotted to us. Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need. (Hebrews 4:16)
We don’t know much about the Magi, who are traditionally called the Wise Men. They came from the “east” to Judea, because they had seen an unusual star and interpreted it as a sign of the birth of a new Jewish king. They were looking for “the One who has been born king of the Jews” At first the Magi came to Jerusalem to see if King Herod could direct them to the newborn king. Herod wasn’t much help. Guided by the star, the Magi traveled to Bethlehem, where they found Jesus. As they approached Him, “they bowed down and worshiped Him,” and then offered their famous treasures of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. After they were done visiting Jesus, they were “warned in a dream” not to go back to Herod, so they went home “by another route.” As I reflect on this familiar story, I’m impressed by the boldness of the Magi. They were risk-taking people, to be sure. For one thing, they believed that the star pointed to the birth of a king, so they endured considerable inconvenience in order to worship Him. Then, when they came before the child Jesus, they boldly bowed and offered their gifts. Finally, because of what they perceived through a dream, they chose to disobey King Herod, something they surely realized endangered their lives. These Magi were bold men. Hebrews 4:16 invites us to be like the Magi. It’s a little hard to see this in the NIV, which reads, “Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence.” “Confidence” is not the obvious or best translation of the Greek word parresia. Parresia is usually rendered as “boldness,” as in the NRSV: “Let us therefore approach the throne of grace with boldness.” The KJV reads, “Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace.” Because Jesus, the Son of God, is our great High Priest, because He understands what it’s like to be fully human, since He was born into this world, we are invited to come before God, not with fear nor with hesitation, not even with quiet reverence, but with boldness. Because Jesus was one of us, something we celebrate at Christmas, we have astounding freedom to come before God, to tell God everything we need to say, and to know that we will “receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need” (Hebrews 4:16). So, as you reflect on the Magi in the Christmas story, as you are impressed by their boldness, not just admire them. Imitate them. Approach God’s throne boldly. Know that, because of Jesus Christ, God is ready to shower you with mercy and grace in your time of need. He has raised up a horn [mighty Savior] of salvation for us in the house of His servant David. (Luke 1:69)
In Luke 1:5-25, Zechariah receives a visit from Gabriel, the angel, who informs the priest that his elderly wife, Elizabeth, will bear a child. When Zechariah doubts the angel’s good news, his power of speech is taken away until his child is born. After the birth of his son in the final section of Luke 1, Zechariah’s ability to speak is restored. The first thing he does with his voice after months of silence is to praise God (read Luke 1:64-79). A portion of his celebration is found in Luke 1:68-79, a passage that we often call the “Benedictus” (the first word of verse 68 in Latin, meaning “blessed”). In this hymn of praise to God, Zechariah proclaims that God “has raised up a mighty Savior for us in the house of His servant David” (v. 69). Through this Savior, the people of Israel would be saved “from our enemies and from the hand of all who hate us.” For Zechariah, these enemies and haters were the armies and leaders of the Roman empire. Notice what follows. Zechariah says that when God rescues us from our enemies, it will “enable us to serve Him without fear in holiness and righteousness.” (vv. 74-75). God’s people are saved so that they might respond by serving God. How does this service happen? To be sure, in Zechariah’s day, it included the offerings presented in the temple and the other actions of the priests. But the Old Testament concept of serving God also embraces our daily work. The Hebrew word for “service” (avodah) can mean “work” or “worship.” Those whom God saves will serve God, not just in their religious activities, but also in every part of life. Those who have been saved by God’s grace, through Christ, have the same experience and calling. We have been saved to serve the Lord in a variety of ways, including our daily work. In Ephesians 2:8-10, for example, we learn that we have been saved by grace through faith and that when we are saved we are also recreated in Christ for good works. When we do our ordinary work “in holiness and righteousness” (v. 74), we live out our salvation by serving God and contributing to God’s work in the world. As we do our daily work today – whether paid, unpaid, or both – let us be intentional about offering our work to God in response to God’s grace in our lives. Heavenly Father, as we receive Your gift of salvation, may we receive it with joy and gratitude And may we offer ourselves as Your servants in every part of our life. When they had gone, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream. “Get up,” he said, “take the Child and His mother and escape to Egypt. Stay there until I tell you, for Herod is going to search for the Child to kill Him.” (Matthew 2:13)
If You Will Wait Advent requires waiting, but that waiting shows the providence of God. When we wait, most of us have had thoughts that are not the ideal conclusions we hope for. The owner, waiting on the results of a partnership, could conclude it will not work. The student, waiting on entry exam results, replays every question, second-guessing her answers. The offender, waiting to know if he is forgiven, anticipates revenge. While we wait, we must have spiritual roots. Whether the whole world recognizes the doom when God's chosen are looking for Messiah, the story does not seem to line up with the anticipated results. The Messiah does not come with pomp and circumstance. He does not come immediately annihilating the dark spiritual world or pummeling the Roman oppressor of the Jews. He was not born in a spectacular or renowned city. Everything about the kingdom and the King's arrival is muted and inconspicuous. A young woman and man trying to make sense of conversations with angels, a virgin birth, and after a ninety-mile walk, there was no place to lay their head. How do you get redemption from this kind of start? Advent requires waiting, and in that pause, we learn of God's providence and of His power also. While we wait, we often create stories of doom for ourselves or others. However, God has repeatedly demonstrated that, if we would just wait, God's power is perfect because we are weak. In this feeding trough lays the Son of God, forcing us to repent and change our minds about how any story must unfold. Dietrich Bonhoeffer describes for us what could be for our Advent, if we would just wait: "...And then, just when everything is bearing down on us to such an extent that we can scarcely withstand it, the Christmas message comes to tell us that all our ideas are wrong and that what we take to be evil and dark is, in reality, good and light because it comes from God. Our eyes are at fault, that is all. God is in the manger, wealth in poverty, light in darkness, succor in abandonment. No evil can befall us; whatever men may do to us, they cannot but serve the God who is secretly revealed as love and rules the world and our lives." We cannot avoid trouble and ought not be surprised when we or others experience it as though something strange is happening to us. We do not author stories of doom for others or ourselves when the Savior of the world's Incarnation began in a feeding trough. Gospel believers don't wallow in the vanity of misery; they know the story ends in power. In that acknowledgment, there is peace even in the waiting. For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him may not perish but may have eternal life. (John 3:16)
The Church is supposed to be a signpost of hope to the world around us. As we enter the season of Advent, I want to end the year by reflecting on perhaps the most hopeful text in Scripture, John 3:16. And I want to focus on three words to see how they might speak to us and our current situation. First, the word “world” as in, “God so loved the world.” There are two significant things about it. One, “world” is the Greek word from which we get our word “cosmos.” This reminds us that the world God loves is more than just human beings. God cares for and delights in all His creation (Psalm 104:31). And so should we. Indeed, God created human beings to be stewards of the world God loves. Creation care is not just for environmentally conscious Christians, but it is God’s mandate for all of us who follow Jesus. Two, even when we understand “world” as being about human beings, it is a comprehensive word. The writer David Brooks has noted that our highly individualistic culture has led to an increasingly exclusive tribalism. Our world becomes defined, ever more narrowly, only by those who are part of our tribe. John 3:16 reminds us that God loves and cares about all the people on this planet and is at work creating an inclusive new human community: “After this I looked, and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and before the Lamb. They were wearing white robes.” (Revelation 7:9a). Second, the word, “gave” as in, “He gave His only Son.” In our generation, there’s considerable suspicion and cynicism about God. Even in Christian circles, we get the feeling that many are not entirely convinced about God’s goodness. This is not surprising. Human beings have always been tempted to doubt God’s generosity and goodness. That is at the root of the serpent’s argument in Genesis 3: “God is holding out on you; God really doesn’t want what’s best for you.” John 3:16 reminds us, as does the Advent season, that God gave the ultimate, most costly gift imaginable for our good. Abraham’s greatest test of faithfulness was his willingness to offer up his beloved son, Isaac. The story of Jesus reveals that God the Father demonstrates His own faithfulness by not only offering up but actually sacrificing “His only Son” for all our sake. No wonder the Apostle Paul writes, “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, along with Him, graciously give us all things?” (Romans 8:31b-32). Finally, the word, “life” as in, “so that everyone who believes in Him may not perish but may have eternal life.” The temptation in the Genesis Garden reminds us that the fundamental question of human existence is whether we choose to trust in God’s goodness or not. If not, we choose a lie. If not, we choose an illusion. Since God alone is the source of all good, we cannot turn from God and expect to find something better. If we turn from the source of life, we are left with death. If we turn from the source of light, we find only darkness. If we turn from the source of love, we will know only fear. The most awesome aspect of human existence is that we have been given the freedom to make that choice. If we do trust in God’s goodness, supremely demonstrated in Jesus Christ, life as it was intended inevitably follows. As Jesus said, “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.” (John 10:10). In that, Jesus echoes and fulfills what Moses said much earlier, “I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life” (Deuteronomy 30:19). As Jesus’ followers, how can we be signposts of that life and hope in our generation? |
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