The Place to Be #7

Ephesians 2:11 Therefore remember that at one time you Gentiles in the flesh, called “the uncircumcision” by what is called the circumcision, which is made in the flesh by hands— 12 remember that you were at that time separated from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. 13 But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. 14 For he himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility 15 by abolishing the law of commandments expressed in ordinances, that he might create in himself one new man in place of the two, so making peace, 16 and might reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross, thereby killing the hostility. 17 And he came and preached peace to you who were far off and peace to those who were near.

Having reminded the Ephesians (and us) of all the riches to be found in Christ, the past we have been delivered from, and the great gift of grace He has given, Paul gives us something else to remember: the isolation of separation.  When God brought us back to Himself through Christ, He also brought us back together.  He came to reconcile us into one body.  His intention is for us to be "together as one." Such unity is difficult (but not impossible) to maintain when we are all grateful to God and trusting in Christ.  We must always keep in mind that this is all part of the plan of God, and if we are not contributing to it, we are distracting from the plan of God. If we are at peace with Him, He will show us how to be at peace with one another. 

The Place to Be #6

Ephesians 2:3 But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, 5 even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— 6 and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, 7 so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. 8 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast. 10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.

As we saw yesterday, when Paul addressed the church at Ephesus, he wanted them to remember their past as a point of comparison. They had been dead in the darkness of sin. Paul now makes the sharp contrast by staring with one of his most strategic phrases: But God... God brought us back to life spiritually, saving us from sin and raising us up into a fellowship with Christ that is eternal.  God did this all out of His great love and grace, without us having to ask Him to do it.  If God did that, he must have had a purpose in mind, and He did: He has a life of activities planned for us that make us a part of His perfect plan. There is no better place to be than walking with Christ living the life God has for us. 

The Place to Be #5

 

Ephesians 2:1 And you were dead in the trespasses and sins 2 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— 3 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.

Having reminded us of all the spiritual blessings God has given us in Christ, and the attitude of gratitude we should therefore have and live by, Paul goes on to remind us of what we had before these spiritual blessings.  We had death, darkness, disorientation, disobedience, debauchery, distorted desires, and were doomed under the dominion of the Devil.  It was a sad, hopeless existence lived in slavery to sin. There is also a reminder here that there are still many living that way as reminders of who we once wore. We don't want to go back there.  Sometimes to appreciate all we have in Christ and where He has brought us from requires that we look back to those dark days and see their ugly reality.  

The Place to Be #4

 

Ephesians 1:15 For this reason, because I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love toward all the saints, 16 I do not cease to give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers, 17 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, 18 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, 19 and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the working of his great might 20 that he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, 21 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. 22 And he put all things under his feet and gave him as head over all things to the church, 23 which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all.

Having reminded them of all the blessings to be found in Christ, and the surety of their inheritance, Paul went on here to pray one big prayer.  It's always good to know someone is praying for you. What did Paul pray? That they would fully realize everything God had given them in Christ and therefore, in the Church. Just as a body without a head does not work, it only works right when the Head has a Body. Christ does: it is the Church.  Paul's prayer was that these believers, and we, would appreciate and live out God's perfect plan for His people through the church.  Things do not go right personally or corporately unless we do so. 

The Place to Be #3

Ephesians 1:11 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, 12 so that we who were the first to hope in Christ might be to the praise of his glory. 13 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, 14 who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory.

Having listed a whole string of blessings we have in Christ, Paul now focuses in on the fact that no one can take these blessings away.  They are ours in Christ.  It is our legal inheritance, which has been sealed by the Holy Spirit of God, who guarantees that we will receive what has been promised to us.  It is the most secure and solid thing in the world.  We can count on it more than anything.  The point is that this fact alone should make a drastic difference in how we live - as secure in Christ - which will make others want to come and share in this inheritance, with no one having less because more people are sharing in it. When we are convinced and confident Christ is ours and we are His, the Church will be the place all will want to be. 

The Place to Be #2

Ephesians 1:3 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, 4 even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love 5 he predestined us for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, 6 to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved. 7 In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, 8 which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight 9 making known to us the mystery of his will, according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ 10 as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth.

We saw yesterday that for the church to be everything it ought to be we need to keep in mind our part to be holy and faithful.  If there is one work to summarize the passage above it is grateful.  We need to be thankful to God for all the spiritual blessings He has given us in Christ.  When we are grateful it makes us gracious and giving.  When we are not grateful, it makes us bitter, contentious, selfish, fault-finding, and divisive.  It also wears down our faithfulness and makes us less likely to be concerned about our holiness. Today, dwell on all the blessings you have in Christ, and you'll be a much healthier part of the Body.

The Place to Be #1

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

How can we make sure we are doing our part to make the Church the place people want to be, and where those outside of Christ can be drawn in and find Him?  Paul begins right away giving us some indicators by reminding us of some of the characteristics of God's people that should be evident.  We are saints - set apart to serve and support one another in our pursuit of holiness.  Much of what keeps people outside of the church and helps make them what to leave is our failure to keep this calling.  That does not excuse those who claim to be Christ-followers and "bail ship" because of some personal confrontation with someone else in the Body, but it does help explain why we don't live up to "being the place to be."  The other piece of the puzzle here is our being "faithful" - trusting God enough to help us deal with all the uncertainties of life that come to the believer, as well as the certainty that others will let us down. The failure of other human believers is no excuse for us being unfaithful to Christ and His Body. There really is no other plan God has given for growth in Christ than doing so as part of His Body.  Being faithful means trusting His plan for our salvation and sanctification: Christ and His Church.