Absurdity 1: Miracles

It seems to me that the primary objection of people who deny the authority of scripture is the fact that it records miracles or otherwise seemingly impossible events.

Mr. Darrow in particular cites the creation of woman, the tower of Babel, Balaam's talking donkey, the wise men's star, the resurrection of the dead, and many others. I'll go through a few of these to point out the logical flaws in his reasoning.

First, the resurrection of the dead: Paul makes it clear in 1 Cor 15 that if Christ has not been raised from the dead, we are still in our sins, unforgiven; therefore, I think that it would be reasonable to say that this is something Christians should take quite seriously! It is the cornerstone of our faith, and without it we are to be pitied above all other men (15:19). Additionally, it was a central theme of the preaching of the apostles during the earlier years of the church. It is THE primary reason the apostles gave to unbelievers so that they would believe in Jesus Christ and receive forgiveness of sins (read Acts).

So what reason does Mr. Darrow give for denying this real, literal, physical, historical, space-time event? He says it's impossible to believe that dead men can be raised to life if we use our senses. Presumably here is he employing the inductive method of obtaining knowledge. He views an event over and over again (death) with his senses and it always turns out the same way (they don't come back to life), so he concludes that it will always turn out the same way (no one can ever come back to life). But I have a question for Mr. Darrow, to see if it is really impossible to determine with our senses whether someone has risen (and therefore CAN rise!) from the dead.

If you watched your buddy get flogged, beaten, crucified (suffocated), and stabbed through the heart with a spear, is it possible to determine for certain from this sensory experience that he did in fact die? I would say yes it is! It doesn't take a genius to know when someone is dead. Especially after that kind of treatment. Is it possible then also to find his tomb empty some short time thereafter? I'd say yes as well! Why should that be impossible? Are humans inherently incapable of determining whether or not a body is present in a burial room? I think not. Third question, would it be possible to touch someone alive who you determined was this dead, and see their scars? I'd say that is also not logically impossible with respect to sensory perception. Let's say Jesus did rise from the dead; does this mean that it's impossible to determine that he is alive with your senses? This seems foolish to me. The disciples were invited to touch him, watch him eat, listen to him teach them. If you did this, could you not reasonably conclude that this man was indeed alive? I think you could, and there is no good reason to believe otherwise.

So why would anyone ever say that it's impossible to believe that someone rose from the dead if we use our senses?

He mentions Balaam's talking donkey, and takes for granted that this will seem absurd to his reader. Now I'm going to confess something to everyone. Talking animals are really weird. I don't think anybody would dispute this. I would also like to say that only two instances of this are recorded in God's Word. Two times! It's weird! But absurd? I am not convinced that this can be determined from a strictly agnostic worldview. What would he have to be assuming to say that miracles are absurd? He would have to assume naturalism - that is, that supernaturalism is false. God does not exist and is not available for performing miracles. Now, what does this sound like?

It sounds like atheism to me, not agnosticism! So here we have an agnostic who says the Bible is absurd, which he ultimately backs up with atheistic philosophy. This is very subtle, and the person participating in this juggle of worldviews may not even realize he is doing it. It needs to be pointed out graciously. I suppose my main point for this article would be: A person with no worldview of his own (agnosticism) has no rational grounds on which to say someone else's is absurd. Furthermore, a person WITH a worldview can at best say, "From the perspective of my own worldview, Christianity looks foolish." With this, I wholeheartedly agree.

Next: Addressing the (Alleged) Lack of Evidence

Ephesians 5:15-20

Paul is writing the second half of his epistle to the church in Ephesus about Godly and holy living. He has switched from theology in his first half to practical Christian living.

In these verses Paul encourages us to walk “circumspectly,” or heedfully, being aware of the consequences of ouractions. He realizes that days are running low and time flies and often the time that does pass is not spent wisely. Paul encourages the church to use their time wisely, because the days we have are evil. This flows right into knowing what the will of the Lord is. Walking wisely means I will naturally know what the Lord’s will is for my life. One practical example of this is to not get drunk. We should allow the Spirit to consume us and control us, so that we will be encouraging each other with godly speech and always giving thanks to God. Of course, this principle should be applied to everything. We are controlled by none but the Lord. He is our only Master!

This passage seems to be pretty clear on how to apply it to my life. I need to be heedful of the consequences of my actions, not just doing anything on a whim. Paul used drunkenness as a specific action to be on guard against. Getting drunk would mean something other than the Holy Spirit is controlling my body, which goes directly against the purpose of salvation – to be freed from the control of the world and placed under the control of Christ. We Christians should walk wisely, being an example to others, and redeeming the time, not conforming to the pattern of this world but using every opportunity we have to do good. That idea is pretty revolutionary and completely destroys this idea of being able to put off doing good. We have only a certain amount of time here on this earth, so when we pass up an opportunity to do good in some way, that opportunity is lost forever and never coming back. We cannot ever add a day to our life, all we can to is take advantage of the opportunities we have, and that pleases the Lord. That is the Lord’s will.

I find the last verse to be appropriate for this time of year, seeing as we have just passed Thanksgiving. I feel like some people have an attitude that wants to stop even thinking about being thankful as soon as Thanksgiving is over. I know I was that way (More so than now. I am still working on it) when I was younger. According to this verse, giving thanks is an all-the-time thing for Christians. I know I’ll always have something to be thankful for, because I can always thank the Lord for saving me from myself.

Ephesians 5:8-14

These are some long overdue Bible journals that I had ready to post but never did. I kept telling myself it was because I hadn't typed up verses 1-7, but do you care? I didn't think so.

Ephesians 5:8-14

Paul is writing the second half of his epistle to the church in Ephesus about Godly and holy living. He has switched from theology in his first half to practical Christian living.

These verses talk about living as light – just as Christ taught to be the light of the world (Matthew 5:14-16). We have been transformed from darkness to light and therefore should live like it! Paul lists a few fruits of the Spirit (or in other manuscripts, fruits of the light); those are goodness, righteousness, and truth. Our job as light is to “have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather expose them. For it is shameful even to speak of those things which are done by them in secret” (vv. 11, 12). Only light can expose dark deeds, and we must realize that this light comes only from Christ, for we are asleep and dead to Him in and of ourselves, having no power to produce goodness.

I absolutely love this passage. It continually exhorts to take affirmative action when it comes to living the life of godliness (or in this case, the life of light), yet at the same time reminds us that the power comes from Christ alone! We were once darkness, but Christ gave us light, now lets share it with the world! By living such a life, we will have an increasingly clear idea of what God’s will is, “finding out what is acceptable to the Lord” (v.10). So many people wish they could know what God’s will for their life is; I do too! First we live according to His will; only then will we be shown what His will is for our lives. This isn’t usually what I want to hear, being human and having a slight case of what my mom calls immediatitis, but it is so true. Once I stop worrying about what exactly I’m supposed to do, start surrendering that to God, and start living like He wants me to, all the extra information comes to me in God’s perfect timing. Again, often this is not exactly the timing I’m comfortable with, but the point is that I’m closer to God because of the trust I placed in Him, and He is once again confirmed to be faithful.

The next exhortation of this verse it seems to me is to expose sin – in us and in others. As light, we will naturally reveal things; that’s what light does! Partaking in them would be shameful. Even talking about them would be shameful, yet sometimes I find myself caught up in sin. I have to remind myself that sin is a small problem for the God whose infinite love conquered it. It has no power over me because I have the power of God. The last verse is just awesome. It is a calling of the dead and asleep to Christ to rise and to wake, so that Christ may give them the power that He has over sin. Christ did that for me, and it is my job to spread that good news to others so they can receive that power as well.

God's Gift of Life

This has been a hot topic of conversation/blogging lately with the long-awaited arrival of a brand new baby boy, Tyler Christian Blakey. I got the privilege of visiting him and even holding him for a few minutes. For a few pictures, you can visit www.godsongmusic.com and read Bobby's blog about his new baby! I'd like to brag that I'm a natural at handling babies after that experience, but he was asleep the whole time, so I don't know if it counts. Basically Bobby, Christa, and I sat around talking and waiting to see what the baby was going to do next. He stretched a lot, made a few funny faces, and there were a few times where it seemed like he was dreaming (Of course, every time he smiled we attributed it to the fact that he likes me, and every time he looked as if he were in pain we concluded that it must be a bad dream about getting a shot or another horrible hearing test).

Of course, we talked mostly about Tyler, how he was going to be raised and such. Topics such as Santa Claus and the Tooth Fairy came up (neither of which Tyler will believe in), as well as some interesting ones about the experiences of childbirth. Bobby and Christa were both quite pleased to tell me that their experience so far has been wonderful (I'm sure the free dinner every night helps a little), and that it has basically contradicted everything they've heard about raising a child. First the pregnancy was supposed to be hard but that was pretty fun for Christa, she said. Then childbirth was supposed to be the most horrible thing, which was "intense" as they like to describe it, but nothing close to what they had been told. Next is the first few days home from the hospital in which the parents get no sleep, but Bobby and Christa are doing quite well, getting plenty of sleep, and have actually been having fun with their new child! (Novel concept I guess...) Perhaps some babies are different... but certainly for Bobby and Christa this one is truly a gift from the Lord!

"Sons are a heritage from the LORD, children a reward from him." Psalm 127:3

The Lord gives life graciously, and often I forget that He does that for everyone including me. God has given me life, and given me loving parents to hold me and love me and feed me and stick with me through good times and bad. I got a little glimpse of that when I got to play a little tiny bit of that role in holding Tyler. In fact, God is the loving Parent who sticks with us through thick and thin and loves us unconditionally, and feeds us because we can't feed ourselves. I think I'm growing up and becoming independent and self sufficient now, on the verge of running my own life by myself. Fat chance. I'm just as dependent on the Provider now as I was almost exactly 17 and a half years ago. Can I make the sun rise each day, or the rain fall, or the wind blow, or plants grow? What I forget is that He will always have to take care of my needs, whether I want Him to or not, whether I like it or not, even whether I believe in Him or not.

So the question is simply, how do I respond?

"Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me All the days of my life; And I will dwell in the house of the LORD Forever." Psalm 23:6

Ephesians 4:29-32

Paul in these verses lays down a few guidelines for directing our speech. The first is the goal, edification; then the result, imparting grace; then a few no’s: do not grieve the Holy Spirit, put away bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and malice; and on a positive note, be kind, tenderhearted, and forgiving. From the context I truly to think he is referring mostly to our speech.

I think if everyone took verse 29 and directly applied it to their life, there would be a lot less noise at school. I can see so often that I let corrupt words slip out of my own (or out of another’s) mouth, and if I cut away all unnecessary speech – since Paul does say “necessary edification” – I would certainly be a less talkative person. I hope that doesn’t become something I fear, because giving up some words should seem like a piece of cake in light of the fact that Christ calls us to give up everything. Simply not talking a lot would be easy, and probably provoke some conversations in which I could speak in a gracious and edifying manner. In my experience as a Christian, that opportunity is one of the most invigorating experiences, knowing that you’ll be able to share the gospel with someone. Paul goes from this verse into verse 30, which says, “Do not grieve the Holy Spirit,” and while he doesn’t specifically refer to speech in this verse, I think this can be taken in a similar manner as “Do not take the Lord’s name in vain.” I seriously struggle with this, and whenever I slip up I always treat it like its “no big deal” or “God will just forgive me.” Attitudes like that, though, are what keep me from being close to God. It is a big deal when we use God’s name lightly, because God is not a light subject and the implications of his name are not simple. We cannot simply toss around the name of the omnipotent, omniscient, omnipresent being like it makes no difference, and this is something I seriously need to work on.

Verse 32 is pretty straightforward: Paul lists a bunch of attitudes we shouldn’t have. Now, anger is one of them, but we know from the context that he must be speaking here about an unrighteous anger that borders on hatred. All these things that he lists can be related to speech, and when I first read it, the first specific sin I thought of was gossip. How often do we let words come out of our mouths that are demeaning to others? It’s surprising, really. I think it’s because we don’t bother to really listen to ourselves. It’s like we just say what we feel without any discernment, and even though some might consider that “healthy” or “natural,” I’d consider it foolish. Sure, it’s natural. Sin is completely natural for human beings. We need to flee from that and continue to put on our new nature, which is characterized by the second verse: kind, tenderhearted, and forgiving. Instead of trying to get revenge on those people who have wronged us, or simply tear down others in order to make ourselves look good, we should put others before ourselves, be understanding of their situations, and forgive them for what they may have done against us, because that is what God was like to us. Christ came down and did all these things and had this kind of humble attitude. He died on the cross for our sins, all of them. The least we could do is forgive our brothers the comparatively little things they do against us.

Ephesians 4:25-28

Paul continues from his previous section by echorting us with specfic examples of how we can live as we were called. Namely, by putting aside lying and instead speaking in truth, having a righteous anger and/or putting unrighteous anger aside before it is too alte, working for what we need rather than stealing it, and also giving up what we earn to "him who has need" (v.28).

Paul makes application extremely easy in this section by given specific examples of what we can do, the first among which is being truthful. The truth is essential to every part of iving; it affets everything from integrity to even simple knowledge of our surroundings. The situation gets annoyingly tedious when you feel compelled to check out everything someone says because you know you can't trust them. You can't change how you act based on that person's statements, because you can't even be sure their claims are legitimate. Nothing could be accomplished and communication with that person would be next to impossible because they are inconsistent in presenting you with reliable information and insights. I know people like this, and it is inexplicably frustrating. Paul mentions that we are members of one another, so with this lying subject he is specifically referring to Christians. If we lie to eachother, say, about what is going on in our lives, we will never be able to help eachother (or congratulate or encourage each other, but my argument assumes we would have no reason to hide the good things). If we seek help from each other and we lie, then we actually hurt eachother, which goes directly against our higher goal of the edification of the body.

Coming back to the topic of frustration, lets turn to verse 26: "Be angry, and do not sin." Anger can be righteous, and when it is derived from a love for God and hatred of sin it is even commanded. The most common example of righteous anger is Christ's cleansing of the temple, when he expelled it of the traders and "thieves" who had infested it (Read my post, Passion, for a more in depth analysis). However, Paul understood that anger, when prolonged, can easily turn harmful, resentful, and negative, which is why he commands to set aside any anger before the day is over. He doesn't want any evil motives to work their way into anger that is pure, and an easy way to do that is to let it go while you're still conscious.

The last verse doesn't seem to fit with this section (25-32), which has to do mostly with word relatied sins or good works. It simply says not to steal. Do not take anything that isn't yours. Rather, work (hard) for what you need, and then give what is yours to others who need. That seems simple enough, but it is easy to find oneself justifying the use of others' resources that they have not given away. Sin is not always blatantly obvious (though it becomes moreso with a greater understanding and knowledge of the word), and we need to be careful, whatever it may be, not to "give opportunity to the devil."

(Thank you MacArthur Study Bible for all your helpful notes ^_^)

Ephesians 4:20-24

Here’s my next journal from Ephesians! I hope it challenges you to truly live as you were called!

Paul basically confronts the Ephesians here, saying they do not know the truth, even though they have heard His words and essentially been taught by Him. If they had learned Christ, who is the truth, they would know this truth: that they have been renewed by God into a new man, no longer their old self which indulges in sin but now with a new mind. They have a mind that “was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness.”

Paul knows how important it is that Christians live like Christians, because he bothered to say it twice – once in verses 17-19, and again here. A change in lifestyle is so connected with becoming a Christian that, if such a change is not evident, one might venture to say: “you have not so learned Christ.” Either the person does not know the full truth of what becoming a Christian means and therefore is not being obedient, or they do not know Christ and the Holy Spirit is not in their heart, renewing their mind and transforming their life. The second possibility, although we pray for everyone that this is not the case, seems to be the most prevalent. I think this is true because if the Holy Spirit really was working in someone, teaching them the truth of freedom from sin and living a godly life would convict them and they would repent, but I hear so many people, when encouraged to live like Christ, tell me that they’re tired of hearing “the same old message” or that they hate how God is “getting shoved down their throats.” But how can that be the attitude of someone whose mind is renewed, someone who is putting off deceitful lusts and pursuing Christ to live like Him in righteous and holy living, set apart for God’s purposes alone? They are either lying to me (but I am not aware of anyone on fire for God who could or would even think about bringing themselves to say something like that), or more probably they have revealed what is truly in their heart. A life defeated by sin and characterized by separation from God – that is the only explanation I can think as to why someone would say that. I don’t want to judge anyone’s heart here, but I think we can use some good judgment. A lifestyle characterized by habitual sin and separation from God begs the question: “According to the Bible, is this what a Christian looks like? Can a Christian's life look like this?” I’m truly grateful that Christ has enabled me, and given me the power to have victory over many sins in my life, and as I grow in Him I look forward to continually being able to experience that victory more and more.

Ephesians 4:17-19

This I say, therefore, and testify in the Lord, that you should no longer walk as the rest of the Gentiles walk, in the futility of their mind, having their understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God, because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart; who, being past feeling, have given themselves over to lewdness, to work all uncleanness with greediness.

Paul in this passage encourages the Ephesians to live life like they are Christians. He wants them to live up to how they were called and be set apart from the lifestyle of the Gentiles who are unsaved. These people have a darkened understanding, do not have “the life of God,” and are ignorant of this reality because of their spiritual blindness that comes with their wicked hearts. Their consciences have been calloused “beyond feeling,” and are currently owned by a depraved behavior and lifestyle.

These verses are a great example of the attitude of the Bible towards the lifestyle of a believer. It’s true our works don’t save us. It’s true that God’s gift is free and unearned. It’s absolutely not true that we will be the same after salvation as we were beforehand. The Lord lives in us and gives is the power to conquer our sin nature in order to live free from it.

Paul in the rest of the section gives a vivid description of what the life of the unregenerate is like. First, they walk in the futility of their minds. No matter how hard an unbeliever tries, they will never be able to “figure life out.” They will never be able to “get it all together,” because by definition having it all figured out is giving up life to God, something they refuse to do by remaining unbelievers. Second, their understanding is darkened. They are spiritually and intellectually unable to objectively reason because they will always have sin, consciously or unconsciously, skewing their conclusions and logic. I see so much of this when I engage in a logical debate. The unsaved jump to false conclusions, which they base on false presuppositions and hidden (Not very well hidden, I might add) agendas. It’s frustrating, but also disheartening at the same time, seeing someone so blind to the truth that they cannot even see where they make their mistakes. Proverbs 4:19 says “The way of the wicked is darkness; they do not know what makes them stumble.”

Third, they are “alienated from the life of God.” I talked at Kings a while back about The Good Life. The unregenerate cannot have this, because the good life is that very life which they reject and refuse to live. Their sin separates them from His presence. Fourth, they are ignorant. They don’t even know they aren’t living a good life, having convinced themselves that they are satisfied by the temporal pleasures that they provide themselves with. Fifth, their hearts are blind. This connects itself with ignorance and the verse I used earlier from Proverbs. The wicked are blind and in the dark; they stumble and are unaware of it. Sixth, they are “past feeling.” I.e. they have calloused themselves to the point that their consciences no longer bother them when they sin.

The last bit concerns a vivid image of how entangled the wicked are in sin. They are given over to the uncleanness, seeking it even greedily. They have what brings death and destruction, and they long for it like it’s an addiction, like their life depends on it. But sin destroys life, and it is a sad thing to watch people unknowingly tear themselves to pieces.

Ephesians 4:14-16

Into: Paul is in the second half of his letter to the Ephesians addressing practical Christian living.

Through: Paul continues mid-sentence, stating his goal for the church - maturity. He wants the church to be firm in their beliefs, not easily shaken or swayed by trickery and deceitfulness. He wants to be sure that we speak the truth in love so that we can grow up to be mature in Christ. He allows the body to grow, according to how each part does its share. We all need to build eachother up in Christ so that the whole body of believers can grow and be encouraged.

Beyond: Paul expresses a Christian's need to mature in the faith, and to become firm in his beliefs. He compares immature Christians with children, who have no discernment and are easily influenced. Generally, children will believe whatever people they respect tell them to believe, but Christians shouldn't be like that. We need to excercise discernment and be able to know the difference between truth and a lie. That only comes from continually immersing yourself in the Word and building on your knowledge of the faith. The Bereans were a great example of this, when they tested even Paul after he spoke to them, to be sure what he was telling them was the truth. The truth is, wolves in sheeps clothing will try to come and lead us astray, perhaps not even realizing themselves that they are wolves! The contrast to being tossed about is expressed in the next verse, speaking the truth in love. Instead of believing whatever we're told, we should be able to refute that with the truth, our speech being in love rather than in contempt. Speaking the truth is the easy part. Knowing right doctrine from wrong doctrine is a fairly simple task, but loving the person who has been spreading the false doctrine, now that is difficult (at least for me). The goal in mind should be to build people up, not tear them down and destroy them for being ignorant.

The fullness of the maturity is reached when we as a body of believers grow up into little Christs, who is our head. Now, the head contains the brain, which basically decides what the body is going to do, in the same way we should be in complete submission to Christ as a whole. If parts start acting up it's like people having seizures or twitching, not a pretty sight. One could say that the body of Christ would be unhealthy in this case, having lost connections between brain and body. Now, once every part is working together the way it should, it will be able to help the other parts grow. All the parts will be connected and all the joints working well, and the body can halp all the other parts of the body get nourishment and what not. It's a good time. Once again, love must be the principal purpose. We do not edify through hatred or contempt, that cannot edify. We must love one another, confronting if we must, encouraging as much as possible, teaching, etc. All the while avoiding clanging cymbals and gongs, if you get my reference (1 Cor 13). That is the hardest part for me, and something I could use everyone's help in improving.

Ephesians 4:7-13

Here’s another one from Ephesians. Did I ever mention how much I love this book? It’s so amazingly full of truth and insight. It’s just amazing.

Into: Paul is in the second half of his letter to the Ephesians, switching from theology and doctrine to practical application and Christian living.

Through: Paul makes a transition in verse 7 that I wouldn’t have caught without the help of my handy dandy study notes. John MacArthur points out that Paul has just moved from the unity of believers to their uniqueness. He says that we have been given grace, a common theme throughout the Bible. He then quotes Psalm 68:18, an interesting verse. Paul explains in the next verse the implications of Christ ascending, saying that in order to have ascended He must have first descended after which He could rise on high and fill the universe with His goodness. Paul then lists a few specialized tasks Christ has assigned people, gives two reasons why those gifts are given and what they are to be used for, and then states in many words the ultimate goal of the giving of these gifts.

Beyond: There is so much to talk about in this passage. Paul seems to have a knack for covering so many different subjects in such a short time. The main theme of this passage seems to be spiritual gifts, and the fact that each person has his own spiritual gift. This is what makes Christians separate from each other. Believers are to be one, yet they are also distinct. Sound like any familiar theological doctrines? Interesting. The first verse says each Christian has been given graciously a little bit of the character of Christ. That is why Christians need to all work together, because we all play our little part in completing the body of Christ. Paul then quotes an interesting verse that talks about Christ giving gifts to men, but the part that stuck out to me was where it says “He led captivity captive” (8). That just sounds so poetic and so great. It has a great ring to it, but even more so a great ring of truth to it. Christ, upon dying and rising from the grave, literally bound what had once bound mankind. He destroyed its power over man by doing what He did on the cross. He defeated the sting of death, and freed us from the power of Satan and sin. If that’s not good news, I don’t know what is. In verse 10, Paul basically explains how Christ is God. He descended and then ascended far above the heavens. He reigns on high. He fills the earth and the universe with His glory.

Then Paul gives a fairly short list of possible gifts, which all happen to be related in this way: they are to be used for “equipping the saints for the work of the ministry” and “for the edifying of the body of Christ.” My youth pastor Bobby often brings up this point: that it is not necessarily the pastors or teachers whose job it is to minister. It’s their job to prepare you for ministry. It is their job to equip the saints for that work, so the work of the ministry can’t simply be passed of as something that the pastors or teachers should do. We as individual Christians should be actively making service to Christ a personal part of our lives. If the Holy Spirit puts something on our heart, we should do it instead of passing it off to those more “experienced” or “better” at it than we are. After all, how do you think those people got “experience” or “good” at it in the first place?

This edification and building up and working continues until every Christian is absolutely perfect, like Christ. It continues to bring us closer together as one unit in our faith and in our knowledge of Christ, until each one is “a perfect man…the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ” (13). So many times people say that is impossible. We’re only human they say. I say that’s trash. We have the power of God Himself literally inside us. Christ lived up to the standard, and He’s living inside us.

Let’s strive for the goal without hesitation.

Ephesians 4:1-6

Another installment in the recent slew of Ephesians passages that I've been posting in order to keep up with my journaling pace. There was a point at which I kept forgetting to print my typed journal entries from my parents' computer (mine wasnt connected correctly or something), so I decided to just write them instead. Well, I got tired of not being able to print anything from my computer and fixed mine, so now I'm catching up since I can start typing my journals again without having to worry about whether or not I'll remember to print them and put them in my binder. I know... it sounds stupid... but hey, for whatever reason I never remembered to print them out from the other computer. Not a problem anymore - and thank God for that.

Into: Paul has moved on to the second half of his letter to the Ephesians, focusing now more on practical spiritual living habits that Christians should apply to their lives, rather than theological doctrine.

Through: Paul is pretty straightforward with how we should be expected to respond to the message of the Cross. We are not supposed to let grace increase (Romans 6), but live a life "worthy of our calling." This should be done, he says, in humility, gentleness, and love. We are supposed to stay unified and peaceful rather than divided. In the next few verses Paul stresses the unity of all Christians. "One body...one Spirit...one hope...one Lord, on faith, on baptism; on God and Father" who is above all. He is distinct and more powerful than His Creation. He is through all - revealed to us through Creation. He is in "you all." He dwells within us as Christians.

Beyond: The message of action Paul is pushing is pretty simple. To walk worthy of the calling to me means shooting for perfection or being above reproach; living a lifestyle pleasing to the Lord rather than trying to take advantage of a "get out of jail free card" (a lifestyle like that could be evidence that the person doesn't have the "card" anyways). Paul tells us to walk with lowliness, which is humilty; gentleness, grace; and to build up one another in love, the most important of all. This should be characteristic of our daily attitudes, not a one time thing that we just get excited about when we first become Christians. I still have trouble with this in some areas, especially the lowliness one, but quite honestly I can't remember exactly what it was like to hate everything. I just remember being miserable, and I am not tempted to go back to life without God.

The prevalent theme through the rest of this passage is that of unity. As far as it is possible we should remain unified peacefully with on another. This is probably because the evidence of our love for God is in how we love on another. Paul also uses this passage to eliminate the idea of "other reaods to heaven." There is on body, the church, that makes up the kingdom of heaven. No one in another body can make up the kingdom of heaven. They must join the church (not the organization). Only Christians are Christian. There is one Spiri, the Holy Spirit. There is on hope: we're all looking for the same thing: treasures in heaven, a deeper relationship with God. We serve one Lord, that is Jesus. John 14:6 "...no one comes to the Father but thorugh me." We have one faith, based on Scripture alone, and no other revelation. We were baptized under the same names of God. We serve one God, not multiple Gods or Allah, or anyone else. He is bigger than us, and we should submit to Him. We should reveal Him to others through our lives, and His power resides in us.

Ephesians 3:20-21

It is truly amazing how much one can get out of just two verses in the Bible. I enjoyed reading these so much and I often have to remind myself of their implications in my everyday life.

Into: Paul is finishing up his first section in Ephesians, which focuses on Christian doctrine.

Through: In this section, Paul praises God as powerful, "able to do exceedingly abundantly above all we ask or think." He proclaims that the glory of God is timeless and given to Him by the church through Jesus Christ.

Beyond: In just these two verses, Paul communicates so much meaningful and amazing truth to us. The first is that God is so good that we cannot fathom it. I like to say that no matter how good I think God is, He is always twice as good as that. The first verse is especially exciting to me because I can know that no matter what I ask God for, He is always able to do "exceedingly, abundantly more" than what I have asked. In my case, I would say that the greatest thing that could happen is my dad coming to know the Lord. That would certainly be awesome and only a result of the work of God; however, God says right here in this verse that he is able to do so much more than "just" save my dad. My mom expressed this revelation to me when she told me she had stopped praying that my dad would be saved and started praying that he would become a "mighty man of God." That is certainly above all I asked or even thought about asking. Yet, the greatness and endlessness of God's goodness is unchanged, and He still promises that He is able to do even more than what my mom dares to ask of Him! This is truly amazing, and I still am unable to fathom the complete extent of the riches of His grace" (v.16). The clause at the end of this verse seems to imply that we have some role n receiving these immense blessings. God will excercise His goodness toward us "according to the power that works within us." Now, I don't know that I am interpreting the following correctly, but from my experience, we are able to suppress that power even as Christians. I do believe that this can only happen for a short time, but neverthless as Christians, when we sin, we are essentially suppressing the power of God and holding it back from being excercised to its fullest extent. I dont want to do that. It doesn't help anyone and it doesn't even turn out to be a positive experience. Not letting the Spirit loose in my life has only gained me depression and purposelessness.

The second verse pretty much sums up what the whole Bible is about, what the prpose for our being is - that God would be glorified. I Corinthians 10:31 says it well too. Whatever we do, the goal should be to glorify God. From the greatest decisions in our lifetime, such as who to marry, or more immediately relevant for me: where to go to college, to the daily routines like eating, waking up, or going to sleep, all should be to the glory of God. Romans 14:23 approaches the issue from another angle, saying that anything without faith is sin, and matthew 22:37 says it in the most radical way I can think of - to love God with all we are: heart, soul, and mind. With every aspect of our personality and character, we seek to please the Lord, and glorify Him.

The last interesting point that Paul makes is his bit about these ideas being stretched into "generations for ever and ever." God's truth is timeless. The principle of loving God and glorifying Him with all we are will never change. There will always be a way to accomplish such a task, and the specific examples of how to do this don't like to change either. For me especially it is keeping myself pure, mind, body, and tongue. I just pray that not too many people are out there in the world claiming to be Christians and actively and habitually denying the power of the Word, and seeking what the world has to offer: impurity, pain, and dirty lips.

Ephesians 3:14-19

Into: Paul is closing the first half his letter which focuses on Christian theology. He is writing to the Ephesians.

Through: Verse 14 is one of complete submission to God and Christ. Paul subsequently explains that God is essentially the Father because He created everything on earth and in heaven. Paul does however seem to be speaking more specifically than that, though, probably about the family of the saints, the church. He says the reason he hows his knees to God is so the church may become stronger through Christ, that people would receive Christ and have Him actively living in their hearts, that they may have a firm foundation of love (specifically for one another(, that they may have a completely full understanding of the love of Christ which passes knowledge, and, ultimately, that they will be filled completely with God, living on His power and completely submitting to His will and character with their lives.

Beyond: The first verse in this passage, as I said in the previous section, is one of submission and commitment to authority. This seems to be the attitude portrayed throughout the rest of the Bible. I often have a problem living this out. Parents usually seem to be an authority that is extremely prone to error and bad decision making. I simply have to trust that obedience to the authorities over me will be only beneficial to my life. Maybe God will even deliver his promise of longer years. What a concept.

In the rest of this passage Paul explains the reason he is willing to submit in such a way, and this is for the sake of the edification of others. Ultimately his goal for tis church, and the goal we as Christians should have in our own lives is to come to experience the complete love of Christ and to know the unkowable love of Christ and to know the unknowable love of Christ, and to be filled with the complete fullness of God. The goal is to perfectly imitate the character of Christ. The goal is perfection, and God alone has the power to get us there.

Ephesians 3:7-13

⁷ of which I became a minister according to the gift of the grace of God given to me by the effective working of His power. ⁸ To me, who am less than the least of all the saints, this grace was given, that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ, ⁹ and to make all see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the ages has been hidden in God who created all things through Jesus Christ; ¹⁰ to the intent that now the manifold wisdom of God might be made known by the church to the principalities and powers in the heavenly places, ¹¹ according to the eternal purpose which He accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord, ¹² in whom we have boldness and access with confidence through faith in Him. ¹³ Therefore I ask that you do not lose heart at my tribulations for you, which is your glory.

Into: Paul is writing his third chapter to the Ephesians about Christian doctrine and theology.

Through: Verse 7 starts midsentence, with Paul describing himself as a minister of God's "promise in Christ through the gospel" (v.6). He goes on to descrive this job as a gift of God's grace, able to be given to him because God effectively worked in Him (v.7).
In the following verse, Paul mentions why this gift of the gospel was given to him, "the least of the saints." He says that it is in order for him to preach to the Gentiles, those that do not know about the true God. "The unsearchable riches of Christ" that he talks about are everything that God has to offer including His blessings, truths, and a relationship with Him. In verse 9 Paul gives another reason: to be an example to others, showing them what it means to be a part of this gospel. He again refers to the gospel as a mystery, explaining that until now, God had not revealed it to anyone. He also says something especially profound - that God created everything through Jesus Christ, implying that Christ had existed since before he was even incarnated. The next verse says that through Gods work in His church (i.e. the body of believers), God has shown His glory to the saints (v.10), which was His purpose from the beginning and was accomplished through Jesus Christ (v.11). Then Paul mentions that we can come before God boldly and confidently when we put our faith in Christ (v.12). Paul ends this section by comforting them and encouraging them not to lose heart because of the persecutions he faces, which are for the glory of God and, therefore, them.

Beyond:

Verse 7
Just the first verse of this section was so powerful to me. Basically, it highlights everything God has to do with blessing me and drowns out everything I have to do with it. Paul says being a minister is 1) a gift of grace - that is to say that I did not merit it in any fashion, but God gave it to me simply because He wanted to, and that it is 2) "by the effective working of God's power;" God is the one who worked in Paul to become holy and hodly. I also want to emphasize the fact that Paul descrives God's work as effective. God will finish what He starts, and I can take comfort in that fact - that I will continue to be sanctified and restored and God's power is able to do it.

Verse 8
In verse 8, Paul, as he does in other passages, lowers himself to the lowest position among the saints. He knew he was a wretched sinner, and if Paul the apostle was such a wretched sinner, I'm sure I have a place there there with him. I'm no apostle, but in light of God's holiness and righteousness, we're all about as low as we can get. It's humbling. "The unsearchable riches" that Paul talks about at the end of the verse give me two views on Christ's blessings. They are 1) infinite and 2) revealed. There are so many blessings that I'd never be able to find what I was looking for if I went through a list or something. I do not get to decide which I receive, but Christ is always going to be generous.

Verse 9
The part in verse 9 that hit me the most was this idea that God created all things through Jesus Christ. That is to say that jesus Christ has always existed just like God, or better yet, because He is God. Some texts do not have these words, but I have no problem accepting the implications as true, because Christ himself said, "Before Abraham was, I AM" (John 8:58), a claim to divinity.

Verse 10
In verse 10, Paul says that the purpose of God's work in the church is to glorify himself to the angles, holy and unholy (i.e. angels and demons). When I submit to God in obedience, that glorifies Him, and I would imagine that the heavenly angels have a good time at the occurrence of such an event - as I'm sure they do when anyone is obedient (especially in the case of conversion). Jesus Himself testifies to this in Luke 15: "I say to you that likewise there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine just persons who need no repentance" (v.7) and again: "Likewise, I say to you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents" (v.10).

Verse 11
Verse 11 is great because it lets me rest in the fact that God's ultimate will has been accomplished. His idea before all of time (if such a thing can be said) was accomplished in Christ. And Christ is our Lord! We don't live in an age of Lords and servants and what not, but I think what this implies is that we are subject to Him and obligated to serve Him. He owns us. "You are not your own" (1 Corinthians 6:19b). Luckily for me, my master is my friend and Redeemer, making it easy to submit, because I am confident that He will be amazingly good to me.

Verse 12
I must say that I thought the next verse to be the most profound out of them all. Through faith in Christ, I as a Christian have unlimited access to God. I can gain His ear at any time, and perhaps He is listening for me even when I'm not talking to Him. The idea that I have access to the highest King is so amazing, and on top of that I can come with boldness and confidence before the throne of grace (Hebrews 4:16)! I don't even begin to pretend to know how to describe this incredble privilege. I just imagine what it would look like, and then I realize that even my loftiest picture of God's throne room doesn't even come close to doing it justice - another quite humbling thought.

Verse 13
The last verse was meant to be a comfort to the Ephesians, and I absolutely love how it ties in with what the rest of the Bible teaches. "Do not lose heart" because of what the world is doing. Christ teaches that to us - He has overcome the world (John 16:33). The same victory is promised to us as individuals: "for everyone born of God overcomes the world" (1 John 5:4). The other thing is that tribulations are a good thing - James tells us to rejoice when we are tried (James 1:2). Paul understood this, and he encouraged the Ephesians to do the same. I can rejoice when I am persecuted - and I have been persecuted, and I have rejoiced, and it was so good. God's goodness is amazing.

Hope you were encouraged.

Ephesians 3:1-6

Here's another Ephesians entry for you all to chew on.

INTO
Paul is writing the final chapter on theology to the Ephesians.

THROUGH
This selection also happens to be one long sentence, and doesn't even end at chapter six. He begins by introducing himself as a prisoner, and introducing a reason for why he is that way (v.1). Explaining that God "dispensed" His good grace on Paul for the sake of the Gentiles (v.2) in the form of the revelation of the mystery of God's truth - which he mentioned earlier in the letter (v.3) so they could understand his own knowledge of the mysteries of God (v.4). He continues by clarifying that this truth he reveals can be considered a mystery because it was not previously revealed to the "sons of men (v.5)." The final verse in this section finally gives the reason for the "dispensation of grace" mentioned in verse one, and that is so that the Gentiles could also be included in Christianity and the promise of glory and a relationship with God (v.6).

BEYOND
There are a few interesting things about this passage, the first one being that Paul names himself a prisoner of Christ. I would venture to say that this is a hardcore viewpoint, but true nonetheless. The attitude of Scripture seems to be that we are either a slave to sin or a slave to Christ. Our master is one or the other, not both, and not neither. This passage is just one example of that attitude. James also introduces himself in the same type of way - as a bondservant of Christ. We should submit ourselves to Christ to the point where we are as a slave. It's not as if this is going to be a terribly difficult task. Jesus promised that His yoke is easy and His burden light (Matt. 11:30); I just think that people, because they dont like the words slave, submit, or servant, make it harder than it has to be. Christ also promised that He will be helping us along the way the whole time, and we have access to His strength if we need help (Deut. 31:6, Heb 13:4, Phil 4:13).

The second part of the passage that stuck out to me was the fact that Paul calls God's truth a mystery and a revelation. We've been talking about truth in class, and this is one example of a truth that man could not have "figured out." This troubles me sometimes as there is generally no way to test this type of truth. I suppose what we can do is test it against the other Scripture we have, and that seems to be a more valid way even than using logic or experience (1 Cor 2:14). Sometimes we misinterpret experience, and then theres always the possibility of committing a logical fallacy if the logical path is chosen. In any case, it's comforting to know that God did reveal this truth to us through Paul, and I'm sure there are still other truths to be revealed to us later.

The last aspect of the passage that seemed prominent was the truth itself. It is that Gentiles also have a place in Christianity (i.e. if you're not a Jew, that is a direct descendant of one the twelve sons of Jacob, which I am not, this is for you). We get to have access to the Lord, which is a great truth, and probably the greatest comfort we can have. Frankly I like the idea of saving my life, and if I have to lose my life for Christ's sake to do that, so be it (Matt. 10:39, 16:25).

Ephesians 2:19-22

Here’s another section of Ephesians for you all. And I know there is a “you all!” Hope you find this encouraging.

INTO
Paul is writing to the Ephesian church in the first half of his letter about theology.

THROUGH
Paul continues in verse 19 by reiterating that no believer can be a stranger to God or the rest of the saints; Christ has closed that gap. We are all now resting on the same foundation, that is the Word of God (the things communicated to us by the apostles and prophets) and the Word made flesh (i.e. Jesus Christ) (v.20). He then goes to explain how, because of Christ, we can grow into a holy union of believers, creating a pure dwelling place for God (vv.21-22).

BEYOND
I’ve recently felt this really strange desire to treat all believers like family. Actually, while I was on a missions trip to Orange County just this last summer a man asked me at the park if I was a Christian. There was some small talk before that, of course, to introduce the conversation, but naturally I said yes. He then introduced himself as my brother, and pointed to his friend who was with him and introduced him as my brother too. It was a little weird, but kind of cool at the same time to be able to have that bond in Christ. We proceeded to play football, which I’m not exactly proficient at (it was 2 on 1 no sneak), so basically I made an excuse to get out of that as soon as possible. The point is this: all believers are in the fight against evil together, so we don’t have to be strangers to each other, just like verse 19 says.

Verses 20 through 22 talk about the construction of a dwelling place for God out of the body of believers, which is based on the foundation of the Word and Jesus, with Christ as the cornerstone. Often times we think of the church as a building, but if it is a building, that building isn’t physical (v.22 says it is “in the Spirit”). We as a church are growing, it says, into a holy temple, so that we can be proper dwelling places for God Almighty, who lives in our hearts. This can be not only encouraging, but especially convicting if I have sin in my life. How can I be righteous and ungodly at the same time, or holy and impure? I can’t, these terms are mutually exclusive. Knowing this, I am encouraged to continually repent of sin that pops up in my life, so I can participate in this growth that God is working in the church.

Ephesians 2:14-18

Heh… I wrote the body of this blog and I must laugh. It’s amusing to me how much I can come up with on a few short verses when I “let the Spirit loose” (This could also be interpreted as ranting). Here’s Ephesians 2:14-18.

INTO
Paul is writing a (circular) letter to the Ephesians. The first half of the letter focuses on Christian theology.

THROUGH
In this excerpt, Paul makes it explicitly clear that all people are treated the same (Jews no longer get special treatment). The Gentiles and Jews are reconciled through Christ (v.14). He physically came to earth and demolished the divide, which is the law (v.15). All this is done through Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross (v.16). He explains that Christ was not biased – He spread His word to those close and those far away (v.17). Now, because of Christ, all peoples can have a relationship with God.

BEYOND
I can’t even count the number of times I have heard that Christianity is so narrow and we should be more accepting of other people. That ridiculous. Christianity is open to everyone! It doesn’t matter where you live or what you’ve done or how smart you are. Forgiveness and contact with God is offered to all people. What people want Christians to be is more accepting of different beliefs and lifestyles; they’re not talking about people. Christianity is narrow in this sense: that truth is truth, and there are consequences to ignoring it. But how is it that people see this as unfair. There’s only one answer to a problem on a math test, but no one berates the teacher for being narrow minded when he tells them the right answer, and it isn’t the answer they got. Never will anyone argue that both answers are right. Either the professor is right, or the student is right, or they’re both wrong, but they cannot both be right. This isn’t narrow mindedness, this is reality – and people are people; we don’t like the reality of things.

Everyone has access to the Father: Jew and Gentile, rich and poor, blacks and whites, and everything in between. God limits no one from coming to Him; He has no bias. We do that to ourselves; we have the bias; we aren’t willing to come to Christ and sacrifice all the wrongness in our life for the rightness of God. If you say that two plus two absolutely makes four, you must give up all other answers: you can’t get away with five, three, 3.99 or 4.01. It’s four. End of story. In the same way, God is Righteous. We are wicked. If we want God’s righteousness, we give up our wickedness. This is reality. We can complain that it doesn’t suit our feelings or desires. At that point we need to realize there is a separation between our desires and us. We are not the product of our desires; therefore, we cannot claim that someone is being intolerant of us when they simply do not approve of our beliefs or lifestyle. Jesus Christ is completely and unrelentingly intolerant of any and all forms of ungodliness. People are angry that their lifestyle doesn’t match up with the holiness of God, which they so closely connect with themselves that they aren’t willing to give it up under any circumstances, preventing them from surrendering to Christ.

Give it up. It is so worth it.

Ephesians 2:1-10

It’s been a few days since I’ve posted, and I am required to work on these Bible journals about Ephesians, so I’m posting one of them like I said I would. I hope to get back to 1 Corinthians 11 soon, but forgive me if I’m having a harder time finding an application for the beginning of that chapter…

INTO
Paul is writing a (circular) letter to the Ephesians. The first half of the letter focuses on Christian theology.

THROUGH
Paul here writes again about salvation (this seems to be a theme, perhaps the focus and core of Christian theology). He explains our condition prior to salvation, how we acted, who we served, who else served (and serves) him, and how we acted when with those people. All of these attributes were horrible, disgusting, and sinful in nature. Paul then contrasts that with the goodness of God, tells of His gracious character, mentions why He chooses to save us even in our depraved state, extrapolates on the implications of this gift, and gives a reason that accounts for his extrapolation. He then gives a straightforward explanation of how we come to experience salvation, that it is by grace through faith and a gift of God, specifically clarifying that it is not of our own works, to prevent boasting. The last verse is a crucial one that many people (including myself) forget about. Paul explains that we are God’s masterpiece, and we were created to obey God by doing the good things He has prepared for us to do!

BEYOND
Paul’s manner in presenting salvation in this passage is really convicting to me because it reminds me what a lowly state God has saved me from and reminds me what a glorious state I am now in as a Christian. He explains that we are raised up and seated in Christ. If we know anything about what the Bible says about the position Christ is in, we know it is an amazing position of authority to have, with no one below Him. Verse 7 also catches my eye because it seems to be a hint as to what we will do in heaven, which Paul refers to as “the ages to come.” We are going to be learning directly from God! He will be teaching us about the abundance of His grace toward us, given through Jesus. As much as we can know about what Christ did for us, there is an eternity to look forward to of continuing to learn about His truly awesome love and kindness.

I love verses 8 and 9. They are so common, so powerful, and so freeing. They are the most commonly quoted verses for showing that God saves, not man. Yet verse 10, the commonly ignored one, flows right from it. The idea of God planning out our path for us is inexplicably fulfilling to me. It is another great example of the sovereignty of God and the lowliness of man, where God is good and I am not. If I were completely honest with myself, I’d have to say that I’d rather have Him in control of my life than anyone else.

Ephesians 1:15-23

Here’s another journal entry! I hope it’s encouraging. Forgive the repetition of INTO… It’s just that way because sometimes passages change (the author might change, audience might change, or purpose might change – obviously in a letter this is not the case, but we are still required to do this section just for it’s own sake).

INTO
The book of Ephesians was most definitely written by the apostle Paul. The intended recipient is in question, though, as some scholars believe it might have just been written to the entire church is Asia Minor, being sent to the capital first, which just so happened to be Ephesus. This, of course, is of no consequence. Currently Paul is the focus of Paul’s letter is theological doctrine.

THROUGH
Paul in this section, tells us that he is so encouraged by the faithfulness of the Ephesians (v.15) that, since he heard, he has continually prayed for them (v.16) to receive many spiritual gifts. In order as he lists them, these are wisdom, revelation, knowledge, understanding, hope, the riches of God’s glory, and power (vv.17-19). He then extrapolates on what he means by power, telling us that it came from Christ in being resurrected and glorified (v.20). Then he expounds on what he means when he says Christ was glorified, stating that no name is above Him, no matter what position or time it comes from (vv.21, 22). Christ is especially in authority over the church: “His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all” (v.23).

BEYOND
Paul has quite a lot to say about God and his goodness, gifts, power, methods, and purpose. I noticed that the first seven verses of this passage are all one sentence! He has a lot to say about every aspect of his statements about God, and leaves nothing (from what I can see) to question. All the content aside, this is deeply inspiring to me, because it leads me to believe that Paul was extremely excited about God, and every facet of His truth was fascinating to Paul. It should be so with me as well!

The next inspiring aspect of this portion of Paul’s letter is his love and commitment to those who love the saints. He says he prayed continually for them that they would receive from God all the spiritual blessings that he goes on to list. I know I don’t do that for my friends very often, let alone ceaselessly. If I had this goal on my mind for my friends all the time, my attitude towards their spiritual growth would be dramatically different, not to mention I’m sure my self-centeredness would melt away, and my prayer life would be enhanced. That is an attainable goal I can set for myself. I’m excited already.

The third intriguing aspect of this section of Paul’s letter is his method of expression, using phrases such as “riches of His glory” (v.18), “exceeding greatness of His power,” “mighty power” (v.19), “far above principality” (v.21) and “all things” (v. 22). This communicates to me how high God is and how low I am. Paul uses diction like this often. It communicates the awesomeness of God, yet still not fully. However mighty we think God is, He is twice as mighty; however loving, twice as loving; and however glorious, twice as glorious. God is absolute control all the time without fail, and I love Him for that. He gives me something sure and worthy of being leaned on. It’s freeing.

P.S. Bobby, I love "Call." For those unaware, check it out via the Godsongmusic link in my "links" section to the right!

Ephesians 1:11-14

It’s about time for a Bible journal again. Actually, I’m supposed to be doing these twice a week, both of them being due on Thursday. That means I’m technically behind, because I have to do two in one day. Well, here is Ephesians 1:11-14. It’s got a lot bottled up in 4 verses. The whole INTO THROUGH BEYOND thing is just a formality for the class… I just post the journal as it is seen on the paper I turn in.

INTO
The book of Ephesians was most definitely written by the apostle Paul. The intended recipient is in question, though, as some scholars believe it might have just been written to the entire church is Asia Minor, being sent to the capital first, which just so happened to be Ephesus. This, of course, is of no consequence. Paul addresses theological doctrine and Christian living in this epistle.

THROUGH
Paul continues from the last section saying that we who have been predestined by God have a secure reward (v.11). Those who have believed in Christ are guaranteed an inheritance, because the Holy Spirit seals us in God (v.13). All this is being done according to His perfect purpose and will in order to give Him glory (vv.12, 14).

BEYOND
Paul reveals a lot of deep truths in this passage in just a few words. He answers the question of “Can we lose our salvation?” No. “Who is ultimately in control?” God. “Why does God choose to save some?” For His glory. All these can sometimes be burning questions in the Christian’s mind, and personally it is a reminder of mightily encouraging truths that have already, thankfully, been burned into my head and heart. The idea that I can lose my salvation is horrifying and would put a terrible burden on my shoulders that God never meant to put there. Secondly, God is in control. This means that I cannot be responsible for saving anyone, only He can do that. Sometimes I convince myself that people can be argued into the faith. The more I try to, the more I realize that without God I am bound to fail. Only he can change hearts, and that’s what he wants – a change of heart, not a change of mind. Thirdly that ultimately the reason he saves and does not save people is for His glory. God is the most important being in existence, and He deserves what He gives Himself. Living with this conviction and assurance radically changes my mindset, allowing me to focus on Him as supreme, rather than my pride as important.