Jacobs Thoughts and Doings

So I tell you this, and insist on it in the Lord, that you must no longer live as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their thinking, darkened in their understanding and separated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them due to the hardening of their hearts.  You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.

 Ephesians 4:17 – 18, 22 – 24.

Paul is writing in earnest to Jewish and Gentile believers!  To all of us.  He insists that believers must live Godly lives.  It is not enough to just hear but not do.

He insists that believers must put off your old self.  That we must do, God cannot do that for us, we must decide to do it and do it!  We must deliberately abandon our own sinful selves, not just sinful ways but our sinful selves and put on the new self.  What is that new self?  One created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.  Does that describe me?  Of course, it does.  Praise God!

This we must understand if we are new creatures in Christ.  It is not a patch-up thing, but a complete change in thinking and walking with God.  I do believe that this is one of the most radical aspects of the Gospel, no religion or philosophy insists on such a complete putting off and putting on.

As I think of it, every believer can, and must do this.  Especially me!  Put off the old of this world and put on Christ.  This is happening today, all over our planet.  That is how radical following Christ is.

Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of people in their deceitful scheming. Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ.

Ephesians 4:14 – 15

No longer infants that are tossed about, lost, the Spirit encourages us to speak the truth in love and grow to maturity in the body of Jesus Christ.  All of us who have been called to love and follow Jesus Christ keep growing to become more and more like him.

Paul says, grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ.  One thing rings true to me, we must keep on growing.  We press on to respect Jesus’ maturity, in fact we are called to grow more and more into Jesus.   He is the Head, we are his body, if I read this right.  The body must respond to the head!

This is a wonderful picture – all believers everywhere at all times growing into Jesus, our Head, becoming like him!

How about the contrast between a helpless baby being thrown about and the believer whose whole life is concentrated on following the Lamb – I find it exhilarating and joyful, for an entire lifetime!

But to each one of us grace has been given as Christ apportioned it.  So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ. 

Ephesians 4:7, 11 – 13

This brings us to the heart of the issue – we believers have all been called by God, in Christ.  The calling is God’s doing, not ours.  God calls.  So that is clear, we who believe have been called, so we are equal with all believers in that regard.

But we are called for specific roles, so to speak.  Some are called to be apostles, others are prophets and evangelists, pastors and teachers.  We have the same calling, but our roles are different.  The different roles are determined by where we are in our cultures.

God supplies the gifts to enable his people to equip other believers for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ. I see something in this that moves me, Paul speaks of unity in the faith and knowledge of Jesus.  Let’s read again, unity in faith.  Not unity in practice, etc.  Our unity is spiritual!  All are unified in Christ.

Mature believers embrace the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.  This is hard to believe and even harder to live, but there is no other way.  All believers share a spiritual unity, but they work differently in cultures.  Our congregation called Chestnut Hill in Lancaster shares a living, binding unity with all believers in the world, yet believers in different parts of the world reach out to all cultures.

Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.

Ephesians 4:2, 3

In our prayer and fellowship group this morning at Oregon Dairy, we found ourselves wondering how to break out of our cultural cocoon, good as it may be, to connect with the great body of Christ, now spread from our doorstep here in Lancaster to the ends of the earth, stretching from our Chestnut Hill Mennonite Church to the mountains of Tibet, for example, where a local church is seeing the Gospel of Jesus open with full glory.   That country, that I visited several times, is one amazing place.  One person after an other is following Jesus Christ, though having been raised in Buddhism.   I recall praising God with a vibrant, healthy Christian group there.  A faith-building moment, indeed!

Paul instructs us to “keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.”  Come to think of it, what could be more difficult?  Maintaining that unity is one of the most difficult of any virtue to practice. Few even tink about it!

I must remember it is not unity of culture, but unity of the Spirit of the Lord.

The Body of Christ, this morning, is all over the planet, and expanding. People in more and more ethnic groups are embracing the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  Does that affect me at all?  Only if I allow Jesus to open my eyes to see his Body right now, covering the earth.  It is a new family made up of many groups, more than we can conceive of, stretching around the world.

Lord, I believe this.  Make it as real to me as life itself!!

I am not sure what happened but the few cabbage plants that Lisa and Alan planted at our place are riddled with what seems to be remants of some insects’ lunch.

As a prisoner for the Lord.

Ephesians 4:1

I think I am now right in reading the opening phrase, As a prisoner for the Lord.  Let me explain.  Over the years I think I just assumed it was “a prisoner of the Lord.”  No, no, “a prisoner for the Lord.”  Huge difference.  We are not unwilling prisoners in dungeons, put there by God.  Not a bit of it.  We are free human beings, freed by the shed blood of Jesus Christ.

As believers we are prisoners, for sure, but we are captured people who love the One who captured us and who has secured our lives forever.

As I read this, I see myself as a willing prisoner of my Redeemer and praise Him for keeping me safe.

Prisoners have very little freedom, in Christ we are freed prisoners, if we dare to say it in our terms. The two words seem opposite, free prisoners!  Maybe we should say, willing, thankful prisoners of Jesus Christ, our Fortress forever.

And to know the love of Christ, which passes knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God.

Ephesians 3:19

Since I was a child I sang with gusto, “Jesus loves me, this I know.”  My dear father loved to lead this little love song in the small churches we attended as I grew up.  He meant it.  And now as I sing this chorus or consider my love for Jesus, my heart overflows in praise – as I enter my 90^th year.

Know the love of Christ.  Is there anything more urgent or necessary?  I think not.   As I face life at this age, I meet the usual challenges, so I find great solace in the prompting of the Spirit of the Lord – Know the love of Christ.  Jesus has so many people to love, does he love me?  Absolutely.  This is not revealed truth that is hard to grasp, it is as practical as can be.  When my spirit is perturbed, I ask, “Does God love me?”  Even the question seems out of place because the answer is known by all believers, HE CARES.

We know that –  now we life in the light of it, without doubt or fear.  Surrounded by that love, we enjoy all the fulness of God.  So, be still my soul!