Posted by Pastor Pat on November 20, 2009
Read Ephesians 4:17-32
The intent of this article is to show how what we once were in Adam we no longer are, but still have. Paul’s point from the beginning of the letter all the way through chapter 3 is to note how those who were once in sin’s debt and alienated from God are now redeemed from sin and adopted into God’s family. He is their Father and they are His children.
Paul is clear in verses 17 through 22 as to what this in Adam condition looks like both as a state and as a function. I would like us to consider the graphic nature of Paul’s language in describing those apart from Christ. There are several descriptive phrases that help us mark the unbelieving state and practice.
First, there is the futility of their mind (v. 17). The word “futility” speaks to vanity, emptiness. “The word contains the idea of aimlessness, the leading to no object or end.”[1] It is the same word used in Romans 8:20 (“For the creation was subjected to futility. . .”) and in 2 Peter 2:18 (“For speaking out arrogant words of vanity. . . ”). There is emptiness to the conclusion drawn by those who do not and will not acknowledge God. Because there is no fear of God within their thinking, they have no wisdom (Ps. 111:10; Prov. 9:10). This is the manner of life that characterizes the unbelieving.
WAIT! There is more to read… read on »
Posted by Pastor Pat on November 5, 2009
Read Ephesians 1:15-23
In order to treat this passage appropriately, it must be read in light of what was just stated in 1:3-14: God as a trinity in the totality of His essence and energy redeemed His people from sin’s debt by forgiving their sins and then adopted them as His sons and daughters. All of this was freely bestowed and lavishly dispensed.
As those who are sons and daughters, Paul now prays for their continued growth in the knowledge of Him. Just as God can bless because He is blessed, so can He now give knowledge of His glory because He is the Father of glory.
Whatever the weight of the information given in verses 3-14 it is now expressed along three distinct petitions. The two ideas (vv. 3-14 and vv. 17-23) must be seen as complimentary and parallel. First, Paul prays that his audience would know the person of Christ. Christ as the agent through whom the Godhead works and reveals is central to the entire story. Unless and until we grasp this, nothing else matters. And when we do grasp this, nothing else matters. It is impossible to overstate the issue. If Jesus is not the centerpiece of one’s own personal story, then there is nothing but ultimate darkness and despair. The story of God was written in such a way that it cannot make sense apart from Jesus Christ as the cornerstone on which the entire structure rests, or as the linchpin that keeps the wheels from falling off the axle of life.
WAIT! There is more to read… read on »
