It Is Time To Repent

The exploration of repentance began while we were studying the book of Revelation with a young men's discipleship group.  The word "repent" is found in Revelation more than any other Bible book.  Twelve times it is written.  If you take into account the various forms of the word, the top three books are Luke, Revelation and Acts, in that order.  At its root, repent means "to perceive afterward, with the implication of being too late to avoid consequences."(Wuest)  This is very instructive for us.  It is after an action or a way of living or a way of speaking that one recognizes in his heart that it was wrong.  His mind about that event changes.  It seemed ok at the time or at least without consequence but now he recognizes that it was wrong.  He perceived afterward.  As a result, repentance is often defined as "to change one's mind."
God has given each one of us a conscience.  This conscience is like firmware in your computer - it comes with it.  It is part of the programming.  This conscience gives us a general sense of right and wrong.  All peoples in every society have a general sense of right and wrong - of rule, of law.  Ultimately, our greatest need is to find that our wrong actions/words not only offend our own conscience but God Himself.  We are all accountable to Him.  He made us.  It's His universe we live in.  He set the whole thing in motion and the rules that govern it.  Our problem is that sin has corrupted us and we don't want Him to rule.  We don't want Him to rule us.  We are the problem.  The sin in us shows itself in our sinning.  Our sins display to us that we are sinners.  Yup.
The consequence of sin is death - a forever separation from God and all things good.  That means all humanity is heading to forever sorrow, forever weakness, forever guilt, forever shame, forever inadequacy, forever pain, forever anger, forever and ever etc when they die.  Where is the way?  Where is the way out?  God's way out begins with repentance.  It is agreeing with God about the problem - our sin.  Once this occurs, we find forgiveness only in Jesus and we are set free.  It is time to repent.

One Small Step

In the first three chapters of Ephesians, we read of the many works that God has performed on our behalf - all kinds of works.  He has blessed us with every spiritual blessing (1:3), chose us in Him that we should be holy and blameless (1:4), predestined us to be in His special family because He wanted to (1:5), redeemed us through His blood (1:7), forgiven us of our sins (1:7), made known to us His hidden plans (1:9), predestined us for an inheritance (1:11) - can you imagine what kind of inheritance comes from God?! - sealed us for His ownership (1:13), made us alive (2:1,4), raised us up (2:6), made us sit together in heaven (1:6), brought us near (2:13), gave us access to God (2:18), made us fellow citizens (2:19), building us together with other Christians for a place for God to dwell (2:22), and made us heirs (3:6).  Ephesians chapters 1-3 can simply be called "God's work".  What work has been done on our behalf!  All of these things belong forever to those who are "in Him".
Now in Chapter 4, Paul brings all of this truth to bear on each one of us individually.  Chapters 4-6 can simply be called "Our walk".  We arrive at the first verse in chapter 4 - "I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called."  The word worthy means bringing up the other beam of the scales / equivalent / same weight.  We can see it now in our mind's eye - one side of the scales holding a weight that is frankly so heavy that it is not measurable.  A bulging, overflowing mass of beauty and perfection - the very work of God Himself living, dying, resurrecting and giving all things inexhaustibly to all who would receive Him - because He loves us!  The other side . . . well . . . it is our walk.  Our response to this gift of salvation.  And, according to Paul, it is to have the same weight.  Our walk is to balance the scale.  It is to be of equal weight, power, effect, gravity, force, etc.  So it is with astonishment when we read the first word to describe our walk that is to bring up the other beam of the scale.  What is the flagship word to describe our walk?!  Lowliness.  A voluntary submission.  Essentially, humility.  And not just lowliness, but all lowliness.  All kinds of lowliness.  From this starting point - this one - Paul takes us step by step into the Christian's walk.

The Famous One

In Chapter 2, Paul tells us how bad things really were before we came to know Christ.  We were dead - incapable of moving in God's direction - because we lived our days in the realm of sin.  Our lives were a continuous display of missing the mark.  Whether by much or by little, we deviated from what we knew to be the right way to live.  Every one of us lived in this way - also known as the way of the world.  We walked according to the subtle but powerful influence of man's thoughts, ideas, theories, philosophies etc that have no root in God.  Satan himself is the origin of this worldly spirit that influences/controls men who are living apart from God.  We did whatever the flesh and the thoughts wished to do.  God's judgment was bearing down upon all of us.  We were in shackles with no key to be found.

Now, God could not help but move in our direction.  Verse 4 is breathtaking.  God is very wealthy, specifically having an overabundance of mercy.  A good definition of mercy is "kindness or goodwill towards the miserable and the afflicted, joined with a desire to help them."  (ie: Ps 146:5-9)  We were certainly miserable and afflicted.  It is God's very nature to move toward people like this and benefit them.  This is an extreme comfort to us.  He truly is a VERY present help in time of need.  This is the heart of God.  It is who He is.  Paul points out that all of this mercy is born from God's agape love - the kind of love that blesses others while expecting nothing in return.  It is when we were dead that we heard God knocking on our hearts!  Dead!!!!  This makes perfect sense.  What mercy!  He made us alive, raised us up and seated us with Christ in the heavenly places.  What a blessing.  All creation will pause . . . forever.  We will look upon Him in wonder for all eternity.  Whatever age comes.  So much grace, so much mercy, so much kindness.

This is the context of 2:8,9 - those famous verses.  "For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast."  Salvation is a gift.  Its source is not out of ourselves, nor is its source out of our works.  It is by grace.

The Christian is now given the opportunity to walk in good works designed just for us by God Himself.  Our walk is different now.

All Done

The substance of the letter starts at such a lofty height (1:3) that it is difficult to appreciate what it really means.  God has "blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places."  "Every" is certainly an all-encompassing word.  One note here is that the action of blessing occurred in the past. It is in the aorist tense which means that the action or event is seen without regard to its duration.  Moulton comments: "an event as a single whole, without regarding the time taken in its accomplishment."  The action is seen as a completed event.  Though it may take place over time, it is already a done deal in the divine mind.  We have been blessed with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places.  In God's mind, all of this has taken place already.
It is good for us to also see in this passage that these blessings all flow to those "in Christ".  This cannot be overstated.  Someone may read this passage and tire of the repetition.  This cannot be for the seasoned Christian.  Every time we read this short phrase, "in Christ" or "in Him", we are settled and strengthened in our walks.  Those who are in Christ will be "holy and blameless before Him."  They also become adult sons in God's family.  They have redemption.  They have forgiveness of sins.  They know the mystery of His will.  They have an inheritance.  They were sealed by the Holy Spirit.  These are the things that God wanted to give to those who believe.  Notice how the choosing and predestining (1:4 and 1:5 and 1:11) are really not focusing on salvation at all.  These are statements that focus on the blessings that flow to those "in Christ".  Wuest comments: "the emphasis is on the choosing, not on the unchosen, and that the chosen of God were to attain the object stated."  These facts are true of the "in-Christ-ians".
One of the beauties of this passage is that the action words here are ALL in the aorist tense.  They are all done deals in the divine mind.  So, all of these blessings are ours in full, right now.  If they are completed actions in His mind, then they should be so in ours.  We who are in Christ.

Heaven on earth

We are starting in Ephesians in our home group.  This is truly a heavenly book.  Paul wrote this letter to the Ephesian church around AD60 while he was in prison.  Paul had visited Ephesus several years earlier (Acts 18:19).  That visit would mark the beginning of a deep and long relationship that Paul would have with the church.  Much of Acts 19 and 20 focus on Ephesus.  Timothy would also become the pastor of the church which in time gave us First and Second Timothy.  John wrote about Ephesus also in Revelation 3, being the church that he likely died among. It would do us well to study this group of people.  As is widely known, Ephesians is divided into two parts.  Chapters 1-3 reveal God's heavenly work.  Chapters 4-6 reveal our heavenly walk.
The letter introduces us to Paul "an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God."  Apostle means 'one sent forth with orders.'  Very important here to note 'with orders'.  Further, the sending was by God's will.  He wanted to send him.  God had something to say.  Can you imagine that?  God had something to say to people!  And, He has something to say to us.  God wants us to know something.  And it's a lot.
The letter was written to the saints who are in Ephesus, and faithful in Christ Jesus.  This greeting alone would give us good footing to see that this letter was written directly to us who are "faithful in Christ Jesus."
The classic greeting from Paul ensues - "Grace to you and peace from God . . "  Grace means unmerited favor, though her a better reading would be 'divine enablement'.  Paul saw the people who make up His church as living their day to day lives - working, providing for their families, talking, fearing, hurting, eating, sleeping etc.  All the hallmarks of the daily human experience.  It is here, in this down to earth living, that this comment is made.  You, you saint, right where you are in your day, be divinely enabled to walk through your moment with God's enablement - whatever enablement is needed.  Hope, courage, power, patience, peace, love etc.
Furthermore, have peace in that moment - your moment.  Peace means tranquility, having a heart that is exempt from the rage/havoc of war.  A state of untroubled or undisturbed well-being.  Right where you are.  So, Paul wants the believers to have God's enablement to live their daily lives, every day, and to have God's peace govern their hearts as they live them.
You see, we walk in the world immersed among the earthly masses.  God wrote this book to help us see that we are actually a heavenly outpost here on earth.  Our life is heavenly - bearing the marks of heaven.  Even, right where you are.

What time is it?

We have been going through Jeremiah in our home group.  Known as the weeping prophet, Jeremiah is God's final prophet to the nation of Israel in the days of the kings.  Israel had been backsliding for years and they are now confronted with Jeremiah's solitary voice calling them back into relationship with him.  So long and so heavy had been the departure from their God that Israel entirely rejected the voice of the weeping prophet.
In verse 8:5 of his prophetic book, Jeremiah asks "why has this people slidden back, Jerusalem, in a perpetual backsliding."  They just kept going.  Perpetual can also mean "first rate".  "They hold fast to deceit, they refuse to return."  Jeremiah listened to the discussions on the street corners of Jerusalem.  Each citizen putting forth all sorts of ideas on all sorts of topics.  Who did what to whom?  Did you see what happened yesterday?  I have a good deal for you!  What is going on?  Ulterior motives.  Gossip.  Conniving.  In all of these words, . . . no one spoke aright.  What was the result of all the banter?  No man repented of his wickedness, saying, "what have I done?"  Everyone ran ahead to pursue whatever he thought was cool.  These conversations showed the hearts of the people - an array of pursuits - a host of youtube videos spreading all sorts of ideas.  Fleshly pursuits.  Each one turned to his own course, much like the horse rushes into the battle.  Full steam ahead!
Jeremiah then draws on nature to help illustrate timing.  Even the stork in the heavens knows her appointed times; other animals also know how seasons come and go.  The turtledove arrives in Judea in early spring and departs on its migratory route at the end of summer.  Even animals know when the end of their time in the land is coming.  They observe the appointed times.  "But My people do not know the judgment of the Lord".  There is an appointed time for everything.

Power

David and his men had been protecting Nabal's sheep from thieves (1 Sam 25).  On a day when the kindness of David should have been repaid, Nabal scoffed at David's men and refused their request for some food.  They returned to David to inform him of the news.  David's response was decisive, "every man gird on his sword." (!)  The weight of the injustice must be measured in full upon Nabal.  Get him!

Without any notable delay, David was at the head of 400 men hurrying through the wilderness toward Carmel.  He was convinced of his mission and rehearsed the injustice.  (ever been there?)  "Surely in vain I have protected all that this fellow has in the wilderness, so that nothing was missed of all that belongs to him.  And he has repaid me evil for good.  May God do so, and more also, to the enemies of David, if I leave one male of all who belong to him by morning light."  They made there way down the side of a hill toward the valley floor at the bottom.  It seems to have been a noisy band of testosterone - beards, sweat and all.  Go David!  Get him!  Charge!

Suddenly, a woman appeared.   She was ready for him, but he was not ready for her.  She dismounted from her donkey, fell on her face before David, bowed down to the ground and fell at his feet.  "On me, my lord, me . . this iniquity . . . "  Panting and confused, the men looked to David.  "Halt!"  David was just accosted with wisdom.  First, she went low.  She immediately injects something new into the scene.  It knocks the anger in David's heart off the throne.  Then, Abigail diverts the target of David's anger from Nabal to herself.  On me she says, on me.  One woman stopped a small army!