Day two

DAY 2 Day of the week

Pray for your family. It is important to take time to pray for those related to you. Remember, God has placed you in your family for a reason!

P — Praise God for His wisdom in placing you in your family.

R — Ask for forgiveness for times when you have not treated your family well.

A — Present your requests to God. Ask Him to help you love your family better each day.

Y — Recognize the gift of a family, whatever yours may look like.

Questions to think about:

What are the differences in your family?

Can you start looking at those differences as strengths you can learn from?

Day One

Pray for your relationship with God. When your connection with your Heavenly Father is strong, it prepares you to contribute to His Kingdom.

P — Praise God for creating you and for how much He loves you.

R — Ask for forgiveness for the times when you have taken that relationship for granted.

A — Present your requests to God. Ask Him to strengthen your relationship with Him.

Y — Recognize the gift of a relationship with Jesus Christ.

Questions to think about:

What are things that distract you from focusing on your relationship with God?

What can you do to change that?

Philippians 4:10-23

Today we arrive at the end of the letter to the Philippians. This letter has taken a deep look at joy and rejoicing that comes about as we walk in the Lord. This type of joy and its expression that emanates through our acts of rejoicing is something that is only truly found in us as we walk closely with our Lord. Praise God for His grace in instilling His joy in us!

Last week we discussed unity, rejoicing, gentleness, prayer, peace, thanksgiving, and our thought-life. There was so much good instruction from Paul in these verses on how we are to walk in the Lord. Now Paul wants us to look inward and understand what it means to “do all things through Him who strengthens me”.

Philippians 4:10-13:

10 But I rejoiced in the Lord greatly, that now at last you have revived your concern for me; indeed, you were concerned before, but you lacked opportunity.

11 Not that I speak from want, for I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am.

12 I know how to get along with humble means, and I also know how to live in prosperity; in any and every circumstance I have learned the secret of being filled and going hungry, both of having abundance and suffering need.

13 I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.

Verse 13 is one of those verses that everyone quotes (but most of the time it’s quoted out of the context in which it was originally written). I’ve heard many people quote this verse, but more so from athletes after they’ve won the “big” game. I’ve wondered if they studied that verse if they would continue to say it in the same manner on camera to their adoring fans.

In order to study and unpack the meaning of verse 13 ,one of the first questions we need to ask is, “What are the ‘all things’ mentioned in this verse?” The word “all” can be used in slightly different ways. For instance, it can be as an absolute, meaning absolutely everything. Or it can be comprehensively as in capturing all items in a list. The difference can be explained with a simple example. If you were asked to, “Get all things from the grocery store.” What does that mean? Now, outside of any extra context, this would seem to mean that you are required to empty the grocery store of absolutely every item and return home with those items. But if you were previously given a list of 5 items to get at the grocery store then the meaning of this request would be significantly different.

So it is with the “all things” in verse 13. In fact, the NIV translates this phrase slightly differently. The NIV states: “I can do all this through Him who gives me strength.” The reason for this translation is that the Greek word for “all things” is penta. However, this Greek word can mean all or every one. To put a finer point on it, instead of “every one” we could say “each one of these”.

Our next question becomes, “What does ‘this’ point to in ‘all this’?” (or ‘these’ in ‘each one of these’). Well, we would need to read the previous verses to understand that. The ‘this’ (or ‘these’) will be found there. In verse 11 Paul states that he has learned how to become content in whatever circumstance he is in. This is our first clue. We know that Paul suffered through many persecutions and rough circumstances. Currently he has been wrongfully imprisoned. If anything, that should cause Paul to be discontented or even angry. I would certainly understand if he were angry but he says he has learned to be content, even in this circumstance. However, this contentment has been learned, not simply bestowed on him once and for all. Paul, having gone through so many other painful circumstances, has learned from these that God is in control, not him. And in seeing blessing flow out of these painful circumstances, Paul is content to be in them if for nothing else to further the gospel message. He has learned that God places him in these circumstances for the furtherance of the gospel.

Paul further defines his contentment in verse 12. Here Paul begins by saying that he understands how to go about life with little and with much. That is, Paul will be content regardless of how much or how little he has. In this statement Paul is talking about having little or much in the way of the necessities of life: housing, food, clothing, money, etc.

We can easily say to ourselves that we can be content with much, but can we say the same of the opposite (when we have little)? With little we are forced to rely on God’s sufficiency in our lives (for a refresher on Christ’s all sufficiency re-read Colossians). However, with much we are tempted to rely on our own strength. We might say I have enough to weather bad times or I was strong enough or smart enough to bring about all of this (when we know deep down it was God’s strength and good blessings all along). Think of all the wealthy people living today. Most of them write and speak about how “they” accumulated their wealth and how “they” have so much. But also look at their lives and their decisions. They are never satisfied, always pushing for more. Always chasing the wind.

Elon Musk is a prime example. He’s a brilliant man who is one of the richest in the world. I too, as an engineer, am constantly amazed at his ability to comprehend tough problems and seek out a solution. But he is constantly searching and working towards almost unattainable goals each and every day. He is not content; rather, he is one of the most discontented and unsatisfied people I can think of.

Consider also the millionaire Bryan Johnson who gained wealth through tech entrepreneurship. He is spending $2 million a year to reverse his own aging. This is essentially a vain struggle to find the fountain of youth, so to speak. Rather than saying, “I am content with what I have now” these ultra-rich are falling deeper and deeper into discontentment with their lives and with what they have. They want more wealth, more companies to control, more time on Earth, more more more. It’s all just not enough for them. Yet, for myself, as one who will never see even a small fraction of their wealth, I do not envy them or wish that I were in their shoes. I am content…Lord help me with my discontentment as I am not perfected yet.

Having it all does not lead to contentment, it leads us away from it, unless Christ is at the center of your life. With Christ as our focus (as it was for Paul) our eyes get off of our knowledge, wealth, and power, or lack of it and on to Christ who is the real sufficiency in our lives.

This leads us into our next question. If sufficiency is not found in much then where (or better yet, who) is it found in? Verse 13 points us to the answer…Christ. Christ is our strength. Christ strengthens us. He strengthens us not only when we are lacking but also when we have much. As we have seen, having much can easily lead us astray; however, Christ’s strength prevents us from going astray when we have much. This allows us to use our blessings for God’s glory and not our own. Therefore, when you have much, seek God as to how to live life contently with what you have been blessed with. Otherwise, you may have many sleepless nights worrying about losing your great blessings.

This is critical to understand, that we cannot do anything apart from Him who strengthens us. Even Christ tells us we cannot do anything apart from Him in John 15:5:

5 “I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing.

Apart from Christ and His strength we cannot be content in any situation.

The final question is one of application. How do I go about learning to be content? Again we can go back to the beginning of this section (verse 10) where Paul talks of rejoicing (and he says it twice, so it must be important for us to hear). Trev has even spoken of this several times in his sermons on this letter. He said that to rejoice you must essentially count your blessings. Write them down. Meditate on what Christ has done for you and blessed you with. I try to do this every morning (well almost every morning). Over time your joy will build and displace your discontentment and dissatisfaction.

Knowing this we can look back at those who quote this verse out of its intended context. This verse is pointing to a confident, humble contentment in the circumstances of life both good and bad. Athletes who quote this scripture after winning the big game must also quote this scripture after every devastating loss as well. Otherwise, this verse loses its intended meaning…to glorify God above all through our contentment in ALL circumstances!

Philippians 4:14–19:

14 Nevertheless, you have done well to share with me in my affliction.

15 You yourselves also know, Philippians, that at the first preaching of the gospel, after I left Macedonia, no church shared with me in the matter of giving and receiving but you alone;

16 for even in Thessalonica you sent a gift more than once for my needs.

17 Not that I seek the gift itself, but I seek for the profit which increases to your account.

18 But I have received everything in full and have an abundance; I am amply supplied, having received from Epaphroditus what you have sent, a fragrant aroma, an acceptable sacrifice, well-pleasing to God.

19And my God will supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus.

“Not that I seek the gift itself, but I seek for the profit which increases to your account.” Paul is living out the words he just wrote in the previous verses (verses 11-13), which we just discussed. This, my friend, is contentment. Seeking not the blessing on himself (regardless of how much he needed that blessing) but rather seeking the blessings of God on others.

Furthermore, Paul says in verse 18 that he has everything he needs. Not only everything he needs, but he has his needs fulfilled with an abundance. Again, this is contentment lived out.

Contentment has another side-effect, as it were. To seek the welfare of others. Here in verses 18b-19 Paul explains that he knew that the Philippians’s giving of themselves to supply his needs was a gracious sacrifice. This sacrifice was pure and as such, acceptable and well-pleasing to God Himself. Their sacrifice, although painful, would be a blessing to the Philippians beyond what they could imagine. In other words, God would provide for them, meeting all their needs. More than that, Paul states that not only will God supply all their needs, but that He will supply all their needs according to His riches in glory. I cannot imagine that God’s riches in glory are anything but infinite. Therefore, He has more than enough to supply our needs as we, in turn, supply the needs of others. That is a comforting thought indeed.

Philippians 4:19-23:

20 Now to our God and Father be the glory forever and ever. Amen.

21 Greet every saint in Christ Jesus. The brethren who are with me greet you.

22 All the saints greet you, especially those of Caesar’s household.

23 The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit.

As we finish up the last few verses of this amazing letter we might read through the closing of this letter too quickly. If so, we would miss some important things spoken here. The first is the doxology in verse 20. We’ve heard this verse many times in other verses, in songs we sing, or in teaching/preaching. However, we should never just read through this without considering its place within the whole of this letter.

One big theme of this letter was joy (the noun) and rejoicing (the verb). Other themes were walking in the Lord, contentment, and unity of the body among other things. None of these things can exist or even continue without God and His provisions for us. When non-believers see our joy and our unified rejoicing as we walk a difficult road with our Lord, they begin to see not us but God’s and His great grace and mercy. This outward expression of our faith brings more glory to God than we can imagine. And God’s glory will draw unbelievers to Him.

Philippians is a letter about joy to be sure, but joy is only one piece of the immense puzzle. Once all the pieces are in place the final picture is one of God’s glory, which outshines everything for all eternity!

Paul concludes with an exhortation to greet each and every one of God’s people in Christ Jesus. This is followed by greetings from those brothers and sisters in the faith that were with Paul. First, from those who were immediately surrounding Paul. I would think Timothy and Epaphroditus would be included in this group. Second, from those believers in the church at Rome where Paul was imprisoned. Thirdly, and most emphatically, Caesar’s household, which would have consisted not only of family members but also people of the court, food tasters, musicians, soldiers, etc, etc. I would think that Paul placed special emphasis on Caesar’s household due to the fact that these were more recent converts. Paul would have wanted this group to become more mature in the faith and not fall away or stumble. Having the body of believers welcome these new believers was one way to strengthen their bonds to other believers. It is much easier to drift away from Christ and towards sin if you are alone in the faith but when you are together, surrounded by others of the same faith, it is very difficult indeed to drift away from Christ.

Finally, in the last verse (v23) of this letter Paul leaves us with his wish that the grace of Jesus would be with them. This verse acts as a kind of bookend to Philippians 1:2 where we read essentially the same words:

2Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

I also pray that God’s great grace and incomprehensible peace would fall on the body of believers at Crossings Church and throughout all God fearing churches. For without this grace and peace how will we be able to truly be joyful and continue rejoicing through contentment in all situations be it in suffering or in abundance? And if we cannot be content, joyful, at peace, and unified then how can we glorify our great God?

Philippians 4:2-9

In our last study we considered the active role we have in advancing the gospel. We saw that it begins with having a right spirit coupled with resolute determination. Paul used the example of the Olympic runner sprinting to the finish line, straining for all he’s worth to win the prize. As we move into chapter four, Paul is going to make it more personal, with specific corrections and exhortations, to the point of naming names!

Philippians 4:2-3

2 I plead with Euodia and I plead with Syntyche to be of the same mind in the Lord. 3 Yes, and I ask you, my true companion, help these women since they have contended at my side in the cause of the gospel, along with Clement and the rest of my co-workers, whose names are in the book of life.

Paul, with these verses, reminds us that we are reading a real letter from a real person to a group of real people. The names Euodia (“a prosperous journey”) and Syntyche (“a pleasant acquaintance”) have now been preserved for over 2,000 years. Neither of these women are mentioned anywhere else in Scripture. While we know nothing else about them except their names, it is obvious they had a serious enough disagreement that word of it traveled all the way from Philippi to Rome—a distance of over 800 miles—to where Paul was imprisoned. So serious was their disagreement that it was affecting the unity of the entire Philippian church.

Recall that Paul had mentioned the importance of unity earlier in the letter: “Then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and purpose.” (Philippians 2:2). He now zeroes in on what can harm, or even destroy, unity: disagreement; not being “one-souled.” Unity has the idea of harmony. In music, harmony is the pleasing sound of two or more different notes played together. Harmony can simply mean a combination of different parts. When we hear musical notes that are in harmony, our ears are pleased. When there is mis-harmony it makes us want to cover our ears. Paul is instructing these two women, “Get back in harmony, you two! You’re ruining it for the whole orchestra!”

Again, we are not given the details of the disagreement between these two women, but one consequence of unresolved conflict between believers is that others tend to choose sides. This, all too often, results in a church split, robbing the church of its power and its testimony (reputation) in the community. Paul pleads, for the sake of the gospel, put aside your personal differences. This is as relevant for the 21st century church as it was for the 1st century church. The cause of Christ must always trump our personal desires and preferences.

The word “companion” in verse 3 has the idea of two oxen in a yoke pulling together. It is the example Paul uses when he speaks about believers not being unequally yoked together with unbelievers in his second letter to the church at Corinth (2 Corinthians 6:14). Companion has the idea of partners that are equal in a specific endeavor. Most likely, the Greek word for “companion” or “loyal yokefellow” (Syzygus) was actually the name of a man; an elder of the Philippian Church (see Philippians 1:1). Thus, a paraphrase of the verse might read, “Syzygus, my trusted companion, please go and straighten out Euodia and Syntyche.”

Paul emphasizes that these women are Christians, with their names written in the “book of life” (Luke 10:20; Revelation 20:11). Previously, they have co-labored with Paul and others advancing the gospel. Whatever their dispute, they had gotten their eyes off Christ and the work they have been given to do. Hopefully, Syzygus can get them to re-focus and renew their previous relationship, when they worked, along with other believers, together in unity.

It would be better if we didn’t need them, but peacemakers serve an important function in the body of Christ. These are the exceptional people with the credibility, personality, and people-skills necessary to help people in conflict to reconcile. Matthew 18 provides the Biblical foundation for settling disagreements, but often a neutral third-party is necessary in order to get the two sides communicating and ultimately resolving their differences. Syzygus seems to be one of these peacemakers that Jesus calls blessed (Matthew 5:9).

Philippians 4:4-7

4 Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! 5 Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. 6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Paul swings back to the command he has given six times previously in his letter to the Philippians. Emphatically, he says, “Rejoice in the Lord always. I’ll say it again: Rejoice! (note the exclamation mark). This seems to continue and settle the discussion begun in verse 2. Two women have gotten their eyes off the Lord and onto themselves and their relationship with each other. Paul instructs them, (and each of us!), to rejoice.

Two weeks ago, we did a deep dive into the word rejoice. Recall that in Greek, the word translated rejoice is charió, (khah’-ee-ro) which literally means to be “favorably disposed to God’s grace.” It is a verb; to be cheerful, delighted.

As in chapter three, Paul now adds the term, “in the Lord” to the instruction to rejoice. As we previously determined, this signifies where the believer’s joy exists, irrespective of circumstance. True joy is found in relationship with the sovereign Lord. It’s possible that Paul, continuing his concerns about Euodia and Syntyche, is giving his yokefellow, Syzygus, the reconciling words to give to the feuding women. “Tell them to get their eyes off each other, and their differences, and get their eyes back on the Lord. How? By rejoicing. Here, let me say it again. Rejoice!”

Whether Paul was specifically considering Euodia and Syntyche will have to be left to conjecture, as we are given no further details. But, all of us can benefit by adopting Paul’s encouraging instruction. By sheer repetition (he has now repeated the word eight times!), we can rightly conclude that this is the key theme in the letter. If we don’t remember anything else, we all need to rejoice in the Lord.

Paul, after encouraging his readers to rejoice, says that we should be gentle, so gentle, in fact, that everyone recognizes it. The Greek word for “gentleness” is epieikes and has the idea of assuming a non-retaliatory spirit. Joy (and rejoicing) is an inner quality and may not always be seen, but how one reacts to others—whether in gentleness or harshness—will be noticed by everyone.

Why be gentle? Well, first it’s what Jesus Christ modeled for us, and conforms with what He said, “Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.” (Matthew 11:29) But Paul gives another reason: the Lord is near. This may mean that God is near in time and space, which is certainly true, or it may mean that His imminent return is getting nearer. Both interpretations are valid and consistent with all other Scripture. Christ’s return to earth, and the sense of urgency associated with that prophetic event, is more likely what Paul has in mind.

With Christ’s promised return and God’s promise to never leave or forsake believers, Paul says that there is no need to be anxious. Fuss and worry are signs of a lack of trust in God’s provision, His power, and His sovereignty. As part of the Beatitudes, Jesus spoke about the futility of worry, reminding His followers that worry won’t add a single hour to one’s life (Matthew 6:25-33). Paul echoes Christ’s caution and gives the antithetic to worry; prayer. Don’t worry about anything. Pray about everything.

If you’re old enough to remember Mad magazine, you may have a mental picture of Alfred E. Neuman uttering the familiar words, “What, me worry?” The implication was that Alfred didn’t have a care in the world. Paul here is not talking about a carefree life where nothing matters. Quite the opposite. To care is one thing, to worry is something quite different. Paul and Timothy, and many others, cared deeply about the people they ministered to, but their care always involved trust in God. To worry speaks of a lack of trust, especially a lack of trust in God. Paul says, “Don’t do it.” Instead, take everything to God in prayer, with a thankful heart.

Pastor Trev has often remarked that it is impossible to hate or despise someone when you are praying for them. This may be one more solution Paul is giving about the situation with Euodia and Syntyche: pray for each other! If they did that, there’s a good chance that the wall between them would melt away. What good advice that is for each of us. Instead of worrying about the reason why someone hurt our feelings or disrespected us in some way, what if we prayed for them, sincerely asking for God’s blessing in their lives? That step alone, and its obvious juxtaposition from harboring an attitude of unforgiveness, would probably resolve most ruptured relationships. The reason is obvious: the focus is entirely altered from the horizontal (offense) to the vertical (blessing).

Paul says that by taking everything to God and waiting on Him, we get the remedy for worry; peace. Not peace like the world talks about, but peace that transcends the physical earthly realm to the eternal spiritual realm of God. This kind of peace, Paul declares, goes beyond human intellect, analysis, or insight. We gain it because we have a belief that God the Father always does what is best for His children. It’s a promise that God makes to the nation of Israel, and because it conforms with his perfect immutable (unchanging) nature, it is also a promise for each of us who have put our trust in Him, “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future.” (Jeremiah 29:11)

The peace that comes to us directly from God, comes with a seal of protection that will guard or heart and mind. The Greek word for “guard” is a military term meaning “to keep watch over.” It is continual, and because it is over our heart and mind, it is comprehensive, covering our entire inner being.

Paul concludes this section of his letter with a word we have heard from him before, the word “finally.” It was the opening word in chapter 3 which we studied two weeks ago. Now, as then, Paul means he is shifting focus slightly, making another related but important point. The point he wants to make is about our thought life.

Philippians 4:8-9

8 Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. 9 Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.

Paul mentions six things that define a wholesome thought life, each is preceded by the word “whatsoever.” In the Greek, “whatever” is plural, which means that multiple variations of the same thought pattern could be included under each. The six things Paul says we should think about are things that are: true, noble, right, pure, lovely, and admirable.

It is logical and reasonable that Paul would begin the list with the most important of the six items; think on that which is true. If we want to know whether a thing is true, we should begin with God and His word. Pontius Pilate posed the question to the Author of Truth, standing right before him, when he asked, “What is truth?” Truth is a person, the person Jesus Christ. Jesus said it Himself in that familiar passage, John 14:6: “I am the way, the truth, and the life.” If we want to think on things that are true, our attention should continually be drawn to Jesus.

Next on Paul’s list of worthwhile thoughts, is thinking about that which is noble. The word “noble” in the Greek is semna and means: “dignified; worthy of respect.” In our celebrity-driven culture, often what is held up for our admiration is profane, irreverent and often outright blasphemous. YouTube and TikTok may not be the best sources if we are seeking that which is noble and worthy of our respect.

“Right” (or “just” in some translations) refers to that which is in harmony or conformity to God’s standard. I’m amused at times when I see what various groups are demonstrating about and claiming are their “rights.” Often, these “rights” have little or nothing to do with God’s standards. The Founding Fathers had it correct when they declared that the only true rights—those that are guaranteed to all of us—are those rights which are inalienable: from God!

“Pure” (Greek: hagna) thoughts are those that are clean and undefiled, not mixed with moral impurity. The 21st century media does not produce much that qualifies as pure. We’re going to have to look elsewhere if we want our minds focused on what is pure. The Bible is a good place to start.

In the Greek, the word for “lovely” is prosphilés and actually has the idea of that which is amiable, that which promotes peace rather than conflict. How much of our thought life is wasted, thinking about ways we can get even with those who have offended us in some way? Paul cautions that our time is better spent thinking about ways we can avoid conflict, becoming lovely.

Last in the list is “admirable,” or “of good report.” In the Greek the word used here is euphemia (yoo-fay-mee-ah). It is where we get the English word euphemism, which relates to that which is positive rather than negative. It has the idea of finding something constructive instead of destructive. It does not mean avoiding difficult situations or difficult people. Rather, it means finding the most constructive language we can use. I’ve heard the term “soft landing” used for such situations. The plane has to land, but it need not bounce harshly on the runway.

Taken together, Paul sums up these six thought-focuses as excellent and praiseworthy. In his second letter to the Corinthian church, Paul cautions that we should “bring every thought into captivity.” No doubt about it, in the age in which we find ourselves, we are being continually bombarded with messages that can trigger wrong thoughts. Left unattended, these thoughts can take us further and further from God. Just pausing for a second to ask ourselves if what we are thinking about is true, right, noble, pure, lovely, or admirable can safeguard our hearts and minds.

Paul concludes by reminding his readers that the Christian life involves not only proper thinking, but proper acting. If there is any doubt what this looks like, Paul says, “You see it in me, now go and do likewise.” Paul did not only teach, he lived out what he taught, and he continually encouraged others to do the same.

We conclude this week’s study with two questions: Do we have those godly examples in our life that we can imitate? And, are we modeling godly lives for those who are watching us? Paul affirms that God has given us all we need so that we can give a resounding “yes,” to both questions.

Philippians 3:12-4:1

We ended our last study with Paul writing that he desired to know and experience two things intimately: the power of the resurrection and the fellowship of suffering. These two—power and suffering—we learned, are inseparably linked.

This week we move from our having a proper attitude (continually rejoicing!) to the actual work required to advance the gospel. Pastor Trev, an accomplished nationally-recognized weight lifter, has given us the key to successfully lifting heavy weights: mental and physical preparation, combined with maximum physical effort, are required to achieve success. In other words, it takes an equal measure of both in order to lift the bar—weighing, perhaps, 700 pounds or more!

Similarly, Paul, having laid a strong and confident spiritual foundation, now moves his readers to the mental and physical effort that is also necessary in order to actually live out the Christian life as God intends.

Philippians 3:12-16

12 Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. 13 Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, 14 I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. 15 All of us, then, who are mature should take such a view of things. And if on some point you think differently, that too God will make clear to you. 16 Only let us live up to what we have already attained.

Much as Pastor Trev has used the contest of power lifting to encourage us in a victorious walk with Christ, Paul uses the Greek sport of running; specifically of a runner giving his all to win first place. Paul cautions that none of us, not even Paul himself, has achieved perfection.

Paul, by this time, had been a Christian for around thirty years. He had won many spiritual battles and had grown much over the decades, but he still had more to achieve.

We may look at Paul, this giant of the faith, and think, “Wow, if he can’t achieve it, what chance do I have?” And, in fact, Paul does encourage us to look at his life. Later in this letter he says, “Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put into practice.” (Philippians 4:9)

But we must remind ourselves that neither Paul, nor any other human, is the standard by which we measure ourselves. The standard is God. He’s the perfect standard. If we look and see someone else achieving more for the kingdom than we are, that should not deter us from giving our all. I think Paul may have had Jesus’ words in mind, “Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.” (Matthew 5:48)

We often throw around words like “good,” “better,” “bad,” and “worse.” We use these words as adjectives or adverbs to compare one thing or person with another. For example: Mother Teresa is better than Adolph Hitler. I doubt I would get much argument from that statement, but the breach between each of us and God, who is perfect, compared to the gap between these two mortals, is immeasurably larger.

Even though we cannot attain perfection, Paul says that we should not stagnate in our walk. We should “press on,” because we have been bought by Christ. In today’s vernacular it might sound like this: “It’s not who you are, but whose you are.” We are Christ’s, if we have put our faith in Him alone to make us right (and righteous) with God, and he has paid a great price for each of us.

The Greek word for “press on” is diōkō, which means to run swiftly (sprint) in order to catch a person or thing. To get the proper image, think of a policeman chasing a bad guy who just stole an elderly lady’s purse. Giving it all he has, the officer is in hot pursuit. That’s diōkō.

Going back a few studies, we talked about sanctification; growing in holiness. As he presses on, Paul pursues sanctification with all his might, straining every spiritual muscle in his attempt to win the prize. He encourages each of us to do the same. No strain, no gain!

Paul’s view is forward. He places special emphasis on this when he says (verse 13), “But one thing I do.” Paul has given much instruction in this letter, but he boils it down to the most important of the lessons; if you only hear one thing, hear this: press forward! Don’t look back!

In looking back and fixing our thoughts on the past, we risk one of two dangers: we focus and become paralyzed by past failures, or we rely on earlier successes, becoming lethargic in the present. We can enjoy the memories of previous victories, and learn from our past mistakes, but we cannot make either our primary focus. The best analogy I’ve heard is that of the large windshield and the small rear-view mirror in every vehicle. While it is important to periodically glance in the rear-view mirror, the front windshield and its view of what’s ahead, absolutely demands our primary attention and focus.

Jesus instructed his disciples not to look back when he told them, “No one who puts a hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God.” (Luke 9:62). I’m certainly no farmer, and I don’t believe any of those first disciples were either, but I can quickly see the dilemma. If I’m on the old trusty John Deere plowing the field and I’m constantly looking back, the rows are probably not going to be very straight, and at some point, I’ll doubtless crash. Much wiser to focus forward. Jesus agrees.

Paul is looking forward, so much so that he is straining. The Greek word for straining is epektasis, which has the idea of stretching to reach a goal. Picture the sprinter in the Olympics stretching for all he’s worth to hit that tape at the finish line ahead of the other runners. That’s the effort Paul is exerting, and he encourages us to do the same.

The “prize of the upward call” is that prize we can only obtain when Christ calls us into heaven and into His presence. The prize is unattainable in this life, yet we strive to achieve it. We give it our all with the full knowledge that we will gain it in the end.

Paul, in encouraging us to put everything we have into it—straining for the prize—knows the secret: we cannot lose! We press forward, not resting on the laurels of past accomplishments, or stuck in the mire or previous failures, because we have been promised that “He who began a good work in us will complete it.” (Philippians 1:6)

Jim Eliot, a missionary who gave up everything to reach remote tribes in Central America, understood Paul’s challenge. Before he was martyred by the very people with which he sought to share the gospel, he declared, “He is no fool who gives up what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose.” Jim Eliot won the prize of the upward call on an isolated beach in Equator. He did so, giving his all.

Paul now speaks (verse 17) to “those of us who are mature.” Again, the idea of sanctification is present; growing in holiness. As we grow spiritually, just as with anything that grows in nature, we mature. Interestingly, the Greek word for “mature” used here is teleios, the very same adjective translated “perfect” in verse 12. In essence, Paul says, “If you are really perfect/mature, you will realize you are not yet perfect/mature!” And, if you are offtrack in your thinking, Paul says God will reveal the truth to you.

The Greek word for reveal (apokalyptō) means to uncover or unveil. It literally means “to pull the lid off.” In English it is where we get the word apocalypse and it is the same word used for the title of the last book of the Bible; Revelation. Many listened to Paul and learned from him. They recognized the wisdom that God had given him, and they knew the sacrifices he had endured, to press on, sharing the gospel no matter the cost. Yet not all mature by following Paul’s example. Some will have to learn, perhaps the hard way, from God directly. God in His faithfulness will bring the maturity by revealing the truth to them eventually, perhaps through discipline. But it will be discipline dispensed with love.

The writer of Hebrews puts it this way: “No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.” (Hebrews 12:11) That term “a harvest of righteousness” speaks of maturity; when a crop has fully ripened and is ready to be picked.

Paul concludes his thought with the reminder that we should hold fast to the truth that we have attained righteousness in Christ. Not a righteousness of our own making, but a gift from God. Paul says, that knowing this truth, we should press on, maturing together, continuing to do so, right up until Christ calls us to be with Him in heaven.

Philippians 3:17-4:1

17 Join together in following my example, brothers and sisters, and just as you have us as a model, keep your eyes on those who live as we do. 18 For, as I have often told you before and now tell you again even with tears, many live as enemies of the cross of Christ. 19 Their destiny is destruction, their god is their stomach, and their glory is in their shame. Their mind is set on earthly things. 20 But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, 21 who, by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body. 4 Therefore, my brothers and sisters, you whom I love and long for, my joy and crown, stand firm in the Lord in this way, dear friends!

Paul encourages the Philippians follow his example and to imitate his relentless pursuit of Christ. Paul was not perfect. He said as much in verse 12. But, as has been the theme in this entire section of Scripture, his admonition is to move forward, press on, and to not look back. If they were not sure how to do this, Paul encourages them to keep their eyes on those who have proven themselves, including Paul himself. Recall that in our last study, Paul drew attention two examples of other godly men the Philippians could, and should, imitate: Timothy and Epaphroditus.

What an encouragement and challenge that should be for each of us. In truth, all believers are imperfect, but there are those that are less imperfect than others. And it is these imperfect earthly vessels that God uses to preserve, defend and spread the gospel. (2 Corinthians 4:7)

Though we may, at times struggle and feel ineffective, if we look around, we can find those who are doing better, those who are more mature in the faith. We can then do our best imitation of their attitude and their actions. In copying others who are more mature in the faith, I believe God, in His incredible grace, will even allow us to “fake it ‘til we make it.”

At any given time, I have at least three men in my life that I can turn to for encouragement and strength when I’m feeling ineffective. I thank God for these men of faith, and I hope that I can be a similar model for others. It is unwise and unhealthy to live as a “lone ranger” Christian. We need one another, mindful that “iron sharpens iron.” (Proverbs 27:17)

Following the encouragement to seek others to imitate in Christ-likeness, Paul gives a warning: not everyone who appears to be righteous is what they profess. There are those who are actually wolves in sheep’s clothing. There are probably two groups that he has in mind; Gnostics who keep trying to drag the Philippian believers back into legalism, and those who are libertines, “free thinkers” who behave without moral principles. At times they may appear godly and even offer to help in ministry, but below the surface they are worldly-minded.

Paul calls out one such man in his second letter to Timothy, “Demas, because he loved this world, has deserted me and has gone to Thessalonica.” (2 Timothy 4:10)

It breaks Paul’s heart and brings him to tears when he thinks about these “enemies of the cross of Christ,” which he has warned the believers about often in the past, and continues to do so now. These evil dogs talk about following God, but, in truth, their god is their belly and the things of this world.

David had similar misgivings as he looked out and saw the evil ones of his day prevailing, getting fatter and richer by the day. It made no sense until God gave David a glimpse into God’s sanctuary, then he understood their final destiny; utter destruction. (Psalm 73)

Paul concludes his tearful lament with a prophetic declaration, very much echoing David’s words: “Their end is destruction.”

With this warning, Paul directs the believers to focus their minds on the eternal rather than the temporal, to their promised destination—citizenship in heaven—the place where God dwells and Christ is present (John 14:1-3).

The Greek term for “citizenship” refers to a colony of foreigners. It was used to describe a city that kept the names of its citizens on a register. God has a register; the Book of Life. When we accept Christ through faith, our name is immediately written is this register. Once our name is written, we become eternal citizens. Our names are written in ink, and there is no Wite-Out in heaven! We are sealed with Christ for eternity!

For now, we must wait for that blessed hope when we will take up residency in heaven with Christ. In the meantime, Paul says we should wait eagerly, with keen anticipation. Like children on Christmas Eve, we should wait with tiptoe anticipation. Waiting eagerly translates from the Greek word, apekdéxomai, which is a triple compound word that sums up our study quite nicely: apó, “away from,” déxomai, “welcome” ekdíkēsis, “out of.” Together, these three give the composite meaning: “welcome from and out of”; waiting that decisively “puts away” all that should remain behind. In summary, we eagerly wait with anticipation for Jesus’ return, not looking back, but forward, mindful that there are those who will do anything to rob us of this joy.

Now it’s time for Paul to give his closing argument. “Therefore, my brothers and sisters, you whom I love and long for, my joy and crown, stand firm in the Lord in this way, dear friends!”

Paul makes one final illusion to the idea of runners sprinting for the prize. The Greek word for “crown” (the prize) is stephanos, which is the runner’s wreath or victor’s crown. Sometimes called the laurel wreath, it is a symbol commonly associated with victory and achievement. In ancient Greece, a wreath of laurel leaves was awarded to victorious athletes as a symbol of their excellence and achievement.

Of course, Paul had an even greater crown in mind, the victor’s crown of righteousness. He wrote to Timothy about this glorious crown: “The victor’s crown of righteousness is now waiting for me, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give to me on the day that he comes, and not only to me but also to all who eagerly wait for his appearing. (2 Timothy 4:8)

The crown Paul has earned, which will be given to him by Jesus Himself, will be his reward for the effort he has expended in overseeing and caring for the Philippian church. He’s done this directly and by proxy, using his trusted brothers, Timothy and Epaphroditus. His conscience is clear and his heart is full. His sole motivation has been his deep and profound love for the Philippian believers.

He then gives his final instruction; stand! Stand firm in the Lord. You may recall that Paul gave the same instruction to stand in his letter to the Ephesians. To the Ephesians, it came right after his call to put on the spiritual armor so that they could effectively battle the enemy and live victoriously. Armed with military-like covering, Paul said the next step was to stand. (Ephesians 6:10-17)

To the Philippians, he gives the instruction to stand following his encouragement to run a good race, and his warnings to be on the lookout for “wild dogs” who want to harm them. Paul reminds the Philippians, and us, that with God, we don’t have to go out and start turning over every rock to see if there is an enemy combatant hiding out. Instead, we should stand firm. While we stand, we should listen. We should listen to see if the Spirit wants to do something through us, or if He wants us to simply watch and see what He is about to do.

With Paul, let us stand together.

Philippians 3:1-11

As we move from chapter 2 to chapter 3 in our study of Philippians, we encounter a transition, identified in the very first word: “finally.” Finally, in this case, does not mean a conclusion, since forty-four verses remain in Paul’s letter. Finally here is used to introduce a new subject (and perhaps hint that the letter is drawing to a conclusion). In chapter 1, Paul encouraged the believers at Philippi to continue walking in a manner worthy of Christ. Chapter 2 shifted focus to our unity in the body of Christ through an attitude of humility. In chapter 3 the focus is on the word “rejoice.”

Philippians 3:1-7

Further, my brothers and sisters, rejoice in the Lord! It is no trouble for me to write the same things to you again, and it is a safeguard for you. 2 Watch out for those dogs, those evildoers, those mutilators of the flesh. 3 For it is we who are the circumcision, we who serve God by his Spirit, who boast in Christ Jesus, and who put no confidence in the flesh— 4 though I myself have reasons for such confidence. If someone else thinks they have reasons to put confidence in the flesh, I have more: 5 circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; in regard to the law, a Pharisee; 6 as for zeal, persecuting the church; as for righteousness based on the law, faultless. 7 But whatever were gains to me I now consider loss for the sake of Christ.

Paul’s transition is contained in a simple command; “rejoice in the Lord.” He has encouraged the Philippian believers with the word “rejoice” four times previously in the letter: twice in chapter 1, and twice in chapter 2. He will use the word two more times in chapter 4. Obviously, Paul places a great deal of importance on our need to rejoice.

In Greek, the word translated rejoice is charió, (khah’-ee-ro) literally means to be “favorably disposed to God’s grace.” It is a verb; to be cheerful or delighted. In many of the New Testament letters it is used as a salutation on meeting or parting, much as we might use terms like “take care” or “God speed.”

While Paul has used the word rejoice earlier in this letter, this time he adds “in the Lord.” This signifies where the believer’s joy exists. True joy is only possible through an unchanging relationship with the Lord. This is a good reminder for us today. When we are discouraged or disheartened, we may need to change our focus from ourselves and our circumstances to the certain hope we have in Jesus Christ.

Even in good times, when things seem to be going well, we can lose our focus on God and His promises. When some of his disciples were excited that, empowered by the Holy Spirit, they were able to cast out demons, Jesus encouraged them to think beyond their current experience to the blessed hope of the future, when He said, “Nevertheless do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rather rejoice because your names are written in heaven.” (Luke 10:20)

By reiterating the word “rejoice,” Paul is employing a common learning technique; rote. Rote learning is the process of gaining knowledge based on repetition. Paul knew that continually focusing on God was a safeguard for the believers when tough times come, as he knew they would. It was worth repeating. What a good lesson this is for each of us; continually re-directing our attention on God and His certain promises. I like to start each day by simply reminding myself that, “This is the day the Lord has made. I will rejoice and be glad in it.” (Psalm 118:24)

Besides repeating the importance of rejoicing, Paul is now going to repeat a stern warning he gave in chapter 1. He warns them to protect them from succumbing to the false teachers that are creeping into the church, even in its first-century infancy.

Paul is not shy in his accusation of these false teachers. He calls them “dogs.” During the first-century, dogs were not tame house pets, but wild scavengers. Because dogs were such filthy animals, the Jews often referred to the Gentiles as dogs. Turning their own words on them, Paul uses the exact same word to describe the Judaizers who were trying to pull young believers from grace back to the works of the law.

In particular, Paul says these false teachers do evil by mutilating the flesh, a reference of the need to be circumcised. The circumcision they required was an outward sign of keeping the law. To correct this error, Paul, here and elsewhere, says that true circumcision is a work done in the heart by God when anyone accepts Christ through faith. Paul says the believers themselves are the circumcision.

When Paul is talking about the “flesh,” he is referring to man’s abilities and achievements apart from God. The Jews placed their confidence in outward signs: circumcision, being descendants of Abraham, and performing ceremonies and rituals required by Mosaic law, none of which could actually save them. Not only were they wrong, they were bent on getting others—especially followers of Jesus—to do the same.

In the Old Testament, the rite of physical circumcision was a sign of covenant relationship with God. Paul emphatically says that true circumcision is a spiritual act, not a physical one. He cautions that we are never to put our confidence in the flesh (our abilities, talents, etc.), but rather, we should put our confidence in Jesus. Recall Paul’s words in chapter 1, verse 6: “Being confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will be faithful to complete it.” Paul’s confidence was in God alone.

Just in case there are those who don’t understand what Paul is talking about, he uses himself as the perfect example. In essence he says if you are going to trust in legalistic righteousness, let me be the standard. Whatever confidence you have in your flesh, I have much more. Of course, he is putting no real confidence in the flesh, he’s just showing that if it were possible, he would be first in line. He gives a brief autobiography: was a Hebrew, a Benjamite, a Pharisee, and absolutely blameless in living as an Old Testament Jew. (He gives an even longer version in 2 Corinthians 11:22-33). The problem was, all that he had done meant nothing insofar as being reconciled with God, for that was only possible through faith in Jesus Christ.

Philippians 3:8-11

8 What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ 9 and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in[a] Christ—the righteousness that comes from God on the basis of faith. 10 I want to know Christ—yes, to know the power of his resurrection and participation in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, 11 and so, somehow, attaining to the resurrection from the dead.

Paul says that not only did he give up depending on his flesh and his Jewish heritage, he gave up everything he previously trusted in, apart from Jesus Christ. Paul not only gave them up, he considers them to be “rubbish.” The Greek word for “rubbish” is skybalon and has the idea of not simply the leftovers from dinner, but refuse, as the excrement of animals, garbage, worthless and detestable. The Old Testament word was “dung.” I don’t think I need to explain further what that is. Suffice it to say that the “dung heap” or the “dung gate” was not a place you would want to frequent.

Paul is not mincing words. He is not only saying that he is not putting his confidence in himself or what he has done in his own strength, he likens all of that to dog poop; absolutely worthless. He gave up his former profits of self-effort to “gain” (kerdainō) Christ. This is an interesting word. It is the same word Jesus used when he told the parable of the men who were given talents to invest. Gain has the idea of multiplication (the one with five talents gained ten, and the one with two talents gained four). It also has the idea of moving away from evil and going in a better direction. It was what Jesus said to His disciples, “What does it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses his soul.” (Matthew 16:26)

This gain results in what is most important—that which Paul also emphasized in the letters to the Ephesians and the Colossians—being found “in Christ.” Paul is not depending one bit on his own righteousness, he is relying solely on the righteousness of Christ, and being found in Him.

What a reminder that is for each of us; understanding the way that God views us when we put our faith in Jesus Christ. He sees us through the righteousness of Jesus, our Advocate. He no longer sees us as His enemy, but as His chosen adopted children. And because we cannot be in His presence while we have any sin—which we all still do—He sees us through His sinless Son. How comforting it is that we don’t have to “perform” for God. In Christ, we wear the robe of His righteousness. Because of that, we can approach His throne at any time, day or night. We can stand fully in His presence and call Him Abba, Daddy. We can do this because we are in Christ.

Paul concludes this portion of his letter by giving two things that he desires above all else: to know the power of Christ’s resurrection, and to experience the fellowship of His suffering. Paul links power with suffering. Obviously, Paul is not referring to the suffering of Christ on the cross, for Christ alone took on the sins of the world. He was, rather, referring to the suffering Christ endured when he left the glory of heaven to come to earth as a man, which we looked at in our study two weeks ago (Philippians 2:6-11). Paul desires what each of us should yearn for; gaining a deeper knowledge and intimacy with Christ.

First, he wants the power of His (Christ’s) resurrection. Christ’s resurrection from the grave most graphically demonstrated the extent of His power. By raising Himself from the dead, Christ displayed His power over both the physical and the spiritual worlds. This power (dynamis), is the same word where we get word dynamite. Resurrection power is far more powerful than the largest explosive ever made; it is so powerful it can transform death back to life. And we have that same power according to Scripture, for “we have been raised with Christ.” (Colossians 3:1)

This incredible power comes with a cost; suffering. But suffering, according to Paul, is not a negative or something to be avoided, for it results in fellowship. Fellowship infers something shared with others. We will all suffer at one time or another. Fellowship here has the idea of empathy, sharing in suffering. Sympathy is done from a distance; empathy is close and intimate. It involves suffering along with someone else, truly feeling their pain.

Paul willingly invites suffering, an intimate desire to suffer as Christ suffered; willingly, without complaining or attempting to escape. He writes this letter from a cold and dark prison cell, probably chained to a Roman soldier. Yet, he does not complain. He embraces his difficult circumstances and remains hopeful because he looks beyond the present to the promised future. What an encouragement that should be for each of us. When our circumstances are difficult, we should remember the words of James and “count it all joy when you meet trials of various kinds.” (James 1:2)

How can we face difficulties with joy? By remembering that we have been raised with Christ and that one day we will behold Him in all His glory. Our blessed hope in Christ is not just for this life, but for all of eternity. Our hope is not just wishful thinking, it is the absolute promise of God. So along with Paul, I say, rejoice.

Philippians 2:19-24

This week our study in Philippians has a slight shift in focus as Paul directs our attention to two men that he trusts fully; proven men that have stood by Paul regardless of circumstances, even his being bound by chains in a Roman prison.

The first trusted man mentioned is Timothy.

Philippians 2:19-24

19 I hope in the Lord Jesus to send Timothy to you soon, that I also may be cheered when I receive news about you. 20 I have no one else like him, who will show genuine concern for your welfare. 21 For everyone looks out for their own interests, not those of Jesus Christ. 22 But you know that Timothy has proved himself, because as a son with his father he has served with me in the work of the gospel. 23 I hope, therefore, to send him as soon as I see how things go with me. 24 And I am confident in the Lord that I myself will come soon.

Paul longs to be with friends and believers in Philippi, but his chains prevent this. Instead, he decides to send Timothy. Timothy will go, get the current news, and return to Paul to cheer him up. Why Timothy?

In eight of Paul’s epistles (letters) to the various churches he mentions Timothy by name. Most frequently, he calls Timothy “our brother.” Five times he uses this term to describe Timothy. Other terms that Paul uses to describe Timothy are “fellow worker,” “servant of Jesus Christ,” “my son,” “my dear son,” and “my true son in the faith.”

In the verses we are studying here, Paul puts special emphasis on his relationship, comparing it to that of a father and son; a uniquely special bond that is only exceeded by that of a husband and wife (one flesh). Paul and Timothy are not biologically connected, but in every other way, a father-son relationship has developed between the two.

The Bible reveals similar father and son relationships that are not biological. For example: Moses and Joshua; and Elijah and Elisha.

In some ways these relationships convey the idea of a teacher and a student. But I think it’s an even stronger bond than this. I see it more as a mentor interacting with a protégé.

A mentor is a person with knowledge and experience that shares this knowledge and experience with someone else—the protégé—who not only benefits from this, but is actually being prepared to take the mentor’s place if and when the mentor departs. It is Joshua who leads the Israelites into the Promised Land and it is Elisha who performs twice the number of miracles of his mentor, Elijah.

In these, and other examples, the mentor lays the foundation and the protégé continues, or even completes, the mission. Elisha continues the mission begun by Elijah. Joshua completes the mission begun by Moses.

Paul has invested much in Timothy, and at this late stage of his life, Paul says that there are only a handful of men left that he can trust. Verse 22 says that Timothy has proved himself. The Greek word for proved is dokime (dok-ee-may’) and conveys the idea of having been tested, even severely, and yet able to stand.

In our recent study in Colossians, Paul identified others he worked with and invested in, men like Demas. Later, Paul will write directly to Timothy and reveal that, “Demas has deserted me because he loves the things of this life and has gone to Thessalonica” (2 Timothy 4:10)

Most of us can relate to Paul as he bemoans the failure of men he has trusted who have failed him. I can think of three or four people in my life who I invested significant time and attention, only to have them walk away, often without pausing to say good bye.

But Timothy is different, He can be trusted, trusted fully. He can be trusted because he is proven. Paul is emphatic that Timothy is more than a partner in the gospel (Philippians 1:5), he is like a son. He genuinely cares about others, always ready to serve. In this way, Paul likens Timothy to Jesus who “did not come to be served, but to serve…” (Matt 20:28)

As Christians, each of us are tasked with carrying on the work of the gospel. It is the great commission that Jesus gave: “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit” (Matt 28:19)

I think it is wise to pause briefly and ask ourselves who it is that we have in our life who can be trusted to help us to better understand the Bible and to help show us how to live out the Christian life; a mentor.

None of us know, or have experienced, everything. As great a mentor as Paul was, he had his shortcomings. You can read about them in Romans, chapter seven; failing to do what he intended, and doing what he said he never would. Like Paul, we cannot let our failures and limitations prevent us from becoming mentors. If you are a Christian—one who has put their faith in Jesus Christ alone to make you right with God—you know enough to help someone else.

Notice that Jesus did not put any pre-qualifiers on the great commission. We do not see words like, “If you have this much talent, or this level of education, or have heard this many sermons…” No, He simply tells each of us to go and disciple. To disciple is to mentor, to teach, to encourage, and to lead by example. So, who are the protégés you are currently discipling? Remember, we are all tasked with the same assignment, the same commission.

Not only do we learn more about Timothy in these verses, we also learn more about Paul. Though he says, “I have no one else like him,” Paul is proving that he is a good mentor to the entire church at Philippi by being willing to give them Timothy, even though Paul needs him. Not only did Paul give them the gospel and lead them to Christ, but he also wants to disciple them, even from afar, so they will continue growing spiritually. In so doing, Paul does not allow his present circumstances to prevent the furtherance of the gospel. He willingly gives up his need of a trusted ally so that the infant church can benefit and grow, signs of a true leader and mentor.

Paul cannot simply send Timothy until he knows what will happen to him in Rome. But not to worry, Paul repeats something he said earlier in the letter, he is confident. In chapter 1, verse 6, Paul said he was confident that God, who had started a good work in him, would be faithful to complete it. Now Paul is confident that he will, at some point, be freed from his bonds and be able to travel to Philippi himself.

In the meantime, he doesn’t want the infant church to worry needlessly. Without any news about Paul’s situation, the believers in Philippi could begin to lose heart and become discouraged. To avoid this, Paul is going to send a messenger, another trusted ally, Epaphroditus.

Philippians 2:25-30

25 But I think it is necessary to send back to you Epaphroditus, my brother, co-worker and fellow soldier, who is also your messenger, whom you sent to take care of my needs. 26 For he longs for all of you and is distressed because you heard he was ill. 27 Indeed he was ill, and almost died. But God had mercy on him, and not on him only but also on me, to spare me sorrow upon sorrow. 28 Therefore I am all the more eager to send him, so that when you see him again you may be glad and I may have less anxiety. 29 So then, welcome him in the Lord with great joy, and honor people like him, 30 because he almost died for the work of Christ. He risked his life to make up for the help you yourselves could not give me.

Paul is not only going to send the Philippian church a message, he’s going to use one of their own as the messenger, Epaphroditus. This is probably not the same Epaphroditus (aka Epaphras) Paul mentioned in his letter to the Colossian church, but rather, a native Philippian. The name Epaphroditus was a common Greek name at the time of Paul’s writing, much like the names Steve or Tom are in our day.

The word “messenger” in verse 25 comes from the same word that yields the English apostle. Not an apostle of Christ, but an apostle (“sent one”). Epaphroditus is being sent to the church with Paul’s letter of encouragement that will serve two purposes: one, that Paul is doing well in spite of his present circumstances; and two, that Epaphroditus who has been allowed to go to Rome to help and comfort Paul, has been put to good use.

Whenever we send a mission team to Mexico to help our dear friend, Pastor Ezekiel, we not only help him in his ministry, but we are able to tell him that we are doing well. When the team returns, we get the good report of how we are making a difference in Mexico. Done well, this is always a win-win scenario.

And so it was with Paul and Epaphroditus; a win-win scenario. Paul wins by helping the church he cares about, and later he will get the benefit of being cheered up when he gets news about how the church is doing (verse 19).

Besides being a trusted messenger (apostle) to his own people, Epaphroditus has other qualities that endear him to Paul. He is a brother (fellow believer), a worker, and a soldier. One other unique characteristic of Epaphroditus is that he becomes distressed. On the surface, this might seem like a bad thing, being distressed, but I think it is another of Epaphroditus’ exceptional character traits.

The Greek term for distressed is ademoneo (ad-ay-mon-eh’-o). It describes the confused, chaotic, heavy state of restlessness that results from a time of turmoil or great trauma. Epaphroditus was more concerned about the Philippians’ worry about his sickness than he was about his own difficult situation. How sick was he? He almost died!

Whatever the sickness was it was very serious and cause for concern, but by sending Epaphroditus back as a messenger, the Philippian believers will see for themselves that he has fully recovered. Just like Epaphroditus, Paul is extremely concerned that in the absence of updated news the Philippians are worrying needlessly. It is sometimes said that “no news is good news.” Is that really true? I think Paul would give a resounding, no!

Paul tells us two important details about Epaphroditus’ earlier illness. First, Paul declares that it was in God’s mercy that Epaphroditus was healed. Whether his healing was directly by the hand of God, or he was healed by receiving good medical treatment, it was providentially overseen by God’s mercy.

When we pray for those who are sick in our midst, we would do well to Remember Paul’s words, and ask for God’s mercy. We need never tell God what to do, but we are always right to pray declaring His attributes, in this case, His mercy, as we remind ourselves that another of His attributes is His immutability. He cannot change. His mercies are new every day.

Second, Epaphroditus sustained his illness while actively working to perpetuate the gospel. The whole Philippian church could not come to Rome to help Paul, so they sent one of their own as their ambassador for Christ (2 Corinthians 5:20).

Jesus came to give us all life, and that more abundantly. He wants us to live full and joyful lives. In his first letter to the
Corinthian church, Paul says that we can do all things (we have liberty in Christ!), but not all things are profitable. With liberty comes responsibility. Paul is reminding us through sharing about Epaphroditus, that our lives are especially fulfilling when we are working for the cause of Christ. We do well to redeem each day.

Through these verses we see the importance of pressing on, no matter our circumstance. Paul does not let a dank cold prison cell stop him from advancing the gospel, but he does not do it alone, nor should we. Jesus always sent His disciples out in teams. There are very few, if any, successful “lone ranger” Christians. We do it together. That’s why we are called a body, made up of many different parts. Paul utilizes the partners God has given him, matching the assignments with the abilities, talents, and personalities of each.

We are not designed to live out the Christian experience alone. God has given us others to help us in our time of need, and he wants to use each of us to encourage others. Paul had Timothy and Epaphroditus, trusted friends and loyal co-laborers in the gospel.

So, who do you have? Who are you mentoring, helping to grow in Christ? And, who is mentoring you, helping you to grow in Christ? Scripture teaches that iron sharpens iron. We need one another.

At Crossings we are continually endeavoring to “stay connected” with one another. If you ever feel alone, please take the time to reach out. Someone here will be glad to come alongside you and encourage you in your time of need.

Philippians 2:12-18

Last week the key idea we considered was humility. As we noted, the perfect example of humility is Jesus Christ. This week our key idea is sanctification, which simply means growing in holiness. When we first come to faith in Christ, we are infants in the ways of God, but God wants, and expects, us to continue to grow spiritually.

Philippians 2:12-13

12 Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed—not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence—continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, 13 for it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose.

Our first question must be, what is the “therefore” there for? In the previous six verses (Philippians 2:5-11) Paul made it clear that Christ submitted to the Father and carried out His plan perfectly. His sacrificial obedience was consummated on the cross. (verse 8)

Having linked the humility demonstrated by Christ in leaving the glory and perfection of heaven to come to earth as a man, and then offering His own life so that men might be reconciled with God, Paul now focuses on how the Philippian believers should respond.

Ever the encourager, Paul begins with a compliment about how the Philippian believers have obeyed his instructions willingly and without hesitation. He says, in effect, “Don’t stop. Keep it up. You’re doing good.” Paul tempers his challenge with love, calling them “my dear friends.”

Earlier in this letter, Paul had told these saints that what God had begun in each of them, He would be faithful to complete (Philippians 1:6). Now he says that since God is at work in each of you, continue to do your part as you “work out your salvation with fear and trembling.”

The Greek verb rendered “work out” means to continually work to bring something to fulfillment or completion. God is completing what He started, and He is doing this from the inside out. Our part is to work with the Holy Spirit by walking with the Spirit (Galatians 5:16), being careful not to put out the Spirit’s fire (1 Thessalonians 5:19).

When Paul says, “work out your salvation,” it is important that we distinguish between “work out” and “work for.” Paul is not advocating, or in any way suggesting, that salvation requires works. He clearly teaches against that in his letter to the Ephesians (Ephesians 2:8-9). Rather, he is instructing the saints that they should work out what God has already given them. It is the believer’s responsibility to actively pursue obedience in the process of sanctification; growing in God’s grace as a result accepting Christ by faith.

Paul not only encourages the brothers and sisters in Christ to work out, but to do so with fear and trembling. This fear and trembling is not the same as being afraid, but is, instead, pursuing God with a righteous awe and respect for who He is.

Because we live in God’s grace, we can approach God’s throne anytime, day or night, with complete trust. We need not dress up, comb our hair, or put on make-up. We can approach just as we are. But our liberty does not remove our need to come to God with respect and reverence. Jesus taught this when He said, “Don’t be afraid of those who want to kill your body; they cannot touch your soul. Fear only God, who can destroy both soul and body in hell” (Matthew 10:28). It is this working of God in us, combined with our obedience, that satisfies and pleases God.

Philippians 2:14-16

14 Do everything without complaining or arguing, 15 so that you may become blameless and pure, “children of God without fault in a warped and crooked generation.” Then you will shine among them like stars in the sky 16 as you hold firmly to the word of life. And then I will be able to boast on the day of Christ that I did not run or labor in vain.

Evidently, Paul had been told that there was some dissent and discord among the Philippian believers, evidenced by their complaining. The Greek word for “complaining” is gongysmos (gong-goos-mos) and means to express one’s discontent in a low tone. Some translations use the English word grumbling or muttering, which has the similar idea of secret displeasure, usually whispered (see, for example, John 7:12). This hesitancy to speak our complaints out loud speaks to our rebellious nature.

I’m reminded of a cartoon showing a young boy who has been disciplined by his mother and ordered to stand in the corner. His mother asks if he is standing in the corner like she ordered. The caption shows what the boy is muttering to himself in a bubble above his head, “I’m standing on the outside, but I’m sitting on the inside.” The cartoon accurately depicts that seed of rebellion that continues to live in each of us, even when we have accepted Christ. Paul warns the Philippian saints that they must resist this half-hearted human nature.

Note that Paul uses the word “do,” which is a present tense verb, suggesting that this needs to be done continually. Even as Christians, we can slip into an attitude of grumbling or complaining at a moment’s notice. Again, it is that seed of rebellion that we retain as long as we live in this world. Paul warns us against giving in to this temptation.

By resisting the lure of complaining, the process of sanctification can proceed. When Paul says, “that you may become,” he strongly infers the idea of a work that is ongoing and not yet completed. If they (and we) will resist the temptation to murmur and complain, they will become blameless and pure; that is, acceptable to a righteous God. Let me repeat, this is not us working to make things right with God, but yielding to the Spirit and cooperating with Him.

The Philippians lived in a crooked and depraved generation, and the world has not improved much, if any, in the past two thousand years. The Greek word translated “crooked” here is the word from which the English scoliosis (curvature of the spine) comes. It describes a variation of the standard; exactly what Paul is warning against. We may judge something that is crooked as only slightly bent, much the same way we might casually dismiss a lesser sin, but Paul says, “Be careful, what is mildly crooked today will likely become full-blown depraved tomorrow.”

The darker the world becomes the greater our light shines. Jesus cautioned us against hiding our light (Matthew 5:15). As the world grows ever darker, our lights grow in density. Light a match in the middle of the day and you will probably not notice any difference, but light that same match in a dark cave and it will seem intense.

Paul likens our light to bright stars on an otherwise dark night. The more we eliminate man-made light pollution, the brighter the stars appear in the night sky. If you want to see this prominently displayed, travel to Kitt Peak near Tucson some clear night and it will take your breath away. You will swear there are twice as many stars in the sky. The greater darkness reveals a greater light.

Paul then makes it personal. Paraphrased, it sounds something like this; “When you shine brightly in the dark and depraved world, you make me look good, and I know that the time I invested in you was worth it. So much so, that I’m going to brag to Jesus that I didn’t waste my time instructing you. ‘See Jesus, they were worth the effort!’” And I can just hear Jesus’ response, “Well done, good and faithful servant.”

Philippians 2:17-18

17 But even if I am being poured out like a drink offering on the sacrifice and service coming from your faith, I am glad and rejoice with all of you. 18 So you too should be glad and rejoice with me.

Paul then moves from thoughts of the future joy of seeing Christ back to his current situation. The words, “I am being” speak in present tense, describing his condition; held against his will in a Roman jail cell, having committed no crime. But Paul does not complain. Instead, he reminds the Philippians that service often requires sacrifice. He compares his life with a drink offering.

In the Old Testament, the drink offering often accompanied other sacrifices and offerings. The offerer poured wine on the burning animal on the altar, and the wine was vaporized. The steam symbolized the rising of the offering for God’s acceptance (Exodus 29:38-41). Paul viewed his entire life as a drink offering. The Philippian believers, at least those who were not grumbling and complaining, were living sacrificially. Paul is pouring his life out on top of their sacrificial service.

Paul ends this section of Scripture with a reciprocal wish: I’m rejoicing with all of you, please rejoice with me as well.

Again and again in the letter to the Philippians we are reminded that we should rejoice regardless of our circumstances. Paul demonstrates this principle again and again. Rejoicing is a choice, and it’s one of the best choices we can make and renew every day.

May each of us say with the psalmist, “This is the day the Lord has made, we will rejoice and be glad in it.” (Psalm 118:24)

Philippians 2:1-11

This week we continue in our understanding of how to walk in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ by focusing on our unity through an attitude of humility.

Philippians 2:1–2:

1Therefore if there is any encouragement in Christ, if there is any consolation of love, if there is any fellowship of the Spirit, if any affection and compassion, 2 make my joy complete by being of the same mind, maintaining the same love, united in spirit, intent on one purpose.

Paul was not looking for happiness or joy directly from his circumstances. For what joy could there be from looking down on his chains, hoping for freedom. Rather, Paul chose to look up for his Joy. We saw that previously his joy stemmed from the spread of the gospel due to his imprisonment. However, now his joy is broadened to include joy through the unity of believers. Believers who he had personally known and led to the Lord.

Paul begins verse 2 with instructing the Philippians to “make my joy complete” or as other translations put it: “fulfill my joy” or “complete my joy”. Paul is absolutely joyful and rejoicing over the Philippian church; however, he still encourages them to make his joy completely full. Think of this like a glass almost filled to the brim with water. Paul wanted his glass to be filled to the brim with no room for more. This is the complete joy Paul sought from the Philippians.

How could the Philippians fill such a tall order as to make Paul’s joy complete? He answers this in the next part of verse 2. Be of the same mind or be like minded he says. To fill Paul’s joy to overflowing the Philippians must be of a single mind. Paul goes on in this same verse to explain what this single mindedness looks like.

To possess a oneness of mind the Philippians needed to continue to have (or maintain) the same love for one another. This “same love” harkens back to verse 1 where he says, “if there is any consolation [comfort] of love”. The Philippians needed to maintain this same love (note too that this is the agape love) that has comforted and consoled them. This is a love that only Christ brings to His church body. This love we, in turn, share with one another. Paul is saying here in verse 2 to maintain this comforting love with one another. But the Philippians (and us, here and now) must also maintain this same love united together in one soul, or as Paul says, “united in spirit”. This is not the Holy Spirit that Paul is talking about here as this word in the original Greek is a different word that means essentially to be united in their affections and desires. Just consider a church body that is united in one mind, united in both affections and desires towards one another. Think of the joy and maturity of a church such as this. Truly this is what we should strive for today in our church, in every church!

Paul adds one last participle to explain how we are to be single minded, that of being “intent on one purpose”. Again this points us towards the singleness of mind, the unity of the church body. We must be intent on being unified in mind and purpose. This is something Paul says that we need to work and strive for. For this does not come easy.

Philippians 2:2-4:

3 Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves; 4 do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others.

You might think Paul is done with explaining how to be unified in mind, unified in spirit, and striving for one purpose, but you’d be wrong. Here Paul continues to show how we are to be unified on an individual, personal level. Paul says, “regard one another as more important than yourselves”. That is the key to unlocking humility in ourselves (note that he doesn’t state that this will unlock humility in others as we cannot force humility on anyone else). This is a powerful verse to memorize, even if you only memorize the second part, which is to regard others as more important than yourself. Keeping this wisdom at the forefront of our thinking will only benefit the unity of our church and the relationships therein.

Paul adds to this by stating that we should always be looking out for the interests of others. If you regard others as more important than yourself it logically follows that you will also look out for their interests too. This can be a proof or a mark that we are considering others above ourselves and possess this true Christlike humility. But note that Paul doesn’t say to ignore our own personal interests. He says don’t just look out for your own interests, look out for other people’s interests as well. There must be a good balance here. We shouldn’t look out for our own interests and no one else’s interests. Likewise, we shouldn’t fully ignore our own interests. We do have needs of our own that must be met (e.g., food, clothing, shelter, etc.). How will we continue to feed others if we don’t also feed ourselves?

Philippians 2:5–11:

5 Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, 6 who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7 but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men. 8 Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. 9 For this reason also, God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, 10 so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

This is one of the key sections in Philippians. Paul finishes his explanation of how those at Philippi can bring joy to him and themselves by expounding on Christ’s example for us. In these verses Paul explains the perfect humility of Christ. A perfect humility founded upon obedience to the Father. A perfect humility that opened the way for salvation through Him. But just as important, it led to Christ’s glorification as God exalted Him above all others. Christ’s glorification leads to all bowing before Him and declaring with one voice that Jesus Christ is Lord! And all of this glory does not stop with Christ, but He further glorifies God the Father through His own glorification.

Notice that as we have been studying the letters of Paul that he wrote while imprisoned we are given these glimpses of who Christ really is. In Ephesians 2 we see what Christ has done for us, which should overwhelm us as we read it.

Ephesians 2:1–22:

1 And you were dead in the trespasses and sins 2 in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— 3 among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. 4 But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, 5 even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved — 6 and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, 7 so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. 8 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast. 10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them. 11 Therefore remember that at one time you Gentiles in the flesh, called “the uncircumcision” by what is called the circumcision, which is made in the flesh by hands— 12 remember that you were at that time separated from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. 13 But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. 14 For he himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility 15 by abolishing the law of commandments expressed in ordinances, that he might create in himself one new man in place of the two, so making peace, 16 and might reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross, thereby killing the hostility. 17 And he came and preached peace to you who were far off and peace to those who were near. 18 For through him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father. 19 So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, 20 built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, 21 in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord. 22 In him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit.

Next, read about the supremacy and all sufficiency of Christ in us in Colossians 1:15–23:

15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. 16 For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. 17 And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together. 18 And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent. 19 For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, 20 and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross. 21 And you, who once were alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds, 22 he has now reconciled in his body of flesh by his death, in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before him, 23 if indeed you continue in the faith, stable and steadfast, not shifting from the hope of the gospel that you heard, which has been proclaimed in all creation under heaven, and of which I, Paul, became a minister.

These poignant glimpses of Christ should give us pause to think about what He did for us at Calvary on the cross. What He continues to do for us in His supremacy at the right hand of God the Father. How He continues to care for us with His all sufficient power. And now in Philippians, how we should model Christ’s character, His humility. All of this for the glory of God the Father!

Truly Paul is giving us a solid argument for Christlikeness or, put another way, maturity in the faith. How could we not strive to be like Christ after what He has done for us? We know Christ is supreme and sufficient for all our needs, how could we be afraid to strive to be like Christ? Now we have discovered that Christ glorified the Father through His humility on earth. If we truly desire to glorify God the Father, how could we not consider others as more important, just like Christ did for us even as we were dead in our own sins?

As we become more like Christ our joy becomes rooted in Him. Therefore, we must mature in Christ in order to take hold of this same joy that Paul speaks of in this letter.

All glory be to God the Father!

Philippians 1:27-30

Last week we studied how Paul’s ministry was not only unimpeded by his imprisonment, but it was also flourishing. The effects of his imprisonment were not only felt among the praetorian guard, but they also extended far beyond the confines of this prison to other believers. Believers who were now boldly preaching the word of God. And as we closed last week Paul finished by saying that although he wished to be with Christ in heaven; he knew that it was necessary for him to remain in order to encourage and grow the body into the maturity of their faith. Truly we learned that Paul’s joy was overflowing despite his circumstances.

This week we turn to how we are to conduct ourselves in a way that is worthy of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Along with a boldness for the gospel we must also conduct ourselves (or walk) in a way that is pleasing to God. Doing so will keep us safe in the bonds of unity with the body of Christ and is a sign to us and to others of our salvation.

Philippians 1:27–28:

27 Only conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or remain absent, I will hear of you that you are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel; 28 in no way alarmed by your opponents—which is a sign of destruction for them, but of salvation for you, and that too, from God.

“Only conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ”. Where have we heard that before?

Ephesians 4:1:

1 Therefore I, the prisoner of the Lord, implore you to walk [conduct yourself] in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called,

Colossians 1:10:

10 so that you will walk [conduct yourself] in a manner worthy of the Lord, to please Him in all respects, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God;

We’ve been studying this idea of how we are to conduct ourselves over the past months in both Ephesians and Colossians. Here again Paul reiterates the idea of our conduct in respect to the Lord and His word.

Let’s take a look at the progression of the idea of our conduct within each of these letters. In Ephesians Paul talked of the immeasurable blessings, grace, and mercies that are bestowed on us in Christ. Then Paul encourages us to conduct ourselves in a manner worthy of Christ’s calling. As we truly begin to understand the depths of His blessings, graces, and mercies we desire more and more to obey and please our Lord and Savior.

Next, Paul presents Christ as preeminent and all-sufficient in Colossians. Here too we are instructed to conduct ourselves in a manner worthy of the Lord. The Lord is king, sovereign, preeminent, and all-sufficient, which means we can confidently walk as our Lord would have us to walk. But we must recognize His all sufficiency in all things before we can confidently walk in His will at all times.

Finally, we arrive at Paul’s letter to the Philippians where He again encourages the body to walk in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ. Notice also that the overall tone of this letter is joyful. Paul’s joy is overflowing in this letter and his joy will only increase as he watches the Philippians grow in maturity of their faith. In fact, this idea of Paul’s continued joy in seeing the body continue to walk in a manner worthy of Christ will be brought out even more next week as we begin chapter 2.

Paul explains why their maturity gives him so much joy throughout verses 27-28. He starts with the way that believers will stand. Believers stand firm. We stand unmoving in our faith and this unmovable faith dictates our actions (i.e., our boldness in Christ). But how do we stand firm? Well, what we stand upon must be firm or there would be no hope of actually standing firm.

We stand on the word of God, we stand on the firm foundation that Christ has provided. We have been taught what that firm foundation looks like as we have progressed from Christ’s blessing in Ephesians to His supremacy and all-sufficiency in Colossians’ and now to Philippians’s unending joy in growing closer to Christ. Blessings, power, and joy from our Savior, what more could we ask for in a sure foundation on which to stand unmoving.

Now Paul talks of standing firm in one spirit (not the holy Spirit, but rather an individual’s heart, mind, and emotions) as well as striving together with one mind. Taken together we see the most complete description of church unity. We as the body of Christ should be unified (both standing and striving) together in one spirit, one heart, and one mind.

As we stand firm it is inevitable that there will be opposition to our faith. That’s just the normal progression of these things. To help us be bolder in our faith Paul gives us encouragement in verse 28 (remember how Paul talked of his imprisonment causing others to be bold in their faith earlier in his letter). He says that opposition to our faith is a sign for us and for those that oppose God. This word for “sign” gives the sense of a proof or evidence that something is true. For us this is our evidence that we are children of God. But to those who oppose God and His word, it is evidence of their utter destruction.

But it is not just this opposition that gives proof of our salvation. We are also not alarmed by our opponents and their hatred and persecutions. Fear is a cruel weapon and is wielded skillfully by the opponents of God. By not letting ourselves become alarmed (terrified, frightened, or intimidated) we can disarm them of their most dangerous weapon…fear. But notice Paul doesn’t say to go on the offensive here. Yes we are to proclaim the gospel boldly and with love, but we are not to aggressively attack the opposition in a tit-for-tat struggle. Remember what David said when confronted with Goliath…”the battle is the Lord’s”. The battle is ultimately the Lord’s and the Lord is supreme.

The Lord is also gracious beyond measure. So we do not want to attack our opponents and tarnish the good name ofJesus Christ our Lord. God is working in their lives too, just like He did in our lives before we turned from the world and turned to Christ. But let’s read on as there is more evidence for this type of gracious conduct we show to our opponents.

Philippians 1:29–30:

29 For to you it has been granted for Christ’s sake, not only to believe in Him, but also to suffer for His sake, 30 experiencing the same conflict which you saw in me, and now hear to be in me.

In these two verses Paul wants to show us that there are two things that God has granted us: to believe and to suffer. Oddly enough both belief and suffering go hand-in-hand. As believers we will suffer in various ways. Just because we are saved doesn’t mean our suffering ends and everything smells like roses. On the contrary, suffering will come.

Now this is the bad news, we will suffer. However, the good news is that we do not suffer in isolation or in vain. We suffer for the One who suffered more than any other by bearing our sins, though He was sinless. Look at the wording here, “…to you it has been granted…”. The word for “granted” gives us the sense of something that has been graciously given to us for our benefit. And what has been given us? Two things, to believe and to suffer. Both were given in grace with an eye towards our benefit. Like me you are probably saying, “Yeah, I get the part about God graciously giving us belief in His Son, but graciously giving us suffering?!?!” That is the dichotomy of God’s grace, we both believe and suffer. But we believe for the sake of Christ and we also suffer for the sake of Christ.

Consider this, Christ suffered more than anyone else for all humanity. The same humanity that spit on Him, beat Him, and hung Him on a cross. Throughout all of this Christ suffered in a way that cannot be measured in order to give His life for humanity. As we are extended grace upon grace that we would believe and be given salvation only through Jesus Christ our Lord, we become like Christ. In becoming more and more like Christ we must also take on His suffering. As we take on His suffering Jesus can work in the hearts and minds of unbelievers to draw them to Himself. Remember earlier how I said there was more evidence for showing our opponents grace? Well, here it is.

The last point I want to make about these verses is that suffering given to us graciously by our Lord is also designed for the purpose of maturing us as believers. What if God allowed no more suffering when we believed? Would we continue to strive for maturity in our faith? Would we consider it worthy to put to death at all times our own sins? Or would we just coast through the rest of our lives without much of a care about anything or anyone since everything smells like roses?

Philippians 1:12-26

Last week we looked at Paul’s introduction in the letter to the Philippians. This letter began with joy in Paul’s heart towards the Philippians as we read in Philippians 1:8:

8 For God is my witness, how I long for you all with the affection of Christ Jesus.

As well as his prayer for the spiritual maturity of those at Philippi in Philippians 1:9–10:

9 And this I pray, that your love may abound still more and more in real knowledge and all discernment, 10 so that you may approve the things that are excellent, in order to be sincere and blameless until the day of Christ;

Not to mention his confidence in the Philippians that they would continue in good works empowered by the Spirit of God in Philippians 1:6:

6 For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus.

Now in verses 12-26 Paul begins to give the Philippians encouragement to be embolden in their faith. Let’s examine Paul’s example as a mature believer speaking of his joy in spite of his circumstances.

Philippians 1:12–20:

12 Now I want you to know, brethren, that my circumstances have turned out for the greater progress of the gospel, 13 so that my imprisonment in the cause of Christ has become well known throughout the whole praetorian guard and to everyone else, 14 and that most of the brethren, trusting in the Lord because of my imprisonment, have far more courage to speak the word of God without fear. 15 Some, to be sure, are preaching Christ even from envy and strife, but some also from good will; 16 the latter do it out of love, knowing that I am appointed for the defense of the gospel; 17 the former proclaim Christ out of selfish ambition rather than from pure motives, thinking to cause me distress in my imprisonment. 18 What then? Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is proclaimed; and in this I rejoice. Yes, and I will rejoice, 19 for I know that this will turn out for my deliverance through your prayers and the provision of the Spirit of Jesus Christ, 20 according to my earnest expectation and hope, that I will not be put to shame in anything, but that with all boldness, Christ will even now, as always, be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death.

As I read these verses I can’t help but to think, here is a mature believer who is strong in the faith and who truly puts Christ first above all things. Paul is not only bringing news to the Philippians of his situation but, more importantly, he is bringing news that God is working mightily in this terrible situation. Yes, Paul could have complained about his situation as he had been wrongly beaten and imprisoned; however, he did not complain. Rather, he looked joyfully at this situation from God’s perspective. How could Paul be joyful in such a harsh situation, especially one where he did no wrong?

If I am honest with myself, could I be even a fraction as joyful as Paul? I mean, we are supposed to be joyful at all times. The gospel of Jesus Christ gives us a reason for our joy when we read it in light of our own sinfulness. Joy is even one of the fruit of the Spirit, Galatians 5:22:

22B ut the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,…

So why was it so easy for Paul to have immense joy in his situation? The answer to this question is sprinkled throughout verses 12-20.

Paul’s imprisonment was bad (and I should make a point to say how absolutely terrible his situation really was here: the beatings, the painful chains he was in, the unbearable environment of a prison, etc.) but notice that he says his situation has turned out for the greater progress of the gospel. Paul’s number one mission was to spread the gospel of Jesus Christ to others, and his situation was allowing for the gospel to be shared with others in a more powerful way than if Paul had not been imprisoned. Paul wanted the gospel to be shared and this proved to be a powerful way to progress the gospel indeed.

Paul also goes on to say that others have been emboldened to preach Christ seeing that his imprisonment has been a catalyst in spreading the word of God. One of Paul’s priorities was to raise up other pastors and elders that could preach the word of God boldly. Now Paul was seeing fruit born from his imprisonment whereby others were preaching exactly as they should…boldly. The gospel of Jesus Christ was effectively reaching others who might never have heard the gospel if not for Paul’s imprisonment in a powerful way.

Granted, not all those who were embolden to preach Christ did it for the right reasons. Paul says there were those that preached Christ for selfish reasons, perhaps to make themselves look more righteous than Paul. The words “envy and strife” show the attitude of those who preached Christ but spoke ill of Paul. They meant to cause Paul harm. But did they? No, Paul had the irrepressible joy as one wholly and completely aligned with the will of God. This joy came from Paul’s desire to see Jesus lifted up as the perfect lamb, the one slain for our righteousness and the only one that can save.

In verse 18 Paul makes a bold statement that regardless of the attitude of the one preaching, Christ is still preached! Paul didn’t look at the preachers; he was looking at the one preached of…Christ. That and that alone gave him reason to rejoice. In fact, Paul says that he will rejoice twice, “…I rejoice. Yes, and I will rejoice.” This repetition of “rejoicing” and the present and future tense of the word show us Paul’s complete and continuous state of joy.

Paul’s eyes were truly on Christ and not on his situation. This is something I know I need to work on more in my life. I tend to view situations in a way that starts to blot out Christ. It’s as if when a bad situation happens it starts to eclipse the light of Christ. But this was not so with Paul. He kept his eyes on Christ at all times. This enabled him to have unbounded joy in all circumstances. So why do we see so many believers who are not joyful like Paul? Perhaps it is because we have taken our eyes off of Christ, if even for a second. Perhaps we all need to work harder to be more and more mature in the faith (more Christ-like) as Paul was doing.

I’ve heard it explained that you can look at God through the lens of your problems or you can look at your problems through the lens of God. If we view God through the lens of our problems we will see a tarnished God, one who isn’t strong enough or merciful enough to rid us of our problems. Obviously, we know God is omnipotent and full of mercy but our problems tarnish that image of God. We are simply focusing on our problems and projecting them onto God. But if we turn it around and look at our problems through the lens of an infinitely caring and loving Father, our problems seem to get smaller and smaller until all we can see is God. Granted, looking at our problems through the lens of God doesn’t come naturally with our sinful nature. It’s not easy when we’re in pain or going through a crisis. But day-by-day if we can adjust our perspective in small ways to put God first and view all of our problems through who He is, then little-by-little we can mature and grow in our faith resulting in the ability to take a step back and realize that all things work together for good (His good) to those that love the Lord who have been called according to His purpose…Romans 8:28.

We are all being sanctified (made more and more holy) as we live our lives according to Christ. Paul was definitely farther along in his sanctification than I am. But that’s ok; God is still working in my life and moulding me into the image of Christ. Knowing this I too can say, “I rejoice. Yes, and I will rejoice!”

Philippians 1:21–26:

21 For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain. 22 But if I am to live on in the flesh, this will mean fruitful labor for me; and I do not know which to choose. 23 But I am hard-pressed from both directions, having the desire to depart and be with Christ, for that is very much better; 24 yet to remain on in the flesh is more necessary for your sake. 25 Convinced of this, I know that I will remain and continue with you all for your progress and joy in the faith, 26 so that your proud confidence in me may abound in Christ Jesus through my coming to you again.

These 6 verses are some of the most profound verses concerning life and death from Paul. As a believer we have only two things to look forward to: that which is great and that which is greater still! To live life as a believer is to live as one who not only grows closer to Christ but also progresses the gospel of Christ. This always bears fruit (even if we don’t see the fruit as it is born) and gives us a reason to be filled with joy. However, to die, well, that is greater still. In death we go to be with our Savior for all eternity. All our troubles here on earth have ended.

I remember my mom when reading these verses. She was a powerhouse of the faith. She had MS and macular degeneration and because of this was physically frail. However, her faith grew stronger daily. Her faith was something tangible that you could sense even after only spending a few short minutes with her. But you could see the same joy that we read was in Paul. This same joy that is a fruit of the Spirit. Truly, she was one who rejoiced in the Lord and in doing so lived out the verse, “to live is Christ and to die is gain”.

You see, my mom was wholly committed to Christ in her life. Everywhere she went and to whomever she spoke with her actions and her speech were thoroughly seasoned with the salt of the gospel. But even though her body was failing her, especially later in life, she never worried about death or leaving this world. To her, living meant pursuing in earnest her teaching as a leader in the women’s Bible Study Fellowship group she led. It meant being a light to others in her daily life. It meant speaking Christ to her family in order to give us peace and hope in life and in our trials.

But she knew the day was drawing near where she would finally be free of her earthly problems and be able to see her Savior face-to-face. Truly death’s sting for her was nowhere to be found. I imagine she had the same desires as Paul has here. The desire to depart and be with Christ for all eternity and the desire to remain for her family’s sake, for her Bible study member’s sake, and for the sake of those who do not know Christ. However, even though I miss her deeply, it was God’s perfect timing that she depart and be with Christ.

There is an interesting result of one who dedicates their life for Christ, that of the funeral. I have never been to a funeral where the hope in death was so overwhelmingly obvious. To be sure, I was exceedingly sad at losing my mom as was everyone in attendance. But we all knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that while her body was here, her spirit was at that moment rejoicing with our Lord.

It is as if we could all hear those words we long to hear from Jesus being said to her at that moment, “well done, good and faithful servant.”

Philippians 1:1-11

Today we begin our journey into Philippians. This is an epistle written by Paul most likely at the end of his imprisonment. Three other books, Ephesians (which we just finished), Colossians, and Philemon are considered along with Philippians as the prison epistles. We’re not exactly sure when all four of these books were written during Paul’s imprisonment and in what order, but seeing as it is likely that Philippians was written last (or at least close to last) we may see some very distinctive ties to earlier books.

Philippians is considered an informal epistle. This means that the words flowed from Paul (under the Spirit’s guidance, of course) and were not put in an extremely logical and structured format. This is unlike Ephesians which was a formal epistle. The logic and structure of thought in Ephesians was more formal than we will see in Philippians.

This is an important distinction for Philippians. Knowing this, we don’t necessarily need to primarily look for the rigid structure and flow of logic that you would find in other “formal” epistles. Reading Philippians is more like reading a letter from a dear friend, one who is expressing his overflowing love for you. As opposed to reading an ordered list of godly applications or a theological deep dive into an aspect of Christ.

Throughout Philippians Paul covers a lot of different topics and themes, but one stands out above the others. That is the subject of joy and its expression through the verb rejoice. Both joy and rejoicing are words (a noun and a verb) found throughout Philippians. This repetition should draw us to the joy that Paul is experiencing as well as the joy that we as believers should be experiencing. But it’s more than just joy that Paul is trying to get across to us. It is a joy within circumstances. Overall, Paul is saying be in a state of joy, always rejoicing in all circumstances:

in persecution

in humility

in unity

as we imitate Christ (a.k.a., Christlikeness, this one will become more and more important as we study Philippians)

along with our brothers and sisters in Christ

as a safeguard for us in dangerous times

in our walk

with thanksgiving

in contentedness

in giving

We read in Philippians 3:1 the recurring theme of joy:

1Finally, my brethren, rejoice in the Lord. To write the same things again is no trouble to me, and it is a safeguard for you.

But understand there is an even deeper theme we will find as we walk through the letter to the Philippians. Yes, this letter talks of an unbounded joy. However, we must ask how we seek and obtain this unbounded joy. Once we find it, how do we rest in this joy? As we dig deeper into the joys of Philippians we will answer these questions and more.

Philippians 1:1–2:

1 Paul and Timothy, bond-servants of Christ Jesus, To all the saints in Christ Jesus who are in Philippi, including the overseers and deacons: 2 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

This letter is directed towards the church, the believing body of Christ. But here in verse 1 Paul additionally calls out the overseers (elders) and deacons. These are the leaders of the church and as such they are called out specifically to take this letter to heart and be an example to their flock. In fact, Paul does ask the leadership of the Philippian church to work to resolve conflicts later in this book. However, I think that Paul specifically points to the leadership here to imitate Paul’s example of joy and contentment.

Notice that every time Paul mentions joy or rejoicing that it is within the context of something else such as persecution or our walk with Christ or our unity as a church body. It is likely that the Philippian church was experiencing some persecution probably from without since Paul does not really chastise this church as he does some other churches for their internal strife.

The last line of the introductory paragraph introduces a common greeting as well as a way that Paul closed his letters (see the last two verses of Ephesians 6). While this is a loving greeting to the faithful I believe it is also closely tied to the idea of being joyful. Keep this in mind as we study Philippians.

Philippians 1:3–5:

3 I thank my God in all my remembrance of you, 4 always offering prayer with joy in my every prayer for you all, 5 in view of your participation in the gospel from the first day until now.

Paul begins his letter with telling the church at Philippi how he is remembering them in his prayers. Prayer is one of the most important things we can do. It should always be first before we do anything, even reading the bible. Paul confidently believes prayer is powerful and wants to show this by placing it first in his letter.

Paul describes his prayers for the Philippians as being offered to God along with joy. All his prayers for them have been offered with joy. This is important because Paul also offered prayer with tears for other churches. But the church at Philippi was deserving of joyful prayer. Why? Well verse 5 explains the why. It seems that the Philippians had been partnering and in unity with Paul ever since the church at Philippi had been established by Paul (see Ac 16:12–40). Indeed we will soon see later in this book that the Philippians had been in partnership with Paul and his ministry since the beginning, for example:

Philippians 2:12:

12 Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling,

Philippians 4:15:

15 And you Philippians yourselves know that in the beginning of the gospel, when I left Macedonia, no church entered into partnership with me in giving and receiving, except you only.

Partnership (or participation as Paul states) in the ministry of one another is precious to Paul and caused him great joy. Joy to the point that it was difficult to express in words as we shall see in verse 1:8. You see, this kind of joy is a result of working closely with others in ministry to further the gospel of Christ. We can read in Ac 16::12-40 that the ministry of Paul was great and brought about many confessions of faith not to mention the founding of the Philippian church. However, we must not forget the persecution that went along with that victory in Christ. Paul and Silas were wrongfully imprisoned, beaten, and tortured. How could such a horrible persecution give birth to joy in Paul? Well, Paul was not one to look at the situation either in the past or in the here and now. Rather, Paul looked to the future. Paul saw that the ministry Christ had given him was bearing fruit, that people were being saved and their future was to be with Christ forever. Paul always looked to the future. The future is where our hope lies. A future with Christ and with the body of believers in heaven for all eternity. Looking to the future in this way is the foundation of our joy.

Philippians 1:6–7:

6 For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus. 7 For it is only right for me to feel this way about you all, because I have you in my heart, since both in my imprisonment and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel, you all are partakers of grace with me.

Because of the way the Philippian church has acted in faith, Paul was supremely confident that God will continue their work to perfection. Now this word for “perfection” is probably more aptly translated as “completion” (as it is in many other Bible translations). For believers working in ministry this is probably the most important thing that they could have heard.

Put yourself in their shoes as they are reading this letter from Paul. They have heard how Paul is praying for them and now that Paul is supremely confident that God will continue their ministry to completion. What a joyous moment that would have been for the believers at Philippi. Knowing that their work was not in vain and that their continued ministry into the future will not only be blessed by God but will give glory to God.

Verse 7 would have brought to mind the imprisonment that Paul and Silas endured in grace for those in Philippi. Again, read Ac 16:12-40 for a deeper understanding of Paul’s ministry to them and what it cost. Through this ordeal the Philippian believers shared (partook) in grace by seeing to Paul’s needs before, during, and after his imprisonment there. Through this same grace Christ was able to bring people such as Paul and Silas’ jailer, his family, and many others to salvation. This was made possible through the grace that Paul and Silas lived out towards their jailer and possibly towards the other prisoners held in that jail (remember how none of the prisoners escaped the jail, they all most likely followed Paul and Silas’ example and stayed).

Understand that this jailer had probably overseen the beating of Paul and Silas and then bound them in stocks, which was a very painful ordeal. Paul and Silas had no reason to be gracious towards the jailer but they were nonetheless. This grace helped to bring about the jailer’s salvation. You can see that if Paul’s joy was founded on what was happening in the present, there would be no joy…and no grace. But because his joy is founded on the future hope in Christ, grace abounded all the more.

Philippians 1:8:

8 For God is my witness, how I long for you all with the affection of Christ Jesus.

This single verse expresses Paul’s love and affection for those at Philippi more than any other verse. Paul begins with “For God is my witness…” showing that he is speaking the truth. Paul would never have written those words if he felt even a small bit different. Truly his words are the truth.

Paul longs for the Philippians with affection. This word for “affection” in Greek is special. There is no other word in Greek that expresses such a deep inward affection and tender mercy towards others. But Paul adds that this inward tender affection comes from Christ Jesus. Jesus fills our hearts with love and only then can we let that love flow out to others as Paul is doing.

Why does he express his love for the Philippians in such deep terms? Because of their participation with Paul in ministry and in the way that they all share in the same grace together. This brought Paul inexpressible joy and affection towards them.

Philippians 1:9–11:

9 And this I pray, that your love may abound still more and more in real knowledge and all discernment,

10 so that you may approve the things that are excellent, in order to be sincere and blameless until the day of Christ; 11 having been filled with the fruit of righteousness which comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.

As a result of this joy Paul prays all the more for his beloved Philippians.

Paul prays for an over-abundance of love. But notice that this love is rooted in “real knowledge” and “all discernment”. The Greek word for “real knowledge” a slightly nuanced one, but is aptly translated here. The idea of “real knowledge” involves a deep and personal relationship with Jesus. One that can be cultivated through Bible study and much prayer. This seeking out of real knowledge will lead us to correct discernment between good and evil in all situations.

As our love grows and grows in true knowledge and discernment we are able to make appropriate judgements as to things that Christ Himself would approve of (i.e., things that are excellent). This maturity in our faith allows us to continue in our sanctification so that we will be holy to a holy Lord. This is our praise to our Lord and savior.

Colossians 4:7-18

“Co-workers and friends in Christ”. That’s what I would title this section of scripture. It is a fitting end to the book of Colossians. We have read Paul’s commands for family, for work relationships, and for prayer to cover both these relationships and for evangelism. One can think of prayer as part of our relationship to others. Not only to build but to also strengthen those relationships.

We end with a list of people that were not only friends of Paul, but who were also co-workers of the gospel of Jesus Christ. These were the men and women who faithfully (except for one whom I’ll mention later) stood by Paul and the church.

As we study these people, who do you identify most with? I would imagine that you and I will identify with many of these people, both in their devotion and in their failures.

Colossians 4:7-8:

7 As to all my affairs, Tychicus, our beloved brother and faithful servant and fellow bond-servant in the Lord, will bring you information. 8 For I have sent him to you for this very purpose, that you may know about our circumstances and that he may encourage your hearts;

Tychicus is mentioned first. Tychicus was a trusted companion to Paul and served as a messenger not only for this letter to the Colossians but also for the letter to the Ephesians Ephesians 6:21:

21 But that you also may know about my circumstances, how I am doing, Tychicus, the beloved brother and faithful minister in the Lord, will make everything known to you.

and also for the letter to Philemon.

Paul trusted Tychicus implicitly to bring news to the other churches of his situation and the furtherance of the Gospel through Paul’s imprisonment. As we know from verse 4:16 this letter, like the others, was read amongst the churches. For this letter to the Colossians, Paul’s instructions were to also have the Laodiceans read it too. So it would seem that Paul trusted Tychicus to inform not only these two churches of his circumstances, but also other churches.

Seeing as how Paul had many enemies outside of the church as well as a few naysayers from within the church I would imagine that this trust would not have been given lightly. Tychicus would have had to be above reproach in his relationships to both Paul and Christ. Paul gives some clues as to why he trusted Tychicus so much. First, he was a “beloved brother”. There were no broken relationships here. Tychicus had endured alongside Paul in his persecutions. With one who is beloved, there is a strong relationship.

Second, Tychicus was a “faithful servant”. Essentially, he was one who was responsible, trustworthy, and worked in the service of another (i.e., Paul). If Tychicus had not been faithful in serving Paul’s needs there is no reason that Paul would have described him in this manner or trusted him with such an important task. Indeed, Tychicus would have been at Paul’s side serving him in all things at every opportunity.

Third, Tychicus was a “fellow bond-servant”. That is, he served the same master as Paul…the Lord Jesus Christ. Knowing that he and Paul spent so much time together, it would have been easy for Paul to determine whether or not Tychicus had truly given his life over to Christ. Tychicus’ work, day in and day out, would have given evidence that he was truly a child of God.

As a final note, Paul says that he (Tychicus) might encourage the readers of this letter. Tychicus must have had the gift of encouragement to others. It is possible that just the sight of Tychicus to the church body at that time would have lifted their hearts.

Who here is a Tychicus? Would the leaders of our church and others call you a “beloved brother, a “faithful servant”, and a “fellow bond-servant”? Understand that this is no simple thing. Tychicus was with Paul in prison and out of prison. He was faithful in all ways and he was loved by Paul and others. We may be able to say that we are beloved and a fellow bond-servant of Christ, but how faithful as a servant are we to others? How faithful of a servant to our pastor and the elders are we? I believe strongly that there is no greater need of a pastor than to have faithful servants by his side! A pastor’s job is hard and never-ending. We should come alongside him and bear his burden with him. Trev needs his Tychicuses.

Colossians 4:9:

9 and with him Onesimus, our faithful and beloved brother, who is one of your number. They will inform you about the whole situation here.

Onesimus is important to notice since he is the runaway slave that we will talk about in Philemon later. At this point in time Onesimus was described by Paul as a “faithful and beloved brother”. Paul also describes him as “one of your [the Colossians] number”. Onesimus was not only a believer but a member of the church as Colossae and a faithful and beloved brother in the faith.

We will discuss Onesimus more when we study Philemon. But for now, he was to accompany Tychicus to deliver these letters and to encourage the believers. Understand that this was not an easy thing for Onesimus to do. He was considered a runaway slave. His willingness to return to his master speaks volumes as to his faith in Christ.

Onesimus is a new believer who seems to have a great deal of faith, as he is willingly returning to his master (who probably wasn’t too happy that he ran away in the first place). Yet Onesimus is going back humbly and faithfully no matter the cost to him. While a lot of us are not new believers, we can look at Onesimus’ humility and faith in doing the right thing and ask ourselves, are we acting like Onesimus?

When faced with doing the right thing will we shrink back or will we, in humbleness and faithfulness, have the courage to do what is needed?

Colossians 4:10:

10 Aristarchus, my fellow prisoner, sends you his greetings; and also Barnabas’s cousin Mark (about whom you received instructions; if he comes to you, welcome him);

Aristarchus was a man committed to Christ, Paul, and his ministry. We can read more about Aristarchus in these verses:

Acts 19:29:

29 The city was filled with the confusion, and they rushed with one accord into the theater, dragging along Gaius and Aristarchus, Paul’s traveling companions from Macedonia.

Acts 20:4:

4 And he was accompanied by Sopater of Berea, the son of Pyrrhus, and by Aristarchus and Secundus of the Thessalonians, and Gaius of Derbe, and Timothy, and Tychicus and Trophimus of Asia.

Acts 27:2:

2 And embarking in an Adramyttian ship, which was about to sail to the regions along the coast of Asia, we put out to sea accompanied by Aristarchus, a Macedonian of Thessalonica.

Reading the full chapters in Acts 19, 20, and 27 will give you more context around who Aristarchus was as well as his level of commitment to ministry with Paul.

Not riot, nor shipwreck, nor prison were enough to deter Aristarchus from his work. Are we that committed? Am I a person who’s commitment to Christ and our church is equal to Aristarchus? After all, my faith has not been tested through riots, shipwrecks, and prison. Granted, having a commitment such as Aristarchus’ to Christ and His church is not something that just appears overnight. Commitment such as this is cultivated. It is planted, watered, and nurtured to fullness. This commitment grows as we are being sanctified in Christ.

Now Mark is also mentioned in this same verse. This was John Mark the writer of the Gospel of Mark. Mark had a moment of crisis we can read about in Acts 13:5–13:

5 When they reached Salamis, they began to proclaim the word of God in the synagogues of the Jews; and they also had John as their helper. 6 When they had gone through the whole island as far as Paphos, they found a magician, a Jewish false prophet whose name was Bar-Jesus, 7 who was with the proconsul, Sergius Paulus, a man of intelligence. This man summoned Barnabas and Saul and sought to hear the word of God. 8 But Elymas the magician (for so his name is translated) was opposing them, seeking to turn the proconsul away from the faith. 9 But Saul, who was also known as Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit, fixed his gaze on him, 10 and said, “You who are full of all deceit and fraud, you son of the devil, you enemy of all righteousness, will you not cease to make crooked the straight ways of the Lord? 11 “Now, behold, the hand of the Lord is upon you, and you will be blind and not see the sun for a time.” And immediately a mist and a darkness fell upon him, and he went about seeking those who would lead him by the hand. 12 Then the proconsul believed when he saw what had happened, being amazed at the teaching of the Lord. 13 Now Paul and his companions put out to sea from Paphos and came to Perga in Pamphylia; but John left them and returned to Jerusalem.

Notice that John (i.e., John Mark) left Paul and company and returned to Jerusalem. This caused some problems we can see as Paul later did not want to take Mark on a ministry journey since he had deserted them before. We read this in Acts 15:36–40:

36 After some days Paul said to Barnabas, “Let us return and visit the brethren in every city in which we proclaimed the word of the Lord, and see how they are.” 37 Barnabas wanted to take John, called Mark, along with them also. 38 But Paul kept insisting that they should not take him along who had deserted them in Pamphylia and had not gone with them to the work. 39 And there occurred such a sharp disagreement that they separated from one another, and Barnabas took Mark with him and sailed away to Cyprus. 40 But Paul chose Silas and left, being committed by the brethren to the grace of the Lord.

So Mark’s commitment waned, but he did eventually repent and turn back to ministry for Christ. I would view myself more as a Mark. My commitment can wane, but I always hope and strive to repent and return to the ministry.

Colossians 4:11

11 and also Jesus who is called Justus; these are the only fellow workers for the kingdom of God who are from the circumcision, and they have proved to be an encouragement to me.

Not much is known of Justus, but Paul’s mention of him speaks volumes. Justus was a Jew that became a believer in Christ. There are two main things I see here with Justus. First, he does not need the limelight. Justus is not mentioned much in the Bible. It seems that he was only mentioned in this letter and in passing in Philemon 23:

23 Epaphras, my fellow prisoner in Christ Jesus, greets you,

Workers in the ministry do not work to gain accolades and “likes” from others. Ministry is a sacrificial offering to God. By looking for attention through our works we are essentially holding back some of that sacrificial offering to God.

Secondly, Justus was a Jew and most likely held some firm beliefs stemming from Old Testament traditions. These strongly held beliefs would have been hard to set aside. But from how Paul describes Justus, it seems that Justus had truly embraced the grace held out for him by Christ. In fact, a lot of this letter was designed to rebuke the Jewish people who were bringing back traditions and other things, saying that they were required for salvation. Essentially, requiring the adding of traditions etc. to Christ rather than trusting that Christ is all that we need.

Of course, I don’t see others looking to take the limelight in our church. I do see humble people who are content to work in the background. Letting their work be a sacrificial offering to the Lord.

Colossians 4:12–13:

12 Epaphras, who is one of your number, a bondslave of Jesus Christ, sends you his greetings, always laboring earnestly for you in his prayers, that you may stand perfect and fully assured in all the will of God. 13 For I testify for him that he has a deep concern for you and for those who are in Laodicea and Hierapolis.

Epaphras was a man of prayer with concern for those he prayed for. Paul said that Epaphras was “one of your number” meaning that he was a member of the Colossian church. Epaphras “labored earnestly” for his church in his prayers. Paul also said that Epaphras had a “deep concern” for his church body, including those in Laodicea and Hierapolis.

This is something that we should all be doing…praying for our church. I do pray for our church but I have to really examine myself and ask, “Am I laboring in prayer earnestly?” and “Does my prayer show a deep concern for the church?” I think I need to do better. I believe we do have Epaphrases in our church who do pray earnestly and with deep concern for our church. Are you one of them?

Colossians 4:14:

14 Luke, the beloved physician, sends you his greetings, and also Demas.

Luke and Demas. This is the great contrast. Luke was a beloved physician to Paul and also the one who wrote the Gospel of Luke and also Acts (which can be read as a single book, by the way). We know much about Luke and his faith and commitment towards Christ and His ministry. In fact, Luke was with Paul til the end as we read in 2 Timothy 4:11, Paul’s last known letter that he wrote:

11 Only Luke is with me. Pick up Mark and bring him with you, for he is useful to me for service.

But Demas is another story. Demas is usually described as the fair weather disciple. Here in Colossians Demas is mentioned in a good light. In Philemon 24 he is even mentioned as a fellow worker:

24 as do Mark, Aristarchus, Demas, Luke, my fellow workers.

However, the last news we have of Demas is in 2 Timothy 4:10:

10 for Demas, having loved this present world, has deserted me and gone to Thessalonica; Crescens has gone to Galatia, Titus to Dalmatia.

Nothing more is said of Demas. It is likely that he apostatized and fully left the faith, showing that he was never a believer in the first place. I hope this is not true but the message from Paul is that Demas never returned to the ministry. Look at the wording here in 2 Timothy 4:10. Demas “loved this present world”. Demas wilfully loved (note this is the agape type of love) this present evil world as opposed to what he should have been doing which is loving the kingdom of God, which is here now and is also what we look forward to.

Next, Demas deserted Paul. This Greek word for “deserted” is defined as: “to totally abandon”. Demas fully left his ministry with Paul and abandoned him. Maybe the threat of imprisonment was too great for Demas and he desired an easier life over all. But whatever the reason, the wording implies a full and complete abandonment of the ministry.

Finally, John Mark (who we just discussed) had his entire story arc clearly written out for us. He was faithful, he stumbled, he repented, and he was restored to the ministry, eventually writing the Gospel of Mark. Demas’ story ends with his leaving the ministry. Nothing more is said. Maybe nothing more needs to be said.

Deciding who we are more like is easy here. Always be a Luke and not a Demas. But we all have weaknesses that we have to battle in order to please Jesus. Nothing is easy in this life, especially if you are a believer. However, as we know, the main idea of this letter is that Jesus is supreme and sufficient in all. Demas did not believe that…Luke did. What do you believe?

Colossians 4:15–18:

15 Greet the brethren who are in Laodicea and also Nympha and the church that is in her house. 16 When this letter is read among you, have it also read in the church of the Laodiceans; and you, for your part read my letter that is coming from Laodicea. 17 Say to Archippus, “Take heed to the ministry which you have received in the Lord, that you may fulfill it.”18 I, Paul, write this greeting with my own hand. Remember my imprisonment. Grace be with you.

As we end this letter from Paul, he specifically calls out a fellow believer, Archippus encouraging him to fulfill his ministry that was given him by the Lord. We don’t know much more that this about Archippus and to be sure there has been much speculation about this verse. However, if we apply the overarching message of this letter, that Christ is superior and sufficient for all our needs, then this becomes more of an encouragement for Archippus as well as for us.

Consider if someone were to say to you today, “Take care to fulfill your ministry that the Lord has given you.” That wouldn’t seem like much of an encouragement. It would seem more like work or a command (technically, it is a command as this verb is in the imperative in verse 17). However, once we apply the overarching message of Colossians we can see that in this context it becomes an encouragement. Think of it this way. Our Lord who is preeminent over all has gifted us our various ministries. Since our all powerful, all knowing Lord has gifted us with our ministries, we know that not only has He given us the perfect ministry but He also is sufficient to meet all of our needs in that ministry. All we need to do is keep watch over our ministry so that nothing extra Biblical sneaks in and we also need to continue (persevere) in our ministry. What a feeling of relief Archippus must have felt after hearing Paul give him this encouragement at the end of this letter. Do we all feel that same sense of security, peace, and encouragement after studying Colossians?

Colossians 4:2-6

Last week we looked at how we were to act as believers towards one another. This (verses 3:1-4:1) is our application that flows out of chapters 1-2 in Colossians. As we know more of Christ’s supremacy and sufficiency in all, we begin to see our own humbleness and insufficiency in all. In other words as Tom Lane taught us on Wednesday night, “Less of me and more of Christ”, which is what John the Baptist preached.

As we grow in this way towards Christ, we become more aware of those around us and it makes us want to act in an unselfish way towards them. Paul points this out in verses 3:18-4:1 as he teaches us to have right relationships within the family as well as outside of the family. There is a Godly submission towards one another that we are drawn towards as we live out, “Less of me and more of Christ.” As Ephesians 5:21 states:

21 submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ.

Last week’s verses looked at what we are to do internally to live out Christ in us and to glorify Jesus as supreme and sufficient. Husbands love your wives as Christ loved the church and sacrificed everything for it. Wives be willfully subject to your husbands as is proper in Christ. Children obey your parents and you will be blessed. Parents do not provoke your children; rather, raise them up in Godliness. Those who are over others (masters) be fair and gentle to those you are over as Christ is to you and who is also over you. Those who work for others must work as if they are working for God Himself as God will give you a reward that no earthly master can give.

This week we are looking more at the outward actions that allow us to live out Christ in us and to glorify Jesus as supreme and sufficient. We will see two main commands in these verses: pray and walk (conduct yourselves).

But before we jump in, some of you may have seen the prayer chain on the GroupMe app. Last week after Trev’s very powerful sermon on the relationships between family and those outside of the family we, as a church, did what all good churches do…pray. Prayer was given up in humility for Trev and the body of believers to hear, obey, and for protection. It is a heartwarming thing to see a church pray, humbling ourselves to our King in heaven. (If you’re interested in being a part of the church prayer chain see Bridget Marchetti.)

Colossians 4:2–4:

2 Devote yourselves to prayer, keeping alert in it with an attitude of thanksgiving; 3 praying at the same time for us as well, that God will open up to us a door for the word, so that we may speak forth the mystery of Christ, for which I have also been imprisoned; 4 that I may make it clear in the way I ought to speak.

It is not mere coincidence that Paul abruptly switches to prayer. For how would we accomplish those things in verses 3:18-4:1 if we didn’t pray? Prayer is the essential component to living out Godly lives. Without prayer we just have ourselves to rely on and as we know we are humbly insufficient to do the job on our own.

There are three things that Paul instructs us to do here:

Pray with devotion

Pray with alertness

Pray with thanksgiving

We must both persevere and be persistent in our prayers. What better way to pray than to pray continuously that our relationships will be right and pleasing to our Lord. Husbands, wives, children, masters, and servants pray that you will be subject to one another as we should as Christians who are a holy temple to the Lord.

As The Spirit of God shows us our shortcomings in our relationships, we need to be filled with thanksgiving to Him who is even now sanctifying us. Just think of all the blessings that we will enter into as we build stronger relationships within our families as well as with those outside of our families. This alone should lift us up to praise Him even more! Not only that, but just think of how much stronger and more unified our church will be as we build up our relationships. For the church is not only a people but a unified people.

But do not forget that we also pray with alertness. We are to be watchful and on alert as a soldier would be. We shouldn’t always be letting our mind or our words wander when we pray. Rather, we need to pray with a sense of awareness of our own state as well as those around us. This alertness allows us to pray with a strength and focus with which we lift our voices to our Lord.

You may have noticed that I said there were 3 things Paul instructs us to do. Well, there’s actually a fourth that, in the historical context, was for Paul and those with him. But this can also be applied to us now. We need to be praying that God will open a door for the word; that is, for evangelism. Paul’s choice of words here may seem a little humorous in that he asks that “a door be opened” in the same breath that he also mentions the fact that he is imprisoned behind closed doors. But I think that Paul is subtly expressing his overriding desire to evangelize over and above being released from prison. Paul didn’t see his imprisonment as a roadblock. Rather, he saw opportunity through prayer in his imprisonment. Paul didn’t just set off to evangelize on his own, but he was devoted in prayer for evangelism. He waited for God to begin the work of evangelism and then kept alert in prayer for opportunities to speak the mystery of Christ to unbelievers.

Paul also wanted intercessory prayer so that he could clearly explain the mystery of Christ. This is always important, especially nowadays where everything is so complex and difficult to explain. The message of the Gospel is deep, so deep that we can study it for the rest of our lives and never be in want of more. Something this deep can be difficult to explain. To be sure, there are passages throughout the Bible that are difficult to understand but even these passages can be clearly explained with a bit of effort. We (myself included) need to make sure we know our audience and are explaining things clearly. Please pray for me also that I may clearly explain scripture. And by all means, if I don’t explain clearly let me know!

Finally, before we move on to Paul’s command for us to walk in wisdom, let’s look back at a couple of Paul’s prayers in Colossians and Ephesians. We should look to these as models for how we pray as well:

Colossians 1:9–14:

9 And so, from the day we heard, we have not ceased to pray for you, asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, 10 so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him: bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; 11 being strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy; 12 giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in light. 13 He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, 14 in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.

Ephesians 3:14–21:

14 For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, 15 from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name, 16 that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with power through His Spirit in the inner man, 17s o that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; and that you, being rooted and grounded in love, 18 may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, 19 and to know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled up to all the fullness of God. 20 Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us, 21 to Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations forever and ever. Amen.

For more of Paul’s prayers read: Phil. 1:9–11 and Eph. 1:15–23.

In Colossians 4:3-4 Paul begins to talk about evangelistic prayer. Why not continue to discuss prayer as it relates to the interpersonal relationships in verses 3:18-4:1? Actually, he is discussing just this. You see, as we continue our sanctification our family and work relationships will grow stronger and we will, in turn, have a stronger witness to others.

Paul speaking of evangelistic prayer is not off topic but on topic. The logic progresses as follows. We realize the supremacy and sufficiency of all in Christ. From this, we begin to act in a way becoming a new person in Christ (not under our own power, but under the Spirit’s power, lest we would have a reason to boast). All of this is bathed in prayer, which is our lifeline to Christ. As we are sanctified in this manner, our witness grows stronger and the Gospel is presented and God is glorified.

Colossians 4:5–6:

5 Conduct yourselves with wisdom toward outsiders, making the most of the opportunity. 6 Let your speech always be with grace, as though seasoned with salt, so that you will know how you should respond to each person.

The words here “Conduct yourself with” is sometimes translated as “Walk in”. We’ve studied this term “walk” before. It means to live or behave in a specific manner. In this case, Paul is commanding us to walk in wisdom towards outsiders, those that do not believe in Christ.

A person who has a wise walk will not only search out opportunities but make the most of them. Any opportunity to witness about Christ should not be squandered or ignored. Rather, we should be methodical and gracious about how we present Christ as well as ourselves to unbelievers. We are, after all, His ambassadors.

Finally, our wise walk should include speech that abounds in grace. How do you win hearts for Christ? Well, that’s a bit of a trick question. Christ ultimately does the “winning of hearts” (to be clear, I am associating “winning a heart” with “a change of heart” that only Christ performs). We are simply there to act as His spokesperson. A spokesperson whose speech is liberally salted with the words of grace is much more likely to be heard than one whose speech does not abound in grace. I looked up what the opposite of grace is in the English language. Here are some antonyms for grace:

Mercilessness

Rudeness

Ignorance

Thoughtlessness

Tactlessness

Unforgiveness

Let us deny ourselves of these things and pick up our cross replacing our sinful ways with Christ’s love and grace as we speak to others of our Lord and Savior.

Here I leave you with some verses on our walk to meditate on:

Ephesians 5:15–17:

15 Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, 16 making the best use of the time, because the days are evil. 17T herefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is.

Colossians 3:16:

16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God.

Mark 9:50:

50 Salt is good, but if the salt has lost its saltiness, how will you make it salty again? Have salt in yourselves, and be at peace with one another.”

1 Peter 3:15:

15 but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect,

Colossians 3:18-4:1

Colossians 3:18-4:1

In the first part of chapter 3, Paul revealed how Jesus’ sufficiency in all things has caused us to be raised up in unity with Him. A sort of co-resurrection, if you will…a co-resurrection that is expressed outwardly through our baptism. Since we are raised up with Him we are also raised up in unity with Him, the One who is all sufficient for us. We have all we need in relation to life and godliness through the unity with our Saviour. As such, we now desire to live in a way pleasing to our Lord…not as we used to live but in our newness of life. We are to put off the old self and put on the new self in order to please and glorify our God!

Now in verses 3:18-4:1 Paul dives even deeper into the specifics of how we apply this new self that we’ve put on towards others. It’s all about our relationships to one another: husbands/wives, fathers/children, masters/slaves.

Colossians 3:18–21:

18 Wives, be subject to your husbands, as is fitting in the Lord. 19 Husbands, love your wives and do not be embittered against them. 20 Children, be obedient to your parents in all things, for this is well-pleasing to the Lord. 21 Fathers, do not exasperate your children, so that they will not lose heart.

These verses should sound familiar. We just studied the same application of the husband/wife relationship when we studied Ephesians 5:21–33:

21 and be subject to one another in the fear of Christ. 22 Wives, be subject to your own husbands, as to the Lord. 23 For the husband is the head of the wife, as Christ also is the head of the church, He Himself being the Savior of the body. 24 But as the church is subject to Christ, so also the wives ought to be to their husbands in everything. 25 Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself up for her, 26 so that He might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, 27 that He might present to Himself the church in all her glory, having no spot or wrinkle or any such thing; but that she would be holy and blameless. 28 So husbands ought also to love their own wives as their own bodies. He who loves his own wife loves himself; 29 for no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as Christ also does the church, 30 because we are members of His body. 31 For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and shall be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh. 32 This mystery is great; but I am speaking with reference to Christ and the church. 33 Nevertheless, each individual among you also is to love his own wife even as himself, and the wife must see to it that she respects her husband.

(For details on this study in Ephesians 5:21-33 read: https://crossingschurchaz.org/ephesians-521-33/)

But that section in Ephesians 5 only concerns the husband/wife relationship. In Colossians 3:20-21, however, Paul immediately turns to the father/child relationship. Ephesians 6:1-4 also discusses this relationship:

1 Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. 2 “Honor your father and mother” (this is the first commandment with a promise), 3“that it may go well with you and that you may live long in the land.” 4 Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.

(For details on this study in Ephesians 6:1-4 read: https://crossingschurchaz.org/ephesians-61-3/)

Colossians 3:22–25 thru Colossians 4:1:

22 Slaves, in all things obey those who are your masters on earth, not with external service, as those who merely please men, but with sincerity of heart, fearing the Lord. 23 Whatever you do, do your work heartily, as for the Lord rather than for men, 24 knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance. It is the Lord Christ whom you serve. 25 For he who does wrong will receive the consequences of the wrong which he has done, and that without partiality.

1 Masters, grant to your slaves justice and fairness, knowing that you too have a Master in heaven.

Again we have already seen this in Ephesians 6:5–9 except the order of the master and slave has been reversed:

5 Bondservants, obey your earthly masters with fear and trembling, with a sincere heart, as you would Christ, 6 not by the way of eye-service, as people-pleasers, but as bondservants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart, 7 rendering service with a good will as to the Lord and not to man, 8 knowing that whatever good anyone does, this he will receive back from the Lord, whether he is a bondservant or is free. 9 Masters, do the same to them, and stop your threatening, knowing that he who is both their Master and yours is in heaven, and that there is no partiality with him.

(For details on this study in Ephesians 6:5-9 read: https://crossingschurchaz.org/ephesians-61-3/)

I don’t want to just rehash what I’ve already written about in Ephesians 5-6. Rather, I’d like to see what Colossians has to say about these interpersonal relationships within the context of this book.

First, we should ask, “Why the repetition?” If Ephesians already discussed this application, why do we need to hear it again? Well, the Bible is overflowing with repetition. The reason for this repetition is 3-fold. First, repetition helps us to remember.

Second, repetition points us to something that is very important. It’s like a parent telling a child over-and-over not to touch the hot stove. It’s important for the child not to touch the hot stove! Likewise, here we have repetition on how to show that we are in Christ and modeling Christ through our relationships to one another. First and foremost is the relationship between the husband and wife followed closely by the relationship between the child and parents. The family structure and cohesiveness is paramount to the health of a church. A healthy church will be evident in the relationships of the husband and wife and their children.

Third, repetition can give us new perspectives on a topic. Think of the four Gospels. They all cover the same subject, Jesus’ life and ministry, but from different human perspectives. From these four unique perspectives we know Jesus even deeper. What deeper things can we learn about our relationships?

I think the first thing is that relationships are very important, not only for our own peace (a broken relationship is never peaceful) but also for our sanctification. As we draw nearer to Christ (our all sufficient master) we naturally become more adept at putting into practice these commands that Paul gives us in these verses.

We know that the main idea of Colossians is that of Christ’s preeminence and His sufficiency in everything. In light of that and knowing that we just read about the putting off of the old self and putting on of the new self, we can understand that these commands to be loving, obedient, submissive, just, and fair are not done in our own power or under the power of the old self. Rather, as we are “in Christ” and He is “in us” and we now are clothed in the new self we are able to put these commands into action. Compare this to Ephesians where the main idea was what Christ has done for us in all grace and power and how we should respond in both joy and obedience. In Ephesians we were commanded to treat others as Christ treated us. Therefore, we can understand that these commands to treat others as Christ treated us are not burdensome and impossible but as a joy and a way to lighten our earthly burdens. If Christ treated us in such a way that while we were yet sinners He died for us in the most humiliating way possible, then shouldn’t we treat our spouse and our children with love, grace, mercy, and respect? You see, as a new creation these commands are not a burden but a blessing…a continual blessing as we live them out.

If you ever feel that you just can’t keep these commands, just pray to Christ for strength. Pray to the Spirit as you put on the armor of God. Prayer is our instrument to enable our actions. In fact, (spoiler alert) that is what we will delve into next week…prayer. Remember also in Ephesians 6 that Paul spoke of prayer immediately after he gave us these same interpersonal commands. And prayer was a prelude to putting on the armor of God. So in everything with prayer and supplication, may we make known our requests to God. But prayer also comes with a warning in James 4:3:

3You ask and do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, so that you may spend it on your pleasures.

That is, we must ask with the right motives. We must ask with the motives of Christ. Husbands (of which I am one of you), ask with the right motive. Ask that you will love your wife with the agape love in verse 19 and I will do the same with my wife…a love that is sacrificial and seeks the good of the other, not ourselves.

Wives, pray for your husbands. Pray that we may truly love you with the agape love that we are commanded. Pray that as we husbands love our wives more and more deeply that you also may model God’s command for you given through Paul.

Even Peter gets into the commands of how to love and be subject to one another. Here in 1 Peter 3:1–6 he repeats what Paul has been repeating:

1Likewise, wives, be subject to your own husbands, so that even if some do not obey the word, they may be won without a word by the conduct of their wives, 2 when they see your respectful and pure conduct. 3 Do not let your adorning be external—the braiding of hair and the putting on of gold jewelry, or the clothing you wear— 4 but let your adorning be the hidden person of the heart with the imperishable beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which in God’s sight is very precious. 5 For this is how the holy women who hoped in God used to adorn themselves, by submitting to their own husbands, 6 as Sarah obeyed Abraham, calling him lord. And you are her children, if you do good and do not fear anything that is frightening.

But Peter here goes into a bit more detail concerning a wife whose husband does not obey the word of God. In the context of this chapter in 1 Peter, this is most likely an unbelieving husband whose wife is now a believer. Notice that the wife is not commanded to leave her husband or to “win him with words”. Rather, her conduct is the way she wins her husband to Christ.

These may seem like very difficult words to follow and they are. But remember that Christ is sufficient to meet every need, including this one. I do have encouraging words though. I’ve seen 1 Peter 3:1-6 played out before me in a powerful way. My mom and dad were not believers but then my mom went through a crisis and ended up joining a fellowship of women who studied the Bible in depth. This led her to Christ, whom she is with right now in heaven. But in between the time she believed and the time she died, she epitomized 1 Peter 3:1-6. I saw the power in her conduct as one who was in Christ. She was always subject to my dad and my dad recognized the change in her. He became a Christian due to my mom’s respect and conduct towards him. Her adorning was always as a gentle and quiet spirit that you knew could only come from the heart. So wives, be like my mom. Take these commands from God and write them on your heart. The preeminent and all sufficient Christ will provide for all your needs.

Lastly, I want to mention this verb “be subject” that is given to wives. This is a single Greek word that is in what is called the “middle voice”. English has the “active and passive voices” but no “middle voice”. This middle voice means that the wife is to place herself under the husband. That’s why the word “be” is added in the English. Paul knows that this type of subjection is a matter of the heart and it must come from the heart in order to be pleasing to the Lord. In stating this command in this manner we see that the husband does not have absolute control over this matter. The husband cannot and should never demand this from his wife. Rather, as we read in Ephesians, the husband is to love his wife and sacrifice for her just as Jesus loved and sacrificed Himself for the church. In other words, we husbands (myself very much included) are to make it easy for our wives to follow God’s commands. We are to lead by example. We are to love, cherish, and sacrifice for our wives thus providing our wives the desire in their hearts to follow their husbands’ family leadership under God’s divine provision and authority.

To complete the family loop, Paul focuses on the father/child relationship. Notice that the men have a much larger number of commands than anyone else. We have a lot of responsibility and here this responsibility relates to not exasperating or provoking our children. This could also be thought of as stirring up or irritating our children. Doing so may cause our children to be discouraged or lose heart. Rather, we are encouraged to love our children so that they may want to obey us in everything.

As fathers and mothers, we want the best for our kids. One way to know that we are giving the best to our kids is that we are loving them as we should. Notice that a child who obeys is well-pleasing to the Lord (v20). I know that I want the Lord to be well-pleased with my children. A child that is pleasing to the Lord is a blessed child indeed.

Consider the child that is disobedient and/or discouraged. Now think of the devil who is described as a roaring lion going around and devouring anyone and everyone that he can, including our children. A disobedient/discouraged or even an irritated child is going to be easy pickings for the devil. The way we protect our children is to love them as Christ loved us. Listen to your kids. Be slow to speak and quick to listen. Spend time with them. I believe that just saying you will spend quality time with your kids is an excuse not to spend quantity of time with them. To be precise, we must spend both quality and quantity of time with our kids in order to raise them as we should. Know that these are not easy words for me to write. I have failed more often in this than I’d like to admit. Don’t let the failures just lie there; fix them. The time is always right to do better. Start small and build. Your children will appreciate it.

Finally, we get to servants and masters. As much as we may not like to admit, we are still all beholden to someone or something else. There is our boss at work. If we own our own business then there are our customers (the customer is always right as you know). And, of course, there is Christ who is head over all. But maybe there is an idol in your life: money, power, pride. These can be masters too; however, in this context Paul is strictly talking about interpersonal relationships.

We’ve just studied this same command given to masters and servants in Ephesians 6:5–9. But Peter also has something to say about this in 1 Peter 2:18–25:

18 Servants, be submissive to your masters with all respect, not only to those who are good and gentle, but also to those who are unreasonable. 19 For this finds favor, if for the sake of conscience toward God a person bears up under sorrows when suffering unjustly. 20 For what credit is there if, when you sin and are harshly treated, you endure it with patience? But if when you do what is right and suffer for it you patiently endure it, this finds favor with God. 21 For you have been called for this purpose, since Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example for you to follow in His steps, 22 who committed no sin, nor was any deceit found in His mouth; 23 and while being reviled, He did not revile in return; while suffering, He uttered no threats, but kept entrusting Himself to Him who judges righteously; 24 and He Himself bore our sins in His body on the cross, so that we might die to sin and live to righteousness; for by His wounds you were healed. 25 For you were continually straying like sheep, but now you have returned to the Shepherd and Guardian of your souls.

Notice that this section comes directly after the sections on the family interactions. If we can’t get the family right, how can we think we can get relationships right outside of our family. So, first work on the family relationships and then move on to the other relationships outside of your family.

The thing I see most often in these verses that detail the master/servant relationships (or what we can think of as our work relationships) is that we need to serve those over us with a sincere heart. When we have a manager that is just and kind this is easy, but when we have a manager that is difficult to work for this becomes much more difficult. What does Paul and Peter have to say about difficult managers? Serve them as you would a good and kind manager, for ultimately we serve Christ Himself. Our reward will come from Christ…that is, our reward that is stored up in heaven where rust and moth cannot destroy it. Not only do we receive a reward but we also please God in our submission to others, especially when they persecute us. That is why we sometimes suffer under unjust and unkind managers, to please God. And when we please God we are more able to glorify Him.

So we should do our work as unto the Lord, not man. We should work heartily and honestly with a reverent fear towards God so that we may please and glorify Him. We need to take our eyes off of people and place our eyes on the One who is truly the preeminent head over all. He is all sufficient for what we are going through. We should desire to please Him and let His peace (the one that is beyond all understanding) envelop us completely.

Colossians 3:1-17

Col 3:1-17

This week we encountered a major division in the structure of Colossians. The first two chapters covered doctrine. These last two chapters cover the practical application of that doctrine. The main idea of Colossians still holds throughout the last two chapters. That is the idea of Jesus’ preeminence and sufficiency in all things. As we hold on to this idea of His full and complete sufficiency we can apply this to our lives in practical ways. (Remember that while Colossians talk overall of Christ’s preeminence, I’m going to focus on the aspect of His sufficiency which is a part of His preeminence.)

As we read through the practical applications Paul commands in these last two chapters of Colossians it is critical to keep in mind Christ’s sufficiency. Think of having to keep these commands in these last two chapters on our own. How difficult would it be to do these things in our own power? I believe it would be impossible or at least impossible for the long term. But as Paul has pointed out throughout the first two chapters, Christ is sufficient in all! Not only that, but as we are raised up with Christ in newness of life, we also have Christ’s sufficiency within us. We do not have to rely solely on our own strength to submit to Christ’s commands.

Colossians 3:1–2:

1 Therefore if you have been raised up with Christ, keep seeking the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. 2 Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth.

This word “Therefore” is the fulcrum on which balances the first two chapters against the last two. Without the first two chapters we only have a bunch of commands we are required to carry out. Without the last two chapters we have only doctrine without any concrete applications that we are to follow. Both sides of this letter are necessary for our edification. Doctrine to understand Christ and His sufficiency in everything and application to put Christ’s sufficiency to work in our lives.

Ephesians, which we just studied, is organized in this same manner. The first half is doctrine and the last half is practical application. For a comparison of how Paul organized Ephesians in a way similar to Colossians see: https://crossingschurchaz.org/ephesians-41-16/)

Notice that Paul is using another rhetorical literary device here in verse 1. Paul says, “if you have been raised up with Christ…”. This is very similar to what he said (rhetorically) back in Colossians 2:20:

20 If you have died with Christ to the elementary principles of the world, why, as if you were living in the world, do you submit yourself to decrees, such as,…

Verse 1 could also be translated with a “since” as in “Therefore since you have been raised up with Christ…”. In fact this is closer to how the NIV translates this verse.

Since this section begins the practical application of what we studied in the first two chapters we should immediately see some commands or direction from Paul. Indeed we see something repeated in these first two verses…”seeking the things above”.

Let’s break this down further. What are we to do with the things above? Well, the verbs tell us. They are commands to continually seek and continually set our minds on (or meditate on) the things above. The Greek and English verbs here both indicate that this is a continuous and ongoing action.

But what are the things above? These two verses give us a general idea. The things above are found with Jesus. The same Jesus who is sitting at the right hand of God the Father, showing that Jesus is king, ruler, and has authority over all (sounds a lot like preeminence to me). But Paul contrasts this with the things below, earthly things, that are human inspired and are not the things above. More to the point of what these things are can be found at the end of Colossians 2:1–3:

1 For I want you to know how great a struggle I have on your behalf and for those who are at Laodicea, and for all those who have not personally seen my face, 2 that their hearts may be encouraged, having been knit together in love, and attaining to all the wealth that comes from the full assurance of understanding, resulting in a true knowledge of God’s mystery, that is, Christ Himself, 3 in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.

Christ is our sufficiency! All we need is Christ! There is nothing else! Keep seeking diligently Christ and continually meditate on Christ and His word. This is to be our mindset as believers. But we don’t have to do this alone, we have Christ in us, His sufficiency is ours.

For more details on seeking and meditation on the things above Re-read: https://crossingschurchaz.org/grow/ (open the section entitled “Feb. 6 – Matt. Chapter 6” and read through it). This covers our previous study on Matthew 6:33 where we read:

33 “But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.

Which meshes nicely with verses 3:1-2 here in Colossians.

Colossians 3:3–4:

3 For you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God. 4 When Christ, who is our life, is revealed, then you also will be revealed with Him in glory.

This sounds a lot like the baptism that Paul was just walking us through last week. We have died with Christ and to sin. Now we are raised (revealed) as a new creation, a child of God.

The word “For” that begins verse 3 reveals that verses 3-4 further explains verses 1-2 where we were commanded to set our minds on Christ. Why do we set our minds on Christ and why are we now enabled to set our minds on Christ? The answer is because we have died with Christ to sin and are now a new creation that is hidden with Christ. That is we are concealed, secretly hidden away with Christ. Therefore, from now on others will see not us, not our old selves, but Christ in us. Furthermore, when Christ returns at His second coming verse 4 states that we will be revealed as God’s own. In other words, what is now hidden in Christ will be revealed at His second coming.

Colossians 3:5–11:

5 Therefore consider the members of your earthly body as dead to immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and greed, which amounts to idolatry. 6 For it is because of these things that the wrath of God will come upon the sons of disobedience, 7 and in them you also once walked, when you were living in them. 8 But now you also, put them all aside: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and abusive speech from your mouth 9 Do not lie to one another, since you laid aside the old self with its evil practices, 10 and have put on the new self who is being renewed to a true knowledge according to the image of the One who created him— 11 a renewal in which there is no distinction between Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave and freeman, but Christ is all, and in all.

Since we are hidden in Christ and have all the sufficiency of Christ within us we are to put to death sin that is in ourselves. This sin, as Paul rightly states, amounts to idolatry against God. If we do not put to death sin then it becomes what we worship and desire. We should not put these evil things above our worship of and desire for God.

Remember back in 1 Samuel 15:7–9:

7 So Saul defeated the Amalekites, from Havilah as you go to Shur, which is east of Egypt. 8 He captured Agag the king of the Amalekites alive, and utterly destroyed all the people with the edge of the sword. 9 But Saul and the people spared Agag and the best of the sheep, the oxen, the fatlings, the lambs, and all that was good, and were not willing to destroy them utterly; but everything despised and worthless, that they utterly destroyed.

Here Saul spared king Agag and took the best of the animals from the Amelekites even though the Lord told Saul not to spare anyone or anything. Saul disobeyed as the spoils of war became his idol. An idol that Saul placed above the Lord’s own words. Because of this the Lord says in 1 Samuel 15:10–11:

10 Then the word of the Lord came to Samuel, saying, 11 “I regret that I have made Saul king, for he has turned back from following Me and has not carried out My commands.” And Samuel was distressed and cried out to the Lord all night.

The Lord regretted that He made Saul king and sent Samuel to chastise Saul. It was Samuel who killed Agag by hacking him to pieces. Something that Saul failed to do and was still not willing to do.

Additionally, remember back in 1 Samuel 28:4–7:

4 So the Philistines gathered together and came and camped in Shunem; and Saul gathered all Israel together and they camped in Gilboa. 5 When Saul saw the camp of the Philistines, he was afraid and his heart trembled greatly. 6 When Saul inquired of the Lord, the Lord did not answer him, either by dreams or by Urim or by prophets. 7 Then Saul said to his servants, “Seek for me a woman who is a medium, that I may go to her and inquire of her.” And his servants said to him, “Behold, there is a woman who is a medium at En-dor.”

where Saul consults the witch at Endor. This became Saul’s idolatry as well, and the final straw for the Lord. The Lord would cause not only the battle to be lost for Saul’s army, but also Saul would die in that same battle. Saul’s example should be a warning to us all to put to death all idolatry in us.

Since Colossians was written around the time of Ephesians we can see some similarities in Paul’s commands for us. Take, for instance, Ephesians 5:1–11:

1 Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children. 2 And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God. 3 But sexual immorality and all impurity or covetousness must not even be named among you, as is proper among saints. 4 Let there be no filthiness nor foolish talk nor crude joking, which are out of place, but instead let there be thanksgiving. 5 For you may be sure of this, that everyone who is sexually immoral or impure, or who is covetous (that is, an idolater), has no inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God. 6 Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience. 7 Therefore do not become partners with them; 8 for at one time you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light 9 (for the fruit of light is found in all that is good and right and true), 10 and try to discern what is pleasing to the Lord. 11 Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them.

For a deeper discussion of this see: https://crossingschurchaz.org/ephesians-51-23/ where Ephesians 5:1-11 is discussed verse by verse.

Paul ends this section in verse 3:11 in Colossians with a plea for unity in the church. As we put on Christ and put off the old self we are all renewed in such a way that there is no distinction between all of us who are in Christ. That is not to say that there is no diversity among believers, but that all of our differences should be set aside and we should view each other with renewed eyes that see only Christ in us all. For He is our complete sufficiency…Christ is all and in all (remember that this letter was addressed to the believers at Colossae and, as such, the phrase “in all” is appropriate here).

For more discussion on putting on the new self and putting off the old self see: https://crossingschurchaz.org/ephesians-417-23/

Colossians 3:12–17:

12 So, as those who have been chosen of God, holy and beloved, put on a heart of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience; 13 bearing with one another, and forgiving each other, whoever has a complaint against anyone; just as the Lord forgave you, so also should you. 14 Beyond all these things put on love, which is the perfect bond of unity. 15 Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body; and be thankful. 16 Let the word of Christ richly dwell within you, with all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with thankfulness in your hearts to God. 17 Whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through Him to God the Father.

This section begins with the word “So”, which is the same Greek word that is sometimes translated as “Therefore”. Some Bible translations do use “Therefore” instead of “So” in this verse. Either way, this word points us back to the previous section where Paul initially talked of putting off the old self and then in verse 10 begins to discuss putting on the new self. In this section Paul deals deeply with putting on the new self.

The comparison between this section (putting on the new self) and the previous section in verses 3:5-11 (taking off the old self) are drastic. We are to remove the old self with its immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and greed, which amounts to idolatry. Replacing these with our new self, which consists of a heart of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Not to mention love and forgiveness!

Verse 13 continues with how we are to act as we put on this new self. We are to bear or endure difficult situations with each other. Paul knew that the NT church with its diverse members would naturally disagree and argue about matters of salvation, holiness, and doctrine. Therefore, he added that in our compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience we are to endure in a likewise manner with our fellow brothers and sisters in Christ.

Of course, bearing with one another would naturally require forgiveness. Here Paul does not simply limit forgiveness to the human equivalent to “I’m sorry”. Rather, he points us to the ultimate forgiveness bestowed on us by Jesus Christ our Lord. Who forgave us even though we were the most wretched of sinners. This is the ultimate forgiveness; a self-sacrificial forgiveness that we need to mirror to others. If Jesus forgave that brother or sister that annoys you, argues with you, and makes it all around difficult to endure with, know that we are called to forgive them as Jesus would have forgiven them. Sometimes this will require a lot more of the humility that we are commanded to put on in verse 12.

In verse 14 Paul commands us to put on the last thing, which is love. This love is what unifies believers into a single body attached to the head, which is Christ. Next week we will read more about how Paul would have us express this love toward one another in very practical ways. (Spoiler alert: we studied this at length in Ephesians 5:19-69).

Finally, in verses 15-17 Paul writes something reminiscent of Ephesians 5:19-20:

19a ddressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart, 20 giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ,

As we learn to let the peace of Christ and His word dwell within us, producing the fruit of righteousness we do so with unity, wisdom, singing praises, and thankfulness. This is what will come from the overflow of our hearts as we do it in the name of the Lord Jesus.

Colossians 2:16-23

1 Timothy 4:1–5:

1But the Spirit explicitly says that in later times some will fall away from the faith, paying attention to deceitful spirits and doctrines of demons, 2 by means of the hypocrisy of liars seared in their own conscience as with a branding iron, 3 men who forbid marriage and advocate abstaining from foods which God has created to be gratefully shared in by those who believe and know the truth. 4 For everything created by God is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with gratitude; 5 for it is sanctified by means of the word of God and prayer.

Last week we talked of Christ’s sufficiency in matters of salvation as we touched on the circumcision without hands and our baptism with Christ. Remember also how last week’s verses began, with the word “Therefore”. Again, the verses for this week begin with a “Therefore”. Therefore, this week’s verses are directly connected to last week’s verses. However, this week’s verses contain two commands directly related to last week’s teachings. Namely, “no one is to act as your judge in regard to…” and “Let no one keep defrauding you…”.

Colossians 2:16–17:

16 Therefore no one is to act as your judge in regard to food or drink or in respect to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath day— 17 things which are a mere shadow of what is to come; but the substance belongs to Christ.

Verse 16 gives us our first command. We can summarize this command in its context as: “Since Christ is all sufficient in matters of salvation no one should judge you in regards to Old Testament traditions.” This command seems to focus more on refuting the Old Testament Jewish laws and traditions as unnecessary. The Jews that were still focused on OT laws were probably using persuasive speech to entice the believers at Colossae to revert to OT laws and traditions in order to maintain their salvation.

But Jesus had already said in Mark 7:14–19:

14 After He called the crowd to Him again, He began saying to them, “Listen to Me, all of you, and understand: 15 there is nothing outside the man which can defile him if it goes into him; but the things which proceed out of the man are what defile the man. 16 “If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear.” 17 When he had left the crowd and entered the house, His disciples questioned Him about the parable. 18 And He said to them, “Are you so lacking in understanding also? Do you not understand that whatever goes into the man from outside cannot defile him, 19 because it does not go into his heart, but into his stomach, and is eliminated?” (Thus He declared all foods clean.)

And Paul re-stated this in Romans 14:17:

17 for the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.

And in 1 Corinthians 8:8:

8 But food will not commend us to God; we are neither the worse if we do not eat, nor the better if we do eat.

The OT laws and traditions were designed to point out people’s sin, not to save them from it. These laws and traditions were there to point us to Christ, the mystery revealed in the New Testament. Paul sums up why we are not to be judged anymore on what we eat or the festivals we attend in verse 17.

These OT laws and traditions were designed to point us to Christ. That is, as Paul states, these were a shadow of things to come. These things were a mystery to the OT Jews but were revealed to all in the NT church. Jesus was the substance of these things. Jesus fulfilled the law and cancelled our debt to the law by paying for it Himself as we just read in Colossians 2:14:

14 having canceled out the certificate of debt consisting of decrees against us, which was hostile to us; and He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross.

If Jesus canceled our debt to the law once and for all, why would we return to the old ways? Why would we return to those things that can only convict of sin (the law) and not save us from sin? I would surmise that one reason could be fear. Fear instilled in us from those using persuasive speech to convince us that if we don’t go back to the OT ways we will be hopelessly lost.

But Paul has already given us the means to fight this fear and hold on to Christ and Christ only. Paul has explained Christ’s sufficiency in all things, especially our salvation. The old things have passed and the new (Christ) has come!

Colossians 2:18–19:

18 Let no one keep defrauding you of your prize by delighting in self-abasement and the worship of the angels, taking his stand on visions he has seen, inflated without cause by his fleshly mind, 19 and not holding fast to the head, from whom the entire body, being supplied and held together by the joints and ligaments, grows with a growth which is from God.

Here in verse 18 we have our second command. We are to allow no one to declare us unfit for our prize of salvation by forcing on us extra-biblical means of attaining or maintaining salvation. In this section it seems that Paul was now addressing the Gnostics that were bringing in extra-Biblical teachings into the church. The church at Colossae was being attacked on two fronts, not just one.

It seems the Gnostics were continually trying to defraud the believers of their blessings. The NASB translates this as “keep defrauding”, which is apt as this was an ongoing attack against those believers. If we look at other Bible translations for the word “defrauding” we see it is also translated as: disqualify, cheat, or condemn. The Gnostics could not revoke a believer’s salvation as it is secured by the Holy Spirit. However, they could convince them that they were not worthy of salvation (disqualify) or cheat them from blessings from God. If that didn’t work then condemnation was their next weapon with which to attack the believers.

It seems these Gnostics were specifically focusing on self-abasement, which is defined as humility. But aren’t we supposed to be humble before God? Yes, but look at the participle attached to this word “self-abasement”. It is the word “delight”, which is to love something and to get pleasure from it. You see the Gnostics weren’t delighting in God, but in human efforts to make themselves look righteous…or humble. It’s almost as if Paul is saying that they pride themselves on their humbleness. Those two words cancel each other out: pride and humility. The Gnostic’s sinful (fleshly) minds, as Paul continues, were inflated without cause. Their minds were void of anything holy.

Paul also points out the Gnostic’s talk of delight in worshipping angels. This is forbidden by God in Revelation 22:8-9:

8 I, John, am the one who heard and saw these things. And when I heard and saw, I fell down to worship at the feet of the angel who showed me these things. 9 But he said to me, “Do not do that. I am a fellow servant of yours and of your brethren the prophets and of those who heed the words of this book. Worship God.”

Also Paul points out the Gnostics continual pushing of their own visions. These are not visions from God but from man.

Finally, Paul uncovers the true depth of the deceit of these Gnostics in verse 19. They simply do not hold to Christ’s teachings as all sufficient. They want to add their own extra-Biblical ideas to feed their own pride. In fact, this verse echos a verse that we recently studied in Ephesians 4:15–16:

15 but speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in all aspects into Him who is the head, even Christ, 16 from whom the whole body, being fitted and held together by what every joint supplies, according to the proper working of each individual part, causes the growth of the body for the building up of itself in love.

The believer holds to Christ and grows, nourished by God’s word and God’s word only. The Gnostic holds to their own self, nourished by their love of their own pride.

Colossians 2:20–23:

20 If you have died with Christ to the elementary principles of the world, why, as if you were living in the world, do you submit yourself to decrees, such as, 21 “Do not handle, do not taste, do not touch!” 22 (which all refer to things destined to perish with use)—in accordance with the commandments and teachings of men? 23 These are matters which have, to be sure, the appearance of wisdom in self-made religion and self-abasement and severe treatment of the body, but are of no value against fleshly indulgence.

In these final words from Paul in this section he sums up what he has just commanded us. Paul begins with a rhetorical question designed to make the believers think more deeply about these attacks from the OT Jews and Gnostics. Paul is not saying in verse 20 that it is possible to lose your salvation once you have it; rather, he is asking a question in a rhetorical sense to make the believer reconsider buying into these extra-Biblical ideas. In fact, the NIV translates this as “Since you have died with Christ…”, which helps us to see that this indeed is only a rhetorical question.

In verses 21-22 Paul covers what he has already stated. That these extra-Biblical ideas are useless and not God’s commands or teachings. In verse 23 Paul continues that these things do have an outward appearance of wisdom. Meaning that the OT Jews and Gnostics definitely were using persuasive speech to corrupt the believers at Colossae and possibly with some success.

Notice that Paul also ends with the fact that these extra-Biblical ideas and man-made principles are specifically of no value against fleshly (sinful) indulgence. So what is effective against fleshly indulgence? For this answer we need to go back to the main idea of Colossians, that of Christ is all sufficient! Rather than using fleshly means to combat fleshly desires and indulgences, we should focus on Christ and Christ only. You see, when you fill yourself with the Word of God through daily Bible study and prayer, your need for fleshly desires and indulgences will fade away as Christ’s strength grows in you.

Colossians 2:6-15

Now that we have understood the idea of Christ’s preeminence and His sufficiency, Paul is going to dig further into this and add a few commands that we need to follow. These commands are there to help us live out our Christian lives in the fullness of Christ in us. These commands are directly related to how we should respond to Christ’s sufficiency.

(As a point of clarification, I will be talking about the sufficiency aspect of Christ’s preeminence from here on. Colossians specifically and overwhelmingly talk of Christ’s preeminence, but for this study I want to focus on His sufficiency, which is part of His preeminence. Christ’s sufficiency is what allows us to correct extra-Biblical ideas and resist its temptations.)

Colossians 2:6–7:

6 Therefore as you have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, 7 having been firmly rooted and now being built up in Him and established in your faith, just as you were instructed, and overflowing with gratitude.

Now that we’ve discussed Christ’s sufficiency, Paul is going to command us to walk in him. The word “Therefore” is pointing us back to all that Paul has just talked about, that is Christ’s sufficiency. Now that we have received Christ Jesus the Lord we are to walk in him. There’s a lot to unpack in this sentence.

First, the idea of receiving Christ Jesus the Lord. Notice that Paul uses the full title of Jesus: “Jesus Christ the Lord”. These three titles describe Jesus fully. He is our messiah, He is our saviour, He is God, and He is Lord over us. This title signifies the complete Jesus. And just as we received the complete Jesus we are commanded to walk in Him (the verb “walk” is an active imperative indicating a command we are responsible to do).

But there’s also this word “receive” that I took time to examine. At first, I thought that this word was pointing to the time at which we accepted Christ as our Lord and Savior, becoming a child of God. But upon closer examination (and reading a whole lot of other Christian’s commentaries on this word) it seems that this word “receive” is tied directly to the teachings of Christ that we receive after the believer’s conversion.

A couple of reasons why I believe this:

The Biblical definition of this Greek word for “receive” is as follows: Can convey receiving information or receiving of someone or something into a subject’s jurisdiction or care.11 Derek Leigh Davis, “Learning,” ed. Douglas Mangum et al., Lexham Theological Wordbook, Lexham Bible Reference Series (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2014).

The word “Therefore” links this verse back to the previous verses concerning Christ’s preeminence/sufficiency. This teaching is coming from Paul to the maturing believers at Colossae.

Verse 7, that follows, talks of growing, maturing, and being instructed in the things of Christ. This verse is the second half of verse 6.

Based on the Biblical definition of this word, which carries the sense of a transfer of knowledge and these other facts, I conclude that this word is talking about receiving instruction in our Lord as opposed to receiving the Spirit at conversion.

To be sure, some commentaries define “receive” as receiving the Spirit at the time of conversion; however, they do not explicitly explain why they think this is so.

Now to look at the command of this verse “walk in Him”, where have we seen this before? We discussed this idea of walking in Christ in the book of Ephesians that we just studied. Colossians and Ephesians were written very close to each other. Some think that Colossians was written first and the Ephesians was written afterward with the idea of diving deeper into the ideas in Colossians, especially the idea of “walking in Him”.

Since we have already studied Ephesians we know a little about how to walk in Him. You can go back to the Ephesians studies here to refresh your memory:

In a nutshell, walking in Him is how we behave and handle ourselves in this fallen world. Since we have been rooted, built up, and established in Him we can also walk in Him. Walking in Him is our outward response to the true knowledge we have received of Jesus Christ the Lord.

Colossians 2:8–10:

8 See to it that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deception, according to the tradition of men, according to the elementary principles of the world, rather than according to Christ. 9 For in Him all the fullness of Deity dwells in bodily form, 10 and in Him you have been made complete, and He is the head over all rule and authority;

Here in verse 8 we have our second command, “See to it…”. We are to be vigilant in watching for extra-Biblical ideas creeping into our church and into our own thoughts. These extra-Biblical ideas typically come through philosophy and empty deception, which are rooted or dependent on human traditions.

Human philosophies and empty deception (i.e., devoid of any real benefits) are difficult to defend against. They are packaged up with some truths (usually), which makes them so much more difficult to identify and refute. However, Paul does not recommend studying these deceptive influences in order to refute and correct; rather, Paul focuses on the sufficiency of Christ. When we focus on Christ’s sufficiency we see no other need for things/ideas that will “help” us be better Christians, which are outside of Christ’s teachings. Like the Bereans, we need to scour the scripture to determine what is true (what is according to Christ) and what is false (what is according to the elementary principles of the world, that is, the basic or rudimentary principles of the world).

In verse 9 we begin to answer the question, “why should we watch that we are not taken captive by these things?” The answer is simple and it reflects what we’ve already read in Colossians 1:15–20:

15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. 1 6For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. 17 And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together. 18 And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent. 19 For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, 20 and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross.

In verse 9 we can reflect on Jesus’ preeminence and sufficiency in all things. The details of this are back in verses 1:15-20. If Jesus is all we need then we no longer need to seek out or listen to human philosophies and empty deception that is extra-Biblical. To supplant Christ with extra-Biblical ideas is to deny that Christ is all sufficient. And from this we must repent.

But Paul is not done explaining the “why”. He goes on in verse 10 to say that we have been made complete. That is, our salvation that comes from only Christ (who is our sufficiency) makes us complete. We need no other extra-Biblical ideas to add to this completeness. In fact this word “completeness” gives us the sense of being bountifully filled or supplied by Christ to the point of needing nothing else.

The other thing Paul says in verse 10 is that Jesus is the head over all rule and authority. In other words, He is preeminent. If He was not over all rule and authority then He could not be sufficient for us. Those peddling these extra-Biblical ideas must have been denying Christ’s preeminence in order for Paul to specifically state this here. Since Christ is head over all we can logically infer that He is sufficient in all. Preeminence and sufficiency go hand-in-hand. One without the other would weaken Christ’s lordship. And a weakening of His lordship leads us to stumble in our faith. This is what they wanted, for the believers at Colossae to stumble and deny Christ. Today, this is what they want for truly God fearing churches, to stumble and deny Christ. May this never happen. May we all be praying for the strengthening of our church and those churches around us!

Colossians 2:11–15:

11 and in Him you were also circumcised with a circumcision made without hands, in the removal of the body of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ; 12 having been buried with Him in baptism, in which you were also raised up with Him through faith in the working of God, who raised Him from the dead. 13 When you were dead in your transgressions and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He made you alive together with Him, having forgiven us all our transgressions, 14 having canceled out the certificate of debt consisting of decrees against us, which was hostile to us; and He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross. 15 When He had disarmed the rulers and authorities, He made a public display of them, having triumphed over them through Him.

Paul is not done. In verse 11 he adds one more item to this list. That of the circumcision made without hands. This circumcision has already been performed on the believers through Christ. There is no need to undergo this circumcision once again through human hands. The Jews that were steeped in OT tradition would have considered circumcision by human hands a type of prerequisite for becoming a member of the family of God. Paul is saying otherwise. Christ has removed our old sinful self so that we may live as Christians. This is only possible through Christ who is sufficient in all things, even to remove our sinful nature so that our new self may walk in a manner worthy of God. Circumcision with human hands can never cause this inward change.

To explain this circumcision made without hands deeper Paul moves into baptism. Baptism is the outward expression of our inward hope, a hope that can only exist once Christ has removed our sinful nature. In baptism we are buried along with Christ expressing that we die with Christ to sin. But baptism also shows our confession of faith as we are raised to new life in Christ. We are one in Christ and one in His church. This is the outward sign of the inward working of God.

In verse 13-14 again Paul states that He (God) made us alive with Him. God forgave us our sins…all of our sins. God canceled out our debt that was given to us by the law. You see, the law only served to expose our sin and unrighteousness. Then Jesus died on the cross fulfilling the law and prophets. Removing the law and its hostility towards us.

Finally, in verse 15 Paul ends this section with the full and utter victory of God through Christ. Through Christ’s work on the cross the rulers and authorities have been stripped of everything and put on public display. This is something that a victorious king would do to the defeated enemy in ancient times.

(Note that the “rulers and authorities” Paul mentioned here are most likely to be understood as enemies of God although there is quite a lot of interesting discussion on this.)

Colossians 1:25-2:5

Now we go from the christological summary in verses 15-23, which speak of Christ’s full and complete sufficiency for us and the church as a whole to these next 11 verses, which speak of Paul’s labor for the church. It is interesting that Paul would organize this letter in such a way. That is, the sufficiency of Christ followed by Paul’s labors. If Christ is sufficient aren’t Paul’s labors in vain? Why labor and toil so hard if Christ is sufficient? Verse 24 may have a clue to answering this question.

Colossians 1:24:

24 Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I do my share on behalf of His body, which is the church, in filling up what is lacking in Christ’s afflictions.

There are two clues to answer why Paul labors so hard while at the same time having all sufficiency in Christ. The answer is in his suffering and filling up what is lacking. Suffering for the church’s sake produced great joy in Paul, which allowed him to rejoice while still incarcerated. This rejoicing furthered his maturity in Christ.

In fact, in Philippians we will dive deep into this idea of joy from suffering. But how do we go from suffering to joy? 2 Corinthians 1:5 has the answer:

5For just as the sufferings of Christ are ours in abundance, so also our comfort is abundant through Christ.

Not only has Christ called us to suffering in abundance, which is a mark of a Christian and the church, but in whatever suffering we may endure Christ’s comfort is given to us in abundance. We can rejoice alongside Paul, sharing in the same comfort that was given him in abundance through his sufferings.

The second reason why Paul (and us) should labor so hard is that we, like Paul, are filling up what is lacking in Christ’s afflictions. In other words, we as Christians are taking on the sufferings and persecutions that were intended for Christ after He completed His work on the cross.

When Christ died on the cross He finished His work. However, we still have work to do in continuing the building of His church and keeping it spotless. We have a duty, given to us by Christ Himself, to go into all the world making disciples and baptizing in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. But in doing so we will suffer and be persecuted. Fortunately, we do not do this alone without any help. We have the full sufficiency of Christ in us to complete this work!

Colossians 1:25–28:

25 Of this church I was made a minister according to the stewardship from God bestowed on me for your benefit, so that I might fully carry out the preaching of the word of God, 26 that is, the mystery which has been hidden from the past ages and generations, but has now been manifested to His saints, 27 to whom God willed to make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. 28 We proclaim Him, admonishing every man and teaching every man with all wisdom, so that we may present every man complete in Christ.

This is the mission Christ gave Paul, to preach the mystery of God namely to the Gentiles. Like in Ephesians, Paul also speaks here of the mystery, which is Christ in you. Remember back when we studied these verses in Ephesians 3:3–6:

3 that by revelation there was made known to me the mystery, as I wrote before in brief. 4 By referring to this, when you read you can understand my insight into the mystery of Christ, 5 which in other generations was not made known to the sons of men, as it has now been revealed to His holy apostles and prophets in the Spirit; 6 to be specific, that the Gentiles are fellow heirs and fellow members of the body, and fellow partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel,

This is the NT church and as such is built on the revealing of who Christ is. He is sufficient in everything, especially the working of the Gentiles’ salvation. This of course was a difficult thing for the Jews, who were steeped in religious tradition, to accept. Here, Paul is gently leading the readers to the sufficiency of Christ, not traditions or animal sacrifices or anything else…just Christ.

Colossians 1:29:

29 For this purpose also I labor, striving according to His power, which mightily works within me.

I wanted to focus quickly on this one verse. Notice that nowhere in this verse does Paul say that he labors in his own strength. This is so important for us and especially our church leaders at Crossings Church to live out. And I say this with all the love and care possible. To do Christ’s work in the flesh only is to invite overload, burnout, and problems. Since we are called to suffer for Christ we should not place additional burdens on our own shoulders. Rather, we need to labor and strive (some translations use toil and struggle here) only within the power that Christ provides. He is our sufficiency after all. That means that if we follow Paul’s example, we too can work to exhaustion, giving our all to minister to others without the added burnout, overload, and problems that we would inevitably face if we do this all on our own.

Working within Christ’s sufficient and mighty power leads ultimately to joy, which allows us to rejoice and grow as opposed to becoming burnt-out and stagnant.

Colossians 2:1–3:

1 For I want you to know how great a struggle I have on your behalf and for those who are at Laodicea, and for all those who have not personally seen my face, 2 that their hearts may be encouraged, having been knit together in love, and attaining to all the wealth that comes from the full assurance of understanding, resulting in a true knowledge of God’s mystery, that is, Christ Himself, 3 in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.

Paul wasn’t just talking about his great struggles in ministering to the church to make himself look like a superhero. He was writing this for a more selfless reason. He wanted the church body to know about his struggles so that they would be encouraged to boldly continue to follow Christ and not the people who were bringing extra-Biblical messages into the church. Continuing to follow Christ and only Christ can be a struggle when faced with opposition and persecution as the Colossian church was. But Paul led by example and wanted the Colossians to follow his lead.

We see again in verses 2-3 the word “all” used to describe the wealth and treasures of knowing Christ. All wealth that comes from understanding the full gospel that results in salvation. But notice that this salvation (our wealth) only comes from understanding the gospel. Not from understanding some extra-Biblical knowledge.

Continuing into verse 3 we see that all wisdom and knowledge is hidden within Christ. This wisdom and knowledge are described as treasures (plural). That is, both wisdom and knowledge are each their own treasure. In fact we see that over and over again in the book of Proverbs. But these treasures are found only in Christ, as it says they are “hidden” in Christ. These treasures are only for the Christian believer. Those introducing extra-Biblical knowledge certainly were not gaining that knowledge from Christ but from human ideas/thoughts.

Through all of this persecution Paul wanted to encourage this church. Paul’s joy in the face of difficult work, persecutions, and suffering was a light of hope for the believers at Colossae…an encouragement. Paul’s struggle to present the church spotless to the Bride-groom was intended to encourage the believers to keep walking in the faith towards Christ only.

Colossians 2:4–5:

4I say this so that no one will delude you with persuasive argument. 5 For even though I am absent in body, nevertheless I am with you in spirit, rejoicing to see your good discipline and the stability of your faith in Christ.

Here in verse 4 is where Paul explains that everything he has previously said about Christ’s sufficiency and supremacy over all is the answer to the extra-Biblical arguments that others were bringing into the church. Also notice that Paul describes these extra-Biblical arguments as persuasive. These ideas that Christ was not sufficient and not supreme may have taken hold in some of the Christians in this church and needed to be confronted and corrected before the entire church was persuaded. Isn’t it usually the case that when extra-Biblical ideas are introduced to the church that they are introduced with persuasive speech. And as we know, a little leven spreads quickly throughout the entire loaf.

But there is hope in Paul’s words in verse 5. He says that he is rejoicing in their discipline and stability of faith even though he cannot be with them. While it could be possible that some in that church were led astray or were close to being led astray, it seems that the majority of believers in Colossae were standing firm in their faith. They truly were putting on the armor of God every day (Eph 6:10-20).

Colossians 1:15-23

This next section of scripture in Colossians is widely known as one of the most important treaties on christology (the study of the nature, person, and works of Christ) in the NT, certainly within Paul’s writings.

Colossians 1:15–23:

15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. 16 For by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things have been created through Him and for Him. 17H e is before all things, and in Him all things hold together. 18 He is also head of the body, the church; and He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that He Himself will come to have first place in everything. 19 For it was the Father’s good pleasure for all the fullness to dwell in Him, 20 and through Him to reconcile all things to Himself, having made peace through the blood of His cross; through Him, I say, whether things on earth or things in heaven. 21 And although you were formerly alienated and hostile in mind, engaged in evil deeds, 22 yet He has now reconciled you in His fleshly body through death, in order to present you before Him holy and blameless and beyond reproach— 23 if indeed you continue in the faith firmly established and steadfast, and not moved away from the hope of the gospel that you have heard, which was proclaimed in all creation under heaven, and of which I, Paul, was made a minister.

This section is critical to our understanding of not only who Christ is and what He has done but it is also critical for our understanding of Colossians. Why do I say that these verses are critical to understanding Colossians? Well, to begin to answer that we need to understand that all scripture points to Jesus and these 9 verses clearly do that. Next, to go from interpretation to application we need to accurately see how the interpretation of a book like Colossians points us to Jesus. If we miss this point then we can go slightly (or more than slightly) off the path that Jesus has laid out for us.

So let’s think about this in terms of Colossians. If you read the whole book (only 4 chapters) you’ll probably notice that it’s organized similar to Ephesians. That is, the first half is doctrine and the second half is application. This is perfect. The doctrine points us to Christ and the application shows how we are to respond to Christ as believers who love our Lord according to the doctrine laid out in the first half of this book.

Now as we read through Colossians multiple times we see that this book is designed to correct those in the Colossian church that were adding to the gospel (or maybe I should say, “allowing others to add to the gospel”), saying that there were extra-Biblical religious requirements that all believers must now adhere to (remember this word extra-Biblical, it is important in that it ties everything together). Not only that, this letter was also written to strengthen the believers in Colossae to withstand and reject the arguments of those deceiving the church.

Now we could stop here and say that the main idea of Colossians was to defend the gospel of Jesus Christ our Lord. That is a worthy statement and yes we should always be ready to give a defense of our hope in Christ. But if we stop here we would be missing the deeper point of Colossians: Christ is all! We need nothing more!

Think about this. If we didn’t go farther in our study of Colossians and failed to link the 9 verses in this section (the christological exposition) to all of the rest of Colossians we might miss the true message behind Colossians, that is the preeminence, superiority, and sufficiency of Christ. To help see this idea of Christ as all, re-read this section (verses 15-23) and underline the word “all”. As we see, verses 15-18 focus on this idea of preeminence as Christ is head over all, firstborn (not in chronological terms but in prominence), creator, sustainer, and the image of God!

Remember a few paragraphs ago when I said the idea of introducing extra-Biblical content into the church was the problem. Well, Paul is making the case first that Christ is all we need because He is preeminent (i.e., Christ is above all, over all, and surpasses all). He is all, He is creator and sustainer, there is nothing else that we need. So why would we ever need anything extra-Biblical? Anything extra-Biblical simply says that Christ is not enough, He is not sufficient for us. And that is just wrong. Knowing this we can more fully apply the message in Colossians in our lives.

This book was designed to help us to understand the preeminence of Christ in all things. But, to keep things simple, I want to focus on Christ’s sufficiency, which is one of the aspects of His preeminence. The sufficiency of our salvation in Him, the sufficiency of our works through Him, the sufficiency of everything even from the smallest atom to the largest kingdom. Christ is more than sufficient and He is sufficient because He is preeminent.

Understanding and believing in Christ’s supreme sufficiency was a prerequisite for the believers at Colossae before they could refute and correct both the Jews that were forcing Old Testament traditions on this New Testament church as well as the Gnostics with their so-called “secret” knowledge of God and salvation (a.k.a., extra-Biblical knowledge).

This understanding of Christ’s sufficiency is just as important to us now as it was back then. Once we grasp the sufficiency of Christ in all things it becomes a simple matter to protect ourselves from extra-Biblical knowledge and correct others that want to bring extra-Biblical thought into our churches. For we must keep the church spotless for when the bride-groom returns for her.

In addition to this remember that as we are in Christ so his sufficiency is within us. That means we already have His fullness with us every second of every day. We can rest easy that we already have everything we need to live our lives fully for Him. Nothing more is necessary.

Colossians 1:1-14

Colossians is a letter to the church at Colossae in the Roman province of Asia, what is now part of Turkey. The Colossian church was, like the church at Ephesus, made up of Gentiles and Jews. Because of this Paul had to, on many occasions, help the Jewish parishioners understand that the old laws (only having the power to point out our sin and our unrighteousness) had been replaced with the grace that Jesus brought that has the power to save and make us righteous before a holy God. Here too in Colossae it seems that some of the old Jewish laws were being used to force a man-made righteousness on to the believers at Colossae.

Not only this, but it seems that there was other outside influences that were attempting to water-down who Christ was and His message. We don’t know exactly what this heresy was, but some believe that it was a form of Gnosticism. Gnosticism, like most heresies, have enough truth to them to be initially seen as good or even compatible with scriptures. However, as we look beneath the surface of Gnosticism we see the true nature of it.

In short, Gnosticism was based on three principals. The first being that salvation could only be achieved through some secret, not-previously-revealed knowledge that only those practicing Gnosticism possessed. Of course, only those seeking entrance into the Gnostic community would be told of this secret knowledge. Certainly this would have tickled the ears of some, enticing them to a greater understanding, 2 Timothy 4:3–4:

3 For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance to their own desires 4 and will turn away their ears from the truth and will turn aside to myths.

However, this was only a human knowledge that could not save nor did it have the power to change the hearts of the hearers.

Gnosticism also held to the idea of dualism between the physical and spiritual realms. Basically, the body (in the physical realm was inherently evil) while the spirit (in the spiritual realm) was inherently good. On the surface this sounds ok as we do live in a fallen world and we do sin. However, it flies in the face of Jesus who came in physical form as the pure undefiled sacrificial lamb of God. In the Gnostic’s eyes Jesus would have been considered evil as He was a physical man, therefore they could not have conceived of Him as the perfect sacrifice to God to reconcile sinners to a holy and perfect God.

There was a third principal of Gnosticism called the pleroma of aeons, which is so ridiculous that I’m not going to waste time discussing it. In short, this was a description of God and the other inhabitants of the spiritual world.

You can see how the Gnostic beliefs would have totally undermined the message of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Paul would not have this heresy infecting Christ’s church. As we saw in Ephesians and now in Colossians, Paul dearly loved the church. This letter was designed to refute the teachings of both the Jews (who kept to Old Testament ideals and traditions) and the Gnostics.

But how would Paul do this? How would he refute old traditions held for centuries among the Jews and at the same time refute this new heresy of Gnosticism pervading the church? Well, that is the main point of Colossians. The main point is that Christ is superior and therefore all we need! That bears repeating, Christ is superior and therefore all we need! Being in Christ, as believers, means that we already have everything we need to live life fully and righteously for Him. Traditions and human knowledge (a.k.a., Gnosticism) are inferior while Jesus is superior. Paul will bring out this point in the first two chapters of Colossians and continue to apply it throughout the last two chapters.

The first two chapters of Colossians cover theology, especially the study of who Jesus Christ our Lord is. The second two chapters cover our application of this knowledge personally as well as towards others. Let’s jump in.

Colossians 1:1–2:

1Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, and Timothy our brother, 2 To the saints and faithful brethren in Christ who are at Colossae: Grace to you and peace from God our Father.

This is Paul’s introduction to his letter. It is very similar to the introductions in Ephesians and Philippians. Note the addition of Timothy in the introduction. It seems Timothy was with Paul at least during some of his imprisonment. Also of importance, as with Ephesians, this letter is addressed directly to the believers in the church at Colossae.

Colossians 1:3–8:

3 We give thanks to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, praying always for you, 4 since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and the love which you have for all the saints; 5 because of the hope laid up for you in heaven, of which you previously heard in the word of truth, the gospel 6 which has come to you, just as in all the world also it is constantly bearing fruit and increasing, even as it has been doing in you also since the day you heard of it and understood the grace of God in truth; 7 just as you learned it from Epaphras, our beloved fellow bond-servant, who is a faithful servant of Christ on our behalf, 8 and he also informed us of your love in the Spirit.

Paul here is expressing his thankfulness to the believers at Colossae. There is similar expressions of thankfulness in Paul’s other letters. Re-read the opening of Ephesians chapter 1 and notice the similarities and differences between the openings of these letters.

As we will also be working through Philippians and Philemon, make it a point to read the introductions to Philippians and Philemon (in addition to Ephesians). The introductions to all four of these books are similar yet specific to their audiences. But in all cases Paul expressed his deep thankfulness and love for all the brethren in the churches. Without this deep love and affection from Paul these letters would seem dry and simply full of facts and commands. But if you mix in this love Paul had for these churches his words become alive and full of compassion. This is how one bears fruit in their words towards other believers. Paul’s example is one that we should always bear in mind when interacting with other believers.

Colossians 1:9–14:

9 For this reason also, since the day we heard of it, we have not ceased to pray for you and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, 10 so that you will walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, to please Him in all respects, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; 11 strengthened with all power, according to His glorious might, for the attaining of all steadfastness and patience; joyously 12 giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified us to share in the inheritance of the saints in Light. 13 For He rescued us from the domain of darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son, 14 in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.

This is Paul’s prayer for the church at Colossae. Notice how it mirrors the prayer to the Ephesians in Ephesians 1:15–23:

15 For this reason, because I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love toward all the saints, 16 I do not cease to give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers, 17 that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him, 18 having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, 19 and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the working of his great might 20 that he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, 21 far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come. 22 And he put all things under his feet and gave him as head over all things to the church, 23 which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all.

Paul is building on his relationship to the Colossians in the opening of this letter (Paul also does this in the letter to the Ephesians, even though the letter to the Ephesians was most likely sent to all churches in Asia, including Colossae, as we previously learned). Even though Paul was imprisoned and could not travel to be with the Colossians in person he could be with them in spirit. He accomplished this through prayer. Not only telling them that he was praying for them, but also telling them how he was praying for them. You see, telling a person (or a group of people) that you are praying for them is important but telling them how you are praying is vital! After all, how can those you pray for see the link between your prayers and God’s working if you don’t tell them the details of how you are praying.

It’s expressing the details of our prayers towards others that grows our deep affections towards one another within the church.

Ephesians 6:10-24

We’ve arrived at the end of Ephesians. Paul has described in chapters 1-3 what God has done for us (by grace we have been saved through faith) and, in response, what our walk with God should look like in chapters 4-6 (be imitators of Christ who saved us). Paul has used the term “walk” throughout Ephesians to describe our behavior towards our God:

Do not walk as you once walked according to the world (2:1-2)

Walk in the good works that Christ Jesus created for us (2:10)

Walk in a manner worthy of our calling (4:1)

Do not walk as unbelievers do in the futility of their minds (4:17)

Walk in sacrificial love (5:2)

Walk as children of light (5:8)

Walk in wisdom (5:15)

But now Paul tells us to stand. Stand against the schemes of the devil. Stand clothed in the full armor of God.

Ephesians 6:10

10Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might.

At the end of Ephesians, Paul gives us the command to be strong. But we need not be strong only in our own human strength. No, Christ died for us on the cross, winning the battle for us. We simply need to be strong in Him and in His strength. Our own strength is far too weak to stand up to the devil alone. Many have tried. I know I’ve tried when I was a new believer full of pride and energy. But this is how the devil separates the sheep from their shepherd. We may think we can go it alone but when we do we leave behind our greatest power, that of our Lord.

Ephesians 6:11–12:

11Put on the full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil. 12For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places.

Paul doesn’t just command us to be strong. He also provides the “how”…the armor of God, which we already have available to us. This was bequeathed to us at our salvation. We simply need to “put it on” as Paul commands. Putting on this armor is akin to clothing ourselves in armor. We should be wearing this armor all the time to keep ourselves protected from the devil’s schemes.

Notice here in verse 11 Paul tells us to stand firm. This is the first of three times he will repeat this word. Paul tells us that clothed in the full armor of God (yes, full not partial) we will be able to stand unmoved, enduring the devil’s schemes with courage. This word “schemes” gives us a clue as to how the devil will attack us. Many times we think of the devil attacking us head on, but “schemes” implies a more subtle and deceitful set of tactics. You see, the devil knows that he cannot stand against the full armor of God because as we clothe ourselves in this armor we are essentially wearing the might of our Lord. Knowing this, the devil will use subterfuge, deceit, trickery, and cunning when he attacks. It may be so subtle that we don’t even know we’re in his trap until it’s sprung. This is why we always need to be clothed in God’s spiritual armor…not just some of the armor but all of it, lest we leave something unprotected.

Now it’s interesting that Paul uses the word “schemes” in verse 11 because in verse 12 he says that our struggle is not against flesh and blood. Now this word “struggle” is sometimes translated as “wrestle” and I have a fond affinity for this word as I wrestled in high school, which led to other, well, shall we say wrestling-esque sports. Having spent some time on the mat, I can say with experiential knowledge that scheming and wrestling go hand-in-hand. As an example, say I’m wrestling an opponent and want to shoot in and take their legs out from under them. Well, I’m certainly not going to telegraph my intentions to do so. Rather, I’m going to snap their head down or drag an arm, anything to get them thinking about something other than their legs. Then when the opportunity presents itself, I’ll make my move.

This is how the devil operates. We’re in a sort of spiritual wrestling match with deception and trickery of all sorts designed to get our eyes off of what matters (Christ and His word) and onto something else, anything else. And who are we wresting:

Rulers

Powers

World forces

Spiritual forces

All of which the devil can orchestrate against us.

Ephesians 6:13:

13Therefore, take up the full armor of God, so that you will be able to resist in the evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm.

For this very reason that I just stated above, we need to clothe ourselves with the full armor of God. This allows us to resist the devil and his schemes. This allows us to stand firm. Again Paul uses the word “stand” as he did in verse 11. The full armor of God allows us to not only resist evil but to also stand firmly planted unable to be moved by evil.

Ephesians 6:14–17:

14Stand firm therefore, having girded your loins with truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, 15and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; 16in addition to all, taking up the shield of faith with which you will be able to extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

Again Paul says to stand firm. This time the verb “stand” is in the imperative (a command for us). But how do we stand firm against evil. Well, the following participle verbs define how we are to do this:

Having girded…

Having put on…

Having shod…

Taking up…

A believer already has the armor of God. Here, Paul is showing us through these participle verbs that even though at the time of salvation we have these implements. It is our responsibility to put on the armor of God each and every day.

Note that Paul changes the verb in verse 17 to “take”, which is a primary verb (and not a participle). I have honestly struggled with this change of verb type. It’s not overtly obvious why he does this and most commentaries I’ve consulted just give this change in verb usage a passing treatment that leaves me wanting more.

Like any good soldier we are to learn how to effectively use God’s armor. This is especially important with the sword (the word of God). The sword is the only part of the full armor described here that can be used as both an offensive and a defensive weapon. We wield God’s word to both defend our faith to others as well as to tear down strongholds of the devil. Maybe this is why Paul choose to change the verb type here (i.e., “take”) when speaking of the helmet and sword. We must actively “take up” the word of God, meaning that we are to study and use the word of God in the same way a soldier would train how to use their sword in combat…practicing with their sword until they could wield it effectively. Likewise, we cannot wield the sword of the Spirit effectively against evil unless we study it deeply and practice using it.

It is of great importance that we understand that the devil can use this sword against us. Yes, the devil can use God’s word against us…sometimes with great affect. He has studied the word of God and can use various techniques such as taking verses out of context or casting doubt (e.g., remember in the garden when the devil said, “Did God really say…” to Eve). And of course we can’t forget when the devil tempted Christ in the wilderness for the third time in Luke 4:9–13:

9And he took him to Jerusalem and set him on the pinnacle of the temple and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down from here, 10for it is written, “ ‘He will command his angels concerning you, to guard you,’ 11and “ ‘On their hands they will bear you up, lest you strike your foot against a stone.’ ” 12And Jesus answered him, “It is said, ‘You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.’ ” 13And when the devil had ended every temptation, he departed from him until an opportune time.

Here, the devil quotes scripture as “for it is written…”. So take great care in understanding that the word of God can be used against us by the devil. We only use the word of God effectively when we know how to use it both defensively and offensively.

One last thing to think about with the armor of God is that clothing yourself in God’s armor is essentially clothing yourself in Jesus. This idea is brought out in Romans 13:11–14:

11Do this, knowing the time, that it is already the hour for you to awaken from sleep; for now salvation is nearer to us than when we believed. 12The night is almost gone, and the day is near. Therefore let us lay aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light. 13Let us behave properly as in the day, not in carousing and drunkenness, not in sexual promiscuity and sensuality, not in strife and jealousy. 14But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh in regard to its lusts.

Put on the armor of light; put on the Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus is our defense and His word, wielded correctly, is how we defeat evil and protect ourselves.

Ephesians 6:18–20:

18With all prayer and petition pray at all times in the Spirit, and with this in view, be on the alert with all perseverance and petition for all the saints, 19and pray on my behalf, that utterance may be given to me in the opening of my mouth, to make known with boldness the mystery of the gospel, 20for which I am an ambassador in chains; that in proclaiming it I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak.

These verses speak of the perseverance of prayer. This seems like an abrupt change from the armor of God to prayer to God; however, these two things go hand-in-hand. The verb “pray” in verse 18 is yet another participle that ties back to “standing firm” in verse 14. So here Paul is giving us yet another tool in our arsenal with which to stand firm. That is fervent prayer. Also critical for this prayer to be effective is to be praying at all times “in the Spirit”. We should always pray in submission to the Spirit’s will knowing that the Spirit’s will is also God’s will. As long as our prayers are in-line with God’s will, He will hear our supplications.

In verses 19-20 Paul asks for prayer on his behalf according to the prayer he defines in verse 18. Notice that he doesn’t ask for prayer for release from prison or for personal needs; rather, he asks that he is able to boldly continue his mission to preach the gospel to the lost. Jesus has given Paul a duty to act as His ambassador on earth. So, whether Paul is free or in chains, he must continue his duty to not only preach but to preach boldly. Boldness in preaching was very important to Paul as he mentions it twice, once in verse 19 and again in verse 20.

Ephesians 6:21–24:

21But that you also may know about my circumstances, how I am doing, Tychicus, the beloved brother and faithful minister in the Lord, will make everything known to you. 22I have sent him to you for this very purpose, so that you may know about us, and that he may comfort your hearts. 23Peace be to the brethren, and love with faith, from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. 24Grace be with all those who love our Lord Jesus Christ with incorruptible love.

This is the closing of the letter to the Ephesians. More appropriately, it is the closing of the letter to all churches. Paul is sending out Tychicus as a messenger to not only tell of Paul’s circumstances but also to comfort the church body. This is a great segue into the next book series, Philippians. In Philippians we will see God, through Paul, masterfully evoke joy in the church body, not in spite of sufferings (both Paul’s and the churches’) but through sufferings.

Paul ends Ephesians with a blessing of peace, love, and grace to all believers in the church. While love is the greatest of all these, I believe Paul wanted to emphasize peace and grace since the point of Ephesians was to teach us how to walk in unity in the Lord. Both our peace and grace are necessary to this end. Nevertheless, love is above all these. Without love our peace and grace are impotent.

Ephesians 6:1–3

Last week Paul took us through a discussion of the right relationship between the husband and wife. This relationship was related to the relationship between the church and Christ. In order to be unified the family must be unified and the church must be unified. But this unification can only be under the one true Lord and savior, Jesus Christ.

Today we’re going to continue to look at Pauls commands to both children and parents as well as slaves and masters.

Ephesians 6:1–3:

1Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. 2Honor your father and mother (which is the first commandment with a promise), 3so that it may be well with you, and that you may live long on the earth.

Paul begins with a command for the children. Obey your parents. This command follows Ephesians 5:21:

21and be subject to one another in the fear of Christ.

Just as we all are to be subject to one another in the fear of Christ so children are to obey their parents “in the Lord”. But notice the change here. We are to all be subject to one another, but children are to also obey their parents. This is slightly different from being subject to another. Obey conveys a sense of placing oneself under the authority of another.

Paul adds that “this is right.” God has ordained that the family would function at its best when children obey their parents. Consider today as the culture tells parents that children should be free to make up their own minds and do their own thing unencumbered by a parent’s discipline or instruction. This will only lead to undisciplined children who refuse to obey authority.

To back up his command for children to obey and to show that it is God’s good desire for this, Paul quotes from Exodus 20:12:

12“Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be prolonged in the land which the Lord your God gives you.

Yes, for children to obey parents is one of the 10 commandments of God. This is so important that God specified it in His 10 commandments. But notice the promise that God gives specifically to children who obey. They are promised that they will be well off and that they may live a long life.

Ephesians 6:4:

4Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.

Here Paul again calls out fathers specifically in this matter. A father is the head of the household and, as we learned last week, must sacrificially provide for his wife. Paul is now adding to this command by also saying that the father must not make his children angry; rather, he must teach and rear them to understand and fear the Lord.

Looking back at our study of 1 Samuel, we can see what happens when the parents and especially the father does not bring up their children in the discipline and instruction of the Lord in 1 Samuel 2:12–17 (remember Eli and his sons):

12Now the sons of Eli were worthless men. They did not know the Lord. 13The custom of the priests with the people was that when any man offered sacrifice, the priest’s servant would come, while the meat was boiling, with a three-pronged fork in his hand, 14and he would thrust it into the pan or kettle or cauldron or pot. All that the fork brought up the priest would take for himself. This is what they did at Shiloh to all the Israelites who came there. 15Moreover, before the fat was burned, the priest’s servant would come and say to the man who was sacrificing, “Give meat for the priest to roast, for he will not accept boiled meat from you but only raw.” 16And if the man said to him, “Let them burn the fat first, and then take as much as you wish,” he would say, “No, you must give it now, and if not, I will take it by force.” 17Thus the sin of the young men was very great in the sight of the Lord, for the men treated the offering of the Lord with contempt.

Eli did not raise his sons properly as to the Lord and paid the price. The price was especially high due to their position in the temple. In fact, Eli decided to confront and chastise his sons, but it was too little, too late as we see in 1 Samuel 2:22–25:

22Now Eli was very old, and he kept hearing all that his sons were doing to all Israel, and how they lay with the women who were serving at the entrance to the tent of meeting. 23And he said to them, “Why do you do such things? For I hear of your evil dealings from all these people. 24No, my sons; it is no good report that I hear the people of the Lord spreading abroad. 25If someone sins against a man, God will mediate for him, but if someone sins against the Lord, who can intercede for him?” But they would not listen to the voice of their father, for it was the will of the Lord to put them to death.

At some point the Lord’s patience will end and His righteousness and justice will prevail. Knowing this we, as parents, must always be aware of how we rear our children.

Ephesians 6:5–8:

5Slaves, be obedient to those who are your masters according to the flesh, with fear and trembling, in the sincerity of your heart, as to Christ; 6not by way of eyeservice, as men-pleasers, but as slaves of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart. 7With good will render service, as to the Lord, and not to men, 8knowing that whatever good thing each one does, this he will receive back from the Lord, whether slave or free.

After completing the discussion of how God ordains the family to function in His holiness, Paul moves on to slaves and masters. Now some versions of the Bible will use bondservant or just servant in place of slave. But interestingly, all the Bible versions I looked at use “master” in verse 6:9. A master is defined as one to whom someone or something belongs and who has authority over that person or thing. So, yes, slave is an apt translation for this passage.

Now we all know that slavery is an evil thing. But it is also something that Paul used to describe believers and unbelievers in relation to Christ, Romans 6:16–23:

16Do you not know that if you present yourselves to anyone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to righteousness? 17But thanks be to God, that you who were once slaves of sin have become obedient from the heart to the standard of teaching to which you were committed, 18and, having been set free from sin, have become slaves of righteousness. 19I am speaking in human terms, because of your natural limitations. For just as you once presented your members as slaves to impurity and to lawlessness leading to more lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves to righteousness leading to sanctification. 20For when you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness. 21But what fruit were you getting at that time from the things of which you are now ashamed? For the end of those things is death. 22But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the fruit you get leads to sanctification and its end, eternal life. 23For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Slavery in the Bible is a deep subject to which I could write many many pages. But, as God would have it, I ran into a really good article this week that sums up many points about slavery in the Bible. It’s a good read and I recommend that you would read it: https://gentlereformation.com/2023/07/03/a-short-treatise-on-slavery/

Note that the slave’s relationship to the master as an application for us today can be applied to the employee/employer relationship. If you think this is a stretch, just read the contract you signed with your employer. I remember one employer of mine (a non-government three-letter acronym) had the wording in my contract that even the thoughts I had 24/7/365 during my employment term were the property of my employer. Crazy, right? Even my thoughts were not my own property. Truly, this company was my master in regards to the flesh.

So how does Paul command us to act towards our earthly masters? Masters that may be good or that may be evil towards us. Well, he commands us to act obediently out of respect to them. This obedience is clarified by Paul in several ways:

With fear (respect) and trembling

With a sincerity, and not just any sincerity but one that is as if we were being sincere to Christ Himself

Not with eyeservice (looking as though we are being obedient when we are really not, in other words being deceptive)

Not with the sole desire to please people, but with a desire to please God. Note that this is helpful when an employer requires us employees to do something contrary to our conscience as it relates to God’s will. In these cases God’s will must come first. Just remember Paul’s command, “Be angry yet do not sin!” We must not let our own anger come before God’s will.

In verse 6b there is a “but”, which relates all of the bullet points above to how God wants us to act under our masters, be they good or bad. Paul says “…but as slaves of Christ”. That is we are to act towards our employer as we would act towards Christ, our one true and good master.

We are to work for our employer as if we were working for Christ. We must serve our employer out of the goodness of our heart. And remember that God has given us the only goodness in our hearts and we are to share that freely not only in our employ but everywhere.

In verse 8 Paul tells us of our reward if we follow God’s commands here. We will receive good for our good. This good we receive will be from the Lord. Paul doesn’t explain exactly what type of “good” we will receive from the Lord, but we know that any good from the Lord is much greater than we can imagine, for in Matthew 7:9–11:

9Or which one of you, if his son asks him for bread, will give him a stone? 10Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a serpent? 11If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him!

and furthermore in Matthew 7:12:

12“So whatever you wish that others would do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets.

We are to treat our earthly masters as we would want them to treat us. This goes hand-in-hand with what Paul is commanding here to act out of the goodness of our hearts to our earthly masters.

With all the employee strikes that are happening and the trends of quiet quitting and rage quitting, we should truly contemplate God’s words to us through Paul seriously.

Ephesians 6:9:

9And masters, do the same things to them, and give up threatening, knowing that both their Master and yours is in heaven, and there is no partiality with Him.

Finally, Paul turns his attention towards the earthly masters. He says to do the same things that he just covered in verses 5-8. One of the most important things is for earthly masters to be obedient to their master. This master is not an earthly master, but a heavenly one. That is, our earthly masters must act in obedience to their heavenly Master.

Paul adds that the Master of all, Jesus, is over both the earthly master and the slave. And to drive this point home Paul states that there is no partiality with Jesus. That is, we are not graded on a curve nor are we judged according to our station in life. We are all equals in Christ and we are seen by Christ as equals and judged without any favoritism towards master or slave. For this would be an injustice to one or the other and we know that our Lord is perfect in judgement.

Ephesians 5:21-33

We finished last week with what it looks like to be filled with the Spirit. How we are to speak, sing, and make melody not to mention that we are to give thanks for everything. But there was one additional attribute of a Spirit filled person, that of being submissive to others and Christ.

Paul spends a lot more time on the topic of submissiveness in verses 5:21-33, which makes sense if you think about it. The church at Ephesus (and indeed other churches in Asia and elsewhere) had an eclectic mix of people, namely Jews and Gentiles. This mix had an inherent side-effect of introducing differing understanding of doctrine and how to worship God. The Jews had their ceremonies and rituals whereas the Gentiles had no ceremonies and rituals. The Gentiles were not worried about those things. This caused problems and (gasp) disunity in the church. This disunity is also evident in other churches as Paul had to address this on multiple occasions, Galatians 3:28:

28There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free man, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus.

Paul in this section wants to squash that disunity. Therefore he dives deep into our submissiveness, not only to Christ but also to each other. But what Paul writes here (as he is carried along by the Spirit) is somewhat nuanced and beautiful. Essentially, Paul is discussing two distinct things while at the same time showing us how we are to relate these two things in the context of submission. Notice where Paul talks of the relationship between the husband and wife and then extends this to the relationship between the church (us) and Christ.

Ephesians 5:21:

21and be subject to one another in the fear of Christ.

This verse is the connecting verse between what it looks like to be filled with the Spirit and our submission. That is, we should be willing to be submissive to each other under the fear/reverence of Christ who is the head of the church.

Ephesians 5:22:

22Wives, be subject to your own husbands, as to the Lord.

I wanted to call out this verse as it is usually divisive. In fact, we see the “love and obey” from wedding vows many times shorted to just “love”. But here Paul is telling the wife that she must be submissive to her husband. This seems a little brash and uncaring for the wife…right? Well no, but to understand we first need a little more context.

First, Paul is talking to a believing wife bound to a believing husband (remember that this letter was written for believers). He will go on to show what God’s perfect plan for that union looks like under Christ.

Don’t forget to read the whole verse. This verse ends with “…as to the Lord.” Therefore, the wife is to be subject to her husband as she is subjecting herself also to the Lord of both her and her husband.

But husbands (and I’m looking at myself even more-so) do not ever take this verse as a license to lord your own will over your wife. The husband should read this verse with the utmost humility and love for his own wife! Beware husbands (and myself), what follows in the rest of this passage is mostly for us. In fact, if we fail God’s commands (through Paul) we fail our wives.

Ephesians 5:23–24:

23For the husband is the head of the wife, as Christ also is the head of the church, He Himself being the Savior of the body. 24But as the church is subject to Christ, so also the wives ought to be to their husbands in everything.

Paul continues his thread of why the wife is to be subject to her husband in verses 23-24. The way God has structured marriage is that the husband is to be the head of the wife just like Christ is the head over the church. And then Paul explains it in verse 24 in the reverse. He states that the church must be subject to her bridegroom, Christ, just as the wife is subject to her husband. And this verse ends with “…in everything” and everything consists of all things.

Now you might be saying to yourself, “Yeah, didn’t Paul just say the same thing above…wives be subject to your husbands?” Well, there are some nuances here. First, in verse 22 it says that wives are to be subject to their husbands AS to the Lord. This word “as” is a conjunction (in Greek) that shows a comparison to how wives are to be in subjection to their husbands. Wives are to be in subjection to their husbands in a similar manner as to Christ. Not that we fallible husbands are on equal footing with Christ. No! We ourselves are also commanded to submit to Christ. But notice something else. It never says that husbands are to make, require, or force our wives to be subject to us. No! That is not right. It is the wife who must willingly and lovingly be subject to her husband. This puts the wife’s subjection as the responsibility of the husband, not the wife. Although this might sound like a contradiction to what I said previously, it is not. Let me explain. The husband cannot and should not demand this subjection; rather he (we) (I) must act in such a way as to earn it (we’ll talk about this shortly). I hope all the husbands out there are now seeing that Paul is putting the responsibility of the marriage onto the shoulders of the husband. Granted, the wife has a responsibility too, but the focus of Paul’s commands here are going to be towards the husband. For how can the wife be holy if the husband is not?

I want to point out the word “as” in verse 23. The husband is to be towards his wife “as” Christ is towards the church. Again, this word “as” is used to make a comparison between how we husbands are to act towards our wives with how Christ acted towards the church. Does any other husband out there read these verses and feel as though the weight of our responsibility just tripled? Just wait, it gets even more difficult for us husbands, but bear with me to the end.

Now we know that Paul is talking about the relationship between husbands and wives. But here Paul introduces a new parallel concept, that of the church being subject to Christ. Paul continues to expound on this unique parallelism between wives and their husbands with the church and Christ. So wait; this sounds like a double whammy for us husbands. We are not only responsible for enabling our wives to be willingly and lovingly subject to us, but we husbands must also make ourselves willingly and lovingly subject to Christ. Wow, God, through Paul, has placed so much on our shoulders. I’m wondering how it is possible to successfully carry this immense weight of responsibility on our shoulders. Just wait; Paul is not done. It gets even more difficult for us husbands.

Ephesians 5:25–27:

25Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself up for her, 26so that He might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, 27that He might present to Himself the church in all her glory, having no spot or wrinkle or any such thing; but that she would be holy and blameless.

Here it is. The command to “love our wives” in verse 25. Make no mistake. The verb “love” is in the imperative form as a command. Paul then expounds on how we are to follow this command. This is where the rubber meets the road (as the saying goes). We are to love our wives just as (this is another comparative) Christ loved the church! But Paul adds, “…and gave Himself up for her”. That word for “gave” in Greek gives the sense of sacrificially giving something up. In this case that something is Christ Himself. Thus, we are to act towards our wives according to how Christ acted towards His church (His bride). We are to sacrificially give ourselves up for our wives. This doesn’t just mean that we would physically die to protect our wife; it means so much more than that. It means our daily decisions and our actions and words towards our wife must always sacrificially place her above our own needs and wants.

Picture this. We as husbands lead our households, especially our wives, in a manner worthy of Christ. That is in the same way that Christ leads the church…with unbounded grace, mercy, and love…filling all the needs of the church. But there is also Christ’s sacrificial love towards the church that while we were yet sinners Christ died for us. Therefore, we as husbands need to die daily not only towards our own sins but we need to die daily for our wives placing their needs above ours, their wants before ours, themselves before ourselves.

This picture of God’s desire for the husband and wife paints a whole new picture of verse 22, “Wives, be subject to your husbands, as to the Lord.” If the husband would act in the manner God desires, then the wife would naturally and lovingly want to be subject to him as her husband. Or to put it in the first person, “If I would just act as God desires me to act, my wife would naturally and lovingly want to be subject to me.” So, husbands, the onus is on us to walk in love with our Lord and to walk in love with our wives. Everything else will fall into place. This is the unequivocal definition of harmony.

But don’t forget to notice the parallelism between the husband’s and wife’s harmony and the harmony between Christ and His church. Christ acts as the perfect husband to His bride, the church. We are to imitate our Lord as He loves and sanctifies His church, Ephesians 5:1: “Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children”. Christ’s motives are pure and gracious in His sanctification and cleansing of the church. In the same fashion, we as husbands should mirror this and make it our duty to always be sanctifying our wife. Of course, this does not mean we try to force the issue of sanctification on our wife but that we allow her to willingly desire to be sanctified.

But how do we do this? It seems impossible. But what is impossible with us is possible with our Lord. Remember the prayer Paul just prayed in Ephesians 3:14–21:

14For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, 15from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named, 16that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being, 17so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith—that you, being rooted and grounded in love, 18may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, 19and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. 20Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, 21to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen.

This is also a prayer that we, as husbands, should be praying daily in order to love our wives as Christ loved the church and gave Himself for it. Focus on verse 3:16 where Paul asks that we be strengthened with power through His Spirit. The Spirit is who gives us the power and strength to be able to lead our household and to love our wives and to submit ourselves to Christ as the ultimate head over all.

Ephesians 5:28–32:

28So husbands ought also to love their own wives as their own bodies. He who loves his own wife loves himself; 29for no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as Christ also does the church, 30because we are members of His body. 31For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and shall be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh. 32This mystery is great; but I am speaking with reference to Christ and the church.

These verses show the unity between the husband and his wife. If we love ourselves and take care of ourselves, so should we do to our wives in kind. If I love my wife then I show that I love myself. This is not a selfish type of self-love; rather, it is a selfless love that is reflected back to us by our wives. Read the next verse (31) where it talks of the man leaving his parents and being joined to his wife. The husband and wife are one. Verse 31 even goes so far as to say the husband and wife are one flesh. The two cannot be separated under God. Therefore, if I love myself in a God honoring manner then I love my wife in that same exact manner as if we were one flesh. Likewise, if I love my wife in a God honoring manner then I love myself in that same God honoring manner. This is in no way a selfish love. This is the selfless and self-sacrificing love that Christ desires in our marriages!

I don’t know how many times I’ve read this before, but I never fully understood the “one flesh” idea in such a deep way as I do now that I’ve really studied this section in Ephesians. I pray that all husbands would truly stop here and study this passage deeply for as long as it takes in order to fully understand the “one flesh” concept. It is so powerful and enriching for our marriages.

Now in verse 32 Paul seems to trip us up. He says this is yet another mystery he is revealing to us. But remember the parallelism between the husband and wife and between Christ and the church. Yes, this section reveals to us husbands how we are to love our wives, but it also reveals how Christ loves the church. You see, Christ is the perfect husband to His church. He sustains and feeds us (i.e., nourishes) the church, and He also treats the church with great tenderness and affection (i.e., cherishes). As Paul says, we the church are members of Christ’s body. That is, we are one with Christ just as the husband and wife are one with each other.

This is why Paul says that he is speaking of Christ and the church. Paul first shows us what the relationship between a husband and wife should look like and then compares that to what the relationship looks like between Christ and us (His church).

Ephesians 5:33:

33Nevertheless, each individual among you also is to love his own wife even as himself, and the wife must see to it that she respects her husband.

This “Nevertheless” verse is a clarification on the “mystery” that Paul spoke of in reference to Christ and the church. Paul did not want us to think that we should understand Christ’s relationship to the church and forego our responsibilities as husbands. No! Here, Paul specifically states (as an imperative, or command) that each husband is to love his own wife as he loves himself. That is the command in this verse. Oddly enough, there is only one command in this verse and it is directed towards husbands. The verb “respects” in the phrase “the wife must see to it that she respects her husband” is not an imperative but a subjunctive. A subjunctive can covey doubt, expectation, intention, among other things. Here, it conveys an expectation. That is, if the husband fulfills the command to love and respect his wife then the expectation is that the wife will naturally love and respect her husband. They are one flesh after all.

I hope this has been as eye-opening to the other husbands reading this as it has been to me. This small section of scripture has revealed my failings as a husband, which I take to heart. Do I make it easy for my wife to love and respect me? Am I truly living a self-sacrificial life to and for my wife? Do I truly see her and myself as one single flesh? Am I truly leading my wife in a way that is sanctifying us and bringing us closer together? These are tough questions to honestly answer, and I don’t like some of my honest answers.

These questions can also be asked of my relationship to Christ. As I am a member of the body of Christ, do I subject myself to Him daily in a sacrificial manner? Do I truly see myself as one with Christ as a member of His body? Am I sanctifying myself in order to be closer to Christ? Again, these are tough questions to honestly answer.

I’m very blessed to have my wife. She is way more than I deserve. I need to pray more for the Spirit’s empowerment in order to love her deeper and to make more generous sacrifices for her. We are after all one flesh, just as we are all one in Christ.

Ephesians 5:1-23

Last week we discussed laying aside the old self and putting on the new self. This week we’re going to look at how Paul goes deeper into the old self verses the new self and how our walk with Christ defines our new self.

Ephesians 5:1–2:

1 Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children; 2 and walk in love, just as Christ also loved you and gave Himself up for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God as a fragrant aroma.

Verse 5:1 begins with the word “Therefore” pointing back to the preceding verse (4:32) where Paul says “just as God in Christ also has forgiven you”. In other words, we should be imitators of God, imitating Him in the way He has forgiven us. We know how to imitate (or copy) God since we have such a worthy example in Christ’s words and actions.

Then Paul connects the imitation of God to our walk in verse 2. We’ve talked about our walk in the Lord as living and acting in a specific manner, in this case, in a manner worthy of our Lord and Savior. Notice how Paul qualified walk here in that we are to walk in love. This is no ordinary love but a love expressed in the way Christ loved us. Christ did not fail to give all for us. He offered up His time, words, love, actions, everything as a pleasing sacrifice to God the Father. In other words, Christ defined love as giving Himself up for us. That is how our walk is to be an imitation of God. We are to walk in the same love as Christ sacrificially gave. That will be a pleasing aroma to God.

Remember this idea of our walk being a pleasing sacrificial type of love? There are some important applications of this coming up in the second half of chapter 5. Stay tuned husbands as much of this is applicable to you and I!

Ephesians 5:3–6:

3 But immorality or any impurity or greed must not even be named among you, as is proper among saints; 4 and there must be no filthiness and silly talk, or coarse jesting, which are not fitting, but rather giving of thanks. 5 For this you know with certainty, that no immoral or impure person or covetous man, who is an idolater, has an inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God. 6 Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience.

In this section, Paul contrasts the walk of Christ-like sacrificial love with the walk of world-like self serving love. Paul describes the attributes or fruits of a self serving walk:

Immorality – sexual sins especially related to adulterous, extramarital, or any other type of impure intercourse

Impurity – lustful, unclean immorality especially with regard to sexual sins

Greed – covetousness and a desire for more and more

Notice that the first two are related to sexual sins and the third is a more general greediness sin. But all three are related. The sexual sins (as do most all sins) cause desire to increase. And so the person’s desire for sin, especially of the sexual nature, are never fulfilled. Remember that we discussed this never ending desire for more sinful things from unbelievers (they cannot help themselves) in Ephesians 4:17–19:

17 So this I say, and affirm together with the Lord, that you walk no longer just as the Gentiles also walk, in the futility of their mind, 18 being darkened in their understanding, excluded from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the hardness of their heart; 19 and they, having become callous, have given themselves over to sensuality for the practice of every kind of impurity with greediness.

Their blindness and hardness of heart makes the unbeliever callous. This then bears the fruit of unrighteousness in that they give themselves over to sensuality with an unsatiated desire.

Then Paul goes on to describe three more attributes or fruits of the self serving walk:

Filthiness – behaving or speaking obscenely

Silly talk – Foolish words, sometimes associated with a drunkard

Coarse jesting – Sharp but caustic and worldly verbal skills designed to deride another

These three center more around our speech, whereas the initial three (verse 3) centered more around sexual sins. So here we clearly have the sins of behavior and the sins of the tongue. None of this is suitable for a believer. Not only are these abhorrent in the eyes of God, but they also serve to undermine the unity of the body. Not only that, but directly in the context of this section they serve to undermine our Christ-like sacrificial walk in love.

Fortunately, Paul gives us a suggestion for how we can lay aside filthiness, silly talk, and coarse jesting. Paul says to instead give thanks. It never ceases to amaze me how giving thanks in situations where you only want to unleash the anger and foolishness of your tongue can give you a peace that pushes out sinfulness. Granted, it is difficult in many cases to find something to be thankful for, but try and ask the Spirit to help you out with this. The Spirit is a

Spirit of power, not of weakness.

It bears explanation that while in 2 Samuel we learn that David (a man after God’s own heart) was entangled in sexual sin (with Bathsheba). We also know that David was loved by God and not cast away (indeed David did not have God’s Spirit taken away). In verse 5 it talks of the sexually immoral not having an inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God. So where does this leave David…and us? Well, the answer is bound up in a single small word “is” in the phrase “…is an idolater”. This verb “is” in the underlying Greek (and English) is a habitual type of verb. That is, the person will continue unabated in sexual sins and idolatry going from bad to worse. Notice that David always would repent of his sins; although, it took time and some coaxing from a prophet to cause David to repent of his sin with Bathsheba. Here, Paul is talking of the unregenerate unbeliever who continues to wallow unrepentantly in their sin. That is the difference.

Ephesians 5:7–14:

7 Therefore do not be partakers with them; 8 for you were formerly darkness, but now you are Light in the Lord; walk as children of Light 9 (for the fruit of the Light consists in all goodness and righteousness and truth), 10 trying to learn what is pleasing to the Lord. 11 Do not participate in the unfruitful deeds of darkness, but instead even expose them; 12 for it is disgraceful even to speak of the things which are done by them in secret. 13 But all things become visible when they are exposed by the light, for everything that becomes visible is light. 14 For this reason it says, “Awake, sleeper, And arise from the dead, And Christ will shine on you.”

Verse 7 begins the second of three therefore’s in this section. Knowing what we have just read in verses 3-6 and especially at the end of verse 6, “because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience” Paul tells us to walk as children of Light. This is a little different than “walk in love” as Paul mentioned in verse 2 above. Nonetheless, walking as children of Light does not remove or lessen the command to walk in love. They both exist in harmony with one another. Walking in love is a Christ-like sacrificial behavior; whereas, walking as children of Light is the key to how we produce the fruit of the Spirit, from Galatians 5:22–23:

22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.

Notice in verse 8 how unbelievers are described as darkness, as opposed to “in darkness” or “of darkness”. In contrast, believers are described as light. We are not only light but we are, as it says, “light in the Lord.” meaning that our unity with Christ, who is the light, is why we are also called light. Christ imputes his light to us, thus we become light as He is light.

Verse 11 and 12 are two verses that almost seem to contradict themselves. Verse 11 speaks of not participating in the sinful deeds of darkness but rather exposing them. Then in verse 12 it says to not even speak of these sinful deeds. So how can you expose darkness without speaking specifically of it or to it? I believe the answer is in verse 13. We expose darkness to light. It is possible to teach the truths of the Bible to unbelievers without directly exposing their own specific sinful deeds that they do in secret. That is we can teach the errors of sexual sins without going into the details of one person’s sexual sins. It’s these details that could cause others to stumble, but the word of God will never cause one to stumble.

As we walk in both sacrificial love and as children of light, our fruit will be unmistakable to the world. But being the light also has another facet, that of exposing peoples’ words and deeds as either light or darkness (see verse 13). Indeed, verse 14 exposes yet another facet of being the light, that of exposing the minds of unbelievers to Christ, who is the light. When an unbeliever (the “sleeper” in verse 14) is exposed to Christ’s light through us they have light shed on their thoughts, desires, and behaviors. This light is what leads an unbeliever out of darkness.

Preaching is one of the most direct ways to expose unbelievers to the light of Christ:

Romans 10:14:

14 How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching?

1 Corinthians 15:11:

11 Whether then it was I or they, so we preach and so you believed.

Ephesians 5:15–16:

15 Therefore be careful how you walk, not as unwise men but as wise, 16 making the most of your time, because the days are evil.

Verse 15-16 is a short pithy sentence that begins our third “Therefore” section. Not only are we to walk in love and walk as children of light, but we are to also walk in wisdom. We are to be deliberately vigilant, always on the lookout for evil and sin so that it does not ensnare us.

The way we are to walk in wisdom that Paul gives us is by making the most of our time here on earth. Evil is all around us in this fallen world so we are to take every opportunity given to us to make a difference by shedding Christ’s light on the world and bearing fruit in keeping with righteousness. Placing Jesus first in our lives is paramount to taking advantage of every opportunity given us during our short life here on earth.

Ephesians 5:17–20:

17 So then do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is. 18 And do not get drunk with wine, for that is dissipation, but be filled with the Spirit, 19 speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody with your heart to the Lord; 20 always giving thanks for all things in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to God, even the Father;

Finally, I want to talk about what Paul means when he says “be filled with the Spirit”. In verse 18 Paul contrasts being filled with the Spirit to being filled with wine to the point of drunkenness. Essentially, Paul is stating that you can either be controlled by the Spirit or by idols such as wine. And being controlled by alcohol can lead to a host of other sinful acts (just look at the news today as to how many people are arrested or do some heinous act simply because they were too intoxicated).

Since verses 18-21 are one long sentence, we see that Paul’s main point is that we are filled with the Spirit. This is due to the main verb “be filled” (in verse 18). Next, Paul describes what being filled with the Spirit looks like through the other secondary participle verbs that follow (in verses 19-21):

Speaking

Paul says that a Spirit-filled church body will have its members speaking to one another with biblical words (Psalms, etc.). Notice that it doesn’t specify who these “one anothers” are. That’s because it is the entire body from the pastor on down to each member. We are to speak to each other in love (as our walk with Christ is “in love”), speaking the Biblical words of the Psalms to each other. But we are also to speak using hymns and spiritual songs. This passage directly ties to Colossians 3:16:

16 Let the word of Christ richly dwell within you, with all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with thankfulness in your hearts to God.

We are to speak to one another drawing from the word of God that should make its home in our hearts in ever deeper ways. Hymns and spiritual songs are other avenues which we may speak to one another to teach and build up the body of Christ.

Singing

Actually, there are two participles here: singing and making melody. We do this both as an outward expression of worship when we gather together on Sundays, but we can (and should) also do this inwardly expressing our love for our Creator. Notice that as we speak to one another in Psalms and songs we are doing so between each member of the body. But as we sing we are singing as worship to our Lord. Speaking is the horizontal and singing is the vertical.

We should thank our musicians and sound/audio team for making all of this possible for us. They put forth a huge effort to make our singing and worshiping seem effortless for us. Let us thank them for their efforts by singing out ever stronger and more worshipfully.

Giving Thanks

The third sign that we are filled with the Spirit is that we are thankful, not just thankful some of the time but always thankful. Our thankfulness should always be in abundance. If your thankfulness is waning, you should read the first three chapters of Ephesians again. There you will get a sense for how thankful to God we should be…while we were yet sinners, God loved us more than we deserve.

There is a final participle, but it is in verse 21:

21 and be subject to one another in the fear of Christ.

That is, we are to be in subjection to one another. This is also a sign of a Spirit-filled church. But we will discuss this more next week as verse 21 ties together our being Spirit-filled and how we act in the church and in the home.

Ephesians 4:17-23

Last week we discussed what Paul meant by walk in a manner worthy of the grace in which you were called:

Ephesians 4:1–2:

1 Therefore I, the prisoner of the Lord, implore you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called, 2 with all humility and gentleness, with patience, showing tolerance for one another in love, Here in verses 4:17-32 Paul continue this thought by compelling us to lay aside the old self and put on the new self, which Christ has brought about in us. This laying aside of the old self and putting on of the new self is tied directly to our walk as we shall see.

Ephesians 4:17–19:

17 So this I say, and affirm together with the Lord, that you walk no longer just as the Gentiles also walk, in the futility of their mind, 18 being darkened in their understanding, excluded from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the hardness of their heart; 19 and they, having become callous, have given themselves over to sensuality for the practice of every kind of impurity with greediness.

These verses are in the negative sense that is, “walk no longer…”. Earlier in 4:1 Paul taught us in the positive sense to walk in a worthy manner. These positive and negative explanations of how we are to walk serve to give us a deeper understanding of how we are to walk.

Paul explains in these three verses how we are not to walk. Notice how these verses go from bad to worse. Paul begins by saying that the unbelieving Gentiles walk in the futility of their mind. They are useless and incapable of doing good because their mind is also useless and incapable of doing good. He goes on to say that their futile mind produces a darkened understanding. They are in a sense blind in their understanding, stumbling around in the dark. This blindness is the cause of their ignorance, which in turn causes their hearts to be hardened to Christ. This results in their exclusion from the life changing salvation from God.

But it doesn’t just end with a hardness of heart towards Christ; it continues to get worse. Since they are hard of heart (callous) they continue to go from bad to worse. They know no other way than to give themselves over to sensuality or what makes them feel good and feel useful in a worldly sense. This need causes them to practice every kind of sin (impurity). Paul adds to this “with greediness”. It is not only that unbelievers practice sin; they do so with a desire for more and more. Just one sin won’t satisfy. They must continue with an insatiable appetite for more.

Understanding how lost we once were, how we were so darkened and blind in our understanding that we could only run from Christ and run to ever more sin serves to give us a greater understanding of the great grace with which we were saved. This same grace which God freely bestowed on us through Christ (Ephesians 1:6) Paul speaks of here. This understanding is part of the outworking of the prayer that Paul made earlier in Ephesians 1:18–19:

18 I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened, so that you will know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints,

19 and what is the surpassing greatness of His power toward us who believe. These are in accordance with the working of the strength of His might

Ephesians 4:20–24:

20 But you did not learn Christ in this way, 21 if indeed you have heard Him and have been taught in Him, just as truth is in Jesus, 22 that, in reference to your former manner of life, you lay aside the old self, which is being corrupted in accordance with the lusts of deceit, 23 and that you be renewed in the spirit of your mind, 24 and put on the new self, which in the likeness of God has been created in righteousness and holiness of the truth.

Paul then contrasts how we are not to walk (verses 17-19) with how we are to walk in our new self and especially in our new mind in Christ (verses 20-24). Our minds are not perpetually darkened so that we ignore Christ and only feed ourselves with sinful tendencies. No! Christ has lifted the veil and caused us to see His light. When Paul says this is not the way you learned Christ he is saying we were taught the truth of Jesus and through His truth we were transformed, or saved. As a result, we have a personal deep relationship with Christ. We don’t just have knowledge of Him. We have an experiential knowledge of Him, the living God.

In order for Christ to cause us to have this deep relationship with Him, He had to give us a new self. In verses 22-24 Paul discusses the old self and the new self. The “self” is commonly used to describe a person, their beliefs, habits, and emotions…essentially who they are. The old self is who we were before we believed. It is to be laid aside. This “laying aside” is commonly thought of as taking off a coat or shirt. Paul tells us that this old self is still continuously being corrupted/destroyed by the deceitfulness of our lusts. By laying aside this old self we can resist the corruption inherent in the old self. This enables us to put on the new self. God in His holiness and righteousness has created this new self in His likeness. This new self was created specifically for us to put on. Think of this “putting on” as the opposite of “laying aside”. Just like new clothes we are to put on this new self.

Now it’s one thing to liken “laying aside” and “putting on” to taking off and putting on one’s clothes, respectively. But this doesn’t quite capture the application or how we are to do this. To understand the “how” we need to look a bit closer at the grammar in this passage. The verbs “to lay aside” and “to put on” are actually infinitives, which act as an adverbial to the main verb. Since verses 20-24 are one long sentence, we have to look harder for the main verb and there can be only one main verb in a sentence. If we read backwards from the infinitives, we end up at the first verb “learn” in verse 20. This verb “learn” is being modified by the infinitives “to lay aside” and “to put on”. These infinitives essentially describe how we are to “learn Christ”. That is we are to lay aside the old self and put on the new self. But Paul intends to give us even more information as to how this is done. Notice in verse 23 in between the laying aside of the old self and the putting on of the new self he says, “that you be renewed in the spirit of your mind”. This is key for us to understand. In order to be able to truly take off the old self and put on the new self, we have a responsibility to “renew” our minds.

Now what does it mean to “renew” our minds? This is the critical thing that we all need to get right (that is, this is our responsibility). In verses 17-19 the topic was the futility of the unbeliever’s mind. Here in verses 20-24 Paul keeps to that same theme, “the mind”, but in this instance it is the believer’s mind. The mind is where we reason and from which flow our thoughts and emotions. It is where we can understand the true graces and mercies of Christ towards us. Therefore, to renew our minds is to renew or refresh our thinking. The two most obvious ways are to pray without ceasing and to study the Bible. The Bible is the living word able to pierce to the very core of us in order to change us (this is the process of sanctification).

There are two other words that need their use to be examined. The first is the verb “is being corrupted” (v22). This verb is a present participle (neither the main verb or an infinitive) that describes the old self as continually being corrupted. This is the difficulty that we all face, that our old self is always there and is always going from bad to worse. To fight this Paul uses another present participle “be renewed” in verse 23. This, again, is another verb participle of continuous action. In order to keep the old self off, we must constantly be renewing our mind in order to put on the new self.

Romans 12:1–2:

1 Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. 2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.

Matthew 16:24:

24 Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me.

Ephesians 4:25–32:

25 Therefore, laying aside falsehood, SPEAK TRUTH EACH ONE of you WITH HIS NEIGHBOR, for we are members of one another. 26 BE ANGRY, AND yet DO NOT SIN; do not let the sun go down on your anger, 27 and do not give the devil an opportunity. 28 He who steals must steal no longer; but rather he must labor, performing with his own hands what is good, so that he will have something to share with one who has need. 29 Let no unwholesome word proceed from your mouth, but only such a word as is good for edification according to the need of the moment, so that it will give grace to those who hear. 30 Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. 31 Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. 32 Be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you.

Now that we have understood how we are to walk in our calling and have understood the laying aside of the old self and the putting on of the new self, Paul transitions to a list of applications that result from our walk in the renewal of our mind. This is essentially a list of commands (imperatives) for us to follow:

Speak truth to one another

Yes we are to speak truth to both believers and unbelievers, but here in this context Paul seems to be focusing on believers speaking truth to other believers. And why do we do this? For the sake of unity. At the end of verse 25 Paul states that we are all members of one another, hearkening back to the unity of the body of Christ (i.e., the church). In order to remain unified, we must speak truth to other believers. This is no easy task as in the case when a believer is backsliding or mistakenly twisting scripture around. In these cases, we must speak truth but always with an attitude of love towards the person. Otherwise our goal of reconciliation will never come about.

Be angry

This one can be more difficult to understand since it says later in verse 31, “let …anger… be put away from you”. These are indeed both the same words for “anger” in both the English and the Greek. However, Paul puts several restrictions on the command to “be angry” here in verse 26. Those restrictions are that we must not sin while we are angry and that we do not let our anger continue to fester. That is, we must only have the righteous anger of Christ, not the unrighteous anger of our old self. Did not Christ have a righteous anger? Indeed! Therefore, we must take great care to not allow our anger (righteous as it may be) to cause us to stumble and allow the devil to gain a foothold. In other words, be extremely careful with righteous anger. It can metastasize into sin, and when it does the devil will use it to not only weaken our testimony but also to sow disunity in the church body.

Steal no longer

Stealing is a sin and mentioned by name as one of the 10 commandments. Stealing does not glorify either God or His body of believers. Rather we must stop this sinning and do something constructive that helps and serves others that will glorify both God and His body.

Let no unwholesome word proceed from your mouth

Unwholesome describes a word that is useless, damaged, or decayed. This can be a wide array of speech such as foul language, lying, deceitful speech, and even little white lies. All such language is useless to our Lord and His body. Rather, we should only say that which is good and which builds up other believers. This type of speech will give grace to others. Remember Ephesians 4:7:

7 But grace was given to each one of us according to the measure of Christ’s gift.

Christ gave us a gift of grace; we should use that grace in our speech to build up others.

Do not grieve the Holy Spirit

In other words, do not cause the Holy Spirit to be saddened by our sinful actions or words. The Spirit guarantees our redemption and acts as a seal of our salvation (as we discussed earlier in Ephesians 1:13). Knowing that the Spirit was given to us with an overwhelming grace as a guarantee of our salvation should spur us on to obey and please the Spirit, not sadden Him.

Put away all…

We are to put away, along with the old self, all of these:

Bitterness – resentment

Wrath – rage

Anger – deep sinful continuous anger or hostility

Clamor – out-of-control strife or outcry

Slander – to speak evil of someone with the intent to destroy their reputation

Malice – perversion of morality or simply evil

Be kind to one another

Being kind to each other involves both being tender hearted towards each other as well as forgiving others as Christ forgave us. The way we forgive others is bound tightly to the way Christ forgave us…fully and completely. Christ’s forgiveness holds no animosity towards us, once forgiven always forgiven. We should work diligently to forgive others in this same Christ-like manner.

Ephesians 4:1-16

When we began Ephesians I mentioned that you cannot read just the first half (chapters 1-3) without also reading the second half (chapters 4-6). Likewise, you cannot read the second half without reading the first half. This is because each half relates to the other in dramatic ways. This week we’ll start looking at how these two sections relate and why Paul wrote Ephesians in such a way.

Ephesians 4:1–4:

1 Therefore I, the prisoner of the Lord, implore you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called, 2 with all humility and gentleness, with patience, showing tolerance for one another in love, 3 being diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. 4 There is one body and one Spirit, just as also you were called in one hope of your calling;

This word “Therefore”, which begins chapter 4, is critical to understanding the structure of Ephesians as a whole. This word acts as a fulcrum on which the weight of the first three chapters act as a balance to the weight of the last 3 chapters. Removing anything from either side would render the entire book out-of-balance. To understand why I see this word as the fulcrum on which both side of Ephesians balance we need to understand the main thrust of each side of Ephesians. The first three chapter in which we have already worked through cover the riches that we have in Christ. This is what Christ has done for us, that which we could not do for ourselves and this out of His immeasurable grace. The second half of Ephesians takes a big turn and Paul begins to encourage and exhort us to walk in the righteousness that Christ has given us. You could say Paul wants us to walk in a manner worthy of our calling in Christ.

Now that we have a firm grasp of the riches that Christ has given us in the first three chapters, we desire to obey the command to walk in a manner worthy of Christ. Our walk is not performed under our own power, but through His gift of the Spirit used to empower us. This is bolstered by the knowledge (both understood and experienced) of Christ’s love for us. But in order to be driven along by the power of the Spirit we must first yield to the first three chapters of Ephesians. I know personally that I have more peace knowing that it is Christ who strengthens me and makes me want to walk in a manner worthy of Him. Doing this on my own is an impossible feat. I know; I’ve tried and failed. Ultimately, God wants us to rest in Christ’s work and keep our eyes focused on Him, not ourselves. Meditating on the first three chapters makes this possible. Now, as we enter into the last three chapters of Ephesians we can read these commands and exhortations not as a checklist of thing I have to do but as things I long to do to give glory to the One who gave everything for me even when I didn’t deserve it.

Starting in verse 1, notice the similarity to Ephesians 3:1:

     1 For this reason I, Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus for the sake of you Gentiles

Paul again describes himself as a prisoner of his Lord. But difference here is that in 3:1 Paul says he is a prisoner of Christ Jesus and here in verse 4:1 he says he is a prisoner of the Lord. This more formal terminology for Jesus seems to imply a more formal tone. Indeed for the rest of Ephesians the tone changes from the glorious riches that Christ has given us to the responsibility on our part.

Verses 2-4 outline what we are called to…Unity! Verse 2 lists all of the attributes required for walking in unity: humility, gentleness, patience and tolerance for one another (note that Ephesians is speaking only to believers so this tolerance is between believers, especially when doctrinal differences arise-tolerance between believers and unbelievers is a topic for a different time). In essence, this verse tells us what our walk should look like. It is a walk that has a complete humility, gentleness, and patience as its hallmark. Then Paul goes further to describe this walk as one that is showing tolerance for other believers. This word “showing” is a present participial, which is a secondary verb that helps us to better understand our walk. This says that our tolerance should not be just a one time action or something that we do occasionally, but something that is ongoing and a part of who we are in Christ. Additionally, all these attributes must be grounded in love; otherwise, we are no different than a clanging cymbal.

Paul ends this section in verse 4 by adding another present participial verb “being diligent”. But what are we supposed to continuously be diligent for? The answer would be to preserve the unity of the Spirit. There’s that word “unity”. The body of Christ (the church) is designed to function as one with Christ as the head. Any dis-unity will threaten to break up or make less useful the church. This is why Paul is pushing so hard for unity in the church. A functioning church is unified under its pastor and all under Christ as its head. A functioning church is useful to God and will be used to glorify Him.

Ephesians 4:4–6:

4 There is one body and one Spirit, just as also you were called in one hope of your calling; 5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism, 6 one God and Father of all who is over all and through all and in all.

Paul continues the theme of unity of the church in verses 4-6. Notice the use of the word “one” used to describe each noun:

Body
Spirit
Hope
Lord
Faith
Baptism
God and Father

Then in verse 6 Paul switches to using “all” to explain who and what God rules over and exists within. God is one and He rules over all (“all” is not restricted to just believers) for all time and He inhabits all (especially the church body) for His glory.

We can even break up these three verses to individually describe the Spirit (v4), Son (v5) and Father (v6). The triune God is one just as we as believers are unified as one in God through the blood of Jesus, the indwelling Spirit, and our Father in heaven with whom we have full access.

Ephesians 4:7–13:

7 But to each one of us grace was given according to the measure of Christ’s gift. 8 Therefore it says, “WHEN HE ASCENDED ON HIGH, HE LED CAPTIVE A HOST OF CAPTIVES, AND HE GAVE GIFTS TO MEN.” 9 (Now this expression, “He ascended,” what does it mean except that He also had descended into the lower parts of the earth? 10 He who descended is Himself also He who ascended far above all the heavens, so that He might fill all things.) 11 And He gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers, 12 for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ; 13 until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ.

In verse 7 Paul takes a bit of a turn from verses 4-6. He uses the contrastive conjunction “but” here to contrast the gift (grace) given to believers (“to each one of us”) to our status in the unified God and His unified church body (“all” in verse 6). In God we are all equal and are as one (i.e., unified); however, here Paul is saying that Christ has given us a gift (singular) of grace that differs in the amount given among individual believers. He has given us a measure of grace specific to other gifts (plural) that He gives each believer. These gifts (plural) are defined in verse 11 as apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, and teachers. This measure of grace according to our differing gifts does not mean some of us are viewed as more loved in God’s eyes than others. We are all loved the same as we are one body, the church, given to glorify God. But our gifts differ. These differing gifts require a specific amount of grace given to the recipient. Think of it as God gives us the perfect amount of grace to be able to use His gifts to His glory and not to our own. Paul goes on to describe these gifts and why they are given to some and not others in an upcoming section of scripture.

Verses 8-10 speak of Christ ascending far above all the heavens to where He now sits at the right hand of God. But it also adds that Christ led a host of captives to which He gave gifts. This statement would have been recognized by the original hearers in terms of a conquering king who uses military might to conquer an enemy. However, here’s where the idea of a conquering king differs from what the original hearers would have understood. A conquering king would have taken the captives as a show of the kings victory. Then the conquered would give gifts to the conqueror. But as Paul puts it, the conqueror gave gifts to the conquered. This is the opposite of what they would have understood.This speaks of the riches of Christ’s glorious grace that were given to us, the conquered, even though we did not deserve it.

Verses 9-10 talk of Christ descending from heaven to earth, to the cross, and to the grave in order that He would ascend to above all the heavens. This was so that He might be over all things and fill all things (including the church). We can go back to Ephesians 1:19–23:

19 and what is the surpassing greatness of His power toward us who believe. These are in accordance with the working of the strength of His might 20 which He brought about in Christ, when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, 21 far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come. 22 And He put all things in subjection under His feet, and gave Him as head over all things to the church, 23 which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all.

Here we see the connection between the end of verse 10 where it says, “…so that He might fill all things.” and these verses in chapter 1. Christ the conquering king who captured us from the hands of the enemy so that we might be glorified in Him as the church body to which He fills. By filling all things Christ asserts His dominance over all things.

Now in verse 11 Paul begins to connect the various ministries that Jesus has given us as gifts to the idea of church unity. Paul lists several of the offices of ministry in verse 11. These ministries are varied and distributed among believers as Christ deems necessary. These are given along with a measure of grace (verse 7). Our ministry and this grace go hand-in-hand, but to what end? In verse 12 Paul answers that by informing us that these ministries are given to equip us or, in other words, to make us fit for a purpose. That purpose is for service and this service is designed to build up and benefit the body of Christ (i.e., the church).

Ephesians 4:14–16:

14 As a result, we are no longer to be children, tossed here and there by waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, by craftiness in deceitful scheming; 15 but speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in all aspects into Him who is the head, even Christ, 16 from whom the whole body, being fitted and held together by what every joint supplies, according to the proper working of each individual part, causes the growth of the body for the building up of itself in love.

Verse 14 begins with “As a result…” meaning that the purpose of Christ giving us gifts along with the grace to use those gifts is for us to grow into mature believers in Christ. We are to no longer be immature believers but mature believers. As we use our gifts to help build up the body of Christ we, ourselves, are being made more and more mature in Christ. This has the benefit that we are not swayed by false doctrine, we do not fall prey to the trickery of men, and we can see through deception, even the most crafty and deceitful deceptions. Why? Because we know the truth, which grows stronger in us as we mature in Christ.

However, in verse 15 Paul gives us a warning as maturing believers. As we mature in all ways in Christ we must take care to not let our love grow cold. Remember in Revelation that Ephesus was one of the churches mentioned and even though they did well, their love had grown cold. If the Ephesians maybe would have heeded this verse better maybe they wouldn’t have been rebuked by Christ in Revelation. So it must be a warning to us too. Do not let your love grow cold. Always speak truth, but speak truth only in love. That is especially difficult nowadays, but we should always season our speech with love.

In light of all that we have read and especially verse 15-16, re-read 1 Corinthians 12:1–31 keeping in mind all that we have just discussed: the body, the church, unity, one Spirit, one Lord, one God, the measure of grace given, and gifts that Christ bestows freely:

1 Now concerning spiritual gifts, brothers, I do not want you to be uninformed. 2 You know that when you were pagans you were led astray to mute idols, however you were led. 3 Therefore I want you to understand that no one speaking in the Spirit of God ever says “Jesus is accursed!” and no one can say “Jesus is Lord” except in the Holy Spirit. 4 Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; 5 and there are varieties of service, but the same Lord; 6 and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who empowers them all in everyone. 7 To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. 8 For to one is given through the Spirit the utterance of wisdom, and to another the utterance of knowledge according to the same Spirit, 9 to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit, 10 to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another the ability to distinguish between spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues. 11 All these are empowered by one and the same Spirit, who apportions to each one individually as he wills.12 For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ.
13 For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—Jews or Greeks, slaves or free—and all were made to drink of one Spirit. 14 For the body does not consist of one member but of many. 15 If the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body. 16 And if the ear should say, “Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body. 17 If the whole body were an eye, where would be the sense of hearing? If the whole body were an ear, where would be the sense of smell? 18 But as it is, God arranged the members in the body, each one of them, as he chose. 19 If all were a single member, where would the body be? 20 As it is, there are many parts, yet one body.21 The eye cannot say to the hand, “I have no need of you,” nor again the head to the feet, “I have no need of you.”22 On the contrary, the parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, 23 and on those parts of the body that we think less honorable we bestow the greater honor, and our unpresentable parts are treated with greater modesty, 24 which our more presentable parts do not require. But God has so composed the body, giving greater honor to the part that lacked it, 25 that there may be no division in the body, but that the members may have the same care for one another. 26 If one member suffers, all suffer together; if one member is honored, all rejoice together. 27 Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it. 28 And God has appointed in the church first apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then miracles, then gifts of healing, helping, administrating, and various kinds of tongues. 29 Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Do all work miracles? 30 Do all possess gifts of healing? Do all speak with tongues? Do all interpret? 31 But earnestly desire the higher gifts. And I will show you a still more excellent way.

Ephesians 3:14-21

Last week we looked at the parenthetical in which Paul began with the words “For this reason…”. This parenthetical described in more detail what the mystery of Christ was-the church body-and why this mystery had been revealed to Paul. The church as the body of believers was a new concept in Paul’s day as was the gathering of both Jews and Gentiles together in one Spirit and having direct access to God.

Now Paul switches back to his initial thought, which is a prayer to the believers united in Christ. This prayer involves requests that all believers:

Are strengthened through the Spirit.

Are rooted and grounded in love.

Are filled to all the fullness of God.

Ephesians 3:14–15:

14 For this reason I bow my knees before the Father,

15 from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name,

Here in verse 14 Paul begins with that familiar phrase from verse 3:1, “For this reason…” This indicates that the preceding parenthetical is finished and he is going back to his initial thought. Paul’s initial thought is actually a prayer designed to strengthen and fill believers with God’s Spirit. The main part of this prayer is in verses 16-19 and then verses 20-21 end this prayer by summing up what the “power that is within us” can accomplish to the glory of God and His church.

Ephesians 3:16–19:

16 that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with power through His Spirit in the inner man,

17 so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; and that you, being rooted and grounded in love,

18 may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth,

19 and to know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled up to all the fullness of God.

Verses 16-19 contain the requests that Paul is making on the behalf of the church of Ephesus and, more universally, to all churches.

Verse 16 begins the series of requests by asking that strength be given to believers. But this isn’t just some humanistic strength of character or integrity, it is much much more. Notice that Paul prays for believers to be “strengthened with power”. What “power” are we to be strengthened by? Paul answers this in the following phrase, “through His Spirit”. That is, through (or “by means of”) God’s Spirit. This answers where this “power” comes from. It comes from the Spirit, not ourselves. There’s an old adage, “pull yourself up by your own bootstraps”, which means to strengthen yourself or pull yourself out of the problem/persecution you are enduring. This old adage goes against Biblical teaching according to this verse. While we can use our own strength within us to keep us afloat for a time, true power comes only from the Spirit of God.

Additionally, notice how Paul makes this request, “according to the riches of His glory”. We know that God’s glory is immeasurable; it is infinite. If God answers this prayer-and we know He can as it is prayed in agreement with God’s own will-we know that the power that we will be strengthened by is truly larger than any problem or persecution that we may face. God gives according to His riches which are infinite. Therefore, His gifts are superabundant, not lacking in anything.

Finally, this power is used to strengthen the “inner man”. That is the new self that we inherited when we became believers. Our “outer man” will continue to grow weaker following the 2nd law of thermodynamics (increasing entropy-a law intrinsically bound to God’s creation) but the “inner man” will continue to grow stronger in the power of God’s Spirit.

Verse 17 tells us the result of God’s Spirit strengthening believers with power. This result is twofold. First, Christ will dwell in our hearts. This isn’t to say that, for believers, Christ won’t dwell in some of our heart or that Christ will leave us. Rather this tells us of a richer deeper dwelling in us. But this deeper richer dwelling in us occurs because of our faith and through our faith. That is, as we are strengthened by the Spirit’s power, as we persevere through and overcome persecutions, and put to death sin in our bodies our faith will grow. This growing faith is tied to a deeper richer dwelling of Christ in our hearts.

The second part is that since we are rooted and grounded in love we may comprehend the love of Christ more fully. Truly the increasing power of the Spirit in us will give us a deeper understanding of the rich love of Christ towards us. Now these verbs “being rooted” and “grounded” indicate a work already done by the Spirit at the time of the believer’s salvation. But it also points to the future work of comprehending Christ’s love for us as well (this is a little more evident in the Greek). Essentially it says, “You have already been firmly established (rooted) in love and you also have a firm foundation (grounded) in love, because of this you now can begin to understand the infinite size and dimensions of God’s love.” Our rooting and grounding in love enables us to better understand God’s love. Without this rooting and grounding an unbeliever cannot hope to fathom even a small bit of God’s love.

This knowledge is unknowable to its fullest extent (i.e., it surpasses all knowledge). But even comprehending a small portion of the size and dimensions of this love can bring us so much closer to God, filling us up with His love that we may be able to share that love with others. Note also that in verses 18-19 there are two ways to grasp this love of Christ, “… may be able to comprehend…and to know the love of Christ…”. One is to comprehend as in having an intellectual knowledge of Christ’s love, and the second is to know as in experiencing Christ’s love. It is far too easy just to have a head knowledge of Christ’s love, to fully be filled with the Spirit we must also experience Christ’s love. Sometimes the experiencing part is the hardest, especially in pain and suffering. But this is necessary to truly understand the full measure of Christ’s love.

Knowing this we should go back and read Ephesians 2:1–7 to get a better sense of how we too could not grasp the love of Christ when we were unbelievers. But as believers God has made us alive and now we can know and experience the powerful love of Christ in ways we cannot imagine:

1 And you were dead in your trespasses and sins,

2 in which you formerly walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience.

3 Among them we too all formerly lived in the lusts of our flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest.

4 But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us,

5 even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved),

6 and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus,

7 so that in the ages to come He might show the surpassing riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.

Ephesians 3:20–21:

20 Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us,

21 to Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations forever and ever. Amen.

This is Paul’s closing to his prayer. There are two important points here. First is that God is able to do far more than we can even imagine. The power of His Spirit in us works in wonderful ways, far too wonderful for us to even grasp. This should be especially evident after the prayer Paul just prayed for us to be able to get a deeper sense of Christ’s infinite love towards us.

Second, as Paul has also previously taught, all glory will be turned to God. The glory of His church, when it is functioning as God designed it to function, will be given to God. And along with the church, the glory of Christ is given freely to the Father. To Him be the glory!

In light of this prayer, we too should thoughtfully consider praying this same way toward our own church as it is the glory of God Himself and contains His Spirit. We should take care to continue to keep our church unstained by this world and to build up the body of believers, praying diligently for them, so that we all may be empowered by the Spirit and have both a deeper comprehension and a deeper knowledge of the love of Christ.

Ephesians 3:1-13

Last week we discussed “oneness in Christ”. That is, how the sacrifice of Jesus Christ has broken down every barrier between those near (the Jews, God’s chosen people) and those far off (the Gentiles). Now both have the same access to God through the same Spirit. We are no longer strangers and aliens sojourning in a foreign land. We are now all fellow citizens and holy members of God’s household.

Paul then proceeds to describe a building that is founded on Christ, whom He calls the chief corner stone. Form this corner stone, the foundation of the apostles and prophets was laid. And on top of that foundation we, the body of believers, are being built up together into a holy temple, a dwelling place for the Lord. This paints for us a detailed and grounded picture of the church today…the body of believers in which God may dwell in His Spirit.

In the Old Testament this temple was a physical structure where God dwelled. This structure was meticulously kept clean and well maintained to be a holy sanctuary. While the Jews were wandering in the desert for 40 years they had to physically take down, move, and re-construct this temple over and over as they wandered the desert. How fortunate we are that we do not to have to do this since we carry the temple of God in our bodies. Still, it is wise for us to keep our bodies free from sin so as not to contaminate the temple of God, which results in pushing God farther away from us.

Now the focus of what Paul has taught us is that we are now the temple of God through the Spirit. All barriers have been removed so that all of us (Jew or Gentile) may have access to God. Here in Ephesians 3:1-13 we are going to dive into this topic of oneness in Christ more deeply.

Ephesians 3:1:

1 For this reason I, Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus for the sake of you Gentiles—

Paul begins with the statement “For this reason…”. This reason originates from what we just read last week at the end of chapter 2 that the Gentiles were fellow heirs with the Jews and citizens of the household of God. Then Paul states that he is a prisoner of Christ Jesus. At this time Paul was a prisoner of Rome, incarcerated for his preaching to Gentiles. However, he specifically states that he is a prisoner of Christ Jesus. Paul sees his situation as it truly is. He is a prisoner not because Rome decided he was to be incarcerated, but because Jesus, his Lord, deemed it so. But he continues on with “for the sake of you Gentiles”, meaning that he was a prisoner due to his calling from God to preach salvation to Gentiles. It’s almost as if his imprisonment was a joy, signifying that he was doing the Lord’s work.

Now Paul interrupts his thoughts here and returns to them later in verse 3:14. What we see here in verses 3:2-13 is called a parenthetical or a brief interlude that is designed to explain something in more detail. There are a couple of clues to this. First, notice that verse 1 and verse 14 both begin with “For this reason…”. In verse 1 Paul begins a thought and then interrupts himself in verses 2-13 to explain deeper this mystery which was revealed to him and why it was revealed to him. Then in verse 14 Paul restarts his initial thought from verse 1. Second, many times a parenthetical is set off by some type of punctuation, in this case the punctuation is the em dash at the end of verse 1. In fact, all the Bible translations that I looked through had this same em dash.

Let’s take a closer look at this parenthetical. It seems to be broken down into two main sections 2-7 and 8-12, with a final thought in verse 13.

Ephesians 3:2–7:

2 if indeed you have heard of the stewardship of God’s grace which was given to me for you;

3 that by revelation there was made known to me the mystery, as I wrote before in brief.

4 By referring to this, when you read you can understand my insight into the mystery of Christ,

5 which in other generations was not made known to the sons of men, as it has now been revealed to His holy apostles and prophets in the Spirit;

6 to be specific, that the Gentiles are fellow heirs and fellow members of the body, and fellow partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel,

7 of which I was made a minister, according to the gift of God’s grace which was given to me according to the working of His power.

Paul begins this section by saying “If indeed you have heard…” or a more apt translation would be “Surely you have heard…” (the verb have heard, being indicative or factual in nature). Paul was saying that by now everyone should have heard that he was granted the stewardship of preaching Christ to the Gentiles by the grace of God. But Paul doesn’t keep himself as the focus here. Rather, he says that this calling of his was for you…the Gentiles. It was not to puff up Paul and make him look special or important. No, it was for the good of the Gentiles. This was evident in his present circumstances…his incarceration.

Now we get to the revelation of this mystery that was given by revelation to Paul by Jesus. We’ve been talking about this “mystery” throughout Ephesians, which is that Jesus has broken down the dividing wall and now all may have salvation. But it’s also a bit more than this as the children of God could now worship together in one Spirit. This was the church that was now being revealed. This church is like the temple of the Old Testament where we can now boldly come before God to worship and fellowship with Him. Verse 6 spells this out.

Verse 7 echoes what Paul stated in verses 2-3, that Paul was given this ministry by the grace of God. Notice here that Paul expands on what he said in verse 2 that it is nothing of himself, but everything from God that made him this minister (God’s great grace). This great grace was given to him according to the mighty working of God’s power. This is the mindset of a person who can have joy in a terrible situation (his imprisonment). This is the faith Paul has, to see things as they really are. Paul isn’t the one who is powerfully working to save the Gentiles, God is. God alone does the work and we simply have to step into the works that He has prepared for us, Ephesians 2:8–10:

8 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God,

9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast.

10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.

The topic of the church is a deeply involved one. I ran across this article (https://www.9marks.org/article/what-is-a-church/) from 9Marks that has a very good examination of the word church (in Greek “ekklesia”) and what it meant to those in Paul’s time. It’s a very interesting read.

Ephesians 3:8–12:

8 To me, the very least of all saints, this grace was given, to preach to the Gentiles the unfathomable riches of Christ,

9 and to bring to light what is the administration of the mystery which for ages has been hidden in God who created all things;

10 so that the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known through the church to the rulers and the authorities in the heavenly places.

11 This was in accordance with the eternal purpose which He carried out in Christ Jesus our Lord,

12 in whom we have boldness and confident access through faith in Him.

Verses 8-12 continue the parenthetical by furthering Paul’s thoughts on the mystery of Christ and His church. Paul again states here that he should not be glorified because he has been given the responsibility to preach Christ to the Gentiles. Rather, Paul classifies himself as the least of all saints and puts the focus on the unfathomable riches of Christ and the grace that was given to him to preach this to the Gentiles.

In verse 10 Paul gives a reason for the church (the body of believers) to now come to light, being hidden by God up to this point. That reason is for the wisdom of God to be made known to rulers and authorities in the heavenly realm (i.e., angels both good and evil). Proverbs very succinctly sums up wisdom in Proverbs 9:10:

10 The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is insight.

In essence, the church was to be put on display so-to-speak to the heavenly realm as a display of God’s manifold (multifaceted, as a gem stone is multifaceted) wisdom. This display of wisdom glorifies God even more.

Ephesians 3:13:

13 Therefore I ask you not to lose heart at my tribulations on your behalf, for they are your glory.

In this closing line of this parenthetical, Paul intends to comfort and encourage believers not to become discouraged due to his present circumstances. Paul, being imprisoned, knows that his situation would certainly cause fear and timidity among the body of believers. Here, Paul explains why believers should not lose heart. They (and we) should realize that Paul’s imprisonment is ultimately for their glory (and ultimately ours too). That is not to say that we glorify ourselves or that Paul is glorifying the saints; rather, we are being glorified through Christ. When God looks upon a believer, He sees Christ. Our glory is based not on ourselves but on Christ and what He has done.

Ephesians 2:11-22

As we read through Ephesians it is important to understand that Paul is speaking to believers; however, in this section it is of equal importance to understand that this group of believers is now made up of both Jews and Gentiles. This is unprecedented. All throughout the Old Testament the idea of Gentiles being completely separated from Jews and completely separated from God was foundational. As we read in 1 Samuel this created animosity between the two groups. Even David spoke of the Gentile races as the “Uncircumcision”.

Picture the events occurring as the earliest Christians were reading this letter from Paul. Jews were coming to know Christ, which makes sense, because Jesus came first for the Jews. But now Gentiles were also coming to a full knowledge of Christ. The Jews must have been thinking “How could this be?” Remember, that the church at Ephesus (and elsewhere) had a congregation of both Jews and Gentiles. We know that there was a large contingent of Jews living among the Gentiles in the city of Ephesus at this time.

Now here in verses 11-22 Paul is explaining what is happening to the church (the body of Christ). This explanation can be summed up as: “Christ the reconciler, who brings those separated near to Him through His blood”. I could only imagine the amazement and skepticism of the Jews as the Gentiles were becoming their brethren or the Gentiles’ surprise, humility, and maybe a little self-consciousness as they entered into worship with their new Jewish brothers and sisters. How strange it must have been for these two groups with such enmity between them to now be worshiping the one God in one Spirit together.

Ephesians 2:11–12:

11 Therefore remember that formerly you, the Gentiles in the flesh, who are called the “Uncircumcision” by the so-called “Circumcision,” which is performed in the flesh by human hands—

12 remember that you were at that time separate from Christ, excluded from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world.

Paul begins by talking specifically to the Gentile believers within the church. He tells them (note that this is an imperative verb designating a command to the Gentile believers) to keep in mind their former condition, that they were “in the flesh”. They were not spiritual in the sense of even having a path to God. That door was closed to them. Rather, in their flesh, they built for themselves idols of wood and stone and worshiped them.

The Gentiles were derided and considered outcasts by the Jews, even calling them the “Uncircumcision”. But did you notice that Paul (a Jew himself) added, “…which is performed in the flesh by human hands”. Paul was not extolling the virtuosity of the Jews for being circumcised. Rather, he was making a point of placing the Jews (and himself) on equal ground with the Gentiles. Yes, the Gentiles were of the uncircumcision, but the Jews, while being circumcised (and chosen of God), were only circumcised by human hands. Their hearts, in times past, had not yet been circumcised by God as it says in Ezekiel 36:26 (note the use of future tense here):

26 And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.

Even though Paul is speaking directly to the Gentiles, he is also speaking indirectly to the Jewish believers. As they need also keep in mind that they were only circumcised through the letter of the law, not the Spirit of God as they are now.

Paul goes on to spell out the Gentiles situation, which was:

  • They were separated from Christ.
  • They were separated from Israel.
  • They were separated from the covenants of promise, which would entail the inability to share in the promises of God (reconciliation, protection, land, etc. etc.) through a binding covenantal agreement.
  • And the worst was that they had no hope since they were without God.

Separation from Christ means a lot of bad things and missed opportunities, but the worst of these is the absence of hope. This absence of hope is ever present in our world today. Those without hope have no guardrails. They have nothing to look forward to and no one to guide them and provide that hope. It’s sad to see a person without hope, even if on the outside they seem to be well off and have some sort of happiness. Eventually, they will worship their own self more and more as they cannot help to do so. For they have no true hope.

Ephesians 2:13:

13 But now in Christ Jesus you who formerly were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ.

But for believers, we have hope. Not in ourselves but in Christ. And it is all due to the work of Christ, which we cannot do. Through Christ Jesus’ sacrifice and the spilling of His blood, He has closed the gap between God and us. Not only for the Jew but also for the Gentile. Before we were unable to have a personal relationship with Christ; now we are brought near. This nearness brings a relationship to Christ as well as hope in something much greater than ourselves.

Ephesians 2:14–18:

14 For He Himself is our peace, who made both groups into one and broke down the barrier of the dividing wall,

15 by abolishing in His flesh the enmity, which is the Law of commandments contained in ordinances, so that in Himself He might make the two into one new man, thus establishing peace,

16 and might reconcile them both in one body to God through the cross, by it having put to death the enmity.

17 AND HE CAME AND PREACHED PEACE TO YOU WHO WERE FAR AWAY, AND PEACE TO THOSE WHO WERE NEAR;

18 for through Him we both have our access in one Spirit to the Father.

But how did Christ bring us near to God? How did He reconcile all not only to God but to each other? Yes, it was through His blood that we are washed from all sin, but let’s dig a little deeper in these 4 verses.

Verse 14 begins a deeper explanation of verse 13. It says “He Himself is our peace”. In Greek it is just “He is our peace”; however, the translation is appropriate since “He” is an emphatic “He” in Greek due to the word order (i.e., personal pronoun precedes verb). Thus the emphasis is that no other person or thing can be our peace except for Jesus. And how is Jesus our peace? Well, verses 14b-16 proceed to tell us.

First, in verse 14b, it says that Jesus made the two (Jews and Gentiles) into one. Jesus Himself has removed all barriers to unity for His church body. We simply have to step into His peace with faith and humility and a love towards others, enabled by the Holy Spirit of course. This is easy for God to do, but think for a moment if you had to make peace between two parties. This peace has to be a lasting peace not a temporary truce and it has to be initiated and sustained by you and you only. As parents we have to do this with our children. Sometimes the peace holds and sometimes it breaks down. What if we were called to bring peace to groups of people? What if these groups were large? Can mere human beings bring peace to the world? How about peace in the Middle East or in Ukraine? Now I should make a distinction that the peace that Jesus brings is not the same peace that I’m using in these examples. What I am saying is that we can try to bring a temporary, weak, insignificant, and short peace between people, but Jesus brings a true peace that extends far beyond what we can imagine. In fact, to bring peace to the Jews and Gentiles who had centuries of animosity towards one another required much more than just a human peace. What is impossible for us is possible for God.

A powerful and lasting symbol of this peace was also needed. This symbol Paul uses is the barrier of the dividing wall being broken down (verse 14b). This is in reference to the Jerusalem temple where a dividing wall separated the Gentile court (where Gentiles could gather) from the temple area (where only Jews could enter). Just to make sure the Gentiles did not enter the temple, there was even an inscription that warned Gentiles if they entered the temple area they would be put to death and that they would only have themselves to blame. God tore down this barrier signifying that there was now equal access to God through Jesus for both Jew and Gentile. This would have been a powerful image for the Jew who knew intimately about this wall. Even though Paul is speaking to the Gentiles here, he still makes powerful points directly aimed at the Jews who might think to reject the idea that Gentiles also have equal access to God through Christ.

In order to bring the two separate groups into one group the hostility on both sides had to be removed, which Jesus did by becoming our peace. When we become a believer we are a new creation, the old self has been replaced. As a new creation we now have the power to remove hostilities between us and others, not under our own power but through the grace bestowed on us by Jesus and the Spirit’s power in us. The removal of this “dividing wall” was symbolic; however, the real evidence of the removal of hostilities was through the working of the Holy Spirit in these new churches consisting of both Jew and Gentile.

But there was another thing that had to be removed, or maybe a better word would be replaced. That is the Law. The Law had to be fulfilled, and it was in Christ. But also the power of the Law to condemn and to separate (separate Jew from Gentile, that is) has to be abolished. In verse 15 we see that the Jesus abolished the hostility of the Law towards us and between the Jew and Gentile. But abolishing the Law wasn’t enough because having no Law at all is worse than having a Law. It had to be replaced with something better. This better thing was the covenant of grace through Jesus’ sacrifice and death upon the cross. In effect, Jesus had not only made peace between Jew and Gentile but He also made peace between us and God (verse 16). For Jesus to bring true and lasting peace He had to do both.

Verse 17 continues the thought of Jesus bringing both groups together by His preaching the good news of the gospel to Gentiles (those who were far off) and Jews (those who were near). This is a reference to Isaiah 57:19:

19 Creating the praise of the lips. Peace, peace to him who is far and to him who is near,” Says the LORD, “and I will heal him.”

In verse 18 we have a summing up of what Jesus has done for us through preaching peace, making peace, and becoming our peace. Because of this we (both Jew and Gentile) have the ability to boldly approach our God, whereas before only the Jews had a kind of indirect access to God. And only the sanctified priests had access to the holy God in the Holy of Holies. Now all people have access to God the Father! But this access is enabled by the Holy Spirit. Notice how everything is pointing to a unity. There is a unity between believers and God. This unity allows all believers to exist in unity with each other and worship in unity with one another. But it’s the one Spirit that binds us all in unity with other believers and with our Father.

Ephesians 2:19–22:

19 So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints, and are of God’s household,

20 having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus Himself being the corner stone,

21 in whom the whole building, being fitted together, is growing into a holy temple in the Lord,

22 in whom you also are being built together into a dwelling of God in the Spirit.

In this final section Paul is drawing a conclusion (“so then…”) from verses 2:11-18 of this chapter. He is answering the question, “What does this mean for Gentiles and Jews in relation to each other and to God?”

Verse 19 hearkens back to verses 12-13 that we just talked about. The first part of verse 19 speaks of Gentiles as being strangers and aliens. These words describe someone who lives outside their country of origin and who does not owe anything to the country they live in or may not even speak the same language. They are outsiders owing nothing to the country they live in and being owed nothing by the country that they live in. However, now the Gentile believers have been made full citizens of this new country and can enjoy the benefits of their new found citizenry. They have renounced their old citizenship and embraced their new status as citizens of God’s country, so to speak. But notice it says “you are fellow citizens with the saints…”. This is pointing to the peace that Jesus brought by removing the hostilities between both the Jews and Gentiles. Now both groups are “fellow” citizens. The second part to this is “…and are of God’s household”. This points to the peace that Jesus brought between the two groups (that are now one group) and God Himself.

Then in verses 20-22 Paul switches to describing this new citizenship, or unity, that we have with other believers and with God. This unity is pictured as a building that is being built up (i.e., it is not yet complete). We will see later in Ephesians 3 that this building is the church. Although, this building is not complete it does have a firm foundation with which to build upon. Verse 20 says that Jesus is the corner stone of this new building. Now if you know how a structure is built, the first thing you would lay is some kind of corner stone. This stone is the first one laid for the foundation and must not only be structurally sound and strong but also perfectly laid. What I mean by perfectly laid is that it must be placed in the appropriate location and that it must be perfectly level, plumb, and square in order to build a sound structure that is also level, plumb, and square. Even a slight deviation in any one of these measurements or qualities would render the structure unsound and unlivable.

Jesus is the perfect corner stone that was perfectly laid to build His church upon. Next we have the foundation which consisted of the apostles and prophets who went before us declaring the doctrine, theology, and laws of God. From the apostles and prophets we have our written Bible. Without the Bible we would have no sure footings on which to build the rest of the structure of Jesus’ church. Again, if this sure foundation did not exists or was slightly off the structure would be unsound and un-livable.

The beauty of this structure (church) is that we are all being fitted together into a temple or a holy house for God the Spirit to dwell in. In verse 22 it says “we are being built together…”. This is a passive form of the verb showing that it is not we who build ourselves into the house of the Lord, it is God through His Spirit that works in us to build the house. This is such a comforting thought that the Spirit is the builder of God’s house. The Spirit is an infinitely better carpenter than you or I. He knows just how to build the house because he knows the mind of God and is constantly glorifying Jesus. From this we know that He will build us (or grow us, as it says in verse 21b) into the perfect house of God.

Have you ever seen shoddy workmanship when you enter a building or a house. You see the joints that are not properly fitted together. Things are not quite straight or level. These imperfections damage the beauty of the house. Your eye is drawn towards those things as opposed to what is correct and beautiful in the house. For example, beauty can be seen in the cabinets that are perfectly placed (level/plumb) and that are perfectly stained to bring out the richness of the wood. Attempting to create a house for God that looks like this is not possible in our own strength. We must rely on the Spirit of God to bring out the beauty of His house. But we must not forget about the firm foundation and the corner stone that this beautiful house was built upon, Jesus Christ our Lord.