The glory of submission

Another subject that has forced itself into the forefront of my mind in recent weeks is submission.
In teaching John's gospel, I have to recognise that Jesus repeatedly says that he obeyed the Father's command; that he does only what the Father does; that he says only what the Father tells him to say; that he goes to the cross because the Father sends him there.
Then preaching through 1 Peter, I've had to consider what it means for citizens, employees, wives and young men to be called to submit and walk in the steps of Jesus.
And today, reading Philippians 2, this despised idea crops up again: Jesus 'humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.' And again, we're called to follow in his steps,

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, for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure. (Phil 2:12f).

And Paul spells out what this imitation of Christ will look like in practice:

Do nothing from rivalry or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. ... Do all things without grumbling or questioning, that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world, holding fast to the word of life. (Phil 2:3-4 & 14-16).

If this concept of submission and obedience came naturally to us, we would not have needed Christ to come and demonstrate true obedience. We would not have needed him to be obedient to death and so bear 'our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness.' (1 Peter 2:24).

But he did that to show us a new and better way - the way of the Son of God himself. 'By his wounds you have been healed' - healed from your willful disobedience and refusal to submit. 'For you were straying like sheep, but have now returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls' (1 Peter 2:25). So now we willingly submit to our great Bishop (= Overseer) who is Jesus, and follow in his steps.

Genuine discipleship

I have long had a nagging suspicion that Jesus calls us to be far more radical in our discipleship than we actually are. And in recent weeks this suspicion has been confirmed.

For example, in 1 Peter, we read that we're called to radical submission - even when we're treated unfairly - 'For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you might follow in his steps.'

And in my quiet time this morning, I read Philippians 1:12-30 where Paul speaks of his imprisonment and how this has resulted in the advance of the gospel, so he rejoices.  

Paul rejoices in house arrest. I moan that I don't have Sky Sports!

Paul's concern is that Christ is honoured whether by life or death. I moan that we didn't have any hot water this morning.

Paul longs to leave this life of struggle and be with the Lord, but he is happy to struggle on for the sake of the Philippians' faith. 

Then, to cap it all, he says to the Philippians, 'It has been granted to you that for the sake of Christ you should not only believe in him but also suffer for his sake, engaged in the same conflict that you saw I had and now hear that I still have.' (1:29f). 

It is a pirivilege to suffer for Christ - it's what he called us to do.  And yet we're so unwilling to suffer for him. Unwilling to stand up for the gospel. Unwilling to give time when we'd rather be plonked in front of some ungodly trash on tv. Unwilling to give financially because we'd rather spend it on our comfort and on instant gratification. Unwilling to work hard for the gosple because we're... let's face it... lazy and ungrateful.

For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you might follow in his steps.

He committed no sin, neither was deceit found in his mouth. When he was reviled, he did not revile in return; when he suffered, he did not threaten, but continued entrusting himself to him who judges justly.

He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness.

By his wounds you have been healed. 

Prayer for St Peter's

Paul's prayer for the Philippians is my prayer for St Peter's:

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

I thank my God in all my remembrance of you, always in every prayer of mine for you all making my prayer with joy, because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now. And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ. It is right for me to feel this way about you all, because I hold you in my heart, for you are all partakers with me of grace, ... in the defense and confirmation of the gospel. ... And it is my prayer that your love may abound more and more, with knowledge and all discernment, so that you may approve what is excellent, and so be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.

The forgotten weapon

We're all so familiar with 'the armour of God' in Ephesians 6 - the belt of truth, the breastplate of righteousness, the shoes of the gospel of peace, the shield of faith, the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit - that we forget what surrounds them all:

With all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, pray at all times in the Spirit, and to that end be on your guard with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints, and also for me...  Eph 6:18-20

I have become convinced from my own life and from that of many churches, that prayer is in short supply these days. Few of us know how to pray for any length of time, and few have experienced deeply passionate prayer metings as we cry out for boldness to proclaim the gospel and for a work of the Spirit to save the lost. 
So my prayer is for a rekindling of my prayer life, and the prayer life of the whole church.

For employers and employees

Just as in 1 Peter we have instructions for servants (not 'slaves' as in the NIV, but house-servants to which the nearest equivalent today is employees) and masters (employers), so Paul says similar things in Ephesians 6:1ff.
Paul's particular emphasis is that both employer and employee should have their eyes on their true Master, the Lord Jesus Christ.
So if you're at work today as an employee, remember that you work not for your human bosses but for your Lord God who sees everything, and knowing that, 'whatever good anyone does, this he will receive back from the Lord' (v8).
And if you're an employer (or a boss) then you need to treat your workers well and 'stop your threatening' (v9 ESV); there's no place for bullying at work because we all - ee & er alike - have one Master in heaven and 'with him there is no partiality' (v9).

The seriousness of sin

As forgiven people, Christians can easily become complacent about returning to sinful ways. Though no true Christian would ever consciously think, 'God will forgive me' as they committed sin, yet there is undoubtedly a subconscious complacency that downplays the seriousness of sin and presumes on God's forgiveness.
Paul will have none of this. How can a child of God ever betray his Father like this? How could someone who fully appreciates the cost of his forgiveness ever presume?

Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children. And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.    Eph 5:1

So we must not sink into the dark and filthy mire of wickedness from which we were rescued:

But sexual immorality and all impurity or covetousness must not even be named among you, as is proper among saints. Let there be no filthiness nor foolish talk nor crude joking, which are out of place, but instead let there be thanksgiving. 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.     Eph 5:3-5

But some will say, 'Surely God will not be so harsh. Surely he will still forgive.' Paul will not have such presumption:

Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience.    Eph 5:6

Notice Paul doesn't say, 'The believer who gets involved in wickedness cannot be forgiven.' His comment is addressed to 'the sons of disobedience' - to unbelievers - but this just emphasises how unthinkable it should be for a true believer to return to the trough of disobedience. And one way to avoid this is to avoid being too involved with unbelievers. Yes, of course we need to be 'in the world' so that we can proclaim Christ to the world, but we mustn't get too involved because we're citizens of a different world:

Therefore do not become partners with them; for at one time you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light (for the fruit of light is found in all that is good and right and true), and try to discern what is pleasing to the Lord. Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them. For it is shameful even to speak of the things that they do in secret. But when anything is exposed by the light, it becomes visible, for anything that becomes visible is light. Therefore it says,

“Awake, O sleeper,

and arise from the dead,

and Christ will shine on you.”

The non-Christian lives in a world of darkness and death. The Christian lives in a world of light and resurrection life.

Sorry, I'm too busy

Our dear friend Gordon L. gave me a book the other day, 'Knowing the Times' by Martin Lloyd-Jones. Gordon realised that these talks were by now far from our 'times' and he included a note, 'It is old history but still, I believe very relevant. Try it & see!' So that's what I've been doing.
The first talk, 'The Presentation of the Gospel', was given to youth workers in 1942. In it, Lloyd-Jones encourages a straight-forward presentation of the gospel by teaching the Bible, and warns against emotional manipulation when presenting the gospel. All very relevant for today - Gordon was right! But here's what really struck me:

You may say to me: Who is sufficient for these things? We have otehr things to do; we are busy men. How can we do this which you have asked us to do? My reply is that none of us is sufficient for thse things, but God can enable us to do them if we are really anxious thus to serve Him. I am not much impressed by these arguments that you are busy men, that you have much to do in the world and therefore have no time to read these books on the Bible and to study theology - and for this good reason: that some of the most saintly, some of the most learned men, have had to work very much harder than any of you, and at the same time have been denied the advantages that you have enjoyed. 'Where there's a will there's a way.' If you and I are concerned about lost souls, we must never plead that we have no time to equip ourselves for this great ministry; we must make the time. We must equip ourselves for the task, realizing the seriousness and terrible responsibility of the work. We must learn, and labour, and sweat, and pray in order that we may know the truth ever more and more perfectly.'

 Who's up for it?

Power & strength to know Christ

In one sense, knowing Christ is not hard; you simply turn to him in faith. There's plenty of evidence on which to base that faith, so it's no leap in the dark. It's just the logical conclusion of an inquring mind.
But it's not. It's not because we're not rational, logical computers. We're sinful, rebellious human beings who, when it comes to Christ, fail to see and so to trust the evidence. Our sin blinds us to what is sensible, persuades us that we know best, and loves to persist in the self-service that makes 'me' god.
It is only the power of the Spirit working through the message of Christ and him crucified that can reveal true wisdom and knowledge to us (see 1 Cor 1). But even as Christians we never cease to depend on the power of God to keep us believing the truth.

I bow my knees before the Father... that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith—that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.

How does Christ continue to dwell in our hearts? Through faith? Yes, but even that requires the power of God to be at work in us - we have to be strengthened with power through the Spirit in our inner being if we're to continue to have Christ dwelling in our hearts. It's only by the power of God that we can know the astonishing extent of the love of Christ because that love 'surpasses knowledge' - human knowledge cannot grasp the fact that Christ would love us so much as to die for our sins under the full force of the wrath of God. We need God's 'strength to comprehend' this (v18).
And so Paul bursts into praise as he contemplates the glory of what God has done, and will do, for us and in us:

Now 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, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen.

 In the context of Ephesians, what 'God is able to do far more abundantly... according to his power at work within us' must surely refer to knowing Christ. For it is by knowing Christ that we are united under him and God fulfils his eternal plan for creation (cf 1:7-10; 2:13ff; 4:1-7, 13, 15-16 etc).
But is this what we think of when we pray this prayer, perhaps at the end of a Sunday gathering? Do we realise that the prayer is praising God for doing what is beyond our comprehension - keeping us and uniting us in the knowledge and love of Christ?

Confident to share the gospel

Most of us most of the time are far too timid in sharing the gospel. We're afraid of many things - rejection, laughter, failure etc.
But we must counteract this fear by constantly reminding ourselves of the power of the Spirit and the gospel. That's what Paul is doing in Ephesians 3. He's reminding the Jews that the gospel is powerful enough for the Gentiles. He's reminding the Gentiles that the gospel is sufficient for them.
In verses 1 - 6, he says that though previous generations of God's people didn't know the power of the gospel, now, by the revelation given to Paul, it's clear that "the Gentiles are fellow heirs, members of the same body, and partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel" (6).
Then he continues:

To me, though I am the very least of all the saints, this grace was given, to preach to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ, and to bring to light for everyone what is the plan of the mystery hidden for ages in God who created all things, so that through the church the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places. This was according to the eternal purpose that he has realized in Christ Jesus our Lord, in whom we have boldness and access with confidence through our faith in him. So I ask you not to lose heart over what I am suffering for you, which is your glory.

Ephesians 3:8-13

Notice that Paul didn't have a natural confidence in himself (he also says this in 1 Corinthians). But his confidence is in the the plan of God that through the church the 'manifold wisdom of God' (surely this means the gospel plan of salvation) is now being revealed 'to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places' - i.e. to those who bind and are bound by rebellion against God.
Not only that but we can access the Lord Jesus Christ himself through faith. He is on our side!
So don't lose heart in evengelism!

Hypocrisy

I received this via the Bible Society's 'Newswatch' service just now:

A Christian organisation has been ejected from an advice agencies group because it offers to pray for people in debt. Christians Against Poverty (CAP) has been ditched by AdviceUK, the largest network of independent advice agencies in the country, due to its view that prayer is ‘incompatible’ with the umbrella group’s conditions of membership. AdviceUK chief executive Steve Johnson said: ‘Advisers must not offer or impose their values.’ Andrea Williams of the Christian Legal Centre said the decision gives the false impression ‘that there is something wrong, something sinister, about being motivated by faith’. CAP says it is ‘committed to providing impartial help and advice to all members of society’ and has never made prayer a condition of its free service.

(See http://www.dailymail.co.uk/ 3 September)

The hypocrisy of AdviceUK is quite astonishing; "AdviceUK chief executive Steve Johnson said: ‘Advisers must not offer or impose their values.’"

"You must not offer to pray! I will not have it! You must be like us atheists. We will not put up with you Christians! How dare you make an open offer to pray with someone who can easily say, 'No thank you'. You Christians will be silenced! Why can't you be tolerant like us and not impose your values?!"

It's not all in the future

It would be easy to think, on the basis of Ephesians 1, that God's plan to unite everything under Christ's headship won't happen until Christ returns. But in Ephesians 2, we see that he has already broken down barriers that once divided people, united those who were divided, and reconciled those who were enemies.
Of course Paul is talking about the reconciliation of Jew and Gentile. At one time, the Jews could draw near to God, but not the Gentiles (17). But in Christ the old law that divided has been replaced by the cross that unites. The old hostilities have been killed. Peace now reigns because we all have 'access in one Spirit to the Father' (18); we are 'fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God' (19) which is a 'holy temple in the Lord' (21). Indeed, we are the 'dwelling place for God by the Spirit' (22).
So the walls of hostility between Jew and Gentile have been broken down. And today, in the Middle East, this is happening in churches as both hear the gospel and unite in Christ. The gospel is, of course, the only way that Jew and Gentile (including Muslims) will ever cease fighting. Only Christ can kill the hostility. Man will keep killing man.
But for us who are in almost entirely Gentile areas of the world, we must be careful not to erect new barriers either within the household and temple of God or to those who would seek to enter. If God can make one body from Jew and Gentile how terrible it would be if we created hostility between Gentiles.
But the reality is that genuine Christians have a wonderful unity. We may have different policies on baptism, we may share the Lord's supper in different ways, we may give our leaders different titles, but when Christ is truly our Lord and Saviour, where we acknowledge that the people of God are the temple of God, where we believe that the OT has been fulfilled entirely by Christ, then there is a wonderful unity and fellowship. God is at work today!

Don't forget what you were

In Ephesians 1, we're reminded of the wonderful plan of God: to bring all things together under Christ (to the praise of his glory) by adopting us through Jesus Christ (to the praise of his glory)! Then Paul says that he doesn't cease praying for those who enjoy all these amazing blessings - that they would grow in the knowledge of Christ and of his immeasurably great power.
But at the beginning of chapter 2 we're taken back to our pre-Christian state, and with characteristic bluntness, Paul reminds us of what we were before we were adopted through Jesus Christ:

And you were dead in the trespasses and sins 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- 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.      Eph 2:1-3

But why does Paul do this? Why take us back and force us to confront what we once were? Surely because unless we realise what we were, and would still be, without the 'immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness towards us in Christ Jesus', we would become complacent.
We must remember that before we were adopted into God's family, we were 'sons of disobedience' - unable and unwilling to follow God and thus unable to receive his blessings. In fact, we were 'children of wrath'. Today, local authorities have huge difficulties in recruiting enough temporary foster parents for difficult, rebellious, disobedient children. But that's what we were, and yet God adopted us. Permanently. Why would he do that? Because he is 'rich in mercy'; because of the great love with which he loved us' (vv4f). And that mercy and love was shown to us even though we were walking in trespasses and sins, rebelling against him and being thoroughly disobedient.
It's easy to look back and think, 'But I wasn't that bad'. Well, perhaps that's because I haven't yet understood the seriousness of my previous rejection and rebellion. This God who is rich in mercy and overflowing in love would not have counted me a child of wrath if I didn't deserve it!
And if you look back and say, 'But there was never a time when I didn't know God - I was never a 'child of wrath'', then renew your thanks to God for this, and remember that without his mercy and love, that's what you would have been in the past, would be now and forever.
The light of grace shines brightest in a dark room.

The greatness of the head of the church

Ephesians began with the great plan of God for the world - one day to bring all things together under the headship of Christ. In the second half of chapter 1, we're told of the supremacy of Christ now and how this great Christ has been given to his church as its head.
At  the beginning of this section (vv15-23), Paul says that he thanks God for the Ephesians' faith in Jesus and their love for each other (15), and that his prayer is for God to give them the Spirit of revelation so that they might know: the Lord Jesus (17), the riches of the glorious hope to which he's called them (18), and the immeasurable greatness of his power that is at work in them (19f).
Paul then picks up this last point and runs with it a while as he shares the astonishing logical truth of our union with Christ: the power that's at work in us is the same power that raised Jesus from the dead and seated him at the right hand of the Father!! We are a people, therefore, not only of the cross, but also of the resurrection: the power of the cross forgave all our sin and saved us from God's just punishment, the power of the resurrection seats us in the heavenly places with Christ Jesus (2:6).
But the truth I hadn't really noticed before is in vv22-23.

And he [God] put all things under his [Christ's] feet and gave him as head over all things to the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all.

God put everything under Christ's feet, giving him all authority and power, and then he gave Jesus Christ to the church to be its head. Today, the Lord of lords and King of kings exerts his rule and power for the sake of his church. Empowering us to be 'his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all'. Chirst's church lacks nothing - and can lack nothing because Christ would not fail to provide 'his own body' (if we can speak like that) with all it needs.
Thus, if we hold positions of leadership and responsibility in the church (pastor, treasurer, elder, deacon, PCC member etc), we can be confident of Christ's provision for us. But that doesn't mean we're lazy. Far from it - we're called to be servants and stewards who are empowered by the Spirit. So as we wrestle in prayer, give generously, teach carefully, preach passionately, evangelise courageously, serve lovingly, administer wisely and so on, we can rest in Christ's ultimate provision. The Spirit works in and through us and we are governed by the Lord Jesus, in order to achieve his purpose: to bring all things under one head - the Lord Jesus Christ himself.
Individual churches and their leaders may seem weak and feeble, but that just highlights the glory of the power and grace of God which is given to his church.

The centrality of Christ

Someone once said to me that I preached too much about Jesus Christ and not enough about God. And it stricks me that a lot of people are happy to talk about God in the abstract - as a theory or as a friendly uncle-in-the-sky figure - but mention the name of Jesus, and it all becomes too personal, too close, and they shy away.

But Ephesians 1:1-14 shows that we have to talk abut Jesus because God's plan for his creation begins with Jesus, centres on Jesus and will reach its fulfilment in Jesus. 

So, v4, God chose his people in Christ before the foundation of the world. Then in Christ God blesses & transforms his chosen people (v3, 5, 7). And finally, the goal and fulfilment of God's plans in creation will come about when he 'unites all things in [Christ], things in heaven and things on earth' (v10).

And the wonderful thing about God's great plan is that he does it by graciously and lovingly renewing rebellious, sinful people through and in Jesus Christ.

So:

he has 'blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing' (v3),

and, 'he chose us in [Christ]... that we should be holy and blameless before him. ' (v4),

and, 'in love he predestined us for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ' (v5),

and, 'he has blessed us in the Beloved [Jesus Christ]' (v6).

But still there's more that God has done for us in and through Jesus:

'In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses...' (v7)

'In him we have obtained an inheritance' (v11)

'In him you also... were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit' (v13).

Every blessing we have is in and through Jesus. How can we not talk about him and so glorify God in him and through him (v3, 6, 12, 14)?

And so, at the centre of this astonishing passage, is that truth that the purpose of the whole of creation is to be fulfilled as it is united under Jesus Christ. And the only way this can happen is if we sinners are blessed, chosen, adopted, redeemed and sealed with the Spirit. Only then will we be fit to obtain the fullness of the inheritance which is unity under Christ.

Eph 1:1-14  (ESV)

Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, ​​​​​​​​​​​To the saints who are in Ephesus, and are faithful in Christ Jesus: ​​​

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

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,

who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places,

even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him.

In love he predestined us for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace,

with which he has blessed us in the Beloved.

In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight making known to us the mystery of his will, according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth.

In him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will, so that we who were the first to hope in Christ might be to the praise of his glory.

In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory.

Walk in the Spirit

What does it mean to live a life in step with the Holy Spirit?
For some, it seems to mean experiencing ecstatic praise, prayer and other emotional manifestations. But that's not what Paul focuses on in Galatians.
The big issue in Galatians is that we need to continue in grace and not become legalistic. And the sign that someone is continuing in grace, in love and in the Spirit is that s/he doesn't 'gratify the desires of the flesh' (5:16) which are, 'sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these' (v20). People who persist in doing these things and don't fight against them demonstrate that they are not walking in the Spirit and that the Spirit is not at work in them. They are not, therefore, members of the Kingdom of God (21).
But we who are filled with the Spirit will demonstrate, 'love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control' (22f). This is the sign that we belong to Christ (24) and that we walk with and in the Spirit (25).
So don't get hung up on so-called charismatic experiences. The question is, do you desire what the Spirit desires? If so, then you can be sure that the Spirit is at work in you because if he wasn't you would desire the things of the 'flesh' (the normal human heart). So keep going. Keep crucifying the old ways and keep walking in step with the Spirit.