The Church and the Plan

Posted on by korgrocker

“God’s purpose in all this was to use the church to display His wisdom in its rich variety to all the unseen rulers and authorities in the heavenly places. This was His eternal plan, which He carried out through Christ Jesus our Lord.”
 Ephesians 3:10-11 NLT

Perhaps in days past, verse 10 came to form the basis for the ornate and expensive buildings that today bear the name “church”. Wonderful created works such as St Paul’s Cathedral in London. My local abbey in Dunfermline dates back to the 12th Century, a beautiful building standing as a testimony to the builders. There are many examples of a previous age of religious building that are truly amazing in their expressions of beauty and value. Perhaps it was hoped that the impressive architecture would be an example of God’s wisdom, in the process reminding the “unseen rulers and authorities in the heavenly places” of His plan. But it is clear from Scripture, that the “Church” is the people, not the building. We read in Colossians 1:18 that Jesus “is the head of the body, the church“.  Jesus isn’t the head of a building. 

So we Christians are the “Church”. And God’s purpose was to use us, not buildings, to show the inhabitants of the “heavenly places” His wisdom. Much is said in the Bible about the church, such as the body of Christ (1 Corinthians 12:27, “All of you together are Christ’s body, and each of you is a part of it.”). Or the bride of Christ (2 Corinthians 11:2, “For I am jealous for you with the jealousy of God himself. I promised you as a pure bride to one husband—Christ.”). And we all together, in unity, will one day be present at a marriage feast, as we read in Revelation 19:9,  “Then the angel said to me, ‘Write this: Blessed are those who are invited to the wedding supper of the Lamb!’ And he added, ‘These are the true words of God.’” Jesus even taught about it through a parable, which we can read in Matthew 22. 

Many books have been written about the Church, but what does all this mean for a 21st Century pilgrim like me? How does God’s purpose for His people affect me? Or involve me? Can I just gloss over this verse and continue to warm a pew every Sunday and live my life regardless? This is obviously a personal decision, one that needs to prayerfully be made in God’s presence. But if God has a plan for His Church then He has a plan for me, because I count myself as one of His people. Part of His global and eternal Church. And as we read today, I am part of His plan to display His wisdom not just to a sinful world, but also as a sign to the “unseen rulers and authorities in the heavenly places“. We who are His people pray together for access to this “wisdom in its rich variety” so that we can be worthy of our calling. And we do our bit for His purposes, fulfilling His plan, disseminating the Good News about “Christ Jesus Our Lord“.

The Least Deserving

Posted on by korgrocker

Though I am the least deserving of all God’s people, he graciously gave me the privilege of telling the Gentiles about the endless treasures available to them in Christ. I was chosen to explain to everyone this mysterious plan that God, the Creator of all things, had kept secret from the beginning.”
Ephesians 3:8-9 NLT

““Who are you, Lord?” Saul asked. And the voice replied, “I am Jesus, the One you are persecuting!”
Acts 9:5 NLT

Paul described himself as being the least deserving of all God’s people. A bit harsh, don’t you think? A false humility? A personal put-down? No, I think I can see where Paul was coming from. When faced with this new counter-cultural but, in the traditional Jews’ opinion, blasphemous cult of “The Way”, Paul suddenly found his life-mission. The most important thing he could do. Perhaps he thought he was the only solution to the problem of this cult. Everyone else was just complaining, tutting, plotting, in the end not doing very much. But he was going to sort it. He was single-handedly going to wipe all these “blasphemers” from the face of the earth. At best he was going to imprison them. At worst, stone them. Speaking of which, that is where Paul, then called Saul, first cropped up in Scripture. At the stoning of Stephen. He held the stoners’ clothes. He looked on in approval. And in him birthed the burning desire to complete the work. We read in Acts 9:1, “Meanwhile, Saul was still breathing out murderous threats against the Lord’s disciples….”. His intention was to go to Damascus where he had heard there was a fellowship there, some disciples of “The Way”. With letters of authority he was going to drag them as prisoners to Jerusalem, where they would stand trial for “blasphemy”.

But as we know, something dramatic happened on the Damascus road. A dramatic U-turn so incredible and life-changing that it puts into insignificance the U-turns of our elected politicians. Saul, soon to be Paul, met the risen Jesus. A meeting so amazing that Paul, literally in a flash, changed from being a persecutor of the early Christians to being one of their greatest evangelists. We read that he was blind for three days. Can you imagine the agony of what he was going through? The enormity of what he had been doing must have been driving his thoughts, and we read that “he was praying“. The regrets, the guilt, the hurt. Enough to drive him to insanity? (Incidentally, he was accused of being mad in Acts 26:24 but that’s another story). 

So it is not surprising that Paul thought himself “the least deserving of all God’s people“. I can imagine the poor man must have regularly held his head in his hands, distraught over what he had done. But the mind-boggling truth is that God’s grace was sufficient even for sins of the magnitude of Paul’s. There was no limit to God’s grace in Paul’s day. And there still isn’t today. God will never reject a repentant sinner, even one who is “least-deserving” like Paul. We must never think that we are too bad for God to forgive. Too sinful even for His grace to save us. As Christians, we all experienced a U-turn in our lives. That day when we said “Yes” to the Holy Spirit’s promptings. That day may not have been so dramatic as Paul’s was. But the outcome is the same. We are forgiven by grace. God’s unlimited and wonderful grace. And like Paul, what else can we do than share the wonder of God with those around us. As I have said before, we are “beggars, showing other beggars where to find bread”. Let’s always keep a few crumbs in our pockets for the needy who come our way.

Spreading the Good News – 2

Posted on by korgrocker

“God did not reveal it to previous generations, but now by his Spirit he has revealed it to his holy apostles and prophets. 
Though I am the least deserving of all God’s people, he graciously gave me the privilege of telling the Gentiles about the endless treasures available to them in Christ. I was chosen to explain to everyone this mysterious plan that God, the Creator of all things, had kept secret from the beginning.”
Ephesians 3:5, 8-9 NLT

So imagine the scenario. We have an amazing secret that we now want to go public on, revealing a bombshell of life-changing information to a fractious and divided population. How would we go about it? Obviously, we would need to choose men and women of good standing in the community, with a reputation of being experts in their particular field of science, medicine or theology that the information was related to. People who would be well respected. It would be hoped that they would be listened to and their information and advice therefore followed. We see such an activity today – someone, for example, stands up and announces a new diet that, if followed, would prevent our risk of this illness or condition, or other benefit, usually for the bottom line of some corporation or other. 

But not so with God. Firstly, his “bombshell of life-changing information” was infinitely greater than any man-made quackery. God’s secret plan was so life-changing that human plans paled into insignificance in comparison. Secondly, God did not choose to announce His plan with the help of the religious experts of His day. Those mighty theologians who dominated Jewish thought and teaching. No. He used ordinary men and women to announce His plan. Fishermen, a tax collector, a doctor, a tent maker. The human response would be that it would be bound to fail. But. There’s always a “but” when God is involved. We read in Acts 4:13, “The members of the council were amazed when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, for they could see that they were ordinary men with no special training in the Scriptures. They also recognized them as men who had been with Jesus.” In 1 Corinthians 1:27, we read, “Instead, God chose things the world considers foolish in order to shame those who think they are wise. And he chose things that are powerless to shame those who are powerful.” God didn’t need the experts and educated people of the first century to disseminate His plan. Just Spirit-filled men and women who were bold enough to turn to God and say “Yes, Lord”. Like a young peasant girl did when an angel asked her to bear God’s only Son, Jesus. God doesn’t need educated people. He doesn’t need university degrees, or long years spent in a seminary. Just people who have “been with Jesus“. God has turned our world values upside down. So on our pilgrimage through life we may be considered fools for believing what we believe. But God thinks we are wonderful and He has entrusted to us the privilege of sharing His message of hope with the dying world around us. What an amazing God we serve.

Spreading the Good News – 1

Posted on by korgrocker

“As I briefly wrote earlier, God himself revealed His mysterious plan to me. 
And this is God’s plan: Both Gentiles and Jews who believe the Good News share equally in the riches inherited by God’s children. Both are part of the same body, and both enjoy the promise of blessings because they belong to Christ Jesus. By God’s grace and mighty power, I have been given the privilege of serving Him by spreading this Good News.”
Ephesians 3:3, 6-7 NLT

Paul was much taken up with this thought of God’s “mysterious plan”. Looking back, as we do, there doesn’t seem much about it that is “mysterious”, but to the peoples of Paul’s day, the Middle East in the first century, it must have been an amazing revelation. This is the second time Paul has mentioned the subject in this Epistle, previously revealing it in chapter 1 and verse 10. Can you imagine the impact it would have had on the religious people of Paul’s day? The Jews would have immediately been offended and upset, that someone, particularly someone who they knew at one time was a Pharisee, would suddenly turn their belief system upside down, by preaching what to them was a heresy, committing the sin of blasphemy in the process. To the non-Jews, referred to as the Gentiles, the Good News would have had a similar impact, in that it too would come up against the worship of accepted religions such as the Greek pantheon of gods. The Ephesians had their own special god, Artemis, aka Diana. And we see the mayhem that Paul stirred up in Acts 19 when a riot developed because the local silversmiths, who made a living making images of the goddess, could see their livelihood disappearing. 

So God’s plan was so counter-cultural, that, humanly speaking, it was bound to fail. But as Paul pointed out, “God’s grace and mighty power” was involved. Perhaps the nearest scenario we could imagine today would be if someone was going round preaching the good news that Christians and Muslims were part of God’s plan, which was to unite them into one faith. Can you imagine the mayhem that would result? Even though God’s grace extends to everyone, regardless of who or what they are? 

God’s plan was one of equality and unity. Through Jesus we all share in His unlimited blessings. We all share in an inheritance unlike any other. And Paul again pointed out that he was privileged to be able to share God’s plan, through “God’s grace and mighty power“. A privilege to be in prison for sharing the Gospel? But a privilege it is. God had done so much for Paul, and does so much for us, that it is surely a privilege to be able to serve God through our service to Him. Regardless of the consequences. So we pilgrims continue our journey, conscious of, and grateful for, the sacrifice made by Paul, a sacrifice that laid the foundations for many a church congregation and left us a legacy of his grace and love filled letters. Letters that contain so much of our theology today. We too look out for opportunities to do our bit in sharing the Good News, just as necessary today as it was in Paul’s day. 

The Prisoner

Posted on by korgrocker

“For this reason I, Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus for the sake of you Gentiles –”
Ephesians 3:1 NIVUK

Paul is in prison. Not a pleasant experience in those days. A dirty, rat-infested and cold cell of misery. No sanitary arrangements worthy of the name. So why is he there when he needn’t be? Paul was probably arrested and imprisoned several times and we have accounts, brief glimpses of his penitentiary experiences, in Acts 16 and again in Acts 21. And all because Paul was an active and effective preacher of God’s Word, the Gospel of Good News. He refused to keep a low profile and ended up arrested, imprisoned and beaten. His life story is recorded in the Bible and through scraps of history from other sources. 

So Paul was imprisoned for preaching the Gospel. The problem is because the Gospel, the message of Good News about the Kingdom of God, confronts the status quo. It encourages people to face the fact that “all have sinned” and points out the consequences continuing to live in sin, in the darkness of the devil’s ways. This counter-cultural view upset the Jews of Paul’s day – they thought that the only way to God was through them and their religious culture and customs – and because the Gospel also reached and included the non-Jews, the Gentiles, who the Jews despised. But Paul wasn’t fazed by any of this and continued to preach the Gospel regardless, to the detriment of his freedom. But we should be clear – Jesus Himself, the Son of God, lost His life for the same cause. And He warned His followers that they would be treated in a similar way. In Matthew 10 we read His words, “Be on your guard; you will be handed over to the local councils and be flogged in the synagogues. On my account you will be brought before governors and kings as witnesses to them and to the Gentiles. But when they arrest you….”

What about preaching the Gospel in a public place in 21st Century Western societies? “Free speech” is a hot topic in the UK in these days, with people and lobby groups constantly wanting to “cancel” any messages they disagree with. And Christians are increasingly being attacked for their faith. There is even legislation before the UK parliaments that would seek to make preaching the Christian message illegal. 

Would we be prepared to go to prison, to be persecuted, for our faith? Many Christians throughout the world are facing into the consequences of openly being a Christian, especially in places like North Korea and Afghanistan. Pushing back the frontiers of the enemy, the devil, will invoke a violent reaction. At the present time in our Western societies, we are free to hold church meetings and bring our message of hope to our streets. But it may not always be that way. We must pray for our communities, our nations, our families, that God will have mercy on us and graciously and lovingly support us in His mission of reaching the lost. While we still have time. But one day we might just have to choose between freedom and imprisonment, between keeping quiet or denying the Gospel, or preaching it regardless, to whoever will listen. Hmmm…

God’s House

Posted on by korgrocker

“So now you Gentiles are no longer strangers and foreigners. You are citizens along with all of God’s holy people. You are members of God’s family. Together, we are His house, built on the foundation of the apostles and the prophets. And the cornerstone is Christ Jesus himself. We are carefully joined together in Him, becoming a holy temple for the Lord. Through Him you Gentiles are also being made part of this dwelling where God lives by His Spirit.”
‭‭Ephesians‬ ‭2:19-22‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Can we imagine what it must have felt like? Knowing that there was a God in Heaven but being excluded from being able to know Him. It was like a religious apartheid, with signs saying “No Gentiles” plastered everywhere. Life would have been much like those racially segregated times in South Africa and the US. The Jews claimed that God was exclusively their God. No-one else’s. But an amazing thing happened. God had a plan, as we read earlier in this Epistle. Through the wonderful act of mercy of Jesus’ sacrifice at the Cross, all of a sudden, God was accessible to everyone. No exceptions. But Paul was now saying to the Gentiles, the “strangers and foreigners“, that they were citizens of the Kingdom of God. However, we know that this new and wonderful status comes with some responsibilities. 

Paul said that as members of the same family, God’s family, we become His house. And we get this foundational picture of Jesus being the main support, the “cornerstone” with the apostles and prophets completing the substratum, the bedrock. Solid stuff, certainly. And Paul completes the house building analogy by saying that God’s people are carefully and exactly joined together forming the house. A house which then, through the presence of the Holy Spirit, becomes “a holy temple for the Lord”. And Paul couldn’t resist pointing out the Gentiles forming the Ephesian church were also made part of it.

But coming back to the responsibilities. A bit scary really. Any member of a house and family, has responsibilities. We all know what it must be like to have a rebellious and aggressive person in our houses. My wife and I fostered difficult children with challenging behaviour for many years. When everyone of them was following the house rules and were doing and behaving as they should, peace reigned and all was well. But when one of them decided to smash up his or her bedroom, all mayhem broke loose. It’s the same with God’s Temple. We are each “bricks” that dovetail into the next “bricks”. A brick that decides to be something else will cause some difficulties for the house. In today’s verses, we see that “we are carefully joined together in Him”.  And that is the secret of being part of God’s Temple. Our relationship with Jesus. Our constant referral to, and our relationship with, the master builder, who is carefully joining us together in Him, will ensure a Holy Temple. And God lives with us by His Spirit. 

In 1 Corinthians 6:19-20, Paul wrote,  “Don’t you realise that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who lives in you and was given to you by God? You do not belong to yourself, for God bought you with a high price. So you must honour God with your body.” So God is using “bricks” that are in themselves places where the Holy Spirit lives. 

At this point, we would be forgiven for thinking that we can never measure up to these standards. And in our own strength that is right. But we serve a loving and gracious Heavenly Father who understands our human frailties, and who has given us the means to become suitable building material. As we read earlier in this Epistle, through Jesus we are made anew. So in humble thankfulness we praise and worship Him. There is no alternative.

Gospel of Peace

Posted on by korgrocker

“He brought this Good News of peace to you Gentiles who were far away from Him, and peace to the Jews who were near. Now all of us can come to the Father through the same Holy Spirit because of what Christ has done for us.”
‭‭Ephesians‬ ‭2:17-18‬ ‭NLT‬‬

The Good News, the Gospel of Peace, is not just a few words written on a piece of paper, to be read and then forgotten. It is not a Peace Treaty signed by two generals after a period of war and strife. It is not just a nice sentiment, bringing with it warm feelings of brotherhood and friendliness. No! the Good News of Peace is far more than that. For a start it is eternal. It’s message reverberates up and down the centuries of history. It is the supernatural “glue” that welds together all God’s people, powered by the Holy Spirit. The Good News of Peace binds together people everywhere, regardless of race, skin colour, language and location. 

Peace between God’s people is not an option. There is no sectarianism allowed before God. Jesus was concerned by a lack of peace even in His own people, the Jews. In Matthew 5, in His Sermon on the Mount, He taught about the importance of having peaceful and righteous relationships. If we wish to enter into God’s presence we need to have right attitudes to our brothers and sisters in the faith. The Holy Spirit is displaced in an angry and unforgiving heart, removing the option of coming before the Father. 

It is hard for a modern pilgrim to find a place of peace. A place where there is no strife but instead love and unity between them and others. What we say can easily be misinterpreted, leading to disagreements and a lack of peace. We have to season our relationships with grace, keep short accounts, resolve differences, and move on. Step by step in our life-pilgrimage. The writer to the Hebrews said, “Make every effort to live in peace with everyone…” (Hebrews 12:14). Wise advice indeed.

War and Peace

Posted on by korgrocker

“For Christ Himself has brought peace to us. He united Jews and Gentiles into one people when, in His own body on the cross, He broke down the wall of hostility that separated us. He did this by ending the system of law with its commandments and regulations. He made peace between Jews and Gentiles by creating in Himself one new people from the two groups. Together as one body, Christ reconciled both groups to God by means of His death on the cross, and our hostility toward each other was put to death.”
‭Ephesians‬ ‭2:14-16‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Peace. A lovely concept but beyond human capability to achieve? All my life I have never known a total absence of strife. There seems to be something within human beings that desires war in preference to peace. As individuals, we battle anything that we feel encroaches on our space, disturbing our peace. The aggressive driver who annoys us on the roads. The person who cuts in front of us in the shopping queue. The spouse who disagrees with something we say. As nations we rattle sabres at the borders with the adjacent country, stressed over a few yards of barren soil. Religious groups fight and kill to eliminate other religions in their country, in some cases committing genocide in the process. The Psalmist wrote in Psalm 120:7, “I search for peace; but when I speak of peace, they want war!“. 

So in this personal and national mayhem, a counter-cultural whisper calls out. “Christ himself has brought peace to us”. Jesus Christ is the Prince of Peace (Isaiah 9:6). And right at the start of the early church an age old conflict between Jews and Gentiles was resolved. At a stroke. Over a period of about six hours one dark and dismal day. Jesus’ death at Calvary brought to an end the Old Covenant and replaced it with the New. A New Covenant of grace and love. The Old was discarded. The New was welcomed in. And there is no difference between the Jews and Gentiles any more. Regardless of our origins we are all one in Christ. 

So we pilgrims, making our way through a complex and strife-infused world, shake our heads in disbelief. We long for the whisper of Christ’s peace to amplify into an audible shout, so clear that it penetrates people, principalities, palaces and parliaments, even pieties and principles. So clear that the world becomes a peaceful place. But our enemy the devil will have none of that. He thrives on wars and strife, doing what he can to stoke up anger and dissent. But peace will come one day – there is no war or strife in Heaven. In the meantime, our pilgrimage through life brings us into contact with all sorts of opportunities to be counter-cultural. Situations where we can bring a kind word to angry hearts, dispensing God’s love and grace to troubled souls. We pray today for our governments, our politicians, our civic leaders. But also our friends, families and communities. That “the peace of God, which transcends all understanding,” (Philippians 4:7) will be with them all. And us too.

One With Christ

Posted on by korgrocker

“But now you have been united with Christ Jesus. Once you were far away from God, but now you have been brought near to Him through the blood of Christ.”
Ephesians‬ ‭2:13‬ ‭NLT‬‬

What does being one with Christ actually mean? Superficially, being that close to someone who died over 2000 years ago would seem to be the stuff of a science fiction novel. And do we have the capability to be that close with anyone, because we are each created as unique individuals? We all have walls we put up. We all tend to keep people at arms length most of the time. So the questions I ask today will puzzle us until we realise that Jesus introduced us to the Holy Spirit. In John 14:26, Jesus said, “But when the Father sends the Advocate as my representative—that is, the Holy Spirit—he will teach you everything and will remind you of everything I have told you.” The Holy Spirit unites us with Christ. So as pilgrims continuing on our journey through life, we are not alone. We are always in the presence of the Holy Spirit. He is always there to call upon. He is the gentle whisper at the crossroads of life, leading and guiding us as though Jesus was right there with us. 

Paul reminds his readers yet again that through God’s grace they are close to Him. At one time they were so far away they didn’t even know He existed. The God-yearnings inside of them were filled with other gods. Counterfeit deities that failed to satisfy. But Jesus provided the opportunity for all peoples, not just His chosen people, to be united with Him. And that was possible through His sacrificial death at Calvary, where His blood was shed for us all. 

So as pilgrims we continue through life, one step at a time. In deep gratitude for the Helper at our side. Unified with Christ. Blessed beyond measure. Today we hit the refresh button. Today we have the opportunity to reboot our lives and include the Holy Spirit update once again. As we open ourselves to Him we expose a new dimension of living, oneness with Christ.

‭‭

Outsiders

Posted on by korgrocker

“Don’t forget that you Gentiles used to be outsiders. You were called “uncircumcised heathens” by the Jews, who were proud of their circumcision, even though it affected only their bodies and not their hearts. In those days you were living apart from Christ. You were excluded from citizenship among the people of Israel, and you did not know the covenant promises God had made to them. You lived in this world without God and without hope.”
‭Ephesians‬ ‭2:11-12‬ ‭NLT‬‬

The Jews considered themselves, and still do, a race set apart. God’s own people. And the Jewish opinion of non-Jews was the derogatory phrase used by Paul, “uncircumcised heathens“. Sadly, the act of circumcision became a symbol of great pride to the Jews. What was originally designed to set them apart as God’s special people became pointless – God desired circumcised hearts, devoted and obedient to Him. But Jesus changed all of that. He set the scene in the famous Scripture, “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son…“. This “world” set out an all-encompassing , all-inclusive description of the nations that populated the planet at the time when Jesus was having his chat with Nicodemus. And by further analysis of Scripture, the “world” is inclusive of all people, then and now. But Jesus focused His ministry on His own people, the Jews. And after His death and resurrection His master plan kicked in – where better to start a new God-world order than with God’s chosen people. And His chosen disciples. 

Cornelius, the Centurion, had the distinction of being the first Gentile person converted, though did the Samaritan women in John 4 come into the “Gentile” category? But come what may, Jesus gave us a commission  – Matthew 28:19 and Acts 1:8. The Samaritans and the people called “Gentiles” saw the fruit of it. The Ephesian church was in the main populated by Gentiles and Paul reminded them that they used to be “outsiders“. They were “living apart from Christ” and “excluded from citizenship among the people if Israel“. Not a lot going for them until, that is, they embraced the Gospel in all its fullness. 

The “covenant promises” Paul referred to was the Old Testament covenant, that was exclusively claimed by the Jews. Unless they converted to Judaism, Gentiles, the “outsiders” and “uncircumcised heathens“, had no Old Covenant blessing. But the Jews and Gentiles together, those who believed in Jesus, were the first fruits of the New Covenant of God’s love and grace.

In our pilgrimage through life can you imagine what it must be like “without God and without hope“? What a dark, depressing place that must be. And yet so many people in today’s societies are in that place. Forced to rely on their own resources – pilgrims without God neither know where they are going or what life holds in the future. Living in the “now” is ok as far as it goes, but sooner or later the “now” comes to an abrupt halt and suddenly becomes that place Paul mentioned – a place “without God and without hope“. We must continually look for opportunities where we can open the door wide enough for the “outsiders” to become “insiders”. And never lose sight of the fact that it is through God’s grace we are “citizens” in His kingdom.