GRACE AND THE TRUTH - DAILY INSPIRATION

[nChrist]

______________________________________
From Grace And The Truth Ministries
Please share this Inspirational with others.
Free Email Subscription
_______________________________________

WHEN TROUBLE COMES
Conclusion
BY RICHARD JORDAN


GODLY LIVING


   A third source of trouble is a bit more salutary than the before, but it is no less real.

   "Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution" (II Tim. 3:12).

   When we desire to live "godly in Christ Jesus" we must remember that this world is no friend to grace. We will find that the world will not love Christ living in us any more than it loved Him living here in person. We can get along in the world .. on the job, in our neighborhood, during recreational activities, etc . .. as long as it is us living. But when it begins to be Christ living in us, the same world is going to react to Him the way they reacted when He was here .. and remember, they hated Him "without a cause."

   We are not talking about religion or simply doing "good works." We are talking about having Christ living in and through us. As we come to understand who God has made us in Christ and allow His life-- His attitudes and His actions-- to find expression through our lives, we are going to "suffer trouble." Col. 1:24 is an illustration of this in the life of Paul:

   "Who now rejoice in my sufferings for you, and fill up that which is behind of the afflictions of Christ in my flesh for his body's sake, which is the church."

A PROPER RESPONSE

   Trouble is going to find its way into our lives. "Man is born unto trouble, as the sparks fly upward" (Job 5:7). While we would hope that most of those problems would come from that third reason, come they will. And we must be prepared for them --we must "know that tribulation works" for us. Grace frees us to realize that our troubles are not the result of God punishing us but rather can be used as a context for His grace to train and discipline us to walk by faith. Paul reminds us:

   "..... God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it" (I Cor. 10:13).

   All kinds of hardships come into our lives and with them God is faithful: He desires us to trust His provision for us in Christ and allow Him to train us by transforming our minds by the discipline of grace. The issue isn't being "delivered" from our problems; the issue is being "able to bear it "--strengthened "unto all patience and longsuffering with joyfulness."

   How else could God cause us to "escape" the trouble by enabling us to "bear it"? Obviously we are not delivered from the problem in the sense of the difficulty being taken away. Rather, God makes the trouble productive by equipping us to deal with it in a proper manner so that we are built up to grow stronger in our inner man. Our "tribulation" becomes the context in which by faith we apply the sound doctrine of God's grace. Thus tribulation produces patience--staying with God's truth even under great pressure--which produces experience--practical skill in applying the Word to the circumstances of life .. which produces "hope--and hope maketh not ashamed. "Thus confidence and maturity is produced in our lives as we walk by faith. All this equips us for more effective service. II Cor. 1:4 tells us of "the God of all comfort:"

   "Who comforteth us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble, by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God."

   There is little practical value in having sound doctrine in our heart if we never go through any problems that cause us to draw on that truth and have it come forth in our lives to God's glory.

   Just so, problems are not meant to destroy us .. they are not God's attempt to punish us or get even with us for our sins and failures; He has already dealt with our sins at Calvary. Rather, they offer an opportunity to have the truth of God and the life of Christ come forth through our bodies of flesh to His glory when trouble comes. Let's walk by faith in the riches of God's grace to us in Christ!

[nChrist]

______________________________________
From Grace And The Truth Ministries
Please share this Inspirational with others.
Free Email Subscription
_______________________________________

QUIET!
By M. Stanford



"The work of righteousness shall be peace; and the effect of righteousness, quietness and assurance forever" (Isa. 32:17).

The triune God is in His element within a quiet, resting assured spirit.

"Just as a sinner is taught to rest in the Lord Jesus' shed Blood for his forgiveness, so must the saint rest in the Lord Jesus for his deliverance from the power of sin and the grip of the law ---yes, and from himself, also. Therefore we should not be in bondage to sin, 'for he that hath died (and that is everyone who is in the Lord Jesus) is justified (or released) from (the power of) sin' (Rom. 6:7);and we are now under grace, which does not demand righteousness of us, for the Lord Jesus was made unto us righteousness and sanctification and redemption (I Cor. 1:30).

"The believer truly walking in the liberty wherewith Christ hath set him free (Gal. 5:1), has Him ever before his eye of faith; delighting that because of Him he is in the Father's favor. He evermore learns to abhor himself as he sees the sinfulness of the old man within, only to delight himself the more in the Lord Jesus who is his life." -W.R.N.

"It is only too possible for us to harbor feelings of resentment even against the Father Himself; and what inner turmoil results from such an attitude. Until we deliberately enter the stillness of the acceptance of His will, we live in chaos. Once we lay aside our rebellion in the tomb, and place our confidence in our Father, and in His love for us in the Son, we are obeying the command, 'Be still,' and we gain an understanding of the God of deliverance we could gain in no other way. Then we shall be in position to help others."

"Their strength is to sit still" (Isa. 30:7).

[nChrist]

______________________________________
From Grace And The Truth Ministries
Please share this Inspirational with others.
Free Email Subscription
_______________________________________

GRACE AND PEACE
by C.  R. Stam


    For many years this writer, along with the mass of religious people, supposed that the Bible phrase "grace and peace be unto you" was simply a beautiful, spiritual salutation. Thank God we
 have come to learn that it is much more than a salutation. It is an official proclamation.

    Every single one of the epistles signed by St. Paul opens with the declaration: "Grace be unto you and peace, from God the Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ." This was the theme of the message which he, as a duly appointed ambassador, had been sent to proclaim.

    To appreciate this fully we must remember that God had declared in prophecy that He would reply to the world's rejection of Christ with judgment. Psa. 110:1 pictures the Father saying to the Son: "Sit Thou at My right hand, until I make Thine enemies Thy footstool." Psa. 2:5 declares: "Then shall He speak unto them in His wrath, and vex them in His sore displeasure."

    After the crucifixion and ascension of Christ it seemed that all was ready for the judgment to fall. As the signs of Pentecost appeared Peter declared: "This is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel" (Acts 2:16) and it did indeed look as if the rejected Lord was about to return to "judge and make war," as Rev.19:11 puts it. But now, instead of judgment and war, St. Paul proclaims grace and peace. Does this not indicate that in grace God interrupted the prophetic program to bring in the present dispensation under which God's ambassadors proclaim with Paul:

   "But where sin abounded, grace did much more abound; that as sin hath reigned... so might grace reign" (Rom. 5:20,21).

    Indeed, Paul the former persecutor was himself the living demonstration of God's grace to a Christ-rejecting world. In I Tim. 1:15,16 he declares:

   "This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am chief."

    "Howbeit, for this cause I obtained mercy, that in me first Jesus Christ might show forth all longsuffering, for a pattern to them which should hereafter believe on Him to life everlasting."

[nChrist]

______________________________________
From Grace And The Truth Ministries
Please share this Inspirational with others.
Free Email Subscription
_______________________________________

God's Faithfulness And Ours
by Pastor C. R. Stam



Many people suppose that salvation is God’s reward to those who do their best to live good lives. This is not so, for God’s Word says of those who are saved:

“Who hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began” (II Tim. 1:9).


Referring to this “salvation which is in Christ Jesus,” St Paul says:

“It is a faithful saying, for if we died with Him, we shall also live with Him” (II Tim. 2:10,11).

In other words: The believer, viewing Calvary aright, has “died with Christ.” Viewing the Cross, he has said: “This is not Christ’s death. He was no sinner. He had no death to die. He is dying my death!” And so by faith he is “crucified with Christ”(Gal. 2:20). The penalty for all his sins has been fully paid, for he died— in Christ, and thus has also risen with Christ “to walk in newness of life” (Rom. 6:3,4).

This is all God’s doing, and only now is the believer in a  position to do good works that will please God. Thus the Apostle writes of believers, in II Tim. 2: “If we suffer, we shall also reign with Him:if we deny Him, He also will deny us” (Ver. 12). When the  believer’s service for Christ is reviewed some, indeed, will “receive a reward,” but others will “suffer loss,” though they themselves will “be saved, yet so as by fire” (I Cor. 3:14,15).

It will be deeply embarrassing, in that day, for unfaithful Christians to face empty-handed the One who gave His all, Himself, to save them. Yet salvation is by grace, thus the Apostle hastens to conclude his statement in II Timothy 2, with the words:

“If we are unfaithful, yet He abideth faithful: He cannot deny Himself” (Ver. 13)

Thus our rewards as believers depend upon our faithfulness, but our salvation, thank God, on His!

[nChrist]

______________________________________
From Grace And The Truth Ministries
Please share this Inspirational with others.
Free Email Subscription
_______________________________________

ALL-ESSENTIAL SPIRIT
By Miles Stanford


"Ye are not in the flesh but in the Spirit" (Rom. 8:9).

It requires more faith concerning the Spirit than concerning the Son.

"The believer, having received 'the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus,' comes under the influence of the 'law' of that Spirit (Rom. 8:2). The operating principle of 'the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus' ever works in the direction of profound self-judgment, and of the consciousness that we have in the Lord Jesus not only righteousness, but a divine Source of satisfaction and strength.

"This 'law' operates not to give a sense of claim (law), but of divine gift (grace) and resource and support. And thus it makes the one in whom it operates free from 'the law of sin and death.' It gives the consciousness that divine goodness is an unfailing resource for our hearts, and that all the treasures of that goodness are stored up in Christ Jesus, that we may learn them there, and find the life of our spirits in the growing knowledge of Him." -C.A.C.

"'The law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus' made me 'free from the law of sin and death' --- not 'the life,' but 'the Spirit of life,' ---not our effort, but divine strength; not self-occupation, but occupation with Him in whom we are before the Father, and in whom the divine favor rests upon us full and constant, because on Him it rests."---F.W.G.

"'The law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death' (Rom. 8:2). There is the substitution of the power of the Spirit for the power of a right will and human effort, the substitution therefore of occupation with the glorified Lord Jesus Christ for occupation with spiritual growth; for then and thus alone is growth obtained." ---F.W.G.

"Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh " (Gal. 5:16).

[nChrist]

______________________________________
From Grace And The Truth Ministries
Please share this Inspirational with others.
Free Email Subscription
_______________________________________

Israel: God's Wife
By Jim Roberts


The Bible has some good news for humans on planet earth, and it brings joy to share that good news with others. To really understand the good news of the Bible, one needs to have a general understanding of the different ways that God has worked with people from the beginning. In the beginning, God created all things including the first man and woman. They lived in innocence until they disobeyed God, and from there it has been all down hill for mankind in general.

About 4000 years ago, God chose Abraham out from among all people because Abraham had faith in God. God told Abraham that from him a great nation would come forth. That nation was and is the nation of Israel. Israel was even more special to God than Joseph was to Jacob. The Bible says that God considered the nation of Israel His wife. God made a marriage contract or covenant with Israel in which He promised to provide for her and protect her as long as she was faithful and loyal to God. God also promised that in the final chapters of the history of mankind, Israel would rule the world in the spiritual power of God's love and mercy. God promised that a deliverer or messiah would come from the nation of Israel, and this messiah would lead the Jews into this world wide political kingdom.

This marriage between God and Israel was a very rocky marriage from the beginning, for on the wedding night as Moses was on the mountain top receiving the conditions of the marriage covenant, Israel was already showing her rebellious heart by worshiping a golden calf. Through the years Israel would repeatedly wander from God only to be punished and brought back to God in repentance.

Jesus Christ came as the promised messiah about 2000 years ago, but Israel as a whole refused to believe that this lowly Jesus could possibly be the messiah. As a result, God set aside His special relationship with Israel. Today, Israel is no longer God's wife. Today, God has a special relationship with the people who do believe that Jesus Christ was the Son of God who gave his life to pay for the sins of all mankind. These people today are called the Church. Some people make the mistake of thinking that the Church took the place of Israel and that God has established the New Covenant with the Church even as He established the Old Covenant with Israel. This would make the Church the wife of God, and it would imply that God has promised Christians today that they will rule the world through the power of Jesus Christ. Unfortunately, many Christians today are trying to rule the world for God.

The Bible teaches that our present age will end with a great apostasy and the ultimate rule of the antichrist. To rule the world today, Christians would have to completely ignore human rights and all basic human freedoms in order to eliminate all evil. This is exactly the means by which the antichrist will gain power and force the world into subjugation to the devil. The book of the Revelation teaches that Jesus Christ will return to the earth to defeat the antichrist and remarry Israel. This new marriage with Israel will be the New Covenant, and this marriage will bring great blessing to all the world through a great kingdom of righteousness. Jesus Christ will not have to ignore human rights and individual liberty because the Holy Spirit of God will dwell within the hearts of the people and God's law will be written on their hearts.

Today, our goal is not to rule the world. Our goal is to share the good news of Jesus Christ so that those who believe can experience the righteous liberty of Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ did not call us to oppress the wicked but to set at liberty those who are in bondage to sin. Those of us who believe in Christ will live forever in the presence of our loving God because Jesus Christ paid for all of our sins on the cross of Calvary.

[nChrist]

______________________________________
From Grace And The Truth Ministries
Please share this Inspirational with others.
Free Email Subscription
_______________________________________

REDEMPTION IN CHRIST
By Dick Johnson



Scripture Reading: Romans 3:24

"For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God, being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus" (Romans 3:23, 24).

Prior to salvation, everyone is dead in trespasses and sin and by nature the children of wrath (Ephesians 2: 1, 3). In this condition, the future holds only judgment and eternal punishment. However, God provided a remedy for our sin and its outcome by sending His Son to be a substitutionary sacrifice on our behalf (Romans 3:25). He paid the penalty for our sin and, therefore, redeemed or rescued us from our need to pay the penalty.

We truly have been bought with a price (1 Corinthians 6:20). By shedding His blood, our Saviour paid the greatest price possible, and yet paid the only price that could meet God's requirement for righteousness. We have redemption through the blood of Christ, the forgiveness of our sins according to the riches of God's grace (Ephesians 1:7). As a result of this demonstration of righteousness, we have received the gift of righteousness (Romans 5:17).

By God's grace, Christ's death was our death, and His resurrection was our resurrection. God has made us alive together in Christ and raised us up with Him and seated us with Him in the heavenly places (Ephesians 2:5, 6). This position is true for everyone who believes the gospel of our salvation (Romans 3:22; 5:8-10; I Corinthians 15: 1-4).

What should be our response to our redemption in Christ? Does our freedom from the penalty of sin give us a license to sin? God forbid! (Romans 6:1-11). On the contrary, our response should be to glorify God in our body,  presenting it as a living and holy sacrifice (Romans 6:13; 12:1-2; 1 Corinthians 6:20).

[nChrist]

______________________________________
From Grace And The Truth Ministries
Please share this Inspirational with others.
Free Email Subscription
_______________________________________

THE POWER OF GODLINESS
by C. R. Stam


   God would have us live as His own sacred possession, separate from this world-system, but godliness is out of style these days. Religious leaders in ever greater number are telling us that to win the world we must become part of it and to win the people of the world we must fellowship with them in the things they do and the places to which they go. But the believer cannot impress the world by conforming to it. And even if he could this approach would still be contrary to the Will of God, for His Word exhorts us:

   *"Be not conformed to this world, but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable and perfect, will of God" (Rom. 12:2).

   It is true godliness, consistent separation to God from this world, which most deeply impresses the lost to whom we bear witness.

   True godliness exerts enormous spiritual power. It causes men to toil and sacrifice, yea to suffer and die for Christ and for others. It exerts a profound influence upon those with whom it comes into contact. A truly godly believer will win the respect of other believers and by his example encourage them to live godly lives, while at the same time his godliness will convict the lost, so that they will either be angered or will turn to Christ for salvation.

   This is why II Tim. 3:12 says: "Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution." Carnal Christians do not like to think about the word "all" in this passage, but it is there and stands as a rebuke to their lack of consecration to God. They have "a form of godliness" but deny "the power thereof" (II Timothy 3:5).

[nChrist]

______________________________________
From Grace And The Truth Ministries
Please share this Inspirational with others.
Free Email Subscription
_______________________________________

MILES AND MILES OF SCRIPTURE
by C. R. Stam

How much, I wonder, do the Christian parents among our readers show their children their love for the Word, and for Christ, and for the souls for whom He died?

For many years I worked with my father, first full-time, then part-time, as a city missionary in Paterson, N.J. All during these first years dad and I walked to work together each morning -- a little over a mile.

Do you know how we invariably occupied ourselves on the way? By quoting Scripture passages on some particular subject. One morning we would quote as many passages as we could on the deity of Christ, another on His death or resurrection; others on His love, power, grace, or other attributes and characteristics. Sometimes, for days or weeks on end dad would use these morning walks to ply me with questions such as: "What Scriptures would you use to deal with a blaspheming unbeliever?" or "a self-righteous person" or "one who rejects Christ on intellectual grounds?"

In this way we covered "miles and miles" of Scripture, as it were, and this in addition to Scripture reading before every meal at home, and again before we retired for the night. And all this again in addition to the oral and written Bible teaching of many of the great Bible expositors of that day, whose teachings we studied with deepest interest.

What a precious heritage! We wish that more of our Christian young people today were as well off. Parents: it's strictly up to you. What are your priorities? What are you willing to pay -- in terms of pleasure, ease or financial "success"? Do you set an example to your children -- and others-- by really putting God first?

[nChrist]

______________________________________
From Grace And The Truth Ministries
Please share this Inspirational with others.
Free Email Subscription
_______________________________________

"KNOWING THIS .... RECKON"
by Jack Roddy

Frequently an honest inquirer will ask, "But how may I know that I am saved?" This is the same as to ask, "How may I know that I am in Christ? How may I know that the question of sin (and sins) has been settled? How may I know that God accepts me in His Son?" Obviously, this is not the sort of question which God would leave unanswered. Again, obviously, God would not have one be in doubt at this point.

This kind of inquiry is usually made with the expectation, perhaps the hope, that one may be pointed to a specific facet of experience--some feeling, some mystic moving within--upon which one may lean for the coveted assurance. We believe that such a basis for assurance would never be of abiding satisfaction. Experience, especially the complex maze of religious feelings, is not constant because we are not emotionally constant. One who has assurance today because of some feeling--however tender, however profound, however sweet, however "religious"--will feel depressed, forsaken, or even "lost again" tomorrow if the feeling is missing. The support gone, so is the assurance.

Many wander their forty years in this wilderness when they might have entered into rest long since if they had done the very simple (but highly God-honoring) thing of taking God at His word; of finding day-by-day support in the same source, at the same spring from which was drunk the initial drought of Biblical knowledge. The spoken word of God which gave the first insight into truth, the first awareness of spiritual need, the first sight of the provision of deliverance, provides the unchanging basis for an abiding assurance of the experience of truth. In a word, our assurance of salvation and our belief on, trust in, or dependence upon the revealed Word of God stand or fail together.

Salvation itself is a fact dependent upon the finished work of Christ. To readers such as peruse these pages, this does not need argument or illustration. Salvation and the completed work of Christ stand or fall together. Our salvation is first and last the work of God-in-Christ. You have it--if you have it--because you reckoned as true the claims of God in His Word concerning the efficacy of Christ's work in reconciliation and justification. You have it--if you have it--not because of any specific emotional experience (though you may have been moved emotionally by the sudden burst of glory as the truth unfolded before you), but because you saw the revealed truth of God, you believed it, you acted in accordance with it, and God honored it. To use Paul's language from Romans, "knowing this" that God had done, you "reckoned yourself' an object of the love and grace which did it, while it was God who made you that object.

Why, then, turn elsewhere for additional or different knowledge or assurance? Let the faith which accepted God's fact initially be the faith which accepts God's fact abidingly. Faith which brings abiding assurance merely accepts God's fact. God's fact is stated in His Word. This faith does not say, "Who will bring Christ down ... or up?" or even, "God will." but rather, "God has done it."

When the Word exhorts, "Reckon ye yourselves dead with respect to sin," it is surely because God has already accomplished the execution. He has told us that we were crucified with Christ (historically, when Christ was crucified). This we may know. The knowledge comes from the Word. Personal enlightenment regarding this knowledge is the work of the Spirit, who opens the eyes of our understanding. Knowing the truth by means of the Word, let us reckon it true (real) in experience. Would God ask us to reckon as true that which is not true?

This is not to suggest that the knowledge of salvation is a purely intellectual matter. This knowing is, indeed, an inner seeing. This knowledge comes by God's revelation. It is from the Lord Himself. That blessed fact is written down in the Word, the fact of forgiven sins. But, as To-sheng Nee says, in order for the written Word of God to become a living Word from God to you, He had to give you "a spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him" (Ephesians 1:17). When that light shines in your inner being, there comes an apprehension of truth, an apprehension of Christ, a seeing of yourself in Christ. This you may know because God has let you see it by His Spirit. You may feel it. You may not feel it. You mayor may not understand it. But you know it because you have seen it, in the written Word and in the living Word. Once you have seen yourself in Christ, nothing can rob you of the vision.

If you would have an abiding assurance that you are His, have an abiding trust in that expressed word of His on the subject. He says that we have redemption in Christ through His blood. He says that we are accepted in the Beloved. He says that we have jointly died, been jointly buried, and have jointly risen with Christ. He says that we are seated with Christ in the heavenlies. He says that we are complete in Him, and in all these facets of our relationship to Him, the work has been done by God in Christ. We are not required to exert ourselves in any way--only believe what He has said about our salvation, position, and hope.

May God answer for you, earnest inquirer, Paul's prayers for the Ephesians (1:15-23; 3:14-19), that "the eyes of your understanding being enlightened, you may know .... "

[nChrist]

______________________________________
From Grace And The Truth Ministries
Please share this Inspirational with others.
Free Email Subscription
_______________________________________

THE RICHES OF THE GLORY OF THIS MYSTERY
By R.H. Schaefer


"Christ in you the hope of glory." This, says Paul, is the riches of the Glory of this mystery among the Gentiles.

Whether the expression, as given above, "Christ in you" gives the correct meaning to this passage or "Christ among you", as some prefer, is correct, cannot, as we have seen, be decided by others. Only we can decide which is correct. Context alone must decide the matter, for as we have seen, Biblical scholars have come down on both sides of the matter. Since it is context alone which must decide this matter great care must be exercised in searching out the purpose of the (Colossian) Letter and its general intent.

If we assume that the expression, "Christ among you" is the correct translation and meaning, we must pause to ask ourselves how it fits in with the near and more remote context.

First, the near or immediate context. Here we find that Paul states in verse 25 (Ch. 1) that he -- for the sake of the church, His Body has been made a minister of God to fulfill the Word of God in accordance with the stewardship that God had given to him on behalf of the Church. Paul goes on to state that it is the Mystery (The Secret) which has been hid from ages and generations that fills full the Word of God. He leaves no doubt that the Mystery that completes the Word of God is the very Mystery of which he has spoken and written of in Ephesians. It starts with God's secret desire of Eph. 1:9,10 and takes in God's engracing of the Church to make it His own special inheritance, Eph. 1:14. And, reveals the oneness of relationship between the Head and His Body, and between each member --- and goes on to speak of many other things which were all kept hidden and secret from all past generations until revealed to and through Paul. To this, Church, Paul goes on to state:

God would make known what is the
RICHES OF THE GLORY OF THIS
MYSTERY among the Gentiles; which
is Christ in/among (?) you, the Hope of Glory.

Is Paul saying that the "riches of the glory of this mystery" is Christ among you --- the Gentiles?

Christ being preached among the Gentiles apart from the hope of Abraham or Israel is certainly a part and parcel of what is involved in the Mystery, but the Mystery involves much more than simply Christ being preached among the Gentiles apart from Israel and the covenants. If we insist that it must be translated, "Christ among you" then we have redundancy in Paul's words. He would then be stating:

To whom God would make known what
is the riches of the glory of this MYSTERY
AMONG THE GENTILES: which is .......
CHRIST AMONG THE GENTILES.

The MYSTERY itself must be something less than the RICHES OF THE GLORY of the Mystery otherwise words have no meaning. If the RICHES OF THE GLORY is nothing more than the Mystery, what then is the Mystery?

What about the remote context of this passage? What is the purpose of Paul in writing the Epistle? Is it not to reveal to us how God in engracing His inheritance beyond what man ever dared to dream has made us complete in all the perfections of Christ? Note, the expression Riches Of The Glory follows after Paul has dealt with the perfections and superiority of Christ. In 1:15 (Col.) Christ is presented to us as the Image (Ikon) of the Invisible God, the Firstborn of All Creation. He is presented as the reason for creation. He is the Preeminent One (Before all things), He is the Sustainer of all things, He is the Head of the Body, the Church, He is the Beginning, He is the Firstborn from the dead, in Him ALL FULNESS DWELLS. What was Paul's point in laying before us his Christology at the time he does in this letter? Was it done so that we would find it convenient to build a systematic theology and base our Christology on these very points? Or, was it because the total argument of the Epistle required that he first establish the perfections and superiority of Christ as a basis for what was to follow? The riches of the glory of the mystery depends on the superiority and perfections of Christ. It was necessary that this be fully established before what was to follow could be understood and appreciated. It is this Christ, the One in Whom all fulness dwells, Who indwells the believer and constitutes what is the "riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles."

Paul goes on in the second chapter of the letter to deal with the practical outworking of this inworked reality. He deals there with what it means to be "Complete In Christ" based upon the reality of the indwelling Christ.

The expression, "Christ among the Gentiles", tells us nothing more than we had already learned from Ephesians. Worse, however, is the fact that it ignores the context of Colossians and denies the thrust of Paul's argument. "CHRIST IN YOU" not only follows the natural progression of Paul's thought but makes the words:

RICHES OF THE GLORY
meaningful.

THE HOPE OF GLORY
Col.1:27.

Have you seen the Christ of God in all His personal splendor and glory? What He is? He is the fulness of God. He portrays the nature and being of God. He is the Glory of God, the Shekinah. The Body of Christ is to be the fulness of God. It is to convey the nature and being of God, with Christ, in all the on-coming ages:

To Him be all the glory in the Assembly
And, in Christ Jesus -
Unto all the generations of the aeon
that comprehends the ages! Amen.
Eph.3:21.

The life of Christ and ours have become entwined and intermingled so that as the fulness of God is shared and manifested in Christ it is also manifested in His Body. This is far beyond the promptings of the spirit in our lives, rather it is the essence and full realization of what is spoken of in Eph. 4:13:

Until we all advance -
Into the oneness of the faith and the
personal knowledge of the Son of God,
Into a humanity of full maturity,
Into the measure of the stature
Of the fulness of the Christ.

[nChrist]

______________________________________
From Grace And The Truth Ministries
Please share this Inspirational with others.
Free Email Subscription
_______________________________________

THE SPIRIT OF TRUTH
By C. R. Stam

       "Howbeit when He, the Spirit of truth, is come, He will guide you into all truth" (John 16:13).

 How blessed to know that the Author of the blessed Book which has changed so many hearts and lives and homes is "the Spirit of truth."

 The Spirit did not, of course, reveal all truth at one time. "The Law was given by Moses;" later the prophesies were penned by men of God as they were "moved by the Holy Spirit" and still later our Lord uttered truth "kept secret since the world began."

 But even our blessed Lord, while on earth, did not lead His followers into all the truth which God would have His people know. "I have yet many things to say unto you," He said, "but ye cannot bear them now. Howbeit, when He, the Spirit of truth, is come, He will guide you into all truth" (John 16: 12,13).

 But when the Spirit came at Pentecost, did He immediately lead the disciples into all truth? Not yet. They still proclaimed the prophetic program, the message which our Lord had taught them and committed to them (Luke 24: 45; Acts 1:2,3).

 It was not until some time later that the glorified Lord revealed "God's purpose and grace" to and through the Apostle Paul, and the Spirit in turn caused others to understand it (Gal. 2:2,7,9; Eph. 3:1-5; II Tim. 1:9).

 The glorious message revealed to Paul is the capstone of divine revelation, thus he says that it was given to him to "fulfil [complete] the Word of God" (Col. 1:25).

 St. Paul wrote more books of the Bible than any other writer and in them we have the fulness of divine truth as God would now have us know and understand it!

[nChrist]

______________________________________
From Grace And The Truth Ministries
Please share this Inspirational with others.
Free Email Subscription
_______________________________________

THE GRACE MOUNTAINS
Ephesians 1
Part 1 of 3
by Evangelist S. Lee Homoki



The Book of Ephesians is one of three great doctrinal epistles written by the Apostle Paul. In Romans believers are taught that we are justified in Christ, seeing we have been crucified, buried and resurrected with Christ. In Ephesians believers are taught that we are sanctified in Christ, seeing we are now seated with Christ in the Heavenlies. And in 1 Thessalonians believers are taught that we are glorified, seeing that we shall be caught up to meet the Lord in the air. All of the other Pauline Epistles, though they contain much doctrine, seem to have been written to remedy either doctrinal or practical failure.

As an aid to our study, it is helpful to recognize that the Book of Ephesians is divided into two parts. The first three chapters have to do with the believer’s prosperity as found in the grace of God, and the last three chapters have to do with the believer’s performance in the grace of God.

Since this series of studies will deal only with the first three chapters of the Book of Ephesians, we will need only to title the first three chapters:

1.   “The Grace of God Planned” (Chapter one);
2.   “The Grace of God Applied” (Chapter two);
3.   “The Grace of God Revealed” (Chapter three).

The Book of Ephesians may be likened to a beautiful, snowcapped mountain range. As such, it is the highest mountain range found in the Bible, since it reaches into “the heavenlies.”  In my opinion, the very highest peak of this beautiful mountain is Ephesians 2:8-10:

For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.

Any traveler, who moves across “America the Beautiful,” will be impressed and awe-struck the very first time his eyes fall upon the beautiful, breathtaking, snowcapped Rocky Mountains of Colorado! It is a refreshing and never-to-be-forgotten sight! In like manner, the sensibilities of our soul and spirit are touched, as we travel over the terrain of Scripture, the first time our attention is arrested by the mountain peaks of grace! We find it to be breath-taking and refreshing and our hearts are compelled to applaud and sing, “Amazing grace how sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me.”

Oh, what a wonderful thought that a member of Adam’s fallen race - one that deserves nothing but the wrath and condemnation of God, one “dead in trespasses and sins” - should be offered the gift of forgiveness and eternal life without any respect to human worthiness - a gift conferred entirely by the empty hand of faith (Rom. 1:18; 3:18; Eph. 2:1). “…Nothing in my hand I bring, simply to Thy cross I cling” (“Rock of Ages”).

Oh, what joy and gladness come from the gift of salvation and eternal life! I think Abraham demonstrated this ecstasy when he, though he was beyond “hope” and as good as “dead,” received the promise of justification from God Who was able to “quicken the dead” - he “laughed” and gave “glory to God” (Gen. 17:17; Rom. 4:17-23).

WHY? WHY? WHY?

When first we beheld the beauty of this Grace Mountain, and every time we have passed by since, our hearts were filled with wonder! Oh, may we never lose the wonder of it all! At the same time, a great rush of questions passes through our mind. These are questions like: Why? Why, dear God, did you ever make such a beautiful plan as grace to deal with Your creation? Why this plan and not some other plan? Or, why any plan at all? I think the song writer asked it best:

Who am I that a King would bleed and die for? Who am I that He should pray “Not My will - Thine” for? The answer I may never know, why He should ever love me so, That to an old rugged cross - He’d go For who am I?

[nChrist]

______________________________________
From Grace And The Truth Ministries
Please share this Inspirational with others.
Free Email Subscription
_______________________________________

THE GRACE MOUNTAINS
Ephesians 1
Part 2 of 3
by Evangelist S. Lee Homoki


Who am I that a King would bleed and die for?

It may be that we will never fully know the answer to that question this side of Heaven; however, the answer seems to lie in the essence or nature of God. One of God’s major attributes is love (1 Jn. 4:8,16). It would be hard to imagine a God of love with no one to love and no way to love sinners. According to Ephesians 2:4 it seems clear that it is the love of God that gave birth to the plan of grace:

But God, Who is rich in mercy, for His great love wherewith He loved us, Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ (by grace ye are saved); And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus (Eph. 2:4-6).

How do you explain the love of God? How do you plumb its depths? I believe God did what He did simply because of Who and What He is. He did what He did just because He wanted to! God is the greatest lover in the universe. In the language of our text we are told that God’s work of grace was:

1.   “according to the good pleasure of His will” (Eph. 1:5);
2.   “according to His good pleasure” (Eph. 1:9);
3.   “according to the purpose of His will” (Eph. 1:11; 3:11).


HOW? HOW? HOW?

God’s plan of grace was such a gigantic undertaking that it seems to dwarf all of the other creative acts of God. In fact, Ephesians 2:10 says that grace and its accomplishments are a “masterpiece” (POY-AY-MAH-Gk.), created in Christ Jesus. So we quite naturally question: How? How could God accomplish this? What were His resources?

The answer is found both in God’s omnipotence and His riches. In Ephesians 1:19 and 3:20, we are told that it was “according to the working of His mighty power.” Elsewhere, we are told that it was accomplished:

1.   “according to the riches of His grace” (Eph. 1:7; 2:7);
2.   “according to the riches of His mercy” (Eph. 2:4);
3.   “according to the riches of His glory” (Eph. 3:16).

How rich is God? He is very rich! Thankfully, God does not give out of His riches but rather “according to His riches.” God told the Apostle Paul His “grace was sufficient” to supply his need (2 Cor. 12:9).

Charles Spurgeon, the Prince of Preachers, spoke of the little mouse living in the granaries of Egypt who, after seven years of plenty, feared he might die of famine. Joseph, the ruler, might have said, “Cheer up, little mouse, my granaries are sufficient for thee.” The “grace of our Lord was exceeding abundant” (1 Tim. 1:14) to develop the plan and workings of grace with plenty left over!

WHO? WHO? WHO?

Now, we ask, “For whom then was this great plan of grace designed?” Is it really possible that we, as members of Adam’s fallen race, are the objects of such grace? In amazement, we lift up our voice with the psalmist who asked, “What is man, that Thou art mindful of him and the Son of Man that Thou visitest him?” The answering echo from this great Mountain of Grace is, “Yes! Yes! It is for you dear sinner” (1 Tim. 1:15), and especially for you who are in Christ.

The riches mentioned above are unmistakably identified as the “unsearchable [untraceable] riches of Christ” (Eph. 3:8 ). These resources are not only inexhaustible but also not to be found in the preaching of the Old Testament prophets. This is not to say that the Old Testament saints did not enjoy or experience God’s grace and glory, but, rather, that they did not know it in all of its fullness as it is now known since the work of Christ on the cross was completed. Nor did they know the far-reaching consequences of that work as revealed to and through the Apostle Paul. The world had never seen such great grace as this! With the revelation of the Mystery, God has now “made known the riches of His glory on the vessels of mercy which He had afore prepared unto glory - even us [the “Body of Christ” - the “One New Man”] - whom He hath called, not of the Jews only, but also of the Gentiles” (Rom. 9:20-24; Eph. 3:6; Gal. 3:26-29).

Through God’s grace plan a new ministry of God the Holy Spirit provided a baptizing/identifying work that would position believing Jews and Gentiles “in Christ” (1 Cor. 12:13). This new position is big news! It is mentioned 16 times in Chapter One of Ephesians and 27 times in the Book! Being “in Christ” opens the door to the storehouse of grace blessings.

All of these grace blessings, and much more, are bestowed at the moment of salvation! This seems too good to be true! And, if this were all that came to us through the plan of grace, it would be enough to cause us to rejoice throughout all eternity.

[nChrist]

______________________________________
From Grace And The Truth Ministries
Please share this Inspirational with others.
Free Email Subscription
_______________________________________

THE PEACE OF GOD
by C. R. Stam



"Peace with God" is one thing; "the peace of God" is another. To enjoy the latter, we must first experience the former, for the peace of God, ruling in our hearts, is the result of "peace with God, through our Lord Jesus Christ."

St. Paul declared by divine inspiration that "[Christ] was delivered for our offenses and was raised again for our justification" and that "therefore, being justified by faith," we, who once were at enmity with God, may enjoy "peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ" (Rom. 4:25; 5:1). The result of "peace with God" is "the peace of God," the peace that He gives to His own amid all the troubles of life. This is why the Apostle wrote to the Roman Christians:

"Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing" (Rom. 15:13).

While only those who are at peace with God can -- and should know "the peace of God," it does not follow, however, that all those who are at peace with God necessarily enjoy "the peace of God." Believers can enjoy "the peace of God" only as they practice Phil. 4:6:

"BE CAREFUL [ANXIOUS] FOR NOTHING; BUT IN EVERYTHING, BY PRAYER AND SUPPLICATION, WITH THANKSGIVING, LET YOUR REQUESTS BE MADE KNOWN UNTO GOD."

As we follow these instructions the promise which follows will certainly be fulfilled.

"THE PEACE OF GOD, WHICH PASSETH ALL UNDERSTANDING, SHALL KEEP YOUR HEARTS AND MINDS THROUGH CHRIST JESUS" (Ver. 7).

As believers in Christ "we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to His purpose" (Rom. 8:28 ). Therefore we should not be constantly overwhelmed and defeated by the adversities of life, but should heed the exhortation; "Let the peace of God rule in your hearts" (Col. 3:15).

"NOW THE LORD OF PEACE HIMSELF GIVE YOU PEACE ALWAYS BY ALL MEANS" (II Thes. 3:16).