| << | Contents | >> |
The Ephesian Connection
...just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before Him.
How was it possible that God chose people before they existed, before He even created the planet upon which they would live? The answer is that He is not bound by time. Since our Lord inhabits eternity, He can view His plan and declare its end from the beginning. He saw the fall of Adam with the resulting consequence of sin and darkness spreading throughout His creation. He foresaw His incarnation, His earthly ministry, and the cross where He would bear the sins of mankind. From eternity, He calculated the staggering price He would pay to redeem humanity. And He also saw the joy of His resurrection as the ultimate victor over sin, death, and hell. He saw it all – even all that would be required to prepare a glorious bride to rule with Him forever.
In viewing that bridal company, He saw each of us individually and loved us more than we can comprehend. And when He came to redeem us from our slavery, He came gladly.
...who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.
Many believers have nagging doubts about God’s call on their lives. While they acknowledge the forgiveness of their sins, yet they lack confidence in His love for them. They tend to focus on their failures and carry a sense of unworthiness. But the Scripture teaches us that He chose us before we did anything right or wrong, based on grace granted to us from eternity. Indeed, we have been loved for a long, long time. He foreknew each of us including our weaknesses and …saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was granted us in Christ Jesus from all eternity (2 Timothy 1:9).
God’s heart was already set upon us with thoughts of love before we even considered whether or not He existed. And the New Testament calls us to be “rooted and grounded” in that love (Ephesians 3:17), in His heart of love for us. Here is the foundation of our faith. We are built upon the reality of God lovingly revealing from heaven the very person of Christ Himself to each of us on earth (Matthew 16:17 - 18).
For no man can lay a foundation other than the one which is laid, which is Jesus Christ.
We are to be established upon Him. Since Christ, Heaven’s Bedrock is firmly placed and enduring, the main issue we face is not if He can be dislodged – He cannot, but whether or not we are properly built on Him.
Behold I am laying in Zion a stone, a tested stone, a costly cornerstone for the foundation, firmly placed. He who believes in it will not be disturbed (lit. in a hurry).
One characteristic that marks our society, even Christian circles, is hurriedness. Many rush about with much to do and many places to go. Great activity motivated by a “rushed” spirit reflects a lack of peace in the hearts of many. Obviously, we all have responsibilities. But if we believe in Christ, if we abide in Him, our lives will not be marked by hurriedness, frustration, or anxiety.
To make the point clearer, consider the Lord Himself – He is not feeling pressured or hurried. He has not somehow fallen behind schedule in His purpose. He is not nervously pacing “the corridors of heaven” wondering how human need became so vast. He is not amazed that so many people are still unsaved at this point in history or how there has been such a proliferation of cults and false prophets. Nor is He puzzled about what to do next.
This is not to imply that God does not care about such things – about sin, deception, and human frailties. Obviously, He does. But heaven is characterized by peace, not anxiety. In the midst of all the seeming “ruckus” of the Book of Revelation, John beheld the throne of God and saw a sea of glass in front of it (Revelation 4:6). Clearly, he encountered a setting of peace, of serenity.
Paul reveals to us why we can have God’s peace filling our hearts.
And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the first-born among many brethren.
We all remember when we started late for some scheduled event and had to hurry to arrive on time. But God started His “program” early enough (before the foundation of the world) so that He would never be rushed. From eternity, God saw clearly the amount of both time and grace that would be needed to fulfill His purpose (Luke 14:28 - 30). And He is not running short on either. There is neither a grace shortage in heaven nor an uneasy sense of panic. Peace reigns.
Along this line, because God is the Author of time, it serves Him – not the other way around. He:
...in these last days has spoken to us in His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the world (lit., the ages).
Now to the King eternal (lit., of the ages).
God created the ages of time for His purpose, and today His plan is being fulfilled within that framework. Therefore, His call on our lives is not based on what we have done in this age but on Him and His eternal purpose and perspective. As a result, we are not to be rushed in our spirits as we serve Him. When we believe in Him, when we know that He is actively involved in our lives, and that He is moving according to His eternally designed plan, we simply have no reason to be rushed. While we will retain concern for the needs we see around us (unsaved friends and loved ones, sickness, deception, etc.), and sometimes even experience great grief over the spiritual condition of many, yet we will serve Heaven’s interests with a sense of rest and confidence in Him and His purpose. Inner peace will always ultimately prevail in the hearts of those who believe in the God of the Scriptures, that He is sovereign, active, and specifically involved in their lives.
And we are called to minister His peace among the nations. While multitudes demonstrate for peace in society, for the cessation of war, yet God’s peace is of a different kind. It goes to the very root of human discord.
Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you; not as the world gives, do I give to you.
While the world defines peace as the absence of conflict, God defines it as His presence with us in the midst of conflict. Though both Jesus and Paul clashed with the religious leaders of their day, yet they knew and made manifest the inner stillness of God’s holy presence. Similarly, our objective is not to avoid conflict, but to reveal the certainty of Heaven’s authority when conflict inevitably arises. When we decided to follow Christ, we made the decision (whether we knew it at the time or not) to stand in opposition to the powers of darkness. Therefore, opposition to us (both in the spirit realm as well as from people) should not surprise us. But as we trust in Him, we will find the power to minister His presence, His peace to others, even though turmoil might surround us.
God’s purpose is for us to experience and then to reveal His kingdom – His righteousness, His joy, and yes His peace (Romans 14:17) in the midst of Heaven’s shaking of everything that can be shaken in our generation.
Here is a question. “Would you seek counsel concerning the peace of God from a chain smoker? Or from someone biting his fingernails and nervously pacing back and forth in front of you?” Do you think his words would soothe your troubled heart? The point is that we undermine the message of God’s Kingdom when our words do not reflect accurately the condition of our hearts.
God has called us to minister the actual presence of the Prince of Peace to others. When we see all that needs to be addressed in us, in the Church, and in the world, our lives will conflict with our message if we do not lay hold of His peace. To be effective, we must have confidence in our eternal roots in His sovereign call on our lives. We must believe that the Eternal One who called us is presently active in our lives. The result will be that He will reveal in us and through us His righteousness, His peace, and His joy to those around us.
For He:
...has saved us, and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was granted us in Christ Jesus from all eternity.
(2 Timothy1:9)
Search Comments
This page has been visited 0031 times.
| << | Contents | >> |
10 per page