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The Ephesian Connection
In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace.
Islamist terrorism is one of the scourges plaguing civilization today. One method employed by these religious extremists is kidnapping. And until their demands for ransom are paid (be it money, publicity for a cause, or the freeing of other criminals from prison), they will not release their hostages.
Mankind is also subject to another kind of terrorism. Paul referred to it by using the word redemption (Greek, APOLUTROSIS – a deliverance procured by the payment of a ransom). We were captives, unable to free ourselves from the bondage of sin. But now because of Calvary, we have been released through the payment of a particular price – the blood of Jesus.
On the other hand, all who are yet unredeemed continue to be held captive by the power of sin. And the Law plays a key role in their captivity.
The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the Law.
The Law strengthens the power of sin in humanity. Obviously, sin did not come from God’s law but from Adam’s disobedience. And God authored the Law not to eradicate sin in us, but to expose it in our lives. As a result, the Law together with sin combined to be a burden greater than we could bear.
Or do you not know, brethren (for I am speaking to those who know the Law), that the Law has jurisdiction over a person as long as he lives? For the married woman is bound by law to her husband while he is living; but if her husband dies, she is released from the law concerning the husband. So then if, while her husband is living, she is joined to another man, she shall be called an adulteress; but if her husband dies, she is free from the law, so that she is not an adulteress, though she is joined to another man. Therefore, my brethren, you also were made to die to the Law through the body of Christ, that you might be joined to another, to Him who was raised from the dead, that we might bear fruit for God.
Using marriage as an analogy, Paul establishes a significant truth concerning our relationship with God’s law. We were joined to it. The only way for us to be freed was to die and be joined to another, to Him who was raised from the dead – our Lord Jesus. As a result, Christianity is not a relationship of people with laws, rules, and regulations but with Christ.
But the one who joins himself to the Lord is one spirit with Him.
God’s purpose for this union is that we might bear the spiritual fruit on earth that He has always longed for among men. Religion is the product of union with law; spiritual fruit is the product of union with Christ. Jesus referred to such intimacy when He said that if we would simply abide in Him (in His presence and in His word), we would bear much fruit and so prove to be His disciples. Here is God’s desire for our lives.
However, instead of fruit, the Lord often finds among us religious practices and emphases on external conformity to truth. Too often, we fall into an Old Testament type of mentality where our lives portray our own attempts at holiness. And we tend to think of the Bible as a list of do’s and don’ts instead of a map to discovering the beauties of God. As a result, our relationship can be more with a book (the Bible) than it is with the One who wrote it.
One can know a great deal about apples, but that knowledge by itself cannot produce any. Fruit is the product of life, not of knowledge. The unique life dormant within an apple seed can produce a tree that will ultimately bear many bushels of apples. So also, when people are rooted in a living relationship with Christ, there will be results/fruit (Bible reading, witnessing, serving others, godly character, etc.). But apart from relationship with Him, we will bear counterfeit apples. While a plastic apple may look wonderful, I would not want to eat it. Nor could I expect to grow new apple trees from it. There simply is no reproductive life in plastic. While we can manufacture plastic fruit, only the life of Christ can produce in us the authentic spiritual fruit that will bring to God the glory He deserves.
For while we were in the flesh, the sinful passions, which were aroused by the Law, were at work in the members of our body to bear fruit for death.
When we were in bondage to sin, we could not bring forth the fruit of righteousness. And the Law was not a solution to our problem. Instead of spiritual fruitfulness, our lives expressed spiritual death. And people could see in our lives the outer results of our inner spiritual condition. In those circumstances, the contribution of the Law was that it aroused our sinful passions.
But now we have been released from the Law, having died to that by which we were bound, so that we serve in newness of the Spirit and not in oldness of the letter.
Now that we have been released from the Law, our service to God is to be in newness of the Spirit. It is to have the freshness of God’s anointing oil on it. Our lives and service are not to be stale but filled with the spontaneous joy of hearing and responding to His voice. Parents quickly understand the difference in attitude when their children want to do a particular task and when they do not. It is easy for them to recognize “foot dragging” when they see it. Sadly, there are many “foot draggers” in God’s house. “Well, all right if it’s really necessary, I’ll be there.” “Do I really have to tithe, attend that meeting, serve others, etc.?” Such attitudes reflect serving in the oldness of the letter. But God is not satisfied when we seek to do only the basic minimum requirement. He wants to elevate our service into the newness of a Spirit-filled relationship that reveals Christ who perfectly fulfilled what is written. As a result, our lives will only harmonize with the Scriptures when we are filled with the same Spirit who wrote them in the first place.
Jesus has set us free that we might serve Him in a way that expresses His kingdom – His righteousness, His peace, and His joy in the Holy Spirit. To reveal His kingdom will require His power in us. To be justified by His blood and then to use our own efforts to extend His kingdom actually negates the message and hinders His work of revealing it. When we serve in our own strength, it will not be long before we will discover a diminishing in us of His joy and His peace. At such times, God is showing us the inadequacy of our strength.
While we all start out in our Christian lives with great spiritual zeal, many times we slowly lose the joy and fervor of our first love. The reason is that when we take our eyes off of Him, we soon find ourselves walking in the strength of our own commitment to Him in the light of our initial spiritual experience. But eventually our strength wears out. And obviously, some of us have greater “staying power” than others.
But God’s kingdom cannot be built on our strength. While we will always encounter times of discouragement, our God is within us a Fountain that never runs dry. And as we continually come and drink of the river of His life, learning to abide in His presence, the staying power of His Spirit becomes the foundation upon which His purpose will be established in our lives. Indeed, the joy of serving Him comes from spending time with Him whom we serve. And if we do not make His presence our priority, the task will quickly become our major focus rather than the One who commissioned us. And while ministry can bring a fleeting joy, Jesus is joy itself. The power of God’s kingdom is not His law, but His presence. Let us give ourselves wholeheartedly to Him, thankful for His great gift of redemption. As a result, He will gain the glory as we live righteous and godly lives in union with Him by the strength that He supplies. In so doing, we will bring to bear on this present age the power of the ages to come.
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