Devotions

remember what you were

Posted on September 7, 2019 by Jefferson Vann

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Ephesians 2:11-12 (JDV)

Ephesians 2:11 For this reason,¹ remember that at one time you were Gentiles in the flesh – called “the uncircumcised” by those called “the circumcised,” which is done in the flesh by human hands.

Ephesians 2:12 At that season you were without Christ, excluded from the citizenship of Israel, and foreigners to the covenants of promise, without hope and without God in the world.

remember what you were

Paul goes into great detail to remind the Ephesian Christians of what they were before they accepted Christ as their Savior:

There was no sign linking them to God’s promise to Abraham.
They had no Messiah as their king.
They had no citizenship in the kingdom.
They had no covenants connecting them to God’s promises for the future.
They had no hope for a destiny other than death.
They were not connected to God in his world.

All of that changed by their simply accepting Christ into their lives. It can happen to you too!

Lord, draw more new citizens into your kingdom by introducing them to king Jesus!

1διό

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what we were recreated for

Posted on September 6, 2019 by Jefferson Vann

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Ephesians 2:8-10 (JDV)

Ephesians 2:8 You see,¹ you are saved by favor through faith, and this is not from yourselves; it is God’s gift–

Ephesians 2:9 not from achievements,² so that no one can boast.

Ephesians 2:10 You see, we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good achievements, which God prepared ahead of time for us to do.

what we were recreated for

A person can never achieve salvation by doing good things, but once a person is saved by God’s favor, the door is open for a host of good achievements. It is what we are recreated for. You have to be “in Christ” for those good achievements to happen.

So, if you are not in Christ, and you just hope you can do enough good things to balance out the bad things you know you’ve done, that will never happen. But if you are in Christ, you can expect good things to happen. You are created in Christ for good achievements.

Lord, thank you for extending your favor to save us. We commit ourselves to doing good things, in response to your favor. It is what we were recreated for.

1γάρ

2ἔργον

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raised up and seated

Posted on September 5, 2019 by Jefferson Vann

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Ephesians 2:6-7 (JDV)

Ephesians 2:6 He also raised us up with him and seated us with him in the sky realms in Christ Jesus,

Ephesians 2:7 so that in the coming ages he might display the immeasurable riches of his favor through his kindness to us in Christ Jesus.

raised up and seated

When did God raise up believers and seat them in the sky realms? The way I read this, it happened the same time he raised Christ from the dead, and seated him back in the sky realms. The words “with him” are not separate prepositional phrases like they are in English. They are part of the verbs συνεγείρω and συγκαθίζω. We appropriate the same power and kindness of God that he displayed by raising Jesus from the grave. We do this by faith in the working of God, who raised Him (Colossians 2:12).

We are now figuratively raised and seated in anticipation of being actually raised from the dead and taking our proper place in eternity. The Christian life is a process of seeking actually the things appropriate to that new status (Colossians 3:1).

Lord, when we feel at our lowest, remind us where we are in your sight.

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pre-resurrection

Posted on September 4, 2019 by Jefferson Vann

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Ephesians 2:4-5 (JDV)

Ephesians 2:4 But God, who is rich in mercy, because of his great care that he had for us,

Ephesians 2:5 made us alive with Christ even though we were dead in violations. You are saved by favor!

pre-resurrection

Paul describes conversion as a pre-resurrection. We are not just converted to a new theological position, and we have not just joined a new team. We have been given new life, and that life is Christ’s resurrected life. We have been made alive with Christ.

The purpose of this pre-resurrection is not to take the place of the resurrection Jesus promised at the last day. Its purpose is to keep us from living like children of disobedience. It is to keep us from living in death. It is to restore God’s dominion over us that Satan had usurped.

Lord, we are ready to live the pre-resurrection life you have given us.

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the living dead

Posted on September 3, 2019 by Jefferson Vann

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Ephesians 2:1-3 (JDV)

Ephesians 2:1 And you were dead in your violations and sins

Ephesians 2:2 in which you previously lived during the age of this world, according to the ruler of the power of the air, the breath now achieving things among the disobedient sons.

Ephesians 2:3 Among whom we too all previously lived with our fleshly cravings,¹ carrying out the preferences of our flesh and thoughts, and we were by nature children under wrath as the others were also.

the living dead

No, Paul is not talking about the zombie apocalypse. He is describing the life lived by an unbeliever before God’s invitation came and changed things. It is a real life, but it is focused on the flesh. It is a real life, but it is the life of a child under wrath. It is a real life, but it is controlled by Satan. It is a real life, but it can only result in disobedient behavior.

Believers have been rescued from this night of the living dead. We can now walk according the power of the resurrected Christ, reflecting his image, being his body.

What will it be?

1ἐπιθυμία

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his body and fullness

Posted on September 2, 2019 by Jefferson Vann

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Ephesians 1:22-23 (JDV)

Ephesians 1:22 And he subjected everything under his feet and appointed him as head above everything for the congregation,¹

Ephesians 1:23 which is his body, the fullness of the one who fills all things in every way.

his body and fullness

If the congregation is the body of Christ, and everything is under his feet – where is everything in relation to us? That’s right, it’s under our feet as well. We may not feel that way, and we may have experiences that discourage us from thinking like that – but that is the ultimate reality.

It is important to remember that when we pray. We pray as members of the body of Christ, and therefore can approach the throne in heaven with confidence. We are not just the body, we are also the fullness. Many of God’s creatures can reflect his image partially, but we are destined to reflect it fully.

Lord, show us how to function as your body, and reflect the fullness of your image.

1ἐκκλησία

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the right to restore

Posted on September 1, 2019 by Jefferson Vann

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Ephesians 1:20-21 (JDV)

Ephesians 1:20 He achieved this in Christ by raising him from the dead and seating him at his right hand in the sky realms –

Ephesians 1:21 far above every priority¹ and authority, power and dominion, and every name named, not only in this age² but also in the one to come.

the right to restore

The key to our future is Christ’s resurrection. His glorious inheritance (vs. 18) is ours. Because he has been raised to permanent life, that is our destiny as well. In fact, his invitation for us to be saved is also achieved by his resurrection and seating above any other ruler.

So, when we pray for someone’s salvation, claim the authority of Christ over her life. He is the ultimate authority. He’s her boss’s boss’s boss’s boss. He has the right to claim her as his. There is no authority named who has more right to redeem and reclaim.

Lord, we present to you the unsaved of our streets, the lost in our families. You have a right to restore them to the Father’s care.

1ἀρχή

2αἰών

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from invitation to inheritance

Posted on August 31, 2019 by Jefferson Vann

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Ephesians 1:17-19 (JDV)

Ephesians 1:17 I pray that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, would give you the Breath of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him.

Ephesians 1:18 I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened so that you may know what the hope of his invitation¹ is, what the wealth of his glorious inheritance is – among the devotees,

Ephesians 1:19 and what the immeasurable greatness of his power is toward us who believe, according to the mighty achieving energy² of his strength.

from invitation to inheritance

The knowledge of God that Paul specifically prayed for the Ephesian Christians to have spanned the distance from point A to point Z. He wanted them to know how God’s power could change their lives, from his initial invitation for them to put their faith in him, to its conclusion – the glorious inheritance they will know at the return of Christ.

For Paul and his team, God is not merely the focal point of a religion. He is the unmoved mover, who fills the lives of those he moved with miracle after miracle. Unfortunately, the miracles that take place in our lives are cloaked, and we often fail to recognize them. That is why we need the Breath of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him.

Lord, open our eyes to what you are doing among us.

1κλῆσις

2ἐνέργεια

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prayer before the requests

Posted on August 30, 2019 by Jefferson Vann

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Ephesians 1:15-16 (JDV)

Ephesians 1:15 This is why, since I heard about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the devotees,

Ephesians 1:16 I never stop giving thanks in behalf of¹ you as I remember you in my prayers.

prayer before the requests

Paul is going to tell the Ephesian Christians the specific requests that he is making in his prayers for them. But first, he tells them that he is remembering them in his prayers, and that he is giving thanks for them. They are not just requests on his list. They are people that he appreciates and gives thanks for.

There are two particular traits that the Ephesian Christians stand out for – reasons Paul can give thanks to God for. First, they have faith in the Lord Jesus. Secondly, they love their fellow Christians.

Lord, today as we bring our lists of prayer request to you, help us to pause and remember some good things that are going on in the lives of those we pray for, and give thanks.

1ὑπέρ

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down payment

Posted on August 29, 2019 by Jefferson Vann

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Ephesians 1:13-14 (JDV)

Ephesians 1:13 In him you also were sealed with the promised Sacred Breath¹ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your rescue,² and when you believed

Ephesians 1:14 who³ is the down payment of our inheritance, until the redemption of the acquisition,⁴ to the praise of his glory.

down payment

Paul explains how the third person of the divine trinity has been given to believers as a down payment. He seals us by his creative, animating power until our full inheitance – the acquisition arrives on resurrection day. The empowerment we receive when He comes into our lives is not immortality, but it is the same power which raised Christ from the dead. It is not the full rescue, but it does show us that the full rescue is in our future.

Thank you Lord, for your empowerment today, and your promise for a future which will glorify you.

1 πνεῦμα

2σωτηρία

3the promised Sacred Breath (v.13)

4περιποίησις

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