joy from others

Posted on May 6, 2011 by Jefferson Vann

SDC12626 Philippians 2:12-30.  Paul was no lone ranger. He was blessed by those who ministered the gospel because of him, those who served alongside him in his team, and those who were sent to support him and provide for his needs.

  1. Paul took joy from knowing that he Philippian Christians would be willing and working for God’s good pleasure together, shining as lights in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation (12-15).
  2. He took joy from knowing that his sacrifice for them would not be in vain, because their works would greet him on the day of Christ (16-18).
  3. He took joy in knowing that Timothy would soon be ministering among the Philippians, because he knew how valuable Timothy was in the LORD’s service (19-24).
  4. He took joy in returning Epaphroditus to those who sent him to minister and pass on messages. He knew that the Philippians were concerned, because they knew of his sickness. He knew how much encouragment it would bring them to learn that God healed him by his mercy, and that he had risked his life to minister to Paul (25-30).

LORD, thank you for the other people that you bring into our lives to support and encourage our walk with you, and work for you.

[Note on healing: Epaphroditus was healed by God’s mercy, not by claiming a healing he supposedly deserved. All blessings we receive from God are through his grace and mercy. Even the covenant is a covenant of grace. Prayer for healing is not an attempt to manipulate God to do something he does not want to do. Prayer is an act of dependence, not the serving of a warrant.]

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joy from unity

Posted on May 5, 2011 by Jefferson Vann

SDC12624 Philippians 1:27-2:11.  Paul encouraged the Philippian Christians to complete his joy by fulfilling his expectations:

  1. He expected them to unite together in their stand for the gospel, in spite of the suffering it would cause (1:27-30).
  2. He expected them to unite together in their concern for one another, with each one considering the others as more significant than himself (2:1-4).
  3. He expected them to unite together in humble service because they have the mind of Christ, who disregarded his own equality with God and served humanity by dying on the cross for them (2:5-11).

LORD, may our unity be more than standing behind a name. May we be one in our stand for the gospel, our love for each other, and our humble service.

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joy from confidence

Posted on May 4, 2011 by Jefferson Vann

SDC12616 Philippians 1:1-26.  Things were getting bleak for the apostle Paul. He had been arrested and imprisoned in Rome with no knowledge of when — or if — he would ever go to trial. Even if he went to trial, the most likely outcome would be his death. Meanwhile, the churches he planted throughout the empire were facing persecution from without and schism, hypocrisy and heresy from within.

Paul had experienced times like this before. His first trip to Philippi resulted in he and Silas being jailed (Acts 16).  They responded to this bleak outcome by singing hymns of joy, and were interrupted by an opportunity to lead their jailor to Christ.

So Paul has reasons to be optimistic about this situation as well.

  1. He is confident that God will continue the good work he has begun in the lives of the Philippian Christians (6). 
  2. He is confident that the gospel will be advanced through his witness to the imperial guard (12-13).
  3. He is confident that the gospel will continue to be proclaimed by the Philippians, whether from good motives or bad (14-18).
  4. Although he thinks he will be released*, he is confident that whether this situation ends with his release or with his death, Christ will be honored, and that will be gain for the gospel (19-26).

LORD, no matter what the circumstances, may we spread thanksgiving and joy from confidence in you and your word.

*It appears that Paul was right in assuming that he would be released from this imprisonment. Some evidence suggests that he was released, only to be arrested and imprisoned again before his execution some years later.

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grace for love and war

Posted on May 3, 2011 by Jefferson Vann

SDC12613 Ephesians 6:10-24.  Paul concludes this letter with a prayer for grace to all who read it, that they might love the Lord Jesus Christ with love incorruptible.  The warfare that they face will challenge that love. His concluding words to the Ephesians reveal that the (usually) invisible forces of evil will continue to wrestle against them. They have strength for that warfare, given by grace from the Lord himself: it is his strength and his might. They must take up his armor, for he intends to fight the battle. This imagery is taken from Isaiah 59:17:  “He put on righteousness as a breastplate, and a helmet of salvation on his head; he put on garments of vengeance for clothing, and wrapped himself in zeal as a cloak.”  Isaiah saw God putting on his own armor to rescue his people. In the same way, Paul says that God himself will rescue his people by grace if they trust in him to do it. He pictures that trust as putting on the armor.

  1. Trust in his truth (fasten on the belt)
  2. Trust in his righteousness (put on the breastplate)
  3. Trust in his gospel of peace (put on the shoes)
  4. Trust in his protection (take up the shield of faith)
  5. Trust in his salvation (take the helmet)
  6. Trust in his word (take the sword of the Spirit)

The Christian life is NOT an easy life. It is a true warfare, and it takes constant prayer, because the power to deliver us from Satan’s realm is the LORD’s and is activated by prayer.  For that reason, we must keep alert and persevere not only for ourselves but for all the saints.

But spiritual warfare is not an end of itself. It frees us from the grip of Satan so that we can concenrate on the life of love that we are called to.

LORD, keep us alert and praying so that we can be free to love you with love incorruptible.

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relationships that reflect grace

Posted on May 2, 2011 by Jefferson Vann

SDC12610Ephesians 5:22-6:9.   The grace walk requires voluntary submission in all relationships. This is a means of obeying the command in 5:18, being filled with the Spirit. It is accomplished by submitting to one another. So, what follows should not be taken as a new law reflecting some kind of order of authority. Paul is encouraging mutual submission as a means of reflecting God’s grace in relationships.

  1. Wives can best reflect grace in their relationships with their husbands by submitting to them out of respect (5:22-24, 33).
  2. Husbands can best reflect grace in their relationships with their wives by sacrificial love (5:25-29, 33).
  3. Both husband and wife are equally members of Christ’s body, and demonstrate that unity by being one flesh in their marriage (5:30-32).
  4. Children can best reflect grace in their relationships with their parents by obeying the commandment to honor them – both father and mother. This goes beyond simply obeying them while still in the household. It means bringing honor to them by living the grace walk as adults (6:1-3).
  5. Fathers are reminded that discipline of young children should be for training purposes, to instill instruction in the grace walk. Otherwise they might provoke anger which might lead to rebellion (6:4)
  6. Slaves (read employees) should reflect grace by rendering service with a good will as to the Lord and not to man (6:5-8). Ephesus probably was composed of about 1/3rd bondservants.
  7. Masters (read employers) should reflect grace by acting in the same manner toward their bondservants.

The church is responsible to rebel against cultural norms, not to help impose them. The relationships that Paul encouraged were part of the grace walk that he prescribed. They were intended to show the difference between how believers lived, because of God’s grace. The mutual submission that Paul commanded would have been ridiculed by Ephesian society. The same is true of us if we dare follow this instruction.

LORD, show us how to follow the grace walk in our relationships.

go to prayer

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the grace walk

Posted on May 1, 2011 by Jefferson Vann

SDC12605 Ephesians 5:1-21.  The believer imitates God’s grace by walking the grace walk.

  1. The grace walk is a life that imitates God’s sacrificial love. Just as Christ gave himself up for us, so we who walk the grace walk are to give up the ways of the old  immoral, idolatrous, impure self, and love as children of God.
  2. The grace walk does not partner with the darkness, but is a life devoted to the light. It seeks to do what pleases the Lord.
  3. The grace walk is a wise walk. The one who walks by grace understands that the Lord wants him to celebrate his fellowship with God and other believers.

LORD, teach us to walk the grace walk.

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imitating grace

Posted on April 30, 2011 by Jefferson Vann

 SDC12603 Ephesians 4:17-32.  We are no longer the old selves. The old selves were alienated from God, corrupt on the inside and callous, carnal, and covetous on the outside. We must put off those old selves and put on the new selves. The new selves are creations of God’s grace: transformed on the inside and truthful, tranquil and tenderhearted on the outside. The new selves imitate God’s holiness and grace.  They look forward to holiness as their eternal destiny, and they have begun to fulfill that destiny in the present.

LORD, transform us so that our present lives reflect our future hope.

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grace given to each one of us

Posted on April 29, 2011 by Jefferson Vann

SDC12597 Ephesians 4:1-16.  Jesus made all believers one. We have the unity of the Spirit, and are called to one destiny. Walking in a manner worthy of that calling requires:

  1. Keeping the peace by bearing with one another: accepting our differences and the various levels of Christian maturity that exist within the fellowship (2-3).
  2. Keeping active in the ministry that each one of us was given by God’s grace: by utilizing our individual spiritual gifts (7).
  3. Keeping equipped for this ministry by growing into mature Christians under the leadership of equipping ministers (11-13).  These have been given gifts that enable the whole body to function according to the commands of the head, Jesus Christ.

LORD, we have lost our unity in you. Forgive us for failing to keep the peace, for failing to do ministry by the grace you gave each one of us, and for failing to listen to your word through your equipping ministers.

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the stewardship of God’s grace

Posted on April 28, 2011 by Jefferson Vann

SDC12596 Ephesians 3.  Preaching to the Gentile Ephesians the gospel of God’s grace was a great privilege for Paul. He gladly accepted the dishonor of being imprisoned and mistreated for that cause. He considered the work a gift of God’s grace (2, 7, 8). His challenge was to reveal to the Gentiles the fact that God had opened his door of grace to them through Christ. He described that fact in various ways:

  1. All believers are fellow heirs: we have the same inheritance — the same hope (6).
  2. All believers are members of the same body: the body of Christ — the church (6).
  3. All believers are partakers of the same promise: the promise made to Christ (6).
  4. All believers have the same purpose: to reveal to the angelic beings (and all others) the wisdom of heir creator (10).
  5. All believers can know the love of Christ in heir hearts and be filled with all the fullness of God (17-19).
  6. All believers have access to he same power – power to do more than we can imagine, and that power is from the Holy Spirit inside us (16,20).

LORD,  may we endure what we have to endure for the honor of sharing your gospel, because being stewards of your grace is worth any sacrifice.

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but God’s grace

Posted on April 27, 2011 by Jefferson Vann

SDC12595 Ephesians 2.  We were lost, but God’s grace has saved us!

  1. We were dead in trespasses and sins, but God’s grace has made us alive together with Christ (1-5).
  2. We were incapable of bringing glory to God, but God’s grace has seated us at his side in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus so that now we are his workmanship, walking in good works (6-10).
  3. We Gentiles were separated, alienated, with no hope and without God in the world, but now God’s grace has brought us near by the blood of Christ (11-13).
  4. The law of commandments had created a dividing wall of hostility, but God’s grace has created one new man, reconciling both Jew and Gentile to himself in one body through the cross, thereby killing the hostility (14-16).
  5. We were strangers and aliens to the Father, but God’s grace has come and preached peace to those who were far off, and peace to those who were near. We are now fellow citizens with the saints, and members of God’s family, having access in one Spirit to the Father (17-19).
  6. We were a dwelling place for Satan and all of his foul spirits and false gods. Now God’s grace has built us into the structure of his holy temple in the Lord. We are being built into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit (20-22).

LORD, we thank you for saving us by your grace.

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