Phillippians

, , , ,

BodyLife: The Three “L”s. (#2a, Righteousness)

, , , ,

Our three “L”s form a nucleus of Spiritual identity.  They speak to the essential Life of Jesus Christ, God’s Love shared in us and the Holy Spirit’s Light to guide our glorification in Jesus producing His fruit. 

God is! He is the “I AM” and has bought us into His eternal family. This is our new family name and we need training. What He has begun He will continue to perform. 

Righteousness and sanctification and redemption sum up the wisdom God gives  because we are in His Son, Christ Jesus. This is declared for us in 1Cor. 1:30, above … and He is in us.

, , , , , , ,

Grace Reigns: Our Identity

, , , , , , ,

Its in the 60s outside.  On naked arms the sun is warm and bright. Great weather for spiritual eyes. What a  creation God made for the man Adam! God gave Adam dominion over a rich diverse system of life and landscape. God created it and then and gave it to man. Why?

, , , , ,

Faith, Drilling Down

, , , , ,

Looking at the above picture, you are struck by the massive trees next to two small persons walking on a narrow trail bridge. If these two people are believers, they have within them something much greater than  trees.  In the shadow of giant redwoods, dwarfing the two small clay  vessels, God created again with resurrection power, life in these two people.  This is what is meant to be ‘’born again.’’

Paul tells us in Ephesians 4:24 our new self is created in the likeness or image of God in true righteousness and holiness.  The word created here conveys the same meaning used in Genesis when God created man and breathed life into Him.  This time, John tells us  in John 1, we are born of God Himself. God’s amazing grace purchased us, so once again, we are His possession.  The first time we were His by creation but this time we are His because He bought us and we gave our heart and life to Him. This time, we are lifted above terrestrial soil  and made citizens in God’s eternal Kingdom. While serving on this clay ball, already sin cursed, these two believers  walk in the light of resurrection power.

, , , , , ,

Grasping Love by Faith

, , , , , ,

“Love is layered throughout this passage and the dominate theme.  But none of our core samples of love are the same. In fact, this prayer passage itself suggests God’s diversity. The further away from the center of God’s fullness, the love textures become more dimensioned with reason and truth. They all have love in them but the closer we get to God’s fullness, the more dense is the love surrounding ‘fullness’.”  -GN

For this reason I bow my knees before the Father,  …  …  …

May have strength to comprehend with all the saints
What is the breadth, and length and height and depth,
And to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge,
That  you may be filled with all the fullness of God.    - Ephesians 3:14-19

We are continuing our look at this passage illustrated in the life of Elijah.  God exposed the breadth, length, height and depth of agape love through  power from where Elijah was standing inside the cave.  Watching God’s display,  protected by the cave, didn’t persuade. Elijah had just been God’s own instrument of power before Ahab and all Israel.  The wind, earthquake and fire may have been a reminder but not a revelation for Elijah. But it wasn’t God’s power he saw, it was His love. Fear had griped his heart driving him into the cave but he left  the cave in faithful submission to the lover of his soul.

, , , , , ,

In Christ Jesus - February 22

, , , , , ,

We have been “Drilling Down” this past year unlocking God’s word in our heart and mind. It has been percolation time for God’s word within our very soul, “dwelling richly,” filling us with the fullness of God.  However, as we began looking at Paul’s Ephesian prayer, in chapter 3, we began “fracking”  from inside at different angles.  We recognized how variable is our own capacity according to God’s grace and purpose.  Now, we want to observe God’s spiritual geological formations surrounding His fullness. Paul paints a cross-section of love, in this prayer passage, that encapsulates God’s fullness.  Penetrating God’s love is a requirement. Filling our fullness is receiving love out of His fullness.   

, , , , , , , ,

In Christ Jesus - Feb 1

, , , , , , , ,

This isn’t our last probe into being “filled with the fullness of God.”  But we must start “drilling up” to the love of Christ surpassing knowledge (Eph. 3:14-19). The way Paul puts it, love is a condition for being filled with the fullness of God. But first, we want to be realistic about what Paul means by  “filled with all the fullness of God”. We won’t leave our discussion with all the answers but perhaps we can measure its meaning within our understanding.  As we journey in faith, God is ever increasing our capacity to receive more grace (Romans 5). So, since we are not removed from God’s spiritually organic activity, “being filled with all the fullness of God,” we focus our soul’s attention in other directions as God maintains His work within us. Let us not forget, it is God working within us, to will  and do according to His good pleasure (Philippians 2:13). His faithful work in us continues while our mind is otherwise engaged (Philippians 1:6). This is pictured for us in 1Kings 17ff as we probe this remarkable man Elijah. 

After about two years alone with the birds, the brook and God, Elijah is now ready to be strengthened in his faith and tempered for Ahab at Zarepath. First, the widow who did not have the resources to do what Elijah required. Exhausted of resources, the widow submits to God through Elijah and proves God’s faithfulness. Second, bringing back to life what God  had already promised to sustain. God seals Elijah by putting divine power into Elijah’s hand for use restoring life into the widow’s son.  God affirms Elijah showing His power to others through him and allowing Elijah to experience God’s reality in God’s service of love and judgment.

, , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

In Christ Jesus - Dec 7

, , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Our life in Christ operates in two scriptural modes. One is grace, the other is faith. Grace is God’s love to us and faith is our response. It is God’s power making them effective. 

We launched our In Christ discussion from a verse platform written by Paul to the saints in Corinth,1Corinthians 1:30:

And because of him (God) you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness, sanctification and redemption,

We observed these “carnal Christians” are in Christ Jesus. This relationship in Christ Jesus brings a wisdom defined as righteousness, sanctification and redemption.  We identified these “wisdoms” being associated with the work of the Father, the Holy Spirit and Jesus the Son, operating in our life. Spiritual wisdom is God’s grace cultivated by our faith.  Grace is a spiritual capacity but faith is our soul’s ability to receive and apply it. 

, , , , , ,

In Christ Jesus - Nov 30

, , , , , ,

And because of him you are in Christ Jesus,
who became to us the wisdom of God,
righteousness and sanctification and redemption, 
so that, as it is written, “Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.”-1Corinthians 1:30-31.

Our life in Christ operates in two scriptural modes. One is grace, the other is faith. Grace is God’s love to us and faith is our response. It is God’s power that makes both effective. 

“But we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to gentiles, but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ is the power of God and the wisdom of God (1Corinthians 1:23-24).” 

We have been called by God to be His visible power and wisdom. This is literal context for our verse.  Humbling thought?  Humbling and sobering!

But, it is absolutely true, we are to be visible containers of God’s power and wisdom (2Corinthians 4:11). And what does this power and wisdom wisdom look like? It is righteousness, sanctification and redemption, or to put it another way, it is the resurrected person of Jesus Christ seen in us. It is Jesus Himself, in us, bearing His fruit of righteousness, sanctification and redemption through us, in our life. We need to soak ourselves in this reality!! This is why we added verse 31, “Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.

, , , , , ,

In Christ Jesus - Nov 16

, , , , , ,

Our union in Christ is much more than an association with Jesus.  An association with Jesus is, in essence, having a “position” in Christ because we are justified. This popular seminary explanation of being in Christ tells us little, it is limited and lacking (l&l). When you hear, “It is our ‘position’ in Christ”, it is a hollow sound ringing out a warning.  The noise is academia creating structure for the church where Christ’s life is not seen yielding His power in resurrected lives. 

We are not challenging the validity of our position in Christ, it is most certainly true and does speak to our justification. Like many things containing truth, we get a warped sense of our identity when this is all we hear. We would go so far as to say, it actually vitiates our effectiveness, creating a skeleton without any tissue and mussel.

Justification will be more central to our discussion on righteousness in Christ, but we need to provide some mediation for our harsh observation. Yes, we are judged righteous through God’s sacrifice of Jesus for our sin, as expressed in the Greek aorist tense (Romans 5:1), telling us it was a completed act.  It is also expressed in Romans 3:24 in the continuous present tense, telling us justification is also ongoing for the believer who is justified once and forever in the aorist tense. In other words, our justification or our “no condemnation” in Christ (Rom. 8:1) is also our resurrected Lord living in our mortal bodies giving ongoing righteous life, justifying us as sure as He is in us and we are in Him. So, while we are positionally, in Him justified, He is also working his righteous work in us so that the essence of who we are is also being expressed through our polluted souls as we are glorifying Him. No, we are not talking about sanctification, this is in addition to sanctification. 

, , , , , ,

In Christ Jesus - Nov 2

, , , , , ,

There are two scriptural descriptions for the modes in which our life in Christ operates. One is grace and the other is faith. Grace is God’s ministry of love to us and faith is our response to God’s love and grace. It is God’s power, however, providing context for love-grace and faith. 

Last week we looked at discernment-wisdom as our response to God’s provision of love-grace. The same principal of love-grace and faith apply as we switch our focus to righteousness. Love and grace are constant companions for believers in Christ. No one can snatch us out of the Father’s hand (John 10-29). Love and grace are fundamental to our relationship in Christ and the fullness of our faith.  Our faith effects (not affects) knowledge, wisdom, behavior and hope including the smile on our face. 

Grace and faith are context shepherding our focus on righteousness.  Because of God we are in Christ who became our righteousness.  We alluded last week to the relationship between justification and righteousness. 

, , , , , , , , ,

In Christ: The Mystery of Grace

, , , , , , , , ,

Peter tells us the angels in heaven look at us in wonder because we have a salvation completed in Christ Jesus Himself (1 Peter 1:12).   In fact, as we read the first chapter of 1Peter, we cannot turn away without being awe struck by God’s grace, which we possess in Christ Jesus.  We are the benefactors of God’s love in such an astounding way, a way we actually distort trying shape it and size it into our inadequate capacity to understand.

Understanding the mystery of being in Christ, and becoming an effective minister in our “niche” capacities, is one of our challenges. Paul tells us through his letter to the Ephesians, “speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into Him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love” (Ephesians 4:15-16). 

The three New Testament passages used for teaching spiritual gifts for believers are 1 Corinthians 12, Romans 12 and Ephesians 4. The first two are more “list” focused and the Ephesians passage, which I prefer, is more “function” focused.

While it is important to express our “niche” capacities in spiritual ministry, our primary focus is to grow up into Christ who is the head of His body.  Maturity in Christ gives us a far better yield of our fruit we bear and enables us to grow in faith.