Ephesians; 1:4 – Election of church age believer, part 44. The elected priest.

Tuesday January 15, 2019

 

3g. The elect are royal priests in the kingdom of God, 1PE 2:1-10.

 

1PE 2:1 Therefore, putting asideall malice [kakia = wickedness] and all guile [dolon = deceit] and hypocrisy and envy and all slander [evil speaking],

 

1PE 2:2 like newborn babes, long for the pure milk of the word, that by it you may grow in respect to salvation,

 

1PE 2:3 if you have tasted the kindness of the Lord.

 

1PE 2:4 And coming to Him as to a living stone, rejected by men, but choice [eklekton: chosen out one or elect] and precious in the sight of God,

 

1PE 2:5 you also, as living stones, are being built up as a spiritual house for a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.

 

1PE 2:6 For this is contained in Scripture:

"Behold I lay in Zion a choice stone, a precious corner stone,

And he who believes in Him shall not be disappointed."

 

1PE 2:7 This precious value, then, is for you who believe. But for those who disbelieve,

"The stone which the builders rejected,

This became the very corner stone,"

 

1PE 2:8 and,

"A stone of stumbling and a rock of offense";

for they stumble because they are disobedient to the word, and to this doom they were also appointed.

 

Those who reject the corner stone in this age are throwing away the greatest standing and future ever offered to man. As Jesus wept at the sight of a soon to crumble Jerusalem, so we weep at the fallen world who refuse to accept the only eternal corner stone and thus house themselves in the only peace available.

 

The prophecy is given in ISA 8:14 referring to the destruction of both the Northern and Southern Kingdoms. The prophecy is given again in ISA 28:16 as the stone of the foundation of the house of God, and he who believes in that Stone will not be disappointed.

 

We have reviewed the prophecy of Isa 8 and have begun the prophecy of Isa 28.

 

Isa 28-35 consists of prophecies which have local significance to Israel and Judah of that time, past prophecies fulfilled, and future ones, culminating in the great war of Armageddon in chapter 34 and the Millennium to follow in chapter 36.

 

So then, in this section we have near and far. We see local prophecy fulfilled and far distant prophecy yet to be fulfilled. It is as if God says, “If I just did what I had said I would, then you can bet that I will do what I have said I will do in the far future.”

 

Ephraim - a name for the Northern Kingdom of Israel. She will soon be in Assyrian captivity due to her long apostasy.

 

ISA 28:1 Woe to the proud crown of the drunkards of Ephraim,And to the fading flower of its glorious beauty,Which is at the head of the fertile valley Of those who are overcome with wine!

 

ISA 28:2 Behold, the Lord has a strong and mighty agent; As a storm of hail, a tempest of destruction, Like a storm of mighty overflowing waters, He has cast it down to the earth with His hand.

 

ISA 28:3 The proud crown of the drunkards of Ephraim is trodden under foot.

 

ISA 28:4 And the fading flower of its glorious beauty, Which is at the head of the fertile valley, Will be like the first-ripe fig prior to summer; Which one sees, And as soon as it is in his hand, He swallows it.

 

ISA 28:5 In that day the Lord of hosts will become a beautiful crown And a glorious diadem to the remnant of His people;

 

ISA 28:6 A spirit of justice for him who sits in judgment, A strength to those who repel the onslaught at the gate.

 

ISA 28:7 And these also reel with wine and stagger from strong drink: The priest and the prophet reel with strong drink, They are confused by wine, they stagger from strong drink; They reel while having visions, They totter when rendering judgment.

 

ISA 28:8 For all the tables are full of filthy vomit, without a single clean place.

 

When men lose, or never gain, what makes life meaningful, they resort to stimulants in a weak attempt to give themselves the feeling of meaning.

 

ISA 28:9 "To whom would He teach knowledge? And to whom would He interpret the message? Those just weaned from milk? Those just taken from the breast?

 

ISA 28:10 "For He says, 'Order on order, order on order, Line on line, line on line, A little here, a little there.'"

 

The word of God was given to Israel little by little. In the context of the previous line, the order (Hebrew: tsav) is a commandment, precept, or oracle.

 

God gave them commandment upon commandment. Next is the Hebrew qav which can mean a measuring line or string, but here would refer to a line of verse. God gave them commandment upon commandment and line upon line of verse so that they would have knowledge. There was a little here and a little there. There was some in Genesis, some in Joshua, some in Samuel, some in Exodus, and some in Amos and Jonah.

 

There are many Christians today who are not satisfied with their Christian lives. Unsatisfied and restless, they look into the world for meaning. When the unsatisfied and restless look into the world for meaning they lose any capacity for temperance.

 

Temperance: the ability to go the right length in any pleasure and go no farther.

 

Temperance is not asceticism. It is not abstinence unless abstinence is necessary. It does not refer to alcohol or drugs only, but to all pleasures. It is the ability to go the right length and no further.

 

If a man cannot drink without drinking too much, then he must abstain. Also, a man should abstain when the situation calls for it. He may be in the presence of someone who should not watch him drinking alcohol. The whole point is that he is abstaining for a good reason.

 

Also, he does not condemn it in others. The worst sort is the one who has given something up and then wants everyone else to give it up, for he can’t stand to see another person enjoying what he cannot.

 

When temperance is only applied to things like alcohol, the people of such belief miss a very important truth, and that is that you can be intemperate about a great many things. A man who makes golf, or cards, or his hobby the center of his life is being just as intemperate as the person who often gets drunk. It doesn’t justify one or the other. The fruit of the Spirit is self-control, and since the Spirit indwells every believer, everyone can have self-control. The golf-maniac is more accepted in society and his addiction does not show on the outside as much, but God judges the heart. He is not deceived by externals.

 

ISA 28:9 "To whom would He teach knowledge? And to whom would He interpret the message? Those just weaned from milk? Those just taken from the breast?

 

ISA 28:10 "For He says, 'Order on order, order on order, Line on line, line on line, A little here, a little there.'"

 

There are many Christians today who are not satisfied with their Christian lives. The problem is that they are ignorant of the word of God.

 

Achieving proper understanding and knowledge is a slow process. God has made it this way so that only those who desire it will have it. Teaching and learning are a slow, patient, and continuous work.

 

We haven’t been in Ephesians, the book we are currently studying since November 6. That was 10 weeks ago. We are slow and patient, well, at least we try to be patient, but we’re definitely slow.

 

God does not impart wisdom in a flash to the lazy.

 

We all see clearly that such a phenomenon would only encourage laziness.

 

As the people of a nation deepen their apostasy, they become lazier of mind, and it becomes increasingly difficult to impart any spiritual truth to them.

 

If someone hears about a wonderful two-week course that will give him all the answers to his problems, he is a fool who entertains it possibility. Marriages, addictions, sinful trends, ignorance, etc., none of them are solved in two weeks. No great course or mountain-top emotional experience are going to solve anyone’s problems. There is no shortcut to success in the spiritual life.

 

There is only one way to grow as a Christian - daily learning the word of God, command by command and line by line.

 

It’s not flashy or exciting. It can’t even be marketed as exciting. The demons offered the quick and fast excitement through the religions of Israel’s neighbors, and Israel took that course.

 

You see, this is the real test of everyone’s life. God has set before us the so-called quick-fix and the slow, life-long change. He has set before us the instantaneous pleasure and the long-term investment in a far greater and lasting pleasure.

 

Learning comes only from the daily grind in God’s word.