Ephesians; 1:4 – Elected to be blameless. The church presented blameless – Col 1:22.

Tuesday March 26, 2019

 

COL 1:9 For this reason also, since the day we heard of it, we have not ceased to pray for you and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge [epignosis - full/real/deep knowledge] of His will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding,

 

COL 1:10 so that you may walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, to please Him in all respects, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God;

 

“worthy” - axios = lit. the weight of. Of like value. The Christian’s conduct of like value with our Lord’s.

 

The believer must see that this is not a dream. In fact, it is beyond a dream. It is the reality of life with and like God in time. It is seen and lived only by those to strive to be filled with the full knowledge of God’s will through the Holy Spirit. They must understand it by striving to live it; falling and failing and getting up and persevering, having solid faith that this life exists for them, that it has been gifted to them, which is hope. Like finding a pearl of great price, we know it’s out there, and we know it is our ignorance, sin, selfishness, deceit that is clouding our vision, but we never quit, because we know the pearl exists and it is just ahead of us.

 

My favorite survivalist, Bear Grylls says that survival is really about heart, having the attitude that you are going to make it and so never giving up. That has been shown to be true many times, and the spiritual life, even more important, has the same need. We must be clear and understanding on what the spiritual life is, and then we must pursue it daily, never giving up.

 

PHI 3:13 Brethren, I do not regard myself as having laid hold of it yet; but one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead,

 

PHI 3:14 I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.

 

PHI 3:15 Let us therefore, as many as are perfect, have this attitude; and if in anything you have a different attitude, God will reveal that also to you;

 

PHI 3:16 however, let us keep living by that same standard to which we have attained.

 

It is a very real life that is Christ, and so it is beyond dreams.

 

1CO 2:6 Yet we do speak wisdom among those who are mature; a wisdom, however, not of this age, nor of the rulers of this age, who are passing away;

 

1CO 2:7 but we speak God's wisdom in a mystery, the hidden wisdom, which God predestined before the ages to our glory;

 

1CO 2:8 the wisdom which none of the rulers of this age has understood; for if they had understood it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory;

 

1CO 2:9 but just as it is written,

 

"Things which eye has not seen and ear has not heard,

And which have not entered the heart of man,

All that God has prepared for those who love Him."

 

1CO 2:10 For to us God revealed them through the Spirit; for the Spirit searches all things, even the depths of God.

 

Mystery - not revealed in the OT, but now revealed. To all who believe: God in you. All sin forgiven. Truth etched on the heart. Life and light revealed.

 

Jew, Gentile, slave, free, barbarian, male, female, all are invited to believe upon Christ, and in the moment they do, the spiritual aspects of the New Covenant in Christ’s blood is bestowed upon them. God is in them, their sins are remembered no more, the truth is not external to them like a distant knowledge, but rather written right upon their hearts, the truth has come alive in them, and the life of God, the light of Christ, is fully revealed to them.

 

But, warning before you quit on it and return to your earthly, worldly existence you fool!, it takes time for our will to line up with God’s will. God’s will doesn’t change, but ours can change like the wind. We must come to be filled with a full knowledge of His will in wisdom from the Holy Spirit and understanding. This takes learning it, striving to live in it, falling, getting frustrated, pressing on, asking, seeking, knocking. Is God hiding it from us, torturing us with an amazing promise and hanging it just outside our reach? Not at all. Those who persevere in reaching ahead and pressing on, know that the great pearl exists. Simply, they believe it. They have faith.

 

It takes mountains of faith to live the Christ life consistently, and God is building that faith within us.

 

For any Christian who has persevered over years, he can attest that he easily applies faith to things that years ago were very difficult to handle.

 

Christians who reach ahead for a little while, part-time have a weak faith because it will not stand up against periods of waiting, disappointment, pain, tribulation, uncomfortable times, or personal pride. How could a Christian with weak faith live like Christ?  

 

EPH 3:8 To me, the very least of all saints, this grace was given, to preach to the Gentiles the unfathomable riches of Christ,

 

EPH 3:9 and to bring to light what is the administration of the mystery which for ages has been hidden in God, who created all things;

 

EPH 3:10 in order that the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known through the church to the rulers and the authorities in the heavenly places.

 

EPH 3:11 This was in accordance with the eternal purpose which He carried out in Christ Jesus our Lord,

 

Test of faith: did Christ come and die so that you (just you) could have His life?

 

He became one of us, that He might be our King; He clothed Himself in our dust, that we might wear His royal robe; He lay in our grave, that we might sit on His throne; He founded our joy in the deep pain of His own soul, He founded our kingdom in His own obedience and subjection. Does He not have claim to reign over us?

 

Paul came to believe it and so deemed himself the least of the saints. Anyone who comes to this faith will see himself in the same way. The gentleness of God leads us to repentance. When we accept all God as done; the fullness of His love, complete forgiveness, sonship, inheritance, all of it, we will find ourselves deeply and fully humbled. “Who am I Lord?”

 

2SA 7:18 Then David the king went in and sat before the Lord, and he said, "Who am I, O Lord God, and what is my house, that Thou hast brought me this far?

 

2SA 7:19 "And yet this was insignificant in Thine eyes, O Lord God, for Thou hast spoken also of the house of Thy servant concerning the distant future. And this is the custom of man, O Lord God [This law of love applies to man. It is to be his law].

 

2SA 7:20 And again what more can David say to Thee? For Thou knowest Thy servant, O Lord God!

 

2SA 7:21 "For the sake of Thy word, and according to Thine own heart, Thou hast done all this greatness to let Thy servant know.

 

2SA 7:22 For this reason Thou art great, O Lord God; for there is none like Thee, and there is no God besides Thee, according to all that we have heard with our ears.

 

EPH 3:8 To me, the very least of all saints, this grace was given, to preach to the Gentiles the unfathomable riches of Christ,

 

EPH 3:9 and to bring to light what is the administration of the mystery which for ages has been hidden in God, who created all things;

 

EPH 3:10 in order that the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known through the church to the rulers and the authorities in the heavenly places.

 

EPH 3:11 This was in accordance with the eternal purpose which He carried out in Christ Jesus our Lord,

 

[repeat] Test of faith: did Christ come and die so that you (just you) could have His life?

 

EPH 3:12 in whom we have boldness and confident access through faith in Him.

 

EPH 3:13 Therefore I ask you not to lose heart at my tribulations on your behalf, for they are your glory.

 

EPH 3:14 For this reason, I bow my knees before the Father,

 

EPH 3:15 from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name,

 

EPH 3:16 that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with power through His Spirit in the inner man;

 

EPH 3:17 so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; and that you, being rooted and grounded in love,

 

EPH 3:18 may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth,

 

EPH 3:19 and to know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled up to all the fulness of God.

 

EPH 3:20 Now to Him who is able to do exceeding abundantly beyond all that we ask or think [beyond dreams], according to the power that works within us,

 

EPH 3:21 to Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations forever and ever. Amen.

 

How are we going to have conduct just like, or of the same weight as our Lord’s? We have to be filled with the real knowledge of His will, by the Spirit, lived and understood.