Ephesians; 1:4 – The calling of the elect, part 13: The called call upon a holy God.

Tuesday February 19, 2019

 

Our current topic: the called can call upon the Father. The blood of Christ has given us full access to the Father.

 

1PE 3:18 For Christ also died for sins once for all, the just for the unjust, in order that He might bring us [prosagoge] to God, having been put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the spirit;

 

We need full access to the Father because we face much opposition to the life of Christ in all who are elect. The war on truth is ascending in intensity. The coming presidential election is going to push that war into the absurd.

 

We are not afraid of the people who oppose God or their ideologies.

 

1PE 3:13 And who is there to harm you if you prove zealous for what is good?

 

1PE 3:14 But even if you should suffer for the sake of righteousness, you are blessed. And do not fear their intimidation, and do not be troubled,

 

1PE 3:15 but sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts, always being ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you, yet with gentleness and reverence;

 

1PE 3:16 and keep a good conscience so that in the thing in which you are slandered, those who revile your good behavior in Christ may be put to shame.

 

1PE 3:17 For it is better, if God should will it so, that you suffer for doing what is right rather than for doing what is wrong.

 

And so, we take full advantage of our access to God the Father.

 

1PE 3:18 For Christ also died for sins once for all, the just for the unjust, in order that He might bring us [prosagoge] to God, having been put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the spirit;

 

The Father is to be our number one source of comfort. Always take advantage of your access to Him.

 

2CO 1:3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort;

 

2CO 1:4 who comforts us in all our affliction so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.

 

God deliver’s His own in His power and love, but we weep and pray for the rest who rush headlong into destruction, filled with self-love, and glorying in their own collective wisdom. God help them.

 

2TI 3:1 But realize this, that in the last days difficult times will come.

 

2TI 3:2 For men will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, revilers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy,

 

2TI 3:3 unloving, irreconcilable, malicious gossips, without self-control, brutal, haters of good,

 

2TI 3:4 treacherous, reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God;

 

2TI 3:5 holding to a form of godliness, although they have denied its power; and avoid such men as these.

 

Difficult times will come: It will be hard for you and your families, but God will see you through. Remember to avoid their way, but love them, do good to them, and pray for them.

 

Men will be lovers of self: They will do anything to be big on social media, loved and approved of by the loudest sounding groups.

 

Lovers of money: Wealth supersedes all convictions of conscience.

 

Boastful, arrogant: grandstanding, important to let everyone know how great thou art.

 

GAL 6:14 But may it never be that I should boast, except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.

 

Boastful, arrogant: Brett Kavanaugh confirmation hearings, politicians and celebrities on social media, athletes only concerned with their own spectacle, and all of this nonsense bleeding into the hearts and minds of young people in our age, who clamor day after day onto facebook, twitter, and tinder hoping to get likes, comments, notices, etc. It is now well known that facebook can become an addiction. It can cause depression and isolation, and not one public official has called facebook out on it.

 

Revilers: The Greek word is blasphemos. They blaspheme. Blaspheming is insulting the truth with pride.

 

If you speak the truth to the alt-left or alt-right you will find yourself vilified and labeled as one of their agreed monikers of evil. History is currently being altered or just ignored. Only that which fits the narrative of the left is being promoted. It’s laughable, and I think most Americans see right through it, but yet it still goes on. After just one election cycle, socialism is actually being embraced by much of the press, universities, and some powerful politicians. After the world wars and the cold war, that should be impossible, yet here we are.

 

Every elect believer is responsible to know the truth of the scripture for himself. There is no other source of truth.

 

EPH 6:17 And take [Greek: dechomai - receive or take readily] the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

 

There’s only one way to get good at using a sword.

 

Disobedient to parents: reject God given authority.

 

EPH 6:1 Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right.

 

EPH 6:2 Honor your father and mother (which is the first commandment with a promise),

 

EPH 6:3 that it may be well with you, and that you may live long on the earth.

 

A man got on national news recently because he began an effort to sue his parents for having him without his consent. How far can this go? Parents are a person’s first shot at reaping the benefits that come from learning to obey authority. In our age, parents often do not enforce their authority, but that is their own failure to obey God.

 

Ungrateful: Blessed logistically but demand more.

 

JOH 6:32 Jesus therefore said to them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, it is not Moses who has given you the bread out of heaven, but it is My Father who gives you the true bread out of heaven.

 

JOH 6:33 "For the bread of God is that which comes down out of heaven, and gives life to the world." 

 

JOH 6:34 They said therefore to Him, "Lord, evermore give us this bread."

 

JOH 6:35 Jesus said to them, "I am the bread of life; he who comes to Me shall not hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst.

 

JOH 6:36 "But I said to you, that you have seen Me, and yet do not believe.

 

People bemoan the US as evil, while they live within her laws and protections and enormous economic prosperity. We often see celebrities accepting awards or accolades who say, “They said I couldn’t do it, but I did.” Just once I’d like someone to come up to the podium at that moment and ask them specifically who told them that they couldn’t do it. We live is the freest, richest country in the history of the world, and people, young and old, bemoan the evil of America. It is a fascinating spectacle of human nature without God.

 

We know that when Jesus returns, He will sit on the throne of David and will establish Israel as the central nation of the world for one thousand years. The earth will function flawlessly under His rule, and myriads of people will rebel against Him.  

 

Unholy: Conduct only unto themselves.

 

2TI 3:5 holding to a form of godliness, although they have denied its power; and avoid such men as these.

 

The conduct of people are not unto God, but unto themselves. They live unholy while they champion minorities and transgenders and the like, which being clearly okay to do, is not a covering for evil. The collective call them justified.

 

Unloving: Do not value human life other than their own.

 

“So here we are. The old idea of tolerance was summed up in such chestnuts as, “I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it.” The new dispensation is: “I disapprove of what you say, therefore you may not say it.” [Imprimis: Feb 2019, Roger Kimbal]

 

Irreconcilable: There is no absolute truth.

 

The truth doesn’t matter to them. They quarantine off safe-zones where they allow alternative views.

 

Malicious gossips: No love of truth, but must talk about something.

 

Social media.

 

Without self-control: All appetite.

 

Alt-left and alt-right using any means necessary. Good and evil, right and wrong are only determined by experience. That thinking had infiltrated Christianity some time ago. The word is truth and not experience. Experience can be very deceiving.

 

Brutal: uncaring.

 

Uncaring of the damage they do to others and their nation. Agenda is above all.

 

Haters of good: good convicts their God-given conscience.

 

JOH 7:5 For not even His brothers were believing in Him.

 

JOH 7:6 Jesus therefore said to them, "My time is not yet at hand, but your time is always opportune. 

 

JOH 7:7 "The world cannot hate you; but it hates Me because I testify of it, that its deeds are evil.

 

Vehemently attack the voice of good. Orwell was correct on several things, but one thing he got wrong was that all the books containing truth would be destroyed. Huxley got this right - the books are available but no one reads them.  

 

Treacherous: Always scheming.

 

Reckless: Ends justify the means.

 

Conceited: Are sure that they are awesome.

 

Lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God: Experience overrules the truth and the Creator.

 

Holding to a form of godliness: in the image of God, every soul needs a cause.