Month: March 2021

Ephesians 4:13

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Here is my commentary on Ephesians 4:13. I am publishing these once or twice a week, but you can read all of the available articles at our web-site, http://www.new-life.org.au

Ephesians 4:13

“… until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.”

The ministry or ascension gifts have been given to prepare God’s people 4 works of service and to build up the Body of Christ (v. 12).

The end goal of these gifts is:

  1. We all reach unity in the faith
  2. We all reach unity in the knowledge of the Son of God.
  3. We all become mature.
  4. We attain the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.

If anyone believes that the ministry gifts (particularly apostles and prophets) have been done away with, this verse should dispel that notion.

Christ’s desire is that the church should be “a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish but holy and blameless” (Ephesians 6:27). The ministry gifts are a part of this process of the church becoming all that God wants it to be.

The unity in the faith that is God’s heart for the church is not about a denominational structure that involves all Christians under one Pope. This is a unity that understands all christians share the same Saviour. We belong to the same family.

This is organic unity that allows differences in practice, in worship style, and in doctrinal emphasis, but brings a unified approach to ministry, mission, and oversight.

In the past (and in the present, too), the church has allowed doctrine to become a point of division. Denominations and movements have broken away because of convictions about beliefs. These have been understandable, but if “unity in the faith” means anything it must mean that God wants us to belong together even when we disagree.

Unity in the faith happens when congregations share together regardless of denominations. It happens when pastors meet together, pray together, and worship together.

At the local level, unity in the faith means recognising that there is one church in the town, that we are partners together in the gospel, and that God loves all of His people equally. It means that pastors and other ministers recognise the primacy of the local network over denominational loyalties and structures.

Unity in the knowledge of the Son of God is a growth in intimacy with the Saviour. The word for knowledge here suggests a process of growing into certainty.

This is not about doctrines so much as about relationship. As individuals grow in their knowledge of Christ (not knowledge about Christ), they will recognise that same perspective in others.

Those who know Jesus do not make judgements about appearances or denominational affiliation. The important thing is that we love each other because we love the Lord.

As we grow in the Lord, our love for Him increases our love for other believers .

This knowledge means we also know the ways of the Lord Jesus. As disciples, our aim should be to become more like Jesus. How can we do that unless we know him? How can we know him unless we give our lives to him as a living sacrifice? How can we know him unless we take up our cross and follow him?

As we join the fellowship of cross-carrying living sacrifices, we discover that all of our reasons for judging others fall away, and our reasons to encourage others become predominant.

The ministry gifts are to make us mature. There is a process of growth which is often misunderstood in the church.

Some believers think that once you say the prayer, you’ve got to the place of maturity. This is the starting point of discipleship, not the endpoint. Some think the baptism in the Holy Spirit is the goal, but again, this is just a start in our relationship with the Holy Spirit.

In our biological development, maturity is a moving goal and is multifaceted. We may marvel at the maturity of a 15 year old, but if she is still the same at 45 years, we may wonder why there are no emotional, social, or physical changes.

We seem to tolerate a very low level of spiritual maturity in the church. Often there is no encouragement to grow in prayer, in the use of spiritual gifts, in knowledge of the Bible and so on. Yet the purpose of the ministry gifts is to bring all believers to this place of maturity.

A mature believer is a person who is becoming increasingly like Jesus. He or she will be a person who has the combination of both love for God and people, together with holiness. The fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23) develops in us the character of Christ, while the gifts of the Spirit (1 Corinthians 12:7-10) give us the ability to minister as Christ did.

A mature believer is someone who is growing in love for God. A significant portion of their time is spent in prayer, reading scriptures, worship, and service.

The final goal of the ministry gifts is that we all attain the whole measure of the fullness of Christ. This means that we recognise that Christ is all and that He is in all things. It means that we put Christ at the centre of all we do, of every relationship, of our work, of our family, of our church.

The fullness of Christ is not a measurement of a quantity, but a posture of the heart. In this place, I recognise that I am a child of God, a bond-servant of Christ, and that everything I do is for Him and to Him. I have dedicated my life to Him and now I live only for Him. I have died to myself and I am living to Him.

This does not mean that we are absolved of all the normal duties of living in a community. We still have family duties, but this is for Christ. We still serve in the church, but this is for Christ. We still work, but this is for Christ. We still eat and drink, but all of this is for Christ.

The goal of Christ is that we all move forward together. Not everyone will be at the same place of maturity or unity in faith, so in that sense the work of ministry never finishes.

Key points in this verse:

  • Ministry gifts are to bring all the church to maturity which includes unity and knowledge of Christ.
  • Unity in the Faith is an organic unity, not a structural unity.
  • God wants us to be united in our knowledge of the Son of God.
  • Maturity comes as we seek to put the Lord at the centre of all we do.
  • The measure of the fullness of Christ mean that Christ is everything to us.

Ben Davis: Cancel Culture Is About Control, The Grammys Just Proved It

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From Caldronpool.com

Ben Davis: Cancel Culture Is About Control, The Grammys Just Proved It

Just days after it was announced that Looney Toons character, Pepé Le Pew, had been officially cancelled for encouraging “rape culture,” the woke Grammys hosted a performance so vulgar, that the National Center on Sexual Exploitation said it “could have been cut from a hardcore pornographic film.”

NCOSE’s slammed the CBS broadcast of Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion’s performance of the song “WAP,” saying it “contributed to the sexual exploitation of women by glamorizing prostitution and stripping.”Fight Censorship! Join Our Mailing List Today

“CBS allowed a glamorization of stripping and prostitution to be broadcast in front of a national audience – a portion of which were children – for no other reason than for TV ratings,” Dawn Hawkins, NCOSE’s senior vice president and executive director said in a statement.Advertisement

Hawkins continued, “Prostitution and stripping are never empowering for women, as they set up systems that exploit and oppress women. CBS has contributed to furthering the sexual exploitation of women and contributed to the ‘normalization’ of porn culture.”

While many have rightly highlighted the progressive Left’s double-standards, especially after recently taking the axe to 60-year-old children’s books, gendered potatoes, and cartoon skunks, it’s important to understand that these things are not really being “cancelled” because they are phobic, sexist, or racist.

“Cancel Culture” is not about censoring offensive content. If it were, we wouldn’t have Cardi B, or half of what passes as “entertainment” today. It’s about control. It’s about silencing the opponent. It always has been. That’s why the double-standards are so evident and the hypocrisy, so blatant.

Does anyone really believe these people are convinced that a cartoon love-drunk skunk is worse for kids than watching Cardi B swinging on a stripper pole near-naked while singing about “whores in the house” and “wet-a** p***y”? Of course not. They know exactly what they’re doing, and protecting the innocence of children and advancing social justice causes is not it.

That’s why they rage against Christmas carols like “Baby It’s Cold Outside,” while vulgar figures with greater influence on the culture are entirely overlooked, or even celebrated and promoted as icons.Advertisement

Their double-standards don’t merely prove they’re hypocrites. They prove they have another agenda. They want to desensitize us to their unsolicited intrusion into our lives. Before long, telling us what books we cannot read to our children will become telling us what books we must read to our children.

Make no mistake, “Cancel Culture” is nothing short of a political power flex. The language of social justice is simply employed to justify tyrannical demands for dominance while silencing objectors as phobic, sexist, racists.

The Grammys, and the deafening silence from the progressive Left, is proof that these sorts only exploit social justice causes when there’s political power to be gained in the process.Advertisement

So, while we’re busy debating the morality of Pepé Le Pew’s romantic exploits, and whether it’s ethical to assign a gender identity to a vegetable, these people are preparing for something far more sinister than deleting our children’s bedtime stories and daytime cartoons.

It starts with cancelling fictional characters we can live without. It’ll move to cancelling political parties, ideologies, and religious beliefs. It’ll end with cancelling people.

Don’t be distracted with debates about whether or not Dr Suess is a White Supremacist, or whether Pepé Le Pew is a rapist. They already know they’re not, and more than that, they don’t care either way. It’s all just a cover for tyranny because feigned virtue is merely the mask and cloak of those striving for total control and absolute dominance over our lives.

Tithing When Times Are Tough

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  • From “God Reports”, a great testimony of God’s provision in hard times. This testimony could be repeated by dozens of people that I know.

He kept tithing when times were tough; God opened a window of blessing

By Ryan Zepeda —

When he broke his walkie-talkie as a child, he was able to fix it himself. But when his finances were broken, God fixed it.

“I broke the walkie-talkie on my birthday, and I was like, ‘Ah, man, I can’t tell Mom I broke it,’” Dennis Dixon says on a CBN video. “So I was like, ‘I’m gonna try to fix it.’ And I didn’t know how to fix it. But I opened it up and I saw the inside and it just caught me. And I’ve always been interested with electronics since then.”

Being adept with electronics came in handy. First, he repaired some friends’ devices, and they told others. At the encouragement of his father, he placed an ad as an adolescent, and the calls for help flooded in.

As money came in for his services, his father encouraged Dennis to honor God with the tithe.

“Tithing is you trusting God with what He’s given you and honoring Him, you know, 10% of the 100% that He gives us every day,” says Dennis. “Setting aside money for God, for His kingdom and for His purpose and learning how to trust God with everything you have including finances.”

He got a work at a large electronic store, but the company went bankrupt. Dennis lost his job at the same time his mother was laid off. Then they lost their car and their house.

How could he, under duress, stay faithful with his tithe?

“I realized that faith wasn’t just a feeling, but it was a reaction. Like how am I gonna choose to respond to this? Am I gonna panic or am I gonna continue to trust God?” he says. “And I chose to continue to trust God. I chose to continue tithing and praying. Believing that He was gonna take care of us. And I would actually go above and give offerings, just believing for God to do a miracle. I wasn’t gonna allow my circumstances to destroy my faith.”

With no work available, Dennis felt God stirring him to do something outside his comfort zone — start his own electronics fix-it store. He could think of many reasons not to risk such a venture. It wasn’t the right time, he lacked capital, etc.

But when he saw a vacant storefront, God prompted him to inquire about leasing.

Learning a little about his dreams and abilities, the owner offered him a few months of free rent. I Will Fix Your Phone opened in an Atlanta suburb a few years ago.

Through hard work, diligence – and giving back to God – a window of blessing was opened from heaven. His family got the car back, the house back, and he now earns a six-figure income.

Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. “Test me in this,” says the Lord Almighty, “and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that there will not be room enough to store it. (Malachi 3:10)

This is the only place in Scripture where God asks his children to test Him. When they follow His lead by offering the whole tithe to Him, God responds in ways that are often amazing.

“Since I’ve been tithing, I’ve just seen like a ridiculous favor that just doesn’t make sense. Like miracles would just happen,” Dennis says. “I would just see God provide in ways that I could–I know that in my wisdom or in my knowledge, I couldn’t have made it happen by myself. And it’s just favor. God restored everything we lost and then some, a hundredfold. Like I never would have thought that I’d end up here, running my own company, making six figures, every day it’s a blessing.”

Ryan Zepeda studies at the Lighthouse Christian Academy in Santa Monica.

Quote for the Day

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There is an active spirit world all around us, full of angels, demons, the Holy Spirit, the omnipresent Father, and His omnipresent Son, Jesus. The only reasons for me not to see this reality are unbelief or lack of knowledge. Mark Virkler