The Jewish leaders said to the man who was cured, “You can’t work
on the Sabbath! The law does not allow you to carry that sleeping
mat.”
Observation
Jesus
goes to the pool of Bethesda in Jerusalem where scores of people wait
for the water to bubble up so they can be healed. He meets a man who
has been sick for 38 years. He has no
hope of being healed because he has nobody to
help him get into the water.
Jesus
tells the man to get up, pick up his may and walk. The man is
instantly healed.
As
he walks away, the Jewish leaders rebuke the man for carrying his
mat on the Sabbath. He tells them that the man who healed him had
told him to do this, but he didn’t know who he was.
Application
When your whole vision of being holy boils down to rules, you will
miss the amazing works of God when He steps out of the box you
constructed for Him.
The Jewish leaders could not see the miracle of healing because they
were obsessed with the man’s behaviour after the event.
Christians
can be like that sometimes. An evangelist can win thousands of people
to the Lord, but we get annoyed by his tattoos. Somebody is healed
miraculously, but some believers can’t see it because their
theology is that miracles don’t happen any more. A prostitute or
alcoholic is rejected by a church because they are afraid their past
sins might contaminate the congregation
We are not made holy by the outward observance of rules and
regulations. We are made holy by the indwelling presence of God’s
Spirit.
When people’s lives are changed by God in ways that run against our
understanding then it is we who need to change, not God.
Prayer
Lord you save people when we least expect it. Your grace is wider
than we imagine. So Lord please expand my way of thinking to embrace
all that you want to do. Amen.
Here is my commentary on Ephesians 1:12. I am publishing these once or twice a week, but you can read all of the available articles at our web-site.
Ephesians 1:12
… we who first hoped in Christ have been destined and appointed to live for the praise of His glory.
The “we” in this verse is widely believed to be the Jewish believers in Christ as opposed to the “you” in the next verse which refers to the Gentile believers in Ephesus. Some translations actually add the word “Jews” in this verse, even though it is not explicitly given in the original.
The first believers were Jewish, and it took some major revelations for Peter, Paul and the other apostles to realise that the gospel was for all people, and not just for the Jews.
These first believers put their hope in Christ. They realised that He was the Messiah long foretold by the prophets.
Their hope in Christ was firstly for salvation. They knew that they were sinners needing forgiveness because they could not keep the Law.
The Law as it was written was exacting enough, but Jesus made the heart of men the heart of the Law. Jesus said that an angry insult was like murder and a lascivious look was like adultery. Sin starts in the heart long before it comes out in an action.
They recognised that Jesus is the Passover Lamb who takes away the sins of the world.
The Jewish believers were also looking for the salvation of Israel. Every Jew at that time longed for God’s Messiah to come and redeem Israel, setting them free from Roman occupation. There were countless attempted insurrections, but they were all put down with ruthless efficiency.
Jesus talked often about the Kingdom of God. It wasn’t until the Day of Pentecost, when the disciples received the Holy Spirit, that they realised that God’s Kingdom was not about a country on earth but something much bigger.
These first Jewish christians, according to Paul, were destined and appointed.
To be destined suggests that they were in a path or trajectory which they had no way of choosing. Before they were born, before the beginning of the world even, God set events in place that meant these people were on a particular path determined by Him. They were living in a kairos moment, and God had plans for them.
To be appointed suggests that they were chosen for a task and given authority to do it. Of all the christians and of all the Jews in history, these particular men and women have been chosen for a task and given authority by God Himself.
Their destiny, then, was not a blind force propelling them along the current of history. This is not “fate” or “karma” or “The Force” or any other term used by people to suggest an implacable, impersonal process that runs the universe. They were appointed by God the Father for this role.
That role is to live for God’s praise and glory. The phrase “to live for the praise of his glory” can be equally translated as “to live for his glory and praise.”
These Jewish believers, the first generation of believers, were assigned a task that is common to all believers in all time periods. We have been set apart to live for God’s glory.
In the Old Testament, the priests and Levites were set apart (or “appointed”) to live for God’s glory. They didn’t stop being priests when they left the Temple. Their whole life was appointed for God’s glory.
All christians are set apart- appointed- to give praise and glory to God. Our lives are meant to be a witness or a testimony of what God has done in our lives through Jesus Christ.
When I walk in humble obedience to God, I am living for His praise and glory. My every word and action should show people “This is what God looks like.” Jesus said, “Let your light shine before people that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven” (Matthew 5:16). When we live for God, we bring glory and praise to Him.
These Jews who first hoped in Christ had a particular role. They were the first generation of disciples. They represented the redemption of Israel to the world and the redemption of the world to Israel.
Israel was established as a beach head for heaven’s invasion of earth. It was intended to be a light shining in a world corrupted by sin. It would show the world what it is like to live in holiness and in fellowship with God.
Israel failed in its purpose. Rather than being light in the darkness it became corrupted by sin. The Jewish christians were a sign to the world that in Christ the purpose of Israel was fulfilled.
Likewise, these same Jewish christians were a sign to Israel that its redemption had arrived and the salvation of the world, including Israel, was at hand.
Key points from this verse:
The first Jewish christians were chosen by God
Their role was to live for the praise and glory of God
Our role is exactly the same- to live for the praise and glory of God.
Yet the Galileans welcomed him, for they had been in Jerusalem at the
Passover celebration and had seen what he did there.
Observation
Jesus moves on to Galilee where He is welcomed because of the things
He had done in Jerusalem, where the Galileans had been for the
Passover celebration.
A government official comes to Jesus and pleads with Him to heal his
son who is near death. Jesus tells him his son will live, and at the
exact time Jesus says this, the son gets better.
Application
There are two types of people who crop up repeatedly in the gospel-
those who see Jesus and believe, and those who demand some sort of
sign before they will believe.
The question I have to ask myself is this: Do I believe Jesus for who
He is or do I demand some kind of sign or answers to prayer to
validate my faith? In other words, is my faith about Jesus or about
what He can do for me?
True
followers of Jesus believe in Him, regardless of prayers that are
answered to our preferences. The truth is that God is not our servant
to direct our lives the way most comfortable or pleasant to us.
I
pray and some people are healed. I pray and others
are not. My faith in Jesus does not depend on whether people are
healed.
God
is God, and He is in control.
When people are healed, or miracles occur, that is grace. When people
are not healed, or the miracle does not happen, that is sad, but it
is for God to sort out not me.
My faith does not rest on a “sign” but on God’s faithfulness.
Prayer
Lord you call us to trust in you alone. Help me to entrust my own
future and those of my family and friends to you. Amen.
“Now we believe, not just because of what you told us, but because
we have now heard for ourselves. Now we know that he is the Saviour
of the world.”
Observation
The
woman turns the discussion to where is the right place to worship.
Jesus tells her that the time has already come that the Father does
not care about where we worship God but that we worship in spirit and
in truth.
The
disciples return and urge Jesus to eat something. Jesus replies
that His food is to do the will of the Father.
Many
of the Samaritan villagers believe in Jesus because of the testimony
of the woman, More importantly they believe He is the Saviour because
they encounter Jesus for themselves.
Application
The woman believes in Jesus because she recognises He is a prophet.
He told her her life story then gave a new account of a God who loves
everybody and not just the Jews.
She tells her friends who come to see for themselves. They believe in
Jesus because of the woman’s testimony. Meeting Jesus for
themselves is a different, deeper experience.
John’s story of the expanding kingdom of God is about people
encountering Jesus and then taking their testimony of that experience
to others who come to see for themselves who Jesus is.
Our personal testimony of Jesus is the greatest tool of evangelism
that we have. Nobody can argue with our experience.
Secondly there is an invitation, “Come and see this man who told me
everything I have done.” At their own meeting with Jesus He becomes
more than an abstract theory but a real person.
People are not saved by hearing a personal testimony but it is a
great place to start. Having shared that testimony, we need to pray
that they will move on to their own encounter with Jesus,
Prayer
Thank you Lord for saving me from sin. Please help me to share my
story and to invite others to come and meet Jesus. Amen.
“Those who drink the water I give will never be thirsty again. It
becomes a fresh bubbling spring within them, giving eternal life.
Observation
Returning
from Judea to Galilee, Jesus passes through the Samaritan village of
Sychar. He stops to rest at Jacob’s well. A Samaritan woman comes
to draw water.
Jesus
tells the woman about the living water He has which can become a
spring that bubbles up within and gives eternal life.
Application
Jesus is the water of life, the source of eternal life.
The water He offers is not just a refreshing drink on a hot day- a
drink that is soon forgotten.
Jesus’ water is eternal life. When we drink deeply from Him, He
refreshes our soul. He gives us resilience , the strength to live
with joy through the trials of life.
The water that Jesus gives enables us to live forever. This water
cleanses us from sin and restores our relationship with God.
This eternal life, sustained by dwelling in Him, becomes a source of
life for others. A spring bubbles up within us.
That living water must flow out to others. The life that Christ gives
to me is meant to be shared. A spring that is blocked up is no longer
a spring.
We
share the living water by bringing Christ to others through our
testimony. We are called to witness to others about the powerful
change Christ has brought to us.
We
also share Christ by sharing the incredible love He has for all
people. Acts of love, deeds of kindness, reconciliation of
relationships, bring life to other people and point them to Christ.
Prayer
Thank you Jesus for being living water to me. Show me who to share
your life with today and every day. Amen.
Here is my commentary on Ephesians 1:11. I am publishing these once or twice a week, but you can read all of the available articles at our web-site.
Ephesians 1:11
In him we are chosen, according to the purpose of him who accomplishes all things according to the counsel of his will.
It is hard to know who the “him” and the “his” refer to in this verse. Right through the chapter the subject is God the Father.
In God we were chosen (“Predestined” in the NIV) according to God’s purpose.
We were chosen. At first glance this would suggest the Calvinist doctrine of predestination. According to this doctrine, only some are chosen out of the whole of humanity, and it was only for those chosen ones that Christ died. Those chosen ones were “predestined” – that is qualified for heaven- before time began.
But God is bigger and more gracious than that. Jesus died for the whole of the human race. “God so loved the world that He sent His one and only Son.” (John 3:16) In that sense every person is “chosen”, but only those who receive Christ are in the Kingdom and share in eternal life.
We are chosen according to God’s purposes. He has a course for every person’s life, a path that He wants us to follow. That includes the saved and the unsaved alike.
We have all been created for the purpose of praising God and glorifying Him. The highest expression of that purpose is when we willingly and thankfully follow Christ, walking in the path of redemption and the process of becoming holy as God is holy.
Even those who are opposed to God’s purposes fulfil His purposes. Those who reject the way of Christ are still made in the image of God. Though reluctantly, they show the glory of God in the same way that the rocks and the stars sing praise to the Almighty.
At a deeper level, those of us who are saved and rejoice in Christ are a part of God’s purposes in redeeming creation. As we bear witness or testify to the power and glory of the gospel, more and more people are saved. The time will come when all people will be transformed by the Good News, and the mission work of the church will be completed.
It is hard to imagine what it would be like for the whole world to be under the Kingly reign of Christ, but that is God’s purpose for us.
God accomplishes all things in conformity to His will. God has purpose and will achieve it. He accomplishes all things. Nothing slips past Him as if it takes Him by surprise. “I never saw that coming” is not in His vocabulary.
He accomplishes all things. He always gets everything done that He intended. In that sense the broken world in which we live, with all its violence and sinfulness, is designed to achieve His purposes. Not that God is responsible for sin, but that He uses it.
We have to conclude that His purposes include raising a Kingdom of people who, though born in sin, raised in an environment of sin and constantly surrounded by sin, nevertheless still choose to follow Him and prefer righteousness.
Only humans, a breed of creatures who are both physical and spiritual, could achieve this. Only men and women can apprehend the glory of a God able to redeem them from sin. We are the chosen ones.
God accomplishes all things in conformity to His will. He has plan and purpose, and His deeds are directed by His purpose. This is Good News. It means that nothing is random or meaningless. God’s purpose is always present.
Evolutionists and cosmologists talk of random events- galaxies, mutations, big bangs and so on. Ascribing phenomena to randomness only indicates that we cannot see the whole picture. Our minds are too small to contain God’s purpose. This is especially true in science which consciously excludes God and is forced to insert randomness instead.
This is true of our lives. We see the idea of a random event and a random person as a way to explain this event and that person. Even the deepest tragedy is not random. It is not sent by God but it may be used by God in His purpose.
“No one can receive anything unless God gives it from heaven.”
Observation
Jesus spends some time baptising people. Some of John’s disciples
come to John and say that Jesus is getting more baptisms than John
is. John replies that Jesus is the Messiah. He, Jesus, must become
greater while John becomes less.
Jesus is from heaven and testifies about heavenly thing. John, on the
other hand, is from the earth and testifies about earthly things.
Application
When people pursue spiritual gifts or ministries, there can be a
tendency to forget that they are gifts or callings given by the Holy
Spirit, They can run off at a tangent, chasing an experience of God
rather than chasing God Himself.
John’s disciples missed the point about John’s ministry, a
mistake made by Jesus’ disciples later. It was not about the number
of people being baptised by their group. The point of John’s
ministry was to pave the way for Jesus.
Whatever we seek, it only comes as a gift from God, whether we
recognise that or not.
This apples in families and businesses also. The top entrepreneurs in
the world get to be rich and famous because they worked hard and
because God gave them a particular gifting.
Every good gift comes from our heavenly Father. We can do nothing
unless God allows it.
So when we pursue something from God, we need to make sure the gift
or ministry is not an idol, that is something that becomes more
important to us than God Himself.
If
we remember that everything is a gift from God, our hearts will be
filled with gratitude and thankfulness- a much healthier state than
the anger and sense of entitlement that mark much of our society.
Prayer
Than you Lord for every good gift from your hand. Amen.
There is no judgement against anyone who believes in him. But anyone
who does not believe in him had already been judged for not believing
in God’s one and only Son.
Observation
God
loved the world so much that He sent His one and only Son so that
everyone who believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.
Jesus came into the world to save us not to judge us.
Anyone
who trusts in Jesus is saved, and there is no judgement against them.
The judgement is this- God’s light came into the world and people
preferred the darkness.
Application
No judgement against believers!
I talked to a distressed pastor the other day who said something
like, “I’m afraid that God will say to me ‘You should have
pushed harder, got more people saved.’” Even among pastors
(especially among pastors!) there is a fear of God’s judgement
because we are not good enough or not doing enough.
There is no judgement for those who trust in Jesus. God will not
confront us for our sins. That is all dealt with in the blood of
Jesus.
The judgement christians face is the sheep and goats judgement, the
division between believers and unbelievers.
We already have our “boarding pass”! We have already been judged
as sinless because it’s all covered by the cross.
What
about the verses that say things like “You will be judged for every
idle word”? The judgement is on unbelievers not the believers.
Every sin will be accounted for, but every sin that christians commit
is covered by the blood of Christ.
Does
this mean that we should be complacent or lazy or just live according
to what we want to do? Of
course not! Having received such love from our Holy Father God, how
can we trample it on the ground or take it for granted? To believe
Jesus is to follow Him in a life of holiness.
Prayer
Thank you Lord for the blood of Jesus that covers every sin. Amen.
