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The New Man

We get some snow here in Bellingham, WA. Sometimes it sticks around for a couple of days. These past few winters we have been blessed with snow that has stuck around for a week or so. Those who are born and raised in the area reassured us that this is not normal 🙂

The kids go sledding down our street which is a wonderful hill to pursue being a tobogganist.  The kids will always want to build a snowman. They roll his body (maybe a little too big). They do the rest of his body and head. They add some sticks for his arms and something for the nose and eyes. And, if they are really into it, some other items for a hat. 

The kids have fun making a new creature. The snowman is unable to move and most likely will melt away by the end of the week and they still name him!

Those who are called “in Christ” (the term that Paul uses in the NT to describe the Christian) are a new creation. He writes to the Corinthian church about the work of reconciliation that happens because of Jesus and that if anyone is in Christ, they are a new creation (2 Cor 5:17).

This new creation is not just about making the person new in Christ such as their sin being washed away (Isaiah 44:22; Heb 10:10). This is true but wait there is more!

Wait there is more!

I have always looked at how the Christian is brought into the promises of God which existed in the Old Testament. As I have been studying and teaching through the book of Ephesians, I have noticed that Paul’s language of the Christian involves something more.

There is a greater work where the Christian is now a new person, part of new people, and and a new group. This group has eternal life. This group is founded upon grace and not on works. This group is connected to one another because of Jesus.  

He is speaking to the Gentiles (people who were not Jewish) and how they have come into the promise of God (Eph 3:1-6). These Gentiles did not have to become Jewish to receive this promise. This sign was circumcision and this is what got a lot of the Jewish leaders upset. This was not needed. It is by the grace of God that one is saved (Eph 2:8-9). 

Look what Jesus does

He takes people from different groups (Jews and Gentiles), those who are in Christ are called a new people. 

Paul describes this by writing, “He Himself is our peace, who made both groups into one and o that in Himself He might make the two one new person, in this way establishing peace;  and that He might reconcile them both in one body to God through the cross (Eph 2:14, 16).

This new person is a new creation not just with their legal standing before God, they are full on a new person and part of a new family. This new person is one who is different because of Jesus. This was God’s redemptive plan from the beginning.  

This new people group as Peter writes, “But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light” (1 Peter 2:9).

This language seems to be spoken to Israel, even specifically about Levites. But, Peter is writing about the new people that are found in Christ, the Christians both Jew and Gentile.

What Do We Get?

This new man, in Christ, receives the promises of God.

Those promises include the indwelling of the Holy Spirit (1 Cor 3:16; Heb 6:4). The same Holy Spirit who came at Pentecost explosively upon the Christians of the early church is the same Holy Spirit the Christians receive today.

Those in Christ receive enteral life and heaven (John 3:16; 14:1-3; Phil 3:20; Web 3:1). Those in Christ not only receive the promises today but also the future promises. We are awaiting our rest with the Lord forever in heaven (Heb 4:1).

Those in Christ receive favor from God because of Christ (Eph 1:3, 11). We have received from God the greatest gift, he is not holding out on us. We look to Jesus and see what his gift of immeasurable grace has been given to us. The Christian is called an heir with Christ (Rom 8:17; Eph 3:6). We share in all the benefits, blessings, and sufferings with our Savior.

Those in Christ live in a way that reflects this change and truth. Not perfectly, dependent upon God’s grace each moment and step of the Christian life.

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What Does It Mean to be Spiritually Blessed?

Have you ever heard someone say, “I am so blessed?” Maybe they received some good news or something exciting happened in their life. What does it mean to be blessed by God. I think sometimes we associate it with our circumstances but the Bible points to it being so much bigger and deeper than that.

In Paul’s introduction to the church in Ephesus he praises God by saying, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places” (Ephesians 1:3).

What does he mean that those in Christ have received every spiritual blessing? In the next 9 verses Paul describes what he means. He was in prison and could have started by giving insight on his difficulties but instead he starts with praising God for the blessings he has received. His blessings were not about his circumstances or anything to do with his present difficulties but all about his spiritual life.

The Apostle Paul describes the spiritual blessing that the Christian receives are these four things:

  1. To be chosen into adoption of the family of God (Ephesians 1:4-6).
  2. To be redeemed by the blood of Jesus who is rich and lavishes his riches upon us (Ephesians 1:7-10).
  3. To receive an inheritance which is built in the hope of Christ all for the glory of God (Ephesians 1:11-12).
  4. To be sealed by the promise of the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 1:13-14).

Paul is desiring the great work that Jesus did through his sinless and perfect life, sacrificial death, and amazing resurrection. Look at how those who are in Christ are truly blessed. He uses different verbs to describe salvation such as being adopted, redeemed, receiving an inheritance, and being sealed (assurance).

The Christian must remember that God is not holding out on you. He has given you the greatest gift, the spiritual blessing that is found in Christ alone. When we think about this great work this should bring about praise like Paul who praised God for this spiritual blessing.

For more you can listen to the sermons on Ephesians

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The Invisible Enemy

This is a phrase that you probably have heard by now as what the CODIV-19 is being called. This invisible enemy has derailed families, causing chaos and confusion among nations, closed governments, fear and panic in the hearts of millions. This invisible enemy is a threat to all. No one seems prone to the dangers not even the rich and powerful, world leaders, the ones who are nice

But to the Christian, this is nothing new. Yes, the CODIV-19 is something new and serious, but there is something that is way more serious than has stained mankind throughout history. This threat or invisible enemy is called sin, death, and the devil (Ephesians 6:12). The enemy sin has infected everyone. The devil robs and steals joy from everyone. This enemy has broken up families and led people down a horrible path. Sin has separated man from God which is the worst part of the problem of sin.

The psalmist writes:

He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will abide in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say to the Lord, ‘My refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.’ For he will deliver you from the snare of the fowler and from the deadly pestilence. He will cover you with his pinions, and under his wings, you will find refuge; his faithfulness is a shield and buckler. You will not fear the terror of the night, nor the arrow that flies by day, nor the pestilence that stalks in darkness, nor the destruction that wastes at noonday (Psalm 91:1-6).

Throughout history that has always been the danger of pestilence. A little over a hundred years ago we faced the Spanish Flu which wreaked havoc on humanity. This is something that has been a threat to humanity. But as the psalmist points out that pestilence is an enemy that stalks in darkness, the invisible enemy, we can have rest because God is our refuge and fortress. Let me encourage you that same truth, we can rest in the shadow of the Almighty, God is our refuge and fortress!

The Invisible Enemy is Defeated

This virus has impacted all of humanity, and the same is true with the invisible enemy sin, death, and the devil. The Christian is reminded that only God can deliver and save and heal the sin-sick person (Luke 5:31). That is why we look to the cross because sin is something that every single human has sinned against God. But God has provided a way through God the Son, Jesus Christ. The one who knew no sin, the only one who conquered sin and death, the only one who could satisfy the payment for our sin-Jesus Christ.

Remember that though these are interesting times, these are scary times, these are unfamiliar times but I am hopeful because the Bible says, “Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord (Romans 8:35, 37-39). Remember not even this virus can separate the Christian from the love of God!

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What Should Be the Most Influential Institution?

what is the Most Influential Institution?When one thinks of an institution they may think of education, government, the church, marriage, family, and even state correctional facilities. What is considered an institution? Which institution holds the most influence? Which one should hold the most influence? Each holds its importance. Marriage and family are rooted at society and carry a lot of influence but not most important. Education, good and does it molding of children and influences (negative and positive) should not be the most influential in our society. The government which has its own institutions within it, and holds power, is not the most influential.
Pastor and teacher Ray Ortland defines an institution this way, “An institution is a social mechanism for making a desirable experience easily repeatable. An institution is where life-giving human activities can be nurtured and protected and sustained.” Here there can be many institutions that fit this definition like sporting events but where more than ever can human activities be nurtured, protected, and sustained the strongest? It is the church. (The church in this meaning is the Biblical church made up of Bible believing Christians. Pastor Mark Dever defines the church as “The church is that collection of people who are hearing the Word of God, responding to it with their lives, and who have obeyed Jesus’ specific commands to be baptized and proclaim his death in the Lord’s Supper.”)
Continue reading “What Should Be the Most Influential Institution?”