THE PRIORITY OF PRAYER (Ephesians Chapter 6)

Ephesians 6:18, “Praying at all time in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication.  To that end keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints.”

Ephesians 6:10-17 speaks to the need for the believer in Christ to “put on the whole armor of God” that he might “be strong in the Lord” and “stand firm” in the spiritual conflict.  There is the need to put on the various pieces of armor, but one would still be ill-provisioned if prayer is neglected.  Andrew Murray, "Without prayer, the helmet of salvation, and shield of faith, and the Sword of the Spirit, which is God's Word, have no power.  All depends on prayer!"

All types of prayer are necessary—both “prayer” (the general term for prayer) and “supplication” (a particular request arising from a specific need).  Our prayers sometimes overly-emphasize earthly needs, but that ought not to be our primary concern.  Prayer in this context has significance relevance to our ongoing spiritual conflict.  God has two goals for people--that they might know Christ and then that they might grow in Him.  Satan has goals for people too--that the lost might be kept so and that the saved might be spiritually defeated and made ineffective to the cause of Christ.  Prayer’s proper emphasis is on the salvation of the lost and the spiritual well-being and growth of the saved.  Missionary Robert Savage once said, "A majority of our prayers deal with either...stomachs or fenders!  Many of our prayers (perhaps 70% of them) are for the sick (stomach ailments, appendicitis, emphysema, etc.).  Another very common request is, ‘And get us all safely to our homes following the service’ (which means ‘may we not have any damaged fenders on our nice cars’).  Why give the top priority to ‘stomachs’ and ‘fenders’?  Let's put more stress on the spiritual health of our friends, our loved ones, our fellow church members, and ourselves."

Our circumstances demand that we be “praying at all times” (Cf. 1 Thessalonians 5:18; Ephesians 1:6).  David Brainerd was a missionary who impacted many lives for Christ.  Above all else he was a man of prayer.  In his book "Power through Prayer" H. M. Bounds writes about his experience, "By day and night he prayed.  Riding through interminable solitudes of the forests he prayed.  On his bed of straw he prayed.  Retiring to the dense and lonely forests, he prayed.  Hour by hour, day after day, early morn and late at night, he was praying and fasting, pouring out his soul, interceding, communing with God.  He was with God mightily in prayer, and God was with him mightily."

We are exhorted to “keep alert” in prayer.  The word is the Greek agrupneo which means “to stay awake, to lie sleepless, or to suffer from insomnia, and hence to be watchful or alert.”  Christ is the ultimate example of one who was alert in prayer.  In the garden He said to His disciples, "My soul is very sorrowful, even to death; remain here, and watch with me” (Matthew 26:38).  He was alert in prayer while His disciples slept.  Jesus exhorted them to “watch and pray” with the understanding that “the spirit is indeed willing, but the flesh is weak” (Matthew 26:41).

It is prayer “in the Spirit” that is needful.  Not in the flesh (Cf. James 4:3), but in harmony with the Spirit, the Word and God’s will (Cf. Romans 8:26-27).  We are exhorted also to persevere in prayer.  The Greek term translated “perseverance” means “to hold out or to wait (Cf. Luke 18:1-5).

Paul exhorted the saints in Ephesus to pray “for all the saints.”  All the saints are to pray for all the saints.  We are as fellow soldiers engaged in a great spiritual conflict.  Prayer constitutes a divinely powerful weapon whereby we bring ourselves and our beleaguered brothers and sisters before the throne of grace, “that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need” (Cf. Hebrews 4:16).  As one commentator put it, "We are not engaged in single combat with the powers of evil, but are members of an army; and we must be concerned with the welfare of all who fight alongside us."  In your expanding circle of friends there are many to pray for: yourself; your family members, church, missionaries, and persecuted brethren (Cf. 1 Timothy 2:1-2; Colossians 1:9-12; Ephesians 6:19-20; Hebrews 13:3). 

Andrew Murray once wrote, "The Inner Chamber is the place where the decisive victory is obtained.  The enemy uses all his power to lead the Christian, and above all the minister, to neglect prayer.  He knows that however admirable the sermon may be, however attractive the service, however faithful the pastoral visitation, none of these things can damage him or his kingdom, if prayer is neglected.  When the Church shuts herself up to the power of the Inner Chamber, and the soldiers of the Lord have received on their knees ‘power from on High,’ then the powers of darkness will be shaken, and souls will be delivered.  In the church, on the mission-field, with the minister and his congregation, everything depends on the faithful exercise of the power of prayer."

BE FILLED (Ephesians Chapter 5)

Ephesians 5:18-21, “And so not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit, addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart, giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, submitting to one another out of reverence to Christ.”

How important is being “filled with the Spirit?"  In his book, “How to Be Filled with The Spirit,” A. W. Tozer, addressed the matter, "Satan has opposed the doctrine of the Spirit-filled life about as bitterly as any other doctrine there is.  He has confused it, opposed it, surrounded it with false notions and fears.  He has blocked every effort of the Church of Christ to receive from the Father her divine and blood-bought patrimony.  The Church has tragically neglected this great liberating truth--that there is now for the child of God a full and wonderful and completely satisfying anointing with the Holy Ghost."

While every believer in Christ is indwelt by the Spirit (Cf. Romans 8:9), not every believer is “filled with the Spirit” (Cf. 1 Corinthians 3:1, 3).  The command to be filled with the Spirit is contrasted with the negative command “Do not get drunk with wine” (Ephesians 5:18).  In the cultural context the worship of the Greek god Dionysus, the god of the grape harvest (in which the Ephesians had previously been involved), was characterized by drunkenness.  Ecstatic activities—erotic dancing, drunkenness, sexual activities--were all a part of it.  This was all done in order that Dionysus might supposedly fill the worshipper imparting “health and fertility.”

The negative command in Ephesians 5:18 is paired with the positive command, "but be filled with the Spirit," because they both have something in common.  To be drunk with wine is to be under the influence of wine.  To be filled with the Spirit is to be under the influence of the Spirit.  The cult worshippers supposed that in drunkenness they were filled with the spirit of the wine-God.  God's design for the believer is that he be so “under the influence,” in subjection to the Spirit of God, that the Spirit’s life-transforming and empowering presence might pervasively fill him (Cf. John 7:37-39).   

The verb translated “be filled” is in the present tense, passive voice, and imperative mood.  It is an all-the-time command that might better be translated “be being kept filled.”  It is in the passive voice—we don’t fill ourselves, we are filled from an external source.  It is in the imperative mood—since God commands it, it is both possible and expected of us.

W.A. Criswell, “For the Spirit to have us, we must yield ourselves to Him.  We must be emptied of self to be filled with all of His fullness.  Our hands cannot be filled with other things if they are to know the fullness of God.  Our hearts cannot be filled with worldly affection and ambition if we are to possess the Spirit without measure.  Our souls must be emptied of self when we bring them to the fountain of heaven for blessing.  It seems that Paul’s motto was “not I but Christ” (Gal. 2:20).  Oh, that we could surrender ourselves to a like commitment!”  

Ephesians 5:19f describes the result when a person is filled with the Spirit.  A cause and effect relationship in indicated.  The cause?  Being filled with the Spirit.  The effect?  Praise and thanksgiving (acceptable worship) and a right-ordering of a person’s relationship with others.  A comparison of Colossians 3:16f reveals that similar effects are traced back to a different cause.  In Colossians 3:16 the cause is letting the Word of Christ richly dwell within.  This should not surprise us since the Holy Spirit is the author of the Word of God and it His ministry to apply the Word of God to the heart of the believer.  The correlation of these two passages gives insight into what Jesus meant when He spoke of the demand that acceptable worship be “in spirit and truth” (John 4:23). 

The comparison between Ephesians 5:18f and Colossians 3:16f is also instructive as to how a person is to be filled with the Spirit.  To be filled with the Spirit is practically synonymous with allowing the Word of Christ to richly dwell within.  Colossians 3:16 speaks to more than a knowledge of doctrine and truths related to the Scripture, it speaks to possessing a receptive heart that is richly indwelt by the Word of Christ.  The command here is Ephesians 5:18 is of great importance.  The matter represents a “watershed” truth of preeminent concern to every believer.  A host of spiritual blessings are availed to the believer through the Helper’s Christ-manifesting ministry (Cf. John 16:13-14).  On the other side of the equation, it is impossible to live the Christian life in a God-pleasing fashion apart from Him (Cf. John 6:63; Matthew 26:41).  When a person is filled by the Spirit, acceptable worship is the result (Cf. Philippians 3:3).

WATCH YOUR WORDS (Ephesians Chapter 4)

Ephesians 4:29, “Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear.”

I remember a day on one of my visits to Uganda when the words from the Hymn “Take My Life and Let It Be” came to mind in my prayer time.  The entire hymn represents a beautiful prayer of consecration and submission to God, but the phrase that I was thinking about that morning was “Take my lips and let them be filled with messages from Thee.”  And so I headed off into my day purposed—by the Spirit—to speak such words.  I can’t remember all the specific details of the day, but I remember the phrase governing my thoughts.  It is not a simple or automatic thing and I doubt that I was entirely successful.  To have one’s lips filled with messages that are befitting our identity in Christ is at the heart of this verse.

In its context the verse speaks to the process of Biblical change that God works in the life of the believer.  It is one aspect of the “put off-put on” particulars that are consistent to God’s transforming work “through the renewing of the spirit of (the) mind” (Cf. Ephesians 4:22-24).  Falsehood is to give way to truth-speaking, sinful-anger to forgiveness, stealing to honest-labor, etc. (Ephesians 4:25-28).  That put-off put-on process is likewise to be applied to our speech.

The word translated “corrupting” is from a term that was used "primarily, of vegetable and animal substances" and "expresses what is of poor quality, unfit for use, putrid" (Vine’s Expository Dictionary).  Corrupting talk represents that which is of poor quality and therefore worthless.  There are lots of kinds of speech that fall into this category: angry words (Cf. Ephesians 4:31); boastful speech (Cf. 2 Timothy 3:2); blasphemy (Cf. 1 Timothy 1:20); coarse jesting (Cf. Ephesians 5:4); deceptive speech (Cf. Ephesians 4:25, 5:6); flattery (Cf. 1 Thessalonians 5:6); empty chatter (Cf. 1 Timothy 6:20); gossip and slander (Cf. Ephesians 4:31, 1 Timothy 5:13); filthy speech (Cf. Ephesians 5:4); and quarrelsome words (Cf. 2 Timothy 2:24).  The speech of the unbeliever is characterized by such language (Cf. Romans 3:10-14).  It ushers forth from the heart and is sourced ultimately in hell itself (Cf. Matthew 12:35-36; James 3:6). 

Though man can tame all kinds of beasts, he cannot tame the tongue (Cf. James 3:8).  To change that which ushers from the heart it is necessary first for the heart to be changed.  God alone can do that through salvation.  The tongue of the “new creation” in Christ is thus enabled by the Spirit to speak that which “is good for building up” (Cf. Ephesians 4:29).  It is by the Spirit alone that God-pleasing words can flow from our lips--words that glorify God and work to build up and encourage others.

The saying "sticks and stones may break my bones, but words can never hurt me" is undeniably not true.  Memories of hurtful words are some of the most vivid memories that we maintain.  By way of contrast, memories of helpful and encouraging words stick with us too.  We need to prayerfully guard that which proceeds from our mouths.  On a hill in England there is a gravestone on which is inscribed: "Beneath this stone, a lump of clay, lies Annabella Young, who, on the 24th of May, began to hold her tongue." 

Instead of rotten words God would have us to speak that which “is good for building up” (Ephesians 4:29).  The truth spoken in love works towards this end (Cf. Ephesians 4:15) and included in that kind of speech are wise words (Cf. Colossians 3:16); encouraging words (Cf. 1 Thessalonians 5:11); comforting words (Cf. 2 Corinthians 1:4); kind words (Cf. Ephesians 4:32); words expressing admonishment and forgiveness (Cf. Ephesians 4:32); grace-filled words (Cf. Ephesians 4:29); words which “(fit) the occasion” (Cf. Ephesians 4:29; Proverbs 25:11); words characterized by Christ-like love (Cf. 1 Corinthians 13:4-7).

It is easy to complain.  It is easy to be critical.  In this sin-filled world there is plenty to criticize and plenty to complain about.  It is a much more difficult thing to be used by God in the building up of others.  Someone has written: I saw them tearing a building down, a gang of men in a dusty town.  With a "yo heave ho" and a lusty yell, they swung a beam and the side wall fell.  I asked the foreman if these men were as skilled, as the men he'd hire, if he were to build.  He laughed and said, "Oh, no indeed, Common labor is all I need."  For these men can wreck in a day or two, what builders had taken years to do.  I asked myself as I went my way, which kind of role am I to play?  Am I the builder who builds with care, measuring life by the rule and square?  Or, am I the wrecker who walks the town, Content with the role of tearing down.  Watch your words.  They matter.

MORE THAN ABLE (Ephesians Chapter 3)

Ephesians 3:20, “Now to Him who is able to do exceeding abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us” (NASB).

GOD IS…
Able
Able to do 
Able to do what we ask 
Able to do what we think 
Able to do what we ask or think 
Able to do all that we ask or think
Able to do above all that we ask or think 
Able to do abundantly above all that we ask or think 
Able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think

The reality TV series “Extreme Makeover” featured episodes in which families that had faced some extraordinary hardship were provided a home that was rapidly constructed to meet their specific needs.  Interior, exterior and landscaping work were completed by a team of workers.  All the materials and labor were donated.  The family, off on a paid vacation during the time of construction, were brought to the site where they awaited, behind a bus, the unveiling of their new home.  The host of the show then yelled to the driver, “Driver move that bus!” The home was then revealed to a chorus of “oohs” and “aahs” and thanks.  The new home was above and beyond what was expected.

Say a prayer.  Think a thought.  God is able to do more, exceedingly more, exceeding abundantly more.  It is by “the power that works within us” that He does this.  Paul’s first prayer in this epistle was that the Ephesians would be Spirit-led to understand the “immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe” made evident in Christ’s resurrection (Ephesians 1:19-20).  The empty tomb of the Risen Savior testifies to God’s ability to accomplish what He has purposed to do in our lives.  Paul’s second prayer in this epistle had to do with comprehending the love of Christ which “surpasses knowledge” (Ephesians 3:19).  That work that God has undertaken is founded and completed according to the “breadth and length and height and depth… (of) the love of Christ” (Ephesians 3:18).

There are countless examples in Scripture that illustrate God’s ability to supersede expectations in the manner in which He works.  But one relates especially to the matter at hand.  The prodigal son left his father’s house and “squandered his property in reckless living” and found himself in need (Luke 15:13-14).  Wallowing in the mire with the pigs—and longing to “be fed with the pods that the pigs ate”—he “came to himself” and purposed to return to his father (Cf. Luke 15:17-20).  He supposed that he might gain employment as one of his father’s hired servant.  But that’s not what happened.  His father not only took him back—he embraced him and kissed him.  He not only welcomed him--he clothed him with a robe, a ring, and shoes.  He then killed the fattened calf and held a celebration.  His Father’s capacity to forgive (to restore) was above and beyond the expectations of the returning prodigal.

Having said all of that—there is a particular matter than verse 20 relates to.  What is work that God is doing that is “exceeding, abundantly beyond?”  According to the context it is us being “filled up with all the fullness of God” (Ephesians 3:19).  It is the end point of salvation that is spoken of here—being brought into complete conformity with Christ in the perfection of the work that God has begun in us.  Salvation is bigger in scope than we can now imagine.  We might assume it to include forgiveness (Cf. Ephesians 1:7), and so it does, but it is bigger than that.  We might suppose it to involve growth in Christ, and so it does, from one state of glory to the next (Cf. 2 Corinthians 3:18)—but it is still bigger than that.  We understand it to lead to a future glorified estate when he “will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body” (Philippians 3:21), but what does that entail (Cf. 1 John 3:1-2)?  How can we perceive or comprehend what that must be (Cf. 1 Corinthians 13:12)?  His salvation “to the uttermost” (Cf. Hebrews 7:25) is as a mountain peak lying above the clouds.  We anticipate it, but the full measure of its glory eludes us.  But God is at work in us and is more than able to finish the glorious work He started (Cf. Philippians 1:6).  “He is able, more than able, to accomplish what concerns me today.  He is able, more than able, to handle anything that comes my way.  He is able, more than able, to do much more than I could ever dream, He is able, more than able, to make me what He wants me to be.”

DEAD IN SIN (Ephesians Chapter 2)

Ephesians 2:1, “And you were dead in the trespasses and sins.”

In these verses (Ephesians 2:1-3) Paul reminded the believers in Ephesus of their previous condition—the way they were.  They were spiritually dead before they had been “made…alive together with Christ” in salvation (Ephesians 2:5).  This verse also speaks to the condition of the unbeliever.  He is a person who is spiritually dead to God, and unable to move a spiritual muscle with respect to salvation.  A coroner or medical examiner makes an examination of a corpse.  He ascertains that the person is actually dead and lists on a death certificate the cause.  God has diagnosed the sons of Adam—they are spiritually dead (Cf. Romans 5:12).  He likewise declares to us the cause, which is sin.  The unbeliever is one who is dead to God in sin—that’s bad news of the worse degree.  The bad news is not just that we are all born sinners (Cf. Romans 3:23), but that in sin man is dead to God and helpless to do a thing to change that (Cf. Romans 6:23).  It is important that we understand the gravity of the bad news.  The bad news is not just that man is sick, he is dead.  The bad news cannot be undone with any degree of rehabilitation.  It is the impartation of life that is necessary.  The spiritually dead are akin to Lazarus in the tomb.  Having been entombed for days, his flesh had begun to rot.  No amount of self-exertion or effort on Lazarus’ part could have worked to bring him forth from that tomb.  His condition was emblematic of all the lost.  Christ alone had the power to call Lazarus from that tomb (Cf. John 13:43). 

George Whitefield once spoke to this matter by way of invitation, "Come, ye dead, Christ-less, unconverted sinners, come and see the place where they laid the body of the deceased Lazarus; behold him laid out, bound hand and foot with grave-clothes, locked-up and stinking in a dark cave, with a great stone on the top of it.  View him again and again; go nearer to him; be not afraid; smell him.  Ah!  How he stinketh…Was he bound hand and foot with grave clothes?  So art thou bound hand and foot with thy corruptions: and as a stone was laid on the sepulcher, so is there a stone of unbelief upon thy heart.  Perhaps thou hast lain in this state, not only for days, but many years…And, what is still more effecting, thou art as unable to raise thyself out of this loathsome, dead state, to a life of righteousness and true holiness, as ever Lazarus was to raise himself from the cave in which he lay so long.  Thou mayest try the power of thy own boasted free-will, and the force and energy of moral persuasion and rational arguments; but all thy efforts, exerted with never so much vigor, will prove fruitless and abortive, till that same Jesus, who said, "Take away the stone," and "Lazarus, come forth." also quicken you.  Apart from the quickening voice of God there is no hope for any man.  With it the deadest and vilest of sinners can be saved."

Jim Thompson was an elder in our church.  Before he died and departed to be with Jesus, he had the unique distinction of having been declared dead twice.  Many years ago he was travelling from Astoria to Portland along Hwy 26.  Jim was a Navy Recruiter and he was accompanied by a Navy Recruit.  He did not realize it at the time but the Quartz Creek Bridge was covered with ice.  He came to the bridge and his car spun out of control.  He ended up hitting another car and in the process was ejected from his car onto the pavement.  When the police officer arrived at the scene he saw Jim and told Jim's passenger that Jim was dead.  Needless to say--the police officer was wrong.  Jim lived for many years after that.

But Jim was actually pronounced dead a second time.  Years ago Pastor Harold Maycumber went to visit Jim in his home.  Up until that day Jim was endeavoring to take his children to church.  He wanted for them to have religious instruction and live moral lives, but that was the extent of Jim’s spiritual concern.  Jim talked to Harold for quite a while about a lot of things, but then it came time for Harold to leave.  As he was at the door, and about to leave, Harold had a final word for Jim.  He turned to Jim and said, "Jim you need Jesus Christ."  In affect what Harold was saying was "Jim you are dead but Jesus can make you alive."  Jim went home that night and bowed in prayer and trusted in Christ for salvation and was “made…alive together” with Him (Cf. Ephesians 2:7).

J. C. Ryle, "How deeply thankful we ought to be for the glorious gospel of the grace of God.  There is a remedy revealed for man's need, as wide and broad and deep as man's disease.  We need not be afraid to look at sin and study its nature, origin, power, extent, and vileness, if we only look as the same time at the almighty medicine provided for us in the salvation that is in Jesus Christ.”

TOO MUCH GRACE (Ephesians Chapter 1)

Ephesians 1:7-8, “According to the riches of his grace which he lavished upon us.”

Ephesians 1:3-14 comprises one long sentence in the Greek with three main divisions.  Each division ends with a note of praise for God, focusing on a different member of the Trinity (Ephesians 1:6, 12, 14).  The first calls for praise to the Father who has chosen us (v. 4-6).  The second calls for praise to the Son who has redeemed us (v. 7-11).  The third calls for praise to the Spirit who has sealed us (v. 12-14).  These ministrations of the God-head have all come to us by grace and are therefore to “the praise of his glorious grace” (Ephesians 1:6).

This passage has much to say about grace.  The term is charis in the Greek and means “that which bestows or occasions pleasure, delight, or causes favorable regard” (Vine’s Expository Dictionary).  It is generally defined, with respect to salvation and its corresponding blessings, in terms of “unmerited favor.”  Grace cannot be earned or merited, it is by definition a gift (Cf. Romans 4:4; Ephesians 2:8).  In this sense it speaks of the undeserved blessings bestowed on the believer in Christ.  It is sometimes defined as “God’s Rich’s At Christ’s Expense” (Cf. 2 Corinthians 8:9).  The source of these spiritual blessings is God.  Paul speaks of “grace” (1:3), “his glorious grace” (1:6), “the riches of his grace” (1:7), “the immeasurable riches of his grace” (2:7).  God’s grace has been “lavished upon” the believer (Cf. Ephesians 1:8).

 Whether he realizes it or not the believer is one has been incredibly blessed by grace with “unsearchable riches in Christ” (Ephesians 3:8).  This blessed estate is possessed “in Christ” alone.  He is both the source and essence of the spiritual blessings referred to, as Dr. Martyn Lloyd Jones once wrote, "If you leave out the "in Christ, you will never have any blessings at all...Every blessing we enjoy as Christian people comes to us through the Lord Jesus Christ.  God has blessings for all sorts and conditions of men...There are certain common general blessings which are enjoyed by the whole of humanity.  There is what is called "common grace," but that is not what the apostle is dealing with here.  Here he is dealing with a particular grace, with special grace, the blessings that are enjoyed by Christian people only...The ungodly may enjoy much good in this world, and their blessings come to them from God in a general way, but they know nothing of the blessings mentioned in this verse."  Though he be impoverished materially speaking, the believer possesses unmeasurable and eternal riches in Christ.  Though he be rich in this world, the unbeliever lives in and experiences spiritual poverty apart from Christ.

God’s unmerited favor has been “lavished upon” the believer in Christ.  The term “lavished” translates a Greek term which means “abundant, exceeding some number, measure, rank or need, over and above.” The NASB note for Ephesians 1:7 says the phrase means “made abundant toward.” It is the same term used in reference to the loaves that were left over after the feeding of the 5000 by Jesus (Cf. Matthew 14:20).  He not only supplied what was necessary, He provided more than enough.  According to Webster’s the English term “lavish” means “expending or bestowing profusely” and comes from a French term which speaks of a “downpour of rain.”  The riches of God’s grace have not been given in a limited measure of scant provision, they super abound to us.  Lewis Sperry Chafer spoke in his Systematic Theology of “thirty-three stupendous works of God which together comprise the salvation of the soul.”  He noted that “These works are wholly wrought by God, wrought instantaneously, simultaneously and being grounded totally on the merit of Christ Himself, they're eternal.”

Several years ago I was privileged to work with Pastor Enock in choosing a name for a new church that was started in the Masaka Region of Uganda in Muge Village.  I did a lot of praying and thinking about the matter.  On my first visit to that region I spend some time with a group of pastors in the book of Ephesians.  In the survey of the book we focused on the “by riches of His grace” nature of salvation.  So I suggested that we call the new church “Abundant Grace Bible Church.”  I found out that in translation the phrase means literally “too much grace.”  In reality there can never to “too much grace” for we are all very needy.  But whatever the need, we can be confident of God’s superabundant provision to us in Christ.  “His love has no limit; His grace has no measure; His pow’r has no boundary known unto men.  For out of His infinite riches in Jesus, He giveth, and giveth, and giveth again!”  We have been richly blessed and should bless God in response (Cf. Ephesians 1:3). 

SOMETHING TO BOAST ABOUT (Galatians Chapter 6)

Galatians 6:14, “But far be it from me to boast, except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

What does the cross of Jesus Christ mean to you?  It is a question of supreme relevance and importance.  As Martyn Lloyd Jones once wrote, “My dear friends, there never can be a more important question than this; what does this cross do to you?”

Some don't give too much thought to it, as Oswald Chambers, once said, "All heaven is interested in the cross of Christ, all hell is terribly afraid of it, while men are the only beings who more less ignore its meaning."  To some it simply doesn't appear to be all that important.  Years ago this assessment was offered by someone regarding the preaching of the liberal church, "A God without wrath brought men without sin into a Kingdom without judgment through the ministrations of a Christ without a cross."  The modern church likewise has worked to diminish and undermine the preeminence of the cross.  Many refrain from the mere mention of sin or Christ's death or future judgment.  Someone has said that "it is a sin to call people sinners."  Self-help sermons are in vogue, the cross not so much.

The cross is a subject that elicits varying responses.  The Galatian believers apparently were confused about it.  Paul wrote to address that matter.  He himself had been used by God in the founding of the church.  He had proclaimed the message of the cross to them (Cf. Galatians 1:11, 3:1).  He had taught them to believe in Christ and that salvation was by faith in Him, but others—legalistic false teachers--had come bearing a different kind of teaching.  They were preaching another gospel (Galatians 1:6); that faith alone was not sufficient; that a person needed to be circumcised and do the works of the law to be saved.  Some of the Galatians were buying into what the false teachers were selling and were confused about the relevance of the cross to their lives.

Others are opposed to the cross.  That was the case of the false teachers (Cf. Galatians 6:12-13).  They were compelling people to be circumcised and to keep the law.  They were motivated by two things.  They had a desire to "boast in (their) flesh” (Galatians 6:13).  In their prideful self-righteousness they sought superiority through the gaining of followers.  In addition, they did not want to “be persecuted for the cross of Christ” (Galatians 6:12).  The cross was, and continues to be, a litmus test for the identification of those who truly belong to God.  The cross represents different things to different people.  To the saved it is “the power of God and the wisdom of God” (1 Corinthians 1:23).  To the unsaved it is a "stumbling block" or “folly” (1 Corinthians 1:23)."  The Judaizers were of this second opinion.  It was a “stumbling block” to them.  They didn’t understand it.  They opposed its message. 

Paul had a much different perspective on the cross.  His statement in Galatians 6:14 is a bold statement.  There is tremendous truth here.  What was Paul saying?  What does it mean to boast in something?  The word Paul uses here appears some 37 times in the NT, usually in a negative sense.  It means “to boast or glory” (Vine’s Expository Dictionary).  Paul uses the term here with the sense of having great regard and high affection for.  We might say "I take pride in."  Paul is saying that He takes no pride in anything except the cross of Jesus Christ.  He takes no pride in himself.  He takes no pride in his gifts.  He takes no pride in his deeds or his accomplishments.  He takes no pride in his abilities.  The only thing that He is willing to take pride in is the cross of Jesus.  His life provides the best illustration of what he means. 

Saul was a Pharisee.  Before he came to know Jesus he was consumed with zealous observance of the law.  He was perfect religious specimen with respect to his religious heritage and practice (Cf. Philippians 3:3-7).  He had much to boast about by way of his own achievements.  But in his salvation he came to esteem such things “as rubbish” in view of the “surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus” (Philippians 3:8).  Paul was saved and radically transformed by means of the “cross of our Lord Jesus Christ” (Galatians 6:14).  He henceforth refused to boast about anything related to his own accomplishments—his position (he referred to himself as a servant; Cf. 1 Corinthians 4:1); his own accomplishments (Cf. 1 Corinthians 15:10); his own abilities (Cf. 1 Corinthians 3:5); his spiritual stature (Cf. 1 Timothy 1:14). 

This is really quite a remarkable thing.  Paul was the greatest missionary the church has ever known.  He reached more lost souls for Christ than any other human being.  He wrote more books of the Bible that anyone else.  His writings contain the deepest and most profound thoughts.  From a human perspective he had much reason to boast--but He says "but far be it from me to boast, except in the cross” (Galatians 6:14).  God would have us to say the same.  “Jesus, keep me near the cross—There a precious fountain, Free to all a healing stream, Flows from Calvary’s mountain.”