Ephesians 3.8-21 (2)
Pray Psalm 32.1, 2.
Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven,
Whose sin is covered.
Blessed is the man to whom the LORD does not impute iniquity,
And in whose spirit there is no deceit.
Sing Psalm 32.1, 2.
(Hendon: Take My Life and Let It Be)
Blessed are they whose sins the LORD has forgiven by His Word!
Pure their spirits are within; them He charges with no sin;
them He charges with no sin!
Read Ephesians 3.10-13; meditate on verse 12, focusing on “boldness” and “access”.
Get clear in your mind the meaning of each of these terms. Meditate on what they look like when you manifest them.
Preparation
1. What is made known through the Church?
2. To whom is this made known?
Meditation
We recall that Paul was a prisoner in Rome, so it would have been natural for the Ephesians to be as concerned for his wellbeing as much as for the contents of his letter.
But the Church does not live in the “natural” world only. The Church is a spiritual body. It pursues the ongoing work of Christ who came to destroy the works of the devil. This we do by seeking and advancing the Kingdom of God (1 Jn. 3.8). We show the undefeatable wisdom of God to His spiritual enemies and to His spiritual servants alike, routing the former and cheering the latter by the manifestation of God’s wisdom and glory.
In all its life and ministry, therefore, the Church must be oriented to unseen things, always focusing on God and His glory, maximizing the access we have to Him through Jesus Christ, and seeking the wisdom of Christ to expose and overthrow the folly of every scheme of the father of lies. We will fail in our purpose if we are not led by a heavenly vision, guided by the Word of God, filled with the Spirit, and following in Jesus’ footsteps in all we do. But we will be emboldened in that work if we set our minds on the things that are above and seek access to the Presence and power of the Lord through prayer.
The overarching objective for the Church, in all its life and work, is to plunder the devil’s house and fill the Lord’s, by overcoming evil with good, and replacing the kingdom of lies with the Kingdom of truth.
Paul wrote that they should not worry about him but only seek the glory of God, as he was, even in his bonds.
Treasure Old and New: Matthew 13.52; Psalm 119.16
Paul’s words echo Solomon’s words, faithfully through the ages:
“Incline your ear and hear the words of the wise, and apply your heart to my knowledge;
for it is a pleasant thing if you keep them within you; let them all be fixed upon your lips,
so that your trust may be in the LORD; I have instructed you today, even you.
Have I not written to you excellent things of counsels and knowledge, that
I may make you know the certainty of the words of truth, that
you may answer words of truth to those who send to you?” (Prov. 22.17-21).
“For I have not shunned to declare to you the whole counsel of God” (Acts 20.27).
Through the Holy Spirit, we have been given power to convey these words of truth.
And, not only have we been given boldness, but we have been given “access with confidence through faith in Him” to do so. (Eph. 3.12). Boldness, access, confidence.
Of late, revivals have taken place on college campuses and other venues; and the Gospel has been proclaimed boldly, carefully, cogently, and convincingly—most recently at a memorial service broadcast to millions of viewers. The Gospel of salvation.
What God’s people have been called to add to that is the Gospel of the Kingdom, including sanctification.
This is the Gospel that Jesus preached. Salvation leading to life lived out on earth, doing God’s will as it is done in heaven, glorifying God, praising and honoring Him, and bearing the fruits of the Spirit—often leading to speaking the Good News of Christ—and in doing good works of service for others.
And being in the Word of God daily—reading, studying, praying over, and mediating in—is the key to learning how to please Him, how to love Him, how to worship Him, and how to do what is well pleasing in His sight.
The humble fig tree is our mentor.
One morning, as His day of work was beginning, Jesus became hungry. When He saw in the distance a fig tree, all leafy and green, full of promise to satiate hunger, His interest was piqued. So, He went to see if perhaps He would find something on it, but “when He came to it, He found nothing but leaves, for it was not the season for figs. In response Jesus said to it, ‘Let no one eat fruit from you ever again’” (Mk. 11.12-14). The next day “as they passed by, they saw the fig tree dried up from the roots” (Mk. 11.20).
Paul wrote to Timothy saying, “Be ready in season and out of season” (2 Tim. 4.2).
Our job is to be prepared and ready—sanctified—with boldness, because we have access with confidence through our faith in Jesus Christ to do what He has called us to do.
God’s people have much work to do, and the fields, most assuredly are ripe for the harvest.
“The harvest truly is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out
laborers into His harvest” (Matt. 9.37, 38). Ripe for both salvation and sanctification. Without both, we
preach an incomplete and unfinished Gospel.
“If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit” (Gal. 5.25).
“Sanctification is not a question of whether God is willing to sanctify me; is it my will?
Am I willing to let God do in me all that has been made possible by the Atonement?
Am I willing to let Jesus be made sanctification to me, and
to let the life of Jesus be manifested in mymortal flesh?” (Oswald Chambers, 1935).
Reflection
1. What is sanctification? How is it part of our salvation?
2. The Gospel is Good News about Christ and His Kingdom. Explain.
3. What opportunities will you have today to speak the Gospel confidently and boldly?
But he mentions the principalities and powers specifically because he wants to point out that this mystery of Christ was so deeply hidden in God that not a single one of the creatures, not even the heavenly spirits, not even those who ruled over principalities and powers and were therefore superior to their fellows, knew this wisdom, which was made known in the church of Christ through the gospel. Wolfgang Musculus (1497-1563), Commentary on Ephesians
Pray Psalm 32.3-11.
Sin can hinder our prayers and keep us from orienting all our lives to the unseen things above. Pray that God will cleanse you of all sin, that He will continue to teach you how to live, and that you will rejoice in Him in every situation, including your trials.
Sing Psalm 32.3-11.
(Hendon: Take My Life and Let It Be)
When in silence I remained, groaning in my sinful pain,
You Your hand upon me lay; all my strength You drained away,
all my strength You drained away.
I confessed my sin to You; You forgave me, ever true!
Let confession’s pleading sound reach You while You may be found,
reach You while You may be found!
When flood waters threaten me, You my hiding place will be.
O’er them I will rise above, buoyed by Your redeeming love,
buoyed by Your redeeming love.
Teach me, LORD, how I should live; sound instruction ever give.
Let me never stubborn be; let Your eye watch over me,
let Your eye watch over me.
Though the wicked wail and weep, they rejoice whose souls You keep.
Trusting, we exult with praise, joyf’ly singing all our days,
joyf’ly singing all our days!
T. M. and Susie Moore
If you have found this meditation helpful, take a moment to give thanks to God. Then share what you learned with a friend. This is how the grace of God spreads (2 Cor. 4.15).
Other columns of interest this week: In our ReVision series on “The Kingdom Economy” we continue looking at ways the Law of God applies to our lives. This week in our Read Moore podcast we consider the question of what it means to know Jesus Christ. Our Crosfigell teaching letter continues our study of the life of Brigit, a contemporary of Brendan. Click here to see all the other columns and writers available to you.
And please prayerfully consider supporting The Fellowship of Ailbe with your prayers and gifts. You can contribute online, via PayPal or Anedot, or by sending a gift to The Fellowship of Ailbe, P. O. Box 8213, Essex, VT 05451.
Except as indicated, all Scriptures are taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. For sources of all quotations, see the weekly PDF of this study. All psalms for singing are from The Ailbe Psalter.
