Ephesians 4.1-10 (7)
Pray Psalm 132.13-18.
For the LORD has chosen Zion;
He has desired it for His dwelling place:
“This is My resting place forever;
Here I will dwell, for I have desired it.
I will abundantly bless her provision;
I will satisfy her poor with bread.
I will also clothe her priests with salvation,
And her saints shall shout aloud for joy.
There I will make the horn of David grow;
I will prepare a lamp for My Anointed.
His enemies I will clothe with shame,
But upon Himself His crown shall flourish.”
Sing Psalm 132.13-18.
(Finlandia: Be Still, My Soul)
God dwells among us, and He will forever,
to meet our needs and clothe us with His grace.
He has to us sent Jesus Christ, our Savior—
Beloved, eternal light and resting place.
His foes are banished from His Presence ever,
but we shall reign with Him before His face.
Read Ephesians 4.1-10; meditate on verses 3, 10.
When we have peace, Jesus fills all things.
Preparation
1. Of what does our oneness—our unity—consist?
2. We received grace for salvation (2.8, 9). For what else?
Meditation
The practical section (praxis) of the book of Ephesians begins with the end in sight. The goal we should be focusing on in all our Christian life, individually and together, is that Jesus should fill all things with Himself (v. 10). All our thoughts, desires, plans, choices, activities, aspirations—everything. We are called (v. 1) and gifted (v. 7) to pursue this beautiful goal, and as we work together we can realize it increasingly here and now (note “one another” in v. 2; all the verbs in vv. 1-3 are in the plural, as are the pronouns).
How can this happen in a crazy, tribal, highly politicized world such as ours? Jesus will do it. He is exalted in glory and passing out gifts for us to use so that we grow in Him as believers and as churches (vv. 7-10). Jesus has borne the judgment of sin and broken the hold of sin; our job is to ready the “all things” of our lives for Jesus to settle there by His Word and Spirit.
We are one in His body and His Spirit, and we have one compelling hope: to glorify Jesus here and now and to see Him face to face there and then (1 Jn. 3.1-3). By His Spirit, God our heavenly Father is through and in all things. To the extent that we walk in Him (vv. 1, 2), work for unity (v. 3), and devote our lives to being filled with Jesus (v. 10), we will know, increasingly, the joy of God’s Presence and power with us.
Treasure Old and New: Matthew 13.52; Psalm 119.162
Our work is to stay always in the Presence of God, and while we are in His Presence, to be reclaiming with Him, this world for His Kingdom purposes: that all may know of Him.
And as they know of Him and see our unity of heart with Him and with other believers, they will want to know Him and serve Him along with us.
This is Kingdom living at its best!
“By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another” (Jn. 13.35).
“Now by this we know that we know Him, if we keep His commandments…
whoever keeps His Word, truly the love of God is perfected in him.
By this we know that we are in Him.
He who says he abides in Him
ought himself also to walk
just as He walked” (1 Jn. 2.3, 5, 6).
God promised that we who love Him will know Him.
“But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel [now the Church] after those days, says the LORD: I will put My law in their minds, and write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. No more shall every man teach his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, ‘Know the LORD,’ for they shall know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them, says the LORD. For I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more” (Jer. 31.33, 34).
We can safely say that:
if there is not unity of heart with God,
if there is not unity among the brethren of God,
if the knowledge of God is scant, and
the knowing of God scarce,
then it is because the people of God have failed in their goal
of living in the Kingdom here and now. His way.
He has done His part. Are we doing ours? Are we meeting the goal of our praxis?
Reflection
1. What would you say if someone asked you why you are a Christian?
2. What does it mean to “know” the Lord Jesus Christ? Can we increase in that? How?
3. What is it like to know the joy of God’s Presence? When do you know this joy?
Therefore he says that it was so that Christ would fill all things, that is to say, that he would perfect and restore everything in heaven and on earth in order to complete the building of his celestial city, which is the church. Martin Bucer (1491-1551), Commentary on Ephesians
Pray Psalm 132.8-10.
Thank God the Father for His Holy Spirit, Who dwells within us and works to make us more like Jesus. Pray that He will clothe you increasingly with the fullness of Jesus and His righteousness.
Sing Psalm 132.8-10.
(Finlandia: Be Still, My Soul)
Arise, O LORD, come to Your resting place;
Your holy Presence meet with us in might.
Clothe us with righteousness in Jesus’ grace,
and we will shout to Your divine delight!
For David’s sake, turn not away Your face,
but look upon us in Your holy light.
T. M. and Susie Moore
For more insight to what it means to know the Lord, order a copy of our book, To Know Him.
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 begin to look at what the Scriptures say about justice. This week in our Read Moore podcast we wrap up our readings from the book, To Know Jesus. 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.
