An Unusual Path to Triumph

John 12:1-26
 
Introduction

            The Jets couldn't lose this year. Manitoba was so excited just to have a team that they could have been on the bottom of the standings and everyone would still have been excited and happy about the season. In the end they have had more wins than Atlanta did last year and have kept it interesting even having a chance of making the playoffs until recently.

            The way in which to succeed in hockey, or any sport is to win games. The team that is better, stronger, faster and scores more goals than the opposition is the team that is considered better than the rest. The team that will win the last game in the Stanley Cup Playoffs will be declared triumphant. This is what we consider normal in many areas of life.

            Today is a day we celebrate a great triumph. On the day when Jesus rode into Jerusalem and everyone shouted "Hosanna" we celebrate an event which we refer to as the Triumphal Entry.

            This morning we will look at the story of the Triumphal Entry from John 12:1-26. We have already read verses 12-19 which is the actual account of the event we have come to know as Palm Sunday, but it is important for us to read that event in the context in which John has placed it and think about the stories surrounding it. John has put these events together in such a way as to teach us. As we read the surrounding stories and even the story of the triumphal entry itself, although we read about a triumphant event, we also notice some disturbing notes. As we consider these things, we will learn something about the way Jesus gained His victory. But we will also learn about the way in which we as followers of Jesus must live. It is a way of living that is not the normal way for people of the world and requires some careful thinking.

I.     The Triumphant Declaration

A.   The Triumphant Expectation

            The story about the Triumphal Entry begins with a rumor. People who were in Jerusalem heard that Jesus was coming into the city. It seems that at this point there was a lot of excitement about Jesus. He was the current news item and when people heard that he was coming into the city, they went out because they wanted to see him.

            There was more than just curiosity about his arrival. It seems that there was celebration and hope surrounding his coming. People came out of the city and had gathered palm branches. John doesn't tell us what they did with the palm branches, but does indicate that there was a great deal of shouting. The declaration of the people was "Hosanna! Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord- the King of Israel." These statements are loaded with meaning. The word "Hosanna" is a Hebrew word that means "save now." It is a prayer to be released, but what was it they wanted to be released from? Were they asking for salvation from their sin? salvation from their suffering? salvation from their enemies? or all of the above? From what they knew of Jesus as one who forgave sins, who healed people and who had power over nature, it is likely that they hoped that Jesus would help them in all these ways.

            The phrase "Blessed is the one who comes" was a term that came out of the Old Testament and refers to the coming of one who was promised by God who would redeem Israel from all their troubles. It was a phrase loaded with Messianic expectation. As they shouted this, they were expressing hope that Jesus was the one whom God promised would come and restore the nation.

            The phrase "King of Israel" reminds us of the promise which God had made to David that one of his own sons would sit on Israel's throne forever. It was also a Messianic promise of one coming to fulfill all the hopes of the nation.

            So as the people shouted and celebrated they shouted about hope, they celebrated the possibility of victory over all trouble. Tenney writes, "If the … crowd came from Galilee, it would be well aware of Jesus’ works there and would probably contain a number who had wished for a long time that he would declare himself as the expected Messiah."

B.   The Triumphant Reality

            As we examine the celebration that took place on that day in the context of the stories that surround it we see that there was something to celebrate. There were reasons why they could have such a hope.

1.    Resurrection

            In the story that precedes the triumphal entry, there is a story about a meal which took place in Bethany. One of the people attending that meal was Lazarus and in verse 1 and in verse 9, mention is made of the fact that Jesus had raised him from the dead.

            Throughout John, Jesus is presented with various "I Am" sayings. We read in different places that Jesus says, "I Am – the bread of life, the good shepherd, the light of the world, but there is no more powerful truth than that presented in John 11 where Jesus says, "I am the resurrection and the life." People knew that he had raised Lazarus from the dead and that they were celebrating that one among them had power over life and death.

            In verse 17, mention is once again made of Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead We are told that the crowd which was coming into Jerusalem with Jesus, which was likely a crowd that included people who had been with Jesus when he raised Lazarus, was telling everyone about it. They recalled and shared the details. I can imagine that as they met someone new they would point at Jesus and say, "I saw him call Lazarus out of the tomb and then he came out alive."

            So there was reason to celebrate, reason to hope in what Jesus could and would do for them. They had seen Jesus for what He was, a life giver!

2.    Greeks

            Of course for the Jewish religious leaders this was not good news. As more and more people heard the story about Lazarus, and as the crowd shouted and celebrated Jesus, they become more and more concerned and upset. They expressed their concern in verse 19 with the words, "…the whole world has gone after him!"

            It is interesting that immediately after that exclamation, John includes the story of a group of Greeks who wanted to see Jesus. They connected with Philip and asked him, "…we wish to see Jesus…" They had heard the stories and now they wanted to know more. Philip didn't know what to do and so he took them to Andrew who brought them to Jesus.

            Putting these two stories together suggests another aspect of the victory of Jesus. The Old Testament had foretold that the nations would come to God. Now, as the Jewish religious leaders cried out in alarm "the whole world is going after him" a group of Greeks, who may have been from The Decapolis, a Gentile region of Galilee, wanted to see Jesus, as if the whole world was actually going after Him.

            This event points to the world wide ministry of Jesus and is another reason to celebrate that He who comes is the Lord over all nations.

            So the story of the triumphal entry is a story of triumph. Because of the story of Lazarus it hints that Jesus conquers death. Because of the story of the Greeks it hints that Jesus is Lord of the whole world. There is reason to celebrate. There is substance to the shouts of triumph because of Jesus.

II.  Jesus' Path to Triumph

            But the story of the triumphal entry and the stories that surround it are also stories that contain some disturbing realities. The event celebrates triumph, but something isn't quite right.

A.   Disturbing Notes in the Midst of Triumph

            First of all we notice that a disturbing memory lingers. We have just read about the amazing miracle of the raising of Lazarus in John 11. Shortly thereafter we read of this great celebration of Jesus' entry into the city. But in between we have the story of a meal. It seems that Mary and Martha hosted the meal and Martha served. I think it was a celebration meal, probably put on to thank Jesus for raising Lazarus. In the story we read that Mary expressed her thanks to Jesus by anointing his feet with an expensive perfume. When this act of Mary was questioned by Judas, Jesus responded by saying, "She bought it so that she might keep it for the day of my burial." As we hear that, we realize that not everything here is triumph. A huge question is placed on our mind when we hear about the burial of the man who just raised someone from the dead. That is the first indication in these verses that something is not quite right.

            As the people were shouting words of celebration, Jesus did something which also contained a message. He found a young donkey and rode into Jerusalem on it. The act was declared to fulfill the prophecy in Zechariah 9:9 which says, "…your king is coming…" It speaks of triumph, but there is another note in it as well. We also read, "…humble and sitting on a donkey's colt." This is an intentional image of a different kind of victory. It is not the "ra, ra, our team is the best" kind of victory celebration. Rather it also includes mention of humility. Something other than our normal understanding of triumph is implied.

            Another thread which is woven throughout the passage is the thread of opposition. I believe that John was not just recording historical facts. He was preaching a message and making a point and so includes the things he says in the way he says them to make his point. The threads of opposition are not incidental, but deliberate. The opposition comes from without and from within the circle of Jesus' acquaintances.

            The first note of opposition we see is that of Judas Iscariot. At the thanksgiving meal, when Mary showed her love for Jesus, Judas injected a sour note of criticism, suggesting that Mary's act was a waste. When John added his editorial comment that Judas was a thief, we begin to get a hint that something is terribly wrong. The memory of that negative incident can not be removed even as the crowd celebrates the triumph of Jesus' entry.

            The next note of opposition is one we have already encountered many times in the life of Jesus so we are not surprised about it, but because it is mentioned twice in the text, we must take note of it. In verse 10, we are told that the chief priests wanted to kill Lazarus because he was feeding Jesus' popularity. They thought that if they removed the evidence, Jesus popularity would go away. It seems ironic that they wanted to kill someone who had just been raised from the dead. Their comment later that "the whole world has gone after Jesus" also reinforces their opposition and reminds us that not everything is victory and celebration.

            At the end of the story of the triumphal entry, John included the note that "His disciples did not understand these things at first." Once again we see that even though they participated in the shouting and rejoicing, they were actually baffled about what was happening. They, more than anyone, understood reasons for a celebration of triumph, but perhaps they also were more aware of the threads of opposition. It didn't completely come together for them and they were confused.

B.   Jesus' Way to Triumph

            So where is all this pointing? Does it take away from the sound of triumph? Is there a victory here or not?

            There is enough evidence of victory to tell us unequivocally that Jesus is the victor and the sound of celebration is appropriate. It is Jesus Himself who helps us understand, however, that the path He takes to victory is different than the one we normally expect.

            After the Jewish leaders lamented that the world has gone after him and the Greeks fulfill that prophecy by wanting to see Jesus, we are puzzled by the response of Jesus. The text says, "Jesus answered them, 'The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified.'" This answer doesn’t seem to fit with what we expect should be spoken at this point and we are tempted to dismiss it because we are puzzled. In the Bible, when something unexpected happens that is not a time to dismiss it, but to pay closer attention.

            The Greeks were looking for Jesus because they had heard the stories about Him. The fact that they came to Jesus was the beginning of the fulfillment of the prophecy that the gospel is for all nations. The answer of Jesus to the Greeks, however, is puzzling to us because we are expecting normal earthly triumph and Jesus points not to normal human triumph, but to the unique way in which He will triumph. He is pointing away from "high five" to the unusual, but God planned victory accomplished through His death on the cross. Jesus did not win by calling 10,000 angels. Jesus won by dying. That is what Jesus means when he says, "The time has come for the Son of Man to be glorified." In that statement Jesus points to the ultimate and complete victory, but He also points to the way in which that victory will be accomplished. He would be glorified, not by power, but by humility and by giving His life. Jesus was not talking about winning the game by scoring more goals, He was talking about winning the victory by yielding to the power of the enemy. Of course, we understand that in the end, this victory is much greater than one in which he would have jumped off the cross victorious. By dying He not only showed His power, but conquered all His enemies including sin and death. So as we celebrate the triumphal entry, we not only celebrate that Jesus won, but that He won completely through the unusual method of the sacrifice of His life.

            Although this way of thinking is, from a human stand point, unusual, Jesus uses an illustration from the natural world to help them and us understand that there are other models in the world which work in the same way. God has left Himself with a natural witness to the method by which He has chosen to gain victory over sin and death. Jesus pointed to a grain of wheat, which can either be eaten for nourishment, or put in the ground where it dies. If we eat it, it is digested and gone forever, but if we bury it, that grain of wheat sacrifices itself in order to grow into a plant and multiply itself many times over. In that image we have an illustration of how death yields a greater victory than how we normally think a victory is to be won.

            That was the strategy of Jesus. That was His way to victory and if we understand that, we have an even greater reason to celebrate and shout "Hosanna."

III.          Walking the Jesus Path

            But Jesus didn't stop there with his answer. He continued and taught the disciples, the Greeks and us that His way of gaining victory is not only what He did, but the way in which He wants His disciples to live.

A.   Life Through Sacrifice

            Verses 25 and 26 are instructions to disciples to follow the example of Jesus. Just as He was willing to sacrifice His life, so we are called to do the same.

            Jesus calls us to recognize that if we love our own life, we will lose it. This is a call to give our life to Him.

            Jesus calls us to hate our life in this world. If we prefer to walk in sin instead of repenting, we will never experience His forgiveness.

            Jesus calls us to lose our life. In many parts of the world the choice to follow Jesus is a choice that could lead to martyrdom. In those contexts, if we love our life so much that we don't want to follow Jesus, we will never find eternal life.

            Jesus calls us to serve Him and follow Him. That is a call to make a choice about whether our life will be about us or about Him.

            These statements have much to say about a way of living in this world that is unexpected. They teach us that we can live by sacrificing our desires and even our rights and promise that by doing so we will not lose. They teach us that a life of sacrifice and service is not the wasted life that many people would suggest it is. This way of life is the foundation for loving our enemy, for being able to spend a lifetime of missionary service, for feeding the poor, for fighting for justice and for involving our lives in God's mission. If we follow this way of Jesus, of sacrifice and service, we may never get rich, or have honor in this world, but we will have honor from God because the last thing Jesus says is, "Whoever serves me, the Father will honor."

            Jesus shows us the way. Triumph is real and came to Jesus, but it did not come with a resounding victory accomplished by power. It came when He laid down his life. Jesus calls us to live in the same way.

B.   Life Motivated by Love

            How will we be able to make a choice to live in this way? Living life the way we want, desiring to preserve our life, looking out for ourselves are so deeply ingrained in us that we find it hard to let go of these things in order to choose service and sacrifice.

            Perhaps the example of Mary at the dinner will help us. I believe that it was out of profound gratitude that she anointed Jesus' feet. The value of the perfume she used was worth about a year's wages for a laborer. That is a lot of money to blow in one shot. But she did not think of the cost. Why was she willing to engage in such an extravagant act of worship and service to Jesus? I believe it was because she was filled with gratitude. Referring to this story Barclay says, "We see love's extravagance." "Mary took the most precious thing she possessed, and spent it all on Jesus." If we are truly thankful for the sacrifice that Jesus made for us and are grateful for the triumph He has gained, then it will not be difficult for us to choose a life of sacrifice and service for the one who sacrificed Himself for us.

Conclusion

            Earlier in the service, the children ran down the aisles of the church shouting cries of victory. What they said and did is entirely true and appropriate. Jesus has won! Jesus is triumphant! We celebrate His triumph gladly and with full meaning.

            But the way in which He came to that triumph is not the way we normally expect in this world. He was the grain of wheat who was put into the ground in order that it would gain much more fruit. When we understand that fully, we understand that His victory is much more complete because of the path He took.

            So today we celebrate the triumph of Jesus and because of the way He accomplished it, we understand that it is a complete triumph. Since Jesus triumphed in that way, we are also encouraged to follow His path to victory through sacrifice and service.

            May the victory of Jesus motivate us to offer ourselves to Him.

A Message Worth Proclaiming

Ephesians 3:1-13

Introduction

            Many years ago there were only two ways to communicate with people. You went to their place and talked to them or you sent them a letter. Today there is no end of ways – letter still works, but most people prefer phone, texting, Facebook, Twitter, email  and sometimes they even talk to people face to face. What makes it more complicated is that everyone has their favorite way. With some people the best way to get them a message is by Facebook. Others you have to text, others you have to phone. Some have an answering machine and some don't. Some only have a cell phone and some have no computer. In spite of a dozen different ways of getting a message out, we don't always get the message through to the intended person. However, when there is a very important message that we need to get to someone, we can usually find a way. I have sometimes thought about this when we have gone on a canoe trip. There is no cell service out there, but if the situation was serious enough and you needed to get hold of someone, it could be done. If a message is important enough there is usually a way of communicating that message.

            Over the last seven times that I have preached, we have examined all the wonderful things that Jesus has done for us. This is a message that is important and one that urgently needs to be communicated. Ephesians 3:1-13 speaks about the message God has for us to proclaim and about the need to proclaim it. In this section Paul shares his personal testimony about the call God had on his life. As we listen in on the conversation, we can learn many things about the message and the importance of making it known.

            The passage begins with the words "This is the reason" and then we notice in verse 14 that we have similar words when it says, "For this reason I bow my knees before the Father." Paul's intention was to begin a prayer, but with the mention of the fact that he was a "prisoner for Christ Jesus" he went off on a tangent about how God has worked in and through him. This testimony provides a great lesson on proclaiming the gospel. I trust that as we examine these words, we will see that we have a message worth proclaiming and we will see the urgency of proclaiming the message.

I.     God's Message

A.   A Mystery Revealed

            God's message is introduced in this text as a mystery. But it is really more of a secret that has been revealed. The message about the work of God is not something that has been clearly known in all times past. There was a time when people didn't know about what God was doing. Even though He revealed His plan in the Old Testament, it was not clearly understood at that time. But the secret is not a mystery any more. Paul has already written about this in chapter 1 when he talked about God's plan and now mentions again that God has now made this secret clearly known. Paul himself discovered the secret of God's plan through a revelation by the Holy Spirit. In Galatians 1:11-24, Paul describes how that mystery was made known to Him. It began when a light from heaven shone down on him on the road to Damascus and it was also revealed as he spent time with God.

B.   Good News

            The message which God has made known is good news. That is what the word "gospel," which we read in verse 6, means. And what good news it is!  It is described in verse 8 as the "news of the boundless riches of Christ."

            Carla read me a story from the news this week about a man who was given $20 by a young person because he believed that he was a homeless person. There was a picture of the man and he could easily have been mistaken for one but as much as he tried to explain to the young person that he was not, the young person insisted that he take the $20. The man did and because he didn't really feel he deserved it, he added another $20 to it and gave the $40 to Siloam Mission. What a great story about a gift of grace.

            The story of the "news of the boundless riches of Christ" is even greater. It is a story of a gift given to those who truly did need it. It is the story of life given to those who were dead. It is the story about making those who were not God's people into those who now are the children of God. It is the story of forgiveness given to people who were terrible sinners. As we have examined the story over the last week, we have certainly seen that it is a story about the boundless riches of Christ. It has taken us 7 messages, the equivalent of about 31/2 hours, and we know that we have only scratched the surface of what God has done for us. Truly the message God has for people is good news. It is "boundless riches" for people who are in desperate poverty.

            It is also good news because it is a message for all people. Last week we talked about how the gospel message is also for the Gentiles. Once again Paul speaks about how the good news is for Gentiles. In verse 6 he indicates that the Gentiles now have become "fellow heirs, members of the same body and sharers in the promise of Christ." This is good news for us as well because as Gentiles we know that this is for us.

C.   God's Plan

            This good news is also described in verse 9 as "the plan of the mystery hidden for ages in God who created all things." God, who is the creator of all things, has a plan. In the past that plan was slowly revealed through the words of the prophets. Now, in these last days, that plan has been fully and clearly revealed.

            Sometimes we may get to the place where we think of God's plan as something very simplistic. If we reduce the plan of God to the four spiritual laws, we are in danger of minimizing just how great it is. I am not against the four spiritual laws, but they are just one way of looking at what God's plan is all about and only include part of God's plan. Listen to how verse 10 describes God's plan when it speaks of the "wisdom of God in its rich variety." Once again we have the word "rich" but it is a different word than the word "rich" in verse 8. There the word used is one that often refers to wealth. In verse 10 it is a word that could be translated "many colored" to describe the many layered abundance of God's plan. It is a plan that can be described as salvation or redemption or reconciliation or justification or mercy or forgiveness and many other ways. What God has planned is truly amazing, it is rich, it is varied and it arises out of the amazing love which God has for all those whom He has created.

D.   Through Christ Jesus

            So the message of God is a wonderful word about what God has done and once again we need to take note that it is centered in one person and that is the person of Jesus Christ. We have already taken note of the many times that the phrase "in Christ" appears in Ephesians. Once again the text points to Jesus. The message which God wants everyone to know is not a message about a list of rules or a guide for good living. It is a message about Jesus Christ. In verse 4 he describes it as "the mystery of Christ." In verse 6 he speaks about the promise which the Gentiles now share "in Christ Jesus." In verse 8  we have already spoken about God's "boundless riches" but take note that they are "of Christ." Verse 11 mentions that God's purpose has been carried out "in Christ Jesus our Lord."

            It is very important for us to understand this. God has revealed a message to the world. The message is good news which is carried out according to God's plan and the center of the message of God is that it is a message about Jesus. It is about Jesus because it is in Jesus alone that we can be forgiven, in Jesus alone that we have power to obey God's way and in Jesus alone that we have the hope of eternal life. The message of God is about making Jesus known. If we call ourselves Christian we must identify with Christ.

II.  Must Be Made Known

            As we have already noted, this passage is about the commission Paul has been given to make this message known. In verse 2 Paul speaks about "the commission of God's grace that was given me for you." Then we read in verse 7, "Of this gospel I have become a servant according to the gift of God's grace…" Very early in Paul's Christian life, he knew that God had called him into ministry. When God sent Ananias to speak to Paul in Damascus, He already revealed to Ananias that Paul was going to be a missionary. Paul had a strong sense of awareness of this calling. The word for servant that is used here is a word that is behind our word "economy." "We might call him an 'economist of grace' or, with Letty Russell, the “housekeeper” in God’s household…" Paul saw himself as a steward given the responsibility of making the gospel known. He had an obligation and was very much aware of the importance of making the message known.

            As we read through this text it becomes very clear that this idea of making the message known is important. God's plan is so great that God's plan must be made known. In the text there are three audiences to whom this message must be made known.

            Clearly, since this is Paul's story being told, the message must be made known to the Gentiles. That was his particular assignment and it lines up with the commission given by God to the disciples as they watched Jesus ascend into heaven. In Acts 1:8 we read that they were to be witnesses in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria and the uttermost parts of the earth. Paul was the first one who really made a concerted effort to reach out into the uttermost parts of the earth.

            The second audience mentioned in the text extends even more broadly. In verse 9 it says that God's plan is to "make everyone see." Do we have such a vision? Do we have the heart to see the lost and care enough about them that we want them to know? Are there people we don't see? Although the Jews were the first to receive the message of the gospel of Jesus, yet today in many countries they are among the least reached people groups in the world. God's intention is still that everyone may see the message of the gospel.

            The most fascinating extent for the proclamation of God's message is stated in verse 10, declaring that it "might now be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places." There are two ways in which we can understand this somewhat puzzling phrase. One is that the rulers and authorities refer to those who are in authority in the land, the government. The mention of them being in the heavenly places might refer to the pagan understanding that behind every ruler there was a heavenly power. On the other hand it may refer to the recognition that, as Paul indicates in Ephesians 6, we are in a battle which has more to it than meets the eye. Those powers who are arrayed in battle against God and His kingdom must also know the message of God's rich grace.

            When we recognize all three of these audiences for the proclamation of God's good news, it helps us realize that the message must be made known and it must be made known everywhere.

III.          Through God's Servants

            How will it be made known?

A.   God's Servants

1.    Through the Apostles and Prophets

            In verse 5 reference is made to the apostles and prophets. They were the first to understand the mystery which God was revealing. Through the Holy Spirit, they came to know and understand what God was up to. They were the first to proclaim it. The story of Peter on the day of Pentecost tells us just how that message of God was first proclaimed. It starts with a gathering of disciples who timidly spent time in an upper room, in prayer, wondering what the ministry of Jesus and his resurrection might mean. When the Holy Spirit came upon them, it all suddenly became clear and Peter with words that were clearly beyond him put it all together. It is in this way that the apostles and prophets are the foundation of the church. They were the first to understand God's message and the first to make it known.

2.    Through God's Servant Paul

            As we have already noted, this passage is largely about Paul's own experience. As we listen to his description about how he came to be a messenger of God's good news, we can learn some important things about our own role as His messengers.

            First of all, Paul had a very powerful sense of call to a specific task. He speaks of his commission, of being a servant and of being given grace by God's power for the task of making the gospel known to the Gentiles. When we read that, our temptation might be to think that we do not have such a strong commission and therefore we might be tempted to back off. That logic does not follow. Everyone of us is called to be a witness to the message of God, as we will see in a moment. But Paul's example also shows us that each of us also can have a call to a specific task. What is it that God has called us to? I learned early in my life, while serving in this church that God was calling me to serve Him. When this church ordained me, that sense of calling was strengthened, but I still did not know exactly how God wanted me to serve Him. Over the years, various experiences helped me finally come to understand that God wanted me to serve him by being a pastor and particularly by proclaiming His word. In fact, I was a pastor for 10 years before I figured that out. What is it that God has called you to? What are the gifts that He has given you? What is the passion that He has given you. I love listening to the passion with which my step dad, Art Rempel talks about delivering Scripture for the Gideon's. When I hear that, I see God's call to him in that task. I believe it is important for us to learn what God's call to us is because as we understand it two important things happen. We are not distracted by the many things that someone else thinks we should be doing and we are able to focus our primary energy on the thing that God has called us to do.

            We may be quick to dismiss Paul as an example for us to follow. After all, Paul was such an amazing guy. We see him as well educated, specifically prepared by God, gifted and a capable leader. We may think, "that is not me. I am just an ordinary me. What have I got to offer?" But in verse 8 we see Paul's view of himself. He says, "I am the very least of all the saints." Paul was no different than we are. He did not see himself as strong or capable. He saw himself as a terrible sinner because he had persecuted the church. In other places we read about all his weaknesses. Wood writes, "Perhaps there is a playful allusion to his own name (v. 1) meaning “little” (paulos). In 2 Corinthians 12:11 he acknowledges that in himself he is a nobody while at the same time recognizing that God has made him a somebody. Such humility is an essential qualification for effective service." How encouraging that is because it helps us understand that God is not looking for super apostles, but for people who will say yes to the call He places on their life. Will you say "yes?"

3.    Through the Church

            So the example of Paul helps us to understand our role in making God's message known, but we cannot escape that we together also have a role to play in making God's message known. In verse 10 we read, "through the church the wisdom of God in its rich variety might now be made known."

            According to this verse, the church and everyone who is part of the church must play a role. God has left us on this earth for one specific purpose and that is to make known the message God has for the world. We do not exist to maintain a little club called the church. God has given us a task and we need to focus on that task. Last week a group of people met to think about the outreach of our church. One of the things we talked about and I believe agreed on is that we must be very careful as a church that we do not see preservation of Portage Avenue Church as our reason to exist. We must recognize that we are God's servants. We must focus on the lost and we must do what we can to make God's message known to those who are lost. Neufeld suggests some good thoughts about this when he says, "by the quality of its existence…The church is most powerful in its 'communicative being' when it is diverse ethnically, racially, culturally, and socioeconomically—when it is made up of those who should not be able to coexist." He says further that it does its task "when its members participate in taking up the cross in relation to those outside their fellowship and especially in relation to each other." He also says that the church "goes beyond merely maintaining itself in its courageous confrontation of the powers with the wise gospel. Its message is that God is reclaiming humanity and all that God has created from the grip of evil and rebellion."

            What will it mean for us to obey this call at Portage Avenue Church?

B.   Being God's Servants

            As we are involved in this mission to make God's message known, the text also mentions several important things that we need to be aware of.

            The passage begins with Paul's mention that he is a "prisoner for Christ Jesus" and ends with a mention of his "sufferings." This is a reality that we sometimes don't want to recognize or admit. If we are confronting the powers of darkness and if we are faithful, it may well involve opposition and suffering. Last week at Bible Study someone mentioned that we are too comfortable. Is that an indication of God's grace to us or is it an indication that we are not intently engaged in God's Mission. We ought not to seek suffering, but let us make sure that we have not become so comfortable that we are not diligent in God's work.

             Yet suffering is not the only reality. In the midst of trial, difficulty and a very challenging assignment, there is powerful help. Verse 12 reminds us that we have "access to God" and that this access to God gives us both boldness and confidence. How do you adequately make the "wisdom of God in its rich variety" known to people who are spiritually hard of hearing? It is only through the presence of God and through confidence in Him. How do you overcome natural shyness and a history of being "the quiet in the land" in order to share God's love with people who are not like you at all? It can only happen because we have access to God who will give us boldness and confidence!

            Therefore, as we think about the task of making God's message known, let us spend much time in prayer, asking God to help us do His work in His way. As we think about what God wants for Portage Avenue Church, let us recognize that because we have access, we can regularly get on our knees in His presence to seek His direction.

Conclusion

            We have been talking about Jesus. He is so amazing that we just can't keep that message to ourselves. I believe that the words of this text remind us that we have a message worth proclaiming.  What are we going to do with it? Because he talks about the message being proclaimed "through the church" we know that this text applies to us. What are we as a church and as individuals going to do about it?

            At the most simple level, I believe that if we live our lives in meaningful contact with unbelievers and if we love Jesus we will be faithful to this call. May God help us.

He Is Our Peace

Ephesians 2:11-22

Introduction

            Last week there was a terrible story of war which came out of Afghanistan. It seems that an American soldier took it upon himself to kill a bunch of civilians in their homes. What is even worse is that the acrimony between Americans and Afghans is so bad that Americans will be blamed even though it was the act of one man.

            Our world provides so many terrible stories  of war, like those coming out of Sudan which has seen war for the lifetime of most people under 50 years of age.

            Many of these stories of war are so horrible and so intense that we wonder if there will ever be peace in these regions. But then we remember that there have been other places where we thought war would never end. For example, remember Northern Ireland? Today we seldom hear about conflicts there. It seems they have found peace.

            In the last while we have been talking about Jesus and today we will look at Ephesians 2:11-22. Once again, we will talk about Jesus and wonder at the way in which He is our peace.

            There is a common method of writing in the Bible called a chiasm. Basically a chiasm is a way of structuring material by repeating it. Sometimes theme A is followed by theme B which is followed by theme B again and then concluding with theme A. In the chiasm in this passage, we have the following structure.

A

            B

                        C

            B

A

            What happens is that the theme at the center is the most important idea. It is like an arrow pointing to the most important thing. Tom Neufeld points out how it happens in this passage.

A –Once you were strangers and aliens without God (2:11–12)

    B - Christ has brought near the far (2:13)

        C - Christ is our peace (2:14–16)

    B’ - Christ proclaimed peace to the far and the near (2:17–18)

A’ – Now you are no longer strangers, but part of God’s home (2:19–22)

            So we will look at both ends of theme A first of all and then end by looking at the center, which once again allows us to focus on Jesus and what He has done.

I.     What You Were 11,12

            The history of hatred between Jews and Gentiles goes back all the way to the time when Israel came out of Egypt and God told them to destroy the nations and not to intermarry with the nations. As they failed to live up to that separation and began to follow the gods of the nations, God exiled them to Babylon and when they returned, they became even more insistent upon holiness and separation.

            One feature of conflict is the language of separation. The technique the Jews used was that of name calling. Jews referred to the Gentiles as "uncircumcision." Yet we notice that Paul does an interesting thing as he refers to the name calling indicating that circumcision is done by those who are circumcised, but only in a physical sense. Wood says, "As a Jew, however, he is quick to point out that the self-styled circumcisionists have nothing to boast about, since an external man-made mark in itself holds no spiritual significance. The real circumcision is of the heart (Gal 5:6)."

            The separation between Jew and Gentile involved separation, hatred and conflict, but the Gentiles also had some serious debits.

            The Gentiles were without Christ. That is not to say that they were without Jesus. Rather, they were without Messiah, which is what Christ means. The promises about someone who would come to redeem humanity were promises which were made to the Jewish people and the Gentiles had no knowledge of the coming Messiah.

            The people of Israel were God's chosen people. He had indicated that Israel was chosen as the nation to which God would pay special attention. Abraham received promises that he would become a great nation and that God would bless him. Although the promises to Abraham included promises to the nations, those promises were always through Israel and the nations did not know of those promises.

            Moses brought the people of Israel out of Egypt and led them to the promised land and on that journey they discovered God's special love for them. The Gentiles did not have any of this knowledge. Along the way God promised to lead them, to never forsake them and also made many other great promises to them. The Gentiles were not only strangers to the people of God, they were strangers to all the promises which God had made to the people of God.

            Because they did not know God's promises and because they did not belong to the people of God, the text also says that they were without hope. Apart from a relationship to the living God, there is no hope and that is where the Gentiles found themselves.

            The Greek word which is translated "without God" is the word from which we get our word "atheist." Interestingly Gentiles referred to Jews as atheists because they had only one God and you could not see that God because there were no images of Him. Yet the Jews believed that it was the Gentiles who were atheists because although they had many gods and many likenesses of gods, none of those gods were living.

            Barth points out that the separation between Jews and Gentiles was ceremonial and external because Jews had circumcision and Gentiles did not. It was political, legal, sociological and psychological because they did not have Messiah, were excluded from citizenship, were strangers and were bare of hope. It was also theological in that they were without God.

II.  What We Are 18-22

            Last week we read in Ephesians 2:1-10 that we were dead, BUT God made us alive. Once again the word "but" appears in this text indicating the great change that has taken place.

A.   We Have Access to the Father

            In the Old Testament, Jews had access to the God because the temple was in their land. Although they had access, that access was limited to the temple. Gentiles, on the other hand, had no access to God. When the curtain of the temple was torn in two on the day Jesus died, it symbolized that the way was now opened up for everyone into the presence of the Father. The key idea of verse 18 is that both Jews and Gentiles now have access to God. There is nothing that separates them. No longer are Gentiles without God and without promises and without hope because they now have access to God. That access is through the work of the Spirit who now enters into everyone who comes to Christ and because the Spirit of God indwells those who belong to Christ, we all have the same right to enter into God's presence.

B.   Fellow Citizens With the Saints

            If you have ever lived abroad or if you are an immigrant to Canada, you understand what it means not to be in your own country. In those settings, you observe cultural differences and may have difficulty understanding things that everyone else assumes. That is the separation once felt between Jews and Gentiles, but that is no longer the case. Now, those who were strangers and aliens are fellow citizens with the saints. They have become full citizens of the country of heaven. During the last winter Olympics, Canada came together as a nation as never before. We even had a song and with every win, we were more and more proud of being Canadian. It was a great feeling of national belonging. That sense is the reality that is ours because Jews and Gentiles are fellow citizens.

C.   Members of God's Household

               But the bond between Jews and Gentiles is even stronger than that of being fellow citizens. The other word used here is "members of the household of God." When we get together for a family gathering everyone knows they belong. There is a comfort and a sense of belonging that is very deep. Because God is our Father and every believer is our sister or brother, we are members of God's household and we belong to each other in that very close sense. Neufeld says, "Gentiles are invited to make the family history of their enemies their own, in effect, to come home (2:19–22). Thereby the family of God is opened to include those whose exclusion at one time defined the very borders of that family."

D.   Growing Into A Temple For God

               The passage ends not only with this present reality, but also with a becoming reality.

               In the Old Testament God lived with His people and made His presence known in the temple. When the tent of meeting was constructed in the wilderness, on a particular day God came into that tent and everyone knew that God was present in it. When Solomon built his temple, on a particular day God made his presence known in that temple and everyone knew that was where God was. On the day of Pentecost a similar event occurred. The Spirit of God came upon the new temple of God, the church and its people. The cornerstone of that new temple of God is Jesus Christ. The foundation of the temple is the apostles and prophets who began the building. They are closely associated with the beginnings of the church because of their early relationship with Christ. Every person who comes to Christ – Jew or Gentile – is now a part of the temple. It is not a completed temple, but one that continues to be built into a dwelling place for God.

               Recently I spoke with someone who told me that they believe in God, but they do not believe in the church. Admittedly there is much to criticize in the church, but this passage tells us of God's plan. He desires that everyone who knows Christ will be joined together and will be built up into a dwelling for God. This is the church and so for someone to say that they believe in God and not in the church is to miss what God is doing. He is gathering together all those who have previously been separated and is bringing them together into a place where He Himself will live. When we see that, we surely see that enmity has been set aside and now there is a single, unified body which is made up of all those who belong to Christ. It is the Spirit who is doing the work of unifying and building the body.

III.          What Christ Has Done 13-17

A.   Far Brought Near

            Verse 13 is the last verse that speaks about what we were at one time. It says, "you who once were far off have been brought near." This is point B in our structure of chiasm. The first verse which introduces what we are now, verse 17, says, "So he came and proclaimed peace to those who were far off and peace to those who were near." This is a summary of what has happened, which we have examined in some detail. The far have been brought near.

            Gentiles had no hope, they didn't belong, they were far away. Now, they have been brought near. They do belong, they are citizens and members of God's household.

            These summary statements function as more than just summaries. They form the arms of the arrow which point to the center of the passage.

B.   In Christ

            All of this work of peace making and reconciliation has happened because Jesus is our peace. God didn't just say "get along" or "why don't you stop fighting." As is so often the case the distance was just too great for that to work. The only way that peace could happen was if someone would make peace. That someone is Jesus. Jesus is the center of focus in Ephesians 1 & 2. In this section Jesus is the center as the one who has brought those who were far near. As so often in Ephesians, the phrase "in Christ" appears once again in this passage in verses 13 and 14 because Jesus is the center of making peace.

            This idea of pointing to Jesus as peacemaker is more than just pointing to Him as an ambassador, but more importantly pointing to the extreme means Jesus employed to make peace.

            Jesus made peace "in His flesh" which tells us that He employed the method of incarnation in order to make peace. He did not legislate peace from heaven or even just teach and model peace. Jesus is God Himself who came into this world and by coming into this world has made peace.

            He made peace in the most radical way possible and that is through His blood as we read in verse 13. In most conflicts the rhetoric is a rhetoric of "death to you." When the American soldier killed the civilians, the language that was coming back from the Taliban was that there will be bloodshed. After 9/11, the Americans vowed to find and kill Osama bin Laden. The language they used was, "If we kill him, then we will have peace." Jesus took a very different path to peace. He said, "I will die" and then you will have peace. Neufeld says, "Though early Christians might have heard of the emperor being called peacemaker, Caesar typically made “peace” by putting his enemies (including Jesus!) on the cross. The cosmic Peacemaker of our text dwarfs Caesar in might and power. But his way of dealing with hostile and unruly subjects is to offer up his own life, his own body, for the sake of the reconciliation of humanity to each other and to God."

C.   What Christ Did

            Because Christ came to earth and because He gave his life, He actually was able to make peace.

            We read that He made "both groups into one." Before there were two and now there is only one group. Sometimes when peace is made in a conflict, it happens because people are tired of fighting and peace is made by satisfying some concerns on each side. If they abide by the treaty, there will be peace. What Jesus did is much greater and far deeper than that. He didn't just stop the hostilities by making a treaty. He made two groups of people into one. When we were in Israel, we saw the evidence of this unity. We met Palestinians and we met Jews and we heard the language of conflict. We also met Palestinian and Jewish Christians and saw that they were brothers and sisters.

            When we were in Israel, we were shocked, when we drove into Bethlehem, to see the huge wall between Jewish territory and Palestinian territory. Jews call it a security fence. Palestinians call it a wall of separation or a wall of shame. It is a symbol of the wall between Jews and Gentiles. The whole world rejoiced when the Berlin Wall came down. How much greater the joy because the wall between Jews and Gentiles comes down when people enter into a relationship with Jesus Christ.

            The primary barrier between Jews and Gentiles was the law. The law was perceived by the Jews as the way to God. The Jews had the law, but the Gentiles did not. Jesus took away the law. Not that he removed the law as a good way of following God, but rather he removed the requirement to follow the law as the way to enter into a relationship with God and in its place put the requirement of a relationship with Jesus which is accessible to everyone.

            Through His death on the cross, Jesus made it possible to be reconciled to God. The heart of all conflict is that people are at enmity with God. Because of that, they are unable to be at peace with others. But Jesus has made a way for each person to enter into a relationship with God and having entered into that relationship, it is now possible for them to be at peace with each other. Neufeld writes, "In other words, the peace of Christ makes both you and us—Gentiles and Jews—the beneficiaries of Christ’s overcoming of all enmities, all dualisms, and all divisions. The one who has broken down the wall dividing heaven and earth has also overcome our enmities—he is our peace."

            Jesus made peace, "putting to death that hostility through (the cross)." The language is interesting. Death is common in conflict. It is interesting that Paul says that Jesus killed enmity. By His death, He killed all hostility. And so we discover the expansive power of the truth that Jesus is our peace.

Conclusion

               I have never been to South Africa, but I love the story of Nelson Mandela. A few years ago I read his biography called A Long Walk to Freedom and came to appreciate how he led his country to make peace around the issue of apartheid. I love the story of what Jesus has done even more because it is a greater separation overcome at a greater cost to accomplish a greater peace. Just understanding this story is to grow in love with Jesus because He is our peace.

               But some aspects of this story seem a little distant to us. Although we are Gentiles, we don't have much of a connection with Jews and so we don't feel the anguish of separation nor the joy of peace. Yet what is described in this passage is important for all of us. It first of all tells us of the peace which Jesus has made between us and God. It reminds us that, therefore, every conflict can be overcome in Christ. It challenges us to invite all those who do not have peace with God into such a relationship. It challenges us to make sure that the peace Jesus has brought is being lived in every one of our relationships.

               May the truth that Jesus is our peace deeply impact the way we relate to God, to one another and to all others.

He Has Made Us Alive

Ephesians 2:1-10

Introduction

            I have known Jake Suderman since I was young. What I remember most about him is that he was an administrator at Lion's Manor. That was his vocation. More recently, I have discovered that he also had several avocations - tennis and wood working. Perhaps this isn't a good illustration because now that he isn't an administrator at Lion's Manor any more perhaps his avocation has become his vocation.

            All of us have a vocation, the thing that is our main job, our main pursuit. We also have avocations. My vocation is being pastor, but I also enjoy going cross country skiing as often as I can.

            Using this way of looking at things where would you place your faith in Christ? Is Christianity your vocation or your avocation? If it is the main thing in your life, where does the motivation come from? Does it come from duty or passion?

            Once or twice I have met people who were dead, but were brought back to life. Perhaps they had a heart attack and flat lined, but were brought back or perhaps they had been in a severe accident and recovered from the accident. Often after an experience like that people have a new lease on life and it is not surprising that they make new decisions about what is important and what is not important.

            The truth is that every one of us has experienced death and has been brought back to life. Has that experience caused us to make following Christ our passionately held vocation, the main thing in our life, because we love God so much? These are the questions which we must answer as we read about this renewal after death that has happened to every person who is a Christian. It is described in Ephesians 2:1-10.

I.     The Living Dead

            The online encyclopedia, Wikipedia, defines "Zombie" as a term used to denote an animated corpse brought back to life by mystical means, such as witchcraft. The language comes from Haitian religious practices. In modern times, the term "zombie" has been applied to an undead race in horror fiction, largely drawn from George A. Romero's 1968 film Night of the Living Dead. The idea of someone who is living dead is a horrible thought and rightly assigned to horror fiction, but when I read the opening verses of Ephesians 2, I thought it was an apt description of what we once were.

A.   You Were Dead

            In the first verse of this chapter our beginning position as people is that we were dead. Wood says, "The most vital part of man’s personality—the spirit—is dead to the most important factor in life—God." The verb used here describes not something that we chose or became, but something we were.

            The cause of our being dead was our trespasses and sins. The word trespasses refers to the fact that we have fallen off the path, we have made a fatal mistake. The cause of our slip was sin, which at its root is hostility to God.

            But what is really interesting is that although we were dead the text says that we were still walking about. Notice the interesting juxtaposition of the words "dead" and "in which you once lived." Because of sin, we were dead. But at the same time we were walking about, acting out in rebellion and disobedience. As we read that we realize that "zombie" or "living dead" are apt descriptions of who we were. Neufeld says, "Life apart from God is a living death….These dead are highly animated—they walk, trespass, and disobey."

B.   Worldview of the Living Dead

            The word "following," in verse 2, suggests a worldview, a lifestyle for those who are dead. Three phrases describe that lifestyle. It is according to the course of this world, according to the ruler of the power of the air and according to the spirit now at work among those who are disobedient. These descriptions help us understand how those who are spiritually dead live, which is how we used to live.

            They follow the course of this world or as Neufeld describes it, “the spirit of the age.” How would we describe this worldview? One of the primary aspects of it is that it is a self centered worldview. People live by what is best for them. For example, everyone wants the benefits which comes to them from the government but no one wants to pay their taxes. Everyone wants to buy things for the cheapest price possible, but everyone wants to sell their product at the highest price possible. So a pop, which probably costs a few pennies to make sells for fifty cents at Superstore because there is abundance of competition and sells for $4 at the MTS center because there is a monopoly. You say, well that is how a market based economy works, but we must realize that the reason it works is because it seeks to find balance on self centeredness.

            There are many other values of this worldview such as those listed by Paul in 2 Timothy 3:2, "For people will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, inhuman, implacable, slanderers, profligates, brutes, haters of good, treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God…"

            Where do these values of the living dead come from? Paul goes on to say that the living dead are animated by "the ruler of the power of the air." There is an evil spirit at work, a power at work among those who are the living dead. I have often wondered how people can be so wicked. How can you murder your wife and your daughters as was reported in the court case in Ontario recently? How can you stay in power by oppression and violence as we have seen in Syria? How can you sell drugs which addict and could kill those you sell them to? Evil is provoked by an extremely evil power. Neufeld quotes Wink who says, "The very air humanity breathes is an atmosphere contaminated by the lord of evil and his lackeys (cf. Wink, 1984:84)."

            Yet the next phrase shows that those who are the living dead are not so only because they have no choice. There is an evil spirit at work, yet it is at work among those who choose disobedience.

            This is what it means to be the living dead. This is what all of us were.

C.   Don't Count Yourself Out

            Several of you have shared your testimony with us and we are looking forward to hearing many more. My testimony is very similar to others who grew up in the church. This is what often we hear, "I don't have a very exciting testimony. I grew up in a Christian home and when I was a teenager I made a commitment for Christ and have been living for Him ever since." Sometimes with such a testimony we may not believe that we ever were the living dead. We don't really believe that we were under the power of the course of this world.

            It is interesting, if that is our thinking, to realize how Paul structures this passage. When he begins he says, "you were dead." Who is he talking about? He may be talking about the Gentiles, who came from a wicked pagan background. He may also be talking about those who have recently become believers. It almost sounds like an accusatory "you" in which he could be saying, "you people who come from a pagan background were dead, but we Jews did not experience that." But as we read on, we discover in verse 3 that he is not making such a distinction. Whether he is talking about Jews or long term Christians, when he says "we," he makes it very clear that "all of us once lived among them in the passions of our flesh."

            Paul was able to boast about all the things which made him a righteous person. He was a Jew with a stellar pedigree, but he still calls himself the worst of sinners in I Timothy 1:16. He understood that in spite of the appearance of righteousness, he also had been among the living dead.

            I think it is important for all of us to understand that we were among the living dead no matter what our testimony is. We need to understand that, as Paul says, all of us were at one time living in the passions of our flesh, which does not only mean in sexual sin, but also in selfishness and greed and many other things. We need to understand that all of us followed the desires of the flesh and senses and that it was, and perhaps still is, natural for us to do exactly as we please. We need to think about our life and discover what it was that made us dead because unless we understand that we were dead, we will never fully appreciate what comes next in this passage.

D.   The End of the Living Dead

            As the living dead, we were by nature, children of wrath. Neufeld says, "Wrath must be understood not as a divine fit of anger, however, but as God’s meticulous attention to and response to rebellion, oppression, and the defilement of creation." Every person who has not been made alive is spiritually dead and being dead means being under the judgment of God. The finger of God which pointed the way out of the garden of Eden was intended for us as well and we remain under the sentence of that judgment to this very day. Every person who is among the living dead is under God's righteous and justified wrath and so is eternally dead.

II.  The Living Living

A.   But God

            If we should hear, "They were in an accident, but no one was hurt," we would say, "That is good news!" If we should hear, "The tumor is malignant, but if we do surgery soon it is easily treatable," we would say "That is good news!" We like to hear that positive tone after the word "but." There is no more positive, more significant use of the word "but" than that in verse 4. "But God" is the best news we can ever imagine. Neufeld says about these words that they are "…arguably the two most important words in all of Ephesians. God has acted! 

            What is every bit as wonderful is the reason why God has acted. Three reasons are given in this passage.

            God has acted because He is rich in mercy. Mercy is an emotion. It sees the suffering of others and wants to act. I have often noticed that when someone gets hurt, some people are quick to get up and do what they can to help. Others watch and assess the situation and enter in if they are needed. Those who are quick to help are people who have mercy. God not only has mercy, but is "rich" in mercy.

            His mercy comes from an even deeper characteristic and that is "the great love with which he loved us." The love which God has for us is not an emotion which is aroused because of something attractive. Don't forget, we were the living dead. The love of God is the decision arising out of His very character which chooses to do that which is best for us.

            His love has acted on us because of our great need. NRSV translates this passage, "…even when we were dead…" This suggests that God's love came to us even though we did not deserve it, much like Romans 5:8. I think the Greek, however, gives this a slightly different perspective. I would translate it "but God; being rich in mercy on account of the His great love with which he loved us, and we being dead in our transgressions; made us alive." I believe our being dead is the reason why God acted in love and mercy. He saw us in desperate straits. We were dead and his love and compassion sprung into action in order to help us out of that situation.

B.   Made Us Alive

1.    Made Alive

            What did God do? He took us when we were dead and He made us alive. A number of years ago I got involved with the Billy Graham TV Telephone ministry. As a broadcast was shown on television, we would wait on the phones for calls to come into the center. The volume of calls increased about the time that the invitation was made. Many calls were for literature or for prayer, but often we would be helping a person through to a decision for Christ. When the call was over we would complete filling out the forms so they could follow up on the person. The forms were picked up and whenever a person had made a decision for Christ, they would ring a bell. After our time on the phones was completed, we would gather for prayer and give thanks for the lives which had been changed. The person in charge would often use the phrase, "a dead person has come to life tonight" when talking about those who had made decisions. I like that phrase for it describes accurately what happened. Whenever a person becomes a Christian a resurrection happens. A person who was dead is made alive by God. That is what has happened to everyone of us if we have a relationship with Jesus Christ. Marcus Barth writes, "…the dead have neither right nor hope, and yet God's riches are such that he calls the dead to life."

2.    With/In Christ

            One of the pleasures of time at the beach is making sand castles. I always like to make them with a moat. Then we fill the moat with water and put a little boat in the moat. Of course the fun isn't over at that point because the really fun thing is to make one little break in the moat and watch the water rush out towards the lake taking the boat, the walls and anything else in its path with it. The power of the water carries everything in its path with it.

            We could think in a similar way about what God has done. What He has done He has done in Christ. The phrase "in Christ" which we have noted repeatedly in chapter one makes its appearance again in verses 5, 6, 7 and 10. As we accept what God has done in Christ, we are swept along with Christ into a complete victory.

            There are interesting Greek words used to describe how God made us live. He made us alive with Christ. The word "alive with" is one word. The same word pattern is used with the word "raised up with" which means that we have been raised up with Christ and also "seated us with him" which means that we also are seated with Christ on His heavenly throne. The action of Jesus to give us life sweeps us along with Him in making us alive, raising us from the dead and seating us with Him in heaven.

            Neufeld enthuses, "To claim believers have been raised and seated with Christ in the heavenlies conveys to readers that they are pitted against that realm of death and its ruler from a position of superiority—in and with Christ, to be sure."

3.    Saved by Grace Through Faith

            How are we swept along with Christ in this great victory over death? Ephesians 2:8-10 are well known verses among believers reminding us that we are saved by grace. Although we know from many other verses in Scripture that we need to respond to God's gift by trusting Him, this may not be one of those verses. Twice in this passage it says, "by grace you have been saved" and in verse 8 it is very clear that "it is not your own doing." The emphasis is clearly on God's work. The phrase "through faith" may not even refer to our faith, but to Christ's faithfulness. The Greek word translated "faith" is often translated "faithfulness." Because of the context I believe that this is a good translation because it reinforces that we are saved by God's grace because Christ was faithful to Him.

            There is a very good reason why we need to emphasize God's work in making us alive. It reminds us of the power of the fact that we were dead and that the only way in which we can escape that is through a God made resurrection. We must be made alive by God. It was absolutely impossible for us to make ourselves alive.

            Since that is true, we also understand that we have no ground for boasting about anything. Here is where we who have grown up in the church need to take particular note. Sometimes we do boast. When we observe the brokenness of an addiction, we boast, perhaps inwardly and silently, that we have never made that mistake. When we see the devastation of lives shattered by broken relationships, we inwardly congratulate ourselves that we have been smarter than that. But can we really do that? When we understand that we were dead and that we have no hope of being alive apart from what God has done, then we have no ground to boast like that. The common thread of every person in this church is that we were dead and we are alive only and solely by the grace of God. We praise you Jesus!

C.   The Consequences of Living

            Yet the power of this grace is not without consequences in us.

1.    To Glorify God

            Verse 7 tells us that all of this happened "so that," which suggests a purpose for His work of grace. Different translations put a little different spin on this verse, but both yield a wonderful result. The differences arise because of a difference in the meaning of the word "to show" which can also be translated as "demonstrate."

            In TEV we read, "He did this to demonstrate for all time to come the extraordinary greatness of his grace in the love he showed us in Christ Jesus." What this suggests is that because of the amazing wonder of what God has done for us in Christ, all of future history will be an opportunity to retell the story and relive and celebrate the "extraordinary greatness" of God's grace.

            The Message translates it differently when we read, "Now God has us where he wants us, with all the time in this world and the next to shower grace and kindness upon us in Christ Jesus." The emphasis here is that since God has already saved us by grace, He will continue to shower grace upon us for the rest of eternity.

            I like both because it tells us that now that we are alive, God will continue to bless us and we will, for all eternity, have reason to give glory to God.

            Since we have been made alive, these are the consequences and they are wonderful.

2.    To Do Good

            The other consequence is that we now live in a new way. God who made us alive,  has a plan for our life. God has re-created us to do good works. Since we are no longer the walking dead, but those who are living, we live in a new way.

            This new way of life is "to be our way of life." Just as there was a worldview, a lifestyle attached to being dead, so there is also a lifestyle attached to being alive. It is quite different and as we continue our study of Ephesians, we will begin to see some of the ways in which the lifestyle of good works is to be lived.

            Of course we share in responsibility to choose to walk in that way of life and we will emphasize that as we continue to look at this book, but the passage before us is not about our responsibility, it is about what God has done. Even in regards to the good works which must characterize a person changed by Jesus, God has prepared these good works for us to do.

Conclusion

            This passage is about what God has done. Through the obedience of Jesus, God has taken a corpse and given it life. We are that corpse and God has raised us to do good works. How do we respond to such grace, such kindness? I suggested at the beginning that Christianity must be our vocation - the reason we live and the reason behind all we do.

            May the reminder that we were dead and are now alive draw us to a deeper love for God and inspire us to give our lives to Him completely. May the reminder of the grace of God cause us to ask how we can respond to God's goodness.