communion
Not of This World
By Linda Rex
November 24, 2024, Christ the King | After Pentecost—On this Sunday we reach the culmination of the events of the Christian calendar. We celebrate the sovereign reign of our Lord Jesus Christ. Here, on this day, we recognize that Jesus Christ is Lord of all, and reigns now and forever as king of kings and lord of lords. But what does that mean for those of us who live here on earth? How does the spiritual reality of the reign of Jesus Christ as Lord over all impact our everyday lives?
In the Gospel passage for this Sunday, we see Jesus being interrogated by Pilate, who is asking him, “Are you the king of the Jews?” Jesus explains that his kingdom is not of this world, because if it was, his servants would be fighting on his behalf. He is a king, he tells Pilate, born for this very reason, to testify to the truth (John 18:33–37). Even though Pilate has no interest in the truth it seems, he later attempted to free Jesus, believing he was innocent of the charges against him. But ultimately his loyalty to his own political agenda and to Rome won out, and Jesus was crucified.
What the ancient Jews at that time did not realize was that they were participating in the execution, the crucifixion, of the One who would be “the firstborn from the dead.” Jesus, as God in human flesh, would be crucified, buried, and then rise again as he predicted, to ascend into the presence of his heavenly Father, to reign forever as Lord of all.
In our New Testament passage, Revelation 1:4b–8, the apostle John offers a doxology to our triune God and our resurrected and ascended Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Our heavenly Father is described as the great “I Am”—the One who is and who was, and the One who is coming. The “seven Spirits who are before His throne” is an expression of the fullness of the Holy Spirit; the number seven has a lot of significance to the apostle John, used often throughout the book of Revelation to express completeness, fullness, and God’s faithfulness to his covenant agreement with his people. Jesus is described as “the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead and the ruler of the kings of the earth.”
Notice that John not only focuses on who God is. He then moves to who we are as God’s people. In celebrating our Lord Jesus Christ as the One who reigns in glory, John says that Jesus loves us and has released us from our sins by his blood. Throughout this book, John reminds God’s people that the source of our redemption, salvation, and deliverance is in the blood of Jesus Christ, in his self-offering on our behalf. What Jesus has done has made us to be “a kingdom, priests to his God and Father.” Notice that Jesus did not make us individual priests, but rather, a kingdom of priests—those participating with him in his high priestly intercession with his Father in the Spirit through our prayers and praise. In other words, as the Body of Christ, we are “in Christ” as he intervenes and intercedes on behalf of all humanity in the presence of his Father in the Spirit.
This means that we are already participating in Jesus’ kingdom reign even now. We live in the already-not-yet of God’s kingdom. Our prayers and praise are a participation in Jesus’ own life with his Father in the Spirit. All of life then becomes a way by which we share in Jesus’ ministry and mission in this world through witness and service, prayer and praise, as we follow the lead of the Spirit. Jesus is at work in this world, bringing about the purposes and plans of our triune God, for he is both the beginning and the end, the origin and the completion of all God has in mind for his creation. And we, as we respond to his lead, are full participants in his mission and ministry in this world.
Even though we live in a broken, evil-ridden world, and at times evil seems to be in control, the truth is that our Lord reigns supreme, and is at work making all things new. He will finish what he has begun. In Jesus, we have a true participation in all the triune God is doing to bring about redemption, transformation, and wholeness to this world.
We trust in Jesus’ broken body and shed blood—the markers of our union and communion with God in Christ—and we follow the lead of his Spirit. We turn away from ourselves, our world, and our sin, and turn towards Christ, trusting in him and all he has done, is doing, and will do, to save. We anticipate with joy Jesus’ return in glory because we recognize who he is and who we are in him, and we have hope. May all the world join with us in the celebration of his soon return in glory!
Praise to you, the God who is, who was, and who is to come, and to you, divine Spirit, and to you, Lord Jesus Christ, who reigns over all. Thank you for including us in all that you are doing in this world, in your life with your Father in the Spirit. May we be true reflections of your glory and love in this world as we look forward to your coming again. Amen.
“Grace to you and peace, from Him who is and who was and who is to come, and from the seven Spirits who are before His throne, and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth. To Him who loves us and released us from our sins by His blood—and He has made us to be a kingdom, priests to His God and Father—to Him be the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen. ‘Behold, He is coming with the clouds’, and every eye will see Him, even those who pierced Him; and all the tribes of the earth will mourn over Him. So it is to be. Amen. ‘I am the Alpha and the Omega,’ says the Lord God, ‘who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.’ ” Revelation 1:4b–8 NASB
See alsoDaniel 7:9–10, 13–14; Psalm 93; 2 Samuel 23:1–7.
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Because He’s Been There
by Linda Rex
October 20, 2024, Proper 24 | After Pentecost—In my last blog I looked at what our passage in Hebrews said about who Jesus is, and how that impacts our understanding of who we are as the beloved children of God. In this week’s lectionary passage from the New Testament, Hebrews 5:1–10, the author begins to make a case for how Jesus Christ, as the Son of God who came to take on human flesh, steps in and takes on the role of high priest for us. The role of high priest was originally filled by someone from the tribe of Levi, the branch of the ancient nation of Israel which had been given the responsibility of the priesthood.
The responsibility of the high priest was to represent the people of ancient Israel in their covenant relationship with God, offering gifts and sacrifices at the alter as commanded by God, and offering the Word of God and God’s grace to the people. This ministry of intercession via the priesthood was a gift of grace from God, providing a way in which a sinful, broken people could be reconciled with their Redeemer—the One who had rescued their nation from slavery at the hands of the Egyptians and made them his very own people.
The author of Hebrews brings up an important point—that the priest was selected from among the people—a brother of those who came to worship at the tabernacle or temple. Because this priest was one of them, he was just as broken and weak and disobedient as they were. And this enabled him to minister to them with compassion and understanding. This is a reminder to those of us who are called into pastoral ministry, or any other type of ministry in this world, to be well-acquainted with our own shortcomings, to face and deal with them honestly and humbly, and to allow this truth to temper our care of others with compassion, understanding, and mercy.
In Jesus’ case, he understood our frame as human beings because he, as the Son of God, took on a truly human existence. But he did so without ever allowing the many temptations he experienced to draw him into sin. Unlike us, he did not sin, though his genuine human experience covered a wide range of our human existence.
Jesus hammered out, so to speak, a truly human life lived out in obedience to his heavenly Father in the face of temptation and suffering and death, and he conquered evil, sin, and death in the process. As Jesus lives now in face-to-face union and communion with his Father in the Spirit, he intercedes on our behalf, knowing full well all that we go through and struggle with on a daily basis. And he intercedes on our behalf with great compassion and understanding.
The obedience Jesus perfected was that of bringing our human flesh, in all its rebellion and disobedience back to God, back into humble obedience and dependency upon his Father in the Spirit. Jesus forged within us the capacity for us to receive the indwelling Spirit who writes on our hearts and minds all that God commanded his people to obey. Jesus lived a perfect human life of obedience to his Father in the Spirit, bore our human flesh through death into resurrection, ascending into glory, bearing our glorified humanness into his Father’s presence to remain there forever in right relationship with God in the Spirit. In the gift of the Spirit, each of us individually can begin to participate in what Jesus made possible in his life, death, resurrection, and ascension.
And as our ascended Lord, Jesus reigns as the King of Righteousness (the meaning of Melchizedek), the High Priest appointed by his Father to offer the ultimate sacrifice—himself. As the One who judges, Jesus was judged on the cross, allowing himself to be crucified on our behalf. We have no reason to be afraid in coming to God with our sins, faults, weaknesses, and failures. We have Jesus Christ to intercede for us, to stand in our place, to offer himself as the perfect sacrifice in our place on our behalf. He pleads our case, and does so with great mercy and compassion, because he’s been there—he knows what it’s like to be us in the midst of this broken, messed up world. He prays our prayers to his Father, perfected and acceptable in God’s sight. And he offers the things of God to us in the Spirit, so we can share in his own right relationship with his Father in the Spirit. And Jesus loves us—so much so, that he laid down his life for us. Jesus has forged for us a life in right relationship with his Father and offers this to us in the gift of his Spirit, so we can live in God’s life and love, now and for eternity. What could be more wonderful than that?
Heavenly Father, thank you so much for giving your Son to us for our salvation and redemption. Thank you for giving us your Spirit so we can begin to participate in your own divine fellowship as Father, Son, and Spirit. We are so grateful, Jesus, that you understand us, care about us, and are always interceding for us on our behalf. Grant us the grace to ever live in grateful obedience. Amen.
“For every high priest taken from among men is appointed on behalf of men in things pertaining to God, in order to offer both gifts and sacrifices for sins; he can deal gently with the ignorant and misguided, since he himself also is beset with weakness; and because of it he is obligated to offer sacrifices for sins, as for the people, so also for himself. And no one takes the honor to himself, but receives it when he is called by God, even as Aaron was. So also Christ did not glorify Himself so as to become a high priest, but He who said to Him, ‘You are my son, today I have begotten you’; just as He says also in another passage, ‘You are a priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek.’ In the days of His flesh, He offered up both prayers and supplications with loud crying and tears to the One able to save Him from death, and He was heard because of His piety. Although He was a Son, He learned obedience from the things which He suffered. And having been made perfect, He became to all those who obey Him the source of eternal salvation, being designated by God as aa high priest according to the order of Melchizedek.” Hebrews 5:1–10 NASB
“Surely our griefs He Himself bore, and our sorrows He carried; yet we ourselves esteemed Him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. But He was pierced through for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; the chastening for our well-being fell upon Him, and by His scourging we are healed. All of us like sheep have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; but the LORD has caused the iniquity of us all to fall on Him. He was oppressed and He was afflicted, yet He did not open His mouth; like a lamb that is led to slaughter, and like a sheep that is silent before its shearers, so He did not open His mouth. By oppression and judgment He was taken away; and as for His generation, who considered that He was cut off out of the land of the living for the transgression of my people, to whom the stroke was due? His grave was assigned with wicked men, yet He was with a rich man in His death, because He had done no violence, nor was there any deceit in His mouth. But the LORD was pleased to crush Him, putting Him to grief; if He would render Himself as a guilt offering, He will see His offspring, He will prolong His days, and the good pleasure of the LORD will prosper in His hand. As a result of the anguish of His soul, He will see it and be satisfied; by His knowledge the Righteous One, My Servant, will justify the many, as He will bear their iniquities. Therefore, I will allot Him a portion with the great, and He will divide the booty with the strong; because He poured out Himself to death, and was numbered with the transgressors; yet He Himself bore the sin of many, and interceded for the transgressors.” Isaiah 53:4–12
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Our Life of Fellowship
by Linda Rex
September 29, 2024, Proper 21 | After Pentecost—Back in 2013, I accomplished a huge goal in my life by completing my Master of Pastoral Studies degree at Grace Communion Seminary. As part of this project, I wrote a thesis on the New Testament passage which happens to be one of the RCL passages for this Sunday, James 5:13–20.
I had to do an extensive exegesis on the passage, and also examine it in the light of historic orthodox Christian teaching, as well as within the context of our theological journey within Grace Communion International. As I began to study this passage, I examined it in the light of Christ-centered Trinitarian theology, since Jesus needs to be the lens through which I look. Even though my thesis had to do with the importance role relationships play in experiencing health and wholeness, it brought forth some important nuances about our life of faith within the Body of Christ, and what our life of fellowship with one another should look like.
Here is a summary passage from that thesis:
God has called us all into relationship with himself in Christ by the Spirit. As believers we live in relationship with one another in Christ, as well as in union with the Father, Son and Spirit. Throughout all of life, we are to live in relationship with God, responding to him in prayer and in songs of praise in the good times and bad. As believers, we live as members of the Body of Christ in the Spirit, and as such we have a responsibility to one another. When a brother or sister is ill, they are encouraged to call for the elders of the church to pray over them and anoint them so they may experience the care and concern of both God and their brothers and sisters. When a brother or sister is struggling with weaknesses, we minister God’s grace to them in prayer and/or in other ways. We are encouraged to confess our faults to one another and to pray for one another so we may be free. And we call erring brothers and sisters back to their center in Christ when they wander away. As we participate with Christ in his ministry of care for others, we share in the spiritual blessings that come from the harvest he seeks in the lives of his people as he conforms them to Christ.
As you can see, life in fellowship with others is vibrant, alive, and active. It is a life of sharing, caring, and serving one another. There is a responsibility to one another, and a deep sense of humility, joy, obedience, and reverence before God, as we walk in intimate relationship with him.
When we look at our Christian fellowships today, how many of them look like this? I don’t say that to be critical, but to show that the Holy Spirit does not change. When the Holy Spirit draws us together into spiritual fellowships—this is what it looks like. This is where Jesus Christ shows up—living in us, with us, and through us by his Spirit. This is where the Father’s presence rests, and we live in the joy of mutual indwelling through Jesus in the Spirit. In my mind, this looks a lot like what GCI calls healthy church.
The question is not whether our church is or is not following some guideline to be healthy church. The question is, are we in union and communion with our Triune God—Father, Son, and Spirit? Are we united with Christ? If so, then, how are we living that out in our relationships with one another? Living it out relationship with one another looks like getting into face-to-face relationships with people who may be like us or different than us. And relationships can be very messy, and difficult. In fact, some relationships may be even painful or distressing. And that may make us very uncomfortable.
But the point is—we never do any of this alone. There is one human being who has dealt with just about any kind of person that has ever existed—and he still lives as God in human flesh—the resurrected Jesus Christ. Our ability to live with others in warm fellowship is made possible by Jesus Christ living in and through us by the Holy Spirit. It is the life of Christ actively flowing in and through us which brings about this warm fellowship which characterizes the Body of Christ. Are we opening ourselves up to the Holy Spirit? Do we draw close to God through listening to his Word, praying, and practicing the many other spiritual disciplines such as silence, solitude, generosity, and service? These are things we do to open ourselves up to allow God to live his life of warm fellowship in and through us. And this is our life of fellowship as the Body of Christ.
Heavenly Father, Jesus, Spirit, thank you for including us in your life and love. Thank you, Jesus, for all you have done and are doing to make this possible. And thank you, heavenly Spirit, for always and forever working in and through us to enable us to live in fellowship with you, God, and one another, in Jesus’ name. Amen.
“Is anyone among you suffering? Then he must pray. Is anyone cheerful? He is to sing praises. Is anyone among you sick? Then he must call for the elders of the church and they are to pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord; and the prayer offered in faith will restore the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up, and if he has committed sins, they will be forgiven him. Therefore, confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another so that you may be healed. The effective prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much. Elijah was aa man with a nature like ours, and he prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the earth for three years and six months. Then he prayed again, and the sky poured rain and the earth produced its fruit. My brethren, if any among you strays from the truth and one turns him back, let him know that he who turns a sinner from the error of his way will save his soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins.” James 5:13–20 NASB
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Pushing Away God’s Love
By Linda Rex
August 11, 2024, Proper 14—Last week I wrote about our role as members of the body of Christ, the Church (meaning the universal, all-encompassing, cross-denominational and cross-distinctives body of Christ). In our current culture, a group of people from all walks of life, backgrounds, and ways of being who live together in unity and other-centered love is in many ways a countercultural entity. People who have lived much of their lives in a very individualistic, self-absorbed manner may find it very challenging to be warmly embraced and invited into close relationship. In fact, it may feel invasive and even frightening to some people.
Over the years, I discovered that one reason we may push away such a welcoming, inclusive experience is because we are afraid that if we let anyone get close, they may discover what we are really like and reject us. What God has called his Church to be is the place where people are fully known, yet fully loved and accepted. The body of Christ, the Church, is meant to be a safe place for all God’s children. Unfortunately, the Church too often has been the place where when someone opens up and begins to get real, they are condemned, criticized, and or rejected. We do this in our families and in our other relationships, but this is not the way God treats us—so we should not treat each other in this way either.
In the New Testament passage for this Sunday, Ephesians 4:25–5:2, the apostle Paul describes what it looks like when people live together in the union and communion of the Triune life and love. As they live in these ways, they imitate the being and inner life of our Father and his Son in the Spirit.
What does this way of living together look like? Paul says that people are honest with one another—they practice truth-telling in love. They do not allow anger or rage to rule, for they do not want the evil one to have a chance to cause harm or division. They work hard, rather than steal, so they can help others out. The words they say build each other up, and they avoid any kind of slander, malice, or bitterness. They are always forgiving and kind to one another, no matter what may be going on in their lives. Living and walking in this way does not grieve the Spirit, for it is a reflection of the very union and communion of the Father with his Son in the Spirit.
When we look at our relationships within the body of Christ, especially when we look cross-denominationally or across lines of distinctions, do they manifest this kind of unity and love? What about in our own marriages and families? And what about our relationships with people outside the Church—how do we relate to people who do not yet believe in Christ? When I am honest with myself, I have to admit that too often I have fallen far short from being a true imitation of the divine Being.
Thankfully, this is where grace through faith comes in. And this is where we are privileged through Jesus to offer grace to one another. The reality is that whatever our life is in Christ by the Spirit, it is grounded in the love of God in Christ and in the grace that is ours through what Jesus did in his life, death, resurrection, and ascension. We are so grateful that we are held in Christ in his own face-to-face fellowship with his Father in the Spirit, so that even when we miss the mark, our own fellowship with God is unshaken. The Lord ever draws us back into that place of union and communion, while by his Spirit, he works to form Christ in us.
Evil constantly seeks opportunities to separate, divide, disrupt, confuse, and destroy all that is good, holy, and unified. We are constantly pressed upon by people and circumstances whose sole purpose is to steal or ruin or kill anything in our lives that may reflect the divine Being of Father, Jesus, Spirit—Three Persons in One Being. Still, the Spirit ever works to bring unity and oneness, while, like a parasite on all that is good, the evil one ever works to bring division and discord. At times, we participate in either direction, and we reap the consequences of our choices in this regard. But Jesus continues to invite us to follow him wherever he leads, and by his Spirit, he always leads us down the path to unity, oneness, love, and grace. And he holds us, now and forever, in his own face-to-face union and communion with his Father in the Spirit. This is our comfort and our peace.
Like Jesus, our fellowships of faith are called by God to be places where the Spirit is not grieved, but joyfully shares with us the divine fellowship of union and communion which is ours in Christ. As we gather together to worship God in Spirit and in truth, may we mirror more and more accurately the life and love of our Father, Jesus, and Spirit, and may we welcome warmly, gently, and wisely those who enter in, seeking a safe place to participate in God’s life and love.
Heavenly Father, Jesus, Spirit, thank you for including us in your life and love. We are ever in need of your forgiveness, for we are so often poor reflections of you. But by your Spirit, you are ever working. We trust you to finish what you have begun, through Jesus in the Spirit. Amen.
“Therefore, laying aside falsehood, ‘speak truth each one’ of you ‘with his neighbor,’ for we are members of one another. ‘Be angry, and’ yet ‘do not sin’; do not let the sun go down on your anger, and do not give the devil an opportunity. He who steals must steal no longer; but rather he must labor, performing with his own hands what is good, so that he will have something to share with one who has need. Let no unwholesome word proceed from your mouth, but only such a word as is good for edification according to the need of the moment, so that it will give grace to those who hear. Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. Be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you. Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children; and walk in love, just as Christ also loved you and gave Himself up for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God as a fragrant aroma.” Ephesians 4:25–5:2 NASB
“Faking it and lying to one another was part of the old life; now truth remains the constant inspiration in your every conversation. We are related to one another like different parts in the same body. (Which means that cheating one another would be cheating yourself! …) Even if you think you have a valid excuse, do not let anger dominate your day! If you don’t deal with it immediately (in the light of the likeness of Christ in you) the sun sets for you and your day becomes one of lost opportunity where darkness employs anger to snare you into sin. Any sin that you tolerate is an open invitation to the devil. Do not give him a platform to operate from. If you were a thief before, you are one no more. Find an honest joy where the fruit of your labor can be a blessing to others! Instead of cheap talk, your mouth is now a fountain of grace, giving encouragement and inspiration to everyone within earshot. The Holy Spirit is your signet ring from God to confirm that you are redeemed to live your life in the light of day; any conduct that belongs to the night grieves him. Take up the strongest possible position against every form of distorted behavior in your own life. Do not allow yourself to be spiteful; outbursts of violent emotion and rage do not become you. You don’t have to shout in order to make your point. People must feel safe in your conversation; therefore, slander and hurtful words (blasphemy) are out! Be inspired by kindness and compassion; your forgiving one another when you might feel irritated and frustrated demonstrates the way God graciously treated us in Christ. Mirror God; you are his offspring. (2 Cor. 3:18.) This is how; let the love of Christ be your life; remember how he abandoned himself to us. His love is contagious, not reluctant but extravagant. Sacrificial love pleases God like the sweet aroma of worship.” Ephesians 4:25–5:2 Mirror Bible
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Because of Christ
By Linda Rex
August 4, 2024, Proper 13 | After Pentecost—As I was reflecting upon the New Testament passage for this Sunday, Ephesians 4:1–16, it occurred to me that many people today do not see or understand the value and significance of participating in a spiritual fellowship such as a church. Churches, and their accompanying denominations, have received a lot of criticism and ridicule in recent years. And many of us are too busy with life elsewhere to be actively involved in a church, or we have no interest in anything having to do with matters of faith.
This is understandable, considering our human history and how often we as human beings within the body of Christ have fallen so short of what Christ called us to be. The reality is that when the Spirit brings people together and unites them in Christ, these people are still learning and growing, and are in the process of maturing into Christ. Our purpose in joining in fellowship with others of like mind and heart is not to be or become perfect people, but to grow up in Christ and to serve God and others, in love and unity.
The apostle Paul stressed the importance of unity within the body of Christ, a unity which is only possible in and through the work of Jesus by his Spirit. Jesus led the way and brought us up into his own union and communion with his Father in the Spirit, and he is the head of his body, the Church (speaking of the universal, all-encompassing, cross-denominational and cross-distinctives body of Christ). God brings together in Christ by his Spirit people from all walks of life, all different sorts of people who may or may not like one another or understand one another.
I thought I would share some bullet points on this passage. I think they say well what we need to learn from Paul about being the body of Christ, the Church:
- Because Christ has given us his fullness in the Spirit and made us one with God—we are to maintain our unity in Christ. We are to beware of any attempt to cause division within the body of Christ. We are all one in Christ Jesus. We may worship differently, we may have a relationship with God that is different than someone else, but we are all one in Christ Jesus. We are to keep Christ at the center and we will have room for one another.1
- Because Christ has given us his fullness in the Spirit and made us one with God—we offer ourselves in works of service. How has he uniquely gifted each of us? In what way can we serve others the way Christ serves us? No one is left out of Jesus’ generous gift of grace or of his calling to serve others. What would Christ have us do to participate with him in building up his body?
- Because Christ has given us his fullness in the Spirit and made us one with God—we participate in equipping or being equipped. Has God called us and gifted us uniquely to act as a ligament or joint in his body, to hold it together by serving as an apostle, prophet, evangelist, pastor or teacher? Then we are to do the work of service Christ has given us and diligently equip others for service. If we were not called to be a joint or ligament, then God called us and gifted us to do works of service in some other part of the body.2 We are to allow the Spirit to empower us to serve with Christ’s heart of service. We are to allow ourselves to be equipped by those God has gifted to equip us. We are to stay grounded in Christ and grow in our knowledge of the Son of God.
- Because Christ has given us his fullness in the Spirit and made us one with God—we are to speak the truth in love. Christ is the fullest expression of love and is the truth of our human existence, having lived our life, died our death, and risen for our salvation. He himself is the fullness we all are to grow up in until we reach maturity. He is the truth we speak in love.3 4
- Because Christ has given us his fullness in the Spirit and made us one with God—we are to grow up in Christ. We are to stop being childish, easily swayed and distracted by every new spiritual fad that comes our way. We are to turn from anything that distracts us from Christ or from being busy doing the works of service he has called us to do. We are to participate with him in building up his church and maintaining its unity as members of his body.
As you read these bullet points, what stood out to you? Is there some way in which the Lord is wanting you to reframe your view of the body of Christ, the Church? How is the Lord is calling you to join with others in service to him and his people? Take the time to be still before God and to invite Jesus to speak to you about this. What does he have to say to you? Are you listening?
[1] Sproul, RC, The Purpose of God, An exposition of Ephesians. Scotland (Christian Focus Publications via Logos Software, 1994), Eph 4:7-16.
[2] Wiersbe, Warren W., Wiersbe’s Expository Outlines on the New Testament. USA (SP Publications, Inc. via Logos Software), Eph. 4, section I.
[3] John 14:6.
[4] Stone, Sam E., ed., Sermon Outlines on Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians. Cincinnati, Ohio (The Standard Publishing Company, 1995), The Unity of the Spirit—Ephesians 4:1–16.
Dear Father, Jesus, Spirit, you draw us together into union and communion with you and others, growing us up into the full maturity of Christ. Grant us the grace to hear your call and to respond obediently, by participating fully within your body of believers, the Church, through Jesus and by your Spirit. Amen.
“Therefore I, the prisoner of the Lord, implore you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, showing tolerance for one another in love, being diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit, just as also you were called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all who is over all and through all and in all. But to each one of us grace was given according to the measure of Christ’s gift. Therefore it says, ‘When He ascended on high, He led captive a host of captives, and He gave gifts to men.’ (Now this expression, ‘He ascended,’ what does it mean except that He also had descended into the lower parts of the earth? He who descended is Himself also He who ascended far above all the heavens, so that He might fill all things.) And He gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ; until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ. As a result, we are no longer to be children, tossed here and there by waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, by craftiness in deceitful scheming; but speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in all aspects into Him who is the head, even Christ, from whom the whole body, being fitted and held together by what every joint supplies, according to the proper working of each individual part, causes the growth of the body for the building up of itself in love.” Ephesians 4:1–16 NASB
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God’s Lavish Grace
By Linda Rex
July 14, 2024, Proper 10 | After Pentecost—In my view, one very inspiring passage with regards to God’s grace is the New Testament passage for this Sunday, Ephesians 1:3-14. In this opening eulogy (which in Greek is one very long sentence), the lavish grace of God is celebrated and extolled by the apostle Paul.
As Paul blesses the God who has blessed all of us “with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ,” we are swept up into adoration and worship of the Triune God who has brought us into relationship with himself through Jesus in the Spirit. You might wish to stop and take a moment to underline or mark each time Paul uses the expression “in Christ” or “in him” or something similar in this pericope. In this short passage, which celebrates the passionate and lavish love of our heavenly Father, we find that his beloved Son, Jesus, is central to our redemption, salvation, and glorification. It is in Jesus Christ that we find ourselves lavishly gifted and included in his own relationship with his Father in the Spirit. All human effort drops off into the pool of participation in Christ, and we find ourselves swept up into and included in Jesus’ own life with his Abba in the Spirit.
Here, in the midst of this blessing, we discover the magnitude and depths of God’s love for us. God’s passionate affection for us, his creatures, is expressed by his choice that we be holy and blameless before him—in Christ, before the foundation of the world. We discover that God always meant for us to be his adopted children. God always meant for us to live in union and communion with himself in the Spirit. So, in Christ, he did all that was necessary for this to occur, enabling us to be who he created us to be, inheritors of salvation, participants in God’s life and love by the heavenly Spirit.
The concept of adoption in this passage points to a couple of things. First, in the Mirror Bible, the translator says that the word for sonship or adoption, huiothesia, refers more to a coming of age rather than the idea of Roman adoption. According to this metaphor, in Christ, our humanity comes to its fullest and most profound expression. The fulfillment of all God meant for us as human beings is found in Jesus Christ, the one who is fully God and fully man, who has lived our life, died our death, and risen again, sending us the Spirit so we may share in his divine perfections and in his own face-to-face communion with his Father in the Spirit.
Secondly, as other commentators point out, in the Roman culture of that day a newborn child was often placed at the father’s feet. The father then chose whether to keep or discard the child. Such a child could be rejected or disinherited at any point in his or her life, depending upon the father’s choice. In contrast, in the Roman culture of that day, an adoption was a difficult and expensive process, and once done, could not be undone. Therefore, an adopted child was always included in the family and could never be disinherited. In this metaphor, God’s passionate love for us as his children is expressed in his selection of us, but going even beyond that, in his adoption of us as his very own. In this way, adoption, and even sonship, become powerful metaphors for the lavish love and grace of our heavenly Father, when it comes to our inclusion in God’s life and love.
When we take the time to meditate on this passage, it is inspiring to consider how much God, from before time began, considered us. When we believe that God doesn’t even realize we exist or that he doesn’t really care, we should look at the broad horizon of our human existence, however long it may be. And as we do this, we want to go even farther back, before all that. Before time began, we were on God’s mind and heart, and he was planning for us. Like parents planning for the coming of a newborn child, our heavenly Father excitedly planned for our existence, creating through his Son by the Spirit a world in which we could live, explore, and grow into maturity. And our Triune God planned for our turning away into sin and death, knowing that he, in Christ, held the key for our ultimate redemption, salvation, and glorification. Our Father’s purposes and plans will be realized in spite of our failures and shortcomings, because we are in Christ and have been given, and in him have received, the Holy Spirit. And this is why, even when life looks dark, we have hope.
Dear Trinity, thank you for including us in your life and love. Thank you for lavishing your grace upon us, through all you have done from before time, are doing even now, and will do in the world to come. Awaken us to the abundance of all the spiritual blessings which are ours in you, our blessed Father, Jesus, and Spirit. Amen.
“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and blameless before Him. In love He predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the kind intention of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace, which He freely bestowed on us in the Beloved. In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace which He lavished on us. In all wisdom and insight He made known to us the mystery of His will, according to His kind intention which He purposed in Him with a view to an administration suitable to the fullness of the times, that is, the summing up of all things in Christ, things in the heavens and things on the earth. In Him also we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to His purpose who works all things after the counsel of His will, to the end that we who were the first to hope in Christ would be to the praise of His glory. In Him, you also, after listening to the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation—having also believed, you were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of promise, who is given as a pledge of our inheritance, with a view to the redemption of God’s own possession, to the praise of His glory.” Ephesians 1:3–14 NASB
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When We Cannot Pray
By Linda Rex
May 19, 2024, Day of Pentecost | Easter—One of the reasons people give for not being a Christ follower is that they do not believe they could ever be a person of prayer. Our understanding of prayer and all that it involves is often influenced by the way in which we were raised. I personally could never talk to God using “thee” and “thou” because this manner of prayer seems distant and disconnected from God. Others find this language quite helpful and needful. Our exposure to people who pray a certain way may also cause us to believe prayer is something we never want to do or never could do well.
Over the years, the Lord has helped me to come to a deeper understanding of what it means to pray. I have learned that prayer, when it starts with me and is about me, is often a self-centered or dictating monologue, where I tell God what he should do and what I want or expect from him. This is not what prayer is meant to be. As Jesus taught us to pray, our conversations with God are to revolve around Jesus Christ, the will of our heavenly Father, and his kingdom purposes being worked out here on earth by his Spirit. Prayer recognizes and confesses the love of God for us, and his care and provision for us each day.
As we come in the cycle of the Christian calendar to this day of Pentecost, we are reminded of the precious gift given to all—the Holy Spirit. The Spirit awakens us to faith in Christ, draws us together into spiritual community, the Body of Christ or the Church, wherever and however it gathers in the name of Jesus and worships God in Spirit and in truth. As believers are united with Christ by the Spirit, they participate in the inner fellowship of Father and Son in the Spirit.
In our New Testament passage, Romans 8:22–27, we are reminded that being swept up into the inner life and love of the Trinity means we participate in their fellowship with one another. This is where prayer begins—not within ourselves, but within the face-to-face relationship of our Father and his Son in the Spirit. Jesus gives us the things of the Father in the Spirit. And our response through prayer and worship is given to the Father by Jesus in the Spirit. We open ourselves up to the Spirit and remain in a position of listening and humble openness. Doing this, we know in our own spirit the desires of our Father and are moved to pray in agreement with God’s will.
The apostle Paul reminds us that all of creation longs for the transformation of all God’s children, for then creation will be restored to God’s original design. Our longing for heaven and all its glories is an expression of our own yearning for restoration and renewal. We long to be what God always meant us to be—beloved children living in union and communion with God—whether we realize it or not. The agonies and sufferings that go with our current existence, whether personal or global, are all a part of the process of what Paul describes as spiritual pregnancy. Birth pangs come unexpectedly and last however long it takes for the birth of the child. God has been working for millennia to bring his children home to himself. He is never in a hurry, it seems. We may wish he would hurry up. But he will bring us all, in his good time, to the glory he always designed us to share in.
The union and communion evident within the inner relations of Father, Son, and Spirit are fundamental to our understanding of what it means for us to pray. Even though each member of the Trinity is unique, the Persons of the Trinity are so well united that each one knows the other’s thoughts and intents. This is how the Spirit knows the mind, heart and will of our heavenly Father. And our Father knows the mind, heart, and will of Jesus and of the Spirit. And Jesus is one with his Father and one with the Spirit. It is this deep, whole knowing we are brought into through Jesus in the Spirit. This is God’s design for every human being—that we each participate in this deep knowing and being known.
We so often trivialize prayer into a brief formula or ritual. And there are times when prayer seems to be impossible or difficult. We may know it is something we should do, but our prayers seem only to reach the ceiling. It is important to remember that prayer begins within the Triune life and love where we are held, accepted, and beloved. Jesus prays for us. The Spirit intercedes for us. When we cannot come up with the words, it is God through Jesus in the Spirit living in us, who prays in our place and on our behalf.
This is why even written prayers or prayers from a common prayer book can be so powerful. It is our own spirit communing with God through Jesus by the Spirit which is central to prayer. Having a prayer partner, or a small group, who is Spirit-filled and Spirit-led, can be very helpful in enabling us to commune with God in prayer. I’m grateful to my friend Paula, who has faithfully prayed with me each week for many years. Our weekly prayer time has helped me to weather the dry seasons in my relationship with God, and to grow spiritually as we faced life challenges and difficulties together. It takes a willingness to be vulnerable, patient and understanding of each other’s differences, and the grace of God’s Spirit to come together with others to pray. But it is well worth it.
One day we will realize that prayer is nothing more than close, intimate conversation with Someone who knows us thoroughly and loves us completely. We will see that often the best prayers are when we are listening and responding to God’s concern for his world and others. Our hearts will warm as we hear the voice of God’s Spirit speaking Jesus’ “Abba, Father” in our spirit, reminding us we are beloved, forgiven and accepted. We will understand that God has always been reaching out to us, sharing himself with us through Jesus in the Spirit, and including us in his life and love. And all the things we have made prayer into will fall away as we meet our Lord face-to-face in glory. How we, and all God’s creation, long for that day!
Thank you, Father, for your desire to have us be your beloved children, who live in close, loving fellowship with you through your Son in the Spirit. Teach us to pray, Lord. Enable us to listen more than speak, to hear your affirmations of your love and grace, and to allow your Spirit to lead us as we pray. Thank you, Jesus, for bringing us into the center of your Triune life and love. In your name and by your Spirit, we pray. Amen.
“For we know that the whole creation groans and suffers the pains of childbirth together until now. And not only this, but also we ourselves, having the first fruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our body. For in hope we have been saved, but hope that is seen is not hope; for who hopes for what he already sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, with perseverance we wait eagerly for it. In the same way the Spirit also helps our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we should, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words; and He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.” Romans 8:22–27 NASB
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According to Our Design
By Linda Rex
April 14, 2024, 3rd Sunday | Easter—Many years ago, I sat in biology class and listened to my instructor talk about how a plant grows. One of the students raised their hands and asked, how does a leaf know when it is done growing? I wondered this too, thinking to myself, how does a leaf know when it is supposed to stop developing? How does the plant know to stop growing that leaf and to start growing another one?
Not being a biologist, nor a teacher, my understanding of these natural processes is quite limited. But the simple understanding I came to that day was that written into the very being of the plant was the blueprint of its design. Because the cells of the plant knew its design, what it ultimately was to be, that is how they multiplied and developed together, to create a plant uniquely like the design written into its very being. As stems were formed, leaves grew, flowers unfolded, and seeds developed, each fulfilled its original design—unless something interrupted or twisted that process. Then the plant would not grow properly and would be flawed.
In the New Testament passage for this Sunday, 1 John 3:1-7, the apostle John says that each and every person on this earth has a unique design—to be the children of God. John says that not only, because of Christ, will we one day be God’s children, but that even now, this is our divine design. Created to live in right relationship with God and one another, humans were meant to love and be loved, to live in other-centered self-giving love within the divine fellowship of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Just as the unique equal Persons of the Triune God live in oneness and unity, each of us as unique, equal human persons were meant to live together in union and communion with God and one another.
To live in any other way than that in which we were designed to live, is to live in the way the apostle John is describing here when he says “sin is lawlessness.” The law of love—for Jesus said this was his command, to love one another as he loved us by laying down his life—is the law we were designed to live. This is our spiritual DNA so to speak. Jesus Christ has lived our life, died our death, and risen again, restoring us to our original design as the image-bearers of God we were created to be. Now we are to grow up into the fullness of who we are in Christ.
In this passage, note that Jesus Christ is the pure one, into whose purity we live. Jesus Christ is the righteous one, into whose righteousness we live. The truth of our human design is found in Jesus Christ—the only human, perfected and holy, who lives in face-to-face intimate communion with our Father in the Spirit, even now. Jesus invites us into that glorious embrace, and gives us his Spirit so that we can participate fully in it even now as we trust in him. It is Christ’s life of faith, his life of worship, praise, and prayer we participate in. He is the One we will one day look like, when we see him in glory. What a great hope this is!
Until that day when Jesus returns in glory and establishes the new heaven and earth, our human existence will be in this place where we are fully broken and sinful, but at the same time fully pure, accepted, forgiven, redeemed in Christ—our true life is hidden with Christ in God, as the Scripture says. Caught in this place where, in Christ we are already-but-not-yet all that we need to be, we live each moment in full dependency upon Christ. We are beloved children of our heavenly Father—so we live into that reality, trusting Jesus to finish what he has begun in us by his Spirit.
The good news is that Jesus Christ has done all that is needed for us to live in right relationship with God and one another now and forever. This does not mean that we live however we want. What it means is that we begin, by the Spirit, to live into the truth of our original design. We begin to simply be who God, in Christ, has created us to be. We allow God to live in and through us, for the sake of others, just as Jesus allowed his Father by the Spirit to live in and through him for the sake of us all. Whatever road this may take us down—and Jesus ended up going down the road to death and resurrection, for our sakes—we follow Christ, and allow his Spirit to finish what he has begun in us. We trust in God’s perfect love, and that what he has designed and forged into our human flesh will be perfected in us, just as it was perfected in Jesus Christ, in his life, death, resurrection and ascension, and in the giving of his Spirit.
Heavenly Father, we thank you for including us in your life and love, through your Son and by your Spirit. Enable us to see and know our original design, to be those who reflect your likeness, the other-centered self-giving love you are in your very Being. Forgive us for all the ways in which we corrupt and disrupt this divine design—we receive your cleansing and renewal, in your Son Jesus and by your Spirit, and ask that we may live into the fullness of all you meant us to be as your adopted children. Amen.
“See how great a love the Father has bestowed on us, that we would be called children of God; and such we are. For this reason the world does not know us, because it did not know Him. Beloved, now we are children of God, and it has not appeared as yet what we will be. We know that when He appears, we will be like Him, because we will see Him just as He is. And everyone who has this hope fixed on Him purifies himself, just as He is pure. Everyone who practices sin also practices lawlessness; and sin is lawlessness. You know that He appeared in order to take away sins; and in Him there is no sin. No one who abides in Him sins; no one who sins has seen Him or knows Him. Little children, make sure no one deceives you; the one who practices righteousness is righteous, just as He is righteous; …” 1 John 3:1–7 NASB
“Consider the amazing love the Father lavished upon us; this is our defining moment: we began in the agape of God—the engineer of the universe is our Father! So it’s no wonder that the performance-based systems of this world just cannot see this! Because they do not recognize their origin in God, they feel indifferent towards anyone who does! Beloved, we know that we are children of God to begin with, which means that there can be no future surprises; his manifest likeness is already mirrored in us! Our sameness cannot be compromised or contradicted; our gaze will confirm exactly who he is—and who we are. And every individual in whom this expectation echoes also determines to realize their own flawless innocence mirrored in him whose image they bear. Distorted behavior is the result of a warped self-image! A lost sense of identity is the basis of all sin! (… Sin is to live out of context with the blueprint of one’s design; to behave out of tune with God’s original harmony. It is to be out of step with your true sonship! … The root of sin is to believe a lie about yourself, which is the fruit of the “I am-not Tree”. This was also the essence of Israel’s unbelief that kept them trapped in a grasshopper-mindset for 40 years. …) We have witnessed with our own eyes how, in the unveiling of the prophetic word, when he was lifted up upon the cross as the Lamb of God, he lifted up our sins and broke its dominion and rule over us! To abide in him in uninterrupted seamless oneness, is to live free from sin. Whoever continues in sin has obviously not perceived how free they are in him; they clearly do not really know him. Little children, do not be led astray by any other opinion; his righteousness is the source of our righteousness.” 1 John 3:1–7 Mirror
See also Luke 24:36b–48.
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Created for Fellowship
By Linda Rex
April 7, 2024, 2nd Sunday in Easter—Have you ever wished that you could move away to a remote island away from all the people in the world, and be by yourself? The thought of not having to cope with and sort through the tangled web of relational issues is an attractive one, though in reality, running away in this manner will not guarantee freedom from stress and difficulty.
The reason is that we cannot escape from ourselves. Often our issues with coping and sorting through our difficult circumstances and relationships are grounded in our own faulty and flawed ways of relating, thinking, responding, and acting. We often do not realize the impact we have on those around us, and don’t see how we are influencing or affecting the people closest to us.
In our New Testament reading for this Sunday, 1 John 1:1–2:2, the apostle John explains that there are two ways in which we walk as human beings—in the light or in the darkness, in the truth or in a lie, in life or in death. The reality is that everyone of us is fully capable of both at any moment in our lives, even after we have come to faith in Jesus Christ. Coming to faith in Christ enables us to begin to live into the truth of who we are in him, in his resurrected glory in face-to-face fellowship with his Father in the Spirit. But it does not guarantee that in this life we will never sin, or miss the mark of our true humanity or design.
John is clear about who the Source of our life, our truth, our fellowship with God and one another is—Jesus Christ. This is because we find in Jesus what it means to be truly human. We find that this is the One who eternally existed in the Godhead, and yet, took on our human flesh with all of its inherent weaknesses, frailties, and propensity to sin, in order to cleanse it and to turn it back into right relationship with God. The eternal life we long for—to know the Father and him whom he sent—is found only in Jesus Christ, for he took our flesh through death into the grave, and from there brought us up into new life.
We need to readjust our thinking when it comes to God, and quit focusing on getting everything right according to a particular standard we have come up with. Rather, our humanity and our way of existing finds its definition in the person of Jesus Christ. We quit being self-focused, even in seeing our faults and failures, and turn to Jesus and keep our eyes on him. Jesus Christ defines us—and he has made us right with God, bringing us up in to face-to-face union and communion with his Father in the Spirit. Trust in this reality—put your faith in him and not in anything else. And begin to participate in this reality in a real way—through fellowship with God and with others in the Spirit.
To walk in any other way than in the way Jesus walks is to walk in darkness or to live a lie. This is because there is no other way to live other than that which Jesus lives even now in the presence of his Father in the Spirit—he is the perfected human, worshiping his Father in Spirit and in truth. The One through whom and by whom all was created, has taken on our human flesh, lived our life, died our death, and risen again—bringing our glorified, resurrected human flesh into union and communion with his Father in the Spirit. It is Jesus who offers our worship and prayer to his Father, and who gives us all the Father has for us in the Spirit.
There is only one way to live, and that is, to live “in Christ”. The reality is that every one of us, whether a believer in Christ or not, is going to fall short, to fail to live into the truth of who we are in Christ. That’s why it’s all up to Jesus and not up to us, to make sure we are growing and becoming all that God has created us to be. It is Jesus, the Judge and the One judged on the cross, who will ultimately decide our eternal fate. The issue now is fellowship—participating in the face-to-face union and communion with God through Christ in the Spirit right now and on into eternity. Will we live in the truth of this union and communion, and fully participate in Christ, in our new life in him? Or will we keep on living in denial of this reality, in a stubborn refusal to live in the Light, to walk in the truth of our existence? Will we insist on our own way, our own will, in spite of all Jesus has done to include us in God’s life and love?
Lord, we are so often clueless when it comes to relationship and living in healthy ways with other human beings. And we certainly have no ability to live in right relationship with you, God. Thank you for all you have done for us, Jesus, and all you are doing now, and will do to transform, heal, and restore us. Grant us the grace to die in your death that we might live in your eternal life, now and forever, as our heavenly Father’s beloved children in the Spirit. Amen.
“What was from the beginning, what we have heard, what we have seen with our eyes, what we have looked at and touched with our hands, concerning the Word of Life—and the life was manifested, and we have seen and testify and proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and was manifested to us—what we have seen and heard we proclaim to you also, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father, and with His Son Jesus Christ. These things we write, so that our joy may be made complete. This is the message we have heard from Him and announce to you, that God is Light, and in Him there is no darkness at all. If we say that we have fellowship with Him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth; but if we walk in the Light as He Himself is in the Light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin. If we say that we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar and His word is not in us. My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous; and He Himself is the propitiation for our sins; and not for ours only, but also for those of the whole world.” 1 John 1:1–2:2 NASB
“… But Thomas, one of the twelve, called Didymus, was not with them when Jesus came. So the other disciples were saying to him, ‘We have seen the Lord!’ But he said to them, ‘Unless I see in His hands the imprint of the nails, and put my finger into the place of the nails, and put my hand into His side, I will not believe.’ After eight days His disciples were again inside, and Thomas with them. Jesus came, the doors having been shut, and stood in their midst and said, ‘Peace be with you.’ Then He said to Thomas, ‘Reach here with your finger, and see My hands; and reach here your hand and put it into My side; and do not be unbelieving, but believing.’ Thomas answered and said to Him, ‘My Lord and my God!’ Jesus said to him, ‘Because you have seen Me, have you believed? Blessed are they who did not see, and yet believed.’ Therefore many other signs Jesus also performed in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; but these have been written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing you may have life in His name.” John 20:19–31 NASB
“And the congregation of those who believed were of one heart and soul; and not one of them claimed that anything belonging to him was his own, but all things were common property to them. And with great power the apostles were giving testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and abundant grace was upon them all. For there was not a needy person among them, for all who were owners of land or houses would sell them and bring the proceeds of the sales and lay them at the apostles’ feet, and they would be distributed to each as any had need.” Acts 4:32–35 NASB
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