Ephesians 1-3 in verse

Thou bidst me to come and seek of Thine hand
The good gifts Thou givest to woman and man
For all who dare knocking, and seeking, and asking
Thou promised to give, by thy Word everlasting.

In this world full of struggle, of hardship and strife,
We groan knowing we were not meant for this life
With the haunting of Eden whispering through creation
We know that this world bears Thine condemnation.

But the work of Thy matchless, incomparable Son
On the Cross of His anguish, was completed and done
He has broken the shackles of sin, death and Hell
And in His broken body made creation’s Fall well.

To all who call on His all-rescuing name
Regardless of standing, or race, all the same
He stands as the one holy Savior of men
He stooped as the lowliest sinner’s own friend.

Now the promise that God, who makes promises true
Has purposed in Jesus to make all things new
Through His people, the church, His elect before time
He hath planned our mission in His purpose divine.

That the church should blameless and holy before Christ
Washed clean in His blood as a young virgin bride
He hath worked out all things so that in through the church
He would show His great wisdom beyond all mortal search.

Our call to be the full body of Jesus
Is the mission that we pray will take hold and seize us
Thus equipped with every spiritual blessing in heav’n
We know that the church made in Jesus is one whole new man.

For if by grace we were saved then no boast can we offer
For Christ’s expense in His gift would make sinners prosper
Thus by faith we will trust in His true gospel word
The word that will save us if we believed when we heard.

So I ask of the Giver, of the good gifts He owns
As I come asking boldly before His gracious throne
Give me a heart to love, unrestrained and free
Make me less like me Lord, and more like Thee.

@6 days ago with 3 notes
#Ephesians #Writing #Poetry 

Unpleasant exchange today, and the mercy for it

I had a rather unpleasant experience this evening which showed me a few things:

Finally, after tonight’s events, this the big question on my mind: do I have to have the right to say something is wrong if it is wrong, or is the act of you pointing out your right to individual choice just a smokescreen to hide the fact that it’s wrong? Or again, if the action you commit is wrong, must I have the right to point out it’s wrong for it to be truly wrong, or do I have to know you well enough to say it? We live in an era where people use their individual rights and freedom of expression in order to mask their blatant errors and hide their defective character. What an insidious and dangerous world we live in.

I pray that by God’s grace, in my actions, I have upheld the Word of Christ in Eph 4:1 “I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.” (Ephesians 4:1-3 ESV) or again, “Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear.” (Ephesians 4:29 ESV) Surely Eph 4:29 is a must-memorize verse for those who struggle with online communications. 

These really are evil days, when the world looks like the church and so much of the church looks like the world. “Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is.” (Ephesians 5:15-17 ESV) Oh, how we need the wisdom of God to make us like Christ Jesus. 

This then, is what we must surely do: “Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might.” (Ephesians 6:10 ESV)

—-

Heavenly Father, as I come before You at the end of this day, I thank You for Your mercies which have sustained me through this day. I remember that Your Word is truth and the sum of Your Word is the rule by which we are to live our lives. I reconsecrate myself to You in obedience to You. I confess that I struggle with pride and self-righteousness, and I have judged others with the plank in my eye while I gawk the speck in others’. I have not acted wisely, and I have trusted in my own strength, failing to see that in Christ Jesus I have all things needed for life and godliness. I have not called upon Your resources for wisdom and strength, and I confess my lack of dependence upon You, Holy Spirit. Forgive me for Jesus’ sake and have mercy upon me. I thank You for the work of Your Son, who in the garden fought against pride and idolatry and prayed, “Not my will but Yours be done”, thereby fighting idolatry and winning on my behalf. I thank You that in the Great Exchange of the gospel, by faith, we can rest upon His finished work in our place. I pray for my brother with whom I had the exchange this evening and I ask that in his life, Your will be done. Most of all, Lord, have mercy upon him and open his eyes to the sinfulness of his heart and the wretchedness of his life. Show him his foul speech, his retaliatory ways, his prideful attitude and bitter condition of soul. I ask that you do a work in his life to draw him to You, that he may find in You, hope and health and salvation and all his good. I pray that You continue to satisfy me with Yourself, and that You cause me to change and become more like Jesus. Strengthen me to be faithful to You and help me not to bruise quite so easily, but instead, be tougher for Your service. Help me to leave these thoughts behind, but to surrender them to You, for You are the Sovereign Lord and You will do as You deem fit, paying back those who sin against You what they need to, unless they by faith, turn to Jesus Christ for their salvation. I thank You for what YOu have taught me today, cause me to rest in You I pray. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

@1 month ago with 1 note
#church #groaning #faith meets life #ephesians #sin 

"You know how Paul summarizes Ephesians? It’s not a change in subject… it’s a summary of all the struggles you see displayed in that letter"

Paul Tripp, on our ‘devil problem’ in Ephesians 6
@5 months ago with 4 notes
#ephesians #sanctification #hell #tripp #theology 

What love can do to change us

How does the description of this wicked evil: “The LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually” (Gen 6:5) go to this: “so that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish.” (Eph 5:27)?

The answer is this: “…Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word…“ (Eph 5:25-26)

@6 months ago with 1 note
#Sanctification #faith meets life #ephesians #genesis 

If Eph 1:3 is true

If Eph 1:3 is true, and I really have been “blessed in Him with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, even as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world that we should be holy and blameless before Him” then…

@1 week ago
#ephesians #prayer 

This is the year of the dragon

This year’s CNY was quick and fast-moving. Following the Christmas celebrations that seem like they were yesterday, this year’s CNY came on fast and furious. The tinsel and colorful trees quickly gave way to festive wire dragons and gordy decorations- decorations that were soothingly trite and tacky-familiar at the same time. With a flash of bright red firecrackers, angpaos, Mandarin oranges, and lion dancers, Chinese New Year was upon us.

This year’s celebrations were a bit different for us though, mostly because Mom was ill, and that gave cause for us to shorten our regular tour of houses and visitation stops. Chuxi was celebrated at home in the newly decorated house - without at doubt, the highlight of the new year - in comfortable airconditioned surroundings, our new living room was the site of feasting and more feasting, which quickly descended into a nostalgic viewing of now-ancient Mediacorp/TCS/SBC serial theme-songs on the fancy Mac-TV set up. Some of the major highlights included resurrecting ‘Zui hou yi ge da xia’, ‘Xuang tian zhi jun’, ‘Zhai zhan feng shen bang’ and ‘He xiao jiu tian’ which really marked my childhood.

The first and second days saw most of the usual stops - paternal grandfather’s home, maternal grandmother’s home, the Lows, the military Nav aunties and uncles coming over for the trinity of yusheng, kongbapau and chicken curry with baguettes- Asian food at its best. We devastated the goodies at the Low house, where 8 different types of pineapple tarts made an appearance, in addition to the much-craved he bi hiam and peanut cookie things. We skipped two stops this year due to our own low energy levels (age at work) - the elderly ex-neighbors and our maternal grand-uncle’s place/second cousins’ place.

What is the upshot of this long and tedious recollection? Here are some more reflective thoughts:

Well for starters, watching my grandfather (and really, everyone) struggle with my bedridden grandmother and how to respond to her, I’m reminded of how fragile human beings are. We try so hard to appear normal, unaffected, distant, and impervious, and some of us do a really good job of it. It was difficult to watch my grandfather struggle with a combination of neediness, guilt and just old-age, and even harder to watch my grandmother tear and respond - even though she can’t physically respond, mostly - to my dad praying. Her face flushed and tears came to her eyes - she was clearly praying. After we all said ‘Amen’, her eyes shut tightly and refused to open. Was she still praying on when we all stopped? What was going through her mind? I guess only grandmother and the Lord know what happened in that moment. But regardless, I’m reminded that it is Almighty God who watches over our family, and enables us to know Him by name, and call on Him despite all of the messiness of life. And in those moments, whether in guilt, or in faith, or weakness or intercession, we come through the blood of Jesus Christ, our Great High Priest. Because we know the Savior, the different members of our family have a hope that God’s wrath is not upon us for our many many sins. Rather, we know that God put all His judgment and fury against our evil into the body and soul of Jesus Christ, so that we might come before Him in right standing with Him, unharmed and unafraid. Do we deserve this? No, we don’t. Do we always live in the light of the truth of this good news? No we don’t. Do we live as heirs of His promise? No, we don’t. But the gospel has come to our home, and opens our lives to hope and healing, peace and prosperity, redemption and reconciliation, grace and graciousness, justice and joy. And like the Israelites in the Passover, we have the blood of a precious lamb upon our doorpost, and God recognizes us as His own.

These truths apply to all who trust in the promise of God called the gospel, not just for our past sins, or our future security, but for our present needs. We desperately need the gospel. We need to remember who we are in Christ, that our interactions may change, that our words will be softer, that our hearts will be meeker, that our minds will be renewed, that our desires will be transformed, and so much more than these. We need the gospel privately and corporately, spiritually and socially, practically and devotionally. We need to go deeper in understanding how the Cross transforms our self-worth, our self-identity, releases us from past sins and old hang-ups, tears down the wall of hostility between us, assures of a future inheritance worth more than anything the world can offer, and promises us the power of the Holy Spirit to bring about life out of death. At Chinese New Year, we do so well with keeping up appearances and routines- like good Chinese people do. True to form as a honor-culture, we value appearances and form, and we, like all people, love to put our best foot forward, and hide our dirty linen at home. This is what Chinese people do. But we need to showcase the gospel, which means we must decrease and Jesus Christ must increase. We have family members and friends who do not yet know Jesus, and we have more who do not know the power of Jesus to affect their lives presently through the sanctifying work of the Spirit. We still need the gospel, every hour and every moment of every day. In celebration and rejoicing, we need the gospel to humble us and redirect our joy to the Savior’s goodness and generosity. In suffering and hardship, we need the gospel to point us to hope and truth that is more real than circumstantial difficulty. In awkwardness and confusion, we need the gospel to secure our wisdom in Christ, and offer us the great resources of the Spirit of comfort. We need the gospel, and desperately so.

As we heard last Sunday, we should pray in line with Eph 1, as Paul prays for the Ephesian church. I pray that our family will grow in a spirit of enlightenment and understanding, especially in the knowledge of Him- namely, Christ. I pray that we will all thirst to know Jesus truly, not just as the Giver of good gifts, the Sustainer of our hopes, the Prince of Peace, our Rock and High Tower, but also, our Savior, our Messiah, our Righteousness. I pray that we will know Him as our Wisdom, our Sanctification, our Justification and our Glorification. I pray that we will know Him as our Elder Brother, our Passover Lamb, our Great High Priest, God’s Prophet, our Interceding Advocate, our Conquering King, our Master and Teacher, the Only Word of God. I pray that we will know the power of God, the same power that raised Jesus from the dead and enthroned Him as the Great King over all things, the same power that appointed Him the Son of God in might, the same power that conquered sin and death and all evil, that we might be like Him, worthy sons of the Most High. I pray that materially, God will provide; that relationally, God will provide; that emotionally, God will provide; most of all, I pray that our spiritual thirsts will all be met in Jesus Christ.

This is the year of the dragon - a very auspicious symbol in the Chinese imagination. But for all of the longevity, prosperity, and festive celebration that the Dragon Year promises, there is one who rises above the dragon in the Bible as the conquering King, and of the increase of His government there will be no end. In the rule of Christ, prosperity will truly abound and peace will reign supreme, there will be no lack, and all will receive blessing and favor through Christ Jesus. Suffering, tears and mourning will cease, and joy will be the prime experience in that promised Paradise. More than the year of the dragon, this is the day that the Lord has made - I will rejoice and be glad in it!

@4 months ago with 3 notes
#faith meets life #childhood #ephesians #prayer #chinese new year 

Why does Ephesians sound like Paul was high?

(All emphasis mine)

In Ephesians, Paul sometimes write really really grandiously, like this:

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places,” (Ephesians 1:3 ESV)

“as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth.” (Ephesians 1:10 ESV)

Which has led quite many people to wonder, why does Ephesians sound as grand and theologically high as it does? It says things like this:

“And he put all things under his feet and gave him as head over all things to the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all.” (Ephesians 1:22-23 ESV)

“When you read this, you can perceive my insight into the mystery of Christ, which was not made known to the sons of men in other generations as it has now been revealed to his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit.” (Ephesians 3:4-5 ESV)

And you wonder to yourself, ‘Wow Paul, why so high and transcendent?’ Well, it makes sense when you see his pattern of ministry which looks like this:

“how I did not shrink from declaring to you anything that was profitable, and teaching you in public and from house to house,” (Acts 20:20 ESV) Well this might explain a bit of why Ephesians has the two distinction that it does- public teaching of high theology (Eph 1-3), and private teaching of Christian living (Eph 4-6).

And because he did this:

“for I did not shrink from declaring to you the whole counsel of God.” (Acts 20:27 ESV)

And this:

“Therefore be alert, remembering that for three years I did not cease night or day to admonish every one with tears.” (Acts 20:31 ESV) Three years, night and day? That’s 2,190 sermons! The 6 chapters are a summary, maybe!

And because he was afraid of this:

“I know that after my departure fierce wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock; and from among your own selves will arise men speaking twisted things, to draw away the disciples after them.” (Acts 20:29-30 ESV)

So Paul writes, “Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience. Therefore do not become partners with them;” (Ephesians 5:6-7 ESV)

Paul loved the church in Ephesus, that much is clear, so he told them, “For this reason, because I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love toward all the saints, I do not cease to give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers,”  (Ephesians 1:15-16 ESV) because of their intimacy in the gospel:

“And when he had said these things, he knelt down and prayed with them all. And there was much weeping on the part of all; they embraced Paul and kissed him,” (Acts 20:36-37 ESV)

@5 months ago with 1 note
#acts #ephesians #theology 
Ephesians 1-3 in verse

Thou bidst me to come and seek of Thine hand
The good gifts Thou givest to woman and man
For all who dare knocking, and seeking, and asking
Thou promised to give, by thy Word everlasting.

In this world full of struggle, of hardship and strife,
We groan knowing we were not meant for this life
With the haunting of Eden whispering through creation
We know that this world bears Thine condemnation.

But the work of Thy matchless, incomparable Son
On the Cross of His anguish, was completed and done
He has broken the shackles of sin, death and Hell
And in His broken body made creation’s Fall well.

To all who call on His all-rescuing name
Regardless of standing, or race, all the same
He stands as the one holy Savior of men
He stooped as the lowliest sinner’s own friend.

Now the promise that God, who makes promises true
Has purposed in Jesus to make all things new
Through His people, the church, His elect before time
He hath planned our mission in His purpose divine.

That the church should blameless and holy before Christ
Washed clean in His blood as a young virgin bride
He hath worked out all things so that in through the church
He would show His great wisdom beyond all mortal search.

Our call to be the full body of Jesus
Is the mission that we pray will take hold and seize us
Thus equipped with every spiritual blessing in heav’n
We know that the church made in Jesus is one whole new man.

For if by grace we were saved then no boast can we offer
For Christ’s expense in His gift would make sinners prosper
Thus by faith we will trust in His true gospel word
The word that will save us if we believed when we heard.

So I ask of the Giver, of the good gifts He owns
As I come asking boldly before His gracious throne
Give me a heart to love, unrestrained and free
Make me less like me Lord, and more like Thee.

6 days ago
#Ephesians #Writing #Poetry 
If Eph 1:3 is true

If Eph 1:3 is true, and I really have been “blessed in Him with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, even as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world that we should be holy and blameless before Him” then…

1 week ago
#ephesians #prayer 
Unpleasant exchange today, and the mercy for it

I had a rather unpleasant experience this evening which showed me a few things:

Finally, after tonight’s events, this the big question on my mind: do I have to have the right to say something is wrong if it is wrong, or is the act of you pointing out your right to individual choice just a smokescreen to hide the fact that it’s wrong? Or again, if the action you commit is wrong, must I have the right to point out it’s wrong for it to be truly wrong, or do I have to know you well enough to say it? We live in an era where people use their individual rights and freedom of expression in order to mask their blatant errors and hide their defective character. What an insidious and dangerous world we live in.

I pray that by God’s grace, in my actions, I have upheld the Word of Christ in Eph 4:1 “I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.” (Ephesians 4:1-3 ESV) or again, “Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear.” (Ephesians 4:29 ESV) Surely Eph 4:29 is a must-memorize verse for those who struggle with online communications. 

These really are evil days, when the world looks like the church and so much of the church looks like the world. “Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is.” (Ephesians 5:15-17 ESV) Oh, how we need the wisdom of God to make us like Christ Jesus. 

This then, is what we must surely do: “Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might.” (Ephesians 6:10 ESV)

—-

Heavenly Father, as I come before You at the end of this day, I thank You for Your mercies which have sustained me through this day. I remember that Your Word is truth and the sum of Your Word is the rule by which we are to live our lives. I reconsecrate myself to You in obedience to You. I confess that I struggle with pride and self-righteousness, and I have judged others with the plank in my eye while I gawk the speck in others’. I have not acted wisely, and I have trusted in my own strength, failing to see that in Christ Jesus I have all things needed for life and godliness. I have not called upon Your resources for wisdom and strength, and I confess my lack of dependence upon You, Holy Spirit. Forgive me for Jesus’ sake and have mercy upon me. I thank You for the work of Your Son, who in the garden fought against pride and idolatry and prayed, “Not my will but Yours be done”, thereby fighting idolatry and winning on my behalf. I thank You that in the Great Exchange of the gospel, by faith, we can rest upon His finished work in our place. I pray for my brother with whom I had the exchange this evening and I ask that in his life, Your will be done. Most of all, Lord, have mercy upon him and open his eyes to the sinfulness of his heart and the wretchedness of his life. Show him his foul speech, his retaliatory ways, his prideful attitude and bitter condition of soul. I ask that you do a work in his life to draw him to You, that he may find in You, hope and health and salvation and all his good. I pray that You continue to satisfy me with Yourself, and that You cause me to change and become more like Jesus. Strengthen me to be faithful to You and help me not to bruise quite so easily, but instead, be tougher for Your service. Help me to leave these thoughts behind, but to surrender them to You, for You are the Sovereign Lord and You will do as You deem fit, paying back those who sin against You what they need to, unless they by faith, turn to Jesus Christ for their salvation. I thank You for what YOu have taught me today, cause me to rest in You I pray. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

1 month ago
#church #groaning #faith meets life #ephesians #sin 
This is the year of the dragon

This year’s CNY was quick and fast-moving. Following the Christmas celebrations that seem like they were yesterday, this year’s CNY came on fast and furious. The tinsel and colorful trees quickly gave way to festive wire dragons and gordy decorations- decorations that were soothingly trite and tacky-familiar at the same time. With a flash of bright red firecrackers, angpaos, Mandarin oranges, and lion dancers, Chinese New Year was upon us.

This year’s celebrations were a bit different for us though, mostly because Mom was ill, and that gave cause for us to shorten our regular tour of houses and visitation stops. Chuxi was celebrated at home in the newly decorated house - without at doubt, the highlight of the new year - in comfortable airconditioned surroundings, our new living room was the site of feasting and more feasting, which quickly descended into a nostalgic viewing of now-ancient Mediacorp/TCS/SBC serial theme-songs on the fancy Mac-TV set up. Some of the major highlights included resurrecting ‘Zui hou yi ge da xia’, ‘Xuang tian zhi jun’, ‘Zhai zhan feng shen bang’ and ‘He xiao jiu tian’ which really marked my childhood.

The first and second days saw most of the usual stops - paternal grandfather’s home, maternal grandmother’s home, the Lows, the military Nav aunties and uncles coming over for the trinity of yusheng, kongbapau and chicken curry with baguettes- Asian food at its best. We devastated the goodies at the Low house, where 8 different types of pineapple tarts made an appearance, in addition to the much-craved he bi hiam and peanut cookie things. We skipped two stops this year due to our own low energy levels (age at work) - the elderly ex-neighbors and our maternal grand-uncle’s place/second cousins’ place.

What is the upshot of this long and tedious recollection? Here are some more reflective thoughts:

Well for starters, watching my grandfather (and really, everyone) struggle with my bedridden grandmother and how to respond to her, I’m reminded of how fragile human beings are. We try so hard to appear normal, unaffected, distant, and impervious, and some of us do a really good job of it. It was difficult to watch my grandfather struggle with a combination of neediness, guilt and just old-age, and even harder to watch my grandmother tear and respond - even though she can’t physically respond, mostly - to my dad praying. Her face flushed and tears came to her eyes - she was clearly praying. After we all said ‘Amen’, her eyes shut tightly and refused to open. Was she still praying on when we all stopped? What was going through her mind? I guess only grandmother and the Lord know what happened in that moment. But regardless, I’m reminded that it is Almighty God who watches over our family, and enables us to know Him by name, and call on Him despite all of the messiness of life. And in those moments, whether in guilt, or in faith, or weakness or intercession, we come through the blood of Jesus Christ, our Great High Priest. Because we know the Savior, the different members of our family have a hope that God’s wrath is not upon us for our many many sins. Rather, we know that God put all His judgment and fury against our evil into the body and soul of Jesus Christ, so that we might come before Him in right standing with Him, unharmed and unafraid. Do we deserve this? No, we don’t. Do we always live in the light of the truth of this good news? No we don’t. Do we live as heirs of His promise? No, we don’t. But the gospel has come to our home, and opens our lives to hope and healing, peace and prosperity, redemption and reconciliation, grace and graciousness, justice and joy. And like the Israelites in the Passover, we have the blood of a precious lamb upon our doorpost, and God recognizes us as His own.

These truths apply to all who trust in the promise of God called the gospel, not just for our past sins, or our future security, but for our present needs. We desperately need the gospel. We need to remember who we are in Christ, that our interactions may change, that our words will be softer, that our hearts will be meeker, that our minds will be renewed, that our desires will be transformed, and so much more than these. We need the gospel privately and corporately, spiritually and socially, practically and devotionally. We need to go deeper in understanding how the Cross transforms our self-worth, our self-identity, releases us from past sins and old hang-ups, tears down the wall of hostility between us, assures of a future inheritance worth more than anything the world can offer, and promises us the power of the Holy Spirit to bring about life out of death. At Chinese New Year, we do so well with keeping up appearances and routines- like good Chinese people do. True to form as a honor-culture, we value appearances and form, and we, like all people, love to put our best foot forward, and hide our dirty linen at home. This is what Chinese people do. But we need to showcase the gospel, which means we must decrease and Jesus Christ must increase. We have family members and friends who do not yet know Jesus, and we have more who do not know the power of Jesus to affect their lives presently through the sanctifying work of the Spirit. We still need the gospel, every hour and every moment of every day. In celebration and rejoicing, we need the gospel to humble us and redirect our joy to the Savior’s goodness and generosity. In suffering and hardship, we need the gospel to point us to hope and truth that is more real than circumstantial difficulty. In awkwardness and confusion, we need the gospel to secure our wisdom in Christ, and offer us the great resources of the Spirit of comfort. We need the gospel, and desperately so.

As we heard last Sunday, we should pray in line with Eph 1, as Paul prays for the Ephesian church. I pray that our family will grow in a spirit of enlightenment and understanding, especially in the knowledge of Him- namely, Christ. I pray that we will all thirst to know Jesus truly, not just as the Giver of good gifts, the Sustainer of our hopes, the Prince of Peace, our Rock and High Tower, but also, our Savior, our Messiah, our Righteousness. I pray that we will know Him as our Wisdom, our Sanctification, our Justification and our Glorification. I pray that we will know Him as our Elder Brother, our Passover Lamb, our Great High Priest, God’s Prophet, our Interceding Advocate, our Conquering King, our Master and Teacher, the Only Word of God. I pray that we will know the power of God, the same power that raised Jesus from the dead and enthroned Him as the Great King over all things, the same power that appointed Him the Son of God in might, the same power that conquered sin and death and all evil, that we might be like Him, worthy sons of the Most High. I pray that materially, God will provide; that relationally, God will provide; that emotionally, God will provide; most of all, I pray that our spiritual thirsts will all be met in Jesus Christ.

This is the year of the dragon - a very auspicious symbol in the Chinese imagination. But for all of the longevity, prosperity, and festive celebration that the Dragon Year promises, there is one who rises above the dragon in the Bible as the conquering King, and of the increase of His government there will be no end. In the rule of Christ, prosperity will truly abound and peace will reign supreme, there will be no lack, and all will receive blessing and favor through Christ Jesus. Suffering, tears and mourning will cease, and joy will be the prime experience in that promised Paradise. More than the year of the dragon, this is the day that the Lord has made - I will rejoice and be glad in it!

4 months ago
#faith meets life #childhood #ephesians #prayer #chinese new year 
"You know how Paul summarizes Ephesians? It’s not a change in subject… it’s a summary of all the struggles you see displayed in that letter"
Paul Tripp, on our ‘devil problem’ in Ephesians 6
5 months ago
#ephesians #sanctification #hell #tripp #theology 
Why does Ephesians sound like Paul was high?

(All emphasis mine)

In Ephesians, Paul sometimes write really really grandiously, like this:

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places,” (Ephesians 1:3 ESV)

“as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth.” (Ephesians 1:10 ESV)

Which has led quite many people to wonder, why does Ephesians sound as grand and theologically high as it does? It says things like this:

“And he put all things under his feet and gave him as head over all things to the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all.” (Ephesians 1:22-23 ESV)

“When you read this, you can perceive my insight into the mystery of Christ, which was not made known to the sons of men in other generations as it has now been revealed to his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit.” (Ephesians 3:4-5 ESV)

And you wonder to yourself, ‘Wow Paul, why so high and transcendent?’ Well, it makes sense when you see his pattern of ministry which looks like this:

“how I did not shrink from declaring to you anything that was profitable, and teaching you in public and from house to house,” (Acts 20:20 ESV) Well this might explain a bit of why Ephesians has the two distinction that it does- public teaching of high theology (Eph 1-3), and private teaching of Christian living (Eph 4-6).

And because he did this:

“for I did not shrink from declaring to you the whole counsel of God.” (Acts 20:27 ESV)

And this:

“Therefore be alert, remembering that for three years I did not cease night or day to admonish every one with tears.” (Acts 20:31 ESV) Three years, night and day? That’s 2,190 sermons! The 6 chapters are a summary, maybe!

And because he was afraid of this:

“I know that after my departure fierce wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock; and from among your own selves will arise men speaking twisted things, to draw away the disciples after them.” (Acts 20:29-30 ESV)

So Paul writes, “Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience. Therefore do not become partners with them;” (Ephesians 5:6-7 ESV)

Paul loved the church in Ephesus, that much is clear, so he told them, “For this reason, because I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love toward all the saints, I do not cease to give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers,”  (Ephesians 1:15-16 ESV) because of their intimacy in the gospel:

“And when he had said these things, he knelt down and prayed with them all. And there was much weeping on the part of all; they embraced Paul and kissed him,” (Acts 20:36-37 ESV)

5 months ago
#acts #ephesians #theology 
What love can do to change us

How does the description of this wicked evil: “The LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually” (Gen 6:5) go to this: “so that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish.” (Eph 5:27)?

The answer is this: “…Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word…“ (Eph 5:25-26)

6 months ago
#Sanctification #faith meets life #ephesians #genesis