Ephesians 4:3,4 - Keep the unity of the Spirit

4:3

Paul has been stressing unity, especially in the latter part of chapter 2. This unity is founded in Christ, indeed He is the only source of true unity. But while unity is entirely God-based, that does not mean we have no part to play. For we are to “make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace”.

4:4

Paul then goes on to delineate the nature of that unity. There is one body, this is the church that is the body of Christ (Eph 1:22,23). There are not lots of little churches. We have many denominations and church groupings, this is a practical reality, but we should always keep in mind that they are purely temporary, and have no eternal value. There is only one Spirit. The Holy Spirit is essential to our identity as Christians, as followers of Christ, and there is only one Holy Spirit! And we were called to one hope. There is only one final outcome, and that is the lordship of Christ over all the earth, and our being with Him forever.

Isaiah 40:9,10 - You bring good news to Zion

40:9

While parts of Isaiah 40 onwards definitely refer to the Babylonian captivity, others could also have relevance in Isaiah’s day. This verse is an example. The cities of Judah had been devastated by Assyria, Jerusalem had now been rescued. So Jerusalem was to be a herald of good news, she was to tell the cities of Judah to “fear not”. She was to cry “Behold your God!”. And she was to proclaim this message loudly.

40:10

Imagine the situation. The nation has been devastated by a much greater power, if we look at things in the Babylonian context they were still under the grip of a much greater power and in exile. They were in this situation because of their inherent sinfulness. On a personal level we have all sinned and, without Christ, are subject to powers too strong for us to handle. How can a nation or an individual be rescued? It is only by the power of God, so Isaiah tells us that the Sovereign Lord comes with power. Much of the church today seems far more concerned with the “weakness of God”. In terms of Christ living among us and having a deep concern for the poor  this is OK, but it is only part of the story and taken in isolation utterly corrupts the story. A much more complete story is that God comes with power to rescue the weak and powerless (which is all of us!). The reason that Jesus’ encounters with lepers, the lame and blind, the woman with an issue of blood etc is that He exerted power to heal them! The reason why it matters that God loves sinners is that through the cross we are forgiven, and we will share in the resurrection. 

“His reward is with Him and His recompense accompanies Him”. God does come with power and authority, but does so in order to set people free, to recompense them. God does merely come with sympathy, but also with the ability to set people free. This is a fundamental Biblical doctrine.

Ephesians 4:1,2 - Live a life worthy of your calling

4:1

We have now finished the “theological” section, if you like, and we move on to the life application part. However, we must remember that all that Paul says in the last three chapters is based on what he has said in the first three. Moreover, there is more theology as well. If we just do a very brief recap of the first three chapters, Paul has above all emphasised the greatness of God. He has talked about God’s power working in and through us, how important the church is, and that everything is accomplished in and through Christ. He has also stressed our position in Christ. So is there anything for us to do? Absolutely! Paul again reminds them that he is a prisoner, but a prisoner for the Lord. So his goal, and our goal, is to live life worthy of our calling. God’s grace actually places demands upon us.

4:2

The first “demands” are about our attitudes. There will be practical instructions later on, but our heart attitudes are the most important. If they are wrong we will get nowhere. Conversely, if they are right, then it will usually be obvious what the right thing to do is. So we are to be humble and gentle, patient with one another, and bearing with one another in love. Living in community is difficult! But it is only together that we can begin to grasp the full extent of God’s love. We should also note that characteristics like humility were not considered virtues in Greek culture. The norm was to exalt oneself. The fact that humility and gentleness are considered as virtues in the West is a sign of the Christian influence on society.

Isaiah 40:4-8 - The glory of the Lord will be revealed

40:4,5

The way will be made straightforward for the Lord. He will remove every obstacle. In our own lives He has removed every obstacle of sin on the cross. We have been made righteous by His righteousness. Then the glory of the Lord will be revealed to all people. It would seem to the Israelites that the glory of the Lord was hidden, was far from view. Things seem very much the same in our society today. But the Lord will make His glory plain to all. This will happen because “the mouth of the Lord has spoken”. As it says in Is 9, the zeal of the Lord will accomplish this. We need to recognise that the fulfilment of God’s plans is not dependent upon us, but dependent upon Him. That is why they are guaranteed to occur. This does not mean that we have no part to play, but we need to understand that part properly. It is not a case of God saying “I’ll see if this group will do what I want them to do, and if they manage it then my plans will succeed”, yet that is often how we think. It is more a case of “I am going to do this, and I will involve these people in doing it”.

40:6-8

“What shall I cry?” Faced with the situation in Jerusalem/Babylon the herald may be at a loss as what to say. Looking at our own society we may wonder what to say. “All flesh is like grass ...” The supposed glory and beauty of the world is transitory, none of it will last forever. Like the grass it will wither, and remember this word was given in a somewhat hotter climate than we are used to. The Lord will blow and the glory of the world will vanish. We need to be careful never to be intimidated by the world and its supposed glory. No worldly power structures will last forever. Conversely the word of the Lord lasts forever. So in living our lives we should live them by the word of the Lord, not the current whims of society.

Ephesians 3:19-21 - Glory in the church

3:19

It is possible that some of the terms used here (“surpasses knowledge” and “fullness”) are countering gnostic type ideas. The Ephesians existed in an environment where many ideas were floating around. The love of God goes way beyond knowledge. It goes beyond anything that knowledge or intellect can enable us to achieve. Human intellect is good and useful, it is a gift from God, but we must not make an idol out of it. As soon as we make an idol out of it, it rapidly becomes useless, or even harmful. And the goal is that we “filled to the measure of all the fullness of God”. Just think about that for a while, and consider the enormity of it. We must never be satisfied with a little knowledge of God. He wants us to have full knowledge of Him.

3:20,21

Paul ends this section with another declaration of praise to God. God is able to to immeasurably more than we can ever ask or imagine. This does not mean we should not ask or imagine, but we should do so knowing that our asking or imagining does not limit God, does not describe limits for Him. And God does these things “according to His power at work within us”. Again, we need to ponder on this, on the enormity of it all. God does things by displaying His power in the church. There is glory to God in the church and in Christ Jesus “throughout all generations, for ever and ever”. We sometimes think that the early church was somehow ideal, this is not a Biblical thought.

Isaiah 40:2,3 - Speak tenderly to Jerusalem

40:2

Isaiah speaks to Jerusalem, to tell her that her “hard service has been completed.'' In the most immediate context this would be referring to the Assyrian invasion. Assyria had now retreated and would not trouble them again. The time of discipline was over. In the Babylonian context it means that the period of exile was coming to an end, once again Jerusalem could be rebuilt. The reference to receiving “double” is emphasising the completeness. The fullest context is that Christ’s death on the cross means our sins have been paid for in full. There is a time for discipline, but then a time for tenderness. 

40:3

This is a famous verse, and one that is quoted at the beginning of Mark’s gospel. There is a call that goes out, and it goes out to people who are lost, who are in the wilderness. It does not deny that they are in a wilderness, but declares that God God is coming and we are to make a way for Him. We are to make a straight way. This means repenting, as John the Baptist called people to repentance. If we hold on to our sinful ways, insistent on proclaiming our own righteousness, then there is no highway for God to come into our lives. If we repent then we open up a highway for God. A highway is a major road, God can come into our own lives in a big way. Jesus preached “repent for the kingdom of God is at hand”, Peter preached “repent and believe”. Repentance is vital, it is also powerful, for it opens up a highway in the desert. It means that if we are in a desolate place God can still come and rescue us.

Ephesians 3:17,18 - That Christ may dwell in your hearts

3:17

Taken with the previous verses we have another trinitarian statement. In the previous verses we had Paul bowing before the Father asking that He might strengthen us, then that this is achieved by the Holy Spirit, and now we have Christ dwelling in our hearts. The gospel is no mere set of ideas, no mere code for living, no mere philosophy. It is about Christ dwelling in our hearts through faith. So far it has all been about what God does. Does that mean we are merely passive? Absolutely not. We are to be rooted and grounded in love.

3:18

We are to have strength to comprehend the full extent of God’s love. When the Bible speaks about love we do need to remember that it is not talking about the mushy sentimental version of love that wee so often think about. Paul asks that we will have the strength to comprehend this love, it is far more than warm feelings. It involves going through difficult situations and seeing that God actually is faithful. And we do this “with all the saints”. Living with other people is difficult, sometimes a downright pain in the neck! But on our own we will never know the extent of God’s love. Together with other people we will get to know more and more of God’s love.