Ernest of our Inheritance

Today’s readings:
Exodus 7-9; Psalm 105; Ephesians 1

Ephesians 1:13-14
In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that Holy Spirit of promise,
Which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory.

One of the major misconceptions is the idea of “predestination” which is really a misunderstood of what is being “predestined”. It’s not individual salvation (although yes, God in His omniscience knows exactly who will be saved, but that’s for God to know!), but the plan and system of becoming part of the plan that is “predestined”. Indeed, before the foundation of the world (v.4)! The overall message to the Ephesians is assurance. Insecurity is a common feeling especially among the Gentile converts (v. 2:1-4). They oftentimes question if God truly would allow Gentiles into His fold! And here is Paul telling them, by inspiration, don’t worry! God had already got you covered, way way ahead of time.

Verse 13 here hammers home the point - if we needn’t do anything on our part why do we need to hear, believe and trust in the Truth, from which salvation is obtained?

Verse 14 is interesting. The word “ernest”,   is the Greek word “arrabon”, which incidentally is a transliteration (oh yes! Even in those days they borrowed words from other languages!) of the Hebrew “erabon”, as used in the incident of Judah and Tamar, where Judah gave his signet ring, bracelets and staff as a pledge or guarantee that he will pay her in full (Gen 38:17,18,20).
So the “Holy Spirit” was to be a pledge of the eternal reward to come, when Christ comes again to receive His bride, the Church, which he had redeemed with His Blood.
So then the question is what is this seal of the Holy Spirit? Did it refer to the miraculous gifts? Seems unlikely, as miraculous gifts did not apply to everyone and was only obtained through the laying of hands of the apostles (c.f.Acts 8:16,17). Furthermore, such gifts were not essential for salvation but as a part of what Paul describes as “in part” and to be finally done way with the completion of the Bible (c.f. 1Co 13:8-10).
Which gives us the hint to what Paul may have been referring to - the Word of God as inspired by the Holy Spirit. Observe that, in the same breath, Paul went on in vv. 17-18
That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him:
The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints,

Thus he was asking for wisdom to apply the knowledge with understanding of that revealed Word that we many have hope and appreciation of the full deal. And that makes perfect sense of it being the “ernest” or “pledge”. We are sealed when we obey the Word given by God through the medium of the Holy Spirit. To give a loose analogy, it’s like the signatory of the justice of peace on a marriage certificate which seals the marriage between the couple. Yet that seal was based upon the fact that the couple fulfilled the requirements of the law for marriage. The significance of the seal was not so much that it was from the JP but that it carried the authority of the law.

Let us be reminded that God did not give us the Bible “for fun”, as a “keep sake”, or even a “reference book”, but indeed is the very token of guarantee that what He promised will come to pass! So let us cherish the Word and diligently study and apply to our lives, let it dwell in us richly (Col 3:16), that we may finally obtain that glorious inheritance!

Glory in the flesh

Today's readings:
Exodus 4-6; Galatians 6

Galatians 6:13
For neither they themselves who are circumcised keep the law; but desire to have you circumcised, that they may glory in your flesh.

Even in the conclusion of the letter, Paul would not let it up! So dire was the matter that he had to bring it up again and even as another motive is brought to light, regarding the Jewish converts wanting to impose the old law on Gentiles.

It was an ironic mirror of the “Phariseetic” mindset so condemned by Jesus (c.f. Mat 23). The idea of using human mindset to “enhance” or even replace the commands of God. Why circumcision? Because it was easy to convince, easy to administer, and supposedly easy to “score points”! Yet as we read in subsequent verses,
Paul tells them, “Fat chance”! The mark of the true Christian goes way beyond a ceremonial incision! It was a life of servitude in Christ, even as we’ve been created for the purpose (v. 1-10; c.f. Eph 2:10).
So today, as Gentiles, it remains vitally important to keep things in the perspective of Christ and not to allow our human narrow-mindedness to dictate what is good and necessary, not especially as a means to gain favor with God.

Walk in the Spirit

Today’s readings

Exodus 1-3; Galatians 5

Galatians 5:16

This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh.

And this is the key to successful godly living. 

Very often, we focus too much on the “thou shalt nots” and forget the “thou shalls”! 

Walk in the Spirit! Fill our lives with good thoughts (Phi 4:8) good speech (Col 4:6) and good works (Jam 1:27; Gal 6:10). 

Don’t get caught up in the worldly rut of evil surmising, gossiping and backbiting, “dog-eat-dog” (c.f. v.15) culture. 

That is instrumental to stopping us from going back to our old selves, to fight against temptation and sin. 

Let us be focused on spiritual “health care” by building up a strong, robust foundation that hardly falls ill, rather than constantly on spiritual “sick care”, looking for solutions to treat chronic diseases. 

God Glorified in Me

Today’s readings:
Genesis 43,44; Psalm 24; Galatians 1

Galatians 1:23-24
But they had heard only, That he which persecuted us in times past now preacheth the faith which once he destroyed. And they glorified God in me.

And thus we get a glimpse into Paul’s life as a convert. Some interesting points to glean here.

1) Don’t let our past haunt us. Paul certainly feel the deep guilt to even claim to be the “chief of sinners”! (1Ti 1:15) Yet as it turned out, he did not allow his past to cripple him, but indeed used it as a motivation to reach out to both Jews and Gentiles. In fact, as Jesus taught Simon in Luk 7:40-47, oftentimes, the greater contrast in the conversion, the greater the later conviction. Certainly manifested in Paul here.

2) Anyone and everyone can be used by God. No matter what is our past. No matter what is our background. No matter what our training is. From the worldly king down to the beggar on the street, what only matters is whether we are doing the will of God to the best of our abilities.

3) Certainly, Paul’s life reflected Jesus’ teaching on how we are to conduct ourselves (Mat 5:16). The flip side is, if we were to forsake the faith, the name of God will be blasphemed among men in us. Let the sobering words of Peter remind us in 2Pe 2:20-22, that more serious consequence follows such behavior if ultimately unrepented of.

Wherefore let us be constantly reminded of the greatest cost paid for the greatest privilege accorded to us, that we might live worthy of that greatest call, and let God be glorified in us.

Confirming the Word

Today’s readings:

Genesis 41,42; Mark 16

Mark 16:20
And they went forth, and preached every where, the Lord working with them, and confirming the word with signs following. Amen.

And as Mark concludes his account, we realise one of the important purposes of true biblical miracles (as for example described in vv. 17,18) - to confirm the word. In other words, to prove that the words that came to the apostles and subsequently, selected disciples was from God and not from men.

Observe what the Hebrews writer penned in Hebrews 2:3-4
How shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation; which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed unto us by them that heard him; God also bearing them witness, both with signs and wonders, and with divers miracles, and gifts of the Holy Ghost, according to his own will?

So it started with Jesus and then subsequently the apostles (them that heard him), as we’ve just seen in th passage in Mark, and that which is spoken was being proven or witnessed through signs and wonders and divers miracles.

We further note what Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 13:8-9 -
Charity never faileth: but whether there be prophecies, they shall fail; whether there be tongues, they shall cease; whether there be knowledge, it shall vanish away. For we know in part, and we prophesy in part.

Thus the diverse miracles had a life span and will come to an end. When? Verse 10 tells us -
“But when that which is perfect is come, then that which is in part shall be done away.”
And that which is perfect or complete, is the Word of God, which will at some point in the first century have been completely delivered to man.

It also made perfect sense with regards to the cessation of inspired writings, because when the last apostle passed on, no one would have been able to receive miraculous gifts, since it was only obtained by laying of hands of an apostle (c.f. Acts 8:17; 19:6).

So let us be very clear - true biblical miracles have ceased. Because they have fulfilled their purpose. Just as the Old Law was done away, it did not mean it was redundant or useless but merely having done its job. In fact, Paul would even go on to describe the miracles as “childish” things (1Co 13:11)! And indeed on which if we were to hang on to and bank on, will never mature and come of age.
So today, we take great comfort and gratitude that the complete Word of God has been given to us, the all sufficiency of the Word, that we may come to the knowledge of salvation and be perfect and thoroughly furnished unto all good works (2Ti 3:17).

Channels of Blessing

 Today’s readings:
Genesis 38-40; Mark 15

Genesis 39:5
And it came to pass from the time that he had made him overseer in his house, and over all that he had, that the Lord blessed the Egyptian's house for Joseph's sake; and the blessing of the Lord was upon all that he had in the house, and in the field.

Certainly reminds us of the hymn “Is your life a channel of blessing” (Praise for the Lord #341)!
Joseph is one of the best examples of living a godly life in WHATEVER circumstance. And truly, more often than not, such people are the most pleasant to be among with.
It is no wonder that a slave could rise up the ranks to be the chief steward of Potiphar’s household. And of course, as we read on later, even becoming the 2nd most powerful man in Egypt.
How can we be channels of blessings?

Firstly, to go about our dealings as to the Lord. Paul wrote in Colossians 3:22-23 -  “Servants, obey in all things your masters according to the flesh; not with eyeservice, as menpleasers; but in singleness of heart, fearing God: And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men;”
Yes! Even in our secular work, we are to give of our best, to be God-pleasers. And take note, that is the way to go. To be our best does not mean using worldly ways, but on the contrary, solidly based on bible principles. Again, exactly as what Paul wrote - “as to the Lord”. At times, it may bring us short term persecution, for just as Joseph was thrown into jail for trying to do that which is right. But ultimately he came out unscathed and as we know it, went on to greater heights. I am pretty sure Potiphar must have been kicking himself for not believing in Joseph!

Secondly, perhaps most importantly is reaching out to the lost with the gospel. If there’s anything more loving, more beneficial, more pleasing to God, it’s this. The souls of man are far more important in God’s eyes! It is for us that Jesus died! By not ceasing (that is, at every possible occasion) to preach/share the gospel, we will be the greatest ever blessing to those around us. And the previous point serves primarily to support this.

God help us all not to be ditches of stumbling but to be channels of blessing! Now and always, till the Lord comes.

The Woman with spikenard

Today’s readings
Genesis 35-37; Psalm 12; Mark 14

Mark 14:6
And Jesus said, Let her alone; why trouble ye her? she hath wrought a good work on me.

This account of the unknown woman was also described in Matthew 26:6-13. This is to be distinguished by a similar event by Mary, as recorded in Jhn 12:1-8. The significant difference being the timing of the 2 events (this being 2 days before the Passover and Mary’s 6 days)

It is interesting to see the reaction of various parties involved.
1) The woman
Jesus described her action as having “Wrought a good work”. Anointing was a common practice in those days, especially where it concerned priestly duties and appointment of kings and offices. Later we read of the women (Mar 16:1) who wanted to anoint Jesus’ body.
And this woman was actually anointing in preparation for Jesus’ death (v. 8). Whether or not the woman was told of Jesus impending death, is unknown. Nevertheless, it was a sign of respect and honor (c.f. Luk 7:44-46). Here was a woman who was convinced of the nature of Christ and was determined to give of her best to the Lord and Saviour.

2) The disciples
Or at least some of them as according to the account here. Instead of lauding the action of the woman, they chose to be narrow minded and indignant. With a supposedly legitimate reason!

3) Jesus
Jesus not only defended the actions of the woman but also rebuked the protestors, and went on to predict the honor that was to be bestowed upon the woman (v.9)

The attitude of the woman is vital for us to learn - do we desire to do what is honorable to God, I.e. that which is authorized? This was not some random act out of whim or fancy, but a legitimate act of honoring someone.
Do we desire to give our BEST for the Lord? This was an expensive perfume! It might have been what the woman had been saving up for all her working life, yet she willingly gave of it.

What of the dissenting attitude of the disciples? This was not new. We have read previously how they squabbled over superiority (Mar 9:33) and how they tried to forbid a follower (Mar 9:38). Unfortunately, even where the Lord’s work is concerned, even among the faithful, there will be times when jealousy rears its ugly head. We need to check ourselves against such attitudes and always rejoice where the work of the Lord is done.

And finally, judgment belongs that of God, meaning to say, our standard has to be based on God’s standard and not of our own. Be courageous to stand up and speak up against brethren who might be getting out of line (c.f. 1Ti 5:20; Ti 1:13). And of course always done in love and meekness (Eph 4:15; Gal 6:1)