Ephesians 3:1-21

To me … grace was given to preach to the Gentiles … and to bring to light for everyone what is the plan of the mystery hidden for ages … so that through the church the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places. (vv. 8-10) Two items stand out in these three verses, one clear and the other unclear. First, what is clear is Paul’s phrase, “through the church”. This is a strange phrase for Paul; I don’t recall anywhere else in his writings where Paul mentions “the church” in any kind of global sense. That is, in other places he suggests individual churches, as in “the church in her house” (Colossians 4:15) and his “daily care of all the Churches” (2 Cor. 11:28), but in these instances he is referring to specific, geographical gatherings. In verse 8 above he is talking about the global church – and looking forward, that’s us, folks!! It is “through the church” (US!!) that God’s message is to go forth!

Second, the unclear: “the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places”… If Paul had spoken of rulers and authorities on earth, the verse would have been clear. He, himself had already appeared before “rulers and authorities” (Festus, Felix, King Agrippa and Bernice) and the church today continues to preach to the worldly leaders. But the end of the phrase, in the heavenly places, what does Paul mean by that?? Rulers and authorities in heaven…? That’s God’s domain; Jesus has been crowned king of the universe with “all things” under his subjection (I Corinthians 15:27). So, whatever is meant by “in the heavenly places”, it’s clear that we, today, are preaching to them. An awesome responsibility…!!

See also: September 2 / Ephesians 3:1-7; September 3 / Ephesians 3:8-13; September 4 / Ephesians 3:14-21

Ephesians 2:1-22

It took a lot of reading and re-reading of different translations for me to finally understand the next two verses: But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. For He Himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in His flesh the dividing wall of hostility… (vv. 13-14) Through my comments last year I came to understand that “both” referred to the two groups, Gentiles and Jews. So the Gentiles, who were “far off” have been brought “near” by Jesus’ death and He “has made us both one”. The NASB helped by translating “has made us both one” as “made both groups into one”.

But I was still hung up on this “dividing wall of hostility”. Then I looked back at how the Jewish people had truly separated themselves from the rest of the world – separate courts in the Temple where only Jews could enter; Jewish travelers bypassing Samaria on their travels between Jerusalem and Galilee; and even Jesus’ life (the woman at the well, John 3) and parables (the Good Samaritan). He Himself was breaking down this “dividing wall of hostility” even before His death.

Surprisingly, that “dividing wall of hostility” now runs the opposite direction, with anti-Semitism rampant in the Middle East, but also reflecting a long history of hostility toward the Jews. Interestingly, I looked up “anti-Semitism” online; a Wikipedia article listed some 30+ people who were regarded as anti-Semites. Hitler, of course, leads the list, along with his henchman, Joseph Goebbels. Others on that list included Henry Ford, Richard Wagner, Franklin D. Roosevelt, and Charles Lindbergh.

See also: August 31 / Ephesians 2:1-10; September 1 / Ephesians 2:11-22

Ephesians 1:1-23

…even as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before Him. In love He predestined us for adoption to Himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of His will… (vv. 4-5) I don’t get into “predestination” discussions much. Bible scholars and preachers in other denominations have much more to say on this topic than I. But the one thing of which I am certain is that we have free will, that we are not anything like robots moving around on this Earth at God’s whim. And if we have free will, then it’s our decision to choose Jesus or how to choose Him; essentially we are choosing our own eternal destiny. I can’t believe that God has “predestined” anyone to Heaven or to Hell.

That said, however, what is my take on predestination? I guess I like to think of Paul’s use of “we” and “us” in the verses above as being a universal humanity. What are the other options? The Jewish people…? They were not very “holy and blameless”. Christians? We’re also not very “holy and blameless”. But we do fit Paul’s “adoption to Himself as sons” phrase. But then again, so would all humanity who accept Jesus as Lord.

Finally – David was always good about pointing out “so that” verses – the closest thing that I can see to “so that” is verse 10: as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in Him, things in heaven and things on earth. The phrase “all things” clearly includes all humanity. So my take is that any mention of predestination has to do with God’s creating us humans, with a desire that we would share with Him the love that the Trinity had known in Themselves since before the beginning of time. My thoughts…

See also: August 29 / Ephesians 1:1-14; August 30 / Ephesians 1:15-23

Colossians 4:1-18

For me, in my comments below a lot of clarification as to Paul’s location when he wrote Philemon, Colossians, and Ephesians. These names are all somewhat familiar: Tychicus, Onesimus, Aristarchus, Epaphras… We’ll see more of them in Ephesians.

See also: August 28 / Colossians 4:7-18

Colossians 3:1-25

Here is the verse that Archbishop Beach cited in yesterday’s AWFTL: And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him. (v. 17) His summary message had to do with how others see us, especially how non-Christians view us. And unfortunately too many people see the harsh, judgmental, unforgiving side of many Christians. They see many Christians as hypocrites, possibly even regular church-going Christians with whom they are close. They also see the media portrayals of big-time preachers whose unholy personal lives have been revealed or the number of priests who are being charged with sexual abuse. They fail to see much of the good that is done in Jesus’ name – Baptist Health and St. Joseph’s Hospital in Lexington, the Salvation Army’s soup kitchen in downtown Lexington, Avenues for Women in Frankfort. And there’s not much we can do about others’ evaluations on this larger scale. But what we can do is mirror Jesus in our everyday lives – speak of Him and serve others as if we were serving Him: And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus…

See also: August 25 / Colossians 3:1-11; August 26 / Colossians 3:12-17; August 27 / Colossians 3:18-4:6

Colossians 2:1-23

For in Him all the fullness of Deity dwells in bodily form, and in Him you have been made complete, and … in Him you were also circumcised with a circumcision performed without hands … having been buried with Him in baptism … you were also raised with Him …And … He made you alive together with Him, having forgiven us all our wrongdoings… (vv. 9-13, NASB, edited). The paragraph goes on to say more about what Jesus has done, but I have only included/highlighted those phrases that make it more personal for us, the “in Him” and “with Him” phrases. Reading through the whole passage again with those phrases in mind we come to more fully realize what Jesus has done for us, personally, especially buried, raised, made alive, and forgiven. I’m picturing myself in the tomb with Him, being raised with Him when He was raised, and living now with Him. Notice what I have left out. I am not on the cross with Him; He did that Himself, alone, for us. There’s really nothing more to say.

See also: August 22 / Colossians 2:1-5; August 23 / Colossians 2:6-15; August 24 / Colossians 2:16-23

Colossians 1:1-29

Paul’s many parenthetical expressions often make for difficult reading. Here is what I distilled today by leaving out some of those expressions: …the gospel…in the whole world…is bearing fruit and increasing… (vv. 5b-6a) Paul is reporting on the spread of the Gospel “in the whole world”. He knows (without personal mention) that he himself has been largely responsible for that advance, but he is also seeing the Gospel move through other people – specifically in today’s reading Paul mentions Epaphras’ ministry to these Colossians. But also, we just read a few days ago of Paul’s reception in Rome, how many Christians came out to meet him – and he had never been there! So there is much truth in his statement – the whole (known) world…!

Looking at the verbs in verses 9b to 12a: …that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to Him: bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; being strengthened with all power, according to His glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy; giving thanks… We learned early-on that verbs were action words. There’s a lot of action going on in individual lives in these few verses! How about us? It would be an interesting exercise to look at each of those verbs and see if that verb applies to our walk with the Lord.

See also: August 19 / Colossians 1:1-8; August 20 / Colossians 1:9-20; August 21 / Colossians 1:21-29

Philemon 1-25

I mentioned last year in my final comment below that Mark Bruner would be visiting St. Andrew’s for his Asbury graduation in November. That visit did not happen, but as circumstances would have it, I can now report again that Mark will be visiting next month! He will be here on November 7, probably joining with the music team and sharing a bit on happenings in his mission field. Looking forward to seeing him again…!

I pray that the sharing of your faith may become effective for the full knowledge of every good thing that is in us for Christ’s service. (v. 6) In truth, I only learned Economics when I started teaching it. To teach the material I had to know it better than ever I needed it for an upcoming exam. It has often been said that the teacher learns more than the student and I can certainly confirm that. To the point of the verse above, I read it that Paul is saying essentially the same thing, that our sharing of our faith will strengthen our faith. There is a warm feeling that I get when I am talking with someone about Jesus or extending an invitation to St. Andrew’s. I don’t know that it strengthens my faith every time, but it does encourage me in my own behavior, in my own sharing of the Gospel.

…the hearts of the saints have been refreshed through you, brother. (v. 7b, NASB) I have come to believe that Philemon was quite well off. We know that he had a servant/slave, Onesimus, and only wealthier people (or politicians or higher-ranking soldiers) had servants or slaves back then. But the verse noted above also strengthens the notion of his wealth, that the saints have been refreshed through him. Although the verse says the hearts of the saints, I can see a possibility for Philemon’s financial support for missionaries for their work in and around Ephesus and Colossae. Again, we’ve seen that in the missionaries that St. Andrew’s supports through our Mission Committee. They are truly thankful for the support the MC sends, and are even more grateful when a gift arrives “out of the blue”, an unexpected gift over and above the MC’s base contribution. So I think Philemon was doing much the same for “the saints” in Asia.

So tomorrow, another epistle directed to this same geographic area: Colossians!

See also: August 16 / Philemon 1:1-7; August 17 / Philemon 1:8-16; August 18 / Philemon 1:17-25

Acts 28:1-31

And when he had said these words, the Jews departed, having much dispute among themselves. (v.29) This verse may be new to you depending on the translation that you are reading. The NASB has it, but the ESV does not. The ESV indicates in a footnote that “some manuscripts” add this verse. But, to the point of this verse… Paul has been speaking all day to these Jews who clearly have been open to what he has been saying, even to the point of arguing among themselves – very likely to the possible truth of what Paul has been preaching. We have often heard it said that God’s word never goes out void. Here is the cited Scripture verse: …so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it. (Isaiah 55:11) So yeah, the Jews went out arguing among themselves. And there’s truth in that verse for us. If we’ve been sharing Jesus with an unbeliever, we have not wasted our words. Whatever we have said can be turned over and over in the mind of those who have listened to us – even something as simple as an invitation to church!

And so we finish Acts. On to more of Paul’s epistles…

See also: August 13 / Acts 28:1-10; August 14 / Acts 28:11-16; August 15 / Acts 28:17-31

Acts 27:27-44

My comments from last year are helpful in understanding just exactly what was going on with the ship being battered from the wind and waves.

From yesterday’s reading, Paul speaking: Men, you should have listened to me and not have set sail from Crete… (v. 21b) I think many of us hate it if someone says “I told you so”, but often because they were right and we were wrong – and don’t we (…I…!!) hate to admit we’re wrong!! But in this case, Paul was right and he was speaking what he had heard from an angel of the Lord. There are only a few times in my life when I could say that I “heard” something very specific and I imputed (Ben’s word!) what I had heard as possibly being from the Lord. But I’m not Paul; Paul knew specifically that an angel of the God to whom I belong had spoken to him. And as I mentioned in my 2020 comments yesterday, Luke and Aristarchus must have been comforted, but still (I’m thinking) a bit troubled when they looked around at the wind and the waves! I would be, too!!

Verse 37 says, parenthetically “(We were in all 276 persons in the ship.)” An online footnote says that some manuscripts read “76 or about 76” instead of 276. I tend to believe the correction. Having 276 aboard would have been quite a large ship! In addition, I doubt that Paul could have had so much influence with a larger crowd. Just that.

See also: August 11 / Acts 27:27-38; August 12 / Acts 27:39-44