The God of Hope (Malachi 3–4) from South Woods Baptist Church on Vimeo.

If our view of God accords with Scripture and we rely upon that God as He has revealed Himself, then we have no reason to live in despair. Even if circumstances grow more and more adverse the God of Scripture revealed in Jesus Christ the Lord does not change. Circumstances, persecution, disease, poverty, loss, war, conflict, sickness, decrepitness, betrayal, political upheaval, tyranny, natural disasters, and whatever else we might add to the list do not change the Lord God. And if He does not change then His declarations, saving work, and promises remain lock tight.

Why is it important for us to think about God being unchanging?

Everything about us is in flux. The older you get the more you see and feel this reality. Buildings that have stood for centuries still crumble and fall into ruin. Seemingly genuine relationships break up over the least things. Most days over the past five weeks I walked up seven flights of stairs to get to the little study room reserved for me in the 18th century building where I hung out on sabbatical. Each flight had two sets of stairs connected to a landing. I think that I finally understood why builders put in landings! I quickly realized that I was not thirty any more! Gasping for oxygen while pushing my burning legs to take just one more step reminded me that most of my life has passed. Things that I presumed upon for many years rapidly change before my eyes.

But life is like that for all of us. The moment that we think everything is going our way, that life is perfect, and that we’ll never have another care in the world, at the next blink of the eye, something changes. All that we thought secure tumbles. With the tumbling goes our sense of comfort and stability. We lose hope. When that happens, we quit living. Instead, we simply despair.

But the gospel of Jesus Christ calls us to live in the reality that Christ in you is the hope of glory (Col 1:27), that we’ve been born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead (1 Pet 1:3), and that we’re to live daily in the hope of the gospel call in Christ (Eph 1:18). There’s nothing despairing about that! Hope in Christ shreds despair of its grip on us. It gives us renewed confidence, regardless of the circumstances confronting us, to live toward the day when we see Jesus face to face.

Hope is not an emotion that we work up if we happen to feel lucky. Hope is the companion of faith that relies upon Jesus Christ crucified and resurrected from the dead. The Lord God alone enables us to live in hope. But how does that happen? Let’s consider the underlying message of hope found in Malachi 3–4.

I. Contrasting people

Malachi’s prophecy was written during the last half of the 5th century B.C. when the Jews were still under Persian rule. He likely wrote it during the period in between Nehemiah’s two governorships and after Ezra had reestablished worship among the Jews in Jerusalem. This post-exilic period points to the stark reality that Judah had been exiled by the Babylonians and later by the conquering Persians. But under Persian kings Cyrus, Darius, and Artaxerxes the wheels turned by the grace of God, so that a trickle of exiles returned to rebuild the temple, rebuild Jerusalem’s walls, and reestablish the worship of the Lord God.

One would think that after experiencing God’s judgment through captivity and the reestablishment of religious life in Jerusalem that all would be well, that the Jews would faithfully seek the Lord in truth. But sinful practices slipped glaringly into the covenant community. The prophet Malachi reproved them through six dialogues concerning: 1:2–5; 1:6–2:9; 2:10–16; 2:17–3:5; 3:6–12; 3:13–4:6.

Our focus will be to discover the message of hope through two of these dialogues: 2:17–3:5 and 3:13–4:6, not by looking at every detail but taking more of a flyover view that shows both the contrast among the people and the unchang[...]

Believing Jesus' Prayer (John 17:24–26) from South Woods Baptist Church on Vimeo.

A United People on Mission (John 17:20–23) from South Woods Baptist Church on Vimeo.

A Holy People on Mission (John 17:14–19) from South Woods Baptist Church on Vimeo.

A People in the World (John 17:6–14) from South Woods Baptist Church on Vimeo.

The Glory of the Son in Giving Eternal Life (John 17:1–5) from South Woods Baptist Church on Vimeo.

Prayer, Gospel Boldness, and Church Connections (Eph 6:18–24) from South Woods Baptist Church on Vimeo.

We need regular reminders that Christianity is not an individualistic religion. Yet if we pay attention to many of the publications and hip-voices in Christianity, we get the idea that Christianity is all about me. ‘Jesus died for me so I can exist as a Christian with little to no involvement with others,’ or so it is thought. The emphasis on self as opposed to seeing the work of Christ for His body/bride/church narrows the way that we look at the Christian faith. It gives us a ready excuse for neglecting gathering with the body or failing to pray for the body in its gospel engagement or inconveniencing ourselves to serve others or volunteering to join others in the church in various endeavors or inventing novel interpretations of Scripture that have no historical precedent. If it’s all about me then I’m free from the messiness of relationships, the costliness of living life together, theological precision, and giving thought to others. I can just think about me and be satisfied.

Yet the body of Christ theme runs throughout Ephesians (as well as other books of the Bible). It’s a very plural-language letter because Paul’s concern is not about the individual Christian living distinct from the body but rather, about how we live together as a redeemed people. If we fail to see this and neglect to get a good handle on it, we’re much more subject to the adversary’s snare.

How important is this matter when we think about spiritual warfare, as Paul continues that theme in verses 18–20? Martyn Lloyd-Jones considers it essential. He wrote, “Public worship is of great importance for this very reason [that we face a common foe, along with similar difficulties and challenges]. The devil would have us imagine and think that religion is entirely personal, and that we alone are involved in it” [The Christian Soldier, 352]. He added, “It is highly important, I repeat, for us always to think of ourselves in terms of the Church. We are not only individuals, we are members of the Church which is the Body of Christ. The Apostle has used that analogy two or three times in this Ephesian Epistle. And yet we constantly tend to be individualistic, and to regard our spiritual conflict as a personal battle and problem only” [354]. Lloyd-Jones observations in Ephesians impacted me twenty-five years ago when I first read them. Since that time in studying the Word and contemplating the body of Christ, I’m more convinced that the root of much of the problems in the church is a failure to see the work of Christ for the body, while instead looking at it through individualistic lens. So it is fitting, as we close our study of Ephesians, that the last few verses press this theme once more of life in the body. As members of the body of Christ we live, grow, engage in warfare, and participate together in Christ and His gospel. What does that look like? Let’s consider three areas identified for the body’s life together in these closing verses.

1. The Body prays for one another

That should be obvious. Praying for one another in the church should be just as much a part of our lives as praying for our families. Yet we may find ourselves so wrapped up in other things that we neglect this matter of persevering in prayer for the church.

The armor of God and prayer are united: you need both to live life with one another as those triumphing in Christ. “With all prayer and petition pray at all times in the Spirit,” doesn’t start a new section. That’s why most commentaries and studies on spiritual warfare include verses 18–20 as an essential aspect of spiritual warfare. And rightly so! For we don’t physically view any part of the armor, except the Bible, but instead, as Charles Wesley expressed it, “Put on the gospel armor, each part put on by prayer.” That’s why Paul starts with the broader statement, “with all prayer.” By “all” he means all types or all means of pr[...]

Put on the Armor, Part 2 (Eph 6:13–17) from South Woods Baptist Church on Vimeo.

When I preached through Ephesians twenty-five years ago, I remember thinking that the passage on spiritual warfare served as a stark warning to Christians because of the way that we often mindlessly stumble through life. For that reason, I entitled one of the sermons “The Red Riding Hood Mentality.” I don’t think that mindset has changed. If anything, it may be even worse or perhaps I’m seeing it more clearly. What do I mean by a Red Riding Hood Mentality?

You know the story well. Little Red Riding Hood made her way to grandma’s house to take the poor, sick grandmother a basket of food. But the wolf learns of her aim and quickly dispatches grandma, while he dons her nightgown, sleeping cap, and crawls under the covers. Then Little Red goes through the mechanics of what lurked before her. ‘Grandma, what a deep voice you have.’ ‘Grandma, what big eyes you have.’ ‘Grandma, what big ears you have.’ By that point, even little kids listening to the story begin to wonder how sharp Little Red Riding Hood might be! Why, she sees a furry, long-nosed imitation of her grandma and has to go through a series of questions to come to the stark realization that the grandma in the bed was not grandma after all.

That’s “The Red Riding Hood Mentality.” It’s not until she discovers the business end of the wolf, its sharp teeth, that she screams and gets saved at the last moment by a hunter. Close call! As I was praying and meditating on this passage, the Lord reminded me of so many times that I had that same mentality and was near the point of being swallowed up by the adversary’s craftiness, but He who began a good work in me rescued me. Yet that didn’t excuse my neglect of spiritual vigilance.

Paul calls for us to lay aside the Red Riding Hood mentality. Instead, we’re to “be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might.” So we’re to live in Christ and His strength. We’re to constantly look to Him. But we’re to take action: “Put on the full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil.” Without that armor, we won’t stand firm or resist in the evil day of the enemy’s assaults. We must learn to daily live in a warfare posture or else the enemy will subdue us. But what does that look like? Let’s think about the parts of the armor of God.

1. Why the Armor of God is the gospel

In the previous study, I made the point that the call to put on the armor of God is a call to regular discipline in our spiritual lives. It’s about the application of the gospel to the whole of life. As we’ll see, the armor that Paul describes details the provisions of Christ for the church. As with the believers identified in Revelation 12, like them, we overcome our adversary, “the accuser of the brethren,” “because of the blood of the Lamb” (Rev 12:10–11a). As I pointed out, “So in the armor of God, we’re learning to live in and apply the actions of Jesus on our behalf to deliver us from the kingdom of darkness” [see “Put on the Armor,” part 1]. It’s in the regular practice of living in Christ’s provisions that we resist the adversary’s assaults and stand firmly when under spiritual attack.

Think with me for a moment on how Paul’s argument has developed. For much of Ephesians, after laying a groundwork in the sovereign work of God in salvation through the gospel (chapters 1–3), the apostle has taught us how to maintain good relationships in the body of Christ that lead toward maturity and unity (4:1–16). He has shown us how to deal with particular sins, not intending to cover every possible sin, but to identify some most common to us and how we’re to face them as new people in Christ (4:25–5:13). The framework that he gives us is that we are to lay aside the old self with all its corruptions, and be renewed in the spirit of our minds, and “put on the new self, which in the likeness of God has been created in righteousness and holiness of the [...]

Put on the Armor, Part 1 (Eph 6:10–13) from South Woods Baptist Church on Vimeo.

Scoffing at defeat seems to be natural to those who’ve not experienced its pain. One almost gets the attitude that he cannot be stopped or stymied or conquered. When he does, he becomes most vulnerable.

My high school football team had a string of three straight state titles in its division, with a winning streak that extended to forty-one games. By the time I made it to my junior year, it seemed that winning was inevitable, and defeat, just not possible. Then came the last game of the season. Maybe it was a fluke but the upstart team with a losing record broke our winning streak. We couldn’t believe it even possible as we looked toward the state playoffs, but it happened. That still didn’t knock us out of the playoffs, so we regrouped and decided that one little defeat could not keep the hardware out of our trophy case.

In the first round we played a team nicknamed the “Aggies.” We laughed about the nickname. No tigers or lions or bears or bobcats but an Aggie. We knew that a team with such a name could not stand up to our team. So we derided the very idea of the Aggies coming into our hallowed stadium and attempting to play the game on our level. At the school pep rally that Friday, I still remember a huge sign reading, “What’s an Aggie?” We thought it clever and expressive of our stature as football conquerors. But that night the Aggies mopped the floor with our team. They did nothing but stomp us into the ground, defeating us by over forty points. The caption that followed in the yearbook perfectly expressed our sentiments: “We Found Out What an Aggie Was!”

I wonder if we don’t do the same thing in our spiritual lives? We have lived pretty much above the norm, without much conflict or spiritual battles raging. We’ve left our mark, at least we think, on the world of Christianity as exemplary Christians who know how to live just as we should. Pride sets in, leading to presumption, which leads to negligence in our spiritual walks. Instead of walking worthy of the gospel call, we unconsciously focus more on walking to be applauded by others. All the while, we fail to see the subtlety of the devil’s trap, luring us to over-confidence, pride in our spirituality, knowledge, and self-dependence, taking our eyes off of Christ, the gospel, and the power of the cross. Then he sets the snare and we’re trapped and overpowered by some pattern of sin, whether in attitude, thought, speech, or action. He wins the battle. And the caption reads: “We found out what the devil is.” Sometimes it seems that we’ve forgotten the enemy’s power.

When Paul uses the word “finally” at the beginning of verse 10, we typically think of it as telling us that he’s wrapping everything up, so wind down the brain and relax. But rather than announcing a conclusion it seems that it better expresses the pinnacle of his application of walking wisely as Spirit filled Christians (5:15–18). We live in the Spirit’s fullness and so experience the fruit of His control in relationships with the body of Christ, worship, gratitude, and learning to serve one another. We see its fruit in marriage, in the home, and in our work lives. Yet the filling of the Spirit doesn’t mean that we are wrapped in Teflon so that nothing affects us, nothing attacks us, and nothing sticks. Rather, the Holy Spirit’s control enables us to be faithful soldiers of Christ. We’re to live daily prepared for spiritual battle. The Spirit empowers us to do so. But what does it mean to live prepared for spiritual battle? Let’s look at it over two studies on this text.

1. God’s armor is rooted in relationship

The repetition of “the full armor of God” or transliterating the Greek, the panoply of God in verses 11 and 13, plus the description of the armor in verses 14–17, shows the weight that Paul puts on this theme. He’s teaching the church how to live as Christians in a fallen world under the domain of Satan and his demo[...]

A New Way of Life (Eph 6:5–9) from South Woods Baptist Church on Vimeo.

Slavery dominated the ancient world. Those conquered in battle, if left alive, most often entered the ranks of Roman slaves—numbering some 60 million throughout the Empire. Some under the burden of debt sold themselves into slavery. Even when freed, which happened fairly often, the children of slaves took the place of their parents as slaves, perpetuating the cycle of slavery. While different in many ways than 18th and 19th century slavery that we know left deep wounds on our history, the Roman slaves, in the words of Aristotle, were “human tools,” at best, and property to be used or abused or discarded at the will of the owner, at worst. Yet in that setting the gospel came in great transforming power [A. Rupprecht, “Slave, Slavery,” in DPL, 881].

What astounds us from a two thousand year vantage point, as we read through the New Testament, is that the writers did not affirm or attack the system of slavery in the Roman Empire. It existed. Christians from all walks of life lived in it. The small handful of disciples, many of whom were slaves, among the millions in the Roman world, had no power to overthrow that societal structure. And as bad as it was then and in later centuries, these apostolic writers focused on something larger, something that had the power like yeast in a barrel of meal to transform it, reproducing faithful disciples of Jesus Christ. They preached the gospel and taught believers how to live daily as new creations in Christ in contrast to the world that lay n the power of the evil one around them (1 John 5:19). The gospel’s power at work in these disciples slowly but surely permeated the culture around them, so that social, societal, and political ills and woes changed.

Slaves made up about a third of the Roman world, some say even more. They were the artisans, bakers, physicians, teachers, tutors, nannies, builders, household workers, farmers, and about everything else that you can think of. They did the work that made Rome what it was. Some comprised what we would call the professionals, business people, and workers of their day. Many who bought their way out of slavery or were granted it by their masters’ desire, entered into business partnerships with their masters or established their own businesses. That’s why most NT students see this passage as a comparison and application to employee/employer relationships in our day. The gravity of the slaves’ position only strengthens the implications of the text to our lives. Here’s what they discovered, as do we: Jesus as Lord means living a whole new way of life even if you are in the same position. Becoming a disciple of Jesus does not automatically mean that you enter vocational ministry or that you isolate yourself in a Christian commune or that you radically alter your state of life or that your circumstances improved. Instead, the faithful evidence of Christ in our lives is to bear testimony, right where we are, of the gospel’s power. So walking worthy of the gospel, walking in love, walking in the Light, and being careful how you walk (Eph 4:1; 5:1, 8, 15), not only affects our relationships in the body of Christ, in marriage, and the family, but also in the work life. It shows us that knowing Jesus means living a new way of life. How does this passage teach us about a new way of life? Let’s consider it under two headings.

I. Responsibilities beyond the eye

Just as with those in the body, in marriage, and in the home, we must seek to live in the fullness of the Spirit—under His control—if we would live as Christians in daily life (Eph 5:18). So we must not separate chapter six from the applications of the Spirit-filled life in chapter five. Paul still maintains the implications of 5:21, being subject to one another in the fear of Christ. He has shown us how that works out in marriage and in the children/parent relationship, with both demonstrating loving service in the relations[...]