Sometimes metaphors get out of control, like riding a bike down a steep mountain when your front brakes seize and you flip over the handle bars and then the bike lands on your head. You get a story for sure, but you still wince a little every time you think about it.

Galatians 4 is full of metaphors, and there is a surprising amount of references to mothering. The first mention is not a metaphor, actually, it's doctrine. Jesus was born of a woman, a statement that establishes the fact of His humanity, the state in which He took the curse of the law to redeem a people. This is fantastic news, but some of the Galatians were going back to previous ways and Paul calls himself a mother who was worried about how they were coming out. It wasn't good. Then finally Paul refers to two flesh and blood mothers who represent two different spiritual families, and there isn't quite enough appreciation for being brothers of another mother, the mother the Galatians were turning their back on. It's a tall mountain of a chapter, and one needs to be careful on his way down.

The entire letter is an affectionate, motherly spanking for the foolish Galatians. They had been hanging out with some bad company, false teachers who simultaneously tried to make themselves look better than the Galatians while making the Galatians wish they could get in.

In chapter 4 Paul continues to argue for faith and promise against works and law.

At the end of chapter 3 Paul referred to the law as a guardian which was watching over the Jews until Jesus came. Now Paul adds another related idea. Even if you were a son, you didn't have legal rights to the inheritance until you came of age. It was promised to you, but it wasn't yours yet, you weren’t ready for it. During that time there is a sense in which the child, or maybe better translated the “minor,” is no different from a slave, though he is the owner of everything. What makes the difference is the date set by his father.

Paul applies it to the Galatians. In the same way we also, were enslaved to the principles of the world. It's surprising that he moves away from speaking about being enslaved to sin (3:22) or enslaved to the law (3:23-25) and instead to "the principles of the world." He makes a similar comment in verse 8 about "those that by nature are not gods," and also the "worthless elementary principles of the world" in verse 9, which appear to be related to days and months and seasons and years in verse 10. While he had been speaking of the Mosaic Law, I believe here is speaking of the pantheon of material and astronomical gods, many who were associated with the planets, which were believed to have personality and influence over the affairs of men.

In the same way that the law wasn't enough, so also this false system of "how the world runs" wasn't enough. What was necessary was a Savior. So, when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of a woman, born under the law. Jesus was God—“His Son,” Jesus was man—“of a woman,” Jesus was part of a particular family who had obligations to the Jewish system of worship—“under the law.” And Jesus came to redeem us and so that we might receive adoption as sons. He came to bring us into His family.

It's a tight knit group. God not only sent Jesus, He has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts. We have God dwelling in us, and we relate to Him intimately, crying, "Abba! Father!" Paul told the Romans something similar in Romans 8:15, that we “have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, ‘Abba! Father!’.” All this makes us heirs through God, meaning that it is His work, not ours. So we are sons and heirs through God.

One characteristic of sons is that they cay be foolish. Enter the Galatians stage left. They were not only doing dumb stuff, they were doing dumb stuff that they had done before. They were turning back to the weak and worthless elementary principles of the world. These "principles" were their gods. They considered them to be gods and were enslaved to these gods, to those that by nature are not gods. For example, Jupiter is not actually a god, even if there was a demon-being behind the object of service.

But now you have come to know God, or rather to be known by God. Those who do not know God are those who are not Christians (for example, 1 Thessalonians 4:5). To "be known" is Bible language for an intimate relationship. In His omniscience God knows all things and all persons, but to "be known" means that God is like a Father with a son, as Paul already stated. We know Him because He first knew us. That's a beautiful, Calvinistic, God-centered description.

Rather than enjoy that fellowship, they had gone back to days and months and seasons and years! Instead of trusting their Father and seeking His will, they were more attuned to the calendar and astronomical/astrological signs, those that presumably governed human behavior.

If this interpretation is true, Paul “virtually equates Judaism with heathenism. To go forward into Judaism is to go backward into heathenism” (Barrett cited by Moo).

Paul turns to them with a personal appeal, reminding them of the connection they made. He wanted them to care for him again, like he cared for them, like they had cared for him at the beginning. He had some physical problem, and bodily ailment, perhaps connected with his eyesight, that could have tempted them to scorn and despise, with “despise” defined as “spitting” or “spitting out…as an expression of contempt” (BDAG). Instead they received me as an angel of God, as Christ Jesus. He had come in weakness but they acknowledged the divine message that he brought. They would have if possible...gouged out your eyes and given them to me. Paul and the Galatians were tight. They had experienced #blessedness by Paul.

Their attitude toward him was the opposite now. Before he told them the truth and they overlooked his problems. Now it was a problem for them that he was telling them the truth. Have I then become your enemy by telling you the truth?

Verse 17 is a sad, ironic twist. They, the false teachers, make much of you, but for now good purpose. They want to shut you out, that you may make much of them. I think this describes leaders who get close enough and speak sweetly enough to then make their hearers feel badly that they're on the outside. And somehow the people allow themselves to be made less of, and made to feel like they must do more in order to please the leader. This is what the gospel of grace makes no room for. “Failure to maintain Christian liberty always leads to ecclesiastical as well as other forms of bondage” (Boice).

Paul likens his attitude toward them to that of a mother. My little children, for whom I am again in the anguish of childbirth until Christ is formed in you. When he was first with them and preaching to them he suffered labor pains to see their faith birthed. Now they were going back to some of their ways before salvation, and Paul has similar pains that they would grow up all the way into full Christlike maturity. They are climbing back into the womb of darkness and ignorance and he’s trying to get them out!

As it is, he uses a mothering tone because he was perplexed about them.

The final third of the chapter gets some people fired up by Paul's use of an Old Testament comparison. It's mostly people who take interpreting the Bible seriously (which is good) who get upset (which is good at certain times but not every time). Studying to show ourselves approved, rightly dividing our copies of God's Word is one thing, but this is to be done with an attitude of gladness and not hermeneutical hunting. Paul takes seriously that those who think salvation comes by faith and works are believing another gospel which isn't actually gospel. He does want us to cut straight along that razor's edge. But how he helps make that point in this paragraph need not make our literal interpretation fingers bloody.

It's almost as if those who were most adamant about the law weren't actually familiar with the law. (Of course that never happens.) They exalted being sons of Abraham, but Paul points out, father Abraham had many sons, and which one of them makes a difference. Who’s your mom?

The story is found in Genesis 16-21. The first and most important two sons are Ishmael and Isaac, not named at this point. They both had Abraham as father, but each had a different mother and each was born in a different manner. One was born by a slave woman and the other by a free woman, though Sarah was “never designated as a ‘free’ woman in the OT,” and “Paul never uses the name ‘Sarah’ anywhere in his exposition” (Moo). Also, one was born according to the flesh and the other was born through promise. Sarai couldn't give Abram any children of her own, so she gave him Hagar as a wife through whom she could count children as her own. Ishmael was a son conceived by human energy. The other son came when both Abram and Sarai were past child-bearing age. This was a son conceived by supernatural intervention.

Now this may be interpreted allegorically. Paul now makes an additional point on top of the historical fact, “using one set of realities (the narrative of Sarah and Hagar) to speak of another set of realities (“to speak” [ἀγορεύω] of “other things” [ἄλλα])(Moo). But note that he starts with the historical fact, he does not deny it or claim that the "allegory" is the point, or even that Moses wrote the hidden meaning into Genesis.

Paul certainly does not mean that Moses wrote the history for the purpose of being turned into an allegory, but points out in what way the history may be made to answer the present subject. (Calvin)

That’s how we think about allegory. Allegory for us is a fictional “story, poem, or picture that can be interpreted to reveal a hidden meaning” (New Oxford American Dictionary). The allegorical method of interpretation has been more popular at certain points in church history, but in this case Paul sees a comparison in the historical narrative that he uses to challenge the law-lovers.

The comparison is in two parts:

Slave woman, Hagar, Mount Sinai, present Jerusalem (rejecting Christ), children who are enslaved to the law. All of this represents human effort and energy ending in slavery, as the Mosaic Covenant.

Free woman, Sarah, (Mountains of Moriah?), Jerusalem above (receiving Christ), children who are free because of promise. All of this represents divine grace and initiative in ending slavery, as with not the New Covenant, but the Abrahamic Covenant, and Christ is “the seed” of fulfillment.

This Jerusalem above is free, and she is our mother refers not to the church instead of Israel but to grace instead of law. Grace gives birth to many children. Paul quotes Isaiah 54:1 to the effect that there will be many more children of "the desolate one." Grace has a lot of kids.

The believers, the brothers, are like Isaac, children of promise. That is great news. But just as at that time he who was born according to the flesh persecuted him who was born according to the Spirit, so also it is now. When Isaac was born Ishmael was a teenager and he "laughed" at, he mocked the boy of the old people's celebration. This fired up Sarah, so she told Abraham to send Hagar and Hagar’s son away. In Genesis 21:10 we see Sarah’s command to her husband, and Paul applies it to the Galatians. They should understand that the other son, those who are conceived by human effort, are going to give grief to the sons of divine grace. That's what men with only natural religion do, especially when nearby the true, supernatural sons.

the Papists are fools and twice children, who expect to give us uneasiness by producing these words; for their mother is an adulteress, who brings forth to death the children of the devil. (Calvin)

The final reminder is, we are not children of the slave but of the free woman.

We are children of promise, born of the Spirit, not of any human scheming or effort or accomplishment.

Because we are born of the Spirit we should walk in the Spirit, see chapter 5. Because we are born of a "free woman," that is by grace, we should live in freedom, see also chapter 5. Don't go back to the law, don't go back to elementary principles, don't go back to anything that enslaves.

Some motivations work on themselves, as in, certain feelings produce more of the same feeling. The more they eat, the more hungry they are.

Two such motivations are guilt and discontent. Once they start they are hard to stop. Both have in common a misapplied standard and a focus on self.

There's a great line in Moby Dick, when a man has fallen overboard in the middle of the ocean and all the boats are getting further away, and the man is left to think about himself. “The intense concentration of self in the middle of such a heartless immensity, my God! who can tell it?” (Melville, 453). He consumes his own thinking; he's the center of his little universe; he's all he's got.

Because we are sinners we can mess up even the best things. Jesus died on the cross for our sins. He paid our penalty so that all who believe in Him can be free. The word of the cross is the power of God in us, it creates spiritual life in us while also uniting us with the spiritual body of fellow believers.

But, with our new spiritual life we start to think that if certain things changed, then we could be even more spiritual. Here is where the sanctification train often derails into sand. When we look around in the church we start to compare ourselves with others and suppose that they are more spiritual. They may even tell us that, yes, they are more spiritual, and then explain that we could be like them if only we were in their situation. We feel guilty for not being more spiritual, and we feel discontent at not being in another situation.

This means we are judging by the wrong standards and focused on the wrong things. It also means that we should better understand our calling.

In 1 Corinthians 7 Paul addresses the guilt among some of the believers causing them to consider certain lifestyles that may be more spiritual. In particular, married people considered that celibacy might make them better Christians. Single people thought they could be better Christians than married people. Other married people thought they should divorce their spouse to be single, and those Christians married to unbelievers thought distancing themselves would be better. Paul corrects all these errors, and he follows up with more examples.

Verses 17-24 are the general principle and exhortation that verses 1-16 are built upon, and that verses 25 through the end of the chapter depend on. In the first part of the chapter Paul explained that the ideal marital state is being content in the state God gave. In the last part of the chapter Paul will explain more about how to live in light of the present distress. In this paragraph he shows how it works: the better calling is not a certain earthly station, but being called to salvation transposes every earthly station.

“Call” or “called” comes up eight times in this paragraph. Most of the time it refers to the call of salvation, God's supernatural work to regenerate and give faith to His elect. We also know that God calls men and women to various roles, assignments, jobs. The word voco in Latin means "I call," and in English a vocation is one's calling.

Our earthly and our spiritual calling comes from God, and He likes where He wants us. It's we who start ranking better callings. It’s we who start dividing based on superficial differences. But salvation is the better calling, and it puts all the other callings into perspective.

Three times Paul says to remain (verse 17, 20, and 24). We'll see two examples (ethnic and economic) that depend on this imperative and then a summary.

Being single or married, in and of itself, doesn't determine spiritual standing. Neither does being Jew or Gentile. What certainly makes someone less spiritual is trying to be something other than what he is. The rule of remaining is like the arrow on your life-map labeled, “You are here, and it’s good.”

Only let each person lead the life that the Lord has assigned to him, and to which God has called him. Who do you suppose has greater difficulty receiving this teaching, the Corinthians or us? While it wasn't impossible, the Corinthians probably had limited imagination for social mobility compared to us. We've been watching commercials about being all that we can be and that we can be anything that we want to be since we were young. Paul is saying, be all that you is, not what you could be.

He's talking about what we've been assigned, what we've been called to. There are lots of applications, but the doctrine is that the Lord places His servants where He wants them. This doctrine cannot be used to justify sin, or ignorance, or immaturity. It cannot be used to institute caste systems or prohibit someone from pursuing a new job. It does mean that we cannot determine someone's spiritual value by their life situation. Has the Lord put him there? Amen, so let it be. And this applies everywhere: this is my rule in all the churches.

As I said, this applies to many external callings, including not only your spouse (or lack thereof), but your parents and religious background. Was anyone at the time of his call already circumcised? Let him not seek to remove the marks of circumcision. Was anyone at the time of his call uncircumcised? Let him not seek circumcision. Were your parents Jews? That's the best. Were your parents Gentiles? That is also the best. Some Jews were tempted to get social approval by looking like not Jews, and those working out naked at the gymnasium may have needed another surgery to change their look. Gentiles were often told by other Jews that they were spiritually inferior so of course some of them would be tempted to take on the cultural symbolism of Jewishness.

Paul says to not to. For neither circumcision counts for anything nor uncircumcision, but keeping the commandments of God. This is an almost unbelievable statement for a couple reasons. The most obvious is that circumcision was required to keep God's commandments for Jews! Circumcision did count as obedience. But that's the key: obedience, not the external mark itself. One is not better because of it. And with the coming of Christ and His work on the cross, we are not better because of rituals or the lack due to our parents or our preferences. In terms of salvation and spiritual living, this ethnic checkbox is for (God’s) administrative use only.

The principle not only applies to your family, it also applies to your employment. These next few verses regard slavery, and the research is mixed about conditions of slaves in the first century. Some estimate that a third of the population in Corinth were slaves, and that meant another significant portion were masters, though masters aren't addressed here. The slaves were in a variety of situations, probably overall less like the slavery in the 19th century, but it can't be proven that slaves were generally treated well either.

It is certainly easy to imagine that Christian slaves would consider it better not to be a slave and that they would be able to serve Christ when and where and how they chose rather than to be bound to the will of someone else. There is another connection to the context as well, since slaves at that time were not legally permitted to marry, though a master could free a slave and then marry her (not likely to be a female master with a male slave). Slaves were seen as property, slaves were seen as lesser, and we can see how slaves would have trouble being content.

Paul begins by repeating the remain refrain. Each one should remain in the condition in which he was called. Were you a bondservant when called? Do not be concerned about it. Your condition is not a big deal. It's not that slavery itself is good, but that being in some other condition doesn’t guarantee anything. It’s not as if all the free people love and serve Jesus.

How much time could a slave spend on wishing he was free, hoping to be free, complaining about “the man”? How much discontent could he stir up inside himself? Or how much lower might he feel about himself when assembling with the church body for worship?

Paul is not talking about justice and injustice, or about suffering that a slave might endure. He’s talking in this context in terms of economic and social status, and how being a slave cannot ruin anyone’s calling from God.

That said, Paul is not requiring the status quo. (But if you can gain your freedom, avail yourself of the opportunity.) Maybe the master would offer it. Maybe the slave could somehow purchase his own freedom. That was fine, just like the exceptions for a brief pause of sexual relations for spouses, and the exception for believing spouses to let the unbelieving spouse go. Paul is not propping up the institution of slavery, though he also isn't smashing it down either. The point here is about our attitude of contentment and realizing that our earthly station is the place where we serve the Lord.

For he who was called in the Lord as a bondservant is a freedman of the Lord. Likewise he who was free when called is a bondservant of Christ. This is all about status, and the better calling. Being a freedman of the Lord is not the same as being "free." We still have obligations, but as those now obligated to the greatest Master we’ve moved up.

And the one who is free is called to slavery to Christ. He purchased our spiritual freedom and we are obligated to serve Him and not ourselves.

As he explained in chapter 6 for different reasons, we are not our own. You were bought with a price. This is the cost of our calling. Christ died on the cross to purchase us as His own. Here with the follow up: do not become bondservants of men. This has extended application.

Historically, perhaps a free man would sell himself to an important master or patron for sake of gaining a higher social status. Being part of the popular posse was better than being the leader of your own insignificant posse of one. How often this happened, though, is hard to say.

How often we end up becoming enslaved to the opinions and preferences of others is a too typical compromise. Christians sell themselves to get themselves into a better position, or so they think. This could be socially, by friends and entertainment. This could be financially, by what sorts of jobs they will stoop to do or what sorts of hours they will sacrifice to “advance.” This could also be financially, by what sorts of loans and credit we're willing to submit to in order to have the house or car or toys that we think will increase our esteem. We do make ourselves slaves of men, actually, but the masters are in a cubicle in a credit card company in Connecticut.

The final verse of the paragraph repeats the remain refrain for the third time.

So, brothers, in whatever condition each was called, there let him remain with God. Remember, this started in the context of marital status. We spend too much energy wishing that we could be someone else. Especially we imagine so many ways that we could be more spiritual, but that is not what God requires, it is not what He wants.

He wants us to serve Him where we are. He wants us to submit to Him right now. He does not want our excuses. He wants our energy spent for His sake, not for our fantasies. “The gospel is lived out through earthly institutions and constraints, not in spite of them” (Thiselton).

What makes you a better Christian? What is the better calling? What are the things we think are so important?

Don't covet your neighbor's call. Don't live in a fantasy of relationships ("If I could just get away from him, then I could serve Jesus." Or, "If I could just get married, then I could be a great Christian.") Don't live in a fantasy of responsibility: "If I could just have this job, then I'd make enough money to be generous." Or, "If I could just get a ministry position, then I could give my life to Christ."

No, the calling of salvation transposes our earthly callings. To transpose is to change the key. When God saves us, there are many parts of our life that stay the same. We are singing the same song, but we are now singing in a different, higher key. There is "joy to find in every station, something still to do or bear."

This doesn't mean that you can never change marital status, or employment, or move, or whatever. It does mean that you don’t have to change your external calling to better your salvation calling. Your external circumstances don’t keep you from serving God. Jesus is Lord where you are, He is Lord of where you are.

C.S. Lewis described humility not as thinking less of oneself, but of thinking of oneself less. Guilt and discontentment feed on self-focus. Those who are wise will see the connection with contentment in our calling.

It may seem an odd place to start for a message about women on Mother's Day, but consider Proverbs 22:29.

Do you see a man skillful in his work?

According to this wisdom, we ought to want our skills to be seen by significant people, like the king. People-pleasing has a place, when we make a good product. A desire to be noticed just for self often kills, but a desire to be noticed is great when we serve with skills.

This is not what we’ve been told as Christians, and sure. God resists the proud and exalts the humble. But even with that, what does it mean to be exalted by God? Is He the only one who sees lifted up? Or does it mean that He may lift us up in the eyes of others?

I wonder if C.S. Lewis might not put it like this: God finds our desires to be recognized not to strong but too weak. We want to be praised for showing up rather than making sacrifices and working with diligence to make something great. We want the profit without the investment, the compliments without the commitment. We want the President’s Award for High Self-Esteem.

Proverbs 22:29 reveals that almost anyone can be known by obscure/unknown men. You’ve got to do something skillful to be seen by the significant. It isn’t that your job has to be unique or special. Just be good at it.

I bring all this up because Proverbs 31, including verses 10-31, are not really written for women. They are written about a woman, a certain kind of woman, so that kings will know what to look for. These verses have much to commend to young women so that they will be the kind of “skillful” and “excellent” women that would make a great queen, but this is also wisdom for young men to pray for a woman like this.

The chapter is written by King Lemuel, from a lesson his Queen Mother taught him (“son of my vows”), and edited into the current form by another king, Solomon, who knew a few girls in his time. Lemuel’s mom, a Queen herself, asks the question every mother does of her son at some point: “What are you doing?” (verse 2). She asks it three times, and then she warns about three king-killers: 1) the wrong women (verse 3), 2) drunkenness and partying (verses 4-7), and 3) injustice toward the weak (verses 8-9).

Then she comes back to the right sort of woman for a wife for 22 verses. Though it isn’t said explicitly, if three things can destroy kings (verse 3), then the right woman makes kings and helps shape a nation. This oracle from the Queen Mother tells her son how to find a Queen Mother for his children.

So again, Proverbs 31 is about how to be admired by kings, because it is what kings should be admiring. It has application for every unmarried man and woman, as well as for every father or mother who hopes to raise wise and skillful men and women.

I’ve heard that some people believe Proverbs 31 is like a collage—a glued together image from many different images—rather than one character, a sticking together of characteristics of different ladies instead of describing one lady. Otherwise it must be an exaggeration, an impossible, unattainable standard.

I believe it is one woman, and I believe that because there is one wife and one husband throughout the whole story. This isn’t “Lady Wisdom,” wisdom personified (as in Proverbs 8). This is a lady wisdom embodied, a woman with a husband sitting in the gates of a city.

I also believe that this is a woman that God-fearing women should think of as a realistic pursuit. She is amazing/skillful/excellent, but she is a prototype based on verses 30-31. Be like this and you will be a woman to be praised. Also, be like this and kings will take note. Both are reasons for the passage.

Let’s read, I’ll tell you her name, we’ll talk about her, and then I’ll also mention some things she isn’t.

Proverbs 31:10–31

We don’t know anything about her childhood, her parents, her hometown, or her early influences. We don’t know how old she is, how many kids she has at this point, or how long it took her to have all of these skills. Proverbs 31 is like a snapshot of a couple seasons of her life. That’s it. We don’t even know her name.

Or do we? Could we give her one? We know her as an “excellent wife.” Both the ESV and the NAS use “excellent.” The KJV uses “virtuous,” and the NRSV has “capable.” The NIV has “noble character.” It’s the Hebrew word khayil, meaning all of the above. At first, I thought her name might be Valory (she who shows great courage in the face of danger).

Then I looked at the LXX and it used andreian which is from a root that means “manly,” so also “virtuous” (vir in Latin). It is not about being male, a “masculine wife” is not attractive. All Hail Queen Bearded Lady. No, being this kind of “manly” is fully human, living up to the image-bearing nature of our created status, here in female form. These are characteristics of a woman who is living up to her full potential. Her name is Andreanna.

The same word describes Ruth (Ruth 3:11, a “worthy” woman) and Proverbs 12:4, an “excellent” women (like Andreanna) is the crown of her husband.

According to this biographical snapshot, she is:

The heart of her husband trusts in her (verse 11)

You can believe what she says, no exaggerations and no lies. You can believe that she’ll keep her promises. Count on her, even in how she spends her time when you can’t see her. Whatever she’s given, whether that’s information or an assignment, she takes care of.

Not only is she characterized by hard work and perseverance, but also working hard to promote an enterprise: her family first, and by extension her community. She has her hands in international commerce and non-local foods.

she is like the ships of the merchant;

Robert Capon would include how she wields a meat cleaver in the kitchen:

A woman with a cleaver in mid-swing is no mere woman. She breaks upon the eyet of the beholder as an epiphany of power, a mistress of a house in which only trifles may be trifled with--and in which she defines the trifles. A man who has seen women only as gentle arrangers of flowers has not seen all that women have to offer. (Supper of the Lamb, 61)

She has her hands in real estate and small business like a winery.

She considers a field and buys it;

She has her hands in textiles, more than texting (verses 21-22, 24).

all her household is clothed in scarlet.

She knows math, economics, current events, and foreign products. She “rises while it is yet night and provides food” (verse 15), “her lamp does not go out at night” (verse 18), she “does not eat the bread of idleness” (verse 27). There is “fruit of her hands” (verse 30). She is bearing God’s image in her responsibilities and in her relationships.

She isn’t just giving money for charity, she’s giving of herself. She is not a productive nag on a mission or fussy tyrant. She is dignified (verse 25), hopeful/believing (verse 25), and kind (verse 26).

She opens her mouth with wisdom,

She finds more than enough for her family as well as for the poor and needy (verse 20).

She opens her hand to the poor

No one is beneath her, and yet everyone looks up to her.

Imports and exports, buying and investing and making and selling. Not only does she not need to be told what to do, she is taking care of her stuff and people and looking for more. She spend time on Facebook, but it’s to be a blessing not as a digital hiding place from work. She is taking dominion and making disciples. She may have a nice collection of beautiful images on Pinterest, but she has produced far more than a virtual page of pictures.

Here is a one-sentence summary: Andreanna (and her daughters) are always busy procuring and producing for other’s profit and to her praise.

Also very important: these are not things that keep a woman from fearing the LORD, these are the things that a woman who fears the LORD does. This is the fear of the Lord incarnated. A godly woman should not feel guilty because she doesn’t have a two-hour quiet time, or because she “listens” rather than reads the Bible. She fulfills her responsibilities because she is a worshipper.

Okay, a proviso, a stipulated condition: Andreanna was not naturally gifted in all these spheres nor was she immediately successful/excellent in each of these skills.

She took her talents and multiplied them. She recognized her interests and expanded them. She acknowledged her weaknesses and ignorances and set about to learn and get stronger in honing her skills.

This is Christlike. What is He interested in? Not only does that allow you to be interested in many things, it requires you to get more interested.

Part of skill is research (“considers a field”), trial and error, practice (“works with willing hands”), correction, failure, perseverance. Your skills can grow. You can become more “manly,” more fully image bearing than you are now. And you can start now. Today. Make a meal. Baby sit. Make clothes for your dolls. Draw something beautiful. Can you be more trustworthy, industrious, and generous? Of course you can.

You will not wake up Princess Awesome one morning with Prince Charming on a white horse and a mocha in his hands for you.

You do not need to be the best realtor or property mogul with a show on HGTV. You do not need to be the Chief Operating Officer of multiple start up companies. Your apple pie or Amish quilt do not need to win first place at the county fair. But you do need to work hard and creatively and lovingly for others.

Sadly, in our day, many young (Christian) ladies are skillful in much ado about nothing. They tend to be:

These are ways to be a non excellent woman, the Unwoman, Unandreanna. This is what happens to a woman who is not fearing the LORD, who is not beholding her Lord. She becomes like who or what she worships, and she becomes a hollow, two-dimensional image rather than a female image-bearer of God.

Ladies, do you want to be married to a more kingly man or a nobody? If you want to attract a typical, boneheaded guy, then be a typical, petty woman. Fools of a feather date together.

You might not be a queen, but you could be the kind of woman that would make a good queen, the kind of woman that would cause a king to flourish and shape a nation. Or at least your family and the next generation. According to the Queen Mother, there are women who destroy kings (verse 3), so there are women who boost them.

Also, if you know your skills are valuable, don’t let fools handle the merchandise. An “excellent wife” is “far more precious than jewels” (verse 10). Tell them to come back when they know how to handle true hotness. “Put a ring on it.”

Ladies, you want to be prized. So be a prize. Live like a queen like Proverbs 31 describes, not like a self-centered, proud woman.

Guys, you want a woman with long eyelashes who giggles at your idiocy? Or someone who will make kings write poetic wisdom about a woman like yours?

Husbands, thank God for her. Praise her (verses 28-29). “Many women have done excellently, but you surpass them all.”

Charm is deceitful and beauty is vain

Automated transcript of the sermon audio, generated with OpenAI Whisper (small.en). It has not been checked against the recording and may contain errors, especially in names and Scripture references.

Well tonight we're going to continue on in the series that I've titled a Manifesto for gospel living taken from the epistle of James and this evening then as the bulletin I think said was we're going to be looking at chapter 4 We've already seen that this epistle's purpose is not to teach core doctrines of the faith But rather by way of some examples show us how a true Christian should live If the books of the Bible had subtitles to them, I think you could subtitle James, how should we then live?

This letter is best viewed as a series of examples of what a Christian, what I call out in the wild, looks like. You can use it as a sort of an exam to see how your life measures up to what a Christian ought to look like. I've mentioned several times in past messages how some groups, particularly the Roman Catholics, like to use this book to support their teaching, that good works plays a role in ensuring one's salvation. And to that point, a few weeks ago, I read about a meeting between Pope Francis, the current head of the Roman Catholic Church, and some school-aged children. And one of the boys in the group came up to him, and he was crying, and he told the Pope, he said, my father was an atheist, and he's died.

And the boy wanted to know, was his father going to be in heaven or not? And the Pope replied by telling the boy that because the boy was such a tender hearted young lad, that that was surely proof that the father must have been a good man. And then he turned to the other children in the crowd and he asked them, would God ever turn his back on a good man? And all the kids yelled back, no. And then the Pope turned to the little boy and he says, well, there's your answer. So basically what the Pope was telling the little boy was that good works can get you into heaven.

The Pope was basing his answer in part on this little bit of Catholic doctrine, which addresses the question of must one be baptized to be saved? Right out of the Catholic doctrine it says, since Christ died for all, and since all men are in fact called to one in the same destiny, which is divine, we must hold the Holy Spirit offers to all the possibility of being made partakers in a way known to God of the Paschal Mystery. Every man who is ignorant of the gospel of Christ and of his church but seeks the truth and does the will of God in accordance with his understanding of it can be saved. It may be supposed that such a person would have desired baptism explicitly if they had known of its necessity.

Now there's a lot wrong with that statement. Never mind that Christ is the way, the truth, and the life. According to this teaching, a person can be ignorant of the gospel of Christ, hence ignorant of the truth, but somehow still live in the truth in a salvific way. I like to call this doctrine, the doctrine of all good dogs go to heaven. Clearly this teaching is contrary to scripture and James with his emphasis on good works does not support the notion that works plays any role in bringing a person to faith or maintaining them in a state of grace. James simply shows through a series of examples what a person of faith looks like.

He's not describing how a person becomes saved or how they remain saved. So, so far, real quick by way of review, we've actually seen several examples then James gave us. Chapter one, we saw that a true believer has joy and trials, and we saw that he's also a doer of the word. Chapter two, we saw that he's impartial towards others, and that he lives a faith that has feet. Chapter three, we did a few weeks ago, we saw that a true believer has a tamed ton, and He also practices a wisdom that's not of this world. This evening then we're going to see three more examples of what Christianity lived out looks like. But these examples are a little different.

James expresses them as the opposite of what godly living looks like. And the three that we're going to take a look at in kids in your corners, these are the fill in the blanks, you see three on godlies. The three things that James says a Christian should not look like is one, he should not have ungodly passion, two, he should not have ungodly judgment, and three, he should not have ungodly self-reliance. So let's take the first one, the example of ungodly passions. The text starting there in verse one, what causes quarrels and what causes fights among you? Is it not this that your passions are at war within you?

You desire and you do not have so you murder. You covet and cannot obtain so you fight and quarrel. You do not have because you do not ask. You ask and do not receive because you ask wrongly to spend it on your passions. You adulterous people, do you not know that friendship of the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. For you suppose it is to no purpose that the scripture says, he yearns jealously over the spirit that he has made to dwell in us. But he gives more grace, therefore it says, God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.

Submit yourself therefore to God, resist the devil and he will flee from you. Draw near to God and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands you sinners and purify your hearts you double-minded. Be wretched and mourn and weep. Let your laughter be turned to mourning your joy to gloom, humble yourself before the Lord and he will exalt you. James begins this example with a question. What is the source of the quarrels and the fighting among you? Presumably then this was not just a rhetorical question, but he was confronting a real problem that was occurring among the readers there. Now since we never get into fights or quarrels today, I'm going to walk through this example is a hypothetical for us, okay?

The term quarrels and fights covers the gamut from disputes that simmer over long periods of time to all out war. It can be a feud that festers just below the surface or it can be open hostility that just can't be ignored. There are a few things really when you think about that destroy the Christian witness in the world quicker than when brothers and sisters in Christ engaging conflict with one another. We've all been there, we've seen it, perhaps been a part of it, but it really affects the witness. In addition, as we're gonna see in a moment, it indicates that one or both parties in the dispute are behaving more like an enemy of God, and that obviously is not good.

It's tempting when we find ourselves in a conflict to want to justify ourselves, but James' question forces us to examine what is really going on in our hearts. He suggests that our conflicts, rather than being noble and just like we presume, like we tell ourselves, are often sinful passions at war within us which then spill out onto others. Now everyone has passions. James is not condemning passions in of themselves, but it's when those passions are of the wrong kind and they rule us that he is concerned with here. If James was condemning all passion, then what would we do with verses like, blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.

Or when Jesus made a whip and cleansed out the temple, his disciples remembered that it was written of him, zeal for your house will consume me. And what about David in Psalms when he was longing for God like a deer, pants for water. You hear in all those examples passion. So whatever James is getting at can't possibly mean that passion in and of itself is wrong. We can look at many more examples like this. So whatever James is referring to, it cannot then simply refer to strong emotional feelings. Being passionate about the right things is good and appropriate. In fact, I'd say it could indicate a problem if we're not passionate about something.

The word James used his here can probably better be translated as the word pleasures. And it refers to those fleshly impulses that draw us towards worldliness. In the New Testament usage of this word, it almost always refers then to the wrong kind of passion. We see it used in Romans one where it says, God gave them over to dishonorable passions. In Galatians 5.24 where Paul says, and those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. And again in 2 Timothy 2.22, where Paul wrote, so flee youthful passions. You get the sense of where James is going with this. James says that our passions are waging war within us.

And so I asked the question, in what way are they waging war? Are our various ungodly passions fighting each other? Is my jealousy battling against my covetousness? What is this war that's going on? Doesn't make sense to say that one passion is at war with the other passion. So in what sense is a war going on?

I suggest to you that the war that's going on is between our fleshly impulse, those passions, and the inner man, as Paul calls it. Paul, I think, described this internal battle in Romans seven when he said in verses 21 through 23, For I joyfully concur with the law of God and the inner man, but I see a different law in the members of my body, waging war, this different law, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin, which is in my members. Earlier, if you remember in verse chapter seven, Paul described the frustration that he felt with wanting to do what's right, but constantly being drawn to doing the wrong things.

It's a tension that all believers have to deal with until we're going to finally be set free from the presence of sin. So I believe that's what James is describing for us by that war, is the inner man's battle with the impulses that are in our flesh that are just a part of the human experience. Peter also identifies this internal war in 1 Peter 2.11. He says, beloved, I urge you as sojourners and exiles to abstain from the passions of the flesh which wage war against your soul. We live in a culture where being real, quote, real or authentic, has become so valued that yielding to the passions of the flesh has become increasingly acceptable.

Expressions of our passions that once were verboten, even in just the public, are now widely approved and accepted and encouraged. As Christians, we need to do quite the opposite and learn to bring these passions into submission according to the Spirit of God within us. Obviously, we don't encourage people to be fake or to ignore problems, but it does not follow that giving full expression to our passions whenever we want is the right thing to do. I've actually heard of counseling techniques, Christian counseling techniques, where one party is encouraged to yell at and curse the other party in order to let them know how they really feel.

Somehow this is considered a good first step in the path towards reconciliation. As you would expect, nothing good comes from fleshly passions not being bridled. Examples of the fruit of such passions James gives us in the extreme would be murder and coveting. It's hard to imagine that our passions can so control our minds that we believe that murder is the acceptable response. It speaks to how powerful our passions are to warp our thinking and cause us to enter into sin. Often we're blinded to the sin in our actions because it feels so right to satisfy the passion and perhaps you've been in conversations with people who are just really wound up And their fleshly passion is taking control, and their thinking is right out the window.

And it's very hard to get them to come back around and start thinking properly. In the case of covetousness, we attempt to be spiritual and ask God for what we want. We're pretty clever in our minds, aren't we? We're coveting something, but we at least think that we're going to ask God for it and be Godly in that regard. But we end up deceiving ourselves, believing that our motives for asking are pure, when when in fact we just want to serve our own pleasures. And James takes shots at that. You ask and you don't receive because you want to spend it on your own pleasures.

I kind of wonder if those who follow the prosperity gospel movement fall into this trap. If you believe that God always wants you to have nice stuff, it would be easy to believe you're asking in faith when in fact you're just feeding your flesh whatever it wants. In verse 4, James then starts to amp up his rebuke. He says, you adulterous people, do you know that friendship of the world is enmity with God? Therefore, whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. I don't know about you, but when I read through that chapter, and boy, he just slams you now. First he just accused himself of murder and being covetous, and all of a sudden now Now you adulterers, you know, it's like, where's the kind and gentle James here?

This is a pretty serious charge. You adulterers, would you agree that's a pretty serious charge? Giving into the passions of our flesh is tantamount to adultery. Adultery occurs when someone is wedded to one person but then engages in affair with someone else. So how is yielding to our pleasures then adultery?

James makes the connection for us satisfying our fleshly passion is the same as being a friend of the world. The idea here is that there are two sides you have to choose between. You can choose the world side and follow its recipe for happiness or you can choose God's side and follow his recipe. One or the other you can't choose both just like you have to choose one person to be married to. The reason you can't choose both is because the world and God are at enmity with each other. Now I should point out that James uses the term world here to describe that aspect of creation that's opposed to God and offers men a type of salvation that's apart from God. James is not calling for us to become isolationists. Some might read that verse and say, well, I don't want to be friends with the world, so I'm just going to go live on a pole in the middle about Kansas Wheatfield. He's not calling us to be isolationists. The problem is spiritual, not geographical. In 1 John 2.16, John sums up the world's life system this way. He says,

all that's in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, that is what James is thinking of when he's thinking of the world that he's telling us that we cannot be friends with. It's when our passions crave those things that were becoming friends with the world, and then by default becoming adulterers in the eyes of God. Being friends with the world as we are describing it, not only makes us an adulterer, it makes us an enemy of God. Now James isn't pulling any punches here. Murder, adulterer, enemy.

Some might say, hey, you're a little guilty of using some hyperbole here, buddy. Tone it down. Or is he really? Is that really the way God sees things when we indulge our fleshly passion. Does God see us as an adulterer when we yield into those fleshly impulses? Verse five indicates that God takes our commitment to him very seriously. James says, where do you suppose it is to no purpose that the scripture says he yearns jealously over the spirit that he has made to dwell in us? Now James actually turns out, isn't actually quoting any known scripture there. Theologians like to define these things and debate what the possible explanation is.

There is no verse in the Bible that actually says that. Various theories of what James was doing or what he was thinking include that he was quoting some unknown apocryphal work, some other writing that was common being passed around but never made into the canon of scriptures. Some say he was quoting something that he heard Jesus say, but it was never written down. Others say he's just referring to some of the other New Testament passages. And then there are places where other apostles refer to others as scripture. Or he was just simply expressing a truth embodied in scripture, a general life principle, that was true, of how God feels about us and his jealousy regarding us.

However he came up with a saying, it is certainly consistent with scripture. For example, 1 Corinthians 16, 9 says, Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own. Or Exodus 34.14, you shall not worship any other God for the Lord, whose name is jealous, is a jealous God. Numerous examples are found in the Old Testament where God's jealousy is provoked by Israel's idolatry. Jeremiah speaks of Israel rejecting God as their source of living water and turning to broken cisterns to quench their spiritual thirst. In that passage, God calls for the people to be shocked, and he calls it a great evil.

Sean's got a great sermon on that passage. What was it called? Shocking off? I think you can look that up on our website. The point James is making is that this is totally in, it is so wrong, and it's totally consistent with what James is saying here, that for us to go after these worldly passions and provokes God to great jealousy.

Now after coming down hard on his readers, James seems to then soften up a bit in verse six and reminds them that even though God is a jealous God, he's also a patient and a gracious God who longs for his children to turn to him. He continues on in verse six, but God, but he gives more grace. Therefore it says, God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble. Over and over in scripture, we see where the mercy of God triumphs over his judgment and praise God for that. Isaiah 54 seven through eight is an example. Speaking to Israel, God said, for a brief moment I deserted you, but with great compassion I will gather you.

In overflowing anger for a moment, I hid my face from you. But with everlasting love, I will have compassion on you, says the Lord, your Redeemer. We see that pattern over and over. We sin, we blow it. God's jealousy is triggered. Judgment, punishment comes, but it's always with a view to bring about restoration, because again, he jealously wants that spirit that he's placed within us.

Even when we sin and play the adulterer, God will forgive us and receive us back, provided we humble ourselves and repent. Now James gives in the next few verses, a roadmap for how to get back on track with fellowship with God. It isn't complicated, but it does require resisting the fleshly impulses that wage war in us. The roadmap involves humbling ourselves, resisting the devil, drawing near to God, repenting of sin, and grieving appropriately over our sin. Humbling ourselves requires that we submit to God. We yield our will to His. We no longer yield to the demands of the flesh upon us. We say no to our fleshly urges, and yes to God.

Saying no to our flesh involves resisting the devil. Doing so then comes with a promise. We resist the devil and we're told he will flee from you. It should encourage us to know that Satan is not some yin to God's yin with equal but opposite power. Satan is a created being who must yield to God. We're told the greater is he who is in us than he who is in the world. We sin not because our passions are too strong. We sin because we offer little to no resistance. James very clearly says, if we resist the devil, he will flee. Next, James says to draw near to God. Drawing near also comes with a promise. He will draw near to us.

I was speaking with a brother this week who has drifted away from the faith at the moment, and he's super discouraged at the moment. And as we were talking, his problem is that he mistakenly thinks that he is too sinful for God to want anything to do with him. He's just at a point that, no, he's telling me, yes, I still believe, but I'm just so wretched and miserable. It's just better if I just crawl under a rock and hope for the best someday when I meet him in heaven. And I'm trying to, I want to say, stop having a pity party. I'm trying to be tender hearted, but at the same time, come on, brother. You need to put that behind you.

James makes it clear that God is more than ready to receive us if we'll just humble ourselves and repent. The next step in the road is to truly repent, or as James puts it, cleanse our hands and purify our hearts. Now technically, we can't purify our hearts in a salvific way, but we can choose to lay aside the sins we're fond of and to determine on our hearts to forsake them. It's a decision, a choice we have to make. The problem, according to James, is that we are of two minds. We're double-minded. We think somehow that we can have the best of both worlds. Yeah, I want God and a little bit of this. The problem is that God's a jealous God that doesn't work.

The minute you try to do God plus something, God drops out of the equation and all's you're left with is that something which ends up being a broken cistern. But this attempt to try to have it both ways, that's akin to the adulterer trying to find a way for everyone to be happy with it. How happy would your spouse be if he said, you know, I really prefer you, I love you the most and I want to stay with you, but could I have the weekends to see my other person? Would that be okay with you? Obviously, that's ridiculous, and yet that's in essence what we're doing with God when we yield to those passions inside of us. It can't happen. True repentance is rejecting one thing over another. And then lastly, James instructs the man who wants to walk with God to learn to truly grieve over his sin. That's probably a practice that's not very common among Christians today.

We live in a culture that has totally, if not abolished the notion of sin, they have dumbed it down to where sin is just simply a mistake. I made a mistake. We're not even willing to call it sin anymore. But it is. It's an affront to a holy God. It's an affair of the heart with another person. It worships something other than God. it nailed Christ to the cross. We need to have that sense of our sin and it ought to cause some grief and grieving in us. Now we don't need to flagellate ourselves like the ancient monks used to do, but we do need to be less cavalier about our sin like it was just some minor infraction.

A proper understanding of who God is and how jealous he is for us should evoke a keen sense of shame and sorrow in us when we sin. You would think at this point in James' road map restoration that we'd be lucky to come crawling back and hope in time that we could somehow face God. And some people like this brother I'm referring to, he has this attitude that I have to come crawling back. That's not the case. James tells us that if we humble ourselves before God, he will more than simply take us back, He will actually exalt us. Scripture clearly teaches that God views the church as the bride of Christ. What would you, go back to your, for those of you who are married, go back to your wedding day.

What was your attitude towards your bride? I can barely look at you. You know, what was that? You know, husbands? No, you were enthralled with her. The same picture we get with God's attitude towards the bride of Christ. His desire is he wants to show off that bride. He loves the bride. He doesn't want to hide her. He wants to show her off to the world. That's the picture that we need to understand as we consider how God views us. That's why it's so important that we resist the fleshly impulses in us that blemish that bride. But when we do sin and when we do blow it, repent, follow the roadmap back to repentance, and then recognize that God, again, not just begrudgingly lets you back in, but He actually brings you back in.

He exalts you. he seeks to restore you back to that position where as a member of the body of Christ, we once again, he can show us off to the world. It just speaks again of what a tremendous God that we've got. Let's move on to the second example he gives us. And this is again, by way of a negative, the example of ungodly judging. The text starts in verse 11. Do not speak evil against one another, brothers. The one who speaks against a brother or judges his brother speaks evil against the law and judges the law. But if you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law, but a judge. There is only one lawgiver and judge, he who is able to save and to destroy.

But who are you to judge your neighbor? In this next example from James, we're warned against improperly judging others. Now the biblical understanding of person to person judging is so confused today that many believe that it's wrong to ever judge another person. Many will often quote the first part of Matthew 7 where it says, judge not lest you be judged. You've all probably heard that many, many times used when somebody thought you were judging. Now taken out of context, that seems pretty straightforward. Pretty straightforward prohibition against judging anyone. But if we were to actually read a few more verses in Matthew 7, the warning is not against judging sin, but rather don't be a hypocrite when you're doing it.

The passage tells us to first remove the log from our own eye and then go help your brother take the speck out of his eye. And in 1 Corinthians 5.12, Sean just covered this a few weeks ago. Paul rebukes the Corinthian believers because they were not judging the sin of a man in their fellowship. And he said, for what have I to do with judging outsiders? Is it not those inside the church whom you are to judge? So then the scriptures do not make a blanket statement against judging one another. What then does judging according to James mean? When does it become wrong? The judging that James is referring to is related to slander or evil speaking of others.

It is saying things that are either untrue, unkind, or tear down. Unlike proper judging which seeks to restore a person caught in a fault, this type of judging actually only harms a person. It's only a tent is to vent oneself and does not seek the betterment of the other person. James says this type of speaking is particularly evil because it's tantamount to speaking evil of the law and judging it. Now why does James make that comparison that when we judge others in this wrong way that we are actually judging the law? When you think of the law, what one word comes to mind that you would use to sum up the purpose of the law?

What's the intent? Do you think rules, standards, limits on my freedom? How do you think of the law and what its purpose is? Well, Galatians 5.14, Paul gives us an explanation. He says, for the whole law is fulfilled in one word. you shall love your neighbors as yourself. The law instructs us to love our neighbor. That is the purpose of the law. When we speak evil of others and judge them according to our own standards, we are in essence saying that the law is lower than our own standard. If the law's not good enough and we have some external standard we're applying to that person and thus judging them, We in essence are diminishing the law.

We are now becoming a judge of the law. The law is insufficient, it's incomplete. There's yet another bar that this person needs to meet. In doing so then, we're speaking evil of the law, saying that it is not enough. And we elevate ourselves above the law and act as its judge.

Speaking evil of others puts us in direct violation the law and we are no longer than a doer of the law, but rather make ourselves out to be better than the law. A doer of the law is subordinate to it as opposed to one who judges the law and then adds to it. James Bluntly reminds us that there is only one lawgiver and judge or as Dave Light's t-shirt says, there is only one, there is a God and you're not him. He reinforces God's position as the only lawgiver and points out he's the one that has the power to save and to destroy. You don't. Speaking evil of others and judging them makes a person look foolish and then James puts such a person in their place by demanding who are you to judge your neighbor. The third example, the example of of ungodly self-reliance.

Verse 13, come now you who say today or tomorrow we shall go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit. Yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. Instead you ought to say if the Lord wills we will live and do this or that. As it is you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil. So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it for him, it is sin. In this third example, James takes on those who act like their own destiny is in their own hands. This reminds us of the parable of the rich fool who had no regard for God and he decided to build bigger barns to hold his abundant crops. You remember that parable?

His fault was that he was proud, and he did not acknowledge God as the source of his blessing. But yet he did not know that that very night his life would be required of him. He thought, hey, I've got the world by the tail in a downward spool. I've got so much stuff. I don't know where to put it all. I'm going to build bigger barns. And he had no regard, no thought to God. He totally presumed upon his future. And God's response was, you fool, do you not know tonight? your very life will be required of you. Now the point of the parable is not that requiring wealth is bad, but doing so in a presumptive way without any consideration of God is foolish.

James echoes the same point in citing the man who made plans to travel far away in search of a prophet as if the entire outcome was up to his own ability. In his arrogance, he sins by presuming on the future when in truth he had no idea what tomorrow was going to bring. The rich man failed to keep Proverbs 1921 in mind, which says, many are the plans in the mind of a man, but it is the purpose of the Lord that will stand. Thomas A. Kempis turned this proverb into a saying that you may have heard. He said, man proposes, but God disposes. We like to have all these plans, But the reality is that if it's not God's will, it ain't going to happen.

And for us to not consider God's will, we're just being foolish and arrogant. In preparing for this message, I came across in one of the commentaries on James this poem by William Ernest Henley, titled Invictus. I'm sure many of you know the poem well. And it describes exactly the kind of attitude that James is condemning. The poem reads this, out of the night that covers me, black as the pit from pole to pole, I thank whatever gods may be for my unconquerable soul. In the fell clutch of circumstance I have not winced or cried aloud. Under the bludgeonings of chance my head is bloody, but unbowed. Beyond this place of wrath and tears looms but the horror of the shade, and yet the menace of the years finds and shall find me unafraid.

It matters not how straight the gate, how charged with punishments the scroll, I am the master of my fate. I am the captain of my soul." Now that poem is very famous, and it's very well loved by people everywhere for its self-reliance. But that's exactly the opposite of how we should be thinking about our lives. James puts the rich man in his place by reminding him that his life is like a mist that appears for a brief moment and then is gone. This analogy to the uncertainty of life was echoed in chapter one earlier when James said that the rich man should boast in his humiliation because like a flower of the grass, he will pass away.

Pick your favorite analogy, the point's the same. Men must humble themselves and recognize that there is nothing under the sun they can do without God's providential blessing. We were talking about this a little bit at the Iron Sharpens Iron over at Philip's house. And even for businessmen, I know there's several businessmen here and making plans which is good and necessary, but it's important in business as well as all areas of life that again, we really be thinking if the Lord wills that we don't just head off without any consideration, without bathing our plans in prayer and relying on God. Sean once famously made this point to a youth group by telling them, you think you're hot snot on a gold platter, but you're really a cold booger on a paper plate.

It's worth pointing out that James says this kind of boasting is not just foolish, but it in fact is evil. Perhaps this is because prideful self-reliance is what caused Satan's fall from grace. that this particular sin of self-reliance is going right back to the heart of what caused the fall.

Clearly God does not take kindly to his creation ignoring him. James goes on to say that the rich man should rather have said, if God wills, I shall do such and such. Preference in our plans with if God wills forces us to acknowledge his lordship over everything, including our own lives. It requires the proper attitude of humility and submission to whatever his plans are, regardless of what we want. This principle of submitting our plans to the will of God applies to every area of life, including family, and in James' example, business ventures. The sad reality is that most of us go through our days often without really little regard for God.

It's only when things go wrong that we stop and remember that we did not bring our plans to him in prayer. And it is shameful if we think about it in Verona as how much of life we do without really considering God and his will and his purposes. Often we can tell that simple test is what's your response when your plans go awry. Is it, well, the Lord, must be the Lord's will, or is it a little bit of irritation? We should mention Proverbs 3, 5-7 as yet another admonition to not lean on our own understanding when making our decisions. you know well, trust in the Lord with all your heart and do not lean on your understanding.

In all your ways acknowledge him and he will make straight your paths. Be not wise in your own eyes, fear the Lord and turn away from evil. It will be healing to your flesh and refreshment to your bones. And another one of my personal favorites is in 2 Chronicles 16.9 where it says, and just picture this, the eyes of the Lord run to and fro over the whole earth to give strong on support to those whose heart is blameless towards him. Man, you want to talk about having an advocate? The eyes of the Lord are just scanning to and fro over the earth, looking for that person whose heart has completely stayed on him so that he can strongly support him.

Wow. That's powerful. When you consider how much God is for those who humbly rely upon him and obey him, it's a wonder that anyone would prefer to try and live an independent life from him. Well, James finishes his exhortation against boasting himself by saying, so whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him, it is sin. It's not entirely clear if James in that sentence meant that he's giving a final warning to this rich man example, or if, in fact, he had all of his previous examples in mind when he said that. If he meant the former, then he was saying something like, so whoever knows, he should have regard for the will of God in his planning and fails to do so his sinning.

But in either case, if the statement was a blanket statement for all that he said so far, in either case, knowing what one should do but not do it is a greater sin than the sin of unknowing omission. Sometimes we sin by omission. We may not necessarily have meant to, but it's still the sin versus the sins of commission where we are, know what we're supposed to do and we choose not to do it. And that's what James is reminding us that. If you commit that sin of commission where you know what you're trying to do and don't do it, it is sin. Seems like a does statement, but worth emphasizing.

Well, you may have noticed that the sin that is common To all of these examples in chapter four is really self exaltation, which is just another word for pride. In all three of these examples, we saw the sin of pride at work. In fact, I think these three examples pretty much embody that passage we just read earlier in First John 2, where John is describing all that's in the world, the desires of the flesh and the desires, or like the NAS, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes, and the boastful pride of life. I think that embodies what James has just been speaking against.

None of that is from the Father, but it's from the world, and the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever. The sins of quarreling, judging, and presumptuous living all stem from the fleshly desires and the human pride of life. And the only antidote to all of this is a humble admission that apart from God, we are nothing but a vapor that comes and goes. If we're going to boast, we should boast only in the Lord because it's only by him and through him that we are anything and can do anything or in any sense of note. And so to him belongs all the glory. Let's pray.

Well, Father, as we have been taken to the figurative woodshed by James here and confronted with the many ways that we so often foolishly go our own way, that our own pride steps in. We want to feed our flesh. We want to give into those fleshly impulses. We try to lift ourselves up by putting other people down and judging them. Or we just go off willy-nilly, doing life on our own without any consideration for you and your will and what your plans are. We ask that you would forgive us for the times even this week that we were guilty of any of these things and that you would help us to put aside these things, to humble ourselves, to submit ourselves to your plans, to your will, that we would do the hard work of battling the flesh and we'd resist the devil, that he may flee away, that we would draw near to you, that you might draw near to us, and that we would allow you then to exalt us and find your joy and your delight in us as obedient children to you.

Pray for us as we head out this week that you would keep us wise and safe in all that we do. And we just thank you again for all your tender mercies, which are new every morning. We pray in Jesus' name, amen.

Life is messy. That's too passive. People mess up their lives. Regularly. Badly.

People marry one another. Two people making a multitude of bad choices multiplies the mess. When two people multiply and make more people, the mess increases by a factor of sin.

God gave His Word so that we might know how to behave. God gave His Son so that we could get out from under our burden of guilt, and hope that broken relationships might be fixed. God gave His Spirit so that we might live in peace with one another.

Sometimes in the middle, between the making of messes and the grace of God that cleans up messes, men get the idea that they can help the process along. Men should obey, that's true. But men don't have the wisdom or the power to clean themselves up or to clean up their spouse. Christians with good intentions can make things worse in many directions.

The Corinthians were trying to sweep up dust by kicking broken bricks around the floor, trying to lift their holiness to a higher level without using their hands. They also thought Paul would approve. He didn't, and 1 Corinthians 7 corrects a bunch of their misdirected attempts.

They thought, at least some of them did, that sex messed up marriage, so spouses should stay out of bed. Paul said not having sex would mess up marriage (verses 1-5). They thought that being single was ideal, and probably used Paul as an example. He said being single was good with contentment, and it was not good for everyone (verses 6-9). They thought that being single was so spiritual that separating from one's spouse would be better. Paul reminded them of the Lord's teaching about divorce. Separation from one's spouse can't be more pleasing to God because separation doesn't please God (verses 10-11).

Thankfully, we don’t need to guess how to please God.

Now Paul comes to a final group in the church in verses 12-16. He addressed the unmarried and widows, the married, and now "the rest" who are the rest of the married but who are in a mixed marriage, that is, where one spouses is a believer and the other spouse is not. Paul is not talking about who to marry, he's talking about those who were already in covenant when either the husband or the wife came to Christ.

If the Corinthians were leaning toward divorce from a Christian spouse for sake of holiness, how much more would divorcing a non-Christian spouse make sense? Paul himself said that the sexual relation is a joining relation, and sexual immorality joins the Lord to immorality. Isn't this joining Christ to the immoral?

The Corinthians believed they knew better about being holy. Paul reveals God's will for mixed marriages, and divorce, and remarriage. There are two parts to the paragraph, both involving consent, both necessary to hold together.

Paul doubles the imperative for both directions in verses 12-13 and then provides a reason in verse 14.

To the rest addresses another group of married couples (so, not the unmarried), but unlike the married in verses 10-11, these verses address any brother who has a wife who is an unbeliever and also any woman who has a husband who is an unbeliever. This is a mixed marriage.

Marriage is hard, because gravity pulls things down, and a man and woman often hit their heads trying to pick things up, or complain that the other one isn’t helping enough. There is always a lot to do and decisions spiral around the house like dandelion seed. Even those marriages where both spouses worship the same God and share the same convictions on the authority of God's Word have troubles. Mixed marriages are notorious examples of conflict.

The Corinthians presumed that physical contact with a believing spouse was bad for Christian living, how much more so daily contact with an unbelieving spouse. As Paul told them, “a little leaven leavens the whole lump” (1 Corinthians 5:6). And you’re sleeping with leaven?

Reading Ezra might confirm their position. Ezra condemned the Israelites for taking pagan wives and commanded them to divorce (Ezra 10, especially verses 10-11). Solomon provides another example since his wives turned his heart away from serving the Lord.

What does the Lord say to a Christian with an unbelieving spouse? Well, the Lord doesn't say anything, not directly. Paul begins this paragraph, To the rest I say (I, not the Lord), unlike in verse 10, "To the married I give this charge (not I, but the Lord)." This is not actually a big deal. The charge in verses 10-11 comes directly from Jesus' teaching. The instruction in verses 12-16 come directly from the Spirit's inspiration. The Lord, Jesus, never taught first-generation Christians who became Christians once they were already married.

Paul's instructions are not subjective, they are given by the Spirit. Even though there wasn’t a map already drawn, that doesn’t make these directions merely Paul’s personal opinion. If you are here, here you go.

He says, if the unbelieving spouse consents to live with the believing spouse, the believing spouse should not divorce. Paul says it to the brothers, he says it to the women. If the unbeliever is willing to stay together, God’s will is to stay together. Don’t divorce.

He could have said marriage is good because God instituted marriage. God made marriage to be permanent (Genesis 2:24), Jesus affirmed it (Matthew 19:5), and the previous paragraph repeated it.

But Paul reasons from a different angle, an angle that highlights their concern. For the unbelieving husband is made holy because of his wife, and the unbelieving wife is made holy because of her husband. We also don't need to be confused by this.

Being made holy cannot mean being "saved." Verse 16 describes salvation as a possibility (whether likely or unlikely, as we'll see), but made holy is a present reality based on something done. This holiness, or "sanctification" (NASB), is not a personal or moral improvement. It does not make the unbeliever pleasing to God. It does, though, put the unbeliever in a position to receive blessing overflow that God gives to the believer.

Blessings abound wher'er the believing spouse does her successive meal preps run. The power position belongs to the Christian, whether husband or wife. Being the head of the house can't make the non-Christian wife know the joy of submission, but it can make the prospect of submission more appealing. Not being the head of the house may be more challenging, but Peter told wives married to unbelieving husbands that they could win their husbands "without a word" by Christian conduct (1 Peter 3:1-6).

So, Corinthians, you don't need to divorce your non-Christian spouse in order to stay clean. Your marriage is good (unlike relations with a prostitute, 6:15-17), and your unsaved spouse can't defile you any more than dirty water can defile soap.

And don't worry about the kids either. Otherwise your children would be unclean, but as it is, they are holy. This does not mean that your children are "in the covenant" any more than that your spouse is "in the covenant." But your children are given "holy" privileges such as being exposed day by day to you, to salt and light, to a flesh and blood recipient and conduit of grace.

God's will for mixed marriages is not divorce when the unbelieving spouse consents to live in marriage. Your covenant and his/her consent require staying together. You are free to bless your unbelieving spouse who stays without fear of being contaminated.

I gave away my position, which is the position of all our pastors. Not all Christians agree, but let's look at the verses. As in verses 12-14 there is a principle and a reason.

Why didn't Paul write more words here? He didn't think he needed to, obviously, and neither did the Spirit move him to. But if the unbelieving partner separates, let it be so. In such cases the brother or sister is not enslaved. God has called you to peace.

This is a different case. Again, in verses 10-11 the case involved two Christian spouses. Starting in verse 12 we see cases of mixed marriages. Up to verse 15 the non-Christian spouse consented to stay and so the Christian spouse should not seek divorce. This is a case of no consent.

Why wouldn't an unbelieving spouse want the peripheral blessings of being married to a believer? Why didn't every unbeliever see the glory of Christ and become a disciple? Darkness hates light. The unrighteous get antsy around the righteous. God can and does use those who adorn the gospel to draw His elect to Himself, but not always, and we don't know who the elect are anyway. If the unbeliever separates, if he or she abandons the marriage, physically and/or then legally, it is a divorce, let it be so. Hate divorce, know that God desires reconciliation, and also hear His word.

Note that the unbeliever takes the first step. Also, if the unbeliever wants to separate it should be because he/she doesn't appreciate your holiness, not because he/she doesn't appreciate your hypocrisy. Don't be a "jerk for Jesus" and claim that it's because of Jesus.

In the next sentence in verse 15 we see the new legal status. In such cases the brother or sister is not enslaved, or "is not under bondage" (KJV, NASB). Slavery or bondage to what? Why is this declaration necessary?

It's the same language Paul uses about being free from the marriage law when a spouse dies (Romans 7, 1 Corinthians 7:39). Paul repeats his, and the Lord's, commitment to marriage throughout this chapter. The marriage bond is a bond that must be kept. No divorce is the rule, with exceptions in a couple cases.

Jesus gave an exception in Matthew 19:9, “And I say to you: whoever divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another, commits adultery” (Matthew 19:9). When a spouse abandons the marriage in adultery, a legal divorce may be an option that recognizes the sexual divorce. Divorce is not required, but it is permitted.

The same is true with the case of an unbelieving spouse who wants out. Do everything in Christ's name you can to keep him or her, but if he refuses, you are free, and that is more than freedom to remain celibate, that is freedom to remarry. It is still bondage to the law (of marriage) if the believing spouse cannot remarry.

God has called you to peace. And this is true regardless of what the strict law-keepers in the congregation tell you. “No [disgust] on the part of Christians has a right to bind such a believing, deserted spouse” (Lenski).

We could take this verse in one of at least two ways. Either Paul means to encourage believers to trust God by staying in the marriage or he means to encourage believers to trust God by not being anxious about the unbelieving spouse leaving.

For how do you know, wife, whether you will save your husband? Or how do you know, husband, whether you will save your wife? Does Paul mean to provoke optimism or realism? "Wife, you can save your husband, stick with it!" Or, "Wife, you can't be certain you'll save your husband anyway, so lay the burden down.”

If verse 16 was verse 15, meaning, if verse 16 came directly after verses 12-14, then we would have good reason to take it in the positive sense. “You already sanctify your spouse, it could lead to salvation.” But it doesn't come after verse 14. It comes after Paul's consent that without the unbeliever's consent the believer is not bound. You are not bound because God's election is unseen to us before conversion, and He does not identify the agent of another's conversion either. “Let your spouse go, and don’t feel guilty about it because you can’t presume that you would have been used by God to save him.”

This messes up Christians who prefer tidy categories. We don't hold tension well, but God's will is written down and shows us different cases. God says, don't divorce. In many cases, divorce followed by remarriage equals adultery. But those are not the only cases. In certain cases, and such cases they require elders to ask questions and get involved, divorce is allowable and remarriage is also allowable.

How many dysfunctions and difficulties are there to deal with, in our own homes, our extended family, our church body, our work and neighborhood connections?

If you are longing to be free, why? Desire to get free may be why you are in the condition you’re in, but certainly not always. A gracious unwillingness to see your spouse depart is a good unwillingness even if it need not be a immutable position.

Don’t get out too soon for grace to work. There is great reason to be encouraged that God will work. And don’t be bound by a law in conscience when God calls you to peace. There is a weighty freedom that the Lord offers.

The ideal would be to stay together with consent. In this world, that doesn’t always happen.

Automated transcript of the sermon audio, generated with OpenAI Whisper (small.en). It has not been checked against the recording and may contain errors, especially in names and Scripture references.

Let's pray. Father, we come to you tonight for your spirit to give me clarity in what I say about this chapter in your book. Help us to understand it in a deeper way. Help us to understand the broad scope of what's being said and understand maybe a few details that maybe we didn't see before. But help me to speak what you would have me speak. And we thank you for your son, Jesus Christ, in whose name we pray, amen. Okay, well the first thing is to read the chapter, but before I read it, if you'll look at your Bible, you'll notice that 1 John 3.24 is actually the beginning of chapter four.

Remember chapter divisions and verses were put in way after the book was written, and a lot of people have different views about where paragraphs ought to be split, but if you look at what 334 says, it talks about the spirit by the spirit whom he has given us and then immediately launches into a discussion of other spirits. So I think if you were making your own Bible, that's the way you would divide this chapter. You would go from 324 through 421. So I wanna read that first, And it's interesting, after I read it, I'm gonna make a comment about that also. So here's reading the chapter. Whoever keeps his commandments abides in him and he in them.

And by this we know that he abides in us, by the spirit whom he has given us. Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God. For many false prophets have gone out into the world. By this you know the spirit of God. Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God. And every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you heard was coming and now is in the world already. Little children, you are from God and have overcome them for he who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.

They are from the world. Therefore, they speak from the world and the world's listens to them. We are from God. Whoever knows God listens to us. Whoever is not from God does not listen to us. By this we know the spirit of truth and the spirit of error. Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. Anyone who does not love does not know God because God is love. In this, the love of God was manifest among us that God sent his only son into the world so that we might live through him. In this is love, not that we have loved God, but that he loved us and sent his son to be a propitiation for our sins.

Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God. If we love one another, God's abides in us, and his love is perfected in us. By this we know that we abide in him and he in us because he has given us of his spirit. And when we have seen and testify that the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of the world, whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God's abides in him and he in God. So we have come to know and to believe that the love of God has for us. God is love and whoever abides in love abides in God and God abides in him. By this is love perfected within us so that we may have confidence for the day of judgment because as he is, so also we are in this world.

There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love. We love because he first loved us. If anyone says, I love God and hates his brother, he is a liar. For he who does not love his brother, whom he has seen, cannot love God, whom he has not seen. And this commandment we have from him, Whoever loves God must also love his brother.

I've heard it said that possibly preachers ought to sit down after they read the passage because after this, they're probably gonna make a mistake and at least reading God's word, you don't make a mistake. Well, probably true. So the first verse is 1 John 3.24. Whoever keeps his commandments abides in him and he and them and by this we know that he abides in us. by the Spirit whom he has given us. It's a bad chapter division, as I've said before, and it graduates to the next verse which speaks about the Spirit. Basically, the whole chapter is about the Spirit of God being in us and the love of God, how it's being demonstrated in our body and how it should be demonstrated in our church and in our fellowship with other believers.

So, beloved, do not believe in every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world. The interesting thing here is, this is written in the first century, and many spirits have gone, or many false prophets have gone out into the world. Right away from the get-go, Satan is planning and trying to defeat the gospel. So it's not like it's the curse of our time to have these false prophets. They were there when John was speaking. And think about it, if you were a new believer in those days, you didn't have a Bible. You had the Old Testament maybe, if you had a Septuagint or even a Hebrew copy, but you didn't have the New Testament.

You just had a few letters maybe that were being read aloud and the apostles preaching to you as John is preaching to these people and they would copy it down and send it on. So they had less to work with when they have than we have, and yet their clear instruction is, test the spirits of whether they're from God, and you in your spirit will know that. This is the great tester. I've said it many times. As you're being taught, if there's that twinge inside of you that that doesn't ring true, that's something you need to follow up, ask questions about, and work that through in your own spirit. especially if you're a Christian.

That's one of the tests. So by this, by that you can test this, you know the spirit of God and every spirit that confesses Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God. Right away John gets to the issue. Jesus is both God and man. If you don't believe Jesus is God, you got friends that are telling you, oh I believe Jesus is the son of God and all of that kind of stuff and they got the wiggle words to get out of that. If you don't believe Jesus is God, you are not a Christian, okay? Christians are worshiping who? Christ in the name, Christian. And it's amazing how many people when you get to denominations that are kind of floating out there, there are true believers in a lot of these places, but when you talk to believers that maybe haven't thought this through and they wanna tell you, Jesus is the son of God, but I believe in God the Father, they're not Christians, okay?

That's just bottom line. And to be a Christian, you have to believe in the Trinity. The Spirit is God, Jesus is God, the Father is God, over and over, okay? Jesus is both God and man, is what he's saying. And every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God, this is the spirit of the Antichrist, which you heard was coming and now is in the world already. Now this isn't to say that the Antichrist is in the world at this point. It says that the spirit of the Antichrist, there have been many Antichrists and still are, and probably more to come, that come and declare themselves, all kinds of things. And the interesting thing is a lot of times, people say Hitler was the Antichrist and all that kind of thing.

Hitler didn't claim to be the savior of mankind. He didn't do the things that you see in the book of Revelation, what the Antichrist is doing, but he was definitely Antichrist. But if you're not for Christ, you are Antichrist. Okay, you're either for him or you're against him. All right, so, and it is in the world already. It's already at work, And those things will be revealed, those people that are against it. If you're patient enough and you are in a trial with somebody, just wait it out. I've been a Christian since 1984 and I have seen many people that were obviously not Christians and it doesn't take long, about a decade, they will crash and burn.

They will do some stupid thing and finally be caught at it or say some word that will expose who they are. So it's good to warn people, don't follow that guy, he's this and that, but it is amazing how God takes care of them over a period of time. So then the next verse says, little children, you are from God and have overcome them. Overcome who? The Antichrist people, okay? For he who is in you is greater than he who is in the world. If God lives inside of you, who can beat you? They can kill you, they can do whatever they want to you, but you are of God and you will be with him forever. So there's nothing they can get you on.

Take heart in that. And notice he calls little children. All of us, we are God's little children, adopted, of course, but we are part of him. And we have the true spirit. So therefore, we can keep having that rebounded to us as we go through these things. It's amazing how, I don't quite understand this. You might be reading something or listen to a sermon or just listening to some guy talking, you're going, I don't quite get this. Just pray that God would give you wisdom to understand it and start looking into that, into stuff. And it's amazing how many times the Bible speaks a little truth over here and a little truth over there and a little truth here, and then all of a sudden that connection happens And you go, oh my goodness, I never saw that before.

That's the joy of what the scriptures do, over and over. You can read this book 100 times, and on the 101st time, you'll read something, you go, hmm, I didn't see that that time I read it. One of the great Bible study methods that has been recommended, John MacArthur, said it way back in the 70s, I guess, is that if you wanna study a book, read it every day, the complete book. So like 1 John, or like if you're reading the Gospel of John, read the first five chapters. But read them every day for 30 days. About the 12th to 15th day, you're going to go, I'm so tired of this, I've read it, I know what it's going to say.

Then on the 16th day, you'll read something and you go, wow, I never saw that before. And then the window opens up and you see all kinds of things, oh, I got to have a question about that. Why did I, why are the, you know. That is the great joy of Bible study. It just keeps peeling the onion and showing you more. So then we move on to, they are from the world, therefore they speak from the world. And the world listens to them, talking about the false spirits. So they're all, oh, you're so great, we love you. We are from God. Whoever knows God listens to us. Whoever is not from God does not listen to us. By this we know the spirit of truth and the spirit of error.

If the world thinks you're great, be careful. Now, that doesn't mean that you can, as a Christian, do something that's wonderful for the world and be celebrated for it. But all the time they love what you're doing, look out, you're probably not following the true gospel at that point.

We are from God and whoever knows God listens to us, but whoever is not from God does not listen to us. By this we know the spirit of truth and the spirit of error. So always have those ears to listen. You're never too old to learn something new. And that's, I think, the joy of the Christian faith. God lets you get to different levels, and as you get there and you feel comfortable at that level, he lets you stay at that plateau for a while, and then all of a sudden he starts poking you. What about that? Oh, quiet, I'm doing really good. What about that? What about that? Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. And then you finally go, okay, what about that?

So then you investigate that, And now you go to that next level, and he gives you rest and keeps growing you. It's part of the Christian life, okay? Beloved, let us not love one another, for, let us, beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. Anyone who does not love does not know God because God is love. This is one of the first reasons in this chapter why Christians love is God, why Christians love. Okay, we got five reasons why Christians should love each other. Alright, this is the first reason that love is God and Christians should love because God is love. There, now I said it right. Now this has been used by a a lot of cultic figures to say, God is love, therefore love is God.

No, no, no, you can't do that. The Greek doesn't allow you to take the verb to be and switch the predicate and the nominative like that. So the attribute of love is not God, but God has the attribute of love, okay? So God is love incarnate, I mean, he loved us, He died and brought us to him. But love is not the sum total of who God is. So don't let people tell you that, oh love is everything and if we just love, then we're all gonna be wonderful and we'll all go to heaven, kind of. But we have to have the love of God that's instituting that is. And it's a supernatural event because we don't want to naturally act that way between other humans.

In this love of God was made manifest among us that God sent his only son into the world so that we might live through him. So by the act of God himself coming to earth and dying for us, we have the ultimate example of what we're talking about, right? That's just like crazy. That's the second reason why Christians love.

And that is God's example in sending his son. There's, that is the craziest thing if you really start thinking about it. If you were God, God forbid, but if you were, you would come up with this plan, well, I have to kill myself to redeem these people. There's no other religion in the world that would come up with that. I mean, it's like so far out there, and yet that's what he did to redeem us. That's just, wow, okay. In this is love, not that we have loved God, but that he loved us and sent his son to be the propitiation for our sins. So we didn't love him, he sent his son before while we were yet sinners, right?

And planned it from the foundation of the world, okay? Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. If we are being conformed to his image, as we learned in chapter three, which we did learn there, that we are continually being conformed to his image, then we need to love each other. And by this example, most of the situations that we have, well, I can't love old Bob because he's a jerk or whatever your excuse is, is just meaningless when you think about the huge import of God dying for us to bring us to him. So beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another, which is a self-sacrificing love.

That is what love is, right? Love is not the ushi-gushi feeling that you have for little Betty Lou, because she's, you know, that's not it, okay? Love is self-sacrificing service to one another. Now, that love's good too, all right? But that's a different kind of love than we're talking about here, okay? No one has ever seen God, but if we love one another, God abides in us and his love is perfected in us. This gets back to the situation where God is conforming us to his son, chapter three again. So we haven't seen God, but we act out godly things when we love one another and perform his works to other people.

That's the third reason why Christian's love is demonstrated. God's love is within us as we love one another. The world looks at us, hopefully, and says, what are you doing that for? Why would you help that jerk? And you say, because the love of God is in me and I want to perform a service for that person to possibly expose that to him. Or, I want to talk to you because I want you to be part of this family. That's part of the witness that happens. And because his spirit's in you, When he is jerking you in those ways, pay attention to those things. Do it. He will give you the strength and the words when you get in those situations.

By this we know that we abide in him and he in us because he has given us of his spirit. Again, that's what I was trying to say, but John usually says it better and much more concisely. So because of that, by this we know that we abide in him and he in us because he has given us of his spirit. The fourth reason why Christians love is our assurance because of his spirit is within us. If you know God's spirit is within you, you are a pretty powerful individual. You can deal with pretty much any problem. And sometimes it will be sad, it will be hard, but as you pray and submit to his will, I guarantee you in the end you'll come out of that on the other side a better person.

Those of you that have gone through that know that. Even little kids can know that. They're guilty about they broke the toy. They didn't tell mommy. They're hiding it under the bed, whatever. How do you feel after you confess that and get that load off of you, you're fresh, you're ready to engage in the world and be in fellowship with everybody. That's the joy of all of this. Those are the small increments that we do. And when you get to be a big person, it's the same stuff. It's always that, over and over and over. As he demonstrates in chapter one, if we confess our sin, he is faithful to forgive us our sin. But if we say we have no sin, we're a liar.

Uh-oh. Now, how can that be? We're of his and all the rest of this, And we're a liar if we say we have no sin and all of this is telling us to love people and that we have all this power because we still are under the curse. We're working it out. He's conforming us. He is in the process of making us like his son. But until we get to heaven, we don't get to be like that yet, okay? It's a process.

So, and we have seen and testified that the Father has sent his son to be the Savior of the world. Whoever confesses that Jesus is the son of God, God abides in him and he in God. Whoever confesses that Jesus is the son of God, God abides in him and he in God. Now, don't, see, it says right there son of God, but remember he's further defined it up a couple verses there that the son is God also, okay? So we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us, God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him. So he's just twisting that around all different ways, telling you that once you get folded in like that, that you are part of his plan, part of his family, and by that we should act that out.

By this is love perfected with us, so that we may have confidence for the day of judgment, because as he is, so also are we in this world. So as this is coming to perfection, you get stronger in it, you have more confidence, you're doing that, the whole realm around you works better and it just multiplies and happens like that. And that's the Christian body worldwide is doing that. And I've spoken of it before, when you go and visit somebody that's a true Christian and you may never have met them and within 20 minutes of sitting down and talking, when we realize this person's a real brother. That's that spiritual thing that's happening and you just get to be in that flow of that circle while you're visiting them.

And then you go away and get to another circle. But that's always happening in your sphere of influence. And that's the other thing that I always encourage people that I disciple is that just work in the sphere that God's given you. He will grow that sphere to however big he wants it, but it's always that individual you're having contact with that rubs off and that truth can be passed on by him and that relationship with him teaches you more about your relationship with God. The disciplee is always learning more than, I mean the discipler is always learning more than the disciplee, okay? Part of the great mysteries of the Christian religion, okay?

So let's see, God who's advising God and advising him. By this is love perfected with us so that we may have confidence for the day of judgment because as he is, so also are we in this world. So by this love being perfected, we are confident that in the day of judgment we'll be on the right side of that judgment. This is like all comforting. At that point, what can hurt you? What's the worst thing? Okay, you kill me and I go to heaven. All right, well that's bad. Or I get terminal cancer and three days from now I drop dead, or I drop dead right now of a heart attack. Oh terrible, oh we're gonna miss Dave. But Dave gets to go to heaven.

That's not a good, you know, not a bad deal. I'll take it. But that's the fifth reason is that we have assurance of the day of judgment. And that assurance comes from you living out the Christian life, loving your brother, going through these grinds that sometime you're thinking, why am I in this? I keep trying to do this and it doesn't work, but it just keep trucking, all right? One foot in front of the other.

We talked about going to the GRACE agenda. I thought it was great that at the end, Doug Wilson stood in front of everybody and he says, I always get these questions after everybody gets all jacked up at these conferences and they wanna know what I can do and how I can do it. And his advice was, what you do is go to bed, say your prayers, get up in the morning, pray, and then get up and put one foot in front of the other and do what's in front of you and be faithful to what God has put in front of you. It's that simple, all right? So assurance in the day of judgment is the fifth reason. There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear for fear has to do with punishment and whoever fears has not been perfected in love.

So if you have that fear, maybe God is trying to teach you another little wrinkle in your walk with the Lord. So don't go, oh my goodness, what am I gonna do about that? Just keep putting the foot in front of, and keep greeting the issues, and those things will fade to the back as time goes on, as God grinds you through the mill, okay? We love because he first loved us. Little short verse, an amazing verse. If you think about it, it's Yay for the Calvinists here, right? We love because he first loved us. We don't even have a shot until he brings us to him. And then at that point, we can love, okay, properly. So we love because he first loved us.

He first loved us. If anyone says, I love God and hates his brother, he is a liar. For the one who does not love his brother, whom he has seen, cannot love God, whom he has not seen. And this commandment we have from him, whoever loves God must also love his brother.

It's an amazing way to just shorten and bang home the point here, right? If anyone says I love God and hates his brother, now what does that mean, hates his brother? Can we have fights within Christendom and have other Christians not even want to talk to us? We created a church in a splant, okay? Some people have been instructed not to even talk to us. I constantly, when those people, I see them and they say, you won't talk to them, I say, absolutely, I'll talk to anybody. I'd love to sit down with them. I don't get invited, but I'm ready to talk about all that and would welcome that meeting. That's, I believe, the loving stance.

If I went over and pounded on their door and demanded to talk to them, what kind of love is that? Because I'm starting off aggressively already showing that they're not doing what they should be commanded on their side. So it's a tricky situation in a lot of things. Now, does that mean that if your wife doesn't want to talk to you, that you don't talk to her for six months? No. That means you sit down and you have a talk. It's tricky how you do these things. And again, I think it comes into that sphere of influence you have. I don't know so-and-so that might be preaching heresy down the street. Does that mean I need to go down and find that guy and grab him by the collar and say, quit preaching this heresy.

No, I don't have that sphere of influence on me. But when it comes into that sphere of influence, I maybe should have that guy to lunch, sit down and talk with him and hassle that through. And God will put you in those places where he wants you to act. Most of the time, especially when we're young in the faith and we wanna do great things for God, we get all these visions about what we're supposed to be doing, but we forget to do the things on the ground that need to be done to build that solid base. And as you build that solid base, he will give you the proper challenge and grow you that next level. So it isn't like, oh, I just came to the Lord and now I have to go to Papua New Guinea and save all those people that don't know anything about the Lord.

Well, maybe, but watch and see how God arranges that stuff, okay? And that the last verse, And this commandment we have from him, whoever loves God, must also love his brother. Must. You have to, okay? And this also boils back to the same thing you hear me say like when I speak to the kids at ECS or just any kind of general discussion. The basic Christian life is due unto others as you would have them do to you, okay? The golden rule. If the world operated that way, It would be not a bad place if you think about it. If I don't want to get punched in the nose, don't go punch somebody in the nose. If I don't want stuff people steal my stuff, don't steal their stuff.

Do unto others as you would have them do to you. That pretty much cures the problem, right? So with that, it closes out the chapter. It's very straightforward. I love 1 John in that it does that. Next time in chapter five, I'm gonna launch a little bit off into textual criticism just for fun, because there's a verse in 1 John five that's an interesting one. But this kind of teaching, we're hoping as elders that we're giving you a chapter in a teaching session so that you can look back on it if you wanna know something about 1 John when you're reading through it or whatever, you can listen to that and get a broad overview so that you have some pegs to hang things on.

We're not trying to give you 35 minutes on the first phrase in verse 16 or 45 minutes or whatever, one word at a time, that kind of preaching. You can get that on the internet and listen to people, why excel at going about that. But we're trying to give you the whole package so that you can go away and keep that. is I've listened to a lot of sermons about, you know, one verse at a time over the years, and it is interesting that the older I get, having the basic meaning of a paragraph or the group of paragraphs that make up a chapter or a group of thought like that. If you have those principles in your head, it's amazing how God will bring those to you and people will say, well, there's a verse somewhere that speaks about that, I can usually go, yeah, that's in 1 John 4.

I can't tell you exactly which verse, but give me a Bible, I'll find it. And that kind of thinking about the whole book really helps you out, especially when you start to then blend the Old Testament in with the New Testament. You'll find that a lot of these things are taught. So that's it for 1 John 4, and let's pray and then we can be dismissed. So Father, we thank you for your word and how clear it is, especially in 1 John, how blunt you made your servant, and how seemingly he wrote this in his 90s when he was in prison done Patmos and he's talking to these people and writing these letters. It's amazing how clear he sees it and how he wants them to practice those simple things.

Help us to see that and to do that. We thank you, of course, most of all, for what you did through your son that allows us to even realize these things. Amen.

G.K. Chesterton once wrote about how only a fool would look at the sun and the moon in order to argue about which one was better. He applied the point to value comparisons between men and women. Why would you do it?

One reason we compare and contrast is because we are God's image-bearers and He is a distinguishing God. We learn to see differences and state the differences because He gave us that responsibility. There are times to make judgements about what is good, better, and best. There are other times, and perhaps this happens most of the time, when we don't see what we're supposed to see, and our assessments are ungodly.

Take for example one's married state. What is the ideal state? In 1 Corinthians 7 Paul addresses a number of different marital conditions. There are the single, married, unmarried, widowed, married but celibate, unmarried and not celibate, celibate for good, and celibate with serious wishes to be done with it, married but separated, and the divorced. (Not quite as many as Facebook’s 71 options for gender, but still a lot.) Again, which is the ideal?

There is a way to read Paul's comments, concession, and commands and think that we see the one ideal state. And I agree that there is just one, but it is not the "easy" one.

It would be easy to say, especially if all we had was 1 Corinthians 7, to say that it is ideal to be single. Paul says in verse 8 that he is single and loving it. Well, he says that it's “good.” He says in verse 28 that to be married is to have worldly troubles, and in verses 33-35 that a married man has divided interests compared to the unmarried woman who can express undivided devotion to the Lord. There are some ways Paul talks that appear to make marriage less "spiritual," suggesting half-hearted service for Christ or even a failure of self-control (verse 9).

Is singleness really what Paul believes is the ideal state? Does he believe that God is wrong in Genesis 2 when He said it is not good for a man to be alone? Are Paul’s celebrations over husbands and wives in Ephesians 5 a compromise from what he really believes? And if it really is not just better but the best, then why didn't he start the chapter that way, and why does he give a place for marriage at all? Is it really because he thinks some Christians can't control their sexual desires so that he reluctantly allows them to get married?

I don't buy it. The ideal state is not being single, or married. The ideal state is being content in your state as a gift from God. There are some qualifications. Not each and every state is good, including every kind of sexual immorality. But immorality is possible regardless of what boxes you check on your tax forms, or Facebook, and so is grumbling ungratefulness. Yes, there are different opportunities and different temptations that come along with one's marital state, but the ideal must include one's happiness with their gift from God. Reluctance has never been a gift from God.

We're going to consider the first three paragraphs of a four paragraph section in chapter 7. Paul says "I say this" in verse 6, then he has something to say to the unmarried in verse 8, then to the married in verse 10, and then "the rest,” which is another group of married couples, in verse 12. He's driving to the middle of the chapter, verses 17-24, which is all about contentment; "let each person lead the life that the Lord has assigned to him, and to which God has called him" (verse 17). There are some specifics related to the letter they sent him before that, and we'll see three sections today.

A number of translations have verses 6-7 as part of the previous paragraph. I do believe that verse 6 refers back, but this section transitions to Paul's concern with the ideal state.

In verses 1-5 he responded to a letter from the Corinthians in which at least some of them were arguing that married couples should not have sexual relations with each other, presumably because such a physical act must have been less spiritual. Paul disagrees. Husbands and wives not only should enjoy one another in the marriage bed, they are obligated to do so, and any breaks from the bed should be agreed upon by both and only for a short time.

Then he writes, Now as a concession, not a command, I say this. A concession is an allowance, it’s giving in, admitting that something ins’t necessarily the best. What is Paul conceding? There are a number of possibilities. He could be conceding about marriage, about sex in marriage, about a temporary break from sex in marriage, or possibly looking forward to the idea of singleness.

It would be a problem if he was conceding marriage which God instituted. It would be inconsistent if he conceded sex in marriage, since he just commanded husbands and wives to reject abstinence while recognizing that abstinence brings it's own temptation. There is also no good grammatical reason to look forward for the answer. So that leaves one option. He concedes, in reply to the argument of the Corinthians in favor of total abstinence, that temporary “abstinence" is okay for the purpose of prayer. There is an allowance, but he can't agree with them to go the whole way; too much abstinence is “depriving” one another.

There is a way to be spiritual in abstinence, but it isn't in marriage, it's in singleness. The ESV fails to translate the adversative, the NAS helps. Yet I wish that all men were even as I myself am. However, each man has his own gift from God (NASB). We know that Paul was single because he says so in the next verse (8). He may have been married previously, and there are assumptions based on what was typical for a Pharisee that Paul must have been married. But those are guesses. He is not married now, and he says I wish that all men could be like him.

He says something similar in 1 Corinthians 14:5, wishing that all men could speak in tongues. But that's after two chapters about how tongues isn't the "best" gift, though it’s one they thought was special, and that God doesn't give everyone the same gift anyway. There isn't anything lesser about singleness, Paul is not married and is maximizing his opportunities. But it is a gift to him, and it is not the only gift nor is that particular gift for everyone.

Also, what is the gift he's referring to? Each has his own gift from God, one of one kind and one of another. The gift is not equal to one's marital status, the gift is satisfaction in one's condition. Paul is happy being single, though there are some who aren't, per the next paragraph. Others are satisfied being married, though there are some who aren't, see the paragraph that follows where some spouses are separating from each other. Paul isn't bitter about being single, nor is he distracted by thoughts of the marriage bed. He isn't single out of reluctance; reluctance isn't a gift.

God gives a variety of gifts, and it can't be just married or single since there are many in both conditions who aren't happy. The ideal state is living in the gift of God with freedom to serve the Lord with our without a spouse.

Now Paul begins to address different groups in the church. First, To the unmarried and the widows I say that it is good for them to remain single, as I am. It's important to see the good, another hat tip to the "good" in the creation account. God created things good, including the very good of a man and a woman in marriage. But it's not the only good.

It may be more than just single as in virgins, those who have never been married. Verse 8 is likely a reference to those who have been married but aren't now, either because their spouse has died or because the divorce is final. The Greek word for "widower" is not typically used, and unmarried is a masculine form. That's either a generic form (as "man" can refer to humans) applying to men and women, or it's intended to complement widows. If Paul had been married but wasn't now, he's saying it's good for the previously married to remain unmarried.

Verse 9 could be taken in a unflattering, even insulting way. But if they cannot exercise self-control, they should marry. It's a condition, and at first it sounds like an substandard condition. The final sentence could throw gas on the fire. For it is better to marry than to burn (with passion).

We would definitely say that self-control failures are bad. But what is the failure? It's not necessarily that they can't, it's about what they want. They don't want to remain alone. To stay single, for some, would be a reluctant state. Their wants are indicated by the burn inside’ the phrase "with passion" is added as an interpretation (in italics in the NASB). It clarifies that Paul isn't referring to some desire that would lead to the fires of judgment in hell, but uses this figurative, poetic language to describe the internal longing.

This isn't a reluctance on Paul's part. He's not compromising on the Spirit's ability to give self-control, he's acknowledging that the Spirit doesn't give everyone satisfaction in the state of singleness.

Do you want to have sex? The answer is not porn in private. Get married. “For Paul, the fire is not to be doused by fleeting, illicit sexual encounters or by grim repression of natural sexual desire. It calls for marriage” (Garland). Marriage responsibilities and pleasures are part of self-control, not that one must have all self-control before taking on the responsibilities. “Men are like trucks—they drive smoother and straighter with a load of responsibility.” (Driscoll)

Satisfied celibacy is a gift. You can't make a religious vow, especially under the impression that it makes you more spiritual, and expect that you'll be good. That's actually the opposite of Paul's point here. Those who are single may be able to serve the Lord without the distractions of marriage if they aren't constantly distracted by desires to get in bed.

Being single is no guarantee of happiness, you might burn to be married. So get married. Being married is also no guarantee of happiness, and yet it's not an option to stop being married. To the married I give this charge (not I, but the Lord): the wife should not separate from her husband. It's interesting that Paul starts with the wife. Possibly there was a wife, the wife known to them, or maybe a group of wives, who for some reason wanted out of their marriages.

This charge to not separate is given by the Lord, not Paul. That is, Paul is drawing on explicit words recorded that Jesus taught. It refers to Matthew 19 where Jesus told the Pharisees that every divorce apart from sexual immorality is wrong; “What therefore God has joined together, let not man separate” (Matthew 19:6). The Jews gave themselves loopholes to divorce for “any cause” (Matthew 19:3). The Romans likewise were loose; ours is not the first generation to have no-fault divorce. What's unique about our generation is that we had a time when divorce for selfish reasons was disgraceful. What was unpopular in Paul's day was staying together. He tells the Corinthians: Jesus says stay together.

In Matthew 19 Jesus did recognize divorce as lawful in cases of sexual infidelity, more on that next Sunday. But in 1 Corinthians 7:10-11, that's not the case. These are husbands and wives in the church who are both professing believers. When one spouse is not a believer there are additional instructions that Jesus didn't teach about but Paul does starting in verse 12. Whatever the reasons given by these couples here, they weren't sufficient reasons.

Marriage is bigger than what one spouse says. God says marriage is only broken by adultery, or death, not when a wife decides she's done or finds an upgrade. She might leave, (but if she does, she should remain unmarried or else be reconciled to her husband). The goal is reconciliation, which means that the relationship has troubles of some kind.

It's not ideal for her to leave. There could be a case where she should separate for sake of safety, but others should be helping. In the meantime, remarriage is completely off the table. In her condition remarriage would be adultery, for her and the one she marries.

The final part of verse 11 includes the man: and the husband should not divorce his wife. He is not allowed either. It would be sinful even if it is legal.

There might be serious problems between a husband and a wife. Husbands can be real jerks, wives can be cold and disrespectful. For the Corinthians who were in pursuit of holiness, they may have thought it right to disassociate with spouses who weren’t helping. But apart from two scenarios, either marital infidelity or the other spouse not being a believer and unwilling to live together, reconciliation is always the goal. Reluctance to pursue reconciliation is also not a gift from God.

God gives gifts of gladness to be single and serve Jesus AND gladness to be married and serve Jesus by serving one's spouse. God gives gifts including satisfied celibacy and satisfied sex in marriage. Neither, in and of itself, makes one better. There is not "one gift to rule them all."

Don't think you have the gift of singleness if you have reluctance or resentment. Also, stop looking for ways to satisfy your physical longings apart from a spouse. If a spouse sounds like too much trouble, then no wonder your backend is fishtailing.

Don't complain that others have something else that is good for them, don’t covet what your neighbor has, and don’t cover your dissatisfaction by trying to sound more “spiritual.”

Receive your gift with thanks and contentment. It’s a reason to boast in the Lord.

Let us be entirely for abstinence outside marriage. There is no such thing as good or morally safe sex unless you have a spouse. Let us also be earnestly against abstinence in marriage. These are our only holy options, and they are mutually exclusive. The marriage bed is good, and keeps us good, and husbands and wives do well to get in it.

At the beginning of 1 Corinthians chapter 7 Paul begins to respond to a letter he received from them. The previous six chapters are not filler, they are full of reminders and exhortations and imperatives based on reports he had heard about them. The church in Corinth had disunity issues and discipline issues. Some of them had problems filing too many lawsuits and some of them had problems calling sexual immorality lawful.

It also seems that some of them had the opposite problem. If some were skipping down the sexual street with partners outside of marriage, others were running the wrong way down the one way street with their eyes covered and fingers in their ears. At the end of the previous paragraph Paul urged: "So glorify God in your body." A part of the church thought they could do whatever they wanted with their bodies and it didn't matter. Now Paul addresses another part of the church who apparently wanted to glorify God by denying their bodies. They thought what they did not do with their bodies mattered too much.

It is a group of Christians who were against sex, outside of marriage, which is right, but even within it, which is dangerous. At least some of them thought it wasn't good, and they wrote to Paul about it, probably believing that they would get his confirmation based on his teaching about fleeing sexual immorality (as in 6:18). But they were wrong. As the author of Hebrews wrote (Hebrews 13:4), marriage should be held in honor and the marriage bed should be recognized as pure, not that to be pure one must reject the marriage bed.

This chapter, starting in the first paragraph, confronts dualism rather than condones it. Paul, with his pastor's pen, corrects their misunderstandings about marriage, sex, celibacy, divorce, remarriage, engagement, and singleness. Rather than promote hyper-holiness he pops the hyper-holy pride of thinking that they could be more good than God.

The issue heads the paragraph in the first sentence followed by three imperatives.

Unlike the verbal reports he heard about the Corinthians, here Paul responds to written material from them: Now concerning the matters about which you wrote. The same heading appears again a few more times in the letter, but Paul signals his transition here.

What did they say? They knew what they said, but we don't have a copy of their letter. There is disagreement over the final part of verse 1. Who said it? Is this Paul's teaching (so no quotation marks, as in the KJV and NASB)? Or is it a quote from their letter (as in the ESV)? Is this something they are wondering about? Is this representing what they believe?

I think it represents their understanding, and the remaining part of the paragraph corrects it. Paul does not affirm it; what they had separated Paul tries to join back together.

"It is good for a man not to have sexual relations with a woman." Why would they say this?

It doesn't fit as a simple statement against sex. The KJV translates, "for a man not to touch a woman," a euphemism for more than contact. But Paul just finished an extended section against sexual immorality. To join with anyone other than one's spouse is like joining Christ to a prostitute. If the Corinthians meant it like that, Paul could have put it before 6:12 or 6:18 and he wouldn't have to correct it.

The Corinthians appear to believe it in contradiction to Genesis 2:18. Note the word "good." God said it was not good for a man to be alone. Some of the Corinthians were saying that being married and enjoying two becoming one was not good. Perhaps they learned it from the Stoics who advocated strict restraint on pleasures. The “touch” “euphemism is consistently used for sexual relations motivated by pleasure or passion rather than procreation” (Ciampa and Rosner), so a less than noble act. Perhaps the Corinthians learned it from demons who forbid marriage (see 1 Timothy 4:3). Perhaps they were overreacting to the lusts of the flesh on display in their city, and there is a “present distress” (verse 26) that adds difficulty.

But they seem to be advocating for a higher level of holy living. If the sexually immoral man sins against his own body, then wouldn't it be magna-moral to not even have sex in marriage? This is an attempt at super-spiritual spousal celibacy. It’s stupid, and sinful.

Verse 2 begins with “on the contrary” to the Corinthian position. There are three commands in the next four verses that explain why the marriage bed is good. It is moral, it is right, and it is typical.

Before we look at these three points, we should keep in mind what Paul has in mind. This is a reply, and it's his reply to their particular misunderstanding. Paul exalts marriage in Ephesians 5, and only reading 1 Corinthians 7 to understand marriage would be like only reading about how to put gasoline into your car and concluding you know all the places a car could take you. Here he addresses one specific part in marriage: sex. He is against abstinence.

The result of man-made attempts to be holy is not high-level holiness, it isn't even hold-the-line holiness. Man-made attempts at holiness always make it worse. Sex in marriage is given for morality.

But because of the temptation to sexual immorality, each man should have his own wife and each woman her own husband. At first this could sound derogatory, as if marriage is only a "safety release valve" (Schrage). But Paul doesn't say that sexual desires are bad, he says that sexual desires must be directed to and within marriage. "Glorify God in your body" (6:18), not by denying your body. The marriage bed is good.

It's possible that the word "have" refers to physical intimacy anyway. Paul isn't saying each man should find a wife and each woman should find a husband, though that comes across in verse 9. Getting married doesn’t mean getting rid of temptation anyway. He means that each spouse should "have" or "know" or enjoy their spouse. He means it is not good for a man not to have sex with his wife.

But go ahead, get married, and for those who are married, get in bed together.

More than okay, more than not immoral, the marriage bed is a right. One spouse doesn't get to unilaterally decide to be "more spiritual" by abstaining from physical intimacy. That's not how the marriage relationship works.

Here's the imperative: The husband should give to his wife her conjugal rights, and likewise the wife to her husband. The command is clear, and the terms compare sex to an economy, a way things are supposed to work between two people. There is something to be given, there is someone to whom the something must necessarily be given, and there is the requirement to give.

Verse 4 explains more, but note for now the angle Paul puts on it. Each spouse has a right to receive; each spouse is due. But the emphasis is not on taking what is one's due but rather giving to the other what is due to them. Paul addresses the husband's giving first. Husband: give. Your wife has a right. So also, wife, give. Your husband has a right. Paul does not say, however, "Husband, demand. Your wife owes you." Nor does he say, "Wife, fuss. Your husband owes you."

As I said, verse 4 teases out the mutual obligation and uses all the vocabulary over again to address both the wife and the husband like watering a flower from the left and the right. The wife does not have authority over her own body, but the husband does. Likewise the husband does not have authority over his own body, but the wife does.

The economy of the marriage bed involves private property, but the owner is not who we’ve been taught by the world’s catechism to think. The wife's body is owned by her husband. Her sexuality is his property, not hers. A wife submits in bed to her husband. And, so also for the husband, with all the same words and the same point of submission. A husband submits in bed to his wife. His sexuality is her property, not his. The husband's body is owned by his wife.

First century Roman culture may have accepted that wives were property, but the idea that husbands were property was the new tabasco.

This is about the marriage bed, not about her calorie intake (necessarily) or his exercise habits (or lack thereof, necessarily). It also expects communication and agreement. We do not have a case of co-ownership; in this economy the King and Queen of the Bed have equal rights, and they must get along. The point is unity, not utilitarianism. The point is to give yourself to the one you belong to, not to take what belongs to you in such a way that ruins intimacy.

I’ve heard too many professing Christians husbands (maybe wives talk similarly, but probably less so) abuse this truth and insist that the wife must do whatever he wants whenever he wants it. Those men do not talk about their responsiveness, nor do they talk about how such demands increase their righteousness. They treat their wives more like slaves, when in fact he is the slave, to his own self-indulgence.

One additional application to the singles. You also are not your own. As Christians, you are bought with Christ's blood, and His will is your sanctification. Serve Jesus with your sexuality. And take application from this paragraph. If a wife's body is her husband's, is it hers to do with whatever she wants until she says "I do"? Can she subdivide the property, sell off, or give away, some of the parcels, prior to the wedding day? Not if you believe this Scripture. The same applies to every single man. Your sexual parts, which include the reproductive organ and all the reproductive impulses, must be saved in their entirety for the one to whom they properly belong. You may not know who they belong to yet, so you should be devoted to total abstinence until such time as the pastor says, “I now pronounce that you no longer need to keep your hands to yourself.”

Dads with daughters, when the question comes, "Who gives this woman to marry this man?” what will you be giving? Dads with sons, are you modeling Christlike giving of yourself, even when your son can’t see you? Moms, are you controlling your emotions about the fact that I haven't mentioned your part yet? Are you helping your daughters exercise Spirit-gifted self-control over their appearance and their crushes and their perspective?

Back to spouses, the third imperative is really a prohibition. Do not deprive one another, except perhaps by agreement for a limited time. The word deprive could also be translated “defraud” (KJV), or steal or cheat. Like the man who cheated laborers by fraud when they mowed his fields (James 5:4), so is the married man or woman who holds back intimacy.

The expectation is that sex is as frequent as reasonable, which depends on health and separations and various situations. But under normal circumstances, abstinence is the exception, and it must be a mutual decision. A wife can't choose to be a sex-martyr for sake of serving Jesus in celibacy. Spousal celibacy is not serving Jesus. Again, perhaps there is a temporary pause, but don't put super-glue on the pause button.

The example Paul gives is that you may devote yourselves to prayer, and fasting from food serves a similar purpose. But all fasting all the time leads to starvation, and all abstinence all the time in marriage leads to sin.

Set aside a short time, but then come together again. Abstinence in marriage is abnormal. The final reason given turns to holiness again: so that Satan may not tempt you because of your lack of self-control. Again this doesn't mean that the desire is bad, but that Satan loves to pervert the desire and turn it toward something bad. God gave the body, He gave the desire, and He gave the woman to the man and the man to the woman in marriage.

Don't try to be more spiritual than God. There are some who God gifts with a stronger desire for celibacy than for sex, see verse 7. But there are many who have taken vows of celibacy believing that they could make themselves more righteous only to lose to the flesh. It would be a different discussion if Popes and priests had proven otherwise, but the proof is in the pederasty. The appropriate response to being thirsty is not to not drink, it’s to “drink water from your own cistern” (Proverbs 5:15).

Ours is a sexually charged world because God made it that way. Ours is a sexually immoral--confused and twisted and enslaved--culture because of sin. We are not out of Satan’s sights. Ashley Madison, a website for married people who want to cheat, has the tagline: “Life is Short. Have an affair.” Their database was hacked, and names exposed. There are other sites for hooking up, there will be virtual reality prostitutes. Before all that Jesus said that sexual immorality and adultery come from within, out of the heart of man (Mark 7:20-21).

The solution to sexual temptation is not self-imposed celibacy. The solution to sexual temptation is not found in a monastery or on a wifi-free compound in Montana. The solution is repentance and faith in the gospel of Jesus Christ and goodness of the marriage bed.

Get your sex from a wife for whom you have to die (Ephesians 5:25-33). Give yourself to a woman, to all of the responsibilities that come along with belonging to her and her belonging to you. Submit to God, and cherish your wife like Christ does the church. It takes Twoism to make a thing go right.

You are free to have as much sex as you want, in marriage, with mutual agreement. Paul is against abstinence in marriage, and so should be every Christian husband and wife, because God is against abstinence.

Automated transcript of the sermon audio, generated with OpenAI Whisper (small.en). It has not been checked against the recording and may contain errors, especially in names and Scripture references.

Well, this evening we continue our Sunday evening series looking at the several of the epistles of the New Testament, and I have had the opportunity to be teaching through Ephesians, and we find ourselves in the third installment of six, God willing, as there are six chapters. So Ephesians chapter three will be our text for tonight, the entirety of it. And the whole of the Christian life as we probably are all aware is about becoming what we are. In Christ we are already sons of the King. We are set apart for Him positionally. Practically over time Christ transforms us into what we already are positionally. Earthly royals are characterized by privilege, prestige, and even entitlement. Spiritual royals, as we'll learn tonight, are characterized by love. So Paul calling the Ephesian Christians to live royally is going to look different from the earthly princes that so quickly come to our minds.

We want to live like Christians, that is like many Christs. And Paul's prayer in this chapter reflects his desire for his readers to look like that as well. So very roughly looking at this chapter from a high level, we see it broken down into roughly two halves. And they're going to represent our two headings tonight, which I'll give us in just a moment. But at the beginning, Paul is speaking about the mystery that he referenced in chapter 2 as a basis for a call to behave a certain way, which happens at the back end of the chapter. A lot of Paulian epistles are divided pretty neatly into a doctrinal portion at the front end, followed by an application or practical living portion at the back end.

We see it pretty neatly divided in a number of his letters, and this one is no different. And we'll see that that transition actually does happen here in our chapter four tonight. As we examine the chapter, we'll see that we'll consider in verses one through thirteen what I've called the basis of the call. And then the substance of the call in verses fourteen through twenty-one. and my talk for tonight is entitled, Becoming What You Are, a Call to Live Like Royalty. And so we'll drill down and we'll look at individual verses but I wanna encourage you to keep in mind the big picture, the reality of what God has done for Gentiles in Christ has profound implications.

What God has done for Gentiles in Christ has profound implications. And God wants for us to live in a certain way and he calls his readers to that in this book. And it starts in this chapter. So I'm gonna start by reading verses one through 13, and this will be our first heading for tonight, namely the basis of the call.

Ephesians three, for this reason I, Paul, a prisoner for Christ Jesus on behalf of you Gentiles, assuming that you have heard of the stewardship of God's grace that was given to me for you, how the mystery was made known to me by revelation as I have written briefly, when you read this, you can perceive my insight into the mystery of Christ, which was not made known to the sons of men and other generations as it has now been revealed to his holy apostles and prophets by the spirit. This mystery is that the Gentiles are fellow heirs, members of the same body, and partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel.

Of this gospel, I was made a minister according to the gift of God's grace, which was given me by the working of his power. To me, though I am the very least of all the saints, this grace was given to preach to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ and to bring to light for everyone what is the plan of the mystery hidden for ages in God who created all things, so that through the church, The manifold wisdom of God might now be made known to the rulers and authorities and the heavenly places. This was according to the eternal purpose that he has realized in Christ Jesus our Lord in whom we have boldness and access with confidence through our faith in him.

So I ask you not to lose heart over what I am suffering for you, which is your glory. Paul starts out this chapter by pointing back to chapter two and what he had scratched at there. Of course, in the original letter, it's a smooth transition. There's no verse or chapter breaks and it goes right into verse one of chapter three. But here, we have the ground for Paul's prayer, which comes later on at the back end of the chapter. For this reason, says Paul, and as I mentioned, here he is pointing back to the mystery of chapter two and the Gentile believers' status in Christ. In chapter 2, Paul addresses the changes in individual believers that are brought on by salvation.

Last time I called this micro-salvation, the change brought about in individual believers. He addresses the much greater effect of salvation on Gentiles in general. I called that macro-salvation. So, drilled down to individual souls and then zoomed out and looking at the race of the Gentiles. Believing Jews and believing Gentiles represent separate walls of the same building as it were. The same, new same spiritual building. This is the church and Christ is the cornerstone of this structure. And we'll return to that in a moment when Paul resumes this thought because that's going to happen later on. But for the rest of verses 1 through 13, he's speaking parenthetically.

So he says for this reason, then he gets sidetracked, as it were, and goes off on a little bit of a theological tirade, a good one. And he'll be speaking parenthetically about the glories of this mystery which serves as the basis, the grounds for Paul's calling the Ephesian Christians to live in a certain way that comes in verses 14 to 21. So let's consider then this parenthetical thought. He says, I Paul, a prisoner of Christ Jesus, on behalf of you Gentiles, assuming that you have heard of the stewardship of God's grace that was given me for you, how the mystery was made known to me by revelation as I have written briefly.

When you read this, you can perceive my insight into the mystery of Christ, which was not made known to the sons of men and other generations as it has now been revealed to his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit. When you're doing a chapter, a talk, you have to take big chunks. So there's a lot right there, but Paul quickly acknowledged himself to be a slave of Christ and a happy one, happily constrained to preach the gospel. And now he has news that he would like to bring to them, to his Gentile readers. You'll recall that Ephesus was a Gentile city and the church at Ephesus was a good church. Paul was addressing them.

He was personally invested.

And he says, when you read this, you can perceive my insight into the mystery of Christ. Paul wants to let them in on this mystery because it's glorious. It's a mystery that he doesn't want to remain mysterious, but it is glorious and has profound implications and as I've already said, it serves as the basis for the prayer which will come at the back end of the chapter. This mystery that Paul speaks of is something that was only scratched at in the Old Testament, but its fullness was revealed to Paul by special revelation. Paul says that this mystery was not made known to the sons of men and other generations. The idea of God saving Gentiles was not new or novel. So get that. That itself is not news. It's not revolutionary, although the full extent of it had not been revealed in the Old Testament. And so there were lots of faithful Jews who had studied the Scriptures, who did not understand the full implications of God's redemptive worked for the Gentiles. Like even Peter was hung up on it. You may recall that and Paul had rebuked him. One of my favorite Old Testament passages, my very favorite,

is Isaiah 49.6 and I think I referenced it last time, where the Lord is saying, it's too light a thing that you should be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob and to bring back the preserved of Israel. He's speaking to his servant.

I will make you a light for the nations that my salvation may reach the end of the earth. Just saving Israel has never been the plan and it was always too small a thing for the full expression of God's glory, for the expression of God's manifold wisdom as we will see. Saving the Jews is great, it's not enough. It's never been the plan for that for that for it to stop there. God's plan has always been to save Gentiles but how this harmonized with the Jews being God's chosen race remained mysterious. God promised in Genesis to bless the nations through Abraham in Genesis 22 18 and Genesis 26 4 but again nobody knew what that would actually look like. Paul says in verse 6 this mystery is and here is kind of a thesis it's a workable statement that the Gentiles are fellow heirs members of the same body and partakers of the promised in Christ Jesus through the gospel. Now the idea of their enjoying equal standing with the Jews in glory was new. I don't understand exactly how Old Testament saints or even first century Christians would have understood the notion before.

Perhaps would have been a we'll kind of just squeak in and we'll be in the that's, you know, better is a day in God's courts than anywhere else, a thousand, anywhere else. But we won't attain to the level of God's chosen people in glory. Maybe it was some sort of hang-up like that, but Paul is shedding light on this mystery. It was not news that Gentiles could be saved or blessed through Abraham, but it was absolutely news that there would be an equal standing with the Jews as opposed to a lesser or inferior standing. And now, in Christ, Gentile believers enjoy the same legal status before God as the Jews. We're all adopted sons on the basis of Christ's work. And we have the same degree of inheritance. Now, Now, it goes, I think it's worth noting that if Paul wanted to mention that the Gentiles had completely replaced the Jews altogether, or that they were going to enjoy the Jews' inheritance instead of Israel, well, this would have been a great time to do it.

But he's pretty emphatically clear that the believing Jews and the believing Gentiles would both receive their equal inheritance. Israel doesn't just go away altogether, supplanted then by the Gentiles. The idea of such an inheritance has always been familiar to us. So we've, in the water that we've been navigating our lives, we've always understood that for Gentile Christians, there's something great that awaits us in glory. We've never known any other reality than this. Modern Christians have always known that our inheritance will be equal in glory to that of Israel. Naturally then, we have a hard time wrapping our minds around exactly how revolutionary this notion was.

And in the previous chapter, Paul talks about believing Jews and believing Gentiles being one building and Christ himself being the cornerstone of the building. If you look back at chapter 2 verses 18 through 22, it reads, for through him we both have access in one spirit to the Father. So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, built on the foundation of the apostles and the Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone in whom the whole structure being joined together grows into a holy temple in the Lord. In Him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit.

This is only possible if, as Paul said, the believing Jews and believing Gentiles alike are fellow citizens and saints, with the saints and members of the household of God.

in verse 19. Looking then back at chapter 3 verse 7 now, of this gospel Paul says, I was made a minister according to the gift of God's grace which was given me by the working of His power. To me, though I am the very least of all the saints, this grace was given to preach to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ and to bring to life for everyone what is the plan of the mystery hidden for ages and God who created all things. Paul counted his call to preach the gospel as a great stewardship that was supernaturally granted to him by the Father. And Paul thought that there was a lot riding on this. Of course, there's no doubt that Paul was optimistic regarding God's sovereign control and the rest, but he did not want to belittle his job. It was Paul's job and I would say it is ours as well to preach the gospel in order that the dead may come to faith in Christ. It's been likened to walking through a graveyard and calling those in the tombs to come forward. It only happens supernaturally and of course God alone can get the credit but our responsibility

is to make that call. That the dead then may come to faith in Christ, that they may be then subsequently purified by Christ as a part of the church and be a bride that is worthy of Christ to present to himself. And this would then all showcase the manifold wisdom of God. So Paul thought this was a big deal and the way that it happened was with the proclamation of the gospel. He calls himself a steward of the gospel. My job is to preach the gospel so that all these amazing things can happen and God's wisdom could be showcased. So if you view God's glory as significant, then the proclamation of the gospel is a big deal and is a noble stewardship. Paul took this stewardship seriously, and he could no longer keep quiet about it than he could fly to the moon. And what was he preaching? He was preaching, verse 8, the unsearchable riches of Christ. He wanted to communicate to these Gentile believers what was theirs in Jesus.

But beyond that, he wanted to proclaim the great mystery of the Gospel that he spoke of before. The church comprising Jews and Gentiles expresses the great wisdom of God. Verse 10, and again, we're establishing a grounds, a theological grounds for the call that's going to happen. Paul is telling the believers about their new status in Christ and what all has happened as a part of salvation, and then he's establishing the ground for the call to behave in a certain way which he'll ask God to do in them later on. So kind of keep that in the back of your mind. Verse 10, so that through, this is my favorite part, through the church, the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places."

This is staggering, but apparently it's the point of the church. Yes, the church is a bride of Christ, but here the purpose of the church, according to Paul, is to show off the wisdom of God to the angels. Rulers and authorities in the heavenly places is language that is used to refer to angels. And angels exist to serve and to glorify God, and they do it by worshiping and serving Him. But angels are creatures like we are, and whatever it is that they're going to know about God, they have to be taught. They have to be instructed. They have to receive that information. You could argue that the angels may have a leg up on information acquisition on us because the holy angels are not fallen.

They have not sinned. We have. But angels have never experienced, they have no experiential knowledge of forgiveness. Everything they know about, well because the holy angels have never sinned, they also have never been redeemed. No angel has made a substitutionary death sufficient for the redemption of the fallen angels, for instance, as Jesus as man did for us. they know about the gospel, things like mercy and forgiveness, they have to learn by observing the redemption of men by God. Likewise, the church showcases then for these angels the manifold wisdom of God. The Apostle Peter, I know he's not Paul, but I'm going to reference him anyway, the Apostle Peter alludes to this, just touches on it briefly in Chapter 1 of 1 Peter verses 10 to 12.

So 1 Peter 1, 10 to 12 read as follows, concerning the salvation, and salvation is relevant because what is the church but a body comprising saved souls? Concerning the salvation, the prophets who prophesied about the grace that was to be yours, and in this Peter is talking to his first century readers of persecuted Christians about their glorious inheritance in Christ, this unspeakable inheritance that's gonna be theirs as their salvation is being revealed. So they, hey, keep your chins up, bear up under persecution, you have a glorious inheritance yet before you. And he is talking about this and says, the prophets who prophesied about the grace that was to be yours searched and inquired carefully, the prophets looked into their own writings.

Inquiring what person or time the Spirit of Christ in them was indicating when he predicted the sufferings of Christ and then the subsequent glories. It was revealed to them that they were serving not themselves but you, and the things that have now been announced to you through those who preach the good news to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven, things into which angels long to look. And why are the angels so blasted, curious about this? They have no personal firsthand experience of it, but they're starving to know more about the gracious nature of their creator and about the power of redemption. If the angels would have informed worship of God, which they are made for, they must learn.

And they have healthy appetites for knowledge of those things that they had never experienced. These things are on full display then in the church. The church, comprising, as I said, millions of saved souls is a great exhibition for the angels of the manifold wisdom of God. And the remarkable joining of believing Jews and believing Gentiles in one new building with Christ as the cornerstone, their shared status before God as the redeemed, and all the rest, the unspeakable wisdom of God is on display. In the church and in the co-inheritance of the believing Jews and Gentiles, God's wisdom is showcased. Paul says in verse 11, this was according to the eternal purpose that he has realized in Christ Jesus our Lord, in whom we have boldness and access with confidence through our faith in him.

So, I ask you not to lose heart over what I am suffering for you, which is your glory. We can know without question that the wisdom of God on display in the church is not a response to the fall, but rather it's God's plan A. And how that all works together is in the secret councils of the Lord. God has instructed the angels via the church according to the eternal purposes that he has realized in Christ Jesus our Lord. That is by his design to be the means through which he would instruct the angels and the cosmos.

Paul's perspective is such that he then, and it makes sense, if Paul has a pretty big picture perspective about these things. Little things like his imprisonment. Eh, whatever. He has a pretty healthy perspective about troubling things like suffering. And he calls his readers to adopt the same attitude that they would not lose heart over Paul's suffering. So there we have what I call the basis for the call, verses 1 through 13. And then he does the first two paragraphs of the chapter. And then he resumes his thought in what I've called the substance of the call. This is our second heading and verses 14 through 21. I'm going to read those to you, Ephesians 3, verses 14 through 21.

For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named, that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through His Spirit in your inner being. So that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith, that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly than all we can ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever.

Amen." This passage is technically a prayer. I get that. But it's also a charge to His readers, obviously. I mean, what do you do if a fellow believer comes up to you and says, I'm pleading to God for you to have victory over your anger and for you to take more responsibility for your family. Nobody just used to say, that's nice, or do you receive that as, thank you for praying for me and that's a good kick in the pants. It is clearly a charge, right? I think that's evident. And this passage is the same sort of thing. So it is a plea with God to effect this in the believers and then of course when they, why would he tell them he's praying this for them if he didn't want them to go ahead and carry it out?

At this point, and it is in fact at this point that the tenor of the letter of Ephesians changes to one that's more imperative than it is declarative, that it is more instructive for how they are to conduct themselves than it is about the theoretical as to what has happened and why they should be excited. The first two and a half chapters are more doctrinal and the last three and a half focus on the application of those doctrines and it starts here with this prayer and then he really gets down to the brass tacks of Christian interaction with one another in chapter four which we'll look at next time. Verse 14, for this reason, so now here he just resumes his train of thought. If we were to skip verses the second half of verse 1 to now, then you would miss that parenthetical portion we just talked about moments ago, right? So the for this reason is the same thing as it was when I mentioned it in verse 1. He's pointing back to verse 2. He's resuming this train of thought. The reason that he speaks of is the whole package deal that he talked about in verse, in chapter

two, namely the Gentiles' new status in Christ. They're spiritually alive from chapter 2. They're prepared for good works. They are no longer strangers and aliens. Their status as the dwelling place of God is good reason for this prayer. He says, I bow my knees before the Father from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named. There are two reasons that Paul or that we would bow our knees before the Father, one is just an abject submission and the other is to make a request to beseech the Lord, to pray. So Paul, likewise, bows in humility and in submission to God before the Father and to make a request on behalf of his readers. And for Paul in particular, well okay, the mystery that Paul's been talking about is staggering and brings his knees, brings him to his and for Paul in particular it's pretty easy to see how and why. Christ had commissioned him.

He referred himself moments ago as the least of all the saints. That's not just a faux humility rhetorical device. He actually thought pretty lowly of himself when he examined what he actually deserved. And by the time he gets to his last epistle in the New Testament, 2 Timothy, he's referring to himself as the chief of sinners. There's like this sort of diabolical progression in Paul's mind as to his worthiness. And so when he contemplates and meditates here the full weight of the stewardship that's been given to him, that weight causes his knees to buckle. But also he gets it. He gets what it's waiting, what it means.

Christ had commissioned him as a missionary to the Gentiles and presenting an alluring gospel to the Gentiles is even easier with this glorious mystery. Verse 16, that according to the riches of his glory, he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his spirit in your inner being so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. This is pretty lofty stuff. These are some pretty lofty requests. In chapter one, Paul talked about God's power exercised toward us as being commensurate with the power that he exercised and raising Christ from the dead and exalting him. And that's in verses 19 to 21. Paul uses similar language here.

Our being strengthened by God according to the riches of his glory is to be strengthened and according, be strengthened according to an incomprehensibly great standard. And his prayer here is that Christ would then be at home in the hearts of these saints. What must your heart undergo in order to be a suitable home for Christ, for Him to be comfortable. He says that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.

So believers who are rooted and grounded in love behave in a certain way. And they cannot behave otherwise if they are rooted and grounded in love. They have strong, deep roots that are absorbing, that are sucking in these love nutrients from the spiritual soil in which they're grounded. And if their roots are drawing in these nutrients of love, then the foliage and the fruit that they produce will be love as well. Not only is rooting and grounding and love necessary to bear the right kind of foliage and fruit, but being rooted and grounded in love is necessary to come close to being able to comprehend the incomprehensible.

To being able to comprehend the dimensions of God's love for us in Christ. And that's what Paul is asking. It's breadth and length and height and depth. breadth, length, height, depth. All these dimensions of God's love are what Paul would have for us to know. And when men understand the dimensions of God's love, they can know the love of Christ, which surpasses knowledge. They can know that which is unknowable. We're not talking about Gnosticism here. We're talking about a supernatural ability to know something that natural men cannot comprehend. Paul is praying for them to know that which surpasses knowledge. That's normal for the believer as the supernatural is not naturally comprehensible.

Although in Christ we can absolutely know it. Paul would have us to know the love of Christ. On behalf of undeserving sinners, Christ took on flesh. Think about the love of Christ for just a moment. On behalf of undeserving sinners, he took on flesh, he lived a sinless life, he bore the full wrath of the Father against sin for us and he died for us. And the believer who is supernaturally unable to wrap his mind around all of this will live in a certain way, and that's Paul's request to the Lord for them. Christ's love is a love with profound implications. The saint who is rooted and grounded in love then, loves, and he cannot but love.

Love for him is as natural as breathing. It's a good illustration that John MacArthur uses in his commentary on this passage. He says, when a Christian does not love, when a Christian does not love, he has to do so intentionally and with effort, just as he must do to hold his breath. To become habitually unloving, he must habitually resist Christ as the Lord of his heart. To continue the analogy of breathing, when Christ has his proper place in our hearts, we do not have to be told to love, just as we do not have to be told to breathe. Eventually it must happen, because loving is as natural to the spiritual person as breathing is to the natural person.

Yeah, for the believer, love is literally natural as the natural man is given a new spiritual nature to love. And though this nature constantly conflicts with the old man, the believer's love becomes normal, Not strange. This may seem simple enough, but it's actually pretty indicting. I mean, if it's so basic, then why do we fail to love?

Why do we fail so miserably to behave in a Christ-like way to those who are closest to us? In verse 20, he finishes it off. "'Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly "'than all we can ask or think, "'according to the power at work within us, to Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations forever and ever. Amen. Now I've just taken the last about 15-20 minutes talking about these lofty, impossible seeming requests that Paul will be making of God. He's just petitioned God to enable the Ephesian Christians to be strengthened with His power, verse 16, that they would be rooted and grounded in love, verse 17, that they'd be able to comprehend the full dimensions of the love of Christ and to be filled with all the fullness of God, verse 18.

That is a big ask. Then Paul follows it in verse 20 by saying that God can do far more abundantly than all of this for these believers. I have a hard time wrapping my mind around just what Paul said and what that would look like, but of course God is capable of doing far more than this. According to the power that is at work within us, says Paul, and that he's referencing here sounds again like chapter one when he's talking about that power that God exercised in us and that he also exercised in raising Christ and the dead and exalting him. So it's safe to say that that power that God, we suspect, will enact to answer this prayer is pretty great.

That's good news for us. Why would God not answer this prayer of Paul's? And as we will get to in a couple of chapters, we'll see that as Christ is working out our salvation and sanctification, those things are going to be realized in us. So as we conclude, I would point you again to two big takeaways from this passage of Scripture. First, as I said at the start, we Christians are becoming what we are. We are becoming practically what we already are positionally. And in Christ, we are already set apart. We are recipients of a glorious inheritance that's awaiting us in the heavenlies. In Christ. We are fellow spiritual citizens with all the saints, Jews and Gentiles alike.

We are members of God's household, like you're in his house. And we get to chapter 5, as I said, we'll see that we comprise the various parts of the bride of Christ, and Jesus is personally invested in purifying his bride so as to present her to himself pure and spotless. So as we've seen, it's fitting for Paul to instruct the Ephesian Christians about their status in Christ and then call them to live like the spiritual royalty that they are. And that charge is what we see in his prayer in verses 14 through 21. The second big takeaway is articulated well by Abraham Kuyper. And he says, creation is the theater for the mighty works of God.

Let's pray together. Father, we are overwhelmed with what this means and of course that it is impossible apart from your spirit's work in us. We thank you for your word and the hope that it gives and we plead with you to help us understand this. We struggle to understand just the plain words of scripture, let alone the full dimensions of your love for us in Christ. So help us. And then help us to live accordingly. And may we walk in light of our status in Christ. May we be rooted and grounded in love in our conversation, in our representing you in our workplaces, in our schools and homes. And may we live like we want to honor you. We pray this now in Christ's name, Amen.

Let's pray together. Father, we are overwhelmed with what this means and of course that it is impossible apart from your spirit's work in us. We thank you for your word and the hope that it gives and we plead with you to help us understand this. We struggle to understand just the plain words of scripture, let alone the full dimensions of your love for us in Christ. So help us. And then help us to live accordingly. And may we walk in light of our status in Christ. May we be rooted and grounded in love in our conversation, in our representing you in our workplaces, in our schools and homes. And may we live like we want to honor you.

Automated transcript of the sermon audio, generated with OpenAI Whisper (small.en). It has not been checked against the recording and may contain errors, especially in names and Scripture references.

But as we gather this morning, yet again today, we do so in the name of Jesus Christ and in obedience to God's word. We anticipate that Christ will again use our worship to conform us to his image a little bit more and more as we ascribe to God the worship that is befitting for who he is. We remember then that our help is in the name of the Lord. Amen. The Lord says to my Lord, sit at my right hand until I make your enemies your footstool. The Lord sends forth from Zion your mighty scepter. Rule in the midst of your enemies. Your people will offer themselves freely on the day of your power. In holy garments from the womb of the morning, the dew of your youth will be yours. The Lord has sworn and will not change his mind. You are a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek. The Lord is at your right hand. He will shatter kings on the day of his wrath. He will execute judgment on the nations, filling them with corpses.

He will shatter chiefs over the wide earth. He will drink from the brook by the way. Therefore, he will lift up his head. Father, we know that the nations rage in opposition to the sun and the sun laughs in derision at their folly. We join today in joyful praise as those who are on his side. We happily kiss the sun in honor and bow in submission. You have commanded our worship and we respond now with abilities and interests that you have given. Your name is blessed. You are holy. It is our joy to proclaim these things to you even now in song. Be honored, we pray, with our praises even now and we ask this in Christ's name. Amen.

When is the last time you said the hard thing? Knowing perhaps what you needed to say wasn't a problem and you went ahead and said it with clarity, with courage, and with grace. In other words, without being a jerk. So saying the right thing but doing it appropriately for the context. We tend to think, well we actually tend to be experts at justifying cowardice, thinking that avoiding needless offense is the same thing as avoiding any offense altogether. To play it on, to be on the safe side, to avoid any needless offense, we'll just keep from offending altogether. We also tend to think that our debilitating fear of man is acceptable. Fear, to be sure, is normal when we encounter strange things, but being governed by our fear is sin. Of course, we realize in our more lucid moments that we face very little real danger when it comes to uncomfortable conversations.

Nevertheless in the interest of being peacemakers, we clam up just like the world tells us that we're supposed to because you're Christians so you're supposed to be peacemakers, right?

Meanwhile the shrieking left fills the silence that is left by our clamming up and fills that void with tolerance. And our loved ones may continue in sin simply because we'd prefer our own comfort to any sort of weirdness. Well, that sort of faithless cowardice requires our repentance. And of course, there's no time like the present to go ahead and repent. So we intentionally carve out time in our service for that purpose. Perhaps this brings to mind particular sins that you need to confess and repent of, and this is the time to do that privately. If you would like to, I encourage you to kneel if you're able to do so and there's enough space in the pews. And after a few moments of silent confession, I will close our time in prayer. Let's do that now. Father, now we kneel before you in confession and far too many times we've knelt at the altar of convenience. We've idolized our own comfort and we have received passively the world's instruction about how Christians should act and we have taken their advice. The

world around us demands that we affirm its wickedness and by our silence we comply. We stand by while men redefine love and when we do have hard conversations too often we act like jerks we call it courage. We read the Gospels and Christ's kindness and humility mixed with a boldness to speak the truth and love and rather than acting like Christ we opt instead for our own personal comfort. Please forgive us. Make us willing and give us the words to speak the truth faithfully, graciously, and courageously. Make us willing then to receive from men the full consequence of this if necessary. We thank you for the full forgiveness though that we receive in Christ. Help us now to be faithful to speak the truth and love and we pray this in Christ's name. Amen. Our promise of forgiveness this morning comes from 1 Peter chapter 1 verses 18 through 21 and it reads as follows, you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ like that of a

lamb without blemish or spot. He was foreknown before the foundation of the world but was made manifest in the last times for the sake of you who through him are believers in God who raised him from the dead and gave him glory so that your faith and your hope are in God. God's word is loaded with promises of the accomplished work of Christ on our behalf and it gives us plenty of reason to sing. As we do we're going to sing, it's actually not in the contours, we're gonna sing Oh My Soul Arise and I enjoy this one for a number of reasons. I like those those Psalms and hymns and even spiritual songs where the the The lyrics have us speaking truth to our own souls.

So in the refrain, when we are speaking truth to our own souls, I would encourage you to draw your attention to that and then sing as those who have been forgiven. Today's scripture reading is 1 Peter 4, 12 through 19. 1 Peter 4, 12 through 19. Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice in so far as you share Christ's sufferings that you may also rejoice and be glad when His glory is revealed. If you are insulted for the name of Christ, you are blessed because of the spirit of glory and of God rests upon you. But let no one, none of you suffer as a murderer or a thief or an evil doer or as a meddler.

Yet if anyone suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but let him glorify God in that name. For it is time for judgment to begin at the household of God. And if it begins with us, what will be the outcome for those who do not obey the gospel of God? And if the righteous is scarcely saved, what will become of the ungodly and the sinner. Therefore, let those suffer according to God's will and trust their souls to a faithful creator while doing good.

Let's pray. Father, in this well-known passage about suffering and how we should respond, we come to you now as a congregation, asking you the one who can do these things for us. We think of our government. We pray for those leaders that know you, that they would be influential. We pray that you would convict those that don't know you to come to you and be one of us. We think of the men that serve in our military, out of our congregation, Ben Hackbarth and Dan Wibemeyer, that when they are on duty, that they are in a kind of a dark place. But there are those of yours that are there and help them to build a bond and be that witness with those people.

We thank you that we could go to a conference and have our men well represented there from our little congregation to go over and see other people and how that strengthened them and you could just see around the room as they were talking how there are others like us that wanna change our community and make things better. Help us to understand that in ways and bring it right back home. do it in our homes, do it in our church, and do it in all levels of leadership in our church.

We thank you for that and thank you that when those conferences give us a chance to realize we're not alone, we're not the lone ranger, that you have lots of troops out there and you're commanding them to do your will. We think of the personal supplications in our congregation. We think of the Durden family and how the surgery went well for Steve, for the pinched nerve and all of that in his back. And it seems that they did a good job and got all the screws and plates and everything in place. And we pray that Steve would heal up and not be in pain from his back. And we do pray for Steve and Lisa that as they now battle ALS with Steve, that at least he won't be in that constant pain as they returned to Guam and have her, Okinawa and have to get all this straightened out.

So they're ongoing trials, we pray for that and we thank you for the delivery of the surgery quickly and that it did go well. And we are so pleased to see Ralph here today. I didn't expect that. We've been praying for him with his ongoing chemo treatment and his recovering. And again, as he feels better, help him not to get over anxious and do too much, but that slow and steady is the, wins the course there. So we thank you for that and thank you for bringing him here with us. We think of Jen Vanderbecken's younger brother Joel, who was recently, just this week, diagnosed with a brain tumor. And that as Jen says, he's at best a nominal Christian.

And I would ask that through this, that it would really sober him up to their spiritual condition. And we ask that you would preserve him for those things and that their family would be brought to you. We thank you for the ongoing improvement in Debbie Wold's condition. And glad to see her here today and just keep on shrinking those tumors and getting rid of them. We know that you can do that, and we do pray for that. It's good to see the barns here and help them with Christina's mom and the hospice and all the decisions that they're making help them to transfer and do those things in a proper way and that the family would be united in the decisions that they make for that.

We think of Brandon and Lester's nephew Ethan and the progress that he's making after his whole situation, and it does seem that he is getting incrementally better. So we'd ask that you would bring him back to full health also. And we think of the Sauls with the situation with Gordy's water on the brain, that they would be able to get a more current appointment with the doctor to deal with that. And we do pray for her brother, that through these situations that he would, in his liver failure, that he would come to a knowledge of you. So we thank you for that. We also thank you that Bill Slices surgery went well.

We pray that his recovery would go well and he would be able to get back to work. And we thank you that it seemed to go as good as it could go. And we also think of Jeremy and Annie and little Hunter Martin, his ongoing situation with these seizures. It looks like maybe they have them under control now, but we would pray that that would be a situation that would be of no longer a worry to them. And then with all the stuff going around and all the activities that are going on, just our general health with this flu bug that just keeps cycling through help us to be as strong and yet accept those complications and those schedule changes that have to happen from that.

So help us to handle that in a great way. We pray for our outreach, our school. It was wonderful to meet all kinds of people that are part of logouts over there and the ACS from different churches that came to the convention and how that again confirms what we're trying to do. There's all kinds of people out there trying to change their community and raise up the next generation in a good way. So we thank you for that. We thank you for Andrew Snyder and the Children's Law Center and there's continuing placement of those children in those good, solid homes so that they don't have to be in the foster care. And last but not least, I want to pray for the churches that are worshipping you this morning in whatever place around the world, whatever time that is.

And I want to pray especially for over in Moscow as a lot of our men stayed to be in a church service at Christ Church there. And it's really humbling and joyful for me as having gone to different churches all around the world really, and how there is your body that you've chosen and they are worshiping you. And help us to be an example to that in our community and all those churches around the world to be that. So we thank you for all of those things in your Son's name, Jesus Christ, Amen. Father, like so many of the songs that we sing, even those words provide an understatement to suggest that Christ is fair, is true, and as mere men try to wrap our minds around the full extent of that, well then, we will inevitably fail.

But you can help us if we are rooted and grounded in love comprehend with all the saints the dimensions of Christ's love and so we undertake to sing accurately and to worship in spirit and in truth as we turn now to your word and submit to it we pray that you would be equally honored not just with what we sing but our attitudes as we look to apply and hear your word please help me to communicate it clearly and may your Spirit, apply it to each heart, we pray in Christ's name. Amen. As you can probably see from your bulletins, my message for this morning is entitled, suffering as a Christian, and I draw that from verse 16, which is in the center of our text for today. And as I would undertake to help us wrap our minds around what Peter is saying in this paragraph, and that as we are persecuted for righteousness' sake, we ought to count it as an honor as Christ did, at the same time as we do examine that and try to wrap our minds around it, we do so with a view to apply it to our lives. And I think it's important to consider

what would invite persecution in our particular context today. Of course, there was a context for Peter's first readers, and their duty was to apply the principle where they were, and our duty is to apply the principle where we are, even if our context is different.

I think there's a danger when we read works like this, and we'll talk more about this in a moment, and think there's no way that we could possibly relate to the kind of suffering and persecution, even under execution, that these believers underwent. So then our response, and that is true, at least in 21st century America, that is true. We can't generally speaking relate. We can read about it. We can know it. We can pray for those who are undergoing similar persecution in the world today elsewhere because it is happening. But our responsibility is to try to look for the principles and apply them. So I I would have us not adopt the ascetic beating ourselves to the cat of nine tails just because we're not being dragged into an arena and sewn into animal skins and killed as they were under Nero because there are still principles in view that we can apply today.

But what is it precisely that would enrage the culture? Yesterday, I was at a conference. Some of our guys are still there. And the title of the conference was Enraging the Culture. And yesterday morning the speaker was Ben Merkel. And it wasn't the point of his talk, but he did say as an aside, all that the church needs to do to enrage the culture is to effectively engage the culture. And I think that goes without saying. That's a helpful way of putting it and it is difficult to argue against that. If we properly engage the culture, we can rest assured the culture is going to be accordingly enraged. Faithful Christians then have been enraging the culture, as it were, from the beginning, as they have looked to engage the culture.

And not too surprisingly at those points where the culture has been happy with us, it's probably because we did something wrong.

Martin Luther is at least reported to have said, "'If I profess with the loudest voice "'and the clearest exposition, "'every portion of the truth, "'except precisely that little point "'where the world and the devil are at that moment attacking? I'm not professing Christ, however boldly I may be professing Christianity. Where the battle rages, the loyalty of the soldier is proved, and to be steady on the battlefield besides is mere flight and disgrace to him if he flinches at that one point." Now again, while there is some debate as to whether or not these words can be rightly attributed to Martin Luther, the statement is itself true. Every season of life and ministry of the church is different and so are the assaults on the church and on the going forth of the gospel. Faithful Christians have had to fight for orthodoxy and from attacks on the truth, sometimes from inside the church, sometimes from without. As those who would be faithful ourselves, we have to know which hills to die on, sometimes literally.

Where can we compromise? Where must we stand firm? In the 20th century, faithful Christians combated the emerging Christian liberalism. In the 16th century, they defended the authority of Scripture and justification by faith alone in the Protestant Reformation. In the fourth century, going back 1,200 years before, they defended the deity of Christ himself because that's what was under attack. There's a reason why the Nicene Creed is longer than the Apostles' Creed. When the Apostles' Creed was being ratified, it did not, or at least recited, that was not where the truth was being assaulted. In the first century, their plain refusal to worship the gods of men got faithful Christians into really hot water.

Must honor Caesar as God. You can worship your God, but you must honor him as well. And they said, no, our God prohibits our worshiping another God. All the way through, they fought for these things. And the fight was often costly. Many of the stories are themselves famous. Others are known only to God. We must consider as those who are gathered here and now, where in fact the devil and the world are at this moment attacking. And I'm not going to try to exhaust that today. That's not the point of this message. But I would have that as sort of a program running in the background as we're looking to apply it. And as we would be courageous.

For Athanasius, it was the deity of Christ. He was combating the Arians who suggested there was a time when Christ was not. That he was the firstborn of creation, meaning not preeminence but chronology. That he was created. For Luther, it was justification by faith alone. Sola Fide, for us, perhaps the definition of marriage, perhaps the defense of the unborn, which truth that we proclaim is most likely to invite our suffering? If the Apostles' Creed were being drafted in 2018, what would they be sure to include?

Which truth that we proclaim is most likely to invite our suffering? Which hills must we be ready to die on? Well, this much we know, And the history of the church bears witness to this as well. Persecution is normal for faithful Christians. We are engaged in a spiritual battle and our enemy hates us. The sons of this world are in the service of the devil. So they are insidiously and intentionally working out an agenda that cannot finally win. That must be maddening for them, which is why they're so mad. Our faithful living as Christians is an affront to their whole worldview, their whole existence, all that they stand for.

So of course, if we would be faithful, we ought to expect resistance. We ought to even expect persecution. I mean, I don't believe that we make the right people nearly mad enough. And I know I don't. I mean, all things being equal, man, I'd just love to be at peace with everybody. And Paul said the same thing, but he said that knowing that he couldn't. Jesus himself invited trouble and an eventual rest and execution without sinning once. What about you? Yet here I am wanting to lead a trouble-free life while also being like Jesus, which is kind of like wanting to be like a dolphin without getting wet. I mean, dolphins are chipper.

They can gang up and take out the sharks. Me. Whatever, you know. But to do so without getting wet, I've never seen a very effective dolphin on dry land. So of course we should expect persecution. And it's likely then in the year 64 that Peter penned this letter to the Christians who lived in a normal state of suffering. Now persecuting Christians was a pastime for the rather prolific Emperor Nero, who at this time was in his late 20s.

The letter is addressed to Christians dispersed throughout the Roman provinces of Pontius, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia. They're all on Asia Minor, and you can read about that in chapter one. So they were in these Roman provinces, and few American Christians could begin to fathom the sort of persecution that these saints faced. and their offense was faithfulness. Their offense was chiefly naming the name of Christ and trying to obey what he had said. And of course, there are lots of things, and I'll rattle off a few of them later on, that were falsely said against them, that enabled the world around them to be convinced that the Christians hated humanity.

Know that they were called cannibals because they consumed the body and blood of the Lord in communion.

But for the most part, being faithful prevented them from venerating Caesar as a god or from worshiping any gods besides Jehovah. In a very real sense, those who turned to Christ at this time knew that identifying with him would cut their lives short as a result. That sort of faith is pretty commendable. It's also hard for the watching world to ignore. So those who hated him couldn't help but notice. For these believers, learning to deal with suffering was basic. For us, it feels like a sort of graduate level course you have to go to Sudan to take. But we, again, I would have us look for principles. It may well be the case that the sort of suffering that Peter's readers was experiencing is largely foreign to us, nevertheless, the application of these principles from our text this morning to persecution of any degree from shunning to execution is fitting. And when Peter talks about suffering as a Christian, he is talking about persecution as a reward for their faithfulness.

And that is something that transcends time. Persecution as a reward for their faithfulness. When the church is persecuted, we know that it is purified. We are forced to articulate which hills are worth dying on and take our stand there. The result that happens then is a pure church where pure people are preaching a clear message from a rock-solid and expanded platform. And wouldn't that be awesome if that were the case with us today? Though the church is not suffering much in our culture, we are increasingly confronted with facing the essential, the undeniable first principles of the faith. I invite you to join me in the reading of 1 Peter chapter 4 verses 12 to 19.

Dave did it for us already. We'll read it again. As we read and study this morning, I would caution you, as I said, not to dismiss this message because you're not suffering in the same way today. principles of view here are universal even if the American church today does not experience such purging. Let's read 1st Peter chapter 4 verses 12 to 19 Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you as though something strange were happening to you, but rejoice in so far as you share Christ's sufferings that you may also rejoice and be glad when His glory is revealed. If you're insulted for the name of Christ you are blessed because the spirit of glory and of God rests upon you.

But let none of you suffer as a murderer or a thief or an evildoer or a meddler. Yet if anyone suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but let him glorify God in that name. For it is time for judgment to begin at the household of God. And if it begins with us, what will be the outcome for those who do not obey the gospel of God? And if the righteous is scarcely saved, what will become of the ungodly and the sinner? Therefore, let those who suffer according to God's will, entrust their souls to a faithful creator while doing good."

In this text, Peter has argued that suffering is a normal part of the Christian life and is a powerful aid in the task of impacting a dying and watching world around us. So in the course of his letter, he assumes and he acts as though their suffering has afforded them unique opportunities for that time. With regard to suffering in this passage then, with regard to suffering in this passage, I would offer four directives for us related to suffering as a Christian that are embedded in this paragraph and I'll visit them one at a time but I'll rattle them off now. First in verse 12 we see where to anticipate your suffering, second to celebrate your association in verses 13 and 14, third to evaluate the causes of your persecution in verses 15 through 18 and then finally in verse 19 to delegate your concern. Anticipate your suffering, celebrate your association, evaluate the causes, delegate your concern. So let's look together now at the first point that is to anticipate your suffering. We see that in verse 12. He says, do not be

surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you as though something strange were happening to you. He starts off by calling them beloved. And when Peter uses this term of endearment to address his readers, it is reminiscent of John chapter 21 verses 15 to 17 when Jesus charges Peter to feed his sheep. It seems as though over time years removed, Peter had gotten the idea and loved well his readers. And also if he's calling them beloved, it's not just beloved by him, a beloved of God. And so that would have to be an orienting title for them to be reminded that they were beloved by God. And again, we don't know exactly when this was written.

We can speculate around the mid 60s. And I think there's a strong case to be made for that. It is without a doubt written during a time when the normal treatment of Christians was one of persecution. And it's pretty famous, Nero's persecution of Romans in the wake of the torching of Rome in 64, that summer. And it's said that there are a number of reasons why this persecution actually worked, because he was able to effectively deflect the attention from himself. And there are mixed accounts as to what exactly happened. Some say that Nero actually started the fire to eliminate part of the town for sake of a building project and looked on and played a spittle while Rome was burning.

Again, whether those things actually happened or not, the Christians served very effectively as a scapegoat during that time. And this deflection of the attention, this persecution then that followed was not because the Roman citizens were so gullible as to believe that Nero was innocent of instigating or burning in the city, because he was totally capable of that. Or it wasn't even necessarily that Christians were actually guilty. Rather, he was able to effectively deflect the attention toward the Christians because the Roman culture had already believed that the Christians hated the human race.

In his commentary on this passage, John MacArthur says that unbelievers falsely reported that Christians consumed human flesh and blood during the Lord's Supper, and that the Holy Kiss was actually a sign of uncontrolled lust. In addition, the Romans viewed Christianity as a sect of Judaism, and with the increasing anti-Semitism of those days, the populace easily adopted an anti-Christian attitude as well. Christianity had also caused stress within families when one spouse, particularly women, believed, but then the other did not. That generated further resentment toward the saints. So picking on these Christians was fairly easy for Nero and for the rest of the Roman Empire on his watch.

And Peter's address may not seem like much, but neither do I want to sell it short. Under these circumstances, his came calling them beloved, under these circumstances being called beloved by the Apostle does not only mean that he had affection for them as his sheep that he was trying to shepherd, but it also reminds them that they too belonged to God.

calling them beloved, he was reminding them of whose they are. And the reward for their obedience was suffering. He says, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you. And again in the context of chapter 4, the fiery trial that Peter speaks of is persecution at the hands of the ungodly in respect, in response to Christians faithfulness. So that had to be a bit frustrating. Here, these believers were no doubt laboring to do what was right in the eyes of God and in obedience to Him and obedience to His laws. And the reward was persecution and in many cases death, especially in the decades and the generations that followed this letter. And what would Peter have them to expect in response to their faithfulness?

would have them to expect trials and we should too even if our trials look different. It was perfectly normal and it was an expected part of the Christian life and it ought to be the same for us to experience trials as a test of our faith. If we are living our lives as we are supposed to, if we are living in a manner that is worthy of the gospel, if we are living holy lives in obedience to scripture, then it is certain that our conduct will make the world around us uncomfortable, just like it did in the case of Christ. When we are living holy lives, our conduct keeps more and more guilt on the consciences of the unbelieving world around us.

They know in their heart of hearts that they are living lives of disobedience to God's laws. And the righteous presence of the obedient around them only magnifies their guilt. Conversely, when unbelievers are comfortable having us around, and when we are completely comfortable around them, you can know that you're probably not living like Christ. I mean, if you are totally comfortable in a group of God-haters, what does that tell you? Now, we shouldn't needlessly offend, but that doesn't mean we shouldn't ever offend. neither should we accommodate those who reject Christ because we fear persecution.

Peter also says that the fiery trial comes upon them as a test, to test them. Trials are tests in every circumstance and the Christian life is no exception to this. When we are faithful, we can suspect that our faith will be tested. And why would that be a good thing? Well, for a few reasons, I'll suggest a few. Our faith can actually be strengthened when we are tried and found faithful. When you have an opportunity to trust God or to trust yourself and you trust God instead, well, you can be sure that your love for him is real and it is consistent with our profession. Additionally, it's also an encouragement to others as we can potentially set a good example for them to follow or even as others see us grow.

I mean, we can all identify with this. You have been encouraged deeply by watching others bear up under trials well. It also strengthens our testimony. If we can be faithful in times of great trial, the world will want to know how that is possible. How on earth can you be faithful in times like these? And they'll see our good works and they'll glorify God. And even in the previous chapter, Peter assumes that they'll ask. They'll ask for an explanation for your hope. In all cases then, it brings more glory to God when believers are tried and found faithful. So then to echo Peter, it's not as though these trials are strange to the believer, or that they are foreign to human experience, rather they are normal, and we should expect them whenever we are obedient.

In many cases, they're the very proof that we're doing something right. So, point one is to anticipate your suffering. Second, celebrate your association. Celebrate your association. Peter says in verse 13, Rejoice in so far as you share Christ's sufferings that you may also rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed. If you're insulted for the name of Christ, you are blessed because the spirit of God and glory rests upon you. This is a remarkable principle. The ways of God, of course, are not the ways of men. And God has inspired Peter to instruct his readers to actually rejoice in the midst of trials because it illustrates and cements our identification with Christ.

That's not natural, but it's our call no less. Jesus suffered for righteousness, and when that happens to us, we share in his sufferings. We're not used to this. We're used to suffering because we've been boneheaded. When's the last time you suffered for doing the right thing? Peter is in the audience when Jesus spoke in John 15, verses 18 through 25, and he said this, if the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own, but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, and therefore the world hates you. Remember the word that I said to you, a servant is not greater than his master.

If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you. If they kept my word, they will also keep yours. But all these things they will do to you on account of my name, because they do not know him who sent me. If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not have been guilty of sin. But now they have no excuse for their sin. Whoever hates me hates my father also. If I had not done among them the works that no one else did, they would not be guilty of sin. But now they have seen and hated both me and my father. But the word that is written in their law must be fulfilled. They hated me without a cause." Well, this would explain a lot to these suffering believers and they would undoubtedly receive hope and encouragement from it, that while being obedient, they were not experiencing necessarily the correction of God.

While being obedient, they were not receiving the correction of God. Rather, their persecution meant that they were probably doing something right. For his part, Peter evidently believed and understood this principle well or else he and the other apostles would not have rejoiced at the privilege of suffering for sake of Christ's name in Acts 5.41.

But this idea deserves a bit more exploring. God does not treat us as our sins deserve. Rather, he treats us as Christ deserves. And because we are in Christ, both the Father and the world regard us as they do Christ. And that's good. The Father regards us as he does Christ in that we are clothed in his righteousness at the cross, we are given his righteousness, he takes our sin and bears it on our behalf, drinking the full cup of the Father's wrath. As far as the world is concerned when they look at us, if we're doing things right, they will see Christ's body and they will treat us accordingly, and we know how the world treated Christ.

The privilege is being identified with Christ in his sufferings that we would share Christ's sufferings. And God is gracious that rather than enjoying a blissful, happy, and trouble-free existence, He loves us enough to help us keep our focus on Him, to maintain our dependence upon Him consciously, to allow us to be treated the same way as Jesus. That actually is a privilege. It doesn't feel like it, but when our perspective is right, we can understand that it is. Suffering for Christ helps us to better relate to Him as well. And these are the words of John Calvin on this passage from his commentary.

Moreover, Peter proves that the cross is useful by two arguments, that God thus tries our faith and that we become thus partakers with Christ. Thus in the first place, let us remember that the trial of our faith is most necessary, that we ought thus willingly to obey God who provides for our salvation. However, the chief consolation is to be derived a fellowship with Christ. Hence, Peter not only forbids us to think it's strange when he sets this before us, but he also bids us to rejoice. It's not weird, it's good. It is, indeed, a cause of joy when God tries our faith by persecution. But the other joy far surpasses it, that is, when the Son of God allots to us the same course of life with Himself that He might lead us with Himself to a blessed participation of heavenly glory.

For we must bear in mind this truth that we have the dying of Christ in our flesh that His life may be manifested in us. The wicked also do indeed bear many afflictions, but they are separated from Christ, and they apprehend nothing but God's wrath and curse. Thus it comes that sorrow and dread overwhelm them." So given that this life is full of trouble, all people suffer, right? The wicked suffer and it's bad because this life offers the fullness of their hope. This is as close to heaven as they're going to get. So when this life is bad, that's doubly bad for them. That's bad, bad. Because this is as good as they're going to get and when it's bad, that's bad, bad.

But for the believer who suffers, it's all right because this life is as close to hell as we're ever going to get. So why would we expect for it to be good?

good is yet to come. And when we suffer, we also in a way share in Christ's life as well as his death, which we'll see in just a moment. Third, Peter would have his readers to evaluate the causes of their suffering. In verses 15 through 18 he says, but let none of you suffer as a murderer or a thief or an evildoer or as a meddler. Yet if anyone suffers as a Christian let him not be ashamed, but let him glorify God in that name. For it is time for judgment to begin at the household of God and if it begins with us what will be the outcome for those who do not obey the gospel of God? And if the righteous is scarcely saved what will become of the ungodly and the sinner?" So with all of this said, just because a believer is suffering doesn't mean he's suffering for a good reason, right? So lest his readers miss the point and assume that their suffering is for the name of Jesus Christ just because they're Christians. Peter gives the disclaimer, gives a bit of clarification by offering the wrong

reasons to suffer. Now the list that he gives is not particularly profound or needing special clarification because I mean we get it, right? If yeah, what's he say? If any of you, yeah, suffer as a murderer or a thief or an evildoer or as a meddler. A meddler is basically a busy body. Yeah, when you steal something and get arrested for it, you can't say you're being persecuted. When you are a murderer, killing in cold blood, and you're arrested for it, you can't say you're being treated unjustly. You can't call yourself a victim. Like, duh, Peter. Right? We get that. But it has to But as he said, we all know what murderers and thieves do, and to suffer as one is simply to reach natural consequences for one's behavior.

The government exists to bear a sword and the rest. Murderers and thieves who go to jail or suffer a worse fate when they're caught are criminals. And if you're a thief and you're arrested, you don't get to call that persecution. But if anyone suffers as a Christian, says Peter, let him not be ashamed, but let him glorify God in that name. So in stark relief, you have suffering for doing evil, okay, which you should. But if you suffer for doing good, if you suffer as a Christian, glory to God. All suffering is the result of sin, right? Whether it's our sin we're suffering for or somebody else's sin who's making us suffer.

All suffering is the result of sin, whether ours or somebody else's. And really, we all deserve to suffer then since we all have sinned. Suffering by itself is not a privilege. Suffering for Christ is a privilege. With this in mind, Calvin suggests that this thought ought to occur to the godly. Get this. This thought ought to occur to the godly. This ought to occur to you. I am indeed worthy to be visited by the Lord with this and even with greater punishment for my sins.

But now, he would have me to suffer for righteousness as though I were innocent. So the Christian who deserves in himself to suffer for his sins is instead accounted, blessed to suffer like Jesus did for sinlessness. So when Peter talks about our identifying, our sharing with Christ in his sufferings, that's what it means. It doesn't mean that Christ sinned. Calvin is observing the uniqueness of suffering for righteousness' sake. It is an experience we share with Christ when we suffer not because we have sinned but because we have acted righteously and because we look enough like Christ that the world would treat us like him.

For it is time, says Peter, for judgment to begin at the household of God, and if it begins with us, what will be the outcome of those who do not obey the gospel of God, and if the righteous is scarcely safe, what will become of the ungodly and the sinner? The pattern throughout the Old Testament, and in the history of God's redemption, has been that those who have the greatest responsibility and accountability to receive first judgment are those to whom God's law is given. It seems like Peter understood that he's his reader, or assume that his readers understood this, the judgment in view here refers to a chastening that will purify and cleanse the church first, the household of God, and then extend to the rest of the world.

So in effect, Peter is saying, let's get this show on the road, people. Let's start living purely. You can almost hear him saying, it is high time that the church conduct itself as the pure spotless bride of Christ that he would have for us to be. We simply don't have years, weeks, days, or hours to waste with a flippant, apathetic Christianity. There isn't time for that, and besides that, our opportunities are fantastic right now. The opportunities that Peter's readers enjoyed were fantastic right then. The opportunities that we enjoy here and now are different, but still fantastic. If we live like Christ, the world will take notice and object.

Almost as if to remind his readers about the damnation of their neighbors and their afflictors. Peter adds the rhetorical question regarding what will become of the ungodly and the sinner. If the church, though his own possession, if the church cannot escape God's chastening for the sake of her purity, how much less can the ungodly escape his wrath? The outcome for the world, for those who disbelieve is clear. Their judgment is as sure as is their destruction. Last in verse 19, Peter exhorts his readers to delegate their concern. Therefore, let those who suffer according to God's will entrust their souls to a faithful creator while doing good.

And so the group he's speaking of here, it says his readers clearly. They are the ones suffering according to God's will. If he says that these fiery trials are tests, Well then, they're tests ultimately at the hand of God. And they're charged by Peter is to entrust their souls to God. If our suffering is a test of our faith, then necessarily there is a suffering according to God's will. Said another way, God sometimes ordains our suffering. And when we are persecuted, there are proper ways to conduct ourself that are also according to his will. This creates problems for those who would suggest that when we suffer, God stands by and weeps in surprise.

As those champions of the openness of God might suggest, they would have to object to what Peter is saying here. To delegate means to commit to another as agent or deputy. And that's what I mean when I say delegate your concern. That's what Peter is instructing his readers to do with their concern. He wants them to delegate concern for their souls to the gracious father. Thankfully, we don't need to worry about where our souls are headed. If we love Christ and if we live for Him, our inheritance and future in heaven are secure. There's no magical formula here. The way to entrust your soul to God is simply by doing good.

Because what motivates your doing good? Your love for God? It testifies to whose you are. Peter David in his commentary on this passage says that these people should trust God, that is, entrust themselves by doing good. He also says, doing good despite the consequences is how one lives out the entrusting of oneself to God. Doing good no matter the likely outcome is an act of faith and dependency. It takes faith to always do the right thing. It takes faith to always do the right thing. And this is what it is to entrust ourselves to God. Throughout this letter, this lands in chapter four, throughout this letter, Peter writes with a sense of urgency.

The urgency is because Peter realized that the unique sufferings that his readers experienced afforded them a unique platform for influence in the world. How they could possibly bear up under the suffering that they were experiencing unjustly, while the loved ones around them were tortured and executed, and to do so with joyfulness, was naturally befuddling. The world around them would look and say, how do you do what you do? We should share this urgency, because our moral context is also unique, and it affords us unique opportunities for influence. Throughout Peter's letter, there is also a sense of optimism. He writes with urgency and he writes with optimism as he knew well that in Christ, we have great reason to hope and we have an antidote for the troubles of this world.

We should also share this optimism. I urge us to consider what it would take for us to be inviting the kind of persecution that we are today. That question is still out there for us to consider. Recently, some of us have been studying World War II and in the fall and winter of 1944. The Allied powers of the Soviet Union on the east and Britain and the United States had a pretty simple objective in the European theater of operations. That was to go to Berlin and eliminate Hitler's command. The Soviets approached Berlin from the east and the Americans and the British approached from the west. With extensive but still limited resources, the Germans had to make a decision.

They had to make a choice. So if they're coming from both directions, where are we going to put the majority of our defense? And apparently, the German High Command viewed the British and the Americans as the greater threat. So Germany decided to overextend itself. The decision wasn't to overextend, but that was the outcome. the Western Front and what was dubbed the Battle of the Bulge and it was an offensive. A demanding offensive against the Americans and British leaving itself then weaker and more depleted on the eastern border against the approaching Soviets. This of course, if you know the story at all, proved very, very costly.

The Soviets did overtake Berlin and Soviet communism dominated Eastern Europe for the next half century. Of course the illustration breaks down pretty quickly, but I offer it as an illustration that they were coming. And faithful Christians today are, like Germany, confronted on a variety of fronts. And we should expect heat and casualties along the way. The task for Christians is to identify the greatest threat, be faithful, and fight courageously, even if it means suffering as a Christian along the way. We must determine where to fight. Faithful Christians must also determine when to fight. Throughout the course of Peter's letter, he has faithfully impressed upon his readers that the impacting of the world for Christ's sake is time-sensitive, and suffering for the sake of Christ is a privilege that refines and helps to identify us with him.

It authenticates our faith and strengthens our testimony, And by God's grace, may we know where and when to fight. And also by God's grace, may we be faithful when that invites our suffering. Let's pray. Father, natural men are not able to understand these things, let alone to apply them. It seems counterintuitive for us to surrender and to embrace suffering. we assume automatically that we are being treated unjustly. And that is part of Peter's point is that sometimes we are treated unjustly and we can count ourselves privileged to suffer as Christ. Other times we are suffering absolutely justly and experiencing the natural consequences for our sinfulness.

When that happens, we pray that you would cause us to be aware of our sin, may your spirit be active in us, convicting us and cause us to be quick to repent. Father, we depend upon you for any success in these things and help us to shepherd our little ones along the way to the same effect as well. And may we think and consider what hills we must be ready to die on even now. Like Peter's readers, it seems more and more as though just identifying with Christ is enough to earn us some degree of affliction. And so help us to be ready for that, give us strength, and then when people do persecute us or observe how we can bear up under persecution with joy, we pray that we will be ready with your praise and credit on our lips.

We pray this now in Christ's name, amen. Now comes the time in our service for communion, okay? where we commune together in worship of what Christ did for us. It's an interesting point, and it was hammered home in the conference this week of the oneness of our worship, that God is the one, and how all other forms of worship end up in multiples and worshiping duality and yourself and nature and all of that. I mean, basic point, he's the creator, we're the creature. In that though, he lives inside of us. Even though we're a creature, when he transforms us, he gives us his spirit to live inside of us. So that makes us kind of a supernatural being, doesn't it, in that that spirit is working with our spirit to conform us to the image of his son.

And in that, we have trials and all these kinds of situations. And as Jonathan was careful to point out, there are those trials where we're being persecuted for our faith in him. And there are those trials where we're being persecuted because we're being jerks. And we don't wanna be jerks. We wanna be those people that make those people that don't know God, jealous. And by that, our lives, our humor, our demeanor, all of those things. But that can only be done supernaturally. So we wanna be those people that are poking at our culture, engaging our culture, and as Jonathan pointed out and the conference pointed out, as we engage rightly, we should enrage what's going on.

to outrage what's going on. I mean, our country is killing little babies and selling their parts. They are totally deserting themselves away from God in all kinds of different ways. And yet, the faithful will persevere and we, in the end, win. That's why he's given us the book. That's why Peter can be glad in those persecutions and we should be too. So we celebrate that now together communion. And our body, we are an open communion church, in other words people that have been baptized in the one body by faith as though who's a repetitive sin and put their faith in the Lord Jesus Christ are able to partake in our communion. The way we do it is we come together as the music plays and we come down the center aisle, get your bread and wine or grape juice which is the one with the J on the front, and then proceed back to your seat and then and we'll do it together after we've done that.

And so we'll now sing a song and then we'll all participate together. Now's the time for the commissioning and our charge for us to go out in the world. And today I think it's kind of special. A lot of our men are still over and worshiping over in Moscow. Hence our ranks are a little depleted. But they're, I think, being encouraged to see the liturgy that's practiced there, how it's changed their community. And my charge to us today is realize we are changing Marysville in little and big ways every day.

We are being blessed by having people move their families to our city and our community to raise up their families in our school and to have those young souls go out and change the community and make it far better than we're leaving it. And I think that that's just an exciting thing to be part of. And at the end of the conference, Doug gave the charge and he didn't preach or anything like that. He just got up in front and kind of looked down and said, you know what, people ask me all the time, what are you going to do next? and how are you gonna do this? And I thought it was really comforting what he said. The next thing you do is take that next step.

Tomorrow when you get up, be more faithful in your job, in your whatever God has you in, changing the next diaper, mowing the lawn, picking up the dog poop, whatever. Do it in the honor of God and do it with gusto. And as you do that, God's Spirit will cause you to see new opportunities and bring them to you. Just be faithful to walk those steps and walk them in the Spirit. So that's my personal charge to you. And now our benediction is from 1 Peter 5 and Peter talking to us, you know, 2000 years later. Be sober minded, be watchful. Your adversary the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.

Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world. After and after you have suffered a little while, this God of all grace who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you. To him be the dominion forever and ever. Amen.