Sunday
Morning Bible Study
December 4, 2005
Introduction
Sit – Walk – Stand. This is one of
the suggested outlines for the book of Ephesians. First Paul talks about how we are “seated” in
the heavenlies with Christ, about how we have been blessed with every spiritual
blessing with Jesus. And it’s after
getting us immersed in what Jesus has done for us that he moves on to how we
are to walk as Christians. And finally
he will talk about how we are to stand against the devil. But first comes the part of learning to sit,
to learn what we have in Christ.
It’s like building a model, perhaps like building something for your kids
out of Legos. For most of us, if we were
told to build a model of a Star Wars spaceship out of Legos it would sure be
helpful to have a picture of one first.
As Christians, it’s good to have a model before us, someone that can show
us how we’re supposed to do this thing, living like a Christian.
Jesus has not only blessed us spiritual in every way imaginable, but He has
also given us a pattern, an example to follow.
We pick it up in the middle of what some call the longest sentence in the
Bible …
:7 In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins,
according to the riches of His grace
In Him – we talked about this last week
Last week I used the analogy of winning a Wal-Mart shopping spree. It’s of no use to me unless I go “into” the
store. Once I’m “in” the store, I have
access to all the things lining the shelves.
redemption – apolutrosis –
a releasing effected by payment of ransom; redemption, deliverance
In Paul’s day, there were 60 million slaves being bought and sold like
pieces of furniture.
There are three different Greek words that tell the story of what “redemption”
is all about.
agoradzo means to buy a slave in
the market (agora). If you were a land
owner going to the slave market to buy more help, even if only for temporary
work, this is what you’d do.
exagoradzo means to buy a slave
out of the market. When you go to
purchase a slave, it’s for the rest of their life. They will never again be sent back to the
slave market to be bought and sold again.
lutroo means to liberate by
paying the price of the ransom. The idea
here is to go to a slave market, purchase a slave, but only for the reason of
setting them free.
Today in the Sudan,
there is still a slave trade going on.
The Muslim people will raid the Christian villages, take the children,
and sell them as slaves. There are
Christian organizations that go into the Sudan
solely for the purpose of buying these slaves and setting them free.
Who were we held hostage by?
Don’t think that God paid the ransom request to Satan. I don’t think God negotiates with terrorists.
We were held hostage by sin.
(John 8:34
NKJV) Jesus answered them, "Most
assuredly, I say to you, whoever commits sin is a slave of sin.
There was a price involved in our freedom from slavery:
(Rom 6:23
NKJV) For the wages of sin is death, but
the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
You no longer have to obey that old master.
You’ve been redeemed.
(1 Cor 6:20 NKJV)
For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and
in your spirit, which are God's.
through His blood – this is the ransom that was paid for us
forgiveness – aphesis –
release from bondage or imprisonment; of “letting go” of sins (letting them go
as if they had never been committed). One commentator (Trench) says it’s the
picture of the releasing of a prisoner or letting go of a debt.
When we forgive someone of their sins, we “let it go”. We no longer hold that grudge against
them. We let go of the memory of that
sin.
Lesson
Rich Grace
What is “grace”?
The root idea of grace is that of a gift.
It is an undeserved gift.
When we are talking about “the grace of God”, we are talking about the
things that God does for us, lovingly, givingly, things I don’t deserve.
How rich is His grace? How much
grace does God have to give?
(2 Cor 8:9 NKJV) For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus
Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, that you
through His poverty might become rich.
His grace is equivalent to the riches of heaven that He
gave up for us.
(Rom 8:32 NKJV) He who did not spare His own Son, but
delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all
things?
God’s grace seems unlimited.
according to the riches of His grace – the standard by which we have
this redemption and His forgiveness is the “riches of His grace”
Our forgiveness comes measured out by the riches of God’s grace. Because God’s grace is boundless and
infinite, so is God’s forgiveness.
From time to time I will hear someone say things like, “I could never be
forgiven… I’ve done the most horrible
thing… I’ve done this too many times to be
forgiven …”
The problem with that thinking is that it’s based on a
cheap grace.
You could never create a bill for your sin that God can’t pay.
Don’t get me wrong here – I’m not saying that we should
all go out and sin as much as we can because God has the best credit card in
the world for sin.
But if you think you’ve sinned more than God can forgive,
you are wrong.
Why is this so important?
1. It’s important for us – we can be forgiven.
(1 John 1:9 NKJV)
If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins
and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
2. It’s important in our relationship with others. Remember that as we learn to “sit in the
heavenlies” and receive all the blessings that God has for us, that it will
equip us to walk like a Christian and follow Jesus.
(Eph 4:32 NKJV)
And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just
as God in Christ forgave you.
How can I learn to relate to others the way Jesus wants me
to – to learn to forgive other people, if I haven’t tasted His forgiveness and
the incredible depths of it?
The words used in Eph. 4:32 for “forgive” are actually the
words “grace” – we need to “grace one another as Christ graced us”.
(Eph 4:29 NKJV)
Let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth, but what is good for
necessary edification, that it may impart grace to the hearers.
How can our words impart “grace” to those we speak to if
we don’t know grace ourselves?
How can I bake a chocolate cake for you if I’ve never
tasted chocolate cake, I don’t have a recipe for chocolate cake, and I have no
chocolate?
:8 which He made to abound toward us in all wisdom and prudence,
made to abound – perisseuo –
something that’s overflowing – more than enough.
God has made His grace to abound toward us.
Paul uses the word in:
(Rom 5:20
NKJV) …But where sin abounded, grace abounded much more,
You may think that you can’t get by without a cup of grace because that’s
as much as you can hold, just a cup. But
God sees your little cup and begins to pour out His grace. And the little cup is filled to the brim, but
God keeps pouring. And the grace begins
to drip over the edge of the cup, and God keeps pouring. And the grace begins to spill all over the
table, and God continues to keep pouring.
More and more and more and more grace.
More than you need. More than you
could ever imagine.
wisdom and prudence – the two Greek words here have very similar
meanings. They both speak of practical
knowledge, knowing the right thing to do and then doing it.
This is how God allows His grace to touch our lives, with wisdom and
prudence.
Lesson
Wise Grace
I may get to thinking that if God loves me so much and has so much of this
grace stuff to give me, that my life should be rolling in fun times and big
bucks. I might get to thinking that my
life will soon have no problems at all.
Yet I find that this is not the way my life goes.
Sometimes life is filled with difficulty and uncertainty.
I want God to take away my difficulty and uncertainty with this magical
grace thing.
Paul had a problem in his life, and he asked God to take the problem away.
(2 Cor 12:7-10
NKJV) And lest I should be exalted above
measure by the abundance of the revelations, a thorn in the flesh was given to
me, a messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I be exalted above measure. {8}
Concerning this thing I pleaded with the Lord three times that it might depart
from me. {9} And He said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for My
strength is made perfect in weakness." Therefore most gladly I will rather
boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. {10}
Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in
persecutions, in distresses, for Christ's sake. For when I am weak, then I am
strong.
Paul found that he’d rather have this thing called “grace”
in his life than have the problem go away.
He found that the problems in his life actually made this grace thing
seem more wonderful – he was sustained by grace. He found that the weaker he was, the stronger
Jesus was inside of him – and that’s better than anything.
God doesn’t just want to make me happy, He’s out to make me mature.
(Rom 5:1-5 NKJV) Therefore, having been justified by faith, we
have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, {2} through whom also we
have access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and rejoice in hope of
the glory of God. {3} And not only that, but we also glory in tribulations,
knowing that tribulation produces perseverance; {4} and perseverance,
character; and character, hope. {5} Now hope does not disappoint, because the
love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given
to us.
Tough times improve our ability to be patient, persevere,
and keep going. An athlete doesn’t build
up his endurance by sitting on the sofa, but by getting up, working out, and
practicing his game.
Continue perseverance in life’s problems builds a depth of
character. You’re not a shallow person,
but one who has learned to endure.
True godly character produces hope because you learn
through persevering through the difficult times that God is going to come
through. You’ve seen Him do it over and
over again through the years. You learn that you can actually trust that God
will deliver you.
And hope isn’t something that leads to disappointment
because as you learn to truly hope in the Lord, you will find God’s love being
poured out on your life through the Holy Spirit.
If I read this correctly, maturity in the Lord is marked
by a person with hope and the love of the Spirit of God because that’s the end
of the process. Often we focus on how
trials produce endurance, but forget to look past the endurance to take a hold
of hope.
Here’s an excerpt from “Leadership
Secrets of Billy Graham” (Myra,
Shelley, Zondervan, pg. 100):
In the same way, Billy Graham has been an “apostle of
love,” even when his natural feelings may have tempted him to give in to anger
or despair. Colleagues who have traveled
with him when he lay slumped with exhaustion and discouragement have been
amazed at the way he could come alive with full vigor to meet the challenge of
a press event or a meeting with dignitaries or connecting with his staff. People see Billy – even when he may be weary
and discouraged – that warm, gracious, and upbeat spirits their own hearts.
This is not to say it’s all “grit your teeth” and override
your emotions the fruit of the Spirit includes love, joy, and peace, but the
Bible also describes the Spirit as the Ruach,
the Hebrew term for the unpredictable wild wind. The Spirit brings ecstasy and exuberance at
times but ultimately works through the will.
Billy Graham continually concentrated his will into the service of the
gospel.
Staff member Rick Marshall recalls the spring of 191 in Edinburgh,
Scotland. Billy had been visiting with dignitaries, and
Marshall came to escort him to
preach. He found him completely
exhausted.
“Dr. Graham, it is time to take the stage,” Marshall
said. “ can’t do it. I’m so tired.” Marshall
looked for a smile, thinking he was kidding.
He wasn’t – he was physically spent.
The young associate sat down beside him and they prayed together. Marshall, who as crusade director was in
charge of the meetings, felt desperate. This mission is finished before it begins,
he thought.
Somehow, Billy got to his feet and slowly made his way to
the stage. Yet when he took the pulpit, Marshall
recalls, “I could not believe the strength of the man’s voice and the ability
God gave him that evening.”
Much of that amazing resiliency is due to his choice of
scripts and his determination to lead with optimism and hope.
God wants to make His grace “abound” to us, but the way it is often
delivered is a process involving wisdom.
And that means that sometimes I am going to go through difficult times
to learn patience, to learn character, and to learn to hope.
I wonder if this applies to the grace that we show to others?
Is there a place for wisdom in what we give to others?
I’m not talking about being stingy in loving others.
But sometimes giving a person what they are whining for is
not the answer.