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To Love Your Enemies, Know You are Loved (Ephesians 3:18-21)

By Jeremy Myers
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To Love Your Enemies, Know You are Loved (Ephesians 3:18-21)
https://media.blubrry.com/one_verse/feeds.soundcloud.com/stream/1179222907-redeeminggod-to-love-your-enemies-know-you-are-loved-ephesians-318-21.mp3

Have you ever tried to actually love your enemies? It’s next to impossible, isn’t it? In Ephesians 3:18-21, Paul provides two ways that we can learn to love our enemies. These seem impossible as well, until we understand what Paul is actually saying about how to love our enemies.

But before we look at Ephesians 3:19-21, I want to answer a question from a reader about Matthew 10:28 where Jesus says, “Do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. But rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.”

Question from a Reader

One of the members of my online discipleship group is taking my online course about hell, and had a question regarding Matthew 10:28. Here is what he wrote:

Jeremy, I loved this course and it helped me out immensely, but I’m trying to figure out Matthew 10:28 with this new understanding of hell. Would you be able to explain this passage?

Matthew 10:28 says this:

And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. But rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.

(#AmazonAdLink) What is hell bookI have written about this text previously in connection with the parallel passage in Luke 12:5.

There are several translation issues about this verse which creates some deep divisions in Christianity regarding the meaning of what Jesus says here. The primary question about this text is in regards to whom Jesus is referring when He says “fear him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.” Who is the “him”? The NKJV version has the “him” capitalized, which shows that they think the pronoun is referring to God. However, there are many Christian leaders who think the pronoun is referring to Satan.

However, a third option might be that the “him” is referring to other human beings.

The Greek word used for hell in Matthew 10:28 is the word gehenna. This word does not refer to some horrible afterlife experience, but to an experience in this life where all that you hold dear and all that is valuable and important to  you gets destroyed.

In my book (#AmazonAdLink) “What is Hell?” and the online course that goes with it, I says this about gehenna:

When the various texts are considered (cf. Matt 5:22, 29, 30; 10:28; 18:8-9; 23:15, 33; Mark 9:43-47; Luke 12:5; Jas 3:6), Jesus speaks of gehenna, or the Valley of Hinnom in a symbolic way … not to teach about what happens to some people in the afterlife, but rather to teach about what can happen to some people in this life. People who are sent to the Valley of Hinnom (usually because of crime or leprosy) lose their friends and family, and face a life filled with horror, decay, and destruction.

The warnings about gehenna are given by Jesus so that we do not destroy our health, life, family, friendships, and reputation in this life. Rather than live in the Valley of Death, God want us to enjoy everything He has given to us in this life.

In Matthew 10:28, Jesus says that being killed is not as big of a deal as having your life destroyed. If you die with your morals and values intact, and with your loved ones and friends thinking highly of you, the only thing you lose is your life. And since we know that life goes on for eternity, being killed for our beliefs is nothing more than a step from one life into an even better life.

What is much worse, however, is to have your life destroyed while you are still alive. That is, to lose your friends, your family, your health. To lose respect and honor from others. To lose your morals, values, beliefs, and convictions. To lose all that makes you you. 

That is what we should seek to avoid at all costs.

It is far better to be killed for your beliefs than to abandon your beliefs and convictions.

Jesus is saying this: Don’t fear the one who can kill you, because death is not the end for us. But do fear those who can threaten and steal your values, morals, convictions, integrity, dreams, hopes, friends, family, job, health, and everything else of value in this life. That is who you should fear. That is who you should avoid.

This view of Matthew 10:28 and Luke 12:5 fits perfectly with my proposal in my book about hell that hell is not an afterlife experience of suffering and torture, but is rather an experience in this life of living contrary to everything that God wants and desires for us. In these verses, Jesus is warning us against those (including ourselves!) who can lead us into a hellish existence in this life.

You Cannot Love Your Enemies Until You Know You are Fully Loved (Ephesians 3:18-21)

Paul wants the church to lead the world into the way of peace. We are to be an example to the world of how to live in peace with our enemies. In Ephesians 2, Paul showed us how Jesus has done this. In Ephesians 3:1-13, Paul showed how he himself is doing this. And now, in Ephesians 3:14-21, Paul writes about how he prayers for his readers to do the impossible, namely, to love our enemies.

If it seems impossible to love our enemies, we need to know that in Jesus Christ, we can do what cannot be done. We can do the impossible. This is what we looked at last time when we studied Ephesians 3:14-17. Now, in Ephesians 3:18-21, Paul continues to write about what he prays for his readers, and he has two more impossible prayer requests, which are only possible through Jesus Christ.

Let me put these final two prayer requests in a bit of context for you.

Have you ever been told to get along with someone you can’t get along with? Was there ever someone at church whom you avoid Sunday after Sunday? If so, then you understand what the Ephesians were thinking here. Paul tells them in Ephesians 2 to live at peace with each other, and they are thinking, “But Paul, you don’t know what you are asking! I can’t get along with them. It’s … impossible! You don’t know what’s between us! You don’t know that he believes! You don’t know what she’s done! You don’t know what they said about me! I can’t live at peace with them! It’s impossible!”

So Paul prays for them here at the end of Ephesians 3. He says, “I know it’s impossible for you. So my first prayer request is that God will give you power to do what I’m asking you to do.” That’s the first prayer request. The request we saw previously in Ephesians 3:16-17. Prayer for power to do the impossible. Prayer for power to be at peace with those people you’d rather hate. A prayer request to do what you cannot do. That was the first prayer request. The second prayer request in Ephesians 3:18-19 is a prayer for knowledge.

powerful prayer for the impossible Ephesians 3:18-21

C. Prayer for Knowledge (Ephesians 3:18-19)

Ephesians 3:18-19. … [that you] may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height – to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge;

This prayer of Paul is not a “ho-hum” prayer! In Ephesians 3:16-17, Paul prayed that we would do what we cannot do, in Ephesians 3:18-19 he prays that we will know what we cannot know! He prays that you will be able…to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge. In other words, to know what cannot be known. To know what is impossible to know!

Paul is praying that we would know the love of Christ, which passes knowledge – which cannot be known. He somewhat describes this love back in Ephesians 3:18. He says that you may be able to comprehend – that means know – what is the width – that’s how wide it is – the length – that’s how long it is – the depth – that’s how deep it goes – and the height – that’s how high it rises. By using these terms, Paul is saying that the love of Christ is eternal, it’s infinite. It’s without beginning or end. It cannot be measured or contained. When Paul says width, he means it is wider than the universe. When he says length, he means it is farther than the east is from the west. The depth of Christ’s love – it’s deeper than the ocean. The height of God’s love is higher than God’s Word is above man’s word.

The vastness of God’s love is so difficult to explain – I think that’s why Paul cuts off what he was saying and says in verse 19 that this love cannot be known. How are you supposed to know what is infinite? Yet Paul prays that we would know it anyway. Paul has now prayed for two impossible things. Power to do what we cannot do and knowledge to know what we cannot know. We’re seeing a pattern, and the third request upholds this pattern.

D. Prayer for Filling (Ephesians 3:19b)

Ephesians 3:19b. … that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.

How big is God? If you know some theology, you know that God is omnipresent. If we break this word down into two words. No matter where you are in the universe, God is there. He is everywhere. In fact, even when you get to the edge of the universe – where time and matter cease to exist, God does not stop there. He keeps going. That’s how big God is.

How great is God? How powerful is He? Again, in theological terms, He is omnipotent. He has all power. With a mere thought, He could obliterate the universe. With another mere thought, He could recreate it. He can do whatever He wants, wherever He wants, whenever He wants, however He wants. (Thank goodness he’s a loving and merciful God – this kind of power would be terrible in the hands of a tyrant).

So with God’s omnipresence and omnipotence in mind, think of what Paul is praying for here in v. 19! He prays that you, as a teeny, tiny speck of flesh and bones, with life that is but a breath, made from dust, dying, decaying, sinful, insignificant piece of the vast universe, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God! The word fullness is the word pleroma, and it means fullness! When used of God, it means all of His divine attributes and perfection. Every bit of Him.

It is the term used of Christ in Colossians 2:9. Christ was completely God, right? Colossians 2:9 says that in Christ dwelt the fullness of God in bodily form! Fullness means fullness. Paul prays here for us to be filled with all the fullness of God. Try taking something bigger than the universe, something so big it is infinite, something so big it cannot be measured, and stuffing it into a space five or six feet tall, eighteen inches wide, and about a foot deep. Some of us have slightly different dimensions, but that’s not the point. How is something infinite supposed to fit into us? It’s impossible!

Even if the structure were much larger, it is still impossible to hold God in it. When King Solomon built the first temple, he too prayed a prayer on the day the temple was dedicated (found in 1 Kings 8), and he prayed:

O Lord, God of Israel, there is no God like you in heaven above or on earth below – you who keep your covenant of love with your servants who continue wholeheartedly in your way. You have kept your promise to your servant David my father, with your mouth you have promised and with your hand you have fulfilled it – as it is today – but will God really dwell on earth? The heavens, even the highest heavens, cannot contain you. How much less this temple I have built!

Solomon, the wisest man who has ever lived saw the truth that God could not be contained in any sort of building or structure. Yet somehow, God was. And that is what Paul prays here. That we may be filled with all the fullness of God. That is Paul’s third prayer request. An impossible request. We have seen three requests. All of them impossible. He prayed that we would do what we cannot do, that we would know what we cannot know, and that we would be filled with what we cannot be filled. Those are the three things Paul prays for.

Putting the Three Prayer Requests in Context

But these impossible prayer requests are the key to doing what Paul asks us to do … namely, love our enemies.

The truth of the matter is that we cannot begin to love our enemies … until we know that we are loved.

Have you ever realized that we were the enemies of God? When Adam and Eve rebelled in the Garden of Eden by choosing to go their own way, they took all of humanity with them into rebellion against God, thereby joining up with Satan in a rebellion against God. We are the enemies of God.

Yet God never stopped loving us. And while we were yet sinners, that is, while we were still the enemies of God, Jesus Christ died for us (Romans 5:8). That was the entire point of Ephesians 2:1-4.

So the first step in doing what cannot be done … namely, loving our enemies … is to know what cannot be known, that is, that we are fully and truly loved by God.

Why can it not be known? Because the love of God is infinite. It is without depth, height, width, or length. But we can begin to know the love of God. We can begin to experience the love of God. And only after we begin to know that which cannot ever be fully known, namely, how much God’s love us, will we begin to have love for our enemies.

Sadly, the love of God is something most Christians think they know and understand, but really don’t. We all pay lip service to the idea that God loves us, but few of us really believe it.

Most Christians think God only loves us as long as we are faithful and obedience. As long as we keep from sin. As long as we regularly read our Bibles and pray. As long as we have pure thoughts and stay away from temptation, and do all the things that good Christians are supposed to do.

But when we stray, well, God turns His back on us. He stops loving us. He turns away from us in shame and disgust. … This is what most Christians seem to think about the love of God.

Which just goes to show that most Christian know nothing of God’s love.

The truth about God’s love is that He loves you no matter what. God forgives you no matter what. Honestly, you could become Hitler and God will still love and forgive you. I know that statement is a shock to many people, but it’s true. And the fact that it’s a shocking just goes to show that we don’t know anything about the love of God.

No matter what you do or don’t do, God will never stop loving you. He will never turn away from you. He will never hide His face from you in shame. He will always be with  you, will always forgive you, will always embrace and accept you. Until you begin to understand this, you will never understand God and will also never be able to show love for your enemies.

You can only begin to love once you know you are fully loved.

Two books I highly recommend about the love of God are (#AmazonAdLink) He Loves Me! by Wayne Jacobson and (#AmazonAdLink) The Misunderstood God by Darin Hufford. Both books will present the true, radical nature of God’s love to you, which is essential for you to start loving others.

And of course, even when we begin to know the love of God, love for our enemies still doesn’t come from ourselves. Love for our enemies is not within our power. This is why the third prayer request is so important, to be filled with all the fullness of God. When we love others, it is God loving them through us. When we love others, this love for others is the love of God working in and through us toward others.

This is the great secret and mystery of the church, that we are the hand, feet, and voice of Jesus. Jesus as Jesus is the incarnation of God, so also the church is the incarnation of Jesus. The love of Jesus is shown to a dying world through the church that if filled with the fullness of God’s love for the world (Cf. Ephesians 1:23).

So those are the three prayer requests of Paul…. He prays that we can do what cannot be done (love our enemies) by knowing what cannot be known (the love of God for us) and being filled with what we cannot be filled (the loving power and presence of God).

Does all of this sound impossible? If so, that is why Paul closes out Ephesians 3 with some final words of encouragement.

prayer for filling with God E. The Encouragement (Ephesians 3:20-21)

Ephesians 3:20-21. Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen.

Paul has prayed for three seemingly impossible things. To do what we cannot do. To know what we cannot know. To be filled with what we cannot be filled. But Paul remembered what Jesus told His disciples – with man, it is impossible, but with God, all things are possible (Matt 19:26).

So Paul says in Ephesians 3:20, “You think I’ve asked for impossible things? I haven’t even scratched the surface of what God is able to do.” He is – v. 20 – able to do exceedingly abundantly more. That phrase exceedingly abundantly comes from one Greek word, which is a double compound adverb. A double compound adverb is a very rare construction. This particular construction begins with a root word. The root word here is perissos. It means abundant, over and above, more than enough. In John 10:10, Jesus says that he came so that we might have life, and have it perissov – more abundantly. But then, Paul takes this word, perissos, which already means abundance, and adds not one,…but two words on top of it to make it a double compound adverb.

prayer is powerful Ephesians 3He has had three prayer requests for the impossible, and then says God can not only do it, he can double do it – He can triple do it. He can run circles around it. He can do it with his eyes closed, and one hand tied behind his back. He can do exceedingly abundantly above all. If that’s not enough, look at the rest of verse 20. He can do above all that we ask or think! Paul says, God can do this and more. He says, if I can ask it, God can do it. If I can think it – or imagine it – God can do that too. In fact, God can do things I can’t even imagine! God can do things I can’t even think about!

Ephesians 3:21. …to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen.

All of this is done by the church, through the church, and in the church so that God will get the glory to all generations.

This is a concluding remark for the point Paul began all the way back at the end of Ephesians 1. After telling us about all the riches of our inheritance in Jesus Christ, Paul called us to be the fullness of God in every way in this world (Ephesians 1:22-23), so that we might be a witness to the principalities and powers of this world (Ephesians 1:21) to show the world a better way to live.

And now, through Ephesians 2 and Ephesians 3, Paul has shown us exactly how to do this. We are to follow the example of Jesus in loving our enemies, and even dying for them if necessary. As we do this, we show the world a better way to peace. We show the world the way of God in loving our enemies. This is the glory of God. This is the glory of the church. And this is how the love of God is manifested to the world.

It’s a revolutionary call, but Paul is not done. He will go on in Ephesians 4-6 to show more specifically how this calling is carried out by the church. We will pick up next time with the first verses of Ephesians 4 to see how Paul continues to call us peace, unity, and love for one another, so that that the world can learn from us and live in peace and unity as well.

God is Redeeming God, Redeeming Scripture, z Bible & Theology Topics: Ephesians 3:18-21, gehenna, hell, love your enemies, Luke 12:5, Matthew 10:28, peace, prayer, prayer requests, Redeeming God podcast

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The Subjects of Satan (Ephesians 2:2)

By Jeremy Myers
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The Subjects of Satan (Ephesians 2:2)
https://media.blubrry.com/one_verse/feeds.soundcloud.com/stream/1084124686-redeeminggod-the-subjects-of-satan-ephesians-22.mp3

Do you understand what is going on in the world? You would, if you understand the real problem with humanity. Ephesians 2:2 begins to show us what this problem is. The verse contains three phrases that point to one single reality as the identity of our problem. Before we get to our study of Ephesians 2:2, however, we will be answering a question from a reader about hell and ultimate reconciliation.

Ultimate Reconciliation?

Do you think the ultimate restoration of all things (not the same thing as universalism though people could get nervous and think so) is possible?

I address this question in my book, (#AmazonAdLink) What is Hell?, but let me briefly summarize what I write in the book.

First, let me state the 3 basic views on what happens to unregenerate people after they die.

The first view is Eternal Conscious torment. This it the view that unregenerate people go to a place of suffering where they spend eternity in pain and agony.

The second view is Universalism, which is the view that there is no hell of any kind, and all people go to spend eternity with God after they die.

The third main view is Annihilationism. This is the view that there is no afterlife at all for unregenerate people. When unregenerate people die, they simply cease to exist.

(#AmazonAdLink) What is hell bookNow, there are shades and variations on all these views. For example, some people believe that unregenerate people will go to a place of suffering and torment, but they won’t spend eternity there. Instead, they will eventually be annihilated. So this view is sort of a cross between Eternal Conscious torment and Annihilationism.

There is another view that is a cross between Eternal Conscious torment and Universalism. This view is often rereferred to as Ultimate Reconciliation. In it, unregenerate people who die will begin eternity separated from God in some form, but over time, they will see that they were wrong, and will repent and believe in Jesus and so will eventually and ultimately be reconciled to God. Over millions and billions of years (if such a term even applies to eternity), hell will be slowly emptied as more and more people are reconciled to God.

It is this last view that the reader is asking about. She wants to know if Ultimate Reconciliation is possible. In (#AmazonAdLink) my book on hell, I state that while I think it is possible, I do not think it is likely. This is not because God doesn’t allow it, but because human and stubborn and rebellious creatures. I believe that God will hold out the option for anyone who begins eternity separated from Him to be reconciled to Him if they so desire, I believe that while many may accept this gracious offer, there will be many other people who will eternally refuse the offer.

I would love to be wrong on this. I hope I am wrong.

But here’s the thing with humans. We make our decisions, and then our decisions make us. The longer a person remains in rebellion against God, the more likely they are to remain in that rebellion. This applies, I believe, not just for this life, but for eternity as well.

So do I believe in ultimate reconciliation? I do believe that God will extend such an offer to all of unredeemed humanity, but I do not believe that all of humanity will respond positively to that offer, so no, I do not think that ultimate reconciliation will ever occur.

By the way, this doesn’t mean that I believe that these unregenerate people will spend eternity suffering in the flames of hell. I don’t believe that the afterlife for the unregenerate will be a place of torment and torture at all. They will be in a place where they are allowed to be who they want to be, which for the unredeemed, will be an eternity of selfish, loveless, graceless, merciless living. As Scripture describes it, such an existence will be an eternal death. It will be sort of like this present life, but amplified in all the negative ways.

To learn more about what the Bible really teaches about hell, check out my book, (#AmazonAdLink) What is Hell?

Ephesians 2:2 is a text that sort of speaks to this issue. It is the verse we are looking at today in this Podcast study. It doesn’t talk about what happens to unregenerate people after they die, but is instead describing what happens to unregenerate people while they live on this earth. I believe that the way people live now is a bit of a foreshadowing of how they will exist in eternity as well. So let us look at Ephesians 2:2.

We were Subjects to Satan (Ephesians 2:2)

In our study of Ephesians 2:1, we summarized the entire message of Ephesians 2, and saw that it was divided into three sections. The problem (Ephesians 2:1-3), the Solution (Ephesians 2:4-10), and the Application (Ephesians 2:11-22). By reverse engineering the chapter, we discover that in Ephesians 2:1-3, Paul is describing the real problem with humanity, and this problem is far different and far worse than anything we thought or imagined or than what we hear in most of our churches and Christian books.

Ephesians 2:1 began to talk about this problem by saying that we were dead in trespasses and sins. This meant that we did not function the way God intended humans to function, but were instead dominated by sin, which is primarily defined in the Bible as violence against other human beings.

Ephesians 2:2 continues this train of thought. Paul writes:

Ephesians 2:2. … in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient.

satan casts out satanPaul says here that we used to live in transgressions and sins. The actual term here is peripateo – to walk about. So rather than “used to live” we should read it “used to walk.”

Our former way of life was a death walk. We were on a walk – but not the kind of walk most of us go on during the warm summer evenings. This walk – in the words of John Stott – “was no pleasant promenade in the countryside.” It was a death walk; a walk of slavery to trespasses and sins. We were walking the plank, and didn’t even know it. We were walking the road to destruction, and didn’t know anything different.

In a way, we were a bit like lemmings. Lemmings blindly follow the crowd until they fall off a cliff or drown in the ocean. Like them, we were headed for destruction and didn’t even know it. It was who we were and what we did.

Ephesians 2 1-3In the rest of Ephesians 2:2, Paul uses three phrases to describe the way we used to walk. But all three terms point to the same reality. Let’s discuss the three terms and then I will identify the single reality that Paul has in view.

The ways of this world

So the first is the ways of this world. This terms refers to how the world operates. It is a reference to the world domination system. How people seek to dominate, rule, and control other people through violence and threats of violence. It consists of the rules, both spoken and unspoken, which guide how all entities of this world work, including governments, militaries, institutions, and business.

As Hoehner writes “This world is the satanically organized system that hates and opposes all that is godly (John 15:18, 23)” (Hoehner, BKC, 622).

I will eventually have an entry on “world” in my Gospel Dictionary online course.

Followed the Ruler of the Kingdom of the Air

So we followed the ways of this world, and second, we followed the ruler of the kingdom of the air. Who is this ruler or prince? We saw this ruler mentioned in Ephesians 1:21 when Paul mentioned that Christ is above all rule, authority, power, dominion and title. In that list of five spiritual beings, the term rule (or ruler) comes first.

God Cannot Look Upon Sin?So the kingdom of the air can be none other than the demonic realm, which means that the ruler must be Satan (cf. 1 John 5:19; 2 Cor 4:4; Rev 12:9). We will discuss satan more in a bit.

What about this kingdom of the air? The kingdom of the air refers to the invisible and unseen forces that guide our thoughts and movements in this world. Since it is of the “air,” this means this kingdom surrounds us all the time, even though we don’t see it, can’t hear it, and don’t even know it is there.

I know … this is sounding a bit like Morpheus trying to describe The Matrix to Neo. But the analogy is actually a very good one. The kingdom of the air is like the Matrix. It enslaves us in ways that we cannot break free from on our own, and so that we don’t even know we are enslaved. It is around us all the time like the very air we breathe. We live by it, operate by it, and are governed by it, even though we don’t know it exists.

I will talk more about this kingdom next time when we look at Ephesians 2:3.

The spirit at work in the disobedient

The third thing we followed which resulted in transgression and sin is the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. This is the impersonal and immaterial force or nature or characterization that is present within this world which leads us into disobedience.

This spirit of disobedience is set in contrast to the spirit of wisdom and revelation in Ephesians 1:17. The spirit of wisdom and revelation guides us into the way God wants us to live, while the spirit at work in the disobedient guides people to live in ways that are contrary to God.

So we have three terms that Paul uses here.

But what is the single reality these terms point to?

Could it be … SATAN?

It’s not really a joking matter, but it is indeed Satan that Paul is describing here.

The Saturday Night Live sketch with the Church Lady was funny though, because many Christians do indeed see Satan around every corner and under every rock and bush, but the sad reality, is that far too few Christians really understand what Satan is and how Satan works.

Ironically, when most Christians blame the problems of the world on Satan, they are actually behaving in a satanic way. To see Satan under every rock and bush is to behave satanically.

Shocking statement, I know. Let me unpack it.

The word “satan” comes from the Hebrew term ha satan. It means, “the accuser.” The spirit of accusation. I will eventually have an entry on the word satan in my Gospel Dictionary online course. It’s not there yet.

temptation of JesusThe word does not refer to a being or entity that dresses in red and has a pointy tale and horns on his head. It also does not refer to an evil being who goes around trying to tempt people to sin. Oh yes, the spirit of satan brings temptation, but not exactly in the way we think.

The word satan is the single word which Paul has in view here. The three phrases in Ephesians 2:2 describe satan. “Satan” refers to the course of this world … the way the world runs. It refers to the ruler of the kingdom of the air, which means that this way of ruling the world is around us all the time like the very air we breathe. It is the spirit at work in the disobedient. The spirit of the accuser leads people to be disobedient, to do the things that God does not want us to do.

So satan is spirit of this age, the spirit of accusation and blame. We all think everyone else is guilty and we ourselves are innocent. The spirit that leads us to condemn others in God’s name and to call for violence and bloodshed against others in God’s name.

And sadly, religious people are guilty of living by the spirit of this age just as much – if not more – than non-religious people. Religious people are adept at using our Scriptures and our rules to condemn and accuse others and to call for “holy war” against our enemies. We view our enemies as the enemies of God, and so we use our religious zeal for God to call for the death of our enemies.

This the same concern Jesus had. This is why Jesus instructed us to love our enemies. Paul is concerned here with the same thing that Jesus was most concerned with, which is the religious sins which people commit in God’s name. Rather than hate and accuse our enemies, we need to turn away from the spirit of accusation and turn instead to the Holy Spirit of love and acceptance. Paul is not just pointing out how unbelievers live, but how we believers live as well.

This is why, when Paul uses the term “disobedient” there at the end of Ephesians 2:2, he didn’t use some other term like “unbelievers” or “unregernate.” Why not? Because followers of Jesus can be disobedient also. We too can fall prey to the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit of accusation that dominates this world. And we often do.

When we Christians engage in accusation and condemnation, when we call for the death of enemies, when we encourage violence in the name of God, it is then that we are not following the Holy Spirit, but rather the spirit of this age, the satanic spirit of blame and accusation. It is then that Christians are in fact satanic.

Strong words. I know.

But are you seeing why Paul’s description of the problem in Ephesians 2:1-3 is so important to properly understand? This is not just a description of what “they” do, but is also a description of what we do. Yes, Paul says that this is the way in which we used to walk, but sadly, far too many Christians (myself included) still walk in the old ways. So Paul is going to eventually show what Jesus did to call us to a different way of living, and then also show us how we can do that practically in our world today.

But before we can get to the solution and the application, there is one more verse to go in the description of our problem. This is found in Ephesians 2:3, which we will consider next time.

God is Redeeming God, Redeeming Scripture, Redeeming Theology, z Bible & Theology Topics: Ephesians, Ephesians 2:2, hell, satan, what is hell

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Sealing of the Spirit vs. Filling with the Spirit (Ephesians 1:13)

By Jeremy Myers
3 Comments

Sealing of the Spirit vs. Filling with the Spirit (Ephesians 1:13)
https://media.blubrry.com/one_verse/feeds.soundcloud.com/stream/1056884059-redeeminggod-sealing-of-the-spirit-vs-filling-by-the-spirit-ephesians-113.mp3

What is the sealing of the Holy Spirit? What is the filling of the Holy Spirit? How are they different? These are the questions we will answer in this study of Ephesians 1:13. We will also look at a question from a listener about why I changed by beliefs about hell.

A Letter from a Listener

What prompted you to reject the traditional view of eternal conscious torment widely held by Conservative Christianity?

I grew up believing in the traditional view of hell, which is that unregenerate people go to a place of eternal conscious torment where they suffer and burn and scream in agony for all eternity. I attended a Bible College and a Seminary that taught this view as well.

(#AmazonAdLink) What is hell bookThe first step in rejecting this view was in realizing that Jesus fully reveals God to us. Jesus said, “If you’ve seen me, you’ve seen the Father” (John 14:9). Elsewhere in Scripture, we learn that Jesus is the exact representation of God and is the image of the invisible God (John 1:14, 18; 14:9-11; 2 Cor 4:4; Php 2:6; Col 1:15; Heb 1:2-3). See this article here for more.

So here is the question: Was Jesus right? Was Paul right? They said that Jesus fully revealed God to us. That if we want to know what God is  like, all we have to do is look at Jesus and what He did and how He behaved during His life here on earth. Is this correct?

I hope you say yes. Jesus was not lying to us.

The ramifications of this are significant. It means, among other things, that if you cannot imagine Jesus doing something, this means God doesn’t do it either.

So … can you imagine Jesus torturing somebody in fire? Even for a few seconds? No. The one time His disciples asked Him to call down fire from heaven and burn a city, He rebuked them for such thinking (Luke 9:54-55). So if Jesus wouldn’t burn people or torture people in fire, and if Jesus fully reveals God to us, then God wouldn’t burn people or torture people in fire either. Not even for a few seconds, let alone for eternity.

If someone believe that God does torture people in fire for all eternity, they that person must also believe that Jesus didn’t fully reveal God to us, and therefore, Jesus was lying when He said He did.

I don’t want to call Jesus a liar, and so I was forced to re-think what I believed about hell. I wrote about my view on hell in my book (#AmazonAdLink) What is Hell? if you want to learn more.

The Sealing of the Spirit vs. Filling of the Spirit (Ephesians 1:13)

This study is drawn from my sermon on Ephesians 1:13-14.

We are in Ephesians 1:3-14, one long sentence from Paul telling us what our Spiritual Possessions are in Jesus. In Ephesians 1:3-6 we saw that we have Security from the Father. This means that He promises to make us holy through election and make us heirs through predestination.

We saw last time in Ephesians 1:7-13a that our second blessing is Salvation from the Son. This salvation does not refer to going to heaven when we die, but instead points to the redemption and release from our captivity to sin so that we can live according to the will of God in our lives.

In Ephesians 1:13-14, we learn about Sealing from the Holy Spirit.

Ephesians 1:14

This sealing has special significance for the Christians. It is such an important topic, we will spend two podcasts discussing it. Today we will just look at the difference between the sealing of the spirit and the filling of the Spirit. We will answer the question “What is the difference between being sealed by the Spirit and being filled with the Holy Spirit?”

When someone believes, they are sealed with the promised Holy Spirit. I want to comment on this word promised first, and then we will discuss the sealing.

The Spirit of Promise (Ephesians 1:13)

Have you ever wondered why Jesus Christ had to leave the earth? Have you ever wished that He was still here, walking around, teaching and training? Have you ever wished you could touch Him and eat with Him and talk with Him?

I know I have. Some days I just long to sit at Jesus’ feet and have Him teach me about God as only He can. This is especially a longing of mine when I struggle with the meaning of Jesus’ words in certain accounts from the four Gospels. I want to be able to go to Jesus and say, “Hey … what did you mean here?”

I still long for this, but Jesus knows what is best for us, which is why He says this in John 16:5-8.

Now I am going to him who sent me, yet none of you asks me, ‘Where are you going?’ Because I have said these things, you are filled with grief. But I tell you the truth: It is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Counselor will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you. When he comes, he will convict the world of guilt in regard to sin and righteousness and judgment.

Do you see it? If Jesus had not left, the Holy Spirit would not have come. I don’t know why this is, but it is what Jesus said, and we need to trust it. When Jesus was here, it was wonderful. He could be seen and heard, and touched. But the drawback was that He could only be in one place at one time.

But when Jesus left, He sent the Holy Spirit which He had promised, so that now, instead of Jesus being in only one place at a time so that those who wanted to hear or see Him would have to travel half-way across the world, we have the Holy Spirit, who is in every Christian all the time, every moment of every day.

So I would still like to have Jesus here, but I think it is better that we have the Holy Spirit. This passage in John 16 tells us that He is at work in the world convicting the world of sin, righteousness, and judgment. And the rest of John 16 tells us that the Spirit teaches Christians and guides us into truth. He can do this everywhere and all the time without growing weary or hungry as Jesus did. Yes, I sometimes wish Jesus was here, but I am thankful for the Holy Spirit. Jesus promised the Holy Spirit would come, and in Acts 2 He came, and has been with us ever since. That is the promise Paul refers to in Ephesians 1:13.

But the sealing of the Spirit should not be confused with some of the other things the Spirit does for the believer, and specifically, the filling of the Holy Spirit. I see so many Christians getting confused about being filled with the Spirit and being sealed with the Spirit. What is the difference?

Being Sealed by the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 1:13)

When discussing the difference between filled with the Spirit and sealed by the Spirit, we can talk about the conditions and the outcomes of both.

The Conditions of Sealing vs. Filling

As we have seen in Ephesians 1:13, the only condition for being sealed by the Spirit is believing. When we believe in Jesus, we are sealed with the Holy Spirit.

This means that every single believer is sealed with the Spirit. And this sealing is permanent. Once you are sealed with the Spirit, it is like being branded by the Spirit. The seal, or the brand, is a mark of ownership. It cannot be removed or taken away. We will talk more about this next week when we look at Ephesians 1:14.

Being filled with the Spirit is different, however. Paul writes about being filled with the Spirit in Ephesians 5:18, and we will discuss it more when we get there, but for now, just recognize that you are not automatically and permanently filled with the Spirit when you believe in Jesus. Being filled with the Spirit is conditional upon  you submitting yourself to the Holy Spirit.

To be filled with the Spirit is to let the Holy Spirit control you.

To be filled with the Spirit is to be controlled by the Spirit.

Think of sealing vs. filling as if your life were a car. When you buy a car, you register it and put license plates on it. This is sort of like the sealing of the Spirit. It shows ownership. It shows that you own the car and helps identify you as a legal driver. When you are sealed with the Holy Spirit, God puts His mark on you to show that He owns you, that you belong to Him.

However, you are still driving your car around. When you are filled with the Spirit, you let the Holy Spirit get into the car and drive it around for you. When you are filled with the Spirit, the Spirit takes control of the car. But you can kick the Holy Spirit out of the driver seat any time you want. If you don’t like where the Spirit is driving, you can say, “I’ll take over from here,” and the Spirit will let you. Of course, you’ll end up driving into a ditch, but hopefully that will teach you to let the Spirit keep control of your life.

So you are sealed immediately and permanently when you believe in Jesus, but you are filled, or controlled, by the Spirit whenever you let the Spirit take control of where your life is headed.

Ok, so what about the results of being sealed vs. filled?

The Results of Sealing vs. Filling

When you believe in Jesus for eternal life, four things immediately happen to you in relation to the Holy Spirit. They spell the acrostic RIBS.

The Spirit regenerates us (John 3:3; Titus 3:5). This is the act of God which gives us eternal life when we believe.

The Spirit also indwells us (John 14:16-17). This is the Spirit coming to live within us and abide or remain within us.

The Spirit baptizes the believer (1 Cor 12:13). This is a spiritual baptism, not a water baptism. Water baptism symbolizes what has already happened to us spiritually. This spiritual baptism gives us the basis for victory over sin.

We are also sealed with the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 1:13-14). This is what we are discussing now.

Holy Spirit

It should be noted that all four of these things are one-time events that happen instantaneously the moment we place faith in Jesus for eternal life. Once they happen, they cannot be repeated and they cannot be reversed. In other words, during your life, the Holy Spirit will not repeatedly baptize you. Some people teach this, but that is because they do not understand the Spirit baptism. These events cannot be reversed either. You cannot become un-baptized any more than you can become unborn. You cannot become un-regenerated any more than you can become un-alive.

So these four actions of the Holy Spirit, regeneration, indwelling, baptizing, and sealing, are one time events that happen at the moment we receive eternal life, and which cannot be repeated or reversed.

But the filling of the Spirit is different. It is something that can be repeated and can be lost. It is not something mystical that takes place only when there is goosebumps, shivers, chills, and special miraculous signs. Being filled with the Spirit is most often not accompanied by miraculous signs and wonders.

As already stated, being filled with the Spirit is simply being controlled by the Holy Spirit. That’s all there is to it. We stop being filled with the Holy Spirit whenever we try to take over the control of our lives. Whenever we let sin get a foothold in our lives. We need to frequently be filled because as sinful humans, we leak.

The results of being filled with the Spirit are numerous. As the Spirit takes control of your life, you will learn to actually live your life. The Spirit does not want to take away your life, but to show you how to truly live life as God wants and intends. To use the analogy of the car from earlier, the Holy Spirit gives you driving lessons.

As the Spirit drives you around, you will start to be conformed to the image and likeness of Jesus. You will learn to walk by faith, not by sight. You will start to produce the fruit of the Holy Spirit as listed in Galatians 5:22-23. You will learn how to pray. You will start to understand Scripture more because the Spirit guides us into all truth.

Do you see? The sealing of the Spirit is mark of permanent ownership that gets put on us when we believe in Jesus for eternal life, but the filling of the Spirit is part of the ongoing, transforming, sanctifying power of God in our life to help us live and love like Jesus.

The reason Paul is talking about this now is because in Ephesians 4-6, he is going to give us a whole list of things we should be doing as Christians. And on our own power, by our own strength, these things are impossible. But with the indwelling and filling power of the Spirit, we are able to accomplish more than we ever thought or imagined.

We will learn more about this as we continue our way through Ephesians.

God is Redeeming God, Redeeming Scripture, Redeeming Theology, z Bible & Theology Topics: Ephesians 1:13, filled with the Spirit, Galatians 5:22-23, hell, Holy Spirit, Pneumatology, podcast, sealed by the Spirit, what is hell

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Will Licentiousness and Lewdness send you to hell? (Jude 4, Jude 7)

By Jeremy Myers
1 Comment

Will Licentiousness and Lewdness send you to hell? (Jude 4, Jude 7)
https://media.blubrry.com/one_verse/feeds.soundcloud.com/stream/1005031720-redeeminggod-will-licentiousness-and-lewdness-send-you-to-hell-jude-4-jude-7.mp3

In this podcast episode, I discuss how to avoid hypocritical thinking in politics, answer a listener question about Jude 4, and discuss what the eternal fire in Jude 7 refers to.

How to Avoid Hypocrisy in Politics

Listen to the podcast for the full discussion, but the bottom line truth is that whenever you think about criticizing a political opponent or person for their actions, first consider whether you would say the same thing if someone from your own political party had done the same thing. (Chances are, someone from your own political viewpoint HAS done the same thing… when that happened, what did you say or do?) If you would be silent, then remain silent now. If you spoke out, then feel free to speak out now.

Question from a Listener on Jude 4

How do you harmonize eternal security with the book of Jude? Especially the statement in Jude 4 about licentious men who deny God and Jesus Christ. It says they abuse the grace of God and turn it into licentiousness or lewdness If a person, pastor, teacher, etc promotes eternal security, aren’t they teaching and promoting licentious, saying we can sin/abuse God’s grace and still be saved? I read Zane Hodge’s Power to Stand, an exposition on Jude and it brought some confusion/questions, one of the many questions I had long ago. I was wondering if you might answer it. I am grateful for your website and ministry! Thank you! I appreciate it!

I do believe in eternal security and grace is one of the primary reasons I hold to eternal security. In my Gospel Dictionary course I have a lesson on grace, and in it, I said this:

It is extravagant, outrageous grace which shocks all sense of propriety. God is shameless in His love for us, so that even when we say and do things that would chase off any human being, God sticks with us and by us. As soon as we seek to limit God’s grace or restrict it to a holy few, we have stopped believing in grace and have plunged headlong into the hell of religion. Grace is free! Absolutely free. It has no limits, borders, restrictions, or conditions. It is freely given and freely received, and as such, can never be rescinded or revoked. There is nothing that can be done (or not done) to earn, merit, or deserve grace. Grace cannot be increased or decreased, merited or demerited. Grace is infinite, universal, and free.

I can hear the objection already: But if grace is how I have been describing it above, won’t people take advantage of this kind of grace? The answer to that is “Of course they will!” But grace that comes with restrictions to avoid being abused is no longer grace. In fact, true grace, by definition, opens itself up to being abused. It is not true grace if it cannot be abused.

So yes, by definition, grace can be abused. It opens itself up for abuse. If God limited grace so that it could not be abused, then it would no longer be free. It would instead be earned or deserved because we gained it or kept it through certain God-approved behavior.

So what about these licentious teachers that Jude is writing about in Jude 4? Some translations say “lewdness.” Lewd behavior is that which is lustful, vulgar, lascivious. I like “licentious” though, because it gives the impression of “license.” A license allows you to do something. A driver’s license allows you to drive. A fishing license allows you to fish. So these teachers that Jude is warning about were saying that grace gives us a license to sin. You can sin all you want and it doesn’t matter.

Now, I have written and taught in the past that grace does indeed allow you to sin all you want. So does the Jude 4 warning apply to me? Am I one of the teachers Jude 4 warns you against? No.

And here’s why. From the context in Jude 4, it appears that these teachers were saying that Christians could go sin all they want, and such behavior doesn’t matter. There are no serious consequences to such behavior. In this form of teaching, grace is a license to sin.

I teach no such thing. I teach that while grace does allow you to go sin all you want, when you really understand grace, it actually teaches you not to sin. Grace teaches us to deny ungodliness and worldly lust, as we read in Titus 2:11-12.

Let me put it this way. The teachers Jude was writing against were saying that grace allows people to sin all they want and there are not serious consequences for their sin. I (and other eternal security teachers) say that grace allows people to sin all they want, but grace also teaches us that there are very serious consequences for such behavior. Like what? While you will not lose your eternal life, you will likely suffer serious devastation and destruction to your health, your marriage, your finances, you job, your psychological and emotional well-being, and even to your eternal reward in eternity.

Do you see the difference? In the teaching of eternal security, free grace is not a license to sin but is rather a warning against sin. We say “Yes, grace allows you to sin all you want, but when you really understand grace and sin, why would you want to?” Grace allows you to sin all you want just like owning a knife allows you to stab it into your leg. Yes, you can do this if you want to, but why would you want to?

So the teaching on eternal security is not a license to sin. It is not licentiousness. It is the opposite. We uphold the grace of God in all its glory, and also know that grace, when it is properly taught and understood, teaches us to live righteously and godly in this present world. Grace, when truly grasped, is not the freedom to sin, it is the freedom to truly start living.

That is a brief explanation of Jude 4 in relation to the question of eternal security.

As long as we’re here in Jude, let’s look ahead a couple verses and also consider Jude 7 for our Scripture text of this podcast episode.

The Eternal Fire in Jude 7

The warnings of Jude 7 relate to what we just discussed from Jude 4. I have written and taught about this text previously in the lesson on “Fire” in the Gospel Dictionary Online course, and also in my book on Hell, titled (#AmazonAdLink) What is Hell?

Here is what we read in Jude 7

… as Sodom and Gomorrah, and the cities around them in a similar manner to these, having given themselves over to sexual immorality and gone after strange flesh, are set forth as an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire (Jude 7)

As frequently seen in this study, the image of fire in Scripture refers to the temporal destruction of cities. This is also what is described in Jude 7, where the author points to the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah as examples of what happens to those who stray from the will of God. However, some point to the phrase at the end of the verse that the cities are “suffering the vengeance of eternal fire” as evidence that Jude is talking about eternal suffering in the flames of hell. However, several contextual insights reveal that this is not what Jude had in mind.

First, this reference to the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah is parallel to the preceding two examples. Jude loves to give examples in triplicate, and so prior to writing about Sodom and Gomorrah, he writes about the death of some of the Israelites in the wilderness because they did not believe (Jude 5), and the imprisonment of some angels in everlasting chains while they await judgment (Jude 6).

Sodom and GomorrahThe first example of the Israelites in the wilderness clearly refers to physical death, rather than to eternal torment in hell. The example of the angels is more difficult, since we are not quite sure what event Jude has in mind. But many believe he is referring to the “sons of God” who had sexual relations with the daughters of men in Genesis 6, and were imprisoned as a result. Yet notice that while these angels are imprisoned in chains and darkness, they are not being tortured with fire. In fact, darkness and fire are mutually exclusive. And since angels are immortal, they cannot be killed. Therefore, they were imprisoned and are awaiting judgment.

This third example of Sodom and Gomorrah is a combination of the first two. Like the angels, the inhabitants of these cities committed sexual immorality and went after strange flesh. This is referring to the fact that the cities were inhospitable and attempted to rape the angels who visited them (Gen 19:4-7; Ezek 16:49-50). The result of this behavior was that the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah were destroyed with fire.

Yet how do we know that Jude is not referring to eternal torment in the flames of hell? We know this because Jude says that Sodom and Gomorrah were “set forth as an example,” which means that this example could be seen by humans. If Jude were referring to the eternal fires of hell, then Sodom and Gomorrah could not be set forth as an example to be seen and witnessed by humans. Jude cannot be referring to some sort of future punishment in hellfire, because then it would not in any way be set forth as an historical example to mankind.

But we also know that Jude was not referring to the eternal flames of hell because of what he writes in Jude 23. Jude writes that it is possible to pull people out of the fire. This is, of course, exactly what happened with Lot and his family. They were rescued, pulled, or delivered from the flames that destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah, and Jude indicates that similar deliverance can happen today.

If Jude was referring to the flames of hell in this text, then he would be teaching that it is possible to rescue and deliver people from hell after they are already there. But few who believe that hell is a place of everlasting torment in fire are willing to say that it is possible to rescue the people who are there. It is better to recognize from the context that Jude is not thinking about eternal torment in the flames of hell, but rather the everlasting destruction of cities due to temporal flames.

sodom and gomorrah

Indeed, this is exactly how to understand the phrase “suffering the vengeance of eternal fire.” To begin with, “suffering the vengeance” is probably not the best way of translating the Greek (Gk., dikēn hupechousai). In 2 Thessalonians 1:8-9, the Greek word dikē means “penalty” or “justice” (Dikē was the Greek god of justice). The second word, hupechō, appears only here in the New Testament, and literally means “to undergo” or “hold under,” and carries the idea of experiencing something.

So the phrase itself means “to undergo justice” or to “experience justice.” And as frequently mentioned elsewhere, this experience of justice, or this penalty, is not sent by God but is brought upon someone through their own actions. Sin carries its own penalty with it. This is exactly what Jude says in verse 10 when he writes that the false teachers “corrupt themselves.” The corruption and punishment that come upon people is not sent from God but is brought by a person upon their own heads.

Jude says that this self-inflicted punishment upon Sodom and Gomorrah was “eternal fire.” This does not mean that the cities are still burning, for they are not. It means that the fire that fell upon these cities destroyed them completely, and they have not been rebuilt (cf. Rev 18:9, 18). This is true, for the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah were in the location of what is now the Dead Sea.

Sodom and GomorrahAccording to historical accounts from the New Testament era, the Dead Sea was also known as the Lake of Fire, where there were frequent bouts of flame and smoke, burning sulphur, and where everything that went through it collected a tarnish of oily soot and grime (cf. Gen 19:24-28; Deut 29:23; Isa 34:9; Jer 49:17-18; Rev 20:10). In the days of Jesus, the valley was still smoking and smoldering, and they assumed it would go on that way forever. This is what Jude has in mind when he speaks of the cities suffering the vengeance of eternal fire. It is not hell, but is the ongoing, physical destruction and devastation that came upon those cities.

And this is the overall truth that Jude is presenting in Jude 4 and Jude 7. Abandoning grace, or turning grace into a license to sin without consequences, is a recipe for disaster. Though grace does allow itself to be abused, the abuse of grace leads to devastation and destruction in the person’s life who does it. It invites fire into a person’s life, which sweeps through their life, leaving behind only dust and ashes.

So don’t abuse grace. Grace is given to us so that we might live free. Therefore, live in the freedom for which you have been set free.

To learn more about these sorts of truths, join my online discipleship group and take the Gospel Dictionary Online Course.

God is Redeeming God, Redeeming Scripture, Redeeming Theology, z Bible & Theology Topics: eternal fire, eternal security, fire, grace, hell, Jude 4, Jude 7, sin, Titus 2:11-12

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Good Questions About the Death of Jesus that Make no Sense

By Jeremy Myers
11 Comments

Good Questions About the Death of Jesus that Make no Sense

A reader sent an email today with these questions:

  1. If Jesus died in the place of others, why does everyone else also die?
  2. If the penalty for sin is hell forever, and if Jesus paid the penalty for all the sins of the world, why is Jesus not the only one in hell forever?
  3. Did God punish Jesus by making him die and go to hell, or did God reward Jesus by raising him up from death and lifting him up to heaven?
  4. If Jesus died on a Friday afternoon and rose from the dead by the next Sunday morning, was the penalty for all the sins of the world less than two days dead?
  5. If God punished Jesus for all the sins of others by making him die on a cross, why are Judas Iscariot, Pontius Pilate, and Caiaphas not all heroes and saints for fulfilling the will of God?
  6. If people should rejoice at the suffering and death of Jesus, as if his pain were their gain, should they mourn his resurrection and ascension, as if his gain is their pain?
  7. If we live because Jesus died, do we die because Jesus rose to live again?
  8. If people go to heaven because Jesus went to hell, do people go to hell because Jesus went to heaven?
  9. Did the crucifixion of Jesus cancel the sins of others, or was it really the worst sin of all?
  10. Would God be just if He punished the innocent in place of the guilty?
  11. If Jesus paid the penalty for all the sins of others, and salvation in unconditional, is not everyone saved, no matter what he believes, says, or does?
  12. If the purpose of Jesus was to die, why did his story not end with his death?
  13. If good deeds make no difference, because no one can earn salvation, why did Jesus say so much about what persons should and should not do?
  14. How could the penalty for sins be paid hundreds of years before those sins were done?
  15. If Jesus, like a scapegoat, took away our sins when he died, did he bring back our sins when he came back from the dead?
  16. How could Jesus be a substitute to go in our places and also be a leader and example whom we should follow?
  17. If we do not follow Jesus, but he goes one way so that we can go another way, how do we expect to end up where he is?
  18. If Jesus were God, and God demanded that Jesus die to pay the penalty for the sins of everyone else, did God commit suicide?

As I read through these excellent questions about the death of Jesus, I realized that I couldn’t answer ANY of them because I didn’t accept the presuppositions that were within each question.

For example, with question #1, I do not believe Jesus died in the place of others. I do not believe in “substitutionary” atonement.

With question 2, I do not believe that the penalty for sin is hell forever.

With question 3, I do not believe that God punished Jesus by making him die and go to hell…

And so on throughout the list of questions….

This is the problem with the vast majority of theology today. We are asking wrong questions because we are beginning with wrong ideas about God, Jesus, sin, and hell.

All of the questions above disappear when we learn just a few things from Scripture. Like what?

  1. God does not require punishment for sin, or blood payment to forgive.
  2. God is infinitely gracious, forgiving, and loving.
  3. Jesus didn’t die to appease God or buy forgiveness from God.
  4. Hell isn’t what you think…

Start with those ideas, and the way you read and understand the Bible will forever be transformed. If you want help, here are three books to get you started:

  • (#AmazonAdLink) The Atonement of God
  • (#AmazonAdLink) Nothing But the Blood of Jesus
  • (#AmazonAdLink) What is Hell?

Enjoy!

God is Redeeming Theology, z Bible & Theology Topics: atonement, Bible and Theology Questions, Books I'm Writing, death of Jesus, hell

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