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Seven Elements of Christian Unity (Ephesians 4:4-6)

By Jeremy Myers
1 Comment

Seven Elements of Christian Unity (Ephesians 4:4-6)
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In Ephesians 1-3, Paul explained that God has given us great spiritual riches so that we can lead the world into peace. In the first part of Ephesians 4, Paul tells us Christians that the first way we can show the world how to live in peace is by living in peace with one other.

This begins, as we learned in the last study, by looking to our own heart first and developing certain attitudes of the heart.

In this study, we learn that as we seek to live in peace with other Christians, we should focus on seven key truths that all Christians have in common. When we focus on what we have in common rather than on on what divides us, we will begin to create peace in our midst.

Seven Elements of Christian Unity (Ephesians 4:4-6)

Ephesians 4:4-6 church unity

As stated above, in Ephesians 4:1-3, Paul taught us to look to our own heart first so that we can develop certain attitudes of the heart that create peace among other Christians.

Now, in Ephesians 4:4-6, we learn that as we seek to live in peace with other Christians, we should focus on seven key truths that all Christians have in common. When we focus on what we have in common rather than on on what divides us, we will begin to create peace in our midst.

The interesting thing about these seven elements is that they form a chiasm. The first item on the list is parallel to the seventh, the second is parallel to the sixth, and so on. This means that the fourth item is the center item and therefore the most important. What is that fourth item? It is the Lord Jesus Christ. The most important thing in the church is that we follow our Head, our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. As long as we keep our eyes fixed on Jesus, a lot of these other six elements of Christian unity are easier to focus upon.

untiy in the church Ephesians 4:1-6

So let us look at each of the seven elements of Christian unity peace. The first is in Ephesians 4:4.

1. There is one body

This is the first element. One body. Paul means that there is one body of believers. One body of Christ. All people throughout time and around the world who are truly Christians are part of the body. The picture of a body is one of Paul’s favorite ways to describe the church. In 1 Corinthians 12, Paul goes into great detail to describe the body of Christ. Paul says there to think of your body. It is an incredibly diverse collection of body parts, but without any one member, the body is not complete. The body is not just a big pile of eyes, or a big pile of hands, or a big pile of feet. Similarly, a body without hands, or eyes, or feet, is not a complete body. All parts make up the body, and all parts are necessary if the body is going to function right.

It is the same in the church. All parts make up Christ’s church, and all parts are necessary if the church is going to function right. We don’t criticize a foot for not being a hand. Nor do we criticize the ear for not being able see. Each part has a unique function, which is necessary for the body to work as a whole. So rather than criticize other people, or other churches, for not being like us, we should look at them as different members of our one body. See what is unique about them, and how they are using their unique talents to do things we cannot. This all gets into the issue of spiritual gifts, which Paul talks about in Ephesians 4:11, so I won’t spoil it by saying more. The first element of unity to focus on is that we are all part of the same body.

Second, also from Ephesians 4:4, we all have one Spirit.

2. One Spirit

Of course, this is the Holy Spirit who lives in each one of us. It is an error to say that some have the Spirit and others don’t. We all have the Spirit within us, and it is the same Spirit the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit within each of us strives to get us all to live in unity with each other. When we fail, it is because we are walking according to the flesh, not according to the Spirit (Rom. 8:4-13).

Let’s move on to the third element, the last phrase in Ephesians 4:4: just as you were called in one hope of your calling;

3. One Hope

The third element for unity is one hope. The hope of every Christian is Jesus Christ who is in heaven. He has promised us that simply by believing in him for eternal life, He will bring us to heaven to spend eternity with him. Now most of us think of hope as a sort of “wishful thinking.” We tend to think of it as an uncertainty. But really, hope can have different levels or degrees of certainty. Let me show you what I mean. Uncertain hope is like saying “I hope I win the lottery, but I know I probably won’t. or “I hope the Raiders win the Super Bowl this year. But they might not.” Now I can also say, “I hope the sun comes up tomorrow,” and in that case, I am nearly 100% sure it will.

So you can see that there are different degrees of certainty in hope. And what causes the difference? What makes one thing we hope for more certain than another? Well, in each case, what is the factor that changed? The only factor that changed is the object of your hope. The chances of you winning the lottery are not very likely. Someone once called the lottery a tax for the mathematically challenged. But still, people who buy tickets, hope they will win but very few do. My hope that the Raiders will win the Super Bowl next year is a bit more likely. But still, mostly unlikely. Again, my hope that the sun will rise tomorrow is an almost certain hope because the sun always rises in the morning. The only thing that could stop it from rising is if it blew up or if the earth stopped rotating. Neither of these things are very likely, so my hope that the sun will rise is a well grounded hope.

Now the Christian’s hope is a hope in Jesus Christ. And since God does not and cannot lie, since Jesus always keeps His promises, our hope in Jesus Christ for eternal life is a certainty. There is no uncertainty because the object of our hope is completely trustworthy and reliable. Paul mentions also here something about a calling. This is the same calling we looked at extensively in Ephesians 1:18 and is related to why we were chosen, which we talked about in Ephesians 1:4. Basically, we were called, or chosen, to be holy and blameless, to be heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, and to be adopted as children. These are all future blessings for the Christian when we get to heaven. So, thirdly, Paul’s point is that we all have hope in one person, Jesus Christ, in order to go to the same place, heaven, where we will all receive the same thing, an inheritance.

We do not place our hope in any other person, but Jesus Christ. We do not place our hope in religious leaders or political leaders. Put no hope in popes, priests, pastors, or people with PH.D.s. Put no hope in kings and presidents. Our hope is in Jesus Christ alone.

 

 

 

unity of the body Ephesians 4:4-6One body, one spirit, one hope, now, fourthly, in Ephesians 4:5, one Lord.

4. One Lord

This refers specifically to Jesus Christ. Paul choice of the term, Lord, shows us that Jesus Christ is God, and therefore, our Master. Now think about it. If we all have the same Lord, the same Master, we will not be getting orders from our Master to be in disagreement with each other. His commands will not contradict or cause disunity among his servants. So the only way disunity occurs is when we disobey our Lord and Master, Jesus Christ.

Fifth, we have one faith.

5. One Faith

All Christians have received eternal life in only one way: through faith. We’ve all entered through the narrow door of faith. This means that faith makes Christianity a level playing field.

There are not some people who are Christians because they were really good people, and others who are Christians because they were born into a Christian family. No. All true Christians are Christians by faith alone. This is a wonderful element to cause unity, because since we are all Christians by faith, then no one can boast in themselves for their salvation. I cannot look down on you because I became a Christian by being such a good person, and you well, you just had to enter by faith. No, we all came in, as beggars, asking for something we did not earn, getting something we did not deserve.

There is one and only one way we all joined the family of God… through faith in Jesus. This helps us grow in unity with each other, because we all became Christians in the same way.

Sixth, we all have one baptism.

6. One Baptism

The baptism Paul is talking about here is the baptism of the Spirit; not water baptism. It is not something we are to pray for or something that happens to us after our conversion. When you become a Christian by believing in Jesus for eternal life, one of the first things that happens to you is the Holy Spirit comes in and lives with in you, and in that moment, He washes you, He cleanses you, He purifies you of all sin, and provides us with the power to have victory over future sin. This is the baptism of the Spirit which all Christians have, and therefore, creates unity within us. This baptism is related to the indwelling Holy Spirit from item two above.

We’ve seen six elements, the seventh is found in Ephesians 4:6.

6. One God and Father of all

Paul says God is above all, and through all, and in you all. Paul has been mentioning the essentials. He’s mentioned that we all one body, through one faith and one baptism. We have one Lord, who is Jesus Christ and one Spirit, who is the Holy Spirit. He now includes the final member of the Trinity, one God and Father of all. In Old Testament times, it was the common belief that the gods were territorial. Each nation, and sometimes, each clan or tribe within that nation, had it’s own god. So when nation battled nation, it was really a contest between gods.

Paul reminds the Jewish and Gentile Christians in the Greek city of Ephesus that this is a bunch of hogwash. There is one God and Father of all. They both have the same God. They do not worship different gods. They do not follow commands from different gods. It is the same God. The fact that He is the Father of all tells us about His love. He created all, and He cares for all just as a Father cares for his children.

The fact that He is above all speaks of His control. No matter what things may look like, God is in control. [transcendence and His omnipotence.] The fact that He is through all speaks of His care and providence. He didn’t just set up the world and leave then leave it alone. He is still involved and active in what He made protecting and providing. [immanence and His omnipresence.] The fact that He is in you all speaks of His presence. He is always near us, and wanting a deeper relationship with us. [indwelling presence and personal relationship with us all.] He is the One God and Father of all.

Those are the seven elements. One body, one Spirit, one hope, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father. These are the seven elements that will help create unity among all Christians, regardless of the other beliefs and practices that might tend to divide us. And this helps us learn to get along peacefully with other Christians, even when we might have disagreements with them about some of the other elements of Christianity.

Maybe you disagree with someone else about their theology, or how they do church, or what kind of behaviors they think are okay to participate in. Well, you can disagree with them on those, but still get along in peace and unity with them by focusing on the seven elements of unity that Paul has laid out for us here.

unity in the church Ephesians 4:4-6

So this is the second step to achieving unity in the church. Remember, we are in the section of Ephesians where Paul tell us how to WALK as followers of Jesus, and Paul is giving us the steps we must walk in.

The first step, as we saw in Ephesians 4:1-3, was to check your own attitudes. In those verses we saw seven attitudes to make sure you have when involved in any sort of disagreement. After we focus on our own attitudes, the next thing to do, the next step, as Paul shows us here, is to focus on the things we have in common. Many of us, myself included, when we are involved in a disagreement, want to immediately go to the other person and show them their faults. But Paul says, “No. The first thing to do is check your own attitudes. After that, focus on what the two of you have in common.”

Let me show you that this is what Paul was saying. In Ephesians 2, Paul called for the Christians in Ephesus to live at peace with each other. And remember, it was a diverse church made up of both Jewish and Gentile Christians. They struggled with being unified because they were so different. They had different standards, different ways of raising children, different diets, different styles of worship, different beliefs, different social patterns. Sometimes, it seemed, they were completely different from one another. In Ephesians 2, Paul called them to be a peace with each other. Now he tells them how. Here is what he is telling them: “Rather than focus on the differences that are between you, focus on what you have in common. You might have disagreement about what kind of meat to eat. You might have disagreements about what kind of people to associate with. But look at what you have in common. Focus on those, and this will help you live in unity and love with one another.”

Today in our day, he would have said, “You might have disagreements about what kind of music should be played or sung in church. You might have disagreements about how best to run the church. You might have disagreements about when meet, and how long to meet, and what to do when you meet. You might have disagreements about what to wear, and what people can or cannot drink, and what people can or cannot eat and what sort of activities you can or cannot do. We might have disagreements of theology and doctrine. But don’t focus on those things. They will always divide you. Focus instead on what you have in common.

One of the best methods of keeping the peace, of keeping unified, is to stop focusing on how different you are, and to focus instead on the similarities. That’s what Paul does here. “You’re not different,” he says, “look what you have in common!” He lists seven elements of unity here. These are the things that really matter. This are the things that will unite us when there are so many things that can divide us.

Back in the frontier days towns would spring up overnight. Some of them would shrink in size as people moved further west. In one of these towns, two churches had been founded. A Baptist church and a Christian church. As both congregations dwindled due to the people moving away from the shrinking town, the pastors of the two churches decided to join forces and become one church. So they called the remaining members together for a meeting to decide what their new church would be called. The Baptists wanted to the church to be called Central Baptist Church and the people from the Christian church wanted to be called Central Christian Church. Finally, one old lady who had sat through many tired hours of disagreement and bickering, stood up in the back and said, “My Daddy was Baptist. My Momma was Baptist. I grew up Baptist. There ain’t no way I’m gonna be called a Christian!”

That’s what happens when we let silly things like the name of a church get in the way of what is important and what really matters. Paul lists here what really matters. As long as we agree on these things, we can agree to disagree on all the others. We can be as diverse as we want. We can have Lutherans and Methodists and Baptists and Pentecostals. We can even get together and have friendly arguments about some of the things that we disagree on. That’s fine. As long as we agree on the essentials as listed here, we all one body; we’re all one family. But if a certain organization claims to be a church and they deny any of these, that is when you know that they are not part of the family. That is when you stop associating with them and start witnessing to them.

While Paul is talking primarily about developing unity within the church, these same principles can be applied to all of our relationships. If you desire to have unity with your spouse, or your kids, or your boss, or a coworker, or a neighbor, the first thing to do, from Ephesians 4:1-3, is to check your own attitude. It is just as Jesus taught his disciples take the log out of your own eye first. But if you have done that, are you then able to go and show your neighbor his or her fault? If, in checking your attitudes, you have seen where you went wrong, and how you caused some of the disunity, are you then in the clear to go and show your spouse, or your coworker, or your fellow Christian his or her faults where they went wrong?

Paul answered that for us today in Ephesians 4:4-6. If you have taken the first step toward unity in checking your own attitude, then the next step is to focus on the things you have in common. Don’t focus on your differences. Focus on what makes you the same. If you focus only on your differences, there will never be peace.

Let’s not focus on what divides us. Let’s focus on the unity we have in Christ.

God is Redeeming God, Redeeming Scripture, z Bible & Theology Topics: baptism, church unity, Ephesians 4:4-6, faith, Holy Spirit, love, peace, spirit baptism, unity

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What is the Sealing of the Spirit? (Ephesians 1:13-14)

By Jeremy Myers
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What is the Sealing of the Spirit? (Ephesians 1:13-14)
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What is the sealing of the Holy Spirit? What does it do, how is it received, and how can you know that you have been sealed by the Holy Spirit? These are the questions we answer in this study of Ephesians 1:13-14. But first, let us consider a question from a listener about Calvinism and the fear of changing theological beliefs.

Does Changing My Beliefs Make Me an Apostate?

I have been reading your posts about Calvinism with much interest. For a while now I think I don’t believe it to be true. I have to say, the church we are members of is not very heavy on this, they never or rarely use the TULIP lingo I have been raised in a classic reformed, heavily legalistic family. I have always been afraid of not being chosen. What if I thought I believed in Jesus but just kidded myself? It hampers my own life and my witness to others. I would love to see many come to Christ, but the line: “God loves you,” is nearly impossible, because I cannot see in the counsel of God. Also, changing my view on for example Sunday being the Sabbath, makes me panic, because does changing my view on such an important matter mean that I am on my way to become apostate (or in Calvinistic terms, to have the proof that I wasn’t one of them after all). Does it make sense?

This does make sense, and is exactly one of the reasons I write. I have faced many of these identical fears in my past, and I know that millions of other Christians are facing the same fears as well. I want to write to help liberate people from their bondage to bad ideas about God and bad theology that creates fear in the minds of so many.

Here are a few principles I have learned along the way that helps with these sorts of questions, issues, and fears:

  1. God has not given us a Spirit of fear, but of power, of love, and of a sound mind (2 Timothy 1:7). If you have beliefs that lead you to fear for your future or fear that you might not have eternal life, then that belief is not of the Holy Spirit.
  2. God invites us to reason together with Him (Isaiah 1:18). Questions are invited and welcomed by God! Going back to 2 Timothy 1:7, God wants us to be of sound mind. This means that He gave us a mind and wants us to use it. It is wrong to avoid questions and doubts. Look, if what you believe is true, then that truth can stand up to any and all questions. But if what you believe is not true, then the only way you can discover the truth is by questioning what you believe. Either way, you will come to know the truth and the truth will set you free.
  3. Until we come to realize #1 and #1 above, we will NEVER progress as a disciple of Jesus because we will always be afraid to doubt or ask questions. Learning that we are fully loved and fully free is the first step in true Christian discipleship.

None of this really answers the questions about Calvinism of the Sabbath, but the three principles above will free a person up to begin thinking clearly about these two topics. And if you want to know what I have taught on the two subjects, here are some links for further study:

  • Calvinism: The Words of Calvinism and the Word of God
  • Genesis 2:1-3 – The Sabbath (Part 1)
  • Genesis 2:1-3 – The Sabbath (Part 2)
  • Should Christians Observe the Sabbath?
  • Luke 6:1-5 – Going Against the Grain on the Sabbath
  • Luke 6:6-11 – Jesus Gives a Hand on the Sabbath

What is the Sealing of the Spirit (Ephesians 1:13-14)?

In the previous study of Ephesians 1:13, we discussed the differences between the sealing of the Holy Spirit and the filling of the Holy Spirit. In this study, we will take a closer look at what exactly the sealing of the Spirit is.

So what is this sealing of the Holy Spirit that Paul writes about in Ephesians 1:13? Paul says we have been marked with a seal.

In Paul’s day seals were used in at least four ways. First, seals were sometimes put on letters to guarantee that it was genuine and that it was written by who it claimed to be written by (1 Kings 21:8; Esther 8:8). Kings might seal their letters with a signet ring. We do something similar when we get a document notarized.

A seal was also sometimes placed on goods or merchandise that was traveling from one place to another to indicate who they belonged to and where they were going. It indicated ownership (2 Corinthians 1:22; Revelation 7:2; 9:4). Again, we do this with our possessions today all the time. We write our names in our books, or on our kid’s clothes when they go to camp. Ranchers brand their cattle. They are placing a mark on it to show ownership.

The third way seals were used in Paul’s day was to show something was authentic and approved (John 6:27). Sometimes when we buy clothes, in one of the pockets will be a little piece of paper saying it has been inspected and approved by someone.

The fourth type of seal was for protection or warning. Remember when Jesus was put in the tomb, Pilate told the soldiers to put his personal seal upon the tomb (Matthew 27:66; Ephesians 4:30). This was to protect the tomb and warn everyone to stay away and keep out!

So Paul says here that God has placed a seal upon us as well. It is to guarantee that we are genuine, it shows ownership, who we belong to, it shows that we are approved, and it provides us with protection or security.

Now, is this mark visible to you and I? No. We cannot see it. We cannot put our finger on it and say “Here it is.” Neither is it revealed by some sort of spiritual manifestations like being slain in the spirit or speaking in tongues or laughing hysterically. The sealing of the Spirit is invisible to us in the physical realm.

According to Galatians 5:22, the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. So if a person has some or all of these, it is a good indication that they also have the Holy Spirit. We cannot see the wind, but we can see what the wind does. It is the same with the Spirit.

So this sealing of the Spirit is an invisible mark. We cannot see it or feel it, but we can know we have been sealed.

We can know this by learning a bit more about the sealing of the Holy Spirit.

The Seal and Deposit

The only other book in the New Testament that talks about the sealing of the Holy Spirit is Paul’s second letter to the Corinthians (2 Corinthians 1:22) So the question arises, “Why did Paul only mention this sealing in these two letters?”

The reason has to do with the towns of Ephesus and Corinth themselves. Both Ephesus and Corinth were great centers of the lumber industry in ancient times.

A raft of logs would be floated from the Black Sea and when they got to Ephesus or Corinth, the different lumber merchants would come and look over the logs and make their selections of which ones they wanted. One would say, “I will take these,” and another, “I’ll buy those over there.”

Then they would do two things. They would cut a certain wedge upon each log that they had bought which marked that log as bought and paid for and to show who it belonged to. This was called the seal.

The second thing they would do was to put a down payment on the logs – a deposit – and when the logs were delivered or picked up, they would then pay the rest of the money.

Paul talked about this seal in Ephesians 1:13, and look what he mentions now in Ephesians 1:14.

Ephesians 1:14. who (this is the Holy Spirit) is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession—to the praise of his glory.

The Holy Spirit is a seal and a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance. It is just like those logs.

The Holy Spirit will provide us with new bodies and an inheritance when we finally get to heaven, but we have a sealing in the Holy Spirit right now which promises and guarantees that this inheritance is ours and is waiting for us.

It is like a deposit, says Paul. God has made a purchase, and just to prove that He is going to follow through on His purchase. He has made a down payment. He has given a deposit in the form of the Holy Spirit.

When we buy a car or a house, we make a deposit. We give a down payment. This tells the seller that we are promising to buy it. That is what God has done here. He has given a deposit to us. He has promised that what He has begun, He will finish.

It is also interesting to note that the Greek word here for deposit is the modern Greek word for an engagement ring. And we all know what an engagement ring means. it is like a deposit. It means that two people are promised to each other or pledged to be married. God has promised to come for us and make us heirs of Himself. This deposit guarantees our inheritance in heaven. The deposit is a little bit of heaven here on earth.

The Wind Holy Spirit

Also in Ephesians 1:14, there’s the inheritance that awaits us in heaven, and there’s the redemption of our bodies. We looked at redemption previously when we considered Ephesians 1:7, and Paul is just reminding us of the similar idea here. We are heirs of God and co-heirs with Jesus Christ. We have been redeemed from our captivity to sin, and because of the sealing of the Holy Spirit, we will also experience the redemption of our bodies. We have been delivered from the penalty of sin, the power of sin, and ultimately, finally, eventually, when we receive our new bodies in eternity, we will be delivered from the presence of sin.

As great as the gift of the Holy Spirit is, He is only a deposit, a foretaste, a small glimpse of the beauty, glory, greatness, and majesty that awaits us in eternity with the redemption of our bodies.

So how do we receive the sealing of the Spirit, and how can you know that you have been sealed by the Holy Spirit?

We looked briefly at both of these questions last time in our study of Ephesians 1:13. When we believe in Jesus for eternal life, we are instantly and permanently sealed by the Spirit. The sealing happens the moment you believe in Jesus for eternal life. And though you cannot see it or feel it, you can nevertheless know you have been sealed by the Spirit because God does not lie.

Holy SpiritJust as you can know that you have eternal life because Jesus does not lie to us, we can know we have been sealed because God does not lie to us. If you have believed in Jesus for eternal life, then you have been sealed by the Holy Spirit. You can take it by faith because it is a promise of God and God does not lie. The indwelling Holy Spirit is a deposit in your life that God has given to you in advance of your final glorification, redemption, and new resurrected body in eternity.

God has placed His mark on you, His seal of ownership, and has guaranteed that you will be glorified with Him in eternity. This is something to be grateful and thankful for.

This is the end of Paul’s one long sentence which opens Ephesians. So next, in Ephesians 1:15, Paul begins to explain what he hopes we will do with the blessings, riches, and inheritance we have received from God. This is where we will pick up in our next study.

God is Redeeming God, Redeeming Scripture, Redeeming Theology, z Bible & Theology Topics: 2 Corinthians 1:22, Bible Study Podcast, Calvinism, Ephesians 1:13, Ephesians 1:13-14, Ephesians 1:14, Holy Spirit, podcast, Sabbath, sealing of the Spirit, TULIP

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

By Jeremy Myers
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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.

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 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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What did Peter do with the Keys of the Kingdom (Matthew 16:19)?

By Jeremy Myers
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What did Peter do with the Keys of the Kingdom (Matthew 16:19)?
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In this Redeeming God Podcast episode, we discuss the Second Impeachment of President Trump, a question from a reader about the warning passage of Hebrews 6:1-8, and then look at Matthew 16:19 and what Peter did with the keys of the kingdom that he received from Jesus.

Keys of the Kingdom of Heaven

Trump Impeachment 2.0

Impeachment 2.0 begins next week. The Democrats are seeking to impeach President Trump for causing insurrection on January 6 at the Capital building in Washington D.C.

Pretty much like everything the Democrats do, this impeachment trial is completely unconstitutional and a waste of time and money. Trump did nothing wrong, and certainly did not incite an insurrection. The Democrats should focus on something that actually helps this country and the people in it.

1. Completely unconstitutional

Only sitting elected officials can be impeached. President Trump is no longer in office, and so cannot be impeached.

Impeachment trials must be presided over by the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. Chief Justice Roberts knows that this trial is unconstitutional, and so has declined to preside over the trial, which makes it makes it even more unconstitutional.

2. Complete waste of time and money

Senator Rand Paul recently forced a vote in the Senate to condemn this trial as unconstitutional. 45 senators agreed, meaning 55 voted to proceed with the trial.

For impeachment to occur, the Senate needs 67 votes. If only 55 senators voted to hold the impeachment trial, it is extremely unlikely that 67 will vote to impeach.

This impeachment sham is dead on arrival, making it a complete waste of time and money. There are certainly bigger issues in our country right now that deserve the attention of our elected officials in Washington DC. But their hatred for Trump blinds them to the desperate needs of the people they are supposed to represent.

3. Trump did nothing wrong. He certainly did not incite an insurrection

It is completely moronic for anyone to claim that Trump incited an insurrection.

First, there was no violent rhetoric that incited an insurrection. If there was, fake news channels like CNN would be playing it nonstop. But there aren’t any statements from Trump that incited any sort of violence. I have been engaged in numerous email and social media exchanges in the last month were people accused Trump of “violent rhetoric.” In every case, I ask for actual Tweets or statements from Trump that called for violence, and so far, nobody has produced a single one. However, there are numerous statement from democrats over the past four years, including Biden and Obama, that actually do call for violence against others. If we are impeaching former (or current) political office holders for statements that incite violence, then quite a number of democrats should be immediately impeached.

When people say that Trump engaged in hate speech, what they actually mean is that Trump said things that they hate. But there is a vast difference between hate speech and someone saying things you hate. Trump often said things that his detractors didn’t like, but, unlike many democrats, he never called for violence or an insurrection. Similarly, there are many, many things that other people say that I hate. But as a believer in the first amendment, I will always defend their right to say them.

Second, there was no insurrection. Instead, there were a couple hundred thousand people who gathered at the capitol building to practice their right to assemble and their right to free speech.

Third, those who did made it into the Capital Building were escorted in by Capital Police, and did not engage in any violence. Despite AOC’s irrational fears, she was not in danger of being murdered. She wasn’t even in the building! But even if she was in the building, nobody was going to cause her any harm. (And by the way, did you know that Susan Rosenberg, a board member of a BLM organization actually did detonate a bomb in the capital building on Nov 7, 1983? She was pardoned for her actual insurrection by Bill Clinton.) Watch the dozens and dozens of videos all over the internet about how the people at the capital were escorted in by the police and how they walked orderly and calmly between the velvet ropes into the capitol building. There was no violent insurrection. There was no insurrection, period.

Fourth, even if it could be proven that there was a violent insurrection did occur, it cannot be proven that Trump caused it. Reports and studies have shown that the plans to enter into the capital building were made days before Trump ever spoke on January 6. If there had been an actual insurrection, it is impossible for Trump to incite it if the plans for it had already been made days earlier.

All in all, impeachment 2.0 is a sham, just like it was the first time. All it reveals is that the Democrats don’t care about the constitution, don’t care about due process, don’t care about free speech, and most of all, don’t care about you and me, the people of the United States. Rather than do something helpful for the great needs of the citizens they serve, they are instead wasting time, money, and energy on a pointless impeachment. They are consumed by hatred for Trump and a lust for power. These things will become more and more obvious in the weeks and months ahead.

Letter from a Reader

I read a book that was talking about Hebrews 6 & that some “mature Christians” could possibly choose to turn away from God and renounce their salvation. And if they did, God would give them over to a reprobate mind and there would be no hope of returning to Him. Fear entered in and I literally started having mega blasphemous thoughts & felt like I was possessed, it was so bad. I thought I had committed the unpardonable sin & that’s why it was happening. But, I read your book on the unpardonable sin & realized that I had not committed it & I can’t commit it, as I was born again as a child.

There are lots of terrible books and teachings out there about Hebrews 6, mostly due to the fact that people misunderstand several key terms in the book… I cover all these key terms in my online course “The Gospel Dictionary.”

I also wrote about this passage in book What is Hell? and taught about it in a previous podcast episode. There are also several lessons in my online courses that deal with this text. Here are few links from my website for further reading:

Hebrews 6:1-8 and the Warning About Falling Away

Do the warning passages of Hebrews 6:7-8 and Hebrews 10:27 refer to Christians going to hell?

Hodges on Hebrews (Part 6)

The Keys of the Kingdom in Matthew 16:19

Here is what Jesus says to Peter in Matthew 16:19:

And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.”

There are two main ways this verse has been misunderstood. The first is in Pentecostal theology where people use this for name-it-and-claim-it theology where if you just “bind” something on earth God in heaven is required to give to you what you claim. Other Pentecostals use this verse to teach about binding Satan and demonic spirits with the power of heaven.

But these words from Jesus were spoken directly to Peter in response to his statement that Jesus was the Christ, the son of the living God (Matt 16:16). Due to Peter’s confession, Jesus gave the keys of the kingdom to Peter. Since all the personal pronouns in Matthew 16:19 are second person singular (“you” rather than “you all”), Jesus is not making a blanket statement to all the disciples that we all have the keys of the kingdom. No, these spiritual and symbolic keys of the kingdom were given to Peter alone.

Peter used the Keys to open the Kingdom

Secondly, we also must also avoid the Catholic mistake of thinking that this verse teaches the Catholic doctrine of apostolic succession. This doctrine teaches that in Matthew 16:19 Jesus gave special authority to Peter to make pronouncements about church doctrine and policy, and this doctrine was passed down from Peter to the various Popes in church history. This is an improper way of reading the text as well, for while the spiritual keys of the kingdom were “given” to Peter directly, he used them during his life to unlock the doors of the kingdom to the various people groups of the world, and once the doors were unlocked and opened, the keys of the kingdom served their purpose and we no longer needed.

It is also important to note that the construction of the Greek terms in this verse (future perfect passive periphrastic participle, if you really want to know … and it’s just fun to say) indicate that what is bound and loosed on earth were already bound and loosed in heaven. Peter is to carry out on earth the decisions that were already made in heaven. The keys of the kingdom do not give Peter the ability to do whatever he wants with them, thereby forcing heaven to bind or loose whatever Peter chooses. No, Peter is to bind and loose that which has already been bound or loosed in heaven.

The Task of Peter with the Keys of the Kingdom of Heaven

So what are the keys of the kingdom and how were they used?

What is it that Peter is binding and loosing?

It helps to remember that the kingdom of heaven is the rule and reign of God on earth. So the keys of the kingdom are not a blank check which draws on the riches and power of heaven or a special authority to make rulings on all church-related matters. No, Jesus is telling Peter that it is his responsibility to take the message of the kingdom of heaven to the rest of the world and unlock the benefits and blessings of the kingdom for them. There are three times in the book of Acts where we see Peter use the keys of the kingdom for this purpose.

These three times are foreshadowed in Acts 1:8.

Scholars have often noted that Acts 1:8 contains the outline of the book. The good news of the kingdom started with Jesus in Jerusalem, but it spread from there to the rest of Judea, and then to Samaria, and ultimately to the end of the known world. But what is less often noted is the role Peter played in this spread of the message of the kingdom, and especially how Peter opens the doors of the kingdom to the Jews, Samaritans, and Gentiles.

In Acts 1:7-8, Jesus said the sign of the coming of the kingdom will be the arrival of the Holy Spirit. As the truths of the kingdom come upon various people groups in Acts, Peter also gives them the blessing of the Holy Spirit, which is the evidence that they have been invited to participate in the kingdom of heaven.

Peter opens the Doors of the Kingdom to the Jews in Acts 2

In Acts 2, Peter explains to the Jews that their King Jesus is on the throne, and that in Him and in all who believe in Him, the kingdom of heaven has arrived (cf. Acts 2:30-36). Peter explains in his sermon that the coming of the Holy Spirit indicates that the rule of God on earth had arrived (Acts 2:17-21). Peter indicates later that he knows this message will be spread further, to those who are afar off, to whomever God may call (Acts 2:39). In the next several chapters, the message continues to spread among the Jewish people.

Peter opens the Doors of the Kingdom to the Samaritans in Acts 8

In Acts 8, Philip, one of the early church leaders, preaches the gospel to the Samaritans. As he does so, unclean spirits are cast out of people and the lame are healed (Acts 8:7), showing that the newly born church is beginning to storm the gates of hell, just as Jesus promised (Matt 16:18). However, none of the new believers in Samaria had received the Holy Spirit. Why not? Because Peter had not yet opened the gates of the kingdom to them. Yet in Acts 8:17, Peter travels to Samaria to do this very thing, and when he lays his hands upon them, they receive the gift of the Holy Spirit, proving that God has invited the Samaritans into the kingdom of heaven as well.

Peter opens the Doors of the Kingdom to the Gentiles in Acts 10

Finally, Peter opens the door to the Gentiles in Acts 10:24-48. A Gentile named Cornelius summons Peter, and after Peter explains the gospel to him and his family, they believe the message and the Holy Spirit comes upon them all. This is the third use of the keys of the kingdom, and the doors of the kingdom have now been opened to the Jews, the Samaritans, and the Gentiles. After this, Peter fades away in the book of Acts, to the point where he is not even mentioned again after Acts 15. He fulfilled his task of opening the doors the kingdom so that the gospel could be preached to all people.

The message of the Kingdom spreads to the Rest of the World in Acts 19

The gospel going to the rest of the world is found in Acts 19:1-10. A Jewish man named Apollos had been teaching and preaching about Jesus even though he only knew about the baptism of John (cf. Acts 18:24-25). So Priscilla and Aquila took him aside and taught him more fully about Jesus (Acts 18:26). When Paul arrived, he taught Apollos and the believers there about the baptism of the Holy Spirit and laid hands on them so that they might receive the Spirit (Acts 19:6). When some spoke in tongues and prophecy, this was the sign that the Spirit had moved beyond just the borders of Israel and was now spreading to the rest of the world.

It was not necessary for Peter to unlock the doors of the kingdom in Ephesus, however, for the doors had already been unlocked to every people group. The signs and wonders of the Spirit simply indicated that the gospel of the kingdom of heaven was now spreading over the face of the earth.

What the Keys of the Kingdom in the Book of Acts teaches us about miraculous signs, wonders, and tongues

This brings up the important point about the miraculous signs and wonders that accompanied the initial giving the Holy Spirit to the various people groups. These miraculous signs were needed to prove that the gates of the kingdom had been opened to these new groups of people. We must not assume, as some do, that miraculous signs and events will always accompany the giving of the Holy Spirit. They don’t.

After the initial arrival of the Spirit in Acts to the various groups of people, the Spirit thereafter comes immediately and silently to all who believe in Jesus for eternal life. No special anointing is needed, and no miraculous wonders are required as evidence for the regeneration, indwelling, baptism, or sealing work of the Holy Spirit in our lives. Peter used the keys of the kingdom to unlock the gates of the kingdom to all people on earth, so that now all are welcome to enter into the gates with thanksgiving and experience the rule and reign of God in their lives with great joy. The gates have been opened and will never be shut again (cf. Rev 21:25).

Matthew 16:19 and the Keys of the Kingdom

Matthew 16:19 shows that God has always accepted and invited everyone and anyone into His kingdom, that is, into His ways of doing things. Through the actions of Peter “unlocking” the doors of the kingdom on earth, what has always been true in heaven is also shown to be true on earth. Everyone is welcome to participate in the rule and reign of God, and all the blessings this rule entails.

God is Redeeming God, Redeeming Scripture, Redeeming Theology, z Bible & Theology Topics: Acts 1:8, Hebrews 6:1-8, Holy Spirit, keys of the kingdom, kingdom of god, kingdom of heaven, Matthew 16:19

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Is 1 Corinthians 12:3 the test of a true Christian?

By Jeremy Myers
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Is 1 Corinthians 12:3 the test of a true Christian?
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Some people teach that 1 Corinthians 12:3 provides the test of a true Christian. I have also heard some people say that 1 Corinthians 12:3 can be used to help you know if someone is demon possessed. The verse says this:

Therefore I make known to you that no one speaking by the Spirit of God calls Jesus accursed, and no one can say that Jesus is Lord except by the Holy Spirit (1 Cor 12:3).

1 Corinthians 12:3 Jesus is Lord

So what does 1 Corinthians 12:3 mean?

In 1 Corinthians 12:3 Paul makes two opposing statements which have led to much confusion among Christians.

Paul first says that nobody can say “Jesus is accursed (anathema)” when they are speaking by the Holy Spirit. He then states the opposing truth, that nobody can say “Jesus is Lord” unless they are speaking by the Holy Spirit.

Now, I just tried it, and I was able to say both statements as I read this verse out loud. Go ahead, you try it too. I bet you can verbally express both statements.

Similarly, I guarantee that if you ask an atheist or even a Satanist to say both statements, they will be able to say both as well.

So whatever Paul is actually saying, he cannot mean that only Christians are able to say “Jesus is Lord” but not say “Jesus is accursed” while those who are not true Christians can only say “Jesus is accursed” while being unable to utter the words “Jesus is Lord.”

Certainly the same thing was true in Paul’s day as it is in ours.

So 1 Corinthians 12:3 is definitely not a way to determine who is a Christian and who is not.

But what about demon possession?

Here too, it seems that there are times in the gospels where demons recognize and verbally stated the identity, power, and authority of Jesus Christ. There may not be any specific examples of demons saying “Jesus is Lord” but to say “Jesus is Lord” is to verbally recognize His power and authority, so to call Jesus “the holy one of Israel” or that Jesus is “the Son of God” (cf. Matt 8:28-29; Mark 1:24).

I wrote here about 1 John 4:2-3, which teaches a similar truth. No, Paul is not teaching in 1 Corinthians 12:3 about how to determine who is demon possessed.

So what did Paul mean when he wrote 1 Corinthians 12:3?

Jesus is LordThe letter of 1 Corinthians is focused around some issues and questions that had arisen in the Corinthian church. When Paul sets out to address the other issues and questions, he begins with a short summary of what the issue or question was (cf. 1 Cor 7:1; 8:1; 16:1). Chapters 12–14 deal with the issue of spiritual gifts, and ultimately, the gift of speaking in tongues (1 Cor 14), and so 1 Corinthians 12:1-3 is apparently the opening summary statement of what issue or question the Corinthian Christians were facing.

Since this is so, 1 Corinthians 12:3 likely provides an indication of what some of the tongue-speakers were saying. It appears that some of these “super spiritual” leaders were speaking with ecstatic utterances and in the process, saying things like “Jesus is accursed.” When challenged about these words, they claimed that they were speaking by the Holy Spirit and could only say what the Spirit gave them to say.

Paul calls them out on this and says that if someone is speaking by the Holy Spirit, he will not say, “Jesus is accursed.” Instead, when someone is speaking by the Spirit, the Spirit will lead them to say “Jesus is Lord,” and other such things that edify the body of Christ and glorify the name of Jesus.

But why would people who are speaking in tongues say that Jesus is accursed?

So what is it that these “super spiritual” ones in Corinth were claiming when they stated that Jesus was accursed?

Were they claiming that Jesus was separated from God and was spending eternity in hell? This idea is doubtful, since the resurrection of Jesus and His glorification to the right hand of the Father pretty clearly refutes such an idea (Of course, some were arguing that there was no such thing as a resurrection. See 1 Cor 15:12).

No, what seems most likely in light of other uses of anathema in the Bible (See my Gospel Dictionary Course for explanation of these texts) is that certain Corinthian teachers were saying (while supposedly under the influence of the Holy Spirit) that the reason Jesus died is because He was suffering the consequences for sin, or for living in a sinful, human body.

The Corinthian Christians suffered from an early form of Gnosticism where they saw a deep separation between the physical and the spiritual worlds so that what happened in one did not affect the other. One related belief was the idea that the physical world was evil and the spiritual world was good. Therefore, if Jesus had a truly human body, then it must have been evil or sinful, and if so, then Jesus was accursed and died as a sinful human in the flesh so that God could set Him free into the spiritual realm.

1 Cor 12:3 Jesus is lord Jesus is accursedPaul spends much of his time in his letter arguing the exact opposite. In fact, this is partly why Paul goes on in 1 Corinthians 15 to argue about the physical resurrection of Jesus. Paul wanted to show that the physical world, and our physical bodies, were not inferior to the spiritual, but were partnered with the spiritual to accomplish God’s will in this world (John argues against similar beliefs in 1 John).

Jesus did have a physical body, and He was raised with a physical body, but this does not mean that He was sinful or accursed, as some of the teachers in Corinth were claiming. And even though they claimed to be “speaking by the Spirit” when they taught such things, Paul says that when people are speaking by the Holy Spirit, they will not say “Jesus is accursed” but rather, “Jesus is Lord.”

So 1 Corinthians 12:3 is not a litmus test for who is a Christian and who is not.

It is instead Paul’s introductory summary statement about some of the false ideas that various leaders in Corinth were teaching. It is also possible that the Corinthian leaders were saying such things in an attempt to explain Deuteronomy 21:23 (which Paul mentions in Galatians 3:13).

What do you think about 1 Corinthians 12:3 and the explanation above? Leave your comments below!

The Gospel DictionaryUnderstanding the Gospel requires us to properly understand the key words and terms of the Gospel. Take my course, "The Gospel Dictionary" to learn about the 52 key words of the Gospel, and hundreds of Bible passages that use these words.

This course costs $297, but when you join the Discipleship group, you can to take the entire course for free.

God is Redeeming God, Redeeming Scripture, Redeeming Theology Bible & Theology Topics: 1 Corinthians 12:3, Corinth, demon possession, Gnosticism, gospel dictionary, Holy Spirit, Paul, spiritual, tongues, true Christian

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