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The ONE Key to Living Life: LOVE (Ephesians 5:1-6)

By Jeremy Myers
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The ONE Key to Living Life: LOVE (Ephesians 5:1-6)
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Harry Chapin wrote a song called โ€œCats in the Cradle.โ€ Most of you have probably heard it before, but let me read the lyrics for you.

A child arrived just the other day.
He came to the world in the usual way.
But there were planes to catch, and bills to pay.
He learned to walk while I was away, and he was
talkinโ€™ โ€˜fore I knew it, and as he grew, he say,
โ€œIโ€™m gonna be like you, dad,
You know Iโ€™m gonna be like you.โ€

And the catโ€™s in the cradle, and the silver spoon
little boy blue and the man on the moon.
โ€œWhen you cominโ€™ home, dad?โ€ โ€œI donโ€™t know when.
But weโ€™ll get together then.
You know weโ€™ll have a good time then.โ€

My son turned ten just the other day. He said,
โ€œThanks for the ball, dad, come on letโ€™s play.
Can you teach me to throw?โ€ I said โ€œNot today.
I got a lot to do.โ€ He said, โ€œThatโ€™s okay.โ€
And he, he walked away but his smile never dimmed. It said,
โ€œIโ€™m gonna be like him, yeah,
you know Iโ€™m gonna be like him.โ€

And the catโ€™s in the cradle, and the silver spoon,
little boy blue and the man on the moon.
โ€œWhen you cominโ€™ home, dad?โ€ โ€œI donโ€™t know when.
But weโ€™ll get together then.
You know weโ€™ll have a good time then.โ€

Well he came from college just the other day.
So much like a man I just had to say,
โ€œSon Iโ€™m proud of you. Can you sit for a while?โ€
He shook his head, and said with a smile,
โ€œWhat Iโ€™d really like, dad, is to borrow the car keys.
See ya later. Can I have them please?โ€

And the catโ€™s in the cradle, and the silver spoon,
little boy blue and the man on the moon.
โ€œWhen you cominโ€™ home, son?โ€ โ€œI donโ€™t know when.
But weโ€™ll get together then, dad.
You know weโ€™ll have a good time then.โ€

Iโ€™ve long since retired, my sonโ€™s moved away.
I called him up just the other day.
I said, โ€œIโ€™d like to see you, if you donโ€™t mind.โ€ He said,
โ€œIโ€™d love to, dad, if I could find the time.
You see my new jobโ€™s a hassle and the kids with the flu.
But itโ€™s been sure nice talkinโ€™ to you, dad.
Itโ€™s been sure nice talkinโ€™ to you.โ€
And as I hung up the phone it occurred to me,
heโ€™d grown up just like me.
My boy was just like me.

And the catโ€™s in the cradle, and the silver spoon,
little boy blue and the man on the moon.
โ€œWhen you cominโ€™ home, son?โ€ โ€œI donโ€™t know when.
But weโ€™ll get together then, dad.
You know weโ€™ll have a good time then.โ€

Tragic, isnโ€™t it? This little boy wanted to be like his dad so much. He loved his dad. Respected his dad. Wanted to imitate his dad. But his dad never had time for him.

And finally, when the dad had time for his son, his son had grown up to be just like him, and had no time.

Tragic, but so common in our world.

How thankful we can be then, that as children of God, He always has time for us, and He is always there for us, and He gives us a good model to follow.

As we work our way through the book of Ephesians, we come now to Ephesians 5, where Paul provides some instructions on how to follow in Godโ€™s footsteps. How to live like God. How to be like our heavenly father. How to imitate God.

Today we will see how to imitate God in His love.

All you Need is Love (Ephesians 5:1-2a)

We begin in Ephesians 5:1, where Paul says

Ephesians 5:1. Therefore be imitators of God as dear children.

Note first of all that Paul is basing this command to imitate on what he has already said. In using that word Therefore, he points us back to what he has already said.

Remember, Ephesians 1โ€“3 are all about what we as Christians have been given from God. It is about how rich we are. And then, Ephesians 4โ€“6 are about how we are supposed to use those riches.

So these things we are supposed to do in Ephesians 4โ€“6 are not from our own effort or done out of obedience to the law, but they are done by grace, through faith, as we trust and rely on what God has given us in Christ so that we do what God wants us to do.

In Ephesians 4, Paul told us to walk in Unity, and to walk in Purity as a new-made man. As Christians, we should live in such a way that people can see we are different than every other person. We are unique. We are the type of men and women that all men and women want to become. That is the type of people we are to be.

Now, Paul raises the standard quite a bit more, and more than just walking in a way that men should, he tells us to walk in a way that imitates God Himself.

This is not really a new thing we are supposed to do. Rather, it is a return to what we originally were.

Remember in Genesis when God created Adam and Eve, we are told that we were created in the image and likeness of God.

When we sinned, we lost much of that image of God, and now Paul is calling us back to what we originally were intended to be. He calls us here in Ephesians 5:1 to be imitators of God.

The Greek word is mimetai, which is where we get our word mimic. As Christians, we are supposed to mimic God.

If you see God doing something, you are supposed to do it. If you see God acting in some way, you act that way.

Itโ€™s just like when little children love their parents, they try to do what their parents do. This is what Paul implies at the end of verse one when he says as dear children. Weโ€™ve all seen little girls try to put on their mommyโ€™s dresses, hats, high-heels and make up. Weโ€™ve all seen little boys try to help their dad mow the lawn, or work on the car.

When my wife I started to feed our first child solid food, we learned that she loved to mimic us. If we drank out of cup, she watched with mouth hanging open and eyes wide, and if we gave her a cupโ€”even if it was emptyโ€”she would put it to her mouth and tip it back.

When we fed her some baby food, if we wanted her to open her mouth wide, it helped to open our mouth wide first, so that she would mimic us.

Children do this, because they love us and they know they are loved. Children are born imitators. Which is what Paul says here in Ephesians 5:1. The word used here for dear is the Greek word for beloved. It is agapeta. We all recognize that as a form of the word agape, which we know as the perfect kind of love.

love others like JesusNote that we are only called to love one another because we are beloved children of God. We can love others because God has first loved us (1 John 4:19).

So Paul is saying in verse one, since God loves you so much, and since you love Him, and since you know He would never lead you astrayโ€”I want you to mimic God. I want you to imitate Him.

And the first way, which are going to look at today in Ephesians 5:2-6 is love. Paul says it right there at the first part of Ephesians 5:2.

Ephesians 5:2. And walk in love,

Remember, walk is the main action verb used in Ephesians 4โ€“5. Ephesians 1โ€“3 were all about sitting and learning what our possessions were in Christ. Ephesians 4โ€“5 are about how to walk as a Christian.

And here we are told that the first way to imitate God is by walking in love. And just in case youโ€™re curious, the love is agape love again. It is the kind of perfect, unconditional, all-consuming, never ending love God has for us.

Now this kind of love is a little bit hard to grasp, and even harder to apply to our lives as humans. How can we, as sinful humans, have unconditional love? Is that even possible for us?

If it is possible, if we do want to mimic the love of God, what would it look like?

Well, thankfully, God has provided us with the perfect picture. The greatest divine mimic of all was the person of Jesus Christ.

Now I hesitate a little bit to call Jesus Christ a mimic, because He wasnโ€™t actually mimicking God. He Himself was God.

But Jesus says that He only does what He sees the Father doing (John 4:19). That we can know the Father if we know Jesus (Matt 11:27). That if you have seen Jesus, you have seen the Father (John 14:9).

We are told elsewhere the Jesus is the image of the invisible God (Col 1:15), and that Jesus is the exact representation of God (Heb 1:3).

Jesus, because He was God, was the perfect image of God. If you want to understand what God is like, just look at Jesus. If you want to mimic God, all you have to do is mimic Jesus.

And Paul, in the rest of Ephesians 5:2, tells us that Christ was the perfect picture of the love of God. If you want to mimic the love of Godโ€”watch Christ, because He is the perfect example of love.

Love of Christ (Ephesians 5:2b)

Ephesians 5:2b. We should walk in love, just as Christ also has loved us and given Himself for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling aroma.

This verse shows us that the love of Christ was all-encompassing. It was directed toward us and toward God.

Christโ€™s love toward us is seen from Ephesians 5:2 when it says that he has loved us and given Himself for us.

The greatest act of love anybody can give is an act of self-sacrifice for the life of another. This is why we highly honor courageous war heroes who throw themselves on grenades to protect others.

This is why we so highly honored the firemen of September 11 who went boldly into the twin towers.

love like JesusJohn 15:13 says, โ€œGreater love has no one than this, than to lay down oneโ€™s life for his friends.โ€

Romans 5:7-8 is similar when it says, โ€œFor scarcely for a righteous man will one die; yet perhaps for a good man someone would even dare to die. But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.โ€

Philippians 2:5-11 tells the whole story. How Jesus, though He was God, gave up all of His rights, and humbled Himself to the lowest possible formโ€”and submitted Himself to death in the most humiliating and excruciating way.

And He did this all, because He loved us. The best way to see and copy Christโ€™s love is to read and study the Gospels. Especially the Gospel of John.

Self-sacrificial love is the kind of love Jesus had toward us, and therefore, as we mimic God, the kind of love we should also have for one another.

But we also see in Ephesians 5:2 that Jesus also had loving actions toward God. These actions are that He became an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling aroma. The picture which should come to mind when we read this phrase is the picture of the Old Testament sacrificial system.

Over and over again, we are told that this offering or that offering was an aroma, pleasing to the Lord (e.g., Lev 1:9, 13, 17; 2:2, 9; 12; 3:5, 16; 4:31; etc.). The offerings and sacrifices helped the Israelites think that they could approach God. (God didnโ€™t want the sacrifices, but the people did. They thought sacrifices helped them atone for their sins.)

So also, Jesus offered Himself up as a sacrifice to God. Again, this was not for God. God didnโ€™t want or need Jesus to sacrifice Himself. But just as the sacrificial system was for us (not God), so also, the sacrifice of Jesus was for us (not God). And since God loved us humans so much, and since Jesus offered Himself for us, the self-sacrifice of Jesus was a sacrifice of love. Therefore, it was a sweet-smelling aroma to God. Notice that Jesus didnโ€™t burn to death on the cross, so the sweet-smelling aroma was produced by the actions of His love.

God loved to see Jesus offer Himself in this way, because this is also what God has been doing for humanity since the foundation of the world. God has often offered Himself up as a sacrifice to humans, as we blame Him for our own problems, accuse Him for things we ourselves were guilty of, and in taking the blame, He laid down His honor and glory for our sake. He sacrificed His name and character for our sake, taking on the appearance of a monster and a criminal, just like Jesus did on the cross.

Just as Jesus imitated God, we also can imitate Jesus Christ, and in this way, offer up a sweet-smelling aroma to the Lord.

Paul, having given us the two ways Jesus revealed the love of God, now decides to show us how to be loving toward one another and toward God, but decides to approach it from the negative viewpoint.

He takes some of the common ideas of love and shows how in reality, they are not loving at all. The two primary methods we have of showing love is with our actions and with our words.

But in our sinful society, these two forms have been twisted and perverted, so that often, when people think they are being loving, they really are not. Rather, they are showing false love.

False Love (Ephesians 5:3-4)

Ephesians 5:3-4. But fornication and all uncleanness or covetousness, let it not even be named among you, as is fitting for saints; neither filthiness, nor foolish talking, nor coarse jesting, which are not fitting, but rather giving of thanks.

Some people today have tried to soften the Christian mandate to live upright and holy lives. They say that since our culture is getting increasingly lax in their morals, that as Christians, we should lower the standard a bit so as to be more appealing.

But Paul does nothing of the sort here. But we say, โ€œWell, our culture is looser in its morals than Paulโ€™s was, so we need to be given some leeway.โ€ This argument doesnโ€™t hold up either. The city of Ephesus was probably more pagan than ours is today.

It was the location of the temple to the Roman goddess Artemis who was the goddess of sex. And so the city was filled with temple prostitutes and every other sort of wickedness associated with it (see Acts 19). Their society championed immorality and impurity just as much as ours does.

love othersBut Paul does not water down the standards here, and so neither should we. In these verses Paul lists three sexual sins which should not be practiced by the Christian who is trying to walk in a loving manner. These sins are contrary to love and are actually unloving. They are false forms of love.

In fact, they are sinful. They are sexual sins.

He goes from describing the ultimate self-sacrificial love of Christ which we should imitate to mentioning the self-indulgent lust.

Despite what the world teaches, love is not equated with sex. Most people believe that โ€œfreeโ€ sex is harmless, and that nobody gets hurt as long as both partners are consenting adults. But Paul is going to point out that this is not true, and he does that by listing three sins.

The first sin Paul lists in Ephesians 5:4 is fornication. The word he uses is pornea. It literally means prostitute. It is from this word that we get our word pornographyโ€”which means writing or pictures about prostitutes.

But when Paul uses the word here, it refers to all kinds of sexual immorality and sexual sin. Fornication is when people sleep around, or commit adultery, or have sexual relations before marriage.

Fornication is also when we allow our thought life to be controlled by sexual temptation. For some men, this involves looking at magazines or watching movies where sexual temptations are encouraged and fed. Even many television shows on the network channels on weekday nights feed this kind of temptation.

And women are not immune to this either. I think a strong case could be made for someโ€”not all, but someโ€”romance novels being female pornography. When men look at pornography, it often results in them comparing their wives with the pictures they see on the page, or on the television screen.

But a similar thing happens to women who read certain romance novels. The men in those books are fantasy, and hoping your husband will be like a man in a romance novel is just as damaging to a marriage relationship as if a man looks at pornography and wishes his wife looked like those women.

Fornication is prevalent in our society today among men and women.

Next, Paul mentions uncleanness. This word means what it says. Unclean. Impure. It is used in Matthew 23:27 for filth and rottenness. It probably refers to all kinds of sexual impurity and perversion. I donโ€™t need to catalogue them for you here.

Third, Paul tells us to refrain from covetousness. This could also be translated as greed. Itโ€™s the desire to want more, to want bigger and better things. In context, it probably refers to those who are greedy for more and more of the sins already listed. Covetousness leads to addiction.

Covetousness and greed in this area of our lives will also lead to some of the most horrible perversions that have ever been performed.

But again, I want to refrain from going into detail. Let me explain why.

In Ephesians 5:3, Paul is saying more than just donโ€™t do these things. Look at the next part of the verse. He says, let them not even be named among you. In other words, donโ€™t even talk about them. Weโ€™ll see more of this next time when we look at Ephesians 5:12, where Paul says that it is shameful to even discuss what the wicked do in secret.

Now I think this is where many of us go wrong today. We know that actually committing these sins are wrong, but we like to walk on the edge. We like to tell others what โ€œso and soโ€ did. We like to hear about the newest scandal. We like to read about men and women behaving in ways God did not intend. We like to watch shows and movies where these types of things are discussed.

It is a grim commentary on our culture that many books, plays and movies have had great success simply because they dealt with forbidden and ugly things. And we wonder why our culture continues to degenerate.

โ€œFreedom of speech!โ€ we cry. But too much discussion of evilโ€”even if we discuss it in disapproval, is an invitation to bring that sin into our own life.

Rather, our mouths are to be used for more useful things. In fact, he says there at the end of Ephesians 5:3, that as saints, or as Christians, it is not fitting or proper to do or to talk about such things.

So, one of the ways we love is through our actions. And Paul shows us here that the worldly form of loving is actually lust and is therefore sin. If we want to be truly loving in our actions, our model is Jesus Christ.

But there is another way we reveal love, and that is with our words. And again, Paul shows us how to be loving in this way by telling us what not to do. Ephesians 5:4 is about sinful speech.

And again, he lists three sins. Three ways to abuse our tongue. We talked about this extensively back in Ephesians 4:29, but let me go through these three words real quickly.

The first is filthiness. This refers to any kind of shameful, disgraceful or indecent language.

Next, Paul lists foolish talking. This is an interesting word in the Greek. It is a contract word, which means it is made up of two words. The second word is logos, which many of you recognize as the Greek word for word. It is the word used in John 1:1 where Jesus is referred to as The Word.

But the first part of this contract word is moron. Did you know that was a Greek word? It means fool or foolish. So the word here is morologia. Foolish words. Foolish talking. Moronic words.

Talking which has no substance. Talking which has no point. Talking the way fools doโ€”just because they want to talk, not because they really have anything to say.

Finally, coarse jesting. Lewd jokes. Sexual innuendoes. Crude humor. Humor itself is great. Laughter is a wonderful gift from God. Sometimes, Christians think they have to be sour and dour, and always frown on anybody who is having fun.

Thatโ€™s not true! We should be the most fun loving, joyful people around!

But we must not confuse good humor with coarse joking. It has been said that where sin is regarded as amusing, the practice of it comes easy.[1]

Letโ€™s see if I can step on some more toes here. TIME magazine, dated July 29, 2002 ran an essay by Richard Corliss describing the disgusting script and scenes of the new Austin Powers movie starring Mike Myers.

Now I am not trying to single out Austin Powers. I think there are probably many movies which are not fit for the eyes and ears of Christians, but this movie makes the point because it is currently in the theaters, and because of this article about it in TIME.

Iโ€™m not going to read the article, for that would be doing what Paul tells us not to do here. Let me just give you the title. It is called, โ€œThis Essay Is Rated PG-13.โ€ And then the sub-title: โ€œBut with all the toilet humor it describes, it should really be rated R.โ€

This non-Christian writer seems to have grasped something which every Christian who goes to see that movieโ€”or similar moviesโ€”has not. This sort of crude-humor, and coarse jesting is not fitting for anybody to talk about or listen toโ€”much less Christians.

If a non-Christian realizes this, why donโ€™t we? It is not right that our thoughts and our minds and our mouths should be so occupied with such filthiness, foolish talking and coarse jesting.

Rather, at the end of Ephesians 5:4, our mouths should be used for giving of thanks.

How can our mouths be a pleasing aroma to the Lord? By using them for His glory. By praising Him. By giving thanks. That is how we can use our mouths in a loving manner.

So, Jesus revealed love by making Himself an offering and a sacrifice to God. We too, if we want to be like Jesus, and imitate God in His love, we can offer our mouths and words to God in praise and thanksgiving. We can give to Him a sacrifice of praise (Heb 13:15).

We can give thanks in everything, as is the will of God (1 Thess 5:18). In this way, we too, can live a life of love toward God.

But Jesus also revealed love toward other people. And as we follow Jesus, we too will show love through our actions and through our words.

Now, if we refuse to follow Paulโ€™s instructions here, there are serious consequences which we must be aware of. Paul spends the next few verses talking about the results of false love.

Results of False Love (Ephesians 5:5-6)

Ephesians 5:5-6. For this you know, that no fornicator, unclean person, nor covetous man, who is an idolater, has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God. Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience.

Ephesians 5:5 lists the first result. The result is disinheritance. In this verse, Paul again mentions fornication, uncleanness and covetousnessโ€”which he here equates with idolatry. Weโ€™ve already talked about these, so nothing more needs to be said about them.

Of course, he does give us a bit of extra insight here into the sin of covetousness, by saying that the covetous man โ€ฆ is an idolater. And thatโ€™s true. The covetous man desires the things of this world more than he desires God. And any time we place worldly possessions or worldly prestige above God, we have become an idolater.

Itโ€™s the consequence that is important. Paul says here that those who live in such unloving ways, will not receive any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God.

Loving Neighbors

Does this mean that those who live this way are not going to heaven? Does it mean that those who live this way are not really Christiansโ€”even if they claim to be?

No, it does not mean that at all. Justification, or gaining eternal life, has nothing whatsoever to do with our works or lack of works, but is freely given by the grace of God to all who will simply believe in Jesus Christ for it.

If you have believed in Jesus Christโ€”you have eternal life. But believing in Christ does not guarantee that you will live like Christ. We all still live in ways that we should not. We all still do things that we should not.

And when we do, Paul tells us here, not that we lose our eternal life, but rather that we lose future reward in heaven and our inheritance in the kingdom. We lose out on opportunities to reign with Christ.

Inheritance in the kingdom is not the same thing as receiving eternal life. The kingdom of God, or the kingdom of heaven, is about experiencing the rule and reign of God in our life. It is about experiencing the power of God, the direction of God, the joy and satisfaction of living in deep fellowship with God.

Every time we are tempted, we have a choiceโ€”to either follow the temptation or to obey God. If we follow the temptation and sin, we lose out on what we could have had if we had obeyed God.

That is what Paul is talking about here when he tells us that those who live this way will not receive any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God. A very serious warning to stay on the straight and narrow.

Thatโ€™s the first negative result. Disinheritance.

Secondly, in Ephesians 5:6-7, if we do not live in a loving way, we will be disciplined.

Paul mentions empty words, which, in my opinion, sums up the filthiness, foolish talking and course jesting which he mentioned in verse 4. He tells us to not let anyone deceive you with empty words. In other words, some people will try to get you to sin by giving you fine sounding arguments and smooth talk.

Invitations to sin are always deceptive, arenโ€™t they? โ€œOh, just try it this once. Whoโ€™s going to know? Oh come on, you donโ€™t really believe itโ€™s a sin, do you? Take the shortcut; why make life harder on yourself? You deserve it.โ€

And when you heed such empty words, they deceive you and lead you into unloving, sinful behavior.

And such behavior leads to another disastrous result. He says at the end of Ephesians 5:6 that because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience.

Now back in Ephesians 5:1, we saw that we are children of God. And that is what we are. Nothing can make us stop being children of God.

But as children of God we have two options, just as all children do. We can either live like children of God and obey our Father, or we disobey our father, and live likeโ€”as Paul calls them hereโ€”sons of disobedience.

If we choose to live as sons of disobedience, rather than children of God, Paul tells us here that the wrath of God will come upon us. The term wrath is not a reference to hell, but is a word for discipline and punishment. Another way to think about the wrath of God is the natural consequences of sin.

The wrath of God is the exact opposite of the kingdom of God. If the kingdom of God means that we experience the rule and reign of God in our life, then the wrath of God means that we experience the rule and reign of sin in our life. Life in the kingdom leads to peace, joy, satisfaction, fulfillment, and contentment. Life under wrath leads to misery, pain, lost potential, lack of meaning, and all the destruction that comes from living in sin.

Sin has consequences. God warns us against sin because He loves us and does not want to see us get hurt. But if we ignore what God says, and we go and sin anyways, then the consequences of that sin often comes upon us. In that experience, we often way, โ€œGod is punishing me!โ€ But really, God is not punishing us. It seems that way because God warned us against the sin, and then when we sin, bad things happen to us, but these bad things are not from God but from sin. Sin bears its own punishment with it. And we often confuse this punishment from sin with a punishment from God.

The wrath of God comes upon those who disobey God. We should obey God and imitate Jesus so that we can avoid the devastating and destructive consequences of sin in our lives.

I think everybody can agree that the things Paul talks about here are wrong. That they are sinful. I think we all realize that society is in a downward spiral into sin. And I think we all realize that something needs to be done about it.

But do you know what needs to be done? Nothing but love. Let usโ€”each one of usโ€”practice true and genuine love toward one another and toward God as pictured by Christ and explained here by Paul.

Love is the key to everything. I often think Christian make life to difficult because we make all these lists of doโ€™s and donโ€™ts, including places we can and cannot go and things we can and cannot do.

But ultimately, itโ€™s all about love. Love is the fulfillment of the law. If we love God and love others as we love ourselves, we will naturally do every good thing that the law instructs. And when we live in love, we will experience life in the kingdom of God, under the rule and reign of God, in the reality of divine realm.

This week, rather than trying to complete a list, or fulfill your obligations, or perform certain duties and responsibilities, instead just focus on love. In every situation, at every moment, simply ask yourself, โ€œWhat does love look like here? What would love lead me to do and say? How would love lead me to act?โ€ When you live this way, then you will be imitating God and will be experiencing His love in your life.

[1] Snodgrass, 276.

God is Redeeming God, Redeeming Scripture, z Bible & Theology Topics: Ephesians 5:1-6, kingdom of god, kingdom of heaven, love, love God, love others, love yourself, sin, wrath of God

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How Homeless Aliens Change the World (Ephesians 2:18-22)

By Jeremy Myers
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How Homeless Aliens Change the World (Ephesians 2:18-22)
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Ephesians 2:18-22 is the final section in Ephesians 2 which shows us how God brings peace and unity to this world through the church. If we want peace and unity in this world, then it begins by living in peace and unity with other members of the family of God. Ephesians 2:18-22 shows us how this happens.

Church Community and Unity

Before we study this text, we consider a question from a reader about why he no longer senses God’s work in his life.

Question from a Reader

I’m 63 and I grew up in church. I used to do small things in the church. I would give out tracts and talk to people. I believe Jesus is the son of the living God and became human. I used to read my Bible all the time. But recently, I don’t get any spiritual understanding when I read the Bible. The Holy Spirit does not witness to me. I cry out to God to save me and change me, but I don’t get answers. Can you help me?

Take heart! What you are describing is a very common experience for all Christians. Ancient Christian teachers called it “The Dark Night of the Soul,” but I prefer to call it “the spiritual winter.” Either way, the idea is the same.

It is very helpful to think of your life with God as a cycle or pattern that imitates the daily pattern of day and night, or the yearly pattern of four seasons: spring, summer, fall, winter.

When you feel that God is close, that your prayers are answered, that you are being fed and sustained through Scripture, and that the Spirit is actively at work in your life, these are the spiritual days, or, the spiritual spring and summer. Life is good. Joy abounds. There is sunshine and chirping birds and gentle breezes that carry hints of summer flowers.

But such times do not last forever. Day always gives way to the night, and summer gives way to fall and winter. In the night, everything is dark. It is hard to see. It gets cold and sometimes scary. The same is true for the fall and winter. Trees and grass whither. The snows and ice fall and everything dies. God is silent. Prayers go unanswered. The Bible seems dead and uninteresting.

But guess what? Morning is coming. Spring is coming! The cycle of light and growth will come again.

So when you find yourself in the dark night of the soul, or in the spiritual wasteland of a bleak winter, just be patient. Have faith. Persevere. Because this season too shall pass.

Now why does God do this to us? Why do we go through these seasons? Because this is how true growth occurs. It is in the dark night and the bleak winter that our convictions are tested, our faith is solidified, and our roots grow deep down into the soil. We need these times in order to prepare for the next stage of growth and abundance. These nights and winters are the times God provides so we can practice what we have learned in the bright days of summer.

So keep doing what you are doing. Keep patient. Keep the faith. Dawn is near. Spring is coming.

How Homeless Aliens Change the World (Ephesians 2:18-22)

Strife, division, and hostility are not new in our day. They have been present since the beginning of the world when Cain killed Abel, or even before that when Adam blamed Eve for why he ate the forbidden fruit. Blame, accusation, violence, and death are the foundational characteristics of our culture.

But it does not need to be that way, and this is not what God wants.

God calls us to live differently in this world, and Jesus showed us how this could be done. In Ephesians 2, Paul explains how Jesus showed this to us and how we should live in light of what Jesus showed us.

One of the primary areas of division in Paulโ€™s day was the religious/political division between Jews and Gentiles. If you took all the religious, racial, economic, cultural, and political strife of our day, that is what you have with the Jew and Gentile strife of Paulโ€™s day.

And in Ephesians 2:18-22 he tells them, and therefore us, how to live in peace and unity with each other. These verses show us that if we want to live in peace and unity with those who would normally be our enemies, we need to change our mindset about who we are and who other people are.

You see, division and strife occurs when we focus on the things that make us different. But as followers of Jesus, there are several key truths about all of us that help unite us together, despite our differences. If we are able to focus on the things that unite us, then the things that make us different will no longer divide us because we will see that they are insignificant compared to who we are and what we have in Jesus Christ.

Ephesians 2:18-22

Let’s begin with Ephesians 2:18.

Ephesians 2:18. For through Him we both have access by one Spirit to the Father.

We talked about this some in our study of Ephesians 2:13-17, where we saw that in the days of Jesus and Paul, Gentiles and Jewish women did not have the same access to God in the temple as Jewish men did. But Jesus broke down all these barriers and dividing walls of hostility, so that now everyone has the exact same access to God.

There is no hierarchy. There are no favorites. There are no classes of people who have a special “in” with God. Paul is saying, โ€œAll have access. Both Jews and Gentiles have access. Both men and women. There is no privileged race or person or sex. There is no privileged class or position.โ€

Some religions and cults teach that only priests and pastors have access to God. That is not true. Catholicism teaches that Mary, the mother of Jesus has privileged access to Christ. That is not true either. First Timothy 2:5 says there is one mediator between God and manโ€”Christ Jesus. If you want to go to God to confess your sins, or to ask for a request, you can! You donโ€™t have to go through Mary. You donโ€™t have to go through a priest or a pastor. You don’t even need to go to a special building such as a church or temple. You have Top Level Access to God all the time, anywhere you are. Hebrews 4:16 says that now we ourselves can come boldly before the throne of grace.

And of course, Paul writes that this access to the Father is provided by the Spirit, which is the Holy Spirit.

Here’s how this helps us today.

Today, we all have the tendency to think that some of us are closer to God than others. Some of us think that pastors have a better chance of getting their prayers answered because they are closer to God. So when we have a prayer request, we ask our pastor to pray for us. But pastors are not any closer to God than anyone else. God hears and answers your prayers just as much as the prayers of a pastor or priest. We all have equal access.

Some people think that church attendance, or political views, or vaccination status, or educational degrees, or moral ability makes one person closer to God than someone else. But again, none of this is true. We all have equal access to God the Father through the Holy Spirit. There is no special class of people. And the minute you start thinking that you are on better spiritual footing than someone else is the minute you start dividing from them.

So when it comes to living in unity with others, the first step is to realize that all of us have equal access to God through the Holy Spirit. Nobody is first in line.

The second truth is similar, and is found in Ephesians 2:19.

Ephesians 2:19. Now, therefore, you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God.

The term strangers (xenos) is a word for a short time residentโ€”a transient. In todayโ€™s terminology, we would say โ€œhomeless.โ€

The term alien or foreigner, (paroikos) is a word for a person who is living in a country other than the one they were born in. They have no inheritance rights, no secure protection under the law, no voting rights. In our day, we would call them illegal aliens.

These two terms together show how much we do not belong. These are repeated ideas from Ephesians 2:12.

We were strangers and foreigners. We were homeless aliens, without rights or protection.

But we no longer carry that description.

Rather, also in Ephesians 2:19, we are fellow citizens with the saints. We often think of saints as having special rights and privileges; special access to God. But Paul says we are fellow citizens with them. Whatever they have, we have. Whatever rights they own, we own. In fact, in Ephesians 1:1, Paul wrote that all believers are saints, and therefore, all believers are citizens.

Citizenship was a prized possession in the time of Paul. Men and women would work their whole lives and pay huge amounts of money in order to become citizens of Rome. But if being a citizen of Rome was special, imagine how great it is to be citizens with the saints? According to Ephesians 2:19, that is what we are.

But more than just citizens, we are also members of the household of God. Now think about it. What is better? Being a citizen of Rome, or being a heir to the throne of the Roman Empire? America is not a monarchy, so think of England. Which would you rather be? A citizen of England, or a prince or princess of England? Of course we would want to be the prince or princess! And Paul says here, that is what we are.

Our third title is that we are members of the household of God. Not only are we saints because we are citizens, we are princes and princesses because we are members of Godโ€™s household. These are the titles we have in Christ.

There are two ways that this helps us live peacefully in this world with others.

First of all, similar to what we saw in Ephesians 2:18, all followers of Jesus are on equal footing with each other in the kingdom of heaven. Yes, we are royalty as members of the household of God, but we areย allย royalty. That means that we are all on equal footing. Seeing other Christians as other princes and princesses in the family of God will help us live in peace and unity with them, even if we have areas of disagreement.

But here is the second thing to understand, and this second truth helps us live in peace and unity with the rest of the world … with those people who are not Christians.ย Since we are citizen of heaven and members of the household of God, this means that we now are aliens inย this world.ย Although we were aliens and strangers to the kingdom of heaven, we are now aliens and strangers to the kingdom of this world.ย  Since we are citizens of heaven, this makes us foreigners and strangers in this land, in this world.

So when we see the world doing things that are contrary to God’s will, or that we disagree with, we can now respond in two ways. Rather than condemn the world and create division and strife, we can first of all just shake our heads sadly and think to ourselves, “What a strange way of doing things … it seems backward and updside-down, but then, this is a different land I am in, and they do things quite differently here.” You see, when it comes to living in this world, it is we who are the strangers in a strange land. It is we who are aliens in a land not our own. And this world lives and operates quite differently than the kingdom of heaven, from which we come.

However … and here’s the key … it is true that the way this world operates is destructive and damaging. Why? Because it operates according to the principles of the kingdom of darkness. The ways of the kingdom of God truly are better.

But since we are aliens and strangers to this land, we do not have a voice here. We do not have rights here. So we cannot just go around accusing and condemning people for their backward ways. We are the foreigners and do not have the right to do that here.

Instead, what we can do is live in such a way amongst ourselves that the watching world sees how we live in love and unity with each other, and says to themselves, “Hey, I want that too!” When we live the rules of the kingdom of God before a watching world, they want what we have and will learn from our example to live in love and unity as well. We show the world by how we live thatย there is another way, a better way. A way of peace, love, grace, forgiveness.

Indeed, this is exactly how Jesus showed us the new way of living, and we are now expected to follow His example, and show the world this new way of living as well. This is exactly what Paul writes in Ephesians 2:20.

Ephesians 2:20. โ€ฆ having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone,

The foundation of the apostles and prophets that Paul refers to here is the teachings of the apostles and prophets, which we now think of as the Old and New Testaments of Scripture.

The apostles were those who personally witnessed Christ and were taught directly by Him. There are no more apostles today. But the apostles left something for usโ€”they left writings about Christ. We know these writings as the New Testament. Paul says here that the first foundation we have is the writings of the apostles which is the New Testament. The writings and teachings of the prophets are found in the Hebrew Scripture, which we call the Old Testament.

Jesus Christ the cornerstoneAnd as Paul points out in the last part of Ephesians 2:20, Jesus Christ is the chief cornerstone. In other words, Jesus Christ is the central truth of Scripture, to whom all Scripture points, and in whom all Scripture is fulfilled. Jesus is the scarlet thread on every page. He is the fulfillment of every law. He is the beginning and the end. He is what it is all about (John 5:39).

The cornerstone is the foundational stone of a building. When a building in ancient times was being constructed, the first and most important stone to be laid was the cornerstone. If it was prepared and laid correctly, the building would be square and strong. If it had imperfections and was laid poorly, the building would be flawed and weak (cf. Isa 28:16).

It is just like when youโ€™re laying shingles on a house, or plowing rows in a field. The first shingle and the first row must be perfect, or all the rest will be out of place.

Paul is saying that Jesus, as the chief cornerstone, showed us how to live with one another in this world. Jesus did this by following, fulfilling, and even guiding and inspiring the teachings of the apostles and prophets. So when we follow the example of Jesus, we are also obeying and fulfilling the teachings of Scripture.

And when we do this, this is how we show the world a better way to live. A way guided by love and forgiveness, that results in peace and unity.

In fact, a focus on Jesus as the chief cornerstone will in itself create peace and unity. We humans so often get dived by how we identify ourselves.

Today, we are divided by who we follow: Moses, Mohammad, or Mahatma Gandhi. We are divided by our political persuasion: Democrat or Republican. We are divided by our vaccine status. We are even divided by our pronouns.

But what if we as followers of Jesus stopped identifying with these divisive things, and started instead to identify as a follower of Jesus. How do you identify? I identify as a follower of Jesus. That’s unifying, isn’t it?

When we live in these ways, this is when the church comes together as God wants, lives in this world as God desires, and therefore, shows the world a better way to live.

Ephesians 2:21-22. In whom the whole building, being joined together grows into a holy temple in the Lord, in whom you also are being built together for a dwelling place of God in the Spirit.

There are two words in Greek for “temple.” The first, hieron, is used for the whole building and vicinity. It is used for the temple grounds. That is not the word used here.

The word used here isย naos. It has in view just the part of the temple where God dwells.

During the time of Solomon’s temple, Godโ€™s presence was in the Holy of Holiesโ€”the most sacred part of the temple. That is what is in view here. But, as I mentioned, only the High priest could enter the Holy of Holies, and that only once a year.

But when Jesus died on the cross, the veil which separated man from God in the Temple was torn in two from top to bottom. This symbolized that the breach had been filled. The separation had been spanned. The wall had come down.

In A.D. 70, the temple was destroyed. Does that mean that God no longer has any temple? No! 1 Corinthians 3:16 and 6:19 tells us that Christians are now the temple of God. We are each a temple individually, and we are also being built into one glorious temple for God. We are the new Holy of Holies.

wall of hostility in the temple

And that is what Paul is saying here. When we follow the example of Jesus by living with love, grace, and forgiveness toward each other and toward the watching world, God forms and grows us into a temple for Himself, a dwelling place for God.

God does not dwell in a building made by human hands, but in the body of Christ, which is formed by the Spirit of God, and which goes forward into the world with the love of Jesus.

Only in this way will Godโ€™s temple in the world rise up, not as a temple built with human hands, but as a the people of God who follow Jesus into the world to love and serve whomever we meet.

This somewhat goes back the question from a reader we discussed above.

Many of us Christians want to see God more at work in our life and in this world. Well, that happens by loving and serving others in this world the way Jesus loved and served us. As we live and act like Jesus in this world, God forms His temple, His body, in our midst. As we live together in peace and harmony with one another, working to reveal Jesus Christ and the Kingdom of God to this world, God shows up among us, and people will say, โ€œTruly, God is in their midst. Truly God is dwelling among them.โ€

This concludes our study of Ephesians 2.

Back at the end of Ephesians 1, in the study of Ephesians 1:20-23, I pointed out that God wants His way of life to become reality here on earth. We all want this as well. We want God to rule and reign on this earth. We want peace and justice and truth to become the norm.

But this world seems to be dominated by the opposite. Rather than peace and justice, we have hatred, violence, deception, and injustice.

So if God wants His way of life to rule and reign, how does this happen? How does it come about? Ephesians 2 was Paul’s answer to that question.

God wants to solve the problems of this world, and He did so by sending Jesus to create the church. While Jesus is the answer to all the problems of the world, the church is how Jesus lives and talks and acts in this world.

The church is how Jesus accomplishes changes in the world.ย 

When the church steps up as the body of Christ, we, as the hands, feet, and voice of Jesus Christ, will fill everything in every way, and the power of God will flow through us to transform this world in ways that Jesus wants and desires.

Jesus is the head of the world and the head of the church, and as such, the church fills the world and transforms it into the ways of the Kingdom of God.

We have now seen in Ephesians 2 how the church as the body of Christ becomes the catalyst the creates love, peace, and unity in a world filled with hatred, violence, and division. We show the world a better way to live by following the example of Jesus through living in peace and unity with each other. As we live in peace and unity with other brothers and sisters in Jesus Christ, the world takes notice, and learns from us how they too can live in peace and unity. In this way, the peace of God spreads over the earth.

Paul takes this theme and builds on it further in Ephesians 3, which is where we pick up next time.

God is Redeeming God, Redeeming Scripture, z Bible & Theology Topics: church unity, ephesians 2:18-22, kingdom of god, love, peace, Redeeming God podcast, unity

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Harlots in the Kingdom of God (Matthew 21:31)

By Jeremy Myers
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Harlots in the Kingdom of God (Matthew 21:31)
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How can tax collectors and prostitutes be closer to the kingdom of God than religious leaders? We discuss this question in today’s study of Matthew 21:31.

Before that, however, we look briefly at a current event and a letter from a reader.

Election Fraud Cases Before the Supreme Court

Joe Biden is in the Whitehouse, but tomorrow, February 19, 2021, the Supreme Court of the United States is scheduled to consider five pending election fraud cases. This doesn’t mean they are going to hear the cases. It means they are going to decide tomorrow whether or not to hear the cases.

My hunch is that they will decline to hear the cases based on some technicality as they have done before, such as a lack of standing or the fact that the election is already over.

However, this would be a mistake. Even though the results of the election probably cannot be overturned at this point, the 2020 election was not the last election this country will ever have. There were significant and widespread problems with the 2020 election, and we can only exist as a country if there we have safe and secure elections. So regardless of what whether or not the 2020 election can be overturned, the Supreme Court has the obligation to make sure that future elections follow the constitution.

I hope they take up all the cases. But we’ll see…

Here, by the way, is a chart showing just some of the potentially fraudulent votes that were cast in the 2020 Presidential Election:

Whether you voted for Trump or Biden, I think we can all agree that fraudulent votes should not be allowed in any election, ever.

Question: Have I believed if I Agree to the Facts of the Gospel?

Hi. I am 33 years old. I grew up in a Christian home. My dad was a pastor. I am not a Christian. I have had a handful of false conversions in my life. Ever since the coronavirus I have been on this journey of trying to figure out how to get saved. It is all I think about. I have not been eating as much as I should be and have lost a lot of weight. I am barely making it through each day right now. I believe there is a really good chance things are setting up for the end times. I am so scared of going to hell!! I have had so much confusion about repentance and faith.

Since the beginning of this journey I have been praying to God to help me understand repentance and faith. I believe He is helping me understand repentance!! My dad found a book called, (#AmazonAdLink) Turn and Live: The Power of Repentance by Robert N. Wilkin. I now understand that repenting of sins has nothing to do with how we get saved!!

I am still confused about faith though. My dad has told me that it is not just believing the facts. That is part of it but it is hearing the gospel, being fully persuaded the facts of the gospel are true, and making a decision to put your trust in Jesus Christ as your payment for your sins. That is the decision I want to make.

I have extreme OCD. It effects every area of my life. I am not even able to work because of it. I am not sure how to make the decision to put my trust in Jesus Christ as the payment for my sins. I am so scared of thinking I am making the decision and really just be agreeing the facts are true. I am not sure what to do or how to work through this. Also, if you could be praying for me I would really appreciate it!!

I will definitely be praying for you. I have never been fond of the “make a decision for Christ” terminology, mostly for the very reasons you are having problems with it. How can any one know if they have made the decision? It is confusing.

I hate to disagree with your dad on this, but in my book on faith ((#AmazonAdLink) What is Faith?) I argue that faith is simply agreeing to the facts. It truly is mental assent. So if you agree that there is no way to receive eternal life than through Jesus, this is the same thing as believing in Jesus. You have agreed (or believed) that Jesus gives you eternal life because there is no other way to receive it.

Anyway, don’t get in an argument about this with your dad. I understand where he is coming from, in that he doesn’t want Christians to just have mental assent, but we should also live our lives for Jesus. I agree with this desire, but the way to accomplish this is not to say that people who have mental assent haven’t actually believed. Instead, the best way to proceed is to say that people who have mental assent have indeed believed, and that discipleship is accomplished separately through following Jesus.

By the way, based on what you have written to me … I think you are a Christian. I’m not sure why you think you have had false conversions, but don’t allow moral failure to make you think you are not actually a Christian. Eternal life is not based on our own good works, but is based entirely on the promises of Jesus. And He promises that if you have believed in Him, then you have eternal life.

Why Tax Collectors and Prostitutes Enter the Kingdom of God Before Religious Leaders (Matthew 21:31)

In my Gospel Dictionary Online course, I have a lesson on the Kingdom of God. In this lesson, one of the passages I discuss is Matthew 21:31. Here is what this verse says:

โ€ฆ Jesus said to them, โ€œAssuredly, I say to you that tax collectors and harlots enter the kingdom of God before you.โ€

In some ways, it is better to be a thief or a prostitute than it is to be a spiritual leader or Bible teacher. At least, that is what Jesus says in Matthew 21:31. In the context, Jesus is speaking to the chief priests and elders in Jerusalem (Matthew 21:23), and after they question Him about His authority, He tells them the Parable of the Two Sons (Matthew 21:28-30). In this story, a father asks his two sons to work in his vineyard. The first son says he will not obey, but then he does. The second son says he will obey, but he doesnโ€™t. Jesus asks the religious leaders which of the two sons actually did what the father asked, to which they correct answered โ€œthe first son.โ€

As stated in the discussion of Matthew 13:24-30, when it comes to following Jesus and living as a disciple within the kingdom of God, what a person actually does is more important than what they say. Jesus then draws a conclusion from this point that when it comes to living within the kingdom of God, the tax collectors and prostitutes are better off than the priests and religious leaders of the community.

Several elements of this passage help draw out the significance of Jesusโ€™ words. We must consider the initial question from the religious leaders, the nature of the kingdom of God, and why tax collectors and harlots are entering the kingdom ahead of the spiritual leaders.

What was wrong with the Spiritual Leaders?

First, let us go back and briefly address the question from the spiritual leaders that led Jesus to tell this parable.

Back in Matthew 21:23, the religious teachers ask Jesus where His authority comes from for His teachings and His actions. They say, โ€œBy what authority are You doing these things? Who gave you this authority?โ€ In the days of Jesus, Rabbis, priests, and elders based their authority on which Rabbis they had studied under, or which Rabbinical school they belonged to.

If a particular teacher had not learned from any reputable or famous Rabbis, or if they were not in good standing with either of the top two Rabbinical schools of thought, then it was assumed that such a teacher had nothing good to say and should not be listened to.

This is very much like Christianity today. It is not uncommon at Pastor Conferences for pastors to ask each other similar questions: โ€œWhat school did you attend? How many advanced degrees do you have? How many followers do you have on social media? How big is your church? How many books have you sold?โ€

In other words, โ€œBy what authority are you teaching these things?โ€ If you refuse to listen to certain teachers because they doย not have a Ph.D. from your favorite seminary, or because they are not on staff with a mega-church, or have not sold a millions books, then you have fallen into the same trap that Jesus is speaking about here. Be careful about that mindset, for it can cause you to miss out on entering into or experiencing the kingdom of God.

The Nature of the Kingdom of God

This brings up the second issue, namely, the nature of the kingdom of God. Once again, if someone confuses โ€œentering the kingdomโ€ with โ€œreceiving eternal lifeโ€ or โ€œgoing to heaven,โ€ then this text will create all sorts of problems. When misread this way, Jesus seems to be saying that tax-collectors and prostitutes have a better chance of receiving eternal life than spiritual leaders do. If thatโ€™s the case, then everyone should become a tax cheat and a prostitute! But of course, that is not what Jesus is saying.

The kingdom of God is the rule and reign of God in our lives on this earth. When we enter into the kingdom of God, we enter into an experience of the life God wants for us here and now, during our lives, on this earth. Yes, our experience of the kingdom of God will continue on through eternity, but it can begin now, and it is based almost entirely on how we follow the teachings and example of Jesus in our daily lives. So entering the kingdom of heaven is not the same thing as going to heaven when we die.

Therefore, in this text, Jesus is not saying anything one way or another about how tax collectors and prostitutes are more likely than religious leaders to receive eternal life. All people, regardless of birth, background, or behavior, have the same guarantee from God about how to receive eternal life. God gives eternal life to anyone who simply believes in Jesus Christ for it. The offer is the same to all people, whether they are pastors or prostitutes, drug dealers or divinity students.

So why are Tax Collectors and Prostitutes Closer to the Kingdom of God?

So why then are tax collectors and harlots closer to entering the kingdom of God than religious leaders? The answer lies in what tax collectors and prostitutes value versus what religious leaders value, and how both sets of values line up in comparison to the values of the kingdom.

In general, religious leaders and spiritual teachers tend to live hypocritical lives, saying one thing while doing the opposite. They teach generosity, but then hoard up money and possessions for themselves. They call for grace, mercy, and forgiveness, but extend little of such things to other people. They often see themselves as more superior in intellect and righteousness than the uneducated sinners of society, and only listen to or have time for the people of their own religious clubs.

This is demonstrated by the fact that the religious leaders in Matthew 21:23-27 had no interest in listening to Jesus unless He could prove that He was part of their group.

Photo Credits: Sandi Hester

Tax collectors and prostitutes, on the other hand, while they are blatant sinners, do not suffer from the deep sin of spiritual pride and self-righteousness, and therefore, tend to be more humble, welcoming, joyful, and relational than the spiritual elites. They know they are sinners, and so are more ready to admit their sin to God, and to accept others as friends, regardless of how sinful those others might be.

Tax collectors and prostitutes might be โ€œbig timeโ€ sinners, but they are not hypocritical about it. They know who they are, and they do not try to hide it. While tax collectors may abuse the law to steal and rob from others, even from their own countrymen, they do not try to justify such behavior by saying they do such things in God’s name. Religious leaders, however, often steal from widows and the poor, all while claiming that such activity is God’s will. If two people are engaging in the exact same behavior, but one is blaming their behavior on God, that second person’s behavior is far more evil.

Similarly, prostitutes often value freedom, liberty, honor, loyalty, and friendship above almost everything else. In the days of Jesus (as now), they often do what they do in order to provide for themselves and for their children because they live in a world where men have abused and neglected them. It is for these sorts of reasons that Jesus says the tax collectors and prostitutes are closer to entering the kingdom of God than are hypocritical religious leaders.

The comparison between these two groups of people and the two sons in the parable is now obvious. The tax collectors and harlots are equivalent to the first son. Though they claim to not follow God, the truth is that many of their values and behaviors do in fact line up with the values of the kingdom of God. So although they (and many others) think that they are far from the experience of God in their lives, they are actually much closer than anyone imagines.

The opposite is true for spiritual leaders. Though religious teachers claim that they do Godโ€™s will, and even teach others to do the same, their pride and self-righteousness keeps them from experiencing the true rule and reign of God in their lives.

The lesson of Jesus from this account is simple. Regardless of your station, position, training, education, background, or occupation in life, if you want to experience the rule and reign of God in your life, do not depend on your own righteousness or abilities, but instead live as Jesus lived, with generosity, kindness, patience, grace, mercy, love, and liberty extended to all people, whether or not they are part of your group, club, organization, or church.

The kingdom of God is experienced by those who open their arms wide to embrace all others. It is based on relationships of love rather than the regulations of law.

God is Redeeming God, Redeeming Scripture, Redeeming Theology, z Bible & Theology Topics: belief, election fraud, faith, kingdom of god, kingdom of heaven, Matthew 21:28-30, Matthew 21:31, religion

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The Rich Young Ruler and You (Matthew 19:16-24)

By Jeremy Myers
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The Rich Young Ruler and You (Matthew 19:16-24)
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Money! Money! Money! It’s the money episode! In this podcast study, I talk about cryptocurrency, a reader email about tithing, and the story of the Rich Young Ruler in Matthew 19:16-24. We see that Jesus was NOT telling the young man that he had to give up all his money in order to go to heaven. The story is about something else entirely.

Cryptocurrency like Bitcoin and Dogecoin are in the News!

Have you heard of cryptocurrency? They’re in the news a lot this week, so I decided to talk a a bit about them. I explain what they are, why they’re important and gainin widespread acceptance, and how to get some if you want. Ten years ago, Bitcoin was $1. It hit $48,000 today. Dogecoin is the most entertaining cryptocurrency, which causes many to believe it will be the most successful. It currently sits at $.07, and many believe it will hit $1 this year. Where will it be in ten years?

I personally bought a tiny fraction of one Bitcoin and several hundred Dogecoins this past week.

Best and easiest is Coinbase. Use my link to get $10 of free Bitcoin if you buy at least $100. That’s 10% instant profit though, so you might as well take it.

But Coinbase doesn’t sell Dogecoin. So if you want Dogecoin, use Robinhood. Use that Robinhood link to get a free stock when you sign up.

Reader Email about Tithing

A reader sent me a question about tithing this week. He wanted to know if he is really supposed to tithe 10% to his church or not.

Collection PlateI have written a lot about this before. There’s a whole section on tithing in my book (#AmazonAdLink) Church is More than Bodies, Bucks, & Bricks. Here are some links on my site you can read as well:

  • The Tithing Tax
  • Malachi 3 and Tithing
  • Modern Tithing
  • Tithe for Your Right to Party
  • Tithe 3% to your church
  • What Jesus taught about Tithing
  • Render To Caesar
  • The Widowโ€™s Mite
  • Devouring Widowโ€™s Houses
  • Donโ€™t Tithe to a Decaying Temple

The bottom line truth about tithing is that most of what we have been taught in our churches about tithing is flat-out wrong. In the Bible, tithing is closer to what you and I would think of as income tax. But even then, the tithe went to help local people, rather than to nameless and faceless governmental programs. Most surprisingly of all, that 10% tithe we so often hear about from our pulpits was primarily for the purpose of hosting a large community party for everyone who came. It was to help pay for everybody to come together once a year for a giant music, arts, and food festival.

There’s a lot more to it than that, but there is nothing in Scripture to support the practice we have today of paying 10% of your annual income to cover the costs of an expensive church building and staff salaries. This doesn’t mean you can’t have buildings and church staff. You can. But what you cannot do is defend the practice from the Bible.

Anyway, the bottom line answer to the question is this: “No, the Bible does not command us to give 10% of our income to the local church.” It is smart to use some of your money to support people, ministries, and causes that you believe in, and to help the poor and needy in your community, but also make sure you are using some of your money to make memories with your spouse and children, and to also enjoy life a bit.

Read some of the articles linked to above (or just get the book) to learn more about what the Bible teaches about tithing.

The Rich Young Ruler Matthew 19

The Rich Young Ruler in Matthew 19:16-24

I have previously taught about the Rich Young Ruler here and here.

The passages of Matthew 19:16-24, Mark 10:17-31, and Luke 18:18-30 all tell the account of a rich, young ruler coming to Jesus to ask how he can have eternal life. Jesus tells him to give all his wealth away, and then come follow Jesus. The young man went away sorrowful, because he was very rich. After his departure, Jesus and His disciples have a discussion about wealth and the kingdom of heaven.

This is a confusing text for many Christians because many people think that the term “kingdom of heaven” refers to heaven itself. And so many believe that when Jesus taught about how difficult it is for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven, He was saying that it is difficult for the rich to receive eternal life and go to heaven when they die.

Thus, it is taught, the rich must give away their wealth in order to have a chance at eternal life.

But this is a works-based message of eternal life and is completely contrary to the free offer of eternal life found everywhere in Scripture.

If eternal life is freely given to anyone and everyone who simply and only believes in Jesus for it, it would be a biblical contradiction for Jesus to also say that the rich must give away their wealth to receive eternal life.

Thankfully, a proper understanding of the concept of the kingdom of heaven helps explain this apparent contradiction. When Jesus teaches about the dangers of wealth, He is not referring to the difficulty the rich will have in receiving eternal life, but to the difficulty they will have in experiencing the rule and reign of God in their life here and now on this earth.

The Kingdom of God is about the Rule and Reign of God in our life NOW

Rich Young RulerThe context of these passages provides numerous lines of evidence to show that Jesus is talking about experiencing eternal life in our present life through the rule and reign of God, rather than about how to receive eternal life and go to heaven when we die.

For example, other than the initial question by the rich, young ruler in Matthew 19:16, the rest of the passage is about inheriting eternal life, following Jesus on the path of discipleship, and entering the kingdom of heaven. So despite how the rich, young ruler phrased his initial question, Jesus answer a more important question for this particular person.

The Gospel authors understood this, and so the parallel versions in Mark 10:17-31 and Luke 18:18-30 have the rich young ruler have the rich, young ruler asking how to โ€œinheritโ€ eternal life. Furthermore, Jesus later clarifies in Matthew 19:29 that He is only talking about inheriting eternal life (which refers to the present age experience of eternal life), Mark and Luke use the word inherit for consistencyโ€™s sake when they record the question from the rich young ruler (Mark 10:17; Luke 18:18).

Now which question did the rich, young ruler originally ask? It is difficult to say. Probably he spoke in Hebrew or Aramaic, and so Matthew translated the manโ€™s word one way while Mark and Luke translated it another. But regardless of what was in the mind of the rich, young ruler, however, Jesus answered his question in a way that reached to the heart of the issue, and the heart of the young man.

Wealth in Jewish society

In Jewish society, wealth was a sign of Godโ€™s divine blessing. Due to various promises in the Hebrew Scriptures, it was assumed that if a person was observing the law and was wealthy, God had blessed them with their wealth because of how successful they were in observing the law. This belief would obviously not apply to someone like Zacchaeus, who was clearly making no effort to observe the law, but would absolutely apply to someone like this young ruler.

He believed that he had observed the entire law since his youth (Matt 19:20), and everyone else believed it also (cf. Matthew 19:25).

When Jesus instructed the rich, young ruler to give away all his wealth and then come follow Him, Jesus was challenging this entire way of thinking about the connection between Godโ€™s law and human wealth. Jesus was showing that there is no true connection between the two. Wealth is not an outward sign of inner righteousness.

Jesus wanted to show this young man, as well as the disciples, how to truly live in righteousness, which comes through following Jesus in discipleship and living in light of the kingdom of God. But Jesus cannot do this as long as a person is looking to their own ability to be righteous, or to their own wealth as a sign of personal righteousness. So he tells the young man to discard all evidence or thought of personal righteousness and then come follow Him to see what righteous living truly looked like. But the young man went away because he was unwilling to do this.

The Kingdom of God is Entered Through Discipleship

So the answer from Jesus is not about how to receive, gain, or have eternal life, but how to inherit or experience Godโ€™s will, purpose, and blessings for our life here and now on this earth. As we follow Jesus on the path of discipleship in this life we will experience the life God wants for us now and also gain treasure for our future life in eternity (Mark 10:21: Luke 18:22).

All of this is about entering into the kingdom of God (Mark 10:23-25; Luke 18:24-25), which is shorthand for entering into the experience of the rule and reign of God in our lives here and now on this earth.

But what about the word “saved”?

Note that the disciples use the word โ€œsavedโ€ (Mark 10:26; Luke 18:26), which also causes confusion in the minds of some. But when we recognize that the word โ€œsavedโ€ also does not refer to receiving eternal life or going to heaven when we die, then the passage retains its message. Jesus is talking about being delivered and rescued from the problems that wealth brings, so that His followers can experience the rule and reign of God in their life now.

The surrounding context makes it clear that Jesus and the disciples are talking about discipleship and eternal reward rather than justification and receiving eternal life (Mark 10:28-30; Luke 18:28-29).

What Jesus Might Say to Us Today

In modern, Western culture, while some people see wealth as a sign of Godโ€™s blessing on a person who is fully obedient to Him, this is not a widely held view. If Jesus were physically walking the earth today, I can imagine a scenario in which a well-known, young pastor comes to Jesus and says, โ€œGood teacher, what must I do to experience Godโ€™s life?โ€ The young pastor only asks this because he thinks he is already experiencing Godโ€™s life, and believes Jesus will praise Him for his great success at such a young age.

Instead, Jesus says, โ€œWell, what is it that you teach from your pulpit and write about in your books?โ€

The young pastor would respond, โ€œPeople must attend church regularly, tithe 10% of their income, read the Bible and pray every day, and not be given to alcohol or drugs. They should also be a good witness at their job by wearing Christian t-shirts, a cross-shaped necklace, and never laugh at crude jokes. Instead, they must hand out Gospel tracts and invite people to church.โ€

Jesus would respond, โ€œOkay. Go do all of that then.โ€

To which the young man would proudly boast, โ€œIโ€™ve done all this since I was a kid.โ€

Pastoral power authorityโ€œWell done!โ€ Jesus would say. โ€œOnly one thing is left. Resign as pastor. Stop selling books. Quit preaching. Throw out all your gospel tracts and Christian clothes. Stop tithing to the church. Put your Bible on a shelf for a while, and go have a beer at the local pub. Then come follow Me and weโ€™ll see whatโ€™s next.โ€ But the young pastor would go away, thinking that Jesus was a false teacher, for the young man had it all figured out.

In this text, Jesus is showing that there is no such thing as an outward manifestation of inward righteousness. However, if we want to truly experience the life of God in us, and all the riches and blessings that entails, we can stop following religion and instead follow Jesus into a life of discipleship. While Jesus always leads in surprising directions, but also leads us toward a true life with God.

Matthew 19:16-24 therefore, is not about how to receive eternal life, but about how to get rid of the things in our life that we rely on as evidence that we are โ€œgoodโ€ Christians, and instead just follow Jesus wherever He leads. What things do you look to for proof that God loves and accepts you? That you are doing a โ€œgood jobโ€ for Jesus? Get rid of such things, and then come to Jesus empty-handed, saying, โ€œWherever You lead, Iโ€™ll follow.โ€

When you do this, Jesus will lead you into a full experience of the kingdom of God.

God is Redeeming Church, Redeeming God, Redeeming Life, Redeeming Scripture, z Bible & Theology Topics: eternal life, kingdom of god, kingdom of heaven, Luke 18:18-30, Mark 10:17-31, Matthew 19:16-21, Matthew 19:16-24, Rich Young ruler, salvation, tithing

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

By Jeremy Myers
1 Comment

What did Peter do with the Keys of the Kingdom (Matthew 16:19)?
https://media.blubrry.com/one_verse/feeds.soundcloud.com/stream/979213558-redeeminggod-what-are-the-keys-of-the-kingdom-in-matthew-1619.mp3

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 arenโ€™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 โ€œviolent rhetoric.โ€ 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 didnโ€™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 AOCโ€™s irrational fears, she was not in danger of being murdered. She wasnโ€™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 donโ€™t care about the constitution, donโ€™t care about due process, donโ€™t care about free speech, and most of all, donโ€™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 โ€œmature Christiansโ€ 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 & thatโ€™s why it was happening. But, I read your book on the unpardonable sin & realized that I had not committed it & I canโ€™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 (#AmazonAdLink) 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.โ€

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 โ€œbindโ€ 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 Peterโ€™s confession, Jesus gave the keys of the kingdom to Peter. Since all the personal pronouns in Matthew 16:19 are second person singular (โ€œyouโ€ rather than โ€œyou allโ€), 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 โ€œgivenโ€ 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 donโ€™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 โ€œunlockingโ€ 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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