Redeeming God

Liberating you from bad ideas about God

Learn the MOST ESSENTIAL truths for following Jesus.

Get FREE articles and audio teachings in my discipleship emails!


  • Join Us!
  • Scripture
  • Theology
  • My Books
  • About
  • Discipleship
  • Courses
    • What is Hell?
    • Skeleton Church
    • The Gospel According to Scripture
    • The Gospel Dictionary
    • The Re-Justification of God
    • What is Prayer?
    • Adventures in Fishing for Men
    • What are the Spiritual Gifts?
    • How to Study the Bible
    • Courses FAQ
  • Forum
    • Introduce Yourself
    • Old Testament
    • New Testament
    • Theology Questions
    • Life & Ministry

The Things that Divide Us (Ephesians 2:11-12)

By Jeremy Myers
Leave a Comment

The Things that Divide Us (Ephesians 2:11-12)
https://media.blubrry.com/one_verse/feeds.soundcloud.com/stream/1134016861-redeeminggod-six-sources-of-strife-and-division-eph-211-12.mp3

There were six things that caused division and strife between Jews and Gentiles. Paul discusses these in Ephesians 2:11-12. These same six things are found in various ways today in our culture and country. As we learn how Paul wanted the Ephesian Christians to respond to these sources of division, we can learn to live at peace with others today as well. All of this is covered in this study of Ephesians 2:11-12.

Before we look at that, however, we consider a question from a reader about the difference between a believer and a disciple.

Question from a Reader

I have read over your page on the difference between a believer and a disciple more than once. Recently I have started reading the Bible again after not reading it systematically for a long time-I tried being a disciple when I was about 18, I went to church for a few years, then I lost faith in God and quit. Now I’m 48 and my faith in God has returned … Your article says that if someone tries to be a disciple and fails then God will teach them, call them etc., so they can become a productive member of God’s family. Are you saying that if someone fails at discipleship, they have to become a disciple again? Or are you saying that God will simply try and make all believers productive in one way or the other?

You often hear pastors and Bible teachers talk about “the path of discipleship.” Thinking of discipleship as a path or a road is a helpful analogy.

disciple

I used to live in New York, but I now live in Oregon. When I moved from New York to Oregon, I drove on numerous roads and highways to get here. Now imagine if I stopped driving. I would no longer be making any progress on the road to Oregon. But I also wouldn’t necessarily have to start over in New York. I would just be stuck wherever I was.

At the same time, if I mistakenly or intentionally made a wrong turn, then I might actually be going backwards and headed back to New York, thereby, negating any progress I had made so far. Or maybe I would just be driving around in circles for a while, lost and confused.

But if I followed the map and the directions for getting from New York to Oregon, then I would eventually arrive at my destination. As I did.

This is the way it also works with discipleship. Yes, God wants all believers to become disciples and to make progress on the path of discipleship, and so God has provided in Scripture numerous instructions and directions for how to proceed as a follower of Jesus. If we follow these instructions, then we make progress. However, if we disobey, ignore, or even misunderstand the instructions, then we will stop making progress, and might actually go backwards a bit. But we don’t have to start all over.

And the best part about the path of discipleship is that we don’t have to travel it alone. God has not only given us Himself, Scripture, and the indwelling Holy Spirit to help us on our journey, but also provides us with fellow human travelers to encourage us and aid us on our way. Hopefully, I am someone who is helping you make progress on the path of discipleship as I show you where I have traveled and help you make better sense of the instructions God has provided in the Bible.

The Things that Divide Us (Ephesians 2:11-12)

“It is a part of sinful human nature to build barriers that shut out other people. In New Testament times one of the greatest barriers was between slaves and freemen, especially between slaves and their owners. Those who were free looked down on slaves as being inferior, slightly above animals. Many slaves looked on their masters with contempt and resentment. Consequently, one of the greatest problems of the early church was in getting Christian slave owners and Christian slaves to treat each other as spiritual equals.

“For the most part, women were also looked down on as inferior beings. Husbands often treated their wives little better than they did their slaves. When a wife became a Christian, her entire life, outlook, and value system changed. An unbelieving husband would likely divorce her simply because she had made such a radical decision without his consent.

“The Greeks were so proud of their culture and supposed racial superiority that they considered everyone else to be barbarians, a belief to which Paul alludes in Romans 1:14 and Colossians 3:11. The Greek language was considered to be the language of the gods. The Roman statesman Cicero wrote, ‘As the Greeks say, “All men are divided into two classes, Greeks and barbarians.”[1]

We must not forget as well, the constant animosity between Jews and Gentiles. From the very beginning with Abraham’s two sons, Ishmael and Isaac, this has been an issue. 4000 years later, the struggle has only become worse with nearly the whole world taking sides between Israel and Palestine and current affairs right now in the Middle East.

And of course, it is not just the religious, racial, and cultural issues that divide, but also political and scientific issues. Take the current vaccination battle that is being waged around the world. A person’s vaccination status is a great source of division and strife in the world right now. I hope that you are not a person who divides from someone else based on their vaccination status.

All of this division and strife between people is a result of sin. In fact, I argue elsewhere that division is the ultimate Christian heresy.  Those who divide from other Christians are guilty of the greatest and most sinful Christian heresy.

But Jesus came to remove all of this division and strife. This is the overall message of Ephesians 2.

Summary of Ephesians 2:1-10

Most Christians think that Ephesians 2 is about how we humans were all sinners and so Jesus came to offer us eternal life. And while that could be a proper reading of Ephesians 2:1-10, that message does not fit with Ephesians 2:11-22. And since Ephesians 2:11-22 is the application section of Ephesians 2, this means that the entire chapter must fit together into one cohesive argument.

And since Ephesians 2:11-22 is all about how the church is supposed to lead the world out of division and strife and into a life of love and unity, this means that the message of Ephesians 2:1-10 is how God revealed to us the true nature of sin, and a better way to life in Jesus Christ.

Up to this point in Ephesians 2, Paul described the normal way of life in this world  as one of being dead in our sins and dead to God. We lived in a state of blame, accusation, vengeance, violence, and retaliation (Ephesians 2:1-3). But God then stepped into this situation in Jesus Christ and showed us a whole new way to live (Ephesians 2:4-7). We were raised up to a life in Jesus Christ that is the the life God always wanted for us and which He had planned and prepared for us since the foundation of the world (Ephesians 2:8-10).

In Ephesians 2:11-22, Paul now seeks to show us how to live differently, and also how to lead the world into a different way of living.

Six Sources for Strife (Ephesians 2:11-12)

We’re looking at Ephesians 2:11-12 today, where Paul begins by describing six of the differences between Jews and Gentiles. He describes six of the things that caused strife and division between these two people groups.

All of these damaged relationships are the result of sin. Now if Paul was writing today, he could have written about blacks vs whites, Republicans vs. Democrats, rich vs. poor, police vs. inner city residents, vaccinated vs. unvaccinated, or Christian vs. Muslim.

All of the racial, political, economic, religious, cultural, and health-related division that exist today existed in the days of Paul between Jews and Gentiles. In Ephesians 2:11-12, Paul commands them to remember six things in regard to their human relationships before they were saved. The first of these six is found in Ephesians 2:11.

Ephesians 2:11. Therefore remember that you, once Gentiles in the flesh—who are called Uncircumcision by what is called the Circumcision made in the flesh by hands—

So the first division is that they were Gentiles in the flesh—who are called Uncircumcision by what is called the Circumcision made in the flesh by hands—

Paul is talking here about the differences between the Jew and the Gentile. Prior to Abraham, there was no difference. But God, in choosing Abraham, created a difference. Now God created this difference so that His people could be a blessing to everyone else. The problem, however, was that many Jews saw this difference as a reason to boast and be proud and think that they were superior to the others.

But God did not choose Abraham so that the Jews would think they were superior to the Gentiles, but so that they might be a blessing and a help to the Gentiles.

wall of hostilityAnd the aspect that Paul mentions here in Ephesians 2:11 about this difference between Jew and Gentile is circumcision. Since circumcision was the outward sign of the covenant with God, the Jews considered any uncircumcised male to be outside of God’s blessing and purpose. The Jews were proud of this outward sign of the covenant, and they despised anyone who was not circumcised.

In fact, “Jews said that the Gentiles were created by God to be fuel for the fires of Hell; that God loved only Israel of all the nations that he had made; that the best of the serpents crushed, the best of the Gentiles killed.

“It was not lawful to render help to a Gentile woman in childbirth, for that would be to bring another Gentile into the world. The barrier between Jew and Gentile was absolute. If a Jew married a Gentile, the funeral for the Jew was carried out. Such contact with a Gentile was the equivalent of death; even to go into a Gentile house rendered a Jew unclean.”[3]

When a Jew went on a journey and returned, before he stepped back into Israel, he would shake the dust off his feet because he didn’t want to bring Gentile dirt into the holy land.[4]

As we can see—the Jewish people at that time were arrogant, and despised Gentiles. But this was not always the case, and is not the case today either.

In Ephesians 2:11, Paul, although he was a Jew himself, mocks their arrogance by saying that the Jewish circumcision which they took so much pride in was nothing more than something done in the flesh by the hands of men. In Philippians 3:2, Paul calls them “mutilators of the flesh” and in Romans 2:29, he shows us that the real circumcision that God desires is not of the flesh by the hands of men, but of the heart, by the Holy Spirit. It is those who believe in Jesus alone and not in their own works of the flesh that are circumcised of the heart and not of the flesh.

So the first thing Paul wants them to remember is that they were Gentiles—despised by the Jews. The Jewish people thought they were superior to others because they had a covenant with God. They had special revelation. They had better morals. They had a piece of skin cut off their body.

Does any of this sound familiar today? It should.

There are some who think they are superior to others because of how they vote, or because of what religion they belong to, or have more money, fame, or power than others, or because they got a vaccine. And Paul is going to say “Stop dividing over such silly things! All such division is satanic.”

But Paul is not yet done describing the things that cause division. There are five more in Ephesians 2:12. The second is that at that time you were without Christ.

What Paul means is pretty obvious. They did not have Christ. The Ephesians lived under the same problem that the rest of the world live under. They still, just like everyone else, lived under a system of rivalry, violence, scapegoating, blame, slander, accusation, and victimization.

The Ephesians, for the most part, worshipped the goddess Diana, and before the coming of the Gospel, knew nothing of Jesus Christ. They were without Christ, and as such were under condemnation.

Now how did this cause division? Well, the word for Christ here is the Greek Christos, but is the Greek word for Messiah. The Messiah, or Meshiach in Hebrew, is one of the things that caused division between Jews and Gentiles. The Jews has prophecies that the Messiah would come through them. This gave them a sense of superiority over others. But the Gentiles didn’t have a Messiah.

And in fact, many Jews at that time thought that when the Messiah came, He would only be a Savior for the Jews, and everyone else would get destroyed by the Messiah. So yes, the aspect of a promised Messiah caused division.

The third source of division was that Gentiles were aliens from the commonwealth of Israel.

Another way of saying this is that we were excluded from being a part of God’s people, or excluded from citizenship with Israel. They were without citizenship in Israel, and therefore, many Jews thought that God didn’t love or care for Gentiles either. Gentiles were separate from the special blessing, protection, love, covenants, priesthood, sacrifices, promises and guidance that God gave to Israel (Deut 32:9-14; 33:27-29; Isa 63:7-9; Amos 3:2).

Again, the issue of how to treat people from other countries is a divisive issue today. We currently have a major humanitarian crisis at our southern border, and there is a huge debate about the best way to care for the aliens … the immigrants … who are there. Everybody in our country wants to help the immigrants, but the question is how. Do we just let anyone and everyone come into our country who wants to? Or would it be better to seeks ways to improve the living conditions in the countries they come from so that the immigrants can stay in their home country and gain access to good opportunities there?

The issue of citizenship and alien immigrants is a huge divisive issue.

The fourth item from Ephesians 2:12 that causes division is that the Gentiles were strangers from the covenants of promise.

God never made any covenants with Gentile nations. Gentiles were included in the covenant with Abraham, and since Noah lived before Abraham, we could consider him as a Gentile, I suppose, but in broad terms, God did not make covenants with Gentile nations—only with the nation of Israel. Gentiles were considered strangers and aliens—and the Jews never let them forget it.

Many of the Jewish Pharisees would pray daily, “O God, I give thanks that I am a Jew, not a Gentile.”[7]

Why did they have this view? Because God had not made any covenants or promises with Gentile nations. Therefore, Jews believed that God did not love the Gentiles as much as He loved the Jews. Since God did not make any promises to them, this meant that God did not really have any plans for them.

Again, this perspective is sometimes found in various churches, where non-Christians are viewed as second-class humans from a divine perspective. I once spoke with a man who was a strong Calvinist (see my posts here for more about Calvinism) who said that due to his belief in divine election, he never shared the gospel with unbelievers because the Bible said to not cast pearls before swine. That’s an extreme view, even among Calvinists, but it is not uncommon for Christians to rarely interact with non-Christians. It’s not that we hate non-Christians, but we just sort of view them with a disdain and bit if disgust for how they live and what they believe. Once they become Christians, however, then we accept them with open arms … as long as they do what we say and believe what they are told.

You see? Being a stranger from the covenants of promise is a source of division.

Fifth, Gentiles were without hope.

one body in ChristThis, of course, is from a Jewish perspective, for many Gentiles at that time did indeed have hope, just as today, almost everybody has hope of some kind for the future.

But Jews thought that Gentiles were hopeless. That they had not prospects. No real future. Gentiles were nobodies going nowhere.

Again, sometimes Christians today are guilty of viewing non-Christians in the same light.

And finally, and sort of as a summary of all the others, Gentiles were without God in the world.

The term here in the Greek is atheos from which we get our word “atheist.” Now, the fact that they were atheos doesn’t mean that they didn’t believe in God. Just the opposite in fact. Rather than being atheists the way we think of them today, most Gentiles in Paul’s day were polytheists. They believed in many gods.

Remember Paul’s sermon on Mars Hill in Athens? He talked about all the gods they had. So it was not an issue of them being without gods, it was that they did not know the one true God. They were without the God of the Bible.

But this was a source of contention between Jews and Gentiles. Jews looked down upon Gentiles for not worshipping the One True God, but instead worshipping many false, manmade gods.

And again, a similar strife is often found today between various religious groups. Nearly every religious group looks down upon all the other for worshipping a false god or gods.

So the six things Paul lists here as descriptive of some of the things that caused division and strife between Jews and Gentiles. All six things caused enmity and hatred and discord between Jews and Gentiles.

Why is Paul Reminding the Ephesians Christians Of This?

Paul is not simply trying to remind the Ephesians Christians of how they were once treated and viewed. I believe Paul was writing these things to them, and telling them to remember how they were treated, because the Ephesian Christians were starting to look down upon their non-Christian neighbors and friends with scorn and derision. They had started to feel superior, to feel smarter, to feel like God loved them more than anyone else.

So Paul comes along here and says, “Remember! As Gentiles, you used to be in a position where another group of people looked down upon you, and scorned you, and judged you, and thought that God hated you. You didn’t like that very much. So now that you are part of the family of God, make sure you don’t fall into the same trap. Don’t start treating your non-Christians neighbors the way your Jewish friends once treated you.”

This is a good reminder for us in the church today. Don’t forget your past. If you did not grow up in the church, then you might have had the experience of feeling judged, ridiculed, shamed, or even hated by certain groups of Christians. Some Christians look down upon non-Christians, condemning, criticizing, and accusing them of all sorts of things. Paul would say to you, “Do you remember what that felt like? Now that you are a Christian, make sure you don’t do the same thing.”

You were called to be part of God’s family for the same reason that Abraham was called and the Jewish people were called and all of God’s people are called … not to lord your position over others and think that you are smarter and more blessed than others, but rather to be a blessing and a help to them. To love them.

If you start to treat others with hate and derision, then you are still living in the way described by Paul in Ephesians 2:1-3. We used to live lives of rivalry, blame, accusation, scapegoating, slander, and violence, but now God has called us to live lives of love, forgiveness, grace, faith, and blessing. If we go back to blaming, accusing, scapegoating, and judging the world, then we have learned nothing about Jesus Christ or why He came.

Nevertheless, it is not uncommon for Christians and even pastors to revert back to the old way of living. For example, a certain pastor has said the following: “Scripture teaches … that God eternally hates some men; has immutably decreed their damnation; and has determined to withhold from them Christ, grace, faith, and salvation.”[9]

Here’s a hymn that used to be sung years ago in certain churches around the country: (I don’t know the tune, but the words go …)

“We are the Lord’s elected few,
Let all the rest be damned;
There’s room enough in hell for you,
We won’t have heaven crammed!”[10]

Are you as horrified as I am that certain Christians feel this way about the unsaved? We wonder how the Jews could have hated the Gentiles so, but then we look at some of our own brothers and sisters hating non-Christians in the exact same way!

None of us, I hope, feel this way about any non-Christian. None of us, I hope, despise our neighbor because they are not Christians. Rather, we love them, and are concerned for them, and want to share with them the love that Christ has for them so that they too may be saved. That is the Christians duty. That is our God given responsibility—to bring blessing, not cursing.

In Ephesians 2:13-22, we will begin to see how we can make sure we are a blessing to this world, rather than a source of hate, division, and strife.

Footnotes for the Study on Ephesians 2:11-12

[1] MacArthur, chapter 7, intro.
[3] Barclay, 107.
[4] MacArthur, chapter 7.
[7] Wiersbe, 22.
[9] David Engelsma, quoted in Vance, 293.
[10] In Vance, 300.

God is Redeeming God, Redeeming Scripture, z Bible & Theology Topics: division, Ephesians 2, Ephesians 2:11-12, heresy, peace, racism, unity

Advertisement

What does it mean to be dead in trespasses and sins? (Ephesians 2:1)

By Jeremy Myers
Leave a Comment

What does it mean to be dead in trespasses and sins? (Ephesians 2:1)
https://media.blubrry.com/one_verse/feeds.soundcloud.com/stream/1080350254-redeeminggod-what-does-it-mean-to-be-dead-in-trespasses-and-sins-ephesians-21.mp3

Ephesians 2 is one of the most misunderstood and misapplied chapters of the Bible. This study provides a brief overview of how to understand Ephesians 2, and then takes a deeper look at Ephesians 2:1 as an introduction to the chapter. We also discuss a question from a reader about the problem of peace in the Middle East.

Israel and the Palestinian Conflict

gospel of peaceI recently received this question from Aaron:

Just listened to your recent podcast about Ephesians and with the comments as to the situation in Israel and Palestine. I found the two particularly contrasting – you seem to be so close and yet so far. Theologically, you are on the side which understands the immediacy of the kingdom of God and our participation in it in the here and now through loving our neighbors, and your understanding of deliverance and heaven on earth are testament to that (I thank God you’re not a fundamentalist).  Yet your discourse about Israel and its right to occupy, or in your words defend, was seemingly of stark contrast to your theological position. I’m not sure the argument that the subsequent occupation after the six day war ‘for defensive purposes’ holds much water at all.

Specifically, I wonder what your response is towards the following two videos. Some Israelis seem to be in less denial about what they are doing to Palestinians than the west in general. And for the second video, just provides more context than just the immediate aftermath of six day war.

First of all, let me clarify that I am a fundamentalist, at least, according to the original definition of the term. Originally, the term referred to a set of 90 essays titled (#AmazonAdLink) The Fundamentals published by R. A. Torrey and A. C. Dixon between 1910 and 1915, published in 12 volumes. But that’s not what the question is about.

I watched both videos, and I don’t disagree with the overall message of either video. There is a history of problems between Hebrews and the Arabs living in Israel, and there are extremists on both sides that want to see the other side destroyed. I have never taught otherwise.

The first video however, with Assaf Harel on Haaretz.com, made some claims I want to challenge. He said, for example, that Israel is an Apartheid state. But it isn’t. At least, not according to the political and dictionary definition of Apartheid. As I stated earlier, Israel is a true democracy and is the only democracy in the Middle East. Israel affords its Arab citizens full rights. Arab Israelis are full participants in Israeli society. They vote in elections and Arab parties sit in parliament. There are Arab justices on the Supreme Court. About 20% of doctors in Israel and about half of pharmacists are Arab. Now, 20% is clearly not a majority, and so I agree that it is difficult for that 20% to rule over the other 80%, but 20% numbers make perfect sense when you realize that Arabs represent 20% of the population, which is exactly what you would expect in a representative democracy. So no, Israel is not an apartheid state.

He went on to indicate that Israel is withholding water, energy, and basic food necessities from the Arab Israelis. But they aren’t. It is Hamas doing that. The Arab Israelis have received billions and billions of dollars in aid from the United States and other countries. In fact, Israel herself has given tens of millions of dollars to the Palestinian Authority. But rather than use that aid to upgrade their infrastructure or provide for the basic necessities of the people, the Palestinian Authority gives most of the money to Hamas who then uses it to buy weapons and train soldiers. Here’s an article from Forbes which shows this and another from the Wall Street Journal which shows the problem persists to this very day. More detailed facts and figures are found here.

If someone is poor and I give them $1000 to buy food and clothing for their children, but they use the money to buy guns and ammo to attack me, I am not going to be too keen about the idea that they are only attacking me because I am starving their children.

Then his whole argument about violent extremists was quite illogical. He basically argued that there was no such thing as violent extremists because the it was only the right wing extremists who were accusing their opponents of being violent extremists, which proves that it is really the right wing extremists who are the violent ones. Assaf Harel is correct in that we tend to accuse others of that for which we ourselves are guilty, but this doesn’t mean that one side is violent and other is peaceful. It means both sides are violent and both sides need to own up to their contributions to violence.

Which brings me to the best line in the entire video. He said this: “If only for once we could be smart enough to reach a peace agreement before the war.”

Yes. But the solution to this is twofold. It requires truth and forgiveness.

church at warFirst, truth. Peace does not require truth about our enemies, but truth about ourselves. Finger pointing always leads to war. But it is only we can look at our own face in the mirror that we can own up to our own violence and bring an end to it.

Second, forgiveness. We must learn to forgive those on the other side. Whether they ask for it or not. Whether they own up to their part in the problem or not.

The sad reality in the Middle East, and indeed, in most human conflict, is that the two opposing sides refuse to perform either of these two requirements. And so there can be no peace.

As for me, I am not blaming the Arab people in Israel for the problem. But I will also not blame the Jewish people. Neither will I let either side off the hook. Both sides are at fault, and both must own up to their own faults and also extend forgiveness to the other side if there is to be peace.

Now, again, they will never do this because it is not what nations do. It is, however, what individuals can do, and maybe, just maybe, as we who follow Jesus learn to love one another with truth and forgiveness in our own lives, we can lead the nations to follow in our example.

Which is a perfect transition into the text we are studying today … Ephesians 2:1.

The Big Picture Message of Ephesians 2

Ephesians 2 is one of the most misunderstood chapters in the New Testament. This is largely due to our tendency to read everything in the Bible through “heaven-colored glasses” so that every passage about sin and salvation is thought to be about going to heaven when we die. So when most people teach and write about Ephesians 2, they see the references to death, sin, and satan in Ephesians 2:1-3 and then the references to grace, faith, and salvation in Ephesians 2:4-10, and think that this passage is about avoiding the consequences of sin so we can go to heaven when we die.

As a result, the text of Ephesians 2:8, “… for by grace you have been saved through faith …” is almost as widely known as John 3:16. So when you hear pastors or Bible college professors teach about Ephesians 2:1-10, the message you usually hear about this passage goes something like this:

We humans are evil sinners, under the control of the devil and our sin nature. We were dead and unable to do anything to change. Worse yet, because of sin, God’s wrath burns against us, and He wants to send us all to hell. But thankfully, God sent Jesus to help us get to heaven and if you believe in Jesus, you can go to heaven when you die.

Now honestly, I don’t truly have much a problem with those statements. In general, I agree with the basic facts as stated. However, I am convinced that this is NOT what Paul is writing about in Ephesians 2. Though the statements above are taught in Scripture, they are not taught in Ephesians 2.

In the next several podcasts studies, I am going to present a radically different understanding of Ephesians 2 which will help you see what Paul was really talking about, and how his message makes much more sense in the overall flow and structure of Ephesians. You will also discover that Ephesians 2 becomes much more applicable to our lives and to the church today.

But before we start looking at the text, let me just tip my hand and give you a preview of where we are headed. Here are some of the key truths which impact our understanding of Ephesians 2.

  1. Ephesians 1 has just ended with a statement by Paul that he is going to show the church how the church, as the body of Jesus in this world, is the only solution to all of the problems in this world. In Ephesians 2, Paul addresses the GREATEST problem in the world, and shows how Jesus calls the church to fix it.
  2. The central truth of Ephesians 2 is discovered by reverse engineering the chapter. Paul has a clear progression in Ephesians 2, following the “Problem (Ephesians 2:1-3) – Solution (Ephesians 2:4-10) – Application (Ephesians 2:11-22)” format. If all the “sins” we Christians like to focus on were really the issue for Paul, Paul’s train of thought would conclude with an application about how we must stop lusting, lying, stealing, etc. But Paul does not go there at all. Instead, Paul ends his train of thought by talking about how Jews and Gentiles, who used to hate each other, are now brought together in peace and unity as one family. Therefore, since this is the application Paul aims for, then the problem and solution must logically lead up to this application. The problem in Ephesians 2:1-3, then, cannot be about the “sins” we Christians often focus on, but rather, the “sins” we tend to ignore and overlook, which are the sins that create disunity and enmity between ourselves and other people in the world. These are the sins of hatred, accusation, blame, scapegoating, and rivalry. These are the sins that dehumanize us and dehumanize others. In other words, the sin that Paul is concerned with is the bigotry, racism, and hatred that exists between various people groups on earth. Paul wants all such hatred to end, and for there to be unity and love in the world, and Ephesians 2 shows us how to do this.
  3. So, with this in mind, the word “dead” in Ephesians 2:1 does not mean “non-existent,” nor does it refer to “total inability”. Instead, it refers to powerlessness, weakness, corruption. It is to be understood in light of Genesis 3–5 where sin leads to death, which is primarily physical death, and especially the death of murder.
  4. The spirit of the power in Ephesians 2:2 is a reference back to Ephesians 1: 21 and points to the rule and dominion of satan. But satan is best understood in light of what his name means, which is accuser. The course of this world, the spirit of this age, is the spirit of accusation and blame. Religious people are quite guilty of engaging in these activities, which means that the trespasses and sins in view is not the “sins” we Christians often condemn in others, but is actually the true “sin” of accusing and condemning others. Paul is most concerned here with the same thing that Jesus was most concerned with, which is the religious sins which people commit in God’s name. When these things are corrected by God (Ephesians 2:4-10), peace and unity result (Ephesians 2:11-22).
  5. We know this because Paul includes himself in the description of engaging in these practices, and yet he kept the law perfectly. So what sins did Paul engage in along with everybody else? The sin of accusation and blame, which leads to scapegoating violence and murder. These things all come from desire, which Paul also mentions in the context, and also takes us back to Genesis 3–4.
  6. There is no mention of “the sinful nature” in Ephesians 2:1-3. This phrase from the NIV is a tragic mistranslation of the Greek text. Paul is talking about the lusts and desires of the flesh. The “flesh” refers to our physical body, and it is from our flesh that lusts and desires rise, as we imitate and covet what other people have.
  7. Wrath, then, is not God’s wrath toward us, but human wrath directed toward one another (which we then justify by blaming it on God). Wrath is when we engage in violence against others, and do so in God’s name. It does not come from God, nor does it have anything to do with hell or eternal punishment.
  8. The solution to this great problem is found in Ephesians 2:4-10, and is based entirely on the grace of God and accepting by faith what Jesus has revealed on the cross about the problem of humanity and how to fix it.

The bottom line summary of Ephesians 2, then, is this:

We humans live in a world of sin and death, which we inflict upon ourselves by accusing, condemning, and killing one another, and justifying it all by doing these things in God’s name. We did these things because in our flesh, we knew no other way to live. We religious people killed and were killed, just like everyone else. But Jesus revealed the way to peace, and if we believe and follow the way of Jesus, then the church can lead the world into the way of peace as well.

That summary is very different than the first summary above!

I know that’s a lot of information, and is a challenge to comprehend all at once. So over the course of the next several podcasts, I will unpack all of this in much more detail. We begin today with a brief look at Ephesians 2:1

Dead in Trespasses and Sins (Ephesians 2:1)

In Ephesians 2:1, Paul says this:

As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins … 

This is the beginning of Paul’s description about how our life used to be before we were Christians. Before we learned the truth that Jesus revealed (which Paul will discuss later).

To properly understand this verse, we must grasp what Paul means when he describes humanity as being “dead” and then also what he means when he refers to trespasses and sins.

I will cover both of these terms at great length in my Gospel Dictionary online course, but they are also discussed in my book, (#AmazonAdLink) Nothing But the Blood of Jesus.

What does it mean to be “dead”?

Many Christian leaders say that the word “dead” means non-existent or completely powerless to do anything. It is not uncommon to hear pastor says, “A dead person can’t do anything. The body just lies there. It can’t talk. It can’t think. It can’t walk or move. So also, a person who is spiritually dead is unable to do anything that helps them move closer to God. They can’t think properly about spiritual matters. They can’t believe in Jesus. They are totally unable to do anything spiritually good.”

This sort of teaching is completely wrong. It is not true and it does not fit with the biblical understanding of the word “dead.”

Dead in sin Ephesians 2:1-3In my online course and my book, I teach that the word “dead” refers to something that is not functioning properly.

Theologically, the words death and dead refer to that which is inactive, powerless, not properly functioning for life as God intended. The words refer to that which is separated from its God-given purpose. To be dead is to be deprived of power. For example, Paul writes in Romans 4:19 that Abraham was dead, even though he was very much alive. What does Paul mean? He means that Abraham was powerless to perform. He was not functioning properly (cf. Heb 11:12). This is the way the words “dead” and “death” can be understood in all the contexts they are used.

So when someone physically dies, they are no longer functioning properly in life the way God planned and intended. Death was never supposed to touch human beings. Similarly, when someone who is alive is described as being dead, it means that something about them is not functioning properly the way God intended. Such a definition fits with all forms of death, no matter what kind of death is in view.

It is important to note that the words dead and death do not mean “non-existent” or to “total inability.” The words never carry these sorts of ideas. A dead body does exist; it is just not functioning properly. Abraham could be described as dead, even though he was alive, because his body was not functioning the way God intended. Similarly, dead plans or dead faith do exist, they just are not being carried out properly.

So when Abraham was described as being dead, even though he was alive, this was a symbolic form of death, in which his body was not functioning the way God intended. Physical death is similar. God never intended for humans to die, and so when our life leaves our bodies, we physically die. We are no longer functioning physically in our bodies the way God wanted or planned.

Then there is spiritual death. When we think of someone being spiritually dead, it means that although they do indeed have a spirit, the spiritual side of them is not functioning the way God intended. They are separated from the God-given functions for which they were created.

Eternal death speaks of the idea that people fail to function in eternity the way God desired and intended. Then the Bible can also use the word dead in reference to inanimate or intangible items, such as faith. In such cases, the words dead or death simply mean that the object under discussion is not properly functioning or being carried out as planned.

So when Paul writes here about us being dead, he is not thinking about total inability or any such thing. He is simply saying that we were not functioning properly as God intended. We did the opposite things God wanted and desired. Paul doesn’t mean we couldn’t think about spiritual things or do anything good.

He is saying that, as humans, we are not functioning as humans should. We are failing to live up to our calling and purpose as humans. The word “dead” here has nothing to do with spiritual death or physical death, but to humanity’s death. The death of the human race as God’s image in this world … and specifically, the death of the church as the body of Jesus in this world. That is the “death” Paul has in mind.

We are dead in that we fail to live up to what God wanted us to do and be. We are alive (Ephesians 2:2), but are flunking at life.

Why did we fail? Rather than do what God wanted, what did we do instead?

Trespasses and Sins

Our failure at life is described in the last half of Ephesians 2:1 with the terms “trespasses and sins.”

This is two different words for the same idea. Again, the term “sin” is a word I will cover at great length in my my Gospel Dictionary online course, and which is already covered in my book, (#AmazonAdLink) Nothing But the Blood of Jesus. I also covered an explanation of sin in great detail in my podcast studies on Genesis 3-4.

In brief, while sin can be understood as disobeying God, the Bible is much more specific than that about the nature and character of sin. In the Bible, sin is specifically the pattern of rivalry and scapegoating other people that leads to humans committing violence in God’s name.

Sin is a failure to live as fully human beings in the image of God. This is why sin is so closely connected with death here in Ephesians 2:1.

When we sin, we are not functioning properly as humans. We are not living up to God’s standard of us living in love toward one another, but are instead doing the exact opposite by living in hate, anger, and violence.

love vs hate

Sin is not so much about pride and rebellion or thinking we know better than God as it is about living as less than human. Sin is the dehumanization of ourselves and others. It is the problem of broken human relationships between God and one another. Relationships are key to being human, and when we are living as less than human, it surfaces in how we interact with God and with others.

So what is Paul saying in Ephesians 2:1? He is describing the human condition, but in ways that few people have ever really considered before. Paul is saying that the great problem with humanity is that we have failed to function properly as the image of God on earth. Or, to put it in terms related to the church, we have failed to function properly as the body of Jesus Christ on earth.

Instead of live up to what God desired and intended for us, we did the opposite. We have lived in sin. Rather than love one another, we hate one another. Rather than serve and build up one another, we kill and tear down one another. Rather than function as one family of God, we live in bigotry and racism, seeking to portray our enemies as monsters and as less than human, so that we might justify our violence against them, so that we might kill them in the name of God.

To go back to the question from the reader about the problem of peace in the Middle East, one of the big problems is that everyone want to blame and accuse someone else of the problems that exist in Israel. The Arabs blame the Jews and the West, and the Jews blame the Arabs and the Muslims. All groups seek to dehumanize the other groups so that they can attack and kill them or just ignore and abuse them. And since this conflict is religious in nature, all sides claim that God is on their side.

This is the exact problem that Paul addresses in Ephesians 2. Right now, he is just laying out the problem, but he will soon address the solution to the problem and how to apply this solution to the problem of the world. In this way, Ephesians 2 address one of the most significant and long-lasting problems in human history … the problem of two or more groups of people who hate each other and want to see the other group destroyed.

Are you beginning to see that Paul is talking about something much different, and much more practical, than the teaching about how to go to heaven when we die?

Yes, and in fact, Paul’s description here of the problem of humanity is not just about unregenerate unbelieving non-Christians, but is also about those who claim to follow Jesus.

Far too often, it is we Christians who seek to dehumanize our enemies so that we might accuse and condemn them in God’s name, and even call for their death and destruction in God’s name. When we do this, we are living in death. We are living in sin. We are, as Paul will say next, living satanically.

Did you know that Christians can be satanic? Yes, that is what will begin to see next time when we look at Ephesians 2:2.

For now, though, I just want to leave you with a word of caution.

love and hate in GodBe careful about accusing and condemning others. If you are into politics, it is very easy to start seeing your political opponents as monsters. As less than human. It is easy to start calling them names and wishing for their death. That is the sin Paul has in view here in Ephesians 2:1.

Or maybe it’s a group of people from another religion. The Muslims. Or the Atheists. Or … more close to home … the liberal Christians … or the evangelical Christians. When we start condemning and accusing them and thinking of them as our enemies, we are falling into sin.

The same applies for issues of race. Hopefully you don’t hate people who have a different skin color than you, but we’re starting to see more and more of this now, especially in the area of accusing other people of being racist simply because they have a certain skin color.

All such things must stop for all such things are sinful and cause us to live in death. We will discuss this concept more next time when we look at Ephesians 2:2.

 

God is Redeeming God, Redeeming Scripture, Redeeming Theology, z Bible & Theology Topics: dead, dead in sin, Ephesians 2:1, peace, racism, scapegoating, sin, violence

Advertisement

What is Predestination? (Ephesians 1:5a)

By Jeremy Myers
1 Comment

What is Predestination? (Ephesians 1:5a)
https://media.blubrry.com/one_verse/feeds.soundcloud.com/stream/1040145526-redeeminggod-what-is-predestination-ephesians-15a.mp3

Have you ever struggled with the topic of predestination? This study of Ephesians 1:5 will define predestination and will help you find great encouragement in the truth of predestination. We will also look at the current event topic of racism in a Bible College, and answer a question from a reader about the Parable of the Ten Talents.

Current Event: Theology Professor Asks God to Help her Hate White People

Chanequa Walker-Barnes is a theology professor at Mercer University, and she recently published a book titled A Rhythm of Prayer: A Collection of Meditations for Renewal. One chapter includes a prayer in which she says this:

Dear God, Please help me to hate White people. I want to stop caring about them, individually and collectively. I want to stop caring about their misguided, racist souls, to stop believing that they can be better, that they can stop being racist.

Later she writes:

Grant me a Get Out of Judgement Free card if I make White people the exception to your commandment to love our neighbors as we love ourselves.

And she is not alone. I see these sorts of statements and desires all over the internet from Liberals and Democrats who feel that white people and Trump voters are all racists who need to be wiped off the face of the earth. A Stanford university student recently called for the extermination of all white people.

Now, thankfully, Dr. Walker-Barnes recognizes that what she is praying for is sinful and is a complete violation of the instructions of Jesus to love your enemies (see my sermon on Luke 6:27), and so she prays that God will not condemn her to hell for such a desire. And of course, God does forgive her. There’s no question about that.

But what troubles me is that this sort of racist hate-speech is becoming more and more common from liberal leaders, and even from some pastors and Bible college professors. Worse yet, I have not heard a single liberal pastor or Christian denounce such hate speech. They either agree with such racist sentiments or explain them away as “understandable.”

I was recently having a conversation with a friend of mine who is a pastor and democrat, and who is also a strong believer in non-violence. But he shocked me in our conversation by saying that he would like to punch Nazis in the face and beat them until they can’t get up. I asked him who the Nazis were, and he said, “Anyone who voted for Trump.”

This is what many liberals believe, including may liberal Christians. This sort of thinking is not only destructive to our country and the world, but also to the cause of the gospel.

Look, racism is evil. I condemn and denounce all racism, wherever it is found, and from whomever it comes, because God is against racism as well. Those Christians who condemn racism from white people, but excuse racism from others do not understand the gospel and do not understand why Jesus came to this earth. Jesus came to show us how to love, forgive, and accept all people … including our enemies … and if we do not follow Jesus in these ways, then we are not following Jesus at all.

I am currently reading a fantastic book on these issues, and I highly encourage everyone to read it. It’s by Voddie Baucham, Jr. and is titled (#AmazonAdLink) Fault Lines. I love this book so much, I will be talking about it next time in the “Current Events” portion of this podcast.

Q&A: Is Jesus the Master in the Parable of Talents or not?

A super alert reader recently sent me this question:

Thank you so much for sharing your heart and truths you have studied-it has helped me on my journey!

So the other day I was reading your post about the parable of the 10 Talents and how the master was NOT Jesus.

Yet, today I was reading in Luke about Jesus’ triumphal” entry and read your post in which you state that Jesus IS the master going to the far off country.

Which is it? Thanks for clearing this up for me in advance!

GREAT question! (And very impressive that you found this!)

triumphal entry Luke 19The Triumphal Entry sermon was first taught nearly twenty years ago … and the explanation on the ten talents was within the last year, so the contradiction here just shows a progression in my thinking…

I would argue now that in the Triumphal Entry, Jesus didn’t go to a far country, but just to Jerusalem. And there, we see how the kingdoms of this world treat people who do not play by their rules. So the Triumphal Entry does show an example of the parable of the ten talents, but it is an example of the third servant who is condemned by the earthly master…

(I have updated the older sermon to match this… thanks for pointing it out!)

What is Predestination? (Ephesians 1:5a)

The first time I preached a sermon on Ephesians 1:5 was over 20 years ago. I was a young pastor in my first church. As I began to explain what I am going to share with you in this study, one of the elders in my church stood up and loudly said to his family, “Come on. We’re leaving!” He and his family filed out of their row, out the back of the church, and never returned. I later called him to find out why he left, and he accused me of being a heretic.

The reason he thought I was a heretic was because he was a Calvinist and he disagreed with what I was saying about predestination.

If you don’t know what Calvinism is, that’s okay. But if you do know, then you know that certain views of election and predestination are central to the doctrines of Calvinism. I used to be a 5-point Calvinist, but then I started really studying the issues from a biblical perspective, and ended up rejecting all five points of Calvinism. The sermon I preached on Ephesians 1:5 was near the beginning of that process. The elder in my church did not like what I said, and so he left the church and never came back.

predestination Ephesians 1:5

So now you get to hear what I taught, and I encourage you to study the Scripture for yourself to see what they have to say about predestination. Here is the part of Ephesians 1:5 we are looking at in this study:

Epehsians 1:5a. In love He predestined us …

Ephesians 1:4 was a key verse on election. Ephesians 1:5 is a key verse on predestination. They are similar ideas, but with one key difference.

Election has to do with God’s people, predestination deals with God’s purposes. Election is the who; predestination is the what, and specifically, what God is going to do for believers in eternity.

Now, a lot of people get pretty nervous about predestination. They are afraid about it, because they wonder if they are predestined or not. But this fear just shows that they have a misunderstanding about election, for we see right from the start of Ephesians 1:5 that although some people are scared of predestination, they should not be – for whatever predestination is, it begins with the love of God. And since predestination is founded upon the love of God, when it is properly understood, it will not lead anyone to fear.

So what is predestination? Let us begin with defining it. To define it, you can take the word and cut it in two. Pre means “before” or “previously” and destined means “to decide.” So the word predestined means to previously decide, or to decide beforehand.

From the Greek, it literally means “to mark out beforehand.”

All of us predestine things every day. If we are thinking ahead, we are king of deciding beforehand what we will do in a certain situation. Have you ever thought about what you would do if you won a million dollars? If so, you have predestined the million dollars. Have you ever thought about what you might do when you retire? If so, you have predestined your retirement.

As young parents begin to have children, they often predestine certain things about their child. If they learn the sex of the baby, they predestine the child’s name. They might also predestine the room the baby sleeps in, the clothes the baby wears, and what sort of schedule they will try to keep with the new baby.

Of course, with humans, even though we decide things, that does not guarantee that it will happen, because we are not in control of everything. But God is all wise and all powerful. So when God predestines something, it is guaranteed to happen.

predestination Eph 1:5-6

So what is it that God has predestined?

I have taught about predestination in numerous locations previously. Here is one example of how I answered a question from a reader about predestination.

What Did God Predestine?

I’ll be as blunt and straightforward as I know how: I do not believe that God predestines some people to go to heaven.

I definitely do not believe in double predestination. If you don’t know what double predestination is, it is the view that God predestines some people to go to heaven and predestines others to go to hell. Although I used to believe this (that’s part of the “hyper” in hyper Calvinism), but no longer.

predestinationI believe that predestination does not refer to God’s choice of which people get to go to heaven, but refers instead to God’s determination to bring into glory all those who receive eternal life by faith in Jesus. In other words, predestination teaches us about who gets glorified, not who gets justified.

God’s predetermined (this is a synonym for predestination) plan was that He would bring into glory everyone who believed in Jesus for eternal life, that is, for justification. All who are justified will be glorified. As such, there is absolutely nothing in predestination about God’s choice of which people will get justified and which people will not. Predestination has nothing to do with that, and it is a categorical mistake to think it does.

To put it another way, predestination is about the destiny of believers (all will be glorified), not about the destiny of unbelievers (some will get justified and some will get damned).

Or to put it another way again, discussion about God’s predestination should not fall under the category of justification, but under the categories of sanctification and glorification. Predestination is a discipleship issue; not an evangelism issue.

Romans 8:28-30 and Predestination

Two of the key passages about predestination are Romans 8:29-30 and Ephesians 1:4-11. In both cases, Paul is pretty clear that predestination is about God bringing people to be conformed to the image of His Son (Romans 8:29), and that election and predestination are most properly understood in connection with being made holy and blameless before God (Ephesians 1:4-5).

God does not choose some to be in Christ while passing over the rest. No, God chooses, elects, predestines, predetermines, decides, foreordains, commits Himself to make sure that every person who believes in Jesus for eternal life, will finally and ultimately be glorified into the image and likeness of Jesus Christ.

So predestination of the saints is about God’s commitment to the preservation of the saints.

This is why no one can snatch us out of the Father’s hand (John 10:29), why nothing can separate us from the love of God (Romans 8:38-39), and why God has given us the Holy Spirit as a promise and guarantee of our inheritance (Ephesians 1:13-14).

Predestination is a controversial topic, but it need not be. The Bible teaches that predestination is about our glorification and sanctification; not about justification. Therefore, if we fight about predestination, we are not living according to what we were predestined for, namely, to be conformed to the image of Jesus Christ.

Predestination and Romans 8:28-30

I taught about this previously in a study on Romans 8:28-30 and the Golden Chain of Salvation, which you can go read for yourself. But here are a few key points from what I wrote there:

Romans-8 28-30

In Romans 8:28-30, Paul is emphasizing God’s role while ignoring man’s role, but this does not mean that mankind has no role. 

Note that key elements of the process of redemption are left out, such as faith and sanctification. Why? Because these are partly the responsibility of humans. Paul does not mention these other elements of redemption, because he is focusing solely on God’s role in redemption.

These verses in Romans 8:28-30 are sort of like the passage in Genesis 15 where God performs a “cutting of the covenant” ceremony with Abraham, but God walks through the severed animals all by Himself. Usually, both parties of the covenant walked through the blood of the divided animals together, essentially saying, “If I break the terms of this covenant, may I become like one of these animals.” But in Genesis 15, God puts Abraham to sleep and walks through the animals alone. He is saying that the terms of the covenant are unconditional. That Abraham and his descendants don’t have to do anything for God to fulfil the terms of the covenant.

This is exactly what Romans 8:28-20 is saying as well. All the terms mentioned in these verses are aspects of redemption that God takes care of all by Himself. They require no human involvement.

In the overall scheme of redemption, God alone is the one who foreknows what He will do, takes steps to make sure it happens, calls believers to a greater purpose in service to Him, justifies those who believe, and glorifies for eternity all whom He justified.

In Romans 8:28-30, Paul is not talking about an eternal decree from eternity past about to whom He would give eternal life, but rather, God’s plan from eternity past to bring those who believe in Jesus into conformity to the image of Jesus Christ, which does not fully occur until glorification (cf. Eph 1:4; 4:1; 5:27; Col 1:22-23).

In Romans 8:28-30, Paul is saying nothing about God’s predestination of some to eternal life.

Instead, Paul is saying that God decided in eternity past to make sure that everyone and anyone who joins His family by faith will finally and ultimately be brought into conformity to Jesus Christ at their glorification.

Foreknowledge is not God’s plan from all eternity about whom to give eternal life. It is simply God’s plan about what to do with those who believed.

In the Context of Romans 8:28-30, Paul is writing to Christians who are facing severe testing and trials as a result of their faith in Jesus (cf. Romans 8:17-18).

But Paul wants to encourage his readers by telling them that the suffering they face will result in glory, and that absolutely nothing can separate them from God’s love or God’s purpose in their lives (Romans 8:31-39).

Many of the people to whom he is writing (just like many people today), were struggling with feelings of inadequacy, guilt, failure, fear, and doubt. Paul wanted them to know that God knew all about these things from eternity past, and it didn’t stop Him from initiating His plan to rescue and redeem the world, and since God predestined such a plan, He will take care of everything necessary to bring it to completion, which will result in our glorification (cf. Romans 8:31-39).

Paul’s point in writing Romans 8:28-30 is to encourage Christians that no matter what happens to them, God is with them, will not abandon them, and just as He has had them in mind since before the foundation of the world, He will not abandon them to the trials and testing they are facing.

If God is the only one who could bring a charge against them, but He will not do so, and instead, delivered His own Son up for us all  (Romans 8:31-34), then we can be sure that absolutely nothing will separate us from the love of God (Romans 8:35-39). If God is for us, who can condemn us? Jesus could. But rather than condemn us, Jesus intercedes for us!

This is the beautiful truth of predestination. It is a promise of safety and security in the arms of God. It is a promise of eternal security. It is a promise of final and ultimate glorification with God and the saints in eternity. Predestination is the promise of God to His children that He will bring them through to the end. He promises to make us holy, and He promises to make us heirs. And that which God promises, He is able to keep. We are eternally secure in the hands of God because of his election and predestination.

So what is predestination? It is not God’s choice in eternity past about who would receive eternal life and who would not. Rather, it is God’s plan from eternity past to make sure that everyone who believed in Jesus for eternal life, would keep that eternal life forever and would finally and ultimately be glorified with Him in eternity. Predestination is God’s promise to you that no matter what you have gone through, no matter what you are going through, no matter what you have done or will do, God will always love you, accept you, forgive you, and is always at work to bring you into eternity to be with Him forever.

That’s an encouraging truth, right? And we will see more of this encouraging truth when we look at the rest of Ephesians 1:5 next time, as well as Ephesians 1:6. That study will focus on the word adoption in Ephesians 1:5 as further proof that predestination is not to eternal life, but rather concerns God’s promise that those who are justified will be glorified in Jesus Christ.

God is Redeeming God, Redeeming Scripture, Redeeming Theology, z Bible & Theology Topics: election, Ephesians 1:5, predestination, racism, Romans 8:28-30

Advertisement

Join the discipleship group
Learn about the gospel and how to share it

Take my new course:

The Gospel According to Scripture
Best Books Every Christian Should Read
Study Scripture with me
Subscribe to my Podcast on iTunes
Subscribe to my Podcast on Amazon

Do you like my blog?
Try one of my books:

Click the image below to see what books are available.

Books by Jeremy Myers

Theological Study Archives

  • Theology – General
  • Theology Introduction
  • Theology of the Bible
  • Theology of God
  • Theology of Man
  • Theology of Sin
  • Theology of Jesus
  • Theology of Salvation
  • Theology of the Holy Spirit
  • Theology of the Church
  • Theology of Angels
  • Theology of the End Times
  • Theology Q&A

Bible Study Archives

  • Bible Studies on Genesis
  • Bible Studies on Esther
  • Bible Studies on Psalms
  • Bible Studies on Jonah
  • Bible Studies on Matthew
  • Bible Studies on Luke
  • Bible Studies on Romans
  • Bible Studies on Ephesians
  • Miscellaneous Bible Studies

Advertise or Donate

  • Advertise on RedeemingGod.com
  • Donate to Jeremy Myers

Search (and you Shall Find)

Get Books by Jeremy Myers

Books by Jeremy Myers

Schedule Jeremy for an interview

Click here to Contact Me!

© 2025 Redeeming God · All Rights Reserved · Powered by Knownhost and the Genesis Framework