You were... You are...

What is your favourite book of the Bible? The well-known preacher and writer, David Pawson, used to answer, ‘Whichever book I’m reading at the moment.’ But many people may answer ‘Paul’s letter to the Ephesians.’ It’s a book which speaks of the overwhelming goodness that God in Christ has lavished on believers.

Read Ephesians 2: 1-10

The NIV heads this section ‘Made Alive in Christ,’ and verse 1 points the stark contrast: You were dead. Sin separates us from God (cf Romans 6:23 The wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God [that is, His remarkable, overwhelming gift of grace to believers] is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord - Amplified Bible).

The man or woman who has not said ‘yes’ to Jesus is dead (v.1), disobedient (v.2), a doomed object of wrath (v.3).

Read Ephesians 5:8 Notice that this says, not ‘you were in darkness’ but ‘you were darkness.’ (cf Colossians 3: 5-10) These are the deeds of those who are choosing to say ‘no’ to Jesus. Ephesians 4: 20-32 has the idea of a change of clothing, ‘putting off’ the old self, and ‘putting on’ the new self.

As an aside, it’s worth noting that ‘walk’ is the basic idea often translated as ‘live.’ It’s the Greek word that gives the English ‘peripatetic.’ This could be a whole ‘Time with the Bible’ on its own, but here are some examples: Romans 13:13;
2 Corinthians 10:2; Galatians 5:16; Ephesians 2: 2, 10; 4:1; 5: 2, 8; Colossians 1:10; 2:6, 3:7, 4:5; 1 Thessalonians 2:12; 4:1; 1 John 1:6, 7.

Now let’s swiftly move on from the gloom of ‘You were’ to the glorious plus side of this message: You are . . .
* MADE ALIVE with Christ (2:5) and raised up with Christ and seated with Christ in the heavenly realms. What amazing togetherness !

* GOD’S WORKMANSHIP (2:10) - Greek ‘poem’ and actually not an easy word to translate - NRSV has ‘We are what he has made us, created in Christ Jesus for good works.’ Have you ever tried to write a poem? compose a piece of music? write an article for a magazine? It doesn’t just happen: it’s a work in progress.

I came across a book by Clive Calver, entitled ‘With a church like this, who needs Satan?’ He writes: ‘As Krishna so pertinently remarked, after examining the lives of Christians for many years: “Christians claim that Jesus Christ is the Saviour of sinners, but they show no more signs of being saved than anyone else.”’

Before we said ‘yes’ to Jesus, we were disobedient - but we sometimes still are. The Ephesians were too: that’s why the Apostle Paul and other New Testament writers had to give plenty of instructions into how to live the Jesus life.

The lecturer asked, ‘Is there anyone here who thinks he is perfect?’ A little man stood up. The lecturer said, ‘So you think you’re perfect?’ ‘No,’ said the man, ‘I’m standing up on behalf of my wife’s first husband.’

TIME with the BIBLE - 9

We’re not perfect, but learning to ‘walk better.’

You are . . .
* LIGHT in the Lord (5:8) - so we are instructed to live/walk as children of light. (read Matthew 5: 14-16)

Catherine Marshall, in her book ‘Beyond Ourselves,’ has a chapter called ‘The Secret of the Will.’ She tells of a teenager who was given a complicated expensive retainer for her teeth; but she often refused to wear it. She ‘lost’ it, in the car, at school, on a train. The dentist warned Linda that if she kept forgetting, she would undo his two years of work. Neither warnings nor naggings helped.

Finally, her mother decided to try out on her the principle of the will. One night, before her prayers, she suggested that because the retainer was clumsy and uncomfortable, something deep inside her had decided “I don’t want to wear it so I won’t remember.” ‘Linda, do you know anything about will-power?’ She hesitated. ‘Yes, it means to do something I don’t want to do.’ Mum said, ‘You can try to make yourself do things you hate by will-power. But there’s a much better way. If you tell God that you’re willing to let Him change you, so that you’ll like doing what you must do, then He will.’

That night, Linda added to her bedtime prayers, ‘God, I hate the old retainer. But I know that if I don’t wear it, I won’t have pretty teeth. So I’m willing to let you change me on the inside, so that I want to wear it, want to remember - and then I will.’

After praying this prayer several nights in a row, the problem was well on its way to being solved.

As I’ve been writing this and re-reading the Letter to the Ephesians, I have been grateful again to my Lord for his patience with me, and especially for his great love for me (2:4). He is rich in mercy - what a beautiful phrase ! May I suggest that you feast on this wonderful Bible book, re-reading it in different translations, and responding to its message.

Then you may want to ask yourself: Is there an aspect of my Christian life that I know is not yet as Jesus asks it to be? Something that in my Prayer of Confession I realise has been unchanged for too long? You have said ‘yes’ to Jesus and you’ve moved from ‘you were’ to ‘you are.’ But there’s still some refining to be done. Now is the moment to say to Jesus, in the words of the old hymn: Take my will and make it yours, make it thine; it shall be no longer mine. Take myself, and I will be EVER, ONLY, ALL FOR THEE.

Amen.

Photo by Japheth Mast on Unsplash