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Therefore
I, the prisoner of the Lord - this great
apostle may be a prisoner of the Roman empire
but ultimately he was under the authority of Almighty
God. Whether he was inside of jail or outside
of jail, once Yeshua got a hold of him, Paul considered
his life as belonging to the Lord. If the Lord
wanted him to be free, or incarcerated, so be
it. If the Lord allowed him to be beaten, stoned,
shipwrecked, or executed, so be it. Paul believed
that the Lord had the right to do with him as
He chose.
Paul understood
that his life, his future, were ultimately in
the control of God - not man. Therefore he was
not embarrassed or ashamed of what man did to
him.
Do you
have that same perspective? Can you say, I am
the prisoner of the Lord? I will not complain
no matter the difficult circumstances He allows
me to go through in my service to Him.
Therefore
(considering all that God has done for us, and
how much He loves us; how He chose us from before
the creation of the world, and how we are part
of His eternal plans, and how from such a low
and hopeless place, dead in our trespasses and
sins, He has elevated us to such a high place;
and made us His sons and daughters, and given
us His Spirit, and given us a great and eternal
inheritance, and united Jews and Gentiles into
a new and eternal community of humanity) - Therefore
I, the prisoner of the Lord, implore you to walk
in a manner worthy of the calling with which you
have been called.
We must
live well. We must live right. We must act in
a way that is pleasing to God. We must not live
according to the standards and ethics and practices
of the world around us, but we must live according
to who God says we are and who He intends that
we will be.
Before
you do anything, ask yourself, “I have been
joined to Messiah. I share His Spirit. I will
live forever with my King. Is what I am about
to do consistent with who I am? With who I will
be?” If it is not, don’t do it.
There
are certain virtues that Paul particularly wants
Messianic Believers to develop, and put into practice,
virtues that are consistent with who we are and
who we will be. These values are essential for
relating properly with each other:
With
all humility: Humility is the opposite of
pride. Pride is thinking more of yourself than
you should. Pride is thinking too much about your
importance, and not enough about God’s importance,
or the importance of other human beings. In the
universe, there is a scale of being. There are
those who are greater and there are those who
are lesser. Humility is recognizing your limitations,
understanding your proper place compared to others
- especially God.
And
gentleness: Not harshness, not meanness.
With
patience: Not yielding to anger, not being
short tempered.
Showing
tolerance for one another in love: Understanding
that human beings are flawed and full of problems,
but loving them anyway, wanting to help them,
trying to work with your fellow sinners. Having
a attitude of cooperation.
Being
diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit in
the bond of peace: The Spirit of God unites
us to God the Father and to God the Son, and to
one another. All true Christians and Messianic
Jews are bound together. We have a true bond,
a real connection, a genuine joining. By our bad
temper, impatience, arrogance, pride, intolerance
and harsh treatment of others, we can diminish
that unity. We can bring division.
Because
of what God has done, uniting us to each other,
making us all His sons and daughters, our division
are ended and we have peace with each other, a
genuine state of well-being. We are not to fight,
or go to war, or allow hatred or antagonism to
flourish. We must place a premium on peace in
Messiah’s Holy Community.
If we
do make peace a priority, we will do things to
preserve peace. We will yield to each other when
possible; we will go to each other asking for
forgiveness when we have offended a brother; we
will grant that forgiveness. We will make amends.
We want to be diligent - not casual, not lackadaisical,
but diligent, hard working, in keeping and maintaining
this unity, this bond of peace.
Paul continues
teaching about the tremendous unity that is part
of the one new man, this new humanity. There
is one body and one Spirit, just as also you were
called in one hope of your calling; one Lord,
one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of
all who is over all and through all and in all.
Being
part of a community brings unity. Living in the
same neighborhood, going to the same stores, having
the same schools, speaking the same language,
working together to keep the community clean and
orderly brings unity to people. We are part of
a great community, with Messiah as the head of
our community, and the rest of us as fellow members!
There is one body. There are not two
bodies or two Communities - Gentile Christianity
and Messianic Judaism, but only one body, only
one community. If there are congregations that
are more Jewish, fine. But they need to see themselves
are past of the one body that belongs to Messiah,
and relate properly and be open to their Gentile
Christians brothers.
And
there is one Spirit. Sharing the same
friend can bring unity to a group. Everyone likes
so and so, and they form a group. Christians and
Messianic Jews share the greatest Friend, Ally,
Advocate, Helper, Teacher and Guide - the Spirit
of the living God, who is living in us - Jews
and Gentiles, Blacks, Whites, Hispanics, transforming
us into the same likeness, teaching us the same
truths. The sharing of the one Spirit of God brings
us unity.
Sharing
a common future can bring unity. Two prisoners
who are going to be executed for the same crime
may come closer together. Those who are rich or
successful tend to associate with each other.
Well, Messianic Believers share a great future.
Just as also you were called in one hope of
your calling. We are called to sonship! We
are the sons and daughters of God! We are invited
to be God’s eternal heirs, rich and wealthy
beyond belief! We are being asked to help the
Lord rule the New Heavens and New Earth. We share
a glorious future which unites us.
Sharing
a good leader can unite a group. Loyalties given
to a pastor or rabbi, the president of a company,
the general of an army, the leader of a city,
state or nation, brings cohesion. We have the
greatest leader of all, one supremely deserving
of our loyalties. We have one Lord -
Messiah Yeshua. One Lord who has all power and
authority in Heaven and Earth. We share the same
Commander-In-Chief, the same Captain of the Lord
of Hosts, who is El Gibor, the Mighty God, but
who is also a Son who has been born to Israel;
the same King Messiah, who is Lord of all, ordering
us all, directing us all, inspiring us all. We
have one Lord who came for us. One Lord who died
for us. One Lord who rose for us. One Lord who
conquered sin and death for us! One Lord who ascended
for us. One Lord who is coming again for us. One
Lord who will judge us. One Lord we all follow,
here on Earth, and forever in the Earth to come.
Seeing
things the same way, sharing a common belief system
or world view, brings unity. Those who are share
common political and economical ideals (think
Liberals and Conservatives, Socialists and Capitalists)
band together.
Religions
are a powerful unifying factor. You can be different
from someone economically, racially, socially,
but if you share the same beliefs, you can come
together in unity.
We have
one faith. We share the greatest system
of belief, the same core doctrines and values.
We have the true faith that really lines up with
reality!
Sharing
the same experiences, like going through boot
camp, or working for the same company, can bring
unity to a group. We share the same experience
of initiation - one baptism - one immersion
into water; one initiation right that declares
to the world, and to the faithful, and to God,
that we are part of the community of God’s
people, and are joined to the Father and the Son
and the Spirit.
Having
the same God is one of the greatest forces that
unites people. Those who followed Baal or Astarte
joined their forces and energies. We have the
same God, the true God, the one God,
the Greatest One, the Most Powerful One who cares
for us, provides for us, promises to meet our
needs now and throughout eternity.
Having
the same father unites people. If two or more
human beings have the same father, they share
a strong bond. They are united by their father.
They are brothers. The one God is the Father
of all. That means that all Messianic Believers
are brothers and sisters, no matter who we are,
what race or language we speak, no matter how
rich or poor we are. We share the fatherhood of
God, and the bonds of brotherly love and care.
The one
God is the Father of all and is over all and through
all and in all. Who is over all: He is
supreme in power and authority and honor and position.
All of us give our highest allegiance and obedience
to Him.
And
He is through all: The Supreme Being is infinite
and eternal and omnipresent. He pervades time
and space and eternity. He is present everywhere
throughout the universe.
And He
is in all: The Great Spirit especially
is in His sons and daughters, giving them His
Spirit, living in us, making us partakers of the
Divine Nature.
We have
a great unity, a many sided unity. We have many
of the greatest and most important things that
bind us together. Our unity is based on being
part of the same community, the same body that
works together; having received the same Spirit
who lives in us and is transforming us; enjoying
the same hope; having the same Lord; sharing the
same beliefs and adherence to the truth; participating
in the same initiation by which we show our commitment
to and faith in God; having one God and Father
of all who is over all and through all and in
all.
We have
a tremendous unity; but in this unity there is
a great diversity of gifts, positions, abilities.
But to each one of us grace was given according
to the measure of Messiah's gift: There are
a variety of gifts, but they all come from the
same source - Messiah. It is our great and anointed
Prophet, Priest and King who out of the great
resources of wealth that He has, gives gifts to
us - to each one of us. You are gifted!
But, you
may not have the same mixture gifts, or gifts
in the same degree, that others have. Some will
have more, and some will have less. But that’s
OK, since Messiah has the right to give gifts
to us as He desires, doesn’t He? His gifts
come from His amazing grace - the favor He shows,
the good gifts He gives to those who haven’t
earned them. Respect for Messiah’s grace,
and His will, and His choices when it comes to
the giving of gifts, won’t you?
Don’t
be jealous of one another regarding their gifts.
Instead, be thankful! We are all part of the same
body. The gifts of others benefits all of us -
including you! Be happy with your gifts that Messiah
has given you, and be happy with the gifts that
He gives to others. Also, keep in mind that giftedness
is not the final determination of reward. Better
to faithfully serve with fewer gifts than unfaithfully
serve with more.
Therefore
it says, "when He ascended on high, He led
captive a host of captives, and He gave gifts
to men." The great Rabbi from Tarsus
quotes Psalm 68. In this song, the Lord is described
as being present with Israel after the Exodus
from Egypt. He marched through the wilderness
with us. He fought with us. He empowered us to
have victory over our enemies. He brought us into
the Land of Israel, settled us there, and made
the land prosper. Then He returned to Heaven.
As the
great Conqueror, He made many of His enemies captives
and they followed His triumphal procession - like
the Gibeonites who served at the Tabernacle! The
wealth of the enemy became the Lord’s. He
received gifts that He was then able to His Jewish
people - gifts of land and people and animals
and gold and silver and other precious things.
Paul reads
this Psalm and sees how it applies to Messiah.
Messiah also is the Lord. He also came down from
Heaven to be with us. He fought for us, by taking
on a human body, living a sinless life, resisting
every temptation, doing battle with the forces
of darkness, and dying on the cross. Because of
His sinless life, God raised Him from the dead.
Through His incarnation, sinless life, death to
atone for sin, and resurrection, He has defeated
His enemies!
He has
taken captive those who were His former enemies
- like Saul of Tarsus. Now He can take the wealth
of those who were His former enemies, and give
their wealth (themselves, their lives, their wealth,
along with all their talents, skills, abilities)
to give to His people - the Church. Messiah’s
former enemies are now His gifts to the Church.
How is that for cool? How is that for redemption?
How is that for victory?
(Now
this expression, "He ascended," what
does it mean except that He also had descended
into the lower parts of the Earth? He who descended
is Himself also He who ascended far above all
the heavens, so that He might fill all things.)
Messiah came from Heaven and descended to the
Earth, and descended even to Sheol, and from there
He rose. He ascended, out of Sheol, from the Earth,
from the Mount of Olives; He ascended through
the clouds, and rose above all the various levels
of the heavens to the Highest Heavens.
Why? What
motivated Messiah to leave Heaven, descend, and
then ascend. Why make this great and painful trip?
The answer is, to fill - to fill what was empty
because of sin and death; to redeem, to bring
a shattered universe under His benevolent control;
to fill the universe with His love, His godly
leadership; to make those who were alienated from
God, and those who were His enemies, those who
had no hope, those who would die forever, God’s
beloved and eternal sons and daughters; to fill
the universe with redemption, salvation and blessing.
We’ll
consider Messiah’s diversity of gifts to
His body, apostles, and some as prophets,
and some as evangelists, and some as pastors and
teachers, who they are, and what they help
us to be and do, next week - Lord willing!
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