EPHESIANS 4:1-16 - THE IMPORTANCE OF UNITY

 

From our text we will learn that a united church will be a practical and productive church. The unity  we are commanded to maintain through the means of grace given by God, will lead to  equipping, building, maturing of the saints for the work of ministry, working properly, making the church to grow and to be built up in love (4:1-16). 

Satan, of course will  try to ensure that this does not happen, and  for this we must  fight with the full armour of God. (Eph. 6:10-20 )[1]  

Context

Ephesians  1-3 contain the doctrinal foundations of this letter.

Chapters 4-6 follow by way of by practical application. 

In Chapters 1-3 God says, “This is how I have made you a Christian”, 

and in Chapters 4-6 He says, “This how I expect you to live as a Christian!” 

There is a great lesson for us to be learned in Paul’s way of thinking and writing. He always lays down doctrinal foundations before he proceeds with practical application of that doctrine. We cannot be practical unless we know how to be practical. 

Doctrine is to church life what the skeleton is to the human body. Doctrine is fundamental. All of life illustrates this. You cannot be a doctor/nurse, a mechanic, an electrician, a teacher without the relevant doctrine or training which undergirds each discipline. Pastors cannot be truly helpful in their preaching and counseling and pastoring without a solid knowledge of Scripture. This also applies to the matter of marriage. Many marriages fail because married people do not know nor understand the God-given laws or doctrines  that undergird the practice of married life.

So too, being an effective Christian requires a practical understanding of the Bible, as it reforms and transforms our mind and our practice. (Rom 12:1,2) 

This is what we want to do in the next few weeks. We want to do some practical thinking about the Christian life.   

So then again, in Ephesians 1:1-2:10 Paul tells us how it is that people become Christians. 

In Ephesians 2:11- 3:21 he shows that Christians are called to belong to the church. He shows us that in this church no racial, cultural, linguistic separations are envisaged. There is no Jew or Greek. God, through the church is showing the world that He does not   have two people, but only  one people.  His church is built upon one foundation. This church has one apostolic and prophetic word and one cornerstone -  one Lord, who the Head of the church, which is His body (2:20). 

In Chapter 4 that becomes even clearer. The church is “one body, brought  together by one Spirit- built upon one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all who is over all and  in all.  Also note that  the principle of the unity of the body of Christ is entrenched in and undergirded by the doctrine of the Trinity. In fact, the principle of unity is established by the Holy Spirit. It does not need to be created, but it needs to be maintained and kept (4:3) in the same way in which you don’t need to create air,but you need to breathe it.

And so, following the logic of the Bible, one of the most practical things for us to think about now is this matter of unity. I do not have to remind you that the church has suffered many divisions. Some of it was necessary because of the heresy that had crept into the church[2], destroying the very doctrinal foundations which the Holy Spirit  laid down for us in the first three chapters. However, the rule is not to see where we can find disagreements. The rule is that we should find agreement in the teaching of biblical doctrine.  

Since  chapter 4  introduces  us to  the  application  of doctrine  we need to ask ourselves: How does this text  help us practically to have Christ’s mind on  church unity? And how can I be a part of making that a reality? Our text gives us four important clues:

1. The Grace  of unity  (4:1-3)
2. The Ground  of unity  (4:4-6)
3. The Gifts for unity  (4:7 -11)
4. The Goal of unity  (4:12-16)

 

1.      THE GRACE OF UNITY  (4:1-3)

Here we learn firstly that unity is a gift from God, but it is also a duty to be maintained. The biblical axiom is this: You receive something that you must give away.  Gift is the ROOT and   the duty is the FRUIT.  

•          It is a grace gift from God  i.e. it is a given thing. We do not have to make it or create it. It has been provided through the shed blood of Christ (2:13). It is applied to us  by the Holy Spirit. Look at the text:  “live a life worthy of the calling to which you have been called“ (4:1).  Your church membership into this one body begins with a calling you have received.  This is the “effective call” by which Jesus  calls you  to come and follow, in the same  way in  which Jesus called His first disciples.  They did not follow Jesus because they chose to follow Him. Thy followed because they were called with that special irresistible call. He gave them grace to follow.  So Paul is saying to the Ephesian church, “You have received a calling…“.   This is the root. You must be born again in order to be able  to   produce fruit in keeping with your repentance. Here follows the fruit…
•          Maintain that grace gift!  (Make every effort) “to maintain  the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace“(4:3). This is the fruit.  We have to make every effort and work at maintaining that unity. How do we do that?  The application of the fruit of the Spirit  surely  must be  our starting  place, “walk in a manner worthy of the calling  to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.” (4:1,2) (see also Galatians 5:22,23). The result of the root is fruit!   Grace produces graciousness. Graciousness is a vital ingredient for unity.  

 

2.      THE  GROUND OF UNITY  (4:4-6)

“There is one body and one Spirit -just as you were called  to one hope  when you were called – one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God  and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.”  

The key word “one” (implying unity) is used 7 times in these verses.  The letter to the Ephesians is in a sense all about this unity. God has made the members of the church one body. The grace that underlies church unity is rooted in the work of the Trinity, the Holy Spirit (4:4); the Lord Jesus (4:5) and God our Father (4:6). There can be only one effective body (church), one faith, one hope, one baptism because she is built upon one God - Father, Son and Holy Spirit.  Our Tri-une God is central to the church’s existence.

The church proceeds from God. Her members are born of God.  We must say this because it is possible for churches to not work from this basis, but from the basis of mere human effort. There are many churches that are not Christ-centered, God-centered and not Spirit directed. There are many churches in which many members are not born again.  

But if the  church is genuine, and rooted in the Tri-une God , then we shall find these  four manifestations (or grounds) of unity : one body, one hope, one faith, one baptism.

•          One body: The purpose of the saving work of Christ is to bring people together into one body - the church- the ekklesia.   The great picture given in Ephesians 2 is that   God has assimilated for Himself one people from among all nations! Our God is in the business of uniting. Satan by contrast, persecutes, scatters and divides. Our old nature tends towards divisiveness. Our new nature is inclined towards unity.  In the church we have a duty to learn and to practice unity.  We need to  learn to  put off the old self and  to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God  (see 4:22-24). We have received power to do so. Let the root of Christ planted in you bear fruit!
•         One hope (that belongs to your call): What is the Christian’s hope? It surely is our longing for perfection and true unity in all things. It is the hope of heaven, and all its glorious promises of perfect peace and rest. In that process our hope is in the glorious return of our Lord Jesus, who will make all things right and subdue all things.  
•         One Faith:  There is one settled body of truth given by Christ to His church, and this is the ‘faith’ once entrusted/delivered to the saints’ (Jude 3). Our one faith is in Jesus ALONE.  Only Jesus  and His work can  bring about true unity.
•         One Baptism: The baptism that is spoken of here is firstly the ‘baptism of the Spirit‘ i.e. that vital experience by which you become a believer, and by which you are united to Christ  the Lord. It is administered to us by the Holy Spirit, who causes us to be ‘born again’ (Jn. 3:1-8). From this follows the practice of water baptism - an outward testimony and a symbol of that which has taken place in us spiritually.  The ‘church’ by definition is those who have been “baptized in the Spirit“ (born again) and then  as a true confession of faith, also  “baptized in water“. 

 

3.      THE GIFTS FOR UNITY (4:7-11)

Here we learn that spiritual  gifts  are given by God to  help us keep that unity.

•          All believers are gifted (4:7a): “But grace was given to each of us …”. The ‘grace’ (Gr. charis) which is given to us from  Christ  through the outpoured Spirit at Pentecost  is the grace  which we must to  give  to  each other  in  the body of Christ. Gifts are not given to play with; they are tools to build with[3]. And if they are not used in love, they become weapons to fight with, as had happened to the Corinthians (1 Cor. 12-14). We are saved to serve our God and to build up our people with our gifts. 
•          Believers are gifted in differing degrees (4:7b), “according to the measure of Christ’s gift”^[4]. Christ gives each believer measured (Gk. ‘metron’) grace.  This is often not understood. All Christian people receive gifts, but all do not receive the same gifts, and neither do all receive them with the same intensity. Jesus knows what is needed in each body of believers for the purpose of building unity.
•          Christ is the Giver of the gifts (4:8-10). This fact is substantiated by an interesting quotation from Ps 68:18. There David remembers how God went in triumph before His people after the Exodus (68:7) so that Mt Sinai trembled (68:8) and kings were scattered before him (68:11-14). The king who wanted Mt. Zion as his residence (68:16), came from Sinai to his chosen holy place (His sanctuary) (68:17). As the conquering king  ascended   towards Mt. Zion he led  captives and the spoils of war  in his  entourage. Along the way he generously distributed the gifts (the spoils of war) to the residents of Mt Zion.  Paul applies this picture in Psalm 68 to Christ. Christ  the King came to  this  sinful earth to die for our sins on the cross. He rose up from the grave. By His death and resurrection He triumphed over man’s greatest enemy –  sin and death and Satan. He  freed  His  subjects from their slavery of sin under Satan’s dominion.  Christ plundered Satan’s kingdom, robbing him of   many of  his  “sin  slaves“, redeeming them  to be His own  people. Then He ascends   to His  glorious  throne  - the spiritual Mt. Zion, with all His captives  for His kingdom, sharing  the spoils  of that battle won against Satan,  by dispensing  these former  ‘sin slaves’  as  His gifts  to  His church  in the world. These gifts are apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastor- teachers.   Pentecost was the primary event when these gifts were given, when the ascended Jesus descended through His Spirit and gave such people  to the church  in the world.
•          Christ has given us foundational gifts to build up the church (4:11-12) This list represents the leading gifts  to  the  church: apostles, prophets,  evangelists,  pastors and teachers. I cannot say much about this now. However, since there is so  much controversy about apostles and prophets here  in our own day, we have to  say this:In Eph. 2:19,20 the offices of apostles and prophets are regarded as ‘foundational’ in the church. Foundations do not need to be built continually. We do not need new or more apostles and prophets any more than we need a new Lord Jesus.  
• The big point is that these gifts  are given to gather  and unify the church.

 

4.      THE GOAL OF  UNITY (4:12-16)

We are now coming to our concluding thought. 

Why does the church need this unity? 

Why does the church need spiritual gifts? 

The answer is given in verses 12-16:  “to equip the saints for the work for ministry, for building them up…”.  

All these  foundational ministries  are  very important  to the church’s  existence and unity since through these ministries God’s people are prepared  and  perfected  and equipped for the work of ministry. 

The word for “equipping“[5] means fixing something broken’ (e.g. torn nets in Matt. 4:21). It can also mean ‘to supply something that is lacking’ (as in 1 Thess. 3:10, "We desire to supply, or equip, what is lacking in your faith"). The work of these foundational ministries is to repair what is  broken and  to supply what is  lacking in and among  the believers, who are, in the final analysis  called "for the work of ministry".  

The fixing and supplying what is lacking is meant to make the saints into servants, and in this way the ministering saints contribute to the wholeness of the entire body. The more the church is rooted in sound doctrine and practice, and led by gifted  men  committed to equipping the saints, the more unity  she  shows, the  more effective she will be  as she  fights  this  spiritual war, taking  captives from Satan for Christ’s glory. 

Here then is the display of biblical logic as it applies  to the doctrine of unity in the church. Unity is a gift from God, rootedand grounded in His own Tri-une being, applied  by the foundational  gifts given to the church  for the purpose of every  member ministry. 

May God be pleased  to inscribe this  logic  upon our hearts,minds and wills.  

---

[1] See our recent morning expositions in Ephesians 6: 10-20

[2]  1 Corinthians 11:19

[3] This is seen in particular in 1Corinthians 14:4,5,12,26

[4] See also Romans 12:6

[5] “katartizo“.

Genesis 48 - "Jacob blesses Joseph’s sons"

 

In chapter 47 we have seen Jacob and his family settled in the province of Goshen in Egypt.  In chapter 48 we shall find a special interaction of blessing between Jacob and Joseph and Joseph’s sons, Manasseh and Ephraim before Jacob speaks his parting words and blessings to his sons in chapter 49. These last chapters of Genesis mark the end of Jacob’s life and introduce the next generation by means of a transfer of blessing. The Hebrew word barak (בָרַךְ), translated as blessing, means literally "to kneel". We kneel before God to receive a benefit or blessing. To bless is to give. The opposite of blessing is curse – to curse is to take away.  When we bless others we speak  and desire  well-being  in their lives. To bless and be  blessed is a fundamental part of our relationship with God, as well as relationships with other people. Whenever  such a mind-set  prevails  we are on our way to become a well ordered society.

OUTLINE

1.      48: 1- 4 Joseph   hears of his father’s final illness and prepares to receive his blessings

2.      48:5 -7 Jacob adopts Ephraim and Manasseh into Israel’s inheritance.

3.      48:8-20 Jacob blesses Ephraim and Manasseh and explains the choosing the younger over the older.

4.      48:21,22   Jacob makes a particular promise to Joseph.

1. 48:1-4 Joseph   hears of his father’s final illness and prepares to receive his blessings

We know that Jacob was an old man by the time he came to Egypt (47:9). He has given instructions to Joseph,  that should he die, he was not to be buried in Egypt, but in the land  of his fathers  (47:30). In the 48^th  chapter we shall find him sick and near the end of his life. Jacob's frailty is reflected in the effort it takes him to sit up in bed (48:2). When Joseph hears of his father’s illness, he does what many family members do when they hear of such terminal illness of a relative. They go to pay their final respects. He takes his two oldest sons with him in the hope of receiving their grandfather’s blessing. We have just considered  the nature of blessing.   It is really important that we should learn to respect the aged and to seek out the prayer and the blessings of their wisdom.  Matthew Henry says, “It is good to acquaint young people that are coming into the world with the aged servants of God that are going out of it, whose dying testimony to the goodness of God, and the pleasantness of wisdom's ways, may be a great encouragement to the rising generation.” It is sad, that in our own generation we find so few aged fathers dying in the full blaze of faith, and able to bless their children and grandchildren. When you have not lived in the blessed presence of God in all your life (yes- with all its ups and downs) how will you be able to bless your children and your children’s children with a sense of that presence?

We see that Jacob is thoroughly familiar with a lifetime of the blessed presence of God. And now that he is ill and weak we see that Jacob rallies to the occasion: He sits up in bed.  As he nears the end of his life, his thoughts were fixed on the past encounters with the blessings of  God,  but  also  upon the future promises of God.

In 48:3-4 Jacob recalls that time when the GOD ALMIGHTY (El Shaddai) appeared to him in Luz in 28:10-22 and blessed him there with the same covenantal promises given to his father Isaac and grandfather Abraham. On occasion of this blessing he renamed this place Bethel (lit. house of God). From now on these covenant promises and blessings will not be bestowed upon solitary patriarchs but on the covenant family, consisting of the 12 tribes of Israel.

2. 48:5-7 He claims Joseph’s first 2 sons as His own and adopts them into Israel’s inheritance.

Joseph has been Israel’s human life-line  under God’s  good hand. It is therefore not surprising that Joseph will  receive a special blessing. From now on Joseph’s 2 sons Ephraim and Manasseh will constitute two future tribes in Israel. This is significant, for thereby he incorporates them into the covenantal line. [Note: Joseph’s name will fall away, and Levi will become the priestly tribe in Israel with no land inheritance in Canaan. Thus the future configuration will still be 12 tribes, but there will be no territory of Levi and Joseph].

All this must not be lost on us.  Jacob, by faith is assigning a blessing to the 2 sons of Joseph. A comment found in Hebrews 11:21 tells us, “By faith Jacob, when dying, blessed each of the sons of Joseph, bowing in worship over the head of his staff.”  That faith is in God’s leading, and not in his own strength.  In fact, Jacob- by God’s leading will elevate Ephraim and Manasseh’s position in the family above his oldest sons Reuben and Simeon (see his word concerning them in 49:3-7).  The extent of this blessing will eventually be seen in that Ephraim and Manasseh’s land allocations in Canaan will be bigger because of their numerical superiority.

48:7 Note here that even now the death of Rachel (Joseph’s mother), who lies buried in Bethlehem is on Jacob’s mind. She was in truth his legitimate wife.  In marriage you can really only love one partner. Polytheism doesn’t work. 

3. 48:8- 20 Jacob blesses Ephraim and Manasseh and explains the choosing the younger over the older

As Joseph stands with his 2 sons before his father, Jacob is not able to recognise them, because he was nearly blind (48:10) - like Isaac his father (27:1). In those days there was no cataract surgery – a wonderful blessing of our day.  Getting old is not for sissies, and Matthew Henry helpfully reminds us in this regard  that (i) those that have the honour of age must therewith be content to take the burden of it, and  that  (ii) The eye of faith may be very clear even when the eye of the body is very much clouded. [1]

As Joseph presents the boys to their grandfather, Jacob says, “Bring them to me, please that I may bless them.” (48:9). Joseph arranges them so that the older is to Jacob's right side, and the younger to Jacob's left. This followed typical customs of the day, and implied that the older son would receive the greater blessing. Fondly grandpa Jake embraces them and kisses them, like a good grandfather would. Proverbs 17: 6 reminds us, “grandchildren are the crown of the aged, and the glory of children is their fathers.”  

Joseph bows down with his face on the ground before his aged father. He doesn't notice that Jacob crosses his hands (48:14) —placing his right hand, and thereby the primary blessing on the head of Ephraim, the younger grandson (48:13–14). As he does this once again remembers how God had shepherded him throughout life, and he remembers the angel of God that had protected him from all evil (48:15b,16; cf.  2 Tim. 4:18). This is a lovely thing, - an experiential knowledge that belongs to older people that have faithfully walked with God. Our experiences as older people, of God’s faithfulness and our testimony to His keeping power must serve to encourage  and bless  our younger people who as yet have not  tasted as deeply of the Lord’s  faithful provision throughout life.  

From this follows the blessing, “bless the boys, and in them let my name be carried on, and the name of  my fathers, Abraham and Isaac; and let them grow into a multitude in the midst of the earth.”  Here Jacob asks God to continue his legacy and   the legacy of Abraham and Isaac through them (48:15–16). Pray that your offspring will follow in  your footsteps , who has followed in the footsteps of Christ.

48: 17-20 When Joseph realizes that the hands were switched, he is displeased. This wasn’t according to plan.   His father Jacob however says, “I know my son, I know.” Hebrews 11:21 is our interpretive key: “By faith Jacob, when dying, blessed each of the sons of Joseph, bowing in worship over the head of his staff.”  This was no accident. This was by God’s design.  You may remember that he himself had tricked his father Isaac by pretending to be firstborn Esau and thus he inherited the blessing.  Here in this case Jacob deliberately chooses the younger over the older, by faith!  To be sure, both would be blessed, but the younger shall be greater than he, and his offspring will become a multitude of nations. (48:19). We may wonder why Ephraim is given the greater position. The simplest answer is that God’s blessings always come to those who do not deserve it. And so it is true  that  God  frequently  choses the younger above the older - Abel above Cain, Shem above Japheth and Ham, Abraham above Nahor and Haran, Isaac above Ishmael, Jacob above Esau; Judah and Joseph before Reuben and Simeon, Moses before Aaron, David before his older brothers.  Even in the matter  of the preference given to the Gentiles above the Jews whereby Gentile believers converts  would be many more than those of the Jews. (See Gal. 4:27). It is true that  the first born  birth-right  was the norm  (Deut. 21:17), but God as the sovereign One  reserves  the right   to change  that rule.   Free grace is God’s operative principle. And as we look into the future this is exactly what we see. Ephraim did become the dominant tribe from the days of the Judges onwards. Joshua was of that tribe after Moses died.  When the division occurred after  the death of Solomon, Ephraim was often used to  designate the Northern kingdom  (cf. Hosea 5:1-6:11). The rebel king of the NK was Jeroboam from the tribe of Ephraim. In the foresight of all this, Jacob crossed his hands and blessed accordingly.

48:21-22  Jacob makes a particular promise to Joseph

The chapter concludes with Jacob giving Joseph and his descendants a very specific piece of land in Canaan as a gift. Earlier portions of Genesis don't mention this specific piece of land, The exact Hebrew word Jacob uses here for the mountain slope   is shekem, so some think  this is Shechem, which was conquered by Jacob's sons in revenge for the rape of Dinah (Genesis 34:27). John 4:5 tells  us of a town called “Sychar, near the field that Jacob had given to his son Joseph. Jacob’s well was there…”. Joseph will be buried here on this special piece of land given to him by his father (Joshua 24:32). Again, Matthew Henry  astutely  comments, “It may sometimes be both just and prudent to give some children portions above the rest; but a grave is that which we can most count upon as our own in this earth.”

So much then for the earthly blessings which are ours in the Name of God. Above all let us remember then that all these things are shadows. May the Lord increase your families in the sincere faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, and may many of your tribes be found in the  heavenly Canaan by virtue of your fatherly blessing and prayer, in the Name of God. Amen!

In Chapter 49  Jacob will make predictions and bestow other blessings on his remaining sons.

 

---

[1] Matthew Henry commentary

GOOD FRIDAY 2022 - THE SEVEN SAYINGS ON THE CROSS

 

From Jesus’ birth, and indeed from before the foundations of the earth, a substitutionary death was central to Jesus’ incarnation and mission. He was born to die.  This is most clearly expressed in the central symbol of the Christian faith - the cross! Every religion and ideology has its visual symbol:  Muslims – the crescent moon; Jews – the Star of David; Buddhism – the lotus flower; Marxists – hammer & sickle; The LGBTQ+ movement- the rainbow.

The Christian visual symbol is the cross.  Not that it was the first symbol within Christendom! The first symbol was actually a fish.  The Greek word for fish,  IXTHUS  spells out  an acronym:  Iesous (Jesus), Christos (Christ), Theos (God)  Huios (Son), Soter (Saviour).

But the abiding symbol became a cross. By this the Christian church signified what it understood to be central to the Christian faith – the cross, which speaks of Jesus’  suffering death and His crucifixion – as a substitutionary atonement for rebel sinners.

The significance of the sign of the cross can be seen in its widespread usage among the early Christians.  The North African lawyer theologian Tertullian who wrote in about AD 200 Tertullian described how early Christians carried this practice into their ordinary day-to-day activities in an attempt to consecrate all aspects of their new life in Christ:

 “At every step forward, at every going in and out, when we put on our  clothes and shoes, when we bathe, when we sit at table, when we light the lamps, on couch, on seat, in all the  ordinary actions of life, we trace upon the  forehead the sign of the cross.” (De Corona, Chapter 3)[1]

Jesus was deeply aware and committed to the work that the Father gave Him to do.  He must go to Jerusalem “and suffer many things at the hands of the elders, chief priests and teachers of the law.  He must be killed and on the third day be raised to life.”  (Matt. 16:21; 17: 22,23 ;  20:17-19). His life was focused   upon the cross. And all this because God  so loved this  world (Jn. 3:16)

On this GOOD FRIDAY morning,   we want to trace  a particular theme – namely  the  7  short sentences  that Jesus spoke on the cross, and which are recorded for us in the gospels.  We will trace them chronologically.

Last words are significant words. They are not idle words. Moreover, our Saviour was speaking at that time on the cross when any speech would have been laboured and strenuous.

In  an  essay  entitled  “On the Physical death of Jesus Christ”  cited in  the Journal of the American Medical Association,  medical doctors  William D. Edwards, Wesley Gabel and Floyd Hosmer  look at the   physical signs and symptoms of Christ’s sufferings. It does not make nice reading. Let me quote from it[2] :

“As the arms fatigue, great waves of cramps sweep over the muscles, knotting them in deep, relentless, throbbing pain. With these cramps comes the inability to push himself upward. Hanging by his arms, the pectoral muscles are paralysed and the intercostal muscles are unable to act. Air can be drawn into the lungs, but it cannot be exhaled. Jesus fights to raise Himself in order to get even one short breath. Finally carbon dioxide builds up in the lungs and in the blood stream and the cramps partially subside. Spasmodically, he is able to push himself upward to exhale and bring in the life-giving oxygen.”

It was probably during this time of His suffering that Jesus uttered the seven short sentences from the cross. Let us consider what was on the heart and mind of our Lord Jesus - even in His dying moments.

1.         A Word of Forgiveness:  [Lk. 23:34]   “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.” Here Jesus looks at the Roman soldiers who are busy casting lots in order to determine who of them shall get His seamless garment.  They really do not know what they are doing, except that they do this sort of thing all the time, without much questioning of their orders. I simply wish to draw your attention at this point to the incredible mercy and forgiveness of Christ, who finds it in His heart to forgive His cruel torturers. On the cross we find Jesus praying. Not for Himself. He prays for others. Not even at this stage His own family. He prays for His enemies. In praying for is enemies Christ gave us a perfect example of how we should treat those that wrong us and hate us. But he also teaches us from the cross to never see anyone beyond the reach of prayer! The divine principle is this: Forgive even your greatest enemies. Why? Because you must not add burdens or curses to their souls. Remember that if your enemy dies in an unreconciled state with God, he or she will, with all the unreconciled people of the earth be consigned to an eternal hell. Pray that God would forgive your enemies.

2.         A Word of Salvation: [Lk. 23:43] In speaking to the penitent thief on the cross next to Him, Jesus said to him, “Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in paradise”. Jesus was crucified between 2 thieves to show that He had really become fully identified with the sin and shame of this fallen world. Therefore, the prophet Isaiah could say in 53:12b : “He poured out His life  to death, and was numbered with the transgressors, yet He  bore  the sin of many, and makes intercession for the transgressors“  (see also Jesus claiming this as fulfilment about Himself in Lk 22:37). The amazing thing we note here is that one thief received Him and the other rejected Him. The two thieves were equally close to Christ. Both saw what transpired in these last 6 fateful hours. Both were sentenced to death as real criminals. Both were suffering acutely, both were dying and both needed forgiveness. Yet one died in his sins (as he lived), while the other called upon Christ to save Him and inherited paradise literally at the 11^th hour. The mystery of salvation! How God chooses some, and bypasses some is a mystery, but the Lord Jesus Christ did consistently say that no-one would come to Him unless the Father has enabled Him (John 6:44, 65)

3.         A Word of Affection:  “When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to his mother, ‘Woman, behold your son!’ Then he said to the disciple, ‘Behold your mother!’ And from that hour the disciple took her to his own home.”  [John 19:26, 27].  The third short sentence from the cross relates to His mother. Oh it must have been so very hard for her to see her Son suffer in this cruel way.  We remember  the  words of  that old man Simeon in Lk. 2:34,35, holding her new born child,  prophesying: “Behold, this child is appointed for the fall and  rising  of many  in Israel, and for  a sign that is opposed   so that the  thoughts  from  many hearts may be revealed. And (turning to Mary), he said, “And a sword will pierce through your own soul also”.   Well, here was the sword was piercing her own soul! But what concern Jesus has for His earthly mother. Even on the cross He is not so pre-occupied with his own pain as He is concerned that is mother is properly taken care of. Truly, we see a pattern: Jesus is the man for others!

Let me pause for a moment and continue to trace Jesus’ sufferings as we now come to the fourth sentence, which is really a cry!

He has been through hours of pain with intermittent partial asphyxiation, and the pain of his lacerated back as he moves up and down against the rough timber. Now another agony begins. A deep crushing pain develops in the chest as the pericardium slowly fills with serum (fluid) and begins to compress the heart. His death is near. The loss of tissue fluids has reached a critical level, the compressed heart is struggling to pump thick sluggish blood into the tissues. The lungs at this time only receive small amounts of air.  And so follows the fear of death and forsakenness. ( W.Edwards et.al)

4.         A Word of Anguish:  [Matthew 27:46]  “And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out in a loud voice, saying, ‘Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani? that is ‘My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?’”. Understand, that Jesus is not crying out only because of His fear of pain and death, which is indeed a great enemy. At this time He is also reaching the full revelation of His forsakenness from the Father with whom He had only unbroken, loving fellowship. “Forsaken“, must be one of the most horrible words in human language. Imagine the forsakenness of an orphan. Imagine the forsakenness of a marriage partner in which one walks out. Imagine   a rebellious child that forsakes their parents.  He who knew only love and unbroken fellowship and the Father’s delight was now forsaken. He bore the full wrath of His Father’s holy anger when He bore our sins. God the Father could not look at this sin which was heaped upon is Son. He is too holy. He could not look at His beloved Son.  Christ had to die alone as He bore the consequences of our sin and the “wages of sin is death” (Rom. 6:23).  It really is all too deep for us. It is a mystery how all this could be.  Pause and consider that this was for you and me! 

What love!

5.         A Word of Suffering:   [John 19:28] “After this, Jesus knowing that all was now finished, said (to fulfill the Scripture), ‘I thirst’”.

The dehydrated tissues send their stimuli to the brain! I thirst!  A sponge  soaked in Posca, a cheap, sour wine, a  staple  drink of the Roman legionnaires  is lifted up to Him. He receives it. Jesus can now feel the chill of death creeping through His tissues.

This brings about the 6th and 7^th statement on the cross, which are words of Accomplishment and Committal

6.         A Word of Accomplishment: [John 19:30] “When Jesus had received the sour wine, He said ‘It is finished’, (Gr. Tetelestai!) And he bowed His head and gave up His spirit.” Finally He can allow His body to die by voluntarily dismissing His spirit …

7.         A Word of Committal: [Luke 23:46] Luke records that Jesus called out with a loud voice, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.”  And having said this, he breathed his last.  

His work of atonement has been completed. The Lamb of God has given His body and blood for sinners, so that all that would look to Him and believe in Him would never die, but inherit eternal life.

Thank God for Good Friday

 

 

---

[1] Quoted from  https://preachersinstitute.com/2017/08/01/the-cross-a-sign-for-all-christians/

[2] http://www.godandscience.org/apologetics/deathjesus.pdf

Genesis 47 - Israel in Goshen

 

We have seen how God had providentially sustained  a family which had been   severely divided and disjointed through  a combination of bad parenting, and  favouritism leading to mutual loathing, cheating,  distrust. They had been separated for many years,  but we saw that God was preparing to create a nation for Himself  out of this family, and He did this in  a most unlikely place – Goshen, in Egypt. Again we see  the wonderful hand of God  behind it all,nas He preserves  and provides.

 OUTLINE

1.      47:1-6  Jacob’s  family presented  to  Pharaoh

2.      47:7-10   Jacob himself is presented to Pharaoh and blesses  Pharaoh.

3.      47:11,12 Israel settled in Goshen.

4.      47:13-26   Joseph’s wise leadership in the famine.

5.      47:27-30   A Review  of  17 years in Egypt  and a renewed focus

1.  47:1-6  Jacob’s   family presented  to  Pharaoh

“So Joseph went in and told Pharaoh, ‘My father and my brothers with their flocks and herds… have come from the land of Canaan. They are now in the land of Goshen.’” (47:1) God has already prepared  Pharaoh’s  heart for the kind reception of the family of Israel through Joseph’s agency, by giving them  favour not only through Joseph’s excellent testimony  to Pharaoh  (Ch. 41), but mainly because of God’s sovereign work  and plan  at work  (cf. 50:19-21). It is God that steers history for His own glory and for the good of His people.

In 47:1-2 we see that Joseph firstly presents 5 of his brothers to the Pharaoh. We are not told which ones.  In 46:31-34 we saw that Joseph had coached them in terms of approaching Pharaoh.  He coached them how to answer the question Pharaoh would ask them (a typically male question): “What is your occupation? What do you do?” (47:3). He encouraged them to be utterly honest: “Tell Pharaoh that you are shepherds”.  We are also told what Pharaoh’s attitude towards their profession would be. We read that “every shepherd is an abomination to the Egyptians” (46:34).  And so, it is noteworthy  that Joseph taught his brothers to be  absolutely honest about their profession. Humanly speaking they should not have expected a warm reception. But they did not need to ‘window-dress’ themselves. They did not need to give themselves fancy titles such as ‘agricultural- engineer’ or ‘livestock  and veterinary consultant’.  They were to present themselves as shepherds- just that!  They were to call a spade a spade and not an agricultural implement. And we will notice that this honesty will do no damage to them at all. In fact it will serve their purpose, which is to live in Goshen, and be separate from the Egyptian culture. And they tell Pharaoh that they have come to sojourn in the land – meaning that they will stay as long as is necessary and no longer. All this shows Pharaoh that these people have an occupation  (i.e. they will not be a burden to the economy)  and  a termination date. They intend to not use the kindness and hospitality of the Egyptians longer than is necessary.  

But over and above all this is the story of the God who provides for and preserve His people. This is the story of Almighty God who leads His people like a Shepherd (!)  Pharaoh was considered a god by his own people, but  he  was no shepherd to his people. In fact, he would depend on the son of a shepherd to  steer his nation through  this  famine. Pharaoh  is not in control here. The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob is in control here. And He preserves his people in a foreign land, just as He preserves His people – you and I -  today,  in this world system ruled by the evil one.  The Lord Jesus our true Shepherd  prayed for His people in the world,  not that they should be taken out of the world, but that they might be kept from  evil in this world,  because they are not of the world (Jn. 17:9-16).  And so, it is  part of our Christian faith to keep ourselves unstained from the world  (Jas. 1:27). In many ways the church is our NT Goshen  in this  Egypt world.

On a passing note  we observe how this truth telling contrasts  with  both  Abraham and Isaac  who lied  respectively to Abimelech, a foreign king  in whose country  they sojourned at different times (Abraham  Gen. 20; Isaac Gen. 26). Those lies based on the fear of man nearly got them into trouble, and if God had not helped them they would have been dead meat. Here God is being honoured  in the truthfulness of His people. And He will surely bless them there, as we shall see in conclusion of this chapter.

The result is seen in 47:5,6:  Pharaoh welcomes them and  tells them that the land is at their disposal. He even asks them to take care of his livestock.  Truly, this is a king’s heart in the hands of the Lord (Prov. 21:1)

2.         47:7-10   Jacob is himself presented  to Pharaoh and blesses  Pharaoh

After presenting five of his brothers, Joseph introduces his father:  “Then Joseph brought in Jacob, his father  and stood him before Pharaoh…” (47:7). We read further, “and Jacob blessed Pharaoh” (cf. 47:7,10). Hebrews 7:7 (context – Abraham blessed by Melchizedek) says, “without doubt the lesser is blessed by the greater”. 

Jacob knew the promise  of God to Abraham, that God would bless those who blessed the  descendants of  Abraham (Gen. 12:3). This is not merely a  formality  on Jacob's part. Jacob is not merely blessing Pharaoh  in the sense of thanking him for his goodness (with hat in hand, “God bless you sir for your kindness”). No! This is a picture of the head of God's covenant family acting in fulfilment of  Gen. 12:2, 3.  When God called Abraham out of Ur of the Chaldees, he said, “you will be a blessing to the families of the earth. And you will bless them.”  And  now, even though  Jacob may not have the political  power and prestige of  Pharaoh,  yet in God's economy, he is the representative of God Almighty, and Pharaoh instinctively  seems to recognise that. It is this sort of authority that we also find in Moses when he and Aaron shall  confront a later  Pharaoh,  when they say to him: “God says….Let my people go”!

Jacob now  stands before one of the most powerful rulers of the world, and in the Name of God blesses him for this temporary obedience.

Pharaoh then asks him a personal question, “How old are you?” Jacob’s answer is given in 47:9. Jacob tells Pharaoh that his 130 years of sojourning (pilgrimage) had been hard. He had hardly known a fixed abode in his life.  Hebrews 11:13-16 helps us to understand that he too ultimately also knew that he had no abiding city here.

He also thought he was not likely to attain the ages of his grandfather Abraham (175) and  Isaac (180). Physical and emotional trials erode life expectancy. Remember the trials with his brother Esau. And then remember the deception of his father in law, Laban with regard to giving him the wrong wife. Remember too that his chosen and favourite wife Rachel died in child birth.  And then his sons cheated on him when they told him that   Joseph had been killed by wild animals etc. Jacob’s words were not a complaint. It was the truth. What we learn from him about life is telling: Life is a pilgrimage. It is a short pilgrimage. It is a difficult pilgrimage.

3.         47:11,12 Israel settled in Goshen.

And then in accordance with Pharaoh's  permission, Joseph settles his family in Egypt in the region  of Goshen or the land of Rameses. And there  we are told, “Joseph provided his father, his brothers, and all his father’s household with food…”. This is a great testimony to Joseph’s ability to forgive and move on, in genuine kindness.  It is clear that he has come to grips with the sovereignty and the purposes of God in his own circumstances.  Oh, for every look at your own  dire circumstances  take ten looks  at  your God!  

Philip Doddridge  (1702-1751)  wrote this wonderful hymn,helping us to look to the God of Jacob:

1. O God of Jacob, by whose hand

Your people still are fed,

Who through this weary pilgrimage

A wav'ring Israel led.

 2.Our vows, our prayers, we now present

Before your throne of grace.

O God of Jacob, be the God

Of their succeeding race.

 3. Through each perplexing path of life

Our wand'ring footsteps guide;

Give us this day our daily bread,

And shelter fit provide.

 4.  Oh, grant us your protecting care

Till all our wand'rings cease,

That to those mansions kept for us

We all may come in peace.

 4.         47:13-26   Joseph’s Wise Leadership In The Famine And God’s Kindness  In Sparing Jacob's Family In The Famine.

We deal briefly with this  long section  which  shows us  the strategy which Joseph employed in managing the  severe challenges  of this famine.   47:13  shows us the severity of this famine:  “there was no food in all the land”. And Joseph managed  the affairs in line with the way  the country’s ideology – a country subject to the supreme king-god, Pharaoh.  We are not here to discuss justice, socioeconomics, or politics,  or whether the system was good  or not. That is not the point of this passage .In the end  we know that Joseph managed  the crisis to Pharaoh’s satisfaction, and in the end the people all had access to food, even though that meant that they had to sell themselves ultimately into slavery.  But note this!  Even as all of Egypt is becoming enslaved to Pharaoh, the family of Jacob was freed through the provision of Pharaoh and the provision of Joseph all  in God's good providence. The closing verses will show us that they prospered in adversity. That is the point! 

Make no mistake! God is good and kind even to the Egyptians through Joseph. And they were thankful for it. But there can be no doubt that  we learn here that  God’s special providence is for His people.  His eye is upon them.

5.         47:27-30   A Review Of 17 Years In Egypt And A Renewed Focus

In this last section we see this prosperity in adversity amplified: “…and they gained possessions in it, and were fruitful and multiplied  greatly” (47:27).  God knows how  to  prosper His people  in adversity.

And then one last important thought. For the second time in  Genesis  we find  this  placing of  the hand under the thigh. We find it  first  in 24:2 where Abraham sends out his servant  under oath find a covenant wife for his Isaac.  This occasion here is also  associated with an oath. Jacob makes Joseph swear that he will carry his body  back to Canaan –  their  land of promise. He says to him, “Do not forget me here. I don’t belong here. I belong there.”  Canaan is my  home, my identity. Not Egypt.

And from our perspective as Christians that is no different.  This is not our eternal city. We are only pilgrims here.  We want to be where our heart is, and it is not in Egypt or in Babylon. Our sight must be on the city with foundations whose builder is God. To that end may God keep our eyes focussed  on that goal, and may we be content with being pilgrims on this earth, provided for and cared for by God, but with no abiding city, until we are truly home.