Marks of Discipleship
Tom Shrader walks through Ephesians 1:15-23, focusing on Paul's prayer that believers would grow in wisdom, knowledge, and a heart-level understanding of God. He emphasizes that genuine faith must be visible in love for all the saints, drawing on Acts 2 and John 13 to show how Christian community and selfless love are the distinguishing marks of discipleship. The teaching closes with Paul's three-part prayer for his readers to grasp the hope of their calling, the riches of their inheritance in God, and the surpassing greatness of His power available to them.
“The world cries, know yourself; the church should cry, know Christ.”
— Tom Shrader
Series: Ephesians
Recorded: 2010 at East Valley Bible Church
Duration: 50 min
Themes: prayer, wisdom, hope, love, community, knowledge of god, calling, power, new believer, struggling to pray, seeking purpose, young adult, feeling disconnected from church, questioning faith, longing for community, spiritual seeker
Scripture: Ephesians 1:3-14, Ephesians 1:15-23, Ephesians 2:8-10, Ephesians 5:18, 1 Thessalonians 1:3, 1 Thessalonians 1:9-10, John 13:34, John 17:3, Acts 2:42-47, James 2:18, James 4:2, 1 John 3:14, 2 Corinthians 4:16-18, 2 Corinthians 11:24-28, Philippians 3:7-14, Genesis 4:1
Theological Themes: intercessory prayer, illumination, soteriology, inheritance in christ, ecclesiology, christology, resurrection power, discipleship
Full Transcript
Introduction and Context
Open your Bibles, please, to the book of Ephesians. If you don't have a Bible, raise your hand and the guys will bring you a copy. Go about two-thirds of the way back and you will get to the New Testament. When you get to the New Testament, go to page 150.
One of the things we are going to do today, as we work our way through four or five verses, is go to some other passages of Scripture. I have been with a lot of people who are new either to the faith, or new to church, and Bibles are new to them. Flipping around can be difficult and intimidating, and that is okay. If you have your own Bible, I really think you ought to put tabs in it. I am a big tab person, and I have tabs in all of my Bibles. You get a general sense of where these books are and you can get there a lot easier and a lot faster. If you have your own Bible, my assumption is that they have some tabs in the bookstore. If not, go over and tell them you need them and they will get them here next week. But I would tab your Bible. If you have a Bible that we provided you to use today, I will give you page numbers, but I want you to get used to turning back and forth. There is something sweet about a room filled with the sound of turning pages.
Overview of Ephesians 1:3–14 and the Transition to Prayer
We are in the book of Ephesians. We have been studying at length verses 3 through 14, which is actually one long sentence in the Greek — 203 words — and it is filled with great theological truths, doctrinal truths, and proclamations. Upon reflection of those truths, Paul beginning in verse 15 breaks out into prayer.
Let us read beginning in verse 15:
> "For this reason I too, having heard of the faith in the Lord Jesus Christ which exists among you and your love for all the saints, do not cease giving thanks for you while making mention of you in my prayers, that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you a spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of Him. I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened, so that you will know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, and what is the surpassing greatness of His power toward us who believe. These are in accordance with the working of the strength of His might which He brought about in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come. And He put all things in subjection under His feet and gave Him as head over all things to the church, which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all."
Paul looks at the amazing truth laid out in verses 3 through 14 and breaks into prayer. He is praying, I think, as he reflects on all those truths, and also as he hears about their faith and their love for each other. He says, "I cannot cease to give thanks for you."
A Parallel in 1 Thessalonians 1
The first time I ever taught a lesson was as a substitute teacher in Bess Taylor's Sunday school class, and the lesson was on 1 Thessalonians. So I am going to have you turn there — it is page 159, so turn to the right and you will come to it very quickly.
You will see a similar thought in 1 Thessalonians to what we find in Ephesians. Paul is saying he cannot stop thanking God for them as he thinks about the faith he has heard they have and hears about their love. In 1 Thessalonians chapter 1, Paul has a very similar introduction to the one we looked at in Ephesians, and then he says in verse 3: "constantly bearing in mind your work of faith and labor of love and steadfastness of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ in the presence of our God and Father, knowing, brethren beloved by God, His choice of you." He goes on to tell them the gospel came, and it came in power.
What I drew out in that lesson is similar to the idea we see in Ephesians — the faith he sees in the church at Ephesus and their love. In verse 3 of 1 Thessalonians you see three distinguishing characteristics: a work of faith, a labor of love, and a steadfastness of hope. Dropping down to verse 9, Paul says, "For they themselves report about us what kind of a reception we had with you, and how you turned to God from idols." That is the work of faith. Then they "serve a living and true God" — that is the labor of love. And in verse 10, they wait "for His Son from heaven, whom He raised from the dead, that is Jesus, who rescues us from the wrath to come" — that is their steadfastness of hope.
It occurred to me, as I was going back over my notes this morning, that this first chapter of 1 Thessalonians has an obvious and special place for me for that reason alone. But it is also a kind of microcosm of the Christian life. There is the work of faith — that moment we come in repentance and faith. There is then the labor of love, as we serve. And we labor under this wonderful picture of the hope that is to come. I think that is how Paul would describe the normal Christian life.
Faith and Love in the Church at Ephesus
Turn back to Ephesians chapter 1. That is certainly what Paul saw there. He says in verse 15: "For this reason, having heard of the faith in the Lord Jesus Christ which exists among you and your love for all the saints, I do not cease giving thanks for you, or making mention of you in my prayers."
Understand that Paul is miles and miles away — he is in Rome — and he says, "I am here in Rome and I have heard of this faith that you have." He talks about their doctrinal accuracy. The saving faith might be another way we would put it, because when we talk about faith, we can mean several things.
Faith That Is Visible
One of the ways we speak of saving faith is putting our faith and trust in Christ. But that faith is never isolated from the labor of love, or as Paul describes it, your love for all the saints. When we get in a few weeks to Ephesians chapter 2, verses 8 and 9, Paul is going to talk about the fact that we are saved by grace through faith, not of ourselves, a gift of God, so no one would boast. But then he comes right back in verse 10 and says we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works. These are inseparable.
In the Christian life there is faith, and that faith manifests itself to the people around us. I pulled three really practical things out of this for you personally today. Number one, the reason Paul heard about this is because people were watching — people are watching you. Number two, your faith should be visible; let your good works shine in such a way that people would see them, as Jesus tells us in the Sermon on the Mount. And here is the third thing: you are not paranoid — people are talking about you.
People are watching you, your faith is what they are looking for, and they are going to talk about you. You are the subject of conversation. The church at Ephesus was being watched by everyone around them, and what is true collectively is, as is often the case, true individually. It was something we dealt with our kids when they were very young. It did not take them long to figure out that everybody was watching them simply because I was their dad, and that they were going to be held — rightly or wrongly — to a different standard.
When we talked about it openly, they would say it's not fair, and I would tell them it has nothing to do with fairness — it's a privilege. I have a cartoon at home, and I think I've shared it with you before. It's a picture of a lady on a back porch opening a screen door, with the dog going out, and it said underneath it, "Remember, you're the pastor's dog." She was being reminded of the standard she represented. And so we talked about that with our kids and said, listen, it has nothing to do with fair — maybe they're holding you to a little different standard and watching a little more closely, but understand that.
When you declare your faith in the marketplace tomorrow, everybody is watching. When you are the one in the neighborhood with the fish on the car and the signs out front, going around inviting people to a Bible study — all fine things — you better understand that once you fire that shot, everybody is looking. And they should be able to see your faith. And then they will inevitably talk about you. That is exactly what was going on there.
Doctrine That Produces Visible Love
All this doctrinal truth Paul talks about — they were chosen, predestined, adopted, redeemed, forgiven, enlightened, sealed, heirs of an inheritance — Paul says all of that causes great joy, and all of that is true. But he rejoices also in the practical application of it, the evidence of it in their lives. In James chapter 2, verse 18, James is saying in effect, show me your love and I will see your faith. Don't talk to me about faith unless I see that love. Jesus says, "If you love Me, you'll keep My commandments."
Keep your finger in Ephesians and turn to the left to page 84, the Gospel of John. We are continuing on the point that this characteristic in the Christian life is to be love, and it is to be visible. In John chapter 13, verse 34, they have celebrated the Last Supper. Jesus has predicted He will be betrayed. In John chapters 14, 15, 16, and 17, we have Him sharing with His disciples and then praying, and then He is betrayed, beaten, and crucified.
In John chapter 13, verse 34, Jesus says, "A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all men will know that you are My disciples." Now, let me remind you, He had at that point a lot of options open to Him. He could have said, "By this" — by being in church on Super Bowl Sunday, by your prayers, by your study, by your intelligence, by your biblical knowledge. No. He said here is how they are going to know that you are My disciples: that you love one another.
That is going to be the distinguishing characteristic. When the world sees this, they are going to see Him. They are going to know that this is the real deal, that it is not just firing Bible verses at somebody. Is the Bible important? Yes — East Valley Bible Church thinks it is important. But it is not important unless it is transforming my heart, unless it is moving from my mind to my heart and then outward in actions.
The Early Church as Exhibit A
Now, if you want to see an exhibit of that, turn to the right to page 93, the book of Acts, chapter 2, and look at the power of loving one another and how God uses it. What has happened is that Peter has delivered an incredible sermon. God has used it, applied His word to people's hearts, and they have repented, believed, and received the Holy Spirit. Verse 42 tells us: "They continually devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching, to fellowship, to breaking of bread, and to prayer. Everyone kept feeling a sense of awe, and many wonders and signs were taking place through the apostles. And all those who believed were together and had all things in common. They began selling property and possessions and were sharing with all, as anyone had need."
Remember, many of these thousands were pilgrims who had come to Jerusalem. They had depleted their money, and the church literally reached out to meet their needs.
Loving All the Saints
Day by day they were continuing with one mind in the temple. They were breaking bread house to house, taking their meals together with gladness and sincerity of heart. They were praising God, and the result was they were having favor with all people. They had let their light shine in such a way that the people around them had seen their good works, and it stood out as distinctly different from the world around them. The Lord was adding to their number, day by day, those that were being saved.
There was a love, and it was contagious. There was something about it that was compelling. You'll hear that in testimonies over and over again — even from people who don't come to faith, who will say, "There's something distinct and different about that person. There is a love there." It's not natural. It's not normal to live that way. And that's exactly right — it isn't. It's supernatural. They're filled with the Spirit of God, and they begin to exhibit that.
Now, back to Ephesians. I want to point out something that is very convicting to me, so maybe it will be to you as well. Verse 15: "For this reason I too, having heard of the faith in your Lord Jesus Christ, which exists among you, and your love for—" what's the next word? Your love for all the saints. Here's why I find that difficult: not all the saints are lovable.
Some are fun, easy, pleasant, joyful, happy, interesting, stimulating, encouraging, and energizing. Last Monday I was going to have breakfast with a friend, so I said to Susan, "I'm going to meet him, then go to the gym, do some stuff, and I'll be home sometime." She said, "All right." I called her at noon — we had met at nine — and said, "I'm just leaving breakfast." She said, "How much did you eat? What is there to eat? A three-hour breakfast — what is there to talk about?" The undercurrent, of course, was: why wouldn't you talk to me for three hours? And I pointed out to her that I've been talking to her for thirty-one and a half years — I was up for something new. But I had no idea we'd been there three hours. It was fun. I like him. He's a very special guy. Those are easy to love.
Some people, however, are not as lovable. They're draining, dreary, grumpy, sour, demanding, and de-energizing. One of the great blessings — and in other ways one of the great curses — of modern technology is caller ID. I'll look at my phone and think, "Oh no." There are certain things on my calendar, and once they get on there, I just know it's going to be difficult. But Paul says: love them all, even if they aren't lovable.
Love as the Key to Community
This is the key to harmony in the family, in the church, at work, and in the country — to love one another, to hold distinct and varying opinions and yet respect and love the other person. Let me stay on church and family specifically. You don't get the opportunity to choose the other members of your family, nor to choose who God brings to church. The idea here is that we live in community.
About forty years ago, Ray Stedman wrote these words: "I just returned from a large middle-American city where I was involved with several churches. I was struck by the fact that oftentimes it's so difficult to get Christians to really love one another. They resist opening up to each other and bearing one another's burdens. They've been taught and trained somehow to live in isolation from each other, not to want to get involved with anyone else. Yet God commands us to be involved."
John writes in 1 John 3:14, "We know that we have passed from death to life because we love the brethren." I'll confess that's not really easy for me, especially when it comes to living in isolation. Susan and I are reserved people, and I enjoy a quiet life. It's hard when the topic turns to reaching out to neighbors — though I'll leave my more colorful thoughts on that subject aside.
The Necessity of Life-on-Life Involvement
Even within the church, we have an ongoing conversation among our elders, leadership team, pastoral staff, and those involved on Third Thursday. We are genuinely encouraging discipleship, and I think it's important for us to keep that in front of people — but also in a realistic way. Life-on-life engagement is going to look different with everyone and for everyone. We should have other people in our lives. We should be in other people's lives. We are to love all the brothers and sisters without exception.
Let me take another approach and appeal to your self-interest. If you want to grow in your faith, it is imperative that you are involved with other people. I would say that even for married couples — it is imperative that you are involved with other couples. Something really powerful happens when you are engaged not just individually, but as a couple, alongside other men and other women.
I am convinced that we — and when I say "we," I don't mean only East Valley Bible Church, though the church broadly and the culture around it have both done this — have turned counseling into something far greater than it needs to be. People come to us and instinctively say, "I need a counselor." The first question worth asking is: what's the problem, and why do you think you need a counselor?
Knowing and Doing
There is always a question to ask. Why do you think you need a counselor? Well, I'm having problems in my marriage. Well, what is it? Well, we don't get along well. You won't always be able to parse it further than that, and that's normal. They don't need counsel. They need the Holy Spirit and to let the Holy Spirit live in their life. I'm not trying to make it simplistic, but the best thing that couple can do is get into a group with three or four or five other couples and let those couples counsel, disciple, and live with each other. That's the best way to approach it — for a guy, for a gal. Life on life. Are there special circumstances? I understand that. You don't need to email me.
What Paul is saying here, and this is a point we need to make clearly to a church like ours, is that there is more than just Bible study. There is more than just information. I am thrilled that, by and large, the people who have been around for a while are studying at their own level. Some are going to go deeper into certain areas and more extensively than others. If you walk into our café, I am so proud of the bookstore that joins it. It is not the biggest bookstore in the world, but it has great material in it. I love the fact that you all buy books and probably read some of them.
That is a wonderful thing, and I would not have it any other way. But the objective is not just to buy a book, highlight it, get into a study group, and talk about what it all means. It is then to do it as well. You can go the other way — and this tends to be a sign of more liberal churches — where the emphasis is entirely on doing, doing, doing, with no emphasis at all on knowing. It is both. It is not an either-or. It is to know the truth and to live the truth.
That is what Paul has identified here. It is to hear of their faith and to hear of their love for all the saints. It is a combination of those two that should be present in your life, and there is tension in that. You will never get it exactly right. There will be times when you say, I need more information, and you will focus on information. Then you will realize, I need more of that loving the saints, and it will go back and forth. That is absolutely normal. That tension is good. There is always going to be a struggle to find that balance, that equilibrium, between the knowing and the doing, and we almost instinctively want what we do not actually need.
Doctrine and Application
When a church calls and asks me to come do a conference, and I can tell from looking online that it is a doctrine-oriented church, I will lean into application — doctrine, but doctrine with practical application. On the other hand, I get asked a lot to come and do something on marriage and parenting. The best thing I can do for a marriage is help a man love Jesus more. So when I go to a men's conference, I have a lot of disappointed people, because they want me to tell them something specific about marriage. What I will tell them is that it is hard, and if you love Jesus more, it is going to be easier. She is different than you. If you think she needs this, go the other way, because your instincts are probably wrong. But the best thing I know is this: love her as Christ loves the church. I will just beat that drum at a men's conference.
Giving Thanks in Prayer
He says in verse 16, "I do not cease to give thanks for you." In eight of the thirteen books that Paul writes, he speaks about giving thanks for the people he is writing to. Here is a practical application point: do you thank God for what He is doing in people's lives and in churches other than this one? I think God is doing some really special things here, but this is not the only place He is doing special things.
We have hosted what is now a quarterly dinner for the four churches we have planted — Grace Bible, Second Mile, Ponte Vita, and Christ Church. We invite them to bring their elders and key leadership team members, and we meet and talk about what God is doing. We share God stories. What is God doing? What can we pray about? It is so encouraging to be reminded that God is working in all these different places. When you look at those four church plants, they are four very different philosophical expressions of the truth. All cling to the truth, but with four very different approaches, and that is wonderful. God works through different ways — always through His Word, but manifesting itself in different ways. Do you rejoice in that? Paul rejoices. Paul gives thanks.
A Prayer for Wisdom and Revelation
And then Paul prays. He says he makes mention of them in his prayers, "that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you a spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of Him." It is important — perhaps unnecessary to say, but important anyway — to be reminded that we are praying to the Father. When Jesus was on earth, He prayed to the Father. When He taught us to pray, He said, "Our Father." You have direct access to the Creator God, the one who chose you, predestined you — the Father. You have direct access to Him because of Christ's finished work on the cross.
If you look at the very end of verse 8, Paul writes that "in all wisdom and insight He has made known to us the mystery of His will." Then, looking at the end of verse 17, he prays that God may give you a spirit of wisdom — and that thought continues forward from there.
The Spirit of Wisdom and Revelation
Paul has already acknowledged that these people have a work of faith and that they are loving all the saints. He is praying that they would have this spirit given to them, and they are already Christians. He is not praying that the Holy Spirit would come into them — the Holy Spirit is already there. What he is praying is that the Spirit would stir them up, that the Spirit of God would give them a spirit and attitude of wisdom and understanding and knowledge and counsel, and enlighten and illumine them.
I think what Paul is acknowledging from his own personal experience is that this does not happen automatically. You and I who are Christians — those of us who just took communion — are indwelt by the Spirit. We have been sealed by the Spirit. But Paul says in chapter 5, verse 18, we are to be filled with the Spirit: "Don't be drunk with wine" — don't be controlled and driven by wine — but be controlled and driven by the Holy Spirit.
If all you do is what comes naturally, even as a Christian, I guarantee you what is going to happen. You are going to get dry and flat and dull and empty and spiritually depleted. That is where the Christian life goes if you just go with the flow, with inertia.
It is always strange to me that when someone first comes to Christ, we describe those people as being on fire for the Lord. And then after a period of time — and this always seems strange to me — that fire is not nearly as intense as it was. It seems like it ought to be exactly the other way. When I first come to Christ, I am still going, "Okay, I believe this, but I don't know much. I knew enough to believe, but not much more. I'm trusting this." It is like having a bike with training wheels — not really certain, just hoping and trying. After a period of time the training wheels are gone, it is a little shaky, then you are riding, and then you are doing wheelies. That is how it seems like it ought to be. But is it not odd that it often goes the other way?
Asking God to Open the Book
Why does that reversal happen? I think it is because we do not pray this prayer. James says in James 4, "You have not because you ask not." I think we need to ask: Father, open this book up to us. Father, open my heart. God, light me on fire.
This is a book unlike any other. Say there are 250,000 titles in a Barnes and Noble. This book is uniquely different from every other book in that store. It is written and authored by God Himself, designed to lead you into the very heart of God. One author writes it this way: to feel Him, know Him, sense His love, His wisdom, His strength, His might, His incredible grasp of circumstances, His control of human events — to enable you to understand your relationship with Him, to have Him stand in your presence, breathing, compassionate. Christ steps out of the pages and becomes a living presence in your life and your heart.
You can know Him — and note that distinction — not just know about Him, but know Him in an intimate way. Genesis 4:1 says that Adam knew Eve and she conceived and bore a son. That is the idea. It is that idea of intimacy. Verse 17 speaks of knowing Him so that your heart would be enlightened — a deep, full knowledge.
I think this is fair to say: the world cries, "Know yourself." The church should cry, "Know Christ." Jesus says in John 17:3, "Now this is eternal life, that they know you, the one true God, and Jesus Christ whom you've sent." To know Him is to have life. It is the most important thing in the whole world.
Pressing On to Know Him
Keep your finger there and turn to Philippians, chapter 3. Paul has listed his spiritual pedigree — and I use that term in no pejorative way — but he has literally said, "I am a Pharisee, I am a super Jew. If heritage mattered and knowledge mattered, I would be at the top." But he says in verse 7, "Whatever things were gained to me, those things I count as loss for the sake of knowing Christ. More than that, I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord." Verse 10: "I pray that I might know Him and the power of His resurrection."
Then he is remarkably honest in verse 12: "Not that I have already obtained it or already become perfect, but I press on so I may lay hold of that for which I was laid hold of by Christ Jesus. Brethren, I do not regard myself as having laid hold of it yet, but one thing I do, forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus."
I love that honesty. He says, "I am not there yet. This whole thing is a process." Back in Ephesians, Paul is saying the same thing: God, open my heart, send Your Spirit, open my eyes, open my mind.
The Eyes of the Heart
Paul says in verse 18, "I pray that the eyes of your heart might be enlightened." I found myself taken aback by that phrase — the eyes of your heart. It is not simply that the mind sees it and the mind gets it. What he is saying, I think, is that the heart must understand it as well. The heart needs to see things too.
They say the eyes are the window to the soul, and you can see when somebody gets it. Susan and I were talking to someone this week, and they were describing spending time with people who were drugged out of their minds. The person said you could tell by looking in their eyes — there was nobody home, just that blank stare. But when someone's eyes are filled with understanding, it is unmistakable.
Here is what I think Paul is saying: Father, ignite my passion, inflame my heart, make me see life clearly, vividly, really. Let these truths — those things laid out in verses 3 through 14 — take deep root in me. And again, just as a passing observation, he prays very specifically.
The Hope We've Lost Sight Of
Most of us would pray something like this: "Father, bless us, open our eyes." But Paul goes way deeper than that. See verse 18? He prays that our eyes would be opened so that we can know the hope of His calling, and the riches of the glory of His inheritance, and the surpassing greatness of His power. He said we have a hope. These people had lost their vision, their view of the future.
When I did the introduction of this book in the very first week, I talked about Paul, and I read to you from one of the commentators — I think it was Barclay. As Paul traveled about the Roman Empire, he came to colonies and to cities where people were spiritually and materially impoverished. They were poverty-stricken people. Many of them were slaves. They had nothing of the world's goods. Beyond that, they were depressed, discouraged, beset with fears and anxieties and jealousies and hostility. They were under the grip of superstition and filled with dread of the future. They had no hope of life beyond death.
This may be an overreaction on my part and may not be accurate, but I think that describes a lot of how we live today. It is very difficult if you watch TV at all — Fox, CNN, MSNBC — there is no reason to watch those and turn them off feeling hopeful, ever. I think people are really afraid right now. I could be wrong, and it's not like I'm a great sociologist, but I don't remember ever seeing such across-the-board fear. Old people are afraid — they played by the rules and lost a chunk of whatever wealth they had. Young people are very discouraged — they get a degree and there are no jobs. Everybody in the middle is panicked over layoffs and cutbacks. Literally, the only sector of the market that hasn't cut its pay is the government, and they've actually increased — to help you.
Hope Is Grounded in the Past and Present
We look to the future, and hope is related to the future. I believe that though hope is always concerning the future, it is always based on and grounded in the past and the present — in the promises of God and the work of God. Maybe you came in today feeling pretty discouraged, and now you feel worse. That was not the intent. I want you to understand this is part of life.
Let's come back to Ephesians in a moment, but first turn to the left, page 142, at 2 Corinthians chapter 4. Let's read verse 16: "Therefore we do not lose heart. Though our outer man is decaying, yet our inner man is being renewed day by day. For momentary light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison, while we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen; for the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal."
Paul is writing to the church at Corinth, and he says, "Don't lose heart. Don't give up." And he is a realist. The outer man and the outer world is decaying. You can fight all you want, but eventually you are going to lose the battle physically. And the world itself is not good and getting better.
Two Competing Worldviews
There are two very distinct worldviews at play here. Remember what I said earlier? The world cries, "Know yourself." The Bible, the church cries, "Know Christ." These two distinct worldviews manifest themselves all around you.
One worldview says man is essentially good, and every once in a while aberrant behavior will emerge. Therefore, when something goes wrong, the assumption is that it is the environment that has caused it, and the answer lies in intellect or in reforming circumstances. The other worldview — which I believe is the biblical worldview — says that man is sinful. Every once in a while, even a sinful man will do something decent; even Hitler didn't kill his mother. But man is essentially evil, and the answer is not environmental. It is not simply a matter of cleaning up our surroundings or learning more. You have got to change the heart. That is the problem — you have got to change the heart.
So what Paul says is this: though the outer man is decaying, for us as followers of Christ, the reason we have hope is that the inner man is being renewed day by day.
Momentary Light Affliction — What Paul Actually Endured
Now verse 17 says, "For momentary light affliction." I want you to understand what that means, because this is not St. Paul writing from inside some comfortable bubble. Turn back to chapter 11 of the same book, 2 Corinthians. When Paul talks about momentary light affliction, listen to what he describes in verse 24: "Five times I received from the Jews thirty-nine lashes. Three times I was beaten with rods. Once I was stoned." That was a form of capital punishment. "Three times I was shipwrecked. A night and a day I have spent in the deep. I have been on frequent journeys, in dangers from rivers, in dangers from robbers, in dangers from my countrymen, in dangers from the Gentiles, in dangers in the city, in dangers in the wilderness, in dangers on the sea, in dangers among false brethren." Eight times he describes the dangers in his life. "I have been in labor and hardship, through many sleepless nights, in hunger and thirst, often without food, in cold and exposure."
Those are all the physical challenges he faced. But then verse 28 names something he considers even greater than all of that: "Apart from such external things, there is the daily pressure on me of concern for all the churches."
The Glory of the Grind
Now remember all of that as you turn back to chapter 4. Paul says the outer man is decaying, the inner man is being renewed day by day, for momentary light affliction. Paul is saying that is life. This world you have is not smooth and it is not easy. Our secret is to find meaning in the mundane. Robert E. Lee called it the glory of the grind. It is daily life — with its steps forward and its steps back, in the midst of the hardship.
Finding Meaning in the Everyday
Around noon, Sarah will get out of the hospital and come home. Since Brooklyn was born, here is what she has done that I can notice: she has eaten, she has deposited what she has eaten, she has cried a little, and she has slept. That is the extent of what I have seen in four days. She will come home and she will not do much different than that for a while, and when she does more, it will only demand more.
That would be a load on its own, but then Sarah will deal with Gracie and Gracie's personality and issues, and Reagan and Reagan's personality and issues, and they will all want a little piece of her in their own way and on their own timing. The challenge is to find meaning in the midst of that, and I saw the meaning of it the other night. This is the fifth birth in the last four years, and the best part of it for me is to watch one sister minister to and serve the other sister.
I was sitting there the other night — it was, I think, the first night — and Sarah was uncomfortable, and Haley was trying to give her some jello or something. Sarah was moving around and Haley was waiting on her, and I was watching Susan watch them. I thought it was worth it, wasn't it, Susan?
I played a small role in raising these girls. Susan primarily raised them, and I think of all the things in life, child rearing done right may be the toughest, because you have to be totally selfless in it. You get absolutely nothing back — that is what you get back. And then you reach the point where, to be a really good parent, the number one word in your vocabulary is no, and those are not easy times.
But you do it not for that moment. You do it for the moment we saw the other night. And that is the same truth that applies to your life — the grind, the mundane, the everydayness of it all.
The Hope of His Calling
Why not quit? I think that is a fair question. Why not give up? Because you have the hope of the calling. You are not limited in space and time to this now.
Paul says he prays that you might know the hope of His calling for you. He has called you to live a life of faith and love so the world will hear and see the gospel, and He may choose to use that to touch other lives. That is His job, not mine. It is our privilege and responsibility to glorify Him.
You all learned it in catechism: the chief end of man is to glorify God. What does that mean? It means to live a life of faith and love so that people see a distinct difference about you, they see your good works, and they glorify your Father who is in heaven. That is the hope — the hope that this is not vain, the hope that this is not something out of control. It is the knowledge that God is in control.
The Riches of His Inheritance
He has given you also, secondly, the riches of the glory of His inheritance. You are God's inheritance. F.F. Bruce writes this: "Paul prays here that the readers will appreciate the value that God places on them, his plan to accomplish his eternal purpose through them as the first fruits of the reconciled universe of the future, in order that their lives may be in keeping with the high calling and that they may accept in grateful humility the grace and glory lavished on them."
Contemplating that thought, Kent Hughes writes: "Think of it. He owns all the heavens and numberless worlds, but we are His treasure. The redeemed are worth more than the universe — this is in His sight. We ought to be delirious with this truth. We are His inheritance."
And so Paul says to present your bodies as a living sacrifice. We see the Isaiah principle at work here: Isaiah sees God, sees himself, then God forgives him, and then God says He has work to do and asks who should be sent. And Isaiah says, "Here I am, send me." That is our life — here I am, send me. Father, what is it You want me to do?
Those prayers come back again and again: Father, open this, make it true to me. Father, what is it You want me to do? There is a whole world out there to be ministered to. What did He call you to minister to? Why has He placed you where you are? Why did He give you that background?
The Power to Answer the Call
When I contemplate that, I quickly feel impotent. I quickly feel there is no way I can live that. That is why I am confident that He adds this — verse 19: "What is the surpassing greatness of His power toward us?"
I think the Apostle understands that when we really contemplate this calling, we tend to be immobilized by our fears and insecurities. I wrote this during the week, and I think it is right: whatever you fear is what is controlling your life. If you fear failure, then the drive for success becomes the driving force in your life. If you fear rejection, then popularity becomes a driving force in your life. If you have watched your assets erode, then the preservation and accumulation of money and things becomes the driving force in your life.
I am addicted to comfort. I like comfort. I do not like hassles. I hate the phone ringing — I hate it. The only thing that bothers me more than the phone ringing is that Susan answers it. If I wanted to talk to them, I would have called them on my own terms. But that reveals a lot about my heart, more than it reveals anything about the phone or the person on the other end.
I cannot do this on my own. I need power — and not just any power. It is the power that Paul calls in Philippians 3 resurrection power. It is different from any other power. It is not mere determination. It is the indwelling God manifesting Himself in me, in you, and then in us together as a church.
It is significant that Paul goes on after this to talk about how God brought all things together in Christ, raised Him from the dead, and gave Him authority over all things — and then closes this chapter by talking about the church, the body of believers. So if this were a television program, right now it would freeze frame and go —
Closing Prayer
Father, we pray for this day. We pray that You would open our eyes — the eyes of our heart, our spirit. We pray that You would do that work in our life.
I pray for this afternoon. For a lot of people, we will be with friends and family, watching a game, getting together — maybe people that we don't know, or maybe people we work with and barely know. God, I pray that You would use this Super Bowl as a time for fun, as a time for us to relax, and that we would consciously be aware of the fact that people are always watching us, that our faith should be visible, and that they are going to talk about us. I pray that what they say is, "They're different. Look at their faith. Look how they love."
And God, we know that that is not a result of our determination or our will, but of Your strength in our life. God, will You work that out? We ask it in Christ's name. Amen.
Have a great week. We will see you next week.