THE SPIRIT HELPS US

Posted on October 22, 2012 by davidtarbet1

Some mistakenly believe God should spare His people from broken relationships, serious illnesses, financial setbacks, having to pay for breaking the law or facing the consequences of poor choices and sinful decisions. The truth is Christians are not exempt from any of these.  However, the Scriptures assure us that we do not have to face life’s trials alone.  “The Spirit helps us in our weakness” (Romans 8:26).  What a blessing! Often we are weak and ill-prepared for the struggles we must face. Life takes us by surprise. We need help to survive. We need divine help to discover the pathway to peace and inner joy. God provides the help we need, giving us strength to overcome through the work of His Spirit. God is determined that not only will we not lose, but we will win!

How does the Spirit help us?

The Spirit helps us through the written word (the Bible). In the parallel passage to Ephesians 5:18 (“be filled with the Spirit“), the apostle writes in Colossians 3:16, “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly.” Reading and taking in the word of God fills us with the Spirit of God. Through the written word the psalmist found strength in his weaknesses. “Strengthen me according to your word” (Psalm 119:28). Reading the word of God every day will fortify us for things we face. Each of us needs to make some time available in our stressful days to read a portion of the word of God.  Through the years I have personally found great strength from reading the book of Psalms as well as books of the New Testament like Luke, Philippians and 1st and 2nd Peter. I usually read with a pen in hand, underlining the words and phrases that mean the most to me.

The Spirit also works in a personal way in the Christian’s life. He is not limited to the written word, but works along with the written word to accomplish His purposes. The epistle of Hebrews, for example, describes two things that have impacted Christians:  we have “shared in the Holy Spirit, (and we) have tasted the goodness of the word of God” (Hebrews 6:4-5). The two are not synonymous, but work together. In a similar way, Paul instructs Timothy to “guard the good deposit” (that is, the word of God which had been entrusted to him), “with the help of the Holy Spirit who lives in us” (2 Timothy 1:14). Just as a security officer guards the entrance to a building and protects the people inside, so the Spirit empowered Timothy to guard the word of God. God’s Spirit works in, through and with the written word.

The Holy Spirit helps Christians develop godly character — He produces the “fruit of the Spirit” which is “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control” (Galatians 5;22-23). Tragically, some think God is guiding them to teach and practice things that are at variance with the clear and certain teachings of the Bible. But God’s Spirit never strengthens His people to do wrong, to pursue a sinful  life or to teach and believe things that contradict His written word, the Scriptures. We should not expect the Holy Spirit to “nudge” or “move” us to do things that God does not approve or to neglect to do what God has commanded us to do. He always works in concert with His written word; He fortifies us to do the right things, not the wrong things. Being “led by the Spirit” is not an excuse for failing to obey God’s will!  The Bible says God gives His Spirit to all who “obey Him” (Acts 5:32).

Those who are trying to live according the teaching of Scripture are assured that the Holy Spirit helps them in their weaknesses.  They are “strengthened with power through His Spirit in the inner being” (Ephesians 3:16). They are being built into a holy temple “to become a dwelling in which God lives by His Spirit”(Ephesians 2:21-22).  Everyone who repents and is baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of sins receives “the gift of the Holy Spirit” (Acts 2:38).  By the Spirit’s power they are able to “put to death the misdeeds of the body” (Romans 8:12).  When they pray, even though they may not know what to say and how to express their deepest needs, they have the promise that the Spirit “helps us in our weakness,” and “interceeds for us with groans that words cannot express” (Romans 8:26). God knows and understands these groans of the Spirit for “the Spirit intercedes for the saints in accordance with God’s will” (Romans 8:27).  The ancient psalmist looked forward to the spiritual power of God’s Spirit. After committing adultery and being weighed down by the guilt of his conduct, David prayed: “Do not cast me from Your presence or take Your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of Your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me” (Psalm 51:11-12). If David needed the joy, peace and sustaining power of a heart cleansed from sin,  do we not also need the same today?

Those who are the children of God have this promise:  “Your Father in Heaven will give His Spirit to those who ask Him” (Luke 11:13). Those who are not yet the spiritual children of God need to do what the Lord has said they must do to become children of God.  “You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus, for all of you were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ” (Galatians 3:26-27). Have you done what the Bible says all must do to become a “son of God” and to receive this precious gift the Holy Spirit? Make the commitment to obey God’s will.  God will give you the power of His Spirit to face today’s struggles.  It’s the road to guaranteed success!

Posted in Holy Spirit, Written Word, Indwelling | 1 Comment

EPHESIANS TEACHES GOD’S CHURCH IS IMPORTANT

Posted on October 9, 2012 by davidtarbet1

This very day NBC News announced that the latest polls indicate that 20% of America’s citizens no longer claim attachment to any religion of any kind. There’s never been a more important time to remind ourselves of the book of Ephesians than now!   The apostle announces:  “To Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen”         (Ephesians 3:21).

God is not the God of confusion and chaos.  He is the Great Geneticist who brings order to the DNA structure of the human body. He is the great Architect who created beauty out of chaos when He “created the heavens and earth.” The apostle Paul says that God plan is to “bring all things in heaven and on earth together” in His Son, Jesus Christ (Ephesians 1:10). He deals with the division and discrimination men have created between themselves and produces unity in its place. He removes the barriers of sin that separate mankind from Himself, making peace between man and God through blood shed on the cross.  The instrument God has chosen to accomplish this unity is His divine church. Sixteen times the “church” (the “body” of Christ) is referred to in Ephesians, and the lessons are vitally important today for each of us.

FAMILIES ARE UNITED IN THE CHURCH

Through the example of Jesus who loved His church and died for it, husbands and wives can learn the meaning of true Christian marriage. In Ephesians chapter five Paul uses two words to describe the wife’s role in marriage:  submit and respect, and two words to describe the husband’s role in marriage: headship and love.

“Wives, submit to your husbands as to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, His body, of which He is the Savior. Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit to their husbands in everything.

“Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave Himself up for her …. In the same way, husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies…. ‘For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh.’.… Each of you must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband.”

(Ephesians 5:22-33)

Family relationships are often disrupted by a lack of understanding of God’s appointed roles for husbands and wives. When husbands fail to lead as heads of their households and wives fail to be submissive to their husbands there will be disorder in the home.  When husbands fail to love their wives in the same way Jesus loved His church and wives fail to respect their husbands there will be disorder in the home. Things in marriage go smoother when men and women take their God-given roles and prayerfully seek to be the husbands and wives God wants them to be. There is no more beautiful relationship in marriage than the one exemplified by Christ in the way He loved and cared for His church and the humble submission and respect the church has for the One who gave His life for it.

GODLY LIVING IS ENCOURAGED IN THE CHURCH

Ephesians has much to say about the connection between the church of Christ and living a godly Christian life. Those who are in the “body of Christ” are commanded to “live a children of light” (Ephesians 5:8). Consider the instructions to carefully guard one’s speech:

“Therefore each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to his neighbor …. Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up…. Nor should there be obscenity, foolish talk or coarse joking, which are out of place, but rather thanksgiving”

(Ephesians 4:25, 29; 5:4).

Let us take seriously the scripture’s encouragement to control our sexual appetites:  “But among you there must not be even a hint of sexual immorality, or of any kind of impurity, or of greed, because these are improper for God’s holy people” (Ephesians 5:3).

Think about the challenge to have purity of heart: “Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you” (Ephesians 4:31-32).

When we become Christians things need to change in our lives.  “He who has been stealing must steal no longer, but must work, doing something useful with his own hands, that he may have something to share with those in need” (Ephesians 4:28).

SALVATION IS IN THE CHURCH

Ephesians tells us: “Christ is the head of the church, His body, of which He is the Savior” (Ephesians 5:23).  It is in the “one body” (the church) that we are reconciled to God (Ephesians 2:16). Those who are in the church are “members together of one body (one church), and sharers together in the promise in Christ Jesus” (Ephesians 3:6).  One of the great truths taught in the book of Acts is that the Lord adds those who are saved to His church  (Acts 2:46). To be saved, Peter said we must “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins” (Acts 2:38). When 3,000 people on the Day of Pentecost obeyed these two commands, God added them to His church.  The Lord’s church is composed of those who have been added to it by the Lord, those who are saved. Only the lost are excluded from membership in this divine institution.

Does this mean the church saves us?  No!  The church is not our savior. Jesus is our Savior.  But Jesus is the Savior of His church.  On the final day of judgment when our destiny is determined for all eternity, it will be important that we have been part of His “body,” the “church. ” Our eternal salvation depends upon it.

The church of the Bible is an undenominational church because there were no denominations when Christianity first started. The Lord did not add people to any denomination in the days of the New Testament. He does not do so today either. He adds the saved to His one divine church. How blessed we are to have the opportunity to be undenominational Christians today, members of the church for which Jesus gave His life!

SPIRITUAL MATURITY COMES IN THE CHURCH

The Lord wants every Christian to grow spiritually, to arrive at a full knowledge of His truth and to be united as mature men and women. His plan to accomplish this includes the church.

He gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists,  and some to be pastors and teachers, to prepare God’s people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up, until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.

Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of men in their deceitful scheming”

(Ephesians 4:11-14).

If we want to be firm in our faith, if we want to be complete in our knowledge, if we want to be prepared for every spiritual battle, we need to be faithful in attending the worship and learning opportunities offered by the church. God puts teachers in His church because He knows we need guidance in understanding His word. When Philip asked the Ethiopian treasure: “Do you understand what you are reading?” he replied: “How can I, unless someone explains it to me?” (Acts 8:30-31). This is God plan, and God has our best interest in mind. God’s plan is always the best plan.

CLEANING FROM SIN IS IN THE CHURCH

Ephesians declares: “Christ loved the church and gave Himself up for her, to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, and to present her to Himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless” (Ephesians 5:25-27).

Our New Testaments were originally written in Greek, and the Greek word for “cleansing” in this passage is in the aorist tense. It means cleaning that occurred at a specific point in time. There is a specific time when all believers are “cleansed” from past sins.  Note carefully the two words which indicate the means by which God has cleansed us from our sins:  water and word.

Cleansing takes place “with water,” the water of baptism. Not that there is any power in the water itself to wash away our sins, but baptism is the time and place where the blood of Jesus washes our sins away as the water of baptism washes over our bodies.  In baptism our sins are “washed away” (Acts 22:16).  The Bible says “baptism saves us” (1 Peter 3:21).

Cleansing from our sins involves the word of God.  Paul says “cleansing her by the washing with water through the word.” The Barclay translation of Ephesians 5:26 reads: “It was His purpose to cleanse and consecrate it by the washing of baptism and the preaching of the word.”  Baptism is for those old enough to hear the word of God, to understand its teachings and to respond with a willing heart to its commands. Baptism without hearing and learning the word is meaningless. We see a fine example of how hearing the word of God and water baptism come together in the conversion of the Jailer in Acts chapter sixteen.  After Paul and Silas spoke the word of the Lord to him and all who were in his household, he was baptized immediately.  Rejoicing in cleansing from his past sins,  he brought Paul and Silas into his house and set a meal before them. (Acts 16:31-34).

God’s church matters! Our fellow Americans need to realize how important God’s church is so they can have peace and harmony in the family, spiritual cleansing, spiritual growth and salvation and a relationship with God which lasts for all eternity.

                                                                  Scripture quotations are from the New International Version (1984)

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WEAKLY WEEKLY COMMUNION

Posted on October 1, 2012 by davidtarbet1

Two words which sound alike but are spelled differently and have different meanings are referred to as homonyms. An example would be the words “weakly” and “weekly.”  They sound alike, but the word “weekly” means “done, happening, appearing, etc., once a week,  or every week.” The word “weakly,” on the other hand, means “weak or feeble in constitution; not robust; sickly”  (Dictionary.reference.com).

When we speak of “Communion,” the “Lord’s Supper,” or “Breaking of Bread”, we are referring to one and the same thing. Inasmuch as Jesus “gave thanks” (Greek: eucharisteo) when He instituted this feast (Matthew 26:26, 1 Corinthians 11:24) a common term for the Breaking of Bread (historically speaking) was the “Eucharist.”

WHAT IS ‘WEEKLY’ COMMUNION?

There really is no question about it, early (undenominational) Christians observed Communion every week — every Sunday. This is the testimony of both Scripture and history. Biblical scholars from all modern denominations agree that this was the practice of the ancient church. The Bible says they “devoted themselves” to the breaking of bread (Acts 2:42), which in itself suggests that Communion was observed with some frequency and regularity. In Acts 20:7 we read: “On the first day of the week we came together to break bread.” The first day of the week (Sunday) was the day Jesus arose from the dead (Mark 16:9). It was the resurrection of Christ that gave identity and uniqueness to the Christian religion. Christians knew then, as they know now, that their Savior is alive. No wonder they met for worship every first day of the week!   In the words of Ray Van Neste, associate professor of Biblical Studies and director of the R.C. Ryan Center for Biblical Studies at Union University,  “Paul, on his way to Jerusalem has stopped at Troas. Here “on the first day of the week” he meets with the local church, and Luke directly states that the purpose of their gathering was “to break bread,” i.e. to celebrate the Lord’s Supper. This passage need not mean the Lord’s Supper was the only purpose of their gathering, but it certainly is one prominent purpose and the one emphasized here. These early Christians met weekly to celebrate the Lord’s Supper.”

As a matter of fact, the early church coined two new words: the “Lord’s Supper” (1Corinthians 11:20) and the “Lord’s Day” (Revelation 1:10). Neither of these words were in the Old Testament; neither occurred prior to the beginning of Christ’s church. Both came from the same root Greek word because they were connected. The Lord’s Supper was observed on the Lord’s Day, and the Lord’s Day was set aside for the observance of the Lord’s Supper.  In the words of Everett Ferguson, Professor of Church History Emeritus at Abilene Christian University, “It is perhaps significant that the adjective “Lord’s” occurs only twice in the New Testament –– in reference to the Lord’s Supper (1 Corinthians 11:20) and to the Lord’s day (Revelation 1:10).  Both are peculiarly the Lord’s, and both belong together, united to each other by the resurrection. The day, as the day of the resurrection, is the day for taking the supper. The supper, in remembrance of the event of salvation, gives significance to the day.” (The Church of Christ, A Biblical Ecclesiology for Today.) Every week had a Lord’s Day and every week the Christians  met for the Lord’s Supper.

Church historians and the so-called “Church Fathers” are unanimous on this point. One such writing  (90–150 AD) states:  “Come together each Lord’s day of the Lord, break bread, and give thanks” (Didache 14:1).  Justin Martyr (100-165 AD) wrote:  “And on the day called Sunday all who live in cities or in the country gather together in one place and the memoirs of the apostles or the writings of the prophets are read, as long as time permits … Then we all rise together and pray, and … when our prayer is ended, bread and wine and water are brought … and there is a distribution to each” (Apology, I, 67:6)

Those who have Communion less often or more often do so without any authority from scripture and without precedent in the history of the early church. Surely it is right for us to follow the example of those disciples who came together on each first day of the week to break bread.

WHAT IS ‘WEAKLY’ COMMUNION?

The apostle Paul wrote to the believers at Corinth that they had lost the proper focus of the Lord’s Supper.  What Christ had intended to be a reverent remembrance of Him had deteriorated into a common meal. Having lost the purpose of Communion, some were becoming drunk on the wine while others were leaving the service hungry because they expected to get more food than was available. It was a sad situation.  So perverted had Communion become that the Apostle wrote: “it is not the Lord’s Supper that you eat” (1 Corinthians 11:20). Whatever the disciples at Corinth were celebrating, they had distorted the true meaning of the Lord’s Supper. What was left was a feeble attempt to worship. Their minds were not where they needed to be, the fellowship had been disrupted,  and the celebrating of Christ’s death had been lost. That which was intended to bring men and women to the cross and to unite them as one body would no longer achieve its purpose. It was a poor excuse for what should have been the sacred remembrance of Christ crucified. In short, Communion had become weak and feeble, and “weakly” worship can never produce robust spirituality.

How is it with us? When we take the Lord’s Supper, do we do so with the reverence and focus it deserves? Or, are our minds on worldly things? Are we thinking of the Lord who died for us 2,000 years ago, or are we thinking about what we are going to do as soon as church is over? Are we whispering with the person who sits next to us or are we praying to the Lord above us?  Are we texting with our cell phones or examining our personal unworthiness to participate in such a solemn feast? Are we thinking about how the Lord’s Supper unites us with fellow believers around the world or are we wishing for things to end so we can “go our separate ways?”  The answer to these questions will determine if our Communion is the real thing or just a weak imitation.

Owen Olbricht, in his book The Lord’s Supper, suggests the following things Christians can do as they eat the bread and drink the cup:

• Remembering Jesus and His death

• Meditating on what Jesus means to us

• Giving thanks to Him and to God for Him

• Honoring Him as the Messiah, the Son of God

• Spiritually sharing His body and blood

• Renewing our resolve to live according to His word

• Fellowshipping with Christians as a unified body

• Proclaiming His life, death and resurrection until He returns

• Declaring an acceptance and recognition of the new covenant

When Paul wrote to the Corinthians he assured them there will be consequences for abusing the Lord’s Supper.  He said: “That is why many among you are weak and sick, and a number of you have fallen asleep” (1 Corinthians 11:30).  Whether he refers to physical sickness and death or spiritual sickness and death, the lesson remains the same:  God will not bless those who practice weakly communion.

On the next Lord’s Day (Sunday) let each sincere disciple meet with fellow believers to observe Communion as the biblical pattern encourages us to do.  Moreover, may each of us partake of the Lord’s Supper in a “worthy manner” –– reflecting on the death of Jesus for our sins, and praying in our hearts for the Lord to forgive our sins, unite His church and make us spiritually stronger … stronger in this new week than we have been in the past week.

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OUR HERITAGE

Posted on September 21, 2012 by davidtarbet1

The ancient prophet Isaiah called upon the Israelites to remember their heritage, to not forget where they came from and to whom they belonged. Their national identity deserved to be affirmed even though they were now in exile and away from home.  Listen to the words of the Lord:  “Listen to Me, you who pursue righteousness and who seek the Lord. Look to the rock from which you were cut and to the quarry  from which you were hewn” (Isaiah 51:1).

Israel’s heritage was worth remembering.  Abraham, their “father” and Sarah their “mother” began the Jewish nation.  God called Abraham even when he was alone and without children and promised him that his descendants would be a numerous as the stars in the heavens (Genesis 15:5).  The prophet Isaiah said God called Abraham when he was one and made him many (Isaiah 51:2).  The Lord had taken care of His nation in the good times and the bad. He had preserved them through days of oppression and exile. Could there be any doubt that He would continue to take care of them now? The Lord would surely comfort His people.  The future was bright. The rock and quarry from which Israel had come had always been sustained by divine providence. What the people needed to depend upon was the providence of God that had proven itself to the nation time and again. If Israel would do this, they would be encouraged, they would be fortified to face the future.

Christians, too,  need to recall the blessings of God in their lives. Never have we been forsaken by the Lord never have we been abandoned, never have we been neglected. Let us count our blessings. We are a privileged people! We have a long history with the Almighty God. In times of discomfort and distress, let us remember the rock from which we were cut and the quarry from which we were hewn. Let us depend upon the grace of God to protect us and strengthen us even in the midst of disappointment and pain.  What god has ever taken care of his people like the Lord has taken care of us?

The problems we experience and the trials we go through are not as consequential as the direction we face and the One to whom we look to give us strength. Faith is still the victory that overcomes the world! God will not desert or neglect us in the time of need. No matter what we endure we still belong to Him. We are His people. He has aided us in the past; He  will take care of us today as well. The rock-quarry from which we have come is full of promise, full of providence and full of peace. Because this is true we are most encouraged.

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