What we are discovering here is that Love is the sinew, or the fastener, or the uniting bond that ties all these godly virtues together and this results in unity of the Spirit, or as Paul will frame it in Ephesians 4:13 “the unity of the faith.”
This situation has tested the limits of my long-suffering and forbearance. In the process it brings to light the abundance of these virtues found in our heavenly Father and expressed through the Lord Jesus.
From time to time, I like to repeat a statement that I once read or heard— “I don’t know how to act my age. I’ve never been this age before.” It’s humorous because while it is silly, it is also true. It can be easy for us to feel the same way about thinking, talking, and acting like saints. We don’t know how.
Father works to make our desires consistent with His own. He does not do this through coercion or manipulation, but rather by compassionately guiding us and demonstrating for us His gentle Love and genuine care. In this way, we become fascinated by the Lord Jesus, bound to Him and captivated by Him. It is from this wonderful place that we should consider the guidance that follows.
The word behind “sanctify” (hagiazo) in verse 23 uses a rare form called the optative mood. Out of 28,121 verbs in the New Testament, this form occurs only about 68 times. It is the form used in Romans 6:15 when Paul asks whether we should just keep on sinning since we are not under Law, but under grace. His response is an emphatic “Far from it!” or “God forbid!” This verb form indicates the word is to be applied in the strongest terms. That’s why the translators render it “sanctify you completely.”
This is his prayer for the saints of Ephesus, and it is one on which we can pattern prayers of our own. First, we might be reminded that Christ does indeed dwell in our hearts. We don’t see Him there nor physically feel Him, yet by faith we are assured that He is there.
This verse closes out Paul’s lengthy parenthetical comment. It is a bit difficult, and the Greek syntax allows for three potential ways of understanding Paul’s meaning. The best of these, which fits well with his urging them to remain strong despite the difficulties Paul is facing, has a parallel in Philippians 1:27–30
Note here that Paul is saying he is less than the least of all saints because he is deeply grateful for the grace of God. He knows that without grace, his religious righteousness, which looked to be perfect to those around him, was worthless and had him just as hell bound as any other murderer.
Clearly there are things that were said to the Jews primarily for their use, just as some things are said to the Gentiles primarily for our use. But in the end, there is one Gospel that applies to everyone on earth equally and in the same way. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you shall be saved.
Before we get too far into this passage, I want to take a moment to talk about this word “dispensation”. I think this is important so that you have some background for the day when someone comes along and starts talking about “rightly dividing” scripture according to dispensations.
Paul, who elsewhere wrote that it was for freedom that Christ has set us free, refers to himself as the prisoner of Jesus Christ. This immediately brings to mind his comments in Romans 6:18 “Being then made free from sin, ye became the servants of righteousness.”
Sometimes what it says may be unclear. Sometimes what it says is different from what we initially think it says. To figure that out, we examine a particular text using a few rules to help us avoid reading our own ideas into it.
In Romans 8:1 a few translations read, “There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.” (KJV 1900) Most more modern translations read, “Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” (NASB)
I love that Peter ties growth into spiritual maturity into the building of the Church upon the bedrock of the Lord Jesus Christ. He points out that we are becoming a part of what Father is building. We are in effect living stones. Each of us has a place and a part in the integrity of the entire structure.
It is tremendously important that we not gloss over this verse because it helps us to correctly understand another passage. We will see more clearly in the next verse, but let’s pause here for a moment to address a passage that has cause great misunderstanding for many.
The result of this change in citizenship is akin to that experienced by immigrants permanently relocating from one country to another. While some vestiges of their lifestyle from “the old country” may remain, their entire way of living changes. They have a new life in a new place with new and different ways.
James 4 says “You do not have because you do not ask.” and “You ask and do not receive.” So, which is it?
Observant readers may notice the use of “abolished” with regard to what can only be understood as the Law handed down by Moses. What is abolished ceases to exist. It is destroyed. Yet Jesus in Matthew 5:17–18, said, “Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil. For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.”
There was a wall of hostility between the Hebrew people and all others. It is this wall that the Lord Jesus broke down. Whereas the Hebrew nation had been God’s chosen people, and everyone else was without hope and without God in the world, what Jesus ushered in destroyed that dividing wall and unified the people in both groups, reconciling them all to God.
The Bible is a message from God. As such, it tells a singular story. That story is that God has prepared a plan to make a new creation, both a new heaven and earth, and new people. When we look at scripture at a high level, undistracted by the details, we see something incredible. We see God telling this story over and over in many different ways.
Everything in the Hebrew scriptures of the Old Testament points to this. All of it is designed to communicate about the Lord Jesus Christ. The covenants established in the Hebrew scriptures all required blood. This new covenant is no different. Life is on the line.
Many have taught, and not a few still teach, that Christianity is essentially a “Judeo/Christian” religion. Many have been told that at least some part of the covenant of the Law handed down from God to the nation of Israel by Moses applies to us today. Most would exclude the ceremonial laws and the sacrificial laws, even the dietary laws. But, they say, we need to keep the moral laws.
God spoke into existence everything that exists; except you. You, he “formed”. You, He fashioned. You, He crafted as one works to craft a poem. You are His workmanship, His poem. As amazing as that is, the verse doesn’t stop there. The Craftsman created us; and the venue or context in which this creation took place is “in Christ Jesus.
When we want to know why something in the Bible was said or done or the reason we are instructed to think or behave in a certain way, there are some key words we want to be sure we do not ignore. Words like “therefore”, “that”, and “for.” So, as we look for the reason why God Loved us so greatly and extended His vast mercy toward us, we can expect to find answers after those words.
Jesus is the Ark
Jesus is the Testimony
Jesus is the Word of God
Jesus is the Atonement and Propitiation
Jesus is the Mercy of God, full of grace and truth.
