Month: March 2018

Read: Luke 23:32-33; 34; 43; 46; John 19:26-27; 28; 30; Matt 27:46

Luke 23:32-33 – Two others, who were criminals, were led away to be put to death with him. And when they came to the place that is called The Skull, there they crucified him, and the criminals, one on his right and one on his left.

Pilate, under pressure from the Jewish leaders, delivered Jesus to be crucified. He was mocked; he was beaten; and he was lead to Golgotha – The Skull – to be crucify him. As he hung on the cross, Jesus spoke seven times. All four gospels record Jesus’ crucifixion and resurrection. In each account we get information on what happened during the last hours of Jesus’ life. Below are the seven last words of Jesus on the cross. As we prepare to celebrate Christ’s resurrection, we consider first the agony of his death.

The first time, Jesus prays for those who were crucifying him:

1. Luke 23:34 – And Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.”

Jesus prays for all who participated in his crucifixion. Most obviously, the Romans who obeyed Pilate’s orders, nailed him to the cross, and gambled for his clothes. He also prayed for the criminals on either side of him. One taunted him while the other believed. He prayed for the religious leaders who were watching and mocking him along with the crowd that uttered blasphemy.

In his agony, Jesus prays for their forgiveness. Not all received it. Without repentance and faith in Jesus, forgiveness would not come. But in Jesus’ prayer, he shows the deep mercy of God. Even those who would crucify the Messiah; who would mock the Son of God; even they could be forgiven.

Jesus was able to forgive those who killed him, who mocked him, who abandoned him. He died that we might experience forgiveness as well. Is there anyone in your life that you need to forgive?

2. Luke 23:43 – And he said to him, “Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in paradise.”

While one of the thieves mocked, the other believed. He knew he was rightly condemned and Jesus had done nothing wrong. Perhaps hearing Jesus’ prayer and seeing the peace he had on the cross, He rebuked the other thief and asked Jesus to remember him when he entered his kingdom. He believed in Jesus as the Messiah, the King. Jesus promised him they would be together in Paradise.

Even on the cross Jesus was leading people to Paradise. Ask God who you can share the hope of heaven with this Easter. Will you be faithful to share?

3. John 19:26-27 – 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.

As Jesus hangs on the cross, there is a small group of friends and family near him. Seeing his mother weeping, heartbroken…he is moved. She is a widow. Her eldest son is dying. Her other children do not believe in Jesus as she does. In love, he makes sure she is cared for.

Even as he suffers, Jesus thinks of others first. He shows the love he had for his mother and even in death he takes responsibility for her well-being.

Is there anyone to whom you could show the love of Jesus? Perhaps it’s someone who has gone through loss or an especially difficult time. How could you show them love and care?

4. Matthew 27:46 – And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” that is, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”

Darkness came over the land from the sixth hour until the ninth hour. Jesus cries out in agony. Some think he is calling Elijah, but he is calling to God. (Interestingly, this is the only place Jesus speaks to God in prayer instead of Father)

In his suffering, Jesus quotes Psalm 22:1. In his anguish, he feels completely abandoned. God laid our sins on Jesus. He bore our penalty. On the cross, Jesus is the Lamb of God who takes away our sin. We see the incredible love of the Father and Son and the incredible lengths they went to bring forgiveness to us.

5. John 19:28 – After this, Jesus, knowing that all was now finished, said (to fulfill the Scripture), “I thirst.”

In his final moments, Jesus thirst. Someone brought him a sponge with sour wine on it and held it to his mouth. John tells us this fulfills the words of Psalm 69:21. In Jesus’ thirst, we are reminded of his humanity and the suffering he endured.

6. John 19:30 – When Jesus had received the sour wine, he said, “It is finished,” and he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.

Throughout John’s gospel Jesus says his hour has not yet come. Finally, in John 12:23, after some Greeks ask to see him, Jesus declares that his hour had come. Throughout his ministry, Jesus had told his disciples that he would die. Now as he hangs on the cross, he makes a cry of triumph. He has completed his mission. He has done the will of the Father.

Jesus lived a life of purpose and obedience. He was willing to suffer rather than disobey. Do you live with purpose? Are you willing to sacrifice and suffer to be obedient to God’s will?

7. Luke 23:46 – Then Jesus, calling out with a loud voice, said, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit!” And having said this he breathed his last.

Luke tells us the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. Knowing his work was finished, knowing he had been faithful to the end, Jesus commits himself to God. It is a word of surrender. It is a word of trust. They were words included in the evening prayer by devout Jews.

Jesus breathes his last. He gives up his spirit. He commits himself to the Father and then surrenders himself.  He lets go of his earthly life. He entrusts himself to God.

Read: John 13:1-17

Now before the Feast of the Passover, when Jesus knew that his hour had come to depart out of this world to the Father, having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end.

² During supper, when the devil had already put it into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon’s son, to betray him, ³ Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he had come from God and was going back to God, ⁴ rose from supper. He laid aside his outer garments, and taking a towel, tied it around his waist. ⁵ Then he poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples’ feet and to wipe them with the towel that was wrapped around him.

⁶ He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, “Lord, do you wash my feet?”

⁷ Jesus answered him, “What I am doing you do not understand now, but afterward you will understand.”

⁸ Peter said to him, “You shall never wash my feet.”

Jesus answered him, “If I do not wash you, you have no share with me.”

⁹ Simon Peter said to him, “Lord, not my feet only but also my hands and my head!”

¹⁰ Jesus said to him, “The one who has bathed does not need to wash, except for his feet, but is completely clean. And you are clean, but not every one of you.” ¹¹ For he knew who was to betray him; that was why he said, “Not all of you are clean.”

    ¹² When he had washed their feet and put on his outer garments and resumed his place, he said to them, “Do you understand what I have done to you? ¹³ You call me Teacher and Lord, and you are right, for so I am. ¹⁴ If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. ¹⁵ For I have given you an example, that you also should do just as I have done to you.

¹⁶ Truly, truly, I say to you, a servant is not greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. ¹⁷ If you know these things, blessed are you if you do them.

 

Living in a day when most of the streets and roads were dirt and people wore sandals or walked barefoot, the foot was the dirtiest part of the body. After a long journey, it was common for the servants in a wealthy home to come and wash guests’ feet. A student would be willing to wash his master’s feet, but peers never washed one another’s feet. It was too demeaning. When Jesus moves to wash his disciples’ feet, they are not only ashamed for not washing his, they are completely flabbergasted that he would stoop to wash theirs. This was unheard of.

Jesus reverses the expectations and the normal roles. This act of humility is a stunning display of love, but it also serves to symbolize the cleansing only Jesus can provide (verses 6-9) and it is an example of how Christians should live (verses 12-17).

John emphasizes that Judas Iscariot was present when Jesus washed the disciples’ feet. Why is that significant? Why does he wash them?

What does Jesus tell Peter after Peter refuses foot washing? Why wouldn’t Peter have a share with him if Jesus did not wash his feet? What does this suggest for the cross and the cleansing power of Jesus’ blood?

Jesus says, in verses13-15, that what he has done has set an example for them to follow. What is the example? How can we follow that today?

One author suggests that human pride often presents itself by refusal to take a low role with others. Have you ever found that true of yourself? How does knowing that Jesus humbled himself to the level of a servant challenge that attitude?

Think about the people you know – at work/school, in your neighborhood, at home – how could you humbly love them through service? How could you tangibly show the love of Christ to them in a way that might dent your pride but would speak volumes of the love of Jesus that led him to the cross?

 

Read: John 12:20-26

²⁰ Now among those who went up to worship at the feast were some Greeks.²¹ So these came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, and asked him, “Sir, we wish to see Jesus.” ²² Philip went and told Andrew; Andrew and Philip went and told Jesus. ²³ And Jesus answered them, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. ²⁴ Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit.²⁵ Whoever loves his life loses it, and whoever hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. ²⁶ If anyone serves me, he must follow me; and where I am, there will my servant be also. If anyone serves me, the Father will honor him.

 

A pastor tells the story of two men who had grains of wheat. One man he loved his very much. He spent the majority of his time and energies on securing the best possible container for his wheat. He made sure his grain of wheat stayed out of harm’s way; if wheat gets wet you know then it will quickly spoil. He was very careful to always do what the wheat experts told him to do in order to see his grain of wheat stay strong even to old age. This man was sold out for his wheat and it showed. Then the man died.

The other man also had a grain of wheat but what he did was very different. He went out into the backyard, dug a hole, threw his wheat in to it, covered it with dirt, and poured water all over it thus completely ruining the wheat. Then that man died.

Sometime after both men were dead and buried a news reporter decided to do investigate. The first man’s grain of wheat in a protective container. When the lid was removed, the sight was saddening; that grain of wheat though prized and protected had ruined. Stuck away in dark selfishness that wheat had spoiled.

The reporter went to see the second grain of wheat. As she drove closer she noticed tall green plants along the side of the road – very strange. As she pulled into the driveway the entire yard of the second man was covered in three-foot-tall green grass. Now filled with curiosity the reporter asked the neighbor, “What are all these plants.” He responded, “It’s this man’s wheat.”

One man protected his wheat and lost it all.  The other man threw his wheat into the ground, it died, and it produced much fruit.

After Jesus had entered Jerusalem on Palm Sunday, some Greeks came and wanted to see him. Philip and Andrew take the message to Jesus. Throughout John’s gospel, Jesus has said his hour had not yet come. From the turning of water to wine in John 2 to John 7 and 8, Jesus hour had not come. But when the Greeks come to speak to him, Jesus says, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified.” It is time for Jesus to go to the cross, to die, and to be raised from the dead.

But he says more than that. His path to glory is through the cross. When a kernel of grain falls to the ground and dies, it bears fruit. Jesus died for us. Are we willing to “die” for him? Do we consider him to be so valuable that our lives are secondary to knowing Jesus? We can gain our lives in this world, to lose them in the next. Or we can give up our lives in this world and follow and serve Jesus and find that God will honor us even to eternal life.

Is there something God is calling me to die to that I might experience more fully my position in Christ; that I might see Christ more clearly and show him more compellingly?

Am I working against my very nature as a Christian by trying to keep alive something God sentenced to death when I became a Christian?

Are the weaknesses in my life because there is something that needs to die in me — some old habit, some secret sin, some root of pride, some fear of looking silly, some desperate need for approval, some desire for wealth?

What kind of grain of wheat will I be? Am I ready to say with Paul, “To live is Christ, to die is gain?” (Philippians 1:21)

Read: Matthew 21:6-11

⁶ The disciples went and did as Jesus had directed them. ⁷ They brought the donkey and the colt and put on them their cloaks, and he sat on them. ⁸ Most of the crowd spread their cloaks on the road, and others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road.  ⁹ And the crowds that went before him and that followed him were shouting, “Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!” ¹⁰ And when he entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred up, saying, “Who is this?” ¹¹ And the crowds said, “This is the prophet Jesus, from Nazareth of Galilee.”

 

On what we now call “Palm Sunday”, Jesus left Bethany and began making his way toward Jerusalem. There were huge crowds gathered for the Passover celebration who heard he was coming. Some, we read, put their coats on the road and others broke palm branches off and placed them on the ground.

There is nothing in the Passover celebration that called for using palm branches. However, when Simon the Maccabee drove the Syrian forces out of Jerusalem two hundred years earlier, he was greeted upon his return to the city with music and crowds waving palm branches. They had also been used when the temple had been rededicated and became a symbol of Jewish nationalism. During the Jewish wars against Rome, insurgents would make coins using a palm branch as a symbol for the Jewish hope of reclaiming their nation.

As Jesus enters Jerusalem, the people wave palm branches because they believed a messianic deliverer was coming to rescue them. Even more, they shouted “Hosanna” which means, “give salvation now”. During some feasts, when Psalm 118 would be read, every man and boy would wave “lulabs” (a few shots of willow and myrtle tied to a palm) when Psalm 118:25 was read and “Hosanna!” shouted.

As Jesus entered Jerusalem, the people expected he was the messianic deliverer they had been waiting for. They expected he would gather an army and lead a revolution. But Jesus had a different agenda. His concern wasn’t a nation. It wasn’t reclaiming the land. Jesus’ priority was spiritual. It was worship and love and obedience and intimacy with God the Father. It was breaking the yoke of sin so that people could live freely for God. It was bringing hope and life so the people walking in darkness could walk in the kingdom of light.

On Palm Sunday, the people rightly proclaimed Jesus, “king”, but wrongly understood what that meant. They expected something different. What expectations do people today have for Jesus? What expectations do you have for Jesus?

When you pray, what is your main focus – physical or spiritual? Clearly Jesus blessed people with physical healing and provision in his ministry, but was that his priority? What should be ours?

If Jesus was to ask you, “What do you want me to do for you?” How would you answer? What would it look like for Jesus to answer that prayer? Is there anything you need to change in preparation for when he would answer?

What does it mean that Jesus is King? How does it affect the way you live or think?

How could you bless or encourage someone today by sharing these truths?

 

Read: Zechariah 9:9-13

⁹ Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout aloud, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your king is coming to you; righteous and having salvation is he, humble and mounted on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey. ¹⁰ I will cut off the chariot from Ephraim and the war horse from Jerusalem; and the battle bow shall be cut off, and he shall speak peace to the nations; his rule shall be from sea to sea, and from the River to the ends of the earth. ¹¹ As for you also, because of the blood of my covenant with you, I will set your prisoners free from the waterless pit. ¹² Return to your stronghold, O prisoners of hope; today I declare that I will restore to you double. ¹³ For I have bent Judah as my bow; I have made Ephraim its arrow. I will stir up your sons, O Zion, against your sons, O Greece, and wield you like a warrior’s sword.

 

In The Lord of the Rings trilogy by J. R. R. Tolkien, the third book/movie is called The Return of the King. It tells of how Middle Earth had gone for thousands of years without a king and suffered under the poor leadership of lesser rulers and under the deadly evil of Sauron and his armies. One character, Aragorn, has the rightful claim to the throne over the people of Middle Earth, to be the ruler of the people. But he was reluctant to become king because he feared that he would repeat the mistakes of his predecessors. In the end, he accepted the calling to become king, led an army to defeat Sauron and begin a new age of peace. In a ceremony at the end of the movie, the wizard Gandalf, crowned Aragorn and said, “Now come the days of the king. May they be blessed.”

The book of Zechariah was written during the Babylonian exile. Judah had been in captivity for about seventy years when God spoke to Zechariah this message of hope for his people. Judah had not had a king over them for decades. And in the foreseeable future, they would not have one. From that time until today, there has been no king from David’s line ruling in Jerusalem.

In Zechariah, God promises the day will come when the King will return and all will be set right. That day will truly be blessed. He tells the people (in verse 9) to rejoice. He tells them the King who comes will be righteous and bring salvation. He is humble and will ultimately bring peace.

In Jesus’ day, the people longed for deliverance. They longed for salvation from the oppressive yoke of the Romans – even as the people in Zechariah’s day long for deliverance from Babylon. But no one connected these verses to the coming of Jesus. They were looking for a conquering king. They were looking for political relief. They wanted an earthly kingdom. God sent Jesus…not what they wanted or expected, but what the world needs!

The people of Israel in Zechariah’s day and in Jesus’ day thought their greatest need was for a king to rule in Israel. Was that their greatest need? What did God think their greatest need was?

Today, people want God to do a lot of things in their lives. What is the greatest need of people today? How does King Jesus satisfy that need too?

As those who are now citizens in God’s kingdom by faith, how should we live?

As you think about friends and family, is there someone who needs the hope of the King in their life? How could you share with them the salvation he brings?

Read: Acts 4:31-5:11

³¹ And when they had prayed, the place in which they were gathered together was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and continued to speak the word of God with boldness.

³² Now the full number of those who believed were of one heart and soul, and no one said that any of the things that belonged to him was his own, but they had everything in common. ³³ And with great power the apostles were giving their testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great grace was upon them all. ³⁴ There was not a needy person among them, for as many as were owners of lands or houses sold them and brought the proceeds of what was sold ³⁵ and laid it at the apostles’ feet, and it was distributed to each as any had need. ³⁶ Thus Joseph, who was also called by the apostles Barnabas (which means son of encouragement), a Levite, a native of Cyprus, ³⁷ sold a field that belonged to him and brought the money and laid it at the apostles’ feet.

5 But a man named Ananias, with his wife Sapphira, sold a piece of property.  ² and with his wife’s knowledge he kept back for himself some of the proceeds and brought only a part of it and laid it at the apostles’ feet. ³ But Peter said, “Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and to keep back for yourself part of the proceeds of the land? ⁴ While it remained unsold, did it not remain your own? And after it was sold, was it not at your disposal? Why is it that you have contrived this deed in your heart? You have not lied to man but to God.”⁵ When Ananias heard these words, he fell down and breathed his last. And great fear came upon all who heard of it. ⁶ The young men rose and wrapped him up and carried him out and buried him.

⁷ After an interval of about three hours his wife came in, not knowing what had happened. ⁸ And Peter said to her, “Tell me whether you sold the land for so much.” And she said, “Yes, for so much.” ⁹ But Peter said to her, “How is it that you have agreed together to test the Spirit of the Lord? Behold, the feet of those who have buried your husband are at the door, and they will carry you out.”¹⁰ Immediately she fell down at his feet and breathed her last. When the young men came in they found her dead, and they carried her out and buried her beside her husband. ¹¹ And great fear came upon the whole church and upon all who heard of these things.

 

Here in Acts is a bit of a picture of what we have in Ephesians 4. We see the body growing as each part works properly and yet also we see the threat to the health of the body when people don’t.

Reflect on the first section of reading from Acts 4.

When have you been a part of a church experience like this? What made it so dynamic and healthy? What role did you play in that?

Reflect on the section from Acts 5.

When have you been a part of a church experience that was less healthy, more like this? What pretenses did people bring that made this the dynamic? What role did you play in the negativity?

Scripture shows us time and again that God gives us what we need to experience a healthy body of Christ. Within that we each have roles.

What are your spiritual gifts? If you have never prayed over this and maybe even taken a survey try this one as a starting point (http://spiritualgiftstest.com/).

 How are you currently using your gifts to build up the body of Christ? What opportunities might you have to utilize them more?

How do you feel Salem is doing in regards to growing as a healthy body of Christ? Is each part working properly? Are we a place where truth is spoken in love?

Are there ways you need to take more advantage of God’s grace in putting you in this local body, ways to allow them to equip you more?

Spend some time praying for our church: the leaders, the members, our impact in the community, salvations and growth. Ask God to reveal things to you that would benefit our local body as we try to grow healthy under our head, Jesus Christ.

Speaking the Truth in Love by Brycen Marner

Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love.

Ephesians 4:15-16

We have all met someone who’s growth into maturity was seemingly stunted by a person who should have been a trusted support instead crushed them with loveless and demeaning correction. It wasn’t that the words were not grounded in truth, but void of appropriate love it proved destructive.

And then for me there was Dan. Dan was a worship leader in my youth ministry growing up. Dan is one of the few people on this planet that can make me cry, yet he’s never threatened me, screamed at me or cursed me. No Dan speaks the truth in love. I remember a time in my teen years where Dan approached me about my heart. He brought some areas to my attention that I kind of knew might be an issue but I wasn’t willing to own them. In a quiet way he brought conviction that brought tears not of anger but of pain mixed with joy. He was willing to cut me in love to help me grow.

That is really the key isn’t it? Cutting truth delivered in love brings growth. If the church is to grow as a body of individuals connected under the headship of Christ, we must proclaim the truth to one another, but we must do it in love. Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 13 just how worthless “spiritual” things are if void of love. Yet with love, truth spoken brings the believer into a position to bring more worship to his savior and more viability to the body.

Are you a truth speaker? Is it seasoned with love?

How important is a significant relationship to giving and receiving hard words of truth? 

Are there people in your past that you need to forgive for speaking the truth to you in less than loving ways? Can you forgive them? 

Are there people in your past that spoke hard words to you that you may have horibllized to think they weren’t speaking in love and it is possible you were not assuming the best of their intentions? Can you release them from this undeserved bitterness?

 When have you experienced great growth in the faith because of someone speaking a hard truth to you?

Do you have relationships with other Christians right now who can cut you up so you can grow? Are you willing to return the favor?

Tuesday nights this semester we have explored the movement of the church in Acts. In Acts 2 Peter preaches a bold message to a crowd of people who may or may not have been present at the crucifixion, that they killed the Messiah. They killed God’s savior; the one for whom they all had waited. Here is their response:

Now when they heard this they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?” And Peter said to them, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. Acts 2:37-38

The message doesn’t change throughout the book of Acts, but the response does. In Acts 4 the messengers are arrested, in chapter 5 they are beaten, and then we have Acts 7. Stephen proclaims to his audience that they “betrayed and murdered” the Christ and this is their response:

 Now when they heard these things they were enraged, and they ground their teeth at him. Acts 8:54

Then they cast him out of the city and stoned him. Acts 8:58

You killed Jesus. This message proves consistent with scripture and yet how does that sit with you? I know I don’t like it. I don’t like reading aloud the words “crucify Him” on Good Friday. I know that in the sin of all humanity lies my autograph. In the nails in the wrist of Jesus exists the dirt of my wanderings from God’s will. Most of all, under the outpouring of the wrath of the Father sits the Savior of the world taking on the sins of Brycen Marner that I might take on His righteousness.

Often this image leads me to the “cut to the heart response.” Initially in grief and then in great relief I receive the reality of my part in the crucifixion. I experience the tremendous love of the Father that He would sacrifice the Son for me. I respond with “what shall I do?”

When do you realize your role in the crucifixion? How has it lead you to worship? When this reality hits you in the “cut to the heart way, how do you respond in that moment, day or week with your life?

Unfortunately, even as a believer, I still struggle with responding poorly to the reality of my role in the crucifixion. I may see my role, but when the Holy Spirit exposes another area of nonsurrender, rather than seek His mercy in Christ, I “grind my teeth” and fight the conviction. I try to excuse the area of struggle with the “but I deserve this,” “but if he hadn’t said,” “why does God let it be so hard” reasoning. In those moments as I have revealed that I have elevated something over God in my life, I get bitter that God would hold that standard. I despair at my own brokenness but without hope. I know longer view myself as one highly loved by the Father, but like worthless trash. This usually cycles me back in to retreat from significant connection with God. Like the listeners to Stephen, I do what I can to stifle the message of the Gospel from penetrating my heart.

When is it harder for you to receive the message of your role in the crucifixion? What sins do you struggle with that lead you to more despair? What sins make you retreat from the Word and prayer? What categories of struggle are you unwilling to even ask God if your heart is struggling with sin in? 

Today pray that God would lead you to see your role in the cross that you might better grasp its beauty. Pray when conviction hits that it would lead to worship and a sense of God’s love. Pray the Lord softens your heart in areas of struggle that make you bitter or despair.

Ask God how He would have you live out this truth today.

– Brycen Marner

Read: Ephesians 4:1-6 (audio for the sermon on this text is here)

I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, ² with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love ³ eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. ⁴ There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call— ⁵ one Lord, one faith, one baptism, ⁶ one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.

 

As we’ve been studying the book of Ephesians, Paul has stated the creation of the Church was the revelation of a mystery God had kept hidden: All believers (both Jews and Gentiles) are united together in Christ as one new humanity. We are now one family, one kingdom, one holy temple being built by the Lord.

There is an inter-dependence as the body of Christ. We cannot be isolated Christians, but we need other believers to grow into maturity. As a result, Paul suggests we need to live with all humility and gentleness,  with patience, bearing with one another in love.

If you’ve ever seen sequoia trees in California, you know they can tower as high as 300 feet above the ground. Surprisingly, they have shallow root systems. The roots rather than going deep, shoot out in all directions to try to get as much moisture as they can. They also intertwine with other sequoia trees so when there are storms and heavy winds, they can support one another. That’s why you rarely see a sequoia tree by itself. They grow in clusters.

The inter-dependence we need as Christians requires that we approach our differences and conflicts differently than most of the world around us. It means we don’t walk away when offended or when relationships are difficult, but we learn to bear with one another and give grace to one another. It calls us to seek to love despite the challenges that come up between us and other people. It means we need to be quick to forgive and to seek to keep short accounts with others so resentment and bitterness will not take root.

Take a moment to be quiet before God. Ask him to show you any relationships that are not at peace. It could be relationships in your family, your neighborhood, your work, or your church. Perhaps it would be helpful to make a list of those God brings to mind.

Pray for each of those relationships. Ask God to give you wisdom into how you might pursue peace. Is there a need to humbly ask forgiveness? Is there a need to gently love that person in their weakness? Do you need to be patient with a person who isn’t where you wish they were or who isn’t moving as fast as you’d like?

What would it look like to bear with that person in love? Bearing with another has the idea of tolerating or making allowances. Each of us has strengths and weaknesses. Some of us struggle with illness – physical, emotional, or mental – the commitments we make require us to help others carry their burdens and love them where they are. How can you do that, if it’s what is called for?

Take a moment to thank God for the example of the Trinity. Ask God to help you to follow him as you seek to live out the power of one in your relationships this week and beyond.

Read: Philippians 2:1-11

So if there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort from love, any participation in the Spirit, any affection and sympathy, ² complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. ³ Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. ⁴ Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.

⁵ Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus^] 6 who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, ⁷ but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. ⁸ And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. ⁹ Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name,¹⁰ so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, ¹¹ and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

 

John Milton, writing in his epic poem, “Paradise Lost”, portrays the character of Satan as unwilling to worship God in heaven. Wanting to take God’s place, he begins a rebellion.  God casts him out of heaven, he is unrepentant and still cries out: “Better to rule in hell than serve in heaven”. Milton’s poem was a work of fiction and yet he is right: Pride was at the root of Satan’s rebellion.  Satan wanted to rule; Satan wanted to sit in the place of the Most High; Satan wanted to be the center of attention.

“Pride is the root of all evil.” This is not only true of Satan, but humans too. Our pride often leads us to sin because we, pridefully, think we know better than God.

In Philippians 2, Paul addresses a church that seems to have had issues with pride. Apparently, some people thought they were better than others. But, as we often say, the ground is level at the cross. There is no one greater or lesser in God’s eyes. To illustrate this, Paul made himself equal to Timothy in Philippians 1:1. Instead of his usual greeting, “Paul an apostle”, he writes, “Paul and Timothy, servants…” He places himself at the same level as his son in the faith.

In the verses printed above, Paul calls believers to be united. He wants them to have one mind; one love; one accord. They are not to act selfishly or conceitedly. They are not to put their own interests first. They are to consider others as more important than themselves.

Paul then goes on to give Jesus as the example to follow. He did not exploit his God-nature, but willingly humbled himself to be born in human likeness and live like a human being. Paul points to Jesus humility as the example we are to follow.

In Ephesians 4, Paul will make a similar appeal. He will remind us that there is one Lord, one faith, and one baptism. He will remind us that the same Holy Spirit fills all believers, so we should maintain unity and peace.

What would it look like in your family, work, school or other relationships to consider others needs more important to your own? Is Paul suggesting we should be passive wimps?

The important issue is the heart. If we pridefully want our way without deferring to others, we sin. But, when we consider (really, truly consider) their needs as more important than ours, we might end up in the same place, but for very different reasons. How can we communicate to people that we value them and consider them more important than ourselves?

Think about times in the church that people couldn’t get along and it wasn’t an issue of truth. Was the situation handled well? Why or why not? What could have been done better?

Ask God for the grace to put others before yourself. Letting go of pride and loving others well are key parts to maintaining the unity Jesus calls us to live in the church.