That’s the deal, the unbreakable covenant promise, God makes with us. We come empty handed or not at all. We come knowing that our sin separates us from God’s presence, but even more so that Jesus made our separation his own.
Paul’s foundations fell to pieces right there on that road. What’s interesting is that Paul try to pick up the pieces. How could he? And so it is with every true encounter with Christ.
We participate in what God is doing to “make all things new” by the gospel, or not. The Philippians got it right away, “from the first day..” As if saying, “If God has given me this kind of grace, this kind of world re-shaping peace, then how can I not want to get on the inside of what he’s doing?” It’s a response. The only one you can give.
… as we listen, perhaps closing our eyes and leaning our heads back slightly, Paul’s familiar voice comes into focus. Only something is different this time: “Paul and Timothy, slaves (doulos) of Christ Jesus.”
As “citizens of heaven,” then, we will be both more realistic about the shortcomings of our society and more hope-filled about the answers the gospel provides.
What does it really mean to become a mature Christian, growing up, in Paul’s words, to the “stature of Christ” (Ephesians 4:13)? Paul’s letter to the Ephesians provides the context to answer that question.
What makes a person a Christian is that God rescues you from the death sentence of sin by bringing His very life to dwell within you by His Spirit. You see? You become more than simply a nice person. Tim Keller puts it this way, “Don’t insult the gospel, and don’t insult yourself by thinking of Christianity mainly as being nice people. You’re not nice. Becoming a Christian means you become new. You’re not just nice; you’re new.
Growing in Christ-like humility, gentleness and patience will enable us gradually to achieve Paul’s twin aims for church communities: first, “bearing with one another in love” (v 2) means accepting the failures and flaws of others because we love them…
One of my favorite questions in Scripture comes right after Adam and Eve’s famous Fall. God comes into the garden to walk with them in the cool of the day. But they are not in the usual spot. God calls to them, “Where are you?”
Did you know that average human being walks at 3 miles per hour? It’s true, or at least I once read that it was. But if it is indeed true, then I find it interesting that walking is the very first thing that the Apostle Paul says it means to live like a Christian.
