Sunday Scripture

 

 It's time for another Sunday Scripture!  This is part of an ongoing series on my simple study of Rachel Wojo's Everything Beautiful.  You can read about the plan here if you are interested in it for yourself: Everything Beautiful Bible reading plan. My answers and input on this series are a combination of what I learned back in 2018, and what I found in looking over the Scriptures now, six years later.  I'm attempting to SOAP the passages too, though some of them are longer. [Quick reminder that S stands for Scripture; O stands for observation; A stands for application, and P stands for prayer.]  Today's study is from Ephesians 2:4-10.  

S= "But God, who is rich in mercy, for His great love wherewith He loved us,
"Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;)
"And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus:
"That in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us through Christ Jesus:
"That in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us through Christ Jesus;
"For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God.
"Not of works, lest any man should boast.
"For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them."  (Ephesians 2:4-10)

O= Scofield's study Bible titles Ephesians 1:1 through Ephesians 3:21 as "The Believer's Standing in Grace."  Verses 3-14 of chapter 1 he titles, "The believer in Christ in the heavenlies".  Verses 15-21 he titles "Prayer for knowledge and power."  Verses 22-23 he titles "Christ exalted as Head of His body, the Church".  And verses 1 through 10 of chapter 2, where we find ourselves today, Scofield titles "Method of salvation."

As we look at verse 4, we see that it begins with the words "But God".  Our pastor always taught us that the word "but" signals a change of direction -- and the words "but God" are even more meaningful -- so before tackling these verses we really need to look back to the ones before them. Verses   1-3 describe what believers used to be like: dead in trespasses and sins (v.1); walking according to the course of this world (v.2); walking according to the prince of the power of the air (v.2); having the same manner of life as unbelievers around us (v.2-3); fulfilling the desires of our flesh and mind (v.3); by nature the children of wrath (v.3).  So what a huge change of direction verse 4 is!

Cross-reference for "rich in mercy" (v.4) -- "The LORD is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and plenteous in mercy.  He will not always chide; neither will He keep His anger forever.  He hath not dealt with us after our sins, nor rewarded us according to our iniquities.  For as the heavens are high above the earth, so great is His mercy toward them that fear Him."  (Psalm 103:8-11)

Cross-references for "great love" (v.4) -- "For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life."  (John 3:16)

"In this was manifested the love of God toward us, that God sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him.  Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us, and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins."  (1 John 4:9-10)

Cross-reference for "even when" (v.5) -- "But God commendeth His love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us."  (Romans 5:8)

Note for "dead in sins" (v.5) -- "Spiritual death is the state of the natural or unregenerate man as still in His sins, alienated from the life of God, and destitute of the Spirit."

Cross-reference for "grace" (v.5) -- "In whom we have redemption through His blood, even the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace."  (Ephesians 1:7)

Note for "saved" (v.5) -- "The Hebrew and Greek words for 'salvation' imply the ideas of deliverance, safety, preservation, healing, and soundness.  'Salvation' is the great inclusive word of the Gospel, gathering into itself all the redemptive acts and processes: justification, redemption, propitiation, imputation, forgiveness, sanctification, and glorification."

🌿 [Note from me: If you want some real encouragement in your devotions sometime, take a Bible dictionary and look up the last seven words (not counting 'and').  All of those spiritual blessings are ours in Christ!] 🌿

Cross-reference for "heavenly places" (v.6) -- "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessing in heavenly places in Christ."

Note for "heavenly places" -- Literally "in the heavenlies".  It signifies that which is heavenly by contradistinction to that which is earthly.

Cross-reference for " faith" (v. 8) -- "In whom we have boldness and access with confidence by the faith of " Him.". (Ephesians 3:12)

A note on Hebrews 11:39 states, "The essence of faith consists in believing and receiving what God has revealed, and may be defined as that trust in the God of the Scriptures and in Jesus Christ whom he has sent, which receives Him as Lord and Savior and impels to loving obedience and good works."

Here are a few secondary definitions of faith:

1) For salvation, faith is personal trust in the Lord Jesus, apart from any good works.

2) As used in prayer, faith is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us.

3) In reference to unseen things spoken of in Scripture, faith gives substance to them, so that we act upon the conviction of their reality.

4) As a working principle in life, the uses of faith are illustrated in Hebrews 11.

Cross-reference for "gift of God" (v.8) -- "But as many as received Him, to them gave He power to become the children of God, even to them that believe on His name, who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God."  (John 1:12-13)

Cross-reference for "works" (v.9) -- "Now to him that worketh is the reward not reckoned of grace, but of debt.  But to him that worketh not, but believeth on Him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness."  (Romans 4:4-5)

Cross-reference for "boast" (v.9) -- "Where is boasting then?  It is excluded.  By what law?  Of works?  Nay, but by the law of faith."  (Romans 8:27)

Verse 10 -- "For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them." -- is considered to be the key verse of the book of Romans.

Cross-reference for "created" (v.10) -- "And that ye put on the new man, which was created in righteousness and true holiness."  (Ephesians 4:24)

Note  for "created" -- "The new man is the regenerate man as distinguished from the old man, and is a new man having become a partaker of the divine nature and life, and in no sense the old man made over, or improved."

Note for "works" (v.10) -- "1) The necessity for the new birth grows out of the incapacity of the natural man to 'see' or 'enter into' the kingdom of God.  However gifted, moral, or refined he may be, the natural man is absolutely blind to spiritual truth and impotent to enter the kingdom, for he can neither obey, understand, nor please God.  2) The new birth is not a reformation of the old nature, but a creative act of the Holy Spirit."  -- C.I. Scofield

A= Believer's Bible Commentary points out, "The words 'But God' form one of the most significant, eloquent, and inspiring transitions in all literature.  They indicate that a stupendous change has taken place.  It is a change from the doom and despair of the valley of death to the unspeakable delights of the kingdom of the Son of God's love.  The Author of the change is God Himself.  No one else could have done it, and no one else would have done it."

For this Scripture, there were also a number of ways to apply it as prompted in the journal.  

"Doing God's work is a beautiful thing." -- Rachel Wojo

This thought of course alludes to verse 10, where Paul teaches that believers are God's workmanship,  "created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them."

 
Rachel also shares a "focus word" in each of the devotional pages.  For this lesson the focus word is "fulfillment". I would see this as fulfilling God's purpose for us as believers -- to glorify Him with all that He has given us, to point others to Him and to help our Christian brothers and sisters to grow spiritually.

 

William MacDonald explains, "God has a blueprint for every life. Before our conversion He mapped out a spiritual career for us.  Our responsibility is to find His will for us and then obey it."

 

He continues by giving six practical steps we can take to do this:  1) Confess and forsake sin as soon as we are conscious of it in our lives; 2) Be continually and unconditionally yielded to Him; 3) Study the Word of God to discern His will and then do whatever He tells us to do; 4) Spend time in prayer every day; 5) Seize opportunities of service as they arise; 6) cultivate the fellowship and counsel of other Christians.

The question was asked: Which of my own words have blocked the beauty of God's Word?

My response in 2018:  Maybe not my words, but my heart attitude or thoughts that I'm limited at this time from doing all God has for me to do.  That's not really so ... He knows this season and has allowed it.  He knows my limitations.  If I'm faithful to keep looking to Him, He will guide me in this daily even in what looks like a hard season.

Answering this same question in 2024:  Any words of mine that do not please or honor God.  Complaining, to name just one.  I finally have come to realize that when I complain, even if it is non-verbal like a sigh or an eye-roll,  I am really complaining against God.

This prompt was given, along with a list: Today I will keep my eyes open for God's beauty in one or more of these places.

These are the places I circled: The words I read; the places I go; the music I hear; the people I encounter; the air I breathe; the weather I experience; the rest I receive.

In 2024 I can note that for the music I hear,  we recently enjoyed the blessing of an evening service and fun night at the Wilds of New England.  From fun cowboy music to beautiful hymns, it was all well done and so enjoyable.

For the words I read, I mentioned the beautiful key verse of Ephesians, chapter 2, verse 10.

For the places I go, I listed the lovely flowers and plantings at The Wilds of New England.

For the air I breathe, I mentioned a drop in humidity and some cool breezes.

For the people I encounter -- we were able to get to visit with our cottage neighbors a little bit.  

For the rest I receive, I mentioned the restorative quality of excellent sleep.

A journaling prompt was this:  List one or more ideas to remind myself to intentionally look for God's beauty throughout the day.

My response in 2018:  Get out in the fresh air; breathe deeply and listen to birdsong.  Soak up as much sunshine and vitamin D as possible.  Enjoy the rich colors of foods and household items.

For my response in 2024, I added: Watch for the various colors of phlox to bloom at our cottage.  Enjoy the gorgeous, tranquil beauty of lakes in our region.

P= "Lord,  I thank  You that You have planned for us to do good works to glorify You.  I admit I've often felt limited and constrained in difficult seasons.  I've even felt at times rather frustrated that I can't accomplish all that's on my plate.  Yet I must remind myself that You know all about what's on my plate and You allow limitations and challenging seasons anyway.  I pray that You will meet me in my limitations and guide me in what good You would have me to accomplish each day.  I praise You for all You'll do, in Jesus' name, Amen."

 And there is this week's Sunday Scripture!  I pray it's a blessing to someone.