Talking Points 2-A

Ephesians 1:4-6
4 According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love:
5 Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will,
6 To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved.

Verse 4 is an embarrassment to many Christians! How can that bunch of oddballs known as Christians be “without blame?”

The fact is that those whom God has chosen to be led by His Holy Spirit are known as saints (Gr. hagiois), because they are pure, holy, and blameless in His sight!

"According as He has chosen us in Him before the foundation of the world" is a powerful statement. We have been chosen in Christ not in ourselves.

Choosing us to be saints and to follow Christ Jesus by being led by the Spirit is not based on our will! It is based entirely on God’s predestination! Our choice does not come into the action at all.

Do you understand the complicated simplicity of the doctrine of predestination?

Notice that we have been predestined in accordance with the Father’s will as expressed in Christ Jesus.

Many do not believe in predestination, because it sets us apart from the rest of humanity. The fact is, we have been set apart!

True Christians are the salt of human society. We are the reflected light of Christ Jesus in this age.

Do you comprehend the honor that has been given to us?

At this point, I must add that we have not been chosen, selected, or elected to the exclusion of other people. Most people do not understand predestination.

As firm as I am concerning the fact of predestination, that word is never used when describing the "lost." None is “predestined” to be lost.

God chose us in Christ Jesus before the "foundation" of the world. The Greek text indicates that God chose us before the universe was conceived.

Before God spoke the world into existence He chose us, individually, in Christ, to become the first layer of salvation. God chose us so that "we should be holy and without blame before him in love." He did not choose us because we were already holy and without blame before him.

The Greek word translated "should" is very important here. The Greek word is first person, singular, and indicative. That Greek word is used only when it presents an emphatic. This section should have been translated "shall."

Personal paraphrase--"That we shall (emphatically, with premeditation) be holy and blameless before Him in love."

In choosing us, Jesus keeps us without blame, unblemished, because of His love for us.

Many Christians will tell you that we are just "old sinners." In Christ, the old things have passed away and we are made new. We may be imperfect before the world, but we are blameless, faultless before God.

In Christ Jesus our old self is dead! Many people insist on exhuming the old man and parading him around town.

Paul tells us that God has predestined us to adoption as children through Jesus Christ. That was done according to the good pleasure of the Father's will.

We have been "predestinated" to be Christ's. The Greek text speaks of something that has been predetermined.

Most do not understand the purpose of predestination.

However, to deny the predetermined grace of God is to deny His omnipotence and omniscience. He chose us to become adopted as sons of God. That may sound arrogant, but it is true. That is what the word of God says.

In these short verses (4-6) Paul is telling Christians three things. We have been chosen, predestined, and accepted.

Talking Points 1-A

Ephesians 1:1-2
1 Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, to the saints which are at Ephesus, and to the faithful in Christ Jesus:
2 Grace be to you, and peace, from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ.

Ephesians begins by declaring that Paul is "an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God." It is very important to understand that Paul’s anointing as an Apostle did not come as the result of any human choice, or ego. It was strictly by the will of God as verse 1 tells us. Each of us has a place in the Kingdom of God, the New Heaven and the New Jerusalem and that place or position has been determined by God.

Please notice that this letter is addressed to the “saints” at Ephesus. Some people clamor for great titles. However, within the Church the greatest title is “saint!” Pastors and Deacons in the Church during this age are “hired help’ they are not kings and rulers.

To us the reference by Paul that he is an Apostle would seem strange even unnecessary. The fact that such an obviously called and anointed leader would need to declare that he is an Apostle seems odd.

At the time of the writing of this letter, Paul was not universally accepted. Unfortunately that is still the case in some Churches. The vast majority of Jewish Christians during that period viewed Paul’s message of salvation by grace through faith was subject to suspicion. Even during our day many Church attendees do not understand the simplicity or power of God's grace.

Verse 2 should be changed slightly to give a better understanding. That verse says in the KJV, “Grace be to you, and peace, from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ.” That verse should say, “Grace and peace from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ is yours.” The grace and peace of the Father and the Son now belong to all who have been elected to follow Christ Jesus.

Our salvation and service are by grace through faith. No works come attached to God’s grace. Christ Jesus has already done all the "work" required for our salvation. But, some still struggle in an effort to self-justify.

Stop struggling and rest in Christ Jesus!

Where do you live?

How many times has someone asked you, “Where do you live?” I have been asked that question multiple times. However, until recently my answer was not accurate.

My normal answer for many years was, “I live in a certain town on a certain street.” But, that is not accurate.

However, the reality is that I live in the hands of, and by the faith of my Lord, Christ Jesus, the Son of God! In John 18, theSon, Christ Jesus told God the Father, "Of those whom You gave Me I have lost none," (John 18:9-NKJV). So, I am safe from the evil one.

Many desire to live in safety and that is normal. Only the mentally ill or the demon possessed desire conflict. But, the only way to live in peace is to live in Christ Jesus. His peace brings true joy, the calm delight, of life in the Son of God.

I am part of the inheritance of Christ Jesus. You may also be part of His inheritance and yet not be aware of your standing with Christ Jesus.

Psalms 2:8 Ask of Me, and I will give YouThe nations for Your inheritance, And the ends of the earth forYour possession.(NKJV)

The“nations” speaks of the Goyim, the Gentiles, non-IsraeLis. The Gentiles ar eChrist’s inheritance.

Not all Gentiles have accepted the fact of His ransom!

1 Tim 2:6 [Christ Jesus] who gave Himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time. (NKJV)

if you paid the full and complete ransom for something, wouldn’t you want to get that for which you paid the ransom?

Or,

1 Tim 2:1-7
¹ Therefore I exhort first of all that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men,
² for kings and all who are in authority, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and reverence.
³ For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior,
⁴ who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.
⁵ For there is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus,
⁶ who gave Himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time,
⁷ for which I was appointed a preacher and an apostle--I am speaking the truth in Christ and not lying--a teacher of the Gentiles in faith and truth. (NKJV)

His Mercy Endureth Forever

Let’s discuss how the Holy Spirit works. It was some time ago that a voice from within told me to look at the phrase that we are now working on. The voice did not use Elizabethan English, however the KJV uses the Textus Recptus as the base text. The phrase “His Mercy endureth forever” appears 41 times in the Bible. Please understand that I have been led to study the languages of the Bible, but I have no formal training in those languages. Also, I have the best reference material available. I did study Hebrew with Rabbi James Cone at Temple Israel. I was the only Gentile in the class. However, since that class was, for me of very short duration, my Hebrew is limited. And, I never did get used to reading backward.

As I said, the phrase, “His Mercy endureth forever” appears in the Old Testament 41 times. With all that repetition we may think that God is trying to tell us something.

The ancient languages (Hebrew and Greek) did not use punctuation. Repetition was the way they accentuated an idea or concept. Repetition was the ancient exclamation point.

That is the good news, but the bad news is that “His Mercy endureth forever” is not a literal translation! The word “endureth,” or “endures” has been added to the text. The Hebrew literal text says, (Heb. leolam-לְעוֹלָם hasedo-חַסְדּוֹ,” or “for the age, {godly} kindness”. I have added the word “godly” to my translation to indicate the source of the kindness or mercy. The Hebrew translation must have added words when brought into English because one Hebrew word contains many “English” thoughts.

As Carolyn and I were discussing the Hebrew, we turned to the Hebrew word Olam. That Hebrew word refers to an age. It, in no way, speaks of eternity. There is no single Hebrew word that may be correctly translated “eternal.”

The fact is that God’s mercy extended to mankind had a beginning and it shall have an end. Prior to the fall of mankind there was no need for His mercy. At the end of the age of ages all shall be completely filled with the presence of God, and His mercy shall have overwhelmed all that stands in opposition to God, and again His mercy shall not be needed.

1 Cor 15:28 And when all things shall be subdued unto him, then shall the Son also himself be subject unto him that put all things under him, that God may be all in all.

 Eph 1:21-23

²² And He put all things under His feet, and gave Him to be head over all things to the church,

²³ which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all. (NKJV)

Those few verses take us far past Revelation to the consummation of God’s plan for the ages. In case you do not know, the millennium is NOT the end of the world or the end of all conflict.

Rev 20:7-10
7 And when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison,
8 And shall go out to deceive the nations which are in the four quarters of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to battle: the number of whom is as the sand of the sea.
9 And they went up on the breadth of the earth, and compassed the camp of the saints about, and the beloved city: and fire came down from God out of heaven, and devoured them.
10 And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever.

Many theologians twist the Scripture in an attempt to make Armageddon seem to be the last conflict, however when we actually read and believe the Bible we find that the War of Gog and Magog is at least 1,000 years past the return of Christ and Armageddon.

The return of Christ Jesus begins a millennium that has 1 thousand years that has no the open conflict.

During that millennium the sin-nature that is within human mankind and is unregenerateable shall lay dormant. However, it shall rise again prior to to the Great White Throne Judgment. The sin nature can, when confronted by the Holy spirit of God, but the only way to prevent the rise of the sin-nature is through the Lake of Fire and its complete destruction. Read Revelation 20 which must be read and understood as being a linear writing, and notice that the Gog and Magog war, and the Great White Throne Judgment resulting in death (Gr. thanatos-θάνατος) and hell (Gr. hades-ᾅδης) being cast into the lake of fire happens after the Millennium. The first death shall be consumed by the second death, and will cease to exist.

As you may have read, I believe that the second death is remedial and not punitive. But if God removes all rebellion within the sin-nature, Death and Hades, nothing shall remain.

The war of Gog and Magog indicates the the sin-nature was suppressed, but not eliminated during the millennium of peace.

The battle of Gog and Magog is the last open rebellion! The Lake of Fire shall consume all rebellion! There is no rebellion against God the Father, God the Son, or the Holy Spirit following the Great White Throne Judgment!

Heb 12:29 For our God is a consuming fire.

It is the Holy Spirit that enforces the will of the Father. The Father and Son chose those whom they will to be called and the time of that calling. Then the Holy Spirit comes to indwell at the appointed moment and seals us from the punishment that the Son has already paid on the cross. It all works in concert according to His mercy!

God’s mercy endures forever.

personal

This blog page is very personal. If you read my commentary on Paul’s Letters on my Web Site, (http://darroll.tripod.com/), you will find no footnotes because It is very seldom that I quote other writers. The Late Dr. Manford George Gutzke and one instance of a quote from the Liberty Commentary are the exceptions. Dr Gutzke was an extraordinary writer and speaker, and I use his definition of “love.”

 I must sdmit that my commentaries are a result of inspiration and not perspiration.  At times you will find me at odds with the translators. On more than one occasion while I was actively writing the commentaries, I would be awakened in the middle of the night with the statement, “Go to your computer, and I will show you the proper translation.”

 When I began translating the Bible my knowledge of Greek would not fill a thimble. 

 I began in 1990 with Philippians, because it was only 4 chapters in Greek, so how difficult could that be?

 The translation was completed in 1999, just prior to the crash of my computer. And so, all that work was lost. But, the Internet had not become so powerful back in those days. In fact, my first three commentaries on Philippians, Colossians, and Galatians were so new that at the time they were the only commentaries on those letters at that time on the Internet, and if you wanted to read a commentary on any one of those three the only Internet source at that time was my writing. God has indeed blessed me!

I started blogging using the Ephesians text as the base, but I will be changing that to certain verses from both the Old and New Testaments.

 Thank you for reading this blog, and may God bless you.

 If you have any comments or questions please contact me at studycomments@yahoo.com and I will responds as quickly as possible.

Talking Points 19

Eph 2:1-3
¹ And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins,
² in which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience,
³ among whom also we all once conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, just as the others. (NKJV)

Before the Holy Spirit opened our ears to hear Christ Jesus and our eyes to see the Truth we were spiritually dead in trespasses and sins. We walked, talked and acted as dead men do. Our goal was just to get through the day.

I am not condemning anyone in this. We were born with brown, or back, or blonde hair, and a certain color to our eyes. All of that is neither good nor bad. Instead it simply is!

However, we were also born with a penchant to sin! Until God the Father chooses us to come out of the sin that seems engulf our lives we will live according to the leading of Satan. We who have been called to follow Christ Jesus are the chosen of God. During this age, we are led by the Holy Spirit (Roman 8:14)! In Christ we have been changed from the sons of “disobedience” to the sons of the Father.

In the past we were dominated by Satan and led by our sin-nature. We had no choice as to the direction we walked. But, when we were called out, we learned to walk in the ways of righteousness, the ways of Christ Jesus.

Those who live in Satan’s unrighteousness also live in the sin-nature, with which they were physically born.

Even if you are forgiven, you must still contend with the sin-nature. You Spirit is saved, not your body. Barring the second coming during your lifetime, it shall return to the dust.

Talking points 18

Talking points 18 Eph 1:22-23
22 And He put all things under His feet, and gave Him to be head over all things to the church,
23 which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all. (NKJV)

The time when Christ puts all things under His feet may have already happened or may be a long way off (in human terms). That depends on what we mean by “all things under His feet.”

God being “all in all” is also a phrase that needs explaining!

According to the Old Testament the cattle on a thousand hills are already God’s (Psalm 50:10), which picturesque language for “He owns it all.” And, according to Ezekiel 18:4 all souls already belong to God.

Many people attempt to divide the Trinity in order to explain it. But we should always understand that the Trinity (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit) are echad (Heb. ‏אֶחָד‎) and as such are inseparable.

In accordance with the plan of God for the ages, each fulfills a designated task at various times within that plan, but all are in complete unity as to the plan, the moment of its fulfillment and the events within that plan. When I refer to “God’s plan for the ages,” God is God in totality and not God the Father as opposed to God the Son or God the Holy Spirit.

As to God being “all in all” that too may be translated with a slight difference. In fact, there may be no “becoming” to it. That section may also be translated, “all in all is being filled by Him.” All of creation is now following God’s program for their participation in His plan.

All plans are determined by the goal of the one doing the planning. And so, “filling all in all” is the goal of God’s plan for the ages.

We are now living out the greatest object lesson ever devised.