Wednesday – August 17, 2016
I think this camel might be onto something. He is telling us to change our way of thinking because Jesus is coming soon. Why would that be important because the most wonderful day of our life will be the day Jesus returns or we go on to Heaven? It is important because we are on assignment in the earth from Heaven which is our current home and seat of authority. The level of success of our mission determines the role we have in the Kingdom of God for eternity, it determines our reward, and our future assignment (s). Our success is directly related to our obedience to the will of God for our life. In order to be obedient we have to have a level of knowledge which is increasing allowing God to operate through us more as we are designed. Okay, back to Ephesians.
Ephesians 1:1-2 (KJV)
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.
The Apostle Paul is declaring Grace be, and Grace is, Peace be, and peace is, in the lives of the saints and the faithful in Christ Jesus at Ephesus. This pronouncement is not for everyone in Ephesus or everyone in the Ephesian Church but for those who are saved and those who are faithful. The saved part does not narrow the field much but the faithful part narrows it dramatically. For further clarity review the teaching for last Friday the 12th of August. The text above goes on to say: “from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ.” The word ‘from’ indicates the source of the thing discussed. In this case the Grace and the peace is from or originates with the Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ. So would this be automatic? The Grace of God (The Holy Spirit) and the peace of God are possessed of God and originates with God. The Apostle Paul desires for these folks to have more of God and he has identified those eligible and has identified from Whom these will flow. Like everything else we get from God including salvation, the saints and faithful in Christ Jesus must choose, determine in their own hearts (minds) individually to receive this by faith, by love, by hope, by the will of God led of the Spirit. This is good for it puts us on notice that if we are in the saint and faithful in Christ Jesus category this is the will of God for us since He is no respecter of persons.
The word ‘from’ in our text also can mean ‘out of’. At this juncture I want to remind each of us of something that Paul does not directly mention but the Apostle Peter does.
2 Peter 1:2 (KJV)
2 Grace and peace be multiplied unto you through the knowledge of God, and of Jesus our Lord,
Grace and peace is multiplied or is our possession through “the knowledge of God, and of Jesus our Lord,” This is not something the lazy Christian will ever possess and experience in their lives. The whole counsel of God is so important to our walk with God. When we have full knowledge of who the Grace of God is and when we have full knowledge of the peace of God and how that relates to us we can ignore the wind boisterous (Matthew 14:30) and focus on our mission in Christ Jesus.
Matthew 14:30 (KJV)
30 But when he saw the wind boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink, he cried, saying, Lord, save me.
In this account of the disciples seeing Jesus walking on the water, Peter at the invitation of Jesus gets out of the boat and walks some distance towards Him on the water. You cannot actually see wind but we can observe the effects of the wind which on the water would be the waves. The wind was present when he was in the boat and when he stepped out of the boat. Why did Peter now shift his focus? He was successfully walking on the water when his focus was Jesus. When he shifted his focus to the storm he started to sink. After all, the others were not out there, they did not even inquire if it would be okay for them to come to Jesus on the water. God warns throughout Scripture that when we are successful not to forget the source of the success, the power. The “wind boisterous” is a type and shadow of the enemy, the devil, who is pitching a fit, like the roaring lion, and he almost got to devour Peter. Peter’s mouth was pretty much unfiltered but to his credit he was quick to repent.
As we grow in our knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord we know not to pay any attention to the wind boisterous, the facade of the roaring lion, but to walk as Jesus walked, always victorious. I know it is very difficult to not bow to our natural circumstances but we must not in Christ Jesus.
By Dr. David Wood, Author, Bible Teacher, and Prophetic Voice
