Signed, Sealed & Delivered!

4-30-17

Ephesians Chapter 1

Message Notes

The *apostle Paul wrote this letter when he was in a prison in Rome. He wrote it to people in the town called Ephesus. This was about 61 years after the birth of Christ.

At one time, *Greek leaders had ruled Ephesus. Now the *Romans ruled the city. It was the capital of the *Roman region called Asia. It was a busy port and the centre of much trade. The *temple of the goddess (female god) Diana (or Artemis) was there. The business people sold models of Diana’s *temple there. But Paul’s *preaching affected their trade. This caused confusion and trouble in the city (Acts 19:23-41).

This letter is different from other letters by Paul. The main differences are:

a)  He does not give any special greetings;

b)  He does not send a message to any one particular person;

c)  He does not talk about special problems.

Paul wrote the letter to encourage the personal *faith of the Christians. It gives teaching, prayers and great *praises to God. It is about God’s Son, Jesus Christ. He came to our world in order to put right all the things that had gone wrong. Paul makes clear that Christ is the head of the *church. He will work out his purposes in and by the *church.

It is possible that Paul sent this letter to other *churches in Asia. Then they too could read it.

The letter is in two parts. First is the teaching part. It mainly teaches us about God’s plan for the world. This plan is for all time. It is about the gathering together of all things to Jesus Christ as head. God created men and women. He created them to be his friends. But now they are apart from him. They are his enemies.

There is no unity in a world without Christ. One person is against another person. Nations fight each other. *Jews and *Gentiles are against each other. 

There is a battle between evil *angels and good *angels. There is a battle between God and *Satan. Most people in the world do not know Christ. This is the reason for all that is wrong. But this is not God’s purpose for the world. There can be unity only when all things come together with Christ as head. Unity should first be inside the *church. Then it should be for all people everywhere. Then it should be with everything that God has made. This unity is for the entire world and for all ages. This is what Paul teaches in the first three chapters.

God’s plan is to fix the unity that is spoiled. The last three chapters teach about how God will use Christians in this plan. Paul teaches that the *church is like the body of Christ. Christians must be like Christ’s hands to do Christ’s work. Christians must be like his mouth to speak for him. They must be like his feet to take his *gospel to all the people in the world. God wants to deal with all the things that divide people. God will do this in and by the *church. Paul speaks about the different ways in which his message will apply. Change will come by the good behaviour of God’s people in the home and in the world.

Plan of Ephesians

Part 1: The place of the *believer in Christ (chapters 1-3)

1:1-2 Greetings

1:3-14 *Praise for all the *blessings of God

1:15-23 Paul’s first prayer

2:1-10 *Salvation by *grace

2:11-22 *Jews and *Gentiles are united in Christ

3:1-13 God has made his secret known

3:14-21 Paul’s second prayer

Part 2: The behavior of the believer in the world (chapters 4-6)

4:1-16 To live a life that has value

4:17-32 A different way to live

5:1-14 Love

5:15-6:9 Wisdom

6:10-20 The Christian life as a war

6:21-24 Final greeting

Part 1: The place of the *believer in Christ (chapters 1-3)

Chapter 1

1:1-2 ~ Greetings

v1 I am the *apostle Paul. I am an *apostle by God’s will. I am writing this letter to the *saints (God’s people) in Ephesus. You believe in Christ Jesus and you are in him.

v2 I pray that God, our Father, and the *Lord Jesus Christ will send you *grace and *peace.

Verse 1 Paul calls himself an ‘*apostle’. He is a person whom God has chosen. God has chosen him to be a leader in the *church and to act with God’s authority. First, Paul refers to himself as the writer of the letter. This was the custom at that time. Then he refers to his readers, as the ‘*saints’. The meaning of ‘*saints’ is ‘the holy persons’. 

It means those that God has set apart to live holy lives. These are the Christians in Ephesus. They remain strong in their belief. Paul greets them.

Verse 2 Paul changes the common *Greek word for ‘greetings’ to another word, ‘*grace’. The common *Hebrew greeting was ‘shalom’ or ‘*peace’. Paul brings the two greetings together as a *blessing and a prayer. He prays that his readers will know the free help of God the Father and the *Lord Jesus Christ. They do not need to earn this. He also prays that they will know peace with God. And he prays that they will have peace with each other. The *peace of God is not just the lack of trouble. The word ‘shalom’ has many meanings. It means to be well. It means to have enough for your needs. It means safety and health. We can have peace inside us even if life is difficult.

1:3-14 ~ *Praise for all the *blessings of God

In the original *Greek language, this song of *praise (verses 3-14) is one sentence. The thoughts of Paul follow from one to the next at great speed. It is as if he wants to say it all at once.

In this passage, Paul writes about the good things that the Father gives to us. The Father has *blessed us (verse 3). He has chosen us (verse 4). He has decided that we shall become his sons and daughters (verse 5). He has given his *grace to us (verse 6). *Grace is the gift of God that we cannot buy. Neither can we work to earn it (2:8-9). He has told us about his choice and purpose. It is to bring together all things in heaven and on earth. Then all will have one head, that is, Christ (verses 9-10).

1:3-6 ~ The Father has chosen us

v3 We praise the God and Father of our *Lord Jesus Christ who has greatly *blessed us. God has *blessed us in the *heavenly places with every *spiritual *blessing in Christ. v4 Before he made the world, he chose us. He wants us to live holy lives. He wants us to do nothing wrong, but only things that are good. He loved us. v5 So he chose to make us his sons and daughters by Jesus Christ. He did this so that we can be *holy and without *sin in his sight. v6 We praise him for his wonderful *grace. We thank him for the free gift that he gave to us. He gave it to us in the son that he loves.

Verse 3 God has *blessed us ‘in the *heavenly places with every *spiritual *blessing in Christ’. The *heavenly places refer to an area that you cannot see or touch. In that area, there are *beings that you cannot see. These *beings are both good and evil. The good *beings serve God and the evil *beings serve *Satan. The evil *beings try to rule society and the lives of people. Paul often uses the words ‘*heavenly places’. He uses them 5 times in this letter. If we are Christians, we live now in the *heavenly places. This is true even now whilst we live on earth. It refers to any place where Christ rules over all. His people rule with him too (1:20; 2:6).

Verse 4 Jesus Christ has always existed; he is *eternal. God chose us before our birth to be together with Christ. God made this choice before he made the world. This choice has nothing to do with the kind of person that we are. It does not depend on whether we are good or bad. Therefore, we cannot be proud. We cannot say that we have made the choice. We can only agree with what God has done. Christ *justifies us in front of God. Then we need to obey God. We must live holy lives as God intends.

Paul writes, ‘He wants us to live holy lives.’ The meaning of the *Greek word ‘holy’ is to be separate or different. Christians live in the world. But they must be different from the people round them. They will be different in their homes. And they will be different in the place where they work.

‘He wants us to do nothing wrong.’ The whole life of a Christian is like something that we are offering to God.

Verse 5 In the *Roman family, the father had great power. He could do as he wished to his sons. He could make them work without pay. He could sell them as slaves. He could hit them. He could even kill them. This power lasted all through the life of the son. It did not matter how old he was.

A father might decide to adopt a son. Then he would ask the court to give him legal authority to be the father of the child. The judge would pass all the power of the original father to this new father. All the rights of the old father then ended. The son became a new person. If he had any debts in the old family, the court ended them. It would be as if the debts had never existed.

That is what God has done for us. We were under the power of *sin and the *devil. God, by Jesus, removed us from that power. He put us into his new family. He took away the old debts (our *sins). It was as if they had never existed. We became part of his family and we became new people.

Verse 6 All this makes us *praise him for his wonderful *grace. This *grace is free. Moreover, he gave us this in the ‘son that he loves’ - Jesus. The *grace of God is everything that he has chosen to show us about himself.

1:7-12 ~ The Son gave his life for us

v7 Christ *saved us and made us free by his blood (death). God forgave our *sins. By this, God shows us his rich *grace. v8 With it, he gave us wisdom and understanding. They pour over us like water from a great river. v9 God decided to show us his secret plan that Christ would complete. He was pleased to do this. v10 He will complete his plan when the time is right. Then he will bring together all things in heaven and earth, to Christ. Christ will be the head of them all.

v11 God also chose us because of Christ. God had already decided what his plan should be. He chose us to receive an *inheritance. That was his plan. He uses everything that happens in his plans and his purposes. v12 So then we, the first people to have hope in Christ, would bring *praise and *glory to him.

Verses 7-8 In Paul’s days, you might have been a slave. Sometimes a kind person would pay money to free you. The *Israelites had been slaves in Egypt, but God made them free. God made them his people (Exodus 15:13). A person could make a *sacrifice to God. God would then *forgive his *sin. *Sacrifice was the way by which God would *forgive you. It was the way that God could deal with *sin. ‘If there is no *sacrifice of blood, God will not forgive our *sins’ (Hebrews 9:22).

Christ himself became this *sacrifice. He gave his blood when he died on the *cross. This *forgiveness is because ‘God shows us his rich *grace’. This *grace is greater than we can understand. It is beyond any riches of the earth (Hebrews 11:26).

God is so kind to us. He gave us ‘wisdom and understanding. They pour over us like water from a great river.’ His *blessings never dry up. Wisdom is the gift to be able to see things as they really are. But this wisdom is not just an idea in your head. Wisdom gives you knowledge. You are then able to use your knowledge to solve the problems of daily life.

Verses 9-10 God lets us know ‘his secret plan that Christ would complete’. He makes it possible for us to understand this. But he did not show his plan before Jesus came.

God’s plan was that Jesus Christ will be the head (or ruler) of the whole *universe (heaven and earth). God arranges the time of all things. He does this in perfect wisdom. God has fixed all the ages and seasons. He has decided when they will end. God is now working out his plan (that Christ will rule the whole *universe). His plan is working all the time. One day God will complete it. History is ‘his story’.

Through the ages, God is bringing everything together under his rule. The meaning of the *Greek words is that God will add up everything. He will put it all under Christ as head.

It would be difficult for a person who is not a Christian to understand this. He would not make sense of history. Different events have taken place in different ages. They would not link with each other. Paul shows that God has a plan for the history of men and women. Once God hid this secret. Now he makes his plan plain. Christians today can now understand it. It is the job of Christians to tell the world about it.

Verses 11-12 From the beginning, God chose us to ‘have hope in Christ’, the *Messiah. He chose that we should be a part of his plan. God works out everything in agreement with his choice. Everything that he wants to do, he does. Everything will be as he said. This plan includes Paul and the *Jewish *believers (‘we’ verse 12). They were the first to hope in Christ, the *Messiah. They hoped in him before he came (see Acts 28:20). They looked forward to him as their *Saviour. The plan then includes ‘you also’ (the *Gentile Christians) who believe in him (verse 13).

1:13-14 ~ The mark of the *Holy Spirit

v13 You also later heard the word of truth, the good news about how Christ could *save you. Then you, too, became united with Christ. When you believed in him, he marked you with a special sign. The *Holy Spirit was the sign. v14 The *Holy Spirit is the promise that God will give complete freedom to his people. We must praise God for his *glory.

Verse 13 The most important thing is to hear God’s word. God’s word is the word of truth. The word of truth is the *gospel. The *gospel is the good news about *salvation. The knowledge of *salvation comes by hearing about Jesus Christ (Romans 10:14). Hearing, however, must lead to *faith. God can *bless us only if we have *faith.

So, when you believe, God marks you with a special sign. This is for both *Jews and *Gentiles. It is for those who have heard and believed. In those days, a *seal was a person’s own sign. It was a stamp or mark. It showed that he was the owner. He used it when he sent something important to another person. He would use this on a letter. It showed that everything was true and not false. It was a promise. You could be sure that no one had opened the letter and changed it.

The *Holy Spirit is the *seal for the Christian. The *Holy Spirit in him is a proof to himself of his *faith. It also shows other people how real his *faith is. The *Holy Spirit makes the Christian certain that he has *salvation. This *seal also keeps the Christian safe. No one can break the *seal. No one can break into his life. In the end, he will be safe with Jesus.

Verse 14 In those days, when you bought something, you paid some money. This was only a part of the whole price. You made a promise to the seller. You promised that later you would pay the rest of the price. The *Holy Spirit is God’s *seal or promise. It is a promise to all those who believe in him. He promises that one day he will make them completely his own possession. They will belong completely to him. That includes both *Jews and *Gentiles. This will be completely to God’s *glory.

1:15-23 ~ Paul’s first prayer

v15 I heard about your *faith in the *Lord Jesus, and your love for all the *saints. Ever since that time, v16 I have never stopped thanking God for you. And I remember you when I pray. v17 God is the wonderful Father of our *Lord Jesus Christ. I am always asking that he will give you great wisdom and knowledge about himself. He will show himself to you, so that you can know him better. v18 I pray too, that you will understand what he has promised to give you. You will know the hope to which he has called you. You will know the *glory of the rich *blessings that he has prepared for you. v19 And you will know how very great his power is. This power works in those who believe in him. He used the same strong power v20 after Christ had died. He used this power to make Jesus Christ come back to life again. He used his power to cause Christ to sit at his right side in heaven. v21 God put Christ far above all people with authority, *lords and other rulers on earth and in heaven. Christ rules over them now and he will rule over them in the future. v22 God put all things under the authority and power of Christ. God put him in the highest place as head over everything for the *church. v23 The *church is the body of Christ. It is complete in him, who fills everything everywhere.

Verses 15-16 In the rest of this chapter, Paul prays for his readers. He asks God to give them real understanding. He wants them to understand how wonderful and exciting the good news is.

He speaks about their *faith and love. He tells his readers that their behavior towards the *Lord is important. So too is their behavior with each other. Paul says that he does not stop thanking God for them. He also remembers them all in his prayers.

Verse 17 Paul is always asking that God:

∑  will give them wisdom and

∑  that he will show himself to them so that they can know him  

            better.

God the Father is a ‘wonderful Father’. All *glory and all power and all greatness belong to him. God made the earth, the sky and everything. We see his greatness in all that he has made. We see his greatness in the way that he provides. He provides for everyone and everything on the earth. It all comes from God.

By God the Son we have wonderful freedom from *sin. We see his greatness in this. That should cause us to wonder. It should increase our *faith when we pray. God the *Holy Spirit helps us to understand all this. He helps us to know God better.

Verses 18-23 We cannot understand such knowledge by ourselves. It is far too great. God must help us to understand. To know God is more than to know facts about him. It is to know him as a person and to share our lives with him.

Paul prays that three things will happen:

∑ First, that they will know ‘the hope to which he has called’ them. God called us to himself at the very beginning. He called us to be united with Jesus Christ. He called us to be holy even as he is holy (4:1). This is the call that God brings to those without hope (2:12). The hope is about our future. We will then be with Christ for ever. We can think about a time after our present suffering. We can think about a wonderful future. God’s promise to us is that we can have the *Holy Spirit inside us now (verse 14). The promise is also about what he is keeping for us in the future.

∑ Second, that they ‘will know the *glory of the rich *blessings that he (God) has prepared’ for them. God has given these rich *blessings to those who believe. Christians can expect to enjoy this *inheritance.

Peter describes the *inheritance that God has prepared for us. It never dies. It is not like rubbish. It never disappears. God is ‘keeping it in heaven for you’ (1 Peter 1:4). The children of God are the heirs of God. They are heirs together with Christ (Romans 8:17). Everything that belongs to a person will belong to his heirs one day. That is what ‘heirs’ means. One day our *inheritance will be complete. 

We shall be completely God’s possession. We do not know what it will be like. We do know that we shall see Christ. And we shall *worship him. When he appears, we shall be like him. We shall be like him in our bodies. We shall be like him in his character. We shall be united with each other. It will be perfect. God wants us to know about this. He wants us to think about it. He wants us to know how wonderful it will be.

∑          Third, that ‘you will know how very great his power is’ (verse 19). Nothing compares with that power. It is far greater than any other power. We cannot measure it. By this power, God made everything in heaven and earth. This power is working ‘in (or ‘for’ or ‘towards’) those who believe’.

Paul describes this great power by three events (verses 19-23):

∑  First, God made ‘Jesus Christ come back to life again’ (verse 20).

∑ Second, ‘He used his power to cause Christ to sit at his right side in heaven.’ This was far above ‘all people with authority, *lords and other rulers on earth and in heaven’. It was above every title (or rank) that anyone can give. And ‘Christ rules over them now and he will rule over them in the future’ (verse 21).

∑ Third ‘and God put all things under the authority and power of Christ. God put him in the highest place as head over everything for the *church’ (verse 22). ‘All things’ include the world, the stars and all physical things. ‘All things’ also include all people, good *angels and bad *angels. God made Christ head over all things. He also made him head over everything for the *church. The *church is his body. So both the *church and everything that is have the same head. He completely fills everything in every way. He also fills the *church (verses 22-23).

There are two powers that men cannot control. One power is death and the other power is the devil. Jesus Christ won the battle over both. 

He did this by his death and *resurrection. He can rescue us from both death and the devil. God raised Jesus from death. He raised him to new life where there is no more death. This new life lasts for ever and ever. God caused Jesus to sit at God’s right side in heaven. God made him king over every power that there is. Jesus rules in heaven as king. He rules over all people. He rules over all nations. He rules over all *spirits, both good and evil.

Verse 21 also includes every title (or rank) that anyone can give. In Genesis chapter 1, God told man to rule over all things. When Adam *sinned, people lost the power to rule. Christ now rules over everything. So he gives back to us the power to rule.

The *church is the body of Christ. The *church consists of his people (Christians). Jesus is the head of his *church. The job of the *church is to explain Jesus to the world. To do this, the *church needs to be full of his *Holy Spirit.

PRACTICAL APPLICATION

To weather the STORM of Life and to wade through all of the deception the enemy of God heaps into our minds… we have to KNOW WHOSE WE ARE! Who do we belong to? Who is our DADDY? Our ABBA?

We are RICH with the understanding that the KING OF THE UNIVERSE is our Dad! All of the Kingdom is ours and the POWER OF GOD is ours to rely and to call on… all because of our faith and relationship with JESUS!!!

Next time you feel discouraged or even DEPRESSED because of whatever is plaguing you… DECLARE whose Child you are! Tell the enemy of God that YOU ARE SEALED with the promise of the Holy Spirit and that you are a Blood Bought Born Again Child of the King!

The Body You've Always Wanted!

The Body I've Always Wanted 

1 Corinthians 15

Everywhere you look these days it seems people are trying to get the perfect body. Magazine covers feature tips on how to lose 20 pounds in ten days, cosmetic companies promise creams that erase the lines of time on your face and the media continues to bombard us with the idea that we should all look like runway models.

According to the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery, between the years 1997 and 2000 there was a 173 percent increase in cosmetic surgery. It should come as no surprise that baby boomers between the ages of 35 and 50 had the most cosmetic procedures (43 percent of total), followed by 19-34 year olds (25 percent) and 51-64 year olds (22 percent). (ASAPS website)

The latest statistics reveal that in 2003 alone there were some 8.3 million cosmetic medical procedures preformed in the United States.

But we don't have to turn to surgeons or to the latest diet fad to get the body we've always wanted. In fact, as Christians, God has promised us that ultimately we will end up with a perfect body. That's right, if you're a Christian, one day you'll have the perfect body.

Open your bible with me to the 15th chapter 1st Corinthians. Our text today includes verses 35-58, with our primary focus being in verses 50-58. God promises here to give us the body we've always wanted. But before we get to the heart of our message, let's set the context.

It is fascinating for me to observe how quickly we abandon that which can know with certainty, in search of that which we certainly cannot know. This curiosity, resident in our human nature, is not all bad, after all it is what spurs us on to invention and discovery. But on the other hand, it is what got us all into trouble in the first place. Adam and Eve had the whole of the Garden of Eden to explore and enjoy, but where do you think they ended up? In the one place that was off limits to them.

Throughout scripture we find people asking for things which are beyond them. Habakkuk questioning the will of God, Jonah questioning the mercy of God, Job questioning the way in which God works, the disciples questioning the redemptive plan of God which included the brutal crucifixion of our Lord. We find the disciples wanting to know when Jesus would return and here we find the Corinthians wanting to know things about the resurrection that simply serve no practical purpose for us to understand. We find here in verse 35 two questions of this type. 1) How are the dead raised up, and 2) what with what kind of body do they come?

In verses 35 to 49 Paul answers the second question first, as he explains the reality of the resurrection and the perfection of the resurrected body. The earthly body is buried, or planted as he says in verse 37, but God raises it up a heavenly or resurrected body. While there are other things in this section, explaining the resurrected body, its perfection and the reality that we will be different in the resurrection than we are now, is the thrust of verses 35-46.

Look at verse 35. Here we have two questions the Christians at Corinth were discussing: How are the dead raised? And what kind of body will they have when they are resurrected? 

For the sake of our study this morning, we will break up this passage into three sections. In verses 50-53 we observe the Bodily Transformation, in verses 54-57 we find the Spiritual Triumph, and in verse 58 we find a Practical Teaching.

1. There will be a bodily transformation

Paul begins this section by reiterating his answer to the second question; with what kind of body are we resurrected? Or to put it into our common speech: What kind of body will I have when I am resurrected?

In verses 50-53 scripture says, "Brothers, I tell you this: flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, and corruption cannot inherit incorruption. Listen! I am telling you a mystery: We will not all fall asleep, but we will all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raise incorruptible, and we will be changed. Because this corruptible must be clothed with incorruptibility, and this mortal must be clothed with immortality." (HCSB)

Here he affirms that he is revealing a mystery, or something that cannot be discerned outside of divine revelation. Writing under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, Paul gives us an insight into that which we could otherwise never discover. He says that the resurrection is not merely the resuscitation of a corpse, but the transformation of our physical bodies into a glorified body. (

Paul explains this in Philippians 3:20-21 where he says:

"But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, who, by the power that enables Him to bring everything under His control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like His glorious body." 

This is difficult for us to grasp, and quite frankly, I'm not sure we will be able to fully comprehend it till we are in Heaven. The only example we have is the one which Paul mentions here in Philippians: that of Jesus who once He was resurrected He was different than before. Did He have flesh and blood? Yes! He ate fish with the disciples and Thomas was able to touch His hands and His side, but as the same time the gospel of John tells us that He was able to walk into a locked room, through the walls and appear to His disciples.

The substantive difference between the bodies that we have now and the bodies we will have in the resurrection is perhaps best described in the Jerusalem Bible's translation of verse 44. It says of the earthly body, "When it is sown it embodies the soul, when it is raised, it embodies the spirit. If the soul had its own embodiment, so does the spirit have its own embodiment.”

The point Paul is making is that when we die, what will be buried will be our natural bodies, bodies that were meant to house the soul, when we are raised it will not merely be our natural bodies, but supernatural bodies, bodies meant to house the eternal spirit.

But those who have died are not the only ones who will be changed. We will all be changed. It is necessary for us to be changed, to be conformed to Christ, because flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, only that which is imperishable. Thus all who have placed their faith in Christ will be changed. The dead in Christ will rise first, they will be raised with their new incorruptible bodies. Then we who are alive and remain will be transformed, in a split second, in the twinkling of an eye, and we will be caught up together in the air to be with the Lord. So all who are in Christ will be changed.

A great change is coming. We will be changed from bodies that are destined to die, into bodies that are designed to live forever. We will be changed from bodies that are drawn to sin, to bodies that are destined to be sinless; we will be changed from bodies that are earthly to bodies that are heavenly. The change will be from that which grows old to that which is forever young, from death to life, from natural to supernatural, from mortal animation to immortal inspiration. That is what will happen in the resurrection.

A bodily transformation will occur and we will have the bodies God wants us to have.

But not only will the resurrection mean a bodily transformation, it will also usher in a great spiritual triumph. Look at verses 54-57.

II. There will be a spiritual triumph

Since the fall of man, when Adam sinned against God in the garden of Eden, man fell from innocence and was born with a nature that is set against God. We call it a sinful nature. Throughout the scripture we find this truth that all men are sinners.

Genesis 6:5 says that the Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great on the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of the heart of man was only evil continually.

I Kings 8:46 tells us that there is no man who does not sin.

Psalm 53:3 says that there is no one who does good, not even one.

Isaiah 64:6 for all of us have become like one who is unclean and all our righteous deeds are like a filthy garment.

Romans 3:23 tells us that all have sinned and fallen short of the Glory of God.

And 1 John 1:8 says if we say we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves and the truth is not in us.

In fact, Romans 5:12 says, Therefore just as through one man sin entered into the world, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men, because all sinned …

Sin is universal and the scripture tells us that consequences of sin is death.

Ezekiel 18:4 says, The soul that sins will die.

Romans 6:23 says, the wages of sin is death

 and James 1:15 says, When lust has conceived it gives birth to sin, and when sin is accomplished it brings forth death.

All of humanity is born with the curse of death upon them. In fact, Hebrews 9:27 tells us that it is appointed for man once to die. Because of our fallen nature, spiritual death is a certainty, and with spiritual death, came physical death. The fall from innocence brought sin and sin brought death.

The sting of death, is sin, and the power of sin is the law.

What does he mean by that?

There are basically three purposes of the law:

1. In our inability to keep it, it demonstrates to us our sinfulness

Romans 3:20 says, "For no flesh will be justified in His sight by the works of the law, for through the law comes the knowledge of sin." (HCSB)

The law is what shows us the righteousness of God and demonstrates to us the difference between God and us. Because it is impossible for us to be perfect, we cannot keep the law in its entirety, and James tells us that if we are guilty of breaking the smallest part of the law we are guilty of breaking all the law.

One writer notes that the Law drives the fallen man to Christ by revealing the enormity of his sin; it completely unmasks him before a holy God.

B. It serves as a deterrent to sin and gives us moral instruction

Simply put, it tells us what to do and what not to do.

C. It directs us to Christ

Galatians 3:24 says, "The law, then, was our guardian until Christ, so that we could be justified by faith." (HCSB)

Because we are unable to keep the Law, and God uses the Law to show us how truly unrighteous we really are, it is the Law that ultimately points us to the only one who was righteous, the only One who could be an acceptable sacrifice for our sins. The Law points us to Jesus and leads us to salvation by grace through faith.

It is to the first purpose that Paul makes reference here in verses. Without the Law we would not be aware of our sinfulness and of the consequences of that sin.

But Paul's point here is that the resurrection vanquishes death. Death, which has held humanity in its iron clad grip since the fall of Adam, was defeated when Jesus rose from the dead. The resurrection of Jesus defeated death. It gave us victory over the tomb and triumph over the curse of sin.

Jesus died on the cross and was laid in the tomb, but something marvelous happened! On the third day, a trembling must have shaken the place - a sound that could only be made by the rolling back of a stone. Jesus, who was mocked, beaten, crucified, and laid in the tomb, got up. 

He shook off the shroud of death and thanks be to God, by His glorious power Jesus rose from the dead. It was there that death was defeated. It was there that the power of sin was overcome.

And on that great day, when the trumpet sounds and the dead in Christ arise, on that awesome day when we are all instantly changed, the victory over death that Christ secured by His resurrection will be ours. We too shall share in His victory. The shadows of death will be vanquished by the brightness of the Son of God, who loved us and gave Himself up for us.

I was at the hospital this week visiting, and it occurred to me that in Heaven there will be no hospitals, no doctors, no nurses, no medicine and no pain. There will be no cancer ward, no ICU and no children's wing.

It will be as Revelation 21:4 says, "He will wipe away every tear from their eyes. Death will exist no longer; grief, crying and pain will exist no longer, because the previous things have passed away." (HCSB)

Resurrection day will be a day when our great spiritual triumph over death will be complete. Death will have lost its power, and we will be free from its every insidious influence.

III. There is a practical teaching

Therefore: because we shall be changed, because we will certainly appreciate a final and thorough victory over death, we must therefore live a certain way.

We must be careful never to separate doctrine from practice. All we do is to be predicated upon all we know. Since we know of the victory to come, till it does come to fruition there is still work for us to do. Paul gives us two words of exhortation and one word of encouragement.

1. Be steadfast in your faith

Be steadfast, settled, trusting in the grace of God. Keeping in mind the reality that you know your future is settled. Immovable – this word caries with it the meaning of being unmoved by external circumstances, by outside agitation, excitement or movement.

When the culture in which we lives begins to deteriorate, when the financial picture of our country seems bleak, when immorality makes great strides against truth and when we find outcasts for our faith, we don't have to worry. We can stand firm, knowing that Jesus has already won the victory.

Be steadfast. Philippians 1:27 says, "Only conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ: so that whether I come and see you or remain absent, I may hear of you that you are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel.”

We must remain steadfast.

B. Be excellent in your work

Abounding – carries with it the idea of being superior or excellent. We cannot afford to sit back and allow the work of the kingdom of God to go undone. Here at Faith Fellowship we are we live in a GROWING community where LOTS of people DO NOT go to church or are even concerned about going. 

And you don't need statistics to tell you that. Just look around you as you drive to church or home from church on Sunday. People are going about their weekends, going about their lives with absolutely no thought whatsoever of God. Not only do they not recognize a need for God, but they think we are foolish and week for holding to our faith.

I saw a bumper sticker the other day that was in Latin. The English translation of which was "I think therefore I am an atheist." Friends we have our work cut out for us.

Jesus is coming again, and given the way the world is moving, it could be soon. What will we do when we stand before Him to give account for our work? What will we say when He asks us if we did everything we could do to reach more people for Him and for His kingdom?

We must be excellent, abounding, superior in our work. If the secular world will go to any expense to get you to buy their product, to drink their cola or to wear their label, and all that they are selling will perish, to what lengths should we go to help people gain that which cannot perish? If the city is willing to spend untold millions on a stadium they didn't need to see a group of men throw around a pigskin bag filled with air, how much are we willing to spend, to do, or give in order to reach people with the gospel of Jesus Christ?  

We must be abounding in the work of the Lord. Not complacent, not comfortable, and not complaining, but excelling, abounding, making sure that everyone has an opportunity to know Jesus like we do.

And when we abound in the work of God, we can be confident that our work will make a difference.

C. Be certain that your work is not in vain

The Greek word for "know" (vs. 58) speaks of perfect possessed knowledge, as opposed to knowledge which is progressively acquired. We know that our toil is not in vain in the Lord.

In life there is ever the temptation to get discouraged and to ask ourselves, "What's the use?" Why am I going through all this, why am I doing all this work, after all, I don't see any results?

I don't know about you, but as a pastor I find myself asking that rhetorical question from time to time. Serving the Lord can become very much of a routine. While there are times that we see the impact of our ministry and the difference that we make, those are few and far between. The Lion's share of the time we are left wondering if we are really making a difference.

Part of it is our sinful infatuation with self. Thinking that somehow we are to make a difference, and part of it is our limited ability to remember that it is not us doing the work, but Christ doing His work through us. Thus success in ministry of any kind is not based on results that we can see, but rather upon our faithfulness to our call and our ability to leave the results to God.

Paul says we don't have to wonder whether or not our lives are making a difference, because Christ rose, because it is certain that we shall be changed, because He is coming back, because the end of the book has already been written, we don't have to wonder whether or not our service is making a difference. We can know with certainty that our toil, our hard work for the Savior is not in vain. It makes a difference.

Someday, and it could be today, Jesus will return. The dead will be raised and that which is corruptible will be made incorruptible. We will be given the body we've always wanted. But we don't have to wait till Jesus comes to be the Body we're supposed to be.

What I mean is that, as the body of Christ, God has given us all we need to accomplish His will, to continue His work and to bring Him glory till He comes. We should be more concerned about being His Spiritual Body than we are about receiving a new physical body.

Are you standing steadfast in your faith? Are you as excited about Jesus as you were the day you were saved? You should be more excited.

Are you abounding in work for His kingdom? What difference are you making in the Kingdom of God? If you were to die, what would go undone in God's kingdom? Are you content with where you are and if now, what will you do to change it?

When it's all said and done, will you look back with regrets? It's never too late to change.