God Is at Work in You

Reading:  Philippians 1:1-11
    
    Paul writes this letter to the Philippians because they have recently sent some form of aid to him while in prison (see Phil 4:14-18, 1:7); Philippians is an extended thank-you note.  Paul notably addresses the letter to “all the saints in Christ Jesus who are at Philippi, with the overseers and deacons”(Phil 1:1).  This church had overseers/elders/pastors to watch over the group and deacons to tend to needs.  As is his habit, Paul mentions to them his prayers for them (Phil 1:3-4), specifying that he prays for them “because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now”(Phil 1:5).  “Partnership” (other versions have “participation,” “sharing,” or “fellowship”) is a rich word that implies mutual goals and joint work.  When a church sends Paul money as he preaches the gospel, he sees it as more than a transaction.  It is a sign that we are fully joined in a combined work.  For this he thanks God.

    But he is more excited by what their gift says about them.  “And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ”(Phil 1:6).   Their gift of kindness is more than cutting a check.  It is an outgrowth of a work of personal transformation God has begun in them.  God is working not just for their individual betterment, but that through them he can bless others (like Paul).  He is further confident that God will continue his work all the way to “the day of Jesus Christ.”  All of this makes Paul very emotional:  “I hold you in my heart”(Phil 1:7) and “I yearn for you all with the affection of Christ Jesus”(Phil 1:8).  It makes him pray for their continued growth (Phil 1:9-11) as God continues to work in them.

    Statements like these give us both humility and confidence.  We are humbled as we realize that we are a project God has taken on in which he slowly refines our character.  Any improvements we see, service we render, or wisdom we gain is God’s work, not our own.  Yet we are also confident that “he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion.”  When I feel incomplete, insufficient, and insecure, I remember God is at work in me.  He will finish the job.

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One Thing to Think About: Am I confident that God is at work in me—and my fellow believers? 

One Thing to Pray For:  To grow in love, knowledge, and discernment
 

Armor for the Battle

Reading:  Ephesians 6:16-24
    
    Knowing that the devil has “schemes” to attack and destroy us, Paul urges Christians to prepare for the battle with equipment from God.  Some scholars suspect that Paul wrote this letter while chained to a Roman soldier (Eph 6:20), giving him a front-row view of the armor he describes.  “Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace”(Eph 6:14-15).   Satan will attack us using lies, but God has given us “the belt of truth” to recognize and reject them.  Satan will attack us by challenging our moral purity, but God has given us new righteousness in which we now live (Eph 4:24).  Satan will attack us by catching us unawares, but God has given us “the readiness given by the gospel of peace” which prepares us for his schemes.

    Paul goes piece by piece, from “the shield of faith” to “the helmet of salvation” and “the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God”(Eph 6:16, 17).  This equipment stresses our connection to God, which Satan works to undermine.  Our faith and salvation protect us, reassuring us that God is real and that he will deliver us in time of need.  The sword is the only offensive weapon in the list; we use God’s word to fight back as we engage with Satan and his servants.  Paul wants us to keep “praying at all times in the Spirit”(Eph 6:18) through the battle, including praying for him to preach boldly (Eph 6:19).  

    There are two key thoughts here, but one is more important than the other.  First is that Satan’s attacks—using lies, temptation, surprise, and doubt—are the same tactics he has used from the beginning of time.  He is powerful, but not terribly inventive.  We can foresee how he might attack us.  The second is that God is greater than Satan.  He has given us all we need to win our daily and ultimate battles with Satan.  His armor, wisdom, and salvation will always bless us if we choose them.  He will have ultimate victory.  Will we?

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One Thing to Think About: Why do we often forget about God when we are tempted? 

One Thing to Pray For:  God’s help and protection against Satan’s schemes
 

The Schemes of the Devil

Reading:  Ephesians 6:10-15
    
    Paul takes us to the battlefield.  “Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might.  Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil”(Eph 6:10-11).  He reminds the Ephesians that they are in a battle against a powerful enemy; they will need “strength” and “armor” to withstand his attacks.  Yet he warns that the enemy has carefully planned “schemes” to deceive, entrap, and defeat us.  This term implies that the devil has a battle plan engineered to attack me specifically.  

    “For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places”(Eph 6:12).  The challenge of the battle is that the fight is not what it appears.  Though we seem to battle people who oppose God or tempt us to sin, Paul stresses that “we do not wrestle against flesh and blood.”  In reality, we are pawns in the battle between God and Satan.  There are dark forces at work in the world (“cosmic powers over this present darkness”) and their sights are set on the people of God.  These grim words are intended to motivate us to prepare for the battle.  “Therefore, take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm”(Eph 6:13).  Just as we would not wander out onto a battlefield unprepared, so we need to cling to the tools God has given to equip us for the battle.

    This text begs a question:  What is Satan’s plan for me?  What areas of my life is he trying to attack?  What people will he use?  What arguments, what temptations, what times of weakness?  And much more importantly, what do I have from Jesus to combat these attacks?  How will I resist?

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One Thing to Think About: If I were Satan, how would I attack me?  My local church?

One Thing to Pray For:  Daily awareness of the battle in me and around me
 

No One Is Exempt

Reading:  Ephesians 6:1-9
    
    Paul transitions from discussing Christian marriage to other important relationships.  “Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right.  ‘Honor your father and mother’ (this is the first commandment with a promise), ‘that it may go well with you and that you may live long in the land’”(Eph 6:1-3).  Children obey and honor their parents, but not because their parents are perfect.  They obey because it is “right” and there is a promise of blessing to the obedient.  This is God’s way of preserving order and peace within the home.  But fathers are not exempt from instruction:  “Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord”(Eph 6:4).  Paul warns Christian parents not to abuse their role by angering their children, probably with harsh, rough, or inconsistent discipline.  We teach and train them in a way that points them to Jesus.

    “Bondservants, obey your earthly masters with fear and trembling, with a sincere heart, as you would Christ”(Eph 6:6).  Some Christians in this era were slaves and Paul expects them to sincerely obey their masters, working as if they are working for Jesus himself.  Even in their undesired state, they can reflect Jesus in their behavior.  But masters are not exempt either.  “Masters, do the same to them, and stop your threatening, knowing that he who is both their Master and yours is in heaven, and that there is no partiality with him”(Eph 6:9).  The fact that they are in charge of someone else does not give them license to threaten and abuse them.  Masters have a master too.

     No one is exempt from the change Jesus requires of his people.  The fact that we may have some authority over someone doesn’t change the fact that we will answer to God.  We can obey and serve others with quiet faith that Jesus will see our sacrifice.  We can also lead with the full knowledge that we have a higher authority who will judge our leadership.

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One Thing to Think About: What does it look like to do my work “as to the Lord and not to man”?

One Thing to Pray For:  The humility to submit to those in authority over me
 

How Jesus Transforms Marriage

Reading:  Ephesians 5:22-33
    
    Paul introduces this section on family relationships by urging all Christians to continue “submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ”(Eph 5:21).  Submission—the willingness to forgo my will and yield to another—is not a sign of weakness, but a standard part of Christian living.  When we place others’ needs above our own and serve them in love, we submit to them because we follow a submissive Savior.  Paul applies Jesus’ crucifixion to marriage.  “Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord.  For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church, his body, and is himself its Savior.  Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit in everything to their husbands”(Eph 5:22-24).  The church (the people of Jesus) is intimately connected to Jesus, like a body and its head.  The church submits to, trusts, and loves Jesus.  Wives submit to, trust, and love their husbands.  This does not mean that husbands are permitted to act as infallible tyrants, but that wives’ submission is appropriate because Jesus has shown us that there is no shame in submission.  

    The cross also changes husbands.  “Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word”(Eph 5:25-26).  Jesus’ act of complete self-sacrifice sets the tone for marriage.  Husbands love like him, willing to forgo their pleasure, comfort, and even life itself because they long to bless their wives.  Just as Jesus desperately wanted to purify his people, so husbands desperately want the best for their wives, even at cost to themselves.  When husbands love in this way, wives can grow to trust and follow them.  When wives submit in this way, husbands can grow to love in a sacrificial way.

    The cross transforms marriage because it shows us that true love is not about what I get from others.  When I forfeit my desire to please myself, I bless my mate by giving them the love and respect they most need.   Christian marriage reflects the cross, reminding us that others are not here to serve us, but to be served.   

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One Thing to Think About: Do I treat my mate in a way that reflects Jesus?

One Thing to Pray For:  Courage to sacrifice my will and comfort for my mate