Saturday, October 9, 2010
Ephesians 2:4 But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us ...
THE METHOD: HIS LOVE
So every day we wake up, we look at the big red arrow "Here You Are." We trace the path to where we want to be, we look up and see the path going up, up, up -- impossibly high, impossibly far. How are we going to make it? What is the difference between those who descend into the ways of this world and those who ascend to sit with Christ? Paul doesn't give us any method. He doesn't give us any choice. Paul doesn't tell us to make the right decision or to pray harder. All the methods, all the advice that you so often hear -- this is how you avoid sin, this is how you sanctify your life -- where are they? There is not a word of such methods here. But only "by grace", "in Christ", "because of His love", "gift of God." Even the three verbs we talked about yesterday, all three are verbs beginning with the Greek preposition "syn." This is the Greek preposition "with" -- with Christ, always with Christ, always in Christ.
Paul completes this thought in chapter four, "he ascended on high and gave gifts to men." What gifts? "Apostles, prophets, pastors and teachers," the gift of His word, the gift of His sacraments that through them He might raise us up with Him.
We sit and live with Christ when we live in His Word; when we drink deeply of the Means of Grace.
There is a river whose streams shall make glad the city of God,
The holy place of the tabernacle of the Most High.
God is in the midst of her, she shall not be moved;
God shall help her, just at the break of dawn.
(Psalm 46:4-5)
