6 Feb 2021
The Bible presents to us a picture of lost humanity subsequent to the fall of Adam and Eve. Humanity was totally cut off from God by sin, and without any merit acceptable to the Lord God. The Law given to Israel is no help because the Law condemns those who fall short, and all have fallen short. The moral law implanted in pagans is no help for though they recognise right and wrong, they too fall short of the standards imposed by their own consciences (Rom. 2). Thus all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God, and all stand before God without merit and condemned (Rom. 3). The Law is no help at all, because sinful human beings are spiritually dead, and Law cannot give life (Gal. 3:21-22).
With every human being totally helpless, our only hope is to appeal to God’s mercy, and that mercy is offered to all in Jesus Christ, who died for all. Because of God’s great mercy extended to us in Jesus, all who believe (are born again) will be saved and given the gift and privilege of eternal life in Christ.
Jesus’ death, our adoption into God’s family, our transformation into Jesus’ likeness and image – all this was planned and carried through as God had decided beforehand. It is God who chooses, predestines and wills – God’s choice according to His good pleasure must be seen and understood in view of His love and grace (Eph. 1:4,6). We must rest in the character of a God we know, in Christ, as a God of infinite love and compassion, and a God who is perfectly just and good. Hence we know that God can never be unfair and we take refuge from all doubt in this knowledge of who He is – the unchanging, transcendent, all wise and almighty One, the same today, yesterday and forever!
We have noted the church as the body of Christ and belonging to God’s family; as such, the members are rooted and established in love for one another that, together, they come to know the love of Christ – a love which while beyond our comprehension is not beyond our capacity to experience (Eph. 3:14-19).
God’s purpose in recreating a new humanity is in the context of a call to form a truly new community of faith – the church. Believers are to ‘make every effort’ to maintain the unity of a body which is indeed one: indwelt by one Spirit, won by one Lord, owing loyalty to one Father (4:1-6). The unity is expressed in love, in humility, in gentleness, patience, and forbearance.Through the efforts of all its members, the body of Christ is built up (Eph. 4:11-13), and through active participation in a growing, ministering body the individual believer matures.
As members of Christ’s body, given the gift of eternal life and the privilege to relate and fellowship with God the Father through Christ in the Spirit, we must develop relationships rooted and established in love, for God is love. Only then will we have power “together with all the saints” to experience what cannot really be grasped intellectually: the love Christ has for us. Christ’s love is far too wide, long, high and deep to comprehend; yet this love can be known experientially and it is communicated to us within the church as the new community of faith becomes rooted and established in love for each other. For by grace are we saved through faith: it begins with faith but it ends in love, a love immersed in God’s love in Christ. We know God because He became incarnate in Christ, and we come to know Christ as our Lord continues to express Himself through our brothers and sisters, who are members of HIs living body here on earth.
We are one body in Christ. The unity exists but it must be maintained by the consistent effort of each member of the body to relate to others in humility, gentleness, patience and forbearance. The elder John reminds us to love one another for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God (i.e. has received eternal life in Him (1 John4:7)). John continues: “Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love…if we love one another, God abides in us and HIs love is perfected in us”( 4:8,12b).
We must always remember that we have always been on God’s heart and in His mind, even from before the creation of the world. God’s choice, plan, and purpose originate in eternity but our participation is something that takes place in time , and only when we believe and have eternal life. beginning here and now. God’s plan and purpose would be accomplished even in the face of formidable opposition from the evil one and his minions; but whether we participate faithfully in His plan for us would depend on our obedience to Him and our path of commitment and discipleship. Judas Iscariot had the privilege and the opportunity to make good God’s love for him in Christ; yet he failed. Let us not take for granted God’s glorious grace and love towards us and let us not grieve Him by our poor response and superficial brand of discipleship.