Paul’s Thorn In The Flesh

Paul’s Thorn In The Flesh
In 2 Corinthians 12:7 Paul says that he had a “thorn in the flesh”. A misunderstanding of this phrase and the misinterpretation of this passage has caused much confusion and damage among many sincere believers. Let’s unpack this passage.

What Is A “Thorn In The Flesh”?
The first thing I want to point out is that the term “thorn in the flesh” is a figure of speech. Paul really didn’t have a thorn sticking into his skin. This term was a common expression in the Jewish mind and culture. The people of the time understood what this phrase meant. Today’s equivalent would be the phrase “Pain in the neck”. When a person says, “So and so is a pain in the neck.” They aren’t really saying that person is sticking out of their neck and causing them a physical pain in their neck area. What they are saying, and meaning is that person they are referring to is annoying them or causing them trouble of some kind. Here is the definition of the word “thorn” from the English Dictionary.
Noun
1. thorn – something that causes irritation and annoyance; “he’s a thorn in my flesh”
Irritant – pain in the ass, pain in the neck, bother, botheration, infliction, annoyance, pain – something or someone that causes trouble; a source of unhappiness; “washing dishes was a nuisance before we got a dish washer”; “a bit of a bother”; “he’s not a friend, he’s an infliction”
https://www.thefreedictionary.com/a+thorn+in+side
This is the thought that Paul was trying to convey. Something was annoying him and causing him continual trouble. He was not referring to an actual physical pain in his skin or his body.
Here are some other references of this same idiom or figure of speech in the scriptures.

Numbers 33:55
But if you do not drive out the inhabitants of the land from before you, then it shall be that those whom you let remain shall beirritants in your eyes and thorns in your sides, and they shall harass you in the land where you dwell.

Joshua 23:13
know for certain that the LORD your God will no longer drive out these nations from before you. But they shall be snares and traps to you, and scourges on your sides and thorns in your eyes, until you perish from this good land which the LORD your God has given you.

Judges 2:3
Therefore I also said, ‘I will not drive them out before you; but they shall be thorns in your side, and their gods shall be a snare to you.’ “

Psalm 38:12
Those also who seek my life lay snares for me; Those who seek my hurt speak of destruction, And plan deception all the day long.

Ezekiel 28:24
“And there shall no longer be a pricking brier or a painful thorn for the house of Israel from among all who are around them, who despise them. Then they shall know that I am the Lord GOD.”

This was a common metaphor used in Jewish culture to indicate troubles or troublesome behavior from your enemy. Every single time it always referenced a person or group of people. And always an enemy. And always an enemy that the people needed to remove, and if the people refused to remove their enemies, then the enemies would be an ongoing problem for them. It never once referred to sickness or disease.

PAUL’S BACKGROUND
Another thing to note on this topic. Paul was a very educated man (Phil 3:5). In addition to him being a Pharisee, the son of a Pharisee (Acts 23:6) He sat at the feet of Gamliel and was trained by him (Acts 22:3). Gamaliel was the president of the Great Sanhedrin in Jerusalem. Gamaliel holds a reputation in the Mishnah for being one of the greatest teachers in all the annals of Judaism.A pharisee was a person that was separated and devout to God. He studied the scriptures and committed them to memory. He followed all the laws and traditions faithfully.

QUALIFICATIONS TO BE A PHARISEE
The Jews in Jesus’ day had three levels of education, which was most likely instituted by Ezra after the exile in order to teach the people the Scriptures again. The first level was called ‘Bet Sefer’. At the ages of six through twelve, the Jewish boys and girls would begin their education in the synagogue school, learning how to read and write. The textbook was the Torah (the first five books of the Bible) and the goal was to memorize the sacred text.For a Rabbinic Jew (those that would be asked to be Pharisees), they would also have Oral Torah this is passed from teacher to student, face-to-face, it provides knowledge and methods of interpreting the written text to preserve the semiotics and hermeneutics of the original Torah so that it can be transferred to the next generation without error.The next level was the ‘Bet Midrash’. This was only for the best of the best. I would assume for those who indeed memorized the Torah. This level was from age thirteen to fifteen, where they continued studying and memorizing the entire Tanakh (in other words, the complete Old Testament). Very few were selected for this pursuit.The final level was the ‘Bet Talmud’, which was the longest in duration as it went from the age of 15 to 30. To participate, he must be invited by a Rabbi and, if selected, he would begin a process of grooming that would lead to the potential of becoming a Rabbi at age 30. Those who were chosen were referred to as Talmudic. They would literally follow in the dust of their rabbi – desiring to emulate him in all of his mannerisms. They would eat the same food in exactly the same way as their rabbi. They would go to sleep and awake the same way as their rabbi and, more importantly, they would learn to study Torah and understand God the exact same way as their rabbi.https://deurpost.wordpress.com/2010/02/11/consider-this/https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pharisees#The_Oral_Torah

Paul knew the scriptures, the Law and the Prophets. He knew the customs, traditions and how to interpret them too. It was Paul’s style in his writing (Paul wrote 2/3 of the New Testament.) to allude to and reference Old Testament passages and customs without necessarily saying “it is written” or quoting the reference. He did it often. Because of this, he was most likely referencing this idiom and these verses in his illustration.

Drive Out The Enemy
The idea and concept that these scriptures repeatedly convey is that if the children of Israel didn’t drive out their enemies completely then they enemies would hang around and be an ongoing torment to the children of Israel. It was not God’s will or plan. God told the children of Israel to drive out their enemies…. but they had to do it. They had to resist. They had to fight.
This is more aligned with the rest of Paul’s teaching and “because of the abundance of revelation” he received. What was the revelation that Paul did receive? It was the revelation of the authority of the believer over the devil. Paul knew that he needed to drive out the enemy. And most likely given this reference- it was something that he had previously failed to do. And this makes even more sense when you look at his comment that he “asked the Lord to remove” the enemy. That is exactly what the children of Israel said. And God told them the same thing. YOU need to drive out the enemy. I will not do it for you. Stop! Pause right now! Go back and read again the verses above one more time and look for these references.
When we read the Bible as a collective whole and not as segments we get the whole picture. Paul was saying I should have dealt the devil, but I didn’t, and I asked God to do it for me. God responded to him, “Hey I gave you the revelation now use it. You resist the devil you take authority over him.”

A Messenger
Paul then continues and says this “thorn in the flesh” was a messenger from satan sent to buffet him. The word messenger is the same Greek word for angel (demons are fallen angels). And this demon was sent from satan, not from God. Remember this phrase always refers to people, specific people too… Always refers to your enemy. ALWAYS!! No Exceptions. So, let’s get that straight.
Paul knowing this was an attack of the enemy- even in his metaphor “thorn in the flesh” carries that meaning. And Paul is the one person who had the revelation of the authority of the believer over all the works of the enemy (satan). He knew that we need to stand firm against the enemy, resist him, take our thoughts captive and be willing to punish all disobedience. (see Eph 6:11-12, 2 Cor 10:3-5, 2 Cor 2:11, Eph 1:19-21, Eph 3:20, Col 1:13, Gal 1:4)

What is Buffeting?
The word buffet means to be beaten, to deal repeated blows with a clenched fist. This word is used 5 times in the New Testament and every time it refers to physical beatings with a clenched fist. Literally getting punched and beat up. This is exactly what we see happened to Paul in 2 Corinthians 11. Paul describes the many repeated blows he was dealt by this messenger of satan. Please STOP here! Go read 2 Corinthians chapter 11 and then continue to chapter 12.
Now that you have read this story in context you will see that Paul is describing one complete thought and message. Paul did not write in chapter and verse. He just wrote a letter. After having read these two chapters together you can see that Paul describes what this “thorn in the flesh” was and how it “buffeted” or beat him. Starting in Verse 22 of chapter 11, Paul specifically mentions stripes– (stripes is a term referring to being scourged. This was a common form of torture and punishment at the time. They scourged Jesus), prisons- (Paul was imprisoned many times for preaching that Jesus was the Messiah) deaths- (Paul was stoned to death, meaning he died, and was raised from the dead by the disciples around him – not the original 12 either Acts 14:19-20). It has been suggested that is how Paul’s wife died. She was present and stoned to death with him on one of these occasions. Five times Paul was scourged with 39 stripes, only 39 because their law said 40 would kill a person. So, 39 stripes was the most you could get before dying. Some however died before reaching 39. Maybe this was another death Paul experienced. Beaten with rods, shipwrecked, lost at sea, robbed by brothers and enemies. He goes on…. the point is that these things that happened to him were the “buffeting” by the messenger of satan that he refers to a few verses later. None of these things Paul mentions came from God. They came from the enemy. And not once in this list does Paul ever mention sickness or disease.

Flee From You

James 4:6-7 tells us that when we humble ourselves to God He gives us grace and this grace that God gives us makes the devil flee from US.

James 4:6-7
But He gives more grace. Therefore He says: “God resists the proud,But gives grace to the humble.” Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.

As we have seen Paul tells us in 2 Corinthians 11:16-33 exactly how this thorn in the flesh buffeted him. And this was just before (2 Corinthians 12:1-7) where he mentions the thorn in the flesh. Remember it’s all one thought and is congruous.
Paul says he asked God to make the devil leave him alone. Well, we know that’s never going to happen… we are promised persecution in this life if we stand up for Christ and His gospel. And what Paul mentions is most definitely persecution.

Did Paul Have An Eye Disease?
The idea that Paul had some sort of sickness or “eye disease” is not in scripture. It is a common modern theory and teaching that has evolved and grown since its introduction. The teaching is that when Paul was on the road to Damascus he fell to the ground and was blinded by a great light in Acts 9:4-9, that he developed an eye disease that he never was healed of. The problem or error in this teaching is that verse 9 says he was without sight for only 3 days. Also in verse s 12, 17, 18 it says that Ananias laid his hands on Paul and he was healed and received his sight. God does not “partially” heal and nowhere does it say that Paul was partially healed. This is all speculation. A theory devised to justify a teaching for those that do not believe its Gods will to heal.
Paul preached quite the opposite and even said so in his letter with his own hand. Paul said that the Lord had delivered him out of all of his troubles. (2 Timothy 3:11)
Paul had to do what we have to do. That is once we have a revelation or understanding of something- we will be tested to prove it and the testings come- Jesus said in Mark 4:15 that the devil comes immediately to try and steal our revelation from us.
Paul had the revelation that we as believers have authority over the devil and we need to resist him steadfast in our faith, Paul then had to put into practice what the Lord revealed to him. Paul needed to resist the devil.

Sufficient Grace
Paul also had the revelation of grace. That salvation is by grace through faith (Ephesians 2:8). It is Gods grace that provides for every need we have (Philippians 4:19) That grace enables us power over all the works of the enemy (Eph 6:11-12, 2 Cor 10:3-5, 2 Cor 2:11, Eph 1:19-21, Eph 3:20, Col 1:13, Gal 1:4)
Jesus said my grace is more than enough to overcome any attacking the devil throws at you- you know his fiery darts. This is what sufficient means – more than enough. Even now my grammar auto correct wants me to change the word sufficient to enough.
Sufficient does not mean NO. It means enough, able to handle the task at hand.
If anything, sufficient means Yes! Absolutely yes. There is a part that we need to do. Walk in faith and speak the word of God, the promises of God and rebuke the devil, stand against and resist him.

Summary
In summary when we look at this story from 2 Corinthians chapters 11 & 12 in context we see that Paul is describing all the persecutions, sufferings and troubles that Paul endured for preaching Christ. They were the result of a messenger of satan- a demon- sent from the devil to beat Paul up and try to dissuade him from continuing. Paul uses the term thorn in the flesh to draw a parallel to his situations to those of the children of Israel. How they refused to utterly defeat their enemies and as a result their enemies remained as snares to them. Paul said he has revelation and that revelation was what he needed to use to deal with his enemies the same way the children of Israel were supposed to do. The inference by the exempla Paul chooses to draw upon is that he somewhere has refused to deal with the enemy and thus the enemy became a snare for him. A “thorn in the flesh”. This was not a sickness or disease, but Paul clearly states in his own words, a demonic angel troubling him through other people. And when Paul asked the Lord to make the demon leave him alone, the Lord told Paul to use the revelation of grace that God had shown him by his faith to resist the demonic entity. For God’s grace is more than enough to make the enemy depart.

Drink Not Drunk

Ephesians 5:18 – KJV

And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit;

The New Testament was originally written in Greek and then has been translated into English for those of us who do not read Greek. So let’s take a look at what this verse originally says in the Greek language.

Drunk – KJV

The word translated as “drunk” in Ephesians 5:18 is Methusko- Strongs #3182. This word is translated as “drunk” in every English translation I have researched with the exception of the J.B. Phillips New Testament which reads “don’t get your stimulus from”. And I think that he is the closest to the actual meaning of this word than all the others. It is quite alarming especially since the word in the Greek is in the Present Tense with the Passive Voice with the Infinitive. What does all that mean? Basically the word is actually Drink – Present tense. When used with the passive infinitive that means “in the process to”-it is inceptive- marking the beginning of the process. So what this one little word actually says in the Greek text is…

Do not begin to drink. With the passive voice it denotes that the process of beginning to drink causes the passive reaction of becoming drunk. The emphasis is on the process.

Excess – KJV

The word translated as “excess” is Asotia – Strongs #811. This word comes from the Greek root word Sozo- which means safety, preservation, deliverance, healing, wholeness, soundness of mind and body plus eternal life. It is usually translated as saved, salvation or healed throughout the New Testament. What is interesting is the placement of the article “a”. this little article means in opposition too. For example even in English if something is “a”-moral that means it is in opposition or against morals. So this word means in opposition to salvation.

But – KJV

The word but here is Strong’s #235 and it signifies a contrast in opposition to the preceding thought or idea just like in English.

Filled – KJV

The word for filled is Pleroo – Strongs # 4137. Now this word is very interesting. It literally means to fulfill. It too is in the Present Tense and is using the Passive voice, except it is an Imperative. That means it is not a suggestion but a command. It is a directive to be accomplished and completed.

Let the spirit fulfill you in direct contrast and opposition to wine. With the use of the passive voice, it denotes that once the decision is made to be fulfilled, it begins the process of being filled.

Spirit – KJV

The word here for spirit is Pnuema – Strongs # 4151. It is translated as spirit and many translations capitalize it indicating it is Holy Spirit. The word literally means “breath”. God has much to say in His Word about breath, but that is for another study. Suffice it to say that when someone has been drinking, whether it is one glass of wine or a single beer or a fifth of whiskey….you CAN smell it on their breath.

The overall meaning of this verse also carries the idea of a see-saw. When one side goes up, the other comes down, and vice versa. The inherent meaning is that when you are in the process of drinking wine you are not in the process of being fulfilled by the spirit. And when you are being fulfilled by the spirit you are not in the process of drinking wine. They are in opposition to each other.

Contrast this with 1 Thessalonians 5:6-8 (NKJV)

6 Therefore let us not sleep, as others do, but let us watch and be sober. 7 For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who get drunk are drunk at night. 8 But let us who are of the day be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love, and as a helmet the hope of salvation.

Let’s look at this word “sober”. The bible has much to say about being “sober”.

There are two main Greek words translated “sober” in the New Testament.

The first one is Nepho – Strongs #3525. This word is in the Present Tense Active Subjunctive (which means conditional action). It means free from the influence of intoxicants. My wife has been through Nursing School and told me that the Latin Nephro means having to do with the kidney. Did you know that the kidney cleanses our blood of intoxicants or toxins?

The other Greek word used is sophren – Strongs #4993. This is a compound word. It comes from sozo- our Greek word for Salvation, (so) and phren which means from the mind. It means salvation in our mind or soundness of the mind. Do you know the affect that alcohol has on the mind? Even the smallest drink “alters” our mental faculties from their optimum performance. This is undisputed.

An Overview of Ephesians

In reference to Eph. 5:18, I think it is wise to look at the context of what the writer, Paul, is saying and addressing.

Going back to Eph. 4:1 we see Paul addressing the Ephesians “to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called” He goes on and explains how this will be accomplished and then he says Ephesians 4:14 that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting.

It seems apparent that there was wild doctrine being embraced and some cunning craftiness and trickery of men. Maybe they were trying to justify their non-repentant behaviors and lifestyle?

Ephesians 4:17-24 (NKJV)

17 This I say, therefore, and testify in the Lord, that you should no longer walk as the rest of the Gentiles walk, in the futility of their mind, 18 having their understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God, because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart; 19 who, being past feeling, have given themselves over to lewdness, to work all uncleanness with greediness. 20 But you have not so learned Christ, 21 if indeed you have heard Him and have been taught by Him, as the truth is in Jesus: 22 that you put off, concerning your former conduct, the old man which grows corrupt according to the deceitful lusts, 23 and be renewed in the spirit of your mind, 24 and that you put on the new man which was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness.

What is he talking about here? That the believers should no longer act like they used to act, but change, put on the new man and renew the mind (repent change of thinking) which was created in righteousness and holiness.

Then he begins to “break it down for them” what he means. This way there is no ambiguity. In verses 4:25, 5:1, 5:7, 5:17, 5:24, 6:10 & 6:13 He begins addressing several specific points and how to “put off the old man” and “put on the new man” in each scenario. The whole overview of chapters 4-6 is about how to walk out the new life and putting on the new man. As he also mention in Galatians not to walk in the flesh but the spirit. This is what Paul is talking about. So when we look at Eph. 5:18 we must remember the context of what Paul is talking about. He is not talking about drinking wine in moderation. The concept of moderation goes contrary to what Jesus said about a little leaven leavening the whole loaf. Moderation is Not a biblical concept it is exactly what Paul warned us about the cunning craftiness of some men’s doctrine to justify their actions and non-repentant lifestyle. If Paul was referring to moderation then it would suffice that he was in each of the points he specifically addressed. If we can apply the same criteria to each point and it is supported by the whole of the Bible, then we need to seriously consider the argument. If that be the case then we must address each of Paul’s issues the same way.

The first one he addresses in Eph. 4:25 is lying. Apparently just getting saved didn’t automatically stop them from lying. They actually had to put that off. Is there moderation in lying? I know that some would say if the ends justify the means or if some good comes out of it or a myriad of other “plausible” excuses. I don’t see that in the whole of scripture. I can’t find any place where God rewarded someone for lying. Or where He didn’t rebuke or correct it. There is no moderation for lying. Strike one on moderation.

Next up is Eph. 5:1. Be imitators of God and walk in love. Apparently again being saved didn’t automatically make them walk in love. They were told to put on the new man. Imitate God and walk in love. Put off fornication, uncleanness and covetousness. This was something they had to do to put off the old man and put on the new man…A change in behavior. Let’s just pick one here fornication…Is there moderation with fornication? Here again some say yes. They reason that you can’t stop people from having sex outside of marriage, it is unreasonable. So as long as they are “in love” it’s ok. However this position is not supported by scripture. It is a humanistic argument that makes sense due to the cunning craftiness of men to justify their actions instead of changing their behavior. Strike two for moderation.

It is interesting that in Eph. 5:17 the verse just before 18 Paul says

Ephesians 5:17 (NKJV)

Therefore do not be unwise, but understand what the will of the Lord is.

The word here for unwise is (aphron a=opposite / phron=sober mind) the opposite for a root word for “sober” that is translated elsewhere in the bible. And then He tells us CLEARLY understand what the will of the Lord is… Do not drink wine but be filled with the spirit. The whole argument Paul was making going back to the beginning of chapter four is to walk in the spirit. Put off the old man and put on the new man…Which we have in Christ.

Unfortunately we have done just the opposite. We focus on the negative and not the positive. And we make excuses for our behaviors that we do not want to change and repent of. And try to find doctrines to justify our behaviors so we won’t feel guilty for our non-repentant lifestyle. 1 John tells us that if our conscience condemns us we have an advocate with the Father, but if our conscience does not condemn us we have confidence before God. It is our own heart that causes us to feel guilty for the things we do that are not in line with God’s will for us to put off the old man and put on the new.

My final thought is a heart question…

Whatever it is that you do, why do you do it? If it has no power over you and it’s “not a problem”, then why hold onto it? Why not put it off, for love of Him? What could it hurt?

If you honestly ask yourself that question and honestly answer it to yourself and to God. You will have the answer yourself. God loves you enough to sacrifice His most precious and prized thing, His Son. Do you love Him enough to sacrifice your most prized and precious thing? How important is it anyway?

Weeds

The other day I was out in my yard pulling weeds. It seems that lately it takes up much more of my time. As I was pulling them up, I settled into my usual routine of contemplative meditation and prayer. I would think a bit, then pray about that thought, then ponder it and roll it over in my head, and then pray a little more. Then I would repeat the process. I think that is one of the reasons I enjoy yard work so much. The work itself is not especially enjoyable, but being able to tune everything else out and focus, to meditate and concentrate on what I am meditating about, is something I really enjoy. And it is usually acceptable to be a little antisocial in this way.

As I was going about pulling weeds, I had an awareness, and suddenly a rush of thought and understanding flooded my mind. I know this experience. It is familiar to me, and it is invigorating. This was revelation knowledge. Straight from heaven. Thank you, God.

It started with an observation as I was pulling up some very large weeds. When I say very large, I know that is a relative term, so I will define it. In this case, very large meant sagebrush over three feet tall. After clearing a section of the yard of this unwanted brush, I dragged it into a pile. That pile ended up being about six feet high, twelve feet long, and five feet deep. Looking at it, I was excited to go back and see how much better my yard would look without those obvious eyesores.

I looked back at the area I had just cleared, took a deep breath, and expected to feel good about the clean, bare ground. Instead, I was discouraged. I immediately noticed something I had not noticed before. There were still weeds everywhere.

These were not the very large ones. These were what I would call medium-sized weeds, anywhere from about a foot to three feet tall. So I started in on those. As I cleared the same area again, I noticed something else. Beneath those were even smaller weeds. These are the most pesky ones. They frustrate me the most. They are hard to grab, and even harder to get up by the roots.

As I worked on these other weeds, I stayed in that same pattern of contemplation, meditation, thought, and prayer. I found myself wondering where all of these weeds had come from and why I never noticed them before.

The answer was obvious. They had been there the whole time. I had not noticed them because the very large sagebrush had covered them up. They were underneath. I would not even have been able to get to them until the sagebrush was removed. Once it was gone, the smaller weeds were exposed, and only then could I deal with them.

Something else stood out to me. The very large sagebrush had to be hooked up to my truck and pulled out. They had deep, established roots, but once they were hooked up, they came out easily. Roots and all. Ker-plop. Done. Gone.

Those small weeds were different. Sometimes it was hard to even find the root. I had to get down on my hands and knees, focus, grab at it three, four, five, sometimes ten times before finally getting it out.

After pulling the small ones, the yard looked good. I was glad I had taken out the sagebrush, because without doing that first, I would never have seen or reached the other weeds that also needed to be removed. The yard looked clean, and the evidence of the work was sitting right there in front in that large pile. Anyone could see it. “Wow, your yard looks nice. Did all of that really come from here?”

That moment clarified something for me. This is how it works in our lives when we want to change. We tend to notice the most obvious things first. After those are dealt with, we become aware of others that were there all along. They are all weeds. The frustration that comes when we see more work to do does not mean nothing has changed. Many times, the smaller things take more time and are harder to root out. Even noticing them means progress has been made.

If we thought we had to see and deal with everything at once, we might give up. But the smaller things only become visible because the larger ones have already been removed. They often are far more difficult to root out. If you are in the middle of that fine-tuning and find yourself discouraged, stop for a moment and go look at the pile. Look how far you have come and what you have conquered so far. You would not even be able to reach what you are working on now if you had not already done the work you did to get here. You are making progress.

Thank God for the progress. It is there, even when it does not feel like it.

Believe For More

Jesus never corrected anyone for having too much faith or being too bold. He never said “you are believing for too much.” But we do see Jesus rebuke and correct the disciples for having little faith when they believed for small things. He did said to believe for more. Nothing is too much for Him or for God.
Believe for Big things. God is not intimidated or limited. Its our thinking that is limited and small.
Let’s expand our thinking and dare to believe that God WILL do more than you can ask or even think.

Check it out for yourself…
Matthew 6:30, Matthew 8:26, Matthew 14:31, Ephesians 3:20

Resist him

1 Peter 5:8 in the Ed Schultz version
Be calm and collected in your mind and thoughts. Be on the look out and aware that you do not open yourself up to some destructive calamity. For the opponent and enemy of your soul is looking for an opportunity to use the law against you to convict, accuse and slander you. And all of that falsely. The opponent and enemy is acting big and tough, just like a bully. He uses loud convincing words and brags of the law and how you don’t measure up. He does this to see if you will give in to his false accusations and trick you into believing them, and in so doing giving him an open door to try and take you down by his loud false accusations.
RESIST HIM!!!

He Cares For You

I love it when I read something and have a new thought that I have never seen before. it excites me so much. I feel full and energized and I just want to share it with somebody…anybody…everybody.
Well I had just such an experience again this evening.

1 Peter 5:7 (NKJV)
casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you.

On the surface, I am like “Yeah great verse. Jesus cares about me”, but it is so much more than that. And It is tough in English to understand some of these things because this verse uses two different Greek words that are both translated in English as care, but mean two entirely different things.
The first word for care here means worries and anxieties and carries the idea that they are distractions. This is what we are to “cast” on Jesus. The second word means to make provision for what is necessary for the health, welfare, maintenance, and protection of someone or something.
WOW! Did you catch that? He wants us to cast our fear, worry, anxiety on Him because they are distractions, They are distractions because He is making provision for all our needs.
That is exciting.

My next question is how do I “cast” my care upon Him?
Just the same way David did and encouraged us… with our mouth.

Psalm 56:3 (NKJV)
Whenever I am afraid, I will trust in You.

God does not rebuke us nor condemn us when we are afraid, even though He instructs us not to. He tells us to cast it over to Him. And we do that by telling Him we are afraid.
When we admit our fears to God we take away the power those fears have over us, and the distractions begin to disappear and our trust in God reassures us that He truly has taken care of us and made provision for everything we have need of and I so doing the fears then begin to dissipate.

The Great Exchange

I was pondering this thought….
(1) I did nothing to “earn” my old sin nature. My old sin nature was inherited by what the first Adam did. It was not any of MY sins that gave me that old sin nature. NONE! And in addition none of my righteous acts or good works could undue that inheritance.

(2) I did nothing to “earn” my new righteousness nature. My new righteousness natu…re is inherited by what the second Adam (Jesus) did. It was not any of MY righteousness that gave me this new righteousness nature. NONE! And in addition none of my sinful acts or wrongs can undue that inheritance.

Think about it… this is what I call the “Great Exchange”
Look it up for yourself. 🙂
Galatians 1:4
who gave Himself for our sins, that He might deliver us from this present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father,
2 Corinthians 5:21 (NKJV)
For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.

For inquiring minds check out the words “for” and “evil” in Galatians 1:4 in the Greek. it will bless you.

Faith (part 1)

How Do We Get Faith?

One of the first questions we must ask when talking about faith is “How do I get it? Some think that God gives faith to someone special like Billy Graham, Oral Roberts or Bill Johnson. Some think that you get faith only when you need it. Unfortunately if you wait till then it might be too late. Still others think that if you pray and ask God for faith he will somehow give it too you.

Though these answers sound good and the people are very sincere who think them, they are not correct. They are based on ideas that come solely from man’s own understanding and intellect, not from God’s Word. Hebrews 12:2 tells us that God is the author and finisher of our faith, so let’s get the answers from Him.

You might ask, “If God is the author and finisher then why shouldn’t I pray for God to give me faith?” God has already given every person a measure of faith, you already have faith. How can God give you something He has already given you? It would be similar to asking God to send Jesus to die on a cross for your sins. This is something that God cannot do. Not because He doesn’t want to or because it is not His will either. He cannot do it for one reason… he already has.

Romans 12:3 (NKJV)
For I say, through the grace given to me, to everyone who is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think soberly, as God has dealt to each one a measure of faith.

Here the Apostle Paul says that God has distributed to each person a measure of faith. Thayer’s Lexicon points out that in the Greek here the word for measure has the idea of a device or container used to measure. Think of it like a measuring cup instead of the substance being measured. So you could say that God has given each of us a measuring cup for faith. We have a container that is specifically designed by God to hold faith and distribute faith. We will discuss this more in a later chapter.

Faith Is Not An Option

Check out this verse from the book of Hebrews.

Hebrews 11:6 (NKJV)
But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.

This verse tells us that God demands us to have faith. Without faith we cannot please Him. It is impossible! If He demands it of us, then we must be the one’s responsible to make sure we have it. It’s up to us to get faith. The writer here also says that we must believe two things…

Believe that God is
Believe that God is a rewarder

Wait a second here. How can God give me a measure of faith and yet say I must have faith to please Him. Well that my friend is the beauty of grace. God gives us a container for faith and then He gives us the means to acquire the faith that He requires of us. He truly is the author and finisher of our faith.

Faith Comes

Romans 10:17 (NKJV)
So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.

I love this verse. It is one of my favorite verses in the whole bible. It may seem like an odd verse to be a favorite. It is not a common verse that some to have as a favorite memory verse. It is my favorite because in this one verse I see the awesomeness of God. I see His wisdom, His justice, His equity, His love, His grace and His mercy. You may ask “How do you see all that in those few simple words?” I am happy to share. In fact since it is one of my favorite verses I will spend just a little time here dissecting this one verse.

Faith comes by… It is that plain and simple. Faith does come. There is no ambiguity in this verse at all. There are no exclusions or caveats. There is no exception. Is simply says faith comes. I love that. Faith does come, faith ALWAYS comes. Now I am interested to see how does this faith always come? As we read on we see that it comes by hearing. So if I can only hear, this faith will come. Can I hear just anything? NO! Faith does always come, no exceptions. There is however an exception to WHAT you hear. And Paul says that if you hear the word of God, faith will always come. I love that. I don’t have to be a “special” person or have a certain rank or title or position. All I have to do is hear the Word of God and faith will come.

Faith Follows The Word of God.

Some of you may notice that the word “comes” is italicized in this verse, indicating that it is not in the original Greek text, but was added by the translators for clarity of understanding and readability. And that is correct; however the Greek language has many nuances our English language does not. So we will focus on the word by. This little word has varied meanings to which are: comes, abundance, means, method, out of, exceeding, etc… so from this we get the meaning of faith coming out of what is to follow next in the sentence. So faith comes from or out of whatever is said next. In this case it is the Word of God. I like to say like this, “Faith follows the Word just as signs follow believers.” So in the truest sense faith does come by hearing God’s Word.

Faith (part 2)

Hearing Is Essential

This is a principle and key element in the spiritual life and a walk of faith. We must “hear” what God says about something first in order to believe and then subsequently receive those things we are believing for. Look with me in the book of Acts.

Acts 10:3-6 (NKJV)
³About the ninth hour of the day he saw clearly in a vision an angel of God coming in and saying to him, “Cornelius!” ⁴And when he observed him, he was afraid, and said, “What is it, lord?” So he said to him, “Your prayers and your alms have come up for a memorial before God. ⁵Now send men to Joppa, and send for Simon whose surname is Peter. ⁶He is lodging with Simon, a tanner, whose house is by the sea. He will tell you what you must do.”

Acts 11:13-14 (NKJV)
¹³And he told us how he had seen an angel standing in his house, who said to him, ‘Send men to Joppa, and call for Simon whose surname is Peter, ¹⁴who will tell you words by which you and all your household will be saved.’

This angel appeared to Cornelius and told him what to do. Notice the detail that the angel gave to Cornelius…

Send-don’t go yourself
Men- not women, not boys
Simon-specific person
Surname Peter
Lodging – not a permanent residence
Simon-specific person
A tanner- not a blacksmith, or jeweler etc..
House is by the sea- not in the middle of town
He will tell you what to do-speak words to you

Here is a question for you…If the angel gave all this specific detail to Cornelius, why didn’t the angel just tell Cornelius himself what he must do. Simon was just going to tell Cornelius words. Why didn’t the angel tell him the words? The angel was already telling Cornelius words. Are some words different than other words?

When someone tells you something, they are using words to tell you. That may sound simplistic but it just the reality. When someone talks or says something, what they are doing is using words to communicate the ideas and thoughts that they have so that others can hear and understand. In order to understand one must first hear the words. This is what Paul said in Romans 10:14.

Romans 10:14 (NKJV)
How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher?

He lays out the progression of faith here. First there is preaching or speaking words, then hearing- the words spoken, then believing- those same spoken words, and then calling on the Lord. How can anyone call on the Lord or use their faith, if they don’t first believe and how can they believe if they don’t first hear, and how can they hear if no one speaks. It all comes down to words, words, words. Words are important.

Spiritual Warfare 101

Spiritual Warfare 101
Ephesians 6:11-12 (NKJV)
11 Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.
12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.

I recently has a close friend who really did something mean and hurtful to me. It hurt very much and I was angry as well as hurt. I was reminded of these verses in Ephesians, so I told myself “My battle is not with my friend but with spiritual forces”. “I need to come against and bind these wicked spirits that are influencing my friend and causing him to act this way”. As I began to pray, I suddenly had a new thought that came into my mind. I know it was Holy Spirit speaking to me, but this is how He spoke to me, a sudden and different change of thought. “Instead of binding the spirit governing him, why not bind the spirit governing you?” I asked “What do you mean?” He said to me, “You are the one hurt, you are the one offended, you are the one angry. This is a spirit influencing your thinking to cause you to be hurt, offended and angry.” All of a sudden a light went off inside me. I saw it. No wonder I have struggled so long doing spiritual warfare with intermittent success. I was trying to control someone else instead of using self-control. I decided I would begin to use this weapon that God has given me, also known as a fruit of the spirit.

I get it. Spiritual Warfare is about me using the weapons of the Word of God, fruit of the spirit and prayer to combat the forces that are trying to influence me. These forces or spirits try to influence me to get angry, hold grudges, be resentful, unforgiving, get hurt, feel lonely and hopeless. These are not God’s fruit but they affect me. Then I saw something I had not seen before in Paul’s letter to the Ephesians. In chapter 6 he begins summarizing and giving some ways to achieve what he just outlined in chapters 4 & 5. ““How to “put off the old man and put on the new””. And he follows that up with how to view things after you have done so. This is about me warring against the spirits that are trying to influence me, not everyone else. You will notice in verse 11, he says that YOU may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. Not as many of us have been taught that you can stand against the spirits influencing someone else.
Ephesians 6:10-18 (NKJV)
10 Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might.
11 Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.
12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.
13 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.
14 Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness,
15 and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace;
16 above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one.
17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God;
18 praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints–

So now instead of praying that God will change someone else, or that the spirits will stop influencing someone else, I pray that God will help me see what I can do to change the way I am thinking. To help me forgive and walk in love so that I don’t hold grudges or resentments and bind the spirits that are trying to influence me to be hurtful, angry, resentful. When I bind them I am doing true biblical spiritual warfare and using self control.

Would you rather be right, or would you rather be happy?

Now this is a hard question to answer sometimes. In fact, my answer used to be, “But I was right! He/she/they were wrong! It has nothing to do with being happy!” How wrong I was. And by clinging to my self righteous pride and ego, I fought a lot of people and a lot of things to maintain my right to be right.

And I paid a steep price for my stubbornness. Living in opposition to a lot of people, places and institutions takes a lot of energy and it constantly creates a lot of resentments. And resentments will kill me. In order to stay alive, I have to learn to forget about who’s right or wrong, and instead to focus on my part. Mine is the only part I can control, and if my side of the street is clean, then I become open to the only real solution to any situation: forgiveness, surrender and acceptance.

Today I know that while I rarely have the opportunity to be right, I always have the choice to be happy. By looking at my actions and ignoring my intentions each day, I am able to correct my part. I get to forget about who is right, and I get to choose to be happy and free instead.

And today I’d rather be happy than right.

New Year’s Resolutions

As New Year’s approaches, I catch myself taking the opportunity to take a good long look at this past year, and all of the things that have taken place in my life. I’ve learned through the past several years in recovery, to faithfully work an efficient program, a daily inventory as described in step ten is a necessity. There’s a big difference however in looking at my day, and looking at the entire year-both of which serve a great purpose and both are invaluable.

As I was driving home, contemplating decisions and new changes in the making, I came across a radio program that got my attention. The speaker made a few key points that caught my attention. What are the pros and cons of making new years resolutions? I think the very idea of a resolution, if based on Gods purpose for our life, can be very beneficial. You see, in trying to decide and hearing arguments for and against the making of new years resolutions I found myself agreeing with both sides and coming up with a simple conclusion. What is the basis for the resolution? Does the resolution focus on are those things which God determines are important to our relationship with Him and others? Rather than listening to the so-called “self-improvement gurus” that are a “dime-a-dozen” in our society – what Peter calls “false teachers” – it’s essential that we listen to God’s Word for the guidance and direction we need in our lives.
I believe the idea of bringing about change in one’s life, if centered on Gods will, can be healthy. In other words, I do believe in resolutions. It drives us to be better. Which I think is also okay as long as we are not doing it thinking that somehow if we are better we can gain Gods favor or approval… that line of thinking denies Christ’s righteousness. We need to keep in mind that although we are never good enough to earn Gods grace or mercy He has already given it to us through the death and resurrection of His Son Jesus Christ. It’s in our nature to strive to succeed, however like most things I’ve learned these past few years, it’s a heart matter-a matter of motives. Why are we making these changes? Is it to fulfill a carnal self centered need of ours or to bring about the best version of God’s intention for us? Are we losing weight solely to look better or to instill discipline in our fleshly desires and to take better care of the temple God has given us? We can and should always try to improve who we are in Christ, keeping in mind that it is through Him and with His help that we can accomplish great things. If that wasn’t the case then there is no reason for us to be here. We would have made all these miraculous changes in our lives and the proof would be in the pudding so to speak. But that’s simply not the case. We always accomplish more and on a deeper level when we rely on God. The revelation comes from the letting go and trusting He loves us and will help us. He is just waiting for us to give up control and ask for His help and guidance in our lives.

Here are three resolutions that can help us in all areas of our life…

1.) Declare Christ’s lordship in our lives every day. That is a daily surrender. We talk about this all the time in recovery. To surrender to God’s will for our lives, knowing that in our own right we can and often will fail, but by trusting in Christ we will have victory. And by declaring his lordship daily, we are also reminded that we our essentially Gods property. Not our own.

It’s kind of like taking your car into the shop to have it realigned. We are a lot like this. We need daily “realignment” in our thoughts and attitudes.

And when we don’t, even the slightest bump slips the tires ever so slightly out of place and before we know it, the car doesn’t drive in the correct direction at all. That we can ask for daily calibration so to speak. It also keeps us humble, knowing that we really do need His help every single day. I like to think of it like this: we need to keep in mind that we are God’s property-how can He use us to help Him this day…instead of, what can He do for us this day.

2.) Repent everyday. I recently took a look at true repentance in my life. What is the difference between repentance and true repentance? The bottom line for this subject is to keep the change repentance brings in my heart constant and fresh every single day. Its not focusing on the behaviors or characteristics themselves, but focuses on the growing distaste for the sin we commit overall. I think one can bring about the other…true repentance being the goal. I think of David the man after Gods heart. I think he must’ve gotten this concept. We know to repent of something is to do an about face, or turn 180 degrees-in the opposite direction, of the thing we are repenting of-namely-sin (it can be a behavior, a defect, it doesn’t matter really)-if it brings about sin, Learn to hate it to be a man/woman after Gods heart so to speak. True repentance for this purpose is to not only turn away from my sin and make the decision to not make the same mistake again, but also something a bit larger…. to make the change in my heart, by daily repentance…practice, practice, practice brings about changes. Not only to not want to commit whatever sin, or behavioral characteristic, or defect it is I’m struggling with, but to want to hate the sin itself. To eventually get to the point that my heart will not just hate the consequences, but hate the act itself. See what I’m getting at. That kind of change of heart can only be beneficial. If the heart is changed the behaviors will follow. So…one…declare Jesus Christ as lord of my life every day…reminds me who’s boss, who’s in charge since I always try to run the show. Two…repent. Every day. Learn to hate the act of sin, not just the bad consequences it brings about.

3.) Re-believe the gospels on a daily basis. Get on our knees and spend time in prayer. Look to God’s Word to see the design He has for our lives. See the concession He had made for us through the life and death of His Son Jesus Christ. God wants us to run the good race not alone, but with Him by our side… its all spelled out in the gospels of Matthew, Mark Luke and John. How to live. It even shows us what to do when we mess up. Repent…change. He teaches us most importantly to share His love with others…to pay it forward…to carry this message on to others and practice these principles in all our affairs.

“For this reason make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and brotherly kindness, love.” (II Pet.1:5-7)

Peter is warning us against such false teachings and ideas in our reading for today. He reminds us that our faith in Christ and our knowledge of Him needs to be continually growing. Only God’s Word and Spirit can accomplish that in us. No amount of personal discipline, determination, or virtuous striving after “perfection” is going to accomplish that end. It’s also important to acknowledge that we are in need of continual growth in faith and faithful living – we never truly “arrive” at that destination this side of eternal life… Peter lays out the “virtues” of faith in Jesus very plainly. Goodness, knowledge about God’s Word and the world around us, self-control, perseverance, godliness, brotherly kindness, and love, all motivated and informed by God’s love, grace, mercy, and forgiveness for us in Christ. As we grow in faith, as we live in the power of Holy Spirit Baptism, and as we mature in our understanding of God’s Word, people will see Jesus in us and through us come to know Him as their Lord and Savior as well. If you want meaningful, God-pleasing “New Year’s Resolutions” you won’t find them anymore meaningful and purposeful than what God gives us in His Word.

Gospel of Grace (part 1)

The “Good News” of the Gospel is that it is solely based on His (Jesus’) performance not ours. I think this is sometimes a hard concept for us to understand. Our natural tendency is to want to do or earn something instead of just receiving something. Many people have heard the old adage “It is better to give than receive”, but not as many have heard “It is more humble to receive than to give”. Jesus addressed this very issue in Matthew 19, when a bunch of Pharisees (religious leaders) came to Him questioning Him and testing Him to see if they could trip Him up in His teaching. One of them asked him “What good things should I do to get everlasting life?”

Matthew 19:16-17 (NKJV)
¹⁶Now behold, one came and said to Him, “Good Teacher, what good thing shall I do that I may have eternal life?”
¹⁷So He said to him, “Why do you call Me good? No one is good but One, that is, God. But if you want to enter into life, keep the commandments.”

Look at Jesus’ response here from the Message Bible.

Matthew 19:17 (MSG)
¹⁷Jesus said, “Why do you question me about what’s good? God is the One who is good. If you want to enter the life of God, just do what he tells you.”

This man wanted to do some good thing or some kindly deed so that he could have eternal life. In today’s vernacular, possible give money to a charity or religious organization like a church. Maybe build an orphanage. Or volunteer at the soup kitchen and help the homeless. All very good deeds! However no good deed will ever earn eternal life. Not to mention, Jesus just got done saying how you must be like a little child to enter the kingdom of heaven. (Matt 18:1 – 19:13)

Matthew 18:3-4 (MSG)
³and said, “I’m telling you, once and for all, that unless you return to square one and start over like children, you’re not even going to get a look at the kingdom, let alone get in.
⁴Whoever becomes simple and elemental again, like this child, will rank high in God’s kingdom.

How is a little child like? Aren’t they totally dependant on their parents for everything? Don’t they implicitly trust their parents? Have you ever seen a dad tell his kid to jump off a bunk bed or some high thing and the kid jumps, trusting that his dad would catch him? That is not only faith, but its grace. That child did nothing to deserve the love their parent has for them other than being born. And as any parent will tell you, that’s enough. And as this verse asserts, little children are not assuming. They are humble and teachable. They don’t know it all. They don’t have it all together.

Back to our story… Jesus tells the man “Why do you ask about doing good things. No one is good enough, only God. But if you desire to have a good life, continually do what God says. This is a problem that Paul the apostle addressed in his letter to the Galatians.

Galatians 1:6 (NCV)
⁶God, by his grace through Christ, called you to become his people. So I am amazed that you are turning away so quickly and believing something different than the Good News.

Galatians 1:6 (TLB)
⁶I am amazed that you are turning away so soon from God who, in his love and mercy, invited you to share the eternal life he gives through Christ; you are already following a different “way to heaven,” which really doesn’t go to heaven at all.

The “Good News” that the Bible speaks of is this. Our way to heaven is by grace. We cannot earn it or be worthy of it. We just have to believe it and receive it. Paul did say in Romans that we must believe and that salvation is by grace so that it could be by faith, to ALL and for ALL who will put their faith in Jesus. That really is good news. No we can’t be good enough or ever earn our way to heaven, but we don’t have to be. Jesus was good enough for us all.

Gospel of Grace (part 2)

In part one I wrote about the Gospel being “Too Good to Be True News”. And how that there is no way to be good enough to earn God’s love and approval. No matter how perfect we try to be. In part two I will look at that a bit more and also talk about the rest of Romans 1:16…specifically “the power of God to salvation.”

Romans 1:16-17 (NKJV)

¹⁶ For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek. ¹⁷ For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, “The just shall live by faith.”

Notice the word “FOR”. Why is it there? Why did Paul begin his sentence this way? It is for a reason. The Greek word here indicates that this word is used in an argument or explanation; it is assigning a reason as to why. So I ask “Why is it there? What is Paul trying to explain or justify?” Verse 15 says “That he was ready to preach the gospel to them in Rome, for or because, he was not ashamed of the Gospel of Christ.” He uses this word FOR again to indicate why he is not ashamed to come and preach to them in Rome. There was a price on Paul’s head. He was warned not to come to Rome. He continues “I am not ashamed because the gospel is because it is the power of God to Salvation.” This was huge news to the Jews at the time who thought that their salvation came through or by keeping the laws that God had given them.

*NOTE: sometimes we get ourselves stuck because we hold onto a word or plan from God and don’t know when to let go of it and move onto the next thing that God has for us. “But God told me this. I know it was God”. We might defend. Yeah it was God 20 years ago. But is it still God today? Or did we just get comfortable? It is not always easy to exercise our faith. It requires that we make ourselves vulnerable and dependant on God. Daily! God gave the Israelites the Law for two reasons. 1) So that they could live moral, healthy and socially happy lives in peace. 2) So that they would realize that they couldn’t save themselves and that they needed a Savior, God (Jesus).

Paul said that he is not ashamed of this “gospel of Christ” for it is the power of God to salvation….

The Greek here for “Power of God to Salvation” reads it is God’s power concerning salvation. So if this is God’s Power concerning Salvation, I want to know what it is. I am saved and salvation is mine… So I ask myself, what “power” is and what “salvation” is?

The Greek word for power is dunamis. The Greek word for salvation is soteria.

Dunamis = specially, miraculous power (usually a miracle itself): ability, abundance, meaning, might, (worker of) miracles, power, strength, violence, mighty (wonderful) work.

Soteria = Safety, preservation, healing, wholeness, soundness of mind and body, plus eternal life.

God’s dunamis “concerning” soteria…

Paul continues and says…This is for EVERYONE who believers… I’m a believer… This is for me

And that in it (the gospel) the righteousness of God is revealed…from faith to faith… revealed means not covered or hidden but disclosed

He then says God’s righteousness is revealed FROM faith TO faith….

From faith denotes origin…while to faith indicates the point reached. When we start in faith we need to finish in faith. For we will reap in due season if we don’t give up Galatians 6:9

The just shall live by faith… or from faith…

Gospel of Grace (part 3)

Grace

What is Grace?

Ephesians 2:8 (GW)
God saved you through faith as an act of kindness. You had nothing to do with it. Being saved is a gift from God.

Ephesians 2:8 (MSG)
Saving is all his idea, and all his work. All we do is trust him enough to let him do it. It’s God’s gift from start to finish!

The Greek word is Charis. It means favor, benefit and pleasure

I don’t know about you, but I have heard the word “grace” used hundreds even thousands of times, mostly in and around church. I can’t remember ever hearing this word outside of religious circles. Except when someone might ask someone to bless the food and they would say “Would you please say grace?”

I have heard that this word grace means “unmerited favor”. This definition primarily came from the Amplified translation of the Bible and seems to be in harmony with the Greek word Charis.

Ephesians 2:8 (AMP)
For it is by free grace (God’s unmerited favor) that you are saved (delivered from judgment and made partakers of Christ’s salvation) through [your] faith. And this [salvation] is not of yourselves [of your own doing, it came not through your own striving], but it is the gift of God;

Ok so what does unmerited favor mean? It sounds religious too. I don’t like to define a religious word with another religious word?

Un is a prefix that means to do the opposite or reverse of;

To deprive, remove or release from

Merit means to be worthy or entitled to a reward; to earn, deserve

In summary, unmerited means: not able to earn, deserve or be worthy of; So I ask “unworthy and undeserving of what?” Favor!

What is favor?

Favor means friendly regard shown toward another by a superior.

Special privilege or right granted; act of kindness; token of love

Now together, we have a working non religious definition for grace: unworthy and undeserving to receive special privileges or rights given as an act of kindness or token of love by a superior.

I cannot earn God’s favor nor do I deserve it. But He still gives it to me anyway. That I did not and do not deserve the “favor” that God has shown toward me, this is the message of grace!

Romans 5:6 (Phillips NT)
And we can see that it was while we were powerless to help ourselves that Christ died for sinful men.

It says here that we were powerless to help ourselves. We could not save ourselves. We needed a savior. We needed someone to save us. The burden was too great to for us to bear alone. The price for our sin debt was too great for us to pay. We did not possess what was necessary to redeem us back to God.

And to top it off He chose to give us this thing called grace while we were still enemies with Him.

Romans 5:10 (NKJV)
For if when we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life.

He does not wait for us to be His friend before He offers us His grace.

Many have heard this verse “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” Some have even memorized it and can give its address in the scriptures. (Romans 3:23)

But not as many have done the same with the verses before and after it? Let’s look at this portion of scripture in context.

Romans 3:21-26 (NKJV)
²¹But now the righteousness of God apart from the law is revealed, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets,
²²even the righteousness of God, through faith in Jesus Christ, to all and on all who believe. For there is no difference;
²³for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,
²⁴being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus,
²⁵whom God set forth as a propitiation by His blood, through faith, to demonstrate His righteousness, because in His forbearance God had passed over the sins that were previously committed,
²⁶to demonstrate at the present time His righteousness, that He might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.

Justified…what does that mean?

I prefer to say it this way… just-as-if-ied because that is what it means “just as if I’d” never sinned.

God did this to demonstrate HIS righteousness. See our righteousness is as filthy rags,

Isaiah 64:6 (NKJV)
But we are all like an unclean thing, And all our righteousnesses are like filthy rags; We all fade as a leaf, And our iniquities, like the wind, Have taken us away.

But thank God our righteousness is no longer based on ourselves but on Jesus. The sole requirement is faith in Jesus…To all and for all who believe. It’s not about what we do, but about what HE did.