7 min read

Purpose! Newsletter - September 2024

1 I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called,

2 With all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing one another in love;

3 Endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.

Ephesians 4:1-3

Walk it Out

After Paul’s powerful prayer for the Ephesian saints that they be strengthened, kept, and filled with all the fulness of God, so as not to give up in light of his imprisonment because of the Gospel, Paul starts out chapter 4 reminding them of his situation. In chapter three he calls himself the prisoner of Jesus Christ. Here in chapter four he designates himself as the prisoner of the Lord. His life is in the hands of the Lord not the Roman Empire.

And, after taking us to the lofty heights of heaven and declaring us being seated in heavenly places, he now brings us back to earth. First, he says we are positionally seated in heavenly places in Christ Jesus. Now he says we are to walk this thing out in the world we live in. You have been seated in heaven, now get up and walk this privilege out on earth. Christian privilege is to be demonstrated in our walk

Beseech - To call upon; appeal; beg.

In his thirteen letters Paul uses this term twenty times. With the apostolic authority he possesses he could avail himself of stronger language but he allows for our free moral agency and simply asks intensely that his admonition be received.

Paul has made clear the awesome place the believer has in Christ. Now he asks earnestly, to the point of begging, for the believer to regulate one's life, to conduct oneself in agreement with the divine invitation to embrace salvation in the kingdom of God. Vocation is used of one whom God declares worthy of the calling which he has commanded to be given him, and therefore fit to obtain the blessings promised in the call. That being again, the privilege we have attained to by grace, we should then walk, live out our life, to match our new pedigree. Royal pedigree that is. Hallelujah!

(And that is just verse one.)

Now, one might think that being of such distinguished, excellent, pure ancestry, that one is to hold his head high, puff out one’s chest, and strut about as a peacock for the world to note who we are and honor us accordingly. Wrong! The opposite is true. Read on.

2 With all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing one another in love;

No charismatic arrogance allowed here. No holier than thou attitude permitted. No, sorry you are not there yet treatment of others, to be displayed. No manifestation of denominational pride accepted.

Humility, patience, and a lot of putting up with, are to rule our relational transactions. In the church and out of the church. For that to become a reality in our lives, we need love. A whole bunch of love. Agapé love. More than just natural affection. Like the old song says, Fill my way everyday with love. The God kind of love. We can be baptized in water and baptized in the Holy Spirit, but to fulfill this one verse we need a baptism of LOVE. Mucho amor.

What the World Needs Now

We keep the law by the expression of Love. The law is summed up in love. Love God and love your neighbor.

30 And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment.

31 And the second is like, namely this, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these. Mark 12:30,31.

The disciple that Jesus loved elaborated upon that:

20 If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar: for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen?

21 And this commandment have we from him, That he who loveth God love his brother also. 1 John 4:20,21.

And before that, in the scripture that became a song, 1 John 4:7,8:

7 Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God.

8 He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love.

And the songwriter concluded: So beloved let us love one another, 1 John 4:7 and 8!

SO, The message is clear. Our walk must be on the path of love. We must run to God’s lovers lane and allow his love to fill us. Out philial love is good but not enough for this difficult duty. It is only agapé love that will make us lowly, meek, longsuffering, and forbearing toward each other. Not a small task.

Unity and Peace

3 Endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.

Endeavoring: making every effort. to exert oneself to do or effect something; eager to make it be.

Quite possibly and evidently there was a need for Paul to call the people to this endeavor. Even the Ephesian church was not perfect. It was necessary for the saints to eagerly work toward unity.

Let us recall the reason Paul had left Timothy at Ephesus as the Pastor.

3 As I besought thee to abide still at Ephesus, when I went into Macedonia, that thou mightest charge some that they teach no other doctrine,

4 Neither give heed to fables and endless genealogies, which minister questions, rather than godly edifying which is in faith: so do. 1 Timothy 1:3,4

And remember the prophetic farewell message Paul gave to the elders of the Ephesian church in Acts 20:

28 Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over the which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood.

29 For I know this, that after my departing shall grievous wolves enter in among you, not sparing the flock.

30 Also of your own selves shall men arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away disciples after them.

This all being true it was imperative that Paul exhort concerning unity and peace. As a matter of fact the origin of the Ephesian church was riddled with opposition from external factions who preferred the superstitious belief in the goddess Diana and rejected Paul’s gospel message. Read that in Acts 19.

Paul’s admonition is relevant to us today. As it relates to the church in particular. Church splits are of the devil. Dissension among the brethren is of the flesh. Opposition to leadership by prayerless members is rebellion. Unity is of the Spirit. Endeavor, make every effort toward unity in the body. Be a peacemaker. Do not be in opposition to the Spirit nor associate with trouble makers. Put out the false apostles and prophets and be at peace with God. Be a bonding agent of peace. At church, at home, at work, everywhere. Amen.

A word: Obey them that have the rule over you, and submit yourselves: for they watch for your souls, as they that must give account, that they may do it with joy, and not with grief: for that is unprofitable for you.

Hebrews 13:17. -PJF-

And now a word from our Pastor…

Why Was Sodom and Gomorrah Destroyed?

Many think that Sodom and Gomorrah were destroyed because of the wickedness that was displayed in Genesis 19:4-5. That is part of it, but the real reason is found in Genesis 19:12-13, “And the men said unto Lot, Hast thou here any besides? son in law, and thy sons, and thy daughters, and whatsoever thou hast in the city, bring them out of this place: For we will destroy this place, because the cry of them is waxen great before the face of the Lord; and the Lord hath sent us to destroy it.”

In the previous chapter Abraham showed hospitality to three strangers that were passing by. He provided a place for them to rest and gave them something to eat and drink. The strangers revealed who they were and the purpose of their journey. Genesis 18, “20 And the Lord said, Because the cry of Sodom and Gomorrah is great, and because their sin is very grievous; 21 I will go down now, and see whether they have done al-together according to the cry of it, which is come unto me; and if not, I will know. 22 And the men turned their faces from thence, and went toward Sodom: but Abraham stood yet before the Lord.”

The word cry in Genesis 19:13 KJV, is the Hebrew word “ṣᵊʿāqâ, which means: cry, outcry, cry of distress (especially as heard by God),” (Blue Letter Bible, 2024). This is the same word used in the book of Exodus, when the Hebrew children cried out when they were oppressed by the Egyptians. What made the people cry? The answer is found in Ezekiel 16:49-50, “Behold, this was the iniquity of thy sister Sodom, pride, fulness of bread, and abundance of idleness was in her and in her daughters, neither did she strengthen the hand of the poor and needy. And they were haughty, and committed abomination before me: therefore I took them away as I saw good.”

I could go on with this, but I will stop here. This could get into a controversial subject and that is not the point of this article. I am not afraid of controversy, however, I want the truth to be known about the destruction of the two cities. It was not because of homosexuality, but because of the abandonment of the poor and needy.

God cares how people are treated, especially those who are less fortunate. This word “cry” was not just a whimper or a small complaint. It was the result of deep sorrow, desperation, and despair. The cry of Sodom and Gomorrah reached heaven and God could not ignore it. He came to earth with two angels to investigate. When the angels surveyed Sodom, they found the cities to be guilty of every charge that was brought up against them. Therefore, they were destroyed. Yes, they were wicked. Yes, they were perverse and unkind to strangers. But, what got God’s attention was the cries of the poor and needy. Sodom and Gomorrah were prosperous, but they were prideful. They were haughty and, most importantly, they did not strengthen their poor and needy.

-SAF-

References

Blue Letter Bible. (2024). Blue Letter Bible. https://www.blueletterbible.org/lexicon/h6818/kjv/wlc/0-1/