Therefore I, the prisoner of the Lord – this great apostle may be a prisoner of the Roman empire but ultimately he was under the authority of Almighty God. Whether he was inside of jail or outside of jail, once Yeshua got a hold of him, Paul considered his life as belonging to the Lord. If the Lord wanted him to be free, or incarcerated, so be it. If the Lord allowed him to be beaten, stoned, shipwrecked, or executed, so be it. Paul believed that the Lord had the right to do with him as He chose.
Paul understood that his life, his future, were ultimately in the control of God – not man. Therefore he was not embarrassed or ashamed of what man did to him.
Do you have that same perspective? Can you say, I am the prisoner of the Lord? I will not complain no matter the difficult circumstances He allows me to go through in my service to Him.
Therefore (considering all that God has done for us, and how much He loves us; how He chose us from before the creation of the world, and how we are part of His eternal plans, and how from such a low and hopeless place, dead in our trespasses and sins, He has elevated us to such a high place; and made us His sons and daughters, and given us His Spirit, and given us a great and eternal inheritance, and united Jews and Gentiles into a new and eternal community of humanity) – Therefore I, the prisoner of the Lord, implore you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called.
We must live well. We must live right. We must act in a way that is pleasing to God. We must not live according to the standards and ethics and practices of the world around us, but we must live according to who God says we are and who He intends that we will be.
Before you do anything, ask yourself, “I have been joined to Messiah. I share His Spirit. I will live forever with my King. Is what I am about to do consistent with who I am? With who I will be?” If it is not, don’t do it.
There are certain virtues that Paul particularly wants Messianic Believers to develop, and put into practice, virtues that are consistent with who we are and who we will be. These values are essential for relating properly with each other:
With all humility: Humility is the opposite of pride. Pride is thinking more of yourself than you should. Pride is thinking too much about your importance, and not enough about God’s importance, or the importance of other human beings. In the universe, there is a scale of being. There are those who are greater and there are those who are lesser. Humility is recognizing your limitations, understanding your proper place compared to others – especially God.
And gentleness: Not harshness, not meanness.
With patience: Not yielding to anger, not being short tempered.
Showing tolerance for one another in love: Understanding that human beings are flawed and full of problems, but loving them anyway, wanting to help them, trying to work with your fellow sinners. Having a attitude of cooperation.
Being diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace: The Spirit of God unites us to God the Father and to God the Son, and to one another. All true Christians and Messianic Jews are bound together. We have a true bond, a real connection, a genuine joining. By our bad temper, impatience, arrogance, pride, intolerance and harsh treatment of others, we can diminish that unity. We can bring division.
Because of what God has done, uniting us to each other, making us all His sons and daughters, our division are ended and we have peace with each other, a genuine state of well-being. We are not to fight, or go to war, or allow hatred or antagonism to flourish. We must place a premium on peace in Messiah’s Holy Community.
If we do make peace a priority, we will do things to preserve peace. We will yield to each other when possible; we will go to each other asking for forgiveness when we have offended a brother; we will grant that forgiveness. We will make amends. We want to be diligent – not casual, not lackadaisical, but diligent, hard working, in keeping and maintaining this unity, this bond of peace.
Paul continues teaching about the tremendous unity that is part of the one new man, this new humanity. There is one body and one Spirit, just as also you were called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all who is over all and through all and in all.
Being part of a community brings unity. Living in the same neighborhood, going to the same stores, having the same schools, speaking the same language, working together to keep the community clean and orderly brings unity to people. We are part of a great community, with Messiah as the head of our community, and the rest of us as fellow members! There is one body. There are not two bodies or two Communities – Gentile Christianity and Messianic Judaism, but only one body, only one community. If there are congregations that are more Jewish, fine. But they need to see themselves are past of the one body that belongs to Messiah, and relate properly and be open to their Gentile Christians brothers.
And there is one Spirit. Sharing the same friend can bring unity to a group. Everyone likes so and so, and they form a group. Christians and Messianic Jews share the greatest Friend, Ally, Advocate, Helper, Teacher and Guide – the Spirit of the living God, who is living in us – Jews and Gentiles, Blacks, Whites, Hispanics, transforming us into the same likeness, teaching us the same truths. The sharing of the one Spirit of God brings us unity.
Sharing a common future can bring unity. Two prisoners who are going to be executed for the same crime may come closer together. Those who are rich or successful tend to associate with each other. Well, Messianic Believers share a great future. Just as also you were called in one hope of your calling. We are called to sonship! We are the sons and daughters of God! We are invited to be God’s eternal heirs, rich and wealthy beyond belief! We are being asked to help the Lord rule the New Heavens and New Earth. We share a glorious future which unites us.
Sharing a good leader can unite a group. Loyalties given to a pastor or rabbi, the president of a company, the general of an army, the leader of a city, state or nation, brings cohesion. We have the greatest leader of all, one supremely deserving of our loyalties. We have one Lord – Messiah Yeshua. One Lord who has all power and authority in Heaven and Earth. We share the same Commander-In-Chief, the same Captain of the Lord of Hosts, who is El Gibor, the Mighty God, but who is also a Son who has been born to Israel; the same King Messiah, who is Lord of all, ordering us all, directing us all, inspiring us all. We have one Lord who came for us. One Lord who died for us. One Lord who rose for us. One Lord who conquered sin and death for us! One Lord who ascended for us. One Lord who is coming again for us. One Lord who will judge us. One Lord we all follow, here on Earth, and forever in the Earth to come.
Seeing things the same way, sharing a common belief system or world view, brings unity. Those who are share common political and economical ideals (think Liberals and Conservatives, Socialists and Capitalists) band together.
Religions are a powerful unifying factor. You can be different from someone economically, racially, socially, but if you share the same beliefs, you can come together in unity.
We have one faith. We share the greatest system of belief, the same core doctrines and values. We have the true faith that really lines up with reality!
Sharing the same experiences, like going through boot camp, or working for the same company, can bring unity to a group. We share the same experience of initiation – one baptism – one immersion into water; one initiation right that declares to the world, and to the faithful, and to God, that we are part of the community of God’s people, and are joined to the Father and the Son and the Spirit.
Having the same God is one of the greatest forces that unites people. Those who followed Baal or Astarte joined their forces and energies. We have the same God, the true God, the one God, the Greatest One, the Most Powerful One who cares for us, provides for us, promises to meet our needs now and throughout eternity.
Having the same father unites people. If two or more human beings have the same father, they share a strong bond. They are united by their father. They are brothers. The one God is the Father of all. That means that all Messianic Believers are brothers and sisters, no matter who we are, what race or language we speak, no matter how rich or poor we are. We share the fatherhood of God, and the bonds of brotherly love and care.
The one God is the Father of all and is over all and through all and in all. Who is over all: He is supreme in power and authority and honor and position. All of us give our highest allegiance and obedience to Him.
And He is through all: The Supreme Being is infinite and eternal and omnipresent. He pervades time and space and eternity. He is present everywhere throughout the universe.
And He is in all: The Great Spirit especially is in His sons and daughters, giving them His Spirit, living in us, making us partakers of the Divine Nature.
We have a great unity, a many sided unity. We have many of the greatest and most important things that bind us together. Our unity is based on being part of the same community, the same body that works together; having received the same Spirit who lives in us and is transforming us; enjoying the same hope; having the same Lord; sharing the same beliefs and adherence to the truth; participating in the same initiation by which we show our commitment to and faith in God; having one God and Father of all who is over all and through all and in all.
We have a tremendous unity; but in this unity there is a great diversity of gifts, positions, abilities. But to each one of us grace was given according to the measure of Messiah’s gift: There are a variety of gifts, but they all come from the same source – Messiah. It is our great and anointed Prophet, Priest and King who out of the great resources of wealth that He has, gives gifts to us – to each one of us. You are gifted!
But, you may not have the same mixture gifts, or gifts in the same degree, that others have. Some will have more, and some will have less. But that’s OK, since Messiah has the right to give gifts to us as He desires, doesn’t He? His gifts come from His amazing grace – the favor He shows, the good gifts He gives to those who haven’t earned them. Respect for Messiah’s grace, and His will, and His choices when it comes to the giving of gifts, won’t you?
Don’t be jealous of one another regarding their gifts. Instead, be thankful! We are all part of the same body. The gifts of others benefits all of us – including you! Be happy with your gifts that Messiah has given you, and be happy with the gifts that He gives to others. Also, keep in mind that giftedness is not the final determination of reward. Better to faithfully serve with fewer gifts than unfaithfully serve with more.
Therefore it says, “when He ascended on high, He led captive a host of captives, and He gave gifts to men.” The great Rabbi from Tarsus quotes Psalm 68. In this song, the Lord is described as being present with Israel after the Exodus from Egypt. He marched through the wilderness with us. He fought with us. He empowered us to have victory over our enemies. He brought us into the Land of Israel, settled us there, and made the land prosper. Then He returned to Heaven.
As the great Conqueror, He made many of His enemies captives and they followed His triumphal procession – like the Gibeonites who served at the Tabernacle! The wealth of the enemy became the Lord’s. He received gifts that He was then able to His Jewish people – gifts of land and people and animals and gold and silver and other precious things.
Paul reads this Psalm and sees how it applies to Messiah. Messiah also is the Lord. He also came down from Heaven to be with us. He fought for us, by taking on a human body, living a sinless life, resisting every temptation, doing battle with the forces of darkness, and dying on the cross. Because of His sinless life, God raised Him from the dead. Through His incarnation, sinless life, death to atone for sin, and resurrection, He has defeated His enemies!
He has taken captive those who were His former enemies – like Saul of Tarsus. Now He can take the wealth of those who were His former enemies, and give their wealth (themselves, their lives, their wealth, along with all their talents, skills, abilities) to give to His people – the Church. Messiah’s former enemies are now His gifts to the Church. How is that for cool? How is that for redemption? How is that for victory?
(Now this expression, “He ascended,” what does it mean except that He also had descended into the lower parts of the Earth? He who descended is Himself also He who ascended far above all the heavens, so that He might fill all things.) Messiah came from Heaven and descended to the Earth, and descended even to Sheol, and from there He rose. He ascended, out of Sheol, from the Earth, from the Mount of Olives; He ascended through the clouds, and rose above all the various levels of the heavens to the Highest Heavens.
Why? What motivated Messiah to leave Heaven, descend, and then ascend. Why make this great and painful trip? The answer is, to fill – to fill what was empty because of sin and death; to redeem, to bring a shattered universe under His benevolent control; to fill the universe with His love, His godly leadership; to make those who were alienated from God, and those who were His enemies, those who had no hope, those who would die forever, God’s beloved and eternal sons and daughters; to fill the universe with redemption, salvation and blessing.
We’ll consider Messiah’s diversity of gifts to His body, apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers, who they are, and what they help us to be and do, next week – Lord willing!