by RobertCummins | Apr 18, 2016 | 16. Loved By God
For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name, that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with power through His Spirit in the inner man, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; and that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled up to all the fullness of God. Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us, to Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations forever and ever. Amen. (Ephesians 3:14-21)
Although Paul is writing from prison, you would think by the tone of his message he had just won the lottery. The letter to the Ephesians is laced with superlatives with which Paul attempts to describe his windfall (and ours). Here are some examples;
God has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ… His grace which He lavished on us… an administration suitable to the fullness of the times, that is the summing up of all things in Christ… God works all things after the counsel of His will… the surpassing greatness of His power, when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come… And He put all things in subjection under His feet, and gave Him as head over all things to the church, which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all… He seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the ages to come He might show the surpassing riches of His grace, the unfathomable riches of Christ, so that the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known, his eternal purpose which He carried out in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Paul is stretching language because God had stretched him. As a vessel, Paul had in fact been stretched so far that he was able to contain both profound humility as well as profound confidence. In Paul’s heart we see something of a destination where only Christ can lead us. Yet, with all the strength he can muster, he is trying to say, “By all means, travel in this direction; you can get there! You will truly be blown away at just how near you actually are!”
Paul longs for all saints to realize they’ve won the ultimate jackpot. He also knows that God has to open the eyes of our hearts. His knee is bowed as he reveals just how near we are to our windfall. In fact he is saying (if you can grasp this): “You have already arrived!” He is reminding us that by faith, Christ is now dwelling in our hearts. His Spirit is now residing in our being. He is saying that we are rooted deeply in Christ and therefore powerfully established in a love so vast that it is utterly incomprehensible, yet eminently knowable.
We know that, through supernatural revelation, Paul caught much of the previously hidden mystery, which is Christ in us. I believe it is likely that those tastes of God’s love and glory ruined him for this world and that he was left straining with the frailty of human language to describe the indescribable. Paul said that he was shown things that he was not even permitted to speak, but I wonder if he was not also simply incapable of speaking them because they transcended the limits of what human thought could process and language convey.
How unique that this great mystery was revealed to someone who considered himself to be the very least of all saints—yet not in the least inferior to the most eminent apostle. As Paul walked through life, he did so acknowledging that the resurrected Christ was at the center of it all. He experienced, through a great many tests and trials, the renewal of his mind and the re-shaping of his heart. His re-shaped heart became truly humble, knowing that in itself, without Christ, it had been less than nothing (no matter how impressive it might have looked). At the same time, his identity, rooted and grounded in Christ, enabled him to be profoundly confident. Bearing humility and greatness simultaneously is a telling mark of a saint who is at rest in his destination in Christ.
So, Father, it is for these reasons that we bow our hearts and ask that we, too, would grasp the unfathomable riches of Christ that you have lavished upon us. In the fullness of time, let our hearts be summarized in Christ. As we grasp that we are seated, even now, with Him in the heavenly places. Display your manifold wisdom and eternal purposes though us. Through us Father, put all things in subjection to your rule. Now to You, who are able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us—to You be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations forever and ever. Amen.
by RobertCummins | Apr 23, 2015 | 16. Loved By God
1 John 4:7-21
John got it didn’t he?
“For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.” (John 3:16)
The themes of Love and Life resonate powerfully in his gospel…..
God has sent His only begotten Son into the world, as the propitiation for our sins, so that we might live through Him…..We have seen and testify that the Father has sent the Son to be the Savior of the world. Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God.
But is John 3:16 and the doctrine of propitiation the extent of John’s legacy? By no means. Even before the gospel which we have come to know (with John 3:16 at its core) was assembled, John had become an intimate friend of God Incarnate, having rested his head on his breast. The revelation that was entrusted to John is much fuller than Christ as payment and surety of a life after death. John’s breaking news was that the God of the Old Testament (who was known for his wrath at least as much as His love) is incredibly approachable and affectionate. Although he understood salvation as well as anyone, John’s legacy to the church is so much more than John 3:16. It is about abiding in a transformational love that was to be the fruit of salvation and the credibility of the gospel. Listen….
Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. By this the love of God was manifested in us. We have come to know and have believed the love which God has for us. God is love, and the one who abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him.
John understood the full gospel. He got it. But he raises a serious question; have others actually got it where there is no evidence of transformational love. He is saying if we’ve got it….., really got it, loving our brother will be the evidence. He’s saying, if we are not loving one another, we don’t have it……
The one who does not love does not know God, for God is love. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another…. If someone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for the one who does not love his brother whom he has seen, cannot love God whom he has not seen.
John is saying (indirectly) that others who name the name of Jesus, who claim to have it and don’t is one reason (perhaps the greatest one) that others have not gotten it , essentially because they have never seen it. The following is from N.T. Wright’s commentary on this passage….
Only today I was talking to someone who, commenting gloomily on various experiences of actual church life, suggested that churches should have a ‘danger’ sign outside, warning people to expect nasty, gossipy, snide conversation and behavior if they came in. That sadly has always been a reality in church life. That is why, from Paul onwards, Christian writers have been at pains to insist that it should not be like that with us. The rule of love, I say again, is not an option. It is the very essence of what we are about. If this means we need some new reformation, so be it. Wright continues…..
In John’s prologue he says that “Nobody has ever seen God. The only begotten God, who is intimately close to the Father – he has brought him to light.’ The meaning of that statement is striking; we don’t really know who ‘God’ is – until we see it revealed in the life of Christians. Until, that is, ‘his love is completed in us.’ What God launched decisively in Jesus, he wants to compete in and through us. As Jesus unveiled God before a surprised and unready world, so must we. Love is that important.
Is this even doable? Yes, for one reason;
He has given us of His Spirit. We can love, because He first loved us. We can obey his command to love our brothers not because we loved God, but because He first has loved us
Wright proposed a reformation based on John’s declaration that “just as he (Christ) is, so are we within this world” and the reality that “love is a symptom of what Christianity is all about.” He believes that, “Love incarnate must be the badge that the Christian community wears, the sign not only of who they are but of who their God is.”
I humbly echo Mr. Wright’s call for a new reformation. In my typical mode of discovery, I stumbled into one a few years ago. And, as it has been before, I was looking for something I sensed I desperately needed. I chased reformation (or renewal or revival or whatever you would like to label it) around the country until I finally came to a place where I prayed something similar in spirit to the prayer I prayed when I first met Jesus Christ. That prayer was essentially, “God I surrender. I’ve got nothing to contribute here but you can have all of me to do with as you like.” My prayer after this intense quest for more was essentially, “Lord, I see you doing things everywhere and in everybody. I’ve got nothing I am aware of to contribute so I surrender to you. I have no idea how you might do it but I pray that you would bring revival to my heart. I will wait for you there. I really hope to see you soon.”
God has answered and is answering this prayer. Most of what I write is an account of a fresh hope which has come about through a process, not through an event (which I would have preferred). middlewithmystery.com is where I am chronicling that process. I mention my story here because it has been deeply influenced by John’s comments regarding fear.
By this, love is perfected with us, so that we may have confidence in the day of judgment; because as He is, so also are we in this world. There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves punishment, and the one who fears is not perfected in love.
Father, may your love break through our defenses and establish itself for us to enjoy and the world to witness. Amen.
by RobertCummins | Apr 20, 2015 | 16. Loved By God
Ephesians 3:14-21
For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name, that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with power through His Spirit in the inner man, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; and that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled up to all the fullness of God. Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us, to Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations forever and ever. Amen.
Although Paul is writing from prison you would think by the tone of his message he had just won the lottery. Reading Ephesians all the way through you find it is laced with superlatives where Paul is attempting to describe his windfall (and ours)…..
God has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ…. His grace which He lavished on us …. an administration suitable to the fullness of the times, that is the the summing up of all things in Christ…. God works all things after the counsel of His will…. the surpassing greatness of His power, when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come….And He put all things in subjection under His feet, and gave Him as head over all things to the church, which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all ….. He seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the ages to come He might show the surpassing riches of His grace, the unfathomable riches of Christ, so that the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known, his eternal purpose which He carried out in Christ Jesus our Lord,
Paul’s is stretching language because God had stretched him. As a vessel Paul had in fact been stretched so far that he was able to contain both profound humility as well as profound confidence. In Paul’s heart we see something of a destination where only Christ can lead us. Yet, with all the strength he can muster, he is trying to say, “By all means, travel in this direction; you can get there! You will truly be blown away at just how near you actually are!”
Paul longs that all saints would inherit their lottery jackpots. However, to partake he knows that the eyes of our hearts must be opened so that we may comprehend. His knee is bowed as he reveals just how near we are to our windfall. In fact he is saying, if you can grasp this, “You have already arrived!” He is reminding us that by faith, Christ is now dwelling in our hearts. His Spirit is now residing in our inner man. He is saying, when we grasp this, we will see we are rooted deeply in Christ and therefore powerfully established in a love so vast that it is utterly incomprehensible yet knowable.
We know that it was through supernatural revelation that Paul was exposed to much of the previously hidden mystery which is Christ in us. I believe it is likely that those tastes of God’s love and glory ruined him for this world and he was left straining with the frailty of human language to describe the indescribable. Paul said that he was shown things that he was not even permitted to speak but I wonder, if also, he was not also simply incapable of speaking them because they transcended the limits of what human thought and language could convey.
How unique that this great mystery was revealed to someone who considered himself to be the very least of all saints yet not in the least inferior to the most eminent apostle. As Paul walked through his life, he did so acknowledging that the resurrected Christ was at the center of it all. He experienced, through a great many tests and trials, the renewal of his mind and the re-shaping of his heart. His re-shaped heart became truly humble – knowing that in itself, without Christ, it had been less than nothing (no matter how impressive it might have looked). At the same time, his identity, rooted and grounded in Christ, enabled him to be profoundly confident in who he was. Bearing humility and greatness simultaneously is a telling mark of a saint who is at rest in his destination in Christ.
So Father, it is for these reasons we bow our hearts before you and ask that they too would grasp with all the rest of our family the unfathomable riches of Christ which you have lavished upon us. In the fulness of our times let our hearts be summarized in Christ. As we grasp that in Christ we are seated even now with Him in the heavenly places, display your manifold wisdom and eternal purposes though us. Through us Father, put all things in subjection to your rule. Now to You who are able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us, to You be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations forever and ever. Amen.
by RobertCummins | Apr 15, 2014 | 16. Loved By God
For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name, that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with power through His Spirit in the inner man, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; and that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled up to all the fullness of God. Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us, to Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations forever and ever. Amen.
Although Paul is writing from prison you would think by the tone of his message he had just won the lottery. Reading Ephesians all the way through you find it is laced with superlatives where Paul is attempting to describe his windfall (and ours)…..
God has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ…. His grace which He lavished on us …. an administration suitable to the fullness of the times, that is the the summing up of all things in Christ…. God works all things after the counsel of His will…. the surpassing greatness of His power, when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come….And He put all things in subjection under His feet, and gave Him as head over all things to the church, which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all ….. He seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the ages to come He might show the surpassing riches of His grace, the unfathomable riches of Christ, so that the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known, his eternal purpose which He carried out in Christ Jesus our Lord,
I believe, with Paul’s superlatives he is stretching language because God had stretched him. As a vessel Paul had in fact been stretched so far that he was able to contain both profound humility as well as profound confidence. In Paul’s heart we see something of a destination where only Christ can lead us. Yet, with all the strength he can muster, he is trying to say, “By all means, travel in this direction; you can get there. You will truly be blown away at how near you actually are!”
Paul longs that all we saints would inherit our lottery windfall. However, to partake he knows that the eyes of our hearts must be opened so that we may comprehend. His knee is bowed as he reveals just how near we are to our windfall. In fact he is saying, if you can grasp this, “You have already arrived!” He is reminding us that by faith, Christ is now dwelling in our hearts. His Spirit is now residing in our inner man. He is saying, if you can grasp this, even now you are rooted deeply and therefore powerfully established in a love so vast that it is utterly incomprehensible yet knowable.
We know that it was through supernatural revelation that Paul was entrusted much of the previously hidden mystery of Christ in us. I believe it is likely that those tastes of God’s love and glory ruined him for this world and he was left straining with the frailty of human language to describe the indescribable. Paul said that he was shown things that he was not even permitted to speak but I wonder, if also, he was not also simply incapable of speaking them because they transcended the limits of what human thought and language could convey.
How unique that this great mystery was revealed to someone who considered himself to be the very least of all saints yet not in the least inferior to the most eminent apostle. As Paul walked through his life, he did so acknowledging that the resurrected Christ was at the center of it. He experienced, through a great many tests and trials, the re-shaping of his own heart. His re-shaped heart became truly humble – knowing that in itself, without Christ, it had been less than nothing (no matter how impressive it might have looked). At the same time, his identity, rooted and grounded in Christ, enabled him to be profoundly confident in who he was. Bearing humility and greatness simultaneously is a telling mark of a saint who is at rest in his destination in Christ.
So Father, it is for these reasons we bow our hearts before you and ask you that they too would realize with all the rest of our family the unfathomable riches of Christ you have lavished upon us. In the fulness of our times let our hearts be summarized in Christ. As we grasp that in Christ we are seated even now with Him in the heavenly places display your manifold wisdom and eternal purposes though us. Through us Lord, put all things in subjection to your rule. Now to You who are able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us, to You be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations forever and ever. Amen.
by RobertCummins | Apr 18, 2013 | 16. Loved By God
I was asked recently what kind of thoughts I had about heaven. I don’t mean to disregard a wonder of that magnitude. I guess I do truly look forward to it. I just do not have a very good handle on the whats, where or when of it. As I was mentally bungling about for an answer, I realized (right or wrong) that I mostly just lump all the future (including heaven) into my vision of the kingdom of God which simply put, means that Christ’s reign will be ever expanding in all dimensions (especially in willing hearts) and it will be good because He is extraordinarily willing and wonderfully good. (more…)
