Spiritual Health and Wellness

“Follow the pattern of the sound words that you have heard from me, in the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus” (1Tim 1:13).

With healthcare costs going into orbit, there’s a HUGE emphasis these days on staying healthy. If we don’t get sick in the first place, we don’t have to shell out the copay and the insurance company doesn’t have to pony up the rest. It’s all about health and wellness. You know the drill. Eat right. Get some exercise. (Don’t freak out. This isn’t some never-ending open enrollment meeting.)

So what in the Wide World of Sports does the frustrating world of health insurance have to do with Paul’s second letter to Timothy? So glad you asked. The apostle writes his spiritual son a prescription for a healthy lifestyle in Jesus. “Follow the pattern of the sound words that you have heard from me, in the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus” (v13). Eat right by consuming a high protein diet of God’s Word. Get some exercise as you trust Jesus and serve others. It probably comes as no surprise that they are the keys to a lifestyle of spiritual health and wellness.

But Paul’s not writing to Tim from some squeaky clean doctor’s office or ultramodern research hospital. He’s in jail. On Death Row to be specific. There’s no doubt he realizes his days are numbered (2Tim 4:6-7). He writes with a couple of important purposes. First, the apostle begs the young pastor to drop everything and come see him before its too late (2Tim 4:9, 21). Second, he writes critical instructions to his protege just in case they never see each other again (2Tim 2:1-4:5). 

Paul tells Pastor Tim, “Follow the pattern of the sound words that you have heard from me” (v13). The folks at the ESV make an interesting choice in using the word “follow” here. The original language is a command which is probably better translated as hold tightly or hang on securely. Whatever this is, don’t lose it, don’t drop it, don’t fumble it. Get a firm grip and don’t let go!

The apostle instructs his young friend to grab on to “the pattern of sound words” (v13). Here’s where the picture of spiritual wellness becomes clear. First of all, Paul talks about a “pattern” and uses the Greek word hupotuposis, which is literally a description of an outline or sketch. Tim has a basic outline of what to do. He doesn’t get a specific point-by-point to-do list. Think of it as rough instructions that apply to any and all circumstances. When we’re following Jesus and walking in His Spirit, there’s a LOT of freedom in how we do it. It’s a general prescription for spiritual health.

Tim is to follow the outline of Paul’s “sound words” (v13). And by “sound,” he uses a word (Gr. hugiaino) which certainly can mean accurate and correct. But it carries the idea of healthy and thriving. You see, it’s a medical term often thrown around by the apostle’s personal physician Luke. Dr. Luke knows all about wellness. He quotes Jesus’ words to the religious do-gooders at Levi’s big party, “Those who are well (Gr. hugiaino) have no need of a physician, but those who are sick” (Lk 5:31). 

Later in the good doctor’s bio of Christ, he describes how the Lord healed a Roman army officer’s civilian staff member without even making a house call. “When those who had been sent returned to the house, they found the servant well (Gr. hugiaino)” (Lk 7:10). Since Luke is currently the only person visiting him in prison (2Tim 4:11), it makes sense that Paul is using medical terminology.

In his prequel to Tim, the apostle describes our Savior’s teaching as “the sound (Gr. hugiaino) words of our Lord Jesus Christ” (1Tim 6:3). There’s that phrase again. “Sound words.” Words of wellness from the Great Physician. The message of the Gospel is anything but a 98-pound wimp. The grace of Jesus is here to pump…you up! These are healthy words. Thriving words. Buff words. Words with six-pack abs.

The apostle reminds his protege how these are the same healthy words “that you have heard from me” (v13). Paul didn’t just think good thoughts. He said good stuff. Mentoring requires not only demonstration but explanation. Do it and then describe it. Give the “why” behind the “what.” If you’re the student in a discipling relationship, don’t be afraid to ask questions if you don’t know the reason why something is done. Actions do speak louder than words, but words explain your actions. Just like a good doctor with great bedside manner not only tells you to cut back on the french fries but why you should do it.

The two keys to spiritual wellness are “the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus” (v13). Faith is trusting totally in the Son of God as our cosmic Hero who came to our rescue. The Second Person of the Godhead left heaven to do for us what we couldn’t do for ourselves. He lived the life of 100% obedience to God’s commands that when we failed to do so. He died the death for our disobedience in our place. He rose to new life we certainly don’t deserve. And we trust Him to lead us by following His guidelines to an overflowing life.

But there’s a powerful connection between faith and love. Think of it like a spiritual drug interaction. Did you realize that trust in Christ produces love for people? So it’s no mistake that Jesus went out of His way to command His followers to love one another (Jn 13:34-35). And when the Lord and the human authors of Scripture talk about love, they’re not simply talking about the warm and fuzzy feelings you see greeting cards. Agape is like Boston’s song “More than a Feeling.” While there is certainly emotion involved, it’s a whole lot more. It’s love in action. Love that sacrifices. Love that does. Love that goes. 

Jesus clearly demonstrated His love for us by living and dying for us when we still a total dumpster fire of sin (Rom 5:8). Because of trusting in His ultimate act of love to us, we sacrificially love and serve the people He puts in our path. He calls me to a love-is-a-verb lifestyle. Someone once called it a “Me Third” attitude. God first. Others second. Me third. I worship God by getting my eyes off the doofus in the mirror and look around for whoever needs a hand. 

Our ultimate source of wellness is found “in Christ Jesus” (v13). Unlike the skyrocketing price of medicine, your spiritual healthcare costs are NOT going up. That bill was paid in full and paid in advance. Our Savior screamed it from the cross, “It is FINISHED!!!” (Jn 20:30, emphasis added). Believe it or not, there’s just one single word here (Gr. tetelestai). It’s no coincidence that this is the very same word someone in the first century would write on a receipt once the bill had been paid. Think of it as “PAID IN FULL.” There’s no payroll deduction or shared costs in God’s plan. He picks up the full tab for anyone and everyone who trusts in the sinless Son of God. Now THAT’S what I call universal health care!

Paul encourages Timothy to continue pursuing fitness by following this prescription through a healthy diet of the Gospel and getting plenty of exercise trusting Jesus and loving others. While there have been limitless breakthroughs in medicine since the apostle wrote his friend, these are timeless principles for holy health. So hang on tight to the words of spiritual health and wellness the apostle talks about. You know you’re trusting Jesus when you’re serving others. 

Back on Track

“The aim of our charge is love that issues from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith” (1Tim 1:5).

I am SO easily distracted. If there’s a bright light in the room, it’s got my attention. So many times, I’ve devoted myself to prayer and then suddenly something sidetracks me. Lord Jesus, thank You so much for all that You’ve…LOOK! A bird! Here in his letter to Timothy, Paul does his best to have the young pastor get the church in Ephesus refocused on what’s most important. Or in the words of the great philosopher and theologian Matt Foley, “How can we get you…BACK ON TRACK?!?!?” 

This is a REALLY big deal for Tim and the folks of the Ephesian church. There’s a team of hucksters who have hornswoggled believers and distracted them from the mission Jesus has for them. Just in case they’ve forgotten, the apostle reminds Pastor Tim of the original focus. “The aim of our charge is love that issues from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith” (v5). Remember the goal. Love. Paul tells Tim it’s time to get folks…BACK ON TRACK! Let’s shut down sales of spiritual snake oil and get back to our main job of loving God and loving people.

This city of Ephesus and the church in the city have a special place in Paul’s heart. He and his posse first hit town during his third tour of the Mediterranean Rim. Dr. Luke spends an entire chapter going into great detail about how the Gospel of Jesus absolutely turned this seaport on its ever lovin’ head (Acts 19). That’s the kind of crazy stuff that happens when God’s Spirit falls. Local Jewish rabbis kick the apostle out of the synagogue after Ephesian Jews start following Jesus as Messiah. That’s when Paul sets up shop at a local meeting hall and teaches about Christ for the next two years. There’s a bizarre scene where a demon kicks the butt of seven dudes and steals their clothes when try a little amateur exorcising. I’m pretty sure they missed the “don’t try this at home” disclaimer. Eventually tons of people start following Jesus and burning their books of black magic. There’s another citywide riot. They seem to follow the apostle wherever he goes. 

Sometime later, Paul has a tearful meeting with elders from the church outside of town to encourage them to keep on keeping on (Acts 20:17-38). The man from Tarsus keeps in touch with the Ephesians regularly throughout the years. When he hears about the threat of counterfeit gospel headed their way, he writes them a letter from his prison cell in Rome to warn them. You’ll find that note tucked in your New Testament between Galatians and Philippians. After his release from the joint, the apostle drops off his trusted sidekick Timothy to pastor this growing megachurch (1Tim 1:3). Apparently those religious con artists were still able to dupe Jesus’ followers into buying their not-so-good news. While there doesn’t seem to be anybody living in a van down by the river, it’s Tim’s job to get the Ephesians…BACK ON TRACK! It’s time to shut down sales of spiritual snake oil and get believers back to their main job of loving God and loving people.

Paul points Tim back at the original target by reminding him of “the aim of our charge” (v5). “Aim” is the Greek word telos. It describes the goal, the end, termination of a trip or project, or even ultimate fulfillment. This is their original purpose and intent. Let’s face it. Once you get on the road, it’s easy to get off track. There are plenty of distractions. Tourist traps along the interstate trying to suck you in. If you’ve ever made the drive down I-95, you know exactly what I mean. The ticky tacky signs for South of the Border sing their siren song. It just takes one driving diversion to sidetrack you from your schedule and real destination. False teachers have distracted Ephesian believers. Like a GPS on the dashboard, the apostle recalculates the trip. Remember where you’re headed. Remember the aim. 

Their goal is “love” (v5). But he’s not talking about working up a warm fuzzy feeling. This is what the NT describes as agape. Paul’s describing a one-of-a-kind attitude of affection which results in action. It’s a choice to act in a way that is loving and beneficial to another. Agape is all about sacrifice. Agape is all about action. It’s love that does. Love with arms and legs. Love with hands and feet. The apostle paints a spectacular (and convicting!) picture of it in 1 Corinthinans 13. It’s the kind of love Jesus poured out for you and me. He lived the perfect life of obedience to God’s commands when we totally failed. He died the brutal death on a cross that had our names on it. He rose from the graveyard to a glorious new life we don’t deserve. That’s love in action. That’s love that does.

One of Jesus’ enemies try to pull a fast one on the Rabbi/Carpenter. Let’s just be clear on this. You’re fooling yourself if you think you can outfox God. You’ll lose. Every. Single. Time. Anyhoo, this dude asked Christ what he thought was an unanswerable questions. You know the ones. Can God build a wall so high that even He can’t step over it? This goober thought he had the drop on Jesus and asked Him which commandment in the OT is the most important. Our Savior never batted an eye. Love God and love people. When we do that, we’re obeying everything God commanded at the same time (Mt 22:37). The night before His murder, Jesus washed His disciples filthy, stinking feet. When He was done, He told them this is EXACTLY the kind of love in action His followers are to express. “Just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another” (Jn 13:34-35). Jesus’ best buddy John was sitting right there that night. Later he will write, “We love because He first loved us” (1Jn 4:19). Love is the purpose. Love is the goal. Love is the end game.

Paul then tells Tim about the Triple Crown source of this love. It comes “from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith” (v5). A clean heart. A clear conscience. A legit trust in Jesus. See something that each of the Big 3 has in common?  Purity. They’re all legit. They’re all squeaky clean. Nothing fake. Nothing counterfeit. That’s in huge contrast to the bogus gospel the false teachers have been spreading. Let’s take a quick look at this Trifecta of Love.

Let’s start with a “pure heart” (v5). King David wrote a hit song about how God loves to bless “those who are pure in heart” (Ps 73:1). In the most famous section of His most famous sermon, Jesus says His Father will shower His blessings on the “pure in heart” and allow them to see God (Mt 5:8). In his second letter to Timothy, Paul tells his protege join other worshipers “who call on the Lord from a pure heart” (2Tim 2:22). For the record, Jesus is the ONLY One to have a 100% sin-free clean heart. fThat’s in contrast to the absolutely a jacked up joint inside me. “The heart is deceitful above all things” (Jer 17:9). Yeah, that’s not good. Not good at all! 

The only hope for my rotten heart is receiving treatment from the Great Physician. David knows the only One who can fix is his filthy heart is Yahweh. “Create in me a clean heart, O God” (Ps 51:10). Only God has the surgical skills to pull off a supernatural heart transplant. “And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh” (Ezek 36:26). Only Jesus when gets involved in my life can I even dream of producing real love for God and others. If you’re wondering, folks with rock hearts don’t have a thimbleful of compassion for anyone other than themselves.

Next up is a “good conscience” (v5). The conscience (Gr. suneidesis) the part of the soul God gives to every person allowing us to distinguish between good and evil. That innate sense of right and wrong. The writer of Hebrews asks his readers to pray for he and his friends “that we have a clear conscience, desiring to act honorably in all things” (Heb 13:18). Paul’s friend and personal pastor Peter says that “having a good conscience” is key when it comes to telling others about our faith in Jesus (1Pet 3:15-16). 

When we have a strong inner sense of moral law, that’s a clear indication there’s a Moral Law Giver. Otherwise, who makes the call on whether doing bad things to puppies and kittens is a bad thing? Who decides whether Hitler’s so-called Final Solution is the wrong answer? Who’s to judge Syria’s president for killing his own people with chemical weapons? Is it you? Is it me? Is that up to the talking heads on CNN, Fox News, and MSNBC? It’s the ultimate Source of our conscience. If you haven’t figure out Who that is at this point, it’s God, the Righteous Judge. Can’t think of anyone else who’s more qualified, can you?

A key component in loving others is “sincere faith” (v5). Paul’s describing a trust in Jesus that’s the real deal. It’s not a put on. It’s not just for show. It’s not just showing up at church in order to pull the wool over the eyes of others. This is a bona fide belief in who Jesus is and what He’s done. It’s trusting in what He’s done that I could never dream of doing for myself. That kind of faith runs in Tim’s family. Paul will later write about how it all started with me-maw. “I am reminded of your sincere faith, a faith that dwelt first in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice and now, I am sure, dwells in you as well” (2Tim 1:5). While it’s awesome when faith runs deep in your family, we need to remember that God doesn’t have any grandchildren. Your faith needs to YOUR faith. And it needs to be legit. It needs to be sincere. 

Now it’s time for a little Gospel math. “Pure heart” + “good conscience” + “sincere faith” = sacrificial and selfless “love.” In other words, the whole is greater than the sum of the parts. They don’t just add up, they multiply! When you put each of them together, God does something incredible, something supernatural. He pours His love through us and transforms us into fire hydrants of His grace. That’s what happens we get focused back on the main purpose. Once Tim shuts down the sales of spiritual snake oil, the Ephesian believers can get back to what Jesus calls us to do…loving God and loving people.

What’s hijacked you from the main mission? What has weaseled it’s way into your heart and polluted your desires? How about your conscience? Is there something that’s got the warning lights flashing down at quality control? Do you have something you need to get off your chest and confess? And what about your faith? Is it the real deal? Or is it phony? Are just trying to fool folks into thinking you’ve got your stuff in one bag with a twist tie? Don’t freak out. Forget Matt Foley. Jesus is ready and waiting to get you…BACK ON TRACK!

Love Smart

“For it is my prayer that your love may abound more and more, with knowledge and all discernment” (Phil 1:9).

There are smart phones, smart TVs, smart watches and even smart cars. These amazing inventions are smart because they do a lot of the thinking for us. Don’t get me wrong, it’s great to fire up Shazam to figure out who’s singing that song or have Siri tell me the nearest place to get a pizza. But these are just technological toys compared to the smart love Paul prays about. From behind bars in Rome, the apostle tells his friends back in Philippi that he’s continually asking God that they would love more and love smart. How ‘bout you? Are you looking to increase the level and efficiency of your love? I’ve checked online. There’s not an app for that. But there is a God who specializes in it. 

Our man Paul writes to the followers of Jesus in the Macedonian seaport of Philippi. He swung by the city several years ago as part of his tour taking the message of Jesus around the Mediterranean rim. Who can forget those crazy days in Macedonia? Dr. Luke sure can’t. The apostle’s personal physician and traveling partner wrote all about them in Acts 16:12-40. God used Paul and his team to shower His unconditional love on all sorts of folks. A fashionista named Lydia, a demon-possessed young lady caught in human trafficking, and a brutal prison warden all placed their trust in the resurrected Rabbi/Carpenter from Galilee. These are just three of the people who were on the receiving end of God’s love who are now on the receiving end of the apostle’s letter.

The man from Tarsus lets them know that they are the repeated focus of “my prayer” (v9). Paul spends this entire paragraph (Phil 1:2-11) telling the Philippians how he is praying for them. He thanks God for the memories of those wild times when he first rolled into town (Phil 1:3; Acts 16:12-40). They’ve remained teammates in grace ever since (Phil 1:4-8). Because of their shared experience in sharing and living out the Gospel, these Philippian believers have carved out a special place in Paul’s heart. Do you make a point of praying for folks you’re on mission with? Are their people God brought into your life in the past but are separated from now? Here’s an idea. Pray for them. Write down their names. Go to the Lord on their behalf regularly. And then let them know. How would you like a friend to let you know they’ve been praying for you? Yeah, that would be pretty awesome.

Their old friend says he prays that their “love may abound more and more” (v9). Is Paul simply asking God to amp up the warm fuzzy feeling these folks have in their hearts? That’s part of it, but it’s SO much more! He uses that wonderful Greek word agape. If you’ve spent any time growing up in Sunday School or going to a Christian youth camp, you’ve heart this word so much that it’s actually lost any real meaning. Agape describes unconditional love in action. It’s a love that does. A love that lasts. A love with legs. These Philippian Jesus followers are already world class when it comes to practical expressions of love. They’ve provided practical support for Paul during his time behind bars (Phil 4:14-20). But to paraphrase the boys from Spinal Tap, the apostle prays that God would take their love to 11.

He asks the Lord that their love increase and “abound more and more” (v9). Most English translations use “abound” to translate the Greek verb perisseuo. Maybe it’s just me, but that just doesn’t seem to scratch the surface on the original text. This paints a picture of an overflow (which both the NRS and NLT use). It’s the idea have way more than enough, to increase in abundance, or exceed lavishly. Paul’s not praying for just a little more love from his friends. He asks God to cut loose the Philippian fire hydrant of agape! And why not? In some of His final instructions before His crucifixion, our Savior told His boys that our priority is to love each other. It’s a sure sign to the world that we’re His followers (Jn 13:34-35). When lawyer tried to ask Him a trick question about what was the most important commandment to obey, Christ said it was simple (Mt 22:34-40). Love God. Love people. That’s the kind of love that Paul prays that God will crank up among God’s people. Love for God. Love for people.

The apostle doesn’t just pray for more love but smart love. He asks the Lord to not just jack up their love to new levels but that it happen “with knowledge and discernment” (v9). In other words, he’s not praying their love get more sappy but wise. Think of expressing God’s love in a directed and concentrated way. Like a fire hose. It’s focused. It’s pinpointed. Think laser love. A laser is simply a super-duper concentrated beam of light. Instead of Dr. Evil’s infamous Death Ray, Paul prays that God would transform us into a Love Laser. 

When it comes to smart love, God isn’t telling us to pick and choose WHOM we love. Remember, we’re to love God and we’re to love people. That pretty much covers everybody from what I can tell. It’s not about WHO but HOW. Paul asks God to give the Philippian believers the “knowledge and discernment” (v9) on how they should love others. Practical acts of love look different from person to person. Your spouse needs a separate sort of love than your buddy at work. Your child needs something different from one of your parents. Some need a hug. Some need money. Some need your time. Some need a meal. Some need help moving. Some need a ride. Some need bail. But they ALL need love. Let God’s Spirit give you the wisdom and discernment on how fire the Lord’s Love Laser.

Don’t think that the expiration date ran out on this love smart idea just because the apostle wrote these words 2,000 years ago. This is a timeless truth. Take a look around. God has placed folks in our lives to be recipients of His love through you and me. Your spouse. Your kids. Your neighbors. Your coworkers. The people that you meet when you’re walking down the street. Your love will look very different depending on the one on the receiving end. That’s what Jesus’ love looks like when it overflows through us and into the lives of those who come into our path. Smart phones are cool. Smart TVs are all the rage. But when comes to you and me, God calls us to smart love.

The Great Multiplier

“May mercy, peace, and love be multiplied to you” (v2).

There are two kinds of people in the world. Those who love math and those who don’t. There’s a couple of generations of folks who memorized our multiplication tables back in elementary school. Learning to multiply simple numbers wasn’t too bad. But calculating the answer when huge numbers are multiplied is hard. I don’t know about you, but there’s no way I can do the math in my head when I see 147,569 x 29,658 = ?. I could probably figure this one out with paper and pencil but would prefer a calculator. Well, I have some very good news for you. I can’t promise you there will be no math on the final. But I can tell you that Christ will handle all the arithmetic. You see, Jesus is the Great Multiplier.

Here in the second verse of his very short letter, Jude prays for his readers. He asks God to increase their “mercy, peace, and love” (v2). And when I say he asks God, I mean he asks his big Brother. Now I don’t know if Jesus’ helped his kid brother with his math homework. But it is clear that Jude knows that Jesus is great at multiplication. Maybe He learned from His adoptive dad that measuring and calculations are an important part of carpentry. You’ve heard the only saying, “Measure twice, cut once.” Whatever the case, Jude prays to His Brother that He would multiply these in the lives of his friends.

Jesus is the Great Multiplier.

The first request is for more mercy. This is the Greek word eleos. Generally, this is also withholding punishment that is deserved. Because of our rebellion against God, each one of us deserves to die a rebel’s death. That’s where Jesus steps in. He’s willing to step in and suffer the execution for our sin on our behalf. But the biblical idea of mercy is much deeper and richer than getting the divine punishment that we rightly deserve. It’s also compassion toward someone in serious need. It’s kindness, concern, and pity. It’s goodwill especially to the afflicted with the intention to do something to help. Jude prays that Jesus would demonstrate His incredible compassion to us in real and practical ways. I certainly won’t turn down God’s help. What about you? Yeah, I didn’t you would.

Jude goes to his Brother for mercy because He was on a mission of mercy. Time after time, Jesus dripped with mercy for the people He met (Mt 15:22). Christ drips with mercy because He’s God, and God is “rich in mercy (Gr. eleos)” (Eph 2:4). God promises a fresh batch of His endless mercy hot off the griddle each and every morning (Lam 3:22-23). You may be wondering where you can find a heapin’ helpin’ of His pipin’ hot mercy. So very glad you asked. The exclusive distributor for divine mercy is found at the foot of Jesus’ throne. “Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy (Gr. eleos) and find grace to help in time of need” (Heb 4:16). Jude knows where to go.

Jesus is the Great Multiplier.

Next, Joe and Mary’s boy prays for our “peace (Gr. eirene)” (v2). This is so much more than a lack of war. When the writers of the Bible talk about peace, they’re talking about the great old Hebrew word shalom. It describes harmony, health, welfare, and freedom from anxiety. Peace is the original state of God’s creation. Everything working in perfect rhythm. Well, it didn’t take long for our first parents to toss that in the toilet. And we’ve been searching for peace ever since. Is your life jacked up? Need a little peace? Need a LOT of peace? Yeah, me too. The good news is that Jude knows a Guy. 

Because of what Jesus has done for us that we could never dream of doing for ourselves, “we have peace (Gr. eirene) with God” (Rom 5:1). The Apostle Paul prays for his friends in Rome, “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace (Gr. eirene) in believing” (Rom 15:13). Don’t forget that peace is a big part of the delicious fruit God’s Spirit is growing in our lives (Gal 5:22-23). Jude’s brother is the source of this perfect rhythm. Jesus is the “Prince of Peace” (Is 9:6). Yeah, Jude knows exactly to ask for more peace. 

Jesus is the Great Multiplier.

If more mercy and more peace isn’t enough, the author doesn’t stop there. He pleads with God to shower us with more and more of His love. According to MacArthur, Jewish folks would greet each other by wishing peace and grace. Jude adds love to make this a distinctly Gospel cocktail (oops, sorry if I offended any of my friends who don’t drink alcohol with that one!). Jude prays for more of God’s “love” (v2). This is that wonderful Greek word agape. The problem is that we’ve so overused this term that it’s lost it’s flavor. Kinda like old chewing gum. And that’s a crying shame. Agape is a crazy word that describes a love like no other. It’s love in action. It’s love that does. It’s not just a warm fuzzy feeling toward somebody. It’s love demonstrated. It’s love accomplished. The Apostle John goes so far as to say “God is love” (1Jn 4:8, 16). God demonstrated His love for us by sending His Son on the greatest rescue mission of all time to save us. Talk about love accomplished! And once again, God promises to grow His love in our lives as juicy part of the fruit of the Spirit (Gal 5:22-23). 

Jesus is the Great Multiplier.

Christ’s kid brother doesn’t just as for a little more “mercy, peace, and love” for his friends. He gets a little greedy on our behalf. He begs for it to “be multiplied” (v2). Jude uses the verb plethuno. Here’s where the idea of math comes into play. It means to increase greatly in number or amount, give in abundance, and grow. His prayer isn’t just a wee bit more of the three. He asks our Savior to crank it up. Unleash the divine firehose of His goodness. More! More!! More!!! This isn’t addition. Nope, we’re talking multiplication. Jude knows just to ask for more mercy, more peace, and more love. 

Jesus is the Great Multiplier.

Recipe for Gospel Stew

“For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love” (v5-7).

My wife Deb likes surfing on Pinterest. The big reason is to find new recipes. Here in the opening chapter of his second letter, Peter includes the recipe for a delicious new Gospel Stew. He lists all the ingredients for a dish that will not only allow us to fully explore what our salvation is all about but to really get to know God in a deep and intimate way. It’s not really all that complicated. Your key basic ingredient is faith. Start emptying the cabinets of the various components. Go ahead. Dump it all in there. Stir it all together. Let the stuff simmer. And the end result is love. A delicious Gospel Stew.

Pete begins with faith and finishes with love. Always begin with your faith in Jesus. This is the trust in who He is and what He’s done that you and I could never do. He lived the perfect life that I totally failed to do. He died the death for my own sin that I should have died. He rose to a spectacular new life that I in no way deserve. I’m trusting in what He’s done. I place my faith in who He is. This is not so much about the strength of my faith but the strength of the object of my faith. It’s not about gritting your teeth and making yourself believe harder. This is trusting in the most trustworthy One. Jesus. The Rock. So the basic ingredient is faith. Dump in all in. Everything you’ve got.

When we’re done cooking, the result is a scrumptious crockpot that tastes of love. Pete uses the Greek word agape. This is the love that Jesus and His boys talk about constantly in the New Testament. It’s so much more than a warm, fuzzy feeling. It’s so much more than doing something for someone whenever you feel like it. This love is a choice. This love is a decision. It’s a love that does. Love in action. Christ proved His love for you and me by dying in our place while we were still rebels against God’s kingdom (Rom 5:8). Talk about an incredible choice. What starts with faith in Jesus ends in love. Love for God. Love for others. Love that gets me outside of myself.

OK, let’s get started on the stew. With all my faith already in the pot, Pete tells me to grab every bit of  “virtue” I can get my hands on. This is the Greek word arete, which means excellence, goodness, valor, uprightness and character. The apostle is talking about the power to do the right thing. MacArthur says this is the God-given ability to perform heroic deeds. Kinda like when the Wizard of Oz proclaimed the Tin Man as a “Good Deed Doer.”  We read the very same word to describe God’s excellence back in verse 3. One of the great ways to express your faith in what Jesus has done for you is do something good. So how much virtue should we put in the pot? All of it.

Our next ingredient is “knowledge” (Gr. gnosis). There are a LOT of Greek words that get translated as “knowledge.” This one describes correct insight and understanding. This is truth properly comprehended and applied. It’s understanding by virtue of experience. The term is even a way to talk about an intimate relationship with a person. Just before listing the ingredients for this Gospel Stew, Pete tells us that God has already given us everything we need to live a life that brings Him glory. That happens “through the knowledge of Him who called us” (1:3). The former fisherman is talking about Jesus. Take everything you know about Jesus, everything you’ve experienced as a follower of Christ, scoop it all up and put it in the pot. All of it. 

Let’s double check what we’ve got so far. Faith? Check. Virtue? Got it. Knowledge? It’s in there. 

The recipe then calls for “self-control” (Gr. egkrateia). This is the exercise of complete control over one’s desires and actions and mastery over one’s passions. The King Jimmy Bible calls it “temperance.” It’s from a word that literally means “inner force” or “holding oneself in.” It was used of highly trained athletes who were in complete control of their bodies. Pete’s buddy Paul wrote that “self-control” is clear evidence that God’s Spirit is working in your life (Gal 5:22-23). Before Jesus got ahold of me, I had very little discipline. But a very peculiar thing happened after He saved me. I started to have the ability to say “no” to a variety of activities that were destructive and began to say “yes” to those brought glory to God. The irony of “self-control” is that I’m not really controlling myself. God guides me and gives me the strength to do it. So make sure you get all of the God-given “self-control” in the cabin and put it in the pot.

Let’s see, Pete then says to add “steadfastness” to the stew. This is hupomone, which means patient endurance and perseverance. This is unswerving loyalty despite difficulties and testings. A capacity to bear up under difficult circumstances It literally means “a life underneath.” In other words, this is hanging tough when something very hard is pressing down on you. It should come as no shock that Jesus is the perfect example of a living godly life under pressure. He kept His eyes locked on His mission of coming to seek and save the lost. He was steadfast in His life-long journey to the cross. God grants us perseverance when the pressure builds. The folks on the receiving end of this letter know all about perseverance under pressure. Pete’s first note to them was all about godly suffering in ungodly persecution (1Pet 1:6-7; 4:19). Open up every can of “steadfastness” you have and add it to our stew.

Let’s see what’s next. “Godliness” (Gr. eusebeia). Pete’s talking about a godly life expressed as good deeds. This is a life of reverence and respect towards my Creator and Savior. A life in constant view of God. So here’s the deal. Do the things I say and do truly reflect that I’m a follower of Jesus? Am I obedient to His commands? Do I make Him famous with what I do? Do I live my life as an act of worship to God? Let me be totally transparent with you. I fall miserably short on the “godliness” scale. But what I do have, I’m going to scrape it all together and put it in our pot of Gospel Stew.

Now stir in “brotherly affection.” The Greek word is philadelphia. Nope, he’s not talking about the city in Pennsylvania. This isn’t cream cheese. And while a Philly cheesesteak always sounds good, let’s stay focused on our Gospel Stew. This is the love expressed among family members. And in this case, Pete’s talking about the affection between followers of Jesus. Just before He went to the cross, Christ gave His crew a crucial command. Love one another. Believers’ sacrificial love for each other would show the world that we’re His followers (Jn 13:34-35). Dump the entire bag of “brotherly affection” into the pot.

Last but not least we add “love” (Gr. agape). The final ingredient will be the dominant flavor in our Gospel Stew. As we said before, this is a deep love with an outward expression. A love that does. A love with legs. As the guys in DC Talk say, “Love is a verb.” What exactly does it look like? Well, Paul devoted an entire chapter to it. When it doubt of what love looks like, flip over to 1 Corinthians 13. It’s the kind of love God has for us. It’s the kind of love we’re to have for each other. Jesus Himself said that every last bit of the Old Testament hangs on the twin principles of loving God and loving others. My friend Ross Turner used to talk about reaching up and reaching out. You have to do both. Reaching up in our love to Jesus must be done while we’re reaching out in love to those around us. 

Let’s review the recipe for Gospel Stew and make sure we’ve put everything in.

Faith. Check.

Virtue. Check.

Knowledge. Check.

Self-control. Check.

Steadfastness. Check.

Godliness. Check.

Brotherly affection. Check.

Love. Check.

Now, take a taste. Any good chef wants to know if what they’re making is any good. Does it taste like love? Perfect!

Love Your Wife=Love Yourself

In the same way husbands should love their wives as their own bodies.  He who loves his wife loves himself (Eph 5:28).

Each year I go visit my doctor and get a physical.  I need to know how my body is doing.  I need to know if there’s anything wrong.  I need that outside opinion.  I need that expert opinion.  Well, there’s another way I can check on my spiritual and emotional health.  That’s by taking a look at my wife.  God says that since we’re married, we’re one.  To care for my wife is to care for myself.  To care for myself is to care for my wife.  “In the same way husbands should love their wives as their own bodies.  He who loves his wife loves himself” (v28).

Love your wife=Love yourself.

Here are two of the four times in this letter to the Ephesians that Paul tells married men to love their wives.  He did it earlier as he compared that to how Jesus loved His church through self-sacrifice (Eph 5:25).  And he’ll do it one more time as he wraps things up (Eph 5:33).  Clearly he understands the thick skulls of the husbands he’s talking to.  Hey guys, love your wives.  Love your wives.  Love your wives!  LOVE YOUR WIVES!!!  Not once.  Not twice.  Not even three times.  The apostle pounds the nail four stinkin’ times.  Hopefully, he has our attention.  Hey, fellas, love your wives.  Got it?  Good.

The interesting thing is that most of this picture of a husband’s love for his wife is actually a beautiful portrait of Jesus’ love for His bride, the church.  Christ loves her by living a life of self-sacrifice (Eph 5:25).  He loves her by continually washing her in His Word and giving her a Bible bath (Eph 5:26).  He loves her by playing an active role in their wedding preps to the point that jaws drop when she’s about to walk down the aisle (Eph 5:27).  Our marriage isn’t a picture of His marriage.  It’s the other way around.  Jesus’ loving relationship with His church is the perfect example of what my marriage should look like.  That’s exactly Paul’s point as he turns the focus from Christ’s marriage to mine.  I’m to love my wife “in the same way” (v28).  He’s the gold standard of grooms.  No one will ever live up to how Jesus has loved and will love His bride.  But that’s my goal.  “In the same way” (v28).  

“Husbands should love their wives” (v28).  The command here is actually a little different grammatically.  Paul uses the verb “should.”  This is the Greek word otheilo.  It actually means to owe what is due.  When the apostle wrote to his buddy Phil about his runaway slave Onesimus, he promised to pay back anything he may have stolen.  “If he has wronged you at all, or owes (Gr. otheilo) you anything, charge that to my account” (Phm 18).  You can also translate this word as ought, must, to be under obligation, duty bound, to be necessary or indispensable.  As a husband, I owe it to my wife to love her.  But my debt isn’t due because of something she’s done.  I owe it to my bride because of what Jesus has done.  I owe it to my wife because we have a covenant, not a contract.  A contract indicates some sort of deal with very specific terms.  If you do this, I promise to do that.  If one party fails to fulfill, the other is off the hook.  That’s a contract.  But marriage is a covenant.  That’s a pledge to do something no matter what.  It’s a promise without conditions.  It’s unconditional love.  I owe it to my wife to love her no matter what.  

Over in his letter to his crew in Rome, Paul combines the idea of being in debt and being in love. “Owe (Gr. otheilo) no one anything, except to love each other, for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law” (Rom 13:8).  Be debt free except when it comes to love.  After Jesus washed His disciples’ filthy feet, He told them, “You also ought (Gr. otheilo) to wash one another’s feet” (Jn 13:14).  Moments later, Christ connected the dots between love and ought.  “Love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another.  By this all people will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another” (Jn 13:34-35).  As the husband, you owe it to your wife to love her.

This is a powerful reminder of what Christ-like love is all about.  Agape.  It’s so much more than a warm fuzzy feeling toward someone else.  It’s love in action.  It’s love with legs.  It’s love that does.  It’s love on the move.  If you love someone, you do for them.  You don’t simply telepathically send them positive vibes.  You love by doing.  That’s how Jesus loved us.  That’s how husbands are to love their wives.

The husband should take care of his bride with the same devotion that he cares for himself.  There’s a subtle reminder here that God expects us to keep our bodies in good physical shape.  Keep an eye on your weight.  Get regular exercise.  Eat healthy foods.  Make sure you get plenty of rest.  We really must take great care of the temple of the Holy Spirit (1Cor 6:19).  It goes without saying that followers of Jesus should take care of themselves physically.  Our body is just one of several things He’s given us to steward and maximize on this side of eternity.    

Once a man is married, he’s responsible to care not only for his body but the body of his new bride as well.  MacArthur calls this “one of the most poignant and compelling descriptions of the oneness that should characterize Christian marriage.”  Paul is about to refresh us on what God said to Adam and Eve at the first wedding (Eph 5:31; Gen 2:24).  Once the husband and wife are married, they are “one flesh.”  One flesh emotionally.  One flesh physically.  One flesh spiritually.  That’s the reason behind this command.  The best way for a husband to love himself is to actually love his wife.  Because they are one flesh.

So if you want to know how you’re doing physically, emotionally and spiritually, take a look at your wife.  If you’re loving her as Jesus loves His bride, she’s in tip top shape.  To steal a phrase from Vidal Sassoon, if she doesn’t look good, you don’t look good.  You are one flesh.  Men, love your wives as you would love your own body.  

Love your wife=Love yourself.

This where you jump in.  Do you agree?  Do you disagree?  One way or the other, I would really love to hear from you.  Drop a comment below and we'll chat.

The Perfect Gift

Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave Himself up for her (Eph 5:25).

One of the hardest things for me is finding a gift for my lovely bride.  There are several factors that go into the decision.  It needs to be something she really wants.  It needs to be something she really likes.  It needs to be something of value.  It needs to be unique.  When you consider that this needs to happen at least four times each year (Christmas, anniversary, birthday and Valentines Day), you can feel my pain.  Please don’t get me wrong.  I LOVE giving my wife presents.  But I’m not that smart and simply run out of ideas.  Paul gives guys like me some fantastic gift advice here in his letter to the Ephesian church.  “Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave Himself up for her” (v25).  If a husband truly wants to express his love to his bride, do what Jesus did.  Give yourself.

It’s the perfect gift.

Let’s back up for a little context here.  Paul is in the joint in Rome waiting for his appeal to be heard (Eph 3:1; 4:1; 6:20).  He’s writing to his friends back in Ephesus in response to a nasty heresy that’s headed their way.  Just 100 miles down the road, a team of spiritual hucksters have sold a false gospel to believers in Colossae, Laodicea and Hierapolis.  They’ve duped folks into thinking that Jesus may have gotten us into God’s kingdom but it’s up to us to stay in.  Their secret formula?  Follow this super special list of religious rules and regulations.  After writing a letter of correction that we call Colossians, Paul fires off another note to the Ephesians.  He knows that when we’re absolutely clear about who Jesus is, what He’s done and who we are in Him, we won’t be tempted to buy such spiritual snake oil of self-salvation.

The apostle is describing what family life looks like for the followers of Jesus (Eph 5:22-6:4).  Once we understand that everything we’ll ever need we already have in Jesus, we can “be imitators of God” (Eph 5:1).  We can “walk in love” just like Jesus (Eph 5:2).  We can “walk as children of light” (Eph 5:8).  The rubber meets the road when we are “submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ” (Eph 5:21).  Paul begins addressing specific people at this point.  He starts with married women.  They are to willingly and lovingly cooperate with their husbands just as the church does with Jesus (Eph 5:22-24).

Now he moves on to the hubbies.  “Husbands, love your wives” (v25).  This is a clearly a command.  But how can Paul demand emotion like love?  How can anyone demand how we feel?  It must be a pretty big deal because this is the first of four commands for husbands to love their wives over the next nine verses.  Clearly God isn’t sure we’re going to get this through our thick skulls the first time.  Or second.  Or third.  “Love your wives” (v25).  “Love their wives” (Eph 5:28).  “Loves his wife” (Eph 5:28).  “Love his wife” (Eph 5:33).  Call it the Fantastic Four.  He’s only commanded submission to married women twice.  It’s no coincidence that Paul devotes three times more space on the page addressing husbands (nine verses) than he does the wives (three verses).  Let’s face it.  As husbands, we can be real knuckleheads.

God can command us to love because biblical love isn’t some warm and fuzzy feeling.  It’s action.  It’s doing.  As the old DC Talk song says, “Love is a verb.”  And the verb here for love here is agapao.  If it looks familiar, it should.  This is the verb cousin to the noun agape.  It means to show or prove one’s love through action, to love based on choice and to show affection as a matter of will.  This is love based on choice, will and action.  Actually, Jesus’ best friend John gives us a nifty definition in one of his letters.  “Let us not love (Gr. agapao) in word or talk but in deed and in truth” (1Jn 3:18).  Now it doesn’t mean that this is just an icy cold, passionless act.  There is certainly a deep emotional component to it.  But it’s NOT dependent on how you feel.  It’s expressed by what you do.

So husbands are to love their wives in the same way that Jesus loves His bride, the church.  With a self-giving, self-sacrificing, “me third” kind of love in action.  The night before He was murdered, Jesus told His boys that He had some very special, last minute instructions for them.  “A new commandment I give to you, that you love (Gr. agapao) one another; just as I have loved (Gr. agapao) you, you also are to love (Gr. agapao) one another” (Jn 13:34).  How did Jesus love His crew?  He literally gave Himself for them.  This self-sacrificing love in action clearly became a dominant theme for the Apostle John.  “By this we know love, that He laid down His life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers” (1Jn 3:16).  There’s no more simple and powerful statement on the impact of Jesus’ love than this: “We love (Gr. agapao) because He first loved (Gr. agapao) us” (1Jn 4:19).  If you want a bigger picture of Christ-like love, you need to file Chapter 13.  That’s 1^st Corinthians chapter 13.  The rock band Foreigner pleaded, “I want to know what love is.”  Here Paul gives us one of the most beautiful descriptions of it.  This is how Jesus loves.  This is how husbands are to love.  Guys, give yourself.

It’s the perfect gift.

The apostle wants married men to clearly see how Jesus loved His bride.  He “gave Himself up for her” (v25).  He uses the Greek verb paradidomi, which means to give into the hands of another, give over into someone’s power, deliver, entrust or hand over.  This is a willing surrender of Himself for His church.  He gives Himself for His church.  Our God is a Giver.  He gave His one and only Son out of His love for us (Jn 3:16).  He gives us His Holy Spirit (Jn 14:15-17, 26; 15:26; 16:7-8, 13).  And flip back to that amazing Tsunami of Blessings that overwhelms Paul in the first part of this letter to Ephesus (Eph 1:3-14).  Our very salvation is a gift from a gracious God (Eph 2:5-9).  He gives.  And He gives.  And He gives.  The apostle reminds us once again of Jesus’ grace.  He “gave Himself up for her” (v25).  No one forced Jesus to die for His bride.  He did it willingly.  He delivered Himself for her as an act of love.  He exchanged His life for her good.  “They bound Jesus and led Him away and delivered (Gr. paradidomi) Him over to Pilate” (Mk 15:1).  Christ gives HIMSELF!  He gave everything for her!

In that message to the Colossians that he wrote just before this note to Ephesus, Paul gives a very similar command.  “Husbands, love (Gr. agapao) your wives, and do not be harsh with them” (Col 3:19).  But a little later in this letter to the Ephesians, he adds a wonderful new phrase: “as Christ loved the church and gave Himself up for her” (v25).  Robertson says that this lifts the idea of the husband’s love for his wife to the highest possible plane.  Married men are to love their wives with the same boundless, no-holds-barred, selfless and sacrificial love that Jesus demonstrated for His bride.  Jesus gave everything for His church.  He gave His very life for His church.  That’s the standard of love for believing husbands.

Let’s make sure that we understand what Paul is NOT saying here.  It’s real easy for men to manipulate God’s command to the wife about submission.  Remember, fellas, the command to submit is not made to husbands.  This is the Lord’s command to our wives.  And no one placed us in the position to enforce that command.  We’re not the submission police.  Instead, Paul tells us to love our brides with the same self-sacrifice that Christ loved His wife.  The Bible paints a beautiful portrait of a the husband laying down his very life for his bride that’s in direct opposition of any sort of emotional or physical abuse.

I absolutely love how The Message shares this verse.  “Husbands, go all out in your love for your wives, exactly as Christ did for the church--a love marked by giving, not getting” (Eph 5:25 The Message).  Go all out for her.  It’s not about getting.  It’s all about giving.  Give yourself.

It’s the perfect gift.

Well, what do you think?  Yeah, YOU!  Agree?  Disagree?  Or maybe you might have suggestion about what I can get my wife for a present.  Whatever the case, drop a comment below.  I'd love to hear from you.

Love on the Move

And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave Himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God (Eph 5:2).

Paul has just told all of Jesus followers to work on their God imitation (Eph 5:1).  One of the key ways to impersonate someone is to mimic their walk.  Some folks are so good at impressions that they don’t even need to talk.  They just walk.  The apostle lets us know that walking like Jesus is a key to imitating Him.  “And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave Himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God” (v2).  Walking like Jesus means loving like Jesus.  His love is SO much more than a warm, fuzzy feeling for others.  It’s love with legs.  It’s love in action.  It’s love that does.

It’s love on the move.

If we’re going to imitate God, the apostle tells us to “walk in love, as Christ loved us” (v2).  He uses one of his favorite verbs: peripateo.  It literally means “to walk” (-pateo) “around” (peri-) or move about.  Matt describes how Jesus walked around (Gr. peripateo) the shores of the Sea of Galilee (Mt 4:18).  It’s also a way to describe how to live and behave.  The term hints at a how you consistently conduct your life.  Walking like Jesus and imitating Him as one of His followers shouldn’t be a rare occurrence.  There’s a consistency.  That doesn’t mean you won’t stumble as you walk.  That doesn’t mean you won’t walk faster or slower at certain times.  That doesn’t mean that you might not walk in the wrong direction occasionally.  But there’s a consistency over the course of our lives of moving about like Jesus.

As I said before, this word is one of Paul’s faves.  Here in this letter, he’s talked about how we were the original Walking Dead, stumbling and bumbling around in our own sin, before God pumped life into our veins (Eph 2:1).  Once Jesus brought us to life, we must stop staggering around like unbelievers (Eph 4:17) and get moving or “walk (Gr. peripateo),” doing the stuff God has set the table for us to do (Eph 2:10).  We’re to “walk (Gr. peripateo) in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called” (Eph 4:1).  We’re to “walk (Gr. peripateo)” around shining Jesus’ light (Eph 5:8).  We’re to be smart about how we go through life, “walk (Gr. peripateo), not as unwise but as wise” (Eph 5:15).

It’s love on the move.  

That’s what it means to walk around like Jesus.  Remember, the Son of God didn’t sit still.  He was consistently on the move.  The Second Member of the Trinity left the palatial comforts of heaven to come to this sinful sewer and clean up what we trashed with our sin.  He moved.  He came.  And once He hit the scene, He didn’t stop moving.  He was always on the move.  That’s because Christ “came to seek and to save the lost” (Lk 19:10).  You don’t seek by sitting around.  You don’t save from the Barcalounger.  You get moving.  To imitate Jesus is to get on your feet and start walking.

It’s love on the move. 

Jesus’ motivation for His mission is His descending, one-way love for us.  Three times in these two verses, Paul wants to get it through our thick little skulls just how much God loves us.  We’re His “beloved children” (Eph 5:1).  We’re to “walk in love as Christ loved us” (v2).  While one (“beloved”) is an adjective, another is a noun (“love”) and the last one is a verb (“loved”), they are all variations of agape.  In general terms, they describe a sincere love, an interest or appreciation for something or someone.  It’s not a passive, let-the-game-come-to-you kind of love.  This is self-sacrificial love in action.  That’s why some translations use the term “charity.”  Agape does.  Agape moves.  Agape has legs.

It’s love on the move.

Let’s make sure we know what love is NOT.  Again, it’s not a fluttery feeling of affection in our stomach.  That’s not to say there’s not an emotional component to it.  But we don’t love God so that He’ll love us.  There’s absolutely nothing we can muster up that makes us good enough to be loved.  As a matter of fact, Paul says exactly the opposite in a letter to his buddies in Rome.  “God shows His love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Rom 5:8).  Not when we got our act together and loved God up in an extra special way.  Nope.  “While we were still sinners.”  While we were still rebels.  While we were the most unlovable.  That’s when He loved you.  That’s when He loved me.  And He loved us by doing something.  Jesus came and died on a cross for our sins.  That’s love with legs.  That’s love in action.

It’s love on the move. 

But love on the move doesn’t just stop when it comes my way.  The night before He expressed that love on a bloody Roman cross, Jesus told His boys that He had something new for them to do.  “Love one another; just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another.  By this all people will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another” (Jn 13:34-35).  The new part of the command is a self-sacrificial love in action.  He’s telling us that our love for each other must not be a transactional, I’ll-do-for-you-if-you’ll-do-for-me love.  It’s love with no strings attached.  It’s love in action.  It’s love with legs.  

It’s love on the move.

Jesus’ best friend can’t write enough about His Savior’s love and its implications on our lives.  The Apostle John is a non-stop fire hose when it comes to God’s love.  “In this is love, not that we have loved God but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins” (1Jn 4:10).  And it doesn’t stop there.  We let the love flow because Jesus drenched us in His love first (1Jn 4:19).  “By this we know love, that He laid down His life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers” (1Jn 3:16).  If I REALLY love Jesus, I can’t help but love others (1Jn 4:21).  Johnny wrote even more about this love in his Gospel (Jn 15:12-13, 17).  Jesus loves us.  And the best way we can express our love and gratitude in return is by loving others.   

Meanwhile back in Ephesians, Paul writes that Jesus expressed His love for us by being “a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God” (v2).  The apostle is pointing back to the various sacrifices Yahweh commanded to Moses in Leviticus.  As the priest would burn the offering, the smoke would rise and be “a pleasing aroma to the LORD” (Lev 4:31).  Rather than be bored with the book of Leviticus, we should be in awe of it.  This complicated list of rules and laws points to Jesus, the Ultimate Sacrifice for Sin.  Christ is the Hero of the entire Bible.  Jesus said so Himself (Jn 5:39; Lk 24:27).  Scripture is the story of love in action.  Love with legs.

It’s love on the move.

Interestingly, the Apostle Paul uses this same phrase, “a fragrant offering,” over in Philippians.  Here he’s talking about something these folks back in Macedonia have done for him.  The Philippians were expressing their love in action by sending Paul money and practical help while he was sitting in a Roman slammer.  Their love in action floated up to the heavenly throne room like a beautiful perfume to the Lord. 

That’s love on the move.

So what do you think?  Agree?  Disagree?  Would love to hear from you.  Post a comment below.

This Is a Holdup!

...with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing one another in love (Eph 4:2).

During a robbery, criminals steal everything of value they can get their grubby little hands on.  Smash and grab.   Take.  Take!  TAKE!!  But Paul’s describing a completely different kind of holdup here.  This caper is not about taking but giving.  This holdup is to be executed “with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing one another in love” (v2).  Humility.  Gentleness.  Patience.  Love.  No taking.  Only giving.  

This is a holdup!

Before we examine the crime scene, let’s back up just a bit.  Paul is teaching us how to walk all over again.  He’s writing to his friends back in Ephesus about what it looks like to “walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called” (Eph 4:1).  From his cell in Rome, the apostle has spent the first three chapters letting us know just who Jesus is, what He’s done, who we were before He saved us and who we are in Christ.  To jump right into the commands that begin here in this chapter without the proper perspective would be simply brutal.  To try to obey these orders without Jesus is just legalism.  That’s what folks call salvation by works.  Not only is it exhausting and oppressive, it’s absolutely impossible!!  That’s why Paul’s letters to the churches begin by a glorious portrait of that radical and risen Rabbi from Nazareth.  

Once you and I see Jesus for who He really is, it changes how we see everything.  Ourselves.  Others.  Our place in life.  Our work.  That’s specifically important to Paul because he’s trying to inoculate the Ephesian church against a nasty heresy that’s making the rounds.  A false gospel of self-salvation has done a lot of damage in churches just down the road in Colossae, Laodicea and Hierapolis.  The apostle knows that once we take a long, deep look at Jesus, we won’t be fooled by counterfeits.

Meanwhile, back at the holdup.  This becomes obvious when we examine the evidence at the scene.  Check out the phrase “bearing one another in love” (v2).  The Greek verb here is anechomai.  While you can translate this to mean to endure, it’s more than that.  To sustain, lift up, hold up under possible difficulty, give patient attention to, endure with self-restraint.  When we live life with other folks, we truly need support from each other.  We can’t do it alone.  We sustain each other.  We lift up each other.  We hold each other up when times are tough.  So it’s a holdup.  But not THAT kind of a holdup.  We don’t take.  We give.

This is a holdup!

Can we be brutally honest?  Good.  Life with other Christians is messy, frustrating and often infuriating.  While you would hope that living around folks who’ve submitted to the leadership of Jesus would be all rose petals and rainbows, it’s far from it.  People still lie.  People still cheat.  People still sin.  And that’s just the way it’s gonna be on this side of eternity.  Jesus has saved me and placed me in a church with a motley crew of knuckleheads, morons, idiots and weirdos.  And they’re thinking the same about me!!!  That’s EXACTLY why we need endure each other.  We need to be patient with each other.  Life is a big steaming pile a lot of the time.  Let’s lift each other up.

Paul makes it clear that this holdup is done “in love” (v2).  That’s the self-giving, self-sacrificing, put-others-first-and-me-last love.  Agape love.  Over in his letter to the church in Colossae, the apostle wraps up a list of the wardrobe each believer must wear.  And there’s one final and important accessory.  “Above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony” (Col 3:14).  As love bandits, we don’t take.  We give.

This is a holdup!

So what kind of evidence do we find at the scene?  The first is humility.  The original text uses the word tapeinophrosune.  You don’t find this noun anywhere outside of the New Testament.  Chances are Paul coined the term himself because there was no other word in the Greco-Roman culture that described the kind of humble attitude found among Jesus’ followers.  It’s actually a mashup of two other Greek words: “low” (Gr. tapeino-) “mind” (Gr. -phrosune).  We’re called to lift each other up by lowliness of mind.  This is modesty, having a humble opinion of one’s self, a deep sense of one’s moral littleness, a quality of voluntary submission and unselfishness and a complete lack of arrogance.  I can’t lift someone up when I’m fighting to be on top.  I can only support them when I’m underneath.  

God calls us to humility.  He calls us to a “low mind.”  “In humility (Gr. tapeinophrosune) count others more significant than yourselves” (Phil 2:3).  Humility is an essential part of the ensemble the apostle lists over in Colossians (Col 3:12).  There’s an old country song called “Oh Lord, it’s hard to be humble.”  Truer words have never been spoken.  It is VERY hard to be humble.  But Jesus did it (Phil 2:5-8).  And He did it for you and me.  The other important aspect about humility is what happens when we fail to get down off our high horse.  “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble” (1Pet 5:5).  Anytime God is my enemy, I’m gonna lose every single, stinking time.

The next piece of evidence at the scene is “gentleness” (v2).  This means meekness, mildness, gentle friendliness, strength that accommodates another’s weakness and considerateness.  Let’s be VERY clear about something.  Paul is not telling you to be a wuss.  He’s not commanding you to be a wimp.  He’s not demanding you to be a doormat.  He knows the tremendous power that lives inside of you: the Holy Spirit (Col 3:16).  This very same source of mind-boggling energy who “raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you” (Rom 8:11).  We need to remember to not bulldoze those around us with the power of God that dwells in each one of us.  We must accommodate the weakness of those around us.  Strength under control.  Paul lists this trait in the fruit of Spirit: “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness (Gr. praotes), self control; against such things there is no law” (Gal 5:22-23).  Notice the combination of gentleness and self-control as next door neighbors.  That’s no coincidence.  Gentleness is strength under control.

The next piece we see at the scene is “patience” (v2).  This is another compound Greek word: makrothumia.  “Far off” (Gr. makro-) “burning anger” (Gr. -thumia).  Think of a long fuse.  A fire in the distant future.  It describes longsuffering, endurance, steadfastness and perseverance.  Numerous times in the Old Testament, folks praise God for long fuse.  “The LORD, the LORD, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness” (Ex 34:6).  We see it again in Num 14:18; Ps 86:15; Jer 15:15.  As God remakes us into the image of His Son, He’s giving us a long fuse too.  

I have to be transparent here.  Too many times, my apparent humility is just a front.  I want to My gentleness is really just passive aggressiveness.  And I have very little patience in most cases.  I quit on people.  I give up on them.  There’s been some improvement.  But it’s been frustratingly slow.  But Jesus has shown me so much humility, so much gentleness, so much patience.  He’s held me up in His divine, self-giving love.  And He’s used His church to do it too.

There’s been a holdup.