Who's Your Daddy?

Ah, the father-child relationship.  Talk about a topic with a boxcar load of baggage.  Our earthly dads impact our view of our heavenly Dad.  

But here in Galatians chapter 4, Paul let's us know that our relationship with Father God is perfect.  It is one of deep intimacy and rich inheritance.  When we come to trust in Jesus, we have no doubt about that loving relationship.

Paul begins by saying, "And because you are sons" (v6).  Don't fly past this.  Once we accept Christ as our Savior, our standing with God changes immediately.  

Our status goes from rebel slave to redeemed son.  We need to understand that if He's saved us, we ARE sons.  It is a statement of fact.  It is a present reality.  

And this is no sexist statement meant to exclude the ladies.  As a matter of fact, it is just the opposite.  In the first century, the eldest son sat on the pole position when it came to status and inheritance.  

The apostle is saying that regardless of whether you are a man or woman, we have the status of the first born son in our relationship with God.  We are sons.

As a result of this new relationship with our heavenly Father, "God has sent the Spirit of His Son into our hearts" (v6).  The Greek verb here is εξαποστελλω/exapostello.  

Hmm.  This is the very same word Paul used back in Gal 4:4, "God sent forth (Gr. εξαποστελλω/exapostello) His Son.”  

It means to send out (εξ-/ex-) as an apostle or hand-picked representative (-αποστελλω/-apostello).  Just as God sent His Son to redeem us, He also sends His Spirit to our hearts.  The Holy Spirit is also God's divinely chosen ambassador to each one of us (1Cor 3:16).

The Spirit's mission is to let us know that we have an intimate relationship with our heavenly Dad.  His assignment is from God is to come "into our hearts, crying, 'Abba!  Father!'" (v6).  Paul uses the Aramaic word “Αββα/Abba.”  

Aramaic is the language Jesus spoke during His earthly ministry.  It was the language of the street in Palestine.  Aramaic was a mixture of Hebrew and the languages of the nations which conquered the Jewish kingdoms, particularly Assyria and Babylon.

While the word "Abba" means father, it certainly means much more.  The best equivalent in English would be Daddy or Poppa.  

Not only did Jesus bring a radical new teaching that God is our heavenly Father, but He took it a step further.  He's addressed God the Father as "Abba" at His darkest hour (Mk 14:36).  

Peterson's paraphrase does a fantastic job of letting us in on a very intimate conversation between a Son and His Dad.  “Papa (Gr. Αββα/Abba), Father, You can--can't you?--get Me out of this" (Mk 14:36 MSG).

Paul lets the Galatians know that as followers of Jesus, God sends His Spirit to each one of us so that we can experience that kind of rich relationship with our heavenly Dad.  

God the Father isn't the stern disciplinarian that is just waiting for us to step out of line.  

God the Father is not a workaholic, absentee parent.  

God the Father is not the silent, disconnected man who doesn't want to be bothered.  

We've let our fallen human fathers influence how we see our perfect heavenly Father.

He's our Abba.  He's our Daddy.  He's our Pop.  He wants to hear from you.  He wants to show you His love.  He wants to spend time with you.  

He corrects us out of His great care for us.  He wants His best for us.  That's what it means when His Spirit cries, "Abba!  Father!"

When it comes to your relationship with God the Father, who's your daddy?  Remember, He's your Abba.

We can't miss the appearance of the Trinity in this verse.  There They are.  Spirit.  Son.  Father.  One God.  Three Persons.  

While there is no explicit definition of the Big Three in the Bible, there are wonderful snapshots like we see here.  It is the perfect relationship.  It is the perfect community.  

In "Mere Christianity," CS Lewis described their association as a dance.  And God's Spirit is inviting each of us to join in and trip the divine fantastic.

Paul sums up this amazing change in our status.  "So you are no longer a slave, but a son, and if a son, then an heir through God" (v7).  

I'm no longer a slave because Jesus has purchased my freedom from the slave market with His precious blood (Gal 4:5; 1Pet 1:18-19).  

And as a son of my heavenly Dad, I'm now entitled to heavenly inheritance.  "Heir" is the Greek term κληρονομος/kleronomos.  This is someone who receives what is promised or is rightfully theirs.  

And since God is unswervingly faithful, I can take my promised inheritance to the bank.  It's as good as gold.  Or better yet, it's as good as God.  

Paul makes a very similar statement about the role of God's Spirit pointing to the new relationship we have with our heavenly Dad in Romans 8:15-17.  

It's no coincidence that this is the same chapter that's been called the Heavenly Will.  Romans 8 is a breathtaking and mind-blowing essay on the blessings of our relationship with our Abba Daddy through Jesus. 

Again I ask, when it comes to your relationship with God the Father, who's your daddy?  Remember, He's your Abba.

©2012

Jay Jennings

Law vs Promise

Paul continues to dissect the counterfeit gospel of the Judaizers by using God's Word as his scalpel.  These false teachers have infiltrated the Galatian church network and told them that Jesus saves us but it's up to us to keep the law in order stay saved (Gal 2:4; 3:2-6, 10-11).  

The spiritual hucksters have made a huge mistake by trying to use the OT to make their case against Paul's true Gospel.  Few people on the planet know the law better than this former Pharisee.

Paul says this all comes down to how God saves.  Is it through His covenant promise to Abraham?  Or is it through the law He gave to Moses?  Which has priority?  

Does what happened at Mt. Sinai have precedence over what happened on the way out of Ur?  Is it the law?  Or is it the promise?  With apologies to Shakespeare, THAT is the question.

The apostle writes, "This is what I mean: the law, which came 430 years afterward, does not annul a covenant previously ratified by God, so as to make the promise void" (v17).  

Paul reminds us of the time line of the OT.  God confirmed His covenant promise to Abraham 430 years before He met Moses on the mountain and handed him two stone tablets.  

The span of 430 years actually indicates the time from God's confirmation of the Abrahamic Covenant to Abe's grandson Jacob (Gen 46:2-4).  This was just before Jake and his crew rolled into Egypt to escape the famine and join his son Joseph.  

The writer of Exodus confirms the Israelites 430 year stay in captivity (Ex 12:40).  The approximate time from God's original promise (ca. 2090 BC) until Mt. Sinai (ca. 1445 BC) was more like 645 years.

Paul tells us that God's promise to Abe takes precedence over the law given to Moses.  Let's be clear.  Both of these are covenants between God and His people.  The Abrahamic Covenant.  The Mosaic Covenant.  

But there is a HUGE difference between the two.  According to John MacArthur, God's covenant with Abraham is unilateral (God made the promise to Himself), eternal (provides an everlasting blessing), irrevocable (never ends) and unconditional (depends on God, not man).  

The Mosaic Covenant is completely conditional on the people's perfect obedience.  I think we know how that worked out.

Paul reminds us that God personally ratified the covenant made to Abraham (Gen 15:9-21).  Ancient near eastern treaties were ratified by walking between the bloody pieces of animal sacrifices.  It indicated what would happen to anyone violating the agreement.  

That's exactly the scene we witness in Genesis when "a smoking fire pot and a flaming torch passed between these pieces" as "the LORD made a covenant with Abram" (Gen 15:17-18).

God is the ultimate Promise Keeper.  The spectacular scene at Sinai doesn't void any promise the Lord made to Abraham.  A promise is a promise.  

If God says He will do something, we can take it to the bank.  We can look back at the thousands of prophecies He's fulfilled to be sure that He will come through on absolutely everything He's pledged or promised to do.

Paul goes on to write, "For if the inheritance comes by the law, it no longer is by promise; but God gave it to Abraham by a promise" (v18).  

Again, he wants us to understand that we don't have access to our spiritual inheritance by obeying the rules.  If that's the case, we're all completely out of luck.  

This is a reminder of what the apostle wrote earlier when he pointed out that "it is those of faith who are the sons of Abraham" (Gal 3:7).  Our inheritance is based on faith in God not on self-salvation by law keeping.

The man from Tarsus would confirm this idea again a few years later in his letter to Rome.  "For the promise to Abraham and his offspring that he would be heir of the world did not come through the law but through the righteousness of faith.  For if it is the adherents of the law who are to be the heirs, faith is null and the promise is void" (Rom 4:13-14).  

In other words, when we try to follow the rules to save ourselves, we throw both faith and God's promise under the bus.  There's only One who kept the law.  Jesus.  Trust in what He has done that we could never do!

God kept that promise to Abe in the Person of Jesus.  Christ is that descendent or "offspring" who embodied complete fulfillment of that covenant.  

Somehow, someway, the man from Ur of the Chaldees got a prophetic glimpse of the radical Rabbi from Nazareth.  "Your father Abraham rejoiced that he would see my day.  He saw it and was glad" (Jn 8:56).

The law devastates us.  The law destroys us.  The law dominates us.  Its purpose is to make us realize that we need a Savior.  Its purpose is to force us to understand that we could never do this on our own.  

The law drives us back to faith in God's promise to Abraham.  The law drives us to Calvary and the bloody Roman cross of Christ.  It's only in His perfect life, brutal death and glorious resurrection that we have any hope at all.

So what will it be?  Law?  Or promise?

©2012

Jay Jennings

Loosening My Kung Fu Grip

"And Peter said, 'See, we have left our homes and followed You.' And He said to them, 'Truly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or wife or brothers or parents or children, for the sake of the kingdom of God, who will not receive many times more in this time, and in the age to come eternal life'" (Lk 18:28-30).

These three verses provide an epilogue to Jesus' conversation with the rich young ruler (Lk 18:18-27).  Christ's call to cash in his chips and follow revealed the man's idol: his own wealth.  Jesus then pointed out how it's easier to smush a 1500 pound camel through the eye of a sewing needle that for a rich person to squeeze himself through the gates of heaven.  The Lord pointed out that the only one capable of making that happen is God Himself.

At this point, Peter speaks up (v28).  Let's face it, when Pete says something, there's a 50-50 chance he's going to make a fool of himself.  Pastor Mike Lee says that it often seems like that the only reason Peter opens his mouth is to change feet.  But here, Simon says the right thing.

In response to the rich ruler's retreat, Rocky speaks up for all of the twelve.  It's just another example from the Bible of Peter's role as leader of the apostles.  It's a role he will retain even in the wake of his betrayal of the Lord.  He was part of Jesus' inner circle along with the Sons of Thunder.  Peter was first among equals among Christ's twelve.

The Rock reminds Jesus of all that His own disciples have left in the rear view mirror in order to follow.  "See we have left our homes and followed You."  Actually the word "homes" is not in the original text.  Pete actually says they have left "one's own" or “everything belonging to us" (Gr. adjective idios).

It is a reminder of how these twelve men walked away from not just their homes, but everything in order follow this amazing Man from Nazareth.  Professional fishermen dropped their nets and left their business behind.  A tax collector turned his back on his incredibly profitable occupation (and repaid with interest!).  They had left it all behind.

Jesus responds to Peter's statement with an encouragement (v29-30).  First, He talks about what they all have given up in more detail.  These men have left their homes, wives, brothers, sisters, parents and children.  And they didn't do it simply to hang out with some homeless and untrained Rabbi/Carpenter.  They did it "for the sake of the kingdom of God."  Somehow, someway they understood that something bigger was at stake.  And they were willing to leave it all behind.

Jesus announces here that this call to leave it all behind is not just for these twelve closest followers.  Are we willing to leave it all behind?  I'm afraid that we Americans are more like the rich young ruler than the blue-collar bunch that Jesus' assembled.  According to some statistics, 21st-century Americans are among the top 2% of the wealthiest people who have ever walked on the planet.  How many of us are willing to leave everything to follow Jesus?  House?  Family?  Job?  Cars?  401k?  I think it's time to move on.  It's getting rather uncomfortable, don't you think?

After affirming everything that His followers give up, Jesus goes on to give an overview of the benefits package (v30).  Those willing to forsake everything for the sake of the kingdom get unspeakable blessings, both in this life and the life to come.  Don't miss that Jesus speaks of receiving "many times more in this time."  Don't miss the math.  God's blessings will be multiplied "many times more!"

I would hardily disagree with those preaching a prosperity Gospel that Jesus is promising earthly riches.  It may happen.  But the blessings of God are so much more than that, so much more robust than that, so much deeper than that.  They include love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control (Gal 5:22-23).  Most importantly, it is the blessing of God Himself.  He is our portion (Ps 16:5).  He is our great reward.

Jesus alone is worth leaving all.

Then Jesus points us to the most mind-blowing retirement package the universe has ever known.  He promises that we'll see those blessings continue once we pass from this life into the life to come.  Much ink has been spilled on heavenly and eternal blessings.  Christ is reminding His followers that it's worth it.  It's VERY MUCH worth it.  He doesn't deny that they've given up a lot.  But they have only begun to scratch the surface on what's to come.  And they don't have a clue of what will happen in the coming months and years.  Their minds couldn't hold it all.

This passage reminds me of the statement that hands clinging tightly to earthly possessions are not open to receive the blessings of God.  Too often we have a kung fu grip on things that have absolutely no eternal value.

Let it go.  Put it down.  Let the Lord fill your palms with His unspeakable and overflowing goodness.  We can only receive when we loosen our kung fu grip.

Jesus alone is worth leaving all.

God's Light Show

That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you a Spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of Him, having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which He has called you, what are the riches of His glorious inheritance in the saints (Eph 1:17-18).

I love a great light show. Concerts. Sporting events. It really doesn't matter. Spotlights. Colored gels. Lasers. 

While those are cool, Paul writes about another light show that makes those look like a burned out bulb. He prays that we could witness God's light show.

The apostle is in a Roman slammer because of Jesus (Eph 3:1). He's trying to prepare his friends back in Ephesus for a heresy that's running through the region. 

Some spiritual snake oil salesmen have duped folks down the road in Colossae that Jesus may have saved them but they've got to keep themselves saved by following a very specific set of religious rules (Col 2:8, 16-23). 

Paul knows that the best way to prevent believers from falling for a counterfeit is to be captivated by the real deal. So he tells them to sit back and take a long, glorious look at who Jesus is and what He's done. 

That's exactly what we see in Ephesians 1:3-14. Immediately after that, the apostle lets his friends back in Ephesus know that he's praying for them (Eph 1:15), thanking God for what He's doing in and through this church (Eph 1:16).

But Paul's prayer doesn't stop there. He prays that God will crank up His glorious light show. 

He asks "that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you a spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of Him, having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which He has called you, what are the riches of His glorious inheritance in the saints" (v17). 

Flip on the heavenly spotlight. Turn on the colored gels of glory. Fire up the Shekinah lasers. Let God's light illuminate His amazing goodness to us. 

When we get a glimpse of His grace, our jaws will hit the floor. The apostle knows that once we see that, no crummy imitation will capture our attention.

The man from Tarsus asks God to "give you a spirit of wisdom" (v17). And why wouldn't he ask for Him for that. 

He's a giving God. He's a gracious God. It's just what He does. It's just who He is. He's a Giver. He gives and He gives and He gives. 

Paul asks that God blow the Ephesians' doors off with a "revelation in the knowledge of Him" (v17). 

He's NOT talking about a simple, sterile head knowledge of facts about God. He's asking Jesus to reveal Himself in an overwhelming, personal and experiential way to the folks back in Ephesus. 

The apostle has made this knowledge of Jesus the entire focus of his life. Everything else is just a big steaming pile compared knowing Him (Phil 4:8). 

The apostle asks God to crank up His light show so his friends can see and know Jesus for who He is and what He's done.

Paul prays that God would light things up so that we would have "the eyes of your hearts enlightened" (v18). He uses the Greek verb photizo/φωτιζω, which means to shine a light, illuminate, bring to light. 

The grammar is also, um, illuminating as well. The verb photizo/φωτιζω is in the perfect passive tense. 

What the what? Well, the passive means you don't turn on the light, God does. He's the one flipping the switch. And the perfect lets us know that once He turns it on His light it's ALWAYS on! 

When Jesus fires up His light show, it stays on. And on. And on.

The reason Paul asks God to turn on His light is so that "you may know what is the hope to which He has called you" (v18). 

What hope is he talking about? Hope isn't a what. Hope is a who. And that who is Jesus. "Christ in you, the hope of glory" (Col 1:27). He is the hope. He is OUR hope. He is YOUR hope!

Paul prays that God will flip on the lights so that we'll be blown away by what He's given us now and what's headed our way. He hopes we'll see "the riches of His glorious inheritance in the saints" (v18). 

In other words, he asks the Lord to kick on His search light so we can see everything described in Ephesians 1:3-14. The apostle calls us to go back and let God shine His holy light on His breathtaking Tsunami of Blessings (Eph 1:3). 

He's handpicked each one of us in Jesus before creation (Eph 1:4). He decided a long, long time ago that we would be part of His royal family (Eph 1:5). Jesus used His very blood to get us out of spiritual bankruptcy and forgive our rebellion (Eph 1:7). 

God has pulled back the curtain and let us see that His entire plan all along has been to bring the broken universe back together in Jesus (Eph 1:9-10). 

In Jesus we're heirs to the royal inheritance (Eph 1:11). God even makes the divine down payment of His Holy Spirit so we can be sure of that inheritance (Eph 1:12).

What a light show! Paul asks God to shine His spotlight on all that He's given us. His blessings dazzle. Our inheritance sparkles. His grace shimmers. 

Let your jaw drop. Take it all in. It's phantasmagorical! Enjoy the show. 

Look at His goodness that He's graciously given you and continues to shower upon you. This is no lame laser show at the planetarium. 

It's Jesus. The Light of the world (Jn 8:12). "Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the LORD has risen upon you" (Is 60:1).

God's light show. Once you see it, you'll never forget it.

©2013

Jay Jennings

We Haven't Even Gotten to the Good Part

Who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of His glory (Eph 1:14).

It's the "American Dream." Owning  your own home. In order to make that happen, you scrimp and save to come up with a down payment. 

You write a check for a fraction of the cost which insures you'll pay the rest (or should I say, the bank will pay the rest!).  

It's your financial guarantee.  The down payment is a serious chunk of change.  It shows the seller you're committed.  It shows the seller you're not jacking around.  

You now have skin in the game.  And by committing the cash, you guarantee that one day soon the house will be your home.

Paul tells us that God is serious about His purchase of us.  He's made His down payment.  He's given us His Holy Spirit "who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of His glory" (v14).  

His commitment of His Spirit in the deal is very real.  It shows us He's serious.  It shows us He's not jacking around.  And it lets us know that He has so much in store.

His down payment means we haven't even gotten to the good part yet.

Paul has spent all of Ephesians 1:3-14 reminding us just how good God is to us.  Call it the Tsunami of Blessings.  Once he gets started, he simply can't stop.  

Think that's an overstatement?  In the original language, this is one, long run-on sentence.  

The apostle starts it off by writing about how our heavenly Dad "has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing" (Eph 1:3).  

Not handful of blessings.  But every last stinkin' one of them.  And so it begins.  One blessing.  After another.  After another.  After another.  

Let that tidal wave of God's goodness in Jesus wash over you like.  Let it drench you.  Let it consume you.

These opening verses set the stage for the rest of Paul's letter to his Ephesian friends.  Flip back a few pages of history and you'll see how Jesus used the man from Tarsus to turn this great city upside down (Acts 19).  

Tons of people turning to Jesus.  Bonfires.  Riots.  A dude named Epaphras takes the message of Jesus from Ephesus back to his hometown on Colossae (Col 1:7).  

Pretty soon, a group of spiritual snake oil salesmen dupe the Colossians into believing that Jesus might have been good but He wasn't God.  Uh oh.  Not good.  Not good at all!  

Paul lets them know that Jesus isn't just God but He's more God than we can wrap our brains around (Col 1:15-20).  

The apostle is worried that this heresy might infect the church in Ephesus which is just 100 miles down the road from Colossae.  

So he fires off another letter to the folks there.  He's certain that if we have a clear picture of who Jesus is and the Tsunami of Blessings He's given us, we won't fall for some counterfeit gospel.

Paul has just told us how we're "sealed with the promised Holy Spirit" (Eph 1:13).  He goes on to say that the Third Person of the Trinity is God's "guarantee of our inheritance" (v14).  

He uses the Greek word αρραβων/arrabon, which literally means a down payment or earnest money.  It's legal and technical term that describes the partial payment which promises the future completion of the deal.  

It's that advanced transaction which guarantees the validity of a contract and full purchase price.  If the deal falls through, the potential buyer is out the cash.  

The Father's way of cinching the purchase is by giving His Spirit.  Since the Spirit is just as much God as the other members of the Trinity, God literally gives Himself as His guarantee of our future inheritance.  

That's quite a down payment.

God uses His Spirit so we'll know that what's ahead is stone cold, lead pipe lock.  He's "given us His Spirit in our hearts as a guarantee" (2Cor 1:21-22).  

The Holy Spirit is His way of prepping for those mind-blowing eternal blessings.  "He who has prepared us for this very thing is God, who has given us the Spirit as a guarantee" (2Cor 5:5).  

It's God's way of letting us know that we haven't even gotten to the really good part.

Because of Jesus, we're insured of an "inheritance" (v14).  Paul uses the word κληρονομια/kleronomia.  

This is property passed along in an estate, a gift received when someone has died or a possession given from one to another.  

Just up the page in the middle of this Tsunami of Blessings, Paul reminds us that it's only through our divine Big Brother that our names are even in the will.  "In Him we have obtained an inheritance" (Eph 1:11).  

Paul uses a very similar word!  While there's certainly unbelievable good stuff now as a follower of Jesus, His Tsunami of Blessings has only just begun!

We haven't even gotten to the good part.

Paul's next phrase is a little fuzzy.  The ESV gives it to us as "until we acquire possession of it" (v14).  Some folks who translate the Bible see it as "until God redeems His possession."  

So which is it?  Actually a little bit of both.  We'll acquire it but only because God has bought it for us.  It literally reads "to the redemption of the property."  

God bought us. We belong to Him.  He paid an ENORMOUS price (1Cor 6:20; 7:23). It cost Him His Son. His only Son. His perfect Son. 

While we haven't done anything to receive His grace, it cost Him everything. He bought and paid for us. We're His. 

We have a shadow of this in the Old Testament with God's special selection of the Jews as His chosen people (Dt 7:6; 1Chr 16:13; Ps 33:12; Ps 105:6, 43) as well as the Levites as His personal possession (Num 3:12, 45; 8:14).

The last wave to break in this Tsunami of Blessings is the phrase "to the praise of His glory" (v14).  Sound familiar?  

Well, it should.  We've seen it two other times in this tidal wave of God's grace (Eph 1:6, 12).  

God rightfully deserves all the credit and praise for what He's doing in and through Jesus to save us.  His saving work will result in the greatest ovation the universe has ever heard.  

This whole deal is "to the praise of His glory" (v14).  What's for our good is for His glory. What's for His glory is for our good.

For all that Jesus has done for us there's so much more yet to come.  Like we said, we haven't even gotten to the really good part.

©2013

Jay Jennings