Thankful for The Mystery

The mystery  is the great topic of the church epistles written by Paul.  Very few people really understand it completely. It is not nearly as hard to understand as it is to put into practice. Yes, it is "Christ in you" ( Romans 8:16-17, Ephesians 3, Colossians 1:27),  but what does that mean in practical living?

In Ephesians 1:18 and 19 God says:

The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints, And what is the exceeding greatness of his power to us-ward who believe, according to the working of his mighty power,

And there is a lot more where this comes from! What does it mean?  It says that the believer can see and know and utilize the power that God has given us.  Imagine that! If God has enlightened our eyes, and given us all this power, why don't we use it? We don't because we haven't dared to believe it! Many things in the world talk us out of it. The world is all too ready to offer alternatives to believing God. We have not been taught how to practically live it.

When I was first learning how to read the Bible for myself,  I had a wonderful friend that loved to teach the Word.  One day I asked him about something I was having a problem with and he told me he knew how much I loved God's Word and that I needed to check in with God as to how to handle the problem. (Hey! listen, I had been raised behind the altar rail in the pews and still had somewhat of a stained glass idea of religion. My friend had at one time been there too and he was an expert on how to get out of that mindset) It was a huge turning point in my approach to God. I truly began to get real answers for myself.

It starts in Romans in realizing what has been actually been accomplished for us that none of us really deserved. That includes everybody! (Mother Teresa, the Dalai Llama, even the apostle Paul are no exceptions)  Romans is the book that when we get finished reading and assimilating, we are extremely thankful. Next, there are so many things brought up in Corinthians that help people to see how to live that thankfulness and not get caught up with things that pull people down. Natural man is pretty self-centered and seeks his own remedies for fear. The culture very quickly tries to explain human nature away and make excuses for that fear.

This precious thankfulness is further protected by the book of Galatians when man attempts to outdo God in perfecting his own practice of religion. Man sets up his own levels of accomplishment and in the process pushes God aside to watch. It is brutal to others who have not reached man's estimation of what is required. God makes it plain in Galatians in clear, straightforward grace. Believing pleases Him. Sometimes people get so wrapped up with the "Believing is action" performance mentality that they forget that believing starts with 'God so loved the world'! We love Him because He first loved us (I John 4:19).

As we wind our way to reach Ephesians, the groundwork in Romans, the weeding of Corinthians and the rock removal of Galatians helps our hearts to readily receive the unlimited supply that the big heart of God offers us without reservation. God has always been faithful. The problem is not with God; it is in man's heart where the problem lies. We could blame it on someone else like Adam. ("Why wasn't he thankful in Eden?") Adam was Adam; but Jesus Christ opened a new door for each of us.  We have nobody to blame. Thankfulness starts with each of us individually and it turns everything around!

Righteousness and Justification?

In working my way through the book of Romans, I am amazed at the depth of the wholeness given to us in this age of grace. Romans is the foundational book of the New Testament. Essentially it is the "bottom line" of believing. Ephesians springs off of this bedrock not the other way around. It represents the humility required to walk the  'walking worthy' in Ephesians 4 and the understanding how God has rescued us (quickened us)  as referred to in Ephesians 2:1-5.

There are some very key words repeated over and over again in Romans. Faith/believing occurs 59 times times. Sin appears 47 times.  Righteousness/righteous appears 43 times. Justify, justification, judicial sentence is used 22 times.

There is much discussion about justification and righteousness (Link to word study) as these words come from the same root in Greek. They are intertwined and in the religious world come loaded with weighty definitions. In regards to the Old Testament Hebrew, here's a quote from Canon R.B. Gladstone in his Synonyms of the Old Testament (quoted in Charles Welch's The Just and the Justifier):

"It is unfortunate that the English language should have grafted the Latin word justice, which is used in somewhat of a forensic sense, into a vocabulary which was already possessed of the good word righteousness, as it tends to create a distinction which has no existence in Scripture.... No distinction between the claims of justice and the claims of love is recognized in scripture.... We have no one word which can convey the idea of righteousness, and that of justification, as they are set forth  in Scripture.... We see the wisdom of God in selecting Hebrew as the means of communication with His creatures, because here the ideas of righteousness, justification, and acquittal all cluster round one verbal root, and are seen to be parts of the whole."

All these words form the inner and outer structure of Romans. In the outer structure the major theme is justification by believing and righteousness (Romans 1:1 -5:11, 9:1- 16:24). Jew, Gentile, Abraham and David are mentioned in these outer sections. The creamy caramel inner core of Romans is about the first Adam and the second Adam, Jesus Christ (5:12-8:39, 16:25-27) and the result of ‘Sin” (It means the root of sin as being alienated from God. It is used 41 times). ‘Sin’ is used 6 times in the outer sections.

Romans

The treatise of Romans is part of the 'all truth' that Jesus Christ spoke about in John 16:13. In verses 7-11 that truth is laid out:

Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you. And when he is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: 

Of sin, because they believe not on me;

Of righteousness, because I go to my Father, and ye see me no more: 

Of judgment, because the prince of this world is judged.

Three important subjects are covered in the seven church epistles: sin, righteousness and judgement. These are  the subjects of the great treatises, Romans, Ephesians, and Thessalonians that beautifully show what God has made us to be in light of the death, resurrection and ascension of His son.

Romans reproves the world of sin. Sin is the inattention to what God has done for us and the symptoms that result from that lack of attention. The recurring theme in Romans is believing in the grace and finished work of Jesus Christ.  Chapters 1-11 teaches about how the work of Christ has brought us to the place of also being called God's sons. Chapters 12-16 teaches how to practically live in light of this.

Ephesians is the treatise about our righteousness and a Father's love.

John 16:25-27 These things have I spoken unto you in proverbs: but the time cometh, when I shall no more speak unto you in proverbs, but I shall shew you plainly of the Father. At that day ye shall ask in my name: and I say not unto you, that I will pray the Father for you:For the Father himself loveth you, because ye have loved me, and have believed that I came out from God.

Chapters 1-3 of Ephesians specifically teach  about our righteousness, while chapters 4-6 is about how to practically apply it.

Thessalonians is about the hope, our future as believers lifted out from the present world and its dominions and spiritual lawlessness. It points to the eventual return of Jesus Christ.

The book of Romans is absolutely essential for our freedom in this life. It lays the foundation for living a life that honestly glorifies God. God has always desired to have a relationship with man. It started in Eden. Adam and Eve decided to ignore God's instructions and fell.  Jesus Christ took the fall and got up so that our relationship with God could be on a permanent basis. Ignorance is not bliss in this case. Romans is a book to pay attention to.

So What’s the Big Deal About the Epistles?

The book of Acts is a description of the transition between the Old Testament and the New. The four gospels reveal the vehicle for this transition, Jesus Christ. The epistles, starting with the believing in Romans through the love in Ephesians through to the hope in Thessalonians, are absolutely what we need to really understand to apply truth to everyday life!

Romans 10:9-10That if thou shalt confess (homologeo- saying the same word or logic) with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved(made whole). 10For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession (homologeo- saying the same word or logic) is made unto salvation (wholeness).

The book of Romans is about God’s logic in Jesus Christ.

Romans 5:1-5 (Amplified) Therefore, since we are justified (acquitted, declared righteous, and given a right standing with God) through faith (believing the logic of God), let us [grasp the fact that we] have [the peace of reconciliation to hold and to enjoy] peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed One).

 Through Him also we have [our] access (entrance, introduction) by faith into this grace (state of God's favor) in which we [firmly and safely] stand. And let us rejoice and exult in our hope of experiencing and enjoying the glory of God.

Moreover [let us also be full of joy now!] let us exult and triumph in our troubles and rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that pressure and affliction and hardship produce patient and unswerving endurance. And endurance (fortitude) develops maturity of character (approved faith and tried integrity). And character [of this sort] produces [the habit of] joyful and confident hope of eternal salvation. Such hope NEVER disappoints or deludes or shames us, for God's love has been poured out (link) in our hearts through the Holy Spirit Who has been given to us.

God’s love is poured into every nook and cranny of our hearts. It goes where is has an opening, just as water goes everywhere it can get to when it is spilled. It is living water and is the power in our lives to wholeness. It is that wholeness we can share with others remembering that it is God that pours it on.