The Great Work of the Gospel-1
Today's reading and thoughts on chapter one of The Great Work of the Gospel by John Ensor.
This Chapter is The Great Work Considered. John begins the book with great questions about grace and forgiveness. Can we be forgiven? Can God forgive some sins and not others? In his experience he has had many people ask him questions about forgiveness, many of them have been during very hard times. He list out many questions on this topic and tells the reader that he will answer these throughout the book. I was taken in again with the last question that he says is one of the greatest questions we can consider, "What motivates God to do one thing and not another? The reason this is important is that it gets to the very heart of the issue before us. What motivates God to want to forgive?"
The fuller answer will develop as we go, but for now, let me summarize what I think the answer is. Why should we take God's invitation and promise to heart? Because God's own great passion is to glorify himself in our knowing him and enjoying him. More particularly, he wants to show us his grace, more particularly still, he wants to show us his infinite mercy, to the praise and glory of his own name. In other words, God desires to make his mercy the apex of his own glory in the eyes of all creation. It is the ultimate reason for the creation of the world and the plan of redemption. It is the ultimate reason we should believe he is ready to do a great work of grace in us!
What a great question and answer. John does follow this up with scriptures and other illustrations that help us to see why he comes to this conclusion. I really like the thought of this chapter. Consider grace, think on it, ask questions, push your questions to bigger questions...and look to God's Word for answers.
God desires to make known to us His grace for His glory! His grace in us does not begin with us, it begins with God...that is grace. Do I see God's grace each day? Do I just look at God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit as some friends I once knew that I may try to look up on facebook and send a friend request just so I can have them in my contacts just in case I need them? Or do I see God as my glorious, worthy, unequaled, Lord, Master, Savior, and friend. Do I rely on Him or do I place my trust in yesterdays growth and change? God wants to show me His grace and mercy all the time because He wants me to see Him all the time. He is not selfish or prideful, He is acknowledging what He must...that He is supreme and great and Holy and the only One worthy of depending on. He allows me to know Him, to love Him and be loved by Him. Grace!
What a great thing to consider! This is of first importance as we look into grace.
For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins...
1 Corinthians 15:3
Celebrate Grace-Study Scripture
One of the greatest places to look for grace is from the Word of God. This is where we learn of redemption as it is woven through all the bible, where we see a little into God's eternal purposes as individuals and as the body of Christ.
Theopedia has the following...
Ephesians 3:11 speaks of God's "eternal purpose that he has realized in Christ Jesus our Lord" (ESV). Another word for 'realized' is 'accomplished'. It is important to note a few things about God's "purpose" in this passage. The Greek word is in the singular, noting that God has one overarching purpose or plan. Second, it is described by Paul as eternal in that there was never a time when God's mind was a blank or a time when this very plan was not determined. Lastly, Jesus is essential to this purpose for it was accomplished in him. This understanding can be linked back to Ephesians 1:9-10 where Paul writes, "making known to us the mystery of his will, according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth." Jesus is thus the climax and central focus of God's eternal purpose in all of redemptive history.
The church is also a main focus in God's eternal purpose. Before Paul states that "this was according to the eternal purpose" he writes in Ephesians 3:10 "so that through the church the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places" and then proceeds to say that "this was according to the eternal purpose that he has realized in Christ Jesus our Lord" (3:11). The church is connected to what Christ did to accomplish God's eternal purpose. We read elsewhere that Christians were "called according to his purpose" (Romans 8:28), and that "having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will" (Ephesians 1:11), and lastly that God "saved us and called us to a holy calling, not because of our works but because of his own purpose and grace, which he gave us in Christ Jesus before the ages began" (2 Timothy 1:9). God's purpose involves the church as the church is the body of Christ (1 Corinthians 12:27).
We should celebrate grace by studying scripture because this is where we learn of our sin and due punishment and Jesus and His substitutionary death, atonement and resurrection. We learn about, not with full understanding, the calling of God and His power and purpose in saving sinners. We see the love, justice, mercy, power, sovereignty, holiness, wrath, wisdom, commands, and purposes of God when we study the scriptures. We also learn of the precious promises of God. These are grace, we do not deserve Jesus nor abundant treasures and promises, but God pours them on us to show us His glory. We see that we are able, through faith and by grace, to trust God to do what He says. We should feed on the Word. Do I spend time with God in the scriptures every day? When I do, do I just look at it as a good book with great stories to learn, or do I look at it as being God's very living Words to me and the world?
We can celebrate grace through scriptures with each other by being taught doctrine from the pulpit, by having bible studies, by reading books (although fallible) that help to explain the scriptures. These have been some of the greatest times of my life, teaching God's Word, hearing substantial preaching, and being with friends as we look into the scriptures together.
May God open the scriptures to us and burn a fire within us showing us that He is worthy of our worship as He fills us up with the fruit of the Spirit. These are ours because of grace.
For Ezra had set his heart to study the Law of the Lord, and to do it and to teach his statutes and rules in Israel.
Ezra 7:10
This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success.
Joshua 1:8
Make me understand the way of your precepts, and I will meditate on your wondrous works.
Psalm 119:27
But Jesus answered them, “You are wrong, because you know neither the Scriptures nor the power of God.
Matthew 22:29
They said to each other, “Did not our hearts burn within us while he talked to us on the road, while he opened to us the Scriptures?”
Luke 24:32
