Christ Church

The Treasuries of Grace (Eph. 6)

Joe Harby on

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Introduction

Paul concludes this epistle asking for prayer, a request that he would be as bold as he ought to be. He is not, after decades of ministry, wresting with stage fright, or a bad case of butterflies. He knows what happens to him whenever the gospel is declared with power.

The Text

“Children, obey your parents in the Lord: for this is right. Honour thy father and mother; (which is the first commandment with promise;) That it may be well with thee, and thou mayest live long on the earth. And, ye fathers, provoke not your children to wrath: but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord . . .” (Eph. 6:1-24)

Summary of the Text

Children are told to obey their parents. This is the right thing to do (v. 1). Paul then cites the commandment to honor father and mother, and adds the point that this is the first commandment with a promise attached (v. 2). He picks up the promise and expands it to encompass the whole earth (v. 3). Fathers, for their part, are told not to exasperate their kids, but to provide them with a Christian education and upbringing (v. 4).

Slaves are told to obey their earthly masters with fear and trembling, as rendered to Christ (v. 5). They are told not to work for show, but rather with whole-hearted service to Christ (v. 6). The service they offer is for the Lord, not for men (v. 7). They should know that however any man works, free or slave, is reckoned up by the Lord (v. 8). Masters are to have the same mentality. They should not threaten, and they must remember that they have a Master in heaven, one who is not impressed by earthly status (v. 9).

Paul then tells his brothers to be strong in the Lord, in the power of His might (v. 10). They are told to put on the entire armor of God, in order that they might stand against the devil’s wiles (v. 11). Our fight is not primarily an earthly one; we fight against principalities and powers, against the rulers of this world’s darkness, and against wickedness in high places (v. 12). This is why it is important to take up the full armor of God, and to stand in the evil day (v. 13). Stand therefore, with belt of truth and breastplate of righteousness (v. 14). Your feet should be shod with gospel boots (v. 15). These boots are the gospel of peace and they are part of our armor. Take the shield of faith, which extinguishes the fiery darts of the wicked (v. 16). Then take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God (v. 17), and proceed to the battle, which is the battleground of persevering prayer for all the saints (v. 18). Paul requests prayer for himself in this regard, so that he might unlock the treasuries of the gospel (v. 19). He requests that he might be able to speak boldly, as he ought to (v. 20).

Tychicus is then recommended to them (v. 21), and he will tell the Ephesians how Paul is doing (vv. 21-22). He concludes with a benediction—peace to the brothers, and love proceeding from faith, from God the Father and the Lord Jesus (v. 23). Grace to all who love Jesus sincerely (v. 24).

Christian Education

Christian children are to be brought up in an environment or culture that his shaped by the Word of God. They are called to obey their parents in the Lord, which is right. They are told to honor their parents, a commandment from the Old Testament which is given to the Christian children of Ephesus. This passage is one of the best illustrations of how we are apply the Old Testament authoritatively to our lives now.

Exasperating Fathers

When Paul warns Christian fathers to not be exasperating to their children, he does this because this is the one of the faults that Christian fathers are prone to. So listen to him. Before you just brush this admonition off, and say that of course you don’t do this, consider that it is possible that this defensive and self-serving attitude is one of the most exasperating things about you. And remember that your children frequently will not be able to explain this to you. First, because they are little and defenseless, and then later because they moved to the East Coast and never call.

Slaves & Masters

God’s methods for societal overhaul are reformational, not revolutionary. This is one of the places where we must insist on a policy of not apologizing for the Bible. Christian slaves are told to be obedient. They are told to work hard, offering it to Christ. Whatever their earthly masters do, He will honor their labors. Work offered to God is the way to true freedom. This is the biblical way of overthrowing unjust social institutions. Christian masters (assuming then that there were some) are told to internalize the same biblical framework. God does not show partiality, and so they should not govern through threats. This being the case, how much more does it apply to employers and employees.

The Armor of Jesus

The Ephesians were told earlier to put on the new man. Here they are told to put on the full armor of God, which amounts to the same thing. Every piece of the armor is the Lord Jesus. He is the truth (John 14:6). He is our righteousness (Jer. 23:6). He is the gospel of peace (Is. 9:6). He is the faithful one in whom we have faith (Rev. 19:11). He is our salvation, which we may wear as a helmet (1 Thess. 5:9). He is the sword of the Spirit (Rev. 19:15), the Word of God (Rev. 19:13; John 1:1-3).

But when you are fitted out in this armor, what do you do? First, you should take note of the enemy. You are called to stand against wiles (v. 11), and since we are fighting wickedness in high places, you should assume the lies are coming down on you from above. Paul then says, three times, that you should be outfitted so that you may withstand in the evil day (v. 13), and having done all to stand (v. 13). Stand therefore (v. 14). How do you do that? Fitted out, what do you do? You pray for all the saints, and particularly for the proclamation of the gospel (v. 19).

Treasuries of Grace

Paul has already spoken of the mystery of the gospel. It is as though, Jerome observes, that Paul now says that God has declared “let the treasuries be opened.” He is standing by the doors of these treasuries (filled beyond our imagination), and is set to fling them open. But there is a fierce battle by those doors. If they get opened all the way, then the wickedness in the high places is completely undone.

Read Full Article

Submission and Sacrifice (Eph. 5)

Joe Harby on

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Introduction

In these politically correct days, whenever we come across passages like this one, expositors rush to instruct the faithful on what it does not mean. But we can spend a lot of time learning what things don’t mean. What does it mean? How should we live? Let us at least begin there. If we address that correctly, it should head off the most common misconceptions at least.

The Text

“Be ye therefore followers of God, as dear children; And walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us, and hath given himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweetsmelling savour . . .” (Eph. 5:1-33)

Summary of the Text

Imitate God, as beloved children would (v. 1)—for that is what you are. Walk in love, the same way Christ loved us and gave Himself for us sacrificially (v. 2). Sexual uncleanness and greed have no place with us (v. 3). The same is true of low jesting and scurrilous talk, but rather thanksgiving (v. 4). For be sure of it, the sexually corrupt and the greedy have no inheritance with Christ (v. 5). Don’t be deceived on this point (v. 6), and we might add that many have been. Do not partake with or stand next to children of disobedience—God’s wrath is coming (v. 7). You used to be darkness, but now you are light. Walk like it (v. 8). The fruit of the Spirit (which is light) is goodness, righteousness and truth (v. 9). Live out and prove what God likes (v. 10). Do not fellowship with unfruitful darkness, but rather reprove it (v. 11). You can reprove without itemizing their deeds, which are shameful even to recount (v. 12). Light is as light does; light makes manifest (v. 13). This is why God tells the sleeper to awake (v. 14; cf. Is. 60:1). Walk intelligently, as though it were daylight (v. 15). Use your time well because the days are evil (v. 16). Understand God’s will (v. 17). Don’t get drunk on wine, but rather be filled with the Spirit (v. 18). The description of that Spirit filling follows—speaking to one another with psalms, hymns, and odes, from the heart (v. 19). Give thanks for everything to God the Father in the name of Jesus (v. 20). Submit to one another in the fear of God (v. 21).

Wives are to take particular care to be submissive to their own husbands (v. 22). This is because the husband is the head of the wife, as Christ is the head of the church (v. 23). This means that as the church is subject to Christ, so wives should be subject to their own husbands in everything (v. 24). Paul then tells husbands to sacrifice themselves for their wives in love (v. 25). He tells them Christ sacrificed Himself with a cleansing and sanctifying end in view (v. 26). He did this so that His church would be ultimately purified (v. 27). In this same way, men ought to love their wives (v. 28). Nobody hates his own body, but rather takes care of it (v. 29). We are joined together with Christ, members of His body (v. 30). Paul then cites Genesis—a man will leave his father and mother, be joined to his wife as one flesh with her (v. 31). This is a great mystery, Paul says, but it refers upward to Christ and the church (v. 32). In the meantime, you men make a point of loving your wives, and you wives make a point of reverencing your husbands (v. 33).

A Stark Contrast

Paul continues to contrast for us the characteristics of the regenerate and the unregenerate. It is a stark contrast, and so he urges us not to be deceived with vain words—the wrath of God is falling upon the children of disobedience, and so we should walk as children of light. The children of light should not be partakers together with the children of disobedience (v. 7). The one group is darkness and the other light (v. 8). The one group is fruitless (v. 11) and the other is fruitful (v. 9). The one is foolish and the other wise (v. 15). The difference between the converted and the unconverted is not to be hunted for in a gray twilight. Wake up!

A Belly Full of Wine

The lifestyle of unbelief is lazy, muddy, blurred, indistinct, and full of off-key singing. The lifestyle of the faithful is focused, good, clear, disciplined, and full of light. Paul sees certain things as going together, and he is an apostle, a wise man. Tell me, when you have had too many beers, or too many glasses of wine, do the jokes gradually get cleaner and cleaner? The contrast that the apostle expects us to maintain is a contrast that is impossible to maintain apart from the filling of the Spirit. And we will be filled with something.

When we are filled with the Spirit, we see things clearly. When we are filled with the Spirit, everything comes into focus. When we are filled with the Spirit, we are filled with holy music (v. 19), we are filled with thanksgiving for absolutely everything (v. 20), and we are filled with an attitude of mutual submission (v. 21). These three things will also carry over into our marriages.

Submission and Sacrifice

Submission and sacrifice are the characteristics of Spirit-filled marriage. Apart from the work of the Spirit, this standard for marriage is absolutely impossible. When the Spirit is active, it is impossible not to live this way.

Wives, in the Spirit (full of music, thanksgiving and deference), obey your husband. Honor and respect him. It is striking that when the apostle sets to work in giving direction for all forms of social relations, he starts with the wives. This is not because wives are the worst; I would argue that it is because the wives are the most important. In all social relations, if this stone doesn’t get set properly, nothing else will be straight.

Husband, in the Spirit (full of music, thanksgiving, and deference), sacrifice yourself for you wife. Give yourself away. Take your models from above you (Christ) and from below you (your own body). This is not to be understood as being willing to sacrifice yourselves some hypothetical day in the far distant future, but rather as laying down your life now.

This is a great mystery, Paul says, but it all resolves in Christ and the church. As Eve was taken from the side of Adam, so the church was born when the spear was rammed into the side of Christ. Adam refused to fight the dragon, and Christ did not refuse. Men, as dearly loved children, be imitators of God.

Read Full Article

Putting on the Jesus Coat (Eph. 4)

Joe Harby on

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Introduction

Adam was created in the image of God (Gen. 1:27). After the disastrous fall into sin, mankind retained the image of God (Gen. 9:6), but it was barely recognizable, lying now in ruins. The purpose of Christ coming was to re- establish mankind in the second Adam, and to renew the image of God in us. This is why we are told in this chapter to put off the old man, to be renewed, and to put on the new man. That image is described for us here (v. 24), created in the likeness of God as righteousness and true holiness.

The Text

“I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called, With all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing one another in love; Endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace . . .” (Eph. 4:1-32).

Summary of the Text

Paul reminds them again that he is a prisoner, and asks them to walk worthily of the calling he has just been describing for them (v. 1). What does that look like? In a word, it looks like humility (v. 2). Such humility is the foundation for the strenuous labor of church unity (v. 3). That unity is grounded in what God has done—one body, one Spirit, one hope, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, and one God over all, through all, and in you all (vv. 4-6). We all have that in common. All believers, by definition, share that.

But to each Christian a particular grace is given (v. 7). Paul refers to the Ascension, after which Christ bestowed gifts on us (v. 8). Before He ascended He had to first go down (v. 9). The one who descended is the same one who ascended (v. 10). The gifts He gave (as listed here) are apostles, prophets, evangelists, and pastor/teachers (v. 11). These gifts were to equip the saints for the work of ministry, not to put on a hired show for the spectators (v. 12). These gifts will be exercised until we all arrive at the unity of the faith, to the perfect man (v. 13). At that time, we will no longer be gullible, the prey of false teachers (v. 14). Rather, we will speak the truth in love, which shows attachment to the head, who is Christ (v. 15). The entire body is connected to Him, and love is what makes it grow (v. 16).

That being the case, Christians ought not to walk according to the Gentile mindset (v. 17). Their problem is intellectual darkness created by heart blindness. When the heart is blind, the head is dark (v. 18). Their intellectual darkness not surprisingly is connected to moral corruption (v. 19). But the Ephesians had not learned Christ in that way (v. 20), at least not if they had heard the real Jesus and been taught by Him (v. 21). They had been taught to seize the old man, the old way of life, and take him off (v. 22). Then they were to be renewed in the spirit of their mind (v. 23), and put on the new man, who is of course Jesus Christ Himself (v. 24).

A cluster of ethical instructions follow. Stop lying, and speak the truth to one another (v. 25). Be angry, but don’t sin, and don’t let it fester (v. 26). Don’t give the devil a place, don’t let him have a foot hold (v. 27). Let the thief work with his hands on something, and share what he has earned (v. 28). Don’t speak in a foul way (v. 29). Do not grieve the Spirit (v. 30). Put away malice and all its companions (v. 31). Be kind to each other, tender-hearted, eager to forgive as you have been forgiven (v. 32). Don’t stand there as a spiritual leper, with little pieces of damnation falling off.

The Already/Not Yet of Unity

There are two kinds of unity in this chapter. The first is a gift from God, and it is a unity that needs to be protected and retained. We are told to keep the unity of the Spirit. In order to keep it, we have to already have it. This is a natural consequence of regeneration. Those who are part of the one true body of Christ have already, as a gift, true unity with one another. This is why a Baptist and a Presbyterian, belonging to different churches, can have true unity with one another. This kind of unity is disrupted by arrogance, by a lack of humility. This is why two Presbyterians, members of the same church, can be at one another’s throats. When this kind of unity is disrupted, it is always because of sin.

The second kind of unity is what we are all growing toward. This unity cannot be preserved because we are not there yet. This is what Paul refers to in v. 13, when he says that we will eventually come to “the unity of the faith,” or, put another way, to “a perfect man.”The lack of this kind of unity is not a sin, and not a problem. God governs human history, not us.

Look at a fertilized egg under a microscope, a person who will be a mature man 35 years from now. What you see is perfect unity. What is the first step toward the higher unity of the perfect man? The answer is division. Look at Adam before he met Eve. What do you see? You see unity. What was the first step in creating the higher unity of a human race of billions of people? The answer is division. Don’t tell God how to govern church history. But you should receive what He tells you about your demeanor in your particular corner of church history.

Knit Together

In verse 30, we are told not to grieve the Holy Spirit. At the beginning of the chapter, we are told to keep the unity of the Spirit (v. 3). We are told that there is one body and one Spirit (v. 4). The way we keep the unity of the Spirit is by humility—lowliness, meekness, patience, etc. The way we grieve the Spirit is by bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, evil-speaking, and malice (v. 31).

Humility and love help the body to grow. Anger, clamor and dissension do not. Keep what God has given. Do not grasp after what He has not yet given. To grasp after the second kind of unity prematurely is to replicate the sin of Adam and Eve at the tree. They wanted what had not been given to them yet. Those who strive for the second kind of unity almost always trample the first kind. Those who cultivate the first kind are being used by God in His glorious eschatological purposes.

Read Full Article

The Remarkable Inner Man (Eph. 3)

Joe Harby on

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Introduction

In this chapter, human language almost collapses—even though it is inspired human language—under the weight of glory that God has prepared for His children. We see this at the beginning of the chapter, where Paul starts with “I, Paul” in the nominative, and he never gets to a verb that goes with that beginning. This is no mistake in Scripture, but rather what it looks like when you put infinite glory in a finite container. This is what perfection looks like.

The Text

“For this cause I Paul, the prisoner of Jesus Christ for you Gentiles, If ye have heard of the dispensation of the grace of God which is given me to you-ward: How that by revelation he made known unto me the mystery; (as I wrote afore in few words . . .” (Eph. 3:1-21).

Summary of the Text

The glories described in the first two chapters now come down to the ministry of Paul, a prisoner for the sake of the Gentiles (v. 1). He was given the administration of God’s grace to the Gentiles (v. 2). An unveiled mystery had been given to Paul by revelation, which he had written about previously (v. 3). This might refer to a previous letter, or it might refer to the first two chapters. He calls what he had written “the mystery of Christ” and if the Ephesians read it, they will understand Paul’s knowledge of it. Previous ages did not know this, but the Spirit has now revealed it to the apostles and prophets (v. 5). That mystery was that the Gentiles were to be fully included in all the promises (v. 6). Paul was given this mystery, and was made a minister of this mystery (v. 7). He was not worthy of the honor, but was given the tremendous privilege of preaching the unsearchable riches of Christ to the Gentiles (v. 8). This would make all men see the nature of this fellowship, which was the whole point from the very first (v. 9). When this happened, then even the principalities and powers in the heavenly places would see the manifold wisdom of God (v. 10). This was His eternal point in Christ (v. 11).

This being the case, we have boldness in our access through faith into His presence (v. 12). This puts tribulation for Christ’s sake into a completely different light—it is glory (v. 13). This is why Paul bows the knee before the Father (v. 14), from whom all fatherhood derives its name (v. 15). Paul asks that God would grant, according to His riches, that we—I include us with the Ephesians here (v. 18)—be strengthened by the Spirit in the inner man (v. 16), in order that Christ might dwell in us by faith, rooting us deeply in His love (v. 17), and that we might be able to comprehend the incomprehensible (v. 18), to know the unknowable (v. 19), and to be filled with all the fullness of God (v. 19). And if that were not enough, Paul asks the benediction in the name of the one who can do a whole lot more than that (v. 20)—and may He have glory in the church, through Christ Jesus, unto a piled- up eternity of ages (v. 21). And then he says amen to that (v. 21).

Jew and Gentile

God is the unfolder of great surprises. What He continually does is invite us to take a step back, and use the zoom out feature. Now, see? We thought the task of the godly was to keep our candle lit in a blustery night. The candle was all the purposes of God, and the overarching night was the inexorable power of worldliness. But zoom out. The sun is rising. The night is done, gone, over. Christ has risen, and He will never set. The time of night is long past, and so Christians ought to quit seeking out dark corners of basements in order be able to play their pessimistic game of “night time.” The first great move was from Jew to Jew and Gentile together. The next was Christian and unbeliever. Just as Gentiles came into Israel through Christ, so also unbelievers will come into Christ . . . through Christ.

Tall Order

This section of Scripture does not just contain big words, but rather immense words. He refers to the “unsearchable riches” of Christ (v. 8). He wants all men to see what God hid from the beginning of the world (v. 9). He wants crushed glory here to be bold before the throne of God (vv. 12-13). Notice the juxtaposition of “boldness” and “bow.” He wants us to be strengthened with might, according to His riches, not according to our capacity (v. 16). He wants us to comprehend, along with all the saints, the length, breadth, depth and height (v. 18). He wants us to know what can’t be known (v. 19). He wants us to be filled with the fullness of God (v. 19), and he wants us to learn how to think of all these things as the first page of the first chapter of the first book in a library filled with an infinite number of volumes. Think of this. Christ is always the infinite wisdom of God, and you, by His grace, are going to live forever.

The Remarkable Inner Man

In verse 16, Paul speaks of the inner man being strengthened with might by the Holy Spirit. The strengthening of this inner man is such that all the staggering gifts in the verses that follow might be possible. This inner man is not referring the soul as opposed to the body, and it is not contrasting the innards with the epidermis. Paul here is speaking of the regenerate man—the man within that has been brought to life. He is speaking of the new heart, the principle of new life which is able to “get” what he is talking about here. He speaks the same way in 2 Cor. 4:16-17. “For which cause we faint not; but though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day. For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory.”This is the same thing. Being born again is not just becoming a nice person instead of a nasty one (although that is involved). Being born again means being fitted out for glory, and the tribulations you go through now are simply God’s way of stress-testing the rivets.

Read Full Article

The Glory and Grace of New Birth (Eph. 2)

Joe Harby on

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Introduction

This chapter can be understood in three basic segments. The first describes the condition of man prior to regeneration (vv. 1-3). The second is a treatment of how God’s grace works in such people, and the nature of the change accomplished in them (vv. 4-6). And the third is a description of the design God had in working such a transformation in them (vv. 7-22). All of it results—if we are paying attention—in a hymn of praise to the free grace and kindness of the most sovereign God.

The Text

“And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins; Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience: Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others . . .” (Eph. 2:1-22).

Summary of the Text

The Ephesian Gentiles were dead in their trespasses and sin, and God made them alive again (v. 1). They had been the walking dead, under the dominion of the prince of evil, and in line with the world’s way of doing things (v. 2). Everybody has been in this condition (“we all”), and were therefore children of wrath by nature, walking in accordance with that nature (v. 3).

But God, motivated by the richness of His mercy and the greatness of His love toward us (v. 4), quickened us together with Christ (v. 5). This is the meaning of grace. He has joined us to the resurrection of Jesus, and to His ascension (v. 6).

The reason He did this was to put on a show for the coming ages (v. 7)—a fireworks display of mercy, grace and kindness. The Ephesians were saved by grace through faith, and not from themselves (v. 8). It is not by works— contextually, anything autonomous, anything from ourselves (v. 9). For we are God’s project, fashioned for good works (v. 10). We are saved to good works, not by them. So the Ephesians should remember that they used to be called Uncircumcision, Gentiles according to the flesh (v. 11), and at that time they were utter outsiders (v. 12). But now in Christ they are brought close to all those things they were far away from before (v. 13). So the blood of Christ has made them citizens of Israel, friends of the covenants of promise, full of hope, and possessors of God in the world. Christ is our peace, making one new man (Christian) out of the two men before (Jew and Gentile), and He did this by breaking down the middle wall of partition (v. 14). He did this by abolishing the laws of separation contained in the Mosaic law (v. 15), and in this He reconciled both unto God (v. 16). And so He preached peace to those who were far away from salvation, and those standing right next to it (v. 17). Through Jesus, everyone has access by one Spirit, to the Father (v. 18). The Ephesian Gentiles are therefore no longer aliens, but rather are fellow citizens with the saints, and full members of God’s household (v. 19). Jesus is the cornerstone, the apostles and prophets are the foundation stones, and we are all being built on that (v. 20). With that foundation, the whole Temple (an organic Temple) grows, as we are being shaped and fashioned (v. 21). The whole point is to make a dwelling place for God (v. 22).

Three Prepositions

In verse 18, we are given a glorious picture of the Trinitarian nature of prayer and the approach to God. Paul says “we both,” meaning Jews and Gentiles alike. Another way of saying this is “everybody.” He uses three prepositions to make his point—through, by, and to. We come to the Father, through the Son, by the Spirit. This is why, when we pray, we address the Father, and not Jesus. This is why, when we close, we pray in Jesus’ name, and not in the Father’s name. And this is why the Spirit moves us to pray. Think of it this way—all three Persons are members of the Godhead, of course. But the Father is the city we are driving to, the Son is the road, and the Spirit is the car.

A Living Temple for God

The apostle Peter uses a similar image, when he says that we are all living stones—stones for a Temple, and all the stones are alive (1 Pet. 2:4-5). Here Paul says that the Temple is being worked on (“fitly framed,” and “builded together”), but he also says that the building grows. Given the quarry of death we were all brought from, it is striking that God uses us to build a Temple that is entirely alive. Dead stones are made—by regeneration—into living stones.

The World, the Flesh, and the Devil

Our condition apart from the efficacious grace of God (by which I mean the new birth) is absolutely hopeless. Notice first the familiar triad of the “world, the flesh, and the devil.” First, the world—he says the Ephesians walked “according to the course of this world” (v. 2). He says that they did this in accordance with their own nature (“by nature children of wrath” (v. 3)). In this condition they pursued the desires of both flesh and mind. And then, he says that this was under the prince of the power of the air, who exercises dominion over the children of disobedience (v. 2). There you have it—the world, the flesh, and the devil. Are you going to escape on your own? Not a chance.

Notice also that covenants, ceremonies, circumcisions, incense, Scriptures, sacrifices, and membership in Israel do not fix this problem. Saul had been “blameless” when it came to the law (Phil. 3:6), and yet here he includes himself in this mess that original sin created—we all were by nature children of wrath (v. 3).

The Glory and Grace of the New Birth

Dead means dead. And this means also that there is no salvation apart from resurrection. If Christ is raised from the dead, and if that resurrection is imparted to you, then you are alive in Him. If not, then not. And you can be without this life even though you are a learned teacher in Israel, as Nicodemus was.

There is only death and life, and no third category in between them. Sprinkle water on a dead stone, and what you get is a wet stone, not a living one. Only life can impart life, and so baptism is only a blessing if it is done with living water. And it is only living water if it is Christ Himself. And Christ is only apprehended where there is true evangelical faith (vv. 8-9). Living faith—the gift of God, remember—transforms it all. It transforms dead faith, dead water, dead stones, dead people, dead religion, and any other dead thing we like (in our death) to carry around.

Read Full Article