“The Just Shall Live By Faith”

New King James Version                                                                                                              Written by: David Hicks

 

Romans 1:17 “ For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, "The just shall live by faith."

Galatians 3:11 “But that no one is justified by the law in the sight of God is evident, for "the just shall live by faith."

Hebrews 10:38 “Now the just shall live by faith; But if anyone draws back, My soul has no pleasure in him."

“Articles of Faith”

 The Church of Christ

(A Study in Ephesians)

Lesson 4. Therefore, A Prayer for Spiritual Wisdom:

For as long as I can remember in Bible class or listening to preachers, I have heard it said that when ever you see the word “therefore” you are to ask, “What is it therefore?” It is as true today as any other time.

Keep in mind that Paul's letter to these Ephesians is different from others, in that he is not going to deal with specific problems relating to this congregation. He is going to deal with great themes that pertain to the Christian's position ‘ in ' Christ. These great themes would revolve around the church, which is His body. Prior to verse 15 , Paul has defined that the church is comprised of those who are saints, or ‘ in ' Christ. He then made sure that these saints knew the blessings inherent ‘ in ' Christ.

It is at this junction, with this information established, that Paul now wants these Christians as well as all Christians who would benefit from this letter in the future to know:

 I. What is the hope of His calling?

 II. What are the riches of His inheritance in the saints?

 III. What is God's great power toward those who believe?

It is in this prayer of Paul that he will present this outline. It will take through Chapter three to define them in detail. Let's take a look at the text:

Ephesians 1:15-23

“Therefore I also, after I heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints, 16 do not cease to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers: 17 that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him, 18 the eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that you may know what is the hope of His calling , what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints , 19 and what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe , according to the working of His mighty power 20 which He worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, 21 far above all principality and power and might and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in that which is to come. 22 And He put all things under His feet, and gave Him to be head over all things to the church, 23 which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all.”

Commentary:

 I. What Precipitated His Prayer?

“After I heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints” This does not indicate that Paul had never had personal knowledge of these brethren. We know that he was present with them when they began their service ‘ in ' Christ ( Acts 19 ). However, some time had passed since he saw them, and his present knowledge of their continued faithfulness would come through some reliable source or report.

In addition, their faithfulness also incorporated a special love for all those who are fellow saints. Remember that the term saint refers to those who have been made holy or separate by their obedience to the Gospel.

Paul was thankful for the encouragement of faithful brethren as this was more favorable to him than temporal favors.

 II. The Content of His Prayer.

In verse 17 he prays that they may have wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him. This was written in a time when spiritual gifts still existed ( I Corinthians 12 ). Spiritual gifts preceded the written word as the church was manifest prior to the written word and it's citizens would need to know what governed them therein (we will deal with this in more detail farther into our study).

It is important to note that of the nine spiritual gifts, Paul draws attention to two that would prove to be the most vital then and always.

Why? Vs. 18 “ the eyes of your understanding being enlightened ; that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints,”

Yes, it would be these gifts that would enlighten these brethren to know or realize the value of their hope, calling, and power of God toward us who believe.

As the spiritual gifts gave way to the written word ( I Corinthians 13 ), it is now the written word that enlightens us to this realization.

In verse 18-19 that speaks of the content of Paul's prayer, we must realize that this hope, calling, and power of God are only great towards those who believe. The power of God does not mean anything to a man who is an unbeliever in the Gospel. It is the Gospel that rests on the resurrection of Christ, and it has saving power to the one who believes ( Romans 1:1-16 ).

It is now that Paul wishes to establish in his prayer the culmination of all God planned for man's salvation from before the foundation of the world ( Colossians 1:13 -18 ). The zenith of God's plan is simply Christ and His church, note:

Vs. 20-23 “ which He worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, 21 far above all principality and power and might and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in that which is to come. 22 And He put all things under His feet , and gave Him to be head over all things to the church , 23 which is His body , the fullness of Him who fills all in all .”

So, where does the hope, calling, and power of God toward those who believe reside? ‘ In ' Christ and ‘ In ' His church! It is God's word that enlightens us to this understanding. It is God's plan that all the spiritual blessings that reside in the Gospels message reside ‘ in ' Christ and ‘ in ' His church.

'In' Christ is the hope of our calling. 'In' Christ is the richness of His inheritance. 'In' Christ is the power of God toward all who believe.

 A Thought: This must be considered by all when in the wisdom of man, someone says, “Just go to any old church and you will be just fine”. As we will learn in future lessons, there is a specific pattern regarding His church (His body). Since we know now that only ‘ in ' that body or church is the fullness of Him who fills all, it is the church that adheres to this pattern, which you should seek!

Next: We are His workmanship, created ‘in' Christ!