David Guzik’s weekly devotional, based on a verse or two from the Bible.
Past, Present, and Future
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Even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. (Ephesians 2:5-7)
God lives in the glory of timeless eternity, but His work touches your life in the here and now, in the present day. In this brief and glorious passage from Ephesians, the Apostle Paul touched on God’s work in our life – in the past, in the present, and in the future.
In the PAST, we have been made alive together with Christ. Jesus shared in our death so that we could share in His resurrection life. The old self was crucified with Jesus at the cross, and now we are new creations in Jesus with the old things passing away and all things becoming new (2 Corinthians 5:17). But Paul was compelled to remind us of something else, that this is the work of God’s grace (by grace you have been saved), in no way connected with what we might earn or deserve. Our salvation (rescue) from spiritual death is God’s work done for the undeserving.
In the PRESENT, we sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus. We have a new place for living, a new arena of existence – we are not “those who dwell on the earth” (as the book of Revelation often calls those separated from God), but our “citizenship is in heaven” (as in Philippians 3:20). Notice that Paul did not say that we sit in the heavenly places with Christ Jesus – that will happen one day, when we are resurrected. Rather, we sit in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus. Since our life and identity is in Jesus Christ, then so as He sits in heavenly places, so do we.
In the FUTURE, God will continue to show the exceeding riches of His grace to us. God will never stop dealing with us based on grace, but He will forever continue to unfold its riches to us through eternity. This is not a crazy, hopeful wish; it is the sure promise of a faithful God. You can count on it.
All of this is a heritage that those who are in Christ Jesus can cling to. This is God’s work done for His believing people, and in Jesus we should lay claim to it. This is for you in your Messiah and Savior, Jesus Christ:
– In Jesus, we can live free from the guilt and pain of the past.
– In Jesus, we can live with surpassing power for the present.
– In Jesus, we can live with a secure hope for the future.
How many of the anxieties of your day would simply pass away if, right now, you took hold of what God has promised for your past, present, and future?
What Mary Knew
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But Mary kept all these things and pondered them in her heart. (Luke 2:19)
The Bethlehem shepherds had a rare experience – a visitation from the angel of the Lord, announcing good news: the birth of a baby who was both Messiah and God. The same angel gave them a sign to confirm this good news – that they would find this baby wrapped in torn cloths, laying in a feeding-trough for animals.
Those shepherds immediately went to Bethlehem and saw the confirming sign. They then went throughout the village and told everyone they could. The people of Bethlehem were amazed at this remarkable news, but they seemed unchanged by it all. Mary the mother of Jesus was different. Mary kept all these things and pondered them in her heart. There are at least three things to note about Mary’s reaction to the news from the shepherds.
Mary chose to remember the shepherds’ report, she kept all these things. Others in Bethlehem soon forgot that remarkable night, but Mary made the choice to remember. She had a special relationship to that baby boy, so it was easy for her to remember. If we have a special relationship with Jesus – adopted into His family and regarded as His brothers or sisters – then we will remember Him in a way that others do not.
Mary chose to treasure those things in her heart. She not only remembered the shepherds’ report and all it meant, she also held those things in her heart with affection. Mary was probably especially touched by the fact that God brought the word to the shepherds through angelic messengers. Mary’s whole connection with these events began with a message from the angel Gabriel (Luke 1:26-38). In the nine months following, the angels were silent. It must have been like a reminder of the love of God for Mary to know that God was once again working through His angels to accomplish the purpose of bringing the Messiah into the world.
Mary chose to meditate on those things; she pondered them in her heart. The promises made to Joseph and Mary about this baby were so big that they were hard to believe. You might say that they were easy to doubt – but God gave Mary reason to believe. Mary had a baby book written before the baby was ever born. When Mary heard that she would bear the Messiah, surely she spent so much time thinking about and pondering over all the promises in the Hebrew Scriptures about the Christ, the Messiah. She would think about the promises of the Messiah’s triumph and His agony; about the Messiah’s reign and His suffering.
Like Mary, you can hear what God says about His Son – that He is Christ the Lord, Messiah and God. You may treasure that word from God; think deeply upon it, and keep it upon your heart and affections. In this you show yourself to be part of Jesus’ family.
You can know what Mary knew.
Two Mighty Words
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For it pleased the Father that in Him all the fullness should dwell. (Colossians 1:19)
We like the Christmas season, and we like to put our thoughts on the baby Jesus. So many aspects of the story appeal to us. We think of two relatively young people out among strangers and in great need. We think of the humble nature of their surroundings – no room in the inn – contrasted with the angelic glory of His birth announcement, even if it was heard only among a few shepherds. We think of the baby Jesus wrapped tight in fabric Mary probably brought with her all the way from Nazareth, knowing she would need it. We think of a little child on a starry night laid down to sleep in a feeding bin for animals.
All this is wonderful and true, yet it only scratches at the surface of the greatness of what God did on that night. The child sleeping in that manager was no mere man. God had humbled Himself to come not only in humanity, but in the full experience of humanity.
Theoretically, Jesus could have come to the earth as a 30-year-old man and began His public ministry immediately. After all, the first Adam came to the earth as an adult; perhaps the second Adam would also come that way. Yet it was good and right and important for the God to add humanity to His deity in a way that connected with the full experience of humanity, including the helplessness and dependence of a baby.
Yet make no mistake; Colossians 1:19 is just as true about the baby Jesus in the manger as it was true about the man Jesus on the cross: it pleased the Father that in Him all the fullness should dwell.
It is a broad statement – combining the two mighty words all and fullness. Put those two words together and you mean everything. There is nothing left out from the all and from the fullness, and these two words tell us that in Him – that is, in Jesus Christ – there is all of what makes God really God.
There was a definite idea behind the ancient Greek word Paul selected, the one we translate fullness. The ancient Greek word was pleroma, and it was a recognized technical term in the theological vocabulary of the ancient world, describing the total package of Divine powers and attributes. Paul took all that was implied in that one word and said, “All of this fullness – all of this stuff that makes God who He is – all of it dwells in Jesus.”
Notice that the fullness is in Jesus Christ. Not in a church; not in a priesthood; not in a building; not in a sacrament; not in the saints; not in a method or a program, but in Jesus Christ Himself. All who want more of God and all that He is can find it in Jesus Christ.
So long ago, all of that slept in a humble manger on that Bethlehem night.
The Successful Persecutor
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As for Saul, he made havoc of the church, entering every house, and dragging off men and women, committing them to prison. Therefore those who were scattered went everywhere preaching the word.(Acts 8:3-4)
These verses from Acts 8 tell us what kind of persecutor Saul was.
Saul was an intense persecutor. The phrase “he made havoc” uses an ancient Greek word that could refer to an army destroying a city or a wild animal tearing at its meat. He hated the Christian faith so much that he viciously attacked the followers of Jesus. The verb tense in this phrase tells us that he did this continually.
Saul was an energetic persecutor. He did his work door to door, entering every house where Christians were suspected. He worked tirelessly to destroy the followers of Jesus.
Saul persecuted every suspected Christian, including men and women. Saul didn’t think, “it’s ok if the women are followers of Jesus – I’ll just focus on the men.” Saul felt that every disciple of Jesus Christ was worthy of punishment and some of them were worthy of death.
Saul followed through on his persecution, making sure that the Christians he discovered were committed to prison. It wasn’t enough to simply arrest them; they had to remain in a place where they couldn’t live out the Christian life.
As terrible as this was, I see something wonderful here. The way Saul persecuted Christians was like a mirror image of how, after his repentance and conversion, he loved. Of course, this man Saul is more commonly remembered by his Roman name – Paul.
– Once Paul was intense in his hatred – he became intense in his love.
– Once Paul was energetic to persecute – he became energetic to bring the good news of Jesus Christ.
– Once Paul persecuted every suspected Christian – he became an energetic messenger of God’s salvation to everyone who would hear it.
– Once Paul followed through on his persecution – he became a man who followed through with those who responded to the good news of Jesus, leading people to become true disciples of the Messiah.
We once served sin and self these ways. Now, it’s time for us to honor God with the same intensity and energy we once gave to sin and self.
Even though Saul was a successful persecutor of the followers of Jesus, God even used that in His plan. We read, those who were scattered went everywhere preaching the word. The result was for the glory of God because the persecution simply served to spread the message. We shouldn’t think that those who left Jerusalem left as formal preachers. Most were “accidental missionaries” who talked about Jesus wherever they went.
We can be just like these early Christians. We can share the good news of what Jesus has done in our lives. Most people don’t come to Jesus through a professional preacher or an evangelist; they come to Jesus through people just like us.
Even Saul’s “success” at persecution just advanced God’s plan.
Bringing Good from Pressing and Pain
Now Saul was consenting to his death. At that time a great persecution arose against the church which was at Jerusalem; and they were all scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, except the apostles. (Acts 8:1)
A few verses before, we met the man who supervised the execution of Stephen, who was the first martyr of the Christian faith (Acts 7:58). Acts 8:1 continues the story of Saul, telling us first that Saul was consenting to the death of Stephen. The English translation probably isn’t strong enough. The idea behind the ancient Greek word suneudokeo is “to approve, to be pleased with.” Some people are reluctant persecutors, but Saul wasn’t one of these; he took pleasure in attacking and even killing Christians.
Saul of Tarsus – whom most of us know by his Roman name, Paul – later came to deeply regret this persecution of the church. He later wrote that he was not worthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God (1 Corinthians 15:9).
Stephen’s death was only the beginning, the start of a great persecution that arose against the church. The floodgates of violence were now open against the Christians and Saul was only one of many persecutors. Before, individual apostles had been arrested and beaten and persecuted. Now, every believer was threatened with violence and perhaps death.
In 1956, on the shores of a river in the jungles of Ecuador, natives murdered five missionaries who came to preach Jesus. To many, this death seemed like a senseless tragedy. Many could only see five young missionaries who had their careers cut short or the five widows and fatherless children. But God did an amazing work through those five men, even in their deaths, and the blessing long echoed through people like Elisabeth Elliot – the widow of one the missionary martyrs.
In a similar way, Stephen’s death might seem meaningless at first glance. His young ministry of power and eloquence was cut abruptly short. His ministry also seemed to end in failure – no one was immediately brought to faith, and all that came was more persecution. But as often has been the case, the blood of the martyrs became the seed of the church.
Afterwards, they were scattered throughout the regions. Now the Christians were forced to do what they had been reluctant to do – get the message of Jesus out to the surrounding regions. In Acts 1:8 Jesus clearly told His followers to look beyond Jerusalem and bring the gospel to Judea, Samaria, and the whole world. Up to this point, Jesus’ followers had not done this.
The resulting good shows us that God can and will use painful and pressing circumstances to guide His people into His will. Sometimes we must be shaken out of our comfortable state before we do what God wants us to do. When God allows some shaking, pressing, or pain, don’t forget to look for His purpose in it all. It may be something greater than you ever imagined.
Living the Life of a Martyr
And they stoned Stephen as he was calling on God and saying, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.” Then he knelt down and cried out with a loud voice, “Lord, do not charge them with this sin.” And when he had said this, he fell asleep. (Acts 7:59-60)
Stephen was accused, arrested, and put on trial. He made his reply to the council, then Stephen suffered their angry and violent response. At the end of it all, they stoned Stephen as he was calling on God and saying, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.” Stephen’s life ended in the same way it had been lived: In complete trust in God, believing that Jesus would take care of him in the life to come.
As he died, Stephen said something with a loud voice – everyone could hear it. He said, “Lord, do not charge them with this sin.” Stephen showed the same forgiving attitude that Jesus had on the cross (Luke 23:34). Stephen asked God to forgive his accusers, and he made the promises loudly and publicly.
God answered Stephen’s prayer and used it to touch the heart of a man who energetically agreed with his stoning – even though the man didn’t know the prayer was being answered. When we get to heaven, we should thank Stephen for every blessing brought through the ministry of Saul of Tarsus.
God heard Stephen’s prayer, and Paul is the evidence of it. This first martyr of the Christian faith wasn’t a superman, but he was a man filled through all his being with the Holy Spirit. Many of us have little idea of how greatly we can be used of God as we walk in the power of the Holy Spirit. God even uses our suffering to His glory.
Look how Luke described the death of Stephen: “He fell asleep.” This speaks of the passing of Stephen as tenderly as possible. Instead of saying simply that he died, it says that he merely fell asleep – with the idea that he woke up in a much better world.
Stephen fell asleep, but the church now had to wake up. His death was just the beginning of greater persecution to come. It was going to be a battle filled with suffering, but also filled with glory to God.
Stephen was the first martyr of the Christian faith. I like the perspective of G. Campbell Morgan about Stephen’s martyrdom. He wrote that persecution doesn’t make martyrs, it reveals them. Stephen had the heart of a martyr – a witness, someone willing to die for the sake of his testimony to Jesus – before they stoned him. As Morgan wrote, Stephen “was the first martyr to seal his testimony with his blood.”
Most of us will never die the death of a martyr. But every one of us can live the life of a martyr, faithful to the testimony of who Jesus is and what He did to save us. Today, ask God to build that faithfulness in you.
The First Martyr
Then they cried out with a loud voice, stopped their ears, and ran at him with one accord; and they cast him out of the city and stoned him. And the witnesses laid down their clothes at the feet of a young man named Saul. (Acts 7:57-58)
For the ruling council, it was just too much. It was too much when Stephen exposed their familiar sins of rejecting those God sent to deliver them, and their idolatry of the temple. It was too much when Stephen saw the heavens opened and Jesus standing at the place of prestige and honor in heaven.
Because it was all too much, they screamed. That is, they cried out with a loud voice. The Sanhedrin reacted quickly and violently. Jesus, before this same council, declared that He would sit at the right hand of God, and they had a similar reaction (Matthew 26:64-66).
They did not only cry out with a loud voice. They also stopped their ears, and ran at him with one accord. The reaction of the Sanhedrin seems extreme but is typical of those who reject God and are lost in spiritual insanity. They wailed in agony and covered their ears at the revelation of God, which they regarded as blasphemy.
It is a dangerous thing to be religious apart from a real relationship with Jesus Christ. This fulfills what Jesus warned about in John 16:2-3: Yes, the time is coming that whoever kills you will think that he offers God service. And these things they will do to you because they have not known the Father nor Me.
Then they cast him out of the city and stoned him: The extent of their rage was shown by their execution of Stephen, which was done without regard for Roman law, and which was performed according to traditional Jewish custom (stoning).
The commentator F.F. Bruce quoted a second-century Jewish writing to explain stoning. First, they gave the condemned man the opportunity to confess. Then they stripped off his clothing. Next, one of the witnesses to the crime pushed him from a height. If that didn’t kill him, then the second witness dropped a heavy stone on the condemned man’s chest. If this didn’t kill him, they threw rocks at the condemned man until he was dead.
In all this, the witnesses laid down their clothes at the feet of a young man named Saul. A man named Saul was the supervisor of the operation. The phrase “young man” literally means, “a man in his prime.” He was almost certainly a member of the Sanhedrin, and he heartily approved of Stephen’s execution.
Stephen was the first Christian martyr. His death was a shock to the early church. Yet God did not abandon Stephen; Jesus received him in glory and used his death to bring many into the kingdom. The saying of the early church proved true: the blood of the martyrs became the seed of the church’s harvest.
In Jesus, our sorrows need never be wasted.
Grinding Teeth
When they heard these things they were cut to the heart, and they gnashed at him with their teeth. (Acts 7:54)
This is a remarkable scene from Acts. Stephen, a servant-leader among the early Christians, was on trial before the same council that, just a few years earlier, had sent Jesus to the Romans for crucifixion. Stephen gave a remarkably eloquent and bold explanation of the council’s sin.
In response, these powerful men were cut to the heart. The council was angry because Stephen’s message hit the target. They couldn’t dismiss or ignore what he said. They were guilty of the same sins as many of their forefathers. They made an idol out of the temple, and they often rejected the deliverers God sent them. Especially, they rejected God’s ultimate Deliverer: Jesus Christ.
The Sanhedrin reacted with rage – they gnashed at him with their teeth. It is remarkable to think of this response from men who were dignified and respected leaders. This would as if a group of senators or ministers of parliament ground their teeth in anger in response to the testimony of a witness at a hearing.
According to some commentators (such as Gaebelein), the verb tenses in this sentence indicate that they did not wait until Stephen finished his speech to start grinding their teeth. It was a prolonged gnashing of teeth that lasted through all his words.
It’s not good to grind your teeth. The practice may show that someone is under a lot of stress, or lives with a lot of anger. It is a bad practice for your body, but here it was even worse as an indication of the spiritual condition of these men.
Many times in the Old Testament the gnashing of teeth describes how enemies of God’s people reacted with fury against those whom they persecuted:
They tore at me and did not cease…they gnashed at me with their teeth. (Psalm 35:16)
The wicked will see it and be grieved; he will gnash his teeth and melt away (Psalm 112:10)
All your enemies have opened their mouth against you; they hiss and gnash their teeth. (Lamentations 3:16)
In at least 5 different places in Matthew, Jesus described hell (the lake of fire) as a place of “weeping and gnashing of teeth.” So when we read, they gnashed at him with their teeth, it can’t help but remind us of the imagery of Hell.
These men were prominent, successful, and appeared to be religious; yet they rejected God and associated with hell, not heaven. The stress and anger of their rebellion against God showed itself in the grinding of their teeth.
Yet in all of this, God had His victory. Look at Psalm 37:12-13: The wicked plots against the just, and gnashes at him with his teeth. The LORD laughs at him, for He sees that his day is coming.
Today, take confidence in God’s victory – even over those who grind their teeth against Him and His people!