GOD’S WORD

“Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus, by the will of God….”
—Ephesians 1:1

THE CENTRAL TEACHING of the Apostle Paul’s letter to the Ephesians is that God the Father has planned from eternity to redeem a multitude of people from every tribe, tongue, and nation by the work of His Son, Jesus Christ, through the regenerating work of the Holy Spirit. And God is still accomplishing His wondrous work of redemption today. He is building His church, a new society, amidst a dying one to the praise of the glory of God’s grace. This is what the Apostle Paul teaches from beginning to end in his epistle to the Ephesians and this truth should control the way we live and how we view the world. 

“PAUL, AN APOSTLE of Christ Jesus, by the will of God….” Paul is telling us that he speaks with Christ’s authority. You see, the Bible is not simply the words of man, but it comes to us by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit (2 Tim. 3:16; 2 Peter 1:20-21). In Scripture, an apostle is specifically chosen, called, and sent by Christ to preach with the authority of Christ. Jesus told those whom He sent out in Luke 10:16, “He who hears you hears Me, he who rejects you rejects Me, and he who rejects Me rejects Him who sent Me.” 

THE APOSTLE PAUL tells us that he is one called to be “an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God.” The Lord Jesus told Ananias in Acts 9:15, “Go, for he [Paul] is a chosen instrument of mine to bear My name before the Gentiles and kings and sons of Israel.” Paul was Christ’s messenger by Christ’s choosing to bear Christ’s authority in the proclamation of Christ’s Word. Therefore, we must humbly listen to the message of Scripture because it does not come to us from the ideas or will of man, but from God. “For prophecy never came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit” (2 Peter 1:21). So, whenever we hear Scripture, we are hearing the message that God gave to His apostles and prophets to give to His church. When we hear Scripture, we are hearing the voice of God. “For this reason we also thank God without ceasing, because when you received the Word of God which you heard from us, you welcomed it not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, the Word of God, which also effectively works in you who believe” (1 Thessalonians 2:13).

WHAT DOES THIS say to us today about the hearing of God’s Word? To reject the faithful preaching and teaching of God’s Word is to reject Christ, and to reject Christ is to reject the Father who sent Him. Take time today to meditate on this important truth and ask the Holy Spirit to give you a greater reverence for the inspired, infallible, inerrant Word of God, the Bible. “So now, brethren, I commend you to God and to the Word of His grace, which is able to build you up and give you an inheritance among all those who are sanctified” (Acts 20:32).

Tuesday Encouragement: September 24, 2024
In Christ
Pastor S. Henry