“No matter where you are reading in the Bible, faith is the first mystery you should recognize. Faith is not believing that the story you are reading is true as written. That does nothing for anyone. Even unbelievers can believe the Bible story of Jesus’ birth is true. Faith is not a natural work apart from God’s grace…Rather the right kind of faith, the kind that flows from Grace and that God’s Word demands, is firmly believing that Christ was born for you. His birth is yours and occurred for your benefit. For the Gospel teaches that Christ was born for our benefit and that everything He did and suffered was for us.”

Martin Luther, By Faith Alone

(HT: Tom Wood of Graced Again)

If you asked me how many total Bible studies I have attended in my life, I’m not sure I could give you an accurate answer given the fact that I have been involved with so many of them over the years. If you asked me to recall as many particular discussions with the texts they were centered upon as I could, all you would succeed in doing is reminding me of how very little of actual Bible study sessions I really remember. But if you asked me if I remember not only sitting in a room where Ephesians 1 was studied but also what the Bible study leader said about that chapter, I would quickly answer an emphatic yes. Why? Because his comments on Ephesians 1:3 reflected what I believe is a widely held unbiblical worldview—a worldview that unintentionally undervalues God’s good creation.

After reading Ephesians 1:3, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places,” the Bible study leader said something like this: “The blessings that God has given Christians are primarily spiritual as opposed to physical.” Now let me ask, is that true? Are the blessings God has given us in Christ primarily immaterial as opposed to material? Someone might answer, “Well, that’s what the text seems to be teaching. Paul says that these blessings are ‘in the heavenly places.’ Being chosen in the Messiah (1:4), predestined for adoption through the Messiah (1:5), and having forgiveness through his blood (1:7) are all non-physical blessings. So it seems that your Bible study leader was correct when he said that the blessings that God has given Christians are primarily spiritual rather than physical.” Well, let’s see if that understanding of Ephesians 1:3 squares with the book of Ephesians as a whole.

Let me first offer a paraphrase of Ephesians 1:3 that I think will help clear the fog away as we move forward: “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every blessing in the heavenly places that pertains to the Spirit.” I think this paraphrase helps us see that Paul is not using the word “spiritual” in the sense of that which is immaterial. Rather, Paul is using the word “spiritual”, as he often uses it, to refer to something that pertains to or is given by the Holy Spirit (cf. Romans 1:11; 1 Corinthians 12:1-12; Ephesians 5:19; 1 Peter 2:5). So we should not be too quick to think of these blessings as primarily being of an immaterial sort.

Another phrase that proves significant in Ephesians as it relates to this issue is “in the heavenly places.” I think our tendency is to read the phrase “in the heavenly places” and immediately think of it in non-physical terms. But consider what Paul says in Ephesians 2:19-20. Paul prays that the Ephesians might know:

What is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the working of his great might [20] that he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places…

Paul says that the Messiah who was raised physically from the dead has been seated at the Father’s right hand in the heavenly places. Think about this, there is a physical, material presence in the heavenly places! Paul then goes on to say in Ephesians 2:6 that God has “raised us up with [the Messiah] and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus.” What we learn here is that God’s intended future for us, a physical resurrection/transformation, is bound up with the resurrected Messiah who is now physically present in the heavenly places. Now if that is not one of the primary blessings to which Paul is referring in Ephesians 1:3, I don’t know what is.

Let’s see if this is even what Paul has in mind in Ephesians 1:3-14. Verse 3 states that every blessing in the heavenly places has been given to us in the Messiah. And then Paul repeats the phrase “in him” (i.e. in the Messiah) throughout the remainder of this entire section. The point of this repetition is to establish that every blessing the Father has given us he has given us in or through the Messiah. And now notice how this section closes:

In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, [14] who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory (Ephesians 1:13-14).

Now here is the question: What is this inheritance that we are still waiting to acquire possession of? I believe we find an answer to that question in Ephesians 4:30.

And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.

What is “the day of redemption”? It is the day when our salvation is brought to its completion. It is the day when we experience the redemption of our bodies, when our lowly bodies are transformed to be like the Messiah’s body of glory (Romans 8:23; Philippians 3:21). It is the day when we receive renewed bodies that are like the Messiah’s renewed body which is currently in the heavenly places.

It seems to me that we must at least conclude that the climactic blessing of Ephesians 1:3, unto which the Holy Spirit has sealed us, is the renewal, the transformation of these bodies of ours that are subject to decay and ultimately death. The climactic spiritual blessing is not an immaterial blessing. It is a profoundly physical blessing that is bound up for us in the one whom the Father raised from the dead, namely, the Messiah. Elsewhere, Paul says that when God’s Messianic people experience the redemption of their bodies, all of the created order will share in our freedom, that is, creation itself will be “free from its bondage to decay” (Romans 8:20-23).

A gospel-centered view of the world values the created order because it understands that God will one day renew the entire created order. This is the climactic blessing of which Ephesians 1:3 speaks and for which we joyfully wait. If you are looking for a worldview that really appreciates and values the physical world, you’ll find it in Christianity. No other religion comes close to valuing the physical world like Christianity does.

Earlier today my brother Stephen sent me this picture of his three children kneeling down beside Daniel’s grave. Melissa and I can hardly believe he died three years ago tomorrow (Saturday). One portion of Scripture I have meditated on the past few weeks to put our experience with Daniel in its proper perspective is the second half of Colossians 1:18. “Jesus is the beginning, the first born from the dead.” It’s significant that just a few verses earlier Paul stated that “Jesus is the firstborn of all creation” in that it is by him that all things were created (Colossians 1:15-16). Verse 18 tells us that Christ is not only “the firstborn of creation” but also “the firstborn from the dead.” He is not only the one by whom all things were created at the beginning. Christ is also the one through whom all of his people will some yet future day be resurrected from the dead. In other words, Christ is also the one through whom the saints will experience re-creation when they are bodily raised from the dead. Daniel’s resurrection life is now hidden with the resurrected Christ in God (Colossians 3:3). But when the resurrected and exalted Christ, who is Daniel’s life, appears, then he also will appear with Christ in glory. When that day comes, Daniel’s currently hidden resurrection life will no longer be hidden. His lowly body which now rests in a South Carolina grave will be transformed to be like the resurrected Christ’s body of glory (Philippians 3:20-21). So as we think about the death of our son tomorrow, we will seek to set our minds on things above, that is, where “the firstborn from the dead” is, seated at the right hand of God(Colossians 3:1).

FIRST-PERSON: Reflections from a younger leader
By Ed Stetzer
Nov 9, 2005

ALPHARETTA, Ga. (BP)–Lots of people have been thinking, speaking and blogging about the whole “young leader thing.” I’ve done my fair share — although speaking for young leaders is probably not a wise long-term strategy for a guy just 10 months away from turning 40.

Some have advocated convention change in how we affirm diverse and biblically sound strategies and how we do missional ministry together. Many have rightfully said that it is time for Southern Baptists to accept the fact that many of our best and brightest don’t wear suits, don’t use a hymnal, and have different methodologies than most of our existing churches. But the Lord also has spoken to my heart about how I, as a contemporary church pastor, need to change and learn as well.

In the foreword to my recent book (”Perimeters of Light: Biblical Boundaries for the Emerging Church” with Elmer Towns), Paige Patterson calls me a “son of the contemporary church.” He’s right. I’ve never planted or served as pastor of a church that was not contemporary, and God continues to place me in settings where that is our chosen ministry approach.

But, in all this talk about change, it is important to have some discernment as many young (and not so young) SBC leaders plant or transition to contemporary models. I am not talking about preaching against innovation or “smarmy” comments about worship bands. That is hurting our convention and squelching the conversation. But, I have learned along the way that:

– Theology matters and can’t be assumed.

Unlike most SBC pastors, I wasn’t raised or redeemed in a Baptist church. I was raised nominally Catholic and came to Christ in a denomination that drifted away from the Gospel. All this talk about “broadening the tent” does not appeal to me. Been there, done that, seen the compromise that follows. If young leaders are not serious about theology, preaching and cooperation, then this denomination is not the place for them. As I wrote in SBC Life (Feb. 2003), doctrine matters to missions — and it matters when we seek to be “missional” as well. I’ve learned that we need to constantly talk, think and learn better theology.

– Preaching is more than retelling biblical principles.

I’ve preached a lot of sermons that were more about my opinions than God’s Word. Sure, they were based on biblical principles (“love your wife,” “don’t worry,” “work hard”) but not grounded in the biblical story of redemption. Then, Donna (my wife) told me, that after all our years together, she felt that she did not know the Bible well. As her pastor, I had taught her how to be a godly person, but not how to understand our God revealed in the Bible.

The need for biblical preaching has never been more urgent. Biblical preaching is more than common sense truth with biblical proofs taken out of context. Instead, it is letting the agenda and shape of Scripture determine the agenda and shape of the message. I’ve learned that I have not taken it seriously enough — and I think I am not alone.

– Making your church relevant does not mean making it easy.

No question — most of our churches need to be more relevant to their communities and their cultures. According to a recent Leavell Center/New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary study, 89 percent of our churches are not experiencing healthy evangelistic growth. Part of the reason is that they have become marginalized from their communities.

Yet, in a noble desire to reach more people, too many innovative leaders (like me) tried too hard to make things relevant. We tried too hard to give them what they wanted. Missiologist/urban pastor Tim Keller rightly cautions, “Contexualization is not ‘giving people what they want’ but rather it is giving God’s answers (which people may not want!) to questions they are asking and in forms that they can comprehend.” I’ve learned that I need to remember that relevance only matters if it reveals the one true Christ and His Gospel.

– Most of us are too thin-skinned for real discussion.

I can’t say I have really mastered this one, but a robust theological discussion takes a thick skin. Denominations that care about doctrine must also care about practice. Theology determines methodology and if we want to change practice, it is important to have a theological basis to do so. That requires being willing to critique yourself honestly and to listen to others and their critiques. I’ve learned that sometimes I confused healthy theological correction with arguments over preferences … and took the concerns more personally than I should. I think a lot of disconnected SBC young leaders might have done the same.

The denomination where I came to faith doesn’t worry about practice, but they don’t worry much about theology or morals anymore, either. I’m glad these things matter — and I am glad we are having the conversation. I’ll take the Southern Baptist Convention any day — and work through the conversation with more traditional leaders to figure out what a biblically faithful church looks like in emerging culture.

Ed Stetzer serves as director of research at the North American Mission Board. A missiologist, he is the author of several articles and books on missional ministry.

Galatians 1:4 Who [referring to Jesus] gave himself for our sins, that he might deliver us [that he might rescue us] from this present evil world

There is a great scene toward the beginning of the extended version of The Fellowship of the Ring. A table of hobbits are sitting together enjoying each others company when one of them says, “There’s been some strange folk crossing the shire I heard. Dwarves and others of a less than savory nature. War is brewing. The mountains are fair teeming with Goblins.” One of the other hobbits not pleased with what was just said replies, “Far-off tales and childrens stories, that’s all that is. Your beginning to sound like that old Bilbo Baggins. Cracked, he was.” Then a negative comment is made about Frodo being cracked or crazy as well to which Frodo responds, “And proud of it!” And then the hobbit that originally called Bilbo cracked makes a very significant statement as it relates to the soon coming struggle of Middle-Earth. “Well its none of our concern what goes on beyond our borders. Keep your nose out of trouble and no trouble will come to you.”

That is in my mind one of the most significant statements in giving us insight into the people of the Shire. They are a peace-loving, comfort-enjoying people who care very little at all about the outside world. They enjoy their simple life and see no reason to be concerned with what happens in the land of the “big folk.” What they didn’t realize was that Trouble with a capital “T” was coming to them and unless there was decisive intervention the Shire and their happy culture would perish. What they failed to see was that they were in dire need of decisive rescue from the growing evil shadow of the East. The hobbits were completely ignorant of their impending doom and their desperate need for rescue.

Christianity is the only religion that recognizes our hobbit like peril. Founders of other religions came primarily to teach. They came with a set of doctrines and an example to be followed. Though Jesus was a great teacher, the greatest teacher mankind has ever known, Paul makes no mention of this when he gives us this nutshell version of the Gospel in Galatians 1. What we see here is what is at the very heart of the Gospel, namely, that mankind was in desperate need of rescue. Jesus came to rescue first and then to be an example second.

The uniqueness of Christianity is that it comes to us and informs us of our absolutely helpless and perilous state. The Gospel does not first reveal Christ to us as a guide and example. No, it first reveals Christ as our Deliverer, our Rescuer. Christ came to earth and before most people knew what was really happening He had already accomplished every thing needed for the deliverance of his hobbit like people. He accomplished our redemption before we even knew we were perishing and unable to recover ourselves. This is the Good News of the Gospel.

Following the examples of totellthetruth.net and randomage I decided to Google - “Dan needs” (with quotes). Below is the list of results:

1. Dan Needs Bush Hogging
2. Dan needs a new Car
3. Dan needs the love too, y’all
4. Dan needs to overcome himself.
5. Dan needs help
6. Dan NEEDS to get his permit!!
7. Dan needs help with visibility
8. Dan needs letters of support
9. dan needs medical help
10. Dan needs clear limits and consistency along with positive reinforcement
11. Dan needs to do something
12. Dan needs a hug
13. Dan needs some voice lessons
14. Dan needs to see the Lion King
15. Dan needs a haircut
16. Dan needs some hatemail
17. Dan needs to keep his fellow citizens calm
18. Dan needs to resign
19. Dan needs little introduction
20. Dan needs a stunt double