Essay in Ephesians #22
This was according to the eternal purpose
that He has realized in Christ Jesus our Lord,
in whom we have boldness and access with confidence
through our faith in him.
Ephesians 3: 11– 12
Paul surely has great faith, great boldness and access to God, to write with such sureness and certainty that Jesus will hear his prayers and back him up. Faith, boldness and confidence permeate Paul’s entire ministry. The obedience of faith in love is at the crux of Paul’s relationship with Jesus and it the crux, the vital decisive point of our relationship with God too.
God lives in and through us by faith, or not at all. God loves in us and through us by faith, nor not at all.
Paul reached the Gentile world “by a demonstration of God’s power through faith.” The only way God’s life changing love can reach those we pray for today will be by His demonstrations of His love and power through faith!
“One thing is certain: The only way to reach our world is by a demonstration of God’s power through faith.” Those words were written by Benson Idahosa in his introduction to Faith to Change the World. Dr. Idahosa lived a life of faith. T. L. Osborn called him “Africa’s greatest ambassador of faith to the world.” Millions of men and women believed in Jesus because of the “demonstrations of God’s power through faith” that marked Idahosa’s life.
As a young man, when he read in the Bible that Jesus raised the dead and that believers can do the same thing, he excitedly got on his bicycle and rode all over town looking for a dead person to bring back to life. He finally found a family mourning for their daughter. She had died several hours earlier, but the grieving family hadn’t yet washed her or laid her out for burial. He asked the parents if he could pray. He prayed, and it wasn’t long before the child sneezed, returned to this life, and the entire family was thanking Jesus.
This man of faith wrote,
“The faith factor in the Christian walk is delicate and crucial and deserves detailed study until it is clearly understood. This is not only because, without it, “it’s impossible to please God” but also because “God has given to every man the measure of faith.” (Romans 12:3b). It is saddening to hear such exclamations as, “I cannot believe that, it is impossible, God cannot do it.” Many dejected millions have put their faith, even their measure of faith, in something other than God. What does the Scripture say? “It is better to trust in the Lord, than to put confidence in man. It is better to trust in the Lord than to put confidence in princes.” (Psalm 118: 8-9)
“The sad state of affairs today is that people put their trust in human institutions, science and knowledge; as all these things come tumbling down like a house of cards, their hope crumbles. But “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever.” (Heb. 13:8). I have often pondered over Hebrews 11:6 and its words always hit me with great freshness and power, “without faith.” [And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that He exists and that He rewards those who see Him.] Conversely, we can assume that with faith you can please God. Lack of faith puts you out of line with God. It therefore stands to reason that faith places you in direct contact, in tune with Him. That sounds interesting, doesn’t it. Pick up your Bibles and read Hebrews 11:6 as you ask: “What is required from him who comes to God? The answer, “We must believe that He is.” from Faith Can Change Your Destiny,
When disruption and chaos come and it appears that things may be falling apart—as it often did for Paul—with beatings, persecutions, getting chased out of town, shipwrecks, imprisonments, health problems, riots—our faith is tested. If we believe in something or someone less than God, we will crumble; but when our faith is steady in God, He will keep us and bring His eternal purpose through our most impossible circumstances.
In the words of the hymn, May we secure our faith and hope “on nothing less than Jesus and His righteousness.”
My hope is built on nothing less
Than Jesus Christ, my righteousness;
I dare not trust the sweetest frame,
But wholly lean on Jesus’ name.
On Christ, the solid Rock, I stand;
All other ground is sinking sand,
All other ground is sinking sand.
When darkness veils His lovely face,
I rest on His unchanging grace;
In every high and stormy gale,
My anchor holds within the veil.
His oath, His covenant His blood,
Support me in the whelming flood;
When all around my soul gives way,
He then is all my hope and stay.
When He shall come with trumpet sound,
Oh, may I then in Him be found;
In Him, my righteousness alone,
Faultless to stand before the throne.
Edward Mote, 1797-1874
