Author: Calleen Hough

No confidence

The Apostle Paul was one of the most remarkable converts to Christianity. He started out as a persecutor of the believers in Jerusalem and eventually took a trip to Damascus to round up anyone that was of “the way” there (Acts 9:2). It says in Acts 9:3-5, “He went on his way until he came near Damascus. All at once he saw a light from heaven shining around him. He fell to the ground. Then he heard a voice say, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you working so hard against Me?’ Saul answered, ‘Who are You, Lord?’ He said, ‘I am Jesus, the One Whom you are working against. You hurt yourself by trying to hurt Me’ (NLV).

Paul’s effort to stamp out Christianity was halted midstream because he was working against the very thing that God wanted him to do, to preach the gospel. Paul described his previous Jewish belief system as walking in the flesh (Romans 8:1). What Paul meant by walking in the flesh was living life focused on the material world as opposed to the spiritual realm of God. Circumcision was a sign of the covenant God made with Abraham and his descendants (Genesis 17:13), but the Jews turned it into a ritual that meant nothing more than a regulation that had to be followed. Paul told the believers at Philippi, “For we are the circumcision, who worship God in the Spirit, rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh” (Philippians 3:3, NKJV).

Paul had a lot of things going for him in terms of working his way to heaven. He told the Philippians, “If anyone else thinks he may have confidence in the flesh, I more so: circumcised the eighth day, of the stock of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of the Hebrews; concerning the law, a Pharisee; concerning zeal, persecuting the church; concerning the righteousness which is in the law, blameless. But what things were gain to me, these I have counted loss for Christ” (Philippians 3:4-7, NKJV). If it was possible to score Paul’s effort to get himself into heaven, he probably would have gotten an A+, but Paul said he counted everything he had done as a loss, meaning it was worthless, he wasn’t scoring any points, because the only thing that mattered in God’s scoring system was Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross.

Paul concluded his discussion about works of the flesh by stating, “Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 3:13-14). Paul’s attitude toward heaven had changed dramatically because he no longer saw it as something that he could apprehend or own in the sense that he had a right to go there. Rather than a reward for good behavior, Paul saw heaven as a prize that he must strive toward with no confidence that he could or actually had already attained it.

Obedience

Paul’s letter to the Philippians focused on the result of being born again. Aside from the hope that every Christian has of going to heaven when we die, there is a practical side to having put our faith in Christ. Paul told the Philippians that he was “confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ” (Philippians 1:6). Paul didn’t explain what the good work was that God was doing in the lives of the believers at Philippi, but the context of his letter showed that the Philippians were being obedient to God’s word. Paul was writing to the Philippians to thank them for a gift they had sent him upon learning of his detention in Rome (Introduction to The Epistle of Paul the Apostle to the Philippians, p. 1705). Rather than abandoning him in his time of need, the Philippians stood by Paul and encouraged him to keep preaching the gospel and fighting the good fight of faith.

Paul used the example of Christ to explain why suffering was necessary and told the Philippians, “You are not only to put your trust in Him, but you are to suffer for Him also. You know what the fight is like. Now it is time for you to have a part in it as I have” (Philippians 1:29-30, NLV). Paul pointed out that obedience was necessary for Christ to win the battle against Satan and instructed the Philippians to:

Let this mind be in you, which as also in Christ Jesus: who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: but made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of a men: and being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. (Philippians 2:4-8)

The Greek word Paul used that is translated obedient, hupekoos (hoop-ay’-ko-os) means to listen attentively and by implication submission (G5255). Hupekoos is derived from the word hupakouo which comes from the words hupo indicating an inferior position or condition (G5259) and akouo (ak-oo’-o), a verb that denotes both the sound and meaning of what is spoken (G191). Akouo is used in John 1:40 where it says, “One of the two which heard John speak, and followed him, was Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother.” Akouo in this verse means literally “‘heard from beside John,’ suggesting that he stood beside him.” In other words, Andrew’s obedience (he followed John) was the result of an intimate conversation he had with him.

Paul’s explanation of obedience suggested that it was a dual or combined effort between God and believers. He said, “Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure” (Philippians 2:12-13, NKJV). The Greek words that are translated work and works, have to do with the results or effect of an intentional effort to accomplish a supernatural task (G2716/G1754). One way to look at our obedience to God’s will is to see that the Holy Spirit (God’s supernatural power in us) is activated when we do what God’s wants us to and the result is the accomplishment of a supernatural task that we could not have accomplished on our own.

Out of the darkness

Paul encouraged believers to change their behavior and to act like children of God. He told the Ephesians, “At one time you lived in darkness. Now you are living in the light that comes from the Lord. Live as children who have the light of the Lord in them” (Ephesians 5:8, NLV). Paul encouraged the believers in Ephesus to be engaged in spiritual warfare (Ephesians 6:13) and told them to “have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them” (Ephesians 5:11).

The unfruitful works of darkness that he referred to in Ephesians 5:11 may have been rumors that were being spread about Paul while he was imprisoned in Rome. The Greek word translated reprove, elegcho (el-eng’-kho) means “to rebuke another with the truth so that the person confesses, or at least is convicted of his sin” (G1651). There was most likely a lot of conflict in the church at Ephesus and Paul wanted the believers there to resist the temptation to be drawn back into their old lifestyles. The Greek word translated unfruitful, akarpos refers to “those influenced by the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches” (G175).

Paul’s final instruction to the Ephesians was to be properly equipped for spiritual battles. He said, “Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might. Put on the whole armor of God that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil” (Ephesians 6:10-11). Paul became familiar with the armor of the Roman soldiers while he was under house arrest. The constant poking and prodding Paul had to endure from his captors may have prompted him to think of ways to thwart their attempts to antagonize him.

Paul said that “we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places” (Ephesians 6:12). The descriptors Paul used suggest that a structured organization exists in the spiritual realm. The Greek word translated powers, exousia refers to “the power of one whose will and commands must be obeyed by others” (G1849). Rulers of the darkness implies a world-ruler and may have been a reference to Satan himself. Paul was talking about “spirit powers, who, under the permissive will of God, and in consequence of human sin, exercise satanic and therefore antagonistic authority over the world in its present condition of spiritual darkness and alienation from God” (G2888).

Paul’s instructed believers to “take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day” (Ephesians 6:13). This might suggest that we can only withstand Satan’s attempts to overcome us by using all of the spiritual resources we have available to us. Paul identified six pieces of clothing or armory that could be used in spiritual battles: a girdle (truth), breastplate (righteousness), shoes (gospel), shield (faith), helmet (salvation), and a sword (word of God). These pieces of armor may correspond to the process whereby a person becomes a child of God. A person must first hear the truth, then be convicted of his sins, understand that Jesus died for all sins and by faith receive Jesus as his savior, and finally, read the Bible to learn more about God’s kingdom.

One body

God didn’t plan for there to be numerous denominations and factions among believers. When Paul received a revelation from God about his ministry, he was told that the Gentiles and Jews would be “of the same body” (Ephesians 3:6). “These words indicate the unique aspect of the mystery that was not previously known: the equality and mutuality that Gentiles had with Jews in the church, the one body. That Gentiles would turn to the God of Israel and be saved was prophesied in the OT (see Rom 15:9-12); that they would come into an organic unity with believing Jews on an equal footing was unexpected” (note on Ephesians 3:6).

Paul stated, “There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all” (Ephesians 4:4-6, NKJV). Paul’s focus on the oneness of believers in Christ was likely meant to point out that there should be no distinctions between Christians. We are all saved and on our way to heaven. Everything else is a matter of individual belief, not the teaching of Jesus Christ. What Paul wanted the Ephesians to understand was that they were not a new or different religious group from the Jews. They were not supposed to be isolated from the Jewish churches, but integrated into them.

Paul’s description of believers as one body (Ephesians 4:4) emphasized the connectedness, the integration of the individual parts, and collective functioning that should be evident in Jesus’ followers. Paul talked about the edifying of the body of Christ and told the Ephesians, “that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting, but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head—Christ— from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love” (Ephesians 4:14-16, NKJV).

The Greek word translated edifying, oikodome (oy-kod-om-ay’) has to do with architecture and refers to the structure by which something is perceived to be a building. When we think of the church as a building that we go to we are missing the point of what Paul was trying to say about how Jesus’ church should function. Believers are supposed to be joined by their faith and work together as a single unit that functions collectively to spread the gospel around the world. The key ingredient that you could say is the glue or mortar that holds everything together is love. The Greek word Paul used in Ephesians 4:16 is agape. Sometimes referred to as Christian love, agape signifies the kind of love that is derived from Christ.

God’s will

God’s plan of salvation was designed to ensure that everyone that wants to go to heaven will, but at the same time, no one can be saved unless he or she is predestined to be saved according to God’s will. It says in Ephesians 1:3-5, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love, having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will” (NKJV).

The Greek word translated predestined, proorizo (pro-or-id’-zo) means to determine beforehand (G4309). In other words, God knew ahead of time who would want to be saved and made provision for every person’s salvation when Jesus died on the cross. Even though we weren’t saved until the moment we accepted Christ and put our trust in him, the transaction that covered the payment for our sins occurred 2000 years ago. Paul described this transaction as a mystery and said, “Having made known unto us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure which he had purposed in himself” (Ephesians 1:9).

If you think of your salvation as a secret that wasn’t revealed until the day you were born again, you might wonder why God waits for us to make a choice to be saved rather than imposing his will on us and forcing everyone to go to heaven. It says in 2 Peter 3:9, “The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance” (NKJV). If God had his way, everyone would go to heaven, but he allows us to make up our own minds about where we will spend eternity and unfortunately, some people don’t want to have their sins forgiven, but would rather go to hell than ask God to save them.

Paul explained that God’s grace is what makes people want to repent (Ephesians 2:5). The Greek word charis (khar’-ece) has to do with the divine influence upon the heart and its reflection in the life; including gratitude (G5485). Some people are able see God’s goodness and want to have a relationship with him. Others are bitter toward God and blame him for everything that has gone wrong in their lives. The fact that some people choose to be saved is evidence that God is making an effort to bring us to repentance. Paul described salvation as a gift from God and said, “For by grace you have been saved faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast” (Ephesians 2:8-9).

Real faith

At the same time Paul wrote his letter to the Colossians, he wrote a personal note to a man named Philemon whose slave he had converted to Christianity. Paul wrote to Philemon asking him to forgive his slave Onesimus for stealing from him and running away because he was now his brother in Christ. Paul’s personal appeal to Philemon was based on the same principle he had been talking about in his letter to the Colossians. Paul said, “I thank my God, making mention of you always in my prayers, hearing of your love and faith which you have toward the Lord Jesus and toward all the saints, that the sharing of your faith may become effective by the acknowledgment of every good thing which is in you in Christ Jesus” (Philemon 5-6, NKJV).

Paul’s statement, “that the sharing of your faith may become effective” (Philemon 6, NKJV) meant that he wanted Philemon’s faith to be real, he wanted him to act like the Christian he claimed to be. Philemon was well known for his hospitality to believers (Philemon 7), but the fact that he owned slaves may have made some people wonder whether or not he had actually been born again. Paul encouraged Philemon to exhibit behavior that was consistent with being a follower of Christ, doing something that Jesus would have done.

Paul’s appeal to Philemon to act like a Christian and forgive his brother in Christ was counter to the culture of that day. Slaves were expected to be treated differently than others and were severely punished for any wrong doing. Under Roman law, Onesimus’ crime was punishable by death (Introduction to The Epistle of Paul to Philemon, p. 1754). Paul explained to Philemon that there may have been a greater purpose in what happened to him. He said, “For perhaps he departed for a while for this purpose, that you might receive him forever, no longer as a slave but more than a slave—a beloved brother, especially to me but how much more to you, both in the flesh and in the Lord” (Philemon 15-16, NKJV).

Paul concluded his appeal to Philemon by stating, “If then you count me as a partner, receive him as you would me” (Philemon 17, NKJV). The Greek word Paul used that is translated partner, koinonos means a sharer that is associate (G2839). What Paul was saying was that he and Philemon were equals in the eyes of Christ and Onesimus was also. Paul pointed out in his letter to the Colossians that there was no distinction between believers. He said, “there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcision nor uncircumcision, Barbarian, Scythian, bond nor free: but Christ is all, and in all” (Colossians 3:11).

Changing clothes

Paul likened the process of spiritual rebirth to changing our clothes. He said, “But now you yourselves are to put off all these: anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy language out of your mouth. Do not lie to one another, since you have put off the old man with his deeds, and have put on the new man who is renewed in knowledge according to the image of Him who created him” (Colossians 3:8-10, NKJV). The Greek word translated put off, apotithemi (ap-ot-eeth’-ay-mee) refers to casting off something such as a garment that is no longer useful or appropriate (G659). Another way of looking at putting off the old man might be to reverse our behavior. Instead of doing what comes naturally to us, we are supposed to do the opposite or what is unnatural for us to do when we become Christians.

Paul said that we are to “put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him” (Colossians 3:10). The Greek word translated put on is enduo. “This word means literally to sink into (clothing), put on, clothe one’s self” (G1746). An illustration of how to put on the new man is Superman, who changed his behavior after he put on his suit with a giant S on its chest. When we reveal our Christian identity to the world, we are putting on the new man and associating ourselves Christ. The Greek word translated renewed in Colossians 3:10, anakainoo (an-ak-ahee-no’-o) is derived from the words ana (G303) and kainos (G2537). Kainos (kahee-nos’) “denotes ‘new,’ of that which is unaccustomed or unused, not ‘new’ in time, recent, but ‘new’ as to form or quality, of different nature from what is contrasted as old” (G2537).

Paul highlighted the importance of acts of love when he said, “But above all these things put on love, which is the bond of perfection” (Colossians 3:14, NKJV). The Greek word Paul used that is translated love, agape (ag-ah’-pay) had its perfect expression among men in the Lord Jesus Christ. “Christian love, whether exercised toward the brethren, or toward men generally, is not an impulse from the feelings, it does not always run with the natural inclinations, nor does it spend itself only upon those for whom some affinity is discovered” (G26). Paul identified Christian love as the bond of perfection. The word that he used that is translated bond, sundesmos (soon’-des-mos) refers back to his comment in Colossians 2:2 about being knit together in love. Sundesmos means “a joint tie, i.e. ligament” and is being used figuratively by Paul to indicate a uniting principle of the Christian faith. Love is the characteristic of a Christian that we exhibit that makes us look like Christ.

Christ in you

Perhaps the most difficult aspect of Christianity to comprehend is the fact that Jesus lives in the heart of every believer. Paul referred to this doctrinal truth as a secret and said;

Now I am full of joy to be suffering for you. In my own body I am doing my share of what has to be done to make Christ’s sufferings complete. This is for His body which is the Church. I became a preacher in His church for your good. In the plan of God I am to preach the Good News. This great secret was hidden to the people of times past, but it is now made known to those who belong to Christ. God wants these great riches of the hidden truth to be made known to the people who are not Jews. The secret is this: Christ in you brings hope of all the great things to come. We preach Christ. We tell every man how he must live. We use wisdom in teaching every man. We do this so every man will be complete in Christ. (Colossians 1:24-28, NLV)

Paul wanted the believers in Colosse to understand that the truth of the gospel was not conveyed to them through natural means, but that God had imparted the wisdom and knowledge of Christ directly to them through his Holy Spirit. Paul described the supernatural process of regeneration in Colossians 2:11-15. He said:

When you became a Christian, you were set free from the sinful things of the world. This was not done by human hands. You were set free from the sins of your old self by what was done in Christ’s body. When you were baptized, you were buried as Christ was buried. When you were raised up in baptism, you were raised as Christ was raised. You were raised to a new life by putting your trust in God. It was God Who raised Jesus from the dead. When you were dead in your sins, you were not set free from the sinful things of the world. But God forgave your sins and gave you new life through Christ. We had broken the Law many ways. Those sins were held against us by the Law. That Law had writings which said we were sinners. But now He has destroyed that writing by nailing it to the cross. God took away the power of the leaders of this world and the powers of darkness. He showed them to the world. The battle was won over them through Christ. (NLV)

Christ’s death on the cross was the final step in God’s effort to reconcile the world to himself. Because the penalty for all our sins was paid by Jesus, we are able to live free from the guilt of sin and escape the penalty of death that we deserve. Through the process of regeneration we have not only been united with Christ, but also with every other believer in the world. Paul said, “And not holding fast to the Head, from whom all the body, nourished and knit together by joints and ligaments, grows with the increase that is from God.” (Colossians 2:19, NKJV).

The Greek word Paul used that is translated knit together in Colossians 2:19 is sumbibazo (soom-bib-ad’-zo) which means “to drive together that is unite (in association or affection)” (G4822). Mentally, sumbibazo infers showing or teaching someone something. The Greek word sumbibazo is derived from the words sun (soon) and basis (bas’-ece). These two words have to do with Jesus’ ministry on earth when he was spending all his time with his disciples teaching them about the kingdom of heaven (G939/G4862). What Paul was saying was that when we become Christians, we enter into the same kind of relationship with Jesus that his disciples had. He is with us all the time, actually dwelling inside us through his Holy Spirit, and he causes us to grow spiritually.

The untold story

When the Apostle Paul finally arrived in Rome, he met with the Jewish leaders there and explained his situation to them. “Then they said to him, ‘We neither received letters from Judea concerning you, nor have any of the brethren who came reported or spoken any evil of you. But we desire to hear from you what you think; for concerning this sect, we know that it is spoken against everywhere'” (Acts 28:21-22, NKJV). Paul spent two years under house arrest in Rome and according to 2 Timothy 4:16 appeared before Caesar Nero, but was not convicted. Then, as far as anyone knows, he was released and allowed to continue his ministry.

It is clear from Acts 13:1-21:17 that Paul went on three missionary journeys. There is also reason to believer that he made a fourth journey after his release from the Roman imprisonment recorded in Acts 28. The conclusion that such a journey did indeed take place is based on: (1) Paul’s declared intention to go to Spain (Romans 15:24,28), (2) Eusebius’s implication that Paul was released following his first Roman imprisonment (Ecclesiastical History, 2.22.2-3) and (3) statements in early christian literature that he took the gospel as far as Spain (Clement of Rome, Epistle to the Corinthians, ch. 5; Actus Petri Vercellenes, chs. 1-3; Muratorian Canon lines 34-39). (Paul’s Fourth Missionary Journey, pgs. 1738-1739)

The reason Luke didn’t include Paul’s fourth missionary journey in his book of Acts may have been because he thought Paul’s arrival in Rome signified the accomplishment of the goal of his ministry. Another reason may have been because Luke left Paul in Rome and didn’t know what happened to him. Paul stated in 2 Timothy 4:16, “At my first answer no man stood with me, but all men forsook me: I pray God that it may not be laid to their charge.” Paul went on to say, “Notwithstanding the Lord stood with me, and strengthened me; that by me the preaching might be fully know, and that all the Gentiles might hear: and I was delivered out of the mouth of a lion” (Acts 4:17). “Since as a Roman citizen, Paul could not be thrown to the lions in the amphitheater, this must be a figurative way of saying that his first hearing did not result in an immediate guilty verdict” (note on Acts 4:17).

Although the details of Paul’s final arrest and death by execution are not included in the Bible, it is believed that his second letter to Timothy was written shortly before he was beheaded in Rome. In that letter, Paul disclosed that “only Luke is with me” (2 Timothy 4:11). If Luke and Paul were separated after his first imprisonment in Rome, they were reunited sometime before his death around 67 or 68 A.D. Paul concluded his second letter to Timothy with these final words, “The Lord will rescue me from every evil assault, and He will bring me safely into His heavenly kingdom; to Him be the glory forever and ever. Amen.” (2 Timothy 4:18, AMP).

A living testimony

The encouragement Paul received from the Lord gave him confidence in spite of overwhelming circumstances during his voyage to Rome. The angel of God said, “Do not be afraid, Paul; you must be brought before Caesar; and indeed God has granted you all those who sail with you” (Acts 27:24, NKJV). After 14 days of being driven up and down the Adriatic Sea by a typhoon like east-northeast wind, the ship Paul was sailing in drew near to land. It says in Acts 27:29-31:

Then, fearing lest we should run aground on the rocks, they dropped four anchors from the stern, and prayed for day to come. And as the sailors were seeking to escape from the ship, when they had let down the skiff into the sea, under pretense of putting out anchors from the prow, Paul said to the centurion and the soldiers, “Unless these men stay in the ship, you cannot be saved.” (NKJV)

Paul believed that God was going to keep him alive, but he was apparently under the impression that everyone in the ship had to stay together in order for them to be delivered from their adverse circumstances. In a similar fashion to Jesus’ last meal with his disciples, Paul “took bread, and gave thanks to God in presence of them all: and when he had broken it, he began to eat” (Acts 27:35). At this point in his journey to Rome, Paul became a living testimony to the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Paul didn’t preach a sermon to the men he was sailing with; he intended to show them that God would preserve their lives if they believed what he told them.

Paul and his sailing companions became shipwrecked on an island called Melita, also known as Malta (Acts 28:1 and note). Luke’s account of the situation showed that the local people considered Paul and the other prisoners to be dangerous criminals, and yet they showed them kindness by starting a fire for them because of the rain and cold (Acts 28:2). Luke stated:

But when Paul had gathered a bundle of sticks and laid them on the fire, a viper came out because of the heat, and fastened on his hand. So when the natives saw the creature hanging from his hand, they said to one another, “No doubt this man is a murderer, whom, though he has escaped the sea, yet justice does not allow to live.” But he shook off the creature into the fire and suffered no harm. However, they were expecting that he would swell up or suddenly fall down dead. But after they had looked for a long time and saw no harm come to him, they changed their minds and said that he was a god. (Acts 28:3-6, NKJV)

Paul didn’t correct the natives viewpoint of him, but rather went on to further demonstrate his superhuman power by healing the father of the chief man of the island (Acts 28:8). Although there is no record of anyone on Malta being converted during Paul’s three month stay there, it seems likely that the people that lived on the island were greatly impacted by Paul’s living testimony. According to wikipedia, “Malta has a long Christian legacy and its Archdiocese is claimed to be an apostolic see (an apostolic see is an episcopal see whose foundation is attributed to one or more of the apostles of Jesus or to one of his close associates) because Paul the Apostle was shipwrecked on “Melita.”