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The Riches of God's Grace, Mark 6:7-13
By Stephen Becker
July 16, 2006
Church of the Holy Spirit
www.holyspiritanglican.org
Main Thrust: The grace of God imparts strength, endurance and spiritual insight into the plan and
purposes of God even in the midst of discouraging and trying circumstances.
Introduction:
I have always been impressed with Paul's letter to the Ephesians because he has an
understanding about our acceptance in Christ and the lavish love of God the Father who is working
out his plan of redemption according to his good pleasure and will. The magnitude of this plan is so
great he could not help but be inspired to worship and praise God for the abundant grace that is
freely bestowed on us in the Beloved.
Although it isn't clear from the English translation, the Greek text of Ephesians 1:3-14 is
made up of one very long run-on sentence. Paul started this sentence in verse 3 with the phrase:
"Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ..." Then he proceeds to tell us what God
has done. He does not stop to take a breath, but continues on until the end of verse 14. He cannot
stop talking about God. He speaks of all three members of the Godhead. The Father who planned
our salvation; the Son who accomplished our salvation on the cross; and the Spirit who signed,
sealed and delivered us into a relationship of love with the triune God. And within the length and
breedth of these verses we discover that we are chosen, predestined, adopted, redeemed, forgiven,
and even given a seal and guarantee of our future and present inheritance in heavenly places! As
Paul unfolds the mystery of God's plan we discover that we are guaranteed a future destiny that is
to the praise and glory of God's grace, for we have been given all that we need to fulfill our high
and holy calling.
But now that I have given you a quick overview, it is my purpose to review each of the
verses and draw out from them some of the riches of God's grace that is ours in Christ.
Paul begins his letter with his usual greeting of grace and peace. Then he immediately
bursts forth with praise as he contemplates the wonders of God's rich love for us. He is captivated
with the understanding that the God and Father of our Lord Jesus "has blessed us in Christ with
every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places" (v. 3). The word "has" is not a word that relates to
the "sweet by and by." It is a past tense verb and by it Paul was making it clear that the blessing
God has in store for us has already been put into place; for they are rooted in a heavenly reality.
From God's point of view, we possess the land of blessing right now. All of the blessings we can
ever receive are in a "holding pattern," just waiting for us to possess them.
We, like Joshua in the Old Testament, have been given a promised land. But we, like
Joshua, need to go into the land and possess it.
The Lord told Joshua, "I will give you every place where you will set your foot" (Joshua
1:3). That promise was given when Joshua hadn't crossed the Jordan River yet. Enemies were still
living there and there were battles ahead. But the fact remained--the land belonged to Joshua and
the Israelites. God had given it to them--(past tense) it was a done deal. There were true spiritual
riches that were theirs for the taking. But these spiritual riches with which we have been blessed are
"...in the heavenly realms." (The Greek word for his expression is epouranios. This striking word
describes the realm of the invisible--the real world of spiritual encounter and conflicts. The
"heavenly places" are not some location in the distant heavens. Rather they are the realms of
invisible spiritual conflict on earth, where "the prince and power of the air" tries to sustain control
of humankind and world affairs (see Eph. 2:2-3). "The heavenly places" introduce us to the
church's place of intended dominion and dynamic operation where the Lord has promised to set a
table before us "...in the presence of our enemies" (see Psalm 23:5).
Paul taught that God's plan to bless originated "before the foundation of the world" (v. 4),
predating human existence. . And this blessing includes our being "...adopted as his children
through Jesus Christ, according to the good pleasure of his will, to the praise of his glorious
grace, which he has freely given us in the one he loves" (Eph. 1:5-6).
Did you ever stop to think that only by the grace of God were you called to be God's child?
It is only by the "good pleasure of God's will" that you were even born. Moreover it is only by the
grace of God that you can enter into the good life for which you were created. And therefore my
purpose today is to take a closer look at the grace that transforms us, renews us, and makes us
strong in the Lord.
But what is this grace? Grace is a hard theological word to understand, especially if you
come from a background where we have learned not to expect anything free in life. There is a
wonderful parable that illustrates this point.
A certain man dies and arrives at the pearly gates where he is met by Saint Peter. "As
`keeper of the Gates,' it is my duty to inform you that you must score one thousand points before
you can pass through these gates into paradise," Peter says to him. "Tell me something about
yourself." To which the man replies, "Well, until I was twenty- one-years-old, I never missed
Sunday school. And I always willingly helped my parents with the household chores." "Very
good!" says Saint Peter, "That's worth one point. Now tell me more about yourself."
As an adult, I never missed Church on Sunday, unless I was sick in bed. "Very good! That's
worth another point. Now you have two points."
On the job I always did an honest day's work and I never told lies or cheated anyone."
"Very good! Now you have 3 points." I always tried to live according the golden rule. And I gave
ten percent of my earnings to the church." "Very good! Now you have four points. Now tell me
more about yourself.
The man is now becoming quite irritated. He says: "Listen, Saint Peter, you're making this
impossible for me. I'll never score enough points. The only way I'll get into Heaven is by the
Grace of God."
"That's it! You've got it! Grace! That's one thousand points, giving you a grand total of
one thousand four. Come on in."
One of my favorite definitions of grace that uses the word itself as an acronym: God's
Riches At Christ's Expense. Grace has been defined as a supernatural power given freely by God
that enables us to live on a supernatural level. Through God's grace we receive God Himself in a
new and immediate relationship. We receive LIFE with its deepest, most complete fulfillment. We
are Re-Created made a new creation, living supernaturally, able to be the image of God we were
intended to be. Therefore grace is the extraordinary gift of God giving of Himself to us, restoring us
to His likeness and image.
Our part is not to struggle to make this happen. Our part is to acknowledge the grace of God
and freely receive the Holy Spirit who makes these things happen in us and through us.
Make no mistake; however, we are not freed from work or effort! We are, as Paul says in
another epistle to "...continue to work out our salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God
who is at work in us both to will and to do of his good pleasure" (Phil. 2:12-13).
As we learned last week, grace is the power that enables us to endure and progress through
insufferable challenges. Paul knew this and honestly testified of the empowering grace of God even
though he suffered from a "thorn in the flesh, a messenger of Satan who buffeted him" (see II
Cor. 12:7). Even though his thorn in the flesh was painful and incredibly distressing, it did not kill
him. In fact, he found God's grace to be sufficient for him, for it under girded his faith and spurred
him on to persevere through every trial and spiritual battle. And that is why he could say, "I delight
in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then
I am strong." (II Cor. 12:10).
These insults, hardships and persecutions are faced by God's people throughout the Old and
New Testament. Take for example our Gospel lesson today which picks up where last week's
lesson left off. If you remember, last week Jesus was not having one of his best days. The people
who grew up with him took offense at him and rejected him, and "he could not do any miracles in
his hometown, except lay his hands on a few sick people and heal them. And he was amazed at
their lack of faith" (Mark 65-6). With such a response he could have been easily disheartened. But
that is not what he let happen. Instead of looking back, he looks forward and continues to pursue
others; people and places that are hungry to receive him, for he "...went around teaching from
village to village. Calling the Twelve to him, he sent them out two by two and gave them
authority over evil spirits"(Mark 6:6b-7).
This gospel seems to have great relevance for our own situation in the church today. I, for
one, have been discouraged by the lack of faithfulness in my own church denomination. With all
that has gone on, it is easy to let the events of the day dishearten and discourage us from pursuing
our missionary call. But we cannot let that happen. We need to be strong in the grace that is in
Christ. As Paul said to the Corinthians, "Therefore let nothing move you. Always give yourselves
fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain" (I Cor.
15:58).
One of the greatest encouragements that I see in our gospel today is the fact that Jesus
"...sent them out two by two," and like them we share the life of a community of faith. We aren't
expected to do it alone. Jesus also told them "take nothing for the journey--not to take an extra
tunic or bread or a bag or even money." There are many lessons for us in these verses, but the
most important one is that we are called to rely completely on God and his grace to supply all our
needs. And when he does supply our needs, he is to receive all the glory.
So here Jesus is sending them out with what they have and no more. Now I need to ask you,
"What do they have, that we need to have?" What has God given to us that will equip us for such a
high calling? I believe the answer is hidden within the riches of God's grace that is ignited by faith;
for it is grace that unites our soul with God in the closest bonds of love and faith. Scripture
compares this sanctifying grace to a garment God places on the hearts of the faithful, a seed which
sends down its roots into the interior of a person, a fountain of water springing up without ceasing
into eternal life.
And this grace is not hidden in the recesses or eternity or lost in the unfathomable reaches of
the mind of God. On the contrary, God has "made known unto us the mystery of his will" (v.9).
The word mystery means "to reveal what God has kept secret until now"; He is ready to tell us
what He is doing. Our lives and our existence is no accident of cosmic chance. God has a purpose
for each of us to fulfill, and a destiny for us to reach. Paul describes the Lord who "accomplishes
all things according to his counsel and will" (v. 11). Our world is not, as some would have us
believe, a random collection of colliding molecules populated by millions of animated accidents
helplessly assisting cruel fate. Our world is the arena in which God is working out the plan that he
devised to bring untold blessings to bear upon us and through us. "So that we, who were the first
to set our hope on Christ, might live for the praise of his glory"(v. 12).
If we could see the full harvest of what God has in store for us and what he has already
imparted to us, our minds and hearts could not contain the sight! Our eyes would be blinded by the
glory of it, and our souls would burst with the thought of it. But one word of warning: The enemy
also knows our potential. He is not ignorant of God's plan or God's gifts to us. He knows the
harvest we can experience in our lives. He knows the potential of the blessings God has for us.
Therefore, when Satan comes at us in battles, troubles, and at times oppression, we need to
recognize that he is not simply fighting us over where we are or what we are doing. The devil is
fighting us over what has been deposited in us! He knows what can be released from us. He is
intimated by our destiny and is fighting to keep us from moving into and possessing the blessings
that are ours.
"No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for
those who love him but God has revealed it to us by his Spirit." (I Cor. 2:9-10).
The vastness of the potential wealth that can be released from the Church is virtually
incomprehensible to most believers. Most of us can't even begin to imagine all that God desires to
do in us, through us, or for us. Nevertheless, God's desire is for us to allow the Holy Spirit to show
it to us, and when we see it, to pursue it and refuse to let go until we have obtained it. When we do
this, when we work outwardly all the spiritual blessings God has placed in us, the light of his love
will work in us to overcome the darkness of this world as we touch a lost world with the saving,
healing, delivering power of Jesus Christ.