I found this link quite helpful in finding information on making a pastoral resume:

http://pastorandpeople.wordpress.com/2008/08/25/the-dreaded-ministerial-resume/

Evidences of grace prevail throughout the life of every Christian. There is no evidence of grace given to a human being that is greater than salvation. To be numbered among the elect from every kindred, tribe, and tongue is the most merciful gift that could be bestowed upon an individual. The Apostle Paul joys in this fact as he explains this phenomenon to the Ephesian believers. He explains the destitution of the Ephesians before their salvation and then explains the hope they have found in Christ.

In the first several verses of Ephesians 2, Paul explains the destitution that had engulfed the Ephesians before salvation. Paul states that the Ephesians were “dead in trespasses and sins.” The world “trespasses” comes from παράπτωμα. This word means to intentionally cross boundaries. The unregenerate had stepped over the boundaries before they had even been born into the world (Psalm 51:5). Born into Adam’s race of sin, the unregenerate is nothing more than lifeless. An age-old example is that of a dead fish. Thomas Goodwin says, “A fish that is alive will and can swim against the stream, but a fish that is dead the stream carries it along with it.”1 It is the same with those who have yet to be born again. They are dead until they are made alive to swim against the stream of the world.

Paul continues with this idea in the same verse. He states that the Ephesians were walking in their trespasses and sins. The question might arise, “How does one walk in trespasses and sins when the individual is completely dead in the trespasses and sins?” The answer comes in the understanding of the word περιπατέω. Walking, in this context, in referring to the indulgence of the individual with his or her sin. There was no way out. The sinner walks in trespasses and sins with no way to break free save for the grace of God.2

If the depravity of the unregenerate was not enough, Paul continues to explain the difficulty further for an unregenerate human to attain salvation. The Ephesians were blinded by one who was much stronger than they. Before conversion, the Ephesians were “following the prince of the power of the air.” John Calvin, in his commentary on Ephesians, said the following:

The devil is allowed to roam under the leash of the all knowing and powerful God. He is only allowed to master those whom have not believed. He is confined to them, for the sovereignty of God has limited him from the believers.3

Fortunately for the unregenerate, there is a glimmer of hope—God’s sovereignty over the Devil. If God’s sovereignty were to grow faint in the smallest amount over the Devil, all hope would be lost.

The Apostle continues explaining the Ephesians sorry state before salvation. Paul says that “we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.” The word for “passions” is ἐπιθυμία. This word largely deals with lusting or desiring that which is unattainable. Paul is inclusive in this section of the passage. For the first time, he includes himself in the discussion as part of those who desire things that are unattainable. He proceeds to bring the discussion to an even greater level, and he involves all of mankind in the discussion.4

The first several verses of this chapter prove to be quite bleak. With the depravity and the Devil looming inside and out of every unregenerate human being, it seems impossible that one could actually be made righteous in the sight of a perfect and holy God. However, Paul completely changes the tone of his message with two words: “But God.” How these words must have been a relief to the Ephesians as they read this letter. Paul now switches to the state the Ephesians now find themselves in. They have now been brought into a glorious state of redemption.

Paul states, “But God, being rich in mercy.” The great Calvinist Baptist preacher, John Gill, states in his exposition on Ephesians:

The love of God to his chosen people is very great, if it be considered who it is that has loved them, God and not man; who is an infinite, unchangeable, and sovereign Being; and his love is like himself, for God is love; it has heights and depths, and lengths and breadths immeasurable; it admits of no variation nor alteration; and is altogether free, arising from himself, and not from any motives and conditions in men.5

With such great love, God saved the Ephesians from their trespasses, sins, and the power of the Devil. Out of this great love came His mercy. The word “rich” is a word that promotes the idea of “an abundance of.” God’s supply of mercy was every-abounding towards the Ephesians, and even though their sin was great, God’s mercy was all the greater.

On top of this great blessing of salvation, Paul continues with even more news of hope for the Ephesians. He says that we are seated in the heavenlies with Christ Jesus as a result of this great salvation that has been so richly bestowed upon us. In verse 7, Paul uses the word ὑπερβάλλω. This word means “to go above and beyond.” The inexplicable joy the Ephesians must have felt upon hearing Paul’s words. To go from a depraved, Devil-ruled individual to being seated in the heavenlies must have caused much joy upon the reading of these verses!

One of the most popular passages in the Bible concerning salvation is shown in 2:8-9. “For by grace you have been saved through faith.” That is, pulled from all of the trespasses and sins that you were dead in. “And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God,” The word οὐ is used to bring a negative thought to a fallacious thought that the Ephesians could have had concerning their part in salvation. “Not a result of works, so that no one may boast.”All glory must go to the Father who has dealt bountifully with the Ephesians. If there were any hint of man involved with salvation, there would be opportunity to boast. The Father made this an impossibility before the foundation of the world when He elected those whom would be His chosen bride.

The final verse in this section of Scripture leaves us with even more hope. Paul shows us that we are “His workmanship.” Not Paul’s, but God’s workmanship. Paul also tells the Ephesians that they were “created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.” The Christian should be confident as he walks through life. The good works that he or she accomplishes for the Lord have been set. Even in the works completed through grace, the believer is to understand that it is not him or her who has accomplished them. There is nothing to boast in but the Lord (II Corinthians 10:17).

A sobering thought behind the first ten verses of Ephesians 2 is that those who are not saved in the world today are encumbered with hopelessness without Christ. They are weighed down with their own sin and the Devil’s dominion over them.  However, the Spirit of God can and does cut through any heart to bring about the salvation of any unregenerate human being whom the Father has elected. There is no greater means of grace than that of salvation.

2 The doctrine of total depravity that begins the doctrines of grace in the acronym “TULIP” borrows much from Paul’s explanation here concerning the state of those who are unregenerate.

3 John Calvin. Commentaries on the Epistles of Paul to the Galatians and Ephesians. (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Book House), 1979.

4 It is not unnecessary to make this distinction. Paul is speaking directly to the Ephesians for the first two verses, then he brings himself into the picture, and then he brings Adam’s race into the equation. The end result is the same for each group of people that Paul discusses, yet Paul climactically enhances the passage with the inclusion of himself and all of mankind.

5 John Gill. An Exposition of The New Testament. Streamfield, Ill: Primitive Baptist Library), 1976.

This post has all to do with the ESV of the Bible and Strong’s Concordance.

And you were dead in the trespasses and sins

• Trespasses
  • παράπτωμα
  • a side slip (lapse or deviation), that is, (unintentional) error or (wilful) transgression: – fall, fault, offence, sin, trespass.

in which you once walked,

• Walked
  • περιπατέω
  • to tread all around, that is, walk at large (especially as proof of ability); figuratively to live, deport oneself, follow (as a companion or votary): – go, be occupied with, walk (about).

following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience—

• Sons of disobedience
  • ἀπείθεια
  • disbelief (obstinate and rebellious): – disobedience, unbelief.

among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh,

• Passions
  • ἐπιθυμία
  • a longing (especially for what is forbidden): – concupiscence, desire, lust (after).

carrying out the desires of the body and the mind,

• Desires
  • θέλημα
  • a determination (properly the thing), that is, (actively) choice (specifically purpose, decree; abstractly volition) or (passively) inclination: – desire, pleasure, will.
  • Body
    • σάρξ
    • flesh (as stripped of the skin), that is, (strictly) the meat of an animal (as food), or (by extension) the body (as opposed to the soul (or spirit), or as the symbol of what is external, or as the means of kindred, or (by implication) human nature (with its frailties (physically or morally) and passions), or (specifically) a human being (as such): – carnal (-ly, + -ly minded), flesh ([-ly]).

and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.

• Nature
  • Φύσις
  • growth (by germination or expansion), that is, (by implication) natural production (lineal descent); by extension a genus or sort; figuratively native disposition, constitution or usage: – ([man-]) kind, nature ([-al]).
  • Wrath
    • ὀργή
    • From G3713; properly desire (as a reaching forth or excitement of the mind), that is, (by analogy) violent passion (ire, or [justifiable] abhorrence); by implication punishment: – anger, indignation, vengeance, wrath.

But God, being rich in mercy,

• Rich
  • πλούσιος
  • wealthy; figuratively abounding with: – rich.

because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses,

• Dead
  • νεκρός
  • (a corpse); dead (literally or figuratively; also as noun): – dead.

made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus,

so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.

• Immeasurable
  • ὑπερβάλλω
  • to throw beyond the usual mark, that is, (figuratively) to surpass (only active participle supereminent): – exceeding, excel, pass.

For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing;

• Saved
  • σώζω
  • (contraction for the obsolete σάος saos, “safe”); to save, that is, deliver or protect (literally or figuratively): – heal, preserve, save (self), do well, be (make) whole.

• Not
  • οὐ
  • A primary word; the absolutely negative (compare G3361) adverb; no or not: – + long, nay, neither, never, no (X man), none, [can-] not, + nothing, + special, un ([-worthy]), when, + without, + yet but.

it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.

• Work
  • ἔργον
  • From ἔργω ergō (a primary but obsolete word; to work); toil (as an effort or occupation); by implication an act: – deed, doing, labour, work.
  • Boast
    • καυχάομαι
    • From some (obsolete) base akin to that of αὐχέω aucheō (to boast) and G2172; to vaunt (in a good or a bad sense): – (make) boast, glory, joy, rejoice.

For we are his workmanship,

• Workmanship
  • Ποίημα
  • a product, that is, fabric (literally or figuratively): – thing that is made, workmanship.

created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.

“…Moses went up to God.” –Exodus 20:3a

Can you imagine the terror as Moses crawls up the mountain to be with God? Can you put yourself in Moses’ sandals, and feel the power begin to surround you with smoke and voice of thunder calling your name?

At the transfiguration, Moses would be on top of a mountain again with Jesus, Elijah, and a few disciples. I’m generally not into speculation, but I couldn’t help but let my mind wander on this.  I can imagine Moses watching the three quivering disciples at the transfiguration. Would this event have reminded him of the Israelites when God displayed some of His power?

Exodus 19:16

“On the morning of the third day there were thunders and lightnings and a thick cloud on the mountain and a very loud trumpet blast, so that all the people in the camp trembled.”

The disciples reaction wasn’t much different (Matthew 17:5-6):

“He was still speaking when, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them, and a voice from the cloud said, ‘This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him.’ When the disciples heard this, they fell on their faces and were terrified.”

Regardless of Moses’ correlating the two circumstances or not, God’s word’s are powerful and caused men to be in awe and fear. May His written Word do the same for us.

Truth is not relative, and this passage makes it clear what truth actually is.

Ephesians 4:17-21:

Now this I say and testify in the Lord,that you must no longer walk as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their minds. They are darkened in their understanding, alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, due to their hardness of heart. They have become callous and have given themselves up to sensuality, greedy to practice every kind of impurity. But that is not the way you learned Christ!— assuming that you have heard about him and were taught in him, as the truth is in Jesus …

We often think of the feeding of the 5,000 and 4,000 as incredible marks in Jesus’ ministry, and they are miracles that truly are extraordinary. Do not think that Jesus’ maximum amount of people that he could feed was 5,000 (plus women and children)! We can not forget what our Old Testament says! Jesus was merely imitating himself when he provided in the New Testament for all of those people.

Exodus 16:31-35:

Now the house of Israel called its name manna. It was like coriander seed, white, and the taste of it was like wafers made with honey.  Moses said, “This is what the Lord has commanded: ‘Let an omer of it be kept throughout your generations, so that they may see the bread with which I fed you in the wilderness, when I brought you out of the land of Egypt.’” And Moses said to Aaron, “Take a jar, and put an omer of manna in it, and place it before the Lord to be kept throughout your generations.” As the Lord commanded Moses, so Aaron placed it before the testimony to be kept. The people of Israel ate the manna forty years, till they came to a habitable land. They ate the manna till they came to the border of the land of Canaan.

He fed millions of people bread for forty years. Incredible.

Why did God deal so harshly with the Egyptians? It’s a complex thought: God allowed and desired the people of Israel to be in Egypt during the famine so they would be taken care of. He allowed them to be enslaved. He desired 10 plagues to occur. He desired to kill the firstborn of the Egyptians and their livestock.

One thing must be known. God did not kill for the sake of killing! His ultimate purpose was behind it all:

Exodus 14:4
And I will harden Pharaoh’s heart, and he will pursue them, and I will get glory over Pharaoh and all his host, and the Egyptians shall know that I am the Lord.” And they did so.

Exodus 14:7
And I will harden the hearts of the Egyptians so that they shall go in after them, and I will get glory over Pharaoh and all his host, his chariots, and his horsemen.

Exodus 14:18
And the Egyptians shall know that I am the Lord, when I have gotten glory over Pharaoh, his chariots, and his horsemen.”

I cannot add anything to these words of God.

I wanted a link to a song on imeem that deals directly with this scenario that I’ve been posting about:

http://www.imeem.com/people/hX0Ft9/music/oPvXEE_J/shai-linne-passover-feat-epiphany-kidz/

And when in time to come your son asks you, ‘What does this mean?’ you shall say to him, ‘By a strong hand the Lord brought us out of Egypt, from the house of slavery. For when Pharaoh stubbornly refused to let us go, the Lord killed all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both the firstborn of man and the firstborn of animals…It shall be as a mark on your hand or frontlets between your eyes, for by a strong hand the Lord brought us out of Egypt.” –Exodus 13:14, 15a, 16

I love the imagery in this passage. A son asking a father about the deliverance and the father giving Jehovah the full credit.

What is the purpose of this whole situation? First, it was to give the Israelite a memorial.

Specifically referring to the Passover: This day shall be for you a memorial day, and you shall keep it as a feast to the Lord; throughout your generations, as a statute forever, you shall keep it as a feast. –Exodus 12:14

The Passover is a “holiday” for the Jews that is still celebrated today. Without the 10th and final plague given to the Egyptians, there would be no Passover. God, for the sake of remembrance, mandated the 10th plague to happen so the Passover would take place. It was so the Israelites would remember Him.

Next post will be concerning the Egyptians memorial.

In the book of Exodus, we see a section of Scripture devoted to the deliverance of Israel out if Egypt. This story is filled with sovereignty. It’s filled with deliverance.

In Exodus 7-14, we see this deliverance. God heard His people and acted upon it. However, the deliverance would not be an easy one. It would take 10 plagues for Pharaoh to finally have enough of this Jehovah. Was it actually Pharaoh’s fault?

It was Pharaoh’s fault. It was also (technically) God’s “fault.” In those chapters, it says over and over again  that the Lord hardened Pharaoh’s heart (9:12; 10:1; 10:20; 10:27; 11:10; 14:8). It also says that Pharaoh hardened his own heart (8:15; 8:32; 9:34; I Samuel 6:6). My point at all in this post is not to discuss the deliverance and hardening in these passages alone, but to apply them to the topic of election.

Romans 9:14-18

What shall we say then? Is there injustice on God’s part? By no means! For he says to Moses, “I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.” So then it depends not on human will or exertion, but on God, who has mercy. For the Scripture says to Pharaoh, “For this very purpose I have raised you up, that I might show my power in you, and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth.” So then he has mercy on whomever he wills, and he hardens whomever he wills.

Many people with whom I’ve discussed election have often had (in my opinion) an incorrect view of God. Many times their view of God is one of a big, jolly man who loves everyone so much that He would never send anyone to hell or kill anyone. In reality, God has killed plenty of people (Genesis 6:5-8; II Kings 19:35; Exodus 11:4-6; Genesis 19).  Where have all these people gone? They were destroyed for their wickedness. God was just.

Albert Mohler, president of The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, said something to this effect  at a prospective student meeting that I went to: “No person who is in hell is shaking his fist at God for allowing him to go to hell. The person in hell understands fully that God is just in how He has chosen to work.”

God is still just. God still hardens hearts. However, it is our fault if we do not turn from our sins and repent. God hardened Pharaoh’s heart, yet it was Pharaoh’s fault for not letting the people of God go. God hardens hearts today, yet it is their fault for not repenting. God will harden whom He will, and God will have mercy on whom He will.

God slaughters and saves–He is just.