October 9, 2011
SOVEREIGN GRACE BAPTIST CHURCH
LOCATION
Rocky Hill Firehouse, 2nd Floor
150 Washington Street
Rocky Hill, New Jersey, 08553
Telephone: 615-513-4464
Schedule of Services
Sunday 10 AM Bible Class
Sunday 11 AM Morning Service
Thursday 7 PM Midweek Service
THE FAMILY OF GOD
Ephesians 5: 21-33; 6: 1-4
We have in this text the word of God to husbands, wives, parents and children. But God the Father made these relationships for the purpose of glorifying Christ the Husband and Savior of his bride, the Church, his chosen children.
Christ and his Bride
In eternity, the LORD God said of Christ what he said of Adam, “it is not good that he should be alone.” (Gen 2: 18.) Before the world was made God the Father gave to his Son a bride, his church, his children, the family of God. Think of that, you who have been called by the grace of God the Father have been children from eternity, the bride married to your Husband from everlasting (Isaiah 54: 5.) But when we were born in sin we were an adulteress, like Gomer who left Hosea for her lovers (Hosea 3). Yet the love of God is sovereign, unchangeable love. Therefore, Christ our Husband left his Father and cleaved unto his bride. Christ joined himself with our flesh. Christ laid down his life for his bride bearing her sin his own body on the tree, being made a curse for us, and has redeemed his bride from the slave-block of sin (Ho 3: 1; Ep 5: 25-27.) Through the good news of the gospel the Spirit of God washes us in regeneration, gives us faith to believe on Christ who has perfected us forever. Our Husband shall present his bride to himself a chaste virgin (Eph 5: 27.) Do you see how the Father loves his children? How Christ loves his bride? He loves his bride as his own flesh because we are his own body (Ep 5: 29-32.) Every child born anew by the Spirit of God is nourished and corrected of the Father away from ourselves to Christ in whom we have the blessed assurance. Our Husband has linked his destiny, his honor, his life, his happiness with his bride. Every member, every individual child of the Father shall be saved and not one shall be lost, and so the body of Christ shall be complete. Who shall separate us from the love of God in Christ?—Nothing! What God has joined together none shall put asunder. (Ro 8: 38-39; Ep 5: 30-32.)
New Meaning to our Earthly Relationships
The unchangeable love of our Everlasting Father for his children manifest in the love of Christ for his Bride gives new meaning to the tie between believing husbands and wives, parents and children. The believing husband seeks to lay down his life for his bride, nourishing and cherishing her, even as Christ has for us; the believing wife seeks to reverence her husband because she has a new heart for her heavenly Husband (Ep 5: 33.) The believing child is given a new heart which understands why obeying our parents in the Lord is right—for it is by Christ’s righteous obedience to our Father that every believing child of God shall live forever (Ep 6: 1-3.) The believing father is humbled when we merely demand obedience from our erring child without taking the time in each case to turn them to Christ, even as our heavenly Father nurtures and admonishes us, that we might partake of Christ Jesus our Sanctification (Ep 6: 4; He 12: 10)
How good it is in these earthly relationships to behold the One for whose glory they were created! Let us ask our Sovereign Head lead us so as to let us not be distracted, or be a distraction, but strengthen us to let nothing of this world even appear to our loved ones more important than the gospel of God our Father and our Husband Christ Jesus. He alone is able to save our dearest loved ones by his grace. And though we travail till Christ be formed in them, may the Holy Spirit comfort our hearts in believing that God is yet the Father of his beloved children, Christ is the Husband of his beloved bride and through his Spirit our gracious Head shall present us to himself—a glorious Church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing, but holy and without blemish.
Blessed are those trials that weaken our hands! They strengthen our faith! Don Fortner
“Moreover the word of the Lord came to me saying,” Jeremiah 2:1
How many introductions to the books of the bible have this as their openings? How many times have I read these kinds of verses within the confines of the scriptures and just went past them ready for the next verses and so on. This time, I sort of stepped back and really looked at this, or should I say I was stopped in my tracks regarding this particular verse. This is exactly how we are to be given light, liberty, understanding and grace each and every day of our lives! The word of God must come to us, come down to us, come where we are for surely we cannot and won’t ever come to Him or His word on our own. Now I’m not just talking about those of you who have not made a profession, I’m speaking to you who have tasted that He is gracious. We are so dependent upon Him for our very sustenance that if His word (and He is the Word made flesh) does not grace us this minute we will surely miss the blessing. Such a wonder that He and His word has ever come to worthless, dead and dying people, why this alone should cause much thankfulness and gratitude from those who name His name and speak His words to others, for ‘without me you can do nothing’. Has His word of grace come to you today? Has He, Himself come to you today? If so, such a miracle even the angles would have loved to have known; don’t take IT or HIM for granted my friend. Drew Dietz