GRACE ANSWERS 16

These are questions sent to GraceLife Ministries by Internet E-Mail. We appreciate each person who sent the questions and hope our answers will be a help to many. If you would like to have a question answered for Grace Answers, please e-mail Mark McGee.

Physical Blessings in the Age of Grace

QUESTION: If in this present dispensation of the grace of God, we as members of the body of Christ are not promised any physical blessings (only spiritual Eph.1:3), where or from whom do good things or bad things come? Why is there so much difference in the blessings and trials of Christians today? Why does one Christian suffer trials constantly when another seems to always experience blessings? Is it right today, in this dispensation of grace, for us to pray for physical blessings and does God answer those prayers? If so, why for some and not for all? This subject came up in our bible study today. Would very much like to hear what you believe on this topic.
ANSWER: God does promise us physical blessings. We have all spiritual blessings (Ephesians 1:3) and many physical blessings.
Paul tells us that we can experience physical love, joy, and peace. We receive physical blessings as we obey God's Word. Paul wrote many letters detailing how we can have physical blessings. He told us how to live a long life in Ephesians 6:2. He told us how to avoid certain physical sicknesses in 1 Corinthians 11:28-30, He told us how to thrive as a married or single person in 1 Corinthians 7. He told us how to have a happy family in Ephesians 5 & 6, Colossians 3:18-21 and 1 Timothy 2:4-5. He told us how to do well in our vocation in Ephesians 6:5-9 and Colossians 3:22 - 4:1. He told us how to live peacefully in our communities in 1 Timothy 2:2. These are just some of the examples of how Christians can experience physical blessings while on earth. Living affects us in every aspect: spiritual, physical, emotional, mental and social. The way we think, believe and act affects everything we are and do.
What we do in our physical bodies affects us physically. It also affects us spiritually. "For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive what is due him for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad." (2 Corinthians 5:10)
Living a good life, a life dedicated to God, will result in many blessings. Paul wrote that "there will be trouble and distress for every human being who does evil: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile, but glory, honor and peace for everyone who does good: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile. For God does not show favoritism." (Romans 2:9-10)
Paul was a physical being. He often thanked churches and individuals for sharing in meeting his physical needs. He asked churches to participate in meeting the physical needs of others. He told churches to provide for the physical needs of their pastors. God is concerned about the physical aspect of our lives. However, God knows how short the physical life is compared to the spiritual. He emphasizes the importance of our preparing ourselves spiritually for eternity while working to meet the physical needs of ourselves and our families.
Christians have different physical experiences for a variety of reasons. God works differently in our lives. He has plans for us that may take us years to understand. We also have the freedom to make our own decisions and those decisions continually affect what we become. God guides us through His Word and in answers to our prayers. However, we have the freedom to choose the paths we take. The combination of God's special work in our lives and the paths we choose bring about the physical situations we face.
Paul's words in Galatians 6 are powerful for physical and spiritual results:

"Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. The one who sows to please his sinful nature, from that nature will reap destruction; the one who sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life. Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers."

Pray for physical blessings. That's fine. But understand that God's individual will for our lives and the paths we choose will be different for each believer. One of the beauties of Christianity is the variety we have in living. Each of us is born into different circumstances. We have different opportunities. We have individual successes and failures. Yet, God is our Constant. He is the One Who holds us together in every circumstance. He proves His Existence every day through the lives of His Children of Grace. The older we become in the Family of God, the more we understand how the spiritual affects the physical and the physical the spiritual.
Paul wrote the Philippians thanks for their recent physical gift to him. Notice the spiritual significance of that gift.

"I rejoice greatly in the Lord that at last you have renewed your concern for me. Indeed, you have been concerned, but you had no opportunity to show it. I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do everything through him who gives me strength."
Philippians 4:10-13
We are complex beings. Physical blessings and spiritual blessings come from the same Source of Grace, Jesus Christ. We have "many" physical blessings and "all" spiritual blessings. We shouldn't compare our physical blessings with those of other people. That's a negative way to live the Christian life. Focus on what God has for "you." You'll discover that whatever He has for you is the best possible way you could live your life.

Breaking the Cycle of Abuse

We have edited this question to protect the identity of the writer.

QUESTION: I am a victim of abuse in my childhood. I was abused in everyway possible, physical, mental and spiritual.
I dicovered the gospel of Christ ... and was so impressed that I started "working" in the ministry. I have been abused again by the differing churches and pastors. It appears that you can preach "grace" and demand "works". Being dysfunctional I am more disturbed than those that are not. I am constantly looking for the first century church and people that adhere to Christian morals and principles.
Also, I find myself works oriented and failing to forgive others their faults when they injure me by going against "the rules". How can I break out of this cycle?
ANSWER: The Gospel of Jesus Christ is Good News for every person who receives it. Paul calls the Gospel "the gift of God" and a"blessing" to everyone who believes it.
The Good News to each of us is that God will save us and change us no matter what we faced in our former lives. God's Power is greater than the abuse you experienced as a child. The Gospel can "heal" your heart and mind. The Gospel gives us the strength to "forgive" those who harmed us.
The first Gift we receive with the Gospel is the "gift of the Holy Spirit." The Spirit of Almighty God comes into us, cleanses us and takes up residence in us. Next, the Holy Spirit places us (baptizes us) into the Body of Christ. We instantly becomes part of the Family of God as His Children of Grace. Paul tells us that we are "fellow citizens with God's people and members of God's household ... In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. and in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit." (Ephesians 2:19-22)
You are a Very Special Person! You continue to live in the same physical body, but you're changed from the inside out. The Holy Spirit is inside you giving you Power and Wisdom far beyond natural, human abilities. You were "dead in your transgressions and sins, in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our sinful nature and following its desires and thoughts." (Ephesians 2:1-3) That became your "past" the moment you received Jesus Christ as your Savior. At that momemt God made us "alive with Christ." God "raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavely realms in Christ Jesus." You are now living a life that unsaved people could only dream about. You have the Living God in your body. You are spiritually and eternally seated with Christ in the heavenly realms. You have a guide book to peace in your hands every day of your life: God's Word.
I sympathize with anyone who has endured physical and emotional abuse at any point in their lives. It's a terrible thing. However, it's not something God can't deal with. The Lord may speak to you powerfully through His Word. He may speak to you through a Christian pastor, counselor or psychologist. He may speak to you through a dear friend or mentor. The point is that God can and will speak to you and give you what you need to grow beyond the pain of your abuse.
I highly recommend that you take the next 30 days and read every letter the Apostle Paul wrote in the New Testament. Take notes as you read. Write everything in the letters that speak to you about the pain you feel from abuse. Make a note about where in Paul's letters you found the points so you can re-read later. Take another 30 days to go through Paul's letters again and write everything in the letters that deal with love, joy, peace, hope and forgiveness. Make a note about where in Paul's letter you found the points. Take another 30 days and pray over each point. Tell God about the pain you feel. Share with Him your hurt, anger and guilt. Ask Him to replace those emotions with His Love, Joy, Peace and Hope. Ask Him to give you a forgiving heart to really forgive the people who have hurt you. Ask Him to help you respond to those people, still alive, in positive ways. Pray for the people who hurt you that they would receive Christ as their Savior and experience His Love and Peace. That 90-day exercise has the potential of changing your life and the lives of others in a way you can only imagine now.
Salvation is the Gift of God. It is "by grace you have been saved through faith--and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God--not by works." Works does not play a part in our salvation. Works do not rule over us. Neither does the Law. Paul wrote that "sin shall not be your master, because you are not under law, but under grace." (Romans 6:14) We are Free from the Law and its regulations. "It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery." (Galatians 5:1) Works does play a part in our lives in what God wants us to do with our time and energy. "For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do." (Ephesians 2:10) God saves us apart from our works because none of our works in the flesh could even begin to make us good enough for God. That's why salvation is all from His Grace. God saves us apart from our works because our works "before" salvation come from sin. They are unacceptable to God. However, our works "after" salvation can be beautiful because they come from a pure heart and the inspiration of the Holy Spirit who prompts us from inside a heart He has made clean. Working for God is what every Christian has the privilege to do.
A sad end to this matter is that many, many Christians do not do much for God. If they aren't doing much for God, they are doing something for someone. It's usually for themselves. Many Christians are immature and selfish. They haven't learned the lessons of the Grace Life. They don't know how to give themselves to God's Work. They are still trying to work out things for their own selfish ends. Another sadness is that many members of Christian churches are not even saved. Many are in positions of leadership in churches. Those are two reasons why many churches are impotent and unable to help heal the damage life does to others.
You wrote, "I am constantly looking for the first century church and people that adhere to Christian morals and principles." So am I. When you read Paul's letters to 1st century churches, you'll see how many of them failed in being what God wanted them to be. You'll find nothing magical about 1st century churches. They were real people, just like you, me and everyone else we know. They had all the hangups of the people in the 20th century church. People are people. God knows that. He inspired Paul to write words that would be as True today as they were 1,950 years ago.
Jesus Christ spoke to 1st century churches about what they were. Here's some of what He said to them in Revelation 2-3.
- Church at Ephesus -- "I hold this against you: You have forsaken your first love. Remember the height from which you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first."
- Church at Pergamum --"I have a few things against you: You have people there who hold to the teaching of Balaam, who taught Balak to entice the Israelites to sin by eating food sacrified to idols and by committing sexual immorality. Likewise you also have those who hold to the teaching of the Nicolaitans. Repent therefore!"
- Church at Thyatira -- "I have this against you: You tolerate that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess. By her teaching she misleads my servants into sexual immorality and the eating of food sacrificed to idols."
- Church at Sardis -- "I know your deeds: you have a reputation of being alive, but you are dead. Wake up! Strengthen what remains and is about to die, for I have not found your deeds complete in the sight of my God. Remember, therefore, what you have received and heard; obey it, and repent. But if you do not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what time I will come to you."
- Church at Laodicea -- "I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! So, because you are lukewarm--neither hot nor cold-I am about to spit you out of my mouth ... Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline. So be earnest, and repent."
If you are expecting the current church to be more like the 1st century church, you aren't asking for much. The 1st century church was filled with people just like our current church. Some are good people who love, rejoice and work hard for God. Some are selfish, mean and stand in the way of God's Work. Don't wish for something that is no better than what we have.
The answer, my brother, is in you, in me and in every believer alive. Look to the Spirit of God Who makes the difference. Concentrate on what God can do with your life for the good of others. Remember what Paul wrote about our freedom: "You, my brothers, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature; rather, serve one another in love. The entire law is summed up in a single command: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.'"
Many churches will let you down because they're made up of imperfect people. Search for a group of people who believe in the basics of Paul's teachings and seem willing to live them. Then, settle in, practice what you know to be God's Truth and make a difference.

Captivity Captive and Gifts to Men

QUESTION: I would appreciate your comments on the meaning of Ephesians 4:8-10. I'm particulary interested in Paul's quote from Psalm 68:18: "When He ascended up on high, He led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men."
ANSWER: Ephesians 4 is about Unity in the Body of Christ.

"As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit--just as you were called to one hope when you were called--one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all."

Paul then writes:

"But to each one of us grace has been given as Christ apportioned it. This is why it says: 'When he ascended on high, he led captives in his train and gave gifts to men.' (What does 'he ascended' mean except that he also descended to the lower, earthly regions? He who descended is the very one who ascended higher than all the heavens, in order to fill the whole universe.) It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, to prepare God's people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ. Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of men in their deceitful scheming. Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into him who is the Head, that is, Christ. From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work."

Christ is Eternal. He sits on the Throne of Heaven. He descended from His Throne to the "lower, earthly regions" two-thousand years ago to live, minister, die and rise from the dead. After that, Christ ascended "higher than all the heavens, in order to fill the whole universe." It was Christ Who gave gifts to men. Those gifts are the gifted individuals we know as apostles, prophets, evangelists, and pastors and teachers. The reason He did that was to bring Unity out of chaos and Purpose to hopelessness. Christ gave the world people who had spiritual gifts that would change the direction of people's lives from bad to good, from evil to righteousness. Those gifted people would prepare God's people for their works of service so that the Body of Christ would be built up until everyone reached Unity in the Faith. Those gifted people exist to help us mature and become like Christ. Those gifted people are to speak the Truth in Love, knowing that's what helps us grow up into Christ who is the Head of us all. Those gifted people are the supporting ligaments to join and hold together members of the Body of Christ as they grow and build up each other in love, as each part does its work.
Paul quoted from Psalm 68:18 when he wrote: "When he ascended on high, he led captives in his train and gave gifts to men." Psalm 68 was Israel's song of victory and triumph. It's a tribute to God. It reminded Israel about how God lead them through the desert, how He defeated their enemies, how He chose Mt. Zion to be His home on earth, how He saved Israel and crushed their enemies, how great was the procession of God into His sanctuary, and how God will use His Strength to subdue His enemies. Psalm 68 is one of the most powerful and wonderful of David's songs.
Psalm 68 is about the procession of God's Ark of the Covenant as Israel took it through the desert and the land of promise up to its special place on high. The Ark was where God dwelled on earth. The Lord Almighty was "enthroned between the cherubim that are on the ark." (Read 2 Samuel 6 for more insight.) Israel did not move until the Ark moved. The God of the Ark was Israel's Power and Glory. He was their Victory. It's interesting to note that God's Name, Elohim, is used 23 times in Psalm 68. One commentator wrote that "this Psalm among all the Elohimic Psalms is the most resplendent."
Psalm 68:18 is about when Israel took the Ark of God to its resting place high on Mt. Zion. It was then that God gave Israel the great gifts they would experience during the reigns of David and Solomon. God took many captives as Israel triumphed during their journey from desert to Mt. Zion. Those captives would benefit from God's gifts to the people of Israel. In the same way, Christ has taken many people captive through His conquering Love and Grace.
C.H. Spurgeon said it well many years ago:

"A multitude of the sons of men are the willing captives of Messiah's power. As great conquerors of old led whole nations into captivity, so Jesus leads forth from the territory of his foe a vast company of the trophies of his mighty grace. From the gracious character of his reign it comes to pass that to be led into captitvity by him is for our captivity to cease, or to be itself led captive; a glorious result indeed."
C.H. Spurgeon, "The Treasury of David," Volume 2a, Zondervan Publishing, 1966
Paul's choice of that Psalm and that verse are strategic. Jesus Christ is God. He came to earth in a human body in the same way God came to earth in the Ark. Both went up from the desert to Mr. Zion conquering enemies and taking captives as they went. They both descended and ascended higher than all the heavens to fill the whole universe. Christ is our Ark. He is our Life. He is our Salvation. We are His captives. We are those to whom He gave gifts.