Psalms 16:2, 31:1-3, and 123:1-2
My Shepherd met me in His green pastures, spending some time pondering the story of Mephibosheth (2 Samuel 9). Yet the Lord kept drawing my thoughts back to Ephesians 4:25:
Ephesians 4:25 Wherefore putting away lying, speak every man truth with his neighbour: for we are members one of another.
The phrase that stood out to me is the last one in the sentence: “For we are members one of another.”
Being “members one of another” has a special application to the church (1 Corinthians 12:27). However, Ephesians 4:25 exhorts us to be honest with our “neighbor” upon the premise that we are “members one of another.” Jesus illustrated the meaning of the word “neighbor” to a Jewish man with the example of a “certain man” who was robbed, beaten, and left for dead, then scorned by a priest and a Levite, and ultimately helped by a Samaritan (Luke 10:25-37). The expression “a certain man” intentionally means the wounded man could have been anyone, Jew or Gentile, believer or heathen. Every fellow human being is our neighbor.
The interconnectedness of humanity is testified to expressly by the Apostle Paul in his famous sermon on Mars’ Hill:
Acts 17:24 God that made the world and all things therein, seeing that he is Lord of heaven and earth, dwelleth not in temples made with hands;
Acts 17:25 Neither is worshipped with men’s hands, as though he needed any thing, seeing he giveth to all life, and breath, and all things;
Acts 17:26 And hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth, and hath determined the times before appointed, and the bounds of their habitation;
Acts 17:27 That they should seek the Lord, if haply they might feel after him, and find him, though he be not far from every one of us:
Acts 17:28 For in him we live, and move, and have our being; as certain also of your own poets have said, For we are also his offspring.
Slong the still waters, I reflected on the interconnectedness of all mankind in Adam, and our separation from mankind in Christ.
Paul affirmed the heathen notion that all mankind “are also his offspring.” The word offspring is from the same root as born again (John 3:3, 7). It is important to note that the word translated offspring is a noun and identifies the origination of something, whereas the word translated born identifies one engendered. They are very close, and the key differentiation is in the fact that in order to see the kingdom of God, the “offspring” of God must be “born again.” Nevertheless, all mankind are His offspring—all in the family of man come from God. Remember that Adam was called God’s son (Luke 3:38), and Jesus is called the “last Adam” (1 Corinthians 15:45). As God’s offspring, we all stand together in Adam. In our new birth, we all stand together in Christ. We received the sentence of death for sin from the first Adam; we received the righteousness to eternal life from the last Adam.
Jesus’ explanation of what it means to “love your neighbor” speaks to our continued connection to our fellow man. He clearly did not mean that this requires us to treat thieves, thugs, and muggers in this world with favor, sympathy, and honor, or shield them from law. Romans 13:1-6 makes it clear that those who do evil must be punished and those who do good must be honored.
We are connected together in Adam; every man is my brother. We are born to God through Jesus Christ, and so our fellow believers are twice brothers. There is a separation between the brotherhood of man and the brotherhood of Christ. Jesus explained this when He said, “Suppose ye that I am come to give peace on earth? I tell you, Nay; but rather division” (read Luke 12:51-53).
Not all my brothers are worthy. There are those who are my brothers in Adam who are honorable, and those who are not (Romans 13:1-6). Every believer is twice my brother, but not all of my “brothers” walk worthy (Ephesians 4:1; Colossians 1:10; 1 Thessalonians 2:12; 2 Thessalonians 1:5, 11).
In the valley, Jesus drew near to me in sweet fellowship. What separates us from one another and distinguishes us is the Cross. Jesus calls to us daily: “If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me” (Luke 9:23). Once Jesus extended this call to a lost man, but said it differently: “One thing thou lackest: go thy way, sell whatsoever thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, take up the cross, and follow me” (Mark 10:21). Our “brothers” in Adam must “take up the cross” and follow Jesus. When he humbles himself to the Saviour who died for him on the Cross, he is “crucified with Christ” (Galatians 2:20). From then forward, Christ’s Cross becomes no longer “the cross,” but “his cross.”
The sinner who takes up “the cross” is made a saint and fit for Heaven. The saint who takes up “his cross daily” is sanctified and made fit for service.
At the table, Jesus anointed my head with His oil and filled my cup with His grace. Goodness and mercy followed us into the harvest.
Praying for revival! 🙏
Going live in a couple of hours.
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