Not But By Grace

Something to enjoy while you read…

I have struggled recently with the idea of grace-motivated humility (how to actually do it, not necessarily what it is) and with the reality of how I should allow God to use me in the arena of evangelism. A friend of mine showed me this verse and after thinking about it it seems to tie the two ideas together.

But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me was not in vain. On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them, though it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me. Whether then it was I or they, so we preach and so you believed.
1 Corinthians 15:10-11 (ESV)

Paul understands that he is what he is solely because of grace–bringing humility. It is out of this that he is motivated to live a life that he calls “worthy of the Gospel” in Ephesians 4. Then he says something odd. At first glance it seems prideful. He says he worked harder than any of them, meaning the other apostles. But he clears it up saying that it was not him but ultimately the grace of God. He talks about sharing grace more in Ephesians 3 and why he works so hard. But then at the end he qualifies it all and offers the glory to God. Essentially he says, “but whether it was me or the other apostles, you now believe.” Essentially, I work hard out of grace. You believed. If it was me, sweet. Regardless, glory be to God.

There is so much contained in this passage. Tons to learn. Tons to apply. And lots of ways to take this and make it a part of my life and how I approach my life. I need to live and work as fully as possible for the right reasons, valueing humility nearly above all else. To this end, I need to use my life to glorify God and reach others. It’s easy to talk about all this. But examining how to do this (even though the two are tied together) is the hard part.

Ouch!

Courtesy of my roommate.

I finished reading Colossians this morning and found this little passage.

Continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving. At the same time, pray also for us, that God may open to us a door for the word, to declare the mystery of Christ, on account of which I am in prison—that I may make it clear, which is how I ought to speak. Walk in wisdom toward outsiders, making the best use of the time. Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer each person.
Colossians 4:2-6 (ESV)

I can immediately see a lot of areas where I want to grow closer to what Paul lays out in this passage. It’s really interesting that the first thing Paul mentions is to pray (or continue praying in the case of the Colossian church). Then, he says to be watchful and be in thanksgiving. I think what he is describing is that we need to be continually in prayer so that our will is conformed to God’s and that when our requests and desires are met (which are becoming closer and closer to God’s) we should thank Him–the source of our salvation, joy, and life.

It’s interesting how many times Paul refers to the ‘mystery of Christ.’ In Ephesians 3, this ‘mystery’ is laid out:

This mystery is that through the gospel the Gentiles are heirs together with Israel, members together of one body, and sharers together in the promise of Christ Jesus.
Ephesians 3:6 (NIV)

It’s on this account–that Paul is living out his calling as the apostle to the Gentiles–that he is imprisoned. It’s challenging enough to see the words that Paul can formulate and the clarity with which he examines and teaches doctrine (clearly an emphasis of his, considering his rigorous, Jewish upbringing). But put into the context of his circumstances, it is simply astounding how reliant and dependent he was on the grace of God. How perfectly he allowed Christ to sustain him in the midst of stoning, imprisonment, ridicule, and persecution. And yet what he asks for are more oppurtunities and for clarity of speech–the very things which imprisoned him on Christ’s behalf in the first place. Clearly this man had no fear of man, but a fear and love for God. This is something I’d like to have.

Pressing Onward

As I pursue Christ more and more and seek His will for my own roadblocks inevitably come up. Challenges and things that seem to be contradictions. Or sometimes simply facets of God that are tough to rationalize, understand, or ever just accept. I think times like these are among the times when God most reveals himself to us.

Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed—not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence—continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose.
Philippians 2:12-13

I talked about this with a friend recently. It’s odd that Paul tells the church in Philippi to “work out their salvation.” It’s even more interesting knowing that this church was considered one of the strongest–if not the strongest–New Testament church. Why would Paul tell us to work our our salvation? Aren’t we already saved?

I think it come down to working through those roadblocks and things that come up in life. For me, trusting God is tough. I need to do as much as I can to work through that while trusting that God will change me from the inside out. I need to do this with fear and trembling so that I am humble and conscious of how much greater God is than me while this process is taking place, knowing that ultimately it is God’s will, not mine. It is God acting, not me. And in the end it is His purpose that will prevail.

What Comes First

Something that has challenged me lately is the idea of perspective within my own life. What is it I value? Why? Where does God fit into that? Why do I put him in that place? In order for me to have the right perspective, I have to realize where I fit into God’s will. That I am not necessarily seeking to make His will mine, but that my will would be His. It’s an important distinction to make. One centers on me, the other on Christ. The only way I have found that we can being to understand how to live this is to come back to the essence of the Gospel.

In this is love, not that we have loved God but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins.
1 John 4:10 (ESV)

It’s not that I did anything right. It’s that God did something for me. I must have an intellectual faith that comes as a foundational belief in Christ–that God sent Christ for me out of love and that Christ was who he said He was and that I am justified as a result (John 5:24)–but that in addition I am emotionally spurred to pursue and serve Him out of gratitude for what has already been done for me. Paul said it excellently when called himself a servant or slave to the Gospel (Col. 1:23).

This is humbling in the context of our own perspective on our life–what we value, where we put it, and why. How can I do anything but adore God and offer my life as a sacrifice to Him? How can I not desperately ask where my life can fit into His will?