This special meditation has been prepared by PRC home missionary, Rev. Aud Spriensma.

A Pastor’s Prayer for God’s People

Meditation on Ephesians 3: 14-19 

For this cause I bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, of whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named, that he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man; that Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height; and to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fullness of God.

In times like these, we need praying pastors who love their flock. There are the sick, sorrowing, unemployed, and those who are lonely with the Covid pandemic. There is upheaval in state and federal government, and even upheaval in the church. How we need praying pastors! I remember taking my church directory and praying each day for five or more of the members or families of the church, each with their own particular needs and circumstances, making sure that none got forgotten.

Notice the posture of the pastor Paul. He was on bended knee. Posture in prayer is never a matter of indifference. The slouching position of the body, while one is supposed to be praying, is an abomination to the Lord. On the other hand, it is also true that Scripture nowhere prescribes one and only one, correct posture. Different positions of the head, arms, hands, knees, and the body as a whole, are indicated. All of these are permissible as long as they symbolize different aspects of the worshiper’s reverent attitude, and reflect the sentiments of his heart. “Bowing the knees” pictures humility, solemnity, and adoration.

The prayer is addressed to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ and, therefore, in Christ, to the Triune God who is our God and Father. The prayer is for the Father’s Family, which in Greek is a play on words: patera pasa patria. What a beautiful picture of the church! Jew and Gentile are one church or family of God. It is one family, whether already taken to heaven or yet here on earth. How close the ties are that unite the part of the church that is in heaven with the part that is still on earth. When we recite the words of the Apostle’s Creed, we say, “I believe an holy catholic church, the communion of saints.” Do we cherish those that have gone before us? Do we remember in our prayers the martyred church? What about pregnant mothers and their unborn children? It is the whole family for whom Paul prays: Jew and Gentile, rich and poor, male and female, young and old, educated and uneducated, sick and healthy, those faithful and those who are straying: everyone! It is in the family as a whole that God’s great purpose of making known His manifold wisdom is fulfilled. May the pastor remember all these in his prayers, both privately and in his congregational prayers. It is the church that is found in different nations, cultures, and denominations.

What did the Apostle Paul ask for God’s family? Let me list them briefly in this meditation.

First, it is that believers may be strengthened internally through the Holy Spirit. Paul had been talking about suffering for God’s cause. It is in suffering that the grace of God is manifested. But who has strength for suffering? We certainly do not choose suffering. We shrink from it. But it is not only in times of suffering that we need to be strengthened. We need strength every day of our lives and in every circumstance. Is it in temptations, the needed strength to resist it and be victorious? Is it in tough moral choices at work, that you need the strength to do the right thing, so that Jesus is honored? What about the strength that the busy wife and mother needs to do all the chores around the house without complaining or becoming weary is well-doing? Do not we all need strength to be powerful and faithful witnesses, speaking and living the truth?

Second, Paul prayed that believers may be indwelt with Christ by faith. Oh, may Christ abide mightily in our hearts and lives! Do you see here the concept of the covenant? Christ not only dwelling with us, but He dwells in us! The result will be that as believers, we will be rooted and grounded in love. There are two figures used here, one from agriculture and the other from architecture. Love is pictured as something that nourishes us and then also is pictured as a solid foundation.

Third, Paul prayed that believers may be able to grasp the fullest dimensions of Christ’s love, a love that surpasses our full knowledge. It is a prayer that we may know the breadth and length and depth and height. May we grow in our awareness of that love, particularly through the routine hardships, sufferings, and persecutions of our lives.

Fourth, Paul prayed that believers may “be filled with all the fullness of God.” This is the climax, the top of the ladder in the prayer. In other words, the knowledge just described is transforming in character. We, beholding as it were in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are transformed into the same image from glory to glory, even as from the Lord, the Spirit (II Cor. 3:18). Contemplating the love of Christ’s love means that we are increasingly transformed into that image!

What a prayer! How I need that prayer! How God’s family needs that prayer! May God give us pastors that are in prayer, praying these things for us!

O love of God, how strong and true, Eternal, and yet ever new, Uncomprehended and unbought, Beyond all knowledge and all thought.
O heavenly love, how precious still in day of weariness and ill, In nights of pain and helplessness, To heal, to comfort, and to bless.
We read thee best in Him who came to bear for us the cross of shame; Sent by the Father from on high, our life to live our death to die.
O love of God our shield and stay through all the perils of our way; Eternal love, in thee we rest, forever safe, forever blest. ~ Virgil Taylor

This special meditation has been prepared by PRC home missionary, Rev. Aud Spriensma.

Paul Is Made a Minister

Meditation on Ephesians 3: 7-8 

Whereof (the gospel) I was made a minister, according to the gift of the grace of God given to me by the effectual working of his power. Unto me, who am less than the least of all saints, is this grace given, that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ.

The Apostle Paul cannot get over the fact that he was set apart in a special way to preach the gospel. It is a gospel in which he glories (Rom. 1:16,17). God had chosen him, the persecutor of the church, to proclaim the gospel of the grace of God in Christ. “I was made a minister.” That was the task that had been assigned to him, the cause that he had been called to serve according to the gift of God’s grace that was given unto him. The Apostle Paul had not taken to himself the distinction of being a gospel minister. The office with which he had been invested was a gift of God’s grace, something that is stressed over and over in Paul’s letters. How did it come to him? The Apostle says in vs. 8 that “God’s grace was given to me…according to the effectual working of his power.” How mightily that power of God had operated, and continued to operate in Paul’s life and ministry. The Lord receives all the credit for whatever Paul as a gospel minister had accomplished. How every gospel minister needs to understand this!

What was Paul’s estimate of himself? It was a very humble one; he was not proud at all! “Unto me, who am less than the least of all saints is this grace given…” We read the same things in I Cor. 15:9, “For I am the least of the apostles, that am not meet to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God.” Again, the apostle says in I Tim.1:15, “This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief.” In our present passage, Paul does not give the reason for calling himself “less than the least of all saints.” But we come to a sensible conclusion that he says this because of his former or even current life. He was a persecutor of God’s people and considered himself the chief sinner. This sense of humility is also needed in pastors today as they mount the pulpit but also as they bring the Word of God from house to house. “I am the chief of sinners!”

The calling given to him was to preach to the Gentiles “the unsearchable riches of Christ!” These are riches that cannot be tracked or traced; unfathomable and unlimited resources of grace of God in Christ. There are ocean depths that can never be plummeted and treasure stores that are inexhaustible! But to proclaim to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ was only part of Paul’s task. His mission was broader. It was also to make all men to see “what is the fellowship of the mystery” that had been hid and now is revealed. Salvation is for both Jew and Gentile, by grace through faith. Now instead of fear between these two groups, there is trust. Gloom is replaced with gladness, hatred with love, separation is replaced with fellowship. This mystery had been concealed. Now, however, it was being revealed by the world-wide preaching of the gospel.

What an incentive for us to break-out from our exclusiveness. We seek to bring the gospel not just to Dutch middle-class folks, but to African, Asian, Indian, and South American peoples, wherever the Lord opens up a door for us! May “all men” be enlightened by the fellowship of believers that goes beyond one’s own culture and background. This is something God’s angels in heaven as well as the church on earth may wonder at: God’s manifold wisdom and purpose.

What boldness and access we have with God through faith. May the church boldly proclaim the truth of God’s grace and wisdom! Let us pray for and encourage young men to seek the ministry! May we pray for and appreciate the pastors that we do have! And let our pastors be humble men, not boasting of their gifts or lording it over the congregation. The privilege of bringing the gospel of Jesus Christ causes us to stand in amazement that God is pleased to use us for the gathering and building of his church!

We’ve a story to tell to the nations that shall turn their hearts to the right,
A story of truth and mercy, A story of peace and light, A story of peace and light.
For the darkness shall turn to dawning, And the dawning to noon-day bright,
And Christ’s great kingdom shall come to earth, The kingdom of love and light. (H. Earnest Nichol)

This special meditation has been prepared by PRC home missionary, Rev. Aud Spriensma. 

A Thanksgiving Meditation: Satisfied!

Meditation on Psalm 65: 4, 11

Blessed is the man whom thou chooseth, and causeth to approach unto thee, that he may dwell in thy courts: we shall be satisfied with the goodness of thy house, even thy holy temple. ...Thou crownest the year with thy goodness; and thy paths drop fatness.

This year we have seen the bounties of God’s earth. The corn and soybean fields have just been harvested. Already fields are prepared and green for next year with wheat and rye planted. The mighty power of the Creator and the goodness of God’s providence in watering and producing crops teach us that the best gift of all is closeness to God. My mother taught me this when growing up on the farm. In the morning mother would be looking out the window, praying to God for rain for the corn, and dry sunny days for the baling up of the hay.

The Giver is greater than the gifts. Therefore, the greatest benefits in the universe belong to the person whom God chooses, draws near to Himself by the Holy Spirit, and redeems with the precious blood of our Lord Jesus. Oh, how satisfied we are with God’s goodness and holiness! There is nothing sweeter than the sovereign grace of God in Christ Jesus. Sad to say, nothing is more common than for people to enjoy the gifts of creation and providence but have no desire for God. In our gratitude, we must look beyond earthly things to the Giver of earthly and spiritual blessings. Nearness to God is the greatest blessing. The Psalmist says, “we shall be satisfied with the goodness of thy house, even of thy holy temple.”

What does it mean to be satisfied? It means to be full. We have not only a little bit or a taste, but a great abundance so that we are full to the rim. My wife always prepares extra food when we have the children over. After everyone has filled their plate and eaten, we ask, “Would you like to have seconds?” Sometimes the answer comes, “No, I am good!” To which I answer, “No, only God is good. We are depraved.” The children learned quickly to answer, “I am satisfied. I am content. I have had sufficient so that I can have no more.”

Let me apply this to spiritual things. Now I am speaking not about bellies, but spiritual satisfaction that we have with God and the goodness of His house. My heart and soul are full. The opposite is pain and the poverty of sin, being empty spiritually. One who willingly walks in sin is barren and empty. The psalmist says, “Iniquities prevail against me” (vs. 3). These sins overcome me, a multitude of sin from morning to evening. The sins that I repented of yesterday are the sins I find myself falling into again today. The child of God who willingly walks in sin has the experience of the absence of God. God withdraws the experience of His presence for a while. Think of David, after his terrible sin of adultery and murder. His sins unconfessed, David said, “When I kept silence, my bones waxed old through my roaring all the day long. For day and night thy hand was heavy upon me: my moisture is turned into the drought of summer” (Ps. 32:3,4). The alternative to satisfaction is the emptiness of sin.

God is His mercy fills our souls. Psalm 65:3 and 4 explains our salvation. “Blessed is the man thou choosest and causeth to approach unto thee.” By His sovereign election, God draws His children to Himself. He forgives all their sins. David writes, “as for our transgressions, thou wilt purge them away” (vs, 3). By His Spirit, He draws us to Himself through the powerful and effectual calling of the gospel. Drawn near, we dwell in His house. This is not merely to church. This dwelling in His house is not only what happens in heaven after our earthly sojourn is over and we see Jesus face to face. What a wonderful day that will be. But now already as we gather as His church on Sunday and for religious holidays and we worship and hear his Word proclaimed. But every day as we live with Him by faith, we walk and talk, and He speaks to us in His Word that lives in our hearts. We know Him day by day. The life that flows in Him flows to us by faith. Already we dwell in heaven because our head, Christ, is there. Dwelling in His courts, we are filled with His goodness: God Himself, His Son, Christ Jesus, and all the blessings of salvation. May the earthly abundance in the field and on the table be to us a picture of the abundance and fatness of our life in Christ Jesus. There is so much spiritual good that our souls are fat with health.

It is not the abundance of the earth that satisfies our need. Our satisfaction is not pinned to our circumstances of life. With the psalmist, we are satisfied with God’s goodness all of our lives, even in hardships, difficulties, set-backs, failures, sickness, and death. We are still satisfied because God has raised our hearts to heaven, He has filled our hearts with himself and our salvation in Christ Jesus. The fruit of this salvation is that we are thankful! Praise waiteth for God in Zion.

Are you satisfied: not only today but every day and in every circumstance? This means that we not only tolerate and put up with our circumstances, but we are glad and full in those days too. Our souls are filled up, and there is no room for more. We have enough with God’s goodness in Christ Jesus! Even as God in creation gives an abundant harvest, God gives us life, abundant life in Christ!

The lovingkindness of my God is more than life to me; So I will bless thee while I live and lift my prayer to thee. In thee my soul is satisfied, my darkness turns to light, And joyful meditations fill the watches of the night.

My Saviour, neath thy sheltering wings my soul delights to dwell; Still closer to thy side I press, for near thee all is well. My soul shall conquer every foe, upholden by thy hand; thy people shall rejoice in God, thy saints in glory stand. (George Stebbins, Psalter #163, based on Psalm 63)

 This special meditation has been prepared by PRC home missionary, Rev. Aud Spriensma. 

A Mystery Revealed!

Meditation on Ephesians 3:3-6

How that by revelation he made known unto me the mystery; (as I wrote afore in few words, whereby, when ye read, ye may understand my knowledge in the mystery of Christ) which in other ages was not made known unto the sons of men, as it is now revealed unto his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit; that the Gentiles should be fellowheirs, and of the same body, and partakers of his promise in Christ by the gospel.

In Ephesians 3, the Apostle Paul used the word “mystery” four times. He used it already in Chapter 1, speaking of “the mystery of God’s will”, namely to bring all things in heaven and earth together under one head, even Christ (vs. 9-10). Paul will use this word again in chapter 5:32, “This is a great mystery: but I speak concerning Christ and the church.” But it is mainly in chapter 3 that he develops this doctrine.

What is a mystery? This word is used today in contemporary English as “something that is unknown.” But this is not the way it was used in Paul’s day. In Greek, the word mysterion refers to something known only to the initiated. It is not that the thing itself is unknown. It is known, but only to those to whom it is revealed. Paul used this word to describe something that was unknown before the coming of Christ but is now revealed fully. This mystery is that through the gospel the Gentiles are heirs together with Israel, members of one body, and share together in the promise in Christ Jesus.

So in our pericope, the word mystery is used three times, and then again in verse 9-11. “And to make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God, who created all things by Jesus Christ: to the intent that now unto the principalities and powers in heavenly places might be known by the church the manifold wisdom of God, according to the eternal purpose which he purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Quite clearly, the mystery is that the Gentiles should be made partakers along with the Jews of God’s great blessings in the church.

But is this really new? Did not God promise to Abraham that all nations and peoples on earth would be blessed through him (Gen. 12:3)? Does not the Psalmist worship God saying, “Let the peoples praise thee, O God; let all the peoples praise thee. O let the nations be glad and sing for joy: for thou shalt judge the peoples righteously, and govern the nations upon the earth. Let the peoples praise thee, O God; let all the peoples praise thee” (Ps. 67: 3-5)? But before the coming of Christ, this could only happen as the Gentiles became Jews through proselytizing. A Gentile could approach the God of Israel , but only as an Israelite. He had to become a member of the covenant people through the rite of circumcision. The new thing revealed to Paul is that this approach was no longer necessary. God in Christ had broken down the wall, making one new people out of two previously divided people. Now both Jew and Gentile approach God equally on that new basis.

What the Holy Spirit says about the mystery of God’s creating one new people in Christ is that Jew and Gentile hold their salvation blessings jointly in Christ’s church. Paul does this in verse 6 using three times a Greek prefix ‘syn’ which means ‘together with’. The NIV translation of the Bible probably brings this out the most effectively because it repeats the word ‘together’. It says, “heirs together with Israel, members together of one body, and sharers together in the promises in Christ Jesus.” The Philips translation says: “equal heirs with his chosen people, equal members and equal partners in God’s promise.”

What a rich concept was revealed: equal or heirs together of all that a person receives or will receive in salvation. There are not two different groups of people that are saved and blessed as premillennialists teach. Jews are not first-rate people, and Gentiles second-rate. They are made one and inherit salvation blessings jointly.

Jew and Gentile are members together of one body, the church. Christ is the head, and all true believers are His body, mystically united to Christ and to one another. This is something into which the people of God must grow and toward one another strive. How is this to happen? It is to happen only as we grow in the love and knowledge of the One who has brought us together. We are equally sinners. We have been equally brought to the same Savior. We have the same salvation.

We share together in the promise in Christ Jesus. While we have many promises, in our text the word ‘promise ‘ is singular. It refers to the promise of redemption made to our first parents Adam and Eve, and repeated over and over in greater clarity in the Old Testament predictions.

This mystery was revealed to the Apostle Paul, and Paul in his preaching and writings makes this mystery known to God’s people. As the Apostle Paul did, may the church today continue to share it with a great variety of races, peoples, and cultures. We are to make it known to the world. Jesus saves!

We have heard the joyful sound, Jesus saves! Jesus saves! Spread the tidings all around, Jesus saves! Jesus saves! Bear the news to every land, Climb the steeps and cross the waves; Onward! ‘tis our Lord’s command, Jesus saves! Jesus saves! (William Kirkpatrick)