With all of its drama and extraordinary events, people have become fascinated with the story of Jonah. Whether from coloring books or children’s story Bibles, from childhood, the tale of a man swallowed by a great fish and regurgitated alive, 3 days later, has captured our imagination! Yet how many, knowing the story so well, know the true import and significance of Jonah?

For one thing the book of Jonah is biographical. Jonah was a historical figure sent on a particular mission from God to reach a specific group of people. So broadly Jonah will bring us face to face with missions and evangelism. Then, as one who ran away from his calling and mission, Jonah will provide a mirror into our own heart and its propensity to wander from God’s call. As Jonah’s journey is traced, we see the inner workings of his heart – his fears, his motivations, his moods – with which we can identify and learn from his example. Yet there is still an even greater value to studying the book of Jonah.

Jonah has significance far greater than God’s localized concern for Nineveh. The book is not about a great fish! Neither is Jonah ultimately about the man who wrote it. Also, it is more than a guide to overseas missions for Christian evangelists. And while we will learn about ourselves, Jonah is about so much more. The book of Jonah is primarily about Jonah’s God. We will learn more about God and His mercy and His dealings with His people in Jonah than we will about Jonah himself, or our own self. In Jonah the doctrine of God and the depth of His mercy come alive in the experience of this man. Jonah is a vital link in the history of redemption as it reveals to us the unfolding purposes of God and His prodigal loving mercy for a prophet and a people.

With all of the highly exalted doctrine, majestic Christology, and practical teaching on church and family life, contained in Paul’s epistle to the Ephesian church, we might expect the church at Ephesus to have become the strongest in all of Asia, as they read, digested, exposited, and lived this epistle. And indeed as the risen Jesus Christ appeared to John on the island of Patmos dictating His final inspired message to the seven churches, he commended the church of Ephesus to be much about the Father’s business: they are strong in upholding God’s holiness in their midst; they are quick to recognize false apostles and false teaching; they have persevered and have patience, and have labored for Christ’s name sake and have not become weary (Rev 2:1-3).

Nevertheless, Jesus had a very important indictment against them that strikes at the heart of what it means to be a Christian – they had left their first love. (Rev 2:4). Somehow they had fallen from the early heights of their devotion to Jesus Christ and descended to the plains of mediocrity. As Jesus prophesied, “the love of many will grow cold” (Mt 24:12), sad to say, this was true of the Ephesians. What a disappointing end for a church to whom much was given!

Without our first love, the work, ministry, holiness, and doctrinal purity of the church is lifeless. It is significant that 30 years prior to this message, Paul ended the epistle to the church with a prayer for those “who love our Lord Jesus Christ with love undying” (Eph 6:24). By now, a new generation had arisen whose love was faltering, weakened, and dying. They toiled with vigor but not with love; they put the message of their teachers to the test, but without love. Their orthodoxy and orthopraxy had become cold and dead, without the warmth which comes with love for Christ.

Has this not been a pattern in the church over and over again? Wherever there have been revivals of great doctrinal truths, have they not often fizzled out into disappointingly cold dead religion? Just a look at much of Presbyteriansm and Lutheranism today is evidence of how revivals and reformation end up dying. And we are not exempt from this. Just as Jesus warned the Ephesians, He warns us as well, that unless we remember, repent, and resume our first works, that He will remove our lampstand from its place (Rev 2:5). No individual church has a secure and permanent place in God’s kingdom on earth. If we can judge by the letter that Ignatius wrote to the Ephesian church in the second Century, they heeded Christ’s appeal, as he wrote of them in glowing terms; however, by the Middle Ages, it lapsed again and was all but obliterated.

To this warning, Christ adds a promise to the penitent. To him who overcomes I will give to eat from the tree of life, which is in the midst of the Paradise of God (Rev 2:7). The church has a mission and a work to be done, we have a fight to be fought and creed to be defended, but above all we have a Person to love with love incorruptible. May ours be a church not only about the Father’s business, but continually repenting and burning ever hotter in our love for Jesus Christ.

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Behold, how good and pleasant it is when brothers dwell in unity!
It is like the precious oil on the head,
running down on the beard,
on the beard of Aaron,
running down on the collar of his robes!
It is like the dew of Hermon,
which falls on the mountains of Zion!
For there the LORD has commanded the blessing,
life forevermore. (Psalm 133)

Psalm 133 is one of the “Songs of Ascent,” a section of the Psalms stretching from Psalm 120-134. While the precise meaning of this title is not certain, the likely function of these songs was to be recited as the Jewish people ascended the hill of Jerusalem to celebrate the annual festivals. King David, who inherited a divided kingdom, may have written this Psalm when he began his reign in Jerusalem. As the people poured into the holy city in anticipation of the sacred feasts, they set up tents that spilled down the hillsides like the oil that spilled down the robe of Aaron the high priest. The sight of all these people, diverse in many ways, yet united on a common pilgrimage, caused the Psalmist to reflect on unity as “good and pleasant.”

Unity is “good and pleasant” indeed. It is good in that it is fruitful, like the dew of Mt. Hermon. It is pleasant in that unity implies peace between individuals. This peace is only possible because we have peace with God through the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. The oil used to anoint a priest like Aaron symbolized his consecration unto God. Unity consecrates us to God’s service. Intriguingly, the term “anointed one” in the Bible is where we get the word Messiah, and its New Testament equivalent, Christ.

A truly Messianic or Christian church is one that is united; this unity is a chief, God-ordained way in which we display Christ to the world. Any threat to the unity of God’s people is a threat to the very gospel that unites us. The Puritan John Flavel remarked, “What! At peace with the Father, and at war with His children? It cannot be.” Let us endeavor to dwell together in unity!

Obviously Paul had a deep concern for relationships. With all of the high theology and practical individual application that he has just written to them in the 2400 or so words which precede this ending, Paul concludes with evidence of his desire to forge a stronger personal link between himself and the church he loved so greatly. This is the outworking of his exposition on God’s new society – demonstrating that it is more than mere theological theory. Paul wanted the church, to live like the church – to deepen their fellowship, by praying for one another, sending this epistle, and sending Tychicus who would encourage them and carry personal information from Paul. Prayer, correspondence, and personal visitation remain the three major means by which Christians can encourage one another to this day, and so contribute to the building up of the body of Christ.

This being the beginning of a new year, it is a good time for us to reflect upon our own church life. How connected are we to the brethren? How much do we really know about our brothers and sisters in Christ? Do we truly count them as family? Are we being aloof from our spiritual brothers and sisters, giving preference to our physical family and secular friends? How often do you pray for those in your church – not just the pastor, but other congregants? With the advent of the telephone, email and Facebook, we have an unprecedented opportunity to reach out and encourage our brethren far more than past generations – are you taking full advantage of these things to correspond often with your church family? Of course, nothing replaces face to face fellowship – how often do you actually see your brothers and sisters face to face to fellowship, pray for, and encourage one another during the week? What steps might you take this year to strengthen the external ties that bind our hearts in Christian love?

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On a silent night 2000 years ago, likely in the spring time, while shepherds watched their flocks, they found themselves in the midst of an unexpected supernatural episode. Out of the calm evening sky, suddenly there appeared an angel from the realms of glory, accompanied by a shining light from the glory he radiated from being in the presence of the Holy One. Shepherds who were usually rugged men, familiar with fighting off hungry wolves, met something that evening more frightening than anything they would ever meet in nature. Theirs was the same response that every other human being has ever had upon encountering the Holy; these shepherds literally quaked at the sight of glories stream from heaven afar, to quote the popular Christmas hymn.

The only appropriate reply from the fearful angelic creature was, “Fear not.” (see also Gen 21:7, Dan 10:19). Not only did the angel tell the shepherds that they need not fear, but they gave the grounds for them to instead be joyful. ‘For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.’ The long-expected Messiah had come, and rather than fearing, which was their natural reaction, these shepherds had every reason to now rejoice.

Throughout the Hebrew Scriptures the only appropriate response to anyone’s encounter with the Holy was to tremble. This was because of the inherent feeling of unworthiness that men feel in the presence of the Holy. Isaiah experienced this in his encounter with God (Is 6:1-5) as did Daniel (Dan 10:11). Augustine spoke of the Holy as causing him to be ‘a-shudder in so far as I am unlike it.’ Yet the message of this holy angel who visited the shepherd’s field was one of such great news, that fear was to be replaced by the only other appropriate response – that of joy.

When we think of joy, we often relate it to celebration and delight over certain circumstances of life. We can all think of days of our lives where we experienced great joy – the end of the school year, our graduation day, our wedding, the birth of a child – are some examples. Christian joy, however is something quite different. Christian joy is something that comes when we are hated, rejected, reviled and spurned – we are told in that day to leap for joy, for the great reward to be counted among those who are worthy of such persecution. (Lk 6:22-23). Christian joy is one that causes one to sell all he has in order seize the treasure (Mt 13:44). Christian joy will not only come in the future when we experience heaven itself, but is a present reality as we know that our names are written in heaven (Lk 10:19-20). Jesus told us that he spoke in order that our joy may be full (Jn 15:11).

On the day that Jesus was born in Bethlehem, there was every reason to rejoice. The incarnation of God in human flesh gives us every reason to rejoice as well. This week meditate upon the incarnation of Christ and write down as many privileges, benefits, reasons, or purposes that the incarnation accomplished over which you can rejoice.

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The Apostle Peter is known for many things such as, walking on water at Jesus’ bidding, being at Jesus’ transfiguration, and for often speaking his mind. However, the Apostle is not often considered one of the most prolific writers of the New Testament. Nevertheless, the two short epistles Peter did write in the New Testament are very important letters for believers. The first letter is especially important as it speaks to the persecuted church – those who were suffering for their faith at the time when this letter was written, and also for the persecuted throughout the church age. In this first epistle from Peter, specifically chapter 3:13- 4:19 is a section that deals with suffering. One aspect of suffering that Peter raises is being able to give a defense for the hope that each Christian has in Christ. While you may not immediately think of this as suffering in a classical sense, if you ever had to give an answer for reason why you believe in Christ, you know that it does take a great deal of patience and can lead to much heartache. Confrontation and even quarrelling is often not far away when one is called upon to defend their faith.

The biblical term for defense is apologia in the original language. While it may sound very similar to the English word apology, this is not the meaning of the Greek word. Apologia simply means defense, and this is the meaning in 1 Peter 3:15 – our text for this Sunday. From apologia, we get the term Apologetics – the branch of Christian theology that deals with the defense and establishment of the Christian faith. This discipline requires considerable study and research in order to gain an expertise in defending the faith against skeptics and atheists who would try to dismantle the Bible and Christian thought. In this text however, Peter is not calling everyone to defend their faith in that manner, but in the sense of a defense for the hope that every believer has in Christ. So in this sense, Apologetics is something every true believer is to be involved in! In our text, Peter is not recommending you be able to defend your faith; he’s commanding you to do this. Peter instructs every true believer, “But sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts, always being ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you, yet with gentleness and reverence”

We’ll open up this text in three sections: first, “sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts;” second, “always being ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you;” and third, “yet with gentleness and reverence.” We encourage you to meditate on this commandment from the Apostle Peter and as you do consider these questions:

Is Christ set apart as Lord in your heart?

Have you ever been challenged to give a reason for the hope that you have in Christ?

What was your defense?

Did you answer your questioner in gentleness and reverence, or did it lead to confrontation and quarrelling?

Here Paul concludes his teaching on the Christian’s spiritual battle, calling us to all prayer and supplication; he uses both words mainly to add intensity to the idea. The words “with all” which in Greek, precede “praying always,” are linked to the exhortation to stand in verse 14. So although prayer is not linked to any specific piece of armor, it is included in the manner in which we as Christians take a stand against the devil. There are times in Christian warfare where we will feel unable to even wield the sword of the Spirit – at such times, even at all times, in everything, let us call upon our all powerful God in prayer (See Rom 8:26-27, 12:12, Phil 4:6, Col 4:2-3, 1 Thess 5:16-18, 1 Tim 2:1-2).

Paul runs one idea into the next in this text detailing the manner and objects for which he is calling upon us to pray:

a) praying always

b) with all prayer and supplication

c) in the Spirit

d) being watchful …

e) with all perseverance and supplication

f) for all the saints

g) for me …

First as the manner of prayer, it is to be offered always – literally in every season. The specific context of spiritual warfare tells us that this is an exhortation to pray under every season of conflict. There are times in every Christian’s life where we need to cry out to God with increased intensity because the dire circumstances necessitate us to do so. In such circumstances we become utterly dependent upon the Holy Spirit in our prayers, as we can only pray with His divine assistance (Ro 8:26, Jude 20). Praying ‘in the Holy Spirit,’ means to rely on His power and wisdom as you pray; it means submitting your thoughts, will, and desires to the Word of God, until we intuitively ‘think God’s thought’s after Him,’ and develop instincts that are keeping in line with His will. To pray with all prayer and supplication, means that we are to offer all kinds of prayers to God including petitions. Philippians 4:6-7 both reminds and invites us to: Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication , with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; promising us that: the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

Remembering that the primary context is prayer in the midst of battle, such ‘warfare prayer,’ requires vigilance and perseverance. Do not forget that the ground in which Christ is building His church is a territory occupied by an enemy; so alertness is warranted. The word ‘watchful’ conveys the idea of the military soldier who is on watch, who must stay awake and alert on his guard duty. With all perseverance, suggests determination or resoluteness as opposed to growing weary and giving up (see Mark 13:33, 14:38). Prayer is the expression of the life of a disciplined soldier for Christ who is in constant communion with God.

Secondly the text tells us the object for which we pray: “For all the saints.” Charles Hodge said, “No soldier entering battle prays for himself alone, but for all his fellow soldiers also. They form one army, and the success of one is the success of all.” Every time we address “Our Father,” we address God corporately with the saints, but we are also to pray for the saints – for one another – beginning with those in our local assembly, but then extending to believing peoples of all nations, particularly those living under regimes that are hostile to the Gospel. Sinclair Ferguson writes, “No stronghold of Satan is safe from the remotest saint who knows what it is to pray!” Lastly Paul asks for prayer for himself, in particular that he would be bold in his preaching of the Gospel. Pastors and ministers today need much prayer if their congregations are going to hear preaching with Gospel boldness. Brethren, pray for me.

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The sixth and final piece of the Christian’s armor is the sword – a sword made and furnished to us by the greatest of all Artisans! The sword has long been esteemed as a necessary part of a soldier’s vocation. While all the rest of the Christian’s armor is made up of defensive parts, the sword is a weapon that is both defensive and offensive.

On the one hand, the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God, is a defensive weapon, in how it keeps the Christian from being stripped from all other graces. Unless Your law had been my delight, I would then have perished in my affliction (Ps 119:92). Christ had only to say, “It is written,” in answer to Satan’s temptations, to put his enemy to flight (Mt 4:4, 7, 10). It was David’s prayer in Psalm 17:4, by the word of Your lips, I have kept away from the paths of the destroyer. The sword is unique in that it defends the whole person from an enemy’s attack; not specific to any particular part of the body, (like the other pieces of armor), the sword can be wielded to hold back the enemy as a whole.

The Word of God, our sword, is also an offensive weapon, with it we can route our enemy! This gives light to verses such as James 4:7, resist the devil and he will flee from you. There is something given us by God that drives the enemy backward, causing him to retreat – it is the sword of the Spirit, the Word of God!

I must qualify these words by saying that the offensive nature of the sword does not give us the right to take on Satan or his demons in any kind of foolish or reckless manner. Jude 9 tells us how even Michael the archangel, … dared not bring against him a reviling accusation, but said, “The Lord rebuke you!” Such must be our attitude as well, when it comes to battling Satan; we are not to rail against him, but we are to stand using the sword of the Spirit which is the Word of God – and this will cause him to flee.

Another qualification lies in the order in which these pieces of armor are given. There is nothing more abused in the world than the Word of God. So in order to rightly use it, we must have the rest of our armor in place. We cannot use the Word without being girded with the sincerity of truth, without donning an understanding of imputed righteousness as a breastplate, without our feet firmly planted in the Gospel, without a shield of faith, or a proper understanding of the doctrine of salvation as a helmet on our head. When these pieces are not properly in place, we will more than likely misuse the Word of God. But by the same token, a Christian who has all other graces in place, must finally take up the Word of God – from the novice to the Bible scholar – we are incomplete without the Word of God.

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The last piece of defensive equipment to be named in this armor of God, given to the Christian to stand against the wiles of the devil, is the helmet of salvation. Since Paul is writing to Christians, one might wonder what this refers to – are not Christians already saved?

Remember that the Bible uses the word salvation in three ways, and it is in each of these three ways that we are to put on the helmet of salvation.

First salvation is used to describe what God has done in His finished work in Christ, and our reception of it. Though this is a past action and is complete and final, the Christian is to remain mindful of his or her salvation – he is to focus on the specific objective truths of Christ’s finished work, especially in times of intense spiritual pressure. In the same way then, that a physical helmet protects one’s head, the consciousness of the objective truths concerning one’s salvation, protects the mind of the Christian, particularly when doubt sets in.

Secondly, salvation is a continuing work that God is doing in the Christian progressively – treating us as children, disciplining us, and conforming us into the image of His Son. Putting on the helmet of salvation in this context might refer to our walking in God’s will – becoming sanctified or renewed in our minds as they are transformed by His Word and we are changed into His image from glory to glory.

But then thirdly, salvation is also used of what God will do for us in the future. One day we will be thoroughly changed – we will be raised incorruptible, when this mortal puts on immortality. Acquitted from final judgment, we will spend eternity with God in the new heavens and the new earth. We will finally fulfill that for which He created us – to enjoy Him forever! Since the helmet is placed on the head it suggests that we keep the coming resurrection and final salvation ever in mind. The warfare will one day cease, and we will be released from the battlefield in which we now fight; before long we will be in heaven gazing upon the glorious countenance of our Beloved bridegroom. In the mean time, oh how this glorious thought will make this present warfare appear momentary and light and enable us to fight the good fight well in the here and now!

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Commentator Peter O’Brien writes:

In addition to the pieces of amour that believers need to wear, they are to take up the ‘shield of faith,’ for by it they will be fully protected against every kind of assault rained upon them by the evil one. The shield referred to is not the small round one which left most of the body unprotected, but the large shield carried by Roman soldiers, which covered the whole person… The large shield used by Roman soldiers was specifically designed to quench dangerous missiles, particularly arrows that were dipped in pitch and lit before being fired.

Proverbs 30:5 says, ‘every word of God is pure; He is a shield to those who put their trust in Him.’ Throughout the Old Testament the shield is used as an image of God and His protection of His people. For instance, God says to Abraham in Genesis 15:1, “Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your exceedingly great reward.” Psalms 18:30 goes, “He is a shield to all who trust in Him.” Here in our text in Ephesians, it is faith that is the shield. To take the shield of faith is to appropriate the promises of God on our behalf, confident that what He says will come to pass, and that He will protect us in the midst of the fiery darts of Satan. Likewise, Peter admonishes us to ‘be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. Resist him, steadfast in the faith …’ (1 Peter 5:8-9)

What kind of faith is being commended here? Certainly it is not mere mental assent to the facts about God. James 2:19 says that even the demons have this kind of faith. Neither can temporary faith be meant – the kind that in a wave of emotions says, “I believe,” but only endures for a while (Mt 13:21) and then disappears. Faith to do the miraculous also cannot be meant, for even Judas Iscariot, as one of the apostles, could cast demons out of others. There is but one kind of faith that remains – a faith that in the words of John overcomes the world (1 Jn 5:4) – it is a justifying faith. Justifying faith more than gives mental assent to the facts of the Gospel, it embraces them for oneself.

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