Union Church

Ephesians 4:1-6 - The Spirit and The Church

Ephesians 4:1-6

“Not only (1) is their unity expressly stated as coming from the Spirit, but (2) four of the five graces listed in vv. 2–3 are among the fruit of the Spirit in Gal 5:22–23; and (3) in the Trinitarian confession that follows, pride of place is given to the Spirit, precisely because the one body, which is Paul’s present concern, is the result of their common experience of the one Spirit, whose presence in their lives is also the predicate of their one hope.” - Gordon Fee

“I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me.” (Jn. 17:20&21)

“Put away falsehood, let each one of you speak the truth with his neighbor, for we are members one of another. 26 Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, 27 and give no opportunity to the devil. 28 Let the thief no longer steal, but rather let him labor, doing honest work with his own hands, so that he may have something to share with anyone in need. 29 Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear. 30 And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. 31 Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. 32 Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.” (Ephesians 4:25-32)

“We cannot expect the world to believe the Father sent the Son, that Jesus' claims are true, and that Christianity is true, unless the world sees some reality of the oneness of true Christians.” 
- Francis Schaffer, The Mark of the Christian

“To the church of God that is in Corinth, to those sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints together with all those who in every place call upon the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, both their Lord and ours:” 
(1 Cor. 1:2)

“This is highly instructive. This mess of a church whose meetings did more harm than good is still a real, legitimate church. It is a church of God…This church is composed of "those sanctified in Christ Jesus." A saint is not a special kind of Christian, someone who has been through some sort of spiritual finishing school. A saint is another word for a Christian. In Christ we are sanctified in the sense of already having been set apart by God to be his people and needing to learn—bit by bit, day by day—how to live out what that actually means. Paul goes on to say that these Corinthian believers have been "called to be saints together with all those who in every place call upon the name of our Lord." Their own individual status in Christ connects each of them not only to the rest of their own church but even more widely to all who name the name of Jesus as they do. There is something unavoidably corporate involved in calling on Christ. He is the common Lord they all share—“both theirs and ours.”
- Sam Allberry

“The church is wholly constituted of those saints that are his jewels, that are the spoils of his enemies, that were once his enemies' possession, but that he has redeemed out of their hands.” 
- Jonathan Edwards

“The Spirit delivers Christ to us not just anywhere and in any way but where and how he has promised. Although he is free to work outside of his covenanted mercies, we are assured of his saving blessings and presence only where he has been promised to us. If we identify the Spirit only with the unexpected and irregular, we will miss most of the times and places where he actually meets us.” —Michael Horton

4 There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call— 5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism, 6 one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all. 7 But grace was given to each one of us according to the measure of Christ’s gift. (Eph. 4:4-6)

 

1 Corinthians 12:1-14 - The Spirit and Gifts

Listen along as we continue our series looking at the person and work of the Holy Spirit.

Notes//Quotes:

1 Cor 12:1-14 - 

Ex 31:1-5

Joel 2:28-29, 

Ezekiel 36:25-27

Christian faith has been specially advanced through the loving service rendered to strangers, and through their care for the burial of the dead. It is a scandal there is not a single Jew who is a beggar, and that the godless Galileans care not only for their own poor but for ours as well; while those who belong to us look in vain for the help that we should render them - Julian, appx 360ad

They look too much to man's efforts, and know not how the second blessing is nothing more nor less than a new vision of what Christ is willing to work in us, and the surrender of faith that yields all to Him - Andrew Murray

We are commanded to be full, and yet we are not the filler; the Spirit is. The answer to this predicament in the New Testament is that God has ordained to move into our lives with fullness through faith. The pathway that the Spirit cuts through the jungle of our anxieties into the clearing of joy is the pathway of faith. Luke says of Stephen in Acts 6:5, that he was “a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit,” and he says of Barnabas in Acts 11:24 that he was “a good man full of the Holy Spirit and of faith,” The two go together. If a person is filled with faith, he will be filled with the Spirit, the Spirit of joy and peace. - John Piper

Romans 12:3-10

Eph 4:30

Romans 8:12-17 - The Spirit and Redemption

Listen along as we continue our series looking at the person and work of the Holy Spirit.

Notes//Quotes:

Romans 8:12-17 - Jack

“How do we receive those benefits which the Father bestowed on his only-begotten Son—not for Christ's own private use, but that he might enrich poor and needy men?”
- John Calvin

“It is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you. But if I go, I will send him to you. 8 And when he comes, he will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment: (Jn. 16:7&8)

Regeneration: “mighty work of God by which unbelievers are given a new nature, being born again.... It is both (1) the removal of one's old self, and (2) the imparting of a new self that is responsive to God. Unlike conversion, which is the human response to the gospel, regeneration is completely a divine work, to which human beings contribute nothing.”
- Greg Allison

This man came to Jesus by night and said to him, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher come from God, for no one can do these signs that you do unless God is with him.” 3 Jesus answered him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.” 4 Nicodemus said to him, “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother's womb and be born?” 5 Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. 6 That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. 7 Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’ 8 The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.”
 (John 3:2-8)

“For we ourselves were once foolish, disobedient, led astray, slaves to various passions and pleasures, passing our days in malice and envy, hated by others and hating one another. 4 But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, 5 he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, 6 whom he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, 7 so that being justified by his grace we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life.” 
(Titus 3:3-7)

“To love you as I should, I must worship God as Creator. When I have learnt to love God better than my earthly dearest, I shall love my earthly dearest better than I do now. In so far as I learn to love my earthly dearest at the expense of God and instead of God, I shall be moving towards the state in which I shall not love my earthly dearest at all. When first things are put first, second things are not suppressed but increased.” 
― C.S. Lewis, Letters of C. S. Lewis

“You, however, are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him. 10 But if Christ is in you, although the body is dead because of sin, the Spirit is life because of righteousness. 11 If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you.”
(Romans 8:9-11)

“Justification is the "mighty act of God by which he declares sinful people not guilty but righteous instead. He does so by imputing, or crediting, the perfect righteousness of Christ to them. Thus, while they are not actually righteous, God views them as being so because of Christ's righteousness." Thus, justification is a forensic act, a legal declaration, consisting of two elements. "The first aspect is the forgiveness of sins, resulting from Christ's substitutionary death (Rom. 3:25; 5:9). The second is imputation, resulting from Christ's obedience that makes people righteous (5:18-29). The New Testament ties justification to the Holy Spirit in one passage, in which an absolute contrast is made between "the unrighteous, [who] will not inherit God's kingdom" (1 Cor 6:9), and believers: "And some of you used to be like this. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God' (6:11).” — Greg Allison 

“14 The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned.” (1 Cor. 2:14) 

“The Spirit does not enter hearts that prepare him room or sweep the floor and dust before his arrival (an optimistic set of tasks to expect of the dead); rather, he enters, hovers, infuses life, gives faith, and begins immediately to renovate the mansion in which he once breathed merely the natural (i.e., biological) life but now breathes the breath of eschatological—new creation—life.” — Michael Horton 

Luke 4:14-30 - Christ and The Spirit

Listen along as we look at week three of our Holy Spirit series.

Luke 4:16-30 - Mike Reading

Aren't you, like me, hoping that some person, thing, or event will come along to give you that final feeling of inner well-being you desire? Don't you often hope: 'Maybe this book, idea, course, trip, job, country or relationship fulfill my deepest desire.' But as long as you are waiting for that mysterious moment you will go on running helter-skelter, always anxious and restless, always lustful and angry, never fully satisfied. You know that this is the compulsiveness that keeps us going and busy, but at the same time makes us wonder whether we are getting anywhere in the long run. This is the way to spiritual exhaustion and burn-out. This is the way to spiritual death. - Henri Nouwen

 

Stones into Bread
The Fountain thirsts, the Bread is hungry here
The Light is dark, the Word without a voice.
When darkness speaks it seems so light and clear.
Now He must dare, with us, to make a choice.
In a distended belly’s cruel curve
He feels the famine of the ones who lose
He starves for those whom we have forced to starve
He chooses now for those who cannot choose.
He is the staff and sustenance of life
He lives for all from one Sustaining Word
His love still breaks and pierces like a knife
The stony ground of hearts that never shared,
God gives through Him what Satan never could;
The broken bread that is our only food.
The Kingdoms of this World
‘So here’s the deal and this is what you get:
The penthouse suite with world-commanding views,
The banker’s bonus and the private jet
Control and ownership of all the news
An ‘in’ to that exclusive one percent,
Who know the score, who really run the show
With interest on every penny lent
And sweeteners for cronies in the know.
A straight arrangement between me and you
No hell below or heaven high above
You just admit it, and give me my due
And wake up from this foolish dream of love…’
But Jesus laughed, ‘You are not what you seem.
Love is the waking life, you are the dream.’
On The Pinnacle
‘Temples and Spires are good for looking down from;
You stand above the world on holy heights,
Here on the pinnacle, above the maelstrom,
Among the few, the true, unearthly lights.
Here you can breathe the thin air of perfection
And feel your kinship with the lonely star,
Above the shadow and the pale reflection,
Here you can know for certain who you are.
The world is stalled below, but you could move it
If they could know you as you are up here,
Of course they’ll doubt, but here’s your chance to prove it
Angels will bear you up, so have no fear….’
‘I was not sent to look down from above
It’s fear that sets these tests and proofs, not Love.’

John 14:15-17

John 14:25-26

John 16:7-15

“You can have all the right notions in your head without ever tasting in your heart the realities to which they refer; and a simple Bible reader and sermon hearer who is full of the Holy Spirit will develop a far deeper acquaintance with his God and Savior than a more learned scholar who is content with being theologically correct.” JI Packer

 

Genesis 1:1-2 - The Spirit and Creation

Listen along as we continue our series on the Holy Spirit.

Notes//Quotes:

Genesis 1:1-2 - Faith Reading

“The Spirit is not the architect, nor is the framework of the cosmos or of the new creation “in him” as is true of the Word in whom all things hold together (Col 1:17). But he is the builder, carrying with him the plans of the Father and the materials purchased by the Son as he builds the sanctuary according to all that he has received…When we begin with the Spirit’s work in creation, the canvas of his operations widens.”
- Michael Horton

These all look to you,
 to give them their food in due season. When you give it to them, they gather it up;  when you open your hand, they are filled with good things. When you hide your face, they are dismayed; when you take away their breath, they die
 and return to their dust. When you send forth your Spirit, they are created,
 and you renew the face of the ground.
- Psalm 104:27-30

“The Spirit of God has made me, and the breath of the Almighty gives me life” - Job 33:4

 “The redemptive Spirit is cut off both from bodily life and from the life of nature. It makes people turn away from this world and hope for a better world beyond. They then seek and experience in the Spirit of Christ a power that is different from the divine energy of life which according to Old Testament ideas interpenetrates all the living. The theological textbooks talk about the Holy Spirit in connection with God, faith, the Christian life, the church and prayer, but seldom with the body and nature."
- Jurgen Moltmann

“There is something to the pagan love of nature, even its myths and rituals tied to the changing seasons. However, biblical faith grounds this instinct in a transcendent and triune God who is ever active even in the regularities of nature. What is striking in all of the Old Testament references to creation is the pure naturalness of nature. Nothing in creation is to be worshiped but rather is meant to lead us from the artistry to the Artist.” 
- Michael Horton

Acts 1:7-11 - The Holy Spirit

Listen along as we begin our series on the Holy Spirit.

Notes//Quotes:

Acts 1:6-11 - Josh Reading

We believe that this salvation, attested in all Scripture and secured by Jesus Christ, is applied to his people by the Holy Spirit. Sent by the Father and the Son, the Holy Spirit glorifies the Lord Jesus Christ, and, as the other Paraclete, is present with and in believers. He convicts the world of sin, righteousness, and judgment, and by his powerful and mysterious work regenerates spiritually dead sinners, awakening them to repentance and faith, and in him they are baptized into union with the Lord Jesus, such that they are justified before God by grace alone through faith alone in Jesus Christ alone. By the Spirit’s agency, believers are renewed, sanctified, and adopted into God’s family; they participate in the divine nature and receive his sovereignly distributed gifts. The Holy Spirit is himself the down payment of the promised inheritance, and in this age indwells, guides, instructs, equips, revives, and empowers believers for Christ-like living and service.

 

We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, and Giver of life, who proceeds from the Father and the Son, who with the Father and the Son together is worshipped and glorified, who spoke by the prophets.

“The key affirmations are: (1) The Holy Spirit is God, being called "the Lord" and, together with God the Father and God the Son, being the object of worship and adoration. (2) The Holy Spirit is a divine Person, the Third Person of the Trinity, proceeding from both the person of the Father and the person of the Son. (3) Two major works in which the Holy Spirit (without separation from the Father and the Son) is involved are as the "Giver of life" — creation/re-creation/perfection-and as the one who spoke by prophets— revelation-with particular reference to Scripture, the written Word of the triune God.” —Allison & Kostenberger

“The presupposition is that, far too often, we settle for and suffer "parched lives, in need of renewal and refreshment. Tragically, some believers and churches are skeptical about and even afraid of the presence and work of the Spirit. Their mistrust and dread are often due to poor or absent teaching about the Holy Spirit and/or bizarre experiences with extreme forms of Pentecostalism and/or the Charismatic movement. Such suspicion and trepidation, even when properly held, too often result in a suspicion of rightful experiences of the Spirit. Our pneumatology, with its emphasis on a renewing experience of the Spirit, seeks to prompt believers and churches to move beyond cynicism and fear. Indeed, it affirms, "Without the active presence of the Spirit of God there must be a desperate vacuum at the heart of the Christian life”  For believers and churches who find themselves on the opposite end of the spectrum, our doctrine of the Holy Spirit cautions them against overly emphasizing the Spirit's "bold" or "miraculous" manifestations but to expect with joy and thanksgiving the Spirit's "mundane" or "normal" works. From a simple prayer like "Spirit, fill me!" as they tumble out of bed in the morning to their daily reading of Scripture, and from their trust in and obedience to th  Spirit-breathed Word of God to going about their work as spouses, singles, parents, educators, small business owners, carpenters, farmers, homemakers, and more, they should be renewed by the spirit in the routines of life.” Allison and Kostenberger

2 Corinthians 4:7-18 - Don't Lose Heart

Listen along as we wrap up our final gathering of 2024.

Notes//Quotes:

2 Cor 4:7-18

Just as wine cannot keep well in silver or gold vessels, but only in the lowliest of vessels—earthen ones—so words of Torah do not keep well in one who considers himself to be the same as silver or gold vessels, but only in one who considers himself the same as the lowliest of vessels—earthen ones. - Rabbinical Commentary on Torah

The Stoic philosopher—and still more the Cynic—prided himself on his indifference to physical and mental suffering, and would often give a recital of what he had been through in order to demonstrate the power of the philosophy to make one able to rise above such purely external and short-term vicissitudes. - David Garland

“Epictetus believed that difficulties (peristaseis) “show what men are.” What they endured exhibited their true grit and moral constancy. For Paul hardships do not disclose what humans are made of but what God’s power is like” - David Garland

“While other worldviews lead us to sit in the midst of life’s joys, foreseeing the coming sorrows, Christianity empowers its people to sit in the midst of this world’s sorrows, tasting the coming joy. Suffering can refine us rather than destroy us because God himself walks with us in the fire.” - Tim Keller 

Christmas Eve 2024

Listen along as we reflect on the paradox of Advent.

Philippians 4:10-23 - The Good Life

Listen along as we wrap up our series in Philippians.

Notes//Quotes:

Phillipians 4:10-23 - Jack
Title: The Good Life

“For the Stoics, self-sufficiency meant becoming independent from all external circumstances and from material goods. As Seneca expressed it, “The happy man is content with his present lot, no matter what it is, and is reconciled to his circumstances” Through discipline and inner strength, individuals could master their own universe. The Stoics’ aim was to become serenely indifferent to anything fate tossed their way.”
- Dean Fleming 

“We are often more frightened than hurt; and we suffer more from imagination than from reality.” 
- Seneca

“Two elements must therefore be rooted out once for all, – the fear of future suffering, and the recollection of past suffering; since the latter no longer concerns me, and the former concerns me not yet.”
- Seneca

“The apostle does not seek detachment from life’s circumstances. Instead he has learned to see his hardships as a part of God’s great drama of salvation… Above all, 4:13 reveals that Paul’s contentment comes not from his own inner resources, but from God. Fee puts it well: “[Paul] uses the language—and outwardly assumes the stance—of Stoic ‘self-sufficiency,’ but radically transforms it into Christ-sufficiency. The net result is that Paul and Seneca, while appearing to be close, are a thousand leagues apart”
- Dean Fleming

“Our disciplines don’t address our deepest longings.” 
- Ruth Chou Simons

“Christ in me, not me in a set of different circumstances” 
-  Elisabeth Elliot 

Philippians 4:8-9 - Thinking, Practice, Promise

Listen along as we continue our journey through Philippians.

Notes//Quotes:

Philippians 4:8-9 - Faith

“Who we are and what we do it is fundamentally a function of what we remember” - Joshua Foer 

The next two words are more at home in the world of Hellenism than that of the Bible. This first term appears nowhere else in the NT. Nor does it show up on any list of ancient moral virtues. Its usage embraces both what is “lovely” (i.e., “beautiful”) as well as what is “lovable” or attractive to others. Christians are to reflect on what is beautiful and pleasing, both in creation and in the spiritual lives of God’s people - Dean Flemming

“Thought leads to action, and what we open our minds to quickly becomes our master” - T. Deasley 

(Rom 12:1-2)

We must model our relationships on Christ, surround our circumstances by prayer, drill our minds in godly thinking, and subject our life to the Word of God. Do this, ‘and the peace of God, which passes all understanding, will keep your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus … and the God of peace will be with you’. If we ignore the calling we must be prepared to forgo the blessings. - Alec Motyer