Chosen in Him

Ephesians 1:4-6

 

Ephesians 1:3 tells us of the heavenly riches with which God has blessed us. Paul now shows where those blessings begin.

 

Ephesians 1:4 (NKJV) just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love,

 

“Just as” means “in accordance with.” It ties what follows back to verse 3. Our spiritual blessings flow from the fact that God chose us before the world began.

Chosen in Him

 

The most important words in this verse may be “in Him.” God did not simply choose us. He chose us in Christ, and that is where the riches are. Everything that belongs to the Son, His standing before the Father and His love and His inheritance, is ours because we are united to Him.

 

Think about when this happened: before the foundation of the world. Before there was a sky, a sea, or a single day, God already had you in view. Our salvation was not an afterthought or a rescue plan made in a hurry. It was settled in the heart of God from eternity, and what He settles cannot be shaken. Jesus said:

 

John 6:37 (NKJV) “All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will by no means cast out.

 

John 6:45 (NKJV) “It is written in the prophets, ‘And they shall all be taught by God.’ Therefore everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to Me.

 

Everyone the Father gives to the Son comes to Him, and the one who comes will never be cast out. That is a promise of complete security. Those who have heard and learned from the Father come to Jesus, and when they come, they are welcomed and kept. We may not be able to fully understand how God draws us, but we can rest in what He has said.

 

Scripture uses the word “choose” in more than one way. In John 6:70 Jesus says, “Did I not choose you, the twelve, and one of you is a devil?” Here He is speaking of choosing the Twelve for the office of apostle, and Judas was among them without being saved. Ephesians 1:4 speaks of something deeper: God choosing a people in Christ for salvation, and that kind of choosing carries all the riches of being His.

 

What has God chosen us for? Ephesians 1:4-6 names three things:

1. That we should be holy and without blame before Him in love

2. That we should be adopted as sons

3. That we should live to the praise of the glory of His grace

4. 

1. Holy and blameless

 

We are made holy and blameless by the blood of Jesus, not by our own works. Also, God has set us apart for Himself, which is the meaning of “holy.” As His people we are called to be holy as He is holy (1 Peter 1:16). We are not saved by our own righteousness, but we are to pursue holiness, grow in love, and become more like our Lord Jesus Christ.

 

One note on wording: in the Greek, “in love” can go with the end of verse 4, as the NKJV has it, or with the start of verse 5, “in love He predestined us.” Either way, love is both the way God chose us and the way He wants us to live.

 

2. Adopted as sons

 

Second, God predestined us for adoption as sons, according to the good pleasure of His will. Think about what that means. We were not only forgiven. We were brought into the family. John 1:13 reminds us how this happens:

 

John 1:13 (NKJV) who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God..

 

Our new birth and our adoption are God’s work from start to finish, and the position it gives us is glorious. We no longer approach God as strangers or as servants hoping to be tolerated. We come as children, and the Spirit teaches us to cry “Abba, Father” (Romans 8:15). John marvels at it: “Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God!” (1 John 3:1).

 

Being a child means being an heir. Paul says that if we are children, we are also “heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ” (Romans 8:17). Whatever belongs to the Son, we share. Ephesians itself looks ahead to this, saying that in Christ we have obtained an inheritance (Ephesians 1:11), and that the Holy Spirit is the guarantee of it (Ephesians 1:14). God has not left us to wonder whether the promise is real. He has put His own Spirit in us as a down payment.

 

That inheritance includes a home. Jesus told His disciples, “In My Father’s house are many mansions... I go to prepare a place for you” (John 14:2). The home we are promised is not a place we earned or a place we will merely visit. It is our Father’s house, and He has been preparing it for His children. Peter calls it an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and “reserved in heaven for you” (1 Peter 1:4). Nothing can spoil it, and nothing can take it from us.

 

Behind all of this stands God’s own choice. We did not earn this place, and we did not choose it first. We were chosen in Christ before the foundation of the world, according to the pleasure of His will, and the God who chose us is bringing us home.

 

3. To the praise of the glory of His grace

 

Third, all of this is to the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He made us accepted in the Beloved (Ephesians 1:6). Grace is the reason we are accepted, and God’s glory is the goal. Our salvation is meant to show who He is.

 

Living it out

 

God is at work in us to conform us to the image of His Son (Romans 8:29). We are children of the Father, and a home is waiting for us in His house. So we live like it. We make every effort to be holy and blameless before Him in love, we live as His children, and we praise His name at every opportunity, so that our lives are a testimony to everyone who sees us.

 

And we live with our eyes on home. The Father who chose us before the foundation of the world is preparing a place for His children, and that hope shapes how we walk until we get there.

Set Your Hope Fully

1 Peter 1:13

 

Do you remember this?

 

When we opened 1 Peter 1:3-12, we found the gospel condensed into a few verses, like the sweetness of milk and sugar packed into one little can. We found that we are born again, we have new life, we have an inheritance, we are kept by God, and we have a strong foundation for our faith. That is a lot of sweetness in a small space.

The Psalmist said of God’s word:

Psalm 19:10 (NKJV) More to be desired [are they] than gold, Yea, than much fine gold; Sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb.

Now Peter is going to tell us what to do with all that sweetness. He starts with a single word.

1 Peter 1:13 (NKJV) Therefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and rest [your] hope fully upon the grace that is to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ;

“Therefore”

“Therefore” is a hinge. It joins what Peter just said to what he is about to say. Peter is pointing back to verse 3: God “has begotten us again to a living hope.” So Peter is saying, Because you are born again to a living hope, set your hope fully on that living hope.

This is a pattern all through Scripture. Because God loved us, we love one another. Because God forgave us, we forgive one another. Ephesians does it on a grand scale: three chapters of rich doctrine, then three chapters of “so now, live like it.” Because this is true, live this way.

And notice what kind of sentence this is. It is a command, the first command in the whole letter. We are in the Lord’s army, and this is an order.

One command, two ways to carry it out

Here is the part that gets tangled if we are not careful, so let me say it plainly. The command is set your hope fully on grace. Girding up our minds and being sober are how we obey it.

That’s all. One command, two ways to carry it out.

1. Gird up the loins of your mind

In Peter’s day men wore long, flowing robes. That’s great for looking dignified and terrible for running. So when a man needed to work or run, he gathered up the loose fabric and tucked it into his belt. Nobody wants to be the guy who trips over his own robe in the middle of the race!

The NLT puts it this way: “prepare your minds for action.” The NIV says to have “minds that are alert.”

So what is the loose fabric? It’s our wandering thoughts. Worries. Doubts. Fears. The what-ifs that show up uninvited. And Paul tells us what to tuck them into:

Ephesians 6:14 (NKJV) Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth…

The belt of truth. And then, not much later, Paul gives us the helmet:

Ephesians 6:17 (NKJV) And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God;

Do you see what is protecting the mind? Hope. The helmet of salvation. When we look at our lives, our problems, and our future in the light of the gospel, our minds are guarded.

Now you may be thinking, “That sounds great, Pastor, but how do I actually do that at two in the morning when my mind is racing?”

Paul tells us:

2 Corinthians 10:5 (NKJV) …bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ,

Every thought gets arrested and brought to Jesus. That takes work. It means we have to pay attention to what we are thinking, and we need something to bring those thoughts to. So I urge you: fill your mind with Scripture. When the enemy throws a worry at you, you want a verse already loaded and ready to go.

Peter will tell us later who is behind much of this pressure:

1 Peter 5:8 (NKJV) Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.

2. Be sober

Peter uses this word two more times in this letter, and both times he is talking about staying alert:

1 Peter 4:7 (NKJV) But the end of all things is at hand; therefore be serious and watchful in your prayers.

Being sober means a clear head. It means not being intoxicated, and it means not being carried away by the things of this world, because the Lord is coming back.

And the danger is real. Peter will warn us in the very next verse not to be “conformed” to our former desires. To be conformed is to be squeezed into a mold, and a mold turns out the same shape every single time. If the desires of the flesh get hold of us, they will keep stamping out the same old person.

So we need new habits and new desires. Think about how the world celebrates. Very often, the world celebrates by getting drunk. But we have new life! We celebrate every day, and every Sunday is a celebration. God gives us a different way to do it:

Ephesians 5:18-19 (NKJV) And do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissipation; but be filled with the Spirit, speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord,

Instead of being filled with wine, we are filled with the Spirit and with songs. That is a celebration that keeps us grounded in our hope instead of running from it.

Hope fully on what?

So what are we setting our hope on? “The grace that is to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.”

Grace here is salvation in its fullness. Everything we tasted in verses 3-12 is not only something we received; it is something still being delivered. Our inheritance is “kept in heaven for you,” and we are “kept by the power of God” (1:4-5). A day is coming when Jesus is revealed, and all that sweetness is brought to us in full.

That tells us two things.

First, hope is not a feeling we have to manufacture. We are not earning anything by gritting our teeth. We obey this command because God has already made us alive, and He is the One who keeps us. Girding up our minds is not how we get saved; it is how we live as people who already are.

Second, “fully” means fully. Not half on the Lord’s return and half on a better job, a bigger bank account, or a quieter life. Peter says to rest your hope entirely on the grace that is coming. Everything else is a shaky foundation.

Conclusion

Therefore, brothers and sisters, do not let your hope drift. Do not let the cares of this world crowd it out. Take the slack of your wandering thoughts, tuck them securely into the belt of truth, stay alert, keep a clear head, and fix your gaze entirely on Him.

Look at life from the perspective that you are a child of God with a home waiting for you in heaven, and a glorious future grace about to break into our reality when Jesus Christ is revealed.

Next time we will see what kind of people that hope produces, as Peter moves on to verses 14-16.

Our Great Salvation

1 Peter 1:3-12

 

 

According to early church tradition, Peter died because he boldly preached the gospel. Jesus had hinted at it years earlier (John 21:18-19). But before he died, Peter made sure we would have the message he preached. He wrote it down, and he told us why:

2 Peter 1:12 & 15 (NKJV) 12 For this reason I will not be negligent to remind you always of these things, though you know and are established in the present truth. … 15 Moreover I will be careful to ensure that you always have a reminder of these things after my decease.

 

The gospel is the truth he speaks of, and the letters are the reminder. Today we are looking at 1 Peter 1:3-12, the opening of his first letter, and it is a condensed version of the gospel.

 

Have you ever seen this product? 

 

I picture all the goodness of a gallon of milk and a pound of sugar packed into this 14-ounce can. That's how I see these verses. A lifetime of truth is packed into as few words as possible, and today we're going to open the can and taste some of what's inside.

 

In these verses, Peter tells us what happens when we turn to Jesus, how that changes our lives, and how we can be sure it's true.

 

First, what happens when we turn to Jesus?

 

The short answer is: we are born again.

1 Peter 1:3-5 (NKJV) 3 Blessed [be] the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and that does not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, 5 who are kept by the power of God through faith for salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.

 

Peter begins with praise, and he has good reason to. Think about what God did. The Bible says the heavens are the work of His fingers. But when it speaks of salvation, it says, "The Lord has made bare His holy arm in the eyes of all the nations." (Isaiah 52:10) The arm is a picture of strength, and nothing shows the power of God like making a spiritually dead person alive. Paul calls it a new creation: "old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new." (2 Corinthians 5:17)

 

Notice who does the work. Peter says God "has begotten us again" according to His abundant mercy. Jesus told Nicodemus the same thing in John 3, that we must be "born from above." Birth is not something we accomplish. It is something done to us, and it is entirely the work of God. We turn to Jesus, trusting that He is Lord and that God raised Him from the dead, and when we do, we find that God has already been at work. We are alive in a completely new way. We are children of God and brothers and sisters of Jesus.

 

Why did it take a miracle? Because we were dead in our sins, and sin has to be dealt with. That is why Peter mentions "the sufferings of Christ" a few verses later. Jesus died in our place. Isaiah put it this way: "He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities... and by His stripes we are healed." (Isaiah 53:5) New life comes because He took our death. Turning to Jesus means turning from sin and trusting Him to save us.

 

Peter says this new birth gives us two gifts: a living hope and an inheritance.

A living hope. Notice what makes it living: "through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead." Our hope is alive because Jesus is alive. Let me use an illustration to explain.

 

Say a hen lays two eggs, and both are fertilized. Someone takes one, boils it, lets it cool, and slips it back into the nest. The hen keeps sitting on both. But the boiled egg has no chance of hatching. There's no life in it. That's the kind of hope the world offers. Even if it gives us a better life now, no hope built on anything but Christ can carry us past the grave. Jesus said:

Matthew 16:26 (NKJV) "For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?"

 

But the hope we have is built on a Savior who walked out of the tomb. That's the egg with life in it. And just as that egg doesn't yet look like a chick, we don't yet look like what we will become. But the life is real, and it's growing. In heaven we will enter a fuller and more glorious life than we can imagine.

 

An inheritance. Because we are God's children, we have an inheritance, and Peter describes it three ways: it is incorruptible, undefiled, and it does not fade away. It can't decay, it can't be stained, and it can't lose its beauty. It's "reserved in heaven for you." And it's secure for another reason as well. God is guarding us for it: we "are kept by the power of God through faith." He holds the inheritance, and He holds us.

 

That's a glimpse of what the new birth gives us. Now let's look at how it shapes our lives while we wait.

 

Second, how does this affect our lives?

 

1 Peter 1:6-9 (NKJV) 6 In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, you have been grieved by various trials, 7 that the genuineness of your faith, [being] much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ, 8 whom having not seen you love. Though now you do not see [Him,] yet believing, you rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory, 9 receiving the end of your faith--the salvation of your souls.

 

The first effect is great rejoicing. Peter says, "In this you greatly rejoice." Many of us feel this strongly when we first come to the Lord. But Peter doesn't say the joy fades and the grief takes over. He says they exist side by side: you rejoice, though you have been grieved. Joy and grief at the same time. That is one of the strangest and most wonderful things about following Jesus.

 

And grief is real. Peter doesn't wave it away. He says "grieved by various trials." Sometimes the grief seems more than we can bear. Paul once wrote that he and his companions were burdened "beyond measure, above strength, so that we despaired even of life." (2 Corinthians 1:8) The faithful can feel that way. What helps is not finding strength in ourselves. It's what the Lord told Paul:

2 Corinthians 12:9 (NKJV) "My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness."

 

And if you are in that place right now, don't carry it alone. Tell someone: a pastor, a friend, someone in this room. God often comforts us through His people. "The Lord is near to those who have a broken heart." (Psalm 34:18)

 

Peter also tells us there is purpose in it. Trials last "a little while," and God uses them the way a refiner uses fire. Gold is precious, but gold perishes. Our faith is far more precious than gold, and the fire shows that it's genuine. Paul says the same in Romans 8:

Romans 8:18 (NKJV) For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy [to be compared] with the glory which shall be revealed in us.

 

Notice what Peter says about the One who is with us in the fire: "whom having not seen you love." We have never seen Jesus, and still we love Him. We trust Him and call on Him in the storm. And Peter says that this love, held without sight, "with joy inexpressible and full of glory," is the sign that our faith is real. Our endurance is not what earns salvation. It is the evidence that God is keeping us, and the end of our faith is "the salvation of your souls."

 

So God may use some hot fires in our lives, but Jesus is always with us in them, and we can rejoice in Him even while we grieve.

 

Third, how can we be sure it's true?

 

How do we know this isn't just a fairy tale?

 

Peter's answer begins with the prophets.

1 Peter 1:10-12 (NKJV) 10 Of this salvation the prophets have inquired and searched carefully, who prophesied of the grace [that would come] to you, 11 searching what, or what manner of time, the Spirit of Christ who was in them was indicating when He testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ and the glories that would follow. 12 To them it was revealed that, not to themselves, but to us they were ministering the things which now have been reported to you through those who have preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven--things which angels desire to look into.

 

The prophets gave us the Old Testament, and they wrote about Christ hundreds of years before He came. Peter says "the Spirit of Christ" was in them, and that they testified beforehand about "the sufferings of Christ and the glories that would follow." Isaiah 53, which we read a moment ago, was written centuries before the cross. They didn't fully understand what they were writing, so they searched carefully. They were serving you, and even angels long to look into what you've received.

 

That is the first reason we can be sure: God announced it ahead of time, and then He did it.

 

The second reason is that the Bible is unlike any other book. It was written by more than forty men over more than a thousand years, and it tells one story. Some people say it has been changed over the centuries. But we have copies of Old Testament books, the Dead Sea Scrolls, that were written well over a century before Jesus was born. When we compare them to the copies we've used for centuries since, we find only minor differences in spelling and wording, none that affect what we believe. The message has been preserved.

 

Of course, a book that has been preserved isn't automatically true. But this one has been preserved, its prophecies came to pass, and Jesus Himself, who rose from the dead, trusted it completely.

 

Peter knew something about experience. He stood on a mountain, saw the glory of Jesus revealed, and heard the Father's voice. Yet later he wrote:

2 Peter 1:19 (NKJV) And so we have the prophetic word confirmed, which you do well to heed as a light that shines in a dark place...

 

Even after that unforgettable experience, he pointed people to the written word. Our experience with the Lord is real, and it is enough to convince those of us who know Him. But Scripture is the steady light that keeps our experience honest, especially on days when our feelings are not what they should be.

 

An invitation

 

If you ask Jesus to come into your life and make you a child of God, you will be born from above into a new life, with a glorious inheritance kept for you in heaven. You will be a new person.

John 1:12 (NKJV) But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name.

 

Romans 10:9 (NKJV) ...that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.

 

If you need to make that decision, or you've made it and need to get to know Jesus better, feed on the word of God. Start by reading the book of John. Listen to it on an app if you don't like to read. Read a verse or a whole book. However you do it, get the Bible into your mind and heart, and ask Jesus to show Himself to you. He will.

 

He wants to spend time with you. Don't refuse Him. Glory, honor, and praise wait for all who receive Him.

Rivers of Living Water

 Fear grips my heart as I prepare to write this.

 

The message of the gospel is that God loves you. God loves us. He tells us He does not want anyone to perish but wants everyone to come to repentance. In John 3:16, He tells us that He loved you and me so much that He gave His Son so that if we believe in Him, we will not perish.

 

This is all good news. 

 

However, the bad news is that the danger of perishing is real. God tells us He does not want anyone to perish because many are perishing. He tells us He gave His Son to save us from perishing because many are perishing. Even in John, God makes it clear that all those who do not believe in Jesus are lost.

 

No one wants to hear the part about perishing. Please do not stop reading. There is healing, joy, forgiveness, and life in Jesus. Jesus promises that, for all who come to Him, rivers of living water will flow from their innermost being.  

John 7:37-38 (NLT) “Anyone who is thirsty may come to me! Anyone who believes in me may come and drink! For the Scriptures declare, ‘Rivers of living water will flow from his heart.’”

 

I hope this truth is enough to convince you to turn to Jesus.

 

But because time is short, can I ask you to read Isaiah 24? Read it and ask yourself, “Is God talking about things that are about to happen now?” 

 

Jesus said, “Yes, I am coming soon!” (Revelation 22:20)

https://www.bible.com/bible/116/REV.22.20.NLT

 

Here is the source of my fear. Many will dismiss what I am saying because they disagree with my interpretation of prophecy. Since you are still reading, let me ask you a question. If something awful were to happen—an accident, a stroke, or some unforeseen event—and you died, would prophecy make any difference? If you suddenly found yourself in the presence of God, whether or not the world was ending would not mean anything to you. Rather, you would be answering God’s questions about your life.

 

I am writing this to plead with you to call upon the name of the Lord now, while you have time. Romans 10:13 tells us:

Romans 10:13 (NKJV) For “whoever calls on the name of the LORD shall be saved.”

 

Here is a link to Isaiah 24 in the New Living Translation. Many people find the New Living Translation easy to understand.

 

https://www.bible.com/bible/116/ISA.24.NLT

 

The Battle of the “gods”

Exodus 7

 

 

As we begin our look into Exodus 7, we need to remember the details from chapter 5. Exodus chapter 5 records Moses and Aaron’s first encounter with Pharaoh. They told Pharaoh that God had met with them and instructed them to go into the wilderness to offer sacrifices to Him. When Pharaoh said “No,” they insisted, saying, “God says, 'Let My people go!'” Pharaoh responded, “Who is the LORD, that I should obey His voice to let Israel go? I do not know the LORD, nor will I let Israel go.” (Exodus 5:2)

 

Then, because God had been so bold as to tell Pharaoh what to do, Pharaoh persecuted God’s people mercilessly, so that they despaired even of their lives. However, God reassured His people that He would deliver them.

 

Now we come to Exodus 7. The Israelites had suffered under increasing burdens long enough to know their situation was hopeless, and for Pharaoh to believe he had won. At just the right time, God told Moses and Aaron to go and speak to Pharaoh. God told them:

Exodus 7:9 (NKJV) “When Pharaoh speaks to you, saying, ‘Show a miracle for yourselves,’ then you shall say to Aaron, ‘Take your rod and cast [it] before Pharaoh, [and] let it become a serpent.’ ”

 

So, in obedience to the Lord, Moses and Aaron went before Pharaoh and repeated the command of the Lord to let God’s people go. And, sure enough, just as God had said, Pharaoh demanded they show a sign. Following this, Exodus 7:10-13 tells us:

Exodus 7:10-13 (NKJV) 10 So Moses and Aaron went in to Pharaoh, and they did so, just as the LORD commanded. And Aaron cast down his rod before Pharaoh and before his servants, and it became a serpent. 11 But Pharaoh also called the wise men and the sorcerers; so the magicians of Egypt, they also did in like manner with their enchantments. 12 For every man threw down his rod, and they became serpents. But Aaron’s rod swallowed up their rods. 13 And Pharaoh’s heart grew hard, and he did not heed them, as the LORD had said.

 

Things are happening here that the text doesn't spell out. Let’s consider some of the historical and cultural significance of what God is doing. 

 

God’s wisdom, knowledge, and power have no limits, and He shows us this truth in these events.

 First, let’s consider God’s purpose in choosing to use a staff, a stick, for His first miracle. The staff was essential to the imagery and position Pharaoh held in Egypt. Pharaoh carried a staff to show his care for and protection of the people of Egypt, like a shepherd. The staff also represented his divine right to rule. Look at the picture above. Do you see the staff and flail that Pharaoh is holding? You will notice the crook at the end of the staff. That is because it is a shepherd’s staff. Shepherd’s staffs have not changed for thousands of years! (Remember, Moses was a shepherd, and the staffs that Moses and Aaron held would have been actual shepherd’s staffs.)

 

 

Second, the serpent held great significance for the Egyptians. In the picture above, do you notice the snake on the front of the crown?

 

In ancient Egypt, the serpent represented both divine royal protection and new life, and, believe it or not, the serpent also symbolized chaos and destruction. Life or destruction depended on whether or not the serpent was on your side! Pharaoh wore a stylized cobra on the front of his crown. The serpent on the front of his crown represented the idea that Pharaoh embodied the gods. He was a god in the flesh. However, Pharaoh did not represent just one god. Do you notice the head of a hawk next to the serpent in the picture above? The Hawk represented a different Egyptian god. So, Pharaoh contained, in his person, more than one god, and his crown reminded everyone that he was a god.

 

Please recall with me that in Scripture, Satan is called a serpent, and the great serpent of old (Revelation 12:9). The devil and demons were the power behind the gods of Egypt. What followed in Egypt was the battle of Satan’s false gods as they tried to stand against the one true God. When the magicians of Egypt matched the signs performed by Aaron and Moses, they either used sleight-of-hand tricks or demonstrated the power of demons.

 

When Aaron’s staff, which had become a serpent, swallowed the staffs of Pharaoh’s servants, God showed that He was more powerful.

 

By using the staff for this miraculous sign, God directly challenged Pharaoh’s authority and claim to be a god. In addition, when God demonstrated the dominance of His staff, He revealed something every leader should know: no authority exists except what God gives. Most significantly, when God’s staff swallowed the magicians’ staffs, God made it clear that He is the One and Only God. His name is Yaweh (Jehovah), and He is the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

 

Today, Pharaoh shows us what happens to those who harden their hearts against God. In the end, they die. Romans 6:23 explains this truth as follows:

Romans 6:23 (NKJV) For the wages of sin [is] death, but the gift of God [is] eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

 

God records what happened in Egypt to teach us about redemption. We are born into a world enslaved by sin. The serpent of old controls this world. The Bible speaks of this when it says:

2 Timothy 2:26 (NKJV) and [that] they may come to their senses [and] [escape] the snare of the devil, having been taken captive by him to [do] his will.

 

Everyone in the world is held captive to do the will of the devil until they are redeemed from sin. In other words, we are set free, metaphorically delivered from slavery in Egypt.

 

When the Jews celebrate the Passover every year, they retell the story of redemption. Much of the Passover celebration points to the work of Yeshua the Messiah and the redemption He completed.

 

Pharaoh’s magicians were able to change their staffs into serpents by the power of the evil one. So, Pharaoh dismissed the miracle and maintained his position as Egypt’s “god.” 

 

But the first Egyptian god had lost the battle. 

 

Next, God turned the water in the Nile to blood along with all the water in Egypt. The Nile and its waters were the source of life and were personified as an Egyptian deity.

 

When Pharaoh’s servants also reproduced this miracle, Pharaoh once again dismissed God’s work and maintained his hold over the people.

 

However, another Egyptian god was defeated and shown powerless before the One True God. If Pharaoh’s magicians had turned the blood back into water, that would have been more useful and a true demonstration of power!

 

Then came the frogs, with the same results. The magicians also called forth frogs, which might have shown power but did nothing to help. Frogs represented a major Egyptian god, and they were sacred. God trapped the Egyptians in a sea of frogs that they could not kill lest they bring down the wrath of their god.

 

After these first two plagues, Pharaoh’s magicians could not reproduce any of the miracles. However, each of the ten plagues challenged an Egyptian god. One by one, Egypt’s gods fell before the power of the One True God. 

 

Israel had spent hundreds of years under the dominion of these gods. They needed to be set free of them. However, they grew up believing they could not live without these gods. The Nile was life, the frogs were fertility, and so on. Through the process of delivering them, God taught the Israelites that He was all they needed. Israel and the peoples of the world needed to see that there is only one God that we should worship.

 

God is still working miracles in lives. We were all slaves of sin and under the rule of the false shepherd, the serpent. On the Cross, Jesus defeated Satan. Satan lost the battle spectacularly. All the false gods in our lives (the things we thought we couldn't live without) were defeated, and we were set free. 

 

In the years after they left Egypt, we see that God worked for many years to complete the work of freeing the children of Israel from Egypt. This is true of us. We have been set free from the dominion of the god of this world and now belong to the kingdom of God’s Son, Jesus Christ.However, we grew up believing many of Satan’s lies. Thus, we often think that we are still slaves. But God has given us an answer. We can find it in the words of Jesus. 

John 8:31-32 (NKJV) 31 “If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. 32 “And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”

 

If we take God at His word, if we believe God’s word, we will be free. God has defeated everything the devil uses to make us think we are slaves. By abiding in the word of Jesus, we are set free! Freedom comes from taking God at His word.