Transcript Ephesians, Phillipians and Colossians

Ephesians
Philippians
Colossians
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“I urge you, then---I who am a prisoner because
I serve the Lord: live a life that measures up to
the standard God set when he called you.”
(Ephesians 4:1 – GN)
“For the sake of this gospel I am an ambassador,
though now I am in prison.” (Ephesians 6:20 –
GN)
“As a result, the whole palace guard and all the
others here know that I am in prison because I
am a servant of Christ.” (Philippians 1:13 – GN)
“At the same time pray also for us, so that God
will give us a good opportunity to preach his
message about the secret of Christ. For that is
why I am now in prison.” (Colossians 4:3 – GN)
Cosmic Conflict Theology
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“God did what he had purposed, and
made known to us the secret plan he had
already decided to complete by means of
Christ. This plan, which God will complete
when the time is right, is to bring all
creation together, everything in heaven
and on earth, with Christ as head.”
(Ephesians 1:9-10 GNB)
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“Through the Son, then, God decided to
bring the whole universe back to himself.
God made peace through his Son’s blood
on the cross and so brought back to
himself all things, both on earth and in
heaven.” (Colossians 1:20 GNB)
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“Then war broke out in heaven. Michael
and his angels fought against the dragon,
who fought back with his angels; but the
dragon was defeated, and he and his
angels were not allowed to stay in heaven
any longer. The huge dragon was thrown
out---that ancient serpent, named the
Devil, or Satan, that deceived the whole
world. He was thrown down to earth, and
all his angels with him.” (Revelation 12:79 GNB)
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“God, who is the Creator of all things, kept
his secret hidden through all the past ages,
in order that at the present time, by means
of the church, the angelic rulers and
powers in the heavenly world might learn of
his wisdom in all its different forms.”
(Ephesians 3:9-10 GNB)
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“Put on all the armor that God gives you, so
that you will be able to stand up against the
Devil's evil tricks. For we are not fighting
against human beings but against the wicked
spiritual forces in the heavenly world, the
rulers, authorities, and cosmic powers of this
dark age. So put on God's armor now! Then
when the evil day comes, you will be able to
resist the enemy's attacks; and after fighting
to the end, you will still hold your ground.”
(Ephesians 6:11-13 GNB)
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“In our union with Christ Jesus he raised
us up with him to rule with him in the
heavenly world.” (Ephesians 2:6-7 – GN)
“We, however, are citizens of heaven, and
we eagerly wait for our Savior, the Lord
Jesus Christ, to come from heaven.”
(Philippians 3:20 – GN)
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“So then, you Gentiles are not foreigners
or strangers any longer; you are now
citizens together with God's people and
members of the family of God.”
(Ephesians 2:19-21)
Cosmic conflict in the early
Christian church
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“Their utter stupidity (of the Christians)
can be illustrated in any number of ways,
but especially with their misreading of the
divine enigmas and their insistence that
there exists a being opposed to God,
whom they know by the name devil (in
Hebrew, Satanas…” Celsus 175-177 AD
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“It is blasphemy to say that when the
greatest God indeed wishes to confer
some benefit upon men, He has a power
which is opposed to Him, and so is unable
to do it.” - Celsus
Origin 244 AD
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Validates that the early Christians viewed
Ezekiel 28 and Isaiah 14 as referring to
Satan
“The supreme theologian of free will.”
“Origin not only maintains an unremitting
focus on how Satan has misrepresented
God, but he also expresses the thrust of
the satanic activity in ways that are
difficult to surpass.” - Tonstad
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People, “are dragged down by this wicked
daemon and are drawn away in their soul
from God and the right conception of Him
and from His Word.” – Origin
“The problem facing the human family and
the core issue in cosmic conflict theology
center on the character of God.” - Tonstad
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“Evil arose in the context of freedom; there could not
be evil in the absence of freedom. And yet freedom
only provides the opportunity and is not the cause of
evil. Freedom is the value that God will not surrender
even the face of sin…Unlike the God envisioned by
Celsus, the God who is revealed in Jesus is a God who
values freedom so highly that He allows precisely the
things that Celsus has declared to be logically
impossible…In Celsus’ outlook freedom is not
understood or imagined while in the Christian account
freedom is seamlessly tied to the character of God.
God has, as it were, taken upon Himself to pay the
price for freedom rather than solve the problem of sin
by abolishing it.” - Tonstad
Cosmic conflict theology
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1. The central issue of issues in the cosmic
conflict is the character of God
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“Now the snake was the most cunning
animal that the LORD God had made. The
snake asked the woman, ‘Did God really tell
you not to eat fruit from any tree in the
garden?’” (Genesis 3:1 – GNB)
“The snake replied, ‘That’s not true; you
will not die. God said that because he
knows that when you eat it, you will be like
God and know what is good and what is
bad.’” Genesis 3:4,5 – GNB)
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“My people are destroyed because they
don’t know me.” (Hosea 4:6 – NLT)
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“Wherever they went, they gave me a bad name.
People said, ‘These are GOD’s people, but they
got kicked off his land.’ I suffered much pain over
my holy reputation, which the people of Israel
blackened in every country they entered.
‘Therefore, tell Israel…I’m not doing this for you,
Israel. I’m doing it for me, to save my character,
my holy name, which you've blackened in every
country where you’ve gone. I’m going to put my
great and holy name on display, the name that
has been ruined in so many countries, the name
that you blackened wherever you went.” (Ezekiel
36:20-23, MSG)
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“No one has ever seen God. The only Son,
who is the same as God and is at the
Father's side, he has made him known.”
(John 1:18 GNB)
“And eternal life means to know you…On
earth, I have fulfilled the mission you gave
me to do…I revealed your name
(character).” (John 17:3-6)
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“For I am not ashamed of the gospel…For
in it the righteousness of God is
revealed…” (Romans 1:16-17 ESV)
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“I reckon everything as complete loss for
the sake of what is so much more
valuable, the knowledge of Christ Jesus
my Lord. For his sake I have thrown
everything away; I consider it all as mere
garbage, so that I may gain Christ and be
completely united with him. …All I want is
to know Christ…” (Philippians 3:8-10)
Cosmic conflict theology
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2. Prayer
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“Daniel, don’t be afraid. God has
heard your prayers ever since the first
day you decided to humble yourself in
order to rain understanding. I have
come in answer to your prayer.”
(Daniel 10:1,11-13)
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“The angel prince of the kingdom of Persia*
opposed me for twenty-one days. Then
Michael, one of the chief angels, came to help
me… Now I have to go back and fight the
guardian angel of Persia. After that the
guardian angel of Greece will appear. There is
no one to help me except Michael, Israel’s
guardian angel. He is responsible for helping
and defending me” (Daniel 10:13,20; 11:1 –
GN).
* ”spirit prince of the kingdom of Persia”
Cosmic conflict theology
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3. Theodicy
Job, Habakkuk
“His disciples asked him, ‘Teacher, whose sin
caused him to be born blind? Was it his own or
his parents’ sin?’ Jesus answered, ‘His blindness
has nothing to do with his sins or his parents’
sins.’” (John 9:2-3, GNB)
God’s response to Satan’s rebellion and the false
accusations
Force
Arguments and Claims
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“You belong to your father, Satan, and
you want to carry out your father's
desires. From the start he was a
murderer, and he has never stood by the
truth, because there is no truth in him.
When he tells a lie, he is speaking in
character; because he is a liar -- indeed,
the inventor of the lie!” (John 8:44, CJB)
Evidence
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“God could have destroyed Satan and his
sympathizers as easily as one can cast a
pebble to the earth; but he did not do this.
Rebellion was not to be overcome by force.
Compelling power is found only under
Satan's government. The Lord's principles
are not of this order. His authority rests
upon goodness, mercy, and love; and the
presentation of these principles is the
means to be used. God's government is
moral, and truth and love are to be the
prevailing power.”
Cosmic conflict theology
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4. Our mission
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“It does not matter at all whether or not
one is circumcised; what does matter is…
being a new creature.” (Galatians 6:15)
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“I ask God from the wealth of his glory to give
you power through his Spirit to be strong in your
inner selves, and I pray that Christ will make his
home in your hearts through faith. I pray that you
may have your roots and foundation in love, so
that you, together with all God's people, may
have the power to understand how broad and
long, how high and deep, is Christ's love. Yes,
may you come to know his love---although it can
never be fully known---and so be completely filled
with the very nature of God.” (Ephesians 3:16-19)
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“Be always humble, gentle, and patient.
Show your love by being tolerant with one
another. Do your best to preserve the
unity which the Spirit gives by means of
the peace that binds you together.”
(Ephesians 4:2-3, GNB)
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“Since, then, we do not have the excuse of
ignorance, everything--and I do mean
everything--connected with that old way of
life has to go. It's rotten through and
through. Get rid of it! And then take on an
entirely new way of life--a God-fashioned
life, a life renewed from the inside and
working itself into your conduct as God
accurately reproduces his character in
you.” (Ephesians 4:22-24, MSG)
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“Since you are God's dear children, you
must try to be like him. Your life must be
controlled by love, just as Christ loved
us…” (Ephesians 5:1-2, GNB)
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“Your life in Christ makes you strong, and his love
comforts you. You have fellowship with the Spirit,
and you have kindness and compassion for one
another. I urge you, then, to make me
completely happy by having the same thoughts,
sharing the same love, and being one in soul and
mind. Don't do anything from selfish ambition or
from a cheap desire to boast, but be humble
toward one another, always considering others
better than yourselves. And look out for one
another's interests, not just for your own. The
attitude you should have is the one that Christ
Jesus had:” (Philippians 2:1-5)
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“He always had the nature of God, but he
did not think that by force he should try to
remain equal with God. Instead of this, of
his own free will he gave up all he had, and
took the nature of a servant. He became
like a human being and appeared in human
likeness. He was humble and walked the
path of obedience all the way to death--his death on the cross.” (Philippians 2:6-8)
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“You are the people of God; he loved you
and chose you for his own. So then, you
must clothe yourselves with compassion,
kindness, humility, gentleness, and
patience. Be tolerant with one another and
forgive one another whenever any of you
has a complaint against someone else. You
must forgive one another just as the Lord
has forgiven you. And to all these qualities
add love, which binds all things together in
perfect unity.” (Colossians 3:12-14, GNB)
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“And now I give you a new
commandment: love one another” (John
13:34 – GN)
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“judgmental”
“hypocritical”
“anti-homosexual”
“too involved in politics”
“insensitive to others”
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“Every time you criticize someone, you
condemn yourself.” (Romans 2:1 – The
Message)
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“Don’t pick on people, jump on their
failures, criticize their faults—unless, of
course, you want the same treatment.
Don’t condemn those who are down; that
hardness can boomerang. Be easy on
people; you’ll find life a lot easier. Give
away your life; you’ll find life given back,
but not merely given back—given back
with bonus and blessing. Giving, not
getting, is the way. Generosity begets
generosity.” (Luke 6:37,38 – The Message)
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“And now I give you a new
commandment: love one another. As I
have loved you, so you must love one
another. If you have love for one another,
then everyone will know that you are my
disciples.”(John 13:34-35 – GN)