What is TTPOHG? – Day 10

· Chris Thompson

Med#10: TTPOHG: this is what we are.
Ephesians 1:12 ..to the end that we who were the first to hope in Christ would be To The Praise Of His Glory (TTPOHG).
This JPP (Jesus Prepositional Phrase) is pretty straightforward: ‘hope in Christ.’ A prepositional phrase functioning as an adverb modifying the verb ‘hope’. It is necessary, I think, to pause over the phrase ‘to the praise of His glory’, which is repeated 3 times in the chapter: v6, v12, and v14. It seems obvious that we are given over and over in Scripture the mandate to ‘praise ye the Lord’; but how often do we see ourselves as praise?

Reflection Questions
How are we praise?
What are the implications of such a role?
Is it wise for God to make us feel so special?

Inheritance & More Pregnant Words – Day 9

· Chris Thompson

Med#9: More pregnant words…
Ephesians 1:11 In Him also we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to His purpose who works all things after the counsel of His will..
So, if it wasn’t enough that Jesus should include us in His plans, He adds to the aforementioned blessings the idea of inheritance – and there’s that word ‘predestined’ again. Does this mean that way before you and I were born, He decided to put us in His will?

Reflection Questions
How does this truth make you feel?
How is this inheritance similar to its earthly counterpart?
What is His will and what does it mean that ‘He works all things after the counsel of (it)’?

The Summing- Day 8

· Chris Thompson

Med#8: The Summing: sounds like a title for a curious novel or movie.
Ephesians 1:10 ..with a view to an administration suitable to the fulness of the times, that is, the summing up of all things in Christ, things in the heavens and things on the earth.
I will attempt to retell this verse in my limited capacity as an amateur Bible scholar: Some day, Jesus will make everything that is wrong in the universe right and we get to be involved.

Reflection Questions
My goodness, what are some of the implications of such a ‘summing’?
How did/does/will Jesus do this?
What should this stir in us?

The Mystery – Day 7

· Chris Thompson

Med#7: Mystery…oooh..
Ephesians 1:8b & 9 – In all wisdom and insight He made known to us the mystery of His will, according to His kind intention which He purposed in Him..
‘..purposed in Him..’ In Jesus, we get a view of a glorious and permanent future, which is sort of the present.

Reflection Questions
Why does God want to show us the future?
How is this a mystery, given that He is so eager to reveal it?
How are some ways that we know the future is now?

Redemption- Day 6

· Chris Thompson

Med#6: Redemption: one of those unavoidable, pregnant NT words.
Ephesians 1:7 In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses according to the riches of His grace..
I am aware that believers often lose their unbelieving friends in conversations about Jesus because we use language that is almost foreign to them. I do not think we need to dumb down the gospel, but some words could be replaced with better synonyms. However, some words are irreplaceable, and maybe clarification of these massively meaningful words could be a part of conversations with skeptics; words like gospel, salvation, adoption, predestination, redemption.

Reflection Questions
How would you explain the word ‘redemption’ to an unbeliever?
What is the connection of redemption and blood?
What other life aspects besides your own sinful soul have been redeemed in your life?

To The Praise of His Glory – Day 5

· Chris Thompson

Med#5: ..to the praise of His glory.
Ephesians 1:6 ..to the praise of the glory of His grace, which He freely bestowed on us in the Beloved.
More PP’s. Consider verse 6 from the Amplified Bible:
“[So that we might be] to the praise and the commendation of His glorious grace (favour and mercy), which He freely bestowed on us in the Beloved.”
Here, Jesus is referred to by the title ‘Beloved’; and the JPP (Jesus prepositional phrase) is ‘in the Beloved’. Generally, Ephesians 1:3-14 can be divided as follows: vv 3 to 6 about Father; vv 7 to 12 about Jesus; and vv 13 and 14 about Spirit. This works fine; it is these numerous JPP’s that kind of mess with this neat breakdown. Read and see for yourself. All of the Spiritual blessings mentioned, whether blessings from God, the Son, or the Spirit, are in, of, and through Jesus.

Reflection Questions
1) Think about the phrase ‘to the praise’; literarily, how is ‘praise’ used?
2) How do you define “grace”?
3) How is grace bestowed on us?

Predestination- Reflections Day 4

· Chris Thompson

Med#4: Predestination: too much to fathom?
Ephesians 1:5 He predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the kind intention of His will..
We are, quite simply, predestined through Jesus; but, predestined for what and how? Consider the other PP’s (prepositional phrases) in verse 5 and again realize who you are and what you have as a believer.

Reflection Questions
1) Compare and contrast ‘chosen’ and ‘predestined’. Why both?
2) Does this fact humble you or compel you to ask for humility?
3) What does ‘adoption’ mean to you?

The Chosen- Day 3 Reflection

· Chris Thompson

Med#3: The Chosen … ya, even you.
Ephesians 1:4 ..just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and blameless before Him.
Here the JPP (Jesus Prepositional Phrase) is adverbial, that is it modifies the past tense verb, ‘chose’.

Reflection Questions
1) If God is the subject of the Bible, what/who is the object?
2) How do you feel about this truth: that you are chosen?
3) In what context were we chosen?

Have You Checked This Out?

· Chris Thompson

Some of you may have seen the Questions program that Duff, Mike and Chris have been putting out over the past couple of years. Some of you may not have noticed or not checked it out yet. Our goal with Questions is to engage the church and non-churched people in thoughtful discussion around faith and […]

Are You Connected?

· Chris Thompson

John 15: 4-5
“Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.”

This has always been a passage that I appreciate. It reminds me that I need to stay connected to Jesus, and to be rooted in my faith. It reminds me that I am not the source and that it is Jesus in me that enables me to live and love as I should. It is not my strength, my will, or my dedication that enable me to “bear fruit”. It is my connection and relationship to Jesus that does. I draw strength, hope, joy, love from the true vine and as I take more and more of that into myself it begins to pour out of every aspect of my life.
There is one other aspect to this passage that I have overlooked in the past and that is that it is about US and not ME. All the “you’s” in this passage are plural. While this might not be a huge revelation to you, it is another reminder to me that I am not doing this alone. That Jesus calls us to do this together. We all grow together as we draw our lives upon Jesus. As Jesus works in each of us, he uses us to help encourage, mold and shape each other. It is a pretty unimpressive thing to see a plant where only one shoot or branch has sprouted, but to see a tree in full bloom is a thing of great beauty.
My hope in this:
1) You are able to remain strong in your connection to Jesus and experience a deepening of your relationship with him.
2) That you can have people whom you journey with as you grow and bear fruit together.