Week 26—Wednesday Ephesians 1:3-6
Week 26—WEDNESDAY
FIRST A DEED THEN A DESCRIPTION
We are looking at Luke’s summing up of the Divine Redemptive Impact in the Word become flesh.
We saw that the gospel begins with the Person—Jesus. He didn’t come to bring the good news—he was the Good News. The gospel lies in his Person.
This gospel does not begin with a philosophy about life, not a moralism to regulate life—it was a revelation of Life itself. “I am . . . the Life.” Jesus is the revelation of Reality. He uncovered the nature of Being. And when he does, it is so beautiful that we want to be like that Being. If we don’t, we cease to be—we wither into non-being; we perish.
And this revelation of Life was not a description of Life—it was a demonstration of Life. Of “all that Jesus began to do and teach.” It was first a deed, then a description—he “began to do”—a deed and then “teach”—a description. We reverse this; we begin to teach and then hope that our doing will catch up with our teaching. A student said to a famous theologian, “Dr. N., you are always saying that all human doing is touched and corrupted by human pride. We find you an illustration of that, for you are full of pride yourself—proud that you can expose human pride.” And the theologian replied: “I am the illustration of that pride, not its cure.” But it was different with Jesus—he taught out of his doing. His teaching was an interpretation of his doing. Everything he taught was operative within himself. A Hindu was impressed by this difference and said, “We are glad to hear about a man who illustrated what he said.” In Jesus you can’t tell where his words end and his deeds begin and where his deeds begin and his words end, for his deeds were words and his words were deeds. They were one and a part of one Reality. So his teaching was sunlight—firsthand, not moonlight—secondhand. You don’t argue with him. He commands and you either obey, or go away—sadly.
O Jesus, Savior and Lord, you are not a Divine Signpost pointing the way. You are the Way, for you are walking the Way ahead of us. So we follow—gladly, for we see the outcome and the end—in you. How wonderful you are. Amen.
AFFIRMATION FOR THE DAY: May the order be for me this day: Do and teach.