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THINKING MORE HIGHLY OF GOD!

In Acts 9:10 - 17a we have a snapshot of a disciple by the name of Ananias. As far as I know, it the only snapshot we have in the New Testament of this particular believer. But, there is enough detail in it to prompt us to stop and take a close look at this man. We read:
In Damascus there was a disciple named Ananias. The Lord called to him in a vision, "Ananias!" "Yes, Lord," he answered. 11 The Lord told him, "Go to the house of Judas on Straight Street and ask for a man from Tarsus named Saul, for he is praying. 12 In a vision he has seen a man named Ananias come and place his hands on him to restore his sight." 13 "Lord," Ananias answered, "I have heard many reports about this man and all the harm he has done to your saints in Jerusalem. 14 And he has come here with authority from the chief priests to arrest all who call on your name." 15 But the Lord said to Ananias, "Go! This man is my chosen instrument to carry my name before the Gentiles and their kings and before the people of Israel. 16 I will show him how much he must suffer for my name." 17 Then Ananias went to the house and entered it. Placing his hands on Saul,

Saul’s reputation, as reputations are inclined to do, preceded him. The believers in Damascus had heard of this persecutor of the church from some who had fled Jerusalem. They knew, as gleaned from more than one individual, that this guy was real bad, really bad, really really bad. So when Ananias was told to go and welcome Saul to Damascus he took issue with the Lord.

But to his credit, when told to “GO” he went to the house of Judas on Straight Street, stormed in, and laid hands on Saul before Saul could lay hands on him! A good defense, as Coach Landry always told me, is a good offense. No, that is not what happened. Ananias went to Judas’ home and had the privilege of not simply restoring Saul’s sight but of ushering him into the Kingdom of God.

Saul’s bad reputation, as you know or can imagine, initially hindered him from doing what God called him to do. And in this story, Ananias’ reluctance to go see Saul is quite understandable. He drew the Lord’s attention to it, and consequently we also tend to look at it.

But, let me ask you a question. What do you think Ananias’ reputation was with the Lord? What do you think the angels talked about when they talked about this man. You’ve guessed correctly. Ananias had the reputation for being courageous. He had the reputation of being obedient even when he didn’t know where it would lead him. He had the reputation of doing what God wanted him to do in the right spirit.

After all, he could have walked down Straight Street grumbling and mumbling to himself all the way. Then, as he stormed into Judas’ home he would have been primed to really lay hands on Saul the old-fashioned way. But, evidently, he walked down Straight Street with more questions than answers. He walked down the street wondering what miracle God had pulled off on that day. He walked down with a “wait and see” attitude hoping for the best.

Now let me ask you another question. Would it be appropriate to say, “Blessed be Ananias for having the courage to usher Saul into the Kingdom. Blessed be Ananias for being obedient to God.”? Sure! It would also be appropriate to say, “Blessed be God for whacking Saul alongside the head so as to get his attention. Blessed be God for confronting Saul, picking him up, brushing him off, and redeeming him.”
Now admittedly, what God did that week was far more impressive, in the scheme of things, than what Ananias did during the same week. But, we have to admit that what Ananias did took a heap of courage. And, for him to do it with the right spirit is equally, if not more so, impressive. In my book, Ananias belongs in God’s Hall of Fame.

You see, what people think about a person becomes that person’s reputation. In Saul’s case, he had a horrible reputation. In Ananias’ case, well in his case, people don’t think much about Ananias. That is, he is an individual in Scripture that isn’t really on anyone’s radar screen. If I said to you, tell me about Ananias, you’d say “who?”. But, in Acts 9, if any believer had been given a choice as to who they would like to go out to lunch with, Saul or Ananias, Saul would have been eating alone.

Now we can’t do anything to enhance Ananias’ performance during that particular week in his life, nor would we want to even try to enhance it. But we can applaud it. We can enhance his reputation by thinking more highly of him than we did yesterday. And, we can enhance it by giving others good reason to think highly of Ananias.

What I’ve attempted to do with Ananias, Paul does with God in the first part of Ephesians. He did it, if I can dare ascribe motivation to him, because we don’t think highly enough about God.
So take a deep breath, for in the Greek vv. 3 - 14, are one long sentence, and read:
3 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. 4 For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love 5 he predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will-- 6 to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves. 7 In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God's grace 8 that he lavished on us with all wisdom and understanding. 9 And he made known to us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure, which he purposed in Christ, 10 to be put into effect when the times will have reached their fulfilment--to bring all things in heaven and on earth together under one head, even Christ. 11 In him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will, 12 in order that we, who were the first to hope in Christ, might be for the praise of his glory. 13 And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, 14 who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God's possession--to the praise of his glory.
Paul begins at the beginning, that is, he begins with the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Most of us tend to look at things beginning with ourselves, our own experiences, and come up with a pretty nearsighted view of reality. Consequently our view of life tends to ascend or descend with how we’re feeling on any particular day. But Paul doesn’t make that mistake, he believes that reality is best seen from God’s perspective.

Now the summary statement, v. 3, tells us that we have been “blessed with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places.” I don’t know about you, but when I hear that I have been blessed in the heavenly places with every spiritual blessing I start thinking that I’d rather hear that I’ve been blessed in Chandler, Mesa, or Tempe. I mean, if I’m going to win the lottery, if God is going lavish on me the riches of His grace (v. 8), I’d prefer to be lavished upon in the here and now as opposed to the hereafter.

Good point! But, the Bible for dummies, that’s the Bible I use, tells us that in Christ we are new creatures. It tells us that there is now a new dimension within us, a change in the landscape within us, where our spirits have been made alive to the things of God. That is, Scripture makes it clear to us that in a very real sense we have been raised up to the realms of heaven.

That is, we have been raised up to where the action is really taking place; to where the real battles are fought and are either won or lost. So what Paul is saying is that in the spiritual dimension, where things really count, on this higher plane where we really live and breathe, where we have our citizenship, we’ve been lavished with more than we deserve and with more than we can possibly imagine.

The second thing that bothers me about this passage is that if we tend to be cynical, and who isn’t in this age, it is easy to get the feeling that everything that has been done and will be done is simply for “the praise of God’s glory.” I mean, if we’re not careful it’s easy to conclude that God’s ego evidently needs to be massaged every now and then by our praise songs.

Nothing, of course, could be further from the truth. Paul is rightly enhancing our “too small” view of God. He is telling us that God has done such remarkable deeds, that once we understand them, there will be nothing that we can do but be overwhelmed with the desire to praise God. It isn’t that God needs our praise, it is that he deserves to be honored by our praise.

Just as Ananias deserves the honor he so rarely receives for how well he handled the divine directive given to him, so God deserves to be honored for his wonderful deeds. Deeds that far outweigh anything us mortals might do on earth.

The third thing that bothers me about this passage is the word “predestined” as in “he predestined us.” This sounds like some of us are “predestined” to be in His Kingdom while others are condemned to forever be on the outside. Such is not the case, and anyone who thinks so has not completely read the (very long) sentence. Nor has he or she seen what all of this is saying about God’s ability to plan things out.

What Paul is saying is that God has not acted in a purposeless manner. In his planning, God has the end in mind. And, what he has in mind is something special for the likes of us; namely sonship. He has a destiny in mind which necessitates us being holy and blameless. In this way, we can have fellowship with the Father and thoroughly enjoy the heavenly realms.
Now let me catalog the blessings. They are:
!) We are chosen to be in Christ.
2) We are chosen to part of His family where each is holy and blameless.
3) We are predestined to be like Christ.
4) Our guilt, real guilt, has been removed.
5) He has shared his plans with us.
6) He has appointed us to be a demonstration of all that he has done.
7) He has marked us as his own.
Now I must tell you that to be chosen is not the same as to be predestined. The former is strictly a function to God’s grace, the latter a function of his plan. Yes, our being comes with responsibilities as is made clear in I Peter 1:2 but it also carries with it the idea of “being wanted.” You see, what God chooses to do is not a matter of something he just has to do before he can go on with the next thing on his agenda. His choosing, as seen in this passage, is prompted by the fact that he wants to redeem a people for himself. It is prompted by “his good pleasure.”

It akin to those junior high days when the two best players, the good guy and the bad guy, were given the responsibility of choosing their teams. They would each scan the group in front of them and, in turn, would choose a player to be on their team. The “skilled” players, of course, went quickly. That left the rest of us standing in a pool of utter degradation hoping against hope that we would not be chosen last.

Well, if you were one of the first one’s chosen like I always was (just kidding) you really liked the system. You liked it because it felt nice to be wanted by someone. In being chosen upfront you were exalted and honored, begrudgingly, by all those who were not chosen.
Well, before the foundations of the world were laid, before any human being could attempt to blackball us, we were chosen by God to be part of his family! Wow!

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