The Seal of our Inheritance

 

Ephesians 1:11-23 is a lovely reading for All Saints Sunday, assigned in the Year of Luke.  In this passage we are assured of God's gracious work of election, not only for our sake but for the sake of the world.  We are also assured that we are sealed (in baptism) with the Spirit, which is God's "earnest money" assuring us of our eternal inheritance. It will be the preacher's privilege to share this glorious good news with those who hear.

(The following questions have been developed to highlight the way the Word functions in the text, a fundamental concern of Law and Gospel preachers. These questions are best used in conjunction with other fine sets of questions available to exegetes.  For more on this method and on Law and Gospel preaching in particular, see my brief guide, Afflicting the Comfortable, Comforting the Afflicted, available at wipfandstock.com or any independent bookseller or amazon.)

1.  How does the Word function in the text?  There is no doubt that the Word is functioning as Gospel here.  Over and over we hear the promises of God towards us, and the announcement of the sovereignty of Christ, "the fullness of him who fills all in all."

2.  How is the Word not functioning in the text?  There is no word of Law in this text.  We shall have to turn to our Old Testament lesson for the day in Daniel 7 where we hear of the four beasts in Daniel's vision who terrify him.

3.  With whom are you identifying in the text?  We are the ones comforted by this writer, assured of our inheritance in Christ, and the pledge of our inheritance as God's people.

4.  What, if any, call to obedience is there in this text?  Just as there is no Law here, so there is no Call to Obedience. There is nothing but praise and promise.

5.  What Law/Gospel couplet is suggested by this text?  With all the emphasis on our inheritance, we can invent several couplets: outsiders/family; outcasts/heirs.

6.  Exegetical work:  The term arrabon, translated 'pledge' in verse 14, can also be translated, according to MacDonald, as "first installment, deposit, downpayment... that...secures a legal claim to the article in question."  He goes on to say, "...the term clearly refers to God's pledge to complete the process of bestowing the gifts of salvation of which believers have already received a first installment." (Sacra Pagina series, Colossians, Ephesians, p.205).  Ralph Martin, in his commentary, builds on this, saying, "[Our hope]... is fastened to the reality of God's power and providence to bring to completion what has begun." "God's saving purposes in Christ have already appeared in the life of the church, but the end is not yet."  "For Ephesians the end is not yet in sight; but the final chapter of God's story, while it may contain surprises, may be guessed from what has happened and is continuing." (Interpretation series, Ephesians, Colossians, and Philemon, p.20).  II Corinthians 1:21-22 concurs: "But it is God who establishes us with you in Christ and has anointed us, by putting his seal on us and giving us his Spirit in our hearts as a arrabon."  Ancient scholars and reformers also agree.  Fourth century bishop, John Chrysostom, wrote:  "By this seal God shows great forethought for humanity.  He not only sets apart a people and gives them an inheritance, but secures it as well.  It is just as if someone might stamp his heirs plainly in advance, so God set us apart to believe and sealed us for the inhieritance of future glory." (Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture, NT, vol. VIII. p.118).  David, Dickson, the Scottish reformer, said this:  "The gift of the Holy Spirit is the earnest of our inheritance, to wit, the pledge and part of our happiness that shall be consumate hereafter." (Reformation Commentary on Scripture, NT, vol. X, p.262).

Blessings in your proclamation!

Prayer Posture Challenged?

 Luke 18:1-8, the Gospel lesson appointed for the 19th Sunday after Pentecost in the Year of Luke, may be one of the most difficult parables in the Bible.  It seems to compare God to an unjust judge and a widow to any person hoping for an answer to prayer.  Neither person in the parable is all that commendable. What is God trying to draw our attention to here? That will be the question the preacher must wrestle with.

(The following questions are not meant to be exhaustive, but are best used in conjunction with other fine sets of questions available to exegetes. These questions have been developed to lift up the way the Word functions in the text, a fundamental consideration for Law and Gospel preachers. For more on this method and on Law and Gospel preaching in general, see my brief guide, Afflicting the Comfortable, Comforting the Afflicted, available through any bookstore or through Amazon.)

1.  How does the Word function in the text?  The Word here seems to function primarily as Gospel, identifying our tendency to "lose heart" in the face of injustice, and encouraging us to believe that God will "grant justice to his chosen ones who cry to him day and night."

2.  How is the Word not functioning in the text?  There is no call to repentance here, thus the Word is not functioning as Law except in the last verse, when the Lord asks, "And yet, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?"  Here, we hear again a warning lest we abandon our God when our prayers seem to go unanswered.

3.  With whom are you identifying in the text?  It seems clear that we are to identify with the widow who is not giving up although her voice seems unheard.

4.  What, if any, call to obedience is there in this text?  The call to obedience is the Word functioning to invite us to live in a certain way because of God's work in Christ. The call here is not a call to obedience, but a call to insistent, bold faith.

5.  What Law/Gospel couplet is suggested by this text?  The text provides at least one ready-made couplet:  losing heart/finding faith. One of Herman Stuempfle's classic couplets could also work well: despair/hope.

6.  Exegetical work:  There is no shortage of commentary on this puzzling parable.  Most read this parable as a conflict between a rather defenseless widow and a powerful and impassive judge. (e.g. Buttrick, Jeremias).  Bernard Brandon Scott focuses on the context of this teaching, saying that "this parable is woven into the context of an eschatological discourse that begins in Luke 17:20 with the pharisees' question on the coming of the kingdom. The question about the coming of the kingdom generates a warning concerning the days of the Son of Man's Parousia, a time of danger and stress." (Hear Then the Parable: A Commentary on the Parables of Jesus, p.176).  Amy-Jill Levine takes quite a different tack.  She notes that nowhere in the parable is anything said that indicates the widow is poor or defenseless.  Indeed, her persistence is evidence of her agency. Also, although this parable is often entitled "the Unjust Judge," there is no evidence the judge is wicked, only indifferent.  Levine suggests that the parable is challenging our stereotypes of both God and praying folk. (Short Stories by Jesus, pp.221-245).  Ben Stiller, in his brief commentary would seem to concur, saying, "In this parable, bold tenacity is treated as a form of religious piety and godly faith." (Preaching Parables to Postmoderns, p.133).

7.  How does the Crossings community model work with this text?  Chris Repp does a nice job of showing what is at stake here in his 2019 analysis.  He lifts up our lack of prayer in the face of injustice, suggesting this may even lead us to blaming God. God responds, however, by defeating injustice on the Cross, taking injustice upon himself. Go to crossings.org/text-study for the entire analysis.

Blessings on your proclamation!