“I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, entreat you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called.” - Ephesians 4:11
MacArthur begins by asking a wonderfully penetrating question: “If Paul was a prisoner of Rome. Why then did he call himself “the prisoner of the Lord”? The sovereignty of God is a matter that involves itself in all of the affairs of life. Paul clearly understood that the affairs of men were under the control of the hand of God Who rules all things. Hence the control that men exerted over his affairs was but secondary. He saw that it was the God of heaven that stood in full control, final control over all of the affairs of his life.
This is very reminiscent of the Lord Jesus and His interaction with Pilate in John 19:10-11: 10:
Then Pilate said to Him, “Are You not speaking to me? Do You not know that I have power to crucify You, and power to release You?” 11 Jesus answered, “You could have no power at all against Me unless it had been given you from above...”
This is the truth that ruled our Lord's life and it is the principle that must rule our own.
He goes on suggests, speaking of the things that happening life, that we ought to asking: “What does this mean, God?” and “How does this affect You?” This is exactly the opposite of what both our nature and our culture tells us that our first questions ought to be. They tell us that those questions ought to be concerning self and the effect that things will have on me and my experience in the world. That is important certainly but it is not most significant. Most significant, as well as a huge "tell" concerning the level of our spirituality and the place we are at in our walk in the Lord, is how we view things in terms, first, of the affect upon God and His reputation and standing before men. This is immensely different than what is normal for most men.
Dr. MacArthur tells us that all too we think only on the earthly level. Or perhaps it is not "only" but first, with the first obscuring or eclipsing the more significant matter of God's point of view. Either way, the effect is the same. God takes second place and that is unacceptable.
Further, he says that we ought to sure to focus on asking “What is God trying to teach me? How can I glorify Him in this?” As we have noted, this is not an easy task, nor is it an easy habit as it, because of our natures, easily slides from our fingers and we fall back into our old fleshly ways. This is why we hold that this takes both constant effort and attention and constant prayer that god will enable and encourage us, reminding and empowering us to be sure that our focus is where it ought to be - on upholding and uplift His magnificent Name.
He has come up with one of the best definitions of Christian maturity I’ve head: “Automatically seeing things in light of the divine perspective.” We will agree with MacArthur with this definition (Of course, it is not the only possible definition - but it suits from this point of view). The emphasis here would be on the word "automatically". This does not mean without effort, but rather it means that this maturity comes as a result of pursuit of God via the study of His Word, meditation of what is found there and the illumination and application of that information by His Spirit over time.
What it is important to understand as we have said, is that is not simply something that "happens", but rather it is something that MUST be developed, cultivated and, as a result, the the response built in the believer becomes an automatic consideration of God's desire and glory first, before the consideration one's own wants and desires.
He underscores that “…the only right way for Christians to live”. It is not indelicate to use the word "only" here. There are not multiple ways to live that are acceptable to God. We MUST live dedicated to God's glory, anything less is, by definition, unacceptable to Him and ought to unacceptable to us as His servants. We do not live in a multiple choice system.
There was a reason for his imprisonment. MacArthur cites Philippians 1:12-14 and uses it to speak of the truth that things that men perceive as "evil" occurrences are often really "good" things from Gods' POV. This is not a new idea - reaching as far back as Joseph in Egypt. Joseph told his brothers after his father's death and they feared retribution in Genesis 50:19-20: "19 Joseph said to them, “Do not be afraid, for am I in the place of God? 20 But as for you, you meant evil against me; but God meant it for good, in order to bring it about as it is this day, to save many people alive." This is precisely the kind of reaction, interpretation we are referring to.
We note his use of the phrase “…wasn’t preoccupied…”. The word preoccupy by definition comes from two pieces - "prœ", meaning before, and "occupo", meaning to seize. It means "to take possession before another; as, to preoccupy a country or land not before occupied. It can also mean to prepossess; to occupy by anticipation or prejudices. Men are naturally preoccupied with sin and with self. That is a function of the fall that is present in all men. It is only redemption and the outworking of the Spirit's work in our pursuit of Christ that can break the bondage to sin and can destroy that "preoccupation" in us!
God causes all things to work together for good It is this assurance that allows us stand, calm and quiet, even when, as Joseph and Paul, we are prisoners of men, in the worst of circumstances, because we know that God is ultimately in control, working all things out for His Own glory, and for the best interests of the individual in question.
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[1] This year I am often using MacArthur’s devotional “Strength for Today” as a starting point for my comments.
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