I hope to come to you soon, but I am writing these things to you so that, 15 if I delay, you may know how one ought to behave in the household of God, which is the church of the living God, a pillar and buttress of the truth. 16 Great indeed, we confess, is the mystery of godliness:
He was manifested in the flesh,
vindicated by the Spirit,
seen by angels,
proclaimed among the nations,
believed on in the world,
taken up in glory.
Google became famous for its unofficial motto and code of conduct, “Don’t be evil.” This, along with all of secular thought, raises two obvious questions. The first question is, “Why not?” The answer will appeal to some objective standard of right and wrong, a concept many secular minds reject. The second question is, “What is evil?” This one is easier to answer but the answer is logically unstable. They will say, “What the law says it is.” That is the logical fallacy called the appeal to authority. The law may say helping the poor is evil.
Paul wrote these words to the church in Ephesus to teach them, “Don’t be evil.” He also told them why not. Because of the Majesty of Jesus Christ. He became a man for us and was faultless, yet he was treated as evil by people who had a different definition. He was blasphemous, they said. They rid the world of him, they thought. Instead, he is proclaimed to this day and believed on in most every nation on earth as he sits on the throne. That is why.
Dear Lord, thank you for Jesus Christ and his teaching us how to live and be his church. Help us to be obedient. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
Pastor Brad Boyer
Cape Community Church