Josh Bush's podcast masterlist

The more you come to understand about God, the more there will be to understand.  The more you understand of God's love, the more you can experience and know God's love.  There is always more to become, and more to know. This is part of the width, length, height, and depth of the love of Christ.

This love that surpasses knowledge has included all people in Christ through the gospel.  By grace alone we are able to come to Him, not by first becoming a Jew or first undergoing some ritual. Ephesians chapter 3 expands on the mystery of what God revealed to Paul about including all people in His plan for salvation.  This was not something that Paul sat down and reasoned out, but was a new revelation of something that the Old Testament prophets did not understand.  The old prophets knew that God would reach out to Gentiles and call us to Himself, but not that we would be able to come as we are without first becoming Jews or following the Laws given to Moses.

Paul's ministry was centered on this call to all people, regardless of who or where you are, to come to Christ and be saved by grace through faith.  Paul describes himself as a steward of God's grace, a servant of the gospel, and as suffering for the glory others would receive through Christ.  He was a missionary that preached Christ alone, taught theological principles so we can understand the message of God's grace in salvation, and he showed how the church is the visible proof that God's purposes will be accomplished.

This is part 5 of a 6 part series Dr. Bush taught on Ephesians in January of 1980 at the First Baptist Church of Ballinger, Texas.  It was part of a larger series that he called Theologoumenon, in which he went to churches and taught anyone who would come.  Part 1 was an introduction and the first two verses, Part 2 was Ephesians 1:3-14, Part 3 was Ephesians 1:15-23, and Part 4 was Ephesians chapter 2. The next episode will be the last in this series on Ephesians, studying chapters 4 though 6.

Without God, there is no hope.  History has lead the world as a whole towards chaos and destruction.  It is characteristic of pagan philosophers and other religions to offer no hope for a better future, giving nothing certain to look forward to.  But now, in Christ Jesus, all of us who were far away from God have been brought near by His blood.  In Christ, all barriers have been broken down so that the same gospel applies to all people.  All who are saved, are saved through Christ, and so are made members of God's household.   We are, therefore, given hope and a future with the living God as one people, regardless of where we come from or who we are.

Ephesians chapter 2 continues as chapter 1 left off, describing our salvation in Christ.  The first three verses describe what we were without Christ, verses four through six talk about what God has done about that, and verse 7 tells us why He did it.  In love, he has shown us mercy and the incomparable riches of His grace.  Verses eight through ten summarize everything up to this point.  We are saved by grace, though not apart from Christ's atonement for us.  The following verses, 11 through 22, then show what comes out of that.  Because we are saved by grace through the blood of Christ, we are made citizen's of God's house, having a sure foundation and a unified future as one people under Him.
There is some microphone bumping at a couple of places, and around the 31:02 mark there is a blank spot where the tape was flipped during recording.  However, I hope you can forgive those flaws in the recording and enjoy this teaching from the book of Ephesians, recorded in January of 1980 at the First Baptist Church in Ballinger, Texas.This is the fourth of six expository messages on the book of Ephesians.  The first was an introduction, the second covered verses 3 through 14 of chapter 1, and the third covered verses 15 through 23 of chapter 1.  This message covers all of chapter 2.  The following episode of Delivered to the Saints will cover chapter 3, and the sixth and final message in this series will cover chapters 4 through 6.

What you pray about is what you consider to be important.  It reveals your values and priorities.  A focus on your own problems in prayer reveals that your problems are more important than anything else.  A focus on other people reveals that you have begun to put others above yourself.  How much you pray reveals the importance you put on your relationship with God.  Paul prays for the Ephesians, teaching us what is important as we pray for others.

This is part three of six of Dr. Bush's exposition of Ephesians.  Part one was in introduction to the book.  Part two looked at God's plan for salvation that existed before the foundation of the world.  This message is taught from Ephesians 1:15-23.  In these verses, Paul lists several things that the Holy Spirit has led him to place importance on when praying for others:

1) Giving thanks to God.  Gratitude is taught throughout scripture, both Old Testament and New Testament.

2) A spirit of wisdom and revelation to know God better, recognizing a deeper meaning behind the facts and recognizing the truth as taught by the Apostles

3) That the eyes of their heart be enlightened.  We need both intellectual understanding and an intuitive, emotional agreement that comes from the entire person.

4) That they would know the hope to which they've been called to in Jesus Christ, the riches of His glorious inheritance, and His incomparably, immeasurably great power which is present with us now.

Paul also emphasizes here that Christ is the head over everything.  Without the head, the entire body dies even if it is otherwise in perfect health.  The church can only exist when it has Jesus Christ for its head.

Does Christ really control our church and our actions?  Are we directed by Christ or by our own desires and our own understanding?

This section of Ephesians begins the major doctrinal exposition of the letter.  Paul talks about the nature of our salvation in Jesus Christ, explaining what God has done for us in the past, what He is doing in the present, and what He will do in the future.

This is the second installment of a six part series on the book of Ephesians.  The first installment was an introduction that focused on the first two verses.  The focus here is on verses 3 through 10, though we read through verse 15, emphasizing that nothing Paul mentioned is, or was, done apart from the work of Jesus Christ.  Because God chose us in Christ, we know his act of choosing was purposeful.  Paul says it was done in love, so it was not impersonal or arbitrary.  We were chosen in Christ, in love predestined to be adopted as sons through Christ, and it was done before the foundation of the world so that nothing of this world can change His purpose.

Salvation is a gift, given through grace that is lavished on us in wisdom and understanding.  Christianity is not just for people who don't know any better, but is instead a salvation given with wisdom.

I don't remember my dad often preaching on the doctrine of election or predestination, but he addresses it a basic and straightforward way here as Paul writes about it.  I do remember that he thought the best treatment of the tension between free will and God's sovereignty was found in J.I. Packer's book, Evangelism and the Sovereignty of God. I have the small black paperback from the 60's in which he wrote all over the margins. The basic summary there, as in this message here, is that we can't argue with what is in the text even if it creates an antinomy we aren't comfortable with. But we still have to take time to understand what is in the text, rather than accept a superficial understanding of what Paul teaches.

It is hard to value one part of Scripture over another, but Ephesians is certainly a crucial book in the New Testament.  It is a comprehensive book making broad statements on big issues.  Similar ideas are discussed in the book of Colossians, but Ephesians deals with the issues more broadly compared to the more condensed text we read in Colossians.

This episode gives an overview and brief history of the book, spending a little time with possibilities for when it was written, and to whom it was written.  Ephesus was certainly the major city in that area of Asia, but because the oldest manuscripts do not have the name of Ephesus in the first verse, it is possible this was a circular letter written to all the churches in the region, which of course includes the Ephesians.

The episode closes by exploring Paul's identity as an apostle of Jesus Christ as he introduces himself in the first two verses, suggesting how we, too, should find our identity in Christ.

This is the first episode of a six part series on the book of Ephesians.  It was recorded in January of 1980 at the First Baptist Church in Ballinger, TX.  Dr. Bush taught at this church in Ballinger several times because one of his students was on staff there.  The introduction shows that this recording was part of a series called "Theologoumenon, Modern Homilies for Christian Believers."  I have not been able to find out any further information about this series, such as who organized it or what became of it.  If anyone recognizes the series, please leave some information about it in the comments.

The burial of Jesus was the first act of love shown to the Son of God after his betrayal.  Joseph and Nicodemus took Him from the cross and displayed their love and respect for Jesus by wrapping His body with linen and spices.  Jesus was not treated as a criminal after his death, but as a friend and family member.

Dr. Bush brings a message from 1 Corinthians 15:3-4 and John 19:38-42 in the chapel of Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary on July 8, 1980.  He notes the care shown to Jesus by two members of the Sanhedrin, the same religious body that had sent Jesus to be crucified.  For an entire night and into the next morning, Jesus was mistreated and tortured while his closest friends hid themselves.  But these two men broke that cycle, and in His careful burial, they showed the love that they still had for Jesus.

Dr. L. Russ Bush III teaches on the doctrine of the Trinity.  Most explanations of the Trinity begin with a statement of how the Trinity is a mystery that we cannot explain or is beyond our understanding.  However, Christianity is uniquely Trinitarian, and to say that we do not understand the Trinity is to say that we do not understand Christianity.

We may not be able to answer every question anyone will ever ask, but we can know the facts presented in Scripture.  The bible is a revelation of God, written with intent that we understand its content, not with the intent of confusing everyone.

How much of any topic do you need to fully comprehend before saying that you understand it?  Do you need to be able to answer every question it is possible to ask about a topic, or is it possible to know all of the given facts and still say you understand?  We don't know everything about God, but we do know something about God, and we can know that those things are true.

Dr. L. Russ Bush teaches from the book of Acts on the method and message that the Apostle Paul used as he preached to everyone who would listen.  Paul focused on the positive message of the gospel without compromising the content and truth of scripture.  He didn't insult his audience, but brought the clear message of what Christ has done for all people.

Dr. Bush points out the futility of going to those who don't believe with only a message of condemnation as well as the futility of giving a message of love that is devoid of the content found in the gospel of Jesus Christ.

I think this message was taught in 1979 at a meeting of the Mississippi Baptist State Convention.  I am guessing at the year and venue based on what is said in the unedited audio of this message and that of the next message on the Trinity.  I know that it was given shortly before the release of Baptists and the Bible, which was published in 1980, and that he was in Jackson in a MS Baptist State Convention building.

Dr. L. Russ Bush teaches on the nature of true wisdom from Job 28 in this message given on November 18, 1976 in the chapel at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary.

This message continues to be relevant in our lives today as we all face unexplained suffering in life.  Dr. Bush addresses the false claims that all of our suffering is due to lack of faith and sinful actions.  Job's experience shows that this is not always what is going on.

Instead we are taught that wisdom is knowing that we should continue to pray and worship God in spite of our circumstances.  We do this not because of how happy we always are, but because of who God has revealed himself to be.

This was Dr. L. Russ Bush's third chapel message, but his first as an elected faculty member at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary.  Given on November 18th, 1975, Dr. Bush speaks about Joshua and his commitment to scripture from Joshua 1 and Joshua 24, ending with a challenge for us to be just as committed no matter what comes. I don't know who the man is doing the introduction, but I left him in the audio because this is one of the few mentions of the churches where Dr. Bush worked before he started teaching at Southwestern.

Today, religious liberty is being attacked by our own government in the United States in an unprecedented way.  The example given in this message of Chinese Christians remaining faithful is even more relevant now than it was then.  Dr. Bush asks us to examine what standing for the Lord really means.  Is it just making noise and writing letters or are we committed to actions as Joshua was?

I was only a few months old when this message was given, but my mother remembers being there listening while she held me in her arms.  And so when my father speaks at the end, "As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord," he did so with his family before him.  I can say that he kept that commitment, even traveling to Asia year after year to help and teach the missionaries in persecuted areas.  I can only hope that when my life is over, I will have stood as strong as he did.

This episode is Dr. L. Russ Bush's second chapel message at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. Delivered on January 23, 1975, Dr. Bush spoke from Jeremiah 1:1-10.  Dr. Robert Naylor makes an introduction and has the closing prayer.

This was Dr. L. Russ Bush’s first chapel message at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary.  Dr. Bush started his teaching career at Southwestern in 1973.  Evidently his first opportunity to teach from the chapel there was March of 1974 when he brought this message from John 6:60-71.  The man introducing Dr. Bush is Dr. Robert Naylor, who was president of the seminary until 1977.