Through out the Bible there are many sequences and patterns, either in word or thematically. A sequence is an ordered list, and a pattern is like an underlying rule, or a repeatable structure that regulates. A sequence is actual data, and a pattern is the idea of rule behind it. A sequence may or may not have a pattern, whereas a pattern generates one or more sequences.

Bear with me a little bit here, i’m laying  out an idea for us to consider as we study scripture and come to know God.  This all may seem a little technical but i hope no one gets tangled in the technicalities and sees the Hear ot the Lord. More than anything that we would see the heart of the Lord, above everything.

A sequence with a pattern would be like the powerful triplet from the Love Chapter, “faith, hope, love”, as taken from 1 Corinthians 13:13, which is three that belong together, though not a pure pattern but definitely a sequence with a pattern. Meaning they form a natural progression in our Christian life: We believe (faith) → We look forward to God’s promises (hope) → We live in self-giving love (the greatest). The triplet is both an ordered list, a sequence, with love being the ultimate, and also the underlying rule of who we are in Christ, the pattern. Like “faith, hope, and love”, think of the three as travelling companions — if you find faith, rest assured hope and love are probably somewhere nearby — they go together.

You could take a look at this triplet from Romans 14:17, righteousness, peace, and joy … in case you wanted to study for yourself.

Here’s another: thematically Israel’s exodus and wilderness wandering is clearly a sequence — plagues of Egypt, then crossing the Red Sea, and the giving of the 10 commandments. Those are a sequence or the actual ordered events as they happened. But also notice, there is a redemption pattern to the sequences of Israel’s story there: redemption from slavery, redemption through judgment and sacrifice, and redemption to freedom and covenant relationship. Be sure and take note that Israel’s sequence does indeed become a repeating pattern, a foundational redemption pattern for the rest of scripture even to the end.

i love the sequences found in the Bible and knowing the Lord intentionally put them together. God didn’t put them together for nothing. In fact, many people say, “If God would simply tell me what to do, plainly, i would do it.” Well, there are a multitude of patterns and sequences God has given us to fashion ourselves after, and even pointed out some we should NOT reflect, like Ahab or Absalom. These righteous patterns were/are created from the mind of God Himself and hold an overarching importance to which we really need to give our attention.

Consider this pattern, or sequence from Ephesians 4:11, apostles, prophets, evangelist, shepherd, and teacher. Those are servant or deacon gifts to serve and support the body of Christ. How about Revelation 5:9, tribe, language, people, and nation? i see a summary view of that sequence as God’s universal, multi-ethnic scope of Christ’s redemption and reveals the magnitude of the everlasting, non-fading love of God. Gosh that sounds smart to say out loud, doesn’t it?. How about the sequence in Matthew 13:1-23, hard ground, rocky ground, thorns, and good soil? i hear God saying it’s the same seed (God’s word) and is sown everywhere, but the results differ based on the soil (the human heart’s response). i believe the issue is not with the seed or the sower, but with how the message is received and encourages self-examination, “what kind of soil am i?” Say! Take that seriously.

2 Corinthians 12:10, “For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, with insults, with hardships, with persecutions, and with calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.” Do you see the sequence? What’s it about? Why would God put that sequence on Paul’s heart to write in a book that will last forever for everyone to see? i see it as a sequence which covers an all-inclusive range of trials — from inward struggles to outward hostility. Paul experienced all of these repeatedly, and one reason is God wants us to see His power that is perfected in weakness, stripped of self-reliance, and that we learn to be content, “for the sake of Jesus”.

Let’s do one more. Ephesians 3:18. “Breadth, Length, Height, and Depth”. Think about that. It’s a deliberate sequence that paints a rich pattern — with the pattern being: the infinite, all-encompassing nature of the love of Christ that “surpasses knowledge”. The pattern is tied to our knowing the fullness of God. Just incredible!

It’s more than just a descriptive list, and many scholars, one of which i am not, call it “dimensionally symbolic” of a love which cannot be measured or contained. It’s about the four dimensions of the cross — left, right, top, bottom, His love is infinitely beyond the breadth, length, height, and depth, and His love grows from “more to more” until we “know even as we are known.”

So today I have a wonderful sequence to which i hope you can relate. It’s an example of how we were “far” and then God brought us “near”, going from exclusion to intimate belonging. Sort of like, thematically speaking, the parable of the prodigal son who was “far” and came “near”.

Ephesians 2:19, “So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God.” Do you see it? We were once strangers and aliens, and have become, by the blood and sacrifice of Jesus Christ, citizens and saints. Stranger, Alien, Citizen, Saint. Do you see the progression from death to life in it? Ephesians 2:15, “But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ.” When we were strangers we had very limited rights, acting as complete outsiders or temporary visitors. No legal protection, no real standing in the community, and were often viewed with suspicion. As aliens, things got a little better in that we had some ability to do business and settle down, but still lacked full rights, lacked full protection under the law, and were not full members of the community. As aliens we often paid some form of fees for the right to live there, but had no political voice.

Ahhh, but now, now you’ve met Jesus, purchased with His blood, and BOOM! just like that, suddenly we find ourselves in a new, never lived in place of family reality. Suddenly we are standing, not as outsiders, but now have the status of “Citizen” and all the broad landscape of God-possibilities open before us in a great sweep of the Fathers hand called “salvation”. Now, as citizens we are also saints. Being a citizen is represented as a vertical relationship with God, and being a saint is a horizontal relationship with the family, the household of God. Citizens and saints get full rights, protection, privileges, and can fully participate in the community (including responsibilities like taxes). It’s a strong legal and social status. As citizens and saints, we belong to the entire Body of Christ. These wonderful titles point to our shared fellowship and reminds us that we are intimately connected to every believer in God’s house as blood relatives, joined together by the blood, sacrifice, and resurrection of Jesus and are given the privileged status of firstborn in His family.

Take note of the entire idea which starts in Ephesians 2:11 and continues through to vs. 22. Paul is purposely painting a dramatic before-and-after picture. Before: No rights, no protection, no real belonging. We were outsiders. After: Full citizenship in God’s kingdom plus intimate family membership in God’s household. Paul is making all efforts for us, the believers, to see the social reality behind the words. Paul probably stacks the sequence in Ephesians 2:19 for emotional impact so we can comprehend the incomprehensible.

Do you see it in the sequence and/or pattern? Through Christ, we are transformed: From strangers and aliens to citizens and saints as the family members in God’s household, living stones being built together into a holy temple supported by the seven pillars of heavenly wisdom. Proverbs 9:1. What are those seven pillars? Maybe James 3:17 spells it out specifically. You should go see! Herein is the support structure of the temple, who is us: Wisdom builds her house with seven pillars (Proverbs 9:1), God builds His temple (us) with the seven qualities of heavenly wisdom. When you combine Proverbs 9:1 with James 3:17 we get a pattern, an underlying rule of character: pure, peace loving, gentle/considerate, reasonable or willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial, and sincere. See it: not just what we are, but how we are: it’s not rules to keep but someone to be.

Friends, this is not just about individual improvement. It is about God creating a beautiful, stable, unified dwelling place for Himself — where His presence lives by the Spirit. The seven pillars are the internal character structure that holds this temple strong and allows us to grow.

In short: We are becoming the house that Wisdom builds — a people who reflect the character of Christ so that God can dwell among us in fullness. Again, our greatest strength against darkness is to come into the likeness of the Son.

It’s not rules to keep, but someone to be. Be the people.

i’m Social Porter for Living In His Name Ministries