Throughout 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.
i think it necessary to give an example. A sequence with a pattern would mirror 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 lives: 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 goal and also the underlying rule of who we are in Christ, who is the personification of the pattern. “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. Do you get it?
i love the sequences found in the Bible and i’m absolutely persuaded that 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 if we will search, and even pointed out some we should NOT reflect, like Ahab or Absalom. These righteous patterns were/are created from the heart of God Himself and hold an overarching importance to which we really need to give our attention.
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 beyond and has no left, right, up, down, front, back, or no side-to-side.
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 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 any rights, lacked full protection under the law, and were not 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 have 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 God has given us! 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. Get that? Firstborn, no aunts, no uncles, but first born brothers and sisters in Christ
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 as saints. 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. It’s about family and being a team. 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, having gone from far to near, or death to life by the sacrifice of Jesus. We were strangers and aliens, and now are citizens and saints. Again, our greatest strength against darkness is to come into the likeness of the Son.
i’m going to be repeating the following throughout this series: It’s not rules to keep, but someone to be. Be the people.
i’m Social Porter for Living In His Name Ministries