Ephesians 1 Part 11
Bible Study Time 6-5-05
Bible Study Time 6-5-05
We have been studying Ephesians 1 for several weeks now, and we have seen a beautiful portrait of the spiritual blessings which have been bestowed upon those of us who believe in Jesus Christ. We were chosen before the foundation of the world, and we were predestined to be adopted as the Sons of God. Because we have redemption through His blood and forgiveness for sins, we stand before God as holy and without blame, and we are completely and totally accepted in Jesus Christ.
In wisdom and prudence God made known to us the mystery of His will, and Paul gives three reasons why God decided to reveal this mystery which had been kept secret since the foundation of the world.
First, God revealed the mystery of His will so that we might gain an understanding of the hope of our calling. We have seen that the hope of our calling as members of the Church which is the Body of Christ, is that someday we will be caught up to be with Christ in the glory of heaven.
Because the program for the Church which is the Body of Christ is separate and apart from God's program for the nation of Israel, we can be sure that the hope of our calling is different from the hope of Israel's calling.
The Church which is the Body of Christ, which includes Jews and Gentiles alike, will be caught up to be with the Lord Jesus in the glory of heaven before the tribulation period begins. Unsaved Israel, on the other hand, will remain on the earth to go through the tribulation period, during which time they will be tested and purified. By the end of the tribulation period, Israel will look upon Him whom they pierced, and they will morn. Israel will accept Jesus Christ as her Messiah and will enter into the New Covenant Kingdom. With this in mind, it is understandable that God wants us to understand the hope of our calling.
Secondly, God revealed the mystery of His will because He wants us to be fully aware of the riches of the glory of His inheritance in us. God has a great plan to glorify His name through the Church which is the Body of Christ. Ephesians 2 says:
Eph 2:6-7 (NKJ)
6 (God) raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus,
7 that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.
God plans to declare and magnify the richness of His superabounding grace throughout all of eternity by means of the indescribable kindness which He bestows upon us. That grace, which was always greater than the greatest sin, will be revealed as the grace which flows like a river with righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.
Furthermore, God's inheritance in us is seen in the fact that the Church reveals the wisdom of God to the principalities and powers which occupy the heavens. Ephesians 3 says that the Church reveals the manifold wisdom of God to the principalities and powers in the heavenly places.
What an inheritance God has in us! The more God blesses us, the more His grace will be magnified and the more His manifold wisdom will be exalted and glorified. Throughout eternity we will sing:
Ps 34:1-3
1 I will bless the LORD at all times; his praise shall continually be in my mouth.
2 My soul shall make its boast in the LORD; the humble shall hear of it and be glad.
3 Oh, magnify the LORD with me, and let us exalt His name together.
Every kindness of grace which God bestows upon us throughout eternity will bring glory to God. It will all be done to the praise of His glory.
But there is one more reason for God's revelation of the mystery of His will. Verse 19 says that He revealed the mystery of His will so that we might know the exceeding greatness of His power.
We know that God is good all the time. The Psalmist said:
Ps 31:19 (NKJ)
19 Oh, how great is Your goodness, which You have laid up for those who fear You, which You have prepared for those who trust in You in the presence of the sons of men!
But God is not only good. He is also powerful. We know that all of the goodness which God has prepared for us He is able to perform. The goodness of the Lord goes hand in hand with His strength and power. Psalm 65 says:
Ps 65:6 (NKJ)
6 Who established the mountains by His strength, being clothed with power;
Then the Psalmist goes on to say:
Ps 65:11 (NKJ)
11 You crown the year with Your goodness, and Your paths drip with abundance.
Psalm 106 says:
Ps 106:7-9
7 Our fathers in Egypt did not understand Your wonders; they did not remember the multitude of Your mercies, but rebelled by the Red Sea.
8 Nevertheless He saved them for His name's sake, that He might make His mighty power known.
9 He rebuked the Red Sea also, and it dried up; so He led them through the depths, as through the wilderness.
In the New Testament, God reveals His goodness and His power through the salvation of the lost.
I Corinthians 1 says:
1 Cor 1: 18 (NKJ)
18 For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are
being saved it is the power of God.
Again in Romans, Paul says:
Rom 1:16
16 I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes.
God is good, and His goodness is revealed through His power.
In Ephesians 1, Paul mentions two ways that the power of God is revealed. First, Paul prays that we might be able to understand the exceeding greatness of God's power which He worked in Christ when He raised Christ from the dead.
Those of us who were brought up hearing about the resurrection of Christ and hearing about our own hope of resurrection may have a tendency to minimize in our own minds the extraordinary power that is required to bring about a resurrection from the dead.
It is certainly a task which no human being could accomplish. The Great Houdini thought that he might be able to escape the clutches of death. He even gave his wife a codeword so that if a spirit appeared to her after his death and claimed to be Houdini, she would know if it was he. Needless to say, no spirit ever came to her with the proper codeword.
Satan is the great imposter, and he often tries to imitate the workings of God, but raising someone from the dead is not something he can even come close to. Satan is very capable of setting up situations which result in death and destruction, but giving life is not something he has any power to do.
God and God alone had the power to give life to Adam and Eve in the garden, and He alone is the One who has the power to give eternal life to those who believe in His Son. Though we may die as Sons of Adam, we know that God has the power to raise us up again as Sons of the Second Adam, even Jesus Christ.
The power of the resurrection is a common theme for the Apostle Paul. Here in Ephesians 1, Paul prays that we might understand the power that is took to raise Christ from the dead. In Romans 1, Paul said:
Rom 1:3-4
3 Jesus Christ our Lord, who was born of the seed of David according to the flesh,
4 and He was declared to be the Son of God with power by the resurrection from the dead.
In Philippians, he said:
Indeed, I count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord for whom I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ and be found in Him, that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection.
Paul clearly says that to him it would be a far greater blessing to have a more perfect understanding of the real power that it took to raise Christ from the dead than it would be to have all of the things that this world has to offer.
I have to admit, as I speak to you this morning , that as I was studying these passages, I began to realize that I probably don’t have a clue as to what this great power really is. I have so much to learn, but I know that God wants me to know about this resurrection power, and He wants me to realize that power in my life now and throughout all of eternity.
Now, in closing, we see that God's great power is seen not only in the resurrection of Christ from the grave, but it is seen in His ascension into the heavenly places where He is seated at the right hand of the Father. The fact that Christ is seated in the heavenly places far above all principality and power, certainly demonstrates the superior power of the Father and of the Son.
As Paul describes Christ’s position, he goes on to say that Christ has been given the position of Head over all things to the Church which is His Body. Now it is interesting to me that even though Christ has supreme authority over all things, He was not given the position of king over the Body of Christ. No. I’m thankful that today Christ does not reign as king over His Church, but He serves as Head of the Church.
I know that many people these days are interested in dominion theology in which it is taught that God has given believers all authority and all power over the political processes of the earth. However, this attitude is not in keeping with the leadership Christ has shown as the Head of the Church. We have the privilege today of relating to Christ on a very personal basis, as a fellow laborer. This is a much closer relationship than that of a subject to his king. We are called to fellowship with Christ as we serve Him, as we serve one another, and as we serve our fellow human beings.
Actually, a careful look at the future earthly kingdom reveals that an attitude of domination will be inappropriate for the kingdom as well. Jesus told his disciples:
Matt 20:25-28 (NKJ)
25 But Jesus called them to Himself and said, "You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and those who are great exercise authority over them.
26 "Yet it shall not be so among you; but whoever desires to become great among you, let him be your servant.
27 "And whoever desires to be first among you, let him be your slave__
28 "just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many."
One of the reasons God decided to reveal the mystery of His will to us is so that we would be able to understand the exceeding greatness of His power which He worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and when He raised Him up to sit in the heavenly places to serve as the Head over all things to the Church which is His Body.
I have enjoyed studying with you this morning. Thank you for listening, and I’ll look forward to being with you again next week at this same time.
Write me at: jimjoan77@juno.com
No comments:
Post a Comment