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Sunday, October 13, 2013
3 Blessed be the God and Father of our
Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing
in the heavenly places, 4 just as he chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world to be
holy and blameless before him in love. 5 He destined us for adoption
as his children through Jesus Christ, according to the good pleasure of his
will, 6 to the praise of his glorious grace that he freely bestowed
on us in the Beloved. 7 In him we have redemption through his blood,
the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace 8 that
he lavished on us. With all wisdom and insight 9 he has made known to
us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure that he set forth in
Christ, 10 as a plan for the fullness of time, to gather up all
things in him, things in heaven and things on earth. 11 In Christ we
have also obtained an inheritance, having been destined according to the
purpose of him who accomplishes all things according to his counsel and will, 12 so
that we, who were the first to set our hope on Christ, might live for the
praise of his glory.13 In him you also, when you had heard the word of
truth, the gospel of your salvation, and had believed in him, were marked with
the seal of the promised Holy Spirit; 14 this is the pledge of
our inheritance towards redemption as God’s own people, to the praise of his
glory.
15 I have heard of your faith in the
Lord Jesus and your love towards all the saints, and for this reason 16 I
do not cease to give thanks for you as I remember you in my prayers. 17 I
pray that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you a
spirit of wisdom and revelation as you come to know him, 18 so that,
with the eyes of your heart enlightened, you may know what is the hope to which
he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance among the
saints,19 and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power for us who
believe, according to the working of his great power. 20 God put
this power to work in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at
his right hand in the heavenly places, 21 far above all rule and
authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only
in this age but also in the age to come.22 And he has put all things under
his feet and has made him the head over all things for the church,23 which
is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all.
- Christ has authority over all things for
God's glory.
- The reason for everything is the glory of
God.
- Every moment, every person, every
creature, every place, every created thing exists for the glory of God.
- Everything belongs to him. All of it, for
him, from him, and Paul says it three times in Ephesians 1, all "for the
praise of his glory."
- The first time we find this phrase, the
praise of his glory, is in verses five and six:
5 He
destined us for adoption as his children through Jesus Christ, according to the
good pleasure of his will, 6 to the praise of his glorious grace that
he freely bestowed on us in the Beloved.
- If I am a Christian today, it's because
of Christ's authority.
- I am chosen, and destined to be God's
adopted child through Jesus Christ. That's God's gift to me.
- Was it just for me that he did that? No,
he did it "according to the good pleasure of his will," that is his
heart's desire.
- What is God's heart's desire? Why
sacrifice Christ Jesus? Why adopt me as his child?
- Paul says it simply, that it is "to
the praise of his glorious grace that he freely bestowed on us in the
Beloved." ...To the praise of his glorious grace.
- I'm a Christian, chosen, destined to be
God's adopted child in Jesus Christ because his heart's desire is for the
praise of his glory.
- The next place we find the phrase, to the
praise of his glory, is in the context of verses 11 and 12: 11 In Christ
we have also obtained an inheritance, having been destined according to
the purpose of him who accomplishes all things according to his counsel and
will, 12 so that we, who were the first to set our hope on Christ,
might live for the praise of his glory.
- If I am a Christian today, then I have a
higher destiny, a greater purpose than living for myself because of Christ.
- I belong to Christ. He is my inheritance.
- Because of God's purposes, accomplishing
all things according to his will in Christ, I must submit my will to the will
of Christ, conforming to his will.
- Why submit to Christ? Why conform to
God's will?
- Only as I focus my life solely on the
hope I have in Christ will my life be lived for the praise of his glory.
- Because of Christ's authority, I no
longer live for myself, for I am called to live for the praise of his glory.
- The third time, we find the phrase, for
the praise of his glory, is at the end of verses 13 and 14: 13 In him you
also, when you had heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and
had believed in him, were marked with the seal of the promised Holy Spirit; 14 this is
the pledge of our inheritance towards redemption as God’s own people, to the
praise of his glory.
- If I'm a Christian today, then I must
embrace the reality of the presence of the Holy Spirit in my life because of
Christ's authority.
- I've heard the word of truth. I have
received the good news of my salvation. I have believed in Jesus Christ that
God raised him from the dead. I have been marked with the seal of the promised
Holy Spirit.
- Why embrace the reality of the Holy
Spirit's presence?
- I must embrace this reality of the ever
present Spirit of God in my life because I need to be filled with a sense of
God's love, I need continued assurance of my salvation, and I need to display
the fruit of the Holy Spirit, the character of Christ in my life.
- Why? This is the guarantee of my
inheritance, proving that I belong to God & that I am his child, proving
that God keeps his promises, proving that God will carry out his mission on
earth, proving the genuineness of my faith, and securing for me eternal life...
- The work of the Holy Spirit in the
Christian's life is for the praise of his glory.
- The life I live now, the Spirit is
working powerfully to transform now.
- The experiences that change me today, the
Spirit verifies is a taste of the eternal changes in me to come.
- My current life is lived in expectation
of my inheritance toward redemption as one of God's own people.
- I'm looking forward to the time when God
will completely free me from the presence of sin because I am sealed in Christ
with the Holy Spirit.
- Because of Christ's authority, the Holy
Spirit lives in me, signed, sealed, delivered...All for the praise of his
glory!
- Paul also prayed for these things for the
Ephesian church, God's people in Ephesus, because Christ has authority over all
things God's glory.
- Paul prayed to God the Father, the one to
whom all glory belongs, that the Ephesian Christians would have the Spirit of
wisdom and revelation so that their intimate knowledge of God would grow.
- He also prayed that they would know the
truth about the future hope awaiting the bride of Christ, God's people.
- He prayed they would know the truth about
the riches of his glorious inheritance, that God will inherit his people as his
own precious possession by bringing them to be with him for eternity.
- He prayed that they would know the truth
about the immeasurable greatness of his power for us who believe.
- Paul wanted the Ephesian Christians to
know deeply the complete, absolute power of God, which he has made available to
every believer.
- God is telling us today that our hope is
in Christ, our inheritance is in Christ, and the power of God is available to
us in Christ.
- Christ has authority all over all things
for God's glory.
- 20 God put this power to work
in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in
the heavenly places, 21 far above all rule and authority and power
and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also
in the age to come. 22 And he has put all things under his feet and has
made him the head over all things for the church,23 which is his body, the
fullness of him who fills all in all.
- The power that raised Christ from the
dead is the power that placed Christ in authority over every other power and
authority forever.
- In the ancient world, if the King seated someone
at his right hand, then it was a clear statement that the King considered that
person his equal.
- Christ has supreme authority. He sits at
the right hand of God the Father, and no one is his equal.
- Christ's place at the right hand of God
the Father is as the one who intercedes on behalf of the Christian and as the
one who has authority over all creation.
- Because he is raised from the dead and
because he sits at the right hand of the Father, Jesus is the head of the
church.
- As he said to his disciples, "All
authority in heaven and on earth has been given unto me." Matthew 28:19
- Christ's authority is supreme, superior
to all other authorities, both seen and unseen.
- And, says Paul, he has put all things
under his feet and has made him the head over all things for the church, which
is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all.
- Four times in this passage, Paul tells
us, twice in verse 22 alone that all things are under the authority of Christ.
- Friends, if God's word tells us something
four times he doesn't want us to forget it.
- First, Paul told the Ephesian Christians
that God's plan has been to gather up all things in Christ.
- Second, Paul told the Ephesian Christians
that in Christ we have been chosen according to the purpose of him who
accomplishes all things according to his counsel and will.
- Third, Paul told the Ephesian Christians,
all things are under Christ's feet.
- Fourth, Paul told the Ephesian Christians
that God made Christ the head over all things for the church.
- Christ has authority over all things for
God's glory.
- God is not working for our personal
comfort and pleasure in the present moment.
- God's heart's desire is not our personal
desires, comforts, and pleasures.
- No, God is working to make his church
salt and light, so that people may see our good works and glorify our heavenly
Father.
- God's will is that our speech and our
actions, our words and our deeds, all of life be for the praise of his glory.
- Whose glory? His glory.
- When we truly believe that Jesus reigns,
then our lives will follow his agenda.
- The Bible tells us that, "God has
put all things under the authority of Christ."
- Christ has authority over all things for
God's glory.
- In light of the sovereignty of God and
the authority of Christ, our every word and deed must seek to reach for and
strive after two standards.
- The first standard is to bring God the
glory he deserves, and the second standard is to bring God's grace to the lives
of everyone around us.
- Again, it reminds me of the song of the
angels at the birth of Messiah Jesus, "Glory to God highest heaven and
peace on earth to those on whom his favor rests."
- These two standards reflect the greatest
Commandments: love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul
and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the
second is like it; love your neighbor as yourself. All the law and the prophets
hang on these two Commandments.
- Christ has authority over all things for
God's glory.
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