St Theodore's Sermon 12/7/98

	St Theodore's Wattle Park

Sermon of the Week

12/7/98

God's Eternal Plan - All Things United Under Christ
Eph 1:3-14

If you were asked by a recent convert to suggest one book of the Bible for them to study, apart from the gospels, you could do a lot worse than to suggest Paul's letter to the Ephesians. Here we have a wonderfully concise yet comprehensive summary of the Christian gospel and its implications. Here we discover the wonder and intricacy of God's eternal plan for his world and especially for his people. As we read it our hearts are lifted to join Paul in praising God for his wonderful goodness towards us in Christ. As we go further into the book we find practical and helpful advice on how to live as God's children in a world that's hostile to God; how to live as God's community in a world of disunity; how to gain peace and reconciliation in the face of alienation; how to find peace rather than war; how to do our part in bringing his plan to completion in Christ. So it's an eminently suitable book for us to study in some depth over the next couple of months.

The first section of the book divides neatly into two parts: the first, which we'll look at today, consists of praise, the second, which we'll look at next week, consists of prayer. But today's section is more than just praise. It's more like an overture to a great operatic work. Here we find themes that are repeated later in the letter. Yet at the same time it has an internal unity that allows us to study it by itself if we want to. So what I'd like you to do today is to think about how this passage fits together, but at the same time to store away what you read so that what we discover later in the book will make more sense.

Well, as we begin, I'd like you to do a bit of work. So open your bibles, please, to Ephesians 1. p183 in the New Testament. Now quickly read through vs 3-14 and tell me what phrases you notice are repeated. (In Christ/in him; Praise of his glory/praise to God; according to his will/his good pleasure; blessing)

The phrases that I want to particularly concentrate on today are those that are something like "according to his will or his good pleasure, or according to his purpose. They're repeated in vs 5, 7, 9, and 11. But they're summed up in the phrase in v10 "a plan for the fullness of time". That is, what Paul is talking about when he talks of God's will and purpose is God's eternal plan, set out before the foundation of the world, and set to come to completion at the last day. We'll have a look at that plan in a moment.

But first, the other phrase that stands out is the phrase 'in Christ' or 'in him'. The phrase occurs some 9 or 10 times in the first 14 verses so it's clearly central to Paul's thinking at this point. In fact as we'll discover, I hope, the whole theme of the book has to do with us being in Christ, with God bringing all things together under one head, Jesus Christ. That's why I've called this sermon series "Completion in Christ." It's because, as we'll see in a moment, God's plan is brought to fulfillment in Christ and we're drawn into that plan, into the people of God, because we're incorporated first into Christ. (outline)

Well, let's think about God's plan. First of all it's eternal.

Eternal

I've been watching with interest the news reports about the fast train project between Sydney and Canberra and the possibilities of it being extended to Melbourne. I remember the idea first being mooted back in the late 80s, and early 90s. Here we are 8 or 9 years later and they're still talking about it. I did some postgraduate study in administration 10 or so years ago and one of the courses I did was on great planning disasters. We looked at projects like the Sydney Opera House, the Concorde Jet, the San Francisco Bay Rapid Transit System, among others, looking at why these various projects ran well over time and way over budget. So I know a little bit about project planning - at least how not to do it. Some people might have thought there was an eternal aspect to some of those projects. But here we read about a plan that dwarfs any of those by its sheer magnitude, but also by its success. This plan was instituted by God before the foundation of the world. It's a plan that's run on time. We experience the fruits of it now, and it'll finally come to completion at the end of time, when God brings all things together under Christ.

Before the creation - he chose us and predestined us

We're told the plan began when God chose us before the creation of the world. God knew beforehand everything that would happen and chose us to be made his children by adoption with a task to fulfill which we'll look at in a moment.

Now - for adoption as his children; we have redemption

Right now, in the present, we experience the outworking of that plan as we're accepted into his family as his adopted sons and daughters; as we receive the redemption that comes through Christ's blood, shed on the cross; as we experience our sins being forgiven. And it's a plan that continues to be worked out in the present as more and more people are accepted into God's family on the same basis.

For the fullness of time - to gather up all things in him,

Thirdly, it's a plan that stretches forward to a point in the future when God will bring all things to completion in Christ. The phrase used is "the fullness of time" or "when the times will have reached their fulfillment." You see, despite what some people believe, history isn't meaningless or without purpose. It's moving towards a definite goal, and a glorious one at that. A time will come when all that is will be changed, when everything in heaven and on earth will be brought together in unity under one head, Jesus Christ. If you're in any doubt, by the way, as to what's wrong with Pauline Hanson's attitude to a multiracial society, here's one answer. God's intention for the human race is just that. A society, a world, where all people live together in unity. The next two chapters speak of the mystery of the gospel being that the Gentiles are now included in God's people on equal terms with the Jews. This was the first step to that future reality. But in fact the future reality includes all created things. In other words this unity under Christ as head, extends not only to races of people but to the natural world as well. It'll be a unity that sees the end of ecological damage. It'll be characterised, according to Isaiah, by the wolf lying down with the lamb, the calf and the lion eating together. And it'll be a world in which even spiritual forces are at one with God's purposes. So God's plan stretches in eternity from the start of time through to the present and on to the end of time.

Trinitarian

The second thing to note about God's plan is its Trinitarian nature. That is, as this plan is described we discover that all 3 persons of the Trinity have a part in it. v3 is almost a summary of this idea. "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." God the Father, God the Son, and by implication God the Holy Spirit by whose agency these spiritual blessings come about.

God the Father - who blessed us; - who chose us

First Paul begins with praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ who has blessed us in the heavenlies. It's God the Father who chose us before the creation of the world; who destined us to be adopted as his children; who accomplishes all things according to his counsel and will.

Jesus Christ; in Christ; all things under Christ,

But it's in Christ, or through Christ that all these things come about. Now let me suggest that this is a concept that you must come to grips with if you want to properly understand the Christian gospel. The only way we can stand before God, is if we do so in Christ. The only way we can have our sins forgiven is if we're in Christ. One of the images that Paul uses is that of putting on Christ. It's an image of us being enclosed in Jesus' person, the way we might put on a cloak that covers us so completely that all you can see is the cloak. But that's only a poor comparison. When we put on Christ we're actually incorporated into his being. It's as though all that we are is now determined not by our own character or our own efforts, but entirely by Christ. One of the implications of this of course, is that those who try to live by their own efforts, aren't included in this description of God's plan. You see if you're trying to be holy and blameless before God, as it says in v 4, that's all well and good, but unless you're doing it from the perspective of being in Christ, that is, already accepted and adopted and forgiven because you're in Christ, then you're wasting your time. It's a question of what you want God to see when he looks at you. If he looks at you and sees your efforts to meet his standards, you're in trouble, because you won't have met them, no matter how hard you try. But if what God sees when he looks at you is Christ, not you, then you'll be OK, because Christ has met those standards.

Sealed by the promised Holy Spirit, the pledge of our inheritance

Thirdly, the way we know now that what God has promised will come true is that we have his pledge in the form of the Holy Spirit, sent to dwell within us. In fact the Spirit himself is a sign that God keeps his promises. He's God's promised Holy Spirit. God promised to send him in the Old Testament. Jesus promised his disciples that he would send him to them. So the fact that we experience his presence with us today is a reminder that God's promises can be trusted. Paul uses two different but related words to describe this idea of the Spirit as a pledge doesn't he? First he speaks of the Spirit as a 'seal'. The seal is a mark of ownership or of authenticity, indicating that we belong to God, that we're truly his children by adoption. Also he calls the Holy Spirit God's deposit or pledge by which God shows he's in earnest when he promises to bring us safely to our final inheritance. It's like the deposit you might pay on the purchase of a house. It's the first payment that secures your legal claim on the property and it's also the first instalment on the final purchase price. So it is with the Holy Spirit. In giving him to us God isn't just promising us our final inheritance, he's also giving us a foretaste of it, that is, he's giving us our first experience of being part of his family, connected to him in a personal way.

Christ Centered but intimately involving us

Well, if God's plan is Eternal and if it's Trinitarian, it's also both Christ centered yet at the same time intimately involving us . Let's look at what we're told about our part in this plan

Blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing

The first thing we're told is that God has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenlies. That is, in the unseen world of spiritual reality, as opposed to the physical world which we'd normally associate with reality. This can be a difficult concept for us children of a scientific era. There's a sense in which we think if you can't see it, touch it or measure it then it isn't real. But more and more, people are coming to the realisation that there is more to reality than the physical world. That's the premise on which shows like the X-Files and all of its spin-offs are based: that there's something out there. Well, there is. There's a spiritual realm. A realm where Jesus is seated at the right hand of God, and where we receive God's blessing in Christ as we reign with him as we discover in 2:6.

To be holy and blameless before him in love

But then we discover that our calling isn't just to the heavenly realm. We mustn't be so heavenly minded that we're no earthly use. No, we're chosen for a purpose: to be holy and blameless before him in love. (v4) Part of God's plan is that his people show by their lives, the sort of world God intended us to live in. He wants us to live holy and blameless lives so we reflect his character to the world.

So that we might live for the praise of his glory

v12 explains why: so we might live for the praise of his glory. Central to God's plan is that we glorify him in all that we do.

For adoption as his children through Jesus Christ

Next, we were destined to be adopted as his sons and daughters. Our place in God's plan is to be brought into his family. To take him as our Father. To treat one another as brothers and sisters. As we see in v14, to receive an inheritance that comes only to the children of the family. For those whose experience of family life is less than desirable, God offers a new family, whose life together, as we just saw, is to be characterised by holy and blameless living and relating.

In him we have redemption through his blood, forgiveness of sins

Next, v7 tells us that in Christ we receive redemption, the forgiveness of sins, through his blood, shed on the Cross.

He has made known to us the mystery of his will in Christ - to gather up all things in him/ under his headship

V9 tells us that we've been let in on this plan. God has made known to us the mystery of his will. We're privileged to know what God has planned for the world. As we saw earlier, that plan is that he will bring everything together under the Lordship of Christ, so that all of creation is united in an organic unity with Christ as the head. So our part includes living in unity with one another as we await the final unity that Christ will bring about.

In him we were marked with the seal of the promised Holy Spirit to show that we are God's own people, to the praise of his glory

Finally, we see in v14 that we've received the seal, the pledge, that shows that we're God's own people, to the praise of his glory. Again, this is something that affects how we live now. You see, if we carry the seal of God's ownership, then everything we do reflects on him. It's like when a manufacturer puts their trademark on a product. The way that product performs, in the end reflects on the manufacturer. How many manufacturers have gone out of business because their products developed a reputation for being unreliable? In the same way, the way we behave reflects on the God whose name we bear. So let's make sure that we allow the Holy Spirit to so work in us that all we do is to the praise of God's glory.

So what we find in this opening passage of Ephesians is the wonder of God's plan, formed before the creation of the world, being put into effect at this very moment and set to come to completion when God's time is fulfilled. It's a plan that involves all three persons of the Trinity, it's a plan that's centered in Christ, but at the same time it's a plan that involves us in living as God's adopted children, being holy and blameless before him, living for his praise and glory as we await the final fulfillment of his plan, the bringing together of all things in heaven and earth under one head, Jesus Christ. It's no wonder that Paul starts and ends this section with a cry of praise to God.

Well, let's join Paul in praising God's wonderful name.


	Contact us	Preaching Program	Home		Last Week's Sermon

	If you were asked by a recent convert to suggest one book of the Bible for them to study, apart from the gospels, you could do a lot worse than to suggest Paul's letter to the Ephesians. Here we have a wonderfully concise yet comprehensive summary of the Christian gospel and its implications. Here we discover the wonder and intricacy of God's eternal plan for his world and especially for his people. As we read it our hearts are lifted to join Paul in praising God for his wonderful goodness towards us in Christ. As we go further into the book we find practical and helpful advice on how to live as God's children in a world that's hostile to God; how to live as God's community in a world of disunity; how to gain peace and reconciliation in the face of alienation; how to find peace rather than war; how to do our part in bringing his plan to completion in Christ. So it's an eminently suitable book for us to study in some depth over the next couple of months.
	The first section of the book divides neatly into two parts: the first, which we'll look at today, consists of praise, the second, which we'll look at next week, consists of prayer. But today's section is more than just praise. It's more like an overture to a great operatic work. Here we find themes that are repeated later in the letter. Yet at the same time it has an internal unity that allows us to study it by itself if we want to. So what I'd like you to do today is to think about how this passage fits together, but at the same time to store away what you read so that what we discover later in the book will make more sense.
	Well, as we begin, I'd like you to do a bit of work. So open your bibles, please, to Ephesians 1. p183 in the New Testament. Now quickly read through vs 3-14 and tell me what phrases you notice are repeated. (In Christ/in him; Praise of his glory/praise to God; according to his will/his good pleasure; blessing)
	The phrases that I want to particularly concentrate on today are those that are something like "according to his will or his good pleasure, or according to his purpose. They're repeated in vs 5, 7, 9, and 11. But they're summed up in the phrase in v10 "a plan for the fullness of time". That is, what Paul is talking about when he talks of God's will and purpose is God's eternal plan, set out before the foundation of the world, and set to come to completion at the last day. We'll have a look at that plan in a moment.
	But first, the other phrase that stands out is the phrase 'in Christ' or 'in him'. The phrase occurs some 9 or 10 times in the first 14 verses so it's clearly central to Paul's thinking at this point. In fact as we'll discover, I hope, the whole theme of the book has to do with us being in Christ, with God bringing all things together under one head, Jesus Christ. That's why I've called this sermon series "Completion in Christ." It's because, as we'll see in a moment, God's plan is brought to fulfillment in Christ and we're drawn into that plan, into the people of God, because we're incorporated first into Christ. (outline)
	Well, let's think about God's plan. First of all it's eternal.
	Eternal
	I've been watching with interest the news reports about the fast train project between Sydney and Canberra and the possibilities of it being extended to Melbourne. I remember the idea first being mooted back in the late 80s, and early 90s. Here we are 8 or 9 years later and they're still talking about it. I did some postgraduate study in administration 10 or so years ago and one of the courses I did was on great planning disasters. We looked at projects like the Sydney Opera House, the Concorde Jet, the San Francisco Bay Rapid Transit System, among others, looking at why these various projects ran well over time and way over budget. So I know a little bit about project planning - at least how not to do it. Some people might have thought there was an eternal aspect to some of those projects. But here we read about a plan that dwarfs any of those by its sheer magnitude, but also by its success. This plan was instituted by God before the foundation of the world. It's a plan that's run on time. We experience the fruits of it now, and it'll finally come to completion at the end of time, when God brings all things together under Christ.
	Before the creation - he chose us and predestined us
	We're told the plan began when God chose us before the creation of the world. God knew beforehand everything that would happen and chose us to be made his children by adoption with a task to fulfill which we'll look at in a moment.
	Now - for adoption as his children; we have redemption
	Right now, in the present, we experience the outworking of that plan as we're accepted into his family as his adopted sons and daughters; as we receive the redemption that comes through Christ's blood, shed on the cross; as we experience our sins being forgiven. And it's a plan that continues to be worked out in the present as more and more people are accepted into God's family on the same basis.
	For the fullness of time - to gather up all things in him,
	Thirdly, it's a plan that stretches forward to a point in the future when God will bring all things to completion in Christ. The phrase used is "the fullness of time" or "when the times will have reached their fulfillment." You see, despite what some people believe, history isn't meaningless or without purpose. It's moving towards a definite goal, and a glorious one at that. A time will come when all that is will be changed, when everything in heaven and on earth will be brought together in unity under one head, Jesus Christ. If you're in any doubt, by the way, as to what's wrong with Pauline Hanson's attitude to a multiracial society, here's one answer. God's intention for the human race is just that. A society, a world, where all people live together in unity. The next two chapters speak of the mystery of the gospel being that the Gentiles are now included in God's people on equal terms with the Jews. This was the first step to that future reality. But in fact the future reality includes all created things. In other words this unity under Christ as head, extends not only to races of people but to the natural world as well. It'll be a unity that sees the end of ecological damage. It'll be characterised, according to Isaiah, by the wolf lying down with the lamb, the calf and the lion eating together. And it'll be a world in which even spiritual forces are at one with God's purposes. So God's plan stretches in eternity from the start of time through to the present and on to the end of time.
	Trinitarian
	The second thing to note about God's plan is its Trinitarian nature. That is, as this plan is described we discover that all 3 persons of the Trinity have a part in it. v3 is almost a summary of this idea. "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." God the Father, God the Son, and by implication God the Holy Spirit by whose agency these spiritual blessings come about.
	God the Father - who blessed us; - who chose us
	First Paul begins with praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ who has blessed us in the heavenlies. It's God the Father who chose us before the creation of the world; who destined us to be adopted as his children; who accomplishes all things according to his counsel and will.
	Jesus Christ; in Christ; all things under Christ,
	But it's in Christ, or through Christ that all these things come about. Now let me suggest that this is a concept that you must come to grips with if you want to properly understand the Christian gospel. The only way we can stand before God, is if we do so in Christ. The only way we can have our sins forgiven is if we're in Christ. One of the images that Paul uses is that of putting on Christ. It's an image of us being enclosed in Jesus' person, the way we might put on a cloak that covers us so completely that all you can see is the cloak. But that's only a poor comparison. When we put on Christ we're actually incorporated into his being. It's as though all that we are is now determined not by our own character or our own efforts, but entirely by Christ. One of the implications of this of course, is that those who try to live by their own efforts, aren't included in this description of God's plan. You see if you're trying to be holy and blameless before God, as it says in v 4, that's all well and good, but unless you're doing it from the perspective of being in Christ, that is, already accepted and adopted and forgiven because you're in Christ, then you're wasting your time. It's a question of what you want God to see when he looks at you. If he looks at you and sees your efforts to meet his standards, you're in trouble, because you won't have met them, no matter how hard you try. But if what God sees when he looks at you is Christ, not you, then you'll be OK, because Christ has met those standards.
	Sealed by the promised Holy Spirit, the pledge of our inheritance
	Thirdly, the way we know now that what God has promised will come true is that we have his pledge in the form of the Holy Spirit, sent to dwell within us. In fact the Spirit himself is a sign that God keeps his promises. He's God's promised Holy Spirit. God promised to send him in the Old Testament. Jesus promised his disciples that he would send him to them. So the fact that we experience his presence with us today is a reminder that God's promises can be trusted. Paul uses two different but related words to describe this idea of the Spirit as a pledge doesn't he? First he speaks of the Spirit as a 'seal'. The seal is a mark of ownership or of authenticity, indicating that we belong to God, that we're truly his children by adoption. Also he calls the Holy Spirit God's deposit or pledge by which God shows he's in earnest when he promises to bring us safely to our final inheritance. It's like the deposit you might pay on the purchase of a house. It's the first payment that secures your legal claim on the property and it's also the first instalment on the final purchase price. So it is with the Holy Spirit. In giving him to us God isn't just promising us our final inheritance, he's also giving us a foretaste of it, that is, he's giving us our first experience of being part of his family, connected to him in a personal way.
	Christ Centered but intimately involving us
	Well, if God's plan is Eternal and if it's Trinitarian, it's also both Christ centered yet at the same time intimately involving us . Let's look at what we're told about our part in this plan
	Blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing
	The first thing we're told is that God has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenlies. That is, in the unseen world of spiritual reality, as opposed to the physical world which we'd normally associate with reality. This can be a difficult concept for us children of a scientific era. There's a sense in which we think if you can't see it, touch it or measure it then it isn't real. But more and more, people are coming to the realisation that there is more to reality than the physical world. That's the premise on which shows like the X-Files and all of its spin-offs are based: that there's something out there. Well, there is. There's a spiritual realm. A realm where Jesus is seated at the right hand of God, and where we receive God's blessing in Christ as we reign with him as we discover in 2:6.
	To be holy and blameless before him in love
	But then we discover that our calling isn't just to the heavenly realm. We mustn't be so heavenly minded that we're no earthly use. No, we're chosen for a purpose: to be holy and blameless before him in love. (v4) Part of God's plan is that his people show by their lives, the sort of world God intended us to live in. He wants us to live holy and blameless lives so we reflect his character to the world.
	So that we might live for the praise of his glory
	v12 explains why: so we might live for the praise of his glory. Central to God's plan is that we glorify him in all that we do.
	For adoption as his children through Jesus Christ
	Next, we were destined to be adopted as his sons and daughters. Our place in God's plan is to be brought into his family. To take him as our Father. To treat one another as brothers and sisters. As we see in v14, to receive an inheritance that comes only to the children of the family. For those whose experience of family life is less than desirable, God offers a new family, whose life together, as we just saw, is to be characterised by holy and blameless living and relating.
	In him we have redemption through his blood, forgiveness of sins
	Next, v7 tells us that in Christ we receive redemption, the forgiveness of sins, through his blood, shed on the Cross.
	He has made known to us the mystery of his will in Christ - to gather up all things in him/ under his headship
	V9 tells us that we've been let in on this plan. God has made known to us the mystery of his will. We're privileged to know what God has planned for the world. As we saw earlier, that plan is that he will bring everything together under the Lordship of Christ, so that all of creation is united in an organic unity with Christ as the head. So our part includes living in unity with one another as we await the final unity that Christ will bring about.
	In him we were marked with the seal of the promised Holy Spirit to show that we are God's own people, to the praise of his glory
	Finally, we see in v14 that we've received the seal, the pledge, that shows that we're God's own people, to the praise of his glory. Again, this is something that affects how we live now. You see, if we carry the seal of God's ownership, then everything we do reflects on him. It's like when a manufacturer puts their trademark on a product. The way that product performs, in the end reflects on the manufacturer. How many manufacturers have gone out of business because their products developed a reputation for being unreliable? In the same way, the way we behave reflects on the God whose name we bear. So let's make sure that we allow the Holy Spirit to so work in us that all we do is to the praise of God's glory.
	So what we find in this opening passage of Ephesians is the wonder of God's plan, formed before the creation of the world, being put into effect at this very moment and set to come to completion when God's time is fulfilled. It's a plan that involves all three persons of the Trinity, it's a plan that's centered in Christ, but at the same time it's a plan that involves us in living as God's adopted children, being holy and blameless before him, living for his praise and glory as we await the final fulfillment of his plan, the bringing together of all things in heaven and earth under one head, Jesus Christ. It's no wonder that Paul starts and ends this section with a cry of praise to God.
	Well, let's join Paul in praising God's wonderful name.

12/7/98

God's Eternal Plan - All Things United Under Christ

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