Mar
29
Old Testament Reading: Pslam 110
“A PSALM OF DAVID. The LORD says to my Lord: ‘Sit at my right hand, until I make your enemies your footstool.’ The LORD sends forth from Zion your mighty scepter. Rule in the midst of your enemies! Your people will offer themselves freely on the day of your power, in holy garments; from the womb of the morning, the dew of your youth will be yours. The LORD has sworn and will not change his mind, ‘You are a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek.’ The Lord is at your right hand; he will shatter kings on the day of his wrath. He will execute judgment among the nations, filling them with corpses; he will shatter chiefs over the wide earth. He will drink from the brook by the way; therefore he will lift up his head.” (Psalm 110, ESV)
New Testament Reading: Ephesians 1:3-14
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, even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love he predestined us for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved. In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight making known to us the mystery of his will, according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth. In him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will, so that we who were the first to hope in Christ might be to the praise of his glory. In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory” (Ephesians 1:3–14, ESV).
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[Please excuse any and all typos and misspellings within this manuscript. It has been published online for the benefit of the saints of Emmaus Reformed Baptist Church, but without the benefit of proofreading.]
Introduction
We have again read all of Ephesians 1:3-14 because in the Greek, these verses are locked together. They are locked together grammatically, being one long sentence. And they are locked together thematically, giving all glory to the Triune God — Father, Son and Holy Spirit — for our redemption in Jesus the Christ.
As you know, verses 3 — 6a give glory to God the Father, for he “chose us in [Christ] before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love he predestined us for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will…”
As we will see, verses 11 — 14 give glory to the Holy Spirit, for through him and by his agency we have come to partake of the eternal inheritance that is ours in Christ Jesus. When we “believed in Christ, [we] were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory” (Ephesians 1:13-14, ESV).
But here in verses 6b — 10 glory is given to God the Son, for he, in the incarnation, has redeemed us by his shed blood. “In him [the Christ, who was and is the Son of God incarnate] we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses…” (Ephesians 1:7, ESV).
This entire passage (Ephesians 1:3-14) is critically important for it sets the tone for this letter to the Ephesians.
Paul will explicitly state his purpose for writing later in the epistle. His desire is that God would be glorified as Christians “comprehend… what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge…” (Ephesians 3:18–19, ESV). Stated differently, Pauls purpose in writing is to fix our eyes upon the love of God that has been showered upon us in and through Christ Jesus. His prayer is that God would strengthen us to comprehend how great that love is, so that we might be moved to marvel at it, to give all glory to God, and to walk in a manner that is worthy of the calling to which we have been called.
As I have said before, the theme of this is epistle is “unity in the inaugurated new creation.” In Christ there is a new creation, for in him and through him the glory of the new heavens and earth will be ushered in, for he has earned it by his obedience. And in Christ there is a new humanity, for he has redeemed for himself a people from every tongue, tribe and nation. This new creation is here now by the power of the Holy Spirit, as Paul has said elsewhere: “if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come” (2 Corinthians 5:17, ESV). But of course, we await its consummation when Christ returns.
Again, the theme of this epistle is “unity in this inaugurated new creation.” Christians —no matter if they be Jew or Gentile, slave or free, rich or poor, male or female — are unified in Christ. They are to “walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which [they] have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace” (Ephesians 4:1–3, ESV). That, as you know, is the application that Paul presents in 4:1, which is the beginning of the second half of his epistle. But what is the theological rationale for this application? In other words, what is the doctrinal basis for Paul’s exhortation to pursue unity and peace with one another as Christians? The answer is, our shared union with Christ. We are to work hard to “maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace” because in Christ, by virtue of our union with him through faith, we are one. The truth is this, we have been adopted into one family. We have be reconciled to the same Father. We share the same inheritance. And all of this is through our union with Jesus the Christ. In Christ Jesus, we are one. And for this reason we are to work hard to “maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.”
This theme — our union with one another by virtue of our shared union with Christ — will be greatly expanded later in the book of Ephesians, but it is introduced here in this opening passage, and particularly in the text that is before us today.
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Blessed In The Beloved
Notice the phrase, “in the Beloved” found at the end of verses 6. This phrase is of utmost importance. It links the previous passage with the one we are considering today.
The word “Beloved” is here used by Paul as a name for Christ. It is a rare name for Christ, used nowhere else in this form. And no doubt it is meant to highlight Christ as the eternal Son of God come in the flesh.
The name “Beloved” harkens back to that episode recorded in the Gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke wherein at the baptism of Jesus a voice was heard from heaven, saying, “You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased” (Mark 1:11, ESV). There at Jesus’ baptism God the Father publicly identified Jesus as the Christ and his “beloved son.” This corresponds to the good news proclaimed so beautifully in John 3:16, which says, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16, ESV). Jesus the Christ is the beloved Son of God. He is the eternal Son of God, come in the flesh.
As I have said, this phrase, “in the Beloved”, links the previous passage with the one that we are considering today. It helps us to pivot from a focus upon God the Father and what he has done — he chose us to be holy and blameless before him; he predestinated us to be adopted as sons — to a focus upon the one though whom these spiritual blessings have been secured and provided, namely, Jesus the Christ, the Beloved Son of God.
God the Father chose us to be holy and blameless before him. This he did being moved only by his love. And this he did before the foundation of the earth. But this blessing would be secured and provided only through the work of his Beloved Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.
Similarly, God the Father predestined us to adoption as sons. This he did according to the purpose of his will. This he did in eternity past. But this adoption would be secured and provided only through the work of his Beloved Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.
When we talk about the doctrine of predestination there are many things that we can say. We can talk about being predestined for adoption, to the forgivness of sins, and to good works, ect. But we should not forget to say what this passage says so beautifully. That God predestined us to have all of these blessings (and many more) through union with Jesus the Christ.
I think it is helpful to note that the teaching we find here in Ephesians corresponds to that prayer that Jesus prayed in the presence of his disciples not long before his crucifixion as recorded in John chapter 17. I would like for you to turn there so that you might see that what Paul teaches here in Ephesians was certainly believed by Jesus, for he could not pray what he prayed unless the things taught by Paul were true.
In John 17:1 we read, “When Jesus had spoken these words, he lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said, ‘Father, the hour has come; glorify your Son that the Son may glorify you, since you have given him authority over all flesh, to give eternal life to all whom you have given him. And this is eternal life, that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent. I glorified you on earth, having accomplished the work that you gave me to do. And now, Father, glorify me in your own presence with the glory that I had with you before the world existed. I have manifested your name to the people whom you gave me out of the world. Yours they were, and you gave them to me, and they have kept your word. Now they know that everything that you have given me is from you. For I have given them the words that you gave me, and they have received them and have come to know in truth that I came from you; and they have believed that you sent me. I am praying for them. I am not praying for the world but for those whom you have given me, for they are yours. All mine are yours, and yours are mine, and I am glorified in them” (John 17:1–10, ESV). And a little bit further on in that same passage Jesus continued to pray, saying in verse 20. “I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me. The glory that you have given me I have given to them, that they may be one even as we are one, I in them and you in me, that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that you sent me and loved them even as you loved me. Father, I desire that they also, whom you have given me, may be with me where I am, to see my glory that you have given me because you loved me before the foundation of the world. O righteous Father, even though the world does not know you, I know you, and these know that you have sent me. I made known to them your name, and I will continue to make it known, that the love with which you have loved me may be in them, and I in them” (John 17:20–26, ESV).
I hope that you are able to see the connection between the High Priestly Prayer of Jesus in John 17, and Paul’s letter to the Ephesians. It is as if Paul in the first half of his letter teases out and develops the theological truths which undergirded Jesus’ prayer — namely, the Father’s election of some in eternity past to be in the Son, united to him by faith. And after developing these theological truths, Paul, in the second half of his epistle, urges us to strive for that which Jesus prayed — namely, unity and peace with one another given our unity and peace with God the Father through faith in the Son. Jesus prayed that his disciples would be one. And Paul exhorts us to be, saying “I… urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace” (Ephesians 4:1–3, ESV). This exhortation to be unified is rooted in the fact that we — each one of us individually — have been joined to Christ, if we have faith in him, having been given to Christ by the Father before the creation of the world.
[APPLICATION: I wonder if you will allow me to pause for just a moment to make a rather obvious but often overlooked observation. Do you notice that when Paul set out to help Christians “comprehend… what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge…” (Ephesians 3:18–19) so that they might then “walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which [they] have been called…” (Ephesians 4:1), he did not hide that so-called “controversial” doctrine of election or predestination, but rather he began with it.
Think of that for a moment.
Paul, when writing the Christians in Ephesus, led with the doctrine of predestination, teaching that God “chose us in [Christ] before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him”, and “In love he predestined us for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace.”
It has been almost 9 years since we walked away from that watered down and doctrine-less form of Evangelicalism, and into the Reformed tradition. It has been some time, therefore, since I have lived in that world where Pastor’s and church say, well, we don’t talk about doctrines like the doctrine of predestination, because they are controversial. We focus on the essentials. We just talk about Jesus and his love for us. Doctrine divides, Jesus unites. It has been some time since I have interacted in a substantial way with people who are of this opinion. But as we have begun to study Ephesians, and we have we have considered Paul’s purpose for writing — to help us comprehend the love of God for us in Christ Jesus — and as we have considered how Paul begins his epistle — with an emphasis upon the doctrine of predestination — all of those memories have come flooding back to me.
How can a Pastor, who has been appointed by God to be a Minister of the Gospel, neglect to preach and teach this doctrine to his people. What right does he have to say, it would be better if we not talk about this doctrine. Its too much for the church to handle. Its too divisive. Etc? Friends, that is not our call to make! As Ministres of the Gospel we called to preach and teach the Word that has been entrusted to us by Christ and his Apostles! And when Paul set out to strengthen the Ephesians in the knowledge of the love of God in Christ Jesus, and to walk in manner worthy of the calling to which they had been called, he did not bury this doctrine — he did not skirt this issue — instead, he opened with it!
He opened with this doctrine, not to be controversial, but because it is true. If you are united to Christ by faith, adopted as son, and blessed in him with every spiritual blessing in the heavenliness, it is because God chose you in eternity past. He predetermined that you would be in Christ by faith. Not only is it true, but knowing this is essential if you are to “comprehend” the “breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge…” God’s love for you is truly great! He loved you, not because you were lovely. He loved you because he determined to set his love upon you out of his goodness and by his grace.
This doctrine of predestination is not an unessential doctrine, friends. To the contrary, it is the root and source of all that is ours in Christ Jesus. We are blessed in the Beloved because God determined in eternity past to bless us in the Beloved.
This doctrine of predestination is not an obscure or rare doctrine. To the contrary, Paul speaks of it in all of his letters. Have you read Paul’s letter to the church in Rome, particularly chapters 8-9? Have you read Pauls letter to the church in Colosse? To them he said, “Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience…” (Colossians 3:12, ESV). To Timothy, Paul said, “Therefore I endure everything for the sake of the elect, that they also may obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory” (2 Timothy 2:10, ESV). ToTitus he wrote, “Paul, a servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ, for the sake of the faith of God’s elect and their knowledge of the truth, which accords with godliness” (Titus 1:1, ESV). To the churches in Galatia Paul said, “Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, who gave himself for our sins to deliver us from the present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father…” (Galatians 1:3–4, ESV). On and on I could go. This truth — that God predestined those who would be saved in Christ — is not a fringe doctrine in Paul’s writings. Instead it is central and foundational.
And lest we think that this doctrine was unique to Paul, we should remember that it was Jesus himself who prayed for those given to him by the Father before the creation of the world (John 17). It was Jesus who said, “For many are called, but few are chosen” (Matthew 22:14, ESV). Christ himself said to his disciples, “You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide” (John 15:16, ESV).
It is no surprise, then, that the other Apostles also lead with this theme in their writings. 1 Peter 1:1: “Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, To those who are elect exiles of the Dispersion…” (1 Peter 1:1, ESV). 2 Peter 1:10: “Therefore, brothers, be all the more diligent to confirm your calling and election, for if you practice these qualities you will never fall” (2 Peter 1:10, ESV).
This piling up of verseS will do for now. The point is that this doctrine of election or predestination is not obscure. Instead it is pervasive in both the Old Testament and the New. And neither is it unclear. What can be more clear than this, friends? “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, even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love he predestined us for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved” (Ephesians 1:3–6, ESV).
This doctrine of predestination is vital to our comprehension of the love of God for us in Christ Jesus. He loved us not because we were lovely. Instead, though we were vile and rebellious, dead in our sins, and by nature children of wrath, God determined to set his love upon us, because he is gracious and kind. How humbling this is.
If you are a Minister of the Gospel listening to this message today, I ask you, why would you withhold this vital doctrine from your people? What gives you the right, as a servant of the King, to decide what is good for them? Is that not God’s prerogative? Are we not to simply be faithful to “preach the word” that has been entrusted to us, “to be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching” (2 Timothy 4:2, ESV). Stop being driven by fear — the fear that some might walk away. They walked away from Christ when he taught these doctrines in John 6. And many goats may walk away from you, but the sheep will be strengthened.
And to the Christian I say, do not ignore the doctrine of predestination. Instead, contemplate it. Cease from standing as judge over the scriptures. Instead, “receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls.” (James 1:21, ESV)]
Let us now return to the text.
Stated simply, here in verse 6 of Ephesians 1 we learn that every blessing that God the Father determined to give to his elect in eternity past is only ours “in the Beloved” as we are united to him by faith.
I would encourage you to read Ephesians 1:3-14 again later today and take special notice the phrases, “in Christ”, “through Jesus Christ”, “in the Beloved”, “In him”, and “through his blood” that are peppered throughout this text. In the ESV there are 12 such phrases. In the Greek text there are actually 13. There is another “in him” at the very end of verse 10 which is left untranslated by the ESV because it is so repetitions. Literally verse 10 reads “as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth [in him]. In him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will…” (Ephesians 1:10–11, ESV). The ESV leaves the “in him” at the end of verse 10 untranslated because it is extremely repetitious, which I think is unfortunate. The extreme repetition was deliberate. Paul’s intention was that as this passage was read aloud in the congregation, this section — the section that runs from verse 6b through 10 — would end with one big and final “in him” to drive home the point.
But even with the omission of the final “in him”, the passage is very clear. God the Father predestined some to be reconciled to himself, and that this would be accomplished through the mediation of his Beloved Son, and by the power of the Holy Spirit. Verses 6 — 10 gives special emphasis to what the Son has done to accomplish our redemption.
So what did the Beloved do? What has Christ, who is the eternal Son of God come in the flesh, accomplished?
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Through His Shed Blood, We Have Redemption
Well, first of all, in verse 7 Paul says that “In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses…”
What did the Beloved accomplish? Christ accomplished the redemption of all who were “chosen in him before the foundation of the world”.
This word translated as “redemption” means “to release or set free, with the implied analogy to the process of freeing a slave” (LouwNida, 487). This process of freeing a slave would undoubtably require that some price be paid — a sum of money. But notice that Christ did not offer up a sum of money, but instead procured our freedom, “through his blood.” His blood was the purchase price. His life was the payment.
The question that must be asked is, to whom or to what were we enslaved? And the answer is, “sin”. Notice that that is what Paul emphasizes. Again, verse 7: “In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses…” or sins.
Paul will pick up this theme again later in his epistle to elaborate upon what it means to be in bondage to sin. In Ephesians 2:1-3 teach us that in sin we are spiritually dead. In sin we are in bondage to the ways of this world. In sin we are in bondage to the Evil One. In sin we are in bondage to the desires of the flesh. In sin we are deserving only of God’s wrath.
Read with me in Ephesians 2:1-3 and notice how terrible the bondage of sin is. Paul writes to the Christians in Ephesus and reminds them of their bondage prior to coming to faith in Christ, saying, “And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind” (Ephesians 2:1–3, ESV).
This, friends, is the bondage that Christ redeemed us from. He redeemed us from the bondage of sin, which is bondage to death, to the world, to the Evil One, to the passions of the flesh, and to the sure outpouring wrath of God.
Christ, by his shed blood, through his sacrificial death and victorious resurrection, has set us free from this bondage. He tasted death for us. He took our place. For the wages of our sin is death. He lived in the world, but never was he of this world. He defeated the Evil One. He lived in the flesh, but never was he ruled by the flesh, only the Spirit of God — never did he sin. And he took upon himself the wrath of God, which was the just punishment that was owed to us. By this work — by his obedient life and sacrificial, substitutionary death — he has redeemed us from the curse of sin.
[APPLICATION: Friends, according to the scriptures, this is man’s greatest need — he must be freed from his bondage to sin and death. And this is the need that Christ came to meet. He came to redeem us from our bondage to sin and all its consequences. Are you in him? Have you been redeemed by him — set free from your natural bondage?]
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Through His Obedience, We See The Accomplishment Of God’s Plan Of Redemption
Secondly, in verses 7c through 10a we see that Christ, through his obedience, has accomplished and revealed God’s plan of redemption — a plan that, though revealed in the past, was largely hidden and mysterious.
Pay careful attention as we read beginning in verse 7. I will replace some of the personal pronouns with the proper nouns that they refer to for the sake of clarity. “In [Christ] we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of [God’s] grace, which [the Father] lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight making known to us the mystery of his will, according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ as a plan for the fullness of time…” (Ephesians 1:7–10, ESV).
Notice three things:
One, our redemption in Christ and the forgivness of our sins in him are said to be “according to the riches of [God’s] grace.” If you have it in your mind that God the Father is angry with you, but that Jesus loves you, it is time to put that thought away. If Jesus loves you, it is because God the Father determined to set his love upon you. Remember, in love he predestined you. And if you are redeemed and forgiven in Christ it is “according to the riches of [the Father’s] grace.”
Two, notice that this grace has been lavished upon us by the Father. God has not given his elect a little grace, but he has poured it out in abundance. His grace is abundant and overflowing. If you are his in Christ Jesus, it is because he has lavished his grace upon you. Think on that.
Three, this grace, which was reveled in ages past, but dimly and mysteriously, was, at just the right time, revealed fully and clearly in Christ Jesus, in all wisdom and insight.
This is actually a common theme in Paul’s writings. More than that, it is a common theme throughout the New Testament. The teaching is this: the gospel, or good news, that God would provide a Savior, was revealed to the people of God prior to the birth of Christ. This truth was revealed under the Old Covenant in promises, prophesies, types and shadows. The gospel of Christ was preached prior to the arrival of the Christ, therefore. Those who were saved from their sins prior to the death of Christ were justified by faith, just as we are. But they looked forward to the arrival of the Christ, who is also called the Messiah. They understood some things about him. But much remained mysterious and hidden to them. They knew he would be a Son of Abraham and David. They knew he would be a King, but also a Suffering Servant. They knew that somehow he would atone for sins, and earn that which Adam forfeited — glory in the new heavens and earth. Some had a better grasp on these truths than others. But what exactly the Messiah would be was mysterious even to the most godly and perceptive of the saints of old. That is what Paul means when he speaks of the “mystery of [God’s] will”. He is refering to the will of God as it pertains to our redemption in the Christ. That will of God, or plan of God, was mysterious in ages past. The specifics of it were hidden and veiled. That God would provide a Savior was clear! But what he be like was largely unknown. But when the Christ arrived in the fulness of time (or at just the right time), and as he accomplished God’s will or plan in the his life, death, burial, resurrection and ascension — that which was mysterious in ages past, became clear. Jesus the Christ made God’s will know as he accomplished it. Paul is here saying that the entire process wherein God revealed his plan of redemption, from the first utterance of the gospel to Adam, to the ascension of Christ to the Father in glory, was “in all wisdom and insight.”
To fully appreciate the radicle transition that took place from mystery to full revelation concerning God’s plan of redemption, one only has to put themselves in the place of the original disciples of Christ. These men and women lived trough this transitional period. They were raised under the Old Covenant. They knew the Old Testament scriptures. They worshipped at the temple. They were eagerly awaiting the arrival of the Messiah, the Son of Abraham and the Son of David. And they wondered what he would be like. They knew he would come, but what he would be was mysterious to them. And then Jesus of Nazareth arrived on the scene. John the Baptist claimed that he was the one. He himself claimed to be the one. And his words were confirmed by miraculous works. I won’t tell you the who story. They story is told beautifully in Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. But here I am asking you to put yourself in the shoes of John, for example. Imagine waking up every day as a disciple of Jesus and watching God’s plan of redemption, which was revealed but mysterious in ages past, play out before your very eyes. Now imagine watching Jesus the Christ go to the cross. Imaging him being put into the grave. Those must have been very perplexing days for John and for the others. Now imagine hearing that the tomb was empty, and seeing him risen. Imagine listen to Jesus’ teaching concerning how all the law, the prophets and the Psalms spoke of him, and then imagine seeing him ascend to the Father. In a very short time these early disciples of Jesus watched that which was mysterious to them, become clear. If you would have asked John “what do you think the Messiah will be like” prior to the day that he met him, he would have said, “well, he will be a Son of Abraham, the Son of David, etc., but really, I am not sure.” But if you were to ask the same man, John, what the Messiah was like after Christ’s ascension, he would tell you all about him in no uncertain terms.
This is the phenomenon that Paul is refering to when he says that in Christ, God has, “in all wisdom and insight” [made] known to us the mystery of his will, according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ as a plan for the fullness of time…”
Peter was referring to this transition from mystery to knowledge when he wrote, “Concerning this salvation, the prophets who prophesied about the grace that was to be yours searched and inquired carefully, inquiring what person or time the Spirit of Christ in them was indicating when he predicted the sufferings of Christ and the subsequent glories. It was revealed to them that they were serving not themselves but you, in the things that have now been announced to you through those who preached the good news to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven, things into which angels long to look” (1 Peter 1:10–12, ESV).
The Apostles of Christ viewed themselves as stewards of the mysteries of God. This is what Paul says in his letter to the Corinthians: “This is how one should regard us, as servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God” (1 Corinthians 4:1, ESV). This is another way of saying that they were minsters of the gospel of Jesus Christ. For what is the gospel, except the God news that God has provided a Redeemer, just as he had promised from Adam’s day onward — and that Redeemer has come, Christ Jesus our Lord? God’s plan of redemption which was revealed dimly and mysteriously in ages past, has now been be made known, for it is finished. Jesus the Christ has accomplished the work of redemption.
[APPLIACTION: Friends, I do hope that you enjoyed our study of the book of Genesis. But one reason it was so enjoyable is that we were able to see with clarity and certainty the ways in which that book, written so long ago, pointed forward to Christ in promises, prophesies, types and shadows. I want for you to recognize that we were able to see Christ with clarity and certainty in that book of beginnings, only because the Christ has come. The elect of God who lived prior to Christ’s coming also benefitted from Genesis — they too learned something about the Messiah who would descend from Abraham, Isaac and Jacob — but the light was less bright for them. They sojourned in the light of the break of dawn. We sojourn in the light of the noon day sun. We live in a privileged time. To us the mysteries of God’s plan of redemption have been reveled, for the Christ has come, he has accomplished our redemption, and the New Covenant, which is the Covenant of Grace, has been instituted in his blood. Of this we are partakers. Let us be all the more diligent to study his word, so that we might ever grow in our knowledge of him.]
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Through His Resurrection, All Things In Heaven And Earth Are United In Him
Lastly, and very briefly, in response to the question what did the Beloved do? Or what has Christ, who is the eternal Son of God come in the flesh, accomplished? We must say that through his resurrection, all things in heaven and earth are united in him.
It is a little strange to be devoting such little time to this last phrase in verse 10, for truly it is the pinnacle statement regarding the work that Christ has accomplished. Christ has accomplished the will of God — he carried out his plan — which has as it end goal or telos — the union of “all things in [Christ], things in heaven and things on earth.”
Lord willing, we will pick up here in the sermon on the next Lord’s Day, and so I will only briefly explain what Paul means. He means that God’s plan of redemption in Christ involves, not only your salvation and mine, and not only the salvation of all of God’s elect in all the world and in every age, but the redemption even of the created earthly realm, and the eventual union of these realms — the heavenly and earthly — in the new heavens and new earth. That is the end goal or telos of God’s plan of redemption. In Christ all of God’s redeemed will be brought safely home into the new heavens and earth.
For now let me just say I am thankful that we have carefully studied the book of Revelation and the book of Genesis before coming to this study of Ephesians.
In Revelation, especially in chapters 21 and 22 we are presented with a vision of the new heavens and earth. At the end of time, heaven and earth will become one. The glory of God will fill all. Only the redeemed will be there. And there will be no more sin, sickness, suffering or death. Paul is here teaching that that was the end goal of God’s plan of redemption — “to unite all things in [Christ], things in heaven and things on earth.”
In Genesis we considered God’s design for Adam. That he would live under God’s authority, that he would fill the earth, expand the garden temple, living in perfect and perpetual obedience to him. In the end, Adam was to eat of the tree of life and enter into glory. Heaven and earth would have become one. This the first Adam failed to do. But this the second Adam has accomplished.
Paul states things a little different in Colossians, but the concepts are the same. Speaking of Christ he Paul says, “He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together. And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent. For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross.” (Colossians 1:15–20, ESV)
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Conclusion
Friends, are you in Christ? Are you united to him by faith? There is no greater question than this. For only in Christ do “we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of [God’s] grace…”
