July 17, 2011

For each of us, every day begins and ends with ourselves. In the morning we get up and go into the bathroom and look at ourselves in the mirror. At the end of the day we go into the bathroom and we see ourselves in the mirror. Throughout the day we are assessing ourselves and comparing ourselves against others. We are trying to make ourselves attractive, successful, comfortable and healthy. I mean, most of life is about ourselves.

Now, if we bring God into the picture, we have a problem because God is God and we are not, but we like to think we are. And whereas we like to be in control and make demands on others, if God is in the picture then we can only be in control if we ignore him. And yet, to ignore God is dangerous, because God is God.

In these opening verses of Ephesians we see that God is front and center. It’s all about him. He’s the Mover. He’s the Shaker. Frankly, everything begins and ends with God.

 

I. GOD IS WORKING EVERYTHING OUT ACCORDING TO HIS WILL. Eph.1:11-12

Sometimes while playing tennis there’s a dispute about whether the ball that was just served was in or out. Many times I can remember settling the dispute by doing it over. If the serve goes in then I might be apt to say with glee, “must be God’s will!”, as if God planned for the tennis ball to be in bounds. Is this what v.11 is talking about? Is Paul saying that every little thing, every little nuance of movement, every offhand decision is ordained by God? I don’t think so. In fact it seems to me that a great deal that happens in this world is not God’s will. He obviously allows these things to happen, but they are not in keeping with his will. I don’t believe Paul is saying that everything that happens is of God’s doing. Rather is seems to me that Paul is saying that God is so wonderful a being that he is able to take all that happens, (good and bad) and bring about the purposes that he intended from the beginning.

This is really quite astounding. First time parents tend to be a little over protective of their baby. They are extra careful to do everything just right. They take precautions and make sure that nothing will happen to their baby. This is good. Because the baby is a baby, the parents are able to control much of the baby’s environment. It’s still scary. A lot can happen. But you’re in control. However I have noticed that as my boys have gotten older, less and less is in my control. They are out and about. They are riding in cars driven by others. They are driving in my cars. They are playing sports in which they could get hurt. I have very little control over what happens to them. What is more, I can’t work any of the events that happen to them to conform to my will. But God can take every event and make it conform to his purposes.

Now this is very comforting. Because God is good, his purposes are good. No matter how chaotic and awry this world may be, it’s not beyond God’s ability to weave it all together for good. But even more comforting are Paul’s words in v.11. He says, “In him we were also chosen.” Clearly those of us who know Christ have been included in the purpose of God’s will. God has you in mind. You are not an afterthought. Even if you were an unexpected blessing to your parents, you were not unexpected as far as God is concerned. You and I have a place in the grand scheme of God’s purposes and God is working in your life.

If you are not a Christ follower, then God is working in the events of your life to give you opportunities to become a Christ follower. If you consistently decide to not follow Christ then you forfeit the eternal, joy filled life that God wants to give you. In fact you will be at odds with the purposes of God.

 But if you are a Christ follower then everyday you have the opportunity to live from his Kingdom resources. In Ps.16:1-2 we read, “Keep me safe, O God, for in you I take refuge. I said to the LORD, “You are my Lord; apart from you I have no good thing.” Everything in the Kingdom of God is good, because God is good. So if you are in the Kingdom of God, God will take everything that happens to you and use it for your good and the good of others. This does not mean we won’t experience pain and heartache. We still live in this fallen world. However, it does mean that for believers, the pain and heartache will eventually conform to the good will of God. Without God pain and heartache is ultimately meaningless

One more thought here. Because God works everything out according to his will, all the loose ends of history, all the tragedy and brutality of this world, will be brought to a fitting and just conclusion. What appears to be a big ball of confusion and disorder will one day be sorted out and made right by God. This is our confident hope. As Rick Warren would say, “It’s not about us; it’s all about God. And Paul reiterates this a number of times in this passage. In v.4 we read that God does these things in accordance to his pleasure and will. In v.7 redemption in Christ is in accordance with the riches of God’s grace. In v.9 the mystery of God’s will is made known according to his good pleasure. God is what’s happening. If you want to be in on what God is doing, you must get to know God.

 

II. GOD ASSURES A WONDERFUL FUTURE FOR THOSE WHO EMBRACE CHRIST. Eph.1:13-14

In v.12 Paul writes, “in order that we who were the first to hope in Christ....” Then in v.13 Paul writes, “And you also were included in Christ.” The “we” in v.12 refers to Jews who embraced Christ. Christ was Jewish and came to save the Jewish people. They were the first to embrace Christ. But we know from the Bible that God always had it in his mind to also save Gentiles. The words, “And you” in v.13 refers to the Gentile believers in Asia.

Now note something else. In v.7 Paul writes that we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins through the blood of Christ. But in v.14 Paul says that the Holy Spirit is, “a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession.” Redemption is something that we receive in Christ, but we don’t receive the fullness of redemption until we finally receive our inheritance in Christ. An inheritance is generally something that comes to us at a future time. So believers have a future inheritance coming. But let’s follow Paul’s line of thought.

He says, “And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation.” To be “in Christ” is to be saved or redeemed from sin by Christ. Is everybody included in Christ? Are all church goers included in Christ? No. Being included in Christ begins with hearing the word of truth about Christ. What do you need to know? You need to know that everyone is excluded from Christ because of sin. Isaiah 59:2 says, “But your iniquities have separated you from your God; your sins have hidden his face from you, so that he will not hear.” The exclusionary clause in the gospel says that sinners cannot enter into the Kingdom of God. Unfortunately, all of us are sinners, and the penalty for sin is death, eternal separation from God.

But the word of truth about Christ also tells us that Jesus Christ, the son of God, came into this world to die for sinners. Jesus bore the guilt of our sin and paid the penalty of our sin when he died on the cross. He was put into a tomb and then three days later he rose from the dead never to die again. Jesus defeated sin and death in our behalf. The memory verse for this week says, “My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand.” Jesus gives eternal life.

Then Paul says, “Having believed.” Hearing the word of truth is critical. We don’t just make up our own truth. We must hear the truth that comes from God about Jesus. But hearing the truth accomplishes nothing unless we believe it. To believe it means that we begin basing our living on it. If Jesus is the one who gives forgiveness of sin and eternal life and I believe this, then I will embrace him as my savior and follow him with my life. And how does one do that? It’s by faith. It’s by taking Jesus at his word. It’s by choosing to live my life centered around Jesus and his teachings as opposed to living my life centered around my own desires or my own philosophy of life. What we must not do is assume that because we attend a church or because we were baptized or raised in the Christian religion that we must be included in Christ. There are many people who were raised Christian but who do not base their living on Christ. They are not followers of Christ. They have a social kind of Christianity.

Now if you hear the word of truth about Jesus, and you desire to enter into the life of Jesus, how do you go about it? Well, you could begin by simply praying, telling God that you realize you are a sinner and that you want to be saved by Jesus. Then you could say, “Lord Jesus, I believe you died for me and rose from the dead, and I am asking you to save me today. Help me to live my life as a follower of Jesus Christ.” In other words, there is a formal turning of your life to Christ.

Look again at v.13. Paul says, “Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance.” A seal, is a mark of ownership and authenticity. Ranchers brand their cattle with a seal so everyone will know who those cattle belong to. When a person embraces Christ as Savior and Lord, God marks that person with his seal of ownership. It is the Holy Spirit, the third person of the Trinity. A follower of Christ has the Holy Spirit in them.

But not only is the Holy Spirit God’s mark of ownership, he is also a deposit, a down payment, a first installment guaranteeing that there is more to come. When Christ returns, believers will receive the fullness of joy and glory in heaven. John Stott likens it to making a down payment on a house. The down payment become the first installment of the purchase price. Well, the Holy Spirit is the first installment of our inheritance. Already we begin to enjoy the goodness of God in Christ.

 

III. GOD DESERVES TO BE GLORIFIED BY THOSE WHO BELONG TO HIM. Eph.1:12,14

Verse 3 begins with the words, “Praise be to the God and father of our Lord Jesus Christ.” Verse 6 says, “to the praise of his glorious grace.” In v.12 and 14, we see that believers exist for the praise of his glory. The passage begins with praise to God and everything that God does in these verses is meant to bring glory back to God.

You and I exist to bring glory to God. We belong to him. God is our maker. Should we not honor him? It’s not that God is just a big egotist and requires us to assuage his ego. Rather, God is so holy, righteous, powerful, loving and good that there is nothing more appropriate for us to do than to honor him. He is glorious and worthy of all praise.

How do we praise the glory of God? Well, we praise and honor God by worshipping him and by honoring him in all we do. On Sunday’s we come to worship him. We sing songs of praise to God. We honor him by listening to his word as it is read and preached. We call upon him in prayer. We give our money to his work. We are acknowledging his greatness and glory. By the way, we also worship God when we are by ourselves. We turn our heart and mind to him in prayer, in reading his word, and in singing.

Again, we bring praise and honor to God by the way that we live. Our goal is that all our thoughts, actions, and words will be in keeping with his righteousness, love and goodness. If you would like a picture of the kind of life that honors God, read Ps.15.

None of us will do this perfectly. We are still tempted and we often fall into sin. But if we set our hearts on things above, and set our minds on things above our lives we begin to reflect the goodness of God in our daily living.

Everything begins and ends with God. And at some point ever person is going to stand before God. Many people, because they refused to embrace Jesus, will be judged for their sin and condemned to an eternal existence in Hell. Many will be received into heaven because they embraced Jesus and became his follower.

Craig Bryan Larson writes, “The 2010 website of the Chicago Bears football team presented a series of videos that followed the team’s rookies from their first arrival at training camp and on through the preseason. One video showed part of coach Lovie Smith’s first orientation talk with the rookie class.

Of course, the biggest thing on each rookie’s mind is whether he will make the team. Rookies know that the team roster begins with 80 players who come to camp. After a few weeks the coaches cut the team down to 65 players. Then before the season actually begins all NFL teams are required to trim down to 53 players. Of the 19 rookies who were invited to the 2010 Bears training camp, the team would likely keep only around 7.

Lovie Smith knew that, and so he addressed the rookies’ concern in his talk to the 2010 class.His challenge to them was, “Make us put you on the team."

In other words, play so well in practice that the coaches couldn’t imagine cutting you. Make us put you on the team. Take the decision out of the coach’s hands. Let your performance make the decision for us.

Most religions and most people of the world think that God makes the same sort of speech about who will get into heaven. “Do you want to ’make the team’ and have eternal life? Make me put you on the team. Live such a good life, do so many good deeds, that I could not imagine rejecting you. Take the decision out of my hands.”

The counterintuitive truth is that God works on a completely different basis than football coaches do. People who think they can perform so well that they can make God add them to heaven’s roster because they are so deserving of it will be rejected. This is the idea of salvation by works, and it is the opposite of salvation by grace. God saves us by his grace and his grace alone, through faith in Jesus Christ.”

Have you received redemption, the forgiveness of sins from Jesus? Have you heard and believed the word of truth about Jesus Christ, and how he can save you? Amen