Making Known

Good morning, welcome, please open your Bibles to Ephesians 1.

Read Ephesians 1:7-10- 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.

Pray.

A puzzling text.

Puzzles in which all of your moves depended on the moving parts.

All one big run-on sentence of praise from v. 3-14.

Imagine Paul losing himself in praise. Stating things without explanation.

Example 1- consider Paul’s use of pronoun.

Him, His, He. No explanation of who is being talked about.

Walk through the text to show the confusion.

When Paul lets out these words of praise, it is possible to get lost in them. Let me try to decipher what exactly Paul is saying in our verses this morning.

We have redemption by Christ’s blood;

this redemption makes possible the forgiveness of our sins;

Christ’s redemption and our forgiveness are an expression of God’s lavish grace;

this grace comes to us also in the gift of wisdom and insight;

this wisdom is given in order that we might make sense of God’s will;

God’s will, accomplished through the work of Jesus, is to unite all things in heaven and earth under the headship of Jesus.

We have discussed redemption and mystery, so let’s focus our remaining time on what God is doing to bring about the fulfillment of His will in heaven and on earth.

1. The mystery of God’s will has been revealed to God’s people.

Important to rightly understand the meaning of mystery.

Biblically, mystery means that which is true but has not yet been revealed.

Doesn’t make it any less true, but rather means that until sight is given, this mysterious truth will not be known, owned, understood and applied.

Story about seeing dimples on a golf ball for the first time- they were always there, though they could not be seen.

Great example in this letter- Ephesians 5:32- This mystery is profound, and I am saying that it refers to Christ and the church.

Here is the beauty of what we are reading- God has made known what was once secret.

Luke 10:21-24- In that same hour he rejoiced in the Holy Spirit and said, “I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you have hidden these things from the wise and understanding and revealed them to little children; yes, Father, for such was your gracious will. All things have been handed over to me by my Father, and no one knows who the Son is except the Father, or who the Father is except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.” Then turning to the disciples he said privately, “Blessed are the eyes that see what you see! For I tell you that many prophets and kings desired to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it.”

Let’s understand this in context- Ephesians 1 thus far is all about grace. Redemption, Election, Predestination, Adoption. Forgiveness. All gifts from God to man.

Now let’s add to our list- revelation.

Great distance between God and man.

God and His will are mystery. Had God never revealed who He is or what He is doing, there is no effort on our part that would figure out anything about Him.

The very act that God has revealed anything of Himself clues us in to a better understanding of how we relate to God.

John 15:15- No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you.

The fact that God has revealed Himself and His will to us reveals how God sees us- friends, sons and daughters, His own.

God’s revealing of the mystery of His will is a great cause for praise in our congregation this morning.

2. God’s will is to bring all of creation under the complete rule and reign of Jesus.

R.C. Sproul- “We live in a world that does not recognize its ruler, that does not kneel in obedience before its appointed king.”

Richard Coekin- “God’s just order will be fully restored everywhere, under the rule of Christ. The divine Architect has published his glorious construction plan, and, having laid the sure foundation In the death and resurrection of Christ, the completion of his glorious new creation is now just a matter of time.”

3. Our chief desire in all areas of life must be to conform our will to God’s will.

If God’s will is to bring all of creation under the complete rule and reign of Jesus, then this should be our will as well.

Bryan Chapell- “The plan to reveal the mystery to us was launched before the foundation of the world was laid; the fulfillment of the plan is at the culmination of the world; and the revelation of both has come to us now. We are at the center of the hourglass of the revealed purpose of God. Why? Because we are a part of the plan!”

Our own lives redeemed for Christ’s reign.

Immerse ourselves in God’s Word.

Hear from God.

Immerse ourselves in prayer.

Speak to God.

Immerse ourselves in the body of Christ.

Kids trying to get anything done.

Confess and repent.

Seek forgiveness.

Pursue holiness.

The life of our church redeemed for Christ’s reign.

Put aside differences.

Forgive.

Pursue unity in diversity.

The world redeemed for Christ’s reign.

Make Jesus known.

Proclaim Jesus in both word and life.

Keep the end in mind.

Lavishing of grace is in the past tense. So God’s making known, revealing what was once mysterious, is also in the past tense. God has done it. You know the end. You know what God will do.

Trust.

No matter the chaos of your life.

Azariah in a crowd. Holding the hand of my father in the chaos of a crowd. Trust the he sees ahead.

All you have to do is follow, hold tight and walk in his footsteps.

At times like these, God puts you on His shoulders and allows you to see the end of the journey, where you are headed.

This is the revealing of God’s will. If not for Him, all you’d have is your experience of the crowd around you.

He will not lose you. He will not let go. He will get you through the difficulties of this life.

Ada Ruth Habershon- “Those He saves are His delight; Christ will hold me fast; Precious in His holy sight; He will hold me fast; He'll not let my soul be lost; His promises shall last; Bought by Him at such a cost; He will hold me fast.”

Pray.