That You May Know
Notes
Transcript
Introduction
Introduction
Eph 1:15-23 is Paul’s prayer.
v. 18 is where we are going to be.
In v. 18 it literally means “the eyes of your heart being enlightened.”
This should tell us that Christianity is not a pursuit of the mind, but of the heart.
He wants these Christians to know the truth. He doesn’t want them to live in poverty despite having access to all the riches of Heaven.
There’s three things Paul says he wants the Ephesians to know.
I. The Hope of His Calling
I. The Hope of His Calling
The Christian life is all about answering a call. We are “called” to be saved. Some are “called” to the pastorate. Some are “called” as deacons. Others are “called” to be missionaries. All Christians are “called” to serve The Lord through the local church and to share the Gospel with the lost.
Within that calling, we find hope. That our calling is not for nothing, but that our calling is unto something.
I want to tell you about the substance of our hope and calling, the value of our hope and calling, and then tie it together to tell you what the hope of your calling should encourage you to be.
A. The Substance
A. The Substance
The substance of our hope and calling is faith.
Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.
Wuest’s Word Studies in the Greek New Testament Chapter One
The hope is not the object hoped for, … but the attitude of mind, the subjective hope, the assured Christian expectation.
B. The Value
B. The Value
The value of it is that it is eternal in the heavens. It is sealed and it is locked away where neither moth nor rust can destroy, or where no thief can break in and steal it.
I am Called!
I hear this from time to time from doctors and nurses, teachers, military or law enforcement, and even lawyers! That they are “called” to their professions. And there is nothing wrong with that, and thank God for faithful teachers, doctors, and our military and law enforcement, but their callings are all temporary!
When we are called into our salvation, our hope and our calling is eternal and it is greater and more valuable than any other calling we could experience.
Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will by no means pass away.
C. The Encouragement
C. The Encouragement
I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called,
In response to chapters 2-3, Paul says that we should be encouraged to walk worthy of our calling.
1. Encouragement To be Pure
1. Encouragement To be Pure
And now, little children, abide in Him, that when He appears, we may have confidence and not be ashamed before Him at His coming.
If you know that He is righteous, you know that everyone who practices righteousness is born of Him.
Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God! Therefore the world does not know us, because it did not know Him.
Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is.
And everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself, just as He is pure.
2. Encouragement to be Obedient
2. Encouragement to be Obedient
Obey those who rule over you, and be submissive, for they watch out for your souls, as those who must give account. Let them do so with joy and not with grief, for that would be unprofitable for you.
This verse is specifically talking about the authority in the church, but it applies more broadly to the things of God, that we are to be obedient to His Word as it is administrated by those pastors and teachers God has equipped the church with.
And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers,
for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ,
till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ;
Cross reference that with Paul’s prayer in Eph 1:17
that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him,
3. Encouragement to be Faithful
3. Encouragement to be Faithful
And the Lord said, “Who then is that faithful and wise steward, whom his master will make ruler over his household, to give them their portion of food in due season?
Blessed is that servant whom his master will find so doing when he comes.
Truly, I say to you that he will make him ruler over all that he has.
But if that servant says in his heart, ‘My master is delaying his coming,’ and begins to beat the male and female servants, and to eat and drink and be drunk,
the master of that servant will come on a day when he is not looking for him, and at an hour when he is not aware, and will cut him in two and appoint him his portion with the unbelievers.
And that servant who knew his master’s will, and did not prepare himself or do according to his will, shall be beaten with many stripes.
But he who did not know, yet committed things deserving of stripes, shall be beaten with few. For everyone to whom much is given, from him much will be required; and to whom much has been committed, of him they will ask the more.
In this parable, Jesus is making a contrast between a faithful steward and an unfaithful steward.
This passage is directly addressed toward those who have the truth of the gospel.
A faithful steward acts wisely, with a good attitude, and doesn’t grow weary in well doing. This kind of steward faithfully distributes the resources given to him by the master for the good of those under his care. This kind of steward receives a blessing and a promotion.
An unfaithful steward does the opposite. They slack off in their duties, they have an attitude that Jesus is never coming again and will never keep them accountable…they don’t love people, but they get drunk with power and begin to abuse those around them.
Faithfulness means that we are committed to doing the work that God has assigned to us. It also means that we
When we fail to be faithful, we are acting like unbelievers. We might be saved, but we’re going to be ashamed if we’re not faithful.
In our church, we are revamping our committees, because we all need to know that the word committee tells of a group of people who have made a commitment to perform a certain task in the church. It’s a big responsibility, one not to be taken lightly. If we don’t have functioning committees, I’m afraid that we might be going to heaven, I’m just afraid we’ll be ashamed when we get there.
But even if we’re not on committees, God has entrusted his truth to us, and knowing that we have the hope of His calling ought to encourage us to be faithful, so that we are not ashamed when our Master returns.
D. The Work
D. The Work
4 Reasons Why People Don’t Function
One of the major problems in everyone’s life in communication.
This goes for marriage, church, business, etc.
And what happens is that a lack of clear and honest communication breeds tension, and eventually people’s inability to communicate bring disaster. Things go unsaid, tension builds, bitterness sets in, and there’s an explosion.
This explosion usually takes place in a verbal argument, and then all of these generalizations are made, feelings get hurt, and by the time you look around, the shrapnel is everywhere and there isn’t anything left.
Insults come out like, “you’re just lazy.” “You don’t care about anyone but yourself.” “You never do this or do that.” and those are called generalizations and they aren’t true.
The truth is that people don’t get things done for about four reasons.
1. They don’t know what to do - it’s never been clearly explained to them.
2. They don’t know how to do it - They’ve never been coached or trained to do it right.
3. They don’t want to do it - It’s not the right job for them, but that doesn’t mean they’re lazy or incapable.
4. They can’t do it - They are stretched too thin time wise, they don’t have the right tools for the job, they don’t have the authority to get it done.
When we have knowledge of God, it should encourage us to be obedient to it because now we know what to do, and when we have faithful teachers of God’s word, they show us how to do it, and when we use the gifts God has given us instead of just filling whatever role, we should want to do it, and when we obey His calling we know that we can do it.
II. The Riches of His Glory
II. The Riches of His Glory
God says that we are made to be His inheritance. This is different than what v. 11 said. v. 11 says that we have an inheritance. v. 18 says that God has an inheritance.
In Him also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestined according to the purpose of Him who works all things according to the counsel of His will,
that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints,
Wuest’s Word Studies in the Greek New Testament Chapter One
In verse 18, Paul prays that we might know how precious the saints are in God’s eyes as His inheritance. He is glorified in His saints, and this glory is valuable. It is part of the wealth that God possesses, dearer to Him than all the splendors of creation.
This glory is speaking of inheritance…
A. Glory in the Nations
A. Glory in the Nations
I will bless those who bless you, And I will curse him who curses you; And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”
This means that the Kingdom of God is going to be made up of every tribe and of every nation, and of every tongue. It’s going to be impossible to be racist or prejudice in heaven. It’s going to be impossible to deny the importance of world missions in heaven. And the church that does not support missions and does not support the missionary will be sorely disappointed when they get to heaven.
And they sang a new song, saying: “You are worthy to take the scroll, And to open its seals; For You were slain, And have redeemed us to God by Your blood Out of every tribe and tongue and people and nation,
After these things I looked, and behold, a great multitude which no one could number, of all nations, tribes, peoples, and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, with palm branches in their hands,
After these things I heard a loud voice of a great multitude in heaven, saying, “Alleluia! Salvation and glory and honor and power belong to the Lord our God!
All of this is His inheritance and all for His glory, that He will inherit all the nations of the earth!
When Satan brought Jesus to the top of the mountain to say, “I will give you the kingdoms of the world”, he was asking Jesus to do what Esau did, and give up His birthright, His inheritance, for a bowl of soup.
B. Glory in His Bride
B. Glory in His Bride
We know that the Bride is the Church. This is not only the collective nations, but it is people that are joined to Him by covenant.
Marriage is more than just a promise, it is more than just a commitment, marriage is a covenant sealed by God. And the Bible says that God has sealed the church for the day of redemption.
In Him you also trusted, after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation; in whom also, having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise,
who is the guarantee of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, to the praise of His glory.
The wonderful thing about being the bride of Christ is that He will never put us away (divorce us). He is going to sanctify us and make us pure and blameless before Him!
Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her,
that He might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the word,
that He might present her to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be holy and without blemish.
I heard another pastor say that he’s never seen an ugly bride. He said that he’s seen some that barely made it, but never and ugly bride!
The global church will be His inheritance, and we are going to be the most beautiful bride that has ever existed. One day, all those who are in Christ Jesus are going to be holy and without blemish.
C. Glory in the Saints
C. Glory in the Saints
Not only will He get our collective praise as the Church, He will get our individual praise as we cry out to Him.
when He comes, in that Day, to be glorified in His saints and to be admired among all those who believe, because our testimony among you was believed.
D. Glory from the Sinner
D. Glory from the Sinner
Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name,
that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth,
and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
Knowing that we are His inheritance, we should strive to live as though we have already been made pure and holy.
III. The Exceeding Greatness of His Power
III. The Exceeding Greatness of His Power
and what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the working of His mighty power
Underline these words, all having to do with the power of God:
Exceeding : This word is speaking of power and says that God’s power is “beyond measure”.
Power : it is the Greek word (doo-nah-mis) and it is where we get our words “dynamic” and “dynamite” from.
Working : It is the Greek word for where we get our word “energy” from.
Mighty : This literally means “manifested strength”. It is used in the same passage that talks about the armor of God.
Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might.
Power : “kratos or krahtos” - this is a demonstrated power that is reserved for the divine. In Greek mythology, there is a figure named Kratos and he is the personification of the power of Zeus. His name comes from this word which means divine power.
Plainly said, “I want you to know that Christ in you divinely empowers you beyond measure!”
How does this empower us?
A. Power in Weakness
A. Power in Weakness
Paul is weak, and he has asked God three times to remove the “thorn in his flesh”
And He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.
Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ’s sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong.
We can begin to understand that Christianity has far less to do with skill and everything to do with trust.
And the Lord said to Gideon, “The people who are with you are too many for Me to give the Midianites into their hands, lest Israel claim glory for itself against Me, saying, ‘My own hand has saved me.
The world would say that the logical thing to do when you’re going to war is get more soldiers, not less.
But, the person equipped with the power of God is not concerned with horses and chariots, he is only concerned with obeying the instruction of the Lord.
Some trust in chariots, and some in horses; But we will remember the name of the Lord our God.
Some people take principles like this as an excuse to be unwise with their money or even their life, but God isn’t saying that he will bail you out of bad decisions. What He is wanting us to understand is that when we say that we will accomplish something, we have no power.
But when God says, “I will accomplish this” then we have all the power…and don’t get the two mixed up.
B. Power in Battle
B. Power in Battle
Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.
For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.
And the Bible says that because we have the power of God in us that we can overcome the darkness, and that we can overcome sin, and that we can overcome temptation.
We don’t have to be stuck as helpless victims of worry, regret, fear, or anxiety. We can equip ourselves with the divine power of God and rely on Him.
Instead of being burdened by the demands of the world and of perfection, we are encouraged by the commands of our loving Master, the Lord Jesus
Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.
C. Power in Death
C. Power in Death
Even though we will die, we will live, because Christ lives in us, and we live in Him. Just as He was raised, we will be raised.
Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him,
knowing that Christ, having been raised from the dead, dies no more. Death no longer has dominion over Him.
This simply means that the Lord Jesus has fulfilled all the requirements of the law, and that He has legally won us back, and that we are legally His. And just as we are legally His, we will reign with Him in life over the power of death.
The Bible says that we have been set free from the strong arm of sin, and so, by the power of the Holy Spirit, we will overcome all things that stand in our way.
Conclusion
Conclusion
What is the secret to all of these riches?
The secret to all of these riches is faith.
It is “by faith” that we are to live in the hope of our calling, in the riches of His glory, in the exceeding greatness of His power.
We can never forget that this Christian life has far less to do with skill than it does with trust (faith).
That when God says it, we can live knowing that it’s true!
That we have hope, that we have riches, that we have power, and it is all due to Him.
So, friend, we don’t just have faith, we have faith in God. He is the author, He is the object, He is the finisher. We can trust Him, and by trusting Him, we can know more and more the hope of His calling, the Riches of His Glory, and the Exceeding greatness of His power.
