The Mystery Revealed
The Mystery Unfolded
Ephesians 1:7-14
Andy Woodfield –1.04.07
Hickman Community Church
Intro: Welcome to new visitors
It is hard to be someone or something when you don’t know who you are or what you are meant to be. [Miming game….]
Like Gideon in the Old Testament there is a crisis of identity especially when it comes to the church: “You valiant warrior”, “Who me?”
" Then the angel of the Lord came and sat under the oak that was in Ophrah, which belonged to Joash the Abiezrite as his son Gideon was beating out wheat in the wine press in order to save it from the Midianites. The angel of the Lord appeared to him and said to him, “The Lord is with you, O valiant warrior.” Then Gideon said to him, “O my lord, if the Lord is with us, why then has all this happened to us? And where are all His miracles which our fathers told us about, saying, ‘Did not the Lord bring us up from Egypt?’ But now the Lord has abandoned us and given us into the hand of Midian.” The Lord looked at him and said, “Go in this your strength and deliver Israel from the hand of Midian. Have I not sent you?” He said to Him, “O Lord, how shall I deliver Israel? Behold, my family is the least in Manasseh, and I am the youngest in my father’s house.”" (Judges 6:11-15)
There is a crisis of identity when it comes to the church.
There has always been an effort on the part of the world and the devil to not only attempt to assassinate the Character of God but also to assassinate the character of the Church. In both cases the goal has been to redefine the identity of the one under attack, thus distort reality as it is given by revelation of God.
Satan has a two pronged approach: If Satan can get the people of this generation to think of the Church as an outdated, irrelevant man-made institution, that would be better left in the past, then He has succeeded in blinding the minds of people to the glorious nature of the Church. On the other hand if he can get people to believe that the church needs to modeled after the structures of the contemporary culture he has also succeeded in distorting the true identity of the church. The point is this; what people think about the church shapes what people do as churches.
Relativism - the rejection of absolute propositional truth, mysticism, the belief that spiritual reality is perceived apart from human intellect and natural senses,
and pragmatism, if it works it must be right – in other words the end justifies the means are all philosophical ways of thinking that have left the identity of the church in tatters.
The redefining of the church today as being neo-orthodox, neo-evangelical, post modern, purpose driven, seeker sensitive, and emergent, has left most Christians confused and in many cases caused a sense that it really doesn’t matter anymore what you think about the church as long as you are saved from sin. Right? Wrong! To fail to have a biblical view of the Church is equivalent to failing to be the Church.
Last week we began to unveil the identity of the church as found in Ephesians chapter One. We considered the first four of eight distinguishing marks of the church so that we might know what God wants us to be:
We learned from a quick overview of the New Testament that the church is a living structure made up of the “called of God.” Then as we focused in on Ephesians 1:1-5 we discovered four distinguishing marks of this God called community.
READ Ephesians 1:1-14
First distinguishing mark: You are the Called who are blessed by God. v. 3 – blessed by God with every spiritual blessing
Second distinguishing mark: You are the Called before Time: Chosen by God before time began. v. 4 elect by the will of God
Third distinguishing mark : You are Called to belong to God’s Family – Adopted into the family of God v. 5
Fourth distinguishing mark: You are Called to glorify God – Graceful v. 6 to the praise of the glory of God’s grace
Proposition: You are going to see “Four more Distinguishing Marks” of the church which define who and what you are to be.
The fifth distinctive mark of the church is that we are:
I. You Are the Called out by Blood – The Redeemed v. 7 – 8a
Paul identifies Christ as the means of our redemption and He points to the cost of our redemption.
Redemption relates to the payment of a ransom price. The ransom is paid to God so as set sinners free from their bondage and enslavement not only to sin but the realm of sin.
The price of the ransom Paul says was Christ’s blood.
In Luke 22:20, Jesus said, "And in the same way He took the cup after they had eaten, saying, “This cup which is poured out for you is the new covenant in My blood."
Christ is in effect saying that the bases of this new covenant would be the sacrifice of Himself. There is something unique and different about this sacrifice than all the sacrifices that have gone before.
Unlike Israel of old who drew near to God through ongoing blood sacrifices, which could never cleanse any man of sin, we come to God through Jesus Christ based on His one time perfect sacrifice, his perfect death and His shed blood. This is crucial,
"For it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins." (Hebrews 10:4) now these OT sacrifices were a type of the ultimate sacrifice of Jesus Christ, who shed His blood for us and by so doing paid the price demanded by a holy God. "And according to the Law, one may almost say, all things are cleansed with blood, and without shedding of blood there is no forgiveness." (Hebrews 9:22)
We are a blood bought community. We can claim no other basis than this to become a member of the church, the body of Christ . We cannot claim to be the church if we deny the redeeming, purchasing power of the blood of Christ. Unredeemed people who gather under a religious banner with the title of the “church” are not a part of the church that Christ is building. There are many false professors, many who claim allegiance to the church and yet are not those whom Christ bought with His own blood. These people are like children in the playground who pretend to be something they are not but want to be. They are pretenders, playing church, having a form of godliness but denying the power of it.
Those who are the Called out by blood know its power to save them from the certain penalty of sin but also have a means to be saved from the power and presence of sin in their lives
"but like the Holy One who called you, be holy yourselves also in all your behavior; because it is written, “You shall be holy, for I am holy.” If you address as Father the One who impartially judges according to each one’s work, conduct yourselves in fear during the time of your stay on earth; knowing that you were not redeemed with perishable things like silver or gold from your futile way of life inherited from your forefathers, but with precious blood, as of a lamb unblemished and spotless, the blood of Christ." (1 Peter 1:15-19)
The church is distinct in that we are called before time, called to belong to God’s family, called to glorify God, called out by blood and..
The sixth distinctive mark of the church is that we are:
II. You Are the Called to know His Will v. 9
We are not of the darkness but children of the light. The church are those who have been filled with great spiritual truths concerning life, death, God, man, and eternity.
We have been given the mind of Christ, we no longer walk in the darkness and futility of our own finite thinking but wee walk in the infinite light of the promises of God. We are children of the light, We have been given the mind of Christ. We know God’s will and are called to submit our lives to His will as revealed in the Word of God.
What is Gods will?
1. God is not willing that any should perish - 2 Pet 2:9.
2. It is Gods will that you be filled with the Spirit – Eph 5:18
3. It is Gods will that you be pure - “For this is the will of God, even your sanctification” (1 Thes. 4:3–7).
4. It is God’s will that we live in submission to authorities – 1 Pet 2:3-15.
5. It is Gods will that we suffer for His names sake - 1 Pet 3:17; Luke 9:57-58; Phil 1:29
6. It is God’s will that you do what ever you want to do –Psalm 37:4 “Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart (That is He will place in side your heart godly desires).
Gods will is not illusive and hard to find – we simply need to read it and obey it – and when we do we know the blessing of it. All we need for life and godliness has been given to us in the Scriptures. Wisdom and insight are freely offered for all who would seek in faith without fear and doubting (James 1). Wisdom finds it’s beginning in the fear of the Lord. That is in being obedient to His Word.
(Cf. Eph 1:15-23 Paul’s prayer for enlightenment; Psalm 19:7-11 – the sufficiency of the WOG)
The church is distinct in that we are called before time, called to belong to God’s family, called to glorify God, called out by blood , called to know His will, and..
The seventh distinctive mark of the church is that we are:
III. You Are the Called to reign with Christ v. 10
In Him also we have obtained an inheritance
This inheritance that is promised for every believer is as sure as the ultimate reign of Jesus Christ over all created things. Our inheritance is IN HIM.
The ultimate purpose of Gods redemptive plan is to place all things under the headship of Christ, and for the Church to reign together, in submission with Him. This is God’s future form of administration of what He has created. What Adam lost in the garden of Eden Jesus Christ has won back according to Gods sovereign purpose. There is a day when every knee shall bow and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father (Phil 2:10-11).
The church is the symbol of that new submission and exultant reign yet to come on the earth and to be the structure of the eternal state – the new heavens and the new earth.
We are called to subject ourselves to one another in the fear of the Lord (Eph 5:21). This is not a threat this is so that we might experience the blessing of fellowship and unity. There is no such thing as a Christian who is an island. You have been baptized by the Holy Spirit into One body (1 Cor 12:13). We must make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit. (Eph 4:3).
This is possible when we realize that there is only one body, one Spirit, one hope, one Lord, one faith, one baptism and one God and Father of all who is over all and through all and in all. We are called to the fellowship of Christ in each others lives, not to isolation.
The church is distinct in that we are called before time, called to belong to God’s family, called to glorify God, called out by blood , called to know His will, called to reign with Christ and..
The eighth distinctive mark of the church is that we are:
IV. You are the Called to Glorification vv. 11-12.
As Christians we are committed to glorification. We are aliens and strangers in this world. Our home is beyond this earth. We are building up treasure in heaven. Our future focus is to be where Christ now is. Colossians 3:1-2 If then you have been raised up with Christ, keep seeking the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God.2 Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth.
Peter describes our inheritance: 1 Peter 1:4 to obtain an inheritance which is imperishable and undefiled and will not fade away, reserved in heaven for you,
Notice v. 12 – we are the primary manifestation of the glory of God on this earth. We display to the watching world visible and invisible the power of God and the grace of God. The glory of God should be the most important checkpoint in our lives. We should be asking at all times, “Is what I am about to do going to bring glory to God?”
So then the church consists / is made up of the Called to be blessed, Called before Time, Called to belong to God’s Family, Called to glorify God, Called out by Blood, Called to know His Will, Called to reign with Christ, Called to glorification.
CONCLUSION:
So then the church consists / is made up of the Called to be blessed, Called before Time, , , , Called to know His Will, , Called to glorification.
So what? How should this change your life?
- Called to be blessed – Your identity means you live to experience the full measure of Gods blessing - Notice you are already blessed – Do you bathe in the full sunlight of this blessing?
- Called before Time - You should see your identity as being bound up in the will of God – are you resting in His divine accomplishment or are you striving in your own strength to belong to God?
- Called to belong to God’s Family – Your identity is that you live in the secure relationship as a son and daughter of God’s Family – are you walking in this confidence?
- Called to glorify God Your identity is bound up in the purpose to bring glorify God – does God get the glory for your life or do you take the glory for your accomplishments?
- Called out by Blood Your identity is secure because you have been purchased by the shed blood of Christ – Do you know the forgiveness of God on this basis and does thankfulness fill your life as a result of such a great sacrifice?
- Called to know His Will Your identity is bound up in walking according to His will – Do your daily choices and direction in life show that you seek to obey the will of the Lord?
- Called to reign with Christ Your identity involves the exalted position of reigning with Christ – Is the Lord Jesus the head of your life and is his headship seen in your submission to other believers?
- Called to glorification Your identity is tied up in your ultimate destination – We have the glories of heaven as compass of our lives – Are you building up treasure in heaven?
Wow! These are the distinguishing marks of the called – the marks of the church that Jesus Christ is building
Jesus said I will build my church and the gates of hades will not overpower it. Paul has helped us identify what the church is. He has helped us understand exactly what Jesus Christ is building.
Let not any one of us be found usurping God’s rightful role in the church, and redefining His objectives for us in terms of success, numbers, size, and other artificial standards. A church built merely on these kinds of philosophy may seem to flourish for a while, but will surely in the end be doomed to ultimate spiritual failure.[1]
Appeal:… Come and sit in the seats over to u right and we/elders will gladly talk with you / pray with you.
Membership / Baptism
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[1]John MacArthur, Ashamed of the Gospel : When the Church Becomes Like the World (Wheaton, Ill.: Crossway Books, 1993), 174.