Eph 2:18 - What are you waiting for?

(Read Ehp 2:14-18)

A common problem.

A common problem.

Last week I had a conversation with a man, in his 60’s, who I believe is a very good teacher. And as we were talking, I was surprised to hear him tell about how he never took school seriously. He said he did just enough to get by, and how in high school and college he graduated by the skin of his teeth.

So, I asked him – at what point did you take being a student seriously, because there is no way you could teach like you teach, and not be a devoted student.

This is what he said – “Joel, I was given a book by a brother of mine who worked as the dean of students in a college, and my brother told me – ‘you need to read this book.’”

He said that at the time he was in his early 40’s and well established in his career, and that his children were already off to college.

But when he read the book, given to him by his brother entitled, “The Calling” by Oz Guinness, he realized that he was living his entire life with the wrong view. And as a believer, he was terribly convicted.

“The crux of the book” he said, “was to show us that the goal of life is not to live for the future, but rather, the goal of life is to live in the journey.”

For example, we live life at our jobs - looking to retirement - and seeing the end of our career as the future event that we are striving for.

“In education,” he said, “he lived his life with the end of the year and graduating as the purpose for going to class each day” – it was the “end” that he was striving for – it was the finish that he held in sight as a reason to come to class each day.

And he said that what he learned, was that – when we spend our whole life living for the conclusion – or living for the ending - then we have missed out on living in the journey!

So, let me put this in the context of what Paul is telling us in verse 18.

We are not called to live life as a Christian hoping that someday we will die and go to heaven.

If we live with that view, then we tragically miss two essential points of the believer’s life.

1) We do not live as a witness in the here and now, because

2) We have not lived our life as it has been empowered to be lived!

Let me share with you three verses of Scripture that I have used many times in the past to bring this full circle:

Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life. Whoever rejects the Son will not see life. Instead, the wrath of God remains on him.

36Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life. Whoever rejects the Son will not see life. Instead, the wrath of God remains on him.”

Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life. Whoever rejects the Son will not see life. Instead, the wrath of God remains on him.”

Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life. Whoever rejects the Son will not see life. Instead, the wrath of God remains on him.

Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life. Whoever rejects the Son will not see life. Instead, the wrath of God remains on him.

:24Truly, truly, I tell you, whoever hears My word and believes Him who sent Me has eternal life and will not come under judgment. Indeed, he has crossed over from death to life.

John 5:24 NIV

“Very truly I tell you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be judged but has crossed over from death to life.

24Truly, truly, I tell you, whoever hears My word and believes Him who sent Me has eternal life and will not come under judgment. Indeed, he has crossed over from death to life.

:13I have written these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know that you have eternal life.

1 John 5:13 NIV

I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life.

13I have written these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know that you have eternal life.

Paul is making it clear here in verse 18 that we who have received the Good News of Jesus Christ and have believed, have already received the goal of salvation.

WE need to understand, that like my friend, many of us believe that if we have Jesus in our hearts – then we look forward to the coming day when we will enter into the glory of Heaven. And we excuse many of the things we do, because we say - we still live in a fallen world.

But because we are looking ahead – to the end – to the coming day.

We are missing the entire point of salvation that is given in the here and now. And we miss out on all that God has to offer us in this life as we live among the other lost and dying people who are under Gods wrath!

I say all of that to say this:

We must not live life as if the goal of our salvation is to die, and not go to hell.

Or to put it another way – we must not live our life of salvation as if the goal is to die and go to heaven!

We must live our life of salvation with the proper view – the correct Biblical view that should be held by those who profess to know the Gospel –

And that view is simply this:

The goal of salvation is for me and you to live our lives in the presence of God, to know Him and to experience Him. To commune with Him and to be loved by Him, while we continue in this journey, we call life. IN THE NOW.

This is where our power comes from. This is where our hope is lived out. This is where you and I can find peace in our jobs, peace in our neighborhoods, peace with other believers, and peace with other members of our families!

So, lets tear this verse down today and see all that is offered to us. Not in the future to come, but in the here and NOW as followers of Christ.

First, we will see how this access is obtained in the here and now. (RECONCILIATION)

Secondly, we will look at what it means when Paul says “we both have access to the Father.” (PROSAGOGE)

Third we will see the relationship that is before us as we walk in this world, (father) and how that relationship is known (By Spirit).

POINT #1

So to begin.

Paul says to those who live in the fallen world – in Ephesus – in the midst of a culture that is saturated with the worship of the goddess Diana – “Remember”, he says – “you who believe in the work of Christ – by faith – by God’s grace – you were reconciled.”

We need to remember a couple of wonderful points to this word in the Greek so that we are transformed by the renewing of our minds – so I bring this before you so that you can stand on the Gospel, the Good News, and no longer live your life looking at yourself, and condemning yourself with the lies of the devil.

To be reconciled – or as Paul put it to the Ephesians in the Greek – to be (apokatallassein) is to know that there was once a relationship that existed.

This is not the coming together of two parties who never knew one another – but rather this is two parties who once lived in harmony, but at some point and time, they became separated. Something caused a divide and the relationship was severed. There was no longer peace – but there was only enmity and strife. We know that this separation happened when sin came. And the Bible says that we all have sinned, and that in Adam we all die.

But Paul uses this word for reconciliation here that is different from other places where the word is used. And this is a wonderful thing to know because by using this particular word, Paul highlights that the issue that brought separation is not only dealt with, but it is completely and entirely dead! It no longer exists! It is gone. This reconciliation is to be FULLY restored! (APO prefix)

The second point of this word apokatallassein is unique because it does not mean that the two parties who have a had a disagreement, and who are now reconciled, have both made the way to come together. But rather, this word implies that only one of the parties does what is necessary to bring the two together, and that this is understood because in the Greek there is a part in this word that literally means “an action from above – it is the greek word “Kata”. It is something that “comes down from above.” It isn’t both sides moving to making something right – or to meet in the middle – but it is One making a way to have both parties overcome their difference. (Martin Lloyd Jones)

Remember says Paul – you who were once dead in sin and deserved Gods wrath and were separated from Him, you have been brought into a right relationship while you were still a helpless sinner – because God gave you grace!

You did nothing to deserve it – and that should give the Christian an amazing since of security – because it is In Christ I stand. It is in Christ that I have my salvation – not the work of Joel Mason!

This is how you and I can know God now – because His one and only Son – came down from above and did everything that was needed to bring us into a right relationship with a Holy God!

By Going to the cross – the Holiness of God is shown through His Justice, and the love of God is poured out on a people who were once strangers and enemies. Those who were far off and those who were near!

It was this act of reconciliation. This act of God bringing man to Himself as His Son bought us with the price of blood at Calvary, so those who believe have been set them free from hell, sin, and death, that we have access to God.

So point number one – we have access to God because Christ reconciled us to the Lord from our fallen state and made us righteous in Gods sight. Not when we die – but now!

And this needs to be understood if we are going to enjoy our fellowship of the Lord in the day in which we live – and not just in the future.

Point #2

Hold your place in Ephesians two, but turn with me now to 1 Peter chapter 3, as we go on to the second point for today.

(READ )

When you read of the reconciling work that is done on behalf of mankind – you see that this happened at a particular point and time in history.

Stick with me here – don’t miss this.

Peter says: “Christ died for sins once and for all,” and the writer to the Hebrews tells those who were struggling in the day they lived, that Christ makes reference to the Old Covenant ways and again affirms that the blood of animals could not cleanse a man – but only remind him of his guilt – but then The Lord says I have come to do your will – to set aside the old for a new and better way, and in He says:

10And by that will, we have been made holy through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.

11Day after day every priest stands and performs his religious duties; again and again he offers the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. 12But when this Priest had offered for all time, one sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God, 13and since that time he waits for his enemies to be made his footstool. 14For by one sacrifice he has made perfect forever those who are being made holy.

Here in lies the crux of an important matter for us who live today.

This act of reconciliation – this work done by the One from above, to bring both of us into a right relationship is/ an / event.

When the Lord Jesus died on the cross – He did everything, at that moment, that was needed to pay for the debt of my sin.

This reconciliation was an event.

So why does that matter?

Peter says that Jesus did what He did so that HE could bring me to God.

Look again at

Paul says that all that has happened in the work of Christ and the cross in the previous verses was an event that had one purpose – “To bring me to God”

*** But you look at your Bible, and it doesn’t say that does it?

No, it says that Jesus did what He did so that we both – Jew and Gentile – those who were once enemies, those who were far off and those who were near, now have “Access to God.”

The Word Paul uses for access is the Greek word Prosagoge.

It can be translated as “an entry” or as a “doorway”, or as “an introduction.”

This word is used only two other times in the NT.

The first is in

Paul writes:

1Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we havea peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, 2through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we stand; and we exult in the hope of the glory of God.

Note how we have been given access – it isn’t because of what we have done – but we have only believed in What Christ has done for us – by the grace of God. And now access has been made available.

The other place where Paul uses this word “access” is found in where Paul speaks of the mystery and says:

11According to the eternal purpose which he purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord: 12In whom we have boldness and access with confidence by the faith of him.

Here Paul tells us that because we have placed faith – because we have trusted in Christ - and because we have leaned on His work – then we have boldness – we have freedom of speech – confident that we have access to the God of heaven and earth!

These versus culminate to assure us that because of Christ – not me – not my works – not my failures – I can have access to the Father.

This word prosagoge was used to describe the person who once announced to the king who was entering his royal court! So take comfort in this and hear a good illustration to help us understand what Paul means when he says we have access

ADD ILLUSTRATION HERE: (William to king with Prince Edward as his friend and prosagoge)

Did you hear it?

Because William had met the son – William had access to the father.

It isn’t what William knew – it was who William knew.

The blood of Christ has been poured out on the altar – the price of sin has been paid and I do not have to live in fear of death or rejection or destruction. There remains no more barriers! The wrath of God has done its work so that the love of God can be seen with a clearer vision.

Jesus tells us in

“I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”

And in Jesus says He opens the door that no man can shut!

Nothing should cause us to love Christ more than to know that He looked down on us and saw us fighting against God as an enemy, and going our own way. And yet, for our sakes He came down to earth “kata” and paid the price of our sins with His own blood. And He didn’t just run back to heaven from the tomb and tell us – there now figure it out – but He promised that if I go and prepare a place for you – I will come and take you to where I am – not at my death- NO!

He came and took me by the hand today, and walked me into the presence of God Almighty, and He will do this every moment that I live in this world because He has loved me!

So, point number 1 – Because of Christs’ work of reconciliation – that event that took place

I now have:

Point #2 – access to God. That means that I can choose to grow in my relationship to the Lord – or I can choose not to.

I can choose to meet the Father because of what I have – or I can abandon the privilege and suffer the foolishness of my desire to spend my time with other people in other places pursuing other things.

You may say those are strong words, but I think John Stott nailed the point of having access to God because of the reconciling event at Calvary when he wrote:

Reconciliation is an event; Access is the continuing relationship to which it leads.

I think it is fair for us to question what we really believe about the events at Calvary, by looking at what we now have in the present moment, and what we most desire by the use of the time we live in.

Are we seeking first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness?

Or are we merely counting down the days until we die so we can go to heaven?

Are we pursuing the righteousness of Christ and being daily transformed by the renewing of our minds?

Or are we content to sit and watch television and engulf ourselves in our careers, our worldly comforts, and our own securities?

Are we praying without ceasing?

Or is prayer reserve for when things get to hard to handle, and that is all that’s left to do?

If we have access to the Lord God now – and we know it came at such a great cost – would we truly live as if the end of life was more important than the journey that we have been given?

(Pause)

Do we value the access we have by daily living in the privilege of it?

Point #3 (the relationship).

This brings us to our third point for today, the relationship.

Point number 1 tells us that Jesus has done the work so that we can live in point number 2;

the coming into the presence of God almighty – constantly and continually, who is not only Holy but who also sits, on the throne of Grace, as a Loving Father!

Do you know that the Lord of Heaven and earth is not only a Holy God – but that He is also a loving Father?

In Luke chapter 11, when the disciples asked Jesus to teach them to pray – Jesus told them to begin with words that would be met with resistance.

Even today, there are some in the church who struggle with this teaching from Christ Himself – because Jesus told them to begin with the words:

“Dear Daddy.”

Notice – Jesus doesn’t tell them to speak to a high and Holy God who is lofty above all of creation!

No, Jesus tells them to speak to the Father, and Here in we see Paul addressing the point that the access we have is not to some Deity whose desire is to manipulate our actions – but rather the access has been granted to a Daddy.

There are two passages in the NT that speak well to showing us the relationship that we have to the One we address as Daddy – and How that relationship is received.

They both have three things in common. And I want you to understand these because the Greek word for “access” has an implication that the access is not from a distance, but rather access means we have an encounter – face to face – with the One we meet.

Look with me at where Paul tells the believers in Rome that:

14For those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God. 15The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship. f And by him we cry, “Abba, g Father.” (In English it is the same as Dear Daddy) 16The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children.

Here we see that the Spirit is the One who shows us that we are His children and that He is our Father. And that we are no longer slaves.

Now look with me at Galatians chapter 4

Here we read in versus 4-7:

4But when the set time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, 5to redeem those under the law, that we might receive adoption to sonship. b 6Because you are his sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, “Abba, c Father.” (again, the English is Dear Daddy) 7So you are no longer a slave, but God’s child; and since you are his child, God has made you also an heir.

Again, we see in these versus that the Spirit is the One who shows us we are Gods children and that He is our Father – and we are no longer slaves.

Do you know what it is to open the gates of heaven and call out to your Father in Heaven – Abba Father – Dear Daddy?

Some of you may remember Mrs. Betty Haines. She was the school secretary at Warsaw when I was in 1st grade. But when I was in my late teens, I got to know Betty and her daughter Sally while running on the squad in Warsaw. And I have never forgotten a story that Sally told me, that helps us to see Paul’s point about having access to the Father.

Sally said that one day she was in a mood, and after her mom told her to do something, she made a remark with attitude, and called Betty by her first name. And Sally never forgot her mother’s words to her when Betty said “Girl, there are only two people in all the world who have the right and the privilege to call me mom – and you better never forget it!

Sally never did.

Access.

This isn’t just a royal announcement to introduce you and I to a royal king – but it is so much more than that, because it is the opening of the grandest of places, into the arms of the greatest that has ever been. And He is MY Father. My dear Daddy who loves us with an everlasting love.

It is Into the presence of the One who gave His One and Only. So that we might enjoy Him and know Him and live in His work.

And I want you to see when we can enjoy Him.

NOW.

Not later. Not in some grand day to come. But now.

This access is made to us in the here and now, and it is the strength for the journey that we live in as others watch us, and listen to us, and see how we respond when life is hard – because they really hope that what you have is genuine and real – because they - like you once did - are looking for the reason they are here.

There is much that could be said about the work that we see here in verse 18 about the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit but,

I close with this.

If you are living life with a view of what is to come as the most important part of your life – you are missing the greatest part of all –

The journey.

The journey in the presence of an everlasting Father who loves you and loves those who you pass by every day in your work, in your neighborhood, and in your home.

If you are looking to “a day to come” to enter heaven as the great reward – then I dare to ask you if you have missed the point of salvation.

Are you not still far off?

Go home and read and .

Those words of encouragement were written to people who struggled with living in the “here and now” and keeping the right things in view at all times. They knew a persecution that we can’t even imagine.

It is here – in the now, where faith is built and affirmed, and tested and tried. Do not live with heaven in view as your greatest desire – but live with your greatest desire to live in His presence – trusting in Him for everything – all the time. NOW. To live with any other view before us is to live a life without faith. And without faith it is impossible to please God.

STOP>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

19Therefore, brothers and sisters, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, 20by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, his body, 21and since we have a great priest over the house of God, 22let us draw near to God with a sincere heart and with the full assurance that faith brings, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water. 23Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. 24And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, 25not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.

14Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has ascended into heaven, f Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. 15For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin. 16Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.

My son has access to me that no one else on earth has. What would it say about what he thinks of me – if I am the last one he comes to when things are difficult? Would he know and experience what I have for him, and what I can do for him – or is he so bent on proving himself apart from me – that he shows the world I am not really that important to him as I am just a figure head that he will meet at the end of the line he travels on?