Through the Word in 2020 - 6/18 #56 / Christians on Display

In Joseph Heller’s novel Catch-22, he coined the phrase: “just because you’re paranoid doesn’t mean they aren’t after you.” He was far more right than he knew. Did you ever get the feeling you are being watched? You are. And the reality of it is far more amazing than most of us ever consider. It makes 1984’s Big Brother look like amateur hour. It’s a reality the apostle Paul opens up to us in today’s reading of Ephesians 3:1-13. I’m Reid Ferguson - more on that today on Through the Word in 2020.

Israel and Judah’s checkered history of failed leadership in 2 Kings 13:14-15:12; The risen Jesus’ global commission to preach the Gospel in Mark 16:12-20; a prayer for when we are afflicted and about to faint in Psalm 102 - added to the startling revelation of Ephesians 3. Quite a reading list today.

Ephesians 3:10

Ephesians 3:10 ESV

so that through the church the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places.

What we do not know; what is going on in the heavenlies at this very moment outside of our sight, is God making known His manifold wisdom to the angelic hosts - through what He has done and is doing in His Church. We are already IN this process. They, the angelic host, are observing and wondering and seeing God manifest His glory through us in our being in His Church even now.

And what wisdom is needed to make sense of God creating all things upright, and yet able to be corrupted. In allowing the Enemy to tempt our parents and letting them fall. How that is part and parcel of the eternal plan of salvation and Christ reconciling all things to the Father, while holy wrath is still poured out upon some. We cannot put all of those pieces together in a way that makes perfect sense to us. But the many stranded wisdom of it IS being revealed to the angelic host (as it pleases Him to be doing) through the Church. Even in this present age. Someday, we’ll know the wisdom of it too! Believer, this very moment, The Father is using you to teach the angels about His wisdom in its infinite strands, all woven together.

Could God have prevented The Fall? Of course. Could He have acted sooner to redeem us? Yes. Could Christ come and end all of the pain and suffering now? Absolutely. But somehow, in Christ, it is wiser to The Father to do things this way. And He desires all of Creation to one day understand the depth and wonder of His wisdom - through His primary device - The Church.

We need to get this: In God’s infinite and holy mind - there is more glory and wisdom in carrying out this plan, in redeeming and raising us from the dead, than in preventing the Fall in the first place. So it is, Paul's prayer is to see us so enlightened by the Spirit as to the nature of Christ's love for us, that this all becomes reasonable and best.

His love is higher than our defective view of love. It is broader and more extensive and accomplishes much more than we can conceive. It is longer - for it has eternity in view and not the moment. It is deeper and filled with more compassion and desire for our good than we can possibly understand apart from His revelation.

All this as He is revealing glories of Himself to them, as they observe His work in us at all times - in public and in private. We are on cosmic display 24/7.

May the angels learn more and more about His love and grace and wisdom through us every hour of every day. We ARE, being watched.

Think about that today Christian.

God bless. And God willing, we’ll be back tomorrow.