Saved to a Purpose

Welcome

Announcements

Events this coming week:

Wednesday Night Study - We are studying the Puritans, their Faith and role in forming our country and practice of faith, as well as examining what it is we can learn from them for our lives today. This has been a great study so far. This week is our 4th week and the material never fails to lead to some really good discussions. If anyone is interested in getting caught up on the material, I would be willing to schedule a time in which we could go back and review the first 3 chapters.

Next Saturday - Farmers Market right here behind the Church 8am-11am. It will be a Family Health & Business Expo, with lots going on for the family. If you or someone you know would like to participate and have a boothyou can get with Linda, otherwise spread the word and come out to support all the vendors.

Next Sunday - Join us at 9:30am for our Sunday School hour where we are studying the Holiness of God, which has been a great study as well.

For those who don’t know we are launching a Christian School that will meet here at the church, 5 days a week, beginning on Sept 7th. If anyone has any questions about the school I would love to set up a time and meet with you to answer them. Also if you know of anyone looking for a school alternative for the year, or a teacher that might be willing to help out feel free to share my cell with them.

Prepare for Worship

Call To Worship

Song - Pg 464 Joyful, Joyful, We Adore Thee

Confession

Prayer of Confession

Gracious and loving God, We live in a constant state of conflict. You have called us to walk by the Spirit, but we choose to gratify our sinful desires. We know what is good and right and holy, but our rebelliousness pushes us to acts of evil. We confess our sinfulness; we acknowledge our brokenness; we cry out for Your mercy. By the power of Your Spirit, help us to embrace Your goodness. May we be filled anew with Your Spirit, And bear the fruit of Your Kingdom. In Jesus’ name we pray.  Amen.

Assurance of Faith

We have all failed, but the author of God reminds us in His word:

For as high as the heavens are above the earth,

so great is his steadfast love toward those who fear him;

as far as the east is from the west,

so far does he remove our transgressions from us. – Psalm 103:11-12

Catechism

This week I will be introducing a new aspect of worship to our order of worship. A few weeks ago we introduced the reciting of a confession of faith in the form of The Apostles Creed, reciting the basic most statement of belief for the Christian as it has been stated in worship since about the 8th Century.

This week I want to introduce an aspect of Confession of Faith that has been a part of Christian life and practice since the first Century. That is the idea of a Catechism. Many will hear this word and think only of the practice of Catechism as it is done in the Catholic Church. However, Catechism, which is a word derived originally from the greek and then the Latin simply means teaching what we believe. This is primarily done in a question and answer format. There are a multitude of existing Catechisms in existence, and was a regular part of Christian life prior to about 100 years ago. Now only a few denominations faithfully use the process of catechism to teach the faith to new converts and children. The Presbyterian’s are one of those denominations.

So today I want to introduce you to this method of confessing what it is we believe. Which is important to do regularly so that we might avoid error, and find hope in the knowledge of our faith.

So if you will look in the Pews you should find a high quality, no money spared in production booklet Titled The Westminster Shorter Catechism. Turn to page one and we will be reciting the first three questions simply due to their brevity. This will work just like the Apostles Creed, and I will Read the question, and you will read the answer in unison.

Q. 1. What is the chief end of man?

A. Man’s chief end is to glorify God, and to enjoy him forever.

Q. 2. What rule hath God given to direct us how we may

glorify and enjoy him?

A. The word of God, which is contained in the Scriptures of the Old

and New Testaments, is the only rule to direct us how we may glorify

and enjoy him.

Q. 3. What do the Scriptures principally teach?

A. The Scriptures principally teach what man is to believe

concerning God, and what duty God requires of man.

Worship

Song 1 - pg 339 Be Thou My Vision

Song 2 - pg 276 Great is Thy Faithfulness

Song 3 - pg 151 Crown Him With Many Crowns

Prayers of the People

Prayer Request

Homeless and drug addicted - Damian and Chris

Community Garden Center - vandalism

For our City officials, school board, and administration as well as the teachers and kids going back this week

For the Plinski family, Audrey and Tori have returned home. They are seeking God’s guidance in where they are to go from here.

For us as we embark on this endeavor with the school, hoping simply to be faithful to God’s command to raise our children according to His standards and none else.

Saved to a Purpose

For the past few weeks we have explored Paul's introduction to the letter to the Ephesians. Like many of His letters He begins with a simply greeting, and jumps right in to the thick of it. Paul beginning with the third verse begins His presentation of the Gospel to these Gentile believers. Giving them a picture of the Triune God that saves, how He has done that saving, and to what end He has saved.

After completing this presentation of the good news of the Messiah, Paul presents a prayer of Thanksgiving for the church itself. This is what we read in Eph 1:15-22

English Standard Version Chapter 1

For this reason, because I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love toward all the saints, 16 I do not cease to give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers, 17 that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him, 18 having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, 19 and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the working of his great might 20 that he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, 21 far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come. 22 And he put all things under his feet and gave him as head over all things to the church, 23 which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all

We were not saved for our own sake. It is not our chief end to be saved, but rather to glorify God and enjoy Him. In order to do that God saved for Himself out of this creation a people unto Himself so that they might glorify Him. That is the purpose of the salvation of the church universal (or the church catholic as we say in our confession of faith). Paul’s prayer here to God is that this group of readers that recieved this letter might come to an understanding of that truth through understanding what how God plans on glorifying Himself in their Salvation.

Paul after presenting the Gospel to the church at Ephesus jumps right into His treatment of how God will accomplish His own glorification through the church itself, and what their role is to be in that glorification.

He begins right here in this prayer by praying that God might open their eyes to understand these things. As many a minister of the word will do Paul prays God open their eyes to the truth, which I will now elaborate in my prayer so that you can make it clear to them. As with all truths they must first be presented to you so that you might believe them. They do not come to us by osmosis.

And Here is the truth that Paul is praying they will understand, and by extension we too can come to understand. We, as those who believe have been called to a glorious inheritance and God in His greatness of power is working to accomplish it through Christ in His resurrection and ascension, through His enthronement as King over all, and through the building of His body, the church.

Resurrection and Ascension

The same prayer that Paul presented in the Scriptures for the first hearers of this letter, we should have for ourselves. It does not matter if you are 8 or 80, whether you have read the Bible once through, or a dozen times through, or even never. Our prayer is that whenever we go to God’s word ourselves, or we are hearing it from the front of the church, or sung on the radio in the form of a song the eyes of our hearts be enlightened so that we might see the hope to which we are called. We instinctively know that we are saved to a purpose. So we ask, Lord help us today as we seek to understand the greatness of your power.

The Importance of the Cross

I would venture to guess that all of us here today have been taught thoroughly the importance of the Cross. But lets revisit that truth again because we should never tire of hearing what it is our Savior did for us. The Cross is the pivotal moment of all of History. According to Scripture, the God of Creation, The person of the Son, took on flesh about 2000 years ago. He lived a perfect life, breaking not even one minor tenant of the Law of God. He taught for the last 3 years of His life, teaching the people around Him that which they had not understood, the perfect truth and interpretation of the words of Scripture, the books we know as the Old Testament. He taught that He was the Messiah, the Christ, the Savior promised all throughout the OT, since Genesis 3:15. He taught that He was the seed of the woman that had come to crush the head of the Serpent. That He was the true King, the heir of David. This was a teaching which contradicted the religious forms that man had created for themselves. In doing this He angered those in power and they sought to kill Him. And when He had completed His work on Earth, and at a time of His choosing, He allowed those in power to take Him and nail Him to a tree, offering Himself as the perfect sacrifice, a blood payment for the sins of His people, that is all those that would believe in Him.

This part of the story, the death of Jesus on the cross for the forgiveness of our sins, is the root of our coming to faith. It is the most highlighted portion that is presented to each and every person in need of salvation.

Belief in even this minor presentation of the Gospel is where the unbeliever becomes a believer. But there is more to the story according to Paul. Remember that Paul is writing this letter to a group of believers. The entirety of the letter is for their benefit. This prayer starts out with Him telling them that He has heard of their faith, and their love of one another. But then He prays that the Spirit reveal wisdom and knowledge to them. He prays that the Spirit enlighten the eyes of their heart. Meaning that the Spirit bring knowing into their souls. He is praying that these ones, that are already well know throughout the lands as faithful believers, that they might believe with all their Heart, soul, strength and mind. His prayer reveals that even the most seasoned believer still has much to learn when it comes to the work of God.

The Centrality of the Resurrection

Faith Begins at the Cross, but their are two other aspects to the work of Christ that are highlighted here by Paul, aspects He sees as key that these readers need to see and believe.

in praying that these believers, and ultimately us as well, come to know the hope that they were called to, the riches of His glorious inheritance in the Saints, He tells them of the immeasurable power that God worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him in the heavenly places.

This raising from the dead, what we call the resurrection is the continuation of the story from before. Christs death on the Cross is the price that was paid for our sins. Jesus was the Lamb slain before the foundation of the world. But the story must go on in oder for there to be any hope. Paul tells the reader that the work of raising Jesus from the dead was a work of “immeasurable” power. I think we often have this keen focus on the Cross because that is where we find the forgiveness. And it is so comfortable to rest in just that knowledge alone, and then we just assume the Resurrection. Of course Jesus would come back from the dead, He is God.

But we must understand that the resurrection was not just a given. It was unexpected by everyone. Not a single apostle was setting back for those three days, saying, “its no big deal, He is coming back” Their savior was defeated. It is a given that Jesus as spirit as soul would return to Heaven, it was not so much a given from our earthly perspective that He would raise bodily. Raise up in a perfect glorified bodily state. Understand that this body that raised almost 2000 years ago still exists today. Jesus Christ is physically, bodily in heaven today. He is the model not only for us spiritually. He has shown us what we have to hope for. A physical resurrection and an eternal bodily state in which we are to dwell with Him. That is the miracle of the resurrection. That is why Paul was considered a nutter by the Athenians when He preached the resurrection in the Aeropagus in Acts 17.

But it is not the end of the story, it is the beginning of the rest of the story. The story that will now continue for all eternity.

The Necessity of the Ascension

While the death on the Cross was glorious, and the resurrection was central to the gospel, there is a third aspect of the story that Paul is praying we might come to understand. Jesus, in bodily form, was raised up, He “ascended” into the heavenly places (wherever that might be from our perspective) and was seated at the right hand. The position of power and authority. This is oh so important, when we look back at Psalm 110. The Psalm that specifically speaks of God placing the Messiah at the head of the Kingdom.

This ascension to the Throne room of God is pictured elsewhere in Scripture. Daniel 7:13-14

English Standard Version Chapter 7

The Son of Man Is Given Dominion

13 “I saw in the night visions,

and behold, with the clouds of heaven

there came one like a son of man,

and he came to the Ancient of Days

and was presented before him.

14  And to him was given dominion

and glory and a kingdom,

that all peoples, nations, and languages

should serve him;

his dominion is an everlasting dominion,

which shall not pass away,

and his kingdom one

that shall not be destroyed.

This is a vision of Daniel, in the throne room of God, when the Son of Man is comes “up” (ascends) with the clouds of heaven, and to Him is given a Kingdom that will never end.

Dominion, Power and Rule

Again in Ephesians Paul is praying that the reader see this truth, this hope that is given to us in knowing that the Savior who died is alive and well, and that He has been given His throne over all the kingdom. A physical living King, is now seated on a throne over a Kingdom. It seems that a physical body would need a physical throne, and would rule over a physical Kingdom.

Why is this important to realize? Why would Paul want our the eyes of our heart enlightened to this point. It is because of this, Jesus is not just King of yours and mine hearts. He is not simply King over a spiritual Kingdom, and lacks power over the world. We cannot relegate His Power, Dominion and rule to some other worldly realm. There should be comfort in the heart of the believer as we realize that we serve a living and true King with authority over us and the world right now. And that when the world attacks us, we have the power of God to provide for us in those trials.

It can be tempting though to see Jesus’s power and rule as simply a spiritual thing. It might even be tempting to say that He is not asserting His authority over this world right now, simply because when we look around the world we live in doesn’t much look like the Kingdom of God, but rather a kingdom ruled by the enemy. But we cannot deny the truth of Scripture, that Jesus is king now.

Now, we can look at Scripture and say that well in order for Him to be King over the world He has to sit on an actual throne in the actual town of Jerusalem, then He will be King over the nations. And because that is not the case, it is easy to say that His actual reign over the world is something in the future. But this is not what Scripture reveals to us.

Enthronement at the Right Hand

Paul states clearly here that Jesus is seated at the right hand of God. Psalm 110 says that “the Lord said to my Lord sit at my right hand” it then says that “The Lord sends forth from Zion your mighty scepter. Rule in the midst of your enemies!” Psalm 2 says “As for me, I have set my King on Zion, my holy hill.” We must not deny that Paul is clearly presenting to us in Ephesians that Jesus is ruling over the entire world according to these specific Scriptures in Psalms and in Daniel. He is on the throne of David and that is highly important in understanding our hope in this life, not just the next.

Rule and Authority

Paul says that Christ has been given rule and authority, power and dominion, and He is above every name that is named. This obviously is a true authority, not merely one of the heart. He is above all authority that currently exists in this world. In fact Psalm 2 tells us that He laughs in derision as they plot against Him.

We are members of this Kings Kingdom, in fact if we look back a few verses, we are adopted children, children of God, siblings of the King. Later we will learn that we are soldiers in this Kings Army. It is important for us to remember that he is the one that is in control. But it also should lead us to look at this life and all that happens in it from the perspective of being in a war. The old Marine Corps poster used to say “We don’t promise You a Rose Garden.” Neither does God. He has enlisted us for a purpose, for a battle, and that battle will have pain and conflict.

Power and Dominion

So where is the hope then? Can we have any hope here and now in the midst of the battle. We can because as Paul says He has been given power and dominion.

It is easy to understand what power is. It is the exertion of one will over the other. And Paul says that Christs power is above all other power, above every name that is named.

But the second word, dominion, He is given dominion over all. That word is not so simple to understand. The greek “kyriotes” from the root Kyrios or Lord. (Insert side note about Kaiser Kyrios). Paul is telling us that Jesus has been given Lordship over us. It is kind of a cumulative word in the procession of descriptors of Jesus’s position. All the power, authority, and rule proceed from this Lordship. He has authority over us all. We need look to Him and His commandments and understand that they are not suggestions, they are not good guidelines, but the measure the mark by which we are to order our lives.

Adam was told “And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth” (Genesis 1:28). Adam was set up as God’s Vice Regent. He was to be God’s representative to the world and to all His offspring. But He failed.

In Genesis 9:1-10 Noah and His sons are once again given this mandate. Be Fruitful and Multiply, subdue the earth. But they failed as well.

So God put man here to have dominion, Lordship over the creation, to bring to bear Gods rule over the entirety of the creation. Here in Ephesians Paul tells us that Jesus from His throne in the heavenly places, possess that dominion now. His Lordship is a very real aspect of our salvation, we should take comfort in, knowing that the perfect ruler is the one who directs our lives, and gives to us the way in which we should walk.

But we also must realize that this dominion is not limited to the believer. It extends to all the earth. Jesus is Lord over all. There is not one corner of creation that is not subject to His Law. He himself expressed this sentiment just before His ascension, when He commissioned the church with the task of actively applying that Dominion. He restates the dominion mandate in the Great Commission Matt 28

English Standard Version Chapter 28

All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

All the nations are to be turned into disciples and taught to observe all that He has commanded.

Here we find purpose in the church. While the chief end of man individually and collectively is to glorify God, the church has been given the role of expanding Christs dominion through making disciples of the nations. This is our sole commission. Paul goes on to tell us of the sure victory of this task

Head over the Body

Paul concludes his prayer “And He put all things under his feet and gave him as head over all things to the church, which is his body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all.” This statement paints a picture for us of not only victory; Jesus is the the one who “fills all in all” Or completes the entire plan, He is the culmination of all things, but it also gives us a picture of the means by which He will be victorious.

The Head

Paul says here that The Father has given the Son as the head of the church. It is the key to the metaphor of understanding the church as the body of Christ, but it also is important to understand the hierarchy that is communicated here. The head used in this context is that Jesus is the boss, the supreme chief as the definition tells us. But the definition of the word “head” also communicates to us that He is the master, or the Lord.

We always must seek to be careful with metaphorical language because we can take it to far, but I do not think it is wrong for us to see in this metaphor a clear understanding that Jesus as the head of the body, is not simply Lord over us, but also the one that controls the body. The head tells the feet where to go, the hands what work to do, the mouth what to say. He is the one directing the actions of the church. If we will simply listen there will be no doubt where we are to go and what work we are to do.

The Body

We are the body of Christ. This has a profound comfort, knowing that we are in Christ and He in us. He will not forsake us because we are His body. No one is going to cut off a part of His own body.

But there is also so much for us to see in this metaphor. We are all parts of the body. The muscles that move things, the ligaments that hold parts together, the blood that feed the other parts. I dont think it is reasonable for us to think that we can ever figure out exactly what our role is in holding all this together, but there are a few things in thinking about the anatomy that we can gather to understand our purpose.

First, as the body, we are created for the sole purpose of doing work. We are not designed to be perpetually idle. While times of rest are needed, work, resistance is what will make us stronger, make us grow.

Second, idleness of a body part causes atrophy. If we fail to labor, if we fail to perform the function for which we are created, we will atrophy, we will become useless. Sometimes this atrophy can end in death of a body part. Now, while I said Christ would not cut off a part of His body, if it willingly ignores the purpose for which it was made, He may let it die. Because He is the great Healer, He can raise up another part in its place.

Infection and disease. The body needs a healthy diet continually. If it is fed with rotten diseased food, it will itself become infected, creating disease, and unfortunately spreading that disease to surrounding bodies as well. We must ensure that what we are fed is pure and wholesome.

If we as the body faithfully perform the work for which we are created and called to, we will grow stronger, if we feed on the pure bread we will be nourished and given the strength and energy to do the work we need to.

The Feet

And here is the hope that Paul gives us in this closing statement. All things will be put in subjection to Christ, and will be put under His feet. So think of this. The feet are part of the body. Jesus has created this body to go forward and complete the work He gave us in the great commission. To bring all the nations to discipleship, to teach them everything He has commanded. We are the means by which He completes the work.

Do get this wrong, as this is where metaphors can go awry. Christs enemies will not be put into subjection to us as the body, but they will be put into subjection to Him who is the head of this body. They will be put under His feet. This is where we find comfort, this is where we find victory. We are commanded to labor for Him. To bring all things in our own lives, in our own churches, and in our own communities into subjection to the Lordship of Christ. The authority is already His, we just need to live as if that is true, doing all we can to bring those around us to know that truth as well. And according to Paul, there is no doubt that we will be victorious.

Conclusion

Paul prays that God will open the peoples hearts, minds, and souls to these truths. But He does not simply stop there in His prayer, He then proclaims the truth so that we all might hear it and then believe in it. So today, as you think on, and ponder Gods word delivered to us here in Ephesians, pray the same prayer. God give me understanding of these truths. Help me to apply this truth in my life. Give me understanding as to why what I read and hear about these passages is supposed to be hopeful.

We covered alot of Scritpture today, but let me sum up the whole thing. As Paul prayed for the Christians in Ephesus, He sought to teach them their purpose, that they were a people called to hope in the Christ, the promised King. He wanted them to know the Jesus was raised from the dead and ascended into heaven, where He was installed as the King of the promised Kingdom of God, the Kingdom to which all men where to be subject to. He also wanted them to know that they were to be the body of Christ, the King, and that their purpose was sure, and that He would be victorious with all of His enemies being placed under His feet.

Today, as we look at these truths, we need to know that we are saved to a purpose. We as individuals and as the church need to seek out exactly what our role is in that purpose. Then we need to faithfully perform the job given unto us by our King, ever expanding His kingdom, all the while counting on the sure victory we have been Promised.

Doxology

Closing Prayer

If anyone has any questions or concerns feel free to catch me afterwards. And a quick reminder we do have plates in the back for anyone who desires to worship through giving today.

Praise God from whom all blessings flow, Praise Him all creatures here below, Praise Him above ye Heavenly Host, Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. Amen.

I send you with this today, by the words of Richard Halverson:

You go nowhere by accident.

Wherever you go, God is sending you. Wherever you are, God has put you there. God has a purpose in your being right where you are. Christ, who indwells you by the power of his Spirit, wants to do something in and through you. Believe this and go in his grace, his love, his power. In the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen