Understanding the Great Privilege and cost of being part of the mystery of unity in Christ

Scene 1/ The proof is in the pudding; The reality that something is not really known until it is experienced.

There is an old phrase that has an incredible background.

Actually the origin of this phrase is quite gruesome.

The phrase is “The proof is in the pudding”

Now by itself, this phrase doesn’t actually make any sense.

It is an adaption of the proof of the pudding (is in the eating)

The Cambridge Dictionary tells us that this phrase means that you can only judge the quality of something after you have tried, used, or experienced it.

Now a definition is all very nice, but the interesting part is where did this phrase come from?

What did it originally mean?

Gary Martin from the Phrasefinder website in the UK tells us this interesting story.

'The proof of the pudding is in the eating' is a very old proverb.

The Oxford Dictionary of Quotations dates it back to the early 14th century, but doesn’t offer any evidence for this claim.

The phrase is often attributed to Cervantes in The History of Don Quixote.

But for a number of reasons this is doubtful.

The earliest printed example of the proverb is in William Camden's Remaines of a Greater Worke Concerning Britaine, 1605:

"All the proof of a pudding is in the eating."

Gary Martin tells us that;

“It is worth remembering that, as the phrase is quite old, the pudding wouldn't have been a sticky toffee pudding from the sweet trolley, but a potentially fatal savoury dish. In Camden's listing of proverbs he also includes "If you eat a pudding at home, the dog may have the skin", which suggests that the pudding he had in mind was some form of sausage. The Oxford English Dictionary describes the mediaeval pudding as 'the stomach or one of the entrails of a pig, sheep, or other animal, stuffed with a mixture of minced meat, suet, oatmeal, seasoning, etc., and boiled'. Those of you who have ventured north of the border on Burns Night will recognize this as a fair description of a haggis - "the great chieftain o' the pudding-race", as Burns called it in the poem Address to a Haggis, 1786. Mediaeval peasants, faced with a boiled up farmyard massacre, might have thought a taste test to have been a wise choice.”

Now I want to suggest to you that, “The proof of the pudding is in the eating” is true of the gospel of Christ

Scene 2/ The Gospel is not merely an intellectual exercise, in fact it can only be known as it is lived.

You can seek to prove the Gospel with evidence.

The weight of the eyewitness testimony of the disciples.

The logical conclusion that the only reasonable explanation for the empty tomb where Jesus body had been placed was a miracle.

All these “proofs” are important tools to help people accept the truth of the Gospel.

But the Gospel can only be really known when it is lived.

That is why Paul prays as he does in Eph 3:14-21.

Ephesians 3:14-21

Ephesians 3:14–21 NLT

When I think of all this, I fall to my knees and pray to the Father, the Creator of everything in heaven and on earth. I pray that from his glorious, unlimited resources he will empower you with inner strength through his Spirit. Then Christ will make his home in your hearts as you trust in him. Your roots will grow down into God’s love and keep you strong. And may you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love is. May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God. Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think. Glory to him in the church and in Christ Jesus through all generations forever and ever! Amen.

It is a pretty powerful prayer, full of conviction and passion.

He wants them to know, to experience the truth of the Gospel.

It is a prayer that comes out of his reflection on everything he has said in the previous 2 chapters.

Have a look at the beginning of Ephesians 3 verse 14 and then at the beginning of Ephesians 3 verse 1.

You will notice that the first few words are exactly the same.

Paul has gone off on a tangent in verses 1 to 13, as he often does!

So in verse 14 he comes back to his original thought in verse 1.

The amazing privilege of being united with Christ.

The joy of unity with all other believes.

The wonderful gift of grace.

The forgiveness of sins.

Life eternal.

He prays that we will experience it.

Not just know it; but prove it by the experience of its reality in our lives.

“The proof of the pudding is in the eating” is true of the gospel.

You don’t really know it until you have lived it!

You don’t know Christ until his love has filled your heart.

Which leads us to the question, “how do you get to know Christ & the fullness of his love?”

We need to follow the example of the Apostle Paul.

In Ephesians 3:16-17 we read the first part of his prayer.

Scene 3/ The prayer for the power of the Holy Spirit

Ephesians 3:16-17

Ephesians 3:16–17 NLT

I pray that from his glorious, unlimited resources he will empower you with inner strength through his Spirit. Then Christ will make his home in your hearts as you trust in him. Your roots will grow down into God’s love and keep you strong.

When I read these couple of verses and especially the words “inner strength or inner power” I am reminded of a scene from the movie how to tame your dragon 2.

The image is of toothless the dragon, who with his human friends Hiccup and Astrid, are the heroes of the movie.

During a battle with an enormous Alpha dragon toothless and Hiccup are encased in ice.

It appears that the battle is over, all is lost and both dragons and humans are destined to slavery under the control of an evil warlord.

But the dragon toothless has an unknown inner strength.

An incredible power that blows the ice apart and again he faces the Alpha dragon, defeating him and becoming the leader of the dragons.

It is a huge moment in the film.

In a sense it is the high point the inspiring moment in the plot.

And it is that inner strength that I want us to understand.

Unlike the dragon our inner strength is not self generated; it is in fact completely opposite, it is poured into us by God.

The Greek word used here is dynamei it refers to a living power

A supernatural possession which influences;

This is not a prayer for some mystical experience where we lose control and become a channel for some spiritual force. [2]

This is a prayer that Christ dwells in us through faith.

That our lives would be lived in trust, becoming more and more like him every day.

Neither is this the dwelling of a temporary visit.

Paul’s prayer is that Christ may be at home in our lives, a permanent and very comfortable resident.

Not just the relative you put up with but the “Lord of the manor”

The one who everyone looks to for leadership and standards.[3]

Dr. James Stewart, the Scottish preacher and scholar in his book, “A Man in Christ”[4] says this;

The eternal lives in every instance—you must receive it. And I am sure that at any instant in the day God may be present in us as the living Christ[5]

My friends we no longer look inwards but outwards, there is no reliance on self or any goodness which we might imagine is in us.

Instead we trust entirely in the grace and love of an entirely trustworthy God.[6]

Now you have to ask why?

Why a prayer for the limitless power of God to dwell within us?

What purpose does the unlimited power of God serve in the life of an individual?

Let me put it this way.

What is the purpose of a power station?

You can produce electricity, but why would you do that if you were not going to do anything with it.

You can stand on the hill looking down at what you have built and say to yourself, “oh look I have a power station and lots of electricity.”

So what!

Unless you do something with it, there really isn’t much point!

Scene 4/ Paul prays for the indwelling power of the Holy Spirit in the lives of believers so that we can comprehend Christ’s love.

Ephesians 3:18-19

Ephesians 3:18–19 NLT

And may you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love is. May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God.

This is a prayer for deep spiritual comprehension and a real knowledge of the love of Christ.

Paul prays that we will understand all that Christ is, but you will also see that he knows that we cannot fully understand.

It is a paradox, God’s power can enable us to understand, but God’s power also means we cannot fully understand.

But what we can grasp is that Christ’s love is not to be known alone.

Verse 18 makes that very plain, it is knowing with all God’s people.

The result of knowing this love then comes full circle.

As we seek Christ, we know his power, as we know his power we know his love, as we know his love we are complete in him, as we are complete in him we know his power, as we know his power we seek him more.[7]

It is this thought that flows through verses 20 & 21.

This is what is known as a doxology, a declaration of praise to God, a brief hymn expressing His power and glory. NNIBD

Scene 5/ It is only when we experience the power of the Holy Spirit and comprehend the love of Christ lived out in the church that we can really begin to understand how Christ has united all peoples through the gospel.

From the beginning God has had a plan.

A plan to reconcile all peoples to himself.

To offer Grace & Forgiveness.

To unite Jew & Gentile into one new body the church.

Ephesians 3:1-13 talks of this mysterious plan.

A plan no one worked out before.

That in this new creation, the church, God would reveal his power.

And that’s the point.

The gospel can only be truly comprehended when it is lived out in the church.

The proof really is in the eating of the pudding, ....and it tastes good!

[1] Carson, D. A., France, R. T., Motyer, J. A., & Wenham, G. J. (Eds.). (1994). New Bible commentary: 21st century edition (4th ed., p. 1235). Leicester, England; Downers Grove, IL: Inter-Varsity Press. [2] Carson, D. A., France, R. T., Motyer, J. A., & Wenham, G. J. (Eds.). (1994). New Bible commentary: 21st century edition (4th ed., p. 1236). Leicester, England; Downers Grove, IL: Inter-Varsity Press. [3] Hoehner, H. W. (1985). Ephesians. In J. F. Walvoord & R. B. Zuck (Eds.), The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures (Vol. 2, p. 631). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books. [4] Dunnam, M. D., & Ogilvie, L. J. (1982). Galatians / Ephesians / Philippians / Colossians / Philemon (Vol. 31, p. 184). Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Inc. [5] Dunnam, M. D., & Ogilvie, L. J. (1982). Galatians / Ephesians / Philippians / Colossians / Philemon (Vol. 31, p. 184). Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Inc. [6] Dunnam, M. D., & Ogilvie, L. J. (1982). Galatians / Ephesians / Philippians / Colossians / Philemon (Vol. 31, p. 184). Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Inc. [7] Carson, D. A., France, R. T., Motyer, J. A., & Wenham, G. J. (Eds.). (1994). New Bible commentary: 21st century edition (4th ed., p. 1236). Leicester, England; Downers Grove, IL: Inter-Varsity Press.