COSMIC DISTURBANCE

Ephesians 1:3-10

COSMIC DISTURBANCE

Introduction

· Science proves God right???

· Hubble Telescope vs. James Webb Telescope

· Previously thought 200 billion galaxies

· 2 trillion Galaxies

· How many stars are in the known Universe?

· Think of a grain of sand as 1 Star!

· What we can see is a thimble size of sand = around 1000 stars

· Milky way has a Dump Truck full

· Freight train filled with grains of sand, passing by at 1 second, how long to wait? 100 yrs

· This message is an intro to the intro of the book of Ephesians

· Theme is the Mystery revealed in verses 9-10

i. Creation

ii. Fall

iii. Israel

iv. Jesus

v. The Church

CREATION

GEN 1:31-2:3 “God saw all that he had made, and it was very good. And there was evening, and there was morning—the sixth day. Thus the heavens and the earth were completed in all their vast array. By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day he rested from all his work. Then God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work of creating that he had done.”

· God creates universe in 6 days, and enters into it on the 7th (inhabits)

· Temples built the same way, then God dwells in the temple

· Did anyone else feel small regarding the known universe, same God made you in his image

· Resting with God looked like what Adam did (worked alongside him, whilst resting in him)

· God’s temple is the whole world, but he also tabernacles (tents) in us through the Holy Spirit

· If we believe first couple were put in Garden as moral test, rather than Love then we will distort the rest of scripture and skew our understanding of God through that lens.

· God is a good God who made a good earth, and will not destroy it but rather restore it

FALL

GEN 3:22-23 “And the Lord God said, “The man has now become like one of us, knowing good and evil. He must not be allowed to reach out his hand and take also from the tree of life and eat, and live forever.” So the Lord God banished him from the Garden of Eden to work the ground from which he had been taken.”

· In Gen 3 through 11 we see the tragedy of this story/play unfold

· The whole cosmos/universe was affected – Cosmic Disturbance

· Cracked, virus, broken or what ever you want to call Sin, but sin entered

· We lost our status and missed the mark fell short of his glory

· In other words, we became less human not more human

· See the effect of Roe vs. Wade, the Metaverse, Robot partners

· Even the most elegant sunset or amazing scenery that seems beautiful is a shadow of what it should be.

· Every atom, molecule, of those 2 trillion galaxies, infinite stars and our world affected by sin including the pinnacle of his creation…us!

ISRAEL GEN 15 – EARLY NT

Gen 15:18-21 “On that day the Lord made a covenant with Abram and said, “To your descendants I give this land, from the Wadi of Egypt to the great river, the Euphrates—the land of the Kenites, Kenizzites, Kadmonites, Hittites, Perizzites, Rephaites, Amorites, Canaanites, Girgashites and Jebusites.””

· Abram who became Abraham – His line becomes of Israel

· Story of a Chosen people (via God) that God could demonstrate his love to

· It is also a representation of God’s Salvation plan

· A story of redemption – Exodus 15

Exodus 15:11-13 “Who among the gods is like you, Lord? Who is like you— majestic in holiness, awesome in glory, working wonders? “You stretch out your right hand, and the earth swallows your enemies. In your unfailing love you will lead the people you have redeemed. In your strength you will guide them to your holy dwelling.”

· We see the rise and fall of these chosen people struggling with their humanity

· The law (10 commandments) and the misunderstanding of moral code that they could keep it, rather than it being a crushing weight for the to cry out to God for help

· In fact, they added to their burden with their 634 or so laws

· It is a story of types and shadows of Christ and Prophets pointing to Messiah

· They failed morally, spiritually, relationally, and became less human rather than more human

· So full of pride were most that they refused to recognize the Christ when he stooped into the world as incarnate flesh fully God and fully Man.

JESUS

· Jesus draws Israel’s story to a climax and does for the world what Israel couldn’t do for themselves which was to enter Gods rest/ Garden of Eden. When the curtain cracked it had the cherubim that guarded at the gate of Eden, signalling that we enter back into full fellowship with God through Jesus

· Gospels hook Jesus’ story into Israel’s story (Matt Genealogy) and John’s echo story of Gen 1

· He is restorer, redeemer, rejected

· God is and has always been close but when he entered the world through the second person of the Trinity, in flesh and dwelt (tabernacled) amongst us it is nothing short of breath taking and bewilderment

· Through this New Covenant (one story and Jesus was always plan A) the law is written not on stone tablets but written into our very core (heart).

· All the “Yes’” and “Amens” are in Christ he fulfilled the law, he paid the ransom to set us free

· Our relationships are fully restored for those in Christ

· Jesus is the perfect example of what human is supposed to be – Love

· The story of Jesus does not stand alone or end with his death

THE CHURCH – BLUEPRINT IN EPHESIANS

· A new Act starts – with the death, burial, and resurrection ushers in a renewal of the original human vocation

· Those in Christ are equipped with his Spirit and are God’s new creation people

· People who have been put right, so the world can be put right.

· We are Kingdom kids showing the way to God through Christ to those who listen

· We are Gods workmanship (Root word is polemic) meaning we are Gods poem

· We love and care for each other as that is being fully human, which shows a glimpse of Gods House. But only a glimpse for we are also living in this world that is corrupted by sin

· We need to understand the full story as God is a storyteller it’s HIS STORY – History

· We are hard wired for story, so we ought to read large chunks and multiple books of the bible for understanding of big picture (Josiah understanding Lion, witch, and the wardrobe)

· Of course, we drill down for better understanding and deeper meaning

· If we understand how we are part of the story it should drive us, fuel us, and give us immense power to propel our mission – the great commission

· Lets run through our passage quickly stopping on the main theme in verses 9-10 Mystery Revealed

1. Chosen by God

2. Concern for the one and many

3. Connected redeemed people who are unified in Christ

Ephesians 1:3-10 “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love he predestined us for adoption to sonship through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will—to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves. In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace that he lavished on us. With all wisdom and understanding, he made known to us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure, which he purposed in Christ, to be put into effect when the times reach their fulfillment—to bring unity to all things in heaven and on earth under Christ.”

Chosen by God

First, the theme of being chosen by God. Paul says, “God chose us”—verse 4—” before the foundation of the world, and He predestined us” (Eph 1:5, 11). So it’s very clear that the destiny of the people of God is determined by God, and it’s determined very early—[as] Paul says, before all things existed. Now, there is some debate as to whether Paul is referring to God choosing individuals—a kind of individual predestination, if you like—or whether He is choosing a people group; [whether] He chooses the church as a whole, just as He chose Israel as a nation.

The One and the Many

While there is some debate about that, it seems to me that throughout the Bible there is the combination of the one and the many. God is always concerned for individuals as well as for the group, and then so it may be an artificial distinction to say, “No, here in Ephesians Paul is talking about God choosing individuals” or “God is simply choosing a group without reference to individuals.” I think the one and the many go together, and so, when Paul says, “God chose us,” He is choosing a people, and a people is made up of individuals.

Union with Christ

This doxology is also laden with the theme of union with Christ, the theme we’ll speak more about later. But we see that God chose His people “in Him,” in Christ (verse 4); that we have been predestined for adoption “through Jesus Christ” (verse 5); that God has blessed us “in the Beloved” or in the one He loves (verse 6); in Him, in Christ, “we have redemption” (verse 7); “the mystery” of God’s will will be made known in Christ (verse 9); in Him we have obtained “an inheritance” (verse 11); and “in Him you were … sealed with the … Holy Spirit” (verse 13).

So, we see that, scattered throughout this doxology, there are several references to being in Him, through Him, into Him, and so on. The language of being in Christ is woven all the way through this passage.

I would argue that union with Christ is the most important theme of Ephesians. What Christ has achieved He has shared with us. Every part of salvation, from our election to our redemption to our adoption to being glorified with Christ, is all described by Paul as occurring in Him. Every aspect of the way that God has blessed us is in Him, which is why he says, in verse 3, we have received “every spiritual blessing” in Him. That is kind of like a summary verse for the whole doxology. Every spiritual blessing is found in Christ.

Redemption

Also, a key theme through this doxology is the theme of redemption. “We have redemption” (verse 7). Now, what does redemption mean? Redemption refers to buying back a slave or a captive or making someone free by the payment of a ransom. And what is the key ot passage about redemption? Of course, it is Israel’s redemption, the Exodus, such as we find in Exod 15, where Israel was brought out of slavery in Egypt and made a new people belonging to God. This is the key image of redemption that we find in the ot. So, when Paul says that those in Christ are redeemed, He means that we are brought out of slavery to sin just as Israel was brought out of slavery to Egypt, so believers are brought out of slavery to the controlling forces and powers that have us in bondage. We are made a new people belonging to God, just as Israel is redeemed out of slavery and becomes God’s chosen people, God’s special people belonging to Him.

Connecting the Themes

So, believers in Christ are redeemed out of slavery to sin and made into a new people belonging to God. And this redemption occurs through Christ’s blood, through the forgiveness of our sins and trespasses. Why has God done all this? We see His purpose at work. “He chose us” so that we should “be holy and blameless” (verse 4). He predestined us “to the praise of His glorious grace” (verse 6). He revealed “the mystery of His will” to unite all things in Him, in Christ [Eph 1:9–10]. Ultimately, our union with Christ is not only the means of our salvation, but it also is the goal of our salvation because all things will be united in Him

Cosmic Restoration

Verses 9-10

For Paul, the essential mystery was the way in which God through Christ brings men and women back into fellowship with himself. More than that, it is the way in which he brings into a restored unity the whole universe that has been disordered by human rebellion and sin. Thus, the word in the New Testament conveys the thought not of something mysterious, but something revealed.

It’s not a house it’s a home

The root Greek word is Oikos, meaning house. The meaning here is the duties/stewardship of God’s household or home known as the Church! The church is the household of God, Jesus Christ is the chief steward, and under him his ministers are called to serve as stewards. Here it is the government or arrangement of things for God’s people, and for the whole universe, that is in view. Jesus Christ orders everything in its full time, and in infinite wisdom orders the time of all things.

A good God who restores what we broke through sin. We have a full loving relationship with God and with others, especially in the family home of God. The creation that is restored is left to human care and stewardship, just as it was in the garden of Eden before the fall.

IMPROVISE

· We are left in the last part of the story and part of it is not written in full

· We have the ending in Rev 21 and 22 of a restored universe in perfect harmony

· Manse foundations and blueprint added onto and adapted to suit but did not break foundations or build lopsided

· We have the blueprints of prayer, sacraments, Holy spirit, the first 4 acts of the story and remain faithful to that.

· We add what is needed – Luther always be reforming

· Things look different in 2022 then what Paul and the church faced

Since the mystery has been revealed and revealed in us his bride, his church lets be about our mission, not infighting on frivolous issues or secondary matters. We soak ourselves in the first 4 Acts of the Story as we are part of that, and it gives is what we need to fulfill the mission.

Along the way, let’s be genuinely human to each other in love as fellow image bearers of God. The Church does not do this well we shoot and eat our own. The worst pain doesn’t come from the world or the devil or what ever is in front of us its what comes from our side and from behind.