New Year Message

We learn about what we are as a Church from Ephesians Chapter 1, Verses 3-14.

Word of God:

Verse 8 discusses “the riches of His grace” – in verse 7 – “which He lavished on us.” And then he says in verse 8, “In all wisdom and insight, He has made known to us the mystery of His will, according to His kind intention which He purposed in Him.” Now, let me ask you a question. You tell me: “Where has God made known the mystery of His will? Where?” Scripture. Scripture. Our relationship with God is a relationship of authority. We are under authority. We have been called under. All wisdom and all insight has been known to God and revealed to us according to His kind intention, and, of course, it has been revealed to us in Scripture. That is the only source of that revelation. God’s wisdom and God’s prudence have actually abounded to us. It is a word that means “to overflow.” “that He has lavished on us His riches.” He’s lavished us with riches. He’s lavished us with grace. And He’s also lavished on us wisdom and insight – the wisdom of eternal things and the wisdom of temporal application of eternal truth. And it all comes to us through the Word of God. We understand God’s mind. We know God’s mind through His Word.

Unification:

Verse 10 there in Ephesians 1. He says, “with a view to the administration” – or the purpose of God – “suitable to the fullness of time, that is, the summing up of all things in Christ, things in the heavens and things upon the earth.” What he’s talking about here is that in the end, God will gather together in all things in Christ. That’s the summing up of all things in Christ. This is the doctrine of unification, the doctrine of unity. This verse, verse 10, looks together – looks ahead at the togetherness that comes in the fullness of redemptive history on the completion of the whole salvation plan at the restoration of universal unity when everything is summed up in Christ. But that goal is being lived out to some extent even now. We understand that the purposes of God are going, to sum up everything in Christ, that one day we will all be gathered in Christ, we’ll all be gathered to glory, we’ll all be the consummated bride of Jesus Christ, everything in heaven, everything in earth; that would be believers in glory, believers here on earth, will all be gathered. The whole gathering of everybody together in the end is the consummate purpose of God. That will happen in what he calls, in verse 10, “the fullness of times.” That is when time has been fulfilled, when all of the purposes of time have come to an end, and time is fulfilled as to His purpose, and we leave time behind, and we go to eternity. There’s the gathering of everyone into one great bride, one great glorious assembly of eternal saints. We’ve been called then to unification. That is the ultimate goal, and indeed that is being lived out and expressed in the church’s life. Unity is a result of love. Love is a result of humility. You start with humility, and that’s Philippians 2: “Humble yourself.” It’s the way we start.

Glorification:

We have been called unto glory. Look at verse 11: “We have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to His purpose who works all things after the counsel of His will.” We have an inheritance waiting for us. “It is an inheritance of eternal glory” – verse 12 – “to the end that we who were the first to hope in Christ should be to the praise of His glory. In whom, you also, after listening to the message of the truth, the gospel of your salvation, having also believed, were sealed in Him with the Spirit of promise, who is given us a pledge of our inheritance, with a view to the redemption of God’s own possession, to the praise of His glory.” You were saved in order that someday you might be to the praise of God’s glory, so that in the end, the purpose of God is eternal glory. And that’s been a major theme. I mean, that’s the way it’s going to be in eternity, that’s the way it ought to be now; we ought to live to His glory. We live to the glory of God. Everything we do, whether we eat or drink is to be all to the glory of God. That’s who we are, that’s what we do, that’s why we exist: to His glory.

Proclamation:

One final note. I just want to add in here in verse 13, “after listening to the message of the truth, the gospel of your salvation, having also believed,” we have also been called for something, and that is proclamation. We have been called for proclamation. The reason we believe is because somebody preached the gospel to us. Faith comes by hearing the truth. Our responsibility as long as we’re in this world is to give the message of truth, verse 13, the gospel of salvation, so people can hear and believe.

We are a called people and we’ve been called to these things. That’s what a church is. Anything less falls short of the divine purpose. The future The Church depends on one thing; not what the culture does, but what the Church does. If this church ever lets go of any element of its calling, if it ever fails to remember that we are the church that God chose and that He is building, if it fails to have a redeemed congregation, if it fails to pursue holiness, if it fails to be intimately, personally committed to the living Christ that dwells in it, if it fails to submit to the Word of God as its only authority, if it fails to be deeply, humbly, lovingly committed to each other, if it fails to live to the glory of God, or if it fails to proclaim the gospel, then it will be a church that will fail in its calling.