The Glory of God: Why the Church Exists Ephesians 1:3-14 November 2, 2014 Aaron Reyes, Lead Pastor

Transcription

1 The Glory of God: Why the Church Exists Ephesians 1:3-14 November 2, 2014 Aaron Reyes, Lead Pastor I. Introduction For our first sermon series as a church, we are journeying through the Letter to the Ephesians. Ephesians is such an important book for the church because it is a letter written to the church about the church. This letter was written by the apostle Paul to the church in Ephesus to explain the nature of the church and what the church is supposed to do. Last week, we looked at the opening of the letter and we gained valuable insights into the church. We learned that the church is a holy people in two locations. Today, we take the second step in our journey through this book. But before stating the thesis, I want to ask y all a question. Have you ever received a gift that you did not fully appreciate? Has someone given you a costly gift but you failed to realize it as costly? If so, you probably failed to give due thanks for the gift. Because you did not see the value of the gift, you did not respond with the appropriate gratitude. There s one time I did this that I will never forget. For my seventh birthday my mother threw me a party in a park. With my mother s hard earned money, she spent a lot of resources on food, drinks, the cake, decorations, and a piñata. It was a great party! Well after the party, long after I opened my gifts, while we were cleaning up, I asked my mom, So mom, what did you get me for my birthday? I could immediately tell that my question was foolish. My mom had a mixed look of frustration and sadness; she was hurt and upset. She was right to feel that way because I failed to see how much her gift really was. I didn t see how much time, effort, and resources she put into the party. In my childish brain, I only thought that toys were gifts. I did not know that the party itself was a greater gift. And as a result, I failed to thank my mom for all that she had done. I did not show the appropriate gratitude and love for what my mom had done. This was all because I did not see how precious and valuable her gift really was. We all are in danger of doing the same with God. If we do not realize how great His gift is to us, we will not respond with the due thanksgiving. We will not give the appropriate gratitude and love to God that He deserves. This is a serious thing; we will rob God of glory if we fail to realize the depth of His gifts. You see, there is a correlation, a relationship between the value of a gift and the resulting thanksgiving. We will only give thanks to the degree that we perceive the value of the gift. I don t want us as a church, as believers, to fail in giving thanks and glory to God. So what I want us to take away from this sermon is this: The church exists for the glory of God. Now I mean two things when I say this. This a two-fold statement; there are two sides to this coin. On the one hand, the church exists for the glory of God. The emphasis here is God and what He has done. He has created the church, He has blessed the church, He has demonstrated His grace and power to and through the church. In essence, by making the church, God has shown off His own glory, His own magnificence, worth, majesty and beauty. On the other hand,

2 the church exists to glorify God. The emphasis here is on the church; what we do in response. Not only do we marvel at Who God is and what He has done, but we also respond in worship. God s goal in creating a new people, in making the church is worship. This is how we glorify God in return. This is what I mean by the church exists for the glory of God. God demonstrates His glory through us, the church. The church responds by glorifying God. The apostle Paul asserts this thesis by repeatedly showing the two sides of the coin. He goes back and forth in our passage with us glorifying God and God showing His glory. But there is still a discernible pattern that Paul makes. Paul arranges the thesis around four points. He specifically identifies four crucial elements of our make-up as a church: adoption, redemption, revelation, and our inheritance. And these points will be our points. I m going to walk us through each one and show how in each element God shows His glory and we glorify Him. II. The Glory of God in Adoption vv. 3-6a The first element is adoption: God shows His glory through adoption and we glorify Him because of our adoption. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ Paul starts off by stating the fact of God s being, namely, He is blessed. God is glorious and magnificent. The apostle is also offering praise to God. The reason for Paul s blessing is about to be unfolded. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places. God is worthy to be glorified because He has blessed His people with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ. But what are these blessings? Paul then proceeds to tell us even as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before Him. In love He predestined us for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of His will. Grammatically, these two verses are connected thoughts. When held together we observe the first spiritual blessing that Paul highlights, namely, adoption. And how does Paul describe the adoption of God s people? even as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world. God chose His people; believers are a chosen people. And they are not chosen reluctantly. No, God selected His people from before the foundation of the world. Before the world came into existence, before the earth was made, God had already chosen His people. God selected His people so that they would be holy and blameless that we should be holy and blameless before Him in love. We touched on this last week. In Christ God has made believers holy. The point is so that believers would be like God. God chose His people from eternity past so that they would be like Him. God wants His people to be like Him. The phrase, Like father, like son, or Like father, like daughter, is what God intends. God chose His people so that they would be like Him, so that they would be holy, blameless, and loving. The apostle wants to reiterate this glorious act of God so he says in verse 5 He predestined us for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of His will. Before the universe came into being, before time existed, God had already decided that He would adopt His people. In eternity past, God had planned to turn self-centered, rebellious sinners into His adopted children.

3 Do we see how glorious this is? God had turned spiritual orphans into His own, beloved children. Ever since our first parents sinned, ever since Adam and Eve rebelled against God, humanity had become spiritual orphans. Our actions have separated us from God. Our sinful nature had rendered us lost and without our heavenly Father. We know this is true because humans do not naturally seek out the true, living God. Instead, humans go about life trying to create gods in our own image and likeness. We humans are not attractive in our own right. We are not naturally irresistible to God that He felt compelled to adopt people. No, in our natural state we are repulsive to God. Yet, despite humanity being lost and despite being spiritual orphans, God has sovereignly planned to adopt believers. God desired to turn self-centered, sinful, spiritual orphans into His own spiritual children. From eternity past, God planned to take sinners and bring them to Himself. And this He did in Christ. 12 But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, 13 who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God. John 1:12-13 If you have embraced Christ by faith, you are adopted by God. He calls you His daughter; He calls you His son. You are no longer an enemy of God; you are His child. This was God s plan and this He did with pleasure according to the purpose of His will. This is a marvelous statement! It tells us that God did not begrudging select His people. God did not get the short end of the stick when He chose believers for adoption. God chose His people out of the pleasure of His will. It was God s pleasure to select a people for Himself. What is Paul s response to this adoption? He states it at the beginning in verse 3 Blessed be the God and Father our Lord Jesus Christ. Paul erupts in praise to God and he beckons believers to follow suit. God deserves glory for the spiritual blessings we have in Christ, especially our adoption. The apostle tells us the goal behind God s adoption to the praise of His glorious grace. God chose to adopt His people in order that His people would in turn glorify God. And this is how we glorify Him: We are thankful for our new identity, we are thankful that we are no longer spiritual orphans but are now His children, we praise God that He is our true and heavenly Father. This is in part why we exist. The church of God exists because of the glory of God in adoption. III. The Glory of God in Redemption vv. 6b-7 The second element is redemption. God shows His glory through redemption and we glorify Him because of our redemption with which He has blessed us in the Beloved. With this phrase the apostle turns to a new focus. Here Paul is about to unpack another spiritual blessing that God has blessed His people with. After expressing that the church will glorify God for His glorious grace, Paul elaborates more on this grace. He says that God s grace was given to believers through Jesus. Through the Beloved, believers find and receive grace. So what has the

4 Beloved done? What has Jesus done for believers? In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace. God s grace is found in the Beloved, in Jesus because Jesus was our redemption price. It is in Jesus that redemption is offered. Now in our culture when we hear the word, redemption, it is usually used in the context of sports or competition. And on the one hand it is understandable. In competition, people use the term as a way of saying, they made up for their mistakes. However, in the Greco-Roman world, redemption referred to the liberation of a slave. A slave was set free when someone bought their redemption price. It is in this way that Paul uses it. The apostle is saying that it was and is impossible for people to redeem themselves. People who are enchained and imprisoned cannot pay their own ransom. This is outright offensive to our culture. Our culture thinks that, while humans do make mistakes, we are ultimately good people. But this is not what the biblical writers think. No, according to the Bible, all humans are enslaved and cannot escape their condition Someone else has to set humans free. This is where the gospel comes in. Jesus offers redemption by His blood. His death pays the redemption price. For those who trust in Jesus by faith, they receive redemption. They are set free. But set free from what? First, believers are set free from sin. They are no longer enslaved to sin and can now overcome sin. Moreover, there is another object that we need freedom from the forgiveness of our trespasses. Humans also need to be set free from God s just wrath. God s judgment rests upon every human and it will one day come crashing down on every person. In this way, every human is subject and imprisoned to God s wrath. But redemption from God s wrath is available through Jesus. Jesus death allows for God s wrath to subside. For believers, they are set free from this punishment. All that Jesus has done for us is all because of grace according to the riches of His grace. Our infinite offense against God is forgiven because of the depth of God s grace. As great as our sin is and as great of a punishment we deserve, God s grace is greater. God s grace is infinity plus infinity. The wages of our sin is an eternal punishment, but God s grace is richer than our punishment. While our sin is costly, God s grace is richer. This is what Paul means in these verses: we have redemption and forgiveness because of Christ s death on the cross, and it is nothing but God s infinite grace that would move Him to these glorious actions. This is the glory of God in redemption. God demonstrates His awesome glory in our redemption. We in turn give God glory for what Jesus has done for us. We worship Him for giving us undeserved grace. The church exists because of the glory of God in redemption. IV. The Glory of God in Revelation vv The third element is revelation. God shows His glory through the revelation of His will and we glorify Him because of that revelation which He lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight making known to us the mystery of His will, according to His purpose, which he set forth in Christ as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in Him, things in heaven and things on earth. The apostle transitions into the third spiritual blessing that God extends. And this one

5 is a blessing that is not often talked about. This blessing is the revelation of God s mystery. Paul begins this third point by again addressing God s glorious grace. The apostle says that God lavished grace upon believers in all wisdom and insight. But in what form does this grace come? In this case, God lavished grace by making known to us the mystery of His will making known to us the mystery of His will, according to His purpose, which he set forth in Christ. You might ask, Where is the grace in this? I do not see grace. But there certainly is grace here. When the apostle uses the term, mystery, he is referring to a hidden secret. He is not using it as we use mystery today. When you and I use mystery we refer to things that are unexplainable. Paul, however, uses mystery to refer to a hidden secret. He is saying that God s saving purposes were previously hidden but that now God has disclosed His plans. God has made known the mystery of His will. But what is this mystery? What was this previously hidden secret? God s hidden secret was that He planned to unite all things in Christ which he set forth in Christ as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in Him, things in heaven and things on earth. This is a cosmic statement! God planned from eternity past that His saving purposes would have a final goal. And this final goal is the uniting of all things in heaven and on earth. What makes this statement so grand and unfathomable is that Jesus life, death, and resurrection affects everything in the universe. Jesus just didn t secure our salvation; He did more. The universe and the world we live in is anything but harmonious. Our world is filled with sin, evil, and injustices. We humans are messed up to the core. Suffering plagues human existence. The earth is sick and groans for healing. Spiritual enemies also exist that wage war against God and His people. The universe as we know it is fractured and broken. All things in heaven and on earth have been shattered. You and I know this; we all know that life is not as it should be. But hallelujah! God has planned from eternity past to restore this broken universe and to restore all things in Christ. There will be a day when Christ removes the disharmony and fractures in the universe. In the fullness of time, there will be a day when all things are centered on and reunited in Christ. This is the mystery of God s will. And it is has been revealed to believers. We have been told about God s glorious restoration through God s word. Do you see how the revelation of this is glorious grace? Over the last several decades our society has been preoccupied with justice, restoration, and harmony. Our society longs for this. Our society makes large plans to somehow bring. Billions upon billions of dollars are spent to secure harmony. Our society would do anything to have a blue print for order and restoration. But no matter what plans are made, no matter what actions are done, disharmony still rules on earth. But this is where God s grace steps in. It is to us that God has given the blue print for harmony. God has made known to us how order and restoration will be secured. It is through Jesus Christ that all that things will be united and restored. This was God s hidden secret, and this He has made known to us. So let us give Him glory for revealing His cosmic, restoration plan. We can be at peace now because we can place our hope in God; this is cause for worship. This is the glory of God in revelation. God demonstrates His awesome glory in revelation and we in turn thank and praise Him for this revelation. The church exists because of the glory of God in

6 revelation. V. The Glory of God in our Inheritance vv The fourth element is our inheritance. God shows His glory through inheritance and we glorify Him because of our inheritance In Him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of Him who works all things according to the counsel of His will, so that we who were the first to hope in Christ might be to the praise of His glory. In the last spiritual blessing given by God, the apostle turns to the blessing of our inheritance. He first has in mind the first generation of Jewish believers. This is why he says, we. Then Paul turns attention to all believers In Him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in Him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of His glory. The apostle now says that all believers have been guaranteed the heavenly inheritance. We know this because believers have been sealed with the Holy Spirit. This is a glorious gift! In the Greco- Roman world, an object was sealed in order to demonstrate ownership and to provide protection. In this way, by sealing believers, God is declaring His ownership of believers. God stamps believers with His Spirit and thus He will protect them. Believers can rest confidently in the fact that they are God s people. We do not need to fret wondering if we are part of God s people. If we have heard the gospel and believed in it, we are sealed. Thus God owns us; we are His. The reason why God gives the Holy Spirit as a seal is so that we would know we have an inheritance. The term, guarantee, is another way of saying, down payment, or first installment. In this manner, the Holy Spirit is the first payment of our inheritance. It is in this way that we can say our inheritance is guaranteed. It is guaranteed because the first installment has been given. Because the first payment is given in the Holy Spirit, we also get a foretaste of our inheritance. We already get to experience the benefits of this inheritance because of the Spirit. What do I mean? Since believers have the Spirit in them, we are already connected to God. We get to enjoy God s presence with us. We get to experience God s holy love. From this line of thought, we can perceive what our inheritance entails. Believers inheritance refers to eternal bliss with God. Believers will be in God s holy, loving presence forever. All things will be made new; there will be no more suffering. Nothing will be able separate us from God. We will be with Him forever. This is the inheritance that awaits believers. We can know that this inheritance awaits us because we have the Spirit. Do you see God s glory in this? Now why? Why does God give this spiritual blessing? We have been given God s eternal inheritance and we have been given the Spirit so that we might glorify God to the praise of His glory. More specifically, we praise Him that this world is not all there is. We worship Him for not letting material possessions be our end all, that we have an eternal home that will never rot or decay and one that is much greater than anything the world can offer us. This again is God s goal. This is the glory of God in our inheritance. God demonstrates His awesome glory in our inheritance in order that we might give Him glory both now and forever. The church exists

7 because of the glory of God in our inheritance. VI. Conclusion This morning I have tried to portray why the church exists. We have seen a sweep from eternity past to eternity future. God planned in eternity past to demonstrate His glory. And God acted in history to show His glory. God planned and acted out His saving purposes in order to receive glory. So what does this mean for us right now? Why is this passage so important for us? Do you remember my question at the beginning of the sermon? I asked us if we have ever received a gift that we failed to fully recognize its value. I asked this question because I do not want us to be ignorant of God s gifts to us. I do not want us to give God only a little bit of glory. I want us to give God the full glory that He deserves. This is important for us today because when we think of God s gifts to us or God s blessings to us we tend to think of physical blessings. We think of health, wealth, and happiness. We foolishly only think of God s blessings in terms of health, wealth, and happiness. This is a dangerous thing to do because we will only seek God out for these blessings. But here s the thing, we already have the greatest blessings that God could ever give us. In Christ we have everything we could ever need. We have adoption, redemption, revelation of God s restoration plan, and an inheritance. What more could we ask for? Health, wealth, and happiness cannot even compare to these spiritual blessings. I know believers in India who have no material blessings, but they are rich in Christ. They live with such joy and contentment because they know they already have received God s greatest blessings. We need to live the same today. We need to live knowing that in Christ we have all we need. We don t need more money, we don t need a new car, we don t need the latest iphone, we don t need a bigger house. These physical things don t last nor will they ultimately satisfy. Whereas what we do need, God has already given it to us. We need a heavenly Father, we need redemption, we need understanding of God s will, and we need a permanent place that we can call home after this life. These we already have in Christ. What more could we want or need?! We must also relate this to Church of the Violet Crown. As a new church, there will be things that do not go as planned. We will experience technical difficulties; we may not have even trash cans; we may have difficulty engaging people. Whatever the case, we cannot doubt God s goodness and grace because He has already given us the best. We are adopted, we are redeemed, we have received God s revelation, and we have an eternal inheritance. So moving forward, may we live our lives knowing how God has truly blessed us. May we not want for anything else. Let that be a check for you: Are you content? Are you satisfied with your spiritual blessings? And may you then live your life in gratefulness and thanksgiving as a result! For God has certainly demonstrated how glorious He is, let us in response give Him due glory.