WEBVTT 00:00:00.140 --> 00:00:06.299 Our God is a God of eternal purposes. God does 00:00:06.299 --> 00:00:09.960 not do things partially, he does them perfectly. 00:00:11.919 --> 00:00:15.619 God does not do things temporarily, he does them 00:00:15.619 --> 00:00:23.219 eternally. Our God is not a reactor, he is in 00:00:23.219 --> 00:00:28.940 fact the divine cause. God is never perplexed. 00:00:30.160 --> 00:00:34.640 He is never surprised by events. Indeed, all 00:00:34.640 --> 00:00:39.000 of history moves inexorably toward the consummation 00:00:39.000 --> 00:00:46.520 appointed by God. In Ephesians 1, verse 10, we 00:00:46.520 --> 00:00:49.539 have a word through the Apostle Paul regarding 00:00:49.539 --> 00:00:55.159 what that consummation is. Ephesians 1, verse 00:00:55.159 --> 00:00:59.289 10. When he speaks about the purpose of God with 00:00:59.289 --> 00:01:04.290 a view to an administration suitable to the fullness 00:01:04.290 --> 00:01:09.409 of the times, that is the summing up of all things 00:01:09.409 --> 00:01:13.430 in Christ, things in the heavens and things upon 00:01:13.430 --> 00:01:16.730 the earth. Now in that language, essentially 00:01:16.730 --> 00:01:20.989 what he is saying is that God's ultimate eternal 00:01:20.989 --> 00:01:25.109 purpose is... the uniting of heaven and earth 00:01:25.109 --> 00:01:29.290 under the sovereign reign of Jesus Christ in 00:01:29.290 --> 00:01:35.629 his eternal kingdom. In the working out of God's 00:01:35.629 --> 00:01:40.930 kind intentions and his sovereign will, he has 00:01:40.930 --> 00:01:46.329 purposed to bring about, to create, the church, 00:01:46.450 --> 00:01:51.890 the body of the Lord Jesus Christ. I am not using 00:01:51.890 --> 00:01:55.430 that term in the sense of a local gathering of 00:01:55.430 --> 00:01:59.670 believers like we are here today, but I am using 00:01:59.670 --> 00:02:03.469 the term church in its broadest sense, those 00:02:03.469 --> 00:02:06.430 who have been saved during this age of grace. 00:02:07.269 --> 00:02:12.669 The church, the universal church, this body of 00:02:12.669 --> 00:02:18.069 Jesus Christ is unique. It is unlike anything 00:02:18.069 --> 00:02:22.639 before it. And there is nothing in the future 00:02:22.639 --> 00:02:28.180 that can be compared to the church. The church 00:02:28.180 --> 00:02:33.139 is a body of redeemed people who will be united 00:02:33.139 --> 00:02:38.319 with deity in the administration of the eternal 00:02:38.319 --> 00:02:43.780 kingdom as mentioned in the Word of God. Perhaps 00:02:43.780 --> 00:02:47.000 one of the great tragedies of our day is the 00:02:47.000 --> 00:02:50.289 lack of understanding in the church. regarding 00:02:50.289 --> 00:02:56.150 the church. That is who we are and what our purpose 00:02:56.150 --> 00:03:01.629 is. Dear people, I hope that in this series that 00:03:01.629 --> 00:03:03.930 we're beginning today on the church, the mystery 00:03:03.930 --> 00:03:07.930 of the ages, that we will begin to understand 00:03:07.930 --> 00:03:14.830 who in Jesus Christ we are and what God's purpose 00:03:14.830 --> 00:03:20.229 for us is. For you see, we are destined for the 00:03:20.229 --> 00:03:28.550 throne. We are royalty. We are the aristocracy 00:03:28.550 --> 00:03:33.770 of God's eternal kingdom. Ah, somebody says, 00:03:33.909 --> 00:03:36.530 don't you think that that's a little exalted? 00:03:37.430 --> 00:03:40.689 Perhaps even presumptuous to talk like that? 00:03:40.990 --> 00:03:44.990 Not in the least. For I'm simply relating to 00:03:44.990 --> 00:03:48.620 you what the Word of God says. It says that we 00:03:48.620 --> 00:03:54.580 are a royal priesthood. We are royalty. And it 00:03:54.580 --> 00:03:59.900 says that we will reign with Jesus Christ. We 00:03:59.900 --> 00:04:06.039 are the royalty of God's future kingdom. The 00:04:06.039 --> 00:04:08.759 knowledge of Bible teaching regarding the church 00:04:08.759 --> 00:04:14.389 is vital. It is crucial. in regards to one's 00:04:14.389 --> 00:04:17.149 living of the Christian life as well as his proper 00:04:17.149 --> 00:04:21.629 interpretation of the Scripture. If we are going 00:04:21.629 --> 00:04:24.350 to be what God has called us to be in this world, 00:04:24.410 --> 00:04:26.670 if we are going to understand what the Bible 00:04:26.670 --> 00:04:30.569 says to us, then we need to have an understanding 00:04:30.569 --> 00:04:34.069 of what the Bible teaches regarding the church. 00:04:34.949 --> 00:04:38.389 It is crucial. Thus, we're going to undertake 00:04:38.389 --> 00:04:42.079 an exploration of this theme. And we're going 00:04:42.079 --> 00:04:44.839 to begin in the book of Ephesians, because Ephesians 00:04:44.839 --> 00:04:49.100 has been called the epistle of the church. It, 00:04:49.160 --> 00:04:51.540 of course, was an epistle to the church, but 00:04:51.540 --> 00:04:54.800 it is the epistle of the church, because it perhaps 00:04:54.800 --> 00:04:57.920 says more in its pages about the church than 00:04:57.920 --> 00:05:01.860 any other single book in the whole Bible. Our 00:05:01.860 --> 00:05:04.860 text today is found in Ephesians chapter 3, beginning 00:05:04.860 --> 00:05:11.040 in verse 1. For this reason I, Paul, the prisoner 00:05:11.040 --> 00:05:14.560 of Christ Jesus, for the sake of you Gentiles, 00:05:14.579 --> 00:05:18.100 if indeed you have heard of the stewardship of 00:05:18.100 --> 00:05:23.160 God's grace, which was given to me for you, that 00:05:23.160 --> 00:05:26.100 by revelation there was made known to me the 00:05:26.100 --> 00:05:31.240 mystery, as I wrote before in brief. And by referring 00:05:31.240 --> 00:05:35.120 to this, when you read, you can understand my 00:05:35.120 --> 00:05:39.449 insight into the mystery of Christ. which in 00:05:39.449 --> 00:05:42.050 other generations was not made known to the sons 00:05:42.050 --> 00:05:45.790 of men, as it has now been revealed to his holy 00:05:45.790 --> 00:05:50.610 apostles and prophets in the Spirit. To be specific, 00:05:50.750 --> 00:05:54.230 that the Gentiles are fellow heirs and fellow 00:05:54.230 --> 00:05:57.850 members of the body and fellow partakers of the 00:05:57.850 --> 00:06:01.949 promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel, of 00:06:01.949 --> 00:06:04.149 which I was made a minister according to the 00:06:04.149 --> 00:06:07.560 gift of God's grace. which was given to me according 00:06:07.560 --> 00:06:10.839 to the working of his power. To me, the very 00:06:10.839 --> 00:06:14.180 least of all saints, this grace was given to 00:06:14.180 --> 00:06:17.839 preach to the Gentiles the unfathomable riches 00:06:17.839 --> 00:06:21.759 of Christ and to bring to light what is the administration 00:06:21.759 --> 00:06:26.399 of the mystery, which for ages has been hidden 00:06:26.399 --> 00:06:29.740 in God, who created all things, in order that 00:06:29.740 --> 00:06:33.300 the manifold wisdom of God might now be made 00:06:33.300 --> 00:06:37.889 known through the church, to the rulers and the 00:06:37.889 --> 00:06:41.069 authorities in the heavenly places. This was 00:06:41.069 --> 00:06:44.389 in accordance with the eternal purpose which 00:06:44.389 --> 00:06:49.629 he carried out in Christ Jesus our Lord. I want 00:06:49.629 --> 00:06:52.589 you to notice as we read the text three times, 00:06:52.730 --> 00:06:58.569 the word mystery is used. The church of Jesus 00:06:58.569 --> 00:07:05.579 Christ is the mystery of the ages. What does 00:07:05.579 --> 00:07:09.300 this term mystery mean anyway? It is a Greek 00:07:09.300 --> 00:07:13.360 word, mysterion. In fact, it is the origin of 00:07:13.360 --> 00:07:18.819 our English word, mystery, mysterion. To the 00:07:18.819 --> 00:07:24.199 Greek mind, a mysterion was a truth that was 00:07:24.199 --> 00:07:31.300 once hidden, but has now been revealed. It is 00:07:31.300 --> 00:07:35.050 something that has not been known before. but 00:07:35.050 --> 00:07:39.029 has now come to our understanding. We see this 00:07:39.029 --> 00:07:42.290 clearly expressed at least twice in our text. 00:07:43.009 --> 00:07:46.449 For example, in verse 5, he talks about the mystery 00:07:46.449 --> 00:07:49.410 which in other generations was not made known 00:07:49.410 --> 00:07:54.050 to the sons of men as it has now been revealed. 00:07:55.949 --> 00:07:58.790 And then again in verse 9, he says, to bring 00:07:58.790 --> 00:08:01.389 to light what is the administration of the mystery 00:08:01.389 --> 00:08:07.420 which for ages... has been hidden in God. You 00:08:07.420 --> 00:08:10.019 see, a mystery in the biblical sense is something 00:08:10.019 --> 00:08:14.879 which previously has not been exposed to us. 00:08:16.220 --> 00:08:20.480 But now God has chosen to give us insight and 00:08:20.480 --> 00:08:23.980 understanding regarding that body of truth, whatever 00:08:23.980 --> 00:08:28.439 it may be. That is a mystery. When we concluded 00:08:28.439 --> 00:08:30.600 the book of Romans a few weeks ago, we talked 00:08:30.600 --> 00:08:33.340 about a similar definition found at the end of 00:08:33.340 --> 00:08:37.379 chapter 16, where it says, Now to him who is 00:08:37.379 --> 00:08:39.879 able to establish you according to my gospel 00:08:39.879 --> 00:08:42.919 and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according 00:08:42.919 --> 00:08:47.500 to the revelation of the mystery, which has been 00:08:47.500 --> 00:08:53.019 kept secret for long ages past, but now is manifested. 00:08:54.360 --> 00:08:57.659 You see, that's what a mystery is. It's something 00:08:57.659 --> 00:09:04.039 which for long ages past was kept secret, but 00:09:04.039 --> 00:09:09.480 now it is revealed to the sons of men. The church 00:09:09.480 --> 00:09:14.179 is such a mystery. The Old Testament saints, 00:09:14.379 --> 00:09:17.799 including the writers of Scripture, never saw 00:09:17.799 --> 00:09:24.500 the church age. They did not imagine. In a thousand 00:09:24.500 --> 00:09:27.580 years that there could be such a thing as the 00:09:27.580 --> 00:09:32.419 church, it never entered their minds that there 00:09:32.419 --> 00:09:35.940 would be an age which has lasted now some 2 ,000 00:09:35.940 --> 00:09:40.080 years, which would be called the age of the church 00:09:40.080 --> 00:09:46.340 or the age of grace. This age is something like 00:09:46.340 --> 00:09:49.860 a valley between two mountain ranges, which was 00:09:49.860 --> 00:09:53.899 not seen by the prophets of old. as they looked 00:09:53.899 --> 00:09:58.799 ahead i remember the first time that i saw the 00:09:58.799 --> 00:10:02.620 rocky mountains we were on our first family vacation 00:10:02.620 --> 00:10:08.379 when i was 11 years old i had read about mountains 00:10:08.379 --> 00:10:10.299 i had seen pictures of mountains but i couldn't 00:10:10.299 --> 00:10:14.100 imagine what mountains were like and i must say 00:10:14.100 --> 00:10:16.279 to you that i have not to this day ever gotten 00:10:16.279 --> 00:10:19.519 over mountains my only regret about minnesota 00:10:19.519 --> 00:10:23.039 is we don't have mountains I'd like to put Minnesota 00:10:23.039 --> 00:10:25.159 right in a mountainous setting, and then I'd 00:10:25.159 --> 00:10:30.240 be supremely happy. But I remember seeing those 00:10:30.240 --> 00:10:33.360 mountains for the first time as we approached 00:10:33.360 --> 00:10:35.639 Colorado Springs on a little two -lane highway 00:10:35.639 --> 00:10:41.120 back in 1956. I remember coming up over a hill 00:10:41.120 --> 00:10:45.559 and suddenly seeing this range of purple mountains 00:10:45.559 --> 00:10:50.200 silhouetted against the darkness of the blue 00:10:50.200 --> 00:10:55.519 sky. And it was gorgeous. As I looked at them, 00:10:55.539 --> 00:11:00.700 they appeared to be a simply flat range of mountains. 00:11:00.919 --> 00:11:03.059 They were just there, as though they were painted 00:11:03.059 --> 00:11:08.440 on the horizon. It was not until a number of 00:11:08.440 --> 00:11:12.799 years later, perhaps 20 years after that, that 00:11:12.799 --> 00:11:16.159 I for the first time flew over the Rocky Mountains 00:11:16.159 --> 00:11:20.080 and got a new perspective. And I was able to 00:11:20.080 --> 00:11:23.120 look out of the plane's window and see all the 00:11:23.120 --> 00:11:25.820 way up from Montana down to Denver, which was 00:11:25.820 --> 00:11:29.220 right below me as we were flying over. And it 00:11:29.220 --> 00:11:31.899 was absolutely gorgeous. It was a clear day. 00:11:32.460 --> 00:11:35.460 And we could see the mountain ranges and the 00:11:35.460 --> 00:11:39.919 snow caps on the highest of the peaks and the 00:11:39.919 --> 00:11:43.580 lakes as they drifted off to the horizon where 00:11:43.580 --> 00:11:46.559 the mountains still didn't stop. You've seen 00:11:46.559 --> 00:11:51.919 that, perhaps. It's a glorious spectacle. The 00:11:51.919 --> 00:11:56.700 Old Testament prophets were like me in 1956. 00:11:57.700 --> 00:12:00.200 As they looked ahead to the future, they saw 00:12:00.200 --> 00:12:02.980 prophecy, but to them it was flat. There was 00:12:02.980 --> 00:12:06.940 no depth to it. They had no perspective on how 00:12:06.940 --> 00:12:09.980 those things fit together. They only saw them. 00:12:11.480 --> 00:12:16.159 But now in this age, with our New Testament revelation, 00:12:17.519 --> 00:12:20.240 We are like those who fly over the mountains 00:12:20.240 --> 00:12:24.419 of Bible prophecy and we're able to see the ranges 00:12:24.419 --> 00:12:27.500 and the valleys in between and the beauty of 00:12:27.500 --> 00:12:31.419 God's plan. You see, it was not revealed to them, 00:12:31.480 --> 00:12:35.159 but today it is revealed to us. And we see that 00:12:35.159 --> 00:12:38.879 this age in which we live has been the purpose 00:12:38.879 --> 00:12:42.100 of God from eternity past. We have a perspective 00:12:42.100 --> 00:12:45.279 which they did not have in the Old Testament 00:12:45.279 --> 00:12:48.750 and what a difference it makes. Now regarding 00:12:48.750 --> 00:12:51.149 this mystery of the church, there are a couple 00:12:51.149 --> 00:12:53.769 of other characterizations that we see. In verse 00:12:53.769 --> 00:12:58.190 3, for example, Paul says, By revelation there 00:12:58.190 --> 00:13:01.769 was made known to me the mystery. In other words, 00:13:01.929 --> 00:13:07.309 this mystery, this age in which we live, is not 00:13:07.309 --> 00:13:11.580 the result of man's genius. This truth about 00:13:11.580 --> 00:13:14.960 it was not discovered by man. It was not created 00:13:14.960 --> 00:13:19.340 by man. But rather, it is the disclosure of God. 00:13:19.879 --> 00:13:23.220 He has initiated it. We'll talk more about that 00:13:23.220 --> 00:13:26.500 in a moment. But in verse 4, we see as well that 00:13:26.500 --> 00:13:30.220 it's called the mystery of Christ. The mystery 00:13:30.220 --> 00:13:34.440 of Christ. In other words, it cannot be separated 00:13:34.440 --> 00:13:40.230 from Him. But even further, in verse 6, or verse 00:13:40.230 --> 00:13:42.950 5 rather, it goes on to give us the nature of 00:13:42.950 --> 00:13:47.950 his body. He says, which in other ages was not 00:13:47.950 --> 00:13:50.070 made known to the sons of men, and then in verse 00:13:50.070 --> 00:13:53.669 6, to be specific, that the Gentiles are fellow 00:13:53.669 --> 00:13:57.570 heirs and fellow partakers of the body and fellow 00:13:57.570 --> 00:14:00.289 members of the body and fellow partakers of the 00:14:00.289 --> 00:14:06.169 promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel. In 00:14:06.169 --> 00:14:08.409 other words, what we learn about this mystery 00:14:08.409 --> 00:14:12.970 is, That it's the mystery of Christ, his body 00:14:12.970 --> 00:14:18.250 in this age, his people. We learn that it's composed 00:14:18.250 --> 00:14:24.090 not only of Jews, as it started out, but as well 00:14:24.090 --> 00:14:27.450 with Gentiles and is now predominantly Gentile 00:14:27.450 --> 00:14:33.149 in its makeup. But whether Jew or Gentile, we 00:14:33.149 --> 00:14:36.070 who are saved share equally in the privileges 00:14:36.070 --> 00:14:41.480 of Christ. as members of the same body. There 00:14:41.480 --> 00:14:44.679 is no longer in Christ any distinction between 00:14:44.679 --> 00:14:49.139 Jew and Gentile. He has removed the barriers 00:14:49.139 --> 00:14:55.019 that were between us. Now we are one in Him. 00:14:56.019 --> 00:14:58.799 To those of us who are Gentiles, that does not 00:14:58.799 --> 00:15:02.860 seem like a difficult or amazing thing. But if 00:15:02.860 --> 00:15:06.480 we were Jews... particularly Jews who were steeped 00:15:06.480 --> 00:15:10.539 in the Old Testament, we would be amazed at that 00:15:10.539 --> 00:15:15.360 truth. For to the Jewish mind, especially in 00:15:15.360 --> 00:15:18.419 that day, the Gentiles were those who were excluded. 00:15:20.500 --> 00:15:25.480 They were outside of God's plan. They were not 00:15:25.480 --> 00:15:33.200 a part of it. The Gentiles were dogs. They were... 00:15:34.710 --> 00:15:38.850 They were nothing because they were not Jews. 00:15:40.750 --> 00:15:43.990 And now for the Apostle Paul to say to the Jews, 00:15:44.289 --> 00:15:48.129 as he does here, that the Gentiles are a part 00:15:48.129 --> 00:15:53.710 of the same body, that is something. And if you 00:15:53.710 --> 00:15:55.929 read the book of Acts, you'll find it was so 00:15:55.929 --> 00:16:00.090 something that many of them had a hard, hard 00:16:00.090 --> 00:16:05.470 time. Coming to this understanding, the apostle 00:16:05.470 --> 00:16:08.429 explains the relationship between Jew and Gentile 00:16:08.429 --> 00:16:10.629 with three names. He says we are fellow heirs, 00:16:10.789 --> 00:16:15.990 fellow members, fellow partakers. We are fellow 00:16:15.990 --> 00:16:20.309 heirs. That describes our legal status. God has 00:16:20.309 --> 00:16:23.490 made us his children equally with Jewish believers. 00:16:24.940 --> 00:16:27.720 So that as Jews and Gentiles, when we come to 00:16:27.720 --> 00:16:30.100 Jesus Christ, we're no longer Jewish children 00:16:30.100 --> 00:16:32.820 of God or Gentile children of God. We're just 00:16:32.820 --> 00:16:36.820 children of God. And as his children, we are 00:16:36.820 --> 00:16:39.620 fellow heirs. We're going to share in the spiritual 00:16:39.620 --> 00:16:43.379 blessings of the Messiah and of the Abrahamic 00:16:43.379 --> 00:16:47.360 covenant. We are fellow heirs of all that God 00:16:47.360 --> 00:16:53.000 has promised. That's our legal status. But then 00:16:53.000 --> 00:16:56.039 he gives us a name reflecting our limb function. 00:16:57.820 --> 00:17:01.220 He says that each one of us, whether Jew or Gentile, 00:17:01.259 --> 00:17:04.640 plays a part for the good of all of the rest 00:17:04.640 --> 00:17:08.980 in the body, for we are fellow members of the 00:17:08.980 --> 00:17:11.680 same body. There are not two bodies, one Jew, 00:17:11.859 --> 00:17:17.940 one Gentile, but there is only one body, one 00:17:17.940 --> 00:17:21.500 group, and we're all members of the same body. 00:17:23.920 --> 00:17:26.640 Then he describes for us our life principle in 00:17:26.640 --> 00:17:30.180 the name fellow partakers. For again, whether 00:17:30.180 --> 00:17:33.619 Jew or Gentile, we are made to drink of the one 00:17:33.619 --> 00:17:39.640 Holy Spirit. We share the same eternal life of 00:17:39.640 --> 00:17:43.400 God, whether Jew or Gentile. So we are fellow 00:17:43.400 --> 00:17:47.579 partakers, he says, of the promise in Christ 00:17:47.579 --> 00:17:53.250 Jesus through the gospel. And so that is the 00:17:53.250 --> 00:17:56.849 nugget of what the mystery of the church is all 00:17:56.849 --> 00:18:00.869 about. That God is doing something new in this 00:18:00.869 --> 00:18:04.970 age. We are not a part of Old Testament Israel. 00:18:06.710 --> 00:18:09.750 We are not a continuation of that Old Testament 00:18:09.750 --> 00:18:13.049 people. We are a part of something brand new, 00:18:13.190 --> 00:18:17.190 which was not even imagined by the Jews of the 00:18:17.190 --> 00:18:21.490 Old Testament. We are part of a unique body. 00:18:23.130 --> 00:18:26.349 There has been nothing like us before, and God 00:18:26.349 --> 00:18:31.109 will do nothing like this again. Turn over a 00:18:31.109 --> 00:18:33.609 page or two to chapter 5 of Ephesians and look 00:18:33.609 --> 00:18:39.049 at verse 30. He says, we are members of his body. 00:18:40.569 --> 00:18:42.950 And he's here applying this to the relationship 00:18:42.950 --> 00:18:45.410 of husbands and wives. He goes on to say, for 00:18:45.410 --> 00:18:47.549 this cause a man shall leave his father and mother. 00:18:48.359 --> 00:18:50.960 shall cleave to his wife, and they too shall 00:18:50.960 --> 00:18:54.339 become one flesh. You see, this is unity spoken 00:18:54.339 --> 00:18:59.099 about here. Two personalities becoming one flesh, 00:18:59.480 --> 00:19:03.720 being united in one, husbands and wives. Now 00:19:03.720 --> 00:19:07.420 he says, this mystery is great. Notice the word 00:19:07.420 --> 00:19:12.140 mystery, verse 32. But I am speaking with reference 00:19:12.140 --> 00:19:17.049 to Christ and the church. Now here is another 00:19:17.049 --> 00:19:22.329 aspect, folks, of the mystery. What I have said 00:19:22.329 --> 00:19:24.170 to this point you may have heard before. What 00:19:24.170 --> 00:19:26.230 I want to say now may be new to some of you. 00:19:28.490 --> 00:19:31.529 One aspect of the unity of the church is that 00:19:31.529 --> 00:19:37.390 Jew and Gentile are one in Christ. But another 00:19:37.390 --> 00:19:41.329 aspect of this mystery and its unity is that 00:19:41.329 --> 00:19:46.980 you and I and all the saved And Jesus Christ 00:19:46.980 --> 00:19:53.720 are one. Do you know what that means? It means 00:19:53.720 --> 00:19:57.599 that you and I have been eternally joined to 00:19:57.599 --> 00:20:03.900 deity. I want you to think about that this week 00:20:03.900 --> 00:20:10.000 and how that should affect your life. You and 00:20:10.000 --> 00:20:14.329 I are eternally joined. It's not just that he 00:20:14.329 --> 00:20:18.410 dwells in us, as though he were separate from 00:20:18.410 --> 00:20:24.569 us, but just inside us. He does indwell us. But 00:20:24.569 --> 00:20:29.750 the fact is that we have been united and joined 00:20:29.750 --> 00:20:33.529 with deity. Not that we are God, but we have 00:20:33.529 --> 00:20:39.809 been joined to God. So that we are inseparable 00:20:39.809 --> 00:20:45.660 from God. That was not true of God's Old Testament 00:20:45.660 --> 00:20:50.099 people. Israel is called the wife of the Lord, 00:20:50.180 --> 00:20:53.259 but never in the kind of unity and union, rather, 00:20:53.359 --> 00:20:57.460 that is expressed here. And people who will be 00:20:57.460 --> 00:20:59.940 saved after the church is completed are never 00:20:59.940 --> 00:21:02.380 said to enjoy the relationship that you and I 00:21:02.380 --> 00:21:05.380 enjoy because we have believed on Jesus Christ 00:21:05.380 --> 00:21:08.400 in this age and are a part of the church. We 00:21:08.400 --> 00:21:11.579 are a unique body of people. There will be nothing 00:21:11.579 --> 00:21:16.619 like us afterward. We are joined. We are united 00:21:16.619 --> 00:21:20.940 to deity itself. Now, if you were to say that 00:21:20.940 --> 00:21:24.859 out on the street, that you are united to deity, 00:21:25.039 --> 00:21:28.559 they would say, bring the guys with the white 00:21:28.559 --> 00:21:32.579 jackets. We got one here. Bring the net. We need 00:21:32.579 --> 00:21:35.400 to get him in his jacket in the hospital. He 00:21:35.400 --> 00:21:40.019 says he's united to deity. Police, pick him up. 00:21:40.079 --> 00:21:43.740 He's a danger to society. That's right. If you 00:21:43.740 --> 00:21:46.920 begin to understand what this is saying, your 00:21:46.920 --> 00:21:52.559 life may be revolutionized by this truth. For 00:21:52.559 --> 00:21:56.319 you are not just legally a son of God. As I said 00:21:56.319 --> 00:21:58.400 before, it's not just that God lives in you, 00:21:58.420 --> 00:22:01.759 but my friend, you and Jesus Christ have been 00:22:01.759 --> 00:22:08.460 united into one. In such a union as a husband 00:22:08.460 --> 00:22:17.779 and wife, you are inseparable from him. That 00:22:17.779 --> 00:22:21.460 is why Paul calls this a mystery. It's something 00:22:21.460 --> 00:22:23.859 that before this could never be thought of. The 00:22:23.859 --> 00:22:26.160 Jews would never create something like this. 00:22:26.180 --> 00:22:28.359 It could not even enter their mind. It was possible. 00:22:28.819 --> 00:22:32.480 But God has done it and declared it to us so 00:22:32.480 --> 00:22:35.430 that we can understand. who we are as the church. 00:22:35.650 --> 00:22:38.849 You say, wait a minute. I thought the church 00:22:38.849 --> 00:22:42.529 was made up of the despised and the base and 00:22:42.529 --> 00:22:45.210 the weak and the nothings in the world's view. 00:22:45.609 --> 00:22:48.509 And that's right. And to me, that's the most 00:22:48.509 --> 00:22:51.130 beautiful, wonderful thing. It shows God's grace 00:22:51.130 --> 00:22:55.450 so tremendously. You might think that if God 00:22:55.450 --> 00:22:59.349 was going to, if God were like us, and he were 00:22:59.349 --> 00:23:03.779 going to unite some humanity to himself, That 00:23:03.779 --> 00:23:06.900 he would pick out the famous, and he would pick 00:23:06.900 --> 00:23:10.059 out the royal, and he would pick out the powerful, 00:23:10.299 --> 00:23:14.720 and he would pick out the rich. But God is not 00:23:14.720 --> 00:23:20.259 like us. He has done the unexpected. And by and 00:23:20.259 --> 00:23:23.140 large, he has taken that which the world calls 00:23:23.140 --> 00:23:32.220 despised. And zeros. And the weak. And he has 00:23:32.220 --> 00:23:36.519 united them to himself and declared us now to 00:23:36.519 --> 00:23:42.559 be his royalty so that we will reign with him 00:23:42.559 --> 00:23:48.119 on his throne. That's what God has done. Now 00:23:48.119 --> 00:23:51.000 this has not always been understood, as I have 00:23:51.000 --> 00:23:55.660 said. It's been hidden in ages past. But that 00:23:55.660 --> 00:23:57.799 does not mean that the church is something new 00:23:57.799 --> 00:24:04.299 in the mind of God. That does not mean that this 00:24:04.299 --> 00:24:06.859 is plan B, that plan A didn't work, therefore 00:24:06.859 --> 00:24:11.779 God is going to this plan. My friend, what this 00:24:11.779 --> 00:24:16.819 means is that in the mind of God, the church 00:24:16.819 --> 00:24:21.500 existed from eternity past, even before he created 00:24:21.500 --> 00:24:28.740 the world, Genesis 1 and 2. God in his mind purposed 00:24:28.740 --> 00:24:33.519 something to happen. And what he purposed to 00:24:33.519 --> 00:24:37.420 happen was that after he would create and man 00:24:37.420 --> 00:24:39.660 would fall and Jesus Christ would die and be 00:24:39.660 --> 00:24:42.839 raised again, that there would be some who would 00:24:42.839 --> 00:24:47.140 believe his chosen ones, and they would be united 00:24:47.140 --> 00:24:50.200 with Jesus Christ, with deity, for all of eternity, 00:24:50.359 --> 00:24:56.559 and would be his special people, his royalty. 00:24:59.380 --> 00:25:03.160 God purposed that. before He even created the 00:25:03.160 --> 00:25:05.019 world. You say, come on, where does it say that 00:25:05.019 --> 00:25:12.559 in the Bible? Ephesians chapter 1, verse 3, Blessed 00:25:12.559 --> 00:25:15.079 be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, 00:25:15.279 --> 00:25:18.640 who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing 00:25:18.640 --> 00:25:22.299 in the heavenly places in Christ. Look at verse 00:25:22.299 --> 00:25:29.319 4. Just as He chose us in Him, before the foundation 00:25:29.319 --> 00:25:33.579 of the world, that we should be holy and blameless 00:25:33.579 --> 00:25:38.880 before him. Who are we? The church. In love he 00:25:38.880 --> 00:25:44.880 predestined us, the church, to adoption as sons 00:25:44.880 --> 00:25:49.460 through Jesus Christ to himself according to 00:25:49.460 --> 00:25:54.039 the kind intention of his will. And he just goes 00:25:54.039 --> 00:25:56.619 on then throughout this paragraph to reveal to 00:25:56.619 --> 00:25:59.859 us that even before he created the world, he 00:25:59.859 --> 00:26:02.740 purposed. that you would be saved and be a part 00:26:02.740 --> 00:26:06.960 of the church, which is his body, that you would 00:26:06.960 --> 00:26:10.660 be united and joined to deity forever. That, 00:26:10.759 --> 00:26:14.140 my friend, is what the mystery is. That is the 00:26:14.140 --> 00:26:17.059 truth we're going to probe and examine from various 00:26:17.059 --> 00:26:21.819 aspects in the weeks ahead. You say, how was 00:26:21.819 --> 00:26:24.180 this mystery revealed anyway? You said it came 00:26:24.180 --> 00:26:28.430 by revelation, but how did it come to pass? But 00:26:28.430 --> 00:26:34.069 we find back in our text in Ephesians 3 that 00:26:34.069 --> 00:26:44.150 it was made known by God to Paul. In verse 3 00:26:44.150 --> 00:26:46.710 he says that by revelation there was made known 00:26:46.710 --> 00:26:54.049 to me the mystery. Verse 8, to me, the very least 00:26:54.049 --> 00:26:57.130 of all saints, this grace was given to preach. 00:26:57.900 --> 00:27:01.059 to the Gentiles the unfathomable riches of Christ 00:27:01.059 --> 00:27:06.160 and to bring to light the mystery which for ages 00:27:06.160 --> 00:27:12.519 has been hidden. The way that God chose to reveal 00:27:12.519 --> 00:27:17.500 this body of truth that we're talking about is 00:27:17.500 --> 00:27:23.079 through the Apostle Paul primarily and with him 00:27:23.079 --> 00:27:28.349 other apostles and prophets according to Verse 00:27:28.349 --> 00:27:33.230 5, it has now been revealed to his holy apostles 00:27:33.230 --> 00:27:38.410 and prophets in the Spirit. Now the question 00:27:38.410 --> 00:27:41.150 arises to a person who's thinking about this, 00:27:41.369 --> 00:27:48.809 when did Paul receive this? I think the best 00:27:48.809 --> 00:27:53.589 answer to that is that Paul spent three years. 00:27:54.759 --> 00:27:57.920 the better part of three years, after his conversion, 00:27:58.079 --> 00:28:04.500 alone, in the wilderness of Arabia. Now that 00:28:04.500 --> 00:28:06.920 takes in a large area. We don't know specifically 00:28:06.920 --> 00:28:10.759 where he went. But this much he makes clear in 00:28:10.759 --> 00:28:13.220 Galatians chapter 1. Right after he was saved, 00:28:13.299 --> 00:28:16.200 he did not go to Jerusalem, though that would 00:28:16.200 --> 00:28:20.140 have been the logical thing to do. He did not 00:28:20.140 --> 00:28:22.859 go there and meet with any of the apostles, Peter, 00:28:23.690 --> 00:28:27.650 John, or any of the rest of them. But rather 00:28:27.650 --> 00:28:33.490 he went by himself out into the desert. And it 00:28:33.490 --> 00:28:37.109 was, it seems to me, during those months of isolation 00:28:37.109 --> 00:28:41.910 from other people, that the Lord Jesus Christ, 00:28:42.009 --> 00:28:47.430 in some manner we do not know, caused Paul to 00:28:47.430 --> 00:28:54.380 understand the truth about the church. so that 00:28:54.380 --> 00:28:59.559 he became then the primary vehicle by which God 00:28:59.559 --> 00:29:06.240 revealed this truth to us in this age. That is 00:29:06.240 --> 00:29:08.700 why the apostle Paul is often called the apostle 00:29:08.700 --> 00:29:13.759 of the church, is because that truth about the 00:29:13.759 --> 00:29:16.599 church, this unique thing that God is doing in 00:29:16.599 --> 00:29:19.380 this age, which was not seen before, which will 00:29:19.380 --> 00:29:22.160 never happen again, that this body of truth was 00:29:22.160 --> 00:29:26.200 given to Paul. and has now been revealed through 00:29:26.200 --> 00:29:29.460 him to us. Notice that he says that this has 00:29:29.460 --> 00:29:34.359 come to pass, in verse 5, in the Spirit. It has 00:29:34.359 --> 00:29:38.420 been revealed to his holy apostles and prophets 00:29:38.420 --> 00:29:42.900 in the Spirit. That suggests to us the truth 00:29:42.900 --> 00:29:46.940 of 2 Peter 1 .21, where it says that the prophets 00:29:46.940 --> 00:29:49.980 were born along by the Holy Spirit. The same 00:29:49.980 --> 00:29:54.529 idea. However it was that God chose to reveal 00:29:54.529 --> 00:29:59.549 this to Paul primarily, but as well to other 00:29:59.549 --> 00:30:02.490 apostles and prophets in those days, however 00:30:02.490 --> 00:30:05.529 it was, it was the Holy Spirit who was the agent 00:30:05.529 --> 00:30:09.210 that caused it to come to their understanding 00:30:09.210 --> 00:30:13.130 and to be passed on through their lips and their 00:30:13.130 --> 00:30:18.789 writing. It was the Holy Spirit who was the agent 00:30:18.789 --> 00:30:23.619 of this revelation. So please understand that 00:30:23.619 --> 00:30:28.700 the church is not the creation of Paul. Our Jewish 00:30:28.700 --> 00:30:33.660 friends will say that to us. Some of them will 00:30:33.660 --> 00:30:39.960 say, Jesus we don't mind, but Paul we despise. 00:30:43.059 --> 00:30:47.299 Why do they feel that way? Well, they especially 00:30:47.299 --> 00:30:51.880 dislike Paul. because they look upon him as the 00:30:51.880 --> 00:30:55.740 creator of the church. Paul was nothing of the 00:30:55.740 --> 00:31:00.160 sort. The church was created by God through Jesus 00:31:00.160 --> 00:31:05.220 Christ. But Paul was his vehicle for expressing 00:31:05.220 --> 00:31:08.680 this truth, revealing this truth to us, so that 00:31:08.680 --> 00:31:10.740 we would understand what we're a part of in this 00:31:10.740 --> 00:31:19.859 age. I like what is said in verse 5. where it 00:31:19.859 --> 00:31:23.680 says, it has now been revealed. The verb tense 00:31:23.680 --> 00:31:27.000 there in revealed is one that refers to action 00:31:27.000 --> 00:31:30.259 that takes place once and for all. It is not 00:31:30.259 --> 00:31:33.319 continuous action. You know what that means? 00:31:34.460 --> 00:31:38.220 It means that truth is no longer being revealed 00:31:38.220 --> 00:31:44.000 by God. God is not in the revelation -giving 00:31:44.000 --> 00:31:50.130 business today. God has revealed once and for 00:31:50.130 --> 00:31:54.150 all the truth delivered to the saints. And revelation 00:31:54.150 --> 00:31:58.829 has ceased. That is underscored by the presence 00:31:58.829 --> 00:32:01.690 of the word now in O .W. He has now revealed 00:32:01.690 --> 00:32:03.789 it. That means now in the immediate sense, in 00:32:03.789 --> 00:32:06.529 that day as it was being revealed, he was doing 00:32:06.529 --> 00:32:09.789 it. And when it stopped, it stopped. It's not 00:32:09.789 --> 00:32:15.589 being done in the now of our day. There are not 00:32:15.589 --> 00:32:19.849 today legitimate prophets and apostles in this 00:32:19.849 --> 00:32:24.329 technical biblical sense. I have a very good 00:32:24.329 --> 00:32:28.029 friend with whom I went to Bible college who 00:32:28.029 --> 00:32:31.069 is working with some churches in the Indianapolis 00:32:31.069 --> 00:32:35.509 area, and it is his conviction that he is an 00:32:35.509 --> 00:32:41.150 apostle. He is mistaken. There are no apostles 00:32:41.150 --> 00:32:45.029 today. There are no prophets today in this technical 00:32:45.029 --> 00:32:48.509 sense. You say, how do you know that? Well, here 00:32:48.509 --> 00:32:51.190 in Ephesians chapter 2, he talks about the apostles 00:32:51.190 --> 00:32:53.930 and prophets being the foundation of the church, 00:32:54.049 --> 00:32:58.190 Ephesians 2 .20. My friend, once the foundation 00:32:58.190 --> 00:33:01.190 is laid, you don't continue to lay the foundation. 00:33:02.430 --> 00:33:04.910 The apostles and prophets were the foundation 00:33:04.910 --> 00:33:08.420 of the church. Once the foundation was laid, 00:33:08.500 --> 00:33:10.660 they passed off the scene having accomplished 00:33:10.660 --> 00:33:13.759 what they were here for. And what was that, in 00:33:13.759 --> 00:33:17.359 part at least? It was to declare to us the truth 00:33:17.359 --> 00:33:20.440 of the church, this truth that God has revealed 00:33:20.440 --> 00:33:24.359 to us in their writings. So God is not today 00:33:24.359 --> 00:33:26.920 giving revelation, but we do have the revelation 00:33:26.920 --> 00:33:33.309 given. And what our concern is... is to ask God 00:33:33.309 --> 00:33:35.869 to be our teacher so that we can understand this 00:33:35.869 --> 00:33:38.410 revelation that God has given. You say, yes, 00:33:38.410 --> 00:33:41.849 but I get a magazine from somebody and he talks 00:33:41.849 --> 00:33:47.130 about getting a kerygma from God or a revelation 00:33:47.130 --> 00:33:52.589 from God. Don't you believe it? Yes, but I hear 00:33:52.589 --> 00:33:54.650 somebody on television. He says, God has revealed 00:33:54.650 --> 00:33:58.589 this. Don't you believe it? God is not giving 00:33:58.589 --> 00:34:02.420 revelation today. Revelation ceased with the 00:34:02.420 --> 00:34:07.160 word of the living God. It's over. Today what 00:34:07.160 --> 00:34:11.579 our necessity is, what we must do, is to go to 00:34:11.579 --> 00:34:14.159 God's revelation once for all delivered to the 00:34:14.159 --> 00:34:17.380 saints and understand what God has said to us. 00:34:17.420 --> 00:34:20.739 We need no further revelation. Paul calls himself 00:34:20.739 --> 00:34:25.519 a steward of what was revealed to him. A steward, 00:34:25.519 --> 00:34:29.079 he says, by the grace of God. For he calls himself 00:34:29.079 --> 00:34:32.360 the least of the saints. Paul was not on an ego 00:34:32.360 --> 00:34:36.619 trip here. He was not boasting in who he was 00:34:36.619 --> 00:34:41.139 or what he was supposed to do. In fact, in another 00:34:41.139 --> 00:34:43.719 place, he calls himself unworthy to even be called 00:34:43.719 --> 00:34:47.840 an apostle. But God, by his grace, had appointed 00:34:47.840 --> 00:34:51.639 Paul to be the proclaimer of this truth and to 00:34:51.639 --> 00:34:54.960 be an apostle. Now, while there aren't apostles 00:34:54.960 --> 00:34:58.650 and prophets today, And while we're not getting 00:34:58.650 --> 00:35:02.690 new revelation from God today, you and I who 00:35:02.690 --> 00:35:06.170 know Jesus Christ are nonetheless stewards of 00:35:06.170 --> 00:35:09.570 the revelation he has given to us. We're stewards 00:35:09.570 --> 00:35:13.929 of it. And it is our job to study it, to understand 00:35:13.929 --> 00:35:17.230 what God says, and then to communicate that truth, 00:35:17.329 --> 00:35:21.909 to pass it along to others. And just as the apostle 00:35:21.909 --> 00:35:26.329 Paul looked upon that As a gift from God by grace, 00:35:26.349 --> 00:35:31.070 so should we. God has not made us stewards of 00:35:31.070 --> 00:35:34.690 the message because we are considered by the 00:35:34.690 --> 00:35:37.969 world to be worthy of such a responsibility. 00:35:38.150 --> 00:35:41.969 We're not. The world looks upon most of us as 00:35:41.969 --> 00:35:48.989 being outsiders and as being very unworthy of 00:35:48.989 --> 00:35:52.489 what we're talking about. And we look upon ourselves 00:35:52.489 --> 00:35:57.000 the same way. But God says, I choose you to be 00:35:57.000 --> 00:36:00.320 my steward, my ambassador. Now you go to the 00:36:00.320 --> 00:36:03.519 world and declare to them this message. Do you 00:36:03.519 --> 00:36:06.019 see what an exalted privilege God has given to 00:36:06.019 --> 00:36:09.820 us? Do you see what a high and holy responsibility 00:36:09.820 --> 00:36:17.619 we have in this age? Why was the mystery revealed? 00:36:19.699 --> 00:36:23.300 Why has God done all of this? Well, the answer 00:36:23.300 --> 00:36:28.019 is he's done it for his own glory. God has purposed 00:36:28.019 --> 00:36:32.860 to unite an elect group of humanity to himself 00:36:32.860 --> 00:36:37.800 for the purpose of glorifying himself and for 00:36:37.800 --> 00:36:42.119 no other reason. The reason that Jesus Christ 00:36:42.119 --> 00:36:44.699 died on the cross and rose again was for the 00:36:44.699 --> 00:36:46.739 glory of God. You say, yes, it was for I'd get 00:36:46.739 --> 00:36:48.980 saved. Yes, that's true, but that's secondary. 00:36:50.989 --> 00:36:53.650 The reason that God does all that he does is 00:36:53.650 --> 00:36:56.289 for his own glory and his own eternal purposes. 00:36:57.289 --> 00:37:01.369 Everything else is secondary to that. The reason 00:37:01.369 --> 00:37:03.829 that God has called into existence such a body 00:37:03.829 --> 00:37:06.610 as we're a part of is that he wants to glorify 00:37:06.610 --> 00:37:11.650 himself and particularly his wisdom. God wants 00:37:11.650 --> 00:37:15.349 to make known how wise he is. You say, what is 00:37:15.349 --> 00:37:19.340 the wisdom of God? Well, one aspect of that is 00:37:19.340 --> 00:37:25.000 Christ crucified. Which to the Jews is a stumbling 00:37:25.000 --> 00:37:28.340 block and which to the Gentile is foolishness. 00:37:30.639 --> 00:37:34.659 But in 1 Corinthians chapter 1, verses 22 to 00:37:34.659 --> 00:37:38.199 24, it clearly says that Jesus Christ crucified 00:37:38.199 --> 00:37:41.659 is the wisdom of God because it is by that act 00:37:41.659 --> 00:37:46.019 of humiliation and sacrifice That God has brought 00:37:46.019 --> 00:37:50.460 about the redemption of his own. That is the 00:37:50.460 --> 00:37:53.980 wisdom of God. And to whom is God's wisdom being 00:37:53.980 --> 00:37:58.639 revealed? To the angels. That is what is said 00:37:58.639 --> 00:38:03.300 here in verse 10. Why has God done all of this? 00:38:03.460 --> 00:38:06.719 Revealed the mystery which for ages had been 00:38:06.719 --> 00:38:10.159 hidden? Verse 10. In order that the manifold 00:38:10.159 --> 00:38:15.090 wisdom of God might now be made known. through 00:38:15.090 --> 00:38:20.449 the church to the rulers and the authorities, 00:38:20.710 --> 00:38:25.110 not on the earth, but in the heavenly places. 00:38:25.710 --> 00:38:28.250 Now that is a technical term used in Ephesians 00:38:28.250 --> 00:38:33.250 to refer to the spiritual realm, to another dimension 00:38:33.250 --> 00:38:37.170 of things than the one in which we live. He says 00:38:37.170 --> 00:38:42.329 to those beings, the rulers and the authorities, 00:38:42.429 --> 00:38:47.230 he calls them. You and I are teaching the wisdom 00:38:47.230 --> 00:38:50.690 of God. You say, don't they already know that 00:38:50.690 --> 00:38:55.389 if they're angels? Yes, in theory they know it. 00:38:56.389 --> 00:39:00.610 But they are learning how the wisdom of God is 00:39:00.610 --> 00:39:05.829 worked out in things by watching us. They are 00:39:05.829 --> 00:39:08.630 learning about various aspects of it, for it's 00:39:08.630 --> 00:39:11.210 the manifold wisdom of God. They know that God 00:39:11.210 --> 00:39:14.750 is all wise. They worship him for his wisdom. 00:39:15.110 --> 00:39:19.269 But as they watch the church, they are being 00:39:19.269 --> 00:39:24.809 instructed in the manifold wisdom of God. You 00:39:24.809 --> 00:39:31.429 see, the church is God's grand living object 00:39:31.429 --> 00:39:39.329 lesson. The more that you and I fulfill God's 00:39:39.329 --> 00:39:44.000 plan and God's will, the more the angels are 00:39:44.000 --> 00:39:48.659 caused to praise God for His wisdom. You say, 00:39:48.719 --> 00:39:51.300 are you really trying to communicate to us that 00:39:51.300 --> 00:39:58.199 the angels watch us? Absolutely. What I am saying 00:39:58.199 --> 00:40:00.519 to you this morning is that right here in this 00:40:00.519 --> 00:40:04.079 lovely auditorium, there are beings observing 00:40:04.079 --> 00:40:09.949 us that we cannot see. On rare occasions, they 00:40:09.949 --> 00:40:11.989 make their presence known. It happened in the 00:40:11.989 --> 00:40:16.070 Bible. I think I've only talked to one person 00:40:16.070 --> 00:40:21.110 myself who claims to have seen an angel. And 00:40:21.110 --> 00:40:25.269 he wasn't a nut. I was tempted to believe that 00:40:25.269 --> 00:40:28.909 at first, but I got to know him a little bit 00:40:28.909 --> 00:40:32.190 better. He was not off the deep end. He wasn't 00:40:32.190 --> 00:40:36.280 a candidate for the folks in white coats. But 00:40:36.280 --> 00:40:39.320 he was a man who was a godly man, a man in his 00:40:39.320 --> 00:40:42.360 70s, and he told me of two occasions when he 00:40:42.360 --> 00:40:46.360 was in a certain auditorium and when he saw angelic 00:40:46.360 --> 00:40:51.000 beings that no one else saw. Do I take him seriously? 00:40:51.920 --> 00:40:57.300 Well, yes. I have no reason to not take him seriously. 00:40:58.880 --> 00:41:01.199 And I know that they exist and that they're here 00:41:01.199 --> 00:41:03.610 this morning. And that if it were the purpose 00:41:03.610 --> 00:41:08.690 of God, they could manifest themselves. You say, 00:41:08.730 --> 00:41:12.250 what are they watching us for? Let's just look 00:41:12.250 --> 00:41:14.429 at three passages. Turn back to Luke real quickly, 00:41:14.550 --> 00:41:27.269 to chapter 15. It says here in verse 10, In the 00:41:27.269 --> 00:41:31.059 same way, I tell you, Jesus says, There is joy 00:41:31.059 --> 00:41:34.079 in the presence of the angels of God over one 00:41:34.079 --> 00:41:37.519 sinner who repents. Number one, the angels are 00:41:37.519 --> 00:41:41.460 watching to see when sinners repent. And they 00:41:41.460 --> 00:41:44.280 are aware of it. When one person trusts Jesus 00:41:44.280 --> 00:41:47.599 Christ, there is a shout of joy that goes up 00:41:47.599 --> 00:41:51.280 among the angels of heaven. They are observing 00:41:51.280 --> 00:41:55.880 people getting right with God. They are observing 00:41:55.880 --> 00:42:01.139 sinners who repent. Turn to 1 Corinthians 11, 00:42:01.480 --> 00:42:09.699 verse 10. Here we have a context of the importance 00:42:09.699 --> 00:42:14.699 of Christian women being in submission and indicating 00:42:14.699 --> 00:42:21.420 that by the way that they act and live. In 1 00:42:21.420 --> 00:42:23.219 Corinthians 11, 10, we're just going to pick 00:42:23.219 --> 00:42:25.760 out this verse quickly that says, Therefore, 00:42:25.920 --> 00:42:28.079 the woman ought to have a symbol of authority 00:42:28.079 --> 00:42:33.579 on her head because of the angels. What does 00:42:33.579 --> 00:42:36.900 that suggest to us? That they observe the actions 00:42:36.900 --> 00:42:39.599 and the attitudes of believers in the church. 00:42:42.260 --> 00:42:45.340 That they watch us to see how we react to things. 00:42:46.460 --> 00:42:48.960 And particularly, it says here in this context, 00:42:49.159 --> 00:42:52.599 they watch our attitudes and our relationships 00:42:52.599 --> 00:42:57.869 one to another. Turn to 1 Timothy chapter 5. 00:43:10.769 --> 00:43:15.230 The apostle tells Timothy to publicly rebuke 00:43:15.230 --> 00:43:20.409 elders who fall into sin. That is, before the 00:43:20.409 --> 00:43:26.130 church, he says, you are to do this. And the 00:43:26.130 --> 00:43:28.789 reason, he says in verse 21, I solemnly charge 00:43:28.789 --> 00:43:31.409 you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus 00:43:31.409 --> 00:43:35.610 and of his chosen angels to maintain these principles 00:43:35.610 --> 00:43:40.170 without bias, doing nothing in a spirit of partiality. 00:43:40.510 --> 00:43:43.789 In other words, the angels observe church discipline. 00:43:45.769 --> 00:43:48.809 Specifically here it's talking about the public 00:43:48.809 --> 00:43:53.030 rebuke of a sinning elder. They are witness to 00:43:53.030 --> 00:43:58.309 the discipline. of our church. And you see, by 00:43:58.309 --> 00:44:02.929 watching all of this and more, the angels learn 00:44:02.929 --> 00:44:10.969 some new facets of God's wisdom. I don't know 00:44:10.969 --> 00:44:16.090 about you, but it reinforces my desire to live 00:44:16.090 --> 00:44:18.329 a holy life when I realize that when I'm alone, 00:44:18.429 --> 00:44:24.170 I'm not alone. For not only is God the Holy Spirit 00:44:24.170 --> 00:44:26.469 indwelling me, but there are angels who are constantly 00:44:26.469 --> 00:44:28.789 around me, watching me. And I'm sure there are 00:44:28.789 --> 00:44:30.710 times they tip their halos and scratch their 00:44:30.710 --> 00:44:32.510 heads and say, Lord, you sure you didn't make 00:44:32.510 --> 00:44:35.969 a mistake with this one? You ever feel that way? 00:44:38.289 --> 00:44:41.449 And yet as they see God patiently dealing with 00:44:41.449 --> 00:44:45.429 us, bringing us back to the place of confession 00:44:45.429 --> 00:44:48.210 and repentance and faithfulness and growth and 00:44:48.210 --> 00:44:52.150 maturity, As they watch all of this, they learn 00:44:52.150 --> 00:44:55.150 more and more and more about the wisdom of God 00:44:55.150 --> 00:45:00.210 and praise Him. John MacArthur said, God is the 00:45:00.210 --> 00:45:04.630 teacher, the universe is the classroom, the angels 00:45:04.630 --> 00:45:07.929 are the students, the church is the illustration, 00:45:08.050 --> 00:45:12.610 and the lesson is wisdom. And when the lesson 00:45:12.610 --> 00:45:17.429 is taught well by a church, that is what it ought 00:45:17.429 --> 00:45:21.960 to be. The angels glorify God. He goes on to 00:45:21.960 --> 00:45:24.840 say, Beloved, if you can't get your act together 00:45:24.840 --> 00:45:28.400 for your own sake or for somebody else's sake 00:45:28.400 --> 00:45:31.099 in the church, could you at least get your act 00:45:31.099 --> 00:45:34.739 together for the angels' sake so they can glorify 00:45:34.739 --> 00:45:43.800 God? Well stated. You and I are a part of something 00:45:43.800 --> 00:45:46.579 that is so special, words cannot describe it 00:45:46.579 --> 00:45:50.860 to you. The church, the body of Jesus Christ, 00:45:51.000 --> 00:45:53.519 is like nothing that has been before now and 00:45:53.519 --> 00:45:56.119 shall never come to pass again as far as we know 00:45:56.119 --> 00:46:01.500 in eternity to come. God, in this brief time 00:46:01.500 --> 00:46:05.099 of history, in these some 2 ,000 years, is calling 00:46:05.099 --> 00:46:28.400 out a body of people, both Jew and Gentile. He 00:46:28.400 --> 00:46:30.739 is destroying the differences between them in 00:46:30.739 --> 00:46:33.360 Christ so that they are one, united together 00:46:33.360 --> 00:46:37.199 as a people. And then he is choosing to unite 00:46:37.199 --> 00:46:44.420 those redeemed people to himself for all of eternity. 00:46:49.079 --> 00:46:53.900 Since we have such a high and holy calling, how 00:46:53.900 --> 00:46:59.059 ought we to live? Back in Ephesians, just after 00:46:59.059 --> 00:47:01.179 talking about this and then praying that we might 00:47:01.179 --> 00:47:03.139 understand it, the apostle goes on in chapter 00:47:03.139 --> 00:47:06.579 4 to say, I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, 00:47:06.619 --> 00:47:10.659 entreat you to walk in a manner worthy of the 00:47:10.659 --> 00:47:17.539 calling with which you have been called. Because 00:47:17.539 --> 00:47:23.619 of who you are as God's chosen one, as God's 00:47:23.619 --> 00:47:27.420 royalty, God's aristocracy. as those who are 00:47:27.420 --> 00:47:30.900 destined for the throne of God's eternal kingdom. 00:47:32.480 --> 00:47:36.699 Because of your calling, he says, walk worthy 00:47:36.699 --> 00:47:43.599 of it. Then he explains, with all humility, those 00:47:43.599 --> 00:47:46.900 who are God's royalty do not strut around in 00:47:46.900 --> 00:47:50.800 arrogance because of who they are, but recognizing 00:47:50.800 --> 00:47:55.659 who they are and what God has done by grace. 00:47:56.750 --> 00:48:01.869 We are forced to humility and gentleness with 00:48:01.869 --> 00:48:06.750 patience. And to walk worthy, we should show 00:48:06.750 --> 00:48:10.909 forbearance to one another in love and be diligent 00:48:10.909 --> 00:48:15.530 to preserve the unity of the Spirit in our church 00:48:15.530 --> 00:48:21.190 in the bond of peace because of who we are. Are 00:48:21.190 --> 00:48:29.760 you living as you ought to? Child of God. And 00:48:29.760 --> 00:48:32.139 what about you, my friend, outside of Jesus Christ? 00:48:32.260 --> 00:48:35.219 Do you want to get in on this? I can't imagine 00:48:35.219 --> 00:48:37.739 a person understanding what I've said this morning, 00:48:37.820 --> 00:48:39.860 or at least beginning to understand it, and then 00:48:39.860 --> 00:48:41.460 turning around and saying, I don't want to be 00:48:41.460 --> 00:48:46.400 a part of that. Do you want to be a part of God's 00:48:46.400 --> 00:48:48.500 royalty? Do you want to reign with Jesus Christ? 00:48:48.679 --> 00:48:51.900 Do you want your sins to be forgiven? Do you 00:48:51.900 --> 00:48:54.420 want to be united with deity personally, yourself? 00:48:55.260 --> 00:48:58.840 Do you want to be a part of God's church? You 00:48:58.840 --> 00:49:02.719 can be. Today you will turn from your sin and 00:49:02.719 --> 00:49:06.159 trust Jesus Christ and receive Him into your 00:49:06.159 --> 00:49:10.360 life as your Savior. Will you do it? Heavenly 00:49:10.360 --> 00:49:13.980 Father, apply, I pray, this truth to our hearts. 00:49:15.300 --> 00:49:18.699 May we not only begin to revel in the truth of 00:49:18.699 --> 00:49:22.219 what we are in Christ, but may that have a profound... 00:49:23.690 --> 00:49:25.829 on the way that we live. May it make a difference 00:49:25.829 --> 00:49:31.789 in the places we go and what we read. May it 00:49:31.789 --> 00:49:34.030 make a difference in how we act and the words 00:49:34.030 --> 00:49:35.949 that we use and our language and the stories 00:49:35.949 --> 00:49:39.789 that we listen to and the priorities that we 00:49:39.789 --> 00:49:41.809 have in our lives and the way that we spend our 00:49:41.809 --> 00:49:52.650 money, the way that we use our time. Lord. Please 00:49:52.650 --> 00:49:56.510 enlighten us so that we can understand what the 00:49:56.510 --> 00:50:03.570 hope of our calling is in Christ. In Jesus' name 00:50:03.570 --> 00:50:04.690 I pray, amen.