The Unsearchable Riches of Christ and their
five-fold presentation in the first chapter of
the Letter to the Ephesians.
We now come to the fifth, from
election to adoption, from adoption to redemption, from
redemption to wisdom, the ability to see into
the heart of it all.
So, we come finally to consummation, verse 10,
unto a dispensation of the fulness of the
times, to sum up all things in Christ,
the things in the heavens, the things upon
the earth, in him, I say, in whom
also we were made a heritage, to sum
up all things in Christ.
That is the consummation of the riches of
his grace, for grace is the first great
context of that word, riches.
It is helpful if we remember the standpoint
of this great letter.
The apostle who wrote it had in his
other letters, or most of them, been dealing
with things now, because he had been in
close contact with present conditions in all places
where he went, amongst the Lord's people, in
the numerous localities where churches had been born.
All the problems, the requirements, the affairs of
present life were pressing upon him, and most
of his letters, up to this time, were
occupied with those present-time demands, needs, problems,
and situations.
But when he was released from all that,
and that phase of his life and ministry
was closed, an end to his journeyings
and his scattered preaching had come, and he
was shut up in the prison, in Rome,
it was more than a release from local
responsibilities.
It was a release of his spirit out
into the all-comprehending, the vast arranges
of all that in which the local things
were set.
He was now able to release all that
was pent up in him.
The accumulation of experience, of knowledge, of revelation,
he had only been able to give it,
so to speak, piecemeal, here and there and
there.
But now, all that he had in his
knowledge of the Lord could be set forth
and given out in these final letters, and
in this one in particular.
And when he is so able to unburden
himself, his reach and range is no less
than from eternity to eternity.
And so he immediately, in writing this letter,
immediately, in what we call the first chapter,
there are no chapters when he wrote it,
it's just one continuous outflow.
But here, right at the commencement, he plunges
into the eternity past.
We were chosen in him, before the foundation,
predestinated, foreordained.
He's right back there in the past eternity.
And before he has got through, he will
have leapt right over into the ages of
the ages.
That is his phrase in this letter.
From eternity to eternity he is comprehending all
that lies between the two eternities of what
he calls the eternal, the timeless purpose of
God in Christ.
It is important for us and helpful to
recognize that standpoint.
Helpful in this way, while you have got
to face all that is in these other
letters.
The problems of the letter to the Romans.
Tremendous effort on the part of the apostle
to solve some of the fundamental problems of
life, and the whole question of sin, death,
and justification.
It's a tremendous letter.
And the problems in Corinth, terrible problems, might
have, well have, made him despair, and give
up everything, and say, it's useless, look at
this, look at these people, look at these
professing Christians, what's the good of anything or
the good of it all, and just close
down on it in despair.
The problems in Galatia, what problems.
So on.
But, when you have got to take notice
of those things, they are, they're facts, they're
realities, and terrible realities.
Calculated to take all the heart and all
the heart out of you.
We need not think back into those days,
we've only got to look into the state
of things amongst Christians today, what is called
the church.
And we could easily give it all up
and say, well, what is the good of
it, as we know it.
We have to face it, take account of
it, know it is real, it's not all
imaginary, very real.
What are we going to do with it?
Well, just look back into the past eternity
to see what was intended, and look into
the future eternity and see it realized.
God from eternity to eternity, through all these
vicissitudes, all these difficulties and problems, at last
is shown here to have exactly what he
planned to have a way back there.
It's going to be.
The consummation of all will be as God
intended before time was.
That help you?
It ought to help us.
Here it is, positively stated, not far on,
in the letter, in the fullness of the
times.
A dispensation of the fullness of the times,
to sum up all things in Christ, the
things in the heavens and the things upon
the earth.
Let us stay for a moment just to
get clear about this word dispensation.
Margin says stewardship.
The root of the word means a house
order, or a household order.
The order, the system which obtains that the
word grows, is enlarged, comes to mean something
more than just that.
It comes to mean the carrying out and
putting into effect of the purpose.
Dispensation, or stewardship, means the carrying out, carrying
into effect, of the purpose of everything.
In the fullness of time, the whole purpose
will be carried out, put into effect.
And the apostle said that there was given
to him a stewardship of the ministry.
He meant that he was called to have
something to do with the putting into effect
of what was in the mind of God.
So much for the moment.
For the word here, dispensation, it's translated.
What is this putting into effect?
Well, it says to sum up all things
in Christ.
And that is not satisfactory.
It's not adequate.
It means to gather together, to reunite all
things in heaven and in earth in Christ.
And the emphasis is upon that word together.
Together.
That's a thrilling thought.
That in the fullness of the times, putting
into effect of the purpose means everything will
be at last together.
Together.
Not just outwardly.
We are together in this place.
I wonder if it could be said of
us all in an inward way, we are
absolutely together here.
It's a grand thing, isn't it?
When we really are in spirit, in heart,
in an inward way, in object, in purpose,
in outlook.
Together.
That's a mighty thing.
That's a grand thing.
That's a fruitful thing.
That's a joyous thing.
It's everything we desire.
When you think of the opposite.
The opposite.
When you are not together.
When two people who have to live under
the same roof are not together, it's a
miserable, not life, but existence.
The company of people who have to meet
outwardly together, but are really not inwardly together,
it is not a happy state.
There's a strain.
There's an atmosphere.
There's a lack.
But it says that putting into effect of
God's purpose will be found at last in
togetherness universally.
That is the riches of his grace.
The riches of his grace.
But see the setting of that.
What a history stands over against that.
The Bible, from one standpoint, is a record
of the opposite to that togetherness.
The effect, the result of an interference with
God's purpose.
It began apparently outside of this world, what
we could call the cosmic disruption in this
universe.
Various hints of it are given to us.
One apostle speaks about the angels which kept
not their fastest speed.
Now bound in everlasting chain.
Angels which kept not their fastest speed.
Or the hint as to Lucifer's primeval position,
and then coveting just the next step up,
place of the Son of God, equality with
God.
And through that pride and ambition, bringing about
that terrible disruption in the very realm of
God himself.
There.
A disruption in the heavenlies.
And that is not something that happened and
was concluded in some undated period called before
the world was, or before times eternal.
That very realm today called the heavenlies.
The very atmospheric realm occupied by principalities and
powers, world rulers of this darkness, host of
wicked spirits, is a realm of utter confusion,
conflict.
And sensitive believers know it.
That it's an atmosphere of conflict and strife
and destruction began there.
And then repercussions came down to this created
earth.
And God had made all things to his
own pleasure and satisfaction and said it's very
good.
Put man into it.
Gave man his help meat.
One meat to help him.
It was not long before that thing which
had happened above broke in and disrupted the
first human family.
And Cain murders his brother.
Family.
Life is broken.
And you move on to the race which
has grown, multiplied and expanded.
And come to the Babel.
The disruption of the human race.
The breakup into conflicting nations with the strife
and confusion of tongues.
The whole earth is full of confusion.
Babel.
On you go.
And there arises the story of Israel.
A family.
Tribes.
And then that broke.
The ten and the tomb divided.
Fighting each other.
Scism in Israel.
On further.
And the awful disintegration, disruption of the exile.
Long story of everything, everything being contrary to
what God intended in the breakdown of human
relationships.
The state of confusion.
Confusion.
It didn't stop with the Old Testament and
with the exile.
It's there when you come into the New
Testament.
It's there.
Terrible atmosphere of conflict you meet.
Immediately open your Gospels.
And God brings in something very beautiful.
Pentecost.
They continued steadfastly.
The apostles teaching.
Breaking of bread.
Prayer.
Hardly said it before.
This touch of schism breaks in again.
To divide it all.
To spoil it all.
And the rest of the New Testament is
a story of battling with this thing.
Division, division, division.
Scism.
Strife.
Disintegration.
Great appeals for fellowship.
Oneness.
Go on.
And what about today?
What about today?
Well the world has grown so much bigger
than it was in those days.
A much bigger world altogether.
New countries have been discovered and populated.
Far greater world.
And with the literal historical expansion and growth
what has happened?
Was there ever a time when there was
more conflict, more confusion, more strain in relationships
than there is now?
Truly the prince of the power of the
air is very busy today.
This world holds more of this confusion, divisiveness,
strain in relationships than ever before.
Despite every effort of every council and every
union, every effort of man to bring the
nations together, it all breaks down every time.
Isn't it true?
Well, all right, that's how it is.
And it isn't of course all right.
It's very wrong.
But you see, what the apostle is telling
us here, by revelation to him, the Lord
himself, that the great work of God in
Christ, through grace, is going to see that
whole historic system of disruption brought to a
complete end.
And the things in the heavens and the
things on the earth reunited in Christ together
again.
In the fullness of the times.
That is what the apostle says.
What the Holy Spirit says is the consummation
of it all.
What a tremendous phrase this is.
In Christ.
Mark you, it's in Christ.
We're not talking about that popular theory of
universalism.
We're talking about what is in Christ.
There will be a lot afterward that is
not in Christ.
Not in Christ.
But it's altogether outside of his domain, of
his kingdom, of his realm.
Outside completely.
But the realm of this creation and of
this cosmos, heaven and earth, will be his
realm.
Kingdoms, plural of this world, shall be the
singular kingdom of our God and his Christ.
One kingdom.
And that within Christ is a one, united,
together state of things in Christ.
Because this really doesn't need arguing.
We know quite well that if there is
any hope at all for anything like this
now, it will only be as we really
are in Christ.
I'd stay there.
We get out of Christ into ourselves, we
get into disruption and confusion.
If we abide in him, all of us
abide in him, then we are together in
an inmost way.
Hence, the necessity in the first place for
position.
Position in Christ.
And then abiding in Christ.
And then growing in Christ.
And then perfected in Christ.
It's a process.
It's a work of grace to abide in
Christ.
Trouble is, dear friends, that we do meet
one another so much.
You meet me and I meet you.
And you have to say so often, that's
him.
And I have to say, that's you.
That's you.
That's just you.
You know what I mean?
Just ourselves.
Our way of thinking.
Our way of talking.
Our way of expressing ourselves.
The outcoming of ourselves, or the forthgoing of
ourselves in some way.
It's there.
And it's a real joy and relief and
pleasure to meet a person and not meet
them, but meet the Lord.
Isn't it?
Just to say, when we've been with them
well, I wasn't struck and impressed by them,
but I was of the Lord in them
and about them.
What impressed me was the grace of God
in them.
Grace bringing Christ out.
Making Christ the impression.
Grace doing it.
Now, that is exactly what Peter means by
growing in grace.
It means diminishing of all that is outside
of grace.
Of ourselves.
Growing in grace.
When we do come into contact with one
another, it's more Christ as the effect and
the result than ourselves.
What we want.
What we think.
How we think things ought to be.
And all that whole gamut of self-interest
and self-life.
Christ.
Until the consummation, the spirit of grace is
seeking to displace that which is not gracious
and bring Christ, who is gracious, more fully
into being where we are concerned.
For the consummation is that all things will
be united in him and he will fill
all things.
It will just be Christ.
You've heard that so often.
It will just be Christ.
Oh, what a grand day it will be
when the ten thousand times ten thousand and
thousands of thousands of redeemed individuals are utterly
one person.
Because it's all Christ.
And no more of this ugly self.
Now, that's as the word is what God
intended from the beginning.
That is the eternal purpose of God.
That is the explanation of all the conflict
in this universe.
To spoil it.
To hinder it.
To contradict it.
But that is what the word says.
Is how it is going to be in
spite of everything.
In spite of everything.
Dear friends, we shall agree with one another
then.
Absolutely agree with one another.
Shall.
Should all be saying the same thing.
All be doing the same thing.
That won't be monotonous and uninteresting to be
all occupied with one thing.
What will that be?
And the various ways of putting it.
But I think it will be what a
lot we owe to the grace of God.
That will be our eternal occupation.
The wonder of his grace.
The marvel of his grace.
If the apostle was able to say in
the presence of his large and yet so
imperfect apprehension and knowledge and realization of the
grace of God, oh the depth of the
riches.
Then of the wisdom and knowledge of God.
How unsearchable are his judgments and his ways
past finding out.
If he could say it was given to
me, the least of all saints to preach,
the unsearchable riches of Christ.
If in the imperfection even of that knowledge
and ministry he could speak like that.
What about when we come into the utter
fullness of it.
In the ages of the ages.
We'll be saying all the time, oh the
depth of the riches.
The unsearchable riches.
The riches of his grace.
But do you notice that between the eternities
are the past intention and purpose of God.
And the ultimate consummation, realization.
The apostle just does say walk worthy of
the calling wherewith you're called.
In all meekness, that selflessness, loneliness.
Walk he would say in the grace which
is going to lead at last to this
oneness.
As far as walk
he would say in the grace which is
going to lead at last to this oneness.
As far as people will allow us to
do so.
As far as we can make it possible
for them to do so with us.
Let us ask the Lord that this grace,
this grace of fellowship of oneness may be
found in us increasingly now.
Because there are a lot of Christians who
won't let us, who won't let us.
Make it impossible for us to have fellowship,
to be together.
But as far as it is in our
power.
Let us seek by the grace of God
to live in the light of the day
when he will reunite in Christ all
things in heaven and on earth.