Verse 13 of Ephesians chapter 1, In whom
ye also trusted after that ye heard the
word of truth, the gospel of your salvation,
whom also after that ye believed ye were
sealed with that holy spirit of promise, which
is the earnest of our inheritance until the
redemption of the perfect possession unto the praise
of his glory.
Wherefore I also, after I heard of your
faith in the Lord Jesus and love unto
all the saints, seek not to give thanks
for you, making mention of you in my
prayers, that the God of our Lord Jesus
Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto
you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in
the knowledge of him, the eyes of your
understanding being enlightened, that ye may know what
is the hope of his calling, and what
the richness of the glory of his inheritance
in his face, and what is the exceeding
greatness of his power to us where he
would lead, according to the working of his
mighty power, which he wrought in Christ when
he raised him from the dead, and set
him at his own right hand in the
heavenly places, far above all principalities in power,
and might, and dominion, in every name that
is named, not only in this world, but
also in that which is to come.
And hath put all things under his feet,
and gave him to be the head over
all things to the church, which is his
body, the fulness of him that filleth all
in all.
Now, yesterday morning we began our study by
pointing out that the first three chapters of
Ephesians constitute the major, first major portion of
the epistle, the doctrines of grace.
Chapters one through three, we pointed out that
these describe the believer's standing in Christ, or
as we sometimes speak of it, the believer's
position.
We saw that in chapter one, verses one
and two, constituted Paul's salutation, or Paul's greetings,
and we reminded our hearts that grace and
peace summarize the gospel which the apostle Paul
preached.
Grace from God to man, peace is the
result of God's grace to man.
And then we saw that in the section
from verses three through fourteen, you have praying
to God the Father for spiritual blessings, not
for material blessings as in the Old Testament,
but for spiritual blessings which are much greater.
We saw that the first of these was
election in verse four.
Every true believer can look back to before
the world was made and realize that he
was chosen by God in Christ.
While all our eyes and all our hearts
join to admire the peace, each of us
cries with thankful hearts, Lord, why am I
a gift?
Have you ever asked the Lord that?
Why are you a gift at the great
banqueting table of love?
And then we saw the second blessing was
predestination, and we pointed out that predestination is
not the same as election, but predestination has
in view the position to which God has
chosen us, and that position here is to
the adoption of sons.
Now, this was not quite clear after we
got through on Sunday morning, so we'd like
to say a bit more about the subject
of adoption.
I think the first thing we want to
get clear in our mind is that adoption
in the New Testament is not the same
as it is in a modern court of
law.
In other words, when you go to court
today and adopt a child, you're taking a
child who is not your own and making
him your legal child, but that isn't what
adoption in the New Testament sense means at
all.
There it means placing a child in the
family of God as an adult son.
Now, I would just use this illustration.
Supposing you had a million dollars, and you
had a son two years of age, and
you decreed that at the age of 21
your son would inherit $500,000.
Now, as long as he's a child, he
doesn't come into his inheritance.
It's his.
It belongs to him, but he's not mature
yet.
He's not full grown yet, and so he
doesn't receive the inheritance.
The minute he becomes 21, he becomes eligible
for it.
Now, adoption in the scriptural sense means that
God places us right away, the moment we're
saved, as adult grown-up sons in his
family.
Now, would you please turn for just a
moment to Galatians chapter 4 to have the
scriptural background for this?
You say, well, where do you get that,
Mr. MacDonald?
Are you just making that up out of
thin air?
No, we have that truth taught us in
Galatians chapter 4, beginning with the first verse.
Now, I say that the heir, as long
as he is a child, differeth nothing from
a servant, though he be lord of all.
Here's your two-year-old boy, and he's
your heir, and he's going to come into
that $500,000, but as long as he's
a child, you just boss him around and
say, now go up to bed and now
come downstairs and have your breakfast and do
this, and he's nothing different from a servant
in the household.
He just does what he's told.
It says verse 2, but it's under tutors
and governors, or better guardians and stewards, until
the time appointed of the father.
The guardian takes care of his person, and
the steward takes care of his possessions.
Even so, we, when we were children, were
in bondage under the elements of the world.
Now, the we here speaks, Paul is speaking
as a Jew, and he's speaking of the
time when the Jewish people were under the
law.
What he speaks of here is the rudiments
of the age, or the elementary principles of
religion, the ABCs of religion.
The Old Testament was filled with types and
pictures and shadows, like a child, as it
were, learning of this by playing with blocks.
And so he says, even we, when we
were children, were in bondage under the elements
or the rudiments of the age.
But notice, when the fullness of the time
was come, God sent forth his son, born
of a woman, it's better, born under the
law, to redeem them that were under the
law, that we might receive the adoption of
sons.
Now, here's the difference.
No longer children, but sons, grown-up, mature,
adult members of the family.
Verse 6, what gives you this consciousness of
being a son?
The Holy Spirit.
Verse 6, and because ye are sons, God
hath sent forth the spirit of his son
into your hearts, crying, have a father.
Wherefore, thou art no more a servant, but
a son, and if a son, then an
heir of God through Christ.
In other words, now that Christ has come
and redeemed those that were under the law,
those who trust him are no longer children,
but they're grown-up adult sons.
And the inheritance is ours right now, and
we are to enjoy the inheritance right now.
That's as God said to Joshua, every place
that the soul of your foot steps upon
is yours.
It was a matter of Joshua claiming his
inheritance, and we have a rich inheritance.
It's simply for us to claim it.
Now, so much for the subject of adoption.
Just remember, it's not the same in the
New Testament as it is in modern usage.
I think those of you who have Schofield
Bibles will have a note at the bottom
of the page on the adoption of sons
explaining it very much in this way.
Then we saw that the next spiritual blessing
was acceptance.
Verse six, we're accepted not in what we
are in ourselves, not in what we have
done, or not in anything we will ever
do, but we're accepted in the beloved one.
And it's because we are in Christ that
we have favor with God.
God looks upon his son with infinite favor,
and he looks upon every believer in exactly
the same way.
Then we saw the next was redemption.
Verse 17, Christ buying us back from the
slave market of sin.
The cost is precious much, be nothing by
our souls of sin like this great good.
For the vast realm our own with all
its fancy store, and thou Lord Jesus, word
unknown, we still were poor.
And next we have the forgiveness of sins.
The forgiveness of sins according to the riches
of his grace.
And if you can measure the riches of
God's grace, then you can measure the extent
of the forgiveness of your sins.
But it cannot be done.
And then we put down as the next
blessing number six, intelligence.
Verses eight to ten.
And we want to make clear again that
this is not mere human intelligence, but it
means the ability to enter into the deep
springs of God.
Verse eight, wherein he, God, hath abounded toward
us in all wisdom and truth, having made
known unto us the mystery of his will.
In other words, when a man becomes a
believer in the Lord Jesus Christ, God takes
that man into his confidence.
And as the man goes to the precious
word of God and reads the word of
God, he becomes a sharer of the counsel
of God.
Just supposing you were up in heaven tonight,
and looking down upon this world of ours,
and seeing things take their course, seeing things
shaping up to a climax.
Well, that's exactly what we do in the
scriptures, and especially through the prophetic words.
Having made known to us the mystery of
his will.
Now, perhaps we should just mention in connection
with this word mystery, that here again in
the New Testament the word doesn't mean what
it means over the radio or television.
There's nothing mysterious about a mystery in scripture.
A mystery in scripture is a truth not
hitherto revealed, but now revealed to those who
are believers in the Lord Jesus Christ.
Just let me leave it at that, because
when we come to chapter three, we're going
to go into that subject of the mystery
in detail.
Explain it.
But it simply means in the New Testament,
a truth not hitherto revealed, but now revealed
to those who know the Lord.
Having made known unto us the mystery of
his will, according to his good pleasure which
he has purposed in himself, that in the
dispensation of the fullness of time he might
gather together in one all things in Christ,
both which are in heaven and which are
on earth, even in him.
Now, that word dispensation is a little bit
difficult.
It may also be translated fellowship, or stewardship,
or program.
And God has a program going on in
the world, and Christ is his steward, shall
we say, to carry on the program of
God.
And the periods of time have been divided
into various dispensations.
God had a dispensation of law when he
was dealing with Israel under law.
We are today in what is known as
a dispensation of grace.
It doesn't mean that God wasn't always gracious,
but it means his activities and his actions
toward us today are particularly marked by grace
in contrast to law.
Now, there's another dispensation coming, and that's the
one that's mentioned here, the dispensation of the
fullness of the time, and that is the
dispensation when the Lord Jesus Christ will come
back to this earth and reign with Jerusalem
as his headquarters.
He will sit on the throne of David
and reign in righteousness from end to end
of the earth, a righteous reign, no more
wars, no more poverty, prosperity on every hand.
And in that day, all things will head
up in Christ.
God will give this world a taste of
government as it should be.
That is known as the dispensation of the
fullness of time when God will gather together
in one all things in Christ, both which
are in heaven and which are on earth,
even in him.
Now, isn't it wonderful of God to take
us into his confidence in these matters?
Make us think of John, the beloved disciple,
leaning on the bosom of the Lord, and
he was the one to whom the Lord
gave the revelation of Jesus Christ.
It's those who are close to the Lord
who hear his voice speaking through the words.
Daniel, in the Old Testament, the man greatly
beloved of God, God gave him the wonderful
vision of the 70 weeks.
But he gives to all believers, I say,
intelligence in these things, and we pointed out
yesterday morning that even the humble believer in
the Lord Jesus can see these things in
the word of God, while the world goes
blindly on and totally disregards them.
And the world then comes to the Bible,
and it's meaningless to him, just a hodgepodge,
can't make head nor tail of it.
And yet my own father, who probably didn't
complete more than six years in grade school,
but has devoted himself to the study of
God's word, has entered into many of these
treasures of the Lord.
How do you explain that?
Well, simply this, that in grace God abounds
to us in all wisdom and truth.
Then the next thing we have here is
inheritance.
Verse 11, in whom, that is in Christ,
also we have obtained an inheritance from Christ.
Now, I realize that the Revised Version says
we were made and heresied, but we'll just
consider it the way it is here.
We have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according
to the purposes of him who worketh all
things after the counsel of his own will.
Now, in a sense, we enjoy our inheritance
now.
In another sense, it's going to be manifested
to the world in a coming day.
We are children of God right now, and
sons of God, but it does not yet
appear what we shall be.
But we know that when he shall appear,
we shall be like him, for we shall
see him as he is.
And we know when the Lord Jesus Christ
comes back to reign on the earth, we're
going to come back, those of us who
are believers, and reign with him.
And all the things on the earth will
belong to us.
In fact, they do right now.
I go along the highways, I see the
farmers keeping their fields.
I realize they're keeping them in a very
real sense for us.
And I believe that God keeps the wheels
of machinery, the wheels of industry, going for
his beloved people and for the working out
of his purposes in the world.
You ever stop to think how in the
world there are people raised up to do
all kinds of jobs?
People are willing to do jobs tonight you
wouldn't be willing to do.
Why is that?
Well, I think it's the sovereign planning of
God, working all things out for the culmination
of his purposes.
That we should be to the praise of
his glory who first trusted in Christ.
Now that's the ultimate object of God's dealings
in our lives.
Why did he elect us?
Why did he predestinate us?
Why have we been made accepted in the
middle of it?
That we should be to the praise of
his glory who first trusted in Christ.
The old, shorter catechism asks the question, what
is the chief end of man?
What is the chief purpose of man?
And the answer runs, the chief end of
man is to glorify God and to enjoy
him forever.
And I say, well done.
That's just it.
And this scripture supports it.
That we should be to the praise of
his glory who first trusted in Christ.
God should be glorified in our lives in
all that we do and in all that
we say.
Now the next blessing is found in the
next verse, verse 13.
It says, In whom he also trusted, O
Christ, after that he heard the word of
truth, the gospel of your salvation.
Now there's an important change in the rest
of this verse which I'd like to point
out to you.
The real translation is not, in whom also
after that he believed, ye were sealed with
that Holy Spirit of promise.
But it should be, in whom having also
believed, ye were sealed.
Now do you see why that change is
important?
It isn't that a man is sealed with
the Holy Spirit sometime after he's saved, but
the point is at the very time he's
saved, at the very moment, he's sealed with
the Holy Spirit.
It's not a separate word to praise as
the revised version of the Bible points out.
In whom having also believed, ye were sealed
with that Holy Spirit of promise.
Now the scripture speaks of the Holy Spirit
as being a seal.
The scripture speaks of the Holy Spirit as
being an earnest.
The scripture speaks of the Holy Spirit as
being the anointing, the unction, the various words
they use.
And each time a different word is used,
a different suit is emphasized.
Now what do you think of when you
think of the seal of the Spirit?
Well when the Bible was translated into one
of the native dialects in the world, they
had a little bit of difficulty translating this
verse.
To get the idea across to the natives,
how is the Holy Spirit a seal?
Well one thing the natives did realize, they
knew what a brand mark was, because even
in their type of civilization, they branded their
animals.
And they knew what that brand meant.
And so when the translators came to this
verse, they translated seal, branded in the heart.
And you know that exactly gives the meaning
of the seal of the Spirit, branded in
the heart.
Why does that rancher out west brand his
cattle?
Well he brands them as a mark of
ownership, as a mark of possession.
They belong to him.
And of course that's just exactly what happens
when a person trusts the Lord Jesus Christ,
as stated, he belongs to God.
And God says I'm going to put my
mark of ownership on that believer, and so
he gives him the Holy Spirit.
And henceforth that man is branded in the
heart with the Holy Spirit, in whom also
having believed, we were sealed with that Holy
Spirit of promise.
Now verse 14 gives us the next blessing,
and that is the earnest of the spirit,
in whom which is the earnest of our
inheritance until the redemption of the first possession
unto the praise of his glory.
Now the Holy Spirit is not only the
seal, not only a mark of ownership, but
he's the earnest of our inheritance.
If I should go to buy a piece
of property just now, the man might say
to me, well I want you to put
down some earnest money.
The property costs a thousand dollars, but I'd
like you to put down $200 of earnest
money.
Now what does he mean?
Well I put down that $200 as a
pledge that the rest will come.
Is it not so?
That's what it is.
It's a down payment in the same time
as the eventual payment will be made.
Now when God saves us, he says now
I'm going to leave you there in the
world, and for a while everything's going to
seem to be against you, and even if
you're the heirs of the richest inheritance in
all the universe, it's not going to appear
that way, and people will push you around
and treat you in a way they shouldn't
treat the children of the heavenly king.
But I'm going to give you an earnest.
I'm going to give you a little down
payment of what's coming, and he puts the
Holy Spirit in our hearts, the earnest of
our inheritance, and just as sure as a
believer in Christ has the Holy Spirit, he's
going to enter into his inheritance manifestly in
a coming day, and a wondering universe will
look on and see believers reigning with Christ
and entering into their possessions.
So the spirit is that earnest, and all
that we inherit will be made real to
us by the spirit of God.
It says, until the redemption of the purchased
possession.
Until the redemption of the purchased possession.
What does that mean?
Well, again this looks forward to the day
when the Lord Jesus Christ will bring to
pass the redemption of the entire created universe.
Now, we are already redeemed as to our
spirits and our souls.
Those of us who have bowed the knee
to Jesus Christ are redeemed as to our
spirits and souls, but our bodies haven't been
redeemed yet, have they?
We still have this poor, frail, weak, mortal
body.
Now, it has to be redeemed, and will
be, and not only our bodies are not
redeemed, but for instance the animal creation hasn't
been redeemed.
I've heard it said that very few wild
animals die a natural death.
The results of sin are everywhere above us
in the world.
And it says in Romans chapter 8 that
the whole creation roamed us and travailed us
together and changed until now.
The results of sin coming into the world
affected not only man, but affected the whole
universe.
It affected the vegetable kingdom.
It affected the animal kingdom.
It produced convulsions in nature.
Now, the Lord Jesus Christ is not only
going to undo the results of sin in
the world, but he's going to bring in
greater blessings than ever sin counteracted.
And so when he comes to reign upon
the earth, the whole creation will be redeemed.
We read, for instance, that the lion will
lie down with the lamb.
Kyle will be able to play with a
snake that will do him no harm.
Longevity will increase in the earth.
Men will live to be ripe old ages,
and if a man should die at the
age of 100, they'll say, poor child, you
died so young.
During the millennia, the results of sin will
have been reversed, and Christ will reign in
righteousness.
And that's what's meant here by the redemption
of the purchased possession, not only our body,
but the entire created universe, unto the praise
of his glory.
Now, that completes the list of the spiritual
blessings that we have in Christ, and the
most logical thing for Paul to do now
is to pray, isn't it?
Isn't that what it makes you feel?
When we come to the word of God,
and we find our hearts moved within us
by such wonderful things, isn't the best thing
to do just to bow your head and
thank the Lord for that?
Shall we just do that now?
Our Father, we do thank thee for thy
wonderful grace to us.
We thank thee that thou shouldst ever deal
with sinful men as thou hast dealt with
us.
We pray thee that we might walk with
the dignity that besets those who are sons
of God in Christ's prestige.
Now, someone has said in his exposition here,
first of all, the Apostle Paul has told
it out, now he's going to pray it
in, and I like that.
First of all, he has told it up,
now he is going to pray it in.
So, he says in verse 15, and incidentally
this introduces our new section, Prayer for Wisdom
to Understand Three Things, Wherefore I also, after
I heard of your faith in the Lord
Jesus, and love unto all the saints.
Now, there's a nice combination.
Faith in the Lord Jesus, and love unto
all the saints.
The first is the root, but the second
is the fruit, isn't it?
It wouldn't have been the Bible if it
had said, after I had heard of your
love unto all the saints, and faith in
the Lord Jesus, because your love to the
saints follows your faith in the Lord Jesus.
It's the outcome of it.
You don't love the people of God until,
first of all, you come to know the
Lord Jesus.
And I like that expression, love unto all
the saints.
It's so easy for us nowadays to become
sectarian in our hearts, and to love those
who are lovely, or to love those who
agree with us.
But just think of how the Spirit of
God writes, love unto all the saints.
The great question is, does a man belong
to Jesus Christ?
And the great difficulty for Christians today is
to be very strict with themselves, and yet
have a heart full of love for all
the people of God.
I'd rather be strict with everybody else than
have a heart full of love for myself.
But that isn't what the Scripture teaches.
It teaches love for all the saints, and
a close following of the Word of God
for myself.
Now, Paul says, after I've heard of your
faith in the Lord Jesus, and love unto
all the saints, I teach not to give
thanks for you, making mention of you in
my prayers.
Now, this didn't mean that Paul spent his
whole day praying for the Ephesians, but it
meant when he did pray, it means that
when he did pray, he remembered the Ephesians.
And that's a nice thing, to remember the
people of God.
Paul had no difficulty going to these people
because he had prayed for them long before
he ever met them.
Now, what did he pray for?
Well, he prayed that the God of our
Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of Glory, may
give unto you the spirit of wisdom and
revelation in the knowledge of Him.
First of all, you have the God of
our Lord Jesus Christ.
Interesting how the Spirit of God uses expression.
One of the prominent thoughts in this passage
is power, as we're going to see down
below.
Verses 19 to 23 really speak of power.
And when he speaks of power, the Apostle
Paul uses the expression of God of our
Lord Jesus Christ.
Now, if you'll turn over to chapter 3
and verse 14, there's another prayer of the
Apostle Paul here, and the prominent thought in
this prayer seems to be love, and here
he uses the expression in verse 14, the
Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.
It's nice to see that, that even the
names that are used of God have significance
in connection with what the Apostle Paul is
speaking of.
If he's speaking of power, he's using the
expression of the God of our Lord Jesus
Christ.
He's speaking of love, the Father of our
Lord Jesus Christ.
Now, he prays that the God of our
Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of Glory.
What does that expression mean, the Father of
Glory?
Well, perhaps it means that since Christ is
glory, that he's the Father of Christ.
Or perhaps it means that he's the Father
of all glory, that all glory belongs to
him.
Or perhaps it means that he's the Father
to whom all glory is due.
So, no matter which one you choose, they're
all true.
He's the Father of the Lord Jesus Christ,
and the Lamb is all the glory in
Emmanuel's Lamb, and he's the Father of all
glory.
He's the source of all glory.
All glory dwells in him, and then he's
the Father to whom all glory is due.
The Father of Glory may give unto you
the spirit of wisdom and revelation.
How would we say that in 20th century
English?
Well, I would say may give unto you
a wise and understanding spirit in knowing him.
May give unto you a wise and understanding
spirit in knowing you, in knowing him.
The eyes of your understanding being enlightened.
What does that mean, the eyes of your
understanding?
Well, it means your inner being being enlightened.
The eyes of your inner being being enlightened
that ye may know, and in this brief
thing which I am here, the hope of
his calling, the riches of the glory of
his inheritance in the saints, and the exceeding
greatness of his power.
Now, the things of God cannot be understood
by mere human intellect, and that's why it's
necessary that the Apostle Paul should pray in
these verses that the Ephesian saints might be
divinely illuminated, that they might enter into these
great things of God.
And the first one is the hope of
his calling.
And by the hope of his calling, Paul
means not only the coming again of the
Lord Jesus Christ, but all the events to
which this present day is leading us.
The grand fruition of God's program here on
the earth.
The hope of his calling, the hope to
which his calling points forward.
Christ's reign in righteousness is faked with him
throughout an endless eternity, with him and like
him forever.
And what is the riches of the glory
of his inheritance in the saints?
Here is another illustration of how Paul cumbles
word upon word to describe greatness.
He doesn't say, and what is his inheritance
in the saints?
He doesn't say, and what is the glory
of his inheritance in the saints?
But he says, what is the riches of
the glory of his inheritance in the saints?
Now, if you only read this verse casually,
you'll read it this way.
And what is the riches of the glory
of the saint's inheritance in Christ?
I'm sure that's the way most of us
think of it.
We realize that when we obtained the Lord
Jesus Christ, we obtained a wonderful inheritance.
But this teaches something different.
This is the riches of the glory of
his inheritance in the saints.
Oh, you say, you must be making a
mistake.
But you know, that's one of the most
lovely thoughts in this passage, that when the
Lord Jesus Christ got you, he thought he
got an inheritance.
The poet has said, he and I, in
that bright glory, one deep joy shall share,
mine to be forever with him, his that
I am there.
Now, why should the Lord Jesus Christ be
happy to have us in heaven?
Well, I don't know, and yet I do
know he couldn't enjoy heaven without us.
Christ in heaven, without the church, would be
incomplete as Adam without Eve.
That's great.
You can't explain it in any natural way.
You know, sometimes when I sit at the
Lord's table and look about upon the faces
of the people of Saul, you think of
what we were before we were saved, beggars
of the dust, sinful and defiled.
And then think of the transforming power of
grace.
I think of this expression, the victory of
the glory of king inheritance in the saints.
I've been meeting quite a few saints recently,
who before they were saved, were really deep
in the world.
I've been thinking, these saints, they'll adorn the
diadem of the Savior forever and ever.
And we all will, jeweled in his crown.
That's what grace has done, a victory of
the glory of his inheritance in the saints.
Too bad we have to hurry over these
things.
You could think about that for a long
time, couldn't you?
He shall see of the fruit of the
chavail of his soul, and shall be satisfied.
There he'll be with Mary Magdalene, happy to
have her there.
There he'll be with Paul's pastor.
There he'll be with that dying sheep, with
all the criminals that have trusted him, all
sinners, saved by grace.
And he'll rejoice over them, this joy, over
all of us who are saved.
So, that's the second thing, the riches of
the glory of his inheritance in the saints.
And then the third is the exceeding greatness
of his power to uswards who believe.
Now, this passage of scripture tells us that
when we're saved, there's power at our disposal.
You say, how much power?
A little, no.
The same power that raised the Lord Jesus
Christ from the dead.
And in the scripture, that is spoken of
as the greatest display of power that this
universe has ever known anything about.
It would seem as if all the hosts
of Satan, of hell, and all the demons
in the universe were bent on keeping the
tomb of the Lord Jesus Christ sealed.
And God broke that seal, as it were,
and brought the Lord Jesus Christ for triumph.
And he went right up through the realm
of Satan and sin.
The prince of the air, he went right
up through that person's realm and ascended to
the highest place in heaven.
And God says, the power that did that
is the power that's at your disposal as
a Christian.
Sometimes I think of some of the evil
forces that are in the world today, and
I say, what's the use?
What's the use?
Then I realize the power that raised him
from the dead is at our disposal.
Let's get down on our knees and all
of these things mean nothing to God.
What is the exceeding greatness of his power
to us would be according to the working
of his mighty power, which he brought in
Christ when he raised him from the dead
and set him at his own right hand
in the heavenly power of all principality and
power and might and dominion and every name
that it may, not only in this world,
but also in that which is to come.
No need for us to be living impoverished,
powerless lives.
You know, the Christian is like a streetcar.
Yes, you don't have streetcars in the just
to do this, but he's a streetcar, not
a bus.
You know, the streetcar has a trolley that
goes up and it touches the wire and
it gets its power from above.
The bus has its own power within itself
and just goes along narrowly, but not the
streetcar.
You take that trolley down from the streetcar
and it's powerless.
And that's just like the Christian.
Our trolley, as it were, the trolley of
faith must be up, must be in contact
with Christ in heaven and withdraw all our
strength and supply from him.
What is he not able to do?
Behold all power in the universe.
Verse 22, and God has put all things
under his feet and deemed him to be
the head over all things to the church,
which is his body, the fullness of him
that filleth all in all.
God has given him the highest place in
the universe, the place he rightly deserves.
The verse doesn't end there.
The verse is known.
He's the head over all things to the
church, the fullness of him that filleth all
in all.
Now what does that verse mean?
The fullness of him that filleth all in
all.
Well, when I think of it, it just
staggers me.
Supposing I draw this picture.
I start off to draw a circle and
I do that.
I just get that cross.
Now that circle is lacking something, isn't it?
It's not complete.
And if I want to complete the circle,
I do something like this.
And this is the fullness of him.
It's what makes up his fullness.
And that's exactly what the redeemed are to
the Lord Jesus Christ, the fullness of him
that filleth all in all.
What do you mean?
You mean he's not complete in heaven without
us?
Yes, that's just what it teaches.
It teaches that as far as his satisfaction
is concerned, as far as his joy and
bliss are concerned, that the Lord Jesus Christ
is not satisfied to be in heaven without
those whom he has redeemed by his precious
blood.
I say that words in the Bible, I
wouldn't dare to say it.
But he's the head of the body.
And in that sense, the head is not
complete without the body.
That's a wonderful thought that we could dwell
on, too.
The head and the body, as part of
interdependence, the head needs the body and certainly
the body needs the head.
And so Christ has been made head over
all things to the church, which is the
fullness of him that filleth all in all.
And when we come to chapter three, we're
going to learn more about the church than
also in chapter four, and find out what
a very precious place it has in the
affection of the Lord Jesus Christ, and how
it is the vehicle, the instrument through which
he works in the world today.
In a very real sense, Christ has no
hands but our hands to do his work
today.
No lips but our lips to say the
things that he wants to say to men
about us.
So, tomorrow night we're going to go on
with chapter two.
I realize we spoke in chapter two last
night, but we'll look at it from a
little different angle tomorrow night.
The transforming power of God as shown in
Ephesians chapter two.
Perhaps there's a little homework you'd like to
look through this chapter and see how many
contrasts you can find in it.
I'll give you the first one.
It says in the first verse that the
transforming power of God changes men from death
to life.
You, happy Christians, who were dead in trespasses
and in sin.
Now you'll see tomorrow night how many other
contrasts you can find in Ephesians chapter two.