June 4, 2025 • 56 mins
While many people lament the divisiveness of our culture today, we as Christians ought to have a much more profound sense of unity than non-Christians. By God’s grace, we have been rescued from our sin and the wrath of God through faith in Christ. We are now united as his body, church. In this message from Ephesians 1:22–23, David Platt points out the amazing privilege believers have of putting Christ’s glory on display on account of his grace and through his power.
Explore more content from Radical.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
You are listening to David Platt Messages a weekly
podcast with sermons andmessages from pastor, author and
teacher David Platt.
Speaker 2 (00:08):
This morning looking at the ramifications of covenant
for community.
We're going to look at verse 22and 23, which comes at the end
of a prayer that Paul prays.
It's the first of two prayersthat Paul prays in the book of
Ephesians which are great inhelping inform us in how we pray
for each other, and I wouldencourage you to look at
Ephesians 1, 15 through 23, andthen Ephesians 3, 14 through 21.
(00:31):
It's a letter that Paul wroteto Christians at Ephesus.
He was likely in prison when hewrote this letter and he is
writing it near the end of hislife.
And he comes to Ephesians,chapter 1, verse 15, and he
begins to pray for them to knowthe person of Christ and the
power of Christ.
Listen to what he prays.
Verse 15, paul says For thisreason, ever since I heard about
(00:54):
your faith in the Lord Jesusand your love for all the saints
, I have not stopped givingthanks for you, remembering you
in my prayers.
I keep asking the God of ourLord Jesus Christ, the glorious
Father may give you the spiritof wisdom and revelation so that
you may know Him better.
(01:15):
I pray also that the eyes ofyour heart may be enlightened in
order that you may know thehope to which he has called you,
the riches of His gloriousinheritance in the saints and
His incomparably great power.
For us who believe, that poweris like the working of His
mighty strength, which heexerted in Christ when he raised
(01:36):
Him from the dead and seatedHim at His right hand in the
heavenly realms, far above allrule and authority, power and
dominion and every title thatcan be given, not only in the
present age but also in the oneto come.
And God placed all things underHis feet and appointed Him to
(01:56):
be head over everything for thechurch, which is His body, the
fullness of Him who fillseverything in every way.
God, we pray that you wouldhelp us to realize what it means
for Christ to be head over allthings, and specifically for
(02:21):
Christ to be head over allthings for the church, and
specifically for Christ to behead over all things for the
church, what it means for us tobe His body, the fullness of Him
who fills everything in everyway.
God, we pray that You'd help usto realize who we are, what we
have, what we're here for as achurch In Jesus' name.
(02:43):
We pray Amen.
Church In Jesus' name, we prayAmen.
Ramifications of covenant forcommunity.
I want to show you threeramifications in this text that
really it's really not just thistext.
Verse 22 and 23 are loaded, butthey're informed by all that's
(03:04):
going around it in Ephesians.
So I'll just let you know we'regoing to be all over the place
in Ephesians because in order tounderstand the beauty and the
grandeur of what Paul is prayinghere at the end of this prayer
in verse 22 and 23, we've got tolook all around it.
So, and the picture is, paul iswriting to these believers and
telling them who they are andwhat they have, and the
implication is don't miss this.
This is not just aboutbelievers in Ephesus.
(03:24):
This is what it means for us tobe the church, the body of
Christ in this room, and theramifications that we're gonna
see in Ephesians areramifications.
They're realities representedin this room, in this body this
morning, and so I want us todive into them and I pray that
God, by His Spirit, will give usgrace to see the magnitude of
what's being expressed here.
(03:45):
Remembrification number one wehave been united by the grace of
Christ.
This is what Paul is saying tothe Christians at Ephesus and
what the Spirit of God is sayingto us today.
We have been united by thegrace of Christ.
Now, at the end of verse 22 andverse 23, paul says the church
(04:07):
is his body.
Now we talked about this abouta month and a half ago when we
were studying Ephesians, chapter4, this theme of body.
So we're not going to camp outhere too long.
But you look here and you mightalready have it circled from
when we did this before.
But that word body in verse 23,where his body, it's repeated
over and over and over again inthe book of Ephesians.
Go to chapter 2, verse 16.
(04:30):
You might circle it just eachtime you see it.
If it's not already circled,we'll fly through these.
Chapter 2, verse 16, paul saysin this one body.
He reconciled both of them toGod through the cross One body.
Then chapter 3, verse 6.
This mystery is that, throughthe gospel, the Gentiles are
heirs together with Israel,members together of one body.
(04:51):
Circle it there.
Then you get to chapter 4.
Numerous times in chapter 4.
Chapter 4, verse 4, there isone body and one spirit, just as
you were called to one hopewhen you were called Down in
verse 12, to prepare God'speople for works of service so
that the body of Christ may bebuilt up.
Get down to verse 16.
From him the whole body, joinedand held together, grows and
(05:14):
builds itself up in love Verse25.
Each of you must put offfalsehood and speak truthfully
to his neighbor, for we are allmembers of one body.
Then you get to chapter 5, twicein chapter 5.
Chapter 5, verse 23,.
When he starts talking abouthusbands and wives, he starts
talking about body of Christ.
The husband is the head of thewife, verse 23,.
(05:36):
Ephesians 5, 23.
The husband is the head of thewife, as Christ is the head of
the church, his body.
And over in verse 30, he sayswe are members of His body.
Now keep going to the right andgo to the book of Colossians,
which is one book.
Over to the right.
You'll go to Philippians, thenColossians, one book past
Colossians, colossians, chapter1.
(05:59):
I'm going to show you a coupleof different times, some
relationships.
Paul wrote the book ofColossians.
Between what Paul's saying herein Ephesians and Colossians,
look at Colossians 1, 18.
He says the same thing hereabout the church being the body
of Christ, chapter 1, verse 18,.
Talking about Christ, he saysChrist is the head of the body,
the church.
See how he's equating churchwith body there and then down in
(06:19):
verse 24,.
Now I rejoice in what wassuffered for you and I fill up
in my flesh what is stilllacking in regards to Christ, in
regard to Christ's afflictions,for the sake of His body.
Circle it there, which is thechurch.
So, over and over again, paulis referring to the church as
the body of Christ.
(06:40):
Now this was particularlyimportant.
You come back to Ephesians,because of who he was writing to
the church at Ephesus.
The Christians at Ephesus weremade up of both Jews and Jewish
and Gentile Christians.
You had Jews and Gentiles inthe same church, which was a
huge deal.
There was a dividing line, soto speak, between Jews and
(07:02):
Gentiles in the first century.
There was hostility between thetwo.
You didn't associate.
There wasn't just a religiousbarrier, it was ethnic, social,
in every way, this barrier thatseparated Jews from Gentiles.
And the whole picture of whatPaul is saying in Ephesus is
that God has brought Jews andGentiles together.
They were struggling to beunited together.
(07:23):
They were struggling with thedivision that still separated
them culturally and socially andethnically.
You look at Ephesians, chapter 2, and you see this.
Look at Ephesians, chapter 2,verse 14.
Read this with me and you cansee the picture that Paul is
addressing here and the divisionbetween Jews and Gentiles.
He said in verse 14, christHimself is our peace, who has
(07:47):
made the two one and hasdestroyed the barrier, the
dividing wall of hostility, byabolishing in His flesh the law
with its commandments andregulations.
His purpose was to create inHimself one new man out of the
two, thus making peace, and inthis one body to reconcile both
of them to God through the cross, by which he put to death their
(08:09):
hostility.
You hear those words dividingwall, barrier, hostility.
The whole picture of the gospelis.
It breaks it down.
It says no, we're together,united by the grace of Christ as
a body.
So what Paul is doing in thesefirst few chapters especially,
is he is showing the basis forthe unity they have, and I want
(08:31):
to show it to you in threedifferent facets there in your
notes, because this is the samebasis for the unity we have in
this room, for the unity we haveas a local body of believers,
as a church.
What is that basis?
Well, it starts with what weonce were.
Stay here in chapter 2 inEphesians and look at verse 1.
(08:54):
Listen to how he startsgrouping everybody together.
He says, chapter 2, verse 1, asfor you, you were dead in your
transgressions and sins in whichyou used to live.
When you followed the ways ofthis world and of the ruler of
the kingdom of the air, thespirit who is now at work, and
those who are disobedient.
All of us also lived among themat one time, gratifying the
(09:18):
cravings of our sinful natureand following its desires and
thoughts.
Like the rest, we were bynature objects of wrath.
How's that for unity Together?
We were dead in ourtransgressions and sin and
objects of the wrath of God.
You don't talk about misery.
Loves company.
This is what unites us.
(09:41):
Paul says, and for three verses.
There he gives one of the mostgrim, most important
descriptions of humanity in allthe Scripture.
He breaks it down into avariety of different ways and
you've got this in your notes.
First catch what he's sayinghere.
Paul says you, you, we,together, we were dead in sin,
(10:03):
dead in sin, dead in yourtransgressions.
You had no spiritual life.
You're dead spiritually.
There's not different degreesof dead.
You're not more dead or lessdead.
Jews were not less dead andGentiles they're really dead.
Jews are kind of dead.
(10:24):
No, you're dead, period.
There's a finality here.
I was in Florida this last weekas we had the funeral for my
grandmother, and just carryingthat casket from the hearse to
(10:46):
the burial site it's a humblingthing to carry a casket.
There is a solemnity, there's aseriousness, there's an
overwhelming finality andunchangeableness.
(11:07):
That's there and this.
This is the picture Scripturegives to describe us, apart from
the grace of Christ, not sickin sin, not in the hospital,
dead in sin In the casket.
No life, dead in transgressionsand sin.
(11:31):
Catch the magnitude here.
Then he says in which you usedto live when you followed the
ways of this world and of theruler of the kingdom of the air,
we were living in darkness,following the ways of this world
and the God of this world.
2 Corinthians, chapter 4, verse4, talks about it.
Paul says there how our mindswere blinded to truth.
(11:53):
We were living in darkness.
Ephesians 4.18 and 5.8 bothtalk about how we were engrossed
in darkness.
Our hearts overcome withdarkness.
John, chapter 3, verse 20,.
Jesus said we lived in darknessand we wanted nothing to do
with the light.
Living in darkness.
John, chapter 3, verse 20.
Jesus said we lived in darknessand we wanted nothing to do
with the light, living indarkness.
Children of disobedience, deadin sin, living in darkness.
(12:13):
We were children ofdisobedience.
We followed the spirit of Himwho is now at work and those who
are disobedient.
This is a humbling picture.
Let's take this all the wayback to Genesis 3, when the
adversary tempts Adam and Eve todisobey God, to defy the rule
(12:33):
and the law of God, and they do.
They disobey God, and Paul saysin Romans, chapter 5, that all
of us, we are children of Adam,jew Gentile.
Regardless of ethnicity,regardless of background, we're
children of Adam.
We have a tendency to minimizethis song.
We talk about sin.
We try to explain sin.
Well, sin is when you dosomething wrong, or sin is when
(12:54):
you lie to someone, and that'swhat Jesus came to save us from.
No, no, no, no.
It's much, much deeper thanthat.
It's not that we just have donea few things wrong In our
hearts.
We are disobedient, we aredefiant toward God.
We are following the spirit ofthe one who is at work and those
who are disobedient.
Think about this picture whenyou look at the news and you see
(13:22):
what the adversary is doing inthe world and you see murder
sprees and you see evil andimmorality, the work of the
adversary in the world.
Paul says you, you werefollowing the same Spirit.
(13:47):
You say well, I didn't murder,I didn't do things like that.
No, no, we as children ofdisobedience.
We're far more subtle in ourdisobedience and in many senses
more dangerous, because wecloaked it in cultural goodness
and religious self-righteousness.
(14:09):
He said you are children ofdisobedience, gratifying the
desires and the cravings of thesinful nature, captivated by
sinful desire, following itsdesires and thoughts.
Paul uses the same language inRomans, chapter 6, when he talks
about how we're slaves to sin,gratifying the desires of the
sinful nature, and then, as ifthis was not enough, dead in sin
(14:33):
, living in darkness, childrenof disobedience and captivated
by sinful desire.
Then he says, like the rest, wewere by nature objects of wrath
.
Here's the description Dead insin, living in darkness,
children of disobedience,captivated by sinful desire and
doomed to hell.
Doomed to hell, condemned.
(14:55):
Jesus says in John 3, 18.
You're condemned.
An enemy of God, paul says inRomans 5, 10.
James says in James, chapter 4,verse 4.
Enemies of God, paul says inRomans 5.10,.
James says in James 4.4,enemies of God, objects of the
eternal wrath of God.
And this is what unites us.
Think about it.
What unites us in this roomthis morning as the people of
(15:20):
God?
What unites us is not that welive in the same country, not
that we have the same customs,not that we share similar
socioeconomic statuses, it's notthat we have the same ethnicity
or that we have the samepersonalities or the same tastes
.
All these are periphery.
What unites us in this room,all of us on the same plane?
(15:41):
We are each and everyonedesperately in need of the grace
of God, no one more than theother.
All we were dead in sin, andthis, this is where Ephesians is
just so beautiful, because wehave some of the most humbling
(16:08):
depictions of the depravity ofman and the severity of sin.
But it's when we see theseriousness of sin that we
realize the glory of grace.
Paul says in verse 4, butbecause of his great love for us
, god, who is rich in mercy,made us, made us alive with
(16:29):
Christ, even when we were deadin transgressions.
It is by grace you have beensaved.
Praise God.
It is what we once were.
Key word were what did he do?
Now, come back.
It's here in Ephesians 2, allthe way down to verse 10,.
But come back to Ephesians 1,verse 4.
I've got to remind you of theway this book opens up and I
(16:51):
want us to see what he has done.
I have so much to learn.
I have so much to discover, torealize in my Christian life.
But this I have learned I'velearned to talk about my
(17:11):
conversion experience in passiveterms.
Passive meaning something wasdone to me because I was dead.
There wasn't anything activegoing on from the casket in me.
(17:34):
I wasn't coming to Christ andconverting myself to Christ.
Christ converted me.
Christ came to Christ.
Christ converted me.
Christ came to me.
God came to me.
And that's exactly what Paultalks about in Ephesians 1, 4.
(17:54):
We were dead in sin and doomedto hell, and verse 4, he chose
us in him, before the creationof the world, to be holy and
blameless in His sight.
In love, he predestined us tobe adopted as His sons through
Jesus Christ, in accordance withHis pleasure and will, to the
(18:15):
praise of His glorious grace,which he has freely given us in
the one he loves.
In Him we have redemptionthrough His blood, the
forgiveness of sins inaccordance with the riches of
God's grace that he lavished onus with all wisdom and
understanding, and he made knownto us the mystery of His will,
according to His good pleasure,which he purposed in Christ to
(18:36):
be put into effect when thetimes will have reached their
fulfillment, to bring all thingsin heaven and on earth together
under one head, even Christ InHim.
We were also chosen, havingbeen predestined according to
the plan of Him, who works outeverything in conformity with
the purpose of His will, inorder that we who were the first
to hope in Christ might be forthe praise of His glory.
And you also were included toChrist when you heard the word
(18:59):
of truth, the gospel of yoursalvation.
Having believed, you weremarked in Him with a seal the
promised Holy Spirit, who is adeposit guaranteeing our
inheritance into the redemptionof those who are God's
possession to the praise of hisglory.
Praise God.
Praise God what we were andwhat he did.
Check this out All persons ofthe Trinity involved in this
(19:21):
picture right here.
What did the Father do?
The Father planned oursalvation.
He chose us in Him.
He predestined us to be adopted.
He has freely given us the onehe loves.
Brothers and sisters, I do notknow how to explain this.
I do not know how to fathom this, but the reality that Scripture
(19:49):
teaches is that God has takenobjects of His wrath and, purely
by His grace, turned them intoobjects of His affection, not
based on anything in them, butsolely based on His grace.
This is what Ephesians 1 isteaching us here.
Some might come up to me afterthe first worship gathering.
(20:11):
Well, how do you reconcile this?
I don't know, but it'sgloriously true.
It's the grace of God.
Think of this.
Before the sun was formed andthe moon was created, before one
mountain appeared on this earthor one drop of water was put
(20:35):
into an ocean, before anythingin all creation, god in heaven
looked down and set hisaffections on us and predestined
us to be adopted as his sonsand daughters.
(20:55):
If this does not drive us toour knees in adoration, humble
adoration, nothing will heplanned our salvation.
How can God, how can a holy Godplan salvation for those who
are dead in sin and want to bedead in sin?
They're satisfying their sinfuldesires in that and don't have
(21:19):
a desire to turn to Him.
How can a holy God do that?
Second, the Son purchased oursalvation, the one he loves,
verse 7,.
In Him we have redemptionthrough His blood, redemption to
purchase, to pay for to buy.
Christ bought us with His blood.
(21:44):
We are a blood-bought body.
He reached out His hand ofgrace into us from the cross and
made a way for us to haveforgiveness of our sin in
accordance with the riches ofGod's grace.
He purchased our salvation.
How, how can what Christ did2,000 years ago on a cross be
(22:06):
appropriated in my heart, in mylife, today?
Spirit, the Father, planned oursalvation, the Spirit purchased
our salvation and the Spiritpreserves our salvation.
Scripture teaches the Spiritopens our eyes to the light of
the glory of gospel in the faceof Christ.
The Spirit changes our lives.
This is the new covenant.
(22:26):
The Spirit comes into ourhearts, regenerates us and
changes us, transforms us fromthe inside out, and he does it
as a seal, as a deposit.
The picture here is like earnestmoney.
Excuse me, when you put moneydown for something, it says this
(22:47):
is an earnest money, it's apayment that I'm making and it's
a guarantee that there's morecoming soon.
Now we don't know much aboutthat today, in our economic
times, because there's not muchguarantee coming soon here.
We don't know.
Put our money down, you don'tknow where it's going, but we
can know this, brothers andsisters, if the Spirit of the
living God is inside of you.
(23:08):
You can know that for all ofeternity he will be inside of
you and he will keep you to theend and your salvation will be
complete and you will have theinheritance of those who are
God's possession.
That's good.
That's good.
That's good why?
Why would God plan oursalvation, the Son purchase our
salvation and the Spiritpreserve it?
(23:29):
Why?
We see it three different times, each time the persons of the
Trinity are mentioned.
What they're doing?
Look at v 6.
Why did the Father plan oursalvation?
V6 To the praise of Hisglorious grace.
Why did the Son purchase oursalvation?
Verse 12, in order that we whowere the first to hope in Christ
might be for the praise of Hisglory.
(23:49):
Why does the Spirit preserveour salvation?
End of verse 14.
The redemption of those who areGod's possession to the praise
of His glory.
God has designed salvation sothat His glory is put on display
at every single step Fatherplanning, purchase, the Son
purchasing and the Spiritpreserving.
Do we realize the magnitude ofwhat Scripture is teaching here,
(24:13):
what we once were, what he didfor us?
I think we have a tendency tounderestimate the gravity here,
and even a tendency an unhealthytendency when we think about
our conversion, when Christchanged our hearts, when Christ
(24:35):
redeemed us.
We were justified before God bythe work of the Spirit and the
Son and the Father in our lives.
When we think about ourconversion, oftentimes when
people share about theirconversion, oftentimes we will
listen to people talk about howall the stuff that they did
before they came to Christ, theywere addicted to all these
(24:56):
things and involved in all thesethings and engrossed in all
these things.
And if that's your testimony,then that's a good thing and
that's a good thing.
It's a good thing to delight inwhere God met you and how God
brought you from.
At the same time, it's a badthing in the sense that there
are oftentimes others who aresitting there listening,
(25:17):
thinking man, my testimony'skind of boring compared to that.
Like I was eight years old, Ihadn't gotten into drugs yet and
wasn't involved in these things.
So people, I've thought it,people have thought it and
(25:38):
people have said it.
You know my testimony is justnot that exciting.
Thought it and people said it.
Well, you know my testimony isjust not that exciting, can I
remind you, you were, I was, weall were dead in sin and doomed
to hell, eternal damnation,objects of the wrath of God, and
(26:03):
not of our own merit, but bythe grace of God, he reached
down his hand into our hearts,he changed them, he opened up
our eyes, he forgave us of allof our sin and he made us alive
to God forever, for all ofeternity.
That is not boring stuff.
That's good stuff.
Don't think your testimony isnot exciting enough.
(26:30):
This is the picture.
This is what God has done.
He has united us in His graceand, as a result, paul says in
light of this picture, you seesurrounding it, we are.
This is who we are now.
In light of this picture, yousee surrounding it, we are.
This is who we are now.
We are His body.
We're the body of Christ.
To think of what we once werenow described as members of a
body, not a cold institution,but a body, a living organism
(26:54):
united together in Christ.
And this is what Paul's saying.
Let me show you something reallycool In Ephesians, chapter 1,
verse 4.
I want you to follow with mehere Now.
Remember who Paul's writing to.
He's writing to a group ofChristians that includes Jews
and Gentiles.
Which one is Paul, jew orGentile?
Paul's a Jew.
He's writing this Now.
I want you to look with me atthe pronouns he uses Now, just
(27:17):
in case it's been a while sincehe was in class.
Pronouns are the I, we, you,they.
I don't want to insult yourintelligence, I just want to
make sure we're all on the samepage.
Okay, look at the pronouns hereand I want you to follow with
me, starting in verse 4.
We'll just read the verses.
We just read.
Paul says he chose us.
Okay, that's the pronoun.
(27:37):
Is that singular or plural?
Okay, plural, okay, I'm reallynot intending.
Okay, all right, we got choseus.
Singular or plural.
It's plural and it's firstperson.
It's referring to him andothers.
Second person would bereferring to you, okay, and
(27:57):
third person is they.
So what we've got is us, firstperson plural.
He chose us.
Then, in verse 5, he predestinedwho Us.
Verse 6, to the praise of hisglorious grace which he has
freely given.
Who Us and the one he loves.
Verse 7, in him we same picture, first person, plural pronoun.
(28:19):
We have redemption.
Verse 8, he lavished on us.
Verse 9, he made known to usthe mystery of His will.
Verse 11, in Him we were alsochosen, verse 12, in order that
we, who were the first to hopein Christ, might be for the
praise of His glory, verse 13,.
And what you See changes there.
(28:40):
You also were included inChrist when you heard the word
of truth, the gospel of yoursalvation.
Having believed, you weremarked in him with a seal.
Why did he switch there?
Get the picture.
Paul is recounting what God hasdone and what Christians,
jewish and Gentiles knew in thefirst century, what God had done
(29:03):
throughout the Old Testament,his chosen people in the Old
Testament, the people of Israel,the Jewish people, and Paul's
saying he chose us, hepredestined us, he did these
things for us.
And then he gets to verse 13and you can almost see his eyes
fixing on those GentileChristians and saying and you
also, not just us, not just usJewish Christians, you also were
(29:28):
included in this picture, youalso are in Christ, and this was
huge for them.
The result of this divisionbetween Jews and Gentiles in the
church was oftentimes Gentileswould feel almost like
second-class Christians andthey're not really a part of the
people of God.
They're kind of like B-team.
They came into this deal late,they're kind of behind the curve
(29:53):
, and that was the sense thatwas oftentimes created in this
bringing together of Jews andGentiles in the church,
oftentimes created in thisbringing together of Jews and
Gentiles in the church.
And you know, it's not aJewish-Gentile thing necessarily
in this room, but there is atendency.
There is a tendency forbelievers in this room to
(30:25):
sometimes think, or at the veryleast feel sometimes, like you
don't quite measure up, likethere's things in your past that
you're not proud of and really,at the core, ashamed of that
make you look at other believersand almost see them at a
different level, so to speak,and you're a little more down
the line, b team, second class.
(30:47):
And I want to remind everysingle brother or sister in this
room that you and I alike arethe body of Christ and no one
more important than the other,higher than the other.
We are together in this thing,united as the body of Christ,
(31:08):
Because we were all dead andwe're all alive only by His
grace.
That's the picture Paul isgiving us here.
We're His body.
We'll fly through these nexttwo.
We're His building.
This is the two other imagesthat Paul uses in the book of
Ephesians.
We're His building.
You get to the end of chapter 2when he's talking about
(31:30):
reconciling Jews and Gentilestogether.
It's great verses, verse 19,.
You are no longer foreignersand aliens, but fellow citizens
with God's people and members ofGod's household, built on the
foundation of the apostles andprophets, with Christ Jesus
himself as the chief cornerstone.
Listen to verse 21, ephesians 2.
In him, the whole building isjoined together and rises to
(31:52):
become a holy temple in the Lord, and in him you too are being
built together to become adwelling in which God lives by
his Spirit.
Now, when the Bible talks aboutthe church as a building, it's
not talking about bricks andmortar.
It's talking about a people,but a people who are depicted as
a building.
It's the same thing, paul in 1Corinthians, when he talks about
how our bodies are temples ofthe Holy Spirit and the Spirit
(32:14):
dwells in each of us.
That's completely true in theNew Testament.
At the same time, 1 Corinthians, chapter 3, he says that in 1
Corinthians 6.
1 Corinthians, chapter 3, sametime, 1 Corinthians, chapter 3,
he says that in 1 Corinthians 6,1 Corinthians, chapter 3, he
talks about how, together, weare a temple.
And the reality the NewTestament is teaching us is that
Christ dwells.
The Spirit of God dwells ineach of us and in all of us as a
(32:35):
body.
We're His building and we'reHis bride.
Ephesians, chapter 5 is whenPaul talks about the church as
the blood-bought bride of Christ.
Revelation 19 talks about thewedding supper of the Lamb, when
the bride of Christ, dressedand ready that's us will meet.
(32:56):
Him in all of His fullness.
This is the picture.
We are united by the grace ofChrist.
It's good to be a part of thebody of Christ.
This is one of those facetswhere we realize this is so much
different.
What happens in this room is somuch different than any other
(33:16):
organization or club or group ofpeople or anything.
There's a spiritual realitythat's expressed in this room.
We're united by the grace ofChrist.
Second, we have been filledwith the power of Christ.
Now here's where it gets.
Well, I'm not going to say itgets good because it's been good
, but it gets even better,filled with the power of Christ,
(33:39):
his body, verse 23,.
Ephesians 1, 23,.
The church is His body, thefullness of Him.
Now we'll take you on a littletour again Fullness, circle
every time you see the wordfullness, chapter 3, verse 19.
I want to show you how Paul inEphesians and we're going to go
to Colossians again uses thisterm fullness, completeness.
(34:02):
Look at chapter 3, verse 19.
He's getting to the end of thisprayer that he's praying.
Second prayer he prays and hesaid, to know the love that
surpasses knowledge, that youmay be filled to the measure of
all the fullness of God.
Circle it there fullness.
Then you get to chapter 4,verse 13.
It talks about how the body ofChrist is growing up into Christ
(34:24):
.
And when it says there, inverse 13, last part of it
attaining to the whole measureof the fullness of Christ,
circle it there.
Then go over to Colossians.
Remember one book pastPhilippians, colossians, chapter
1, verse 19.
Listen to what Paul says there,colossians 1.19, talking about
(34:45):
Christ.
God was pleased to have all Hisfullness dwell in Him, the
fullness of God dwelling inChrist.
Same thing he says inColossians, chapter 2, verse 9.
Colossians 2, verse 9.
In Christ this is one of thoseverses that just these verses
(35:05):
just point to the deity ofChrist.
In Christ, all the fullnesscircle it.
There, fullness of the deitylives in bodily form.
So what we've got is Paultalking about the fullness of
God and the fullness of Christ.
But it begs the question whatdoes it mean, then, for the
church to be the fullness ofChrist, right, okay, we've got
(35:28):
this picture there's a fullnessin God and the fullness of God
is in Christ, all of His deityin Christ.
Well, what does it mean for thechurch, then, to be the
fullness of Christ?
Now, I want you to follow mehere and follow this line of
thought that Paul is showing ushere, and we will come to a
(35:50):
couple of truths that will takeour breath away.
First line of thought Startdown this path.
Christ has all authority.
Christ has all authority.
We just saw this in Colossians.
The fullness of God, who hasall authority, is in Christ.
The fullness of God dwells.
Christ possesses the fullnessof God.
(36:13):
Now Paul.
Come back to Ephesians 1.
Here Paul, in the versesleading up to verse 22 and 23,
gives us a picture of theauthority of Christ, and it's a
grand picture.
Check out this portrait ofChrist in Ephesians 1.
Verse 19, he starts talkingabout the power of God and in
verse 20, he talks about thepower of God displayed in Christ
(36:33):
.
And I want you to see thispicture of Christ and His
authority.
Listen to what it says.
Verse 20.
The mighty strength which Godexerted in Christ when he start
here, when he raised Him fromthe dead.
God raised Him from the dead.
Christ has authority over sinand death and the grave.
(36:55):
Anybody else have that kind ofauthority?
I mean, at this point, at thispoint, jesus is separated apart
from everyone and everythingelse.
This is sufficient, but this iswhere he's just getting started
.
So you got this in your notes.
First, he is the risen Savior.
He's risen, but not just risen.
Paul continues that's justwhere it started Raised him from
(37:24):
the dead and seated him at hisright hand in the heavenly
realms.
That's what we've seen the lastcouple of weeks.
Christ sat down at the righthand of God that he is exalted
there, just like we mentionedearlier in our worship
Philippians 2, 9-11.
God has exalted Him to thehighest place, giving Him the
name that is above every name,that the name of Jesus.
Every knee will bow, everytongue confess that he is what
he's Lord.
So he is the risen Savior.
(37:45):
And second, jesus is theexalted Lord, seated at the
right hand of the Father,exalted as Lord over all.
And he begins to talk about whatthat means.
He is, verse 21,.
Far above all, rule andauthority, power and dominion.
Now, when Paul uses words likethat rule, authority, power and
(38:07):
dominion these are words that heuses in the New Testament that
were common in the culture ofthat day to refer to angelic
beings, rules, authorities,powers.
Angelic beings, both goodangels in heaven and demons in
hell, bad, spiritual forces ofevil the picture is Christ is
(38:27):
above them all.
It's what Hebrews, chapter 1,verse 4, says Christ is superior
to angels, he is above them all.
And's what Hebrews, chapter 1,verse 4, says Christ is superior
to angels, he is above them all.
And then I love, love, thisnext part Far above all, rule
and authority, power anddominion and every title that
can be given, isn't that good?
Like you think of a title abillion years from now.
(38:52):
You think that will showsupremacy and Christ tops it
forever.
You can't come up with a titleover which Christ is not supreme
.
You think about the practicalramifications here.
Christ reigns supreme overevery leader in all of history,
(39:12):
with whatever title theyattributed to themselves or had
attributed to them.
He is risen Savior, exaltedLord and sovereign King.
He's above all, and puts aperiod on it.
Paul does in verse 22 and saysGod placed all things under His
feet, all things.
(39:33):
Christ is the King who reignsover everything.
Everything that goes on in theUnited States and in China and
in North Korea and Iraq andAfghanistan, it's all under His
reign.
Everything that goes on in yourbusiness or your home is under
His reign.
Everything that goes on in allbusiness or your home is under
His reign.
Everything that goes on in allcreation is under His reign,
(39:54):
because all things are under Hisfeet, sovereign King.
Now here's where it gets reallyinteresting.
What Paul is not saying here isthat Christ has authority over
the church.
That's not what Paul's sayinghere.
Now follow with me.
That's true that Christ hasauthority over the church.
(40:16):
We see that in other places inScripture.
Even this whole imagery inColossians of Christ being the
head and the church, the body,asserts his supremacy over the
body.
But that's not what Paul sayshere.
Listen to what he says.
God placed verse 22, all thingsunder His feet and appointed
Him follow this to be head overeverything for the church.
(40:42):
Well, that's interesting.
Not head over everything,including the church, but God
has placed Christ overeverything.
The language here is for thechurch, on behalf of the church,
as a gift to the church.
What does that mean?
Well, the next phrase tells uswhich is His body, the fullness
(41:07):
of Him.
So don't miss it.
The body of Christ possessesthe fullness of Christ.
Next step here Follow thisChrist has all authority and the
church has the fullness ofChrist.
God has given Christ allauthority for the church.
The church has the fullness ofChrist, plural, the fullness to
(41:30):
fill completely.
This is exactly.
Let me just read Colossians 2,9 and 10.
Christ in Christ, all thefullness of the deity lives in
bodily form and you have beengiven.
Paul says you have been givenfullness in Christ, who is the
head over every power andauthority.
So the church has the fullnessof Christ.
(41:50):
Do we realize what this meanswhen you put these two together?
Follow here If Christ has allauthority and the church, has
the fullness of Christ, then allthe authority in all the earth
belongs to who?
(42:10):
The church.
Ha All the fullness of God andChrist and all the fullness of
Christ and the church.
Do you catch what Scripture issaying here?
He shares His authority with us, you say what do you mean?
(42:35):
Think about it.
Christ raised from the dead,christ resurrected.
Brother or sister, you willalso be resurrected.
He shares this with you.
Christ exalted.
What do you mean Sharing that?
Listen to Ephesians 2, verse 6.
God raised us up with Christand seated us with Him in the
(43:02):
heavenly realms in Christ Jesus.
I'm not making this stuff up.
This is real.
Can you believe this?
It's what?
Go back to 1 Corinthians 3.
Just go back a couple books.
You go to Galatians and 2Corinthians, 1 Corinthians.
Look at 1 Corinthians, chapter3.
This is mind-blowing,breathtaking truth.
(43:23):
1 Corinthians, chapter 3, verse21.
This is another setting wherethere was division in the church
.
Paul's addressing thatDifferent people following
different leaders.
Paul says forget thesedifferent leaders.
Do you realize what you have?
Verse 21,.
Verse Corinthians 3,.
So then, no more boasting aboutmen.
All things are yours, whetherPaul or Apollos or Cephas, or
(43:46):
the world, or life or death, orthe present or the future.
All are yours and you are ofChrist and Christ is of God.
Brothers and sisters, do werealize this?
All the fullness of Christpossessed by us as the church,
(44:09):
by us as the church?
Therefore, we do not believethe lie of the adversary in our
culture that the church today isweak, frail, fragile,
(44:39):
struggling, questionable tosurvive blasphemy.
We have the authority of JesusChrist.
The question is do we realizewho we are and what we have?
We are not victims to sin.
(44:59):
We are victors over sin.
We are not powerless in thepagan culture that surrounds us.
We have power over everythingin the pagan culture that
surrounds us.
We have power over everythingin the pagan culture that
surrounds us.
We are not afraid of spiritualstrongholds.
We demolish spiritualstrongholds.
(45:21):
We have no fear when it comesto the mission set before us
because we know.
We know that we haveresurrection waiting for us and,
certainly in economic timeslike this, we are not worried
about the future.
We are confident in the futurebecause we are seated with
Christ in the heavenlies and thestock market can do nothing to
(45:45):
change that Nothing.
Do we realize this?
All the authority and all theearth belongs to the church.
Christ has said to us all of myresources are at your disposal
for the accomplishment of yourlives and your mission on this
(46:07):
earth.
We can't control the thingsthat go on around us in our
culture.
We cannot control the differentthings that people think and do
.
We cannot control the culture,but we can control our
confidence and the authoritythat's been entrusted to us.
(46:32):
The question is do we believethese things?
Do we really believe thesethings?
Do we really believe when weshare the gospel in our culture?
Do we really believe?
Do we live like we believe?
Do we speak like we believe,that, no matter how tall, no
matter how wide, no matter howthick the walls are, that our
culture and people in theculture set up against the
gospel?
Do we really believe that theycome crashing down when the name
(46:53):
of Christ is proclaimed?
This is the authority we havein the church and it's for the
purpose of mission.
This gets in a thirdramification here United by the
grace of Christ, filled with thepower of Christ, and we are now
a display of the glory ofChrist, a display of His glory.
Now, before we see this inEphesians, just think about it.
(47:14):
Think about this GreatCommission, remember Great
Commission.
Therefore, go and makedisciples of all nations.
Therefore, what's that about?
Don't gloss over, therefore.
Maybe the most important wordthere, what's it there for?
Takes us back to verse 18.
Jesus came to them and said allauthority in heaven and on
earth has been given to me.
(47:34):
Therefore, in light of this, inlight of the fact that I have
all authority, you go and makedisciples of all nations.
This is the basis for what wedo and it's what Paul's talking
about here the fullness of himwho fills everything in every
way.
The picture we see it all overscripture it's God in his glory
filling the earth, goddemonstrating His glory, filling
(47:57):
the earth with His glory.
And we see the glory of Goddisplayed in Christ,
demonstrated in Christ.
John 1, 14,.
We have seen His glory, theglory of the one and only.
We've seen in Christ the gloryof God, glory of the one and
only We've seen in Christ theglory of God.
But here's the problem Christis seated at the right hand of
(48:19):
God in the heavenlies.
So how is the world going tosee the glory of Christ if he's
at the right hand of the Fatherand is not on this earth?
God says I'm going to unite apeople by my grace and I'm going
to fill them with the fullnessof Christ and they're going to
(48:40):
be a display of my glorythroughout the world.
This is the picture.
God's design is to use the bodyof his Son to show the glory of
His Son to all creation.
Let me show this to you.
Ephesians, chapter 3.
One of the.
Is it the last place or secondto last place we're gonna turn.
(49:03):
I can't remember Ephesians 3.10.
Look at this, look at thispicture.
Just this is one of those.
Take your breath away.
Verses you ready?
Ephesians 3, 10.
Listen to this God's design.
His intent is what verse 10says Follow along.
God's intent was that now,through the church, the manifold
(49:28):
wisdom of God should be madeknown to the rulers and
authorities in the heavenlyrealms.
Now think about this one withme Through the church, the
manifold wisdom of God.
So this is God's intent.
What is he going to do?
Through the church, he's goingto take his manifold wisdom.
What is that?
That is the revelation of hisglory in the salvation of
(49:50):
sinners.
Wisdom of the cross.
Wisdom Seems like foolishnessto man, but this is the plan
that God's going to bring.
His plan for salvation Sonpurchasing salvation, the Spirit
preserving it, bringing Jewsand Gentiles together, this
mystery of salvation united bythe grace of Christ, all that
we've talked about.
(50:12):
God's going to display His gloryin the salvation of Christ, all
that we've talked about.
God's going to display Hisglory in the salvation of
sinners Through the church, themanifold wisdom of God.
Now, who is he showing Hiswisdom off to?
The manifold wisdom of Godshould be made known to the
rulers and authorities in theheavenly realms.
Now we've talked about this.
These are words that refer inthe New Testament to angelic
beings in the heavenly realms,both good and bad.
(50:33):
And so don't miss this.
Think good.
Heavenly angels, angels inheaven.
God is going to display Hiswisdom and His glory to angels
in heaven in what he does increating a church to angels in
heaven, and what he does increating a church.
One author said God iseducating the angels by the
(50:57):
means of the church, and it'sexactly what the New Testament
teaches 1 Peter, chapter 1.
Angels long to look into thesesorts of things.
Luke 15,.
One sinner repents.
There is rejoicing in heaven.
They see the glory of God andthe salvation of sinners.
They long to see it.
God's displaying His glory, butnot just on the good side of
(51:24):
things here.
One more place to turnEphesians, chapter 6, verse 12.
You've got to see it.
Paul uses this phrase inEphesians 6, 12.
Our struggle, he says, is notagainst flesh and blood, but
against the rulers, against theauthorities, against the powers
(51:45):
of this dark world and thespiritual forces of evil in the
heavenly realms.
So what God is doing in thechurch is not just to show
angels His glory, but to displayHis glory before the spiritual
forces of evil in the heavenlyrealms.
Catch this.
God has designed His intent.
(52:09):
It is to take David Platt and ATScott and Rosie Durham, cheryl
Turner and Nan Priest, jimmyRogers, and to take them in the
depth of their sin, objects ofthe wrath of God and to reach
(52:32):
down His hand of grace to eachone of our lives and to open our
eyes to salvation and to raiseus up victorious over sin and to
seat us with Christ in theheavenly realms, so that for all
(52:53):
of eternity, their lives willbe a pronouncement to angels in
heaven and demons in hell thatGod is great and he is gracious,
and he is wise and he is worthy.
Do we realize what we're a partof?
(53:17):
One author said your life ismuch bigger than a good job, an
understanding spouse and goodkids.
It is bigger than beautifulgardens, nice vacations and
fashionable clothes.
In reality, you are part ofsomething immense, something
that began before you were bornand will continue after you die.
God is rescuing fallen humanity, transporting them into His
(53:40):
kingdom and progressivelyshaping them into His likeness,
and he has called you to be apart of it.
This is what it means to be apart of the church.
We're a part of God's grandredemptive design to show His
glory in the church.
We're part of God's grandredemptive design to show His
glory in the world.
God is saying look at thechurch and you will see my Son.
(54:01):
Look at the church, you willsee my Son.
This is why this is why we can'tgo at Christianity alone.
We cannot cave in to theindividualism of American
culture in the church.
Because you think, well, I canglorify Christ on my own, and,
(54:24):
yes, we're supposed to glorifyGod with everything we do.
But listen to what Ephesians 1,22 and 23 is saying the
fullness of the glory of Christis displayed not in you and you
and you and you, but in us in abody together.
This is where the glory ofChrist is displayed.
So, for the sake of the gloryof Christ, leave abandoned,
(54:44):
self-centered, self-dependentChristianity and give yourself
to a body of Christ.
And don't we realize thesethings?
We realize that being a part ofthe church is so much deeper
(55:09):
than sitting next to somebody inan auditorium and going to a
class with some other people.
The fear that that's what we'vecreated church to be, in the
process undercut everythingEphesians 1, 22, and 23 is
(55:29):
teaching us.
We are a community, a people.
It's why we are talking aboutwhat it means to be a covenant
community, what it means to becovenanted together, united by
the grace of Christ, filled withthe power of Christ and
displaying the glory of Christ.
And this is why, in the days tocome, we are going to dive into
(55:51):
Scripture and really look atwhat it means to commit our
lives to one another, based onScripture, in no way with the
purpose of adding burdensomeyokes upon each other, in no way
united by the grace of Christ,committed to loving each other
for the glory of Christ.
The reason for covenant andcommunity is because we want to
(56:13):
celebrate His grace, we want todemonstrate His power and we
long to communicate.
His glory clearly to all theworld.
Speaker 1 (56:25):
We hope you've enjoyed this week's episode of
David Platt Messages.
For more resources from DavidPlatt, we invite you to visit
radicalnet.
You are listening to David Platt Messages a weekly
podcast with sermons andmessages from pastor, author and
teacher David Platt.
Speaker 2 (00:08):
This morning looking at the ramifications of covenant
for community.
We're going to look at verse 22and 23, which comes at the end
of a prayer that Paul prays.
It's the first of two prayersthat Paul prays in the book of
Ephesians which are great inhelping inform us in how we pray
for each other, and I wouldencourage you to look at
Ephesians 1, 15 through 23, andthen Ephesians 3, 14 through 21.
(00:31):
It's a letter that Paul wroteto Christians at Ephesus.
He was likely in prison when hewrote this letter and he is
writing it near the end of hislife.
And he comes to Ephesians,chapter 1, verse 15, and he
begins to pray for them to knowthe person of Christ and the
power of Christ.
Listen to what he prays.
Verse 15, paul says For thisreason, ever since I heard about
(00:54):
your faith in the Lord Jesusand your love for all the saints
, I have not stopped givingthanks for you, remembering you
in my prayers.
I keep asking the God of ourLord Jesus Christ, the glorious
Father may give you the spiritof wisdom and revelation so that
you may know Him better.
(01:15):
I pray also that the eyes ofyour heart may be enlightened in
order that you may know thehope to which he has called you,
the riches of His gloriousinheritance in the saints and
His incomparably great power.
For us who believe, that poweris like the working of His
mighty strength, which heexerted in Christ when he raised
(01:36):
Him from the dead and seatedHim at His right hand in the
heavenly realms, far above allrule and authority, power and
dominion and every title thatcan be given, not only in the
present age but also in the oneto come.
And God placed all things underHis feet and appointed Him to
(01:56):
be head over everything for thechurch, which is His body, the
fullness of Him who fillseverything in every way.
God, we pray that you wouldhelp us to realize what it means
for Christ to be head over allthings, and specifically for
(02:21):
Christ to be head over allthings for the church, and
specifically for Christ to behead over all things for the
church, what it means for us tobe His body, the fullness of Him
who fills everything in everyway.
God, we pray that You'd help usto realize who we are, what we
have, what we're here for as achurch In Jesus' name.
(02:43):
We pray Amen.
Church In Jesus' name, we prayAmen.
Ramifications of covenant forcommunity.
I want to show you threeramifications in this text that
really it's really not just thistext.
Verse 22 and 23 are loaded, butthey're informed by all that's
(03:04):
going around it in Ephesians.
So I'll just let you know we'regoing to be all over the place
in Ephesians because in order tounderstand the beauty and the
grandeur of what Paul is prayinghere at the end of this prayer
in verse 22 and 23, we've got tolook all around it.
So, and the picture is, paul iswriting to these believers and
telling them who they are andwhat they have, and the
implication is don't miss this.
This is not just aboutbelievers in Ephesus.
(03:24):
This is what it means for us tobe the church, the body of
Christ in this room, and theramifications that we're gonna
see in Ephesians areramifications.
They're realities representedin this room, in this body this
morning, and so I want us todive into them and I pray that
God, by His Spirit, will give usgrace to see the magnitude of
what's being expressed here.
(03:45):
Remembrification number one wehave been united by the grace of
Christ.
This is what Paul is saying tothe Christians at Ephesus and
what the Spirit of God is sayingto us today.
We have been united by thegrace of Christ.
Now, at the end of verse 22 andverse 23, paul says the church
(04:07):
is his body.
Now we talked about this abouta month and a half ago when we
were studying Ephesians, chapter4, this theme of body.
So we're not going to camp outhere too long.
But you look here and you mightalready have it circled from
when we did this before.
But that word body in verse 23,where his body, it's repeated
over and over and over again inthe book of Ephesians.
Go to chapter 2, verse 16.
(04:30):
You might circle it just eachtime you see it.
If it's not already circled,we'll fly through these.
Chapter 2, verse 16, paul saysin this one body.
He reconciled both of them toGod through the cross One body.
Then chapter 3, verse 6.
This mystery is that, throughthe gospel, the Gentiles are
heirs together with Israel,members together of one body.
(04:51):
Circle it there.
Then you get to chapter 4.
Numerous times in chapter 4.
Chapter 4, verse 4, there isone body and one spirit, just as
you were called to one hopewhen you were called Down in
verse 12, to prepare God'speople for works of service so
that the body of Christ may bebuilt up.
Get down to verse 16.
From him the whole body, joinedand held together, grows and
(05:14):
builds itself up in love Verse25.
Each of you must put offfalsehood and speak truthfully
to his neighbor, for we are allmembers of one body.
Then you get to chapter 5, twicein chapter 5.
Chapter 5, verse 23,.
When he starts talking abouthusbands and wives, he starts
talking about body of Christ.
The husband is the head of thewife, verse 23,.
(05:36):
Ephesians 5, 23.
The husband is the head of thewife, as Christ is the head of
the church, his body.
And over in verse 30, he sayswe are members of His body.
Now keep going to the right andgo to the book of Colossians,
which is one book.
Over to the right.
You'll go to Philippians, thenColossians, one book past
Colossians, colossians, chapter1.
(05:59):
I'm going to show you a coupleof different times, some
relationships.
Paul wrote the book ofColossians.
Between what Paul's saying herein Ephesians and Colossians,
look at Colossians 1, 18.
He says the same thing hereabout the church being the body
of Christ, chapter 1, verse 18,.
Talking about Christ, he saysChrist is the head of the body,
the church.
See how he's equating churchwith body there and then down in
(06:19):
verse 24,.
Now I rejoice in what wassuffered for you and I fill up
in my flesh what is stilllacking in regards to Christ, in
regard to Christ's afflictions,for the sake of His body.
Circle it there, which is thechurch.
So, over and over again, paulis referring to the church as
the body of Christ.
(06:40):
Now this was particularlyimportant.
You come back to Ephesians,because of who he was writing to
the church at Ephesus.
The Christians at Ephesus weremade up of both Jews and Jewish
and Gentile Christians.
You had Jews and Gentiles inthe same church, which was a
huge deal.
There was a dividing line, soto speak, between Jews and
(07:02):
Gentiles in the first century.
There was hostility between thetwo.
You didn't associate.
There wasn't just a religiousbarrier, it was ethnic, social,
in every way, this barrier thatseparated Jews from Gentiles.
And the whole picture of whatPaul is saying in Ephesus is
that God has brought Jews andGentiles together.
They were struggling to beunited together.
(07:23):
They were struggling with thedivision that still separated
them culturally and socially andethnically.
You look at Ephesians, chapter 2, and you see this.
Look at Ephesians, chapter 2,verse 14.
Read this with me and you cansee the picture that Paul is
addressing here and the divisionbetween Jews and Gentiles.
He said in verse 14, christHimself is our peace, who has
(07:47):
made the two one and hasdestroyed the barrier, the
dividing wall of hostility, byabolishing in His flesh the law
with its commandments andregulations.
His purpose was to create inHimself one new man out of the
two, thus making peace, and inthis one body to reconcile both
of them to God through the cross, by which he put to death their
(08:09):
hostility.
You hear those words dividingwall, barrier, hostility.
The whole picture of the gospelis.
It breaks it down.
It says no, we're together,united by the grace of Christ as
a body.
So what Paul is doing in thesefirst few chapters especially,
is he is showing the basis forthe unity they have, and I want
(08:31):
to show it to you in threedifferent facets there in your
notes, because this is the samebasis for the unity we have in
this room, for the unity we haveas a local body of believers,
as a church.
What is that basis?
Well, it starts with what weonce were.
Stay here in chapter 2 inEphesians and look at verse 1.
(08:54):
Listen to how he startsgrouping everybody together.
He says, chapter 2, verse 1, asfor you, you were dead in your
transgressions and sins in whichyou used to live.
When you followed the ways ofthis world and of the ruler of
the kingdom of the air, thespirit who is now at work, and
those who are disobedient.
All of us also lived among themat one time, gratifying the
(09:18):
cravings of our sinful natureand following its desires and
thoughts.
Like the rest, we were bynature objects of wrath.
How's that for unity Together?
We were dead in ourtransgressions and sin and
objects of the wrath of God.
You don't talk about misery.
Loves company.
This is what unites us.
(09:41):
Paul says, and for three verses.
There he gives one of the mostgrim, most important
descriptions of humanity in allthe Scripture.
He breaks it down into avariety of different ways and
you've got this in your notes.
First catch what he's sayinghere.
Paul says you, you, we,together, we were dead in sin,
(10:03):
dead in sin, dead in yourtransgressions.
You had no spiritual life.
You're dead spiritually.
There's not different degreesof dead.
You're not more dead or lessdead.
Jews were not less dead andGentiles they're really dead.
Jews are kind of dead.
(10:24):
No, you're dead, period.
There's a finality here.
I was in Florida this last weekas we had the funeral for my
grandmother, and just carryingthat casket from the hearse to
(10:46):
the burial site it's a humblingthing to carry a casket.
There is a solemnity, there's aseriousness, there's an
overwhelming finality andunchangeableness.
(11:07):
That's there and this.
This is the picture Scripturegives to describe us, apart from
the grace of Christ, not sickin sin, not in the hospital,
dead in sin In the casket.
No life, dead in transgressionsand sin.
(11:31):
Catch the magnitude here.
Then he says in which you usedto live when you followed the
ways of this world and of theruler of the kingdom of the air,
we were living in darkness,following the ways of this world
and the God of this world.
2 Corinthians, chapter 4, verse4, talks about it.
Paul says there how our mindswere blinded to truth.
(11:53):
We were living in darkness.
Ephesians 4.18 and 5.8 bothtalk about how we were engrossed
in darkness.
Our hearts overcome withdarkness.
John, chapter 3, verse 20,.
Jesus said we lived in darknessand we wanted nothing to do
with the light.
Living in darkness.
John, chapter 3, verse 20.
Jesus said we lived in darknessand we wanted nothing to do
with the light, living indarkness.
Children of disobedience, deadin sin, living in darkness.
(12:13):
We were children ofdisobedience.
We followed the spirit of Himwho is now at work and those who
are disobedient.
This is a humbling picture.
Let's take this all the wayback to Genesis 3, when the
adversary tempts Adam and Eve todisobey God, to defy the rule
(12:33):
and the law of God, and they do.
They disobey God, and Paul saysin Romans, chapter 5, that all
of us, we are children of Adam,jew Gentile.
Regardless of ethnicity,regardless of background, we're
children of Adam.
We have a tendency to minimizethis song.
We talk about sin.
We try to explain sin.
Well, sin is when you dosomething wrong, or sin is when
(12:54):
you lie to someone, and that'swhat Jesus came to save us from.
No, no, no, no.
It's much, much deeper thanthat.
It's not that we just have donea few things wrong In our
hearts.
We are disobedient, we aredefiant toward God.
We are following the spirit ofthe one who is at work and those
who are disobedient.
Think about this picture whenyou look at the news and you see
(13:22):
what the adversary is doing inthe world and you see murder
sprees and you see evil andimmorality, the work of the
adversary in the world.
Paul says you, you werefollowing the same Spirit.
(13:47):
You say well, I didn't murder,I didn't do things like that.
No, no, we as children ofdisobedience.
We're far more subtle in ourdisobedience and in many senses
more dangerous, because wecloaked it in cultural goodness
and religious self-righteousness.
(14:09):
He said you are children ofdisobedience, gratifying the
desires and the cravings of thesinful nature, captivated by
sinful desire, following itsdesires and thoughts.
Paul uses the same language inRomans, chapter 6, when he talks
about how we're slaves to sin,gratifying the desires of the
sinful nature, and then, as ifthis was not enough, dead in sin
(14:33):
, living in darkness, childrenof disobedience and captivated
by sinful desire.
Then he says, like the rest, wewere by nature objects of wrath
.
Here's the description Dead insin, living in darkness,
children of disobedience,captivated by sinful desire and
doomed to hell.
Doomed to hell, condemned.
(14:55):
Jesus says in John 3, 18.
You're condemned.
An enemy of God, paul says inRomans 5, 10.
James says in James, chapter 4,verse 4.
Enemies of God, paul says inRomans 5.10,.
James says in James 4.4,enemies of God, objects of the
eternal wrath of God.
And this is what unites us.
Think about it.
What unites us in this roomthis morning as the people of
(15:20):
God?
What unites us is not that welive in the same country, not
that we have the same customs,not that we share similar
socioeconomic statuses, it's notthat we have the same ethnicity
or that we have the samepersonalities or the same tastes
.
All these are periphery.
What unites us in this room,all of us on the same plane?
(15:41):
We are each and everyonedesperately in need of the grace
of God, no one more than theother.
All we were dead in sin, andthis, this is where Ephesians is
just so beautiful, because wehave some of the most humbling
(16:08):
depictions of the depravity ofman and the severity of sin.
But it's when we see theseriousness of sin that we
realize the glory of grace.
Paul says in verse 4, butbecause of his great love for us
, god, who is rich in mercy,made us, made us alive with
(16:29):
Christ, even when we were deadin transgressions.
It is by grace you have beensaved.
Praise God.
It is what we once were.
Key word were what did he do?
Now, come back.
It's here in Ephesians 2, allthe way down to verse 10,.
But come back to Ephesians 1,verse 4.
I've got to remind you of theway this book opens up and I
(16:51):
want us to see what he has done.
I have so much to learn.
I have so much to discover, torealize in my Christian life.
But this I have learned I'velearned to talk about my
(17:11):
conversion experience in passiveterms.
Passive meaning something wasdone to me because I was dead.
There wasn't anything activegoing on from the casket in me.
(17:34):
I wasn't coming to Christ andconverting myself to Christ.
Christ converted me.
Christ came to Christ.
Christ converted me.
Christ came to me.
God came to me.
And that's exactly what Paultalks about in Ephesians 1, 4.
(17:54):
We were dead in sin and doomedto hell, and verse 4, he chose
us in him, before the creationof the world, to be holy and
blameless in His sight.
In love, he predestined us tobe adopted as His sons through
Jesus Christ, in accordance withHis pleasure and will, to the
(18:15):
praise of His glorious grace,which he has freely given us in
the one he loves.
In Him we have redemptionthrough His blood, the
forgiveness of sins inaccordance with the riches of
God's grace that he lavished onus with all wisdom and
understanding, and he made knownto us the mystery of His will,
according to His good pleasure,which he purposed in Christ to
(18:36):
be put into effect when thetimes will have reached their
fulfillment, to bring all thingsin heaven and on earth together
under one head, even Christ InHim.
We were also chosen, havingbeen predestined according to
the plan of Him, who works outeverything in conformity with
the purpose of His will, inorder that we who were the first
to hope in Christ might be forthe praise of His glory.
And you also were included toChrist when you heard the word
(18:59):
of truth, the gospel of yoursalvation.
Having believed, you weremarked in Him with a seal the
promised Holy Spirit, who is adeposit guaranteeing our
inheritance into the redemptionof those who are God's
possession to the praise of hisglory.
Praise God.
Praise God what we were andwhat he did.
Check this out All persons ofthe Trinity involved in this
(19:21):
picture right here.
What did the Father do?
The Father planned oursalvation.
He chose us in Him.
He predestined us to be adopted.
He has freely given us the onehe loves.
Brothers and sisters, I do notknow how to explain this.
I do not know how to fathom this, but the reality that Scripture
(19:49):
teaches is that God has takenobjects of His wrath and, purely
by His grace, turned them intoobjects of His affection, not
based on anything in them, butsolely based on His grace.
This is what Ephesians 1 isteaching us here.
Some might come up to me afterthe first worship gathering.
(20:11):
Well, how do you reconcile this?
I don't know, but it'sgloriously true.
It's the grace of God.
Think of this.
Before the sun was formed andthe moon was created, before one
mountain appeared on this earthor one drop of water was put
(20:35):
into an ocean, before anythingin all creation, god in heaven
looked down and set hisaffections on us and predestined
us to be adopted as his sonsand daughters.
(20:55):
If this does not drive us toour knees in adoration, humble
adoration, nothing will heplanned our salvation.
How can God, how can a holy Godplan salvation for those who
are dead in sin and want to bedead in sin?
They're satisfying their sinfuldesires in that and don't have
(21:19):
a desire to turn to Him.
How can a holy God do that?
Second, the Son purchased oursalvation, the one he loves,
verse 7,.
In Him we have redemptionthrough His blood, redemption to
purchase, to pay for to buy.
Christ bought us with His blood.
(21:44):
We are a blood-bought body.
He reached out His hand ofgrace into us from the cross and
made a way for us to haveforgiveness of our sin in
accordance with the riches ofGod's grace.
He purchased our salvation.
How, how can what Christ did2,000 years ago on a cross be
(22:06):
appropriated in my heart, in mylife, today?
Spirit, the Father, planned oursalvation, the Spirit purchased
our salvation and the Spiritpreserves our salvation.
Scripture teaches the Spiritopens our eyes to the light of
the glory of gospel in the faceof Christ.
The Spirit changes our lives.
This is the new covenant.
(22:26):
The Spirit comes into ourhearts, regenerates us and
changes us, transforms us fromthe inside out, and he does it
as a seal, as a deposit.
The picture here is like earnestmoney.
Excuse me, when you put moneydown for something, it says this
(22:47):
is an earnest money, it's apayment that I'm making and it's
a guarantee that there's morecoming soon.
Now we don't know much aboutthat today, in our economic
times, because there's not muchguarantee coming soon here.
We don't know.
Put our money down, you don'tknow where it's going, but we
can know this, brothers andsisters, if the Spirit of the
living God is inside of you.
(23:08):
You can know that for all ofeternity he will be inside of
you and he will keep you to theend and your salvation will be
complete and you will have theinheritance of those who are
God's possession.
That's good.
That's good.
That's good why?
Why would God plan oursalvation, the Son purchase our
salvation and the Spiritpreserve it?
(23:29):
Why?
We see it three different times, each time the persons of the
Trinity are mentioned.
What they're doing?
Look at v 6.
Why did the Father plan oursalvation?
V6 To the praise of Hisglorious grace.
Why did the Son purchase oursalvation?
Verse 12, in order that we whowere the first to hope in Christ
might be for the praise of Hisglory.
(23:49):
Why does the Spirit preserveour salvation?
End of verse 14.
The redemption of those who areGod's possession to the praise
of His glory.
God has designed salvation sothat His glory is put on display
at every single step Fatherplanning, purchase, the Son
purchasing and the Spiritpreserving.
Do we realize the magnitude ofwhat Scripture is teaching here,
(24:13):
what we once were, what he didfor us?
I think we have a tendency tounderestimate the gravity here,
and even a tendency an unhealthytendency when we think about
our conversion, when Christchanged our hearts, when Christ
(24:35):
redeemed us.
We were justified before God bythe work of the Spirit and the
Son and the Father in our lives.
When we think about ourconversion, oftentimes when
people share about theirconversion, oftentimes we will
listen to people talk about howall the stuff that they did
before they came to Christ, theywere addicted to all these
(24:56):
things and involved in all thesethings and engrossed in all
these things.
And if that's your testimony,then that's a good thing and
that's a good thing.
It's a good thing to delight inwhere God met you and how God
brought you from.
At the same time, it's a badthing in the sense that there
are oftentimes others who aresitting there listening,
(25:17):
thinking man, my testimony'skind of boring compared to that.
Like I was eight years old, Ihadn't gotten into drugs yet and
wasn't involved in these things.
So people, I've thought it,people have thought it and
(25:38):
people have said it.
You know my testimony is justnot that exciting.
Thought it and people said it.
Well, you know my testimony isjust not that exciting, can I
remind you, you were, I was, weall were dead in sin and doomed
to hell, eternal damnation,objects of the wrath of God, and
(26:03):
not of our own merit, but bythe grace of God, he reached
down his hand into our hearts,he changed them, he opened up
our eyes, he forgave us of allof our sin and he made us alive
to God forever, for all ofeternity.
That is not boring stuff.
That's good stuff.
Don't think your testimony isnot exciting enough.
(26:30):
This is the picture.
This is what God has done.
He has united us in His graceand, as a result, paul says in
light of this picture, you seesurrounding it, we are.
This is who we are now.
In light of this picture, yousee surrounding it, we are.
This is who we are now.
We are His body.
We're the body of Christ.
To think of what we once werenow described as members of a
body, not a cold institution,but a body, a living organism
(26:54):
united together in Christ.
And this is what Paul's saying.
Let me show you something reallycool In Ephesians, chapter 1,
verse 4.
I want you to follow with mehere Now.
Remember who Paul's writing to.
He's writing to a group ofChristians that includes Jews
and Gentiles.
Which one is Paul, jew orGentile?
Paul's a Jew.
He's writing this Now.
I want you to look with me atthe pronouns he uses Now, just
(27:17):
in case it's been a while sincehe was in class.
Pronouns are the I, we, you,they.
I don't want to insult yourintelligence, I just want to
make sure we're all on the samepage.
Okay, look at the pronouns hereand I want you to follow with
me, starting in verse 4.
We'll just read the verses.
We just read.
Paul says he chose us.
Okay, that's the pronoun.
(27:37):
Is that singular or plural?
Okay, plural, okay, I'm reallynot intending.
Okay, all right, we got choseus.
Singular or plural.
It's plural and it's firstperson.
It's referring to him andothers.
Second person would bereferring to you, okay, and
(27:57):
third person is they.
So what we've got is us, firstperson plural.
He chose us.
Then, in verse 5, he predestinedwho Us.
Verse 6, to the praise of hisglorious grace which he has
freely given.
Who Us and the one he loves.
Verse 7, in him we same picture, first person, plural pronoun.
(28:19):
We have redemption.
Verse 8, he lavished on us.
Verse 9, he made known to usthe mystery of His will.
Verse 11, in Him we were alsochosen, verse 12, in order that
we, who were the first to hopein Christ, might be for the
praise of His glory, verse 13,.
And what you See changes there.
(28:40):
You also were included inChrist when you heard the word
of truth, the gospel of yoursalvation.
Having believed, you weremarked in him with a seal.
Why did he switch there?
Get the picture.
Paul is recounting what God hasdone and what Christians,
jewish and Gentiles knew in thefirst century, what God had done
(29:03):
throughout the Old Testament,his chosen people in the Old
Testament, the people of Israel,the Jewish people, and Paul's
saying he chose us, hepredestined us, he did these
things for us.
And then he gets to verse 13and you can almost see his eyes
fixing on those GentileChristians and saying and you
also, not just us, not just usJewish Christians, you also were
(29:28):
included in this picture, youalso are in Christ, and this was
huge for them.
The result of this divisionbetween Jews and Gentiles in the
church was oftentimes Gentileswould feel almost like
second-class Christians andthey're not really a part of the
people of God.
They're kind of like B-team.
They came into this deal late,they're kind of behind the curve
(29:53):
, and that was the sense thatwas oftentimes created in this
bringing together of Jews andGentiles in the church,
oftentimes created in thisbringing together of Jews and
Gentiles in the church.
And you know, it's not aJewish-Gentile thing necessarily
in this room, but there is atendency.
There is a tendency forbelievers in this room to
(30:25):
sometimes think, or at the veryleast feel sometimes, like you
don't quite measure up, likethere's things in your past that
you're not proud of and really,at the core, ashamed of that
make you look at other believersand almost see them at a
different level, so to speak,and you're a little more down
the line, b team, second class.
(30:47):
And I want to remind everysingle brother or sister in this
room that you and I alike arethe body of Christ and no one
more important than the other,higher than the other.
We are together in this thing,united as the body of Christ,
(31:08):
Because we were all dead andwe're all alive only by His
grace.
That's the picture Paul isgiving us here.
We're His body.
We'll fly through these nexttwo.
We're His building.
This is the two other imagesthat Paul uses in the book of
Ephesians.
We're His building.
You get to the end of chapter 2when he's talking about
(31:30):
reconciling Jews and Gentilestogether.
It's great verses, verse 19,.
You are no longer foreignersand aliens, but fellow citizens
with God's people and members ofGod's household, built on the
foundation of the apostles andprophets, with Christ Jesus
himself as the chief cornerstone.
Listen to verse 21, ephesians 2.
In him, the whole building isjoined together and rises to
(31:52):
become a holy temple in the Lord, and in him you too are being
built together to become adwelling in which God lives by
his Spirit.
Now, when the Bible talks aboutthe church as a building, it's
not talking about bricks andmortar.
It's talking about a people,but a people who are depicted as
a building.
It's the same thing, paul in 1Corinthians, when he talks about
how our bodies are temples ofthe Holy Spirit and the Spirit
(32:14):
dwells in each of us.
That's completely true in theNew Testament.
At the same time, 1 Corinthians, chapter 3, he says that in 1
Corinthians 6.
1 Corinthians, chapter 3, sametime, 1 Corinthians, chapter 3,
he says that in 1 Corinthians 6,1 Corinthians, chapter 3, he
talks about how, together, weare a temple.
And the reality the NewTestament is teaching us is that
Christ dwells.
The Spirit of God dwells ineach of us and in all of us as a
(32:35):
body.
We're His building and we'reHis bride.
Ephesians, chapter 5 is whenPaul talks about the church as
the blood-bought bride of Christ.
Revelation 19 talks about thewedding supper of the Lamb, when
the bride of Christ, dressedand ready that's us will meet.
(32:56):
Him in all of His fullness.
This is the picture.
We are united by the grace ofChrist.
It's good to be a part of thebody of Christ.
This is one of those facetswhere we realize this is so much
different.
What happens in this room is somuch different than any other
(33:16):
organization or club or group ofpeople or anything.
There's a spiritual realitythat's expressed in this room.
We're united by the grace ofChrist.
Second, we have been filledwith the power of Christ.
Now here's where it gets.
Well, I'm not going to say itgets good because it's been good
, but it gets even better,filled with the power of Christ,
(33:39):
his body, verse 23,.
Ephesians 1, 23,.
The church is His body, thefullness of Him.
Now we'll take you on a littletour again Fullness, circle
every time you see the wordfullness, chapter 3, verse 19.
I want to show you how Paul inEphesians and we're going to go
to Colossians again uses thisterm fullness, completeness.
(34:02):
Look at chapter 3, verse 19.
He's getting to the end of thisprayer that he's praying.
Second prayer he prays and hesaid, to know the love that
surpasses knowledge, that youmay be filled to the measure of
all the fullness of God.
Circle it there fullness.
Then you get to chapter 4,verse 13.
It talks about how the body ofChrist is growing up into Christ
(34:24):
.
And when it says there, inverse 13, last part of it
attaining to the whole measureof the fullness of Christ,
circle it there.
Then go over to Colossians.
Remember one book pastPhilippians, colossians, chapter
1, verse 19.
Listen to what Paul says there,colossians 1.19, talking about
(34:45):
Christ.
God was pleased to have all Hisfullness dwell in Him, the
fullness of God dwelling inChrist.
Same thing he says inColossians, chapter 2, verse 9.
Colossians 2, verse 9.
In Christ this is one of thoseverses that just these verses
(35:05):
just point to the deity ofChrist.
In Christ, all the fullnesscircle it.
There, fullness of the deitylives in bodily form.
So what we've got is Paultalking about the fullness of
God and the fullness of Christ.
But it begs the question whatdoes it mean, then, for the
church to be the fullness ofChrist, right, okay, we've got
(35:28):
this picture there's a fullnessin God and the fullness of God
is in Christ, all of His deityin Christ.
Well, what does it mean for thechurch, then, to be the
fullness of Christ?
Now, I want you to follow mehere and follow this line of
thought that Paul is showing ushere, and we will come to a
(35:50):
couple of truths that will takeour breath away.
First line of thought Startdown this path.
Christ has all authority.
Christ has all authority.
We just saw this in Colossians.
The fullness of God, who hasall authority, is in Christ.
The fullness of God dwells.
Christ possesses the fullnessof God.
(36:13):
Now Paul.
Come back to Ephesians 1.
Here Paul, in the versesleading up to verse 22 and 23,
gives us a picture of theauthority of Christ, and it's a
grand picture.
Check out this portrait ofChrist in Ephesians 1.
Verse 19, he starts talkingabout the power of God and in
verse 20, he talks about thepower of God displayed in Christ
(36:33):
.
And I want you to see thispicture of Christ and His
authority.
Listen to what it says.
Verse 20.
The mighty strength which Godexerted in Christ when he start
here, when he raised Him fromthe dead.
God raised Him from the dead.
Christ has authority over sinand death and the grave.
(36:55):
Anybody else have that kind ofauthority?
I mean, at this point, at thispoint, jesus is separated apart
from everyone and everythingelse.
This is sufficient, but this iswhere he's just getting started
.
So you got this in your notes.
First, he is the risen Savior.
He's risen, but not just risen.
Paul continues that's justwhere it started Raised him from
(37:24):
the dead and seated him at hisright hand in the heavenly
realms.
That's what we've seen the lastcouple of weeks.
Christ sat down at the righthand of God that he is exalted
there, just like we mentionedearlier in our worship
Philippians 2, 9-11.
God has exalted Him to thehighest place, giving Him the
name that is above every name,that the name of Jesus.
Every knee will bow, everytongue confess that he is what
he's Lord.
So he is the risen Savior.
(37:45):
And second, jesus is theexalted Lord, seated at the
right hand of the Father,exalted as Lord over all.
And he begins to talk about whatthat means.
He is, verse 21,.
Far above all, rule andauthority, power and dominion.
Now, when Paul uses words likethat rule, authority, power and
(38:07):
dominion these are words that heuses in the New Testament that
were common in the culture ofthat day to refer to angelic
beings, rules, authorities,powers.
Angelic beings, both goodangels in heaven and demons in
hell, bad, spiritual forces ofevil the picture is Christ is
(38:27):
above them all.
It's what Hebrews, chapter 1,verse 4, says Christ is superior
to angels, he is above them all.
And's what Hebrews, chapter 1,verse 4, says Christ is superior
to angels, he is above them all.
And then I love, love, thisnext part Far above all, rule
and authority, power anddominion and every title that
can be given, isn't that good?
Like you think of a title abillion years from now.
(38:52):
You think that will showsupremacy and Christ tops it
forever.
You can't come up with a titleover which Christ is not supreme
.
You think about the practicalramifications here.
Christ reigns supreme overevery leader in all of history,
(39:12):
with whatever title theyattributed to themselves or had
attributed to them.
He is risen Savior, exaltedLord and sovereign King.
He's above all, and puts aperiod on it.
Paul does in verse 22 and saysGod placed all things under His
feet, all things.
(39:33):
Christ is the King who reignsover everything.
Everything that goes on in theUnited States and in China and
in North Korea and Iraq andAfghanistan, it's all under His
reign.
Everything that goes on in yourbusiness or your home is under
His reign.
Everything that goes on in allbusiness or your home is under
His reign.
Everything that goes on in allcreation is under His reign,
(39:54):
because all things are under Hisfeet, sovereign King.
Now here's where it gets reallyinteresting.
What Paul is not saying here isthat Christ has authority over
the church.
That's not what Paul's sayinghere.
Now follow with me.
That's true that Christ hasauthority over the church.
(40:16):
We see that in other places inScripture.
Even this whole imagery inColossians of Christ being the
head and the church, the body,asserts his supremacy over the
body.
But that's not what Paul sayshere.
Listen to what he says.
God placed verse 22, all thingsunder His feet and appointed
Him follow this to be head overeverything for the church.
(40:42):
Well, that's interesting.
Not head over everything,including the church, but God
has placed Christ overeverything.
The language here is for thechurch, on behalf of the church,
as a gift to the church.
What does that mean?
Well, the next phrase tells uswhich is His body, the fullness
(41:07):
of Him.
So don't miss it.
The body of Christ possessesthe fullness of Christ.
Next step here Follow thisChrist has all authority and the
church has the fullness ofChrist.
God has given Christ allauthority for the church.
The church has the fullness ofChrist, plural, the fullness to
(41:30):
fill completely.
This is exactly.
Let me just read Colossians 2,9 and 10.
Christ in Christ, all thefullness of the deity lives in
bodily form and you have beengiven.
Paul says you have been givenfullness in Christ, who is the
head over every power andauthority.
So the church has the fullnessof Christ.
(41:50):
Do we realize what this meanswhen you put these two together?
Follow here If Christ has allauthority and the church, has
the fullness of Christ, then allthe authority in all the earth
belongs to who?
(42:10):
The church.
Ha All the fullness of God andChrist and all the fullness of
Christ and the church.
Do you catch what Scripture issaying here?
He shares His authority with us, you say what do you mean?
(42:35):
Think about it.
Christ raised from the dead,christ resurrected.
Brother or sister, you willalso be resurrected.
He shares this with you.
Christ exalted.
What do you mean Sharing that?
Listen to Ephesians 2, verse 6.
God raised us up with Christand seated us with Him in the
(43:02):
heavenly realms in Christ Jesus.
I'm not making this stuff up.
This is real.
Can you believe this?
It's what?
Go back to 1 Corinthians 3.
Just go back a couple books.
You go to Galatians and 2Corinthians, 1 Corinthians.
Look at 1 Corinthians, chapter3.
This is mind-blowing,breathtaking truth.
(43:23):
1 Corinthians, chapter 3, verse21.
This is another setting wherethere was division in the church
.
Paul's addressing thatDifferent people following
different leaders.
Paul says forget thesedifferent leaders.
Do you realize what you have?
Verse 21,.
Verse Corinthians 3,.
So then, no more boasting aboutmen.
All things are yours, whetherPaul or Apollos or Cephas, or
(43:46):
the world, or life or death, orthe present or the future.
All are yours and you are ofChrist and Christ is of God.
Brothers and sisters, do werealize this?
All the fullness of Christpossessed by us as the church,
(44:09):
by us as the church?
Therefore, we do not believethe lie of the adversary in our
culture that the church today isweak, frail, fragile,
(44:39):
struggling, questionable tosurvive blasphemy.
We have the authority of JesusChrist.
The question is do we realizewho we are and what we have?
We are not victims to sin.
(44:59):
We are victors over sin.
We are not powerless in thepagan culture that surrounds us.
We have power over everythingin the pagan culture that
surrounds us.
We have power over everythingin the pagan culture that
surrounds us.
We are not afraid of spiritualstrongholds.
We demolish spiritualstrongholds.
(45:21):
We have no fear when it comesto the mission set before us
because we know.
We know that we haveresurrection waiting for us and,
certainly in economic timeslike this, we are not worried
about the future.
We are confident in the futurebecause we are seated with
Christ in the heavenlies and thestock market can do nothing to
(45:45):
change that Nothing.
Do we realize this?
All the authority and all theearth belongs to the church.
Christ has said to us all of myresources are at your disposal
for the accomplishment of yourlives and your mission on this
(46:07):
earth.
We can't control the thingsthat go on around us in our
culture.
We cannot control the differentthings that people think and do
.
We cannot control the culture,but we can control our
confidence and the authoritythat's been entrusted to us.
(46:32):
The question is do we believethese things?
Do we really believe thesethings?
Do we really believe when weshare the gospel in our culture?
Do we really believe?
Do we live like we believe?
Do we speak like we believe,that, no matter how tall, no
matter how wide, no matter howthick the walls are, that our
culture and people in theculture set up against the
gospel?
Do we really believe that theycome crashing down when the name
(46:53):
of Christ is proclaimed?
This is the authority we havein the church and it's for the
purpose of mission.
This gets in a thirdramification here United by the
grace of Christ, filled with thepower of Christ, and we are now
a display of the glory ofChrist, a display of His glory.
Now, before we see this inEphesians, just think about it.
(47:14):
Think about this GreatCommission, remember Great
Commission.
Therefore, go and makedisciples of all nations.
Therefore, what's that about?
Don't gloss over, therefore.
Maybe the most important wordthere, what's it there for?
Takes us back to verse 18.
Jesus came to them and said allauthority in heaven and on
earth has been given to me.
(47:34):
Therefore, in light of this, inlight of the fact that I have
all authority, you go and makedisciples of all nations.
This is the basis for what wedo and it's what Paul's talking
about here the fullness of himwho fills everything in every
way.
The picture we see it all overscripture it's God in his glory
filling the earth, goddemonstrating His glory, filling
(47:57):
the earth with His glory.
And we see the glory of Goddisplayed in Christ,
demonstrated in Christ.
John 1, 14,.
We have seen His glory, theglory of the one and only.
We've seen in Christ the gloryof God, glory of the one and
only We've seen in Christ theglory of God.
But here's the problem Christis seated at the right hand of
(48:19):
God in the heavenlies.
So how is the world going tosee the glory of Christ if he's
at the right hand of the Fatherand is not on this earth?
God says I'm going to unite apeople by my grace and I'm going
to fill them with the fullnessof Christ and they're going to
(48:40):
be a display of my glorythroughout the world.
This is the picture.
God's design is to use the bodyof his Son to show the glory of
His Son to all creation.
Let me show this to you.
Ephesians, chapter 3.
One of the.
Is it the last place or secondto last place we're gonna turn.
(49:03):
I can't remember Ephesians 3.10.
Look at this, look at thispicture.
Just this is one of those.
Take your breath away.
Verses you ready?
Ephesians 3, 10.
Listen to this God's design.
His intent is what verse 10says Follow along.
God's intent was that now,through the church, the manifold
(49:28):
wisdom of God should be madeknown to the rulers and
authorities in the heavenlyrealms.
Now think about this one withme Through the church, the
manifold wisdom of God.
So this is God's intent.
What is he going to do?
Through the church, he's goingto take his manifold wisdom.
What is that?
That is the revelation of hisglory in the salvation of
(49:50):
sinners.
Wisdom of the cross.
Wisdom Seems like foolishnessto man, but this is the plan
that God's going to bring.
His plan for salvation Sonpurchasing salvation, the Spirit
preserving it, bringing Jewsand Gentiles together, this
mystery of salvation united bythe grace of Christ, all that
we've talked about.
(50:12):
God's going to display His gloryin the salvation of Christ, all
that we've talked about.
God's going to display Hisglory in the salvation of
sinners Through the church, themanifold wisdom of God.
Now, who is he showing Hiswisdom off to?
The manifold wisdom of Godshould be made known to the
rulers and authorities in theheavenly realms.
Now we've talked about this.
These are words that refer inthe New Testament to angelic
beings in the heavenly realms,both good and bad.
(50:33):
And so don't miss this.
Think good.
Heavenly angels, angels inheaven.
God is going to display Hiswisdom and His glory to angels
in heaven in what he does increating a church to angels in
heaven, and what he does increating a church.
One author said God iseducating the angels by the
(50:57):
means of the church, and it'sexactly what the New Testament
teaches 1 Peter, chapter 1.
Angels long to look into thesesorts of things.
Luke 15,.
One sinner repents.
There is rejoicing in heaven.
They see the glory of God andthe salvation of sinners.
They long to see it.
God's displaying His glory, butnot just on the good side of
(51:24):
things here.
One more place to turnEphesians, chapter 6, verse 12.
You've got to see it.
Paul uses this phrase inEphesians 6, 12.
Our struggle, he says, is notagainst flesh and blood, but
against the rulers, against theauthorities, against the powers
(51:45):
of this dark world and thespiritual forces of evil in the
heavenly realms.
So what God is doing in thechurch is not just to show
angels His glory, but to displayHis glory before the spiritual
forces of evil in the heavenlyrealms.
Catch this.
God has designed His intent.
(52:09):
It is to take David Platt and ATScott and Rosie Durham, cheryl
Turner and Nan Priest, jimmyRogers, and to take them in the
depth of their sin, objects ofthe wrath of God and to reach
(52:32):
down His hand of grace to eachone of our lives and to open our
eyes to salvation and to raiseus up victorious over sin and to
seat us with Christ in theheavenly realms, so that for all
(52:53):
of eternity, their lives willbe a pronouncement to angels in
heaven and demons in hell thatGod is great and he is gracious,
and he is wise and he is worthy.
Do we realize what we're a partof?
(53:17):
One author said your life ismuch bigger than a good job, an
understanding spouse and goodkids.
It is bigger than beautifulgardens, nice vacations and
fashionable clothes.
In reality, you are part ofsomething immense, something
that began before you were bornand will continue after you die.
God is rescuing fallen humanity, transporting them into His
(53:40):
kingdom and progressivelyshaping them into His likeness,
and he has called you to be apart of it.
This is what it means to be apart of the church.
We're a part of God's grandredemptive design to show His
glory in the church.
We're part of God's grandredemptive design to show His
glory in the world.
God is saying look at thechurch and you will see my Son.
(54:01):
Look at the church, you willsee my Son.
This is why this is why we can'tgo at Christianity alone.
We cannot cave in to theindividualism of American
culture in the church.
Because you think, well, I canglorify Christ on my own, and,
(54:24):
yes, we're supposed to glorifyGod with everything we do.
But listen to what Ephesians 1,22 and 23 is saying the
fullness of the glory of Christis displayed not in you and you
and you and you, but in us in abody together.
This is where the glory ofChrist is displayed.
So, for the sake of the gloryof Christ, leave abandoned,
(54:44):
self-centered, self-dependentChristianity and give yourself
to a body of Christ.
And don't we realize thesethings?
We realize that being a part ofthe church is so much deeper
(55:09):
than sitting next to somebody inan auditorium and going to a
class with some other people.
The fear that that's what we'vecreated church to be, in the
process undercut everythingEphesians 1, 22, and 23 is
(55:29):
teaching us.
We are a community, a people.
It's why we are talking aboutwhat it means to be a covenant
community, what it means to becovenanted together, united by
the grace of Christ, filled withthe power of Christ and
displaying the glory of Christ.
And this is why, in the days tocome, we are going to dive into
(55:51):
Scripture and really look atwhat it means to commit our
lives to one another, based onScripture, in no way with the
purpose of adding burdensomeyokes upon each other, in no way
united by the grace of Christ,committed to loving each other
for the glory of Christ.
The reason for covenant andcommunity is because we want to
(56:13):
celebrate His grace, we want todemonstrate His power and we
long to communicate.
His glory clearly to all theworld.
Speaker 1 (56:25):
We hope you've enjoyed this week's episode of
David Platt Messages.
For more resources from DavidPlatt, we invite you to visit
radicalnet.
Popular Podcasts
On Purpose with Jay Shetty
I’m Jay Shetty host of On Purpose the worlds #1 Mental Health podcast and I’m so grateful you found us. I started this podcast 5 years ago to invite you into conversations and workshops that are designed to help make you happier, healthier and more healed. I believe that when you (yes you) feel seen, heard and understood you’re able to deal with relationship struggles, work challenges and life’s ups and downs with more ease and grace. I interview experts, celebrities, thought leaders and athletes so that we can grow our mindset, build better habits and uncover a side of them we’ve never seen before. New episodes every Monday and Friday. Your support means the world to me and I don’t take it for granted — click the follow button and leave a review to help us spread the love with On Purpose. I can’t wait for you to listen to your first or 500th episode!
Crime Junkie
Does hearing about a true crime case always leave you scouring the internet for the truth behind the story? Dive into your next mystery with Crime Junkie. Every Monday, join your host Ashley Flowers as she unravels all the details of infamous and underreported true crime cases with her best friend Brit Prawat. From cold cases to missing persons and heroes in our community who seek justice, Crime Junkie is your destination for theories and stories you won’t hear anywhere else. Whether you're a seasoned true crime enthusiast or new to the genre, you'll find yourself on the edge of your seat awaiting a new episode every Monday. If you can never get enough true crime... Congratulations, you’ve found your people. Follow to join a community of Crime Junkies! Crime Junkie is presented by audiochuck Media Company.
Ridiculous History
History is beautiful, brutal and, often, ridiculous. Join Ben Bowlin and Noel Brown as they dive into some of the weirdest stories from across the span of human civilization in Ridiculous History, a podcast by iHeartRadio.