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Ephesians 1.1-12
Part III
August 18th 2019
MILK
So we left off last week talking about verses 4-6 of our chunk of our verses 4-12.
And in that study I proposed that the elect and predestined are most certainly the Nation of Israel – and if you challenge that interpretation I challenge you to watch last weeks Milk teaching dated August 11th 2019.
So bearing this interpretation in mind verses 4-6 read:
4 (God) According as he hath chosen us (the Jews, The Nation of Israel) in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love:
5 Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will,
6 To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved.
And we talked about the phrase, “from the foundation of the world,” and that it might, in contrast to popular opinion which always seems to suggest that we are talking about the formation of the physical earth, but that it might be referring to the foundation of the world of the Jew, of THAT or THEIR world which was established when Moses took them out of Bondage to Egypt, gave them the Law, established the Prophets, as that is when God began to call them His elect or chosen people.
Earl asked me what the Greek term was for world there – and it really would have been nice if it was oikomenia but in actuality it is kosmos, which might ruin this view all together.
So let’s pick it up at verse 7 now which says, referring to Jesus
7 In whom we (the Nation of Israel) have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace;
8 Wherein he hath abounded toward us in all wisdom and prudence;
9 Having made known unto us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure which he hath purposed in himself:
10 That in the dispensation of the fulness of times he might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; even in him:
11 In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will:
12 That we should be to the praise of his glory, who first trusted in Christ.
Back to verse 7 where Paul, in describing the efficacious work of Christ on behalf of those under the Law of sin and death, writes
7 In whom we (that Nation) have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace.
It’s a perfect match to them as a Nation who before were shedding the blood of animals for the temporary propitiation of sin and forgiveness in anticipation for the only True Messiah promised to come and emancipate them once and for all.
This gift was in and through the GRACE of God through His shed blood which gave them the permanent forgiveness of sin.
The New Testament is replete with passages that reiterate the elements of this permanent propitiation, those of Christ, His blood, forgiveness, and Grace.
In fact that line, the riches of His grace is unique to Paul and his writings alone which helps establish Ephesians as coming from his hand.
Then speaking of this grace Paul further elaborates on the value or quality of it, saying:
8 Wherein he hath abounded toward us in all wisdom and prudence;
Meaning, this grace bestowed was not limited or stunted but was liberally manifested toward them in the face or wisdom of this great plan of salvation predestined to true Israel first.
Paul says that it was given in both wisdom and prudence, suggesting unfathomable intelligence evidences by the hand of God. And at this point Paul introduces us to the idea of the mystery that he will speak to on several occasions throughout this epistle.
Last week we read how Paul explains what this mystery is in other parts of this epistle and that he plainly tells us that it refers to the fact that God is taking the predestined House of Israel whom He elected and joined with them – their body, their church – the gentile nations of believers.
We noted that this verse (9) is what helps us see the context and application of the predestination spoken of here is as he is clearly referring to the Nation of Israel here in verses 4-12 as “we and us” and then he clearly distinguishes the gentile nations that will join them as ye and or you beginning at verse 13.
So, verse 9 says
9 Having made known unto us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure which he hath purposed in himself:
Ro 16:25; Eph 3:4,9,11; Col 1:26; 2Ti 1:9
The word translated “mystery” of his will is “musthrion” which literally “something into which one must be initiated before it is fully known” and then “anything which is concealed or hidden.”
Clearly in the New Testament the interpretation is something that has not yet been revealed.
But Paul says that God made known unto us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure which He has purposed in himself.
I got a question for you all. Scripture says that God is good, He is fair, He is just, He is love – and if we take all of this at face-value, trusting it, what would we believe “his good pleasure which he hath purposed in himself?”
I mean, He cannot be a despot who inflicts pain on His creations because he wants to see them suffer, right?
And he wouldn’t have created us in such a way that we would disappoint him so that he could then punish us, right?
And then if he is good and can purpose things in himself according to his “good pleasure” we would certainly believe that He would purpose in Himself things that are fair, good and loving, right?
So even though I think we put the Reformed ideas to bed last week on how they interpret Ephesians 1:1-12, let’s just talk for one minute about the ways God is described by the majority of religious approaches out there relative to his Good Pleasure toward us human beings.
Calvinists say that God is Sovereign and with his ability to do and be and purpose anything He wants to do, according to His good will and pleasure, HE choses only save some. Not most. Never all. But just some He chooses to elect to His kingdom and the Calvinist mindset says that this same God who elects the few CHOOSES, of HIS OWN PLEASURE, to have the majority of the world suffer in a literal burning hell forever.
This is the pleasure of God’s Good Will to a Calvinist – to actually create human beings, knowing that He would NOT elect them, therefore sending them to hell forever.
On the other hand, the other major view, the Arminianist view is this: That God – though Good and loving and Light – is sort of impotent and subject to the whims and will of the universe and choices of Man.
Their view of God is that while He is good and loving, He is incapable, due to the free will of man, to prevent human beings from choosing wrongly, and subjecting themselves to His just wrath.
In this situation God then is said to have created human beings, fully away that human beings would choose badly, but he created them anyway, knowing that they were going to blindly refuse His love and therefore suffer forever in the eternal flames of hell forever.
So where Calvin’s God is powerful but just mean and unwilling to save or elect all, the Arminianist God, while omniscient, he lacks the power to fix the situation the creations he formed are in – and therefore human will trumps his own.
Here in Ephesians 1 I see a God who, according to his own good pleasure, purposed in himself to predestine a Nation of people, because He wanted to, to bring forward everything necessary to accomplish all that was necessary for the redemption and reconciliation of Man.
I see a God in the rest of scripture who triumphed over the victory Satan initially had in the Kosmos, a God who through His only Human Son paid for the sin of the world, including the price of human alienation from God forever, and then I see that God, having fixed the issues that inserted themselves between His freewill creations and Himself, not does all he can to reach out to all of His creations by His Spirit while allowing all people the right to freely choose to pick him or this world as their focus and God.
To me, this purposing in himself is from the type of God I know, love and trust.
And it is this bringing together into one body the mystery that was not before known that Paul speaks of here in these verses. In fact, Paul pretty clearly explains this mystery and its meaning to us in the next verse – which is a wonderful summary of it in my estimation, saying:
10 That . . . in the dispensation . . . of the fulness of times . . . . he might gather together . . . . in one . . .. all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; even in him:
Holy guacamole, batman. This is what God was purposing in his heart to His own pleasure? That
In the dispensation of the fullness of times
He might gather together
In One
ALL things in Christ
Both which are in heaven and which are on earth, Even in Him . . . .
The WEB translation reads:
“to an administration (in the Oikomenea) of the fullness of the times, to sum up all things in Christ, the things in the heavens, and the things on the earth, in him.”
The word oikonomia, which is the same as our word “economy,” best means the “plan which the administer of an administration – like a President of the United States, has established for the management of the Nation.” Similarly, it could mean, “the plan the Patriarch of a Family has for his tribe during a period of time.”
To me, this is describing what God has intended all along – that in the dispensation (that period) of the fulness of times (when the Law and the Prophets were confronted by the only true Messiah who brought Heaven to earth and fulfilled all things)” God would gather all things (the Jews and the Gentile Nations)” in Christ – and Paul does not limit the gathering to just those who are alive and on earth but both from those who “are in heaven” AND the things on earth – in Him.
This was the wrapping up of everything necessary to complete the heavenly family, the Bride, the Body of Christ, and to launch it into the age to come, this age of the Spirit, this age of faith and love for those who are his.
That dispensation then was when God by and through the Predestined nation, through His Son, and through the Gospel going to all men, established the New Heavens and the New Earth, with a New Jerusalem on high after wiping out everything that had to do with the former shakable Kingdom.
It was the founding of His eternal unshakable kingdom that would rule and reign over the HEARTS and MINDS of those who are truly His. Not those who feign allegiance by virtue of religious activity but those who have His laws written on their hearts and on their minds.
It was the establishment of a new economy – with a new administrator – Christ – who having overcome all was given the Kingdom of Man over which to reign.
This was the fullness of times – the complete consummation of all that had happened and come before it.
And the mystery was unfolded to them then – that God was going to gather together in one – a Greek term that means that God was going to reduce different sums down into one common denominator – with the two being the Jews and the Gentiles – into one denomination – a denomination of the heart where the Spirit of Love and its fruits reign – “all things-which are in heaven, and which are on earth!
God – in that dispensation and age – oversaw this gathering of the two into one – this great mystery that Paul alludes to.
And what have men and Man and humankind been doing with it ever since?
Breaking it up by the man-made justification that they are actually keeping it together!!
My goodness, when will we see that the One is spiritual, governed by the Spirit whose fruit is love – plain and simple. A love for God and a love for others?
Paul makes this open unity and oneness clear when he wrote in 1st Corinthians 3:21
Therefore let no man glory in men. For all things are yours;
22 Whether Paul, or Apollos, or Cephas, or the world, or life, or death, or things present, or things to come; all are yours;
23 And ye are Christ’s; and Christ is God’s.
He laid out the Governance of the Oikonomea when he wrote
1st Corinthians 11:3 But I would have you know, that the head of every man is Christ; and the head of the woman is the man; and the head of Christ is God.
He explained how human beings fit and function in this Kingdom saying in Galatians 4:4
Galatians 4:4 But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law,
5 To redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons.
He emphasized the value on the cross in breaking down all barriers and said in Eph 2:15-17
15 Having abolished in his flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances; for to make in himself of twain one new man, so making peace;
16 And that he might reconcile both unto God in one body by the cross, having slain the enmity thereby:
17 And came and preached peace to you which were afar off, and to them that were nigh.
He described what unifies the family of Heaven in Ephesians 3:14-19
14 For this cause I bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
15 Of whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named,
16 That he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man;
17 That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love,
18 May be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height;
19 And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God.
He described the complete reign that Jesus has over all of this Kingdom in Philippians 2:9-10, saying
9 Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name:
10 That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth;
He describes the scope of this reconciliation in Colossians 1:20 saying:
And, having made peace through the blood of his cross, by him to reconcile all things unto himself; by him, I say, whether they be things in earth, or things in heaven.
And who described the timing of these good things that God had purposed in himself, saying in 1st Peter 1:19-21:
19 But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot:
20 Who verily was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you,
21 Who by him do believe in God, that raised him up from the dead, and gave him glory; that your faith and hope might be in God.
When Paul says that God gathered “all things” the Greek is “ta panta,” written in what is called the “neuter gender.”
It is not just all persons, all angels, or all men, or even all the elect, but ALL things.
I think Paul used this phrase purposefully as right here in this first chapter of chapter of Ephesians verses 17-22 we read:
17 That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him:
18 The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints,
19 And what is the exceeding greatness of his power to us-ward who believe, according to the working of his mighty power,
20 Which he wrought in Christ, when he raised him from the dead, and set him at his own right hand in the heavenly places,
21 Far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come:
22 And hath put all things under his feet, and gave him to be the head over all things to the church,
23 Which is his body, the fulness of him that filleth all in all.
Later we will read in Ephesians 4:10
“He that descended is the same also that ascended up far above all heavens, that he might fill all things.”
And finally, we consider
Colossians 3:11 which says
“Where there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcision nor uncircumcision, Barbarian, Scythian, bond nor free: but Christ is all, and in all.”
I am of the opinion, and some of you may dispute this heartily, but that Christ is in and over all things. That along the way many of us get him and His kingdom wrong, but he is there.
I am of the opinion that Christ has the hearts of people of all walks, all religions, in all denominations and expressions – not that any denom is all Christ, but that all denoms have those in their midst who are His.
We know them by their love and other manifestations of the fruit of the Spirit. I think we need to really really really loosen up our criticism of individuals who happen to embrace specific denominational expressions.
I am not suggesting that we loosen up on the denominations nor their power or manipulations, but lets give a lot of rope to those who otherwise appear to love but are involved with spurious groups.
Christ is all in all. God writes on the hearts who are His. And His are everywhere.
At verse 11 Paul continues now and says:
11 In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will:
We covered this passage last week and explained what it appears to mean contextually – that relative to the Nation of Israel God predestined them, elected them, called them and appointed them “according to the purpose of Him who works all thing after the counsel of his own will,” which, as I have explained, I believe is a GOOD, EFFECTIVE, VICTORIOUS WILL FOR THE BENEFIT OF ALL HUMANKIND.
And here we come to another passage relative to all things – but this time instead of it speaking of Christ being over all and all and in all and all it speaks of God “who worketh all things.”
I suggest that this speaks to God who accomplishes the designs of His objectives to enact and engage all things necessary for the free will of Man to be present.
I do not read this as an oppressive despot of sovereignty forcing his will upon his subjects.
And Paul adds his last comments to the Nation of Israel here, saying:
12 That we should be to the praise of his glory, who first trusted in Christ.
It is the last use of we here with respect to the Nation whom God predestined to do what was necessary to bring about and establish his will to be done –
In Bringing forth his chosen people, who received the Law and provided the prophets who composed the Old Testament; a people who would construct the Tabernacle and the Temple, and who would bring forth the priesthood, the Messiah, and all the God would use to overcome the effects of the First Man Adam.
In so doing those of the House of Israel who were True Israel, who sincerely loved and sought and tried to please God, they would be to the praise of His glory, who in the scheme of this grand plan were the first who trusted Christ.
I sometimes think about the devotion of those Jews who ardently sought God and truly wanted to please Him with the whole of their lives.
Here Paul is telling us that in with them God had brought the Gentile Nations. I used to think that the sold out Jew was far more devoted and focused on God and His will and ways but I can’t help but wonder if this was a mistake in my thinking – that devotion to God is devotion to God – and whether Jew or Gentile, those who are His in the Body of Christ are in all probability very much the same in their heart toward him.
Of course at this point, as we pointed out last week, Paul shifts. In verse 4-12 Paul uses the terms “we,” “us” eight times and the term “predestined” (referring to the Jews) twice.
Here, at verse 13, Paul shifts in his descriptions of non-Jews, Gentiles or heathen nations who would be privy to the Good News because of what God had established in and through the Nation of Israel and in describing all of us, he, in one verse, uses ye and or you five times and the terms trusted and believed twice.
So after saying that the Nation of Israel, who of all people, were the first to have trusted Christ, adding that they would therefore be to the praise of God’s glory, Paul adds
13 In whom ye also trusted, (meaning Christ – meaning after the Gospel was given to the Jews the converts from the Gentile Nations had it extended to them and so of them Paul can say, “In whom you ALSO trusted,” (not whom you were predestined to trust but “in whom YOU also trusted,”he says, “after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, (again, not after you were predestined to accept but after you chose to believem Paul says) “you were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise,
This passage is Paul describing how the Good News – established and founded in and by those of the Nation of Israel, made its way, so to speak, into the lives and hearts of the Non-Jewish, Gentile world.
The Gospel was preached, they heard it, they believed and received it and because of this, THEY (the Gentiles then and now) were sealed with the Holy Spirit of Promise.
Paul affirms the words of John found in the first chapter of his gospel where we read the following which start off speaking of Jesus and says in John 1:10:
10 He (Jesus) was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not.
11 He came unto his own, and his own received him not.
12 But as many as received him (not as many as were predestined to believe or receive Him but as many who received Him who were not His own), to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name: (again! Not to as many as were predestined to believe on His name but as many Gentiles who did) And John adds
13 Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.
And this last statement speaks of this sealing given to all who believe on Jesus of the Holy Spirit, making them, in the Spirit, His own.
Paul speaks of this sealing of the Holy Spirit in other places too. For instance we read in 2nd Corinthians 1:22
“Who hath also sealed us, and given the earnest (the downpayment or earnest deposit) of the Spirit in our hearts.”
Then in chapter 6 of that book Paul again mentions the earnest of the spirit, saying
“Now he that hath wrought us for the selfsame thing is God, who also hath given unto us the earnest of the Spirit.”
Later in Ephesians Paul will write:
“And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption.”
And so in several places, believers are reminded that when they believe and receive all that God has done to save and reconcile the world to Himself by and through His Son, he seals them with the Holy Spirit of promise which lets the person know that they are His by the earnest deposit of that spirit in their hearts.
It seems that the Holy Spirit is called the Holy Spirit of Promise for a couple of reasons.
First, the Holy Spirit WAS promised on a number of occasions by Christ to His Apostles.
We see most of these promises recorded in the Gospel of John (16:7-11,13; 15:26; 14:16,17).
We then, of course, discover the fulfillment of this in Acts chapter 2 on the Day of Pentecost.
But the Holy Spirit is also called the Comforter, and its capacity to comfort us seems to come from promises affirmed.
In other words, in times of trials and difficulty the comforter assures us (promises) us that God is with us, that everything will be okay, that He is faithful.
Finally, the very presence of the Holy Spirit is a promise to all who have it that they are His – both here and in the here to come.
So, in these ways we see the Holy Spirit as the Holy Spirit of Promise.
Wrapping it up, there are those who see the Holy Spirit of Promise in another light as taken from scripture.
Paul, having passed through the upper provinces of Asia Minor, came to Ephesus and he found certain persons who were the Disciples of John the Baptist, and he asked them if they had received the Holy Ghost since they “believed.”
They replied that they had not heard whether there was any Holy Spirit and that they had been baptized unto John’s baptism – which remember, was a baptism of water unto repentance and therefore did not present any automatic inhabitation of the Spirit – unless we consider his baptism when it was bestowed on Jesus.
So Paul taught them the true nature of the baptism of John; explained to them the Christian system; and they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus, and there we read and
“the Holy Ghost came upon them, and they spake with tongues, and prophesied.”
Here in Ephesians 1:13 when Paul writes to Gentiles that “They were sealed by the Holy Spirit of promise, after they had believed,” some believe that this is what he is referring to – that they were given the full evidence of the favor of God in the descent of the promised Holy Spirit upon belief in Christ – so the promise, then associated with the Holy Spirit, is that if and when a person receives and believes in Christ, they are Promised the Holy Spirit will come upon them and they will manifest its presence through speaking in tongues and prophesying.
OF course this is taken very seriously by our Pentecostal friends who insist that all people manifest these same outward indicators as a means to prove that they have in fact received the Holy Spirit.
Let’s end here.
Questions/Comments
Prayer
Nancy and Dave
Jax and Parents
