1-1 The Time Had Fully Come: In the book of Ecclesiastes, we are told about the times and seasons of life. That means that the Lord has ordained special times for people to unveil his plans for a new beginning in life for them. Just like November is no more summer but fall and before long, it’ll be winter. Those who are still stuck in summer mode will not make the adjustments to their machinery or crops. The mystery now made known in Eph 3 is not just a new season or even a new phase in history for humankind. I’m trying to find the right word: New epoch? A new half?. Those who understand this realize that they become a radically new generation of people. They are on a road to a totally new different life from what they had before. That’s how revolutionary the Gospel is and that is why for the past 2000 years, human history has changed radically.
1-2 Grace v Legalism: Before the unveiling of mystery, how Paul lived was totally opposite to what he is now writing about. That previous life was all about rules and regulations - legalism. Legalism makes people uptight and judgmental because they don’t understand grace. Today in parts of Israel, you have a Sabbath elevator. That means on a Saturday, if you get into a Shabat elevator, you don’t have to press the buttons as the box automatically goes down or up but to every floor. That’s the religion Saul was practising: harsh and legalistic!
1-3 Sitting and Receiving: We are now still in the posture of sitting with Christ. This is a posture of resting or receiving. It is not something that we deserve or must work for. It is out of the abundance of grace. All this must have sounded strange to his audience, who have never known anything that was given to them at no cost. Sometimes, we who are brought up in a very commercial world think that anything that doesn’t have a $ price tag can’t be good. Grace means unconditional giving.
Today, I want to talk about 3 things that comes with this change i.e. the Gospel:
1. Power (3:7). 2. Unsearchable Riches (3:8). 3. Manifold Wisdom (3:10)
2.1. Dependence: This Gospel is not just words but words carrying a message and it comes with great transformative power both in the life of the speaker as well in the life of the listener. In the KJV, the words “effectual working” are used. “Effectual” is not the same as “effective.” Effective means what is done already. Effectual means it can work and do. When you think about it, it means God has given the power but that power is going to work in our lives but we can resist it, we can minimize it and prevent it from having the transformative. When we allow God to have his way, that power comes across.
Why do you think we need to be reminded?
Because the human will has to submit to the Lordship of Christ for the kingdom to be effective in his life. We need to yield! Therefore, the posture is one of dependency.
Think of Saul on the Damascus Road: he was blinded but was told to go to Damascus. Saul could have resisted and said no but he went as told to do. God’s power is transmissible as He wants His people to be strong in the Lord: There is a principle that is practiced by servants of God and that is learning how to wait. “Those who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength” (Isa 40:31). It means hoping, trusting, and obeying. God’s power comes to those who have learnt the secret of waiting on and praying. The early Antioch church worshipped and fasted. People don’t just fast for no reason. The Spirit then speaks for them to set apart Barnabas and Saul (Acts 13:2).
2.2. Weakness: we have that lesson that Paul learnt when he had that “thorn in the flesh” (2 Cor 12:9). Jesus had to be made weak. Paul says “he was crucified in weakness but lives in the power of God. For we also are weak in him but in dealing with you we will live with him by the power of God” (2 Cor 13:4). Being weak means a life lived in total dependence on Jesus. It is a life lived in prayer and having the power of discernment about what God’s will is.
3.1. “Unsearchable?”: They are unsearchable because they are not apparent to the naked eye. Humans can try and try to get empowered but they are not accessible unless it comes from Christ. What are some of these riches? We should go to 1 Cor 1:30 for an idea of what happens to those who are “in Christ” – we see that he (Christ) became to us “wisdom from God, righteousness, and sanctification and redemption.”
3.2. Righteousness: Jesus is our righteousness. He is not just a role model but his righteousness becomes ours. That’s what being “in Christ” means.
The language of the bride and bridegroom is used to describe the union of Christ and his church. It is not that we become sinless but our state assumes Jesus’s state and that is the beginning of the journey. Righteousness also means being declared sinless, justified. We no longer carry the guilt of sin. We are free from the burden of guilt!
3.3. Sanctification: Paul says “it is no longer I who live but Christ who lives in me” (Gal 2:20). We are all on a journey of progressive sanctification.
3.4. Redemption: I want to use the metaphor of a mortgage to describe redemption. We all take loans when we buy property and when we do the bank has title on the property even though our names appear as owners. The bank or lender has legal rights, a charge on the property and they have the right to foreclose and sell the property when we don’t make the monthly payments. But, the day will come when we pay off the loan and the mortgage is discharged. That means we regain the right to fully own the property and the bank non longer can exercise rights over the property. The loan has been discharged and the property has been redeemed. I should liken redemption to restoration. The Gospel has restored our relationship with God and it is moving to the place where it is intended to be.