Ephesians pt. 2 (BC & AD)

Ephesians pt. 2 (BC & AD)

B.C & A.D
Ephesians, Pt. 2
By Pastor Dan Kennedy
© June 7, 2015
www.pastorkennedy.com

God has given His Children Spiritual Blessings…
Last week we reviewed a listing of Spiritual blessings that Paul enumerated for the Church at Ephesus…and for all believers in Jesus Christ.

Ephesians 1:3-14:
• God has blessed us with every spiritual blessing we need – in heavenly places (v. 3).
• God Chose us to be in Christ before the foundation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight (v. 4)
• God Predestined us, because of His Love for us, for adoption through Jesus Christ (v. 5-7).
• God lavished His wisdom and insight on us revealing the mystery of His Will (v. 8-9).
• God’s plan is revealed, in the fullness of time, to unite all things in heaven and earth under the Headship of Christ (v. 10).
• God has made us part of His eternal plan and His will is always accomplished (vs. 11-12)!
• God has sealed us with His Promised Holy Spirit, so His will is certain to be accomplished (vs. 13-14).
Right now, we may have a difficult time processing the enormity of these heavenly gifts, and our ability to fully perceive how these Spiritual blessings interact practically in the dynamic of our daily life, but one day we will understand the complete measure of these profound Blessings!
That which may help us understand the fuller aspects of Spiritual life and blessing is to understand where we had been in our old life, in the past, before we became a believer in Jesus and before His Holy Spirit began His transformation of our life.

Let’s first look at Paul’s observations of the “old life” in Ephesians 2:1-10.

B.C.
(Before Christ – the spiritual life of those before they believe in Jesus Christ and have not have his or her life transformed by the Holy Spirit)

Ephesians 2:1–10
2 As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, 2 in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. 3 All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our sinful nature and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature objects of wrath. 4 But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, 5 made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved. 6 And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, 7 in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. 8 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— 9 not by works, so that no one can boast. 10 For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

• Previous life B.C. – Before Christ (Eph. 2:1-2)
o Spiritually Dead: Dead in transgressions and sins (v. 1)
o Peer Following: Followed the ways of this world (v. 2)
o Led, Dominated and Controlled by the spirit of the Prince of Darkness: Ruled by the prince of the kingdom of this world (v. 2)
The spirit who is now at work in those disobedient

• Universal Depravity: We all lived this way at one time (v. 3)
o Gratifying… the cravings of our sinful nature
o Following… our sinful nature’s desires and thoughts
o Objects of God’s Wrath: Like the rest, we were by nature objects of God’s wrath (v. 3)

• God’s Love Delivered Us: Because of God’s Great love for us (Eph. 2:4-5)
o Rich: He is rich in mercy (v. 4)
o Alive: He made us alive with Christ (v. 5)
Even when we were dead in transgressions
It is by grace you have been saved

• Elevated by God: God raised us up with Christ (v. 6-7)
o Seated Us: And seated us with Him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus (v. 6)
o Coming Ages: In order that in the coming ages He might show the incomparable riches of His grace (v. 7)
Expressed: Expressed in His kindness to us in Christ Jesus

• Saved by Grace: For it is by grace you have been saved (v. 8-9)
o Through what? Through faith
o Generated by us? It is not from ourselves
o How do we obtain Salvation? It is the gift of God
o How does God NOT Give Salvation? Not of works
Why? So no one can boast

• Created to Serve: We are God’s workmanship (v.10)
o How are we Created? Created in Christ Jesus
o What are we Created to do? To do good works
o When was this Planned? Which God prepared in advance for us to do

In these verses Paul summarizes the carnal life of those who do not know Christ and reveals how one obtains Salvation, by Grace through faith in Jesus Christ.

If we turn back to the first chapter of Ephesians we see Paul’s heart as he prays for the believers in Ephesus, after he had shared the Spiritual Blessings in the first fourteen verses.

Paul gives us a clue as to what we might be praying for in our own maturing Christian lives: Wisdom and Revelation in our growing knowledge of God, and an enlightened heart to perceive with spiritual eyes the hope to which God has called us.

A.D.
(Anno Domini) After Christ’s Incarnation: God in flesh, Jesus Christ

A.D. (Our life, after we have become believers in Christ!)

Ephesians 1:15–23
15 For this reason, ever since I heard about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints, 16 I have not stopped giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers. 17 I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better. 18 I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, 19 and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is like the working of his mighty strength, 20 which he exerted in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, 21 far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every title that can be given, not only in the present age but also in the one to come. 22 And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church, 23 which is his body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every way.

• Thankful: Paul’s thanksgiving in hearing about the Believers in Ephesus (v. 15)
o For their faith in the Lord Jesus
o For their love for all the saints

• Prayer: Paul’s thanksgiving and prayer for these Believers in Christ (v. 16)

• Two Requests: Paul’s request to God on their behalf (v. 17-18)

1. Spirit of Wisdom and Revelation: That God may give them the Spirit of wisdom and revelation (v. 17)

2. Eyes of Heart Enlightened: That the eyes of their heart may be enlightened (v. 18-23)

Perspective and Perception

I used to cringe when fellow pastors or leaders in the church would say, “We need to do such and so, because we need to be ‘perceived’ in this or that way.” They believed that “Perception was Reality.”

I would try to counter that “Reality is Reality”, understanding that what a person “perceived” was his or her own interpretation of “reality”. [If we do the right thing, perception should take care of itself. It doesn’t with some people!]

The President’s Perception of the Cosmos
This week the President of the United States was reported to have tweeted out an observation about the universe after having been briefed by his science advisor.

“On Wednesday, President Barack Obama mentioned something curious in a tweet. It wasn’t about the Affordable Care Act, it wasn’t concerning national security and wasn’t part of the climate change conversation. Instead, it was a message about the cosmos.

“This was a fun briefing: My science advisor just showed me this Hubble shot of the most crowded place in our galaxy,” wrote the President, with a dazzling Hubble Space Telescope observation of the Arches Cluster, located some 25,000 light-years away toward the center of our galaxy.” [Note: one “light-year” is roughly six trillion miles long. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Light-year]

Click on link below (or copy and paste it in your browser) to view picture of the Arches Cluster and read the whole article: http://news.discovery.com/space/astronomy/hubble-image-inspires-white-house-to-ponder-our-cosmos-150604.htm

His advisor showed him a picture of one of the densest star clusters in our galaxy – “the Arches Cluster”. The President looked in wonder as do we all! His science advisor noted in the article that this picture was an “astonishing density of stars” and “this is just one piece of our own galaxy. There are an estimated 100 billion other galaxies in the observable universe.”

We humans cannot perceive what God thinks when He looks at that same point in our galaxy. God calls each star by name. He created them! (Who else did?) That is a little beyond our ability to perceive.

Psalm 147:4–5
4 He (God) determines the number of the stars;
He gives to all of them their names.
5 Great is our Lord, and abundant in power;
His understanding is beyond measure.

Jesus’ Perspective compared to Judas’

Mark 14

At Bethany in the house of Simon the leper, as Jesus was reclining at table, a woman came with an alabaster flask of ointment of pure nard, very costly, and she broke the flask and poured it over his head.

When Jesus was going to the cross there was a woman who anointed Him with very expensive perfume. Judas (the one who would betray Him), vehemently objected to the “waste” of such a costly commodity (valued at almost a year’s wages for a common man), when the perfume could have been sold and the proceeds given to the poor.

(Of course, Jesus knew that Judas’ perspective was somewhat skewed when it came to money, because Judas held Jesus’ and the disciple’s money in his purse, and he helped himself whenever he wanted. John 12:4-6)

Judas became so angry with this “waste” of expensive perfume, from his “self-righteous – helping the poor” perspective that this seemed to be the “last straw”. He went to the Jewish officials and offered to betray Jesus (Mark 14:1-11), initiating the final phase of Jesus’ journey to the cross – for our sins.

Jesus’ perspective was totally different…

Mark 14:6–9
6 But Jesus said, “Leave her alone. Why do you trouble her? She has done a beautiful thing to me. 7 For you always have the poor with you, and whenever you want, you can do good for them. But you will not always have me. 8 She has done what she could; she has anointed my body beforehand for burial. 9 And truly, I say to you, wherever the gospel is proclaimed in the whole world, what she has done will be told in memory of her.”

God’s Perception and Perspective is Considerably Different from Ours (and He also knows our skewed human perspective)

God is saying in this passage of Scripture in Ephesians, through Paul, that He wants us to understand the reality of His perspective, beyond normal human comprehension. It is a reality that He lives in, and a reality that those born into sin and deceived by the spirit of this world are blinded to.

God prompted Paul to pray for a “Spirit of Wisdom and Revelation” so we would know God better! And, that the “Eyes of our heart would be enlightened,” so we would have hope when we perceived what God wanted us to understand.

• Request: Paul’s request to God on their behalf (v. 17-18)

1. Spirit of Wisdom and Revelation: That God may give them the Spirit of wisdom and revelation (v. 17)

Why? So they may know God better
How do you get to know someone better?

2. Eyes of Heart Enlightened: That the eyes of their heart may be enlightened (v. 18-23)
• Why? In order that they may know the hope to which God has called them

Glorious Inheritance: The riches of God’s glorious inheritance in the saints (v. 18)
God’s Great Power: God’s incomparably great power for us who believe (v.19)

o What is God’s Power Like? God’s power is like the working of His mighty strength
Christ’s Resurrection: Shown when God raised Christ from the dead (v. 20)
Christ’s Place in the Heavenlies: And seated Christ at His right hand in the heavenly realms (v. 20)
• Above What? Far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every title that can be given. In this present age and also in the one to come
• What is Under His Feet? God has placed all things under Christ’s feet
• Appointed to What? God has appointed Christ to be head over everything for the church, His body, the fullness of Him who fills everything in every way.

Conclusion

These two passages in Ephesians identify two key differences in Spiritual Life:

1. Those living in spiritual death – unaware of the blinding and hypnotic effects of the curse of sin and of the spirit who is at work in the natural, unregenerated person.

2. Those Believers in Christ transformed by the Holy Spirit – who are redeemed from the kingdom of this world and its permeating spirit, while growing in their faith and maturity in Christ.

Paul continues by sharing his prayers for the believers in Jesus Christ. That we may have these two perceptions and perspectives in our transformed life…

1. A Spirit of Wisdom and Revelation, so that we will know God better, and

2. The eyes of our heart may be enlightened to know the hope to which God has called us:
a. The riches of God’s glorious inheritance in the saints
b. God’s incomparably great power for us who believe

As we continue to review the Book of Ephesians may each of us who know Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior, have this Spirit of Wisdom and Revelation to know God better, and may the eyes of our hearts be enlightened and enlivened to know the blessing and hope that God has for those who believe in Jesus Christ!