Ephesians: All things in Christ - Week 2

Good morning, church.

This past week I had to travel to Hudson Valley, New York for work.

And it was an incredibly long week for me, but a very rewarding one.

And let me tell you, up north, it's absolutely beautiful this time of the year.

All the fall colors and the mountains and the valleys.

And it's it's really, it really is something to see.

And for this particular project, I got to take my wife with me, which uh made it made made the long drive a lot more enjoyable.

But as beautiful as it was, and as much as I enjoy my time there, absolutely nothing beats being here with you guys.

And I really mean that.

Worshiping the Lord with you all, opening the word with you all.

I look forward to it every week.

Now, something interesting happened while I was preparing for this week's sermon.

I got a text from Luke about worship, and he asked a pretty simple question.

He says, What is the main point of the text this week?

What is the main point of the text?

And that at that very moment, I was sitting there working through the structure of the sermon when he texted me and studying the context and thinking back of what we learned last week.

And his question got me thinking.

Because how do you take something as enormous as God's eternal plan for all creation and boil it down into a simple statement?

As a matter of fact, it took me a couple of tries.

I said in two different things.

I said, How do you how do you summarize what God has been doing since before the foundation of the world?

And you see, last week we began studying one of the most remarkable passages in all of Paul's writing.

The original Greek for Ephesians chapter 1, verses 3 to 14 is actually one long sentence.

Ephesians 1:3–14

It's like one running, long sentence, a long, uninterrupted expression of praise.

It's almost as if Paul begins thinking about everything God has done for us in Christ, and then he simply cannot stop praising him.

And last week we look at how God chose us in Christ, how he predestined us for adoption, and how it all was accomplished according to the purpose of his will and to the praise of his glorious grace.

But this week, Paul is going to take us somewhere even bigger, if you'd believe it.

You know, as I was traveling this past week, I was reminded of just how beautiful God's creation can be.

How you look at the trees and the mountains and the valleys and all those beautiful full colors.

And when you're down among the trees, you can appreciate the beauty of each of each individual one.

As you're walking around, you look at the trees, you look at the leaves, you're like, man, this is beautiful.

But then when you step back and you see the whole landscape, you begin to appreciate something entirely different.

You begin to see the bigger picture.

And church, I think sometimes we do the same with our salvation.

We looked at, we look at what Jesus had done for us, and rightly so.

We think about our sins being forgiven, we think about being rescued from judgment, we think about the incredible gift of eternal life.

And church, those are glorious truths.

We should meditate, we should ponder on those things.

But sometimes we're so focused on the individual trees that we miss the beauty of the entire landscape.

Because of what I told you, because what if I told you that your salvation, as wonderful and miraculous as it is, is part of something much, much bigger?

What if I told you that before you ever sinned, before you ever needed forgiveness, before the foundation of the earth were laid, God already had a purpose.

And what if I told you that at the very center of that purpose was Jesus Christ?

Church, that's exactly what Paul is going to show us in that passage today.

Today, so our redemption through Christ is not an isolated act of forgiveness, it's part of God's eternal purpose to unite all things in Him.

There was no plan B.

God wasn't caught off guard by the fall of man in the garden.

The cross wasn't an emergency plan.

God's plan has always been bigger than our sin.

And at the center of that plan has always been Christ.

And today, as we continue our series, All Things in Christ, we're going to see this incredible truth unfold in three simple but powerful movements.

Number one, we are redeemed by his blood, redeemed by his blood.

Number two, we are included in his purpose, included in his purpose.

And number three, we are united under his lordship.

We are redeemed by his blood, included in his purpose, and united under his worship, his lordship.

We are redeemed, included, and united.

And church, if you leave here today with a deeper understanding of what that means, what it means to be redeemed by Christ, included in God's eternal purpose, and brought under the lordship of Jesus, then I believe you will leave with a greater reason to praise Him.

You will live with a greater reason to praise him.

But we're not going to stop simply at understanding those words.

That's certainly nice and is good.

We're going to dig deep into the scripture and the right and writing out some and I'm sorry, ringing out every ounce of truth that God, that God's word has for us.

So if you would stand with me for the reading of the word and turn with me to Ephesians chapter 1, beginning in verse 7.

Ephesians 1 · chapter mention

In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, which he lavished upon us in all wisdom and insight, making known to us the mystery of his will according to his purpose, which is set forth in Christ, as a plan for the fullness of time to unite all things in Christ, things in heaven, and things on earth in him.

Let's pray.

Father God, you are holy, holy, holy.

You are perfectly set apart.

You're gracious and good, you're kind to us.

Lord, thank you for saving our souls, for making us part of your family, for giving us an opportunity to come to you every day, anytime we need it, and to have a relationship with you.

Lord, thanks for your word that reveals who you are, reveals your purpose for our lives.

Lord, I pray that through the preaching of your word, your name would be glorified, and that we may etch every part of it into our hearts and that we may live in light of this truth.

Lord, we praise your holy name.

We pray in Jesus' name.

Amen.

You seated.

Okay, number one, redeemed by his blood.

We are redeemed by his blood.

Church, before we can understand what God is restoring, we must first recognize what sin has broken in us.

We need to understand what sin has broken in us.

Because I believe one of the greatest dangers facing the church today is that we have become so familiar with the language of salvation that we forget just how desperately we need to be saved.

And if we could remember how desperately we need to be saved, perhaps we would be more bold in sharing the message of salvation.

We get too familiar, we get too familiar with the concept that God has saved our soul that we forget what He saved us from and what He saved us for.

And if we can understand the gravity of that, then perhaps we will be more bold and more willing to share that truth with others.

We sing about redemption, we talk about forgiveness, we celebrate the grace of God, and we should, we absolutely should.

But we true, but do we truly understand what it means to be redeemed?

Do we understand what it costs?

And perhaps more importantly, do we understand why that price had to be paid in the first place?

You see, sin had created a chasm between humanity and God, so deep and so wide that if we were to stand on one at the edge of one, at the edge of it, we could not even begin to see to the other side.

And no amount of effort, no amount of good works, no amount of religious activity could ever build a bridge to cross it.

Why?

Because the problem isn't just that we made a few mistakes.

The problem is that we are sinners.

We are sinners.

Romans 3 23 tells us, for all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.

All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.

Not some of them, all of us.

All of us have sinned.

That includes you, that includes me.

Every person that has ever lived apart from Jesus Christ has fallen short of the glory of God.

And then Romans 6.23, just a few chapters later, tells us something even more sovereign than that.

He says that the wages of sin is death.

Church, the wages of sin are not inconvenience.

The wages of sin are not regret.

The wages of sin is death.

That is the penalty for our rebellion against a holy and righteous God.

And when scripture speaks of death in this way, it's not just speaking of the physical death that every one of us will eventually face.

It's also pointing forward to the terrible spiritual consequences of our judgment.

It's final.

Sin has broken the relationship we were created to enjoy with our creator.

And to understand just how devastating that is, I want us to go all the way back to the beginning, back to the garden, back to Genesis.

And you remember the story.

Everything he made was good.

And at the pinnacle of his creation, he made men and women in his own image.

He made them image bearers of God.

Adam and Eve lived in a world untouched by sin.

There was no shame, there was no death, there was no separation from God.

They enjoyed fellowship with their creator.

But then came Genesis chapter three.

The serpent tented Eve.

Adam disobeyed God's command, and sin entered the human story, and suddenly everything changed.

The very people who had enjoyed fellowship with God were now hiding from him.

Shame enter the picture, fear entered the picture, death entered the picture, and humanity's relationship with God was fractured by sin.

But church, the consequences didn't stop with Adam and Eve.

They reached all the way to us.

Turn with me to Romans chapter 5, beginning in verse 12.

Romans 5 · chapter mention

We're gonna go from 12 to 15.

Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin.

And so death spread spreads to all men because of all because all sin.

For sin indeed was in the world before the law was given, but sin is not counted where there is no law.

Yet death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over those who sin, even though even over those whose sinning was not like the transgression of Adam, who was the type of the one who was to come.

But the free gift is not like the trespass.

For if many died through one man's trespass, much more have the grace of God and the free gift by grace of that one man, Jesus Christ, abounded for many.

Did you catch what Paul is saying there?

He says, Through one man, Adam, sin entered the world.

And through sin it became death.

And death spreads to all mankind because we all have sinned.

In other words, the consequences of the fall were not confined to the garden.

We are living with them today.

Every funeral is a reminder that something has gone terribly, terribly wrong with God's creation.

Every broken relationship, every act of wickedness, every moment of suffering reminds us that we live in a world deeply affected by sin.

And even more personally, every one of us has contributed to that brokenness through our own sin.

But church, I'm so glad that Paul doesn't end the story with Adam.

Because in Romans 5, Paul begins to show us a beautiful contrast.

Through one man came sin and death, but through another man came grace and life.

And that man is Jesus Christ.

Where Adam disobeyed, Christ obeyed.

Where Adam trespassed, brought condemnation, Christ's righteousness brings justification.

Where sin brought death, Christ brings life.

And this is why the gospel is such good news.

Because the chasm that we could never cross on our own has been bridged by Jesus Christ.

Not because we climbed our way to God, but because in his great love and mercy, he came down to us.

Jesus Christ, truly God, truly men, lived a sinless life we could never live and died the death that our sins deserved.

And through his sacrifice, redemption has been made possible.

Now with that in mind, look again to Ephesians 1, 7.

Paul writes, In Him we have redemption through His blood.

In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses according to the riches of His grace.

And I want you to notice those first few words.

In Him we have redemption.

Not we might have redemption, not we are trying to earn redemption.

Not one day, if we work hard enough, perhaps we will deserve it.

No.

Paul says, In Him we have redemption.

For those who are in Christ, redemption is not a possibility, it is a present reality.

But what does the word redemption actually mean?

The Greek word Paul uses here carries the idea of liberation through the payment of ransom.

It is the language of someone being set free from bondage, but at a cost.

And that is exactly the picture that Paul wants us to see.

We were enslaved to sin, we could not free ourselves, we could not pay the price, but Jesus Christ has accomplished what we never could.

And what was the price of our redemption?

Paul tells us plainly.

Through his blood.

Through his blood.

Let's not just fly by those words.

Our redemption was not purchased with silver and gold.

It was not purchased with wealth, the wealth of the nations.

It was purchased with the precious blood of Jesus Christ.

The Son of God gave his life so that sinners like you and me could be forgiven and brought back into fellowship with God.

That's the cost of our redemption.

And this week, as I was preparing for this sermon, I came across a story that illustrates this beautifully.

I think you kids will love this.

There once was a little boy who lived in a town along the shore of a great lake.

And this little boy absolutely loved the water.

He loved watching the sailboats glide across the lake, and he dreamed of having a boat of his own one day.

So one day, with the help of his father, he decided to build one.

Not a full-size boat, but of course, but a beautiful little model sailboat.

And they worked on the boat for months.

And they carefully shaped the wood and fitted the pieces together and painted the hole and attached it, attached the little sails.

And when they finally finished, the boy was so proud of what they had made.

And it was his boat.

And he had spent hours working on it.

And one day he took it down to the lake, like to sell it.

And at first everything was going perfectly.

The little boat floated beautifully across the water, its sails catching the breeze.

But suddenly a strong gust of wind came sweeping across the lake.

And before the boy could do anything, before the boy could do anything, the wind caught the sails and carried the little boat further and farther away.

He ran along the shoreline trying to follow it, but the boat kept drifting and drifting further and further apart.

Until finally it disappeared from sight.

The little boy was heartbroken.

Day after day he returned to the lake, walking along the shore, hoping that somehow his boat might wash back up, but it never did.

Until one day, he was walking through town and something caught his eye.

There, sitting in the window of a shop, was his boat.

He recognized it immediately.

He rushed inside the shop the store and he told the shopkeeper, Sir, that's my boat.

I made that boat.

The shopkeeper explained that a fisherman had found it and sold it to him.

And if the boy wanted it, he would have to pay for it.

Now, can you imagine that?

He had made the boat, he had lost the boat, and now if he wanted to have the boy the boat back, he had to buy it.

So the boy went to work.

He saved every penny he could, he did whatever little job he could find, and finally, after saving enough money, he returned to that shop, he placed the money on the counter, and the shopkeeper handed him his boat.

And the little boy held that precious boat in his hands and he looked at it and said, You are twice mine now.

Because I made you and because I bought you.

Church, what a beautiful picture of redemption.

We belong to God because He's our creator.

He's the one who gave us life, He made us in His image, and through sin, humanity fell into the bondage and alienation from Him.

We drifted further and further and further apart.

And God, in His great love and mercy, did not leave us there.

He came to redeem us.

But unlike that little boy who purchased his boat with a few coins, the price of our redemption was infinitely greater.

It cost the blood of his son.

Listen to the words in 1 Peter 1, 18 through 19.

Knowing that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver and gold, but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without bl without blemish or spot.

Not silver, not gold, but the precious blood of Christ.

Church, that is how serious our sin is, and that is how glorious our Our Redeemer is.

But I want you to notice something else in Ephesians 1:7.

Ephesians 1:7

Paul doesn't just say that we have redemption through his blood.

He tells us that that redemption accomplishes the forgiveness of our trespasses.

Forgiveness.

Our guilt before God is dealt with through the sacrifice of Christ.

The debt we could never pay has been answered by one, by the one who gave himself for us.

And why would God do such a thing?

Was it because we're worthy?

Was it because we deserved another chance?

Was it because God looked down and saw on us something wonderful and he simply had to save us?

I know you know the answer.

The answer is no.

Paul says exactly why.

He says, according to the riches of his grace.

Grace.

Unmerited favor, the goodness of God poured onto those who could never earn it.

Our redemption is not measured according to the riches of our goodness, but according to the riches of his grace.

And that changes everything.

Because if our redemption depended upon our goodness, we would have no hope.

If our redemption depended upon our upon, but because our redemption rests upon the finished work of Christ, those who belong to Him can have complete confidence that it has been accomplished.

So, church, let me ask you something.

When was the last time you stopped and truly considered the price of your redemption?

When was the last time you stopped and truly considered the price of your redemption?

When was the last time you looked at the cross and remembered that your forgiveness was purchased by the blood of Jesus?

Because I believe that when we truly understand what we have been redeemed from, we cannot help but stand in awe of the one who redeemed us.

Point number two, included in his purpose.

Included in his purpose.

Let's go back to the text and read Ephesians 1, 8 through 9.

I want you to notice something here.

Paul tells us that God has made known the mystery of his will.

Now, when we hear the word mystery, what do we normally think of?

Something hidden, right?

Something that we have to figure out, a puzzle that needs solving.

But that's not exactly what Paul means here.

In this context, he it refers to something that was previously hidden, but now has been revealed by God.

God is not asking us to solve some great cosmic puzzle.

He's telling us that he has revealed his eternal purpose through Jesus Christ.

And what I want you to think back, I want you to think back to that mountain illustration from earlier.

When I was standing down in the valley, surrounded by the trees, I can only see what was immediately in front of me.

You see individual trees, winding roads, maybe a stream running through the woods.

But those and those things are beautiful.

But imagine climbing all the way to the top of a mountain, and suddenly your perspective changes.

You can see the valley stretching out before you.

You can see how the rivers wind through the landscape, how the forest connects, and how the mountains rise in the distance.

Things that seemed separate below suddenly become part of one magnificent picture.

The landscape hasn't changed, but your perspective has.

In verse 7, we're looking at the incredible gift of our personal redemption.

Our sins forgiven, our debt is paid, our freedoms purchased through the blood of Christ.

And now Paul is taking us up the mountain.

He's allowing us to see something far greater than our individual salvation.

He's showing us that our redemption is part of a part of the plan that God had established before the world even began.

Do you remember what we talked about last Sunday, Ephesians 1:4?

Ephesians 1:4

He tells us that God chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world.

And in verse 5, he tells us that he predestined us for adoption to himself through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will.

Think about that for a moment.

Before the mountains were formed, before the oceans were filled, before the stars shone in the heavens, God had already purposed to bring his people to himself through Jesus Christ.

Our salvation is not some small isolated event in the grand scheme of history.

Our salvation is an event of cosmic proportions.

Not because we're so great, not because the universe revolves around us, but because our salvation is part of the eternal purpose of God who created the universe.

And notice what Paul says about this purpose.

In verse 9, he tells us that the purpose was set forth in Christ.

And verse 8 tells us that his grace was lavished upon us.

And I love that word, lavish.

God did not give us just a little grace, not enough to get by.

Because so often we talked about being saved.

We focus entirely on what we've been saved from.

We've been saved from sin, saved from condemnation, saved from judgment, and we same saved from the judgment we deserve.

And praise God for all of those truths, truths.

But listen carefully.

We have not simply been saved from something.

We've been saved for something.

For something.

We have been redeemed for the purposes of God.

We have been adopted into his family.

We have been called to live holy and blameless before him.

And ultimately, ultimately, church, we have been saved for his glory.

For his glory.

Ephesians 1, 6 from last week, to the praise of his glorious grace.

That's what it says.

We've been saved to the praise of his glorious grace.

That's the purpose.

Our salvation is not ultimately about making much of us, it's about making much of Jesus Christ.

And we went when we understand that it changes the way we live.

We stop asking, Lord, what can you do for me?

And we begin asking, Lord, how can my life bring glory to you?

How can my life bring glory to you?

The God who redeemed you is also giving your life an eternal purpose, and that purpose is found in Christ.

But here's the beautiful thing.

Paul isn't finished taking us up the mountain just yet because in verses eight and nine revealed that our salvation is part of God's eternal purposes.

Verse 10 is going to show us how far that purpose reaches.

It's bigger than you, it's bigger than me, it's bigger than the church gather in this room.

In fact, it encompasses all of creation.

And at the very center of it all stands Jesus Christ.

So if we have been redeemed by his blood, number one, if we have been included in his purpose, number two, and now we're going to see what it means to be united under his lordship.

So three, united under his lordship.

Look with me at verse 10.

As a plan for the fullness of time to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth.

I want you to consider the magnitude of what Paul is saying here.

He says, All things, not just some things, not just the church, not just the people who are sitting here in this room this morning.

He says, All things, things in heaven, things on earth.

Paul is telling us that all story is moving towards one glorious conclusion.

And that conclusion is Jesus Christ.

He's telling us that all history is moving towards one glorious conclusion.

And that conclusion is Jesus Christ.

Now remember that mountain we've been climbing throughout this sermon?

We started down in the valley looking at our own redemption.

We saw the brokenness of sin, the incredible price Jesus paid, the chasm between us and God.

Then Paul begins to take us higher, revealing that our salvation was part of God's eternal plan and purpose before the foundation of the earth, a cosmic event.

But now, church, we have reached the summit.

And from here, the view is breathtaking.

Because we're no longer looking at just one valley and one mountain or even one generation.

We're looking at the entirety of God's redemptive plan.

From creation to the fall, from the promises made to Abraham to the coming of Jesus Christ, from the cross to the empty tomb, from the birth of the church to the glorious return of our Savior.

All history is moving towards the fulfillment of God's purpose in Christ.

And I want you to notice something else.

Paul says that this will happen in the fullness of time.

In the fullness of time.

In other words, God has appointed a time for the fulfillment of his plan.

History is not wandering aimlessly.

God is not sitting in heaven wondering how everything is going to shake out and turn out at the end.

He's sovereign over all things.

And when the fullness of time comes, everything will be brought under the rightful authority of Jesus Christ.

But what exactly does Paul mean when he says that all things will be united in him?

Well, we can already see the beginning of this work in the people of God.

Think about what Christ has done in his church.

People from different backgrounds, different cultures, different walks, different interests, all brought together into one body.

And we are united, not because we look alike, think alike, or we frequent the same places.

We're united because we belong to the same Savior.

In fact, Ephesians 2, Ephesians chapter 2, in Ephesians chapter 2, Paul is going to show us something remarkable.

Ephesians 2 · chapter mention Ephesians 2 · chapter mention

Through the cross, Jesus has broken down the dividing wall of hostility between Jews and Gentiles, making one new humanity in himself.

People who were once separated are now members of the same household of God and church.

That's not something the world can accomplish.

That is the work of Jesus Christ.

But his purpose doesn't stop with the church, it extends to all creation.

Paul says in Romans 8.21 that the creation itself will be set free from the bondage, bondage to corruption, and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God.

Did you catch that?

Creation itself, the world around us, bears the consequences of the fall.

We see decay, we see suffering, we see death.

Even the beautiful mountains and valleys we talked about earlier exist in a world subject to corruption.

But God has promised that creation itself will be set free.

Church, the gospel is not simply the good news that God is rescuing sinners from a broken world.

It's also the good news that God is bringing his creation towards its appointment, restoration under Christ.

We have something to look forward to.

We were safe from something, for something, and we have something to look forward to.

And this is why Paul writes in Colossians 1:16, for by him all things were created in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible.

Colossians 1:16

And then he says, all things were created through him and for him.

Everything was created through Christ and everything was created for Christ.

He's not just a character in the story, he is the center of the story.

Now, this doesn't mean that everyone will automatically receive salvation.

Scripture is clear that there is judgment for those who reject Christ.

But it does not mean that nothing in all creation will ultimately remain outside of his rightful authority.

Every enemy will be defeated, every rebellion will be brought to an end, and those who God has chosen to believe will believe.

And every knee will bow before the King of kings and the Lord of Lords.

Philippians 2 10 to 11, if you recall, says, so that at the so that at the name of Jesus, every knee should bow in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father.

That's where history is heading.

It ends with that.

Everything under Christ, united in him, not towards the triumph of sin or the victory of death, not towards the universe forever, not towards a universe forever broken by the fall, but towards a glorious reign of Jesus Christ.

And here's what makes this so incredible, so remarkable.

The same Jesus who will reign over all creation is the Jesus who shed his blood to redeem you.

The same Jesus that will reign over all of creation is the same Jesus who shed his blood to redeem you.

The King of the universe is our redeemer.

The Lord of all of creation is our savior.

Jesus, our judge and our savior.

What an incredible truth.

And through faith in him, we have been brought into his eternal purpose.

Now, last week in verses four through six, we looked back into eternity past.

Before the foundation of the world, God chose us in Christ, predestined us for adoption.

And then today in verses seven to eight, we look at the blessing we possess right now: redemption, forgiveness, and the riches of his grace.

And now in verse 9 and 10, Paul points our eyes towards eternity future.

The glorious fulfillment of God's eternal purpose when all things are united in Christ.

You see it?

The past, the present, and the future all centered in Christ.

Before the foundation of the world, God's purpose was in Christ.

Today our redemption is redemption is in Christ, and in the fullness of time, all things will be brought together in Christ.

Church, this is why we named this series, All Things in Christ, because it is all about Jesus.

And we begin to understand that it should change everything about the way we live.

It should change the way we worship, it should change the way we face suffering, it should change the way we think about our future.

Because if all history is moving towards Christ, then why would we spend our lives moving away from him?

Why do we spend our lives making decisions that move us away from him?

If everything is created for his glory, then why would we live for our own?

I know that we're covering a lot of deep doctrine and theology through this series.

And church, theology is not simply meant to fill our heads with knowledge, it's meant to lead us into worship.

It should help us understand more of who God says he is, his purpose, his will.

What we know about God should move us to praise God, and our praise should move us to live for God.

So as we stand here today looking out from the summit of this glorious passage, I want you to remember three things.

You have been redeemed by his blood, you have been included in his purpose, and in Christ, you have been brought under his lordship.

You have been redeemed by his blood, included in his purpose, and brought under his lordship, redeemed, included, united.

And all of it to the praise of his glorious name.

Let's pray, Father God.

Thank you.

Thank you, Lord, for saving our souls.

You're so good to us, we are so undeserving of your grace.

But you've bestowed it on us.

You richly give it to us.

And for that, Lord, we are thankful.

Lord, I pray that you would you would make these words alive in our hearts, that we may live here today.

Remember that we have been redeemed and remembering the cost of that redemption, Lord, that we have been included as part of your family.

We're included into your purpose.

And Lord, let us rejoice that you will unite all things in Christ.

And make us ever mindful that we are part of this story.

That we have partnered with you to accomplish your great will and your purposes, all for your glory of your name.

And it's in Jesus' name we pray.

Amen.