(uplifting music)
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>>Welcome to "Sabbath School,"
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brought to you by It Is Written.
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We're glad that
you could join us today
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as we continue our study
in the book of Ephesians.
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This week we are
looking at lesson number two.
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Lesson number two is "God's
Grand, Christ-Centered Plan."
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This is week two
of a 14 week journey
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that we are taking
through the book of Ephesians,
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and you are in for
some exciting things today.
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But before we begin,
let's start with prayer.
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Father, thank You for drawing
us together again this week
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as we continue our study
of the book of Ephesians.
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We ask that You would bless
us with a deeper understanding
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of not just this book,
but of You, Your character,
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and Your will for our lives.
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We ask Your blessing on our
study today and we thank You,
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in Jesus' name, amen.
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Well, not only are we
glad to have you with us today,
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we're also glad to have our
special guest, Dr. John McVay.
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He is the resident of
Walla Walla University.
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He has also served
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as the dean of the
seminary at Andrews University.
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John, welcome back once again.
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>>Nice to be back with you.
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>>So we've got a
really exciting study today.
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This is "God's Grand,
Christ-Centered Plan."
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Last week we kind
of got an overview
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of the book of Ephesians,
and we're digging down
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into some of the
meat of it this week.
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And we're really focusing
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on a passage in
the book of Ephesians,
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in Ephesians, chapter
one, that starts in verse three
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and goes down through verse 14.
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I'm gonna read verse three
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because it kind of
just gets us started
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and then I'm gonna
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let you run with it--
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>>Sure, sure.
>>...because there's a
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whole lot here. >>There is.
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>>Verse number three
says, "Blessed be the God
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"and Father of
our Lord Jesus Christ,
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"who has blessed us
with every spiritual blessing
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in the heavenly
places in Christ."
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And with that
verse, there's 12 more--
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13 more verses that,
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well, maybe my math's
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not exactly
right-- >>(laughing) Sure.
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>>...but a few more verses
that kind of unpack this--
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>>Yes. >>...and
help us understand
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several grand themes here
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in the book of Ephesians.
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Help us walk through this.
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>>Well, this
passage that's our focus
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for this week's lesson,
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Ephesians,
chapter 1, verses 3-14
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is a treasure,
Eric, and it's a treasure
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because we have a ringside seat
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in the heavenly places,
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at the throne room of God,
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where we have a chance
to listen, mouths agape,
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to the wondrous plans
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that God has for us
as believers in Christ.
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And we get to go back clear
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before the
foundation of the world
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to hear God,
through the prayers of Paul,
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to hear God speak grand promises
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and rich blessings to
us as followers of Jesus.
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>>So this is a passage
that should encourage us,
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it should inspire us.
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It gives us, as you
said, a ringside seat
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or a closeup view of not just
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what's happening around us,
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but of much deeper,
much more spiritual,
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much more eternal things.
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>>We tend to think, don't we,
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that things happen to us
randomly, that our lives were
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just a bit of
floating flotsam in the cosmos.
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This passage
corrects all of that,
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that our lives,
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our coming to faith
in Jesus is something
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that has been a
divine intention and dream
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throughout the
eons of time past,
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and wonderful to
have that ringside seat
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and to listen in on all of that.
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>>So help walk us through
a little bit of this passage.
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What are we finding here?
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>>Sure, the way I like to
summarize this passage, Eric,
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is that there
are eight verbs here,
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there are eight
verbs, and they're all good;
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nothing to fear at
all from this passage.
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They're all things that
God does for us on our behalf.
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So number one, God blesses us.
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Aren't you glad for that?
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>>Oh, that's encouraging.
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>>You know, God's
intention is to bless us
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in time immemorial,
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He intended,
purposed to bless us.
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And let's not miss that thought
just because it's expressed
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in common language
that we understand.
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God blesses us, and He
does that in a specific way.
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He does that with
every spiritual blessing.
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So get ready,
this whole passage,
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there's nothing
parsimonious here.
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He is not the
strict accountant saying,
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"I'm only gonna
give Eric, you know,
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"this little bit of my grace.
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"And eh, let's
mete out two grams
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of forgiveness to Eric today."
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Not what's going on here.
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This is grace
poured out in abundance.
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This is forgiveness
delivered in massive quantity
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more than we
could possibly need.
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>>He talks about
every spiritual blessing.
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>>Every spiritual blessing.
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And then the location
is interesting, isn't it?
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In the heavenly places or in
the heavenly realms in Christ.
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And this is how Paul,
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in numerous places in
Ephesians, refers to heaven,
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and we'll want to unpack that.
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We'll probably do that
as we study lesson four
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because that's
an interesting study
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to trace those occurrences.
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But we would usually think
about God blessing us down here.
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>>Right.
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>>The emphasis of this passage
is what God does up there,
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and interesting to watch
that spiritual geography.
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>>So not only does He
talk about blessing us,
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He also, it says,
He chooses. >>Yes.
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>>How does that work out?
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>>He chooses
believers to be holy
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and blameless before Him.
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Again, that moves
counter to our expectation,
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or could move counter
to our expectations of God.
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We might expect
God to be nitpicking
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at our flaws and failings,
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and if we show up
at the throne room,
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we can expect a long list:
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why did you do
this, that and the other?
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And our lists are
all long, aren't they?
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But again, God's character,
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God's basic modus operandi,
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way of operating
toward human beings
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and toward those of us who
are believers, is not to curse,
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but to bless, not to
dismiss, but to choose us,
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and to choose us to be
holy and blameless before Him.
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>>So He blesses
us, He chooses us,
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and we get down
to verse number five,
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it says, "Having
predestined us to adoption
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"as sons by Jesus
Christ to Himself,
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according to the good
pleasure of His will."
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So He destines us
or predestines us.
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>>Sure. >>Walk us through that--
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>>Sure. >>...a little bit.
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>>That language, "predestined,"
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is rather challenging, isn't it?
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To our western ears
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rooted in
individualistic societies
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where it's the
freedom of the individual
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to do whatever she
or he wishes to do,
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that's really important
to us, we struggle with this
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because this sounds
like God is going to invade
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our freedom of choice, and
God is gonna come in and say,
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"Well, I think
I'll have Eric do this,"
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or "I'll have Susan do that."
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"I'll save Eric,
but Susan is damned."
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That has the feeling to it.
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And there are those, of course,
down in Christian history
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who have taken it more
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or less that way. >>Right.
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>>I think we need to
take a step back here
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and just listen to
that language, "destined,"
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probably the way I
would prefer to translate it,
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but has destined
us or predestined us,
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let's listen
that through the ears
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of those citizens of Ephesus.
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You remember we're in
Ephesus in this letter, right?
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One of the great
cities of the Roman empire,
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perhaps the fourth largest city,
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third or fourth largest city.
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And we have to kind of listen
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to some of this
through their ears.
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And when we do that,
something interesting happens.
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This is what happens.
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In fact, they do not
belong to a democratic society
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where it's one person,
one vote, and all the rest.
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Their lives are
already destined.
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They understand themselves
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from their moment of
birth to have been destined
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by a whole string
of deities and powers.
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Who they will be, what will
happen to them is predestined
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at the moment of their birth
by the particular conjunction
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of the stars and planets, which
they regard as divine beings
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and deities that are entirely
involved in their lives.
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So Paul is not
speaking to people
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who believe they
have individual choice
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to determine their future.
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He's speaking to
people who are under the pall
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of being
predestined, the astral powers,
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the powers of darkness,
the powers in the heavens,
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have already
chosen who they will be,
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what they will become,
everything about their lives.
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They are under the hand of fate.
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So it's different
to read the passage
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through those ears
than through our ears.
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>>Yeah, we have a tendency
to, and it's a natural tendency,
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to view things through our own
society, our own experiences.
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And it can be a
little bit difficult
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to transport our minds back
here to when this was written
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to a group of people--
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>>Sure. >>...that
it was written to.
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Of course,
there are applications
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in our lives. >>Of course.
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>>It's not as if the
Bible is just written to them,
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but Paul was
writing predominantly
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to the people living in Ephesus
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and we can bring
lessons out of that,
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in fact, we should
and ought to do that.
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So what else do we see in here?
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What are some
other verbs that we find
00:10:01.10\00:10:03.67
as we go through this passage?
00:10:03.67\00:10:04.87
>>Well, that's the
first three verbs, right?
00:10:04.87\00:10:06.03
God blesses, God
chooses, God destines.
00:10:06.03\00:10:08.14
Verb number four, He gives.
00:10:08.14\00:10:11.31
He gives us, in the
Beloved, that is in Christ,
00:10:11.31\00:10:14.54
He gives us His
glorious grace, verse six,
00:10:14.54\00:10:17.65
if you're tracking
there. >>Very good.
00:10:17.65\00:10:20.38
>>And of course,
all of these blessings,
00:10:20.38\00:10:22.52
He repeatedly reminds us,
00:10:22.52\00:10:24.39
come to us from God
the Father through Christ,
00:10:24.39\00:10:28.42
in Christ, by Christ.
00:10:28.42\00:10:30.93
Again, this is a
Christ saturated letter.
00:10:30.93\00:10:33.80
So He does not wish us to forget
00:10:33.80\00:10:36.80
the role of
Christ in the Beloved.
00:10:36.80\00:10:40.30
God the Father loves
His son Jesus Christ,
00:10:40.30\00:10:45.27
and we are in ways
that are kind of challenging
00:10:46.51\00:10:49.14
for us to
understand, we're so wrapped,
00:10:49.14\00:10:51.78
we're so tight with Jesus.
00:10:51.78\00:10:53.35
When we're
believers, we're so tied up with
00:10:53.35\00:10:55.25
and tight with Jesus
00:10:55.25\00:10:57.55
that the Father
looking to Jesus sees us
00:10:57.55\00:11:01.42
and pours out His
grace through Christ upon us.
00:11:01.42\00:11:05.56
>>So we've gone
through four of the eight.
00:11:06.59\00:11:09.80
>>Mhmm, yes.
00:11:09.80\00:11:10.73
>>We've got four more to go.
00:11:10.73\00:11:12.23
What's the next verb that
we see here in this passage?
00:11:12.23\00:11:15.57
>>Well, it's a verb
that I like to see translated
00:11:15.57\00:11:19.21
something like "lavished,"
00:11:19.21\00:11:21.04
which He lavished upon us.
00:11:22.34\00:11:25.41
"In Him"-- verse seven--
00:11:25.41\00:11:26.92
"we have
redemption through His blood."
00:11:26.92\00:11:29.58
So "redemption" is a term
drawn from the slave market.
00:11:29.58\00:11:34.56
To redeem
something is to buy it back,
00:11:34.56\00:11:38.13
to pay the price for freedom.
00:11:38.13\00:11:41.03
So Christ, through His blood,
through His atoning sacrifice
00:11:41.03\00:11:46.00
has paid the price, if you will,
00:11:46.90\00:11:48.70
for our freedom
from sin and Satan.
00:11:48.70\00:11:53.04
Hallelujah, right?
00:11:53.04\00:11:55.01
And has also given us
"forgiveness of our trespasses,
00:11:55.01\00:11:59.91
"according to the
riches of His grace,
00:11:59.91\00:12:02.95
which He lavished upon us."
00:12:02.95\00:12:06.45
Now, you know, that's a
wonderful word, isn't it,
00:12:06.45\00:12:09.52
for, again, who is God?
00:12:09.52\00:12:12.26
What's His attitude toward us?
00:12:12.26\00:12:14.73
Is He parsimonious?
00:12:14.73\00:12:16.93
Is He parceling bits
and pieces out to us?
00:12:16.93\00:12:19.43
Is He keeping account of
all of the spiritual assets
00:12:19.43\00:12:22.90
He's pouring into the
life of Eric and John?
00:12:22.90\00:12:26.44
This picture gives us
a wondrous picture of God
00:12:26.44\00:12:30.41
who lavishes, pours
out with utter generosity
00:12:30.41\00:12:35.48
all the spiritual
blessings that we need.
00:12:36.52\00:12:38.02
>>So He's not trying to give us
00:12:38.02\00:12:39.25
just little bits
and pieces. >>No.
00:12:39.25\00:12:41.16
>>He's wanting to
just pour out in abundance
00:12:41.16\00:12:44.23
overflowing-- >>Yes.
00:12:44.23\00:12:45.99
>>...His many graces.
00:12:45.99\00:12:47.60
>>And Paul's
trying to encourage us
00:12:47.60\00:12:49.20
to step into that abundance,
00:12:49.20\00:12:52.80
to not think
about entering a world
00:12:52.80\00:12:57.11
where there's a
tight budget on grace.
00:12:57.11\00:13:00.64
He's inviting us to enter
into the very character of God
00:13:00.64\00:13:03.98
as one who blesses
us, who pours out upon us,
00:13:03.98\00:13:07.38
who lavishes forgiveness
and redemption upon us.
00:13:07.38\00:13:11.09
>>Then in verse number
nine we find something else.
00:13:12.42\00:13:14.96
It says, "Having made known
to us the mystery of His will,
00:13:14.96\00:13:19.13
"according to His good pleasure
00:13:19.13\00:13:20.63
which He purposed in Himself."
00:13:20.63\00:13:22.30
What do we find in that verse?
00:13:22.30\00:13:24.10
>>Yeah, so God has all these
great intentions for us, right?
00:13:24.10\00:13:27.27
He has this plan for our lives.
00:13:27.27\00:13:30.07
It involves us
coming to faith in Jesus,
00:13:30.07\00:13:33.88
it involves us living rich lives
00:13:33.88\00:13:38.01
of confidence in God
00:13:38.01\00:13:40.65
and the grace He expresses
every moment through Christ.
00:13:40.65\00:13:44.35
That's what He
has in store for us.
00:13:44.35\00:13:47.32
But if He never
reveals that to us,
00:13:47.32\00:13:49.49
if we don't know about it,
00:13:50.29\00:13:52.29
that's a
problem, right? >>Right.
00:13:52.29\00:13:54.30
>>And so Paul is
making the point here
00:13:54.30\00:13:56.46
that not only does God
hold these heavenly councils
00:13:56.46\00:14:00.07
and before the
foundation of the world
00:14:00.07\00:14:02.10
make these great
statements and decisions
00:14:02.10\00:14:06.31
about the availability of
faith and grace in our lives
00:14:06.31\00:14:11.31
and the lives of all human
beings, not only does He do
00:14:11.31\00:14:14.65
that, but He troubles
Himself to reveal that to us.
00:14:14.65\00:14:18.09
And this for
Paul is at the heart
00:14:18.09\00:14:20.62
of what he calls "the mystery"
00:14:20.62\00:14:22.22
or "the mystery of the gospel,"
00:14:22.22\00:14:23.66
as we move through in Ephesians,
00:14:23.66\00:14:25.19
we'll see him using this term.
00:14:25.19\00:14:27.03
It's often tied very
much to the special nature
00:14:27.03\00:14:30.73
of the gospel as
Paul understands it,
00:14:30.73\00:14:33.70
which is focused on the fact
00:14:33.70\00:14:35.54
that it includes
both Jews and Gentiles,
00:14:35.54\00:14:37.57
you know, they're both
included, that's part of it.
00:14:37.57\00:14:40.41
Here it's this wonderful idea
00:14:40.41\00:14:43.75
that He troubles
Himself to reveal it to us.
00:14:43.75\00:14:47.18
It's a mystery, but
it's now an open secret,
00:14:47.18\00:14:49.75
because through the
gospel that Paul preaches,
00:14:49.75\00:14:52.72
it has become revealed to us.
00:14:52.72\00:14:55.29
>>I think that gives
us a beautiful picture
00:14:55.29\00:14:57.33
into the character of God,
00:14:57.33\00:14:58.56
that He wants us to
know what's going on,
00:14:58.56\00:15:01.43
He wants us to know
how He feels about us
00:15:01.43\00:15:03.80
and what's available to us,
00:15:03.80\00:15:05.87
and that we don't
have to be discouraged
00:15:05.87\00:15:08.54
in this world and despondent,
but that there is hope,
00:15:08.54\00:15:12.31
in fact, there's an
immense amount of hope.
00:15:12.31\00:15:14.58
I think that's
a beautiful thing.
00:15:14.58\00:15:16.54
We get down to verse number 10,
00:15:16.54\00:15:18.25
and in verse 10 it says
that, "In the dispensation
00:15:19.61\00:15:20.98
"of the fullness of the times
00:15:20.98\00:15:22.52
"He might gather together in one
00:15:22.52\00:15:24.65
"all things in Christ,
both which are in heaven
00:15:24.65\00:15:27.16
and which are on earth--in Him."
00:15:27.16\00:15:30.83
So this idea of
the fullness of time,
00:15:30.83\00:15:33.90
unpack that a little bit for us.
00:15:34.93\00:15:36.83
>>I'll try.
00:15:36.83\00:15:38.40
I mean, we are dealing with here
00:15:38.40\00:15:39.73
where, Eric, we're
dealing with the wonders
00:15:39.73\00:15:42.20
of God's grace expressed
in the councils of heaven.
00:15:42.20\00:15:46.04
So the things that are revealed
00:15:46.04\00:15:50.48
belong to us, right,
00:15:50.48\00:15:51.71
and to our children,
and it does seem to me
00:15:51.71\00:15:54.35
that this is pretty,
pretty, pretty grand news.
00:15:54.35\00:15:58.15
So verses nine and 10 are the
thesis statement for the book.
00:15:58.15\00:16:01.32
We may wish to come
back to this after the break,
00:16:01.32\00:16:03.89
but He sets forth His purpose
00:16:03.89\00:16:07.40
in Christ for
the fullness of time.
00:16:07.40\00:16:10.37
So I take that to
mean that in eons past,
00:16:10.37\00:16:15.44
there is a
council among the Godhead,
00:16:16.57\00:16:18.94
Father, Son, and Holy Spirit,
00:16:18.94\00:16:20.44
all three are mentioned in
many passages in Ephesians.
00:16:20.44\00:16:23.75
So let's assume it's a
council among the Godhead,
00:16:23.75\00:16:27.65
Father, Son, and Spirit,
00:16:27.65\00:16:29.62
and they make some decisions
00:16:29.62\00:16:31.32
about salvation history as
it will unfold on Planet Earth.
00:16:31.32\00:16:36.39
And they determine that
in the fullness of time,
00:16:37.53\00:16:41.56
at the end of time, which
for Paul includes his day,
00:16:42.96\00:16:46.20
okay, the last days, the
eschaton, the fullness of time,
00:16:46.20\00:16:50.67
certain things will be happen,
00:16:50.67\00:16:52.74
Christ will
appear, Christ will come.
00:16:52.74\00:16:56.61
And so I think that's
what's being discussed here
00:16:56.61\00:16:59.71
is the council deep eons
of time among the Godhead
00:16:59.71\00:17:04.79
about salvation history on earth
00:17:05.59\00:17:06.99
and the appearance of Christ.
00:17:06.99\00:17:08.32
He wants us to know
00:17:08.32\00:17:09.79
that the appearance of
Christ is no happenstance.
00:17:09.79\00:17:13.06
The appearance of the
gospel as Paul preaches it,
00:17:14.36\00:17:17.63
including both Jews and
Gentiles, is no happenstance.
00:17:17.63\00:17:21.77
This is long planned,
this is from time immemorial,
00:17:21.77\00:17:26.31
and we have the
privilege, Paul says,
00:17:26.31\00:17:28.28
of watching it be worked out.
00:17:28.28\00:17:29.98
>>So we're gonna come back
00:17:31.01\00:17:32.45
and pull that apart a
little bit after the break.
00:17:32.45\00:17:34.72
But I wanna kind of
tie together this section
00:17:34.72\00:17:36.95
looking at
these different verbs,
00:17:36.95\00:17:38.99
these eight verbs
that are in this passage
00:17:38.99\00:17:41.42
with verse number 13.
00:17:41.42\00:17:43.26
Verse number 13 says,
"In Him you also trusted,
00:17:43.26\00:17:47.86
"after you heard
the word of truth,
00:17:47.86\00:17:49.66
"the gospel of your salvation;
00:17:49.66\00:17:51.77
"in whom also, having
believed, you were sealed
00:17:51.77\00:17:54.64
with the Holy
Spirit of promise."
00:17:54.64\00:17:56.97
Here we see a very much a verb
00:17:56.97\00:18:00.48
that is considered an end time
verb, and that is "sealing."
00:18:00.48\00:18:03.95
>>Yes. >>Paul's using it here
00:18:03.95\00:18:04.98
in the book of Ephesians,
00:18:04.98\00:18:06.18
we kind of toss it
about living here in 2023.
00:18:06.18\00:18:10.35
Talk a little bit about this.
00:18:11.25\00:18:12.55
>>Sure, so to
back up to verb seven,
00:18:12.55\00:18:15.89
the verb there is that God
"heads up" all things in Christ.
00:18:15.89\00:18:19.16
We've talked about that
00:18:19.16\00:18:20.40
as part of the thesis
statement of the letter,
00:18:20.40\00:18:22.86
and that's really important.
00:18:22.86\00:18:24.80
We'll be touching on that
as we move through the letter.
00:18:24.80\00:18:27.90
And then comes the
eighth and final verb.
00:18:27.90\00:18:30.81
And it talks about
God "sealing" believers
00:18:30.81\00:18:34.68
with the Holy Spirit,
00:18:34.68\00:18:36.21
and this goes back to
the first century context
00:18:36.21\00:18:39.61
where things were still sealed,
00:18:39.61\00:18:43.85
letters were sealed,
00:18:43.85\00:18:46.09
valuable
contents of an amphora or
00:18:46.09\00:18:49.36
a storage jug would
be sealed, and so on.
00:18:49.36\00:18:54.10
So it's a mark of ownership
00:18:54.10\00:18:56.20
and certainly God places
His mark of ownership on us
00:18:57.53\00:19:01.64
as we declare faith
in Christ, we're His,
00:19:01.64\00:19:04.17
and that happens here
at the time of conversion.
00:19:04.17\00:19:07.68
>>Very good.
00:19:07.68\00:19:09.21
So we're gonna come
back in just a moment
00:19:09.21\00:19:10.61
as we continue
looking at this section
00:19:10.61\00:19:13.05
of the book of Ephesians.
00:19:13.05\00:19:14.82
But I wanna encourage you,
00:19:14.82\00:19:16.28
make sure you pick
up the companion book
00:19:16.28\00:19:18.22
to this quarter's
Sabbath school lesson.
00:19:18.22\00:19:20.06
It is the book of Ephesians
00:19:20.06\00:19:21.59
or a book called
"Ephesians" by Dr. John McVay.
00:19:21.59\00:19:24.96
You can find this
at itiswritten.shop.
00:19:24.96\00:19:28.13
Again, at itiswritten.shop.
00:19:28.13\00:19:30.80
We're gonna come
back in just a moment
00:19:30.80\00:19:32.30
as we continue looking
at this incredible passage
00:19:32.30\00:19:34.57
in the book of Ephesians.
00:19:34.57\00:19:36.27
We'll be right back.
00:19:36.27\00:19:37.51
(upbeat music)
00:19:37.51\00:19:39.91
>>I'm John
Bradshaw from It Is Written,
00:19:41.84\00:19:44.01
inviting you to
join me for "500."
00:19:44.01\00:19:46.78
Nine programs
produced by It Is Written
00:19:47.82\00:19:50.02
taking you deep
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00:19:50.02\00:19:53.12
This is the 500th anniversary
00:19:53.12\00:19:55.66
of the beginning
of the Reformation
00:19:55.66\00:19:57.36
when Martin Luther
nailed his 95 Theses
00:19:57.36\00:19:59.83
to the door of the Castle
Church in Wittenberg, Germany.
00:19:59.83\00:20:02.63
We'll take you to Wittenberg
and to Belgium, to England,
00:20:02.63\00:20:05.93
to Ireland, to
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and introduce you to the people
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We'll take you to
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and take you to a
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00:20:20.88\00:20:23.82
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00:20:23.82\00:20:26.72
Don't miss "500."
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You can own the
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00:20:28.86\00:20:31.93
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00:20:31.93\00:20:36.43
or visit us online
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00:20:36.43\00:20:40.04
(upbeat music)
00:20:42.14\00:20:44.61
>>Welcome back
to "Sabbath School,"
00:20:46.88\00:20:48.21
brought to you by It Is Written.
00:20:48.21\00:20:50.05
We are continuing our
study of lesson number two.
00:20:50.05\00:20:52.98
I'm here with Dr. John McVay.
00:20:52.98\00:20:54.32
And John, we talked
before we went to break
00:20:54.32\00:20:56.12
a little bit about the sealing,
00:20:56.12\00:20:57.72
let's tease that out
just a little bit more.
00:20:57.72\00:20:59.69
What's going on-- >>Sure.
00:20:59.69\00:21:01.09
>>...with the sealing?
>>We mentioned that seals
00:21:01.09\00:21:02.49
in ancient times
played important roles.
00:21:02.49\00:21:05.59
There was a privacy role,
particularly with letters,
00:21:05.59\00:21:08.80
but they also marked ownership
00:21:08.80\00:21:10.70
on the part of
someone of whatever is sealed.
00:21:10.70\00:21:14.04
And so in this instance,
00:21:14.04\00:21:15.87
that seems to be
very active, doesn't it?
00:21:15.87\00:21:18.14
Someone in Ephesus
comes to faith in Jesus,
00:21:18.14\00:21:21.61
and Paul says, "At that
moment, when you accept Christ
00:21:21.61\00:21:25.95
as your Lord and
Savior, you are sealed."
00:21:25.95\00:21:29.58
Now, we often
reflect on passages
00:21:29.58\00:21:34.06
that have to do with sealing,
like Ezekiel and Revelation,
00:21:34.06\00:21:37.96
where a sealing
occurs at the end of time,
00:21:37.96\00:21:42.60
before Christ's return,
00:21:42.60\00:21:44.10
marking end-time
people as belonging to God.
00:21:44.10\00:21:49.07
What we have to do
is get used to the idea
00:21:50.27\00:21:51.84
that Paul can, as he does here
00:21:51.84\00:21:53.64
and in chapter four, verse 30,
00:21:53.64\00:21:55.38
of Ephesians, refer to a sealing
00:21:55.38\00:21:58.01
that occurs at the
beginning of the Christian life,
00:21:58.01\00:22:00.78
not at the end of time,
00:22:00.78\00:22:03.65
though it's
related to the end of time,
00:22:03.65\00:22:05.42
because if you look
at what he says here
00:22:05.42\00:22:07.09
in verses 13 and 14.
00:22:07.09\00:22:09.06
"In Him, you were
sealed"--jumping to the end of
00:22:10.56\00:22:14.46
verse 13-- "you were sealed
with the promised Holy Spirit."
00:22:14.46\00:22:17.53
So we need to understand
something about this sealing,
00:22:17.53\00:22:20.27
it is personified
00:22:20.27\00:22:22.57
by the presence of
the Spirit in our lives.
00:22:22.57\00:22:25.04
So the Spirit's presence working
00:22:25.04\00:22:27.21
in our hearts and lives
constitutes, if you will,
00:22:27.21\00:22:30.51
the seal, the mark of
God's ownership upon us.
00:22:30.51\00:22:33.52
So we're sealed
00:22:33.52\00:22:34.98
with the promised Holy
Spirit at our conversion.
00:22:34.98\00:22:37.15
And that Holy Spirit, Paul
describes, as the guarantee
00:22:37.15\00:22:42.02
of our inheritance until
we require possession of it,
00:22:42.02\00:22:45.39
which would be at, when?
00:22:45.39\00:22:47.50
The end of time. >>There you go.
00:22:47.50\00:22:48.96
>>So it is related
to the end of time,
00:22:48.96\00:22:51.23
but from the
beginning of my Christian life
00:22:51.23\00:22:54.30
until the end of my life,
00:22:54.30\00:22:56.74
or potentially the end of time
00:22:56.74\00:22:59.64
when I would
participate by God's grace
00:22:59.64\00:23:01.78
in that
eschatological end time seal,
00:23:01.78\00:23:05.21
through that whole span of time,
00:23:05.21\00:23:07.52
my life as a
Christian disciple bears a seal,
00:23:07.52\00:23:11.49
the presence of the Holy
Spirit, marking me as God's own.
00:23:11.49\00:23:16.26
>>It's a beautiful
picture of the sealing going on.
00:23:16.26\00:23:19.06
Wanna look at
something else here,
00:23:19.06\00:23:21.00
John, when we look
at the introduction
00:23:21.00\00:23:23.26
to the book of Ephesians,
it's a little different
00:23:23.26\00:23:26.60
than you might look at the
introductions to other books.
00:23:26.60\00:23:30.41
This one kind of stands out.
00:23:30.41\00:23:31.97
What makes it different,
what makes it stand out?
00:23:31.97\00:23:34.78
>>What makes it stand out
00:23:34.78\00:23:36.08
is the volume
of worship language
00:23:36.08\00:23:40.22
that we find here.
00:23:40.22\00:23:41.85
So in Paul's other letters,
00:23:41.85\00:23:44.79
Romans, First,
Second Corinthians,
00:23:44.79\00:23:47.02
we always tend to get some
worship element that occurs
00:23:47.02\00:23:51.39
right there at the beginning,
usually a thanksgiving,
00:23:51.39\00:23:56.16
where Paul is reporting
00:23:56.16\00:23:59.43
giving God thanks
for the addressees,
00:23:59.43\00:24:02.54
the people that he's
writing to in the letter.
00:24:02.54\00:24:05.27
That's generally what is there.
00:24:05.27\00:24:07.71
However, in Ephesians,
00:24:07.71\00:24:09.48
we have this
richness of what goes on.
00:24:09.48\00:24:12.95
If I'm getting it right here,
00:24:12.95\00:24:15.25
we have a brief
prayer benediction,
00:24:15.25\00:24:18.25
chapter one,
verse two, we have--
00:24:18.25\00:24:21.52
that's praying for
God's blessing upon people.
00:24:21.52\00:24:24.86
We have this lengthy,
00:24:24.86\00:24:26.49
what we could call a
"praise benediction,"
00:24:26.49\00:24:28.80
which we're studying this week.
00:24:28.80\00:24:30.70
A praise
benediction is thanking God
00:24:30.70\00:24:33.74
for how He's been active
in the lives of believers.
00:24:33.74\00:24:38.37
Then you have a
thanksgiving section,
00:24:38.37\00:24:41.21
chapter one, verses 15 and 16.
00:24:41.21\00:24:43.08
You have a prayer report,
chapter one, verses 16 through
00:24:43.08\00:24:47.68
23. You move a little
further into the letter,
00:24:47.68\00:24:50.09
you have another prayer
report at the beginning--
00:24:50.09\00:24:52.75
at the last half
00:24:52.75\00:24:53.99
of chapter three,
and finally a doxology.
00:24:53.99\00:24:57.66
And then you have some
exhortations about worship
00:24:57.66\00:25:00.16
that occur in
chapter five and six.
00:25:00.16\00:25:02.83
So you have this rich array
of praise and worship language
00:25:02.83\00:25:07.14
in the epistle to the Ephesians,
which is highly unusual.
00:25:07.14\00:25:10.71
I think it's fair then
for us to call Ephesians
00:25:10.71\00:25:13.31
a kind of handbook
of Christian worship
00:25:13.31\00:25:16.61
because it gives us
so much of this praise
00:25:16.61\00:25:18.91
and worship
language, and we can't forget
00:25:18.91\00:25:21.95
that the letter itself
is written to be read out
00:25:21.95\00:25:25.05
as a part of Christian worship.
00:25:25.05\00:25:27.42
So if you wanna go to someplace
00:25:27.42\00:25:29.86
in the New Testament
that talks a lot about worship
00:25:29.86\00:25:33.66
and gives us some examples
of how early Christians,
00:25:33.66\00:25:37.13
particularly Paul,
worship, this would be it.
00:25:37.13\00:25:40.84
>>A beautiful introduction,
00:25:40.84\00:25:42.10
a unique introduction.
>>Unique introduction.
00:25:42.10\00:25:44.01
>>And a great handbook
or guidebook for us today.
00:25:44.01\00:25:47.38
>>Draws us into an
atmosphere of worshiping
00:25:47.38\00:25:49.88
before the throne of God,
particularly into an atmosphere
00:25:49.88\00:25:53.48
of that key
term, "thanksgiving,"
00:25:53.48\00:25:56.32
draws us into how
important it is to thank God.
00:25:56.32\00:25:59.72
>>John, we don't
have too much time left,
00:25:59.72\00:26:01.42
but I wanted to come
back to verses nine and 10.
00:26:01.42\00:26:03.89
>>You made mention-- >>Yes.
00:26:03.89\00:26:05.03
>>...of some
significant things in there.
00:26:05.03\00:26:06.56
Help us to see one or
two key more things in there.
00:26:06.56\00:26:08.93
>>Again, that's the
thesis statement for the letter.
00:26:10.33\00:26:12.30
Here's God's ultimate plan.
00:26:12.30\00:26:14.24
You wanna listen
in, in the throne room,
00:26:14.24\00:26:16.04
you wanna hear God's plan.
00:26:16.04\00:26:17.97
Here's what
you're going to find.
00:26:17.97\00:26:20.34
This is God's plan for the
fullness of time, to head up,
00:26:20.34\00:26:24.55
head up, or sum up
everything in Jesus Christ,
00:26:24.55\00:26:29.28
and, says Paul,
00:26:29.28\00:26:30.52
I do mean
everything, everything in heaven
00:26:30.52\00:26:33.76
and everything on
earth, united in Christ.
00:26:33.76\00:26:37.23
I won't use many Greek
words as we chat together,
00:26:37.23\00:26:40.43
but there's a fascinating
one here, it's "anakephalaioó."
00:26:40.43\00:26:44.53
It's a Greek verb that
means literally "to head up."
00:26:44.53\00:26:48.24
You hear the word "kephale,"
00:26:48.24\00:26:49.70
the Greek word for "head" there
00:26:49.70\00:26:51.64
and it's an accounting term.
00:26:51.64\00:26:53.01
Back in ancient
times they didn't put
00:26:53.01\00:26:56.18
a row of figures on a page
and then sum them up down here.
00:26:56.18\00:27:00.32
They put a row of figures
on a page and they sum them up.
00:27:00.32\00:27:03.28
We still use that
language today, don't we?
00:27:03.28\00:27:05.19
They summed it up at the top.
00:27:05.19\00:27:07.12
So it's God's role, God's goal,
00:27:07.12\00:27:09.52
God's grand plan to sum
everything up in Christ.
00:27:09.52\00:27:13.36
And when I choose Him,
as a person in Ephesus,
00:27:13.36\00:27:17.33
or a person in the world
today, when I choose Jesus,
00:27:17.33\00:27:21.90
I am joining that great plan,
00:27:21.90\00:27:24.17
my life is getting headed
up and caught up in Jesus.
00:27:24.17\00:27:27.58
>>John, thank you
for helping us understand
00:27:27.58\00:27:29.31
the thesis
statement of Ephesians
00:27:29.31\00:27:31.41
and these beautiful passages
here in three through 14.
00:27:31.41\00:27:34.65
And thank you for
joining us this week.
00:27:34.65\00:27:37.25
We're looking forward to
seeing you again next week
00:27:37.25\00:27:40.09
as we continue our study
of the book of Ephesians.
00:27:40.09\00:27:43.36
Next week, lesson number three.
00:27:43.36\00:27:45.46
Until then, God bless
you, and we'll look forward
00:27:45.46\00:27:47.30
to seeing you again next
time on "Sabbath School,"
00:27:47.30\00:27:49.50
brought to you by It Is Written.
00:27:49.50\00:27:52.23
(uplifting music)
00:27:54.57\00:27:57.47
(music ends)
00:28:26.00\00:28:29.30