(upbeat 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 taking a look this quarter
at the book of Ephesians,
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and this week we're looking
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at lesson number four
entitled "How God Rescues Us."
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It's an interesting
introduction to a 14 week study
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that we are doing,
and we're well on our way.
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Let's begin today with prayer.
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Father, we ask that You
will bless our study this week
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as we continue our journey
through the book of Ephesians.
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We ask that You'll
help us to understand not
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just the grand themes
that Paul shares in this book
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but also how these
wonderful truths apply
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to our lives today.
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We ask that You'll
bless our time together
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and we thank You
in Jesus' name, amen.
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Well, we're glad
that you're here today
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and we're also glad that
our special guest is here,
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and that is Dr. John McVay.
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He is the president
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of Walla Walla
University, and of course
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the author of this
quarter's Sabbath school lesson.
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John, good to see you again.
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>>Good to be here.
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Good to be back at it,
studying a great epistle.
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>>It is, it's a
phenomenal epistle.
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And we're in lesson
number four, week number four.
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We've got a ways to go.
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>>Yes. >>But we are laying
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quite a substantial foundation
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which we've done for
the first three weeks
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and now here we are
looking at "How God Rescues Us."
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>>Yes. >>In this passage
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that we're looking at
today in Ephesians, chapter two,
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has a lot of meat in it.
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There's a lot to digest,
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as it were. >>Yeah.
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>>We're looking at
essentially 10 verses
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this week-- >>Mm hmm, mm hmm.
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>>..and Paul takes us
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on a little journey
through these verses.
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You might say that this section
or this passage is divided
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up into three
different segments.
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What are those
different segments
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and the significance
of each one of them?
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>>Yeah, if we were to divide
it three ways, and by the way,
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the whole passage is
about these believers
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in Ephesians and what they
were like before they met Jesus,
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the profound
transformation that Jesus makes
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in their experience,
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and then celebrating
what God has done for them,
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and those
really are three parts.
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The first part is the
pre-conversion existence
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of the addressees,
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they're spiritually dead,
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they're practicing
trespasses and sins
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as the regular
pattern of their lives.
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And so the sad
pre-conversion existence
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of the now believers
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in Ephesus is the subject
of verses one through three.
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And then comes part two, God's
intervention to redeem them,
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hallelujah, and His plans
for them, verses four to seven.
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And then finally
comes a kind of celebration
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of the gospel as it is
exhibited in their story.
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Ephesians,
chapter 2, verses 8-10,
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a very famous passage,
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"For by grace
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"you [are] saved through faith,
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and that not of yourselves;
it is the gift of God,"
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and so on.
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It's easy for us to
forget that that celebration,
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that wonderful summation
of the gospel is rooted
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in the actual
stories of once pagans,
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now Christians,
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believers who live in Ephesus.
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>>And I imagine
that we could see,
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we should see ourselves also
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in this progression
that we're seeing here.
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>>Yes, I think that's
the key to applying it
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to our own hearts and lives,
is this isn't just a story
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about some people way
back in the first century,
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but their story
exhibits the patterns
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by which God
relates to all of us,
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and we can see
that in some sense,
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their conversion
story is ours too.
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>>Yep, and perhaps we're getting
the cart a little bit ahead
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of the horse,
we're getting there.
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But let's take a
look at these individuals.
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What was their life like,
this pre-conversion experience?
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Where were they? Where
did God bring them from?
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>>Well, it doesn't sound
like a very happy existence,
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does it?
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Dead, it's not good
to be dead generally,
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but they're spiritually
"dead in trespasses and sins."
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Chapter two, verse one.
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They're following
the course of this world
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which is a little difficult
for us to get a handle on,
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but the patterns of
behavior, the usual expectations
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of this world which
were negative and damning.
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They're
following along in those,
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they're following "the
prince of the power of the air,"
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which is a way that Paul
is referring to Satan, right?
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They're under his
command, they're following him,
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and he further identifies
"the prince of the power
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of the air," Satan,
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as "the spirit that is now at
work in sons of disobedience."
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So they are already
possessed by a spirit
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but it's an evil spirit, right?
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And that spirit has
trained them to do evil,
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not to do good.
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And then in
verse three, he talks
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about that all of us were
once in the same condition,
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and he summarized that condition
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as we once lived
in the past passions
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of our flesh just carrying
out whatever our body says
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to do, whatever your
appetite says, you do it,
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and he sees that that
is an unhelpful existence,
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and that it points
us--points to the fact
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that everybody who's in
that state is, by nature,
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children of wrath.
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That means that they
have nothing to look forward
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to in the future,
at the end of time,
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except the
judgment of God's wrath,
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and that's a very
sad state to be in.
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>>You know, if we were
left to our own devices
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and there was no intervention,
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we tend, by nature,
to be selfish beings.
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We like the things that we like,
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we enjoy the
things that we enjoy,
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and that doesn't lead
in a positive direction.
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But then we get
to verse number four,
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and in verse number four, I
would say it takes a sharp left
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but it's really not a
sharp left, it's a 180.
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>>Yes, it is a 180.
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>>So it's completely
turned around with two words.
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Those two words are, "But God."
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>>Yes. >>So here we are headed
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in one direction and then,
"But God," and there's a 180.
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What about those two words?
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>>Well, those are two
of the most hope filled,
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resonant words in
Scripture, aren't they?
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Because as you suggested,
left to our own devices,
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left on our own, we
are children of wrath.
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We are destined for
eternal darkness, "But God,"
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and God enters into
their story dramatically,
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a lightning bolt of
grace, and the story changes
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with the intervention
of God, "But God," yeah.
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It's grand words, two of
the grandest words in Scripture.
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>>So what happens
now, we get to this turn,
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and, "But God,"
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and it's interesting the
way that He's described here,
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"But God, who is rich in mercy,
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because of His great
love with which He loved us."
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There's a black to
white, left to right,
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darkness to light.
>>Utter transformation.
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>>Complete transformation
here, what happens with this?
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>>Yeah, well, it's a
resurrection story, isn't it?
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"Even when we were
dead in our trespasses,"
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>> -looking at verse five--
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"[God] made us alive
together with Christ--
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by grace you have been
saved"--inserts that remark--
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"and raised us up with Him
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and seated us with Him in
the heavenly places in Christ."
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Now, there's wonder
packed into those words.
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There's grand spiritual
blessing stuffed in there.
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And let's unpack
that just a little bit
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because three
things happened to Jesus,
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three grand
events focused on Him:
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Jesus is resurrected
from the dead, right?
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He is ascended to heaven,
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and He is exalted
or crowned in heaven,
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those three things,
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and Paul seems to
allude to those three.
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It's as though Christ
scribes an arc across the cosmos
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and in some way that's
really rather difficult
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for us to get our hands
on and understand concretely,
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but we can know
it's great news, right?
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In some way, we
as believers track
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on that glorious
cosmic arc of Jesus.
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We were dead in our sins,
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through the grace of
God expressed in Jesus
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we are raised to
newness of life, right?
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And then the next phrase
is a little bit different,
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"Made us alive
together with Christ
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and raised us up with Him."
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That sounds like
resurrection language
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but it's probably
actually referring
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to the raising of Jesus to
heaven, the exaltation of Jesus,
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because we have the beginning
endpoint, "Made us alive,"
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and the ending
endpoint, "Seated us
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with Him in the
heavenly places."
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And if it's a sequence of
three events, you'd expect
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that middle one to be referring
to the ascension of Jesus.
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So we are
resurrected with Jesus,
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we are ascended with Jesus,
and we are exalted with Jesus.
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Hallelujah, right?
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Hallelujah.
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We somehow participate
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in these three central
events in the career of Christ.
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>>So we're seeing a progression
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from being, not just--
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well, from being dead-- >>Yes.
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>>...it's tough to
be in a worse shape
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than dead. >>Little tough.
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>>That's about as bad
a shape as you can be in.
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But then we see, as you
said, the resurrection--
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>>Yes. >>...and then
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the ascension-- >>Right.
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>>...and that's
something that He wants us
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to experience as well.
00:10:29.16\00:10:30.43
>>Exactly.
>>Typically, if you think
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about people
getting their act together
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in this world, in this life,
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yeah, you end up in a
better position, a better place.
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But being exalted to heaven,
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that kind of takes
the wind out of the sails
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of anything that
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falls short of that. >>Yes.
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>>And yet that's the
picture that Paul gives us here.
00:10:45.61\00:10:48.31
>>It's a very similar
thought in Colossians.
00:10:48.31\00:10:50.31
We've noted
sometimes that Colossians
00:10:50.31\00:10:52.85
and Ephesians are rather similar
00:10:52.85\00:10:54.35
in their basic pattern
and much of their content.
00:10:54.35\00:10:57.29
And Paul, in Colossians three,
verse one, puts it this way,
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"If then you have
been raised with Christ,
00:11:00.72\00:11:04.13
"seek the things that
are above, where Christ is,
00:11:04.13\00:11:08.13
"seated at the
right hand of God.
00:11:08.13\00:11:10.70
"Set your mind on
things that are above,
00:11:10.70\00:11:13.50
not on things
that are on the earth."
00:11:13.50\00:11:16.74
Wonderful.
00:11:16.74\00:11:17.57
It says, in some sense,
00:11:17.57\00:11:19.34
believers are called to
dwell in heavenly places,
00:11:19.34\00:11:23.01
to dwell in heaven
with God and with Christ
00:11:23.01\00:11:26.25
and with the Spirit,
to find our true identity
00:11:26.25\00:11:29.92
and our true place there.
00:11:29.92\00:11:32.92
And that's an awe
inspiring task to try
00:11:32.92\00:11:36.06
to figure out just what
Paul means by all of that.
00:11:36.06\00:11:39.63
>>I think it really is.
00:11:40.66\00:11:41.83
And yet, in these few verses,
00:11:41.83\00:11:44.40
Paul helps us to at
least get a glimpse of that.
00:11:44.40\00:11:47.30
He gives us a
keyhole view, as it were,
00:11:47.30\00:11:50.24
to let us know what's possible.
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>>Yes.
00:11:53.51\00:11:54.78
>>And there are great
many people today who--
00:11:54.78\00:11:57.31
well, the vast majority are
dead in trespasses and sins,
00:11:57.31\00:12:00.42
some recognize it, others don't.
00:12:00.42\00:12:03.45
And for those who do
recognize it, sometimes there's
00:12:03.45\00:12:05.55
that feeling of
helplessness, a feeling of,
00:12:05.55\00:12:09.46
"Well, yeah, this is my state,
00:12:09.46\00:12:12.23
"but what kind of hope is there?
00:12:12.23\00:12:14.63
"I've tried my best,
00:12:14.63\00:12:16.50
I've done my best." >>Right.
00:12:16.50\00:12:18.50
>>"I want to do
the right thing."
00:12:18.50\00:12:20.60
I seem to remember
Paul saying something
00:12:20.60\00:12:22.50
along those lines
00:12:22.50\00:12:23.67
in another book-- >>Yes.
00:12:23.67\00:12:25.14
>>...wanting to do the right
thing and yet failing to do it.
00:12:25.14\00:12:28.71
And yet here Paul
gives genuine hope
00:12:28.71\00:12:32.81
about what the future holds.
00:12:32.81\00:12:35.52
>>Yes, he does.
00:12:35.52\00:12:36.69
They have
experienced this conversion,
00:12:36.69\00:12:38.02
they have responded to the call,
00:12:38.02\00:12:41.59
the Spirit has entered them,
00:12:41.59\00:12:43.79
has encouraged
them to practice faith,
00:12:43.79\00:12:45.96
and Jesus has given them the
right and the ability to do so.
00:12:45.96\00:12:49.50
They have done that,
00:12:49.50\00:12:51.30
and it has been a
complete transformation
00:12:51.30\00:12:54.10
from being in this
growling, dark place
00:12:54.10\00:12:57.94
of their lives,
to spiritually moving
00:12:57.94\00:13:02.11
to be seated in
heavenly places with Christ.
00:13:02.11\00:13:04.45
That's an expanse,
00:13:04.45\00:13:05.81
that's a huge transformation,
a great difference.
00:13:05.81\00:13:08.15
>>An enormous one.
00:13:08.15\00:13:09.38
And of course
that's what God wants us
00:13:09.38\00:13:11.62
to experience as well.
00:13:11.62\00:13:12.85
And we're going
to continue looking
00:13:12.85\00:13:14.22
at how we can indeed
experience that as Christians.
00:13:14.22\00:13:18.33
We're going to take a break
00:13:18.33\00:13:19.59
in just a
moment, but before we do,
00:13:19.59\00:13:21.10
I want to encourage you
to pick up the companion book
00:13:21.10\00:13:23.83
to this quarter's
Sabbath school lesson.
00:13:23.83\00:13:26.40
It is called
"Ephesians" by John McVay.
00:13:26.40\00:13:29.77
You can find this
at itiswritten.shop.
00:13:29.77\00:13:33.01
If you're enjoying
this study on Ephesians
00:13:33.01\00:13:35.84
and you want to
learn more about it,
00:13:35.84\00:13:38.88
this is the place
that you need to go.
00:13:38.88\00:13:41.02
Pick up the companion
book at itiswritten.shop
00:13:41.02\00:13:44.45
and you'll gain additional
insights, depth, more stories,
00:13:44.45\00:13:49.12
more Bible verses,
more reference material
00:13:49.12\00:13:52.43
to really add some
significant depth and substance
00:13:52.43\00:13:56.23
to your study of
the book of Ephesians.
00:13:56.23\00:13:58.93
We're going to come
back in just a moment
00:13:58.93\00:14:00.37
as we continue our
study here this week,
00:14:00.37\00:14:03.20
you don't want to
miss a moment of it.
00:14:03.20\00:14:05.21
We'll see back in just a moment.
00:14:05.21\00:14:06.88
(upbeat music)
00:14:08.11\00:14:10.58
>>With superheroes
being big business,
00:14:12.25\00:14:15.15
we ask ourselves what
heroes really look like.
00:14:15.15\00:14:19.19
A man in a fast food
restaurant wrestles a gun out
00:14:19.19\00:14:22.12
of the hands of a killer.
00:14:22.12\00:14:23.79
A man in Canada risks
his life to save a woman
00:14:23.79\00:14:26.59
being attacked by a polar bear.
00:14:26.59\00:14:28.93
A young man attempts to run
00:14:28.93\00:14:30.43
across a continent to
raise money for cancer research.
00:14:30.43\00:14:33.80
The Medal of Honor is awarded
to United States servicemen
00:14:33.80\00:14:36.87
and women who've committed
acts of uncommon valor, heroes.
00:14:36.87\00:14:41.94
But what's a hero, really?
00:14:42.74\00:14:45.78
And who is the
greatest hero of them all?
00:14:45.78\00:14:49.82
Join me for "The Hero."
00:14:49.82\00:14:52.49
Learn that real greatness, true
heroism is found in service.
00:14:52.49\00:14:56.93
And discover the identity
00:14:56.93\00:14:58.26
of the real hero
who has saved more lives
00:14:58.26\00:15:01.43
than anyone else in history.
00:15:01.43\00:15:03.87
Don't miss "The Hero," brought
to you by It Is Written TV.
00:15:03.87\00:15:08.94
(upbeat music)
00:15:11.84\00:15:14.34
>>Welcome back
to "Sabbath School,"
00:15:16.21\00:15:17.61
brought to you by It Is Written.
00:15:17.61\00:15:19.48
We are looking at
lesson number four
00:15:19.48\00:15:22.55
on the book of Ephesians.
00:15:22.55\00:15:24.79
And John, just
a few moments ago,
00:15:24.79\00:15:26.32
we talked about
this grand transformation
00:15:26.32\00:15:30.63
that God brings people through,
00:15:30.63\00:15:33.80
wants to bring people through.
00:15:33.80\00:15:36.30
And it's interesting in
verses six and seven here,
00:15:36.30\00:15:39.93
there is an interesting passage
00:15:39.93\00:15:44.91
or an interesting
phrase that Paul uses.
00:15:44.91\00:15:47.74
He says that,
"[He] raises us up...
00:15:47.74\00:15:49.68
"together, and
made us sit together
00:15:49.68\00:15:52.15
in the heavenly
places in Christ Jesus."
00:15:52.15\00:15:55.55
What are these heavenly places
00:15:55.55\00:15:57.42
that God wants us to
sit in with Christ Jesus?
00:15:57.42\00:16:02.49
>>Well, it's an
important question to ask,
00:16:03.73\00:16:04.63
a helpful question,
00:16:04.63\00:16:06.09
because Paul uses this
phrase, "heavenly places,"
00:16:06.09\00:16:08.90
several times in Ephesians,
it's his principal way
00:16:08.90\00:16:13.00
of referring to
heaven, if you will.
00:16:13.00\00:16:16.44
But it's a little
bit more complicated
00:16:16.44\00:16:19.47
than we might think,
because when we think of heaven
00:16:19.47\00:16:23.31
we tend to think of a
place of utter safety,
00:16:23.31\00:16:26.11
a place that's free of all sin
00:16:26.11\00:16:28.38
and temptation and
grief and pain and so on.
00:16:28.38\00:16:31.82
Paul's perspective
00:16:32.62\00:16:34.16
on the heavenly places is
a little different than that.
00:16:34.16\00:16:36.89
The reason we know that
is that we have a reference
00:16:36.89\00:16:40.70
in chapter six, verse 12,
00:16:40.70\00:16:43.67
and it lists the
various authorities,
00:16:45.03\00:16:49.17
cosmic powers,
00:16:49.17\00:16:50.81
spiritual forces of evil,
00:16:52.44\00:16:54.84
and then comes the phrase,
"In the heavenly places,"
00:16:54.84\00:16:58.25
and we go, "Oh no,
00:16:58.25\00:17:00.28
"that's just the
crowd we would like
00:17:00.28\00:17:02.18
to see excluded
from heaven," right?
00:17:02.18\00:17:05.15
"We don't want them there."
00:17:05.15\00:17:06.89
But in Paul's view here,
00:17:06.89\00:17:09.66
heaven is--the heavenly places
00:17:10.63\00:17:12.89
are this amazing space
00:17:12.89\00:17:16.20
where the throne of God is,
00:17:16.20\00:17:19.17
where the important
decisions about the future
00:17:19.17\00:17:21.80
of humankind are
crafted and made and lodged,
00:17:21.80\00:17:26.88
and it's a place
decisively marked
00:17:27.98\00:17:29.61
by Christ's redemptive work.
00:17:29.61\00:17:31.95
It's the place where Christ's
rulership over the cosmos
00:17:31.95\00:17:35.85
has been inaugurated at
the very throne of God Himself.
00:17:35.85\00:17:39.89
All of that is true.
00:17:39.89\00:17:43.06
But the challenge, of course,
00:17:43.06\00:17:45.43
is that there is something going
on in these heavenly places
00:17:45.43\00:17:50.47
because evil powers are in
some sense said to live there,
00:17:51.80\00:17:55.40
that's their place too.
00:17:55.40\00:17:58.17
One author has talked
a little bit about this.
00:17:59.57\00:18:03.51
He writes, "Clearly Paul thinks
00:18:03.51\00:18:06.31
"about [these heavenly places]
00:18:06.31\00:18:07.85
"as a battlefield:
00:18:07.85\00:18:09.35
"on one side is
Christ the field marshal,
00:18:10.62\00:18:12.99
"standing at the king's
right hand, and we with him;
00:18:12.99\00:18:15.99
"on the other side
are the principalities
00:18:15.99\00:18:17.89
"and powers, which
are alienated from God
00:18:17.89\00:18:20.36
"and opposed to him,
00:18:20.36\00:18:21.73
"in their utter disarray,
00:18:21.73\00:18:23.23
exercising their
limited influence."
00:18:23.23\00:18:26.17
So we'd like it to be a
pure and peaceful place,
00:18:26.17\00:18:28.67
but in some sense,
00:18:28.67\00:18:30.21
these heavenly places
are themselves a battlefield,
00:18:30.21\00:18:34.04
not unlike a certain
passage in Revelation, right?
00:18:34.04\00:18:37.88
>>Very true. >>You
remember that passage,
00:18:37.88\00:18:39.01
there was war in
heaven. >>War in heaven.
00:18:39.01\00:18:42.05
>>Michael and his angels
fought against the dragon
00:18:42.05\00:18:44.45
and so on.
00:18:44.45\00:18:45.69
So in some
sense, this is a place
00:18:45.69\00:18:48.82
where the great
controversy is in contest.
00:18:48.82\00:18:53.03
And it leads us to think
perhaps a little bit differently
00:18:53.03\00:18:57.30
about heavenly places
than we have tended to think
00:18:57.30\00:18:59.93
about heaven.
00:18:59.93\00:19:01.27
In heavenly places,
00:19:01.27\00:19:03.27
believers do not so
much experience peace,
00:19:03.27\00:19:06.07
as they gain perspective.
00:19:06.07\00:19:08.61
They gain understanding
00:19:08.61\00:19:10.15
that their stories are part
of the grandest story of all,
00:19:10.15\00:19:14.28
the story of the
great controversy
00:19:14.28\00:19:16.12
or the story of
the cosmic conflict.
00:19:16.12\00:19:18.69
>>So a little
deeper, more fleshed out idea
00:19:18.69\00:19:22.86
of heavenly places.
00:19:22.86\00:19:24.33
Not--he's not talking about
clouds flitting through the sky.
00:19:24.33\00:19:27.86
This is real stuff.
00:19:27.86\00:19:30.27
>>We might wish to pick
and choose amongst his mentions
00:19:30.27\00:19:33.07
of the heavenly places,
but we really can't, can we?
00:19:33.07\00:19:35.77
We have to take
all of this together
00:19:35.77\00:19:38.24
and try to make sense of it.
00:19:38.24\00:19:40.11
It's a little bit more
complex than the puffy clouds.
00:19:40.11\00:19:42.61
Yes, it is. >>Very true.
00:19:42.61\00:19:44.75
Now, that kind of
brings us down to some
00:19:44.75\00:19:47.18
of the perhaps
more familiar verses
00:19:47.18\00:19:49.72
in this passage
that we're looking at.
00:19:49.72\00:19:52.12
And verses eight through 10,
00:19:52.12\00:19:54.32
we hear these quoted
with some regularity.
00:19:54.32\00:19:57.23
Paul says, "For by grace you
have been saved through faith,
00:19:57.23\00:20:00.43
"and that not of yourselves;
it is the gift of God,
00:20:00.43\00:20:03.80
not of works, lest
anyone should boast."
00:20:03.80\00:20:06.57
Then he says in verse 10,
"For we are His workmanship,
00:20:06.57\00:20:09.24
"created in Christ
Jesus for good works,
00:20:09.24\00:20:12.37
which God prepared beforehand
that we should walk in them."
00:20:12.37\00:20:17.01
What's the
significance of these verses?
00:20:17.01\00:20:19.05
I mean, we could go in a
hundred different directions--
00:20:19.05\00:20:21.18
>>Sure, sure.
>>...the significance of them.
00:20:21.18\00:20:22.65
But as Paul is
writing here in Ephesians two,
00:20:22.65\00:20:24.69
how does this all fit into his
train of thought, as it were?
00:20:24.69\00:20:29.76
>>Well, again, it's
part of the the narrative
00:20:30.83\00:20:31.96
that he's providing
00:20:31.96\00:20:33.46
of the conversion
experience of these once pagans,
00:20:33.46\00:20:36.67
but now Christian believers
00:20:36.67\00:20:38.37
in Ephesus, to
whom he's writing.
00:20:38.37\00:20:40.87
And so he's telling their story.
00:20:40.87\00:20:43.87
And in this segment,
of course, he's telling
00:20:43.87\00:20:46.41
about how they are saved
and experienced salvation.
00:20:46.41\00:20:49.98
In the process of
telling their story, though,
00:20:49.98\00:20:52.85
he provides one of
the grand summaries
00:20:52.85\00:20:54.92
of the gospel from the
pen of any biblical author.
00:20:54.92\00:20:59.05
One does think of
Paul's own summary
00:20:59.05\00:21:01.32
in Romans 1, verses 16
and 17, where he writes,
00:21:01.32\00:21:05.63
"For I am not ashamed of
the gospel,...it is the power
00:21:05.63\00:21:08.83
"of God for salvation
to everyone who believes,
00:21:08.83\00:21:12.07
"to the Jew first and
also to the Greek. For in it
00:21:12.07\00:21:15.34
"the righteousness of God is
revealed from faith [to] faith,
00:21:15.34\00:21:20.24
as it is written, 'The
righteous shall live by faith.'"
00:21:20.24\00:21:23.61
And you hear some
00:21:23.61\00:21:25.05
of those themes in that summary
re-echoing, echoing afresh
00:21:25.05\00:21:29.88
in Ephesians, chapter
2, verses 8-10, don't you?
00:21:31.02\00:21:34.42
And it's a wonderful
celebration of the conversion
00:21:34.42\00:21:38.89
and transformation of
those saints at Ephesus.
00:21:38.89\00:21:41.56
It's a wonderful summary
of Paul's gospel in any era.
00:21:41.56\00:21:46.53
>>So, speaking of God's grace,
00:21:47.44\00:21:48.67
and that's the only
way any of us are saved,
00:21:48.67\00:21:50.51
we're saved by God's
grace through faith in Christ.
00:21:50.51\00:21:53.71
How expansive is that grace?
00:21:53.71\00:21:56.48
How can we begin
to wrap our minds
00:21:56.48\00:21:59.61
around that
grace when we recognize
00:21:59.61\00:22:02.72
how far short we fall of,
00:22:02.72\00:22:07.46
well, of perfection,
00:22:07.46\00:22:08.99
of what it takes to be saved
from a certain perspective?
00:22:08.99\00:22:12.69
We're not perfect.
00:22:12.69\00:22:13.73
>>Yes, correct.
00:22:13.73\00:22:15.46
>>We can't save
ourselves-- >>No.
00:22:15.46\00:22:18.90
>>...no matter how much we try
00:22:18.90\00:22:20.27
or how good we
happen to be able to be
00:22:20.27\00:22:24.01
from this point
forward-- >>Right.
00:22:24.01\00:22:26.41
>>...our past condemns us.
00:22:26.41\00:22:28.14
>>Right.
00:22:28.14\00:22:29.14
>>And in walks grace. >>Yes.
00:22:29.14\00:22:32.91
>>Elaborate on grace.
00:22:32.91\00:22:34.55
>>Paul has
mentioned in the first part
00:22:34.55\00:22:36.02
of the conversion story
that these ones in Ephesus,
00:22:36.02\00:22:39.45
all of us as human beings,
00:22:39.45\00:22:41.42
are, by nature,
children of wrath.
00:22:41.42\00:22:44.63
And what I take
him to mean there is
00:22:44.63\00:22:47.30
that we are in our
natural state, bent against God,
00:22:47.30\00:22:52.37
bent toward sin, bent
toward self-destruction,
00:22:53.57\00:22:56.40
bent toward domination
by demonic powers and so on.
00:22:56.40\00:23:00.98
That's where we
would naturally be,
00:23:00.98\00:23:05.35
that's plan A, that's
the one everybody falls into,
00:23:05.35\00:23:08.15
that's the natural place to go.
00:23:08.15\00:23:10.22
"But God," but God
shifts us to plan C,
00:23:10.22\00:23:15.22
the Christ-saturated,
Christ-blessed plan
00:23:15.22\00:23:20.20
of salvation and redemption.
00:23:20.20\00:23:22.73
And we hear that word
in our dark, lost state,
00:23:22.73\00:23:27.80
and the Spirit
comes into our lives
00:23:28.84\00:23:32.01
and tells us about this
salvation that we can have in
00:23:32.01\00:23:36.18
Jesus. And it
sounds too good to be true
00:23:36.18\00:23:38.65
because we think
we have to earn it,
00:23:38.65\00:23:41.05
we have to figure out
a way to manufacture it,
00:23:41.05\00:23:44.35
and then comes that
word "grace" into our lives.
00:23:44.35\00:23:46.86
This is the free gift
of God, this is grace.
00:23:46.86\00:23:51.93
We often have defined
that term as "unmerited favor,"
00:23:53.33\00:23:56.33
but this is something a little
beyond simply unmerited favor
00:23:57.83\00:24:00.94
because these ones in
Ephesus, ourselves, are children
00:24:00.94\00:24:05.07
of wrath destined for punishment
00:24:05.07\00:24:08.88
and destruction, right?
00:24:08.88\00:24:11.31
That's what we deserve.
00:24:11.31\00:24:13.48
So it's not
just unmerited favor,
00:24:13.48\00:24:16.35
it's that He pours
out His grace upon ones
00:24:16.35\00:24:19.99
who deserve, fully
deserve, the entire opposite.
00:24:19.99\00:24:24.06
And that's what
makes the message
00:24:24.06\00:24:26.16
of the gospel shine, doesn't it?
00:24:26.16\00:24:28.00
>>It really does.
00:24:28.00\00:24:29.23
And in this passage,
just 10 short verses,
00:24:29.23\00:24:32.80
Paul takes us from children
00:24:32.80\00:24:35.47
of wrath to this opportunity
to receive this grace
00:24:35.47\00:24:40.41
which we don't deserve.
00:24:40.41\00:24:42.54
As you said, we
deserve the opposite.
00:24:42.54\00:24:44.61
And yet He gives it to us.
00:24:44.61\00:24:46.95
If there were somebody
who was watching this program
00:24:46.95\00:24:51.79
right now who says, "Yeah,
00:24:51.79\00:24:53.02
"the children of
wrath, I identify with that.
00:24:53.02\00:24:55.02
I've wanted to do the
right thing, I keep failing."
00:24:55.02\00:24:58.53
>>Sure. >>"I keep tripping up.
00:24:58.53\00:25:00.40
"And in fact, 'tripping up'
is probably not strong enough.
00:25:00.40\00:25:04.10
"I fall flat on my
face over and over again.
00:25:04.10\00:25:06.77
"I want the grace.
00:25:06.77\00:25:08.40
"I don't know if I can believe
00:25:08.40\00:25:10.24
that I can have
that grace." >>Sure.
00:25:10.24\00:25:12.61
>>What words of
encouragement would you give
00:25:12.61\00:25:14.38
to someone who is struggling
with something like that?
00:25:14.38\00:25:19.25
>>You know, I would probably
00:25:19.25\00:25:21.95
look into the
eyes of such a one,
00:25:21.95\00:25:24.35
and I would first of
all identify with them,
00:25:24.35\00:25:27.32
their experience is the
experience of all humankind.
00:25:27.32\00:25:31.33
If you find
yourself in that space today,
00:25:32.46\00:25:34.83
you don't need to
think that your experience is
00:25:34.83\00:25:37.60
somehow strange or unusual,
00:25:37.60\00:25:40.10
that you are unusually left out
00:25:40.10\00:25:44.11
of God's equation of grace.
00:25:44.11\00:25:46.57
This blackness and darkness
that you may be experiencing
00:25:46.57\00:25:49.38
in your heart and your
mind are very, very real.
00:25:49.38\00:25:53.25
It is the common
human experience.
00:25:53.25\00:25:56.52
But into that darkness,
and into your darkness,
00:25:56.52\00:25:59.35
God speaks the message
of His love and His grace.
00:25:59.35\00:26:04.26
And I would ask you,
00:26:04.26\00:26:06.13
can you find it in your heart
to hear the good news today?
00:26:06.13\00:26:11.17
Can you find it in your heart
00:26:11.97\00:26:13.23
to allow the
Holy Spirit to breathe
00:26:13.23\00:26:16.14
into your life the
understanding that God is love,
00:26:16.14\00:26:20.04
not in some abstract sense,
00:26:20.04\00:26:22.68
but God Himself
loves you this day,
00:26:22.68\00:26:26.92
and could you begin, by
God's grace and by the power
00:26:26.92\00:26:30.39
of His Spirit, to sense
your life being transformed
00:26:30.39\00:26:34.66
by the realization that you
are not outside the framework
00:26:34.66\00:26:38.13
of God's goodness and
His grace, but in fact,
00:26:38.13\00:26:40.86
He's drawing you
right into His heart.
00:26:40.86\00:26:43.70
He is pouring out His
grace on you just now.
00:26:43.70\00:26:47.57
>>John, thanks for helping
us to remember those two words,
00:26:47.57\00:26:51.57
"But God, but God."
00:26:51.57\00:26:54.54
And don't you forget those
two words either, "But God."
00:26:54.54\00:26:59.11
He wants you to
experience that grace.
00:26:59.11\00:27:01.85
He wants you to
experience freedom that comes
00:27:01.85\00:27:05.29
from being in
Christ, freedom from guilt,
00:27:05.29\00:27:08.66
freedom from pain,
freedom from condemnation.
00:27:08.66\00:27:11.89
It's an experience
that He wants you to have.
00:27:11.89\00:27:14.83
That's what Paul was
writing to the Ephesians about,
00:27:14.83\00:27:17.57
is that experience of
understanding God's grace, His
00:27:17.57\00:27:22.64
power, and the brand
new life and experience
00:27:23.74\00:27:25.24
that He wants them to have
and He wants us to have as well.
00:27:25.24\00:27:29.01
We are studying
the book of Ephesians,
00:27:29.01\00:27:31.85
and we are just getting started,
00:27:31.85\00:27:34.22
and it only gets
better from here.
00:27:34.22\00:27:36.82
So I wanna encourage you
to join us again next week
00:27:36.82\00:27:39.65
as John and I are
gonna be continuing to delve
00:27:39.65\00:27:42.46
into this incredible
subject and we look forward
00:27:42.46\00:27:45.39
to seeing you again when we
again look at "Sabbath School,"
00:27:45.39\00:27:48.96
brought to you by It Is Written.
00:27:48.96\00:27:51.00
(upbeat music)
00:27:52.43\00:27:54.94
(music ends)
00:28:25.73\00:28:28.24