(uplifting theme music)
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(music ends)
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>>Welcome to "Sabbath School,"
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brought to you by It Is Written.
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We are journeying
through the book of Ephesians,
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and we have been
for the last 13 weeks.
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This week, lesson number
14, "Ephesians in the Heart."
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This is going to be the
culmination of our journey,
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but by the grace of God,
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not the culmination of your
study of the book of Ephesians.
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In fact, we trust and hope
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and pray it is
only the beginning.
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But let's begin our
study today with prayer.
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Father, thank You.
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Thank You for
leading us through this study
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of the book of Ephesians.
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And thank You for helping us
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to understand the great
major themes of the book,
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as well as how they
apply to our lives today.
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And we ask that You'll guide us
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through our last study together.
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We thank You for doing so.
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In Jesus' name, amen.
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>>Amen. >>Well, here to lead us
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through our final
study is the author
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of this quarter's Sabbath
school lesson, Dr. John McVay.
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He is, of course, the president
of Walla Walla University.
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And we thank you for taking
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13 weeks--14 weeks--in
order to lead us through this,
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and of course, the
much time, the many years
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that it took you to
study this all through yourself
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in the guidance
of the Holy Spirit
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and bringing it all together.
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So we're grateful.
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And here we are in lesson
14, our last one together.
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And it's a significant
one, "Ephesians in the Heart."
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>>Mm.
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>>Give us a little idea of
where we're going with this.
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We've seen Paul lead
us through some themes.
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He's talked about unity.
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He's talked about the church.
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I should expect that
getting to the very end of this,
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we're gonna see a lot
of this come together.
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>>Sure. Lesson 14 is
just a retrospective.
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It's a chance to
look back on 13 weeks
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of studying this grand epistle,
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this great piece of literature,
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this inspired
document from Scripture,
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and to ponder
it again as a whole
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and to reflect on
our study together.
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One thing that we
can do, Eric, is ask,
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are there any life texts here?
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In your study through Ephesians,
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has there been one,
two, maybe three passages,
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maybe brief,
maybe a little longer,
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that have really impacted
you, have changed your thinking,
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have drawn you closer to Christ,
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have ignited, as
Paul was hoping to do
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for those Ephesian believers,
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have ignited afresh your
faith and your confidence in God
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and in His church
and in the mission
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in which the church is engaged?
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This lesson
gives us an opportunity
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to gather up the manna,
if you will, from Ephesians
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and carefully store it
away in our hearts and our minds
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so that it can
be available to us.
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>>And there's a lot in this
book that allows us to do that.
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As we mentioned some weeks ago,
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you could read through this book
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in a fairly
short period of time,
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45 minutes, maybe
less, of doing that,
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depending on how quick a
reader one happened to be.
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It was meant to be
read in a church service,
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as it were-- >>Mm-hmm.
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>>...to get some
significant points across
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to those who needed the
encouragement in their walk.
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One of the things
that, as you've mentioned,
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Paul is emphasizing
here is the significance,
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the importance of the church.
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>>Yes. >>The role
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that the church plays. >>Yes.
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>>Let's walk through
Ephesians a little bit
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and kind of bring back
the importance of this theme.
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>>Okay.
>>Because Paul spends time,
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effort, ink-- >>Mm-hmm.
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>>...trying to
help us understand this.
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And in the world today,
there are a lot of Christians
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who maybe don't see the
significance, the importance
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of church, as it
were. >>Sure. Sure.
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>>"I'm a spiritual individual.
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I love Jesus, I'm good"--
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>>Yes, yes. >>...as it were.
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But Paul has a very different
take on that, doesn't he?
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>>Yes, he does.
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And I think this
is a good strategy
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to review the entirety of
Ephesians to choose a theme.
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And we could choose a
number of different themes,
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but the theme of
the church in Ephesians
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is certainly an appropriate way
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to review the
content of this great letter.
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So let's do that.
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Let's move through the letter
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and let's review the theme
of the church in Ephesians.
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Could we start with
Ephesians, chapter 3, verse 10,
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where Paul gives a
kind of job description
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for the church?
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So in chapter 3, verse 10,
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Paul writes about the
mystery hidden for the ages.
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"So that"--start of verse 10--
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"through the church
the manifold wisdom of God
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"might now be made
known to the rulers
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and authorities in
the heavenly places."
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Let me read that again:
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"So that through the
church the manifold wisdom
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"of God might now be
made known to the rulers
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and authorities in
the heavenly places."
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That's a kind of job description
for the church buried
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at the heart of the letter
there in chapter 3, verse 10.
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So, I would have
four questions to ask you
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and our listeners about that.
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What is the essential
role of the church, according
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to Ephesians 3, verse 10?
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>>Here in Ephesians 3, verse 10,
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he says one of the big
things that he wants to do
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is to make manifest the wisdom
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of God to principalities
and powers in heavenly places.
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>>Yeah. >>So it has a purpose.
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There is a
reason for the church.
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>>The church is to be an
instrument of revelation.
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Isn't that interesting?
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An instrument of
revealing truth to others.
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The church is not
to be self-serving.
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It's not supposed to go
forth proclaiming a message
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about itself, but
to be God-centered,
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to be proclaiming
a message about God.
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The church is an
instrument of revelation,
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not an object of it. Okay?
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A second question
that I'd have for you:
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What is the church to reveal?
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>>That's to reveal the truth.
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>>The truth,
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and it puts it here in some
interesting way, doesn't it?
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"The manifold wisdom of God."
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So that
manifold, that multifaceted
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will of God, we're to
manifest the manifold--
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wisdom, I should say--of God.
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So it's like holding a large
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and beautiful
diamond up to the light
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and turning its facets so
that we can see them one by one,
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and the glint, the
light glints off of one
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and then off the other.
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And we are to reveal,
to talk about, to share,
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to illustrate, to personify
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the multifaceted wisdom of God.
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What does Paul mean by that?
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What I think he
means, in this context--
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you'll remember that
we're right here in chapter 3,
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where he's talking
about Jews and Gentiles
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and the makeup of the
church out of Jews and Gentiles
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as part of God's
mystery, as part of His plan.
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So we reveal
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the multifaceted
glimmer of God's wisdom.
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By being the church,
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by being formed
of diverse peoples,
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by being in
agreement and collaboration
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and community with one
another in our diversity,
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we actually become
a source of revelation
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of the manifold wisdom of God.
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>>So this manifold wisdom of God
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is not a
two-dimensional shallow thing,
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but it becomes
very real, very deep
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as we live Christ's plan for us.
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>>Absolutely. So, by
its very composition,
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its unprecedented
unity amidst great diversity,
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the church reveals,
exhibits, and illustrates
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God's grand purpose,
Ephesians 1, verses 9-10,
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to unify everything in Christ.
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So we reveal the
manifold wisdom of God.
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So you, of course, know
the answer to this question,
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but it's a startling answer.
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To whom is the
church to reveal this truth?
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Your neighbors down
the street in Ephesus,
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the church members in that
new house church over there
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in Cenchreae near Corinth?
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Who are we trying
to reveal this to?
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>>Well, I think
yes, yes, yes, and yes.
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>>[Dr. McVay]
Yeah, (laughs) of course.
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>>He wants us to
reveal this truth,
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this manifold wisdom
of God, to the world.
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>>Yes, but he has
a special audience
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in mind here, doesn't he?
00:09:08.14\00:09:09.08
>>He says, "The principalities
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and the powers in
the heavenly places."
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>>Isn't that
strange? >>Powerful.
00:09:12.65\00:09:15.18
>>That is--we are
the prophets. (laughs)
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And our audience
is these manifest--
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these powers in
the heavenly places
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that manifest
themselves in heavenly places.
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We are to bear witness somehow,
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to reveal God's
manifold wisdom to them.
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A final question isn't so easy
00:09:36.67\00:09:39.01
because Paul doesn't directly
address it. For what purpose?
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Why is this the job
description of the church?
00:09:43.78\00:09:45.81
Why are we engaged in,
involved in this activity
00:09:45.81\00:09:49.02
and to this particular audience?
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And to me, if we want
to seek an answer there,
00:09:51.79\00:09:55.86
we have to go to chapter 6.
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And we have to
learn that these powers
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are malevolent, evil
powers that are in competition
00:10:00.83\00:10:05.30
with Christ and His church,
battling Christ and His church.
00:10:05.30\00:10:09.57
And if we are to communicate
00:10:09.57\00:10:13.88
the manifold wisdom of
God in establishing the church
00:10:13.88\00:10:16.91
out of Jews and
Gentiles as one new humanity,
00:10:16.91\00:10:20.05
the most logical
answer for us to come,
00:10:21.08\00:10:25.09
as to the purpose of this,
00:10:25.09\00:10:27.36
is that they
would be put on notice
00:10:27.36\00:10:30.56
that God's grand plan to
unite everything in Christ
00:10:30.56\00:10:34.36
is underway, and
that they are doomed.
00:10:34.36\00:10:38.80
Okay? So again,
Ephesians 1:9-10,
00:10:38.80\00:10:42.60
the purpose of God is to
unite everything in Christ.
00:10:42.60\00:10:45.47
And the powers
look at this church,
00:10:45.47\00:10:47.38
and they see that
it has been created
00:10:47.38\00:10:50.98
and crafted out of
diverse elements of humankind,
00:10:50.98\00:10:54.38
Jews on the one hand
and Gentiles on the other,
00:10:54.38\00:10:57.22
and that they are
living happily and peacefully
00:10:57.22\00:11:00.42
and in a self-sacrificial,
00:11:00.42\00:11:03.66
Christ-imitating way.
00:11:03.66\00:11:06.46
And they say, oops,
our time is about up.
00:11:06.46\00:11:09.96
God's plan is underway.
00:11:09.96\00:11:12.07
>>And we get to
be a part of that.
00:11:13.17\00:11:14.70
>>We get to be a part of
it. >>We get to be a part of it,
00:11:14.70\00:11:16.50
which is huge. >>We do, yeah.
00:11:16.50\00:11:18.14
>>And when Paul
uses the word "church"--
00:11:18.14\00:11:21.24
>>Mm-hmm.
>>...let's revisit this again
00:11:21.24\00:11:23.41
because different people
have different interpretations
00:11:23.41\00:11:27.28
of church. >>Sure, sure.
00:11:27.28\00:11:29.22
>>What is Paul's--
00:11:29.22\00:11:31.25
what idea of church is
Paul trying to get across here?
00:11:31.25\00:11:35.49
>>In his earlier
letters, the word "ekklesia"--
00:11:35.49\00:11:40.40
we get a lot of English
words like "ecclesiastical"
00:11:40.40\00:11:43.57
and terms like that from
the Greek word "ekklesia"--
00:11:43.57\00:11:47.47
is used primarily in
Paul's earlier letters
00:11:47.47\00:11:50.41
to designate
individual congregations,
00:11:50.41\00:11:53.17
the church of Corinth,
the churches in Galatia,
00:11:53.17\00:11:56.78
the church here and
there in Thessalonica.
00:11:56.78\00:12:00.48
But in Colossians and
Ephesians, that meaning shifts,
00:12:00.48\00:12:05.25
and particularly in Ephesians,
00:12:05.25\00:12:07.99
the term "ekklesia," or
"church," means something bigger
00:12:07.99\00:12:12.89
and broader than just
the individual congregation.
00:12:12.89\00:12:16.10
The way I express
it sometimes, Eric,
00:12:17.20\00:12:18.67
is it's the church writ large.
00:12:18.67\00:12:20.87
It's the church universal,
is one way to express it
00:12:22.24\00:12:25.14
without perhaps inheriting
all the theological concepts
00:12:25.14\00:12:28.88
behind that. But it's
the church writ large.
00:12:28.88\00:12:31.98
He's thinking more broadly
and more in a cosmic context
00:12:31.98\00:12:36.22
than just the
local congregation.
00:12:36.22\00:12:38.69
>>Very helpful in
getting a better understanding
00:12:38.69\00:12:41.52
of the church as it is
here in the book of Ephesians.
00:12:41.52\00:12:46.59
We are in the very
last lesson of the last part
00:12:47.83\00:12:50.63
of our study of
the book of Ephesians.
00:12:50.63\00:12:53.64
And I don't wanna let
this opportunity slip by you
00:12:53.64\00:12:56.44
without giving you
one more opportunity
00:12:56.44\00:12:58.51
to get more out of your
study of the book of Ephesians.
00:12:58.51\00:13:02.64
And that is by
picking up the companion book
00:13:02.64\00:13:04.81
to this quarter's
Sabbath school lesson.
00:13:04.81\00:13:06.95
It, of course,
as you know by now,
00:13:06.95\00:13:08.62
is called
"Ephesians" by John McVay.
00:13:08.62\00:13:11.15
And you can pick
this up to get deeper,
00:13:11.15\00:13:13.72
more broad,
greater depth, more insight
00:13:13.72\00:13:18.59
into the book of Ephesians by
picking up the companion book.
00:13:18.59\00:13:22.50
Where do you do it?
00:13:22.50\00:13:23.60
At itiswritten.shop.
00:13:23.60\00:13:25.60
Again, itiswritten.shop.
00:13:25.60\00:13:27.64
You can pick this up
and continue your study
00:13:27.64\00:13:30.47
of the book of Ephesians.
00:13:30.47\00:13:32.87
But our study today is
not quite finished yet.
00:13:32.87\00:13:35.34
We still have one
more short segment
00:13:35.34\00:13:37.41
that we're going to go through
as we look at the last part
00:13:37.41\00:13:40.62
of the last
lesson in this quarter,
00:13:40.62\00:13:42.68
and we'll be
right back to do that.
00:13:42.68\00:13:44.72
(uplifting theme
music swells and ends)
00:13:44.72\00:13:48.02
>>[John Bradshaw] Thousands
of years ago on a lonely island,
00:13:49.62\00:13:52.83
a weathered hand wrote
words of divine instruction
00:13:52.83\00:13:56.26
to the early Christians.
00:13:56.26\00:13:57.93
One by one,
these inspired messages
00:13:57.93\00:14:00.44
from God admonished, counseled,
00:14:00.44\00:14:02.90
and encouraged six different
churches in the ancient world.
00:14:02.90\00:14:07.24
Finally, Jesus addressed
the seventh and last church,
00:14:07.24\00:14:10.31
the church of Laodicea.
00:14:10.31\00:14:12.41
His closing words to Laodicea
served as a parallel warning
00:14:12.41\00:14:16.42
to the church that would exist
00:14:16.42\00:14:17.75
at the close of earth's history.
00:14:17.75\00:14:19.89
"I know your works, that
you are neither cold nor hot....
00:14:19.89\00:14:23.63
"You say, 'I am
rich, have become wealthy,
00:14:23.63\00:14:25.99
"and have need of nothing,'--
00:14:25.99\00:14:27.56
"and do not know
that you are wretched,
00:14:27.56\00:14:29.60
miserable, poor,
blind, and naked."
00:14:29.60\00:14:32.77
Don't miss the final episode
00:14:32.77\00:14:34.40
of "The Seven Churches of
Revelation" series: "Laodicea."
00:14:34.40\00:14:38.64
Discover how a
broken church can eventually
00:14:38.64\00:14:40.94
dine with Christ at His table.
00:14:40.94\00:14:42.98
"The Seven Churches
of Revelation: Laodicea,"
00:14:42.98\00:14:46.21
brought to you
by It Is Written TV.
00:14:46.21\00:14:48.52
(uplifting music)
00:14:49.42\00:14:51.52
>>[Eric Flickinger] Welcome
back to "Sabbath School,"
00:14:54.12\00:14:55.66
brought to you by It Is Written.
00:14:55.66\00:14:57.56
We are looking at
the very tail end now
00:14:57.56\00:15:00.10
of our study of
the book of Ephesians.
00:15:00.10\00:15:03.37
And, John, I wanna
spend a little bit of time
00:15:03.37\00:15:05.23
reviewing some of the
great themes, the metaphors
00:15:05.23\00:15:09.57
that Paul has used here
in talking about the church
00:15:09.57\00:15:13.98
and the role of the
church in the book of Ephesians.
00:15:13.98\00:15:17.05
Now, I think many of us
know what a metaphor is,
00:15:17.05\00:15:19.91
but let's--what is Paul
doing here in using these,
00:15:19.91\00:15:23.92
well, these metaphors?
00:15:23.92\00:15:25.15
>>Sure. Well, to turn
into an English teacher
00:15:25.15\00:15:27.86
for just a few
moments here, if I say to you,
00:15:27.86\00:15:31.49
"People are like wolves,"
00:15:33.29\00:15:36.80
that is not a
metaphor. >>That's a simile.
00:15:36.80\00:15:38.70
>>That's a simile or
an analogy, isn't it?
00:15:38.70\00:15:41.77
But if I say,
"People are wolves,"
00:15:41.77\00:15:45.44
that is, "People equals wolves,"
00:15:45.44\00:15:47.41
that then forms a
metaphor, doesn't it?
00:15:47.41\00:15:50.55
And so one definition of a
metaphor that has been provided
00:15:50.55\00:15:54.98
is that a metaphor
is a figure of speech
00:15:54.98\00:15:58.32
in which we
speak about one thing
00:15:58.32\00:16:01.86
in terms which are seen
to be suggestive of another.
00:16:01.86\00:16:05.93
So to give just a
little illustration,
00:16:05.93\00:16:09.20
if you and I are watching
a group of younger people out
00:16:09.20\00:16:13.47
on the basketball court
(chuckles) playing their hearts
00:16:13.47\00:16:16.87
out, and someone is
getting the three-point baskets
00:16:16.87\00:16:19.84
one right after
another, you might say to me,
00:16:19.84\00:16:23.08
"He is playing hot."
00:16:23.08\00:16:25.38
So what we're doing there
is we're mapping the domain
00:16:26.75\00:16:29.32
of temperature terms on
sports performance, right?
00:16:29.32\00:16:34.06
We're seeing one
thing through terms
00:16:34.06\00:16:38.43
that are associated with
another. And when that same
00:16:38.43\00:16:42.96
person in three
minutes goes absolutely cold
00:16:42.96\00:16:44.87
and starts to miss every one--
00:16:44.87\00:16:46.53
see, I used the
word "cold," didn't I?--
00:16:46.53\00:16:48.50
we would use
those temperature terms,
00:16:48.50\00:16:50.31
and we'd say, "Well,
he sure is cold now."
00:16:50.31\00:16:52.34
>>That's right.
00:16:52.34\00:16:53.27
>>So metaphors are complicated.
00:16:53.27\00:16:55.44
We use internal mental metaphors
00:16:55.44\00:16:58.28
to shape our understanding
of reality all the time,
00:16:58.28\00:17:03.35
cognitive metaphors.
00:17:04.02\00:17:05.55
And so when we talk
about metaphors for the church,
00:17:05.55\00:17:08.69
it's not simply a
literary phenomenon.
00:17:08.69\00:17:11.79
We want to bring our
cognition, our understandings
00:17:11.79\00:17:16.23
of church to Scripture here.
00:17:16.23\00:17:19.00
And we want our understandings
of church to be enriched
00:17:19.00\00:17:22.57
by the Bible's
metaphors and understandings
00:17:22.57\00:17:25.74
so that we might
operate and function
00:17:25.74\00:17:28.88
on a different
cognitive understanding
00:17:28.88\00:17:31.75
of what the church really is
00:17:31.75\00:17:33.72
than perhaps we
do in the moment.
00:17:33.72\00:17:36.32
>>And so Paul does that. He
uses these several metaphors.
00:17:36.32\00:17:40.09
>>Mm-hmm. >>And
we've talked about them
00:17:40.09\00:17:41.19
as we've gone through this,
00:17:41.19\00:17:42.66
but it'd be good to
revisit these as we go through.
00:17:42.66\00:17:45.26
What are some of the
metaphors that Paul uses
00:17:45.26\00:17:47.13
to help us
understand the breadth
00:17:47.13\00:17:48.56
and the scope of the
church in his day and in ours?
00:17:48.56\00:17:52.20
>>Well, let's recap
the four major metaphors,
00:17:52.20\00:17:54.77
the ones which he
develops most fully.
00:17:54.77\00:17:58.31
And the first of
those would be a metaphor
00:17:58.31\00:18:00.61
that he uses earlier in
the Corinthian correspondence,
00:18:00.61\00:18:04.71
in Romans: the body of Christ.
00:18:04.71\00:18:07.82
The church is
the body of Christ.
00:18:07.82\00:18:11.22
Now, we almost can intuit
some of what that means, right?
00:18:11.22\00:18:16.12
To be the body of Christ
means that we are all part
00:18:16.12\00:18:19.06
of one project, we're
contributing to it in different
00:18:19.06\00:18:23.20
ways, and we're
related to one another
00:18:23.20\00:18:25.40
as body parts are
related to one another
00:18:25.40\00:18:28.67
in a single human
body. So it's communicating
00:18:28.67\00:18:31.87
some really
important ideas to us.
00:18:31.87\00:18:35.64
Paul uses the metaphor
in Ephesians in chapter 1,
00:18:35.64\00:18:40.65
at the end of chapter
1 in verses 22 and 23,
00:18:40.65\00:18:44.49
chapter 2, verse 16,
00:18:44.49\00:18:46.86
and chapter 4, verses 1-16,
00:18:46.86\00:18:50.59
as well as joined
with the bridal metaphor
00:18:50.59\00:18:54.10
in chapter 5, verses 29-30.
00:18:54.10\00:18:56.77
So he uses this one
quite a lot in Ephesians
00:18:56.77\00:19:00.04
and in different ways
in the different contexts.
00:19:00.04\00:19:04.31
But in chapter 4, verses 1-16,
00:19:04.31\00:19:07.44
where he develops it more fully,
00:19:07.44\00:19:09.81
he's using it to explore
relationships among members.
00:19:09.81\00:19:14.42
And he's especially
interested in the role
00:19:14.42\00:19:17.15
of these ministers of
the Word--apostles, prophets,
00:19:17.15\00:19:21.16
evangelists, pastor,
teachers--and how they function.
00:19:21.16\00:19:25.43
He's anxious that
church members appreciate
00:19:25.43\00:19:30.33
and honor these
ministers of the Word
00:19:30.33\00:19:33.03
for their important
function among them.
00:19:33.03\00:19:35.07
And it's a unifying function.
00:19:35.07\00:19:37.21
He actually
elaborates the body metaphor.
00:19:37.21\00:19:39.94
He extends it here.
00:19:39.94\00:19:41.78
And these ministers of the
Word are connective tissue,
00:19:41.78\00:19:44.71
ligaments, and
tendons, that unify the body
00:19:44.71\00:19:48.68
and bring unity
to the human body.
00:19:48.68\00:19:51.49
And so he spends a good
deal of time here with this.
00:19:51.49\00:19:55.82
He also saw another new feature,
00:19:55.82\00:19:58.13
that Christ is now the head.
00:19:58.13\00:20:00.50
And so not only is
the body metaphor used
00:20:00.50\00:20:03.20
to explore
relationships among members,
00:20:03.20\00:20:06.03
but it's also to explore
our cohesion to the head.
00:20:06.03\00:20:10.77
Are we being loyal to the
head, the one that brings power
00:20:10.77\00:20:15.71
and resources to the
body and helps the body grow?
00:20:15.71\00:20:20.78
Are we honoring
the head of the body?
00:20:21.88\00:20:23.15
Are we obeying
the head of the body?
00:20:23.15\00:20:25.52
The second major
metaphor is the church
00:20:25.52\00:20:28.49
as the temple of God.
00:20:28.49\00:20:30.29
And the
principle place, the place,
00:20:30.29\00:20:32.59
in Ephesians where it's used,
00:20:32.59\00:20:34.10
is at the end of
chapter 2, verses 19-22.
00:20:34.10\00:20:39.03
And you'll recall that he
is celebrating the church.
00:20:39.03\00:20:43.34
I mean, Paul is so
excited about the church.
00:20:43.34\00:20:46.44
And it takes us a
little work, I think,
00:20:46.44\00:20:48.68
to live into his excitement.
00:20:48.68\00:20:50.15
But he's been
telling us in chapter 2
00:20:50.15\00:20:53.25
that Christ dies on
the cross to bring Jews
00:20:53.25\00:20:57.45
and Gentiles
together in the church,
00:20:57.45\00:21:00.29
to give them shared
access to the Father in heaven.
00:21:00.29\00:21:04.16
And for him,
this is at the heart
00:21:04.16\00:21:06.03
of the mystery of the gospel.
00:21:06.03\00:21:07.66
"Can you believe it?" Paul says.
00:21:07.66\00:21:09.93
"The church is made up
of both Jews and Gentiles.
00:21:09.93\00:21:14.30
Can this possibly be?
00:21:14.30\00:21:16.17
What a wondrous act
of God's grace this is."
00:21:16.17\00:21:19.71
Takes us a little while
to work our way into that,
00:21:19.71\00:21:22.28
begin to hear the lilt in
Paul's voice as he does that.
00:21:22.28\00:21:26.08
But he now
celebrates that church
00:21:26.08\00:21:29.35
through a temple
building, temple metaphor
00:21:29.35\00:21:33.12
at the end of chapter 2.
00:21:33.12\00:21:35.29
And he talks about it
as, "Built on the foundation
00:21:35.29\00:21:38.73
of the apostles and prophets."
00:21:38.73\00:21:40.63
And by being built, he's
talking about the church members
00:21:40.63\00:21:43.63
as the building
materials in the temple.
00:21:43.63\00:21:45.93
"Built on the foundation of
the apostles and [the] prophets,
00:21:45.93\00:21:49.54
"Christ Jesus Himself
being the cornerstone,
00:21:49.54\00:21:54.54
"in whom the whole structure,
being joined together,
00:21:54.54\00:21:58.98
"grows into a holy
temple in the Lord.
00:21:58.98\00:22:02.58
In Him you
also"--you Gentiles, you Jews--
00:22:02.58\00:22:06.32
"are being built
together into a dwelling place
00:22:06.32\00:22:09.86
[of] God by the Spirit."
00:22:09.86\00:22:11.33
So, these Gentiles
who were once excluded
00:22:11.33\00:22:14.36
from the temple in
Jerusalem by that balustrade,
00:22:14.36\00:22:17.00
or that fence, that
fence has been knocked down
00:22:17.00\00:22:20.50
and demolished by
Christ's work on the cross,
00:22:20.50\00:22:23.57
and now they become the temple
in which God is worshiped,
00:22:23.57\00:22:28.64
so a beautiful metaphor there.
00:22:29.44\00:22:30.95
So the first one
is the church is body;
00:22:30.95\00:22:33.68
the second one,
the church is temple.
00:22:33.68\00:22:35.75
>>When I'm picturing this body,
00:22:35.75\00:22:38.32
we all are parts of that body.
00:22:38.32\00:22:40.19
We're called to
be parts of the body.
00:22:40.19\00:22:41.72
A body works best if all
the parts are working together.
00:22:41.72\00:22:46.06
And if a part is
separated from the body,
00:22:46.06\00:22:49.06
it's neither good for
that part nor for the body.
00:22:49.06\00:22:53.23
And so God wants His
people to be together
00:22:53.23\00:22:55.44
and working together.
And that beautiful picture
00:22:55.44\00:22:58.27
of the temple being built
together goes into that as well.
00:22:58.27\00:23:01.71
What about the third metaphor?
00:23:01.71\00:23:03.48
>>The third metaphor is the
church is the bride of Christ.
00:23:03.48\00:23:06.45
And we've looked at this one.
00:23:06.45\00:23:07.88
It's such an intimate
portrait of the relationship
00:23:07.88\00:23:09.95
between Christ and the church.
00:23:09.95\00:23:11.95
Christ isn't just the groom.
00:23:11.95\00:23:13.39
He is that, but
He's the bride price.
00:23:13.39\00:23:16.42
He's the best man in giving
the bride away to Himself.
00:23:16.42\00:23:20.70
He takes the role of preparing
00:23:20.70\00:23:22.56
and bathing the bride
for the marriage ceremony.
00:23:22.56\00:23:26.17
He is everything to this bride.
00:23:26.17\00:23:28.70
He's the one who speaks
the word of promise, on and on.
00:23:28.70\00:23:32.41
All the elements and roles
of the ancient wedding service
00:23:32.41\00:23:35.48
are concentrated in
Jesus, teaching us the lesson
00:23:35.48\00:23:40.02
that He's
everything to His church.
00:23:40.02\00:23:42.58
But the metaphor also teaches
00:23:42.58\00:23:44.52
about the close
intimate relationship
00:23:44.52\00:23:47.76
that God wishes to have
with His church, with believers.
00:23:47.76\00:23:51.46
>>So Paul is using
different metaphors
00:23:51.46\00:23:53.60
to tease out different
elements, different aspects.
00:23:53.60\00:23:57.07
>>Absolutely. >>And here we are
00:23:57.07\00:23:58.93
in one sentence
saying that the church
00:23:58.93\00:24:00.67
is the bride of
Christ, but then in the next,
00:24:00.67\00:24:02.97
Paul uses this metaphor
of the church as a militia.
00:24:02.97\00:24:07.31
>>Mm-hmm. >>And it's difficult
00:24:07.31\00:24:08.58
to take a bride and militia--
00:24:08.58\00:24:10.28
>>It is, it is.
>>...and run 'em together,
00:24:10.28\00:24:11.78
but that they're
just different elements.
00:24:11.78\00:24:14.58
>>Yes. >>Talk about the militia
00:24:14.58\00:24:15.55
for a moment.
00:24:15.55\00:24:16.48
>>Yeah, so the army of the Lord,
00:24:16.48\00:24:18.05
the militia of Christ,
chapter 6, verses 10-20,
00:24:18.05\00:24:21.39
we spent our last two
lessons studying that passage,
00:24:21.39\00:24:25.09
but it, too, serves
00:24:25.09\00:24:28.03
as a final culminating image
00:24:28.03\00:24:31.00
of the church, the
church militant, if you will.
00:24:31.00\00:24:34.14
Now, it's militant in
a special way, isn't it?
00:24:34.14\00:24:36.34
Because right at the
heart of that passage,
00:24:36.34\00:24:37.91
Paul tells us that we
are to put on our feet
00:24:37.91\00:24:40.88
that which will help us to
proclaim the gospel of peace.
00:24:40.88\00:24:44.91
So it's a peace-waging army.
00:24:44.91\00:24:47.25
It's not a conventional
army using conventional weapons.
00:24:47.25\00:24:50.85
It is a peace-waging army
using the wonderful assets
00:24:50.85\00:24:54.79
of God's presence
and prayer and kindness
00:24:54.79\00:24:58.19
and gentleness to one another
00:24:58.19\00:25:00.26
and all those kinds of
"weapons" in waging peace.
00:25:00.26\00:25:04.87
But it does portray
the energetic engagement
00:25:04.87\00:25:09.07
that's required of us
as disciples in the battle
00:25:09.07\00:25:12.41
as we become combatants
in the great controversy,
00:25:12.41\00:25:15.84
albeit in the
interest of waging peace.
00:25:15.84\00:25:19.11
The passage
represents a great call to arms
00:25:19.11\00:25:23.02
and encourages us
that God has provisioned us
00:25:23.02\00:25:26.22
with all we need, with the right
weapons, with His presence,
00:25:26.22\00:25:30.53
and we will be part of a
triumphant victory at the end.
00:25:30.53\00:25:35.36
>>That theme of
unity that Paul has woven
00:25:35.36\00:25:39.43
through this book, we have
just a couple of minutes left.
00:25:39.43\00:25:43.41
I wonder if you might
dwell on that theme of unity
00:25:43.41\00:25:47.31
for just a moment. >>Sure.
00:25:47.31\00:25:48.41
>>We're tying
everything together here.
00:25:48.41\00:25:49.88
And if there is
someone who's listening to this
00:25:49.88\00:25:52.48
and struggling with
seeing how they fit in,
00:25:52.48\00:25:56.35
and maybe there's some
things they're concerned about,
00:25:56.35\00:25:59.52
how could we bring
this whole thing together
00:25:59.52\00:26:02.06
for that person who
wants to be encouraged,
00:26:02.06\00:26:05.86
who wants to be uplifted,
00:26:05.86\00:26:08.26
who wants to feel a
part of what God is doing?
00:26:08.26\00:26:11.00
>>So this is the
fast-over flight.
00:26:11.00\00:26:12.67
>>The fast-over flight.
>>Chapter 1, verses 9 and 10,
00:26:12.67\00:26:14.64
God's grand plan:
Unite everything in Christ.
00:26:14.64\00:26:17.77
We get to Christ's
exaltation over the powers.
00:26:17.77\00:26:21.24
He's given to the church
as the One over all things.
00:26:21.24\00:26:24.51
What Christ chooses to
do on the cross, chapter 2,
00:26:24.51\00:26:27.85
is to join Jews
and Gentiles together.
00:26:27.85\00:26:30.59
And through this grand
diversity, chapter 3, verse 10,
00:26:30.59\00:26:33.72
witness to the
powers that God's plan
00:26:33.72\00:26:36.09
to unite everything is underway.
00:26:36.09\00:26:38.29
And then in chapters 4 and 5,
00:26:38.29\00:26:40.46
we have detailed
instructions of how to behave
00:26:40.46\00:26:43.10
within the
Christian congregations
00:26:43.10\00:26:45.43
and the Christian
family in ways that unify
00:26:45.43\00:26:47.84
and draw ones together.
00:26:47.84\00:26:49.54
All of that is celebrated
in the unity of an army.
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An army requires unity,
chapter 6, verses 10-20.
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So I would hope that
those watching us, Eric,
00:26:56.95\00:27:00.25
would feel a
poignant pathos-filled call
00:27:00.25\00:27:03.72
from Jesus Christ
Himself to join the army,
00:27:03.72\00:27:07.49
to become part of the body,
to become part of the building,
00:27:07.49\00:27:11.19
to be part of
the bride of Christ.
00:27:11.19\00:27:13.46
There is a place
for you in God's church.
00:27:13.46\00:27:16.26
It is a wondrous, wondrous
place of cosmic significance.
00:27:16.26\00:27:21.27
I would encourage
each person listening to us
00:27:21.27\00:27:24.37
to reinvest themselves in
church or join in the church.
00:27:24.37\00:27:28.68
It is the place to be.
It is where the action is.
00:27:28.68\00:27:31.71
>>Amen. John, thank you so much
00:27:31.71\00:27:33.35
for leading us
through this study
00:27:33.35\00:27:35.32
over the course
of the last 14 weeks.
00:27:35.32\00:27:37.52
And thank you for joining
us on this journey as well.
00:27:37.52\00:27:40.82
We trust and pray that it
has been a blessing to you.
00:27:40.82\00:27:44.13
It most
certainly has been to us.
00:27:44.13\00:27:46.53
May God bless you,
and we look forward
00:27:46.53\00:27:48.20
to seeing you again next
week here on "Sabbath School,"
00:27:48.20\00:27:50.80
brought to you by It Is Written.
00:27:50.80\00:27:53.27
(uplifting theme music)
00:27:53.27\00:27:55.47
(music ends)
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