Ephesians
1:8b-14, 18-20 (NIV) With all wisdom and understanding, 9 he
made known to us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure, which
he purposed in Christ, 10 to be put into effect when the times
reach their fulfillment—to bring unity to all things in heaven and on earth
under Christ. 11 In him we were also chosen, having been
predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity
with the purpose of his will, 12 in order that we, who were the
first to put our hope in Christ, might be for the praise of his glory. 13 And
you also were included in Christ when you heard the message of truth, the
gospel of your salvation. When you believed, you were marked in him with a
seal, the promised Holy Spirit, 14 who is a deposit
guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s
possession—to the praise of his glory. 18 I pray that the eyes
of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which
he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people, 19 and
his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is the same as the
mighty strength 20 he exerted when he raised Christ from the
dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms,
In this passage Paul heaps phrase upon phrase that
defy any logical understanding, but I am not sure we always need to logically
understand. In this case I am certain that Paul simply wants us to get caught
up in the greatness of the Good News of God in Jesus Christ, to catch the
spirit of awesome praise that runs through the verses. That the God who brought
the entire universe into being reaches out to us to offer us His life. In the
man Jesus Christ, God came to be with us to sit at our tables, to eat what we
eat, to know life as we know it, to share in our tragedies and our triumphs.
That is the truth we celebrate in Christ. But that is not all. Christ came not
only to share life with us; He invites us to come and share in His life – to
share His strength, His wisdom, His ability to overcome evil, and to do the
Father’s will.
Right now we only partially share in the life of
God. The completion of God’s plan and purpose for our life lies beyond this
world. As we share in the life of God, though, something begins to happen to
us. In almost imperceptible ways God begins to make changes in our life. He
changes our attitudes toward people. He changes our values, our feelings, our
behaviors, our understanding of what life is for. The Goodness of the Gospels
is that slowly but very surely the thought begins to take hold that the purpose
of life is to share in the life of God. We begin the process of being conformed
to the image of the risen Christ. We begin to express the very life and
character of God Himself. Strange as it may seem, people begin to see God is
us. They begin to understand God’s attitude toward them by our attitude toward
them. As people get to know us, they get to know something of what God is like.
Does that make you want to say no, no …
not me? No one could possibly know
what God is like by knowing me, especially if they really knew me. But they
do, and the better they know you the more they see the life and character of
God in you, for God has put His stamp of ownership upon you for the whole world
to see.
From a sermon preached by Henry Dobbs Pope April
27, 1975
© Rhonda Hinkle Mitchell Broyles
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