Ephesians 1.
This book has had a profound impact on my life: Who I understand God to be; all that he has accomplished for me in Christ; how I view myself as a result; what I value and live for; how I view others inside the Church; outside the Church; how the Gospel transforms my relationships, my marriage, my parenting, my work ethic; how I interpret and make sense of my own personal struggles…I hope that in our study you will have come to see God, others, self, and this world more clearly and live differently in light of it.
In this letter we discover not only the purpose of life, but what God is doing through Christ. It is about making sense of history, culture, society and spiritual need to be drawn to something greater than ourselves. What's going on here?
I want to show you the theme of this epistle in Eph. 1:9-10. This verse is the key to understanding Ephesians and ALL of Scripture. Pretty important stuff!
Dr. Martyn Lloyd Jones said of this verse: “I do not hesitate to assert that we have in this verse the key to the understanding of the chief practical purpose of this Epistle to the Ephesians...Indeed, we can go further and say that this verse states what is the central theme of all Scripture.”
He has made known to us the mystery of His will. A Mystery is something that was not previously known but has now been made known. God’s will or purposes were not known until He made them known. And Christ is at the center of this plan. Here is that plan, at the time that God has appointed, he will unite all things together in Christ, whether things in heaven or on earth. The words “unite all things” literally translated mean “to sum up all things;” to bring all parts together. It is used in Romans 13:9 to say that all the commands are summed up in one word, “Love your neighbor...” So, in Romans 13:9, different commands find unity and alignment in one word. It means to bring everything together under one head. The NLT Translation is a good summary: “9 God has now revealed to us his mysterious plan regarding Christ, a plan to fulfill his own good pleasure. 10 And this is the plan: At the right time he will bring everything together under the authority of Christ—everything in heaven and on earth."
Here are what I think are the three most Important Spiritual questions:
(1) What is the Purpose of Life? see Matthew 22:27-40
(2) What am I here? why were you created in this generation, in this place, among these people, with these talents and abilities? see Ephesians 2:10
(3) What is our Mission? What is God trying to accomplish through us? see John 17:23
Sermon Notes: Sermon Notes 05.06.12 D3 Living
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