Living Between Already and Not Yet

Well, good evening to you again from Beacon Baptist Church.

Thank you for tuning in and your plan to benefit from the preaching of the word and worship the Lord in this way on Sunday evening. When I came in to the auditorium, the offering plates are up front and that's been our custom since COVID in the front and in the back for people to give their offerings and tithes. There was faith promise cards in the offering plate up front and it reminded me as I've been thinking on the sermon that was preached here this morning and how helpful and challenging it was, I was reminded of a story concerning Benjamin Franklin. He heard that the great London preacher George Whitefield was going to be in Philadelphia and he wanted to go here and preach. He knew the reputation of Whitefield that he had a real burden for orphans and orphanages and often received an offering at the end of the service to help those causes. So Benjamin Franklin had invited a friend to go with him and Benjamin Franklin said to the man, I'm going to leave my wallet at home lest I be tempted to put something in the offering plate at the end of the service.

And as the story goes, Benjamin Franklin was so moved by the preaching of George Whitefield that he nudged his friend that he had asked to go with him and asked him to borrow some money so that he could put it in the offering plate that he would pay him back later. And I thought, that's the power of the word of God and its effect on people's lives. And God has provided for the needs of this ministry through your faithful giving and it's an indication of your love for Christ and your commitment to the truth and so thank you for that. Just one announcement that I want to make you aware of. Ladies, Coffee and Courage will meet on Tuesday this week and it is the last Coffee and Courage meeting for the year. So plan to be here for the Coffee and Courage meeting on Tuesday.

One other announcement that just came to my mind as I was thinking of Tuesday. We are planning to have a thanksgiving praise service a week from this coming Tuesday. So plan to come, this will be people present will come and follow our custom singing some hymns interspersed with testimonies and we thought it would not be prudent to have thanksgiving season without including this opportunity for people to gather and participate in this traditional service of praise and worship to God.

So those two announcements. Let me read us in prayer at this time. Father we bow to thank you for the Lord's day for the reminder that you have ordained this day that it is a Sabbath rest and we rejoice those who have put their faith and trust and confidence in the Lord Jesus Christ that our rest is in Him that we have ceased from work and labor believing that there is nothing we could do to earn merit and favor with you. All the merit we need is in our Savior and our trust is in Him and we plead His perfect righteousness and we plead His redeeming shed blood as our only access before you. So thank you our Father that your word tells us that your eyes are indeed upon the righteous and your ear is open unto our cry.

We're grateful that we have audience with the God of heaven. Lord we pray that you would by your spirit minister to our hearts needs this evening, minister to our souls according to our needs as you know them to be. Father that is our first concern, our most urgent need.

There are other needs, there are temporal needs, there are physical needs, there are financial needs, there are emotional needs, all kinds of needs, relational needs. But Lord for our souls need. So Father minister to us in the inner man, strengthen us according to your word and by your word. Lord fortify us, we are living in dark and difficult days and we need your help to live circumspect and God honoring lives so help us Lord in that regard. Our hands are upon some of our folks who are in need. We would pray for Stuart Waugh.

We're concerned about this report of the fear of cancer being present and the chemotherapy that he has already begun to head this off as the doctors seek to find its exact location. Minister to our brother and Laverne as they're yet there in South Africa. Father you know so many needs in our church. Those who've had surgery in recent days and are recovering, we pray for healing of bones, we pray for the restoration Father of relationships that are fractured.

Lord you know of marriages that are under strain. Lord we thank you that there is grace and there is healing for all of these things. Help us Father to be forgiving people. Help us to forgive even as we have been forgiven. Father we ask that you would come now to us through the preached word and cause the word of God to have its effect that it might instruct us in righteousness that we might be thoroughly equipped for every good work. Hear us we pray for Jesus sake.

Amen. The last couple of Sunday nights here in November we've shown video updates from some of the missionaries that we are engaged in and partnering with in the work of the gospel. Tonight we want to do that with the ministry of Mike and Melanie Webster who ministered for many many years in Quebec and have relocated and taken up ministry in the country of France. So we have about a nine minute video update from them so at this time listen to Mike Webster and Melanie. Well hello folks it's way time for us to be sending you some kind of an update.

So we decided we'd send you a quick video update and you know these are crazy times that we're living in and I know they're crazy we know they're just as crazy for you as they are for us. But we wanted you to know that we are doing well and that the Lord is blessing in the work here in spite of everything. We wanted to thank you for continuing to pray for us and thank you also for your continued financial support and several have sent some special gifts over the last couple of months and we really wanted to thank you for that.

Melanie wanted to share something about that. We have put thank you notes in snail mail but we have discovered that the mail is not reliable these days like a lot of other things. We put nine postcards in the mailbox at the same time to our grandkids. Six weeks later only six of them have made it and it was scattered over that whole six week period that they trickled in so three of them still haven't made it I don't know if they will. So if you have not received an actual thank you note written thank you note from us we apologize for the mail it must have COVID too that's what we'll say anyways but thank you. We've been able to meet again gather again as a church at our church building since about the beginning of June I think like the second week of June and of course with all the social distancing and masks and the solution for your hands and all of that all that stuff and now we actually even we have to wear masks even outside in our area so it's kind of rough still I mean that takes a certain element away but at least to preach or to preside to sing we don't have to wear one at least to do that we're so thankful to be able to gather together again and we want you to continue to pray about that. There are a lot of other things the Lord's been doing not the least of which is just recently the husband of one of our dear ladies accepted Christ he's dying of cancer it's really just a matter of time he could go at any time we just talked to him actually just a few minutes ago on the telephone he's doing very well today but it's just it is a genuine miracle of conversion that we have seen in this man's life one that has been witnessed to by people in our congregation for many many many years so God is not limited by COVID or anything else. Another thing is we finally are going to be able to have our business meeting on October the 4th and so we're already discussing that getting ready for that and we're ready the church is ready to accept this new I got to speak English here right this new well I'm going to translate that for me to translate the new to put into place a biblical church leadership this church since the missionary the founding missionary left a little over 10 years ago has not has recognized or has not recognized biblically qualified leadership slash authority they've been doing the best they can with some very qualified men to do the teaching and so but this Lord willing is going to allow the church to to to transition towards recognizing a biblically qualified leadership slash authority this is the main reason why we're here in as missionaries at this time in our life in this particular local church is to see this happen by the grace of God and through patient teaching do continue to pray for this then over the next six months then Lord willing the church will go forward having accepted the new bylaw will then be able to go forward in that in that direction we need real grace and wisdom with that couple of things with regards to our health we'd ask you to pray for one first of all with Melanie and this mask wearing it's very difficult for her particularly when it's been hot and we've had some hot weather lately we'd ask you to just pray for her it means you can't go out as much as she normally would it's it's it's kind of tough so we need your wisdom along that line and she's going to be maybe you want to mention I'm supposed to meet with my general practitioner real soon to see if I can get a medical exemption because you're supposed to work over your nose but I can't I get really black and fuzzy and everything very fast so I wear it here but then I get fussed at everybody because it's supposed to be over your nose so I'm anyways I'm going to see if I can get a medical exemption at which point if I do then maybe I can wear one of those transparent visors because they don't take the place of masks here that maybe I could wear that and then with my medical exemption then I would be fine so you could pray for that just just pray for us for patience and wisdom to know what and where and where to draw the line and all that all all that stuff and we know many of you are facing these same kinds of these same kinds of challenges also I'm going to be undergoing a couple of health related tests over the next couple of weeks that we would really appreciate your your prayers for and then in closing I'd like to share I'd like to share one passage that the Lord is really this and many like it that the Lord has really used in our our lives through the last couple of months this is this one is found in Psalm 119 and verse 71 where the psalmist says it is good for me that I have been afflicted that I might learn by statutes many years ago I remember hearing a preacher say something like this you know he'd been sick and he said yeah God put me on my back in order for me to have to look up and yeah it's pretty simple it not that you know we've been sick but this frustration that so many of us have faced with COVID and the restrictions that it's this that it has put on us has done a good job of reminding us that we aren't in control and that's not easy it's just not I mean we have our ideas about how church ought to be done we've got our ideas about you know a lot of things and but God I think is just in our lives is just you know he's reminded us guess what you were never in control anyway I always have been you need to allow me to be me and you need to through all this allow me to teach you look at it as being on your back and looking up and letting him guide us and teach us and remind us of what's really important when it comes to missions what's really important and when it comes to local church building what's really important well really it all kind of boils down to loving people and teaching them God's Word and really the method and the means that we might use to do that those are kind of secondary the main thing is getting back to what's important and that is loving people no matter what method we use to do that we need to love people and we need to teach them God's Word so would you just continue to pray for us that's what we're trying to do here as we seek to see people come to Christ and see people discipled in the Word of God so that this local church becomes genuinely autonomous and can go forward on its own to carry on the Great Commission here in this wonderful nation of France thank you so much folks for praying for us and for giving us allowing us the privilege of serving the Lord here in Europe and in France could you be nice I hope you appreciated that let me just have a word of prayer for them and before I bring the message father we thank you for Mike and Melanie Webster for their their calling their gifts their aptitude with language we we would pray for Melanie that she would indeed find favor with the medical professionals and get this exemption to ease the challenges that she's facing with the restrictions of wearing a mask we pray for Mike as he has these tests we pray that you would sustain his health give wisdom to the doctors we thank you for the conversion of this man that had been prayed for for years we rejoice in hearing of one who has bowed the knee to King Jesus we pray for the progress of the church plant there for the missionary that has worked prior to the Webster's going and for the plan of organization and bylaws and Constitution we pray that that would be received wholeheartedly and that the church would continue to grow and develop and we pray for the day that it would become an indigenous church pastored by a native man there sustain Mike and Melanie in these days of COVID and the challenges that they're facing and grant them fruit for their labor we pray in Jesus' name amen. Well tonight I want to bring a bit of a different type of a message to you one of a big picture type of a message recently we were talking as a family about another family that we're aware of that they like to work puzzles and we've done that in the past some it's been quite a while since we've sat down and worked a thousand five hundred thousand word puzzle but the point of this illustration is the father of this family has this tradition that he would open the box that the puzzle came in dump the pieces on the table and then hide the box nobody could see the picture on the box to see what the puzzle would look like when all the pieces are put together and that struck me as well that's just not fair when you pick up a piece of jigsaw puzzle it makes no sense in and of itself until you understand how it fits with other pieces and how each of those pieces relate to the big picture and as challenging as working a puzzle can be I can't imagine what it's like having a bunch of pieces on a on a table and not having any clue whatsoever what what we're putting together here after you find all the straight line pieces and put the border together then what well my point is that sometimes we're like that we're trying to make sense of the big picture and make make sense of pieces of a puzzle and not really know what the big picture is and at times I think we need to step back and be reminded of big picture theology so that when we're encountering truth and reading scripture that we are able to fit it into the big picture we need to be in my opinion more future oriented we need to be not so much confined to the present as much as that does confine and define our lives cardi and I've had the privilege of having our son and daughter and their three children in our home for a while and I was reminded of how impatient children can be they want what they want and they want it now and I thought about how that sometimes characterizes our lives as Christians we want what we want God and we want it now and we need to be reminded of God's ways and God's dealings that God does things in progression for example the word of God has come to us in a progressive fashion we speak of progressive revelation all the revelation of God the special revelation of God didn't come to us all at one time it came over a long period of time and we cannot be impatient we need to understand that the revelation of God is progressive in nature the Christian life is progressive in nature God saves us we're babes in Christ we grow in grace and knowledge we become mature that's the ways of God the church is the same way we want to see things progress quicker and faster and see people mature quicker and faster and yet God has his ways and we speak of progressive sanctification so this evening I want to speak to you about four things I want to speak to you number one about a tension the believers tension and I will describe what I mean by that in a moment then we're going to look at some biblical examples of this tension and then number three I want to examine a couple of fallacies related to this tension and then number four I want us to look at the provisions of God for those living in this tension and what is the tension that I'm talking about this is one of those truths I am convinced that if you do not understand this you will many times find yourself confused and bewildered and you will be inclined to misunderstand the word of God and the purposes of God it is absolutely critical that you understand and this is not the first time you've heard this but for some this is going to be a new concept what is this tension what is the believers tension and the tension that I'm talking about tonight is the tension between the already and the not yet the tension between the already and the not yet now Ephesians chapter one and by the way as we make our way through scripture tonight we're going to be taking a big picture look in the book of Ephesians so we're not camping on a particular passage and expounding that but trying to give a big picture overview that speaks to this issue of this tension and how we should understand it and how we should relate to it and understand the provisions God has made for those of us who are living inside this tension but let me read Ephesians chapter one beginning at verse 15 Paul's writing to the church there at Ephesus and he says therefore I also after I heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints do not cease to give thanks for you making mention of you in my prayers that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ the Father of glory may give to you the spirit of wisdom and revelation and the knowledge of him the eyes of your understanding being enlightened that you may know what is the hope of his calling what are the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints and what is the exceeding greatness of his power toward us who believe according to the working of his mighty power which he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places far above all principality and power and might and dominion and every name that is named not only in this age but also in that which is to come and he put all things under his feet and gave him to be head over all things to the church which is his body the fullness of him who fills all in all the tension between the already and the not yet many times you're going to encounter language in the New Testament that we are in the last days the last days are that period between the first coming of Christ and the second coming of Christ that is the last days we are in the last days we are in that period of the already of what has arrived and the not yet of what is still to come so that's the tension living in the tension between the already of what has arrived and the not yet of what is still to come did you notice there in verse 21 it's speaking of Christ and his reign he seated in the heavenly places with God the Father he's far above all principality and power and might and dominion and every name that is named not only in this age but also in that which is to come so there is a present reality that Christ is ruling right now in this present age and he will reign at a future time at a time which is to come so that's the tension that I want us to understand the tension between the already and the not yet now that will become clear as I give you these biblical examples biblical example number one the tension between the already and the not yet as it relates to the reign of Christ already Christ is seated in glory ruling as sovereign king but not yet are all his enemies subdued and if you don't understand that you're going to be confused Christ shall have dominion we've been singing well is that future he shall have dominion or does he have dominion right now and understanding what we're what I'm discussing with you tonight and trying to teach you is yes he is already raining but not yet in the fullest sense that he will rain someday that's what Ephesians chapter one is saying he's raining far above all principality and power and might and dominion verse twenty one and every name that is named not only in this age but also in that which is to come and then listen to what verse twenty two says and he put all things under his feet and gave him to be head over all things to the church which is his body the fullness of him who fills all in all my translation doesn't give the nuance of a future sense there but it is there is a day in which all of Christ's enemies will be put under his feet that has not yet come that is the not yet we're speaking about the reign of Christ already Satan is a defeated foe Colossians chapter two and verse fifteen says having disarmed principalities and powers he that is Christ made a public spectacle of them triumphing over them in it in what in the cross but he that is Satan is not yet bound or cast into the lake of fire as revelation chapter twenty and verse ten says he will be so the already the not yet as it relates to the reign of Christ example number two the same tension is present in regards to the kingdom of God repeatedly in the gospels Jesus said that the kingdom was at hand that it had come that it is within you a question is the kingdom of God a present reality or is it something yet future Matthew for verse seventeen says Jesus says from that it says from that time Jesus began to preach and say repent for the kingdom of heaven is at hand Jesus said that the kingdom of heaven is at hand you say well maybe there's a difference there between kingdom of heaven and kingdom of God well no not really it depends on the audience Matthew is writing to Jewish people and he avoids kingdom of God and instead uses kingdom of heaven but when you see kingdom of heaven kingdom of God we're talking about the same reality Luke chapter seventeen verses twenty twenty one as this record now having been questioned by the Pharisees as to when the kingdom of God now that's Luke writing not Matthew as to when the kingdom of God was coming he answered them and said the kingdom of God is not coming with signs to be observed nor will they say look here it is or there it is for behold the kingdom of God is in your midst that sounds like the kingdom of God is to be understood as a present reality right then why in the model prayer did Jesus instruct to pray thy kingdom come thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven that sounds like that the kingdom of God is a future reality would you see the tension the kingdom of God has already come but it is not yet fully been consummated so there is a present reality and there is a yet future manifestation of it there's both the present reality and a future dimension Hebrews says Hebrews twelve verse twenty eight since we are receiving a kingdom that sounds like the language of something that is present yet ongoing since we are receiving a kingdom which cannot be shaken let us have grace by which we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear another example is there this tension between the already and the not yet as it relates to the believers inheritance Ephesians chapter one in verse eleven says in him that is in Christ also we have obtained an inheritance being predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will now according to that verse the believer is in possession of his inheritance we having obtained an inheritance but in keeping with the language that highlights this tension we are considering already the believer is in possession of his inheritance but not yet does he or she have all that has been promised to him or her because later on in Ephesians chapter one in verse fourteen three verses later Paul speaking of the Holy Spirit says the Holy Spirit who is the guarantee or the down payment of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession to the praise of his glory so yes we have already received an inheritance but only a down payment only the first installment we've only tasted of the good things to come there is a future fuller inheritance that awaits us again the tension between the already and the not yet biblical example number four and we could I could go on with examples these are the four that came to my mind number four the tension between the already experience of the believer being seated in the heavenly places together in Christ according to Ephesians chapter two and verse six and having been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all Hebrews chapter ten and verse ten having been sanctified that is something that has already transpired God has sanctified us through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all again the tension between the already experience of the believer in his pursuit of holiness and his walk with God he's already seated in the heavenly places he's already been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ but not yet in his experience have we been delivered fully and finally from the power and the presence of sin and again if you don't understand this this tension between the already and the not yet you will be confused and confounded because you'll come to passages like Colossians chapter three and you will read Paul writing to the church to believers you died and your life is hidden with Christ in God you died past tense two verses later he says therefore put to death wait a minute you just told us that we've died and now you're telling us to put to death here's the tension between the already and the not yet we've died that is when Christ died we died it's speaking of our union with Christ it's speaking of our identification in his cross work and then Paul then says in verse five on the basis of what God has already said you are in Christ put to death it's mortification it's progressive sanctification we need to understand these things the tension between the already and the not yet so we've considered two things we've considered number one this tension between the already and the not yet and we've looked at four different biblical examples of this tension number three I want to speak to you about the fallacies in fact two fallacies related to this tension and again as I said if we don't understand this if we don't keep balance and understand these things we will be confused we will be confounded we will misinterpret misinterpret scripture we'll be inclined to error here are the two fallacies again these are words perhaps you've never heard before I'll mention them and then I'll explain what theologians mean by these this terminology fallacy number one is over realized eschatology over realized eschatology and eschatology is the study of last things over realized eschatology and number two under realized eschatology what do they mean by over realized eschatology that is the position that a person thinks they have more of the blessings from the future now than they actually do you see a person who is guilty of an over realized eschatology has reached forward and brought back those things that God has determined are yet for the future the not yet and insisting that they must be known and experienced right now that's over realized eschatology let me give you an example where Paul dealt with this very very thing Paul's writing I believe sarcastically here in first Corinthians chapter four and listen to what he says to the Corinthians you are already full you are already rich you have rained as kings without us and indeed I could wish you did rain that we also might rain with you but Paul then brings a dose of reality for I think that God has displayed us the apostles last as men condemned to death for we have made for we have been made a spectacle to the world both to angels and to men we are fools for Christ's sake but you are wise in Christ we are weak but you are strong you are distinguished but we are dishonored to the present hour we both hunger and thirst and we are poorly clothed and beaten and homeless and we labor working with our own hands being reviled we bless being persecuted we endure being defamed we entreat we have been made as the filth of the world the off scouring of all things until now the Corinthians there sound a little bit like some of the contemporary health wealth and prosperity gospel preachers don't they and isn't that the reasoning for some today well after all aren't you a child of the king isn't God your father doesn't he want to give you everything and how do we respond to that well yes we could say that but he also wants us to learn to be disciplined he also wants us to learn something of suffering like his son did there's many other things he wants us to learn he doesn't just want us to be healthy and wealthy and rich no that is an example of over realized eschatology it leads people to think that everything that they're going to get in the future they're going to get it right now healing now full transformation now wrestling with sin over now perfect love perfect marriages perfect wealth perfect contentment it's all yours now name it claim it after all Christ has secured it that is over realized eschatology that's failing to recognize this tension between the already and the not yet what do we say in response to that well yes all the blessings we presently know all the blessings that are yet future Christ has secured for us but if you have an over realized eschatology you will imagine that you have some of the things that are actually reserved for the final healing in the final transformation and in the final glorification of God's people and in the consummation of all of Christ's redemptive purposes people say well don't you believe that there's healing in the atonement yes I do as a matter of when will that be realized now God at times heals people we rejoice in that when it pleases him to do that but to demand that insist upon that believe that God wills that all the time again is failing to live in the tension between the already and the not yet I believe in there's healing in the atonement and it will be fully realized in that day that's over realized eschatology what about under realized eschatology that's failing to appreciate what you actually have in Christ Jesus right now what do we have right now we have the forgiveness of sins we have the joy of being once and for all declared just before God because of what Christ has done we have ongoing cleansing of sins we have the joy of once being declared just before God because of what Christ has done he has poured his spirit out upon us we begin to love what we didn't love and we begin to hate what we didn't hate if any man be in Christ he's a new creation that begins to manifest itself in every sphere of life our goals are changed our values are changed our direction is changed and all of this because the gospel is what the power of God for salvation to those who believe that's how we explain this transformation of life it's the power of God so many blessings come to us from God and we must appreciate them live in the light of them and grow in our appreciation of them with an understanding that there is yet a final consummation so there's those two fallacies the fallacy of over-realized eschatology on the one hand and under-realized eschatology on the second hand now don't feel bad if you've never heard those terminology if you do a lot of reading you'll come across that language and if you've never been exposed to that no one's ever explained it a lot of these writers will throw those terms out with an assumption that people just know what they're talking about I've come across that I'll say something I'll say okay what are you what are you talking about you don't explain it you just assume so you got to do some research so now if you come across those terms over and under realized eschatology you'll know what they're talking about but it's it's relating to this tension this biblical tension that we must acknowledge and live in the light of the tension between the already and the not yet so we've considered the tension we've given biblical examples of the tension we've considered two fallacies related to the tension finally let me show you the provision of God for those living in this tension and for that we're going to make a quick overview of the book of Ephesians provisions six of them that I want to enumerate that God has made for those living in this tension number one God is provided in our utter transformation in anticipation of the end God has brought an utter transformation of our lives Ephesians chapter two verses one through ten talks about what we were what were we we were dead in our trespasses and sins we were children of disobedience we were deceived we were in bondage and we were damned the wrath of God was hanging over us we're reminded that we were all of these things we were under the judicial judgment of God God's wrath was over us and God's sentence of death was waiting its execution of us but Paul says but God but God and his great love for us God who is rich in mercy made us alive with Christ so God provides for our utter transformation out of sheer grace received through faith alone and this whole salvation from A to Z is all of God Jesus the Alpha and the Omega the beginning and the end so let me mention the first thing again this is the first provision that we're considering as relates to those living in this tension God has provided for our utter transformation in anticipation of the end why do I add that in anticipation of the end to acknowledge this tension yes we we have been changed transformed by the grace of God but it is an ongoing thing he who began a good work in us will continue it until the day of Jesus Christ so we're encouraged by what God is doing has done and yet we have an eye toward the future knowing that that will continue on until we have been glorified provision number two God has created a new humanity in anticipation of the end God has created a new humanity in anticipation of the end in Ephesians chapter two eleven through twenty-two I won't take the time to read that but the particular focus there is on the relationship between Jews and Gentiles and all kinds of cultural barriers between the two have existed but now there is one new humanity God has brought that into existence and when we get to the book of Revelation we're given a panoramic view of the ultimate new humanity with men and women drawn from every tongue and tribe and people and nation all gathered around the throne on the last day so again the second provision God has made for those living in this tension God has created a new humanity in anticipation of the end our churches should reflect this new humanity we shouldn't all be gathered around social economic norms our interest is in Christ and God brings people from ethnic backgrounds some of you know who Ed Moore is he pastors a church in Queens New York and Ed told me there was a particular Sunday that he asked people to stand according to their ethnicity what country they're from and people were standing up and I think he told me there were thirty some different nations represented in his congregation now he's pastoring in New York City Queens New York so but that that's the church of Jesus Christ and we will see it on full display in that day when God consummates his redemptive purposes at the end of the age the third provision God provides is that he discloses his concealed purposes in anticipation of the end that's from Ephesians chapter three Paul's talking about mystery the mystery that has been hidden and has now been revealed he says there in verse fourteen for this reason I bow my knees to the father of our Lord Jesus Christ he's talking about this mystery my Bible has a heading under verse eight the purpose of the mystery the mystery revealed the word mystery is used twenty eight times in the New Testament it never means mystery in the sense of thriller or a whodunit that's not the way mystery is to be understood mystery refers to what God has kept secret in the past but has now revealed Paul is telling the Ephesian believers that as they read this letter they will be able to understand insight into the mystery of Christ which was not made known to people in other generations as it has now been revealed by the spirit to God's apostles and his prophets now it's not that God hadn't revealed it but he had revealed it through progressive revelation there was the types and the shadows and the ceremonies and all the laws all those things spoke of this mystery but it is revealed in Christ now God provides again for the disclosure of his concealed purposes in anticipation of the end Christ will be glorified Christ will capture our attention throughout all the ages when we gather in glory and he wants us to understand that that's been God's purpose all along so there's again this tension between the already and the not yet number four God does more than we could ask or imagine according to Ephesians chapter three verses fourteen through twenty one is a prayer that Paul prays it's recorded for us and it's a prayer that God would work in us to make us grow in holiness and in depth of appreciation for his love for us that our understanding would be enlightened in so many other more things God does more than we can ask or imagine and by telling us that he is provoking us to pray now to him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think according to the power that works in us so the fourth provision for people living in this tension is that God does more than we could ask or imagine and by telling us that he is provoking us to pray provision number five God builds truth and unity into his body all the way through Ephesians chapter four verse one to the end of the letter God is telling us in practical ways through the apostle Paul how we're to live how we're to speak how we're to love how we're to deny ourselves and all of this again in anticipation of what will be on the last day I think we like those portions of the word of God that gives us the how to well here it is but again the how to's are grounded in indicative statements of what God has done for us in Christ that's the first three chapters of Ephesians and only when we get to chapter four do we find the words I therefore the prisoner of the Lord beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called and then there's this very very practical instructions was Paul saying Paul is saying we are living in the last days and because of this there's going to be conflict there's going to be difficulty there's going to be warfare but God has committed truth to us and God wants to build both truth and unity into his body the sixth provision is that God equips and arms his people in anticipation of the end we're told there in Ephesians chapter six verses ten through twenty that the devil is filled with rage because he knows his time is short revelation twelve tells us that and as long as we're in this life as long as we're contending for the faith as long as we are wrestling with our flesh the world and the devil we're going to know struggle and Paul says our struggle is not against flesh and blood no our struggles against the rulers and the authorities in the heavenly places the spiritual forces of evil and therefore put on the full armor of God which God has richly provided to his church to all of his saints to equip us and to arm us for this battle what a kind God to not only warn us of warfare but to equip us for that warfare God equips and arms his people in anticipation of the end so I trust this message has been helpful to you tonight as we've taken a bit of a panoramic view of the book of Ephesians and tried to relate it to this tension that God is requiring us to live in the tension between the already and the not yet and those examples and perhaps you can think of others and to perhaps understand why some people get a field in what they are anticipating what they're expecting what they're hoping what they're demanding of God because of fallacy over-realized eschatology under-realized eschatology let's be men and women of balance let's commit to knowing the word of God aright that God would help us to live in a way that honors him my hope blessed Jesus is anchored in thee thy righteousness only now covereth me thy God shed on Calvary now is my plea my hope my hope is in thee the refrain wonderful savior all glory to thee in thee is salvation so full and so free I'll shout forth thy praises through all eternity my savior my savior my hope is in thee my hope is in thee I stand on the rock that no tempest can shake and life from thy hands every moment I take thy love will endure when all others forsake my hope my hope is in thee my hope for eternity rests in thy hand my heart deeply longs for that fair better land where one day complete in thyself I shall stand my hope my hope is in thee shall we pray father we bow to acknowledge that indeed our hope is in you there is no other hope and we hope not the way the world hopes we believe hope is the certain confidence of a certain future reality that there is a day coming that Jesus will reign that glory will cover this earth as the waters cover the sea and therefore we pray oh God thy kingdom come thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven teach us father to walk circumspect to understand your word aright to live in the light of your revealed truth thank you for your word that clarifies and corrects our misunderstandings thank you that we are trusting a God who is ruling and reigning in the heavens above and on the earth beneath and we long for that day for the full consummation and the entering into everything that God you have purposed for your people in your son the Lord Jesus not to him who is the blessed and only potentate the king of kings and Lord of lords who alone has immortality dwelling in unapproachable light whom no man has seen or can see to whom be honor and everlasting power amen and amen.