Every Spiritual Blessing: Part 3-1

Welcome to Delight in Grace, the teaching ministry of Rich Powell, pastor of Grace Bible Church in Winston-Salem. In his message titled Every Spiritual Blessing, Part 3, Pastor Rich reminds us that Christ is our greatest benefit and pleasure. A day is coming when God will bring all things back to the main point. The main point is not a concept, but a person, our Savior Jesus Christ.

He is the focal point of all time and history. For Christians, a clear understanding of our current status and our future inheritance in Christ equips us to live for Him with a confident joy and hope today. We'll be picking up the study in Ephesians chapter 1, verses 10 through 14. The title of today's message as we study Ephesians continuing there in chapter 1, Every Spiritual Blessing, this is the third part. We've looked at the origin of all the spiritual blessings.

They begin in the mind of God and then they happen in history through the redemption of Jesus Christ. And today we'll be looking at our glory, what God has in store for us, what He has already prepared for us. This last week I was at a dinner at the rescue mission and I was listening to a testimony of one of the men who's been in the new life center there. His name is Mike and he said that he had a plan when he came to the mission. And his plan was he was going to come to the mission and get on his feet to where he could go out and do whatever he needed to to get himself arrested and then be taken to jail and die there. And that was his plan. And then he said, but God, and that's all he needs to say, isn't it? But God, God had different plans. God saw Mike. God knew Mike. God has known Mike from eternity and he says, Mike, you are mine.

Those are not my plans for you. Only God is faithful. And the text before us today in Ephesians chapter 1 begins with talking about a plan. Verse 10, Ephesians 1, that in the dispensation of the fullness of the times, that's God's plan that He will complete.

The word there is oikonomia, it's the word from which we get economy. It means the management of a household. The understanding that what is going on is His story, it is His work, it is about His people. The plan for when time is complete. This is the story, the plan that He will complete. The fullness of times, fullness is the word it means complete.

It is speaking of when time and space as we know it, time and space is one entity, complete. And so you might ask this morning, okay, we've studied all the spiritual blessings and there is more yet to come that He has in store for us. So where is all this going? This plan that God has.

Where is it taking us? He says it right here in the text, that He might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven and which are on earth in Him. All things united in Christ.

That takes a little bit of unpacking, doesn't it? But let's begin by understanding that what the Bible is teaching us this morning, what God is telling us through His self-disclosure is this, that God is moving history in this direction. God is moving history in this direction. And when it says He might gather together in one, that's the meaning of being summed up. That word is used one other place in the New Testament, it's in Romans 13, you shall not commit adultery, you shall not murder, you shall not steal, you shall not covet.

What is that? Those are all the laws of the Mosaic law of the Ten Commandments and any other commandment are summed up in this word. This is the idea, summed up, you shall love your neighbor as yourself. So all the commandments that God has given, they are summed up in this phrase, you shall love your neighbor as yourself. So that word is used here, that God will sum up, gather together in one all things in Christ.

What is that? What does that mean? It means to bring it all to a head, to bring it back to the point, to bring it back to what this is all about. And you could say here that what He is saying is that we will be gathered around the main point, gathered around the main point of existence. And listen to this as the text reveals clearly, the main point is a person. Not a concept, not a force, the main point is a person, specifically Jesus Christ, the one who made us for Himself. The one by whom and for whom are all things. And so it says that we will be gathered around the main point, we are back to the point of existence. We are gathered around the main point, that main point is a person.

And who is it? The text identifies Him in Christ. Two times in this verse it says in Christ and at the very end in Him. Paul's emphasis, in Him, Christ, the Creator, the Redeemer.

He is in fact the greatest and most important reality. And this text is telling us that all of us will be reconciled to Him. Colossians, Paul says this in Colossians 1 and verse 20, and through Him to reconcile to Himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of His cross. You see the focal point of all of history in time and space has been the cross of Jesus Christ. That's where He did the necessary work so that this plan outlined in verse 10 becomes possible. But it's all in God's plan from before the foundation of the world.

But this emphasis of being in Christ is the great emphasis of the Apostle Paul. You'll see it not only in this letter but in his other letters as well. So what is this telling us that all things will be united in Christ? It means this, that at that time that will be the end of separation and alienation. It'll be the end of it. Think today of all the things that include in our lives all the things that include separation, that include even alienation, the broken relationships, the things that come apart.

All the brokenness of life, the very word brokenness means separation, doesn't it? So all the brokenness of life will be done. It will be complete.

It will be done away with. And as we are united together in Christ, it will be the end of these things. That helps us with understanding the definition of evil because evil, the very idea of evil, the presence, the reality of evil is a problem for many today with their attempt to understand the existence and the nature of God. It's very simple and it comes down to this, that which is evil is that which is departed or separated from God. That's the definition of evil. And that is what will have come to an end. Romans 8, 21, the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption.

What is that? That is evil. What is corruption? Corruption is things falling apart, materially, relationally, spiritually, emotionally, all of it, corruption, things falling apart. The creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God.

To what end? So Paul clarifies it in 1 Corinthians 15, that God may be all in all. That is all things united in Christ, meaning all creation will be under His headship, which is the meaning of the phrase in scripture, Old Testament and New Testament, that every knee will bow and every tongue will confess, what, that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. Even, even, and you might be asking, what about those who do not know God? What about those who have rejected Him? What about those who insist on their self-preeminence and God will step aside in second emotion? Even they will be under His headship.

Eternally separated and diminished under His headship. You see, what the Apostle Paul gives to us here is what he calls our inheritance, verse 11, in him also we have obtained an inheritance. What is our inheritance? This is what God has for us.

This is what awaits us. This is why Christ died. This is why He gave His life.

He forfeited His life. He experienced the separation from God so that you and I wouldn't have to, so that we could indeed receive this inheritance. And what is our inheritance? As he mentions a couple of times in this paragraph, it is what is promised in Christ. Our inheritance is this, it is our greatest benefit and our highest pleasure. Our greatest benefit and our highest pleasure, more than anything you can imagine on this earth in terms of benefit and pleasure. What we have in Christ and what we will enjoy with Him is far beyond what we can imagine here. We can only get but a taste of it here.

Why is that? Because we will be in a condition of perfection and absolute goodness. That will be our environment and within us we will have a state of righteousness, righteousness that has been given to us by Christ. You've been listening to Delight and Grace, the teaching ministry of Rich Powell, lead pastor of Grace Bible Church in Winston-Salem. Visit our church website to see upcoming events or to listen to more messages at gbcwinston.com. To discover how to live by grace, tune in with us on weekdays at 10 a.m.