Unloading the Theological Truck, Part 2

Do you ever feel distant from God? Nearer to God, nearer I cannot be, for in the person of his Son I am as near as he.

Isn't that great? You could not be nearer to God. You are in his Son, and in his Son you are as close to God's heart as the Son is.

You have a secure ultimate eternity that will be rewarded and blessed forever and ever because that's the future of the Son. In Paul's letter to the Ephesians, we are introduced to an outpouring of rich theological promises. Paul tells us, for instance, that we are adopted by God through Christ. We were chosen before the foundation of the world, and redeemed through the blood of Christ. Today on Insight for Living, Chuck Swindoll is teaching from Ephesians chapter 1, where these beautiful phrases and many more come to our attention.

Our goal is to gain a grasp on the profound meaning of these ancient words and why they matter today. Chuck titled his message, Unloading the Theological Truck. Takes a man whose life has been changed to write a life-changing letter, and Paul qualifies. His life is transformed in mid-life, get this, with his career already set, with his name already a household word among the Jews of his time, already known as a member of the Supreme Court of Israel, the Sanhedrin, coming from a family of Pharisees. This man is on his way to persecute Christians, and boom, he is struck blind by a light from heaven.

He is turned in his direction, he is transformed in his soul, and he moves in another direction virtually from that day on. Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me? Jesus introduced himself with those words, and Saul, who are you, Lord?

Who are you? He introduces himself to him, he transforms Paul's life, Saul of Tarsus, he was known then, and the whole direction of his life changed. Now, we know about Paul from that time on, but we don't know about Saul from that time back.

Ever thought about that? John Pollock, in his excellent book, The Man Who Shook the World, introduces us to the previous Paul. Paul was born in a city between the mountains and the sea.

The year was probably AD 1, but all early details are shadowy except his clear claim, I am a Jew of Tarsus, a Hebrew born of Hebrews. His father was most likely a master tent maker, whose craftsmen worked in leather and in silicium. He had at least one sister, and they were born to wealth.

The family held the coveted title citizens of Rome. Saul was the name used at home, and emphasized that the Jewish inheritance meant the most in early years. Paul's parents were Pharisees, members of the party most fervent in Jewish nationalism, and strict in obedience to the law of Moses. By his thirteenth birthday, Paul had mastered Jewish history, the poetry of the Psalms, and the majestic literature of the prophets.

His ear had been trained to the very pitch of accuracy, and a swift brain like his could retain what he heard as instantly and faithfully as a modern photographic mind retains a printed page he was ready for higher education. A strict Pharisee would not embroil his son in pagan moral philosophy, so probably in the year Augustus died, AD 14, the adolescent Paul was sent by sea to Palestine and climbed the hills to Jerusalem. During the next five or six years, he sat at the feet of Gamaliel, grandson of Hillel, the supreme teacher who a few years before had died at the age of more than 100. Paul outstripped his contemporaries. He had a powerful mind which could lead to a seat on the Sanhedrin in the hall of polished stones and make him a ruler of the Jews.

Fascinating background. Brilliant of mind, strong in character, solid in leadership, this man is moving headlong against the followers of the way until the road to Damascus where he was stopped in his tracks and met face to face the risen Christ who transformed his life. Paul, apostle of Christ Jesus. Paul an ambassador. Paul sent forth by Christ Jesus as an ambassador to you who are in the city of Ephesus and beyond.

Paul an apostle. I can just see some of you thinking, are we going to go through this word for word for word? We're going to be here until Jesus comes back if we do that.

Well, that wouldn't be bad either, would it? No, we won't, but I wanted you to get a little bit of a foundation because you can't appreciate a letter if you don't know who wrote it. And the better you know who wrote it, the more you will appreciate why he says what he does. And certainly the more you will understand why he mentions Christ no less than three times in the very first sentence. Paul an apostle of Christ Jesus.

To the saints who are in Ephesus who are faithful in Christ Jesus, grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ one time after another. It is Christ. It is Christ. It is Christ.

For me to live is Christ. It is no longer about getting my way. It is no longer about seeking promotions. It is no longer about impressing my fellow Jews. It is no longer about putting the people of the way out of the way.

It is now about Christ. When he comes into your life, he transforms your life. Your whole future is changed. Your whole occupation is transformed. Your whole reason for existence is altered.

Your whole attitude is reshaped. It's Christ. Christ. For me to live is Christ. For me to die means I just get more of him. Paul an ambassador once sent forth on behalf of Christ Jesus by the will of God.

He makes it clear it wasn't his own will. Look at the recipients of the letter. Now you may smile when you read the word. The letter is addressed to the saints. We are raised at a time when the word saints is not understood at all. We think of plaster statues or marble statues standing in the corner of great cathedrals. We think of buildings named for saints or even streets named. I once went to a church named St. Andrew's Church. That's not uncommon, but what is a saint? If he writes to the saints at Ephesus, they couldn't be plasters. Plaster saints, I don't know, resist is what I was going to say.

They are at Ephesus. They are set apart unto God. That's what it means. Individuals set apart to God. Or sometime it's an article of furniture.

It is called holy in that it is set apart for God. You want a weird thought on this? I chose this tie this morning. It matched my suit, I thought, and I like it. I can't read it.

It's in Latin. Kind of scary to think of what it may say, but I imagine it's okay. But it's a tie that was set apart for this suit to go to church with me today for the purpose of doing God's work. If you will, my tie is holy.

It is, okay, relax. It is set apart for the purpose of being a part of my stuff that I'm wearing. The time we spend together is holy. It's set apart to God.

Now, we can say that about things and about elements, but now we can say it about people. Do you know that if you are in Christ Jesus, you're a saint? If you don't think that sounds funny, put your name after the word saint and try not to smile.

See? St. Chuck. I can't say that without smiling.

It just doesn't seem fitted, but it is. Paul is a saint. Tychicus is a saint.

Where did I get that name? I'm glad you asked. Look over at chapter 6. I'm going to show you why I mentioned Tychicus. Chapter 6 of Ephesians. If you've been reading through Ephesians, you know who Tychicus is, but I won't ask you about that. You know, I've asked you to read it through at least once a week while we're in our study of Ephesians, and I'm not going to have a show of hands. I remember a pastor who did that one time. He said, I want all of you before next Sunday to read Luke chapter 25. When you come back, we're going to study that chapter together. So they came back, and that Sunday morning he said, how many of you read Luke 25?

A whole large number of people raised their hand. He said, I'm going to speak on honesty, because there is no Luke 25. There are only 24 chapters, so I'm not going to do that. I am not going to ask if you read the chapter. If you didn't, you're the loser.

If you did, you're the winner. You're better prepared for the study of the letter if you've read it. Now look at verse 21 of chapter 6.

But that you also may know about my circumstances. Look at verse 20. I am an ambassador in chains, that in proclaiming it I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak, but that you also may know about my circumstances, how I am doing. Tychicus, the beloved brother and faithful minister in the Lord, will make everything known to you.

I have sent him to you for this very purpose, that you may know about us, and that we may comfort your hearts. I think Tychicus was the one who took the letter in scroll form after Paul wrote it on papyrus. He gave it to Tychicus because Paul couldn't leave. He was under arrest in Rome.

He couldn't get out of the house. So he handed it to Tychicus, and he said, take it to Ephesus and make sure the letter makes its rounds. So Tychicus, one of Paul's fellow ministers, is a saint.

Saint Tychicus, Saint Paul, other saints we could name in the city of Ephesus. To the saints who are in Ephesus, he also says of these people, they are faithful in Christ Jesus. They are people who live by faith.

They walk by faith. And please observe the key expression in the letter to the Ephesians is in Christ Jesus. Did you know when you came to faith in Christ, did you realize that at the moment you said yes to the Lord Jesus Christ, the moment you received him as your own personal God, your own savior, did you know that you were placed into Christ? You were placed into not only the body of other believers who are in the family of God, you were made a part of the church universal, you were placed into Christ.

You say, wait a minute, I'm still who I am, I'm still living and I'm still working where I work on this earth, I'm still doing what? We're talking about your position. We're talking about theory. Remember, I said this isn't easy reading.

Think theoretically. In God's eyes, when you said yes to the Lord Jesus Christ, he took you into his own and he placed you into his beloved son so that the very things he sees about his son he sees about you. This is called your position in Christ.

You are in Christ. The founder of Dallas Seminary, Lewis Ferry Chafer, used to love to preach on this subject and he used to take to task certain hymns that said, not quite enough. There is a hymn called Nearer to God, Nearer. And he took that hymn on and wrote these words, Nearer to God, Nearer I cannot be, for in the person of his son I am as near as he.

Isn't that great? You could not be nearer to God. You are in his son. And in his son, you are as close to God's heart as the son is.

Great? You're just sitting there looking at me like it's just something else going on here. This changes you completely in God's eyes before you were lost. You were awash. You were out of the family. You were out of the blessing.

You had no inheritance. You had no future but hell. But in Christ, you have been raised.

You have been seated. You have a secure, ultimate eternity that will be rewarded and blessed forever and ever because that's the future of the son. What is true of the son is true of you. He has power over the enemy. You have power over the enemy.

He dominates the times in which he lived and you are able to dominate the sin that once ruled you. It's called positional truth and we'll walk through it over and over and over in the letter to the Ephesians. Then this great Pauline salutation, two words that I want you to become ultimately familiar with. Verse two, grace and peace. Grace and peace. Grace is God's free undeserved mercy and favor. He showers it on us because of his great love for us. God in grace reached down, saw us in our need and in our coming to Christ, he poured out his favor upon us and continues to do that until we die. You don't earn it.

You can't deserve it nor ever will you be able to repay him for it. It's favor that keeps coming and keeps coming. That is why Paul uses the word lavished by his grace later on in this chapter.

We are lavished like one wave of the sea after another comes upon us because of his favor which he shows to us. And peace is the result of that. Peace is what God does for us when he reconciles sinners to himself. When he puts us right with himself, peace comes as a benefit. The theologian Kramer offered this excellent definition. Peace is a state of untroubled, undisturbed well-being.

Untroubled, undisturbed well-being. We have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. One man writes, the Lord Jesus Christ dominates Paul's mind and fills his vision. It seems almost as if he feels compelled to bring Christ into every sentence he writes, at least at the beginning of this letter. The better you come to know Ephesians, the better you will come to know your Savior because it is full of Christ. Now we're ready for the letter itself. After meeting the one who wrote it and reading about the recipients and the salutation he gave them, he launches into an incredible series of thoughts that are mind-boggling.

I'm just going to hit the high points today and we're going to come back and do a little bit of deciphering next time, but let me tell you a story to start with. My younger son Chuck and I were riding this past week and we came to a railroad crossing and there was a train going by. Why is it when we come to a crossing it is always an eternal train? When others come it's three cars and they're able to go on, but with us it was car after car after car after car of gravel, gravel. Every car was just stacked with it and Chuck made the comment, well I wonder how much those things, you start talking about anything when you watch a train that long.

So he says, boy you wonder how much those things weigh. Look at that, that is just gravel. We got gravel. You say a lot of things when you sit there together and you got gravel up the wazoo.

I mean we got gravel. I wonder how much it weighs and I thought when I was sitting there, I didn't tell him, I thought that's like the theology of the letter to the Ephesians. I mean, Paul when he gets to chapter one verse three, the truck shows up, dump, and the gravel and you just, you know, struggling to get to the top so you can breathe. That's chapter one verses three to fourteen. It is theology all over the place.

I started saying it another way, but I didn't. This is theology at its best, thorough going theology. Let me give you kind of an outline for the first chapter.

It's simple. Three to fourteen, Paul praises his God. Fifteen to twenty-three, he prays for his readers. Three to fourteen, Paul is standing with his arms lifted up, exalting his God and explaining to the recipient who this God is and what he has done for us. When he gets to verse fifteen to the end of the chapter, turn over there and look, he begins to pray. For this reason, I too, having heard of the faith in the Lord Jesus which exists among you and your love for all the saints, the other believers, do not cease giving thanks for you while making mention of you in my prayers. Here is his prayer. You wonder how to supplement and how to freshen your prayer life, learn the prayers of the Bible. In fact, this is a great one to start with, that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, Father of glory, may give to you a spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him. I pray the eyes of your heart may be enlightened. Look at that. You ever thought of the heart having eyes?

You understand it when you dig into it. The whole inner being gets eyesight and you get a glimpse of the living God like you've never had before so that he floods your entire existence. He's full of praise and prayer. Have you forgotten where he was sitting? He is sitting under arrest. Can you believe a man under arrest would be so preoccupied with Christ and God and his fellow saints? Have you ever been under arrest?

Don't answer out loud. I mean, if you have been, you probably weren't preoccupied with Christ and you probably weren't concerned about prayer for others. You were hoping to get out. You were hoping that the record would be set clear. You were hoping that your attorney would have the clout necessary to clear your name that whatever. Paul mentions none of that. He's got this Roman soldier sitting by him, probably had bad breath, sitting there chained to him and he's continually having to deal with that.

He's writing this letter and he's preoccupied with God. How could it be? I got great news for you. You could do that.

You could live like that. Get away from the idea that these people are somehow supernatural folks. He had to put his britches on one leg at a time, just like you do. He had stuff that disturbed him. In fact, I just heard at the seminary this past week, one of the guy, we had Luis Palau speak for us and he was in 2 Corinthians 1 where he talks about Paul said, I was so depressed, I despaired even of life.

Does that sound like a supernatural creature to you? He was so low and discouraged that he couldn't even go on. But how could he live like this?

How could he write a letter like this? Christ has control of his mind, his attitude, his heart, his desires, his motivation, his perspective. Most of us will never experience the persecution Paul endured, but I'll venture to say that all of us can identify with the loneliness he undoubtedly felt. You're listening to Insight for Living and a message from Chuck Swindoll rooted in Ephesians 1 entitled, Unloading the Theological Truck. To learn more about this ministry, visit us online at insightworld.org. Even under house arrest, Paul graciously appealed to God through prayer that he would open the eyes of our hearts so God's word would enlighten us. And here at Insight for Living, we believe Paul's prayer is answered when you set aside private moments to pause and reflect on the Bible. And along these lines, we provide a daily opportunity for you to search the Scriptures with Chuck Swindoll. Every message is complemented by helpful study notes giving you an opportunity to follow along and take personal notes.

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