Thursday, October 8, 2009

You Are Part Of A Beautiful Painting That Reveals The Mystery Of God

Good morning my friends. What a beautiful day that stretches out before us. What makes it so beautiful is that Jesus will be journeying through it with us. It is a great time to get to know him better. We are looking at Ephesians 3 this morning.

Those of you who know me well know that I am passionate about two things; Jesus Christ and his Bride. There use to be three but I am told that Coca Cola is not a spiritual experience so I have left it off. :-) Many preachers no longer preach the Church because they feel it takes away from the glory of God. Too often we allow the imperfections to distract us from the great mystery that God has revealed through the Church. Paul writes:

His intent was that now, through the church, the manifold wisdom of God should be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms, according to his eternal purpose which he accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord. vs. 10-11

For the most part I am content with giving a few snippets on a small portion of Scripture to encourage you each morning. With this passage I wish I had the entire day to explore the various Scriptures that speak of the incredible things that God has done through the Church. Consider this complex thought from this portion this morning: God has chosen to reveal his manifold wisdom to the angels through the Church. The rulers and authorities of the heavenly realms refers to the angels who already get to be in his presence. But God kept his plans from them, as a mystery, and revealed it only through the Church. What exactly did he reveal?

God revealed how he is saving man. It is in the Church that men and women are trained and anointed for the task of presenting Christ. It is here that the Spirit moves revealing Christ to the lost through us who are the Church. God revealed to the angels what he can do with a sinner. He showed them his plan to bring Jew and Gentile together into one new family. He revealed his manifold wisdom in the founding of the Church as well in her growth, as well in her governance. There are many other aspects of the Church such as the worship and morality that reveals a great deal to the angels concerning God's manifold wisdom.

There is something important here to understand. When Paul writes this, that God has revealed his manifold wisdom to the angels via the Church, it is like something being revealed through a painting. It is like listening to a beautiful piece of music or gazing at a garden of beautiful flowers. You see, by the grace that he gives the Church manifests the manifold wisdom of God. Although it is also shown in the preaching and teaching of the Church it is more the manifestation that is the revealing of this great mystery to the angels.

This is what we are part of and it is the beauty of the Church, that we would be used to teach even angels. As we go about today keep in mind that we are more than members of a church, we are the building blocks of the Church, the teaching material of God to the angels.

Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and aliens, but fellow citizens with God's people and members of God's household, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit. (Ephesians 2:19-22)

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