Bulletins - Parish of Holy Trinity

I wonder what gets you excited? What might cause you to burst into praise or thanksgiving?

The arrival of a new baby?

Maybe you have been waiting a long time for something to happen and it finally does - or waiting to receive something your heart has longed for and the day arrives and your hopes have been realised?

Often, when things happen after a period of hard work or great endurance, it makes the celebration of winning them all the sweeter - don’t you think?

Or maybe that’s the wrong question.

Maybe the question is - what stops you from bursting in to praise and thanksgiving?

If you are anything like me - I’m going to take a punt that it might just be the pressures of living day by day, grappling with the news that a loved one’s health is failing? Just trying to make sense of the daily news of events at home and further afield?

What about your feelings around faith, attending church, your future as a Christian?

I wonder what might get you excited about your relationship with God? I wonder what might be a hinderance to your walk with God?

This week we commence a seven week series in Paul’s letter to the Christians in Ephesus. In the words of Big Kev - Paul’s excited! But why?

The letter to the Ephesians has been referred to by others as:

‘the divinest composition of man’

Like a fine painting, Ephesians is considered a masterpiece.

One commentator describes it as having a canvas that stretches horizontally from before the creation of the world

Ephesians 1:4
Ephesians 1:4 NIV
4 For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love

to when times have reached their fulfilment

Ephesians 1:10 NIV
10 to be put into effect when the times reach their fulfillment—to bring unity to all things in heaven and on earth under Christ.

And vertically from the lower, earthly regions

Ephesians 4:9 NIV
9 (What does “he ascended” mean except that he also descended to the lower, earthly regions?

and to the heavenly realms

Ephesians 1:3 NIV
3 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ.

a piece of art that contains such precise and colourful detail about God’s saving work in our lives and in the church.

Perhaps you have been to an art gallery and come across that one painting that causes you to stop, sit and study - for maximum appreciation.

This is a letter that has had a profound impact on people - one such person went on to write how, as a boy of 14, he experienced through reading Ephesians a

‘boyish rapture in the Highland hills’ which led to ‘a passionate protestation to Jesus Christ among the rocks in the starlight’.

He says

‘I saw a new world…everything was new…I had a new outlook, new experiences, new attitudes to other people. I loved God. Jesus Christ became the centre of everything…I have been ‘quickened’; I was really alive.’

Why has such a letter impacted so many people?

As we read the opening chapter of this letter - we can almost feel Paul’s excitment and enthusiasm -

he has much to be thankful for and to praise God for - words of joy, praise and enthusaism spill out from his mind onto the page.

In fact verses 3 to 14 are one continuous sentence in the original Greek.

And let’s not forget - all this comes from a man who has:

2 Corinthians 11:23–29 NIV
23 Are they servants of Christ? (I am out of my mind to talk like this.) I am more. I have worked much harder, been in prison more frequently, been flogged more severely, and been exposed to death again and again. 24 Five times I received from the Jews the forty lashes minus one. 25 Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was pelted with stones, three times I was shipwrecked, I spent a night and a day in the open sea, 26 I have been constantly on the move. I have been in danger from rivers, in danger from bandits, in danger from my fellow Jews, in danger from Gentiles; in danger in the city, in danger in the country, in danger at sea; and in danger from false believers. 27 I have labored and toiled and have often gone without sleep; I have known hunger and thirst and have often gone without food; I have been cold and naked. 28 Besides everything else, I face daily the pressure of my concern for all the churches. 29 Who is weak, and I do not feel weak? Who is led into sin, and I do not inwardly burn?

Paul is moved with such joy, praise, thanksgiving and passion because he is so convicted that what God is doing in and through Christ goes beyond a Sunday ‘going to church’ thing.

Don’t get me wrong - what Paul writes about involves you and I - certainly, it’s not less than that -
but it is so much more than that!

Paul is convinced, as he sits at home, writing this letter under house arrest, having been through all that he has been through, that God in Christ and through the Holy Spirit is building nothing less than a new society, a new humanity - even now in the midst of the old and conflicted world we live in.

That God the Father is gathering a family, forming it the body of Jesus Christ his Son, and as the temple or dwelling place of the Holy Spirit.

And in this opening chapter, the central theme of God’s new society is expressed in praise and thanksgiving, as Paul sets out in his letter:

i) what this society we are called into looks like,
ii) how it came into being through Christ and
iii) how it grows through the proclamation of the gospel and as God’s people live lives that are worthy of this society.

Let’s just remind ourselves of the key points:

Ephesians 1:2 NIV
2 Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

As Paul opens his letter he wants his readers to recognise the blessings come from God our Father.

And that the sphere of these blessings are entirely in and through Jesus Christ the Son. In the first 14 verses of this letter Jesus is mentioned either by name or title no less than 15 times.

Ephesians 1:3 NIV
3 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ.

That the blessings are spiritual and can only be received and taken up through the Holy Spirit who applies the work of Jesus Christ to our hearts.

As Paul writes: Every blessing of the Holy Spirit has been given us by the Father if we are ‘in’ the Son.

And as the first chapter unfolds we see these blessings are rooted not only in the past, but also effect the present and the future.

Paul reaches back to before the foundation of the world, before creation, before time began and he sees that God did something. He formed a purpose in his mind and that purpose included Christ Jesus and us.

Do you see that - if we are followers of Jesus - God chose us in him. God put us and Christ together in his mind. He determined to make us his his children through the work of Jesus to bring forgiveness and reconciliation through the cross.

(Pause)

I think it has to be acknowledged that we can struggle with this doctrine of election.

“Didn’t I choose God? Didn’t I decide to follow Jesus?
Well in one sense we can reply - Yes, you did, and freely,
but…only because in eternity God had first chosen you.

From the choosing of Abraham, Jacob over Esau and eventually the nation of Israel, the bible nowhere dispels the mystery of election and neither should we.

No, Paul says, God intentionally planned and purposed in the past, that we who are followers of Jesus would be destined to become his children in the present.

But there’s more. God’s election was made with a view to adoption.

Paul draws on adoption in the sense of what was practiced at that time in the Roman empire.

In Roman law, adopted children enjoyed the same privileges and responsibilities as natural children.

One famous adoption was made by Juius Caesar - his adopted son Gaius Octavian Thurinus went on to become Augustus Caesar, the first Roman Emperor.

But to enjoy the privileges of becoming children of God - God had to do something about our fallen condition, which of course is where Jesus comes in.

Such is the relationship that Jesus has with those God chooses, Paul uses the language of being ‘in Christ’.

We often think Jesus’ death is a disconnected event that we can apply through faith. Again, it is not less than that - but in Paul’s mind it is so much more.

Such is the closeness and unity we share through faith in Jesus that Paul speaks of his death and resurrection, not only in terms of Jesus being our substitute - dying in our place, but he also uses language that shows Jesus acts as our representatitve.

His death, his coming through to resurrected life becomes ours, through faith.

We are bound to Jesus through faith, we are ‘in Christ’ and share in the blessings as assuredly as he did.

Of course there are two sides to this coin - just as there are two sides to adoption.

We gain the privileges

- access to God the Father due to what Christ accomplished on the cross for us - we are forgiven and stand before God claiming Christ’s righteousness.

But we also lose our blemishes

- initially because we are ‘in Christ’ we can be confident that he stands in our place - that we can take advantage of his righteousness, as it were.

But over time God has purposed by his Holy Spirit, dwelling in us, that we will over time grow to maturity in Christ, that is, we will be changed, transformed, day by day, more and more into the likeness of the one who for now has got us covered.

- its what the bible calls sanctification - the on going work of the Holy Spirit in our lives until that day we are made perfect in heaven.

Which brings us to the future blessings when all things - in earth and in heaven - the whole universe, the whole cosmos is brought into perfect unity under the Lordship of Jesus Christ.

Do you see that? God’s plan is that ‘all things’ which were created through Christ and for Christ, and which hold together in Christ, will finally be united under Christ by being subjected to his headship.

In the fullness of time, God’s two creations, the whole universe and his whole church, will be unified under the cosmic Christ who is the supreme head of both.

Is there any role for us in all this? Yes, says Paul -

It is true that our salvation is attributed entirely to the will of God, but our responsibility is there to see - we hear the word of truth - the gospel and as we believe in him (in Christ) we are sealed with the Holy Spirit.

More than that - as we are drawn deeper into relationship with God, as we are transformed into the likeness of his Son, Jesus - Paul says this is all for God’s praise and Glory.

What does he mean?

Well, we obviously can’t make God any more glorious than he is.

But we can shine forth and promote that glory in the world around us. God’s work in us - on display for all to see - is part of how God works in his mission to our broken world.

Friends, as we explore what this letter has for us over the coming weeks - will we hear the word of truth and put our faith and trust in the one whom the Father intended to unite us with - the Lord Jesus?

To finish, here is what I think Paul wants us to see:

As he sits in house arrest - effectively bound to circumstances that he would wish were different,

Paul chooses to focus on Jesus, not on himself.
That freedom is not all it is cracked up to be.
We don’t need to feel alientated.

Paul shows that when we are in Christ, truly abiding in him and he in us, truly allowing our lives to be led by him as His Spirit leads us:

true freedom can be ours,
following the creator God himself,
fulfilling our potential,
knowing where we belong,
knowing where we can turn for help…then and only then will we find the power to live.

So many in our world today feel alientated - they do not feel they belong anywhere, that they have any significance, purpose, that they are powerless to change their circumstances.

If that is you, may God speak to you through this letter of Ephesians.

In it we find that the love of God doesn’t depend on whether we are well thought of by others, whether we have lots of friends - real or virtual friends on social media, or whether we serve God as well as we might.

Paul wants us to see that God’s love towards us is not determined by the sorts of peope we are, but because God has purposed to choose us in Christ before the founding of the earth.

In Christ alone we find our true belonging as he draws us into covenant with him, as he places us in a family of his peple and as he gives us his Spirit to be with us and to protect us and guarantee our relationship with God himself in Jesus Christ.

Perhaps as you are reading this passage you are asking - does this relate to me? Am I in Christ? Please reach out to me - either today or through the week - I’d love to talk with you about that - to pray with you.

Either way, why not pick up your bibles through the week and turn to Paul’s letter to the Ephesians - may you find in it the God who longs to draw you closer into his family and into the future that he has planned and purposed for you and indeed all of his creation.
- - Ephesians 1:4NIV2011
- - Ephesians 1:10NIV2011
- - Ephesians 4:9NIV2011
- - Ephesians 1:3NIV2011
- - 2 Corinthians 11:23–29NIV2011
- - Ephesians 1:2NIV2011
- - Ephesians 1:3NIV2011

Ephesians 1:4NIV2011

Ephesians 1:10NIV2011

Ephesians 4:9NIV2011

Ephesians 1:3NIV2011

2 Corinthians 11:23–29NIV2011

Ephesians 1:2NIV2011

Ephesians 1:3NIV2011