Over, Through, and In
Ephesians 4: One Christ, One Hope, One Body • Sermon • Submitted
0 ratings
· 5 viewsNotes
Transcript
Introduction
Introduction
<<PRAY>> <<READ 4:1-6>>
So far in Ephesians 4, we’ve been called to take Christian UNITY very seriously.
v1 - “therefore” - tied directly to the nature of the Gospel. [[stop]]
The division we see in the world around us, the hostility that pops up in our own hearts, these are symptoms of a deeper sickness, a terminal illness that has a 100% death rate. You might remember from the first message in our One Christ, One Hope, One Body series that we took a look at the town of Ephesus at the time when Paul wrote this letter. This was a church in a divided culture, in a divided nation, and the believers were pulled in multiple directions by cultural forces demanding allegiance and obedience. Sound familiar?
With one voice, the Church is called to be heralds of a different story, a different way of being citizens. We’re called to be a beacon, lights in the dark, calling people back to the only path that leads to life.
Here in Ephesians 4, we’ve seen Paul call us to live out the unity that is ours as a gift - the unity that all Christians have because we have one Lord, we are members of one Body, we are united in the same hope. We are ambassadors of one faith.
Today's text may seem like there’s not much to it at first. “Who is over all, and through all, and in all.” But these words are promises, every one. They apply to all that He has made - He is over all creation. But they are special promises for us who belong to Him as His one Body. And together, they answer a very important question:
Q. How do God’s promises in Christ unite people prone to fear, sorrow, and weariness?
I. The promise of God’s POWER gives COURAGE! (“…who is over all...”)
I. The promise of God’s POWER gives COURAGE! (“…who is over all...”)
First, let’s look at the promise of God’s power. The verse begins, “One God and Father of all, who is over all.”
The phrase “over all” points to God’s authority and power. In Romans 9:5, Paul calls him “the Christ, who is God over all, blessed forever. Amen.”
His power is seen in Psalm 33
6 By the word of the Lord the heavens were made, and by the breath of his mouth all their host. 7 He gathers the waters of the sea as a heap; he puts the deeps in storehouses. 8 Let all the earth fear the Lord; let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of him! 9 For he spoke, and it came to be; he commanded, and it stood firm. 10 The Lord brings the counsel of the nations to nothing; he frustrates the plans of the peoples. 11 The counsel of the Lord stands forever, the plans of his heart to all generations.
It’s not only creation that demonstrates His power. If at any point His counsel contradicts the plans of the peoples, their counsel will be brought to nothing.
His power is unfathomable. His plans are unthwartable. His purpose is unchangeable.
Psalm 33 goes on, <<READ vv13-22>>
13 The Lord looks down from heaven; he sees all the children of man; 14 from where he sits enthroned he looks out on all the inhabitants of the earth, 15 he who fashions the hearts of them all and observes all their deeds. 16 The king is not saved by his great army; a warrior is not delivered by his great strength. 17 The war horse is a false hope for salvation, and by its great might it cannot rescue. 18 Behold, the eye of the Lord is on those who fear him, on those who hope in his steadfast love, 19 that he may deliver their soul from death and keep them alive in famine. 20 Our soul waits for the Lord; he is our help and our shield. 21 For our heart is glad in him, because we trust in his holy name. 22 Let your steadfast love, O Lord, be upon us, even as we hope in you.
He is OVER all - supreme in power and authority. This is why the Bible refers to God as Almighty.
And this truth holds great importance for us - the PROMISE of God’s POWER gives us COURAGE today.
ILLUST:
**Because He is OVER all, we do not need to fear those things that rise up against us, or against Him.**
When David was seized by the Philistines, he said:
1 Be gracious to me, O God, for man tramples on me; all day long an attacker oppresses me; 2 my enemies trample on me all day long, for many attack me proudly. 3 When I am afraid, I put my trust in you. 4 In God, whose word I praise, in God I trust; I shall not be afraid. What can flesh do to me?
<v11 - “in God I trust; I shall not be afraid. What can man do to me?”>
The experience of God’s power has a way of giving courage to the fearful. (Peter & the Holy Spirit)
And we are a people shaped by the promise of God’s power.
16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.
Our God is OVER ALL, and the proof is in Jesus’s death and resurrection:
33 I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.”
The PROMISE of the POWER of God is a cause for courage - cause to take heart - because He has already demonstrated His power over all creation by defeating sin, and death, and the devil.
What are you afraid of?
Are you afraid you’ll fall to temptation one too many times and God will give up on you? The POWER of God for salvation is the death and resurrection of Jesus. He already finished the work that paid for your sins. Do not be afraid.
Teens: Are you afraid to stand firm in your faith at school or with your friends? Adults: Are you afraid to represent Christ in a hostile world? Take heart and stand together: He has overcome the world.
Notice what the POWER of God promises you:
10 But if Christ is in you, although the body is dead because of sin, the Spirit is life because of righteousness. 11 If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you.
And
4 Little children, you are from God and have overcome them, for he who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.
He is OVER all - his POWER is cause for COURAGE. And our second point:
II. The promise of God’s PROVIDENCE gives JOY! (“…and through all...”)
II. The promise of God’s PROVIDENCE gives JOY! (“…and through all...”)
Verse 6 continues, “One God and Father of all, who is over all, and through all.”
THROUGH ALL, He is God. If “OVER all” points to God’s POWER, “THROUGH all” points to His PROVIDENCE.
Providence is a word that means that God foresees, decrees, and bestows good things for His creatures.
9 The Lord is good to all, and his mercy is over all that he has made.
The Psalm goes on
15 The eyes of all look to you, and you give them their food in due season. 16 You open your hand; you satisfy the desire of every living thing. 17 The Lord is righteous in all his ways and kind in all his works.
And the promise of God’s PROVIDENCE is not only about everyday blessings. Because He is GOOD, and He is over all and through all, even the evil acts of sinful humanity cannot thwart His good purposes in PROVIDENCE.
20 As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today.
And
28 And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.
We must take seriously those words, “ALL THINGS.” This doesn’t take the evil out of evil. It means evil is an utter failure, and God triumphs everywhere, continually; God triumphs through all.
The greatest evil ever devised is the proof. The greatest evil ever devised was the murder of the very Son of God. Though He had never sinned, though He was the Creator who deserved unbroken praise from every creature, He was put to death. And Peter describes it this way:
22 “Men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a man attested to you by God with mighty works and wonders and signs that God did through him in your midst, as you yourselves know— 23 this Jesus, delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men.
Here we see the most glorious truth of God’s PROVIDENCE. In His definite plan and foreknowledge, God determined to defeat sin and death through this very deed.
In the next chapter, Peter says again,
14 But you denied the Holy and Righteous One, and asked for a murderer to be granted to you, 15 and you killed the Author of life, whom God raised from the dead. To this we are witnesses.
This is the greatest treasure to the Christian confronted by the sin all around him and inside him. This is the greatest fulfillment of Joseph’s words to his brothers, “What you meant for evil, God meant for good.” For those who love God, ALL things work together for good. Because He will not allow evil even one victory.
If He can cause even the death of the Author of Life at the hands of sinners to work for good, then He can work through 2020. He can work through the sorrows you face today.
The PROMISE of His PROVIDENCE is cause for JOY.
Jesus Himself rejoiced to consider what lay on the other side of the cross.
1 Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, 2 looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.
And this means that we can look to the hand of God and rejoice even in trials, we have cause to rejoice in Him even when we face sorrows. Even if we face persecution:
10 “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 11 “Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. 12 Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
The JOY set before you in suffering is the same JOY that Jesus saw ahead of Him.
The PROMISE of God’s PROVIDENCE gives JOY!
And once again, we see the value of this truth immediately.
Because God is THROUGH all, even the most insignificant moments of our lives have meaning and purpose.
In moments of exhaustion, when you can’t imagine any purpose in what’s going on;
Even the greatest sorrows have a glorious future of God’s grace.
In Revelation 21, at the return of Christ after He has judged all people upon the great white throne,
1 Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. 2 And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. 3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. 4 He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.”
I want you to imagine for a moment what tears Jesus will wipe from the eyes of those who love Him.
When you go to your son or daughter, or your spouse, and wipe away their tears, you share in their sorrows. Your tears on my fingers become our tears.
The greatest sorrows - the ones that leave you trembling, or heaving with sobs, or numb - the very fingers of your Savior will touch your cheek and there will be no more weeping or mourning forever.
A tear wiped away is not a tear lost, but a tear redeemed.
And for all of eternity, you will know that even the greatest of sorrows had a day when it was turned to joy.
He is THROUGH all - His PROVIDENCE is cause for JOY. Joy in the present, knowing that God will work through all.
4 Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice.
In your sorrows, rejoice in the LORD. In your joys, rejoice in the LORD. If you have nothing but Him, rejoice in Him. If you are well-supplied, rejoice in Him.
He is over all, through all, and the end of the verse says He is in all, and this is our final point:
III. The promise of God’s PRESENCE gives HOPE! (“…and in all...”)
III. The promise of God’s PRESENCE gives HOPE! (“…and in all...”)
He is IN ALL. He is in every place, in every one, at all times, and He is present in and among us.
There is no place in all of creation where you or I could go and find that we beat Him there.
7 Where shall I go from your Spirit? Or where shall I flee from your presence? 8 If I ascend to heaven, you are there! If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there! 9 If I take the wings of the morning and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, 10 even there your hand shall lead me, and your right hand shall hold me.
All of creation cannot contain Him, and yet He is in all. This is what Christians mean when they say that God is omnipresent and omniscient - everywhere and all-knowing.
3 The eyes of the Lord are in every place, keeping watch on the evil and the good.
And the PROMISE of God’s PRESENCE is a great cause for HOPE.
It means you are never alone. Not only that, if you are a Christian, it means you are never without your greatest ally, your truest friend, your King and Savior.
Notice how the PROMISE of God’s PRESENCE gives hope throughout the Scriptures. To Isaac:
24 And the Lord appeared to him the same night and said, “I am the God of Abraham your father. Fear not, for I am with you and will bless you and multiply your offspring for my servant Abraham’s sake.”
To Moses:
12 He said, “But I will be with you, and this shall be the sign for you, that I have sent you: when you have brought the people out of Egypt, you shall serve God on this mountain.”
To Israel:
7 The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress. Selah
And in the promise of our Savior:
14 Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.
And in the passage we read a few weeks ago on baptism:
1 But now thus says the Lord, he who created you, O Jacob, he who formed you, O Israel: “Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine. 2 When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you.
And in John 14, as He ate the Passover with His disciples, Jesus promised first that He would return to His Father, and send the Holy Spirit, God’s own Spirit, to be with us forever. And then He says,
18 “I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.
And again:
23 Jesus answered him, “If anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him.
Here in John 14, we have the promise of Jesus that God the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit will dwell with all those who love Him. Right now, everyone here who belongs to Jesus by faith has the abiding, living presence of God as your constant companion.
And this brings us to the greatest cause for HOPE for weary ones: His PRESENCE is a PROMISE that proves His purpose. His presence RIGHT NOW in you as believers, and in the gathering of Christians as His Body, is PROOF that He is going to finish what He has started in you. Listen to how Paul closes perhaps the greatest chapter he ever wrote (remember how the promise of God’s power gave cause for courage - “God is with me; what can man do to me”):
31 What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? 32 He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things? 33 Who shall bring any charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. 34 Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died—more than that, who was raised—who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us. 35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? 36 As it is written, “For your sake we are being killed all the day long; we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.” 37 No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. 38 For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, 39 nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Right now, God is reigning OVER us in His power; THROUGH us in His providence; and IN us by His presence.
He never gives up; He never fails. He has promised, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.”
So when you feel left and forsaken, remember the One who will wipe away that tear. REJOICE in HOPE - He is THROUGH all and IN all.
When you feel powerless, remember the One who through His death and resurrection put the powers of this world to open shame, conquering them in His own body, and bringing new life to you. Take COURAGE - He is over all.