The Mystery of History

The Mystery of History Spring Valley Mennonite; June 21, 2020; Ephesians 1:8b-12 I have long been a fan of history. I love historical novels, like those written by James Michener. If you like long books covering great sweeps of history, Michener is one of the best. If the world continues on its current path for another 100 years, it would be interesting what could be written about these days in which we live. Our culture and society seem to be changing so rapidly: with the world-wide effects of the Covid-19 pandemic, including new ways of communicating, doing business and working from home, and social distancing; the Black Lives Matter movement in our own nation, and the upcoming election, we wonder what things will be like when it all settles out, what the "new normal" will look like. "The times, they are a-changin!" But here is a bigger and more important question: "How does all this current national and world-wide turmoil fit into God's Plan?" This first chapter in Ephesians is full of answers to some of the most basic questions we can ask about life. The question of our identity, "Who am I?" -- for the Christian, is answered by God's sovereign selection of me. The question "Is there a reason and purpose to my life?" is answered by the unbelievable fact of our adoption into God's family, where I am endowed with all the attendant rights, privileges, and responsibilities of a son. Verses 8-12 of Ephesians 1 addresses the question, "Is there any purpose or pattern in history?" "Is there any sense to be made of the events unfolding around us?" A more searching and basic question might be, "Is God in control of these events?" In view of the chaos and uncertainty created by this world-wide pandemic, this question certainly deserves answering. I believe God speaks clearly on this issue, revealing in these verses what I have termed "The Mystery of History." Follow along as I read Ephesians 1:8b-12. In this rather involved statement, we are told that God is accomplishing His plan to "Sum up everything in Christ." That certainly is not the impression we get from listening to the secular opinions around us. For a moment consider... I. HOW THE WORLD VIEWS HISTORY It was Shakespeare who had Hamlet describe life as "A tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing." Many others have echoed that idea, saying that there is no purpose in the universe. Listen to these statements, which summarize such a philosophy: Oscar Wilde said, "You give the criminal calendar of Europe to your children under the name of history." He saw history as recording the actions of criminals. Historian Edward Gibbon reinforces this idea saying, "History is indeed little more than the register of the crimes, follies, and the misfortunes of mankind." The events of 9/11/2001 which saw airplanes crashing into the World Trade Towers, the Pentagon, and a field in Pennsylvania reinforces the idea of history as the actions of criminals. But the fallacy of this view of history is that it is limited to seeing nothing but the negative and criminal actions of evil men. A Biblical viewpoint, the Christian worldview, never denies evil but demonstrates the working out of God's solution to evil and sin. But this being a spiritual perspective, few of the world's intellectuals can discern this. For example, Educator G.N. Clark, in his inaugural address as President of Cambridge University, said, "There is no secret and no plan in history to be discovered. I do not believe that any future consummation could make any sense of all the irrationalities of preceding ages." And French biographer and historian Andre Maurois best summarizes this hopeless attitude toward world events when he said, "The universe is indifferent. Who created it? Why are we here upon this puny mud heap, spinning in infinite space? I have not the slightest idea, and I am quite convinced that no one else has the least idea." The Apostle Paul describes those who think like this in Ephesians 4:17-18, "...in the futility of their mind, being darkened in their understanding, excluded from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, ...the hard of heart." But clearly, when God's truth enters the equation, we understand that there is a plan and purpose in history, and you and I have a part in that plan. It can only be understood as we turn to God's Word. II. GOD REVEALS HIS SECRET In these verses in the first chapter of Ephesians, we find a central idea or theme: God has a purpose in what is happening today. Isn't that comforting? God is not only in control, but His purposes are being accomplished. The first aspect of this theme is found in the words of verse 9, "The Mystery of His Will" or the hidden purposes of God. Notice Paul uses the word "mystery" to describe this plan, a term which simply means something which has been hidden until now. A few years ago, there was an advertising campaign about something called "MLIFE." In newspapers, radio, and television we were told to watch for MLIFE. Finally, it was revealed during a Superbowl commercial as an advanced form of wireless communication. Frankly, I was a bit disappointed! But it was a mystery until it was revealed. Likewise, until the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, only bits of the picture of God's Plan of the Ages had been revealed. What God was doing remained a "mystery." But now we have the incredible privilege of living in a time when, we not only can know Christ and His redemption, but also we live when the final events of God's Plan are beginning to come together. God's answers to eternal questions cannot be figured apart from the revelation of God, which we have in the Bible. But with knowledge also comes responsibility. Hear the words of 1 Corinthians 4:1-2: "Let a man regard us in this manner, as servants of Christ, and stewards of the mysteries of God. In this case, moreover, it is required of stewards that one be found trustworthy." The Church has been given the answers, and perhaps part of the problem of the hopelessness we see around us is that we have not been speaking clearly; in a dark world, we have the responsibility to hold up the light of truth. God is accomplishing His purposes and His plan is coming together. (More on our responsibility a bit later...) What is the essence of the eternal plan of God? III. CHRIST IS AT THE CENTER OF IT ALL This is the central truth of verse 10: "The summing up of all things in Christ..." God is working to unite all things in and under the Lordship of Christ. Some would look at the events of history and say that the exact opposite thing is happening: the world and often even our lives seem to be falling apart, not coming together! But God tells us this IS what He is going to do; He is going to bring all things together. When Paul says, "all things" he means everything, in fact he amplifies it by saying "things in the heavens and things on the earth." That includes things which exist in the invisible, yet very real spiritual world, as well as the visible things on the earth: the struggles between nations, between individuals-all these will conclude and be brought together with Jesus Christ as the Lord over all the earth. This end process was described by Paul in Philippians 2. It began when Christ left His glory in heaven and took on human flesh and lived among us. He took on the form of a servant, and even submitted to the humiliation of the cross, becoming obedient unto death. Therefore, Paul writes, "God has highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those who are in heaven, and on earth, and under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father." History is moving toward this purpose, even though we sometimes despair at what we observe around us. You and I live in a world which is broken. There is no harmony between man and his environment. Pollutants and garbage foul our own nests. We observe nations at war, and within countries different ethnic groups vie for supremacy. The division between races, real or imagined, has erupted in protest marches and destructive riots this summer. The diabolic author of confusion and division, the devil, seeks to create chaos in society. Individuals are in conflict with others and we even find struggles within families. Most basically, man is at conflict within himself, as someone said, each of us is a walking civil war! I want to do good but find myself doing just the opposite. But Jesus came to resolve all this conflict. He has come to heal divisions between nations and individuals, and even to stop our inner conflict. He came to mend broken relationships, ending the strife and the hateful words men say to one another. And He has already begun! He said, "I come to make all things new." Jesus began to put it all back together when He was on earth. What sin had destroyed, Jesus set right. He took those devastated by leprosy and made them whole again. He took the adulterous woman, forgave her sin, and mended her broken life. He motivated those overcome with greed and the love of money like Zacchaeus and converted them into generous and giving people. He touched the demon possessed and restored them from self-destructive behavior to worshippers of God and to normal and productive lives. And for the past 2000 years He has been changing people and churches and communities and nations, all according to his plan and purposes. Jesus not only healed and changed lives, but He explained the meaning of life. Fulfillment, He taught, comes from being a servant. If you want to gain true riches, be generous and give to those in need. He told us that we must empty ourselves to be filled; As a vinedresser prunes a grape vine we must yield to the pruning of the Lord to become productive. Jesus said that our worth is never to be measured by our possessions. And He spoke of a time when He would return to earth to usher in a new kingdom, telling us to be ready and watchful. Until then, we are to "occupy until He comes" shining forth as lights in a dark and perverse generation. He set into motion a "new economy," the meaning of the phrase in verse 10 of "an administration suitable to the fullness of the times." Today the Trump Administration is leading our country. Most of us would agree that it is doing things differently than the former Administration. While on earth, our Lord set into motion "the Jesus Administration." When Christ returns, His Administration will reign over all the earth. All history is moving toward that goal. Jesus began the work of transformation and mending the brokenness of His creation by His work on the cross. He continues this through the work of His Spirit in believers, and He will bring it to consummation when He returns in glory. Christ is the center unifying force in the universe. As Colossians 1:17 states, "in Him all things hold together." Jesus is the glue of the universe! This is as true today as it will be in the coming Kingdom. If you miss Jesus Christ, if you try to find meaning and purpose without Him, you are doomed to a frustrating and hopeless existence. The Bible does give us some hints about... IV. WHEN THIS "SUMMING UP" WILL OCCUR I believe the "fullness of times" of verse 10 refers to the coming Millennial Kingdom when Christ will reign over all the earth. Until then every event of history serves a purpose. Have you ever tired to put together a jig-saw puzzle without the being able to refer to the picture on the box? To do so is no fun at all! What Paul is referring to, and what the whole Bible elaborates upon is like the "Picture on the box." That picture on a jig-saw puzzle box corresponds to the overall plan of God which makes sense of all the individual events of history. All things will come together in Christ when He returns. Time will not allow for a full description of the "picture on the box" of God's Plan for the ages, God's plan of redemption of mankind and all creation, but allow me to sketch some of its main features. It began in the Garden of Eden after Adam and Eve fell into sin. God promised that Satan, the author of evil, would be dealt a fatal blow, but only after Satan would bruise the heel of the deliverer. This was the first promise of a Redeemer, a deliverer. Adam's descendants filled the earth, but decreasing numbers of them followed God, and in judgment God destroyed the earth with a universal flood. Only eight people survived in the Ark, Noah and his three sons and their wives. After the flood, God instituted human governments, giving man the right to judge and punish the wrongdoing of his fellow man. Yet, again man rebelled against God's command to fill the earth and the judgment of God at the tower of Babel divided man into nations and language groups. Some time after this, God sovereignly chose a man named Abraham, and promised that through him all the nations of the earth would be blessed. From Abraham came the chosen people of Israel, through whom God promised the Redeemer, the deliverer, the Messiah. God gave Abraham a Covenant promising the land of Canaan as a permanent possession. But a famine moved Jacob and his family to Egypt. For 400 years, the Hebrew people were in Egypt, most of those years as slaves to Pharaoh, but during this period they grew from less than a hundred souls to several million people. God's plan was moving forward. God heard their cries for freedom and delivered them out of Egypt through mighty miracles at the hand of Moses. God nurtured them in the wilderness, giving them His Law at Sinai, and led them to possess the land of Canaan. Yet true to the sinful nature of man, soon after possessing the land, Israel rejected God's ways, falling into idolatry. Judgment followed through the Assyrians and Babylonians, but God remained true to His Covenantal promises. Through the Prophets a fuller picture developed of how God would bless all the nations of the world through the coming Messiah. As God worked out His plan through the Hebrew people, world Empires rose and fell-Egypt, Assyria, Babylon, Greece, and Rome. Then, at just the right time, Jesus the Messiah was born and the picture of God's Plan suddenly became much clearer. The promise made to Adam and Eve of a deliver was fulfilled. Jesus Christ, the promised Messiah, was the Son of God, the second person of the Trinity. He came to redeem mankind, and voluntarily offered Himself as the final and complete sacrifice for sin. Though a Jew Himself, Jesus was rejected by the Jews, and God set the Jewish nation aside for a while. A new entity was born at Pentecost called the Church. All those who believed that Jesus was the Son of God, the Messiah, and who claimed His death as payment for their sins became part of this new entity called the Church. A new age was born, the Church Age, or the Age of Grace. This is the point where you and I become part of God's Great Plan. Our responsibilities are spelled out in relationship to the Church. At the end of this age, when the Universal Church has its full complement of members, then the Church will be suddenly, in the blink of an eye, be taken out of the world. This is called the Rapture of the Church. Suddenly, all believers will disappear! We can only imagine the worldwide disruption and chaos that will be caused by the sudden disappearance of millions of believers! Planes, trains, automobiles, tractors in the fields-all of these will no longer have drivers as Christians are raptured! Imagine the chaos and rioting as people begin fighting over what we leave behind-houses, bank accounts, automobiles, farms, businesses-all up for grabs. I believe the world will be thrown into such chaos that only a world dictator will be able to restore any sense of order. The Bible predicts the emergence of such a world dictator called "the Antichrist." During this time in history, Israel will become the focal point of world attention, and great numbers of Jews will come to believe in Jesus as their Messiah. Although many people, Jew and Gentile, will come to faith in Jesus at that time, to follow Christ will mean almost certain Martyrdom. The books of Daniel and Revelation speak of a period of seven dreadful years when the judgment of God will come upon the earth. Other Old Testament prophets spoke of this time as the "Terrible Day of the Lord." At the end of this seven years Christ will return to earth to defeat the forces of Satan at a great battle called Armageddon. Throughout the Old Testament, God made promises to His chosen people Israel in the form of Covenants. The fulfillment of all these promises will occur in ta 1000- year time of peace and prosperity called the Millennium. This is when the summing up of all things in Christ will begin in earnest. Its completion will happen after the 1000 years when God will completely remake all things with the creation of a new heavens and a new earth. These words furnish only a few strokes of the overall picture of God's Plan for the Ages. Hopefully, this sheds light on when all this will take place. World events certainly give us reason to believe we are in the last days. A final question remains before us: V. HOW DO WE FIT INTO THIS PICTURE? This is the wonderful truth of verses 11 and 12 (Read). Because we are in Christ, we have this promise: we have an inheritance from God. This is our right because we have been adopted into God's family, being given the rights of mature sons. This is expanded upon in the following verses, where the Holy Spirit is given to us as a down payment of our inheritance. This phrase can also be translated "we have become His inheritance" and his idea is seen in verse 18 where it speaks of "the glory of His inheritance in the Saints." Both ideas are true: He is our inheritance, and we are His inheritance. This coincides with the concept that Christ is the Head of the Church. The head and the body mutually benefit each other. In Ephesians 5 the Church is presented as the Bride of Christ, and we are promised that as believers will forever be with Him. The Bride shares in all the inheritance of her husband. Because we are a part of the Bride of Christ, our future is secure. God's Plan is moving along at God's perfect pace. We are secure and our future is secure. We can live confidently and joyfully despite the happenings in the dreary and sinful world in which we live. We can be cheered by the glory which is about to be revealed. Jesus is coming soon, and the consummation of His plan will begin to rapidly unfold. Then we will receive our inheritance and rewards. God has answered the question "Where do I fit in?" We are joint heirs with Christ. We share an inheritance with our Savior; we are destined to be an eternally blessed and to receive eternal blessings. But we go back to verse 3 of this chapter: in Christ we have been blessed with every spiritual blessing RIGHT NOW! Jesus left the task of spreading the good news of the gospel to the church: this is our number one priority. We all are to be involved in sharing the gospel and living in a Spirit-filled manner as an advertisement of the desirability of following Christ. Today is significant, but only as we live for Christ. Christ will rule over everything, but the immediate question for us today is whether He rules in each of our hearts. So much of what takes our time and energy is unimportant-so much distracts us from the real purpose of our existence. My prayer today is that God will be able to cut through all the clutter in our lives and will speak to us about making Him Lord of all. Jesus will be Lord one day, how about today? 2