1 00:00:01,120 --> 00:00:05,000 Well, Scripture teaches that God is our judge. 2 00:00:06,000 --> 00:00:11,040 God is a judge, He is our judge. And it's clear as you read 3 00:00:11,040 --> 00:00:14,200 through these passages of the Bible what kind of judge he is. 4 00:00:14,200 --> 00:00:18,040 Exodus 23, seven says keep from a false charge and do not kill 5 00:00:18,040 --> 00:00:21,200 the innocent and righteous. God says, for I will not acquit 6 00:00:21,360 --> 00:00:24,080 the wicked. Proverbs 1715. 7 00:00:24,080 --> 00:00:27,440 He who justifies the wicked is an abomination to the Lord. 8 00:00:28,200 --> 00:00:30,080 Exodus 34, five to seven, The Lord. 9 00:00:30,080 --> 00:00:34,720 The Lord is gracious and merciful, yes, but he by no 10 00:00:34,720 --> 00:00:39,200 means will clear the guilty. So we say what a terrifying 11 00:00:39,200 --> 00:00:42,640 thing it is to fall into the hands of a living God. 12 00:00:43,360 --> 00:00:47,240 And Scripture also plainly reveals not who God is, but who 13 00:00:47,240 --> 00:00:51,200 we are. And Paul says in Romans 310 that 14 00:00:51,200 --> 00:00:54,200 we all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God, and 15 00:00:54,200 --> 00:00:58,520 so we are the wicked ones. Romans 6 will say the wages of 16 00:00:58,520 --> 00:01:04,920 sin is what death We were guilty, we are guilty. 17 00:01:05,800 --> 00:01:10,600 And he goes on Romans 47 to 8 and says, strangely, your 18 00:01:10,600 --> 00:01:16,160 lawless deeds are forgiven, your sins are covered, the Lord has 19 00:01:16,160 --> 00:01:18,520 not counted your sin against you. 20 00:01:18,520 --> 00:01:24,160 And we, we say, how can this be that we who are unrighteous have 21 00:01:24,160 --> 00:01:28,960 been declared righteous? How can, how can this be that we 22 00:01:28,960 --> 00:01:31,120 who are not just, God has called us just? 23 00:01:31,120 --> 00:01:34,680 How can he be a just God who calls the unjust just? 24 00:01:35,400 --> 00:01:38,440 And this question is so important that a society has 25 00:01:38,440 --> 00:01:41,160 given it a name. This is the divine dilemma, A 26 00:01:41,160 --> 00:01:44,240 dilemma being a problem that is seemingly incapable of a 27 00:01:44,240 --> 00:01:47,560 satisfactory solution. How can it be that God is the 28 00:01:47,560 --> 00:01:49,560 just and the justifier of the wicked? 29 00:01:49,560 --> 00:01:51,320 And the logic of the Bible is this. 30 00:01:51,480 --> 00:01:55,000 Any judge who acquits the guilty is an abomination. 31 00:01:55,960 --> 00:01:59,240 Any any judge who let's the wicked go free is not a good 32 00:01:59,240 --> 00:02:02,040 judge. And yet you are guilty and you 33 00:02:02,040 --> 00:02:05,120 have been acquitted. And more than that, as Romans 34 00:02:05,120 --> 00:02:07,680 goes on in verses 7 to 8 of chapter 4, he says you're 35 00:02:07,680 --> 00:02:09,600 blessed. Not only have you been 36 00:02:09,600 --> 00:02:12,560 acquitted, you're blessed because your lawless deeds are 37 00:02:12,560 --> 00:02:15,280 forgiven, your sins are covered, and the Lord has not counted 38 00:02:15,280 --> 00:02:17,600 your sin against you. And So what does that mean for 39 00:02:17,600 --> 00:02:21,840 God? He's taken the wicked and 40 00:02:21,840 --> 00:02:23,720 declared them to be righteous and blessed. 41 00:02:23,720 --> 00:02:26,600 And this is the greatest teaching of Romans 326. 42 00:02:26,840 --> 00:02:30,160 We can phrase it as a question, how can God be the just and the 43 00:02:30,160 --> 00:02:32,480 justifier of the wicked? And Paul answers the question 44 00:02:32,480 --> 00:02:34,880 right then and there. And some of these beautiful 45 00:02:34,880 --> 00:02:37,360 keywords. He says we're justified by his 46 00:02:37,360 --> 00:02:41,960 grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus to be 47 00:02:41,960 --> 00:02:46,360 received by faith. Amazing keywords are to pull 48 00:02:46,360 --> 00:02:49,720 into our passage. It's grace, it's redemption, and 49 00:02:49,720 --> 00:02:51,600 it's faith. And that's the answer to the 50 00:02:51,600 --> 00:02:55,000 dilemma. Redemption is the answer to the 51 00:02:55,000 --> 00:02:58,360 divine dilemma. Redemption is an act of God's 52 00:02:58,360 --> 00:03:02,960 free grace to forever show sinners that he is both just and 53 00:03:03,040 --> 00:03:07,720 the justifier of the wicked, the one who has faith in Jesus 54 00:03:07,720 --> 00:03:08,880 Christ. And so if you turn in your 55 00:03:08,880 --> 00:03:12,680 Bibles to Ephesians 1, Paul's going to take that theme of 56 00:03:12,800 --> 00:03:16,040 grace and redemption and forgiveness and faith. 57 00:03:16,040 --> 00:03:20,480 And he's going to put it into his theme of this cosmic plan 58 00:03:20,680 --> 00:03:25,120 for the church, this mystery that's been secret for all these 59 00:03:25,120 --> 00:03:26,760 ages, but now is being revealed to his church. 60 00:03:26,760 --> 00:03:30,400 The cosmic significance of this. And if you'll remember, last 61 00:03:30,400 --> 00:03:33,960 week we shown the spotlight on God the Father, and through the 62 00:03:33,960 --> 00:03:36,160 Father came your election and eternity passed. 63 00:03:36,160 --> 00:03:39,200 And through the Father came predestined toward adoption. 64 00:03:39,200 --> 00:03:42,000 You were predestined to adoption, which means you had a 65 00:03:42,000 --> 00:03:44,800 change in identity from that of being an enemy God to that of 66 00:03:44,800 --> 00:03:48,920 being a beloved son. Or even according to the book of 67 00:03:48,920 --> 00:03:50,920 John is really interesting. In the book of John, the word 68 00:03:50,920 --> 00:03:53,200 Son is reserved for Jesus Christ himself. 69 00:03:53,560 --> 00:03:57,760 And so if you if God, if Jesus Christ is in God and you are 70 00:03:57,760 --> 00:04:02,720 placed in Christ, that makes you not a son, but a child. 71 00:04:03,360 --> 00:04:06,080 Jesus is the Son. You are a child of God. 72 00:04:06,080 --> 00:04:07,760 You've got to change an identity and he goes on. 73 00:04:07,760 --> 00:04:10,560 Intimacy has been created between you and God the Father 74 00:04:10,560 --> 00:04:12,960 because your relationship has been forever healed. 75 00:04:13,120 --> 00:04:15,960 Your inheritance is given. Your future is secure. 76 00:04:16,279 --> 00:04:19,480 Your eternal security is guarded by the legal status change that 77 00:04:19,480 --> 00:04:23,520 came from your adoption. You're being given a family in 78 00:04:23,520 --> 00:04:25,760 your church, symbolized in this local church. 79 00:04:25,760 --> 00:04:29,040 That was the spotlight last week on God the Father. 80 00:04:29,800 --> 00:04:33,480 That was an eternity past, and now you shine the spotlight this 81 00:04:33,480 --> 00:04:36,760 week on the Son of God. In time. 82 00:04:37,040 --> 00:04:39,720 The spotlight is on Jesus Christ. 83 00:04:40,360 --> 00:04:43,240 And it says that when the fullness of time had come, God 84 00:04:43,240 --> 00:04:46,640 sent his only begotten Son into the world, not to condemn it, 85 00:04:47,080 --> 00:04:51,600 but to redeem it, that he might be just in the justifier of the 86 00:04:51,600 --> 00:04:53,280 wicked. And so if the great metaphor for 87 00:04:53,280 --> 00:04:57,480 our salvation last week was the metaphor of adoption, then the 88 00:04:57,480 --> 00:05:01,040 great metaphor of this week is the metaphor of redemption. 89 00:05:01,880 --> 00:05:03,560 Redeemed. How I love to proclaim it. 90 00:05:03,560 --> 00:05:07,720 I know my Redeemer lives. And so again, the spotlight now 91 00:05:07,720 --> 00:05:10,040 shines on God, the sun. If you'll open up to Ephesians 92 00:05:10,040 --> 00:05:13,280 one, our verses are verses 7 to 10. 93 00:05:14,000 --> 00:05:17,520 Let's hear together what God has to teach us about the redemption 94 00:05:17,520 --> 00:05:21,680 accomplished by the Son of God, verse 7. 95 00:05:21,680 --> 00:05:27,400 In him that's in Jesus Christ, in the Son of God, in the elect, 96 00:05:27,400 --> 00:05:30,480 in the apostle. In him, Jesus, we have 97 00:05:30,480 --> 00:05:33,280 redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our 98 00:05:33,280 --> 00:05:37,000 trespasses according to the riches of his grace which He 99 00:05:37,000 --> 00:05:41,040 lavished upon us in all wisdom and insight, making known to us 100 00:05:41,040 --> 00:05:44,360 the mystery of His will according to His purpose which 101 00:05:44,360 --> 00:05:48,960 He set forth in Christ as a plan for the fullness of time to 102 00:05:48,960 --> 00:05:53,400 unite all things in Him, things in heaven and things on earth. 103 00:05:53,400 --> 00:05:57,520 And I want to introduce you as a, as an introduction and kind 104 00:05:57,520 --> 00:05:59,080 of a framework to understand this passage. 105 00:05:59,080 --> 00:06:01,720 I want to introduce you to a document called the Westminster 106 00:06:01,720 --> 00:06:04,440 Shorter Catechism. It'll be very helpful for 107 00:06:04,440 --> 00:06:06,720 understanding this, to guide us through this. 108 00:06:06,720 --> 00:06:08,800 This was a document that was written by the Puritans. 109 00:06:09,520 --> 00:06:14,040 The shorter was was to teach children and church members the 110 00:06:14,040 --> 00:06:17,160 tenets of the Gospels, to preserve truth and to to lay 111 00:06:17,160 --> 00:06:20,640 this truth out again for church members, for families, and for 112 00:06:20,640 --> 00:06:23,040 children. And they did it in this question 113 00:06:23,040 --> 00:06:25,240 and answer format. And I like to compare it to 114 00:06:25,240 --> 00:06:28,800 Ephesians here because like Ephesians, this document, its 115 00:06:28,800 --> 00:06:33,320 power and its glory comes from its focus on Jesus Christ and 116 00:06:33,320 --> 00:06:37,240 his exaltation as Lord, the cosmic significance. 117 00:06:37,240 --> 00:06:39,840 And like Ephesians, it, it frames the church within the 118 00:06:39,840 --> 00:06:43,600 glory and the rule of God that extends over all creation. 119 00:06:44,320 --> 00:06:46,680 And so as you begin this document, it starts with, as 120 00:06:46,680 --> 00:06:48,240 most of you know, the chief end of man. 121 00:06:48,240 --> 00:06:50,960 Why were you made to glorify God and enjoy him forever? 122 00:06:50,960 --> 00:06:53,320 And it it takes you through his his Providence. 123 00:06:53,320 --> 00:06:56,520 It begins with creation. Question 9. 124 00:06:56,520 --> 00:06:58,720 What is the work of creation? Question 10. 125 00:06:58,920 --> 00:07:01,760 How did God create man? It it's taken you from the 126 00:07:01,760 --> 00:07:04,960 beginning and it's setting up your need for for a Savior. 127 00:07:04,960 --> 00:07:07,160 You come to question 14. What is sin? 128 00:07:07,760 --> 00:07:09,760 You move on. What did what did sin cause? 129 00:07:09,760 --> 00:07:12,680 Question 17. What state or what estate did 130 00:07:12,680 --> 00:07:16,320 sin bring us into? Answer sin brought us into an 131 00:07:16,320 --> 00:07:21,400 estate of sin and misery all working its way guiding the 132 00:07:21,400 --> 00:07:23,760 readers toward their need for Jesus Christ. 133 00:07:23,760 --> 00:07:28,160 Question 20 kind of hits the the climax of our own lostness. 134 00:07:29,000 --> 00:07:33,760 It asked this did God leave all mankind to perish in their state 135 00:07:33,760 --> 00:07:38,760 of sin and misery? We, we've earned this before the 136 00:07:38,760 --> 00:07:40,680 judge. We're guilty, we're an 137 00:07:40,680 --> 00:07:42,120 abomination. We're enemies of God. 138 00:07:42,120 --> 00:07:45,880 Did God leave us in that state of sin and misery? 139 00:07:46,640 --> 00:07:51,000 Answer no. He entered into a covenant of 140 00:07:51,000 --> 00:07:56,040 grace to deliver them out of the estate of sin and misery and to 141 00:07:56,040 --> 00:08:00,080 bring them into an estate of salvation by a Redeemer. 142 00:08:01,000 --> 00:08:03,800 And my favorite question, the high point of this whole 143 00:08:04,200 --> 00:08:09,360 catechism, this whole document, ask question 21, who actually 144 00:08:09,360 --> 00:08:11,280 this is a I'm going to set it up because this is the great 145 00:08:11,280 --> 00:08:15,160 transition from Ephesians 1, three to six, God's predestining 146 00:08:15,160 --> 00:08:18,080 and electing work to tie it in to Jesus work of redemption. 147 00:08:18,080 --> 00:08:19,680 It asks this question beautifully. 148 00:08:19,800 --> 00:08:23,120 Who is the Redeemer? Who is this Redeemer? 149 00:08:23,120 --> 00:08:24,960 Who is the Redeemer of God's elect? 150 00:08:24,960 --> 00:08:28,720 Answer? The only Redeemer of God's elect 151 00:08:28,840 --> 00:08:32,880 is the Lord Jesus Christ, who, being the eternal Son of God, 152 00:08:32,880 --> 00:08:37,600 became man and so was and continues to be God and man and 153 00:08:37,600 --> 00:08:41,320 two distinct natures and one person forever. 154 00:08:42,080 --> 00:08:44,280 And so the only Redeemer is Jesus. 155 00:08:44,280 --> 00:08:46,640 This is where it introduces you to Jesus Christ. 156 00:08:46,640 --> 00:08:48,800 And the same is true for Ephesians. 157 00:08:49,400 --> 00:08:51,200 We are introduced this morning to Jesus. 158 00:08:51,200 --> 00:08:54,840 God did not leave us in sin and misery, but He delivered us. 159 00:08:55,080 --> 00:08:58,000 He did it by a Redeemer. He did it by grace. 160 00:08:58,000 --> 00:09:02,640 So here again the words of Romans 324, you are justified by 161 00:09:02,640 --> 00:09:07,040 His grace as a gift through the redemption that is in Christ 162 00:09:07,040 --> 00:09:10,200 Jesus. And look at Ephesians 17 again. 163 00:09:10,200 --> 00:09:11,800 And here are those words compared to this. 164 00:09:12,440 --> 00:09:16,120 In Him we have redemption through his blood, the 165 00:09:16,120 --> 00:09:19,440 forgiveness of our trespasses according to the riches of his 166 00:09:19,680 --> 00:09:25,400 grace which he lavished on us. Our Redeemer is the Lord Jesus 167 00:09:25,400 --> 00:09:29,360 Christ, our only Redeemer, the only Redeemer is the Lord Jesus 168 00:09:29,360 --> 00:09:31,800 Christ. And highly interesting and 169 00:09:31,800 --> 00:09:34,640 relevant to our tech is how the Westminster Shorter Catechism 170 00:09:34,640 --> 00:09:37,080 continues. After introducing Jesus, it 171 00:09:37,080 --> 00:09:41,880 moves to this question. What offices does Christ execute 172 00:09:41,880 --> 00:09:44,560 as our Redeemer? OK, Jesus is our Redeemer. 173 00:09:44,560 --> 00:09:47,640 Now what did, what did he do? What, what roles did he fulfill 174 00:09:47,640 --> 00:09:50,640 as our Redeemer? And the Old Testament figures, 175 00:09:50,640 --> 00:09:52,240 they had offices. We would just use the word 176 00:09:52,240 --> 00:09:53,720 roles. There were certain things that 177 00:09:54,640 --> 00:09:55,720 that they did in the Old Testament. 178 00:09:55,720 --> 00:09:58,680 There were prophets, there were priests and there were kings. 179 00:09:59,240 --> 00:10:01,000 And here comes Jesus, the Son of God. 180 00:10:01,000 --> 00:10:04,480 And what roles did he perform? We say he perfectly performed 181 00:10:04,480 --> 00:10:08,320 the role of a prophet, of a priest, and of a king. 182 00:10:08,520 --> 00:10:10,960 He was to fulfill all of these roles, and he was to do it 183 00:10:11,120 --> 00:10:14,240 perfectly. And these three roles connect to 184 00:10:14,240 --> 00:10:18,080 the cosmic scope of redemption. So Jesus, by fulfilling the work 185 00:10:18,080 --> 00:10:22,160 of a prophet and a priest and a king, would fully accomplish the 186 00:10:22,160 --> 00:10:24,440 salvation of his people. What I hope to show you is 187 00:10:24,440 --> 00:10:26,320 that's the subject of our passage. 188 00:10:26,320 --> 00:10:30,400 Verses 7 to 8, Jesus fulfills the office of a priest. 189 00:10:30,400 --> 00:10:32,200 We're going to go a little bit out of order because our text 190 00:10:32,200 --> 00:10:34,840 takes it out of order of Catechism 7 to 8. 191 00:10:35,040 --> 00:10:36,360 He fulfills the office of a priest. 192 00:10:36,360 --> 00:10:38,800 Verse 9, Jesus fulfills the office of a prophet. 193 00:10:38,920 --> 00:10:41,520 Verse 10, Jesus fulfills the office of a king. 194 00:10:41,960 --> 00:10:44,680 It's all laid out here before us, and we're going to start in 195 00:10:44,680 --> 00:10:48,520 verses 4 to 8 with Jesus fulfilling the office of a 196 00:10:48,520 --> 00:10:49,960 priest. And we're going to start 197 00:10:50,160 --> 00:10:54,600 especially by defining what redemption is, what is. 198 00:10:54,880 --> 00:10:57,760 If Jesus is our Redeemer, then what is redemption? 199 00:10:59,200 --> 00:11:02,760 This is a word that's used 10 times in the New Testament, 7 200 00:11:02,760 --> 00:11:06,320 times by Paul. Redemption is the cancellation 201 00:11:07,040 --> 00:11:11,080 or the release from a legal charge, from a financial 202 00:11:11,080 --> 00:11:16,840 obligation or from a punishment. Redemption is release from a 203 00:11:17,120 --> 00:11:21,520 legal charge, a financial obligation, or a punishment. 204 00:11:22,040 --> 00:11:25,080 And if you were to step into the ancient world and and use this 205 00:11:25,080 --> 00:11:28,680 according to their usage, the the most obvious popular usage 206 00:11:28,680 --> 00:11:34,520 of this was release of a prisoner of war upon receipt of 207 00:11:34,520 --> 00:11:38,840 ransom or release of a slave. Your status has changed, the 208 00:11:38,840 --> 00:11:41,680 payment has been made and the emphasis is on release. 209 00:11:41,680 --> 00:11:46,480 It's communicating rescue, redemption is simple rescue. 210 00:11:46,960 --> 00:11:48,880 And so for this reason, commentators are going to point 211 00:11:48,880 --> 00:11:52,840 out, this is not emphasizing in the New Testament a ransom or a 212 00:11:52,840 --> 00:11:57,960 redemption money being paid. The emphasis is on the release, 213 00:11:57,960 --> 00:12:02,000 on the receipt of ransom. The emphasis is the release, the 214 00:12:02,000 --> 00:12:04,520 the freedom that comes from the payment. 215 00:12:04,960 --> 00:12:07,560 And this has caused a lot of commentators in history. 216 00:12:07,560 --> 00:12:12,320 This is just for fun spent a lot of time with their Pins saying, 217 00:12:12,320 --> 00:12:15,400 well, who was the ransom paid to and you've got some saying, 218 00:12:15,400 --> 00:12:17,840 well, there's just an obligation that needed that was built up. 219 00:12:17,840 --> 00:12:21,960 And so a price had to be paid generally Origen said that the 220 00:12:21,960 --> 00:12:25,480 payment was made to Satan because we all sold ourselves to 221 00:12:25,840 --> 00:12:28,280 to Satan. And so God paid the ransom price 222 00:12:28,280 --> 00:12:30,400 to Satan and another people in the church say no, God doesn't 223 00:12:30,400 --> 00:12:32,520 know Satan anything. And so for that reason, 224 00:12:32,720 --> 00:12:36,800 Augustine comes and he says God paid the price to himself to 225 00:12:36,800 --> 00:12:38,600 satisfy his own need for justice. 226 00:12:38,600 --> 00:12:42,560 And interesting to know the the New Testament does not tell you 227 00:12:42,560 --> 00:12:45,840 who he paid the ransom to. The emphasis is on receipt. 228 00:12:46,000 --> 00:12:48,000 The emphasis is on your deliverance. 229 00:12:48,000 --> 00:12:52,200 That leaves the metaphor vague. A ransom was paid and you are 230 00:12:52,200 --> 00:12:54,800 free. And there's a famous parable 231 00:12:54,800 --> 00:12:57,440 that's kind of disseminated through the contemporary church. 232 00:12:57,440 --> 00:12:58,840 I want to read Kent Hughes version. 233 00:12:59,200 --> 00:13:02,400 And it kind of leaves it like this, just a metaphor for 234 00:13:02,560 --> 00:13:05,200 redemption. Kind of vague, but beautiful. 235 00:13:05,200 --> 00:13:10,600 He says this, and in a city on the shore of a great lake lived 236 00:13:10,600 --> 00:13:13,080 a boy who loved the water and loved sailing. 237 00:13:14,680 --> 00:13:17,480 So deep was his fascination that he, with the help of his father, 238 00:13:17,480 --> 00:13:20,680 spent months making a beautiful boat which he began to sail at 239 00:13:20,680 --> 00:13:23,720 the water's edge. One day a sudden gust of wind 240 00:13:23,720 --> 00:13:26,720 caught the tiny boat and carried it far out into the lake and out 241 00:13:26,720 --> 00:13:29,160 of sight. Distraught, the boy returned 242 00:13:29,160 --> 00:13:32,280 home inconsolable. Day after day he would walk the 243 00:13:32,280 --> 00:13:35,200 shores in search of his treasure, but always in vain. 244 00:13:35,920 --> 00:13:38,120 Then one day as he was walking through the town, he saw his 245 00:13:38,120 --> 00:13:40,200 beautiful boat in a store window. 246 00:13:40,960 --> 00:13:44,040 He approached the proprietor and announced his ownership, only be 247 00:13:44,040 --> 00:13:47,120 to be told that it was not his, for the owner had paid the local 248 00:13:47,120 --> 00:13:49,040 fisherman good money for the boat. 249 00:13:49,520 --> 00:13:51,960 If the boy wanted the boat, he would have to pay the price. 250 00:13:52,280 --> 00:13:55,000 And so the lad set himself to work doing anything and 251 00:13:55,000 --> 00:13:57,360 everything until he were finally returned to the store with the 252 00:13:57,360 --> 00:13:59,400 money. At last, holding his precious 253 00:13:59,400 --> 00:14:02,760 boat in his arms, he said with great joy, You are twice mine 254 00:14:02,760 --> 00:14:05,560 now, because I made you, and because I bought you. 255 00:14:05,560 --> 00:14:10,800 And so for the Christian Scriptures say that redemption 256 00:14:11,000 --> 00:14:14,400 came not with money, not with silver, not with gold, but with 257 00:14:14,400 --> 00:14:17,360 blood. And the object of redemption was 258 00:14:17,360 --> 00:14:32,480 not a boat. This blood of Christ, as of a 259 00:14:32,480 --> 00:14:34,840 lamb, without blemish and without spot. 260 00:14:35,680 --> 00:14:37,400 Acts 2028. Pay careful attention to 261 00:14:37,400 --> 00:14:39,680 yourselves and all the flock in which the Holy Spirit has made 262 00:14:39,680 --> 00:14:42,880 you overseers to care for the church which He ordained with 263 00:14:42,880 --> 00:14:46,600 His own blood. First Corinthians 620 You were 264 00:14:46,600 --> 00:14:49,800 bought with a price. Therefore glorify God in your 265 00:14:49,800 --> 00:14:51,960 body. First Corinthians 723 You were 266 00:14:51,960 --> 00:14:55,080 bought with a price. You're a bond servant of God, 267 00:14:55,080 --> 00:14:57,120 therefore do not be bond servants of men. 268 00:14:57,560 --> 00:15:01,440 Revelation 1/5 And from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, 269 00:15:01,560 --> 00:15:04,480 the first born of the dead ruler of the kings of the earth, to 270 00:15:04,480 --> 00:15:08,800 him who loves us and has us from our sins by his blood. 271 00:15:09,640 --> 00:15:13,000 And Revelation 59 says, worthy are you to take the scroll and 272 00:15:13,000 --> 00:15:15,520 to open its seals, for you were slain. 273 00:15:15,680 --> 00:15:19,360 And by your blood you ransom people from every tribe and 274 00:15:19,360 --> 00:15:22,360 every language and every people in every nation. 275 00:15:22,360 --> 00:15:26,440 And maybe the the greatest passage on redemption, we've 276 00:15:26,440 --> 00:15:28,120 already read it. David Houghton read it earlier. 277 00:15:28,120 --> 00:15:31,560 I want to highlight Hebrews 912. It says that Jesus entered once 278 00:15:31,560 --> 00:15:34,680 for all into the holy places, not by means of the blood of 279 00:15:34,680 --> 00:15:38,880 goats and calves, but by means of his own blood, thus securing 280 00:15:38,880 --> 00:15:43,920 an eternal redemption, the once for all sacrifice, an eternal 281 00:15:44,040 --> 00:15:46,040 redemption. Look back to Ephesians 17. 282 00:15:46,040 --> 00:15:50,960 It says in him we have redemption, the forgiveness of 283 00:15:50,960 --> 00:15:54,200 sins and those might not seem like they go together. 284 00:15:54,200 --> 00:15:57,280 You can see that forgiveness here is actually put in an 285 00:15:57,280 --> 00:16:00,880 apposition to redemption. And so we see that the 286 00:16:00,880 --> 00:16:03,960 relationship between the two here is the relationship between 287 00:16:03,960 --> 00:16:07,520 cause and effect. The cause is redemption. 288 00:16:07,520 --> 00:16:10,280 You are bought. The effect is your sins are 289 00:16:10,280 --> 00:16:12,080 forgiven. It's relate. 290 00:16:12,080 --> 00:16:15,640 It's a cause and effect. And so forgiveness is the word 291 00:16:15,640 --> 00:16:19,240 effacin and it's used to, to translate a lot of words that 292 00:16:19,240 --> 00:16:21,960 are really, really beautiful. This is a, an incredible word in 293 00:16:21,960 --> 00:16:24,320 the New Testament. It, it communicates or it can 294 00:16:24,320 --> 00:16:29,240 communicate amnesty, meaning pardon for political offenses. 295 00:16:29,520 --> 00:16:32,520 This is the word that's used to translate the, the concept of 296 00:16:32,520 --> 00:16:35,920 liberty or the state of being free within society from 297 00:16:35,920 --> 00:16:39,480 oppressive institutions or oppressive instructions that 298 00:16:39,480 --> 00:16:42,840 would violate your freedom. It's used to translate the 299 00:16:42,840 --> 00:16:45,680 concept of jubilee, or the forgiveness of sins. 300 00:16:46,440 --> 00:16:51,240 And for you this is so beautiful, so incredible. 301 00:16:52,200 --> 00:16:55,280 It's used to translate the concept that you have been 302 00:16:55,280 --> 00:17:00,520 forgiven of your sins. You have been set free from your 303 00:17:00,560 --> 00:17:02,440 sins. God has cast them behind his 304 00:17:02,440 --> 00:17:04,200 back. God has separated them from as 305 00:17:04,200 --> 00:17:05,480 far as the east is from the West. 306 00:17:05,480 --> 00:17:07,640 He's thrown them into the bottom of the sea. 307 00:17:07,880 --> 00:17:11,040 He says I will remember your iniquities no more. 308 00:17:11,040 --> 00:17:15,280 I've forgotten them. And it's it's emphasis is that 309 00:17:15,680 --> 00:17:23,920 it's your sins, your lies, your short temper, you're taking your 310 00:17:23,920 --> 00:17:28,800 spouse for granted, your sexual immorality, you're stealing, 311 00:17:28,920 --> 00:17:30,800 your failure to love the Lord your God with all your heart, 312 00:17:30,800 --> 00:17:32,920 with all your soul, your mind and all your strength, your 313 00:17:32,920 --> 00:17:35,240 failure to love your neighbor as yourself. 314 00:17:36,120 --> 00:17:39,280 For this, God the Son faithfully became your priest. 315 00:17:39,960 --> 00:17:44,800 He faithfully became your high priest and He secured an eternal 316 00:17:44,920 --> 00:17:48,000 redemption for you. It says He died on the cross for 317 00:17:48,000 --> 00:17:49,200 you. Verse 7. 318 00:17:49,200 --> 00:17:52,080 We have redemption. You have redemption for your 319 00:17:52,080 --> 00:17:54,000 sins. His blood was poured out for 320 00:17:54,000 --> 00:17:56,640 you. The price was paid, and we 321 00:17:56,640 --> 00:18:00,640 confess even with the songs that we just sang, you are free now 322 00:18:00,800 --> 00:18:03,280 and forever. There's a legal status change 323 00:18:03,280 --> 00:18:05,520 and it can never go back. Westminster Shorter Catechism 324 00:18:05,760 --> 00:18:09,720 question 25. How does Christ execute the 325 00:18:09,720 --> 00:18:12,680 office of a priest? Answer. 326 00:18:13,400 --> 00:18:17,400 Christ executes the office of a priest by once offering up of 327 00:18:17,400 --> 00:18:22,320 himself a sacrifice to satisfy divine justice and reconcile us 328 00:18:22,320 --> 00:18:26,200 to God and in making continual intercession for us. 329 00:18:27,360 --> 00:18:29,240 So what was the role of the priest? 330 00:18:29,240 --> 00:18:31,480 You go back to Leviticus. You read Leviticus 16. 331 00:18:31,480 --> 00:18:35,560 What did a priest do? What the catechism is teaching 332 00:18:35,560 --> 00:18:36,920 you is the priest did two things. 333 00:18:37,440 --> 00:18:40,880 The priest prays for the people and the priest makes atonement 334 00:18:41,040 --> 00:18:42,680 for the people. He does those two things. 335 00:18:42,680 --> 00:18:45,120 And when Jesus comes, this is exactly what he does. 336 00:18:45,120 --> 00:18:47,960 You see your great high priest, Jesus Christ, he prays for the 337 00:18:47,960 --> 00:18:50,000 people. He makes atonement for the 338 00:18:50,000 --> 00:18:51,040 people. Actually, if you go back and 339 00:18:51,040 --> 00:18:54,640 read Leviticus 16, it says that the high priest made, prayed and 340 00:18:54,640 --> 00:18:57,080 made atonement for the covenant people of Israel. 341 00:18:57,960 --> 00:19:00,360 And in the Old Testament, the the high priest did not make 342 00:19:00,360 --> 00:19:03,520 atonement for everyone. It was Israel and those who were 343 00:19:03,520 --> 00:19:05,320 included in it. And he prayed for Israel and 344 00:19:05,320 --> 00:19:06,840 those in it. And Jesus says, our high priest 345 00:19:06,840 --> 00:19:09,640 says, I do not pray for the world. 346 00:19:10,480 --> 00:19:13,720 The High priestly prayer you can read through John 17 and I 347 00:19:13,720 --> 00:19:16,160 encourage you to to read it along this passage. 348 00:19:16,160 --> 00:19:19,680 Jesus says in Chapter 9, I am not praying for the world, but 349 00:19:19,680 --> 00:19:21,320 for those whom you have given me. 350 00:19:21,400 --> 00:19:26,320 For they are yours. All yours are Mine, all mine are 351 00:19:26,320 --> 00:19:29,200 yours, and I am glorified in them. 352 00:19:29,560 --> 00:19:31,560 Here's what I want you to see. There's this great truth that 353 00:19:31,560 --> 00:19:35,040 we've been seeing come through Ephesians, that there is this 354 00:19:35,280 --> 00:19:37,880 group called the church, the beloved of God, and all those 355 00:19:37,880 --> 00:19:39,560 that the Father has given to the Son. 356 00:19:39,560 --> 00:19:42,880 The Son has died for Jesus died for every sin that was ever 357 00:19:42,880 --> 00:19:45,320 committed by every person who would ever believe. 358 00:19:45,320 --> 00:19:49,240 And how many sins did he accomplish for Himself? 359 00:19:50,160 --> 00:19:53,080 None of them. And yet He died for His church. 360 00:19:53,080 --> 00:19:56,360 All those that the Father gave to the Son he died for, He prays 361 00:19:56,360 --> 00:20:00,400 for, He keeps them believing. All those that the Son died for, 362 00:20:00,400 --> 00:20:03,840 the Holy Spirit indwells keeping us until that day. 363 00:20:04,480 --> 00:20:07,000 This is the treasure. This is the beloved ones, the 364 00:20:07,000 --> 00:20:09,880 chosen ones. And Jesus perfectly fulfills the 365 00:20:09,880 --> 00:20:13,040 office of the priest by redeeming his church. 366 00:20:13,040 --> 00:20:16,520 And even now it says he lives to make intercession for you. 367 00:20:17,480 --> 00:20:20,960 He redeemed you and now he prays for you. 368 00:20:20,960 --> 00:20:23,440 And we confess with the apostle Paul. 369 00:20:23,680 --> 00:20:25,800 But by the grace of God, I am what I am. 370 00:20:26,520 --> 00:20:29,240 And his grace toward me was not in vain, he actually says, and 371 00:20:29,240 --> 00:20:31,400 On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them. 372 00:20:31,400 --> 00:20:35,360 And though it was not I, but the grace of God that is in me, yet 373 00:20:35,360 --> 00:20:38,960 not I, but Christ in me. And we have to remember grace is 374 00:20:38,960 --> 00:20:41,840 a major theme running through this and it's not earned. 375 00:20:41,840 --> 00:20:44,160 Grace is not earned. Grace is not merited. 376 00:20:44,320 --> 00:20:47,720 Grace is not deserved. And yet Paul says in verse 8, he 377 00:20:47,720 --> 00:20:52,240 lavished grace on you. He lavished it on you. 378 00:20:52,640 --> 00:20:56,160 It's the riches of his grace. And this is it says he does. 379 00:20:56,200 --> 00:20:57,880 He did this. This was not on accident. 380 00:20:58,120 --> 00:21:01,640 This is not haphazard. It says in all wisdom and in all 381 00:21:01,640 --> 00:21:04,400 insight, he poured out his grace. 382 00:21:05,320 --> 00:21:07,800 So Jesus fulfilled the office of a priest. 383 00:21:08,200 --> 00:21:11,600 And you move into verse 9. The second thing that Paul see 384 00:21:11,600 --> 00:21:13,720 is that Jesus fulfills the office of a prophet. 385 00:21:14,600 --> 00:21:18,280 Read verse 9 with me. It says, making known to us the 386 00:21:18,280 --> 00:21:21,840 mystery of His will according to His purpose which He set forth 387 00:21:21,840 --> 00:21:23,320 in Christ. We can ask along with 388 00:21:23,600 --> 00:21:27,000 Westminster divines, how does Christ execute the office of a 389 00:21:27,000 --> 00:21:28,920 prophet? What does it mean to be a 390 00:21:28,920 --> 00:21:31,400 prophet? Christ executes the office of a 391 00:21:31,400 --> 00:21:35,920 prophet by revealing to us by His word and by His Spirit, the 392 00:21:35,920 --> 00:21:39,040 will of God for our salvation. Go back again, Look at the old. 393 00:21:39,040 --> 00:21:40,400 We saw the Old Testament high priest. 394 00:21:40,400 --> 00:21:42,520 What did he do? Makes atonement and praise. 395 00:21:42,520 --> 00:21:44,840 What about the prophets? What do prophets do? 396 00:21:45,440 --> 00:21:49,040 What do the prophets of old do? In short, they made known the 397 00:21:49,040 --> 00:21:50,920 will of God. That's it. 398 00:21:50,960 --> 00:21:53,040 They made known the will of God. And it says right here, Jesus 399 00:21:53,040 --> 00:21:55,680 says making known to us the mystery of his will. 400 00:21:55,840 --> 00:21:57,600 And they did it in two ways. In the Old Testament. 401 00:21:57,600 --> 00:22:00,920 They did it by foretelling. They said this is the future. 402 00:22:00,920 --> 00:22:03,520 That was a they didn't do that as much, but you go back and you 403 00:22:03,920 --> 00:22:06,760 it's the the lion's share is 4th telling. 404 00:22:07,200 --> 00:22:09,360 But you see that the prophets of old, you look at Daniel, you 405 00:22:09,360 --> 00:22:11,320 look at Isaiah, you look at Jeremiah, you look at Ezekiel. 406 00:22:11,320 --> 00:22:13,600 They told the future. This is things that are going to 407 00:22:13,600 --> 00:22:15,760 come to pass in the short term. This is the things that have 408 00:22:15,760 --> 00:22:18,040 come to pass in the medium term. And because of those, because 409 00:22:18,040 --> 00:22:20,120 I've been faithful in those. These are the things that are 410 00:22:20,120 --> 00:22:21,480 going to come to pass in the long term. 411 00:22:21,680 --> 00:22:25,600 And you can trust me. Jesus foretold he made the will 412 00:22:25,600 --> 00:22:29,200 of God known for the future, but he also more than that, just 413 00:22:29,200 --> 00:22:31,640 like the prophets more than that, they made known the will 414 00:22:31,640 --> 00:22:34,960 of God to their generation. That's what prophets did. 415 00:22:35,360 --> 00:22:38,160 And so they, they said, this is, this is the word of God. 416 00:22:38,320 --> 00:22:40,840 This is what God has spoken. Now this is how you are to live 417 00:22:40,840 --> 00:22:42,880 your life. And you, there's actually a 418 00:22:42,880 --> 00:22:44,960 continuity. We can say that there are 419 00:22:44,960 --> 00:22:47,880 prophets and there is prophesying today along those 420 00:22:47,880 --> 00:22:49,600 lines. God has not left his church 421 00:22:49,600 --> 00:22:53,600 without teachers and preachers. And this is what teachers and 422 00:22:53,600 --> 00:22:55,440 preachers are to do. We make known the will of God. 423 00:22:55,840 --> 00:22:58,000 It's actually the only authority that we're, we're given as 424 00:22:58,000 --> 00:23:00,360 pastors in the New Testament church is to open up the Bible 425 00:23:00,360 --> 00:23:03,320 and say this is what God says. And now this is how you must 426 00:23:03,320 --> 00:23:05,360 live your life. And every time you take 427 00:23:05,360 --> 00:23:07,440 authority over the Word of God, and every time you open the Word 428 00:23:07,440 --> 00:23:09,960 of God before people, you're getting that measure of 429 00:23:09,960 --> 00:23:12,040 authority you're given, that prophesying. 430 00:23:12,040 --> 00:23:15,120 You're saying this is God's word and this is how he requires you 431 00:23:15,120 --> 00:23:17,720 to live. This is what Jesus did. 432 00:23:17,720 --> 00:23:20,960 He lived to preach and teach and to make the will of God known. 433 00:23:20,960 --> 00:23:24,520 And the beauty of the message of Jesus comes to this very 434 00:23:24,520 --> 00:23:27,280 pregnant New Testament word that is in this verse. 435 00:23:27,480 --> 00:23:30,920 The word is mystery. He came to make known the 436 00:23:30,920 --> 00:23:33,680 mystery of His will. And we get our New Testament 437 00:23:33,680 --> 00:23:35,720 word mystery from this word mysterion. 438 00:23:35,760 --> 00:23:42,440 And it means something hidden in God in ages past that is 439 00:23:42,440 --> 00:23:47,160 impossible to discern by any human means a mystery that God 440 00:23:47,160 --> 00:23:49,680 has hidden. And it's not revealed until God 441 00:23:49,680 --> 00:23:53,280 chooses to reveal it in Christ. And that mystery is the plan of 442 00:23:53,280 --> 00:23:54,800 salvation. It's the gospel. 443 00:23:55,240 --> 00:23:58,360 It was hidden, He hints at it, there's promises made, and we 444 00:23:58,360 --> 00:24:02,320 don't see it fulfilled until Jesus comes as our prophet and 445 00:24:02,320 --> 00:24:05,920 tells us. And so you see in verse 9, this 446 00:24:05,920 --> 00:24:09,360 mystery is a plan. And I know that because it says 447 00:24:09,480 --> 00:24:12,560 making known the mystery of his will, verse 9, verse 10, as a 448 00:24:12,560 --> 00:24:17,680 plan for the fullness of time. When Paul wrote at the same time 449 00:24:17,680 --> 00:24:20,000 he's writing Ephesians, he's writing Colossians, he says to 450 00:24:20,000 --> 00:24:23,000 them in verses. In chapter 1, verses 25 to 28, 451 00:24:23,000 --> 00:24:26,040 he says of which I became a minister according to the 452 00:24:26,040 --> 00:24:31,360 stewardship from God that was given to me for you to make the 453 00:24:31,360 --> 00:24:35,840 word of God fully known. The mystery hidden for ages and 454 00:24:35,840 --> 00:24:41,040 generations, but now revealed to his Saints, that's you to them. 455 00:24:41,080 --> 00:24:43,680 God chose to make known how great among the Gentiles are the 456 00:24:43,680 --> 00:24:47,600 riches of the glory of this mystery, which is Christ in you 457 00:24:47,840 --> 00:24:50,480 the hope of glory. Christ we proclaim, warning 458 00:24:50,480 --> 00:24:52,760 everyone and teaching everyone with all wisdom that we may 459 00:24:52,760 --> 00:24:55,280 present everyone mature in Christ. 460 00:24:56,160 --> 00:24:58,440 So the mystery is God's plan of salvation. 461 00:24:58,440 --> 00:25:01,320 It is Christ in you, the hope of glory. 462 00:25:01,640 --> 00:25:04,040 And here's the plan. We've seen it unfold in 463 00:25:04,040 --> 00:25:07,560 Ephesians one. The plan was adoption and the 464 00:25:07,560 --> 00:25:13,240 plan was redemption, but it had to be accomplished through Jesus 465 00:25:13,240 --> 00:25:15,800 Christ. And so he gets the spotlight 466 00:25:15,920 --> 00:25:18,000 this morning and he gets the glory. 467 00:25:18,320 --> 00:25:21,400 And we would never have been able to understand the way of 468 00:25:21,400 --> 00:25:24,280 salvation if God had not revealed the gospel to us 469 00:25:24,280 --> 00:25:27,760 through Jesus his prophet. And we could say it another way. 470 00:25:27,760 --> 00:25:30,280 God blessed his people by revealing to them what they 471 00:25:30,280 --> 00:25:31,920 could have never discovered on their own. 472 00:25:32,800 --> 00:25:34,920 The glorious riches of this mystery. 473 00:25:35,120 --> 00:25:38,440 The salvation for the church to be redeemed through the Son of 474 00:25:38,440 --> 00:25:41,200 God, the will of God has been named, made known to us. 475 00:25:41,200 --> 00:25:44,560 We say Hallelujah, The will of God, His plan of salvation has 476 00:25:44,560 --> 00:25:46,720 been made known to us through his Son. 477 00:25:47,920 --> 00:25:50,840 Barclay says for that reason, Christ gives to men the ability 478 00:25:50,840 --> 00:25:54,640 to see the ultimate truths of eternity and then he adds to it 479 00:25:55,160 --> 00:25:56,920 and it's applicable for the day-to-day life. 480 00:25:56,920 --> 00:25:59,560 And you get to apply them so that you know how to live. 481 00:25:59,560 --> 00:26:03,520 There's no confusion. We get these great mysteries and 482 00:26:03,520 --> 00:26:06,200 we get to live according to the will of God. 483 00:26:07,680 --> 00:26:11,880 The third office role of Jesus Christ is in verse 10. 484 00:26:12,240 --> 00:26:15,000 Jesus fulfills the office of a king. 485 00:26:15,000 --> 00:26:18,560 Read it with me. It says as a plan for the 486 00:26:18,560 --> 00:26:22,960 fullness of time to unite all things to him, things in heaven 487 00:26:23,240 --> 00:26:27,400 and things on earth, which reminds us of this glorious 488 00:26:27,400 --> 00:26:30,600 truth that all history is going somewhere. 489 00:26:31,320 --> 00:26:34,800 We're not just floating through the cosmos and the world. 490 00:26:34,800 --> 00:26:37,360 Very pessimistic as relates to the end of the world. 491 00:26:37,360 --> 00:26:39,440 You know, we're the world, the universe is slowly cooling. 492 00:26:39,440 --> 00:26:41,680 We're all expanding and then one day it's just going to be over. 493 00:26:41,680 --> 00:26:44,040 That's that's not the biblical worldview. 494 00:26:44,560 --> 00:26:47,800 It says that all history was looking forward to the coming of 495 00:26:47,800 --> 00:26:50,120 Jesus Christ. And at the fullness of time, he 496 00:26:50,120 --> 00:26:52,320 sent his only begotten Son in the world, and all heaven and 497 00:26:52,320 --> 00:26:55,360 all earth rejoiced. And it says, now we look forward 498 00:26:55,360 --> 00:26:57,880 to the second coming of Jesus Christ at the fullness of time. 499 00:26:57,880 --> 00:27:02,040 He's going to come again and all creation will rejoice. 500 00:27:02,640 --> 00:27:04,760 And we saw this theme and our last two books we've gone 501 00:27:04,760 --> 00:27:05,960 through. This was the theme of Isaiah. 502 00:27:05,960 --> 00:27:08,200 You remember there was a search for the righteous king. 503 00:27:08,560 --> 00:27:11,160 We're looking for a king. And we see Hezekiah, and maybe 504 00:27:11,160 --> 00:27:13,240 it's him. And Hezekiah lets us down. 505 00:27:13,240 --> 00:27:15,840 Hezekiah fails. And so they promised that 506 00:27:15,840 --> 00:27:17,560 there's this other king that's coming. 507 00:27:17,560 --> 00:27:18,840 He's going to be a suffering servant. 508 00:27:18,840 --> 00:27:20,160 He's going to accomplish salvation. 509 00:27:20,160 --> 00:27:22,640 Isaiah 53. And we're looking forward to 510 00:27:22,640 --> 00:27:26,320 him. The same theme was in the 511 00:27:26,320 --> 00:27:29,880 Psalms. As we looked to David and as 512 00:27:29,880 --> 00:27:32,120 he's making it known that there's this king, Gerald Wilson 513 00:27:32,120 --> 00:27:34,320 said this kingship is the whole theme of the Psalms. 514 00:27:34,320 --> 00:27:36,760 And as we go through it, we see that, well, David isn't the king 515 00:27:36,760 --> 00:27:38,800 we're looking for because he failed. 516 00:27:38,800 --> 00:27:41,360 He was an adulterer and he was a murderer and he fell short. 517 00:27:41,360 --> 00:27:42,960 And so we're looking forward to this new king. 518 00:27:42,960 --> 00:27:46,240 And it ends with a Hallelujah court of everybody exalting this 519 00:27:46,480 --> 00:27:50,920 king of glory and the the beauty of Ephesians and the beauty of 520 00:27:50,920 --> 00:27:53,960 this text is it's reminding us that Jesus was that king. 521 00:27:54,760 --> 00:27:57,040 Jesus was the king that we were looking forward to in Isaiah. 522 00:27:57,040 --> 00:27:59,600 He was the suffering servant. Jesus is the king that will sit 523 00:27:59,600 --> 00:28:01,720 on David's throne, the fulfillment of all the psalms. 524 00:28:01,880 --> 00:28:04,280 This is the king of all creation. 525 00:28:04,440 --> 00:28:06,680 Westminster Shorter Catechism question 26. 526 00:28:06,760 --> 00:28:09,120 How does Jesus exercise the office of a king? 527 00:28:09,640 --> 00:28:12,080 How does he execute? In what way is he like a king? 528 00:28:12,880 --> 00:28:16,080 Answer. Christ executes the office of a 529 00:28:16,080 --> 00:28:21,840 king in subduing us to himself, in ruling and defending us, and 530 00:28:21,840 --> 00:28:25,600 in restraining and conquering all of his and all of our 531 00:28:25,760 --> 00:28:29,640 enemies. He starts by subduing you to 532 00:28:29,640 --> 00:28:31,840 himself. And I love that. 533 00:28:31,840 --> 00:28:34,920 He says one day everybody, every knee shall bow, and every tongue 534 00:28:34,920 --> 00:28:37,600 shall swear fealty, will swear allegiance. 535 00:28:37,920 --> 00:28:41,200 But it begins now with us when we say, God, you rule and you 536 00:28:41,200 --> 00:28:43,360 reign in my heart. You are Lord of my life. 537 00:28:43,360 --> 00:28:45,840 And we bow our knee, and that is he is King. 538 00:28:46,240 --> 00:28:50,240 He is king over our life. That's what we confess when we 539 00:28:50,240 --> 00:28:52,840 confess him as Lord. And he says that he's coming and 540 00:28:53,080 --> 00:28:55,920 he's going to subdue all things in heaven and on earth, and it 541 00:28:55,920 --> 00:28:58,000 will all be wrapped up under him. 542 00:28:58,000 --> 00:29:00,400 He will unite all things under his banner. 543 00:29:00,400 --> 00:29:03,760 John Stott says in the fullness of time, God's two creations, 544 00:29:03,920 --> 00:29:06,840 his whole universe and his whole church will be unified under the 545 00:29:06,840 --> 00:29:09,960 cosmic Christ who is the supreme head of both. 546 00:29:11,440 --> 00:29:15,080 And Paul says in Ephesians that in his language, in the fullness 547 00:29:15,080 --> 00:29:18,280 of time, God is going to unite all things in him, things in 548 00:29:18,280 --> 00:29:21,160 heaven and things on earth. This word unite all things is a 549 00:29:21,160 --> 00:29:22,400 really interesting word in Greek. 550 00:29:22,400 --> 00:29:24,040 I'm not going to pretend like I can pronounce it. 551 00:29:24,160 --> 00:29:27,560 It's a very complex word. The etymology has the word 552 00:29:27,560 --> 00:29:32,480 kefalay, which means head, where he is the head and all things 553 00:29:32,480 --> 00:29:36,480 are going to come under him. This word is used only one other 554 00:29:36,480 --> 00:29:39,240 time in the New Testament in a really interesting context. 555 00:29:39,560 --> 00:29:42,240 Romans 13, nine. Paul says that all of God's 556 00:29:42,240 --> 00:29:47,280 commandments are summed up or all united under this one head. 557 00:29:47,480 --> 00:29:49,680 That is, you are to love your neighbor as yourself. 558 00:29:50,440 --> 00:29:54,000 So there's this one commandment that all others are shepherded 559 00:29:54,000 --> 00:29:56,320 under that that rules over all the others. 560 00:29:56,520 --> 00:29:58,520 And that one is love your neighbor as yourself. 561 00:29:58,520 --> 00:30:01,800 And he says in the same way, all things on earth and all things 562 00:30:01,800 --> 00:30:05,480 in heaven are going to be summed up or united under the headship 563 00:30:05,840 --> 00:30:08,960 of Jesus Christ as King. And we say, when is that going 564 00:30:08,960 --> 00:30:11,720 to happen? The answer is right now. 565 00:30:11,720 --> 00:30:14,920 It's happening now. And then we confess, especially 566 00:30:14,920 --> 00:30:17,840 on that day, it's happening now and it's going to happen on that 567 00:30:17,840 --> 00:30:19,560 future day. And you can tie 9 and 10 568 00:30:19,560 --> 00:30:22,640 together with with Ephesians 3 when he says this mystery is 569 00:30:22,640 --> 00:30:24,960 already happening. The the mystery is to include 570 00:30:24,960 --> 00:30:28,640 the uniting of Jew and Gentile under the salvation of Jesus 571 00:30:28,640 --> 00:30:30,520 Christ. He says in chapter 3, verse five 572 00:30:30,520 --> 00:30:33,760 that the mystery of Christ is that Gentiles are fellow heirs. 573 00:30:33,760 --> 00:30:35,440 This was part of his plan of salvation. 574 00:30:35,680 --> 00:30:38,600 Gentiles are fellow heirs, members of the same body and 575 00:30:38,600 --> 00:30:41,920 partakers of the promise in Jesus this Christ through the 576 00:30:41,920 --> 00:30:43,760 gospel. And so he says, if you want to 577 00:30:43,760 --> 00:30:46,040 see what it's going to look like to unite all things, look at 578 00:30:46,040 --> 00:30:49,040 this foretaste. Have you had Jews who are the 579 00:30:49,040 --> 00:30:50,960 elect of God? And they had this temple and the 580 00:30:50,960 --> 00:30:52,760 Gentiles kind of were relegated to the back. 581 00:30:52,760 --> 00:30:55,440 We'll talk about this later. They couldn't even come into the 582 00:30:55,440 --> 00:30:57,200 court of the Jews. They couldn't even approach the 583 00:30:57,200 --> 00:30:59,640 throne of grace. And when Jesus dies, the veil is 584 00:30:59,640 --> 00:31:02,040 torn. And now he says, all have access 585 00:31:02,040 --> 00:31:03,800 to me. And from that moment, Jew and 586 00:31:03,800 --> 00:31:08,560 Gentile come together. They are united under Christ as 587 00:31:08,560 --> 00:31:11,840 their common king. And he says just like Jew and 588 00:31:11,840 --> 00:31:14,600 Gentile are under submission to God, one day all heaven and 589 00:31:14,600 --> 00:31:17,600 earth will be brought under submission to Jesus Christ. 590 00:31:17,600 --> 00:31:21,400 That's what he's teaching, which says Jesus is the reference 591 00:31:21,400 --> 00:31:23,240 point for making sense of all creation. 592 00:31:23,960 --> 00:31:28,880 He is the purpose of history. He from him and through him and 593 00:31:28,880 --> 00:31:32,280 to Him are all things. To Him be glory forever. 594 00:31:32,440 --> 00:31:34,760 Amen. That's the purpose of creation. 595 00:31:34,760 --> 00:31:40,480 That's history, the focal point of history, and it's helpful 596 00:31:41,240 --> 00:31:43,720 every few weeks as we're moving through Ephesians to remind 597 00:31:43,720 --> 00:31:47,200 ourselves what the context is. Remind ourselves that Paul is 598 00:31:47,200 --> 00:31:52,920 writing this from prison and he's handcuffed to a guard under 599 00:31:52,920 --> 00:31:56,160 house arrest, chained to a guard, and he's telling you from 600 00:31:56,360 --> 00:32:00,040 prison about the freedom that he's experiencing in Christ as 601 00:32:00,040 --> 00:32:03,560 his Savior and Lord and chained to a guard. 602 00:32:03,560 --> 00:32:08,040 He writes that verse 8, that His grace was lavished on us. 603 00:32:08,520 --> 00:32:14,640 Lavish means sumptuously rich or elaborate or luxurious, and this 604 00:32:14,640 --> 00:32:18,400 isn't an accident. This is part of His eternal wise 605 00:32:18,520 --> 00:32:22,600 plan, which is why it says it's done, verse 8, in all wisdom and 606 00:32:22,600 --> 00:32:26,040 it's done in all insight before the creation. 607 00:32:26,040 --> 00:32:29,160 It says that this was His plan, that redemption would be 608 00:32:29,160 --> 00:32:31,080 accomplished through His Son, and it was done. 609 00:32:31,080 --> 00:32:35,080 Look back to verse 6, to the praise of His glorious grace 610 00:32:35,080 --> 00:32:39,160 with which He blessed US. Verse 7, it's done according to 611 00:32:39,160 --> 00:32:42,440 the riches of his grace which he lavished on us. 612 00:32:42,440 --> 00:32:45,320 And I want you to take a minute and search your own heart and 613 00:32:45,320 --> 00:32:49,840 say, do you treasure that grace? This great? 614 00:32:49,840 --> 00:32:52,520 It's, it's compared to immeasurable riches, it's 615 00:32:52,520 --> 00:32:55,720 glorious grace. Do you consider it a treasure? 616 00:32:57,800 --> 00:33:00,960 Do you understand the cost of eternal redemption and what your 617 00:33:00,960 --> 00:33:04,240 freedom cost the Son of God? What more is there for heaven to 618 00:33:04,240 --> 00:33:06,400 give? It's Amazing Grace. 619 00:33:06,400 --> 00:33:08,920 It's lavish grace. Ephesians 25 Even when we were 620 00:33:08,920 --> 00:33:12,120 dead in our trespasses, he made us alive together with Christ. 621 00:33:12,280 --> 00:33:14,840 By grace you have been saved, verse 8. 622 00:33:14,840 --> 00:33:18,040 For by grace you have been saved through faith. 623 00:33:18,560 --> 00:33:21,240 This is not your own doing, it's the gift of God. 624 00:33:21,240 --> 00:33:23,440 He says in chapter 2, verse seven, He compares it to 625 00:33:23,600 --> 00:33:27,200 immeasurable riches. So I'm going to ask you, what 626 00:33:27,200 --> 00:33:29,280 would you trade for your salvation right now? 627 00:33:30,400 --> 00:33:33,880 How much can I, How much could I pay you for your salvation? 628 00:33:34,680 --> 00:33:37,960 What gift could I give you in exchange for your salvation? 629 00:33:39,760 --> 00:33:43,600 And there's no answer. This is the greatest gift that 630 00:33:43,600 --> 00:33:45,920 any of us will ever receive. It is our treasure. 631 00:33:46,040 --> 00:33:47,440 You wouldn't trade anything for it. 632 00:33:47,760 --> 00:33:49,800 So make sure that you treasure it. 633 00:33:50,400 --> 00:33:52,240 The application for the believers is in in the room is 634 00:33:52,240 --> 00:33:54,080 is treasure, disgrace. And the application for the 635 00:33:54,080 --> 00:33:58,960 unbelievers in this room is to remember that God is the judge, 636 00:34:00,040 --> 00:34:05,200 and He will not acquit the guilty, the wicked, 1 the 637 00:34:05,520 --> 00:34:10,400 sinful, 1 the abomination. But you've seen His salvation. 638 00:34:10,400 --> 00:34:13,320 You've seen His plan of salvation in Ephesians, one from 639 00:34:13,320 --> 00:34:16,280 God the Father through the Son, applied by the Holy Spirit. 640 00:34:16,800 --> 00:34:20,760 And it says that through redemption, by His grace, 641 00:34:20,880 --> 00:34:25,560 through faith, you can be saved from sin and death and hell, and 642 00:34:25,560 --> 00:34:29,320 your judge will be the one who pardons your sin. 643 00:34:30,040 --> 00:34:33,239 This could be your inheritance. Jesus, it says in this passage, 644 00:34:33,440 --> 00:34:36,120 is the prophet who makes known to you the will of God. 645 00:34:36,120 --> 00:34:37,960 You can trust in him as your prophet. 646 00:34:38,000 --> 00:34:42,600 Jesus is the priest who makes atonement for you and prays for 647 00:34:42,600 --> 00:34:43,920 you so that you will never fall away. 648 00:34:43,920 --> 00:34:46,360 He prays so that your salvation will be secure. 649 00:34:46,360 --> 00:34:48,800 And we confess God will answer his prayers. 650 00:34:49,679 --> 00:34:52,239 His prayers are effectual. And Jesus is the King of all 651 00:34:52,239 --> 00:34:56,560 creation, the King of glory, the King of kings, and making known 652 00:34:56,560 --> 00:34:59,240 the will of the Father. He says to you that salvation is 653 00:34:59,240 --> 00:35:03,120 by grace, through faith, through trust, through belief. 654 00:35:03,120 --> 00:35:07,000 So trust in Jesus as your Savior if you never have believed in 655 00:35:07,000 --> 00:35:10,520 him. And Jesus can be your prophet, 656 00:35:10,800 --> 00:35:16,480 your priest, and your King. And let me pray for you as we 657 00:35:16,480 --> 00:35:19,000 look forward to worshipping him and his grace. 658 00:35:19,000 --> 00:35:26,840 God, what grace is this? That though we were sinners, we 659 00:35:26,840 --> 00:35:31,240 weren't good people. Lord, we were your enemies. 660 00:35:32,000 --> 00:35:34,280 And for a, you know, a good person, somebody might even dare 661 00:35:34,280 --> 00:35:35,720 to die. For a great person, somebody 662 00:35:35,720 --> 00:35:37,320 would die. For a good person, some may even 663 00:35:37,320 --> 00:35:39,080 dare to die. But you loved us, and that while 664 00:35:39,080 --> 00:35:41,640 we were sinners, you died for us. 665 00:35:41,640 --> 00:35:44,880 What grace is this? That you would out of heaven 666 00:35:44,880 --> 00:35:46,600 pour out your grace through your son. 667 00:35:46,600 --> 00:35:49,040 You'd pour your your spirit into your church. 668 00:35:49,040 --> 00:35:51,520 You would pour out your Son and spill his blood for the 669 00:35:51,520 --> 00:35:54,240 salvation of your church. God, we confess there's nothing 670 00:35:54,240 --> 00:35:57,400 more from heaven to give. I pray that anybody in this room 671 00:35:57,920 --> 00:36:02,200 who does not know you as Savior would trust in you and your Son 672 00:36:02,200 --> 00:36:05,160 alone for salvation and that by grace through faith you would 673 00:36:05,160 --> 00:36:07,760 bring people into your fold. That you would call their name 674 00:36:08,240 --> 00:36:09,920 and that they would hear your voice and that they would 675 00:36:09,920 --> 00:36:13,160 respond like John 10 says, and that you would be their Good 676 00:36:13,160 --> 00:36:16,000 Shepherd and you would lead them and you would pray for them and 677 00:36:16,000 --> 00:36:17,680 for all those in the room who do know you. 678 00:36:17,680 --> 00:36:20,480 We pray that this moment we would see just how great your 679 00:36:20,480 --> 00:36:23,960 love is experientially. That we would understand what 680 00:36:23,960 --> 00:36:28,240 redemption purchased, the freedom, the grace to see how 681 00:36:28,240 --> 00:36:31,280 loved we are. And Lord, we confess we love you 682 00:36:31,280 --> 00:36:33,840 because you loved us. We love you with all our heart, 683 00:36:33,840 --> 00:36:36,920 soul, mind and strength. And we ask all this in Jesus 684 00:36:36,920 --> 00:36:40,760 name, Amen. Thanks for listening. 685 00:36:40,880 --> 00:36:43,480 To learn more about Heritage Church or if you'd like to 686 00:36:43,480 --> 00:36:45,920 respond to this sermon, visit our website at 687 00:36:45,920 --> 00:36:49,600 www.heritageshawnee.org.