By
Rev. Juliet Schimpf
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Broadcast
Notes
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LINK to CFRA broadcast of
Sunday, June 12th, 2016)
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Our broadcast,
today, is sponsored through the generous support of Jim and Judith Cran. A special thank you to this fine Christian couple,
who is making today’s broadcast possible.
'Rooted in God's Love'
Ephesians
3:17 “and that Christ may dwell in your
hearts through faith, as you are being
rooted and grounded in love.”
CONTEXT
·
The author identifies himself in Eph. 1:1 as “Paul, an
apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God.”
His name was originally “Saul” (Acts 7:58), and since he was from the
tribe of Benjamin (Philippians 3:5), it is likely that he was named after the
first king of Israel (1 Samuel 9).
·
The letter is written to the “Saints in
Ephesus”—“saints” refers to Christ-followers or “Christians”
·
Paul was a Roman prisoner when he wrote this letter
(Ephe. 3:1; 4:1). While in Jerusalem,
Paul went to the temple and was arrested on false charges. His “trial” was indecisive, but he was
imprisoned for two years at Caesarea.
Then, when Paul appealed for a trial before the emperor, he was sent to
Rome.
·
Ephesus was one of the great cities of Asia
Minor: a Roman capital, a center for the
worship of Diana, and a wealthy commercial center, located on an ample harbor
that invited world trade. The temple of
Diana was one of the seven wonders of the ancient world, and the worship of
this goddess was jealously guarded.
·
Ephe. 1:
Verses 3-14 comprise one continuous sentence in Greek. In the conventional Greek letter, the
saluation (vv.1-2) was followed by a blessing and thanksgiving (vv. 3-14).
OUTLINE
1. The
Source of God’s Love—
God the Father (Ephe. 1:4-6)
2. The
Supplier of God’s Love—
God the Son (Ephe. 1: 7-10)
3. The Seal
of God’s Love—
God the Holy Spirit (Ephe. 1:11-14)
1. The Source of God’s Love—
God the Father
(Ephe. 1:3-5)
A.
“HE
[GOD THE FATHER] HAS BLESSED US….”
NRSV EPHE.
1:3 “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us
in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places”
LIVING BIBLE:
1:3 “How we praise God, the
Father, who has blessed us with every blessing in heaven…”
·
The
believer is the recipient of all spiritual blessings. Hence he has no need to seek additional
blessings from God. He must, instead,
appropriate the ones that already have been provided.
B. “He [GOD THE
FATHER] has chosen us…..”(v. 4)
NRSV Ephe. 1:4 “just as he chose us in Christ before
the foundation of the world to be holy and blameless before him in love.”
LIVING
BIBLE: “he decided to make us holy in his eyes, without a single
fault—we who stand before him covered with his love.”
C.S.
Lewis: “If we find ourselves with a
desire that nothing in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is
that we were made for another world.”
C. HE CHOSE US “IN
CHRIST”….
* Notice he did not choose us in ourselves—based
upon our own merits.
* He chose us “in Christ”—based upon
Christ’s accomplishment on the cross.
* So our salvation is wholly of grace
and not on the basis of anything we ourselves have done.
* St.
Augustine: “God loves each one of us as
if there were only 1 of us.”
D. “HE CHOSE US
IN CHRIST BEFORE THE FOUNDATION OF THE WORLD”
* THE
MESSAGE: Ephe. 1:4 “Long before he laid down earth's
foundations, he had us in mind, had settled on us as the focus of his
love.”
* JOHN PIPER:
“Before the creation of the universe God thought of me. He
fixed his gaze on me and chose me for himself. He did not choose
me because I was already in Christ of my own doing, but that I might be in
Christ. He did not choose me because he saw me as a believer, but so
that I might become a believer. He did not choose me because I chose
him, but so that I might choose him. He did not choose me because I was holy or
good but so that I might become holy and good.”
E. “HE [GOD THE
FATHER] DESTINED US FOR ADOPTION, AS HIS CHILDREN” (V 5)
NRSV Ephe. 1:5
“He destined us for adoption as his
children through Jesus Christ, according to the good pleasure of his will.”
NIV EPHE.
1:5 “IN LOVE, he predestined us to be
adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ….”
* “Adoption” in the New Testament refers to the official act of a
father who bestows the status of full adulthood on a son of minor status. It is not the taking in of an outsider; it is
the placing of a family member into the privileges and blessings of adulthood.
*
Rick Warren "God
is love. He didn’t need us. But he wanted us. And that is the most amazing
thing."
2. The Supplier of God’s Love—
God the Son
(Ephe. 1: 7-11)
A. He has redeemed us (v. 7).
Ephe. 1:7a “In him we have redemption through his
blood”
* “Redemption” means “to purchase and set free
by paying a price”.
* The term, “redemption” was especially applied
to the ransoming of slaves.
* There were 60 million slaves in the Roman
Empire, and often they were bought and sold like pieces of furniture. But a man could purchase a slave and set him
free.
* free from the law (Gal. 5:1); free from
slavery to sin (Rom. 6), free from the power of Satan and the world (Gal. 1:4;
Col. 1:13-14).
B. He has forgiven us (v. 7b-8a).
Ephe. 1: 7 “the forgiveness of our trespasses
* The word “forgive” means “to carry away”.
* This reminds us of the ritual on the Jewish
day of Atonement, when the high priest sent the scapegoat into the wilderness
(Lev. 16).
* First, the priest killed one of the two goats
and sprinkled its blood before God on the mercy seat.
* Then he confessed Israel’s sins over the live
goat, and had the goat taken into the wilderness to be lost. Christ died to carry away our sins so they
might never again be seen—CHRIST IS OUR SCAPE GOAT!
C. “In Christ we have also obtained
an inheritance” (verse 11)
* Often Christians think that their inheritance
consists of dwelling in heaven.
* N. T. Wright:
“The inheritance Paul has in mind…is the whole world, when it’s been
renewed by a fresh act of God’s power and love.
Paul has already said in verse 10 that God’s plan in the Messiah is to
sum up everything in heaven and earth.
God, after all, is the creator; he has no interest in leaving earth to
rot and making do for all eternity with only one half of the original
creation. God intends to flood the whole
cosmos—heaven and earth together—with his presence and grace, and when that
happens the new world that results, in which Jesus himself will be the central
figure, is to be the ‘inheritance’ for which Jesus’ people are longing.”
* Another meaning: AMERICAN STANDARD VERSION: “In whom also we were made a heritage [or
inheritance]” is also a possible translation.
* both are true and the one includes the
other: in Christ we HAVE a
wonderful inheritance (1 Peter 1:1-4), and in Christ we ARE an inheritance—we
are valuable to Him.
* God the Son is the Father’s love gift to us;
and we are the Father’s love gift to His Son.
3. The Seal of God’s Love—
God the Holy
Spirit (Ephe. 1:13-14)
A. He has sealed us with the Holy Spirit (v.
13).
Ephe. 1:13
“In him you also, when you had heard the word of truth, the gospel of
your salvation, and had believed in him, were marked with the seal of the
promised Holy Spirit.”
* JOHN PIPER: What does it mean that believers have been sealed by the
Holy Spirit (v. 13)? The
word is used at least three different ways in the New Testament.
1.
In Matthew 27:66, the tomb of Jesus was secured by sealing
it and putting guards around it. In Revelation 20:3 God throws Satan into a pit
and seals
it over so he can't escape. So one meaning is locking something up, closing it
in.
2.
Another is found in Romans 4:11 where Abraham's
circumcision is called the sign and seal of the righteousness he had by
faith. And in 1 Corinthians 9:2 Paul says that his converts are the seal
of his apostleship. So a second meaning of sealing is giving a sign of
authenticity.
3.
A third meaning is found in Revelation 7:3 where
the seal of God is put on the forehead of God's servants
to protect them from the wrath coming upon the world.
*
So God sends the Holy Spirit as
1. as a preserving seal to lock in our faith,
2. as an authenticating seal to validate our
sonship,
3. and as a protecting seal to keep out
destructive forces.
B. He has given us a pledge [OR GUARANTEE OR
DOWNPAYMENT] (v. 14).
Ephe. 1:14
“this is the pledge of our inheritance toward redemption as God’s own people,
to the praise of his glory.”
*
”guarantee” here is “arrabon”—originally a Hebrew word which seems to
have come into Greek usage through Phoenician traders. It is used in modern Greek for an engagement
ring. But in ancient commercial transactions
it signified a “first instalment, deposit, downpayment, pledge”
*THE
MESSAGE: 13-14”It's
in Christ that you, once you heard the truth and believed it (this Message of
your salvation), found yourselves home free—signed, sealed, and delivered by
the Holy Spirit. This signet from God is the first installment on what's
coming, a reminder that we'll get everything God has planned for us, a praising
and glorious life.”
*Note that at the end of each of these three
sections, Paul tells why the Father , the Son, and the spirit have given us
these blessings: “To the praise of His
glory” (vv. 6, 12, 14b).
Rev. Juliet Schimpf
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To listen to the above broadcast, click on the
following link:
http://proxy.autopod.ca/podcasts/chum/6/43645/good_news_213_jun12.mp3
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