Latest / Reformed Thinking / Far Above, Given to the Church: Seeing the Hope, Inheritance, and Power of the Exalted Christ (Ephesians 1:18–23)

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Far Above, Given to the Church: Seeing the Hope, Inheritance, and Power of the Exalted Christ (Ephesians 1:18–23) · Reformed Thinking

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Welcome to Reformed Thinking. Today we're doing one of our
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deep dives, looking closely at the sources concerning a really
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specific, very packed few verses in Paul's letter to the
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Ephesians. We're zoning in on chapter 1,
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verses 18 through 23, Paul's prayer there.
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And we're doing this because our listener is looking for some
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clarity, not just about what Christians believe, but, you
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know, how sure can we be? What's the basis for Christian
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certainty? So our mission today is kind of
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threefold. First, we want to unpack what
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Paul says is the absolute prerequisite for really knowing
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these things, this indispensable condition.
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Second, we'll trace the three big covenant certainties he
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prays for believers to truly grasp hope, inheritance, and
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God's well, God's operative might.
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And then third, we need to see how Christ's own exultation, his
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resurrection and being seated at God's right hand, how that
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serves as the ultimate proof pattern for God's activity
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towards the church. Right.
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And this passage, it's really pivotal in Ephesians.
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Paul just finished that amazing section, verses 3 to 14, where
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he's just blessing God for all the spiritual blessings we
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already have in Christ. You know, election adoption,
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being sealed with the Spirit, these huge objective realities,
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cosmic facts, really. Things already true about
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believers. Exactly.
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But having those things be objectively true isn't quite the
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same as subjectively grasping them, experiencing their
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reality. So Paul Schefskier is here.
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He moves from praise for what God has done to petition asking
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God for something. But notice he's not asking for
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new gifts. He's asking for experiential
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knowledge of the gifts they already possess.
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It's about perception, about seeing what's already there.
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From divine facts to spiritual sight of those facts.
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OK, let's unpack this. Then Paul kicks off this prayer,
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not asking for, say, more wheel power or better circumstances,
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but fundamentally for sight. He asked the Father, grant the
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spirit of wisdom and revelation so that the eyes of your heart
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can be enlightened. That really suggests, doesn't
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it, that without this first step, this divine intervention,
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all those glorious truths he just listed, they just remain
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fuzzy, obscured? That's exactly right.
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The essential prerequisite, the indispensable condition for
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knowing these divine realities, is what the source is called,
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illumination by the Holy Spirit through the Word.
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You can't get there through natural reason alone.
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We can't by ourselves achieve certainty about God's
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supernatural plan. So it has to be a gift.
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It has to be. Paul asked the Father to grant
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the Spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of
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him. The Spirit is the one who
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illuminates. He gives wisdom.
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That's the ability to skillfully apply God's truth to life and
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revelation. Not new prophecies, but the
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unveiling, the understanding of God, the purposes already
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revealed in Christ. And that phrase, the eyes of
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your heart having been enlightened, the grammar there
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is doing some heavy lifting, isn't?
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It oh it's crucial he uses a perfect passive participle
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pephitismines. OK, break that down for us.
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Well, the perfect tense points to a past divine acts with an
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ongoing result. God acted in the past to
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enlighten them, and the result, the state of being enlightened,
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continues into the present. So it's.
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Done. And it lasts.
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Right, and the passive voice is key.
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It means the subject of the believers hearts receive the
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action. They didn't do it themselves.
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God is the agent. God did the enlightening.
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So no room for thinking we figure this out on our own
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steam. None at all.
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It's a direct counter to any kind of self help spirituality
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or thinking. We could just try harder to
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believe. The church does not bootstrap
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itself into gospel certainty. It's purely a gift.
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This illumination is the necessary epistemic
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precondition. It's not just a nice bonus, it's
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required to even begin to see, And it affects the heart, the
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cardia, which for Paul is the Control Center.
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Intellect, emotions, will God makes His truth Pierce through
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to the inner person. And it's interesting how this
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work of the Spirit is tied so closely to knowledge of him.
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It seems like it's focused on understanding what God has
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already said and done. How does that keep us from, you
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know, going off track looking for private messages or weird
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spiritual experiences? It's a vital safeguard.
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The principle here is that the Spirit grants clarity,
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penetration and certainty about what God has already revealed,
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primarily in the Scriptures. Paul isn't asking for the
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Ephesians to get some brand new secret information.
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He's praying their inner eyes will grasp the life changing
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implications, the saving benefits of Christ that he just
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outlined in verses 314. So it's clarity, not novelty.
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Exactly. It's fundamentally anti
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mystical, if by mystical you mean seeking subjective feelings
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divorced from the objective word.
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True spiritual light, as the sources put it, rides on the
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rails of the word, sacraments and prayer.
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The Spirit works through the ordinary means of grace God has
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established. OK, let's pause on that rides on
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the rails image because, you know, many people value
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personal, private, spiritual moments very highly.
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How do we explain using this passage, why the corporate
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stuff, the preaching, the shared sacraments, learning together,
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why that is still the main place this illumination happens?
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That's a really practical question.
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The Spirit is sovereign, certainly, but he ordinarily
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works through the means he's appointed, and his work here is
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focused on revealing Christ. So where is Christ most clearly
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authoritatively presented in the public preaching of the Word,
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where the Scriptures are opened and applied to the gathered
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community? Right, the official channels, so
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to speak. You could say that the sources
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suggest this understanding embeds Christians in the
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ordinary means of grace. If you want this certainty, this
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Spirit given light on God's truth, you seek it where God has
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promised to give it, primarily through hearing the Word
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preached, participating in the sacraments, being part of the
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praying community, gathering for worship means submitting
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together to the authority of the Word being opened.
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That's a key way the corporate heart gets enlightened.
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It pulls us out of just our own heads.
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It does. It combats that individualism
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that thinks real spirituality is mainly a solo affair, and it
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ensures the light we think we're seeing isn't just our own
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imagination, but a clear perception tied to the
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verifiable truth of Scripture. And you mentioned this counters
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pragmatism. How so?
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Will the pragmatic impulse is always what technique can I use?
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What method will produce the result?
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We think if we just find the right how to, we'll achieve
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spiritual growth. Paul flips that.
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He says no real change begins in truth scene.
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It starts with the Spirit opening your eyes to grasp what
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God has done and promised. This knowledge isn't just
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collecting facts. It's a covenantal recognition,
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seeing God's relationship with you in Christ.
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And that reorients everything, Assurance, obedience.
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They flow from the scene. Without the Spirit's light, we
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can't really see the certainties.
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Paul prays for next. OK, so once the Spirit gives
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this necessary sight, the first thing Paul wants us to see
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clearly is the hope of his calling.
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Now, normally when we say I hope, like I hope it doesn't
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rain, there's a lot of uncertainty baked in.
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It's more like a wish. How is this biblical hope elpis
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different? It's fundamentally different.
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Biblical hope is defined by its certainty, not its uncertainty.
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It's confident expectation. Sure, in the Greco Roman world,
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Elpis could mean uncertain optimism, but Paul is drawing
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from the Old Testament understanding.
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Our hope is certain because its source isn't our feelings or
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circumstances. Its source is God himself.
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The God who made promises, confirmed them with an oath,
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and, as Hebrew says, cannot lie. So the future we expect is
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fixed. It's guaranteed all right.
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If the hope is certain, then the thing it's attached to must be
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solid too. Paul links it to his calling.
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He uses that specific word, Cleesus.
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What exactly is this calling that makes the hopes so Sure,
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yeah. Cleesis here is basically a
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technical term for the effectual call.
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OK, distinguish that from just say, hearing the gospel message
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preached generally. Right.
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It's not the general external invitation that goes out of
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everyone who hears the gospel and invitation many resist.
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This cleesis is God's sovereign summons.
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It comes from his eternal plan, His decree.
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It powerfully addresses specific sinners, and it effectually
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brings them to Christ. It overcomes resistance.
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It works. So it's an invincible act of
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God, like raising the dead, spiritually speaking.
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Exactly, it's a life giving summons that cannot ultimately
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be refused because God himself is powerfully drawing that
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person. And why is nailing down that
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definition effectual, invincible, so crucial for the
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certainty of our hope? Because if the call wasn't
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effectual, if it depended ultimately on our response, that
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our hope wouldn't be certain, would it?
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It would have been on us, holding up our end.
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Right. It would be anchored in
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something shaky, our own will or perseverance.
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Precisely. But the certainty of this hope
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is built on the logic of the ordo salutis, the order of
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salvation which God guarantees. Think Romans 8.30.
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Whom He predestined, these he also called.
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Whom He called, these he also justified.
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Whom He justified, these He also glorified.
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It's an unbreakable chain. Unbreakable.
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The logic is inescapable. The call that began salvation
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will secure and finish it. Our confidence in reaching
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future glory rests entirely on the sovereign effectiveness of
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God's initial call. That provides huge stability.
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Then we're not just hoping that we'll make it.
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We have confidence we will make it because the one who called us
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is faithful and his call works. Yes.
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So what exactly are we hoping for?
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What's the actual content? The scope of this certain
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future? The object of this confident
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expectation is the certainty of the new creation future.
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It's the culmination of God's plan and glory.
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This definitely includes the resurrection of our bodies, the
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final public revealing of our status as God's adopted
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children, and receiving our full share in the inheritance God has
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prepared. An inheritance we'll get to
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later. Yes, and Paul is about to show
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that this future hope is already secured and previewed in
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Christ's own resurrection and enthronement.
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Christ is a template. How does seeing this hope
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clearly help someone struggling with assurance, with doubts?
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Well, it directly stabilizes assurance.
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It acts as a countermeasure against excessive introspection.
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When you're doubting, the temptation is always to look
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inward at your feelings, which change constantly.
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It's your performance which is always imperfect at your
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spiritual temperature. The source is called this
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looking at our fluctuating frames.
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Yeah, that's a recipe for anxiety.
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It really is. But this prayer directs our gaze
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outward and forward toward beholding objective grace.
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We look away from ourselves to this fixed destiny and glory, a
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destiny guaranteed not by our efforts but by God's invincible
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call. That's where Assurance finds its
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footing. And does this hope also have a
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communal dimension? Does it affect how we relate to
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other believers? Oh, absolutely, it's an
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ecclesial certainty, Paul stresses later in Ephesians.
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There's one hope of your calling F 4.4.
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One hope for all of us. Yes, it becomes a shared horizon
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that binds the body together in holy perseverance.
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We're all heading to the same glorious destination, secured by
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the same divine act. That shared future demands a
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certain shared way of living now.
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If glory is our common destiny, then unity, love, and holy
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conduct should mark our present fellowship.
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So, practically, how does this certain hope reshape our daily
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lives, our ethics, how we face the world?
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It has profound ethical implications, John says.
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Everyone who thus hopes in him purifies himself as he is pure
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first. John 3.3.
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This hope becomes the anchor for our conduct, motivating us to
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walk worthy of the calling. F 4.1.
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Knowing where you're going changes how you travel.
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Exactly. If you know you're destined for
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imperishable glory, you start to loosen your grip on the
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temporary things of this age and think about fear politically,
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economically, culturally. This hope disarms fear.
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No political upheaval, no market crash, no cultural trend, no
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spiritual opposition can possibly overturn a future
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that's fixed by God's effectual call and sworn by his oath.
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That gives courage. Tremendous courage.
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Courage to live generously, to speak boldly, to endure
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hardship. Because we know this present
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life, with all its struggles, isn't the final word.
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Our real citizenship, our guaranteed future, is elsewhere.
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OK, so the enlightened eyes first see the certain hope
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flowing from God's call. The second certainty Paul wants
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us to grasp is the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the
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Saints. Now this sounds amazing, but my
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first thought is usually about the inheritance we receive from
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God. This phrasing seems different.
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It is different, and the difference is doctrinally huge.
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While it's absolutely true that believers receive an inheritance
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from God, Paul talks about that elsewhere, even in this chapter.
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Right, the spirit is the down payment of our inheritance.
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Exactly. But here the grammar,
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specifically his inheritance, whose chloronomia Sato his best
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understood, is what grammarian call a subjective genitive
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meaning, meaning the Saints. The believers are not the
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recipients of the inheritance in this phrase, but they are the
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inheritance itself. The Saints are God's
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inheritance. We are the people He possesses
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for himself. Wow, OK, that flips the
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perspective entirely. We are God's prized possession.
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That's it. It elevates the church's
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standing. Incredibly, this idea echoes all
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through the Old Testament, where Israel is called God's Sigala,
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His special treasure, His portion, His inheritance.
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Deuteronomy 32.9 is a key text. Christ didn't just purchase us
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from sin in hell, He purchased us for God to be His own
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treasured possession. So Paul isn't primarily
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celebrating what we will get, but the incredible value God
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places on us, the people he now owns.
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That's the core idea here. And look how Paul describes this
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inheritance, the riches of the glory of his inheritance.
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He's piling up these terms, wealth, splendor, to stress the
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superlative worth God attaches to his people.
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The Church isn't just any possession, it's wealth
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characterized by divine glory vested in a people.
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And where is this inheritance located?
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He says in the Saints. Right.
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The community of the holy ones on Tajwa is the specific locust,
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the place where God's inheritance is found and His
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glory wealth is displayed. The Church is God's estate,
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bought with Christ's blood, indwelt by the Spirit, and
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treasured by the Father. Why frame it this way?
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What's the theological point of reminding the Ephesians, Hey,
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you are God's inheritance? It does several things.
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First, perhaps it assures the Father that the son's incredibly
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costly purchase resulted in something of immense value.
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God sees His people as glorious. Second, it shifts our focus from
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our own weaknesses and failings to the owner's valuation and
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commitment. If we are his prized possession,
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how will He treat us? He'll guard us, protect us,
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perfect us. The ceiling by the Spirit
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mentioned earlier is God marking His property, guaranteeing He'll
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bring it safely home. OK, this is powerful.
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How does really grasping this idea that the church
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collectively is God's inheritance help us practically?
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You mentioned assurance in Unity earlier.
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It provides massive balance for assurance and deep theological
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roots for unity. How does it help assurance?
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The logic is simple and profound.
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What God prizes, he preserves. If we are his treasured
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inheritance, His crown jewels, He's not going to lose us or
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discard us. He won't abandoned his own
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inheritance. Knowing our value to God
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stabilizes us when we fear we might fall away.
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And for Unity, this seems really relevant today.
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Incredibly relevant if you truly see the Church, the gathered
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Saints, as God's glorious inheritance.
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It forces you to view every single fellow Christian,
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regardless of their background, their personality quirks, their
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level of maturity, with a kind of quiet awe.
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Because they belong to him. They are the crown jewels of the
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king. They are part of the locust
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where God's glory, wealth resides.
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When you grasp that, how can you possibly justify division,
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backbiting gossip, or treating other believers with contempt?
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It makes church splits an internal fighting look absurd.
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Utterly absurd in light of God's valuation.
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Yeah, seeing fellow believers as God's inheritance should breed a
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profound, necessary unity. We have to relate to each other
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based on how God sees us, not just our personal affinities or
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frustrations. This really pushes back against
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just seeing church as a collection of individuals
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focused on their own private relationship with God.
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It's a strong antidote to that kind of individualism.
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Yes, if God's inheritance, his wealth, is found primarily in
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the Saints, corporately gathered, interconnected, then a
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purely private, disconnected faith misses something central.
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God's design involves the gathered community, ordered,
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taught and fed, Church membership, discipline, mutual
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encouragement. These aren't optional extras.
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They are the ways the head cherishes and builds up his
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body, which he prizes as his own inheritance.
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Grasping this moves us from being spiritual consumers to
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being consecrated members of something God treasures.
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That's a great way to put it. We belong to his estate.
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All right, so we've seen the hope of the call and the
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inheritance God possesses in the Saints.
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The third certainty Paul prays we grasp is the surpassing
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greatness of his might toward us who believe.
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Paul really lays it on thick here with the vocabulary he
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uses. What 4 different Greek words for
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might or strength? That feels like overkill almost.
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It does feel like overkill, and that's the point.
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The magnitude of God's operative might refuses moderation.
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He uses this phrase hyperbolan megathos, so you translate it
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surpassing excess or overthrowing magnitude.
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It's might that goes beyond our measure.
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It's not just enough, it's overwhelmingly more than enough.
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Exactly. And then he piles up these nouns
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dynamics, which is inherent capability, Energia which is
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active working energy, Kratos which is prevailing might
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conquering strength and issues raw strength or force.
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By stacking these, Paul is stressing that God's omnipotence
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isn't just a theoretical attribute.
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It's active, it's effectual, it's working powerfully in his
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redemptive plan. And crucially, he says, this
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might is directed toward us who believe is he must.
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Yes, the directionality is key. This isn't just God's general
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might sustaining the universe, so he does that too.
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This is His redemptive might, specifically focused, aimed at,
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and working in those who are united to Christ by faith.
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It's personal and purposeful. Very much so.
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It's not some distant energy source, it's God's active to
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strength operating within us. And what's the scope of this
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might does it just refer to say, the initial moment of conversion
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getting us across the line or is it ongoing?
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It's definitely ongoing. Paul uses a present participle
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to peace to aunt us, the ones who are believing, suggesting
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this might accompanies present continuing faith.
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The sources are clear. This might establishes and
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sustains the whole Christian life from beginning to end.
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It covers regeneration, being born again, justification being
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declared righteous, sanctification, growing in
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holiness, perseverance, enduring to the end, and finally
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glorification. So the same might that starts
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the Christian life, keeps it going, and guarantees its
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completion. Precisely this is the might that
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ensures the person who is called by God certainty #one, and who
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is God's inheritance certainty #two will actually make it
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safely to that final glory. OK, but here's a tension that
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often comes up. If God's might toward us is the
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surpassing greatness measured by something as huge as the
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resurrection, where does that leave our effort, our
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responsibility? The sources say this guards
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against moralism, thinking we achieve holiness by ourselves.
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But doesn't it risk making us passive?
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Just sitting back and saying, well, God's super might has got
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this? How do we square God's might
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with, say, Philippians 2.12? Work out your own salvation.
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That's the classic tension in Reformed piety, isn't it?
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And Paul anticipates it. The key is understanding the
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nature of the might, which is about to define by the
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resurrection. Resurrection might isn't just
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raw force, it's life giving, morally active might.
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The Holy Spirit applies Christ's resurrection victory to us,
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enabling us both to put sin to death, mortification, and to
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live in new obedience vivification.
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So the might itself produces the activity in US.
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Exactly. It's not might instead of our
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effort, it's might that enables our effort.
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This understanding rescues us from 2 opposite errors.
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First, it saves us from moralism, the dead end St. of
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thinking. Holiness comes from sheer
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willpower, better techniques or just trying harder.
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No sanctification is God working in US.
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It was 2.13 God who works in you, both to will and to work.
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But second, it also saves us from quiet as passivity, the
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equally wrong idea that since God does it all, we do nothing,
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just sit back and let go and let God in a passive way.
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Which isn't biblical either. Not at all.
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The same divine might that works in US actually creates the
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willing and the working. We strive, we make effort.
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But Paul says elsewhere, we do so according to his energia,
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which works mightily within me. Color 1.29 God makes us willing
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and able to obey through effectual grace.
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OK. I think I see the synergy there.
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The might doesn't replace our action, it produces it.
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It's the engine, not the absentee owner.
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That's a good way to think about it.
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The resources for living the Christian life aren't found in
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drumming up our own internal resolve.
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They're constantly being supplied, directed toward the
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believer by the immense resurrection calibrated might of
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God. That's real certainty grounded
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outside ourselves. Grounded an objective active
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divine might. So Paul has told us about this
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super abundant might working toward believers.
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Now he gives us the benchmark, the standard by which we measure
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it. He says it's according to the
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working of the might of his strength, which he worked in
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Christ. So where do we look to see this
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might demonstrated? We look at 2 specific historical
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unrepeatable acts of God focused on Jesus Christ.
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These acts are the template and the definitive proof of the kind
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of might Paul is talking about. First, God raised him from the
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dead. That's the resurrection.
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Second, God seated him at his right hand in the heavenly
21:25
places. That's the session or
21:27
enthronement. Resurrection and session.
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Why these two? And why link them so tightly to
21:32
the might working in US? They are the ultimate display of
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God's conquering life, giving might.
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The resurrection wasn't just resuscitation.
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The sources define it as God's juridical reversal of death's
21:44
verdict. It was God publicly vindicating
21:47
Jesus, declaring his sacrifice accepted and initiating the new
21:50
creation. It's the ultimate triumph over
21:53
sin and death. And seating at the right hand?
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That's not just Jesus taking a break.
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Right. Not at all.
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The session is enthronement. It signals the beginning of the
22:01
Messiah's reign. Is the priest king sitting at
22:03
the right hand? Was the position of supreme
22:05
authority and executive power. OK, so God's ultimate might
22:09
raised Jesus from the dead and installed him as cosmic king.
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How does that connect to might working toward me today?
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The connection is our union with Christ.
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Paul's point is breathtaking. The very same magnitude and type
22:22
of might that reverse death for Jesus and elevated him above
22:25
absolutely everything. That exact might is what is
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currently directed toward and operative and those who believe.
22:30
Wow, so it's not a lesser version of that might.
22:32
No, it's according to Measured by that standard, it proves that
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God's promises of resurrection life and final glory for us
22:40
aren't just wishful thinking. The pattern has already been
22:43
set. The victory won in our head,
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Jesus Christ. If that might conquer death and
22:48
installed Christ as King, it is certainly sufficient to bring us
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His body safely through this life to glory.
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OK. And immediately after mentioning
22:57
the seating, Paul describes the scope of Christ's authority.
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It's staggering. He's far above all rule and
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authority and power and dominion.
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Yes, the cosmic supremacy is absolute.
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The term far above hyperano indicates categorical
23:11
transcendence. It means Christ isn't just
23:13
higher on the org chart, He's in a category all his own,
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infinitely above any other conceivable power.
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Whether human or spiritual, correct.
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Paul is various kinds of authorities, rule, authority,
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power, lordship, likely encompassing both human
23:26
governments and angelic or demonic hierarchies.
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Just to make it clear that nothing is excluded, he
23:30
eliminates any imagined rival. No political system, no
23:33
spiritual force, no ideology, no principality is outside or above
23:37
Christ's authority. And he adds that the supremacy
23:39
is not only in this age, but also in the one to come.
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Right. That 2H formula confirms his
23:45
reign is permanent, unchallenged, eternal.
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This perspective should fundamentally reshape how
23:51
believers view threats or anxieties in the world.
23:53
Because nothing we face is outside his control.
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Nothing, no cultural pressure, no political instability, no
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spiritual opposition operates beyond the jurisdiction of the
24:04
enthroned Christ who reigns from the right hand.
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Now the source has highlighted 3 crucial pastoral implications of
24:11
Christ's session. His being seated.
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Can we unpack those? They seem vital for assurance.
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Yes, these are bedrock truths flowing from his enthronement.
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First atonement finished. Why is the priest King seated?
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Because his sacrificial work is done perfectly complete.
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He's not standing like the Old Testament priest continually
24:29
offering. He offered himself once for all,
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and now he sits. What does that mean for us?
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It means rest for our conscience.
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We don't need to add anything to his finished work.
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It's done, accepted, vindicated. Second reign, active.
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The seated Christ isn't passive. He is actively ruling, reigning,
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subduing his enemies, and directing all of history
24:50
according to God's plan. Everything happening now
24:53
everywhere, is under His sovereign administration,
24:56
working toward His purposes, especially for His Church.
24:59
So he's actively governing the universe now?
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Actively and 3rd Intercession ongoing from His position of
25:06
authority, the seated Christ continuously pleads the merits
25:09
of His own finished work, His blood, on behalf of His people.
25:12
He secures the ongoing application of redemption to us.
25:15
So we don't have to worry about falling out of favor.
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We don't. Our advocate is at the right
25:19
hand, ensuring our standing before the Father.
25:21
These three realities, finished work, active reign, ongoing
25:25
intercession flowing from his session are immensely comforting
25:28
and stabilizing for believers. Yeah, last point in this
25:30
section. How does Christ's exaltation
25:33
become the prototype for the church?
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We're still here facing struggles.
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Right. We're still geographically on
25:39
Earth, but our fundamental status, our identity, has been
25:42
relocated because of our union with Him.
25:44
Paul makes this explicit right in the next chapter, Ephesians
25:47
2.5 to 6. Because we are in Christ, God
25:50
has made us alive together with Him, raise us up with Him, and
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seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus.
25:57
So spiritually, legally, positionally, we're already
26:01
there with him. Positionally, yes.
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Our union with the exalted Christ places us under a
26:06
completely new juridical and cosmic reality.
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We live under the reign of our victorious head and the
26:12
implication for our daily life, endurance and trial becomes a
26:16
resurrection backed certainty. We face difficulties not just
26:19
with grit, but with the knowledge that the same
26:21
invincible might that conquered death for Christ is preserving
26:23
us because we are already counted as seated with Him.
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Our biography is read from his victory.
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OK, we're reaching the climax of this prayer.
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In verses 22 and 23, Paul says God put all things under his
26:34
feet, confirming Christ's universal lordship over
26:37
everything. Heaven, earth, hell, it's all
26:40
under his authority. But then Paul immediately
26:42
pivots. He doesn't just state the fact
26:44
of Christ's universal rule. He gives the reason or the
26:47
beneficiary of that rule, doesn't he?
26:49
He does, and it's one of the most pastorally rich moments in
26:52
the letter. After saying all things are
26:54
under Christ's feet, he adds, God gave him his head over all
26:58
things to the Church. That little phrase to the
27:01
Church, to the ecclesia, grammatically, is understood as
27:04
a dative of advantage. A dative of advantage?
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What does that mean practically? It means the benefit, the
27:09
advantage of Christ's universal headship over all things flows
27:12
to the Church. It means His comprehensive rule,
27:16
His sovereignty over every atom in every Galaxy and every
27:19
political power is exercised for the sake of for the benefit of
27:23
his people. So he's not just head of the
27:25
church, he's head over. Everything else for the church
27:28
is good. Exactly.
27:29
His universal lordship is a redemptive benefit for the
27:32
Saints. This isn't just abstract cosmic
27:35
information. It's intensely practical.
27:37
Good news for believers. Wow, that little data carries
27:41
enormous weight. How should understanding that
27:43
really ground our courage when we face hostility or, you know,
27:46
spiritual opposition? It should give us absolute
27:48
confidence in God's Providence. Think about it.
27:51
Every molecule of history, as the sources put it.
27:54
Every event, every leader, every cultural shift, every personal
27:57
trial is under the control of our head, Jesus Christ, and he
28:01
is wielding that absolute control for the ultimate good,
28:04
the sanctification, the final splendor of his bride, the
28:07
Church. That changes how you view
28:09
suffering, doesn't it? Completely.
28:11
It means hardships aren't random or meaningless tragedies.
28:15
There are instruments in the hands of our loving sovereign
28:18
King who is using everything, even the hard things, to shape
28:21
us, purify us, and prepare us for glory, perfecting His
28:25
treasured inheritance. That second certainty?
28:28
It means we never encounter any power, any authority, any
28:31
threat, including those spiritual rulers and authorities
28:33
mentioned earlier, that isn't already subject to our Head who
28:36
is ruling for us. There are no rogue forces
28:39
outside His control when it comes to His Church.
28:42
OK, so after establishing Christ, his head over all to the
28:45
church, Paul gives two final descriptions of the church's
28:48
identity in relation to Christ. What are they?
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Yes, he gives this double description, really nailing down
28:53
the church's vital connection to her exalted Lord.
28:56
First, he says, the church is his body.
28:58
As the body, the church depends entirely on the head for life,
29:01
for direction, for growth, for coordination.
29:04
The connection isn't organizational, it's organic,
29:06
vital. Cut off from the head, the body
29:08
is lifeless. So utterly dependent on Christ.
29:11
Utterly. And second, the church is
29:13
described as the fullness of him who fills All in all.
29:17
Now, this phrase is notoriously difficult, probably one of the
29:19
trickiest in Ephesians. But the most likely
29:22
understanding chromatically and theologically, is that Christ is
29:25
the filler. He's the one actively filling
29:28
Everything, Everywhere with His presence in Rule.
29:31
And the Church, then, is the primary filled sphere.
29:34
It's the special place that designated arena where the
29:37
Ascended Lord chooses to deposit, display and distribute
29:40
His fullness, His grace, His gifts, His life.
29:43
So the Church is the place where Christ's presence and reign are
29:46
made most visible and tangible in this age.
29:48
That seems to be the idea. It's the vessel that receives
29:51
and manifests the overflow of the all filling Christ.
29:54
Does this description the Church as his fullness guard against a
29:57
potential misunderstanding? Like, does the Church somehow
30:00
complete Christ? Make him?
30:02
Yes, it guards strongly against that error.
30:05
Christ is not lacking anything. His work is finished.
30:08
His satisfaction is perfect. The Church doesn't add to Christ
30:11
or complete him. Rather, the Church is the
30:14
recipient, the container, the sphere that Christ himself fills
30:18
with his fullness. We are the place.
30:20
He demonstrates his glorious sufficiency.
30:23
And this also seems like the final nail in the coffin for
30:25
radical individualism in faith. Absolutely.
30:29
If the Church is Christ's body needing coordination from the
30:31
head, and the Church is the filled sphere, the primary locus
30:34
of his manifested fullness, then Christianity simply cannot be
30:38
reduced to a private individual experience.
30:40
The way the head nourishes and fills his body is through the
30:43
corporate life, the ministry of the Word, the sacraments shared,
30:46
the mutual interdependence and submission of the members.
30:49
To grasp this identity is to embrace belonging to this
30:52
divinely organized, spirit filled community destined for
30:55
glory. So, summing up this climax, the
30:58
church is God's treasured inheritance, the beneficiary of
31:01
Christ's total rule over everything vitally connected to
31:05
him as his body, and the special place he fills with his own
31:07
fullness. That's it.
31:09
A comprehensive vision of who we are in relation to the enthroned
31:12
Christ reigning for us. Seeing this should replace
31:15
anxiety about the world with adoration for the King fostering
31:19
faithful endurance, hashtag shared Outro.
31:21
Well, we set out in this deep dive.
31:23
To get some clarity on Christian certainty, using Paul's prayer
31:26
in Ephesians 1.1823 as our guide, we saw right at the start
31:31
that the essential prerequisite for any real spiritual knowledge
31:35
is illumination by the Holy Spirit through the Word.
31:37
God has to open our eyes first, right?
31:40
And once those eyes are opened. We can begin to grasp the three
31:43
great covenant certainties Paul prays for.
31:45
First, the certain hope of God's invincible call.
31:49
Our future is secure because God's effectual call guarantees
31:51
the outcome that anchors our assurance outside of ourselves.
31:54
Second, we saw the amazing truth.
31:56
About the glorious inheritance God possesses in the Saints.
31:59
Understanding that we are his treasured possession fosters
32:02
assurance. He protects what he prizes and
32:04
demands unity because we see fellow believers as the King's
32:07
own jewels. And 3rd we.
32:09
Grasp the surpassing might directed toward us who believe
32:13
this isn't just adequate might, it's super abundant resurrection
32:16
level might that is actively working in US, enabling the
32:19
entire Christian life, including our obedience, and we learned
32:22
that this incredible. Might is measured by and proven
32:25
by Christ's own resurrection and enthronement.
32:29
His victory is the pattern and guarantee for ours because we
32:32
are united to Him, already spiritually seated with Him.
32:36
And finally we saw that. Christ's universal reign over
32:39
absolutely everything is exercise for the advantage of
32:41
the Church to ecclesia. He rules all things for us, His
32:45
body the sphere He is filling with His fullness, so the
32:48
synthesis seems clear. Real Christian certainty, real
32:51
assurance, isn't based on our feelings or performance.
32:54
It's anchored in objective grace, who Christ is, what He's
32:57
done, and His ongoing reign for us.
32:59
And the ability to live the Christian life comes from His
33:02
resurrection by actively supplied to us.
33:05
Change flows from truth seen through enlightened eyes.
33:08
Well said. It all starts.
33:09
With seeing what God has already accomplished and promised in
33:11
Christ. So maybe a final thought for
33:13
you. The listener to take away when
33:16
you face a command you feel unable to obey or a trial that
33:19
seems overwhelming tomorrow, maybe you don't start by asking
33:22
for your circumstances to change or trying to drum up more
33:25
internal willpower. Instead, try praying Paul's
33:27
prayer from this passage. Ask God for enlightened eyes.
33:31
Ask to see your situation, your duty, your weakness under the
33:34
reality of the reign of the risen and enthroned Christ.
33:37
Ask to grasp that the very same might that brought Jesus out of
33:41
the tomb is right now actively directed toward you.
33:44
Trusting that is where real strength is found.