This will be the third time I’ve used this text to bring in a new year. It always seems appropriate as we change our calendars, though it isn’t one of the easier parts of the Bible. There’s a lot of heavy theological jargon: redemption, adoption, election, and predestination. While it’s all true, it seems distant from the world I live in. Paul as much as admits this when he says this is about spiritual blessings in heavenly realms (verse 3).
When I preached this before, I asked what kind of person would write these words. A theologian? Pastor? Missionary? I don’t remember if the question was original with me, but I went on to talk about how Paul was a man who knew what it was to wrestle with God. While Ephesians 1 paints a glorious picture of what it means to be a child of God, the reality Paul describes in places such as 1 Corinthians 4:9-13, Romans 7:21-24, and 2 Corinthians 12:7-10 is quite a bit different. Personally, I want to believe Ephesians 1, but my experience is described in these other passages.
But that’s why it’s good to start the year with Ephesians 1 as a reminder of a reality we don’t often see (though that makes it a hard sell). In this year of turbulent and unpredictable change, it’s reminding me of three things that won’t change:
- I have been chosen by God for a very special purpose (1:4-5).
- God is bringing everything together in Christ (1:9-10). In other words, he’s fixing what has been broken and fragmented.
- God has given me everything – in his word and Spirit – that I need to make it (1:3, 13-14).
That’s good news. And the rest of the news that I receive in 2009 needs to be filtered through this.
Happy New Year!
6 responses so far ↓
Thomas // December 30, 2008 at 6:53 pm |
Hmm … what do you mean by “in Christ”?
Rick Dugan // December 30, 2008 at 7:10 pm |
Exactly what Paul meant, of course.
The phrase ‘in Christ’ appears 11 times in Ephesians – 4 or 5 times in this passage alone (depending on your translation). Pretty important theme for Paul here.
The phrase I’m referring to is in verses 9-10 where everything comes together ‘under one head, even Christ’ (NIV) or where all things are ‘gathered together … in Christ’ (NKJV). Everything finds it’s point of reference in Christ. We see this reintegration in Philippians 2:10-11 as well.
This is an eschatological promise to be put into effect ‘when times have reached their fulfillment.’
Rick Dugan // December 31, 2008 at 7:26 am |
Actually, if you include ‘in Him,’ there are 8 or 9 times this appears in Ephesians 1. All that Paul describes here hinges on being ‘in Christ.’
Rick Dugan // January 1, 2009 at 10:37 am |
The message for Sunday is taking a different direction from when I first posted … thanks, in part, to Thomas’ question. But that’s why I post my initial thoughts early in the week. Your questions, insights, and comments help shape the message before Sunday.
I’m still challenged to bring these high and lofty concepts down to earth. It’s easy to live a kind of fragmented dualism where our belief about God is inconsistent with who we are. Likewise, there’s an inconsistency between who we are and who we want others to think we are. These inconsistencies can cause a tremendous amount of internal pain.
Paul could write these amazing words because he allowed Christ to address the inconsistency. He pulled down the masks, confessed the sins, and acknowledged his weaknesses. And then he moved … ‘in Christ.’
And these verses then describe all that is true ‘in Christ.’ This is not merely the theology of Christ, but the reality of Christ. In Christ, we receive the very things we long for …
elimpacific // January 1, 2009 at 1:33 pm |
We are filled with a lot of mixture of all manner of stuff today. May God give you a new kind of paring knife to peal away all the weird mixed up stuff that abounds all around. I remember flipping through the channels one year to find some ladies praying in Jesus name to win the spot as the playboy centerfold. Have a Happy and Holy New Year
Rick Dugan // January 4, 2009 at 8:39 am |
I hear much talk these days of Jesus as a model to be imitated rather than Christ as an Advocate, Defender, and Refuge. I look forward to preaching about being ‘In Christ’ in a few hours.