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THE BOOK
OF EPHESIANS The Major Creation Work of the Father, The Son, The Holy Spirit |
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2 | Return To Lesson 3 Eph. 1:3-6 |
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J. Deering, AncientPath.net
RECAP of Lesson 03:
Lesson 01 - Introduction to Chapter
1
Lesson 02 - The Church As the Body
of Christ
The Christian Salutation, 1:1-3
The Author and His Authorization 1:1a-b
The Addressees and their Addresses 1:1c
The Assets and their Accreditation 1:2
Lesson 03 - The Composition
of Christ’s Church, 1:3-14
The Major Creation Work of the Father 1:3-6
In the previous
lesson we learned that the life and death of God’s Son Jesus was
accomplished by the Father because of His (the Father’s) love of you and I
who have found, believed, and worshipped as God, His Son. We should be
continually praising the Father for the whole of creation and for that
special work that has been done on our behalf through His Son Jesus.
In verse three
the Ephesian believers, and by application we who believe, were called upon
to “highly acclaim” The Father whose favor blessed us by the giving to us of
every spiritual “blessing,” [asset], available in the heavenly places…
In-Christ Jesus. We have been adopted by the Father, through the Son, by the
Holy Spirit as eternal family members.
In verse four
we found that this was done before creation. If we had been conscious of it,
we would have found ourselves chosen, elected, to come into the position of
being
in Christ – holy and
faultless before the Father God, and this was done through the Father’s love
for us as His Son’s assembly, or as we now call it the Church.
In verse five
we were instructed that we were
predestined to, and now hold the
position of, being adopted adult sons (a positional truth about each of
us whether male, female, adult or child). That was accomplished through the
substitutionary sacrifice of God the Father’s son, Jesus Christ, and it was
well pleasing to the will of His Father.
And lastly, in verse six, we are told that the ultimate purpose of all this was to bring great blessing and glory upon God the Father, for His grace which He chose to “freely lavish” upon all those who find themselves in His beloved Son Jesus.
We’re still using both the MacCorkle and NASB translations to both study and ask questions. Hopefully you will continue to make connections between these and other translations. The NASB is the simpler translation, the MacCorkle is based upon years of exegetical experience (knowing your bible, the individual languages, and the context well enough to “pull-out, Expose” meaning of the individual words to further understand what’s going on in each verse), according to the context of the times and the moment.
Lesson 04
- Chapter 1:7-12, The Study
“The Major
Creation Work of the Son”
Redemption, and Predestination
by God
the Son,
to the Glory of God the Father
The Visualized
Text
1:7 (MAC)
We keep on enjoying redemption
in Him (the
Beloved – Christ)
through His
blood (Christ's blood) —
which involves the dismissal of sins —
that He (the
Father) accomplished
(through Christ's blood)
in a manner matching the wealth of His grace.
(the Father's grace)
1:7 (NASB)
In Him
(Jesus)
we have
redemption
through His
(Jesus’)
blood, the
forgiveness
of our trespasses,
according to the riches of His
(The Father’s)
grace
Earlier in the chapter we learned that it is God the Father who has already
blessed every believer (before the foundation of the world) with every
spiritual blessing. The purpose of these blessings is to create a holy and
blameless people who could stand before and praise Him. Part of that process
was to predestine the members of this group, as adult sons, through His Son,
Jesus Christ to be adopted into His family.
In verse :7 Paul
informs us that it is In-Christ that we become the object of God the
Father's love in such a way that we have been
redeemed
through Christ's blood. Redemption brings the believer both
forgiveness
of sins and the
removal of all guilt
for those sins. In simple terms the
meaning
of the word redemption comes from the use of three separate Greek words that
all are translated redemption.
These words,
together, give us a rich understanding of Paul's intentions. The first word,
AGORIDZO, has the marketplace as its
root meaning. The meaning is that of something, in this case a Slave, that
is bought for a price in the market. So, we should be careful to note that
redemption has the understanding of
something that has value, has been placed for sale, and has been purchased
for a price that has been paid.
1.
Ownership
of a slave was transferred with the payment to the buyer.
God the Father bought the believer (a Slave) “at of the marketplace” through
the payment of His Son on the Cross. It should be noted too that
2.
The Slave
played no part in the transaction with
the exception that it had value to the buyer and was "for sale."
A second word
EX-AGORIDZO
is similar to the first as it has the same marketplace root and has attached
to it a prefix that means
"out of."
Thus, this second word becomes a purchase
out of
the marketplace. The features of the first word apply; placed to sell in the
marketplace, of value to the purchaser, a price is paid, the Slave changes
ownership - and with the extension of the prefix applied, he purchased
out
of the marketplace. He will not be
returned for re-sale, He has been removed from the buying and selling
process, and removed, dismissed, from the marketplace completely.
The third word
LOOSO is from a completely different
root and means to loose,
like untying a shoe or a bandage. In this case the word is often used when
speaking of the
freeing of a slave for a price.
The owner is paid a price that frees (looses) the slave from ownership - and
makes him free. Thus, the understanding that the purchaser sees a value in
the slave. That amount is paid, and
the Slave is LOOSED - FREED from servitude.
The New Testament
goes on to speak of the
“Bond Servant.”
This is the Slave who has been bought out from the marketplace and freed
from servitude, and chooses to continue their servitude
voluntarily
and willingly.
The bible tells us
that all have sinned and fallen short of God's
demands both through the fall of Adam
and Eve and through our own sinful lives. The penalty for this sin is then
the
price that must be paid to acquire our
freedom. Ephesians 1:7 states that in Jesus Christ, those who believe upon
Him
have redemption through His shed blood
at the Cross. It is through the Cross that the believer has their
slavery to sin paid for and
brought out
of the marketplace forever. The
believer is
now free from the penalty of sin.
A very long time ago
in my life I was a Boy Scout. Along about five years into my scouting I was
awarded the very high honor of being elected by my peers into “The Order of
the Arrow” brotherhood. As a result, I traveled with other members of that
brotherhood to various jamborees and conventions around the country. I got
to meet the son of the founder of the Boy Scouts from England, and the
founder of the Order of the Arrow on one of our former US president’s
estates. I even got to be less than 20 feet from President Isenhower (that’s
how long ago it was). It was a great honor to me to have all these
experiences. This is such a very small example compared to the place of
honor and respect each believer holds receiving Redemption
in
the beloved Christ Jesus. You stand in the very presence of God. You are
adopted into the family of God. You are a mature adult adopted Son of God,
and (man, woman or child) “Brother” of The Lord Jesus Christ.
But,
above and
beyond that is the extremely high
acclamation and adoration that
belongs to
the Father God and His Son for what
they have done together in bringing about the
redemption
of millions upon millions of human beings who have
voluntarily
and willingly submitted themselves through repentance and belief in God’s
Messiah – “To The Father and The Son,
to them belongs
all glory and
honor
in heaven and on earth.”
“It is a divine act
of redeeming a believer with a ransom payment that results in a deliverance
from the bondage of sin.
This redemption
is unique because it is an
eternal one.”
[1]
“Neither by the blood of
bulls and goats and calves, but by His own blood He
(Jesus)
entered once for all into the holy place having obtained eternal redemption”
(Hebrews 9:12).
This verse brings to mind that throughout the history of Israel it didn’t
occur to most individuals that their sacrifices and laws were pointing to a
redeemer for their sins. Why slaughter animals for their blood sacrifices…
unless there would be a redeemer who would prophetically come to have His
life slaughtered to bring redemption through His blood to the one who
openly, willingly, entrusted the Redeemer to take away their sins. As the
Hebrew Shima says,
“The Lord is our God, the Lord is One. Blessed be the name of His glorious
kingdom for ever and all time. Love the Lord your God with all your heart,
with all your soul, and with all your might. These words which I command you
today shall be on your heart.”
Then there is
“the
Blood.” Early on, way back at the
beginning, when Cain and Abel brought their gifts to the Lord, Cain brought
grain (an acceptable gift) and Abel brought “the firstlings of his flock and
of their fat portions.” The description tells us that these “firstlings” had
been slaughtered, their blood drained, and their parts prepared for this
offering gift back to the Lord God. For Cain’s offering, in a comparison of
the two offerings, it says, “the Lord had no regard.”
Abel’s
sacrificial offering immediately struck a good nerve in the Lord. It
reminded Him of the plan, already in place since the foundation of the
world, for the sacrificial slaying of His Son that was to come thousands of
years later in history.
I always find it interesting that in one chapter before, Moses describes the
fall of man and there, God says to the evil one, the serpent:
“And I will put enmity
between you and the woman,
And between your seed and
her seed; He shall bruise you on the head, And you shall bruise him on the
heel”
(Genesis 3:15).
“God's final curse
or oracle to the serpent was that an offspring of the woman will strike, or
bruise, Satan's head, and Satan would strike or bruise his heel. Bible
scholars see this as a reference to Christ, the Son of God, and also the
ultimate member of Eve's offspring. Satan would damage Christ, but He would
have the ultimate victory on behalf of humanity. Those in Christ will
celebrate the victory with Him for eternity.”
[2]
Romans 5:6 reminds us that this act of redemption is not a cooperative act
between we who would believe and God the Father. No, we are absolutely
without the ability to provide anything for our redemption except our desire
to take Jesus at His Word (believe Him).
“For while we were still helpless, at the right time Christ died for the
ungodly”
(Romans 5:6).
The last sentence in
MacCorkle’s translation tells us the big picture. Speaking of the Father’s
accomplishment in providing redemption,
“In a
manner matching the wealth of His grace.”
So, I asked myself the question what is the “wealth of His grace?” And then
I got it. How much does God the Father love you? The answer is, He loves you
(individually, and as a finished assembly of those like you) that He, the
Father, would ask His
Only Son, and His Only Son would willingly agree
to…
1. step down from heaven,
2. become a man,
3. spend 30 years growing up,
4. acquire a following,
5. teach them the Father’s love,
6. suffer at the hands of unrighteous, law
loving, God hating men, and…
7. be put to death through crucifixion –
for YOU
YOU
who were turned away from God and an unclean sinner.
That’s the depth of the wealth of God’s Grace.
We learned earlier that one of the most used metaphors concerning redemption
involves being “bought-out of the marketplace.” Consider the prospective
life of a person who ends their lifetime with no repentance and no
acceptance of the forgiveness offered by God the Father through the
sacrifice of His Son Jesus at the Cross. Human beings are created for
eternal life. Those who trust in Jesus are assured of an eternal life to be
lived as a child of Almighty God and with His Son Jesus, The Christ. Who can
imagine the sweet and rewarding life that is to come for them?
Now imagine the
eternal life of the unbeliever with
discipline, suffering, and continual punishment. Where the Biblical Hell is
a furnace of conscious torment, excruciating misery, agonizing thirst, and
weeping and gnashing of teeth for eternity.
Just take a moment and make sure that you have trusted Jesus, the Son of God, the sole mediator between man and God, and that you have taken Him to be your Savior to the glory of the Father.
[1]
MacCorkle, Douglas B., God's
Special Secret, 1993, MBM Books, Cocoa Beach, FL., p. 38
[2]
https://www.bibleref.com/Genesis/3/Genesis-3-15.html
In past lessons we have briefly mentioned the
differences between the NASB translation and the much newer MacCorkle
translations we use in this study. Here’s a brief note on the origin of the
MacCorkle.
The Greek original text is largely without
punctuation. Paul was very fond of run-on sentences. Here’s a peek at 1:7-9.
"ἐν ᾧ ἔχομεν τὴν ἀπολύτρωσιν διὰ τοῦ αἵματος αὐτοῦ τὴν ἄφεσιν τῶν παραπτωμάτων κατὰ τὸ πλοῦτος τῆς χάριτος αὐτοῦ ἧς ἐπερίσσευσεν εἰς ἡμᾶς ἐν πάσῃ σοφίᾳ καὶ φρονήσει γνωρίσας ἡμῖν τὸ μυστήριον τοῦ θελήματος αὐτοῦ κατὰ τὴν εὐδοκίαν αὐτοῦ ἣν προέθετο ἐν αὐτῷ"
The English punctuation was according to the
NASB committee’s interpretation of that text. Thus, the NASB reads as
follows:
7 In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in
accordance with the riches of God’s
grace 8 that
he lavished on us.
With all
wisdom and
understanding,
9 He
made known to us the mystery of his will
according to his good pleasure,
which he purposed in Christ….
The MacCorkle View places a period at the end of
verse 7. He then makes verse 8 a new sentence by eliminating the period in
the middle of verse 8makes a new removes the period in the middle of verse
8 and places it at the end of the verse. I have added words in ( ) to help
clarify who the subject is intended to be.
7 We keep on
enjoying redemption in Him (the Beloved Christ) through His blood (Christ's
blood) which involves the dismissal of sins that He (the Father)
accomplished (through Christ's blood) in a manner matching the wealth of His
grace
(the Father's grace).
8 God (the Father) caused this grace to be ours
in abundance, in terms of every kind of insight and practical understanding.
9 This was done by (the Father) making known to
us the open sacred secret that expresses His will, (the Father's will) that
He (the Father) openly purposed to center in Him (the Son).
THE STUDY
Lesson 04 -
Chapter 1:7-12, The Study
“The Major Creation Work of the Son”
The Work of Redemption by God
the Son, 1:7
The Administration of God the
Father’s Grace, 1:8
1:8
(MAC)
God
(the
Father)
caused
this grace
to be
ours
in abundance,
in terms of
every
kind of
insight and
practical understanding.
1:8a (NASB)
which
He
lavished on
us.
COMMENTARY
Paul is still focusing on the importance of the
loving work of The Father – as a father. MacCorkle’s translation focuses
upon our loving God causing His grace to
become ours. And not only causing it but causing it
to be applied to us “In Abundance,” and in each of
every one of us it is also “overflowing.” The New American Standard Bible
says The Father’s Grace was “Lavished on us.”
MacCorkle sees the end
of Paul’s statement there: “In terms of every kind of insight and practical
understanding.”
The New American Standard Bible sees this as the
beginning of the thought going into verse 9. So, we’ll look
at this both ways.
In the “Mac” way. He sees God the Father’s act of
administering His grace to believers as being backed by God’s absolute
ability to see and understand eternity. He sees the past, present, and
future in its fullness.
That can be really hard to grasp with our
little, tiny, fleshly brains – in fact we are totally incapable to even
begin to understand the enormity of our universe and the ramifications of
God’s will in time. I’ve been around now for nearly 80 years, and I’ve
watched some of the greatest scientists who ever lived… change their minds
about what’s going on out there. One of the hardest parts to understand, and
it is probably just human nature, is why what we think we know, at any
particular time, all about the universe, let alone our galaxy, our solar
system, or even right here on our earth… and claim that
this is the absolute truth. God’s Word is the absolute truth, and it is that
which is so often discarded.
MacCorkle divides his interpretation of
verse 8 with an ending stating that The Father accomplished the dismissal of
(the believer’s) sins in a way that matched the great wealth of His grace,
and, of course, that is absolutely true.
The New American Standard,
the second way of seeing the end of this verse as being applied to the rest
of verse 9, and we’ll explore that interpretation of the end of this verse
next.
THE STUDY
Lesson 04 - Chapter 1:7-12, The Study
“The Major Creation Work of the Son”
The Work of Redemption by God the Son, 1:7
The
Administration of God the Father’s Grace, 1:8
The Father’s Revelation of God’s Special Secret, 1:9
1:9 (MAC)
This was
done by (the Father)
making
known to us the open sacred secret
that expresses His will, (the Father's
will)
that He
(the Father) openly purposed
to center in Him (the Son).
1:8b (NASB)
In all
wisdom and
insight
9
He made known to us the mystery of His
will,
according to
His kind intention which
He purposed in Him (Christ)
COMMENTARY
The writers of the New American Standard see this
expression of God’s Grace as applying to His manner, the great
wealth of His grace, in making known to us the revelation of the Body of Christ,
the Church, and, of course, that is also absolutely true. Paul’s discussion was
about God and His wonderful and graceful nature. Everything that God has done,
is doing, and will do is a reflection of God’s Graceful nature. MacCorkle wants
to apply this part of a “non punctuated” sentence to God’s dismissing of
sins, and the NASB wants to apply this to the revelation of the Church
– “The Mystery of His will.” Paul will now begin to use the term “Church” more
often, for since Pentecost it has been in physical existence.
So now we
can move on to MacCorkle’s teaching of verse 9.
“This was done by
God’s dismissing of sins”
MacCorkle moves on, but for teaching this verse I have
inserted the “doer” in parenthesis – (the Father) – I’ve done so to help us stay
on track with Paul’s major theme. It is The Father God who is
doing all these wonderful things “In Christ” for us who believe. And He does it
by…
“Making known to us the open sacred secret…”
Now if you are new to the New Testament writings of Paul you need to know that certain truths have already been discussed, taught, and believed by the members of the new “assembly” of believers revealed at Pentecost, and it was there that the Holy Spirit came to believers and began indwelling them – giving them the power to understand godly spiritual truths. So, when Paul speaks here of God’s Secret, he speaks of the revelation of the plan and program of God to create a special chosen people to believe in His Son and to provide a growing “team” of believers who have been given specific gifts to administer, preach to and teach that new assembly for the purposes of continual growth. As we’ve said earlier, this assembly was eventually called the “Church.” The “universal” church is the world-wide membership of the members of the Body of Christ. The word “church” is and can be used for many and various collections of people who wish to be identified by that word. It is not an indication of the presence of true believers in Jesus Christ as the Messiah and Son of God as the second member of the Divine Trinity which makes up our One God. Lots of “religious” people who see “Christianity” not as being defined this way gather in groups called “church(s).” So, it becomes important that one comes to faith in Jesus, in the biblical sense, that they find a “church” – The assembly of true believers - where the Bible is preached and taught, and where Jesus is held up high as God, the prophesized Messiah, the 2nd member of the Trinity. And remember the actual “Church” is the assembly of true believers in Jesus, the Christ, The Only Begotten Son of God, The Second Person of the Trinity.
THE STUDY
The Father Appoints the Times
1:10 [MAC]
He (the Father)
will head up all things
in Christ,
in a dispensation
appropriate to the fullness of the ages:
administering
heavenly affairs and
earthly affairs —
even in Him (the Son).
1:10 [NASB]
with a view to
an administration
suitable to the
fullness of the times,
that is, the summing up of all things in Christ,
things in the heavens and
things on the earth.
In Him
COMMENTARY
We can break down this verse into three important
parts:
First, The Father will head up all
things in Christ. God’s plan, from the beginning, was to create – as an end
result – a world of adopted children as His own (humans), dwelling in a New
Earth and in God’s heaven. That new earth would be free from
sin and evil. It would belong to Jesus, The Christ, who would also administer
all of God’s physical and heavenly affairs. He, the Christ,
would be King over it all.
Second, the timing of this
end result would be in stages that were “appropriate” for each step that would
result in the “fullness of the ages.” Meaning that each step of this process
would end at exactly the right time according to the plan and program of
Almighty God.
Third, every step, phase, idea, and
reality would be the summation of all things, and that summation of all things
would be brought about In Christ and Through Christ. All things would be
accomplished In Him.
THE STUDY
The Father's Plans are Brilliant
11 [MAC]
We also,
having been predestined,
were
made God's portion in Him (in Christ),
in
keeping with the purpose
of the One Who (the Father)
executes
all
things
in line with the brilliance
of His (the Father's) will.
11 [NASB]
also
we
have obtained an inheritance,
having been
predestined
according to His purpose
who
works all
things
after the counsel of His will,
COMMENTARY
Now Paul turns his attention to “we who believe.” He tells us that “we also,” are included in that three-step program in that we have ALSO, like God’s 3 step plan, been predestined In Christ Jesus by God the Father who is the force behind the commissioning of His Son as King over all things. I like MacCorkle’s translation here mentioning the “brilliance” of the Father’s will. What a great way to describe God’s plan for creating a holy and effective people who become physical members of the family of God.
In Him also we have obtained an inheritance
The inheritance of God, that we have obtained, is very much like a man who goes
to a bank and invests his money. The money that he invests is known as the
"principle." The result of the "investment," which happens over a specified
period of time, is called the "return," or "interest," or "dividend." When the
man takes his money out of the bank he receives back the principle plus the
dividend, which is the result of his investment.
We must remember the tense of the words "have
obtained." In this instance it is in the past perfect tense - "We ALREADY have
obtained...." A simple action in the past was the obtaining of this inheritance
and it is still ours now in the present.
God the Father invests His "principle," Jesus Christ
into the "bank" of the world. The work that is done through Jesus Christ in the
salvation of the lost becomes the "dividend." Upon the finishing of the
specified period of time (the age of The Church) He then has His principle (His
Son) and His dividends (The Body of Christ) as a final net result.
The
meaning of the word translated in many bibles as "inheritance" has its roots in
words like heritage, portion, or dividend. That which God the Father did,
through Jesus Christ the Son, was to bring about the establishment of a people
who would be His as a personal possession. They would be His dividend, His
inheritance, forever.
Having been predestined according to His
purpose
We who believe are His inheritance, His dividend, that is
predestined according to His purpose. First, His purpose is to create, by way of
reconciliation, a new category of man out of the preceding two categories, the
Jew and the Gentile. Both qualify for this entirely new manhood whether they
were part of the Abrahamic covenant or not. This is a new covenant. Having
believed, we become a part of this new covenant whether we were part of the old
one or not. Second, His purpose is the creation, through the regenerating work
of the Holy Spirit, of eternally living human beings, destined to be conformed
to the Image of His son, and live eternally in His presence.
He who works all things after the counsel of
His will
Our modern understanding of the word counsel leads us
astray of the intended meaning. The Greek word bouleen is the word for
brilliance and luster. It is often translated as intelligence. God's will is
brilliant, God's will is intelligent. Back in verse 8 of this chapter Paul
states that we were blessed in all wisdom and insight by the revelation of His
will, and God is seen to be brilliant in doing so. Then by these words we now
must understand that God's plan to reconcile, redeem, and make an inheritance
for Himself is a brilliant plan made and executed by a brilliant God.
THE STUDY
The Major Creaton Work of The Father
A
Demonstration of God's Glory
1:12 (Mac)
His (the Father's)
ultimate
purpose
is
that we
should bring acclaim to His
(the Father's) glory —
we who hoped in Christ first.
1:12 (NASB)
to the end that
we
who were the first to hope in Christ
would be to the praise of His glory.
COMMENTARY
Paul now shifts his letter to the Glory of God. That is,
after all, the Father’s focus through all of His plans. We need to be careful to
properly understand how giving Glory to God is to be understood. He is absolute
God—there is no other god. We know from His word that He is absolutely holy,
which is absolutely remarkable. Consider all the gods that mankind has made up
in order to control the world of people around them. Evil, inhumane, immoral,
and often disgusting. The only God, is holy, loving, kind, and desiring a people
who would willingly take Him as their God—and make them His children.
Then consider Paul’s letter to the Ephesian church as he says to them that “we,
the first to hope in Christ, should bring acclaim, and become the “Praise of His
Glory,” and then ask, “Why?” Why should they be to the praise of His Glory?
Consider the size of the “Body of Christ” today across the world. As I write
there’s a Christian church in India with, ready? 300,000 members and they are in
the planning stage to begin 40 more megachurches. Sources now report that
Christianity represents more than one-third of the world’s population at 2.4
billion people. All this was started by 11 of Christ’s apostles, then after
Pentecost came the ministry that led to the churches of Southern Europe and
western Asia – the 7 churches of the book of Revelation, Ephesus being central
and out of these small beginnings has come the massive Christian population of
today. It’s understood that not all who are included in these numbers worship
Christ as God’s sole mediator with man, but still the numbers are massive.
That’s why the Apostles, Paul, and the early churches are to be to the Praise of
God’s Glory.
We've talked about all the blessings that God the Father has
brought about In Christ; the gift of all spiritual blessings; His blessed
choosing; Our adoption as Sons of God; The redemption provided through His Son;
The revelation of His will to believers; His consideration of the results of the
plan of salvation as His dividend from the investment of His Son; and the list
that Paul presents is not finished yet. All these things are TO THE END THAT we,
Paul and the Apostles and the first generation of believers, were to be TO THE
PRAISE OF HIS GLORY.
Some men build buildings, some highways, some
bridges. Some men enter politics, education, or public service. But God, working
His brilliant will, brought about a new creation, a new people, mortal, sinful
people, called by His calling, hearing His voice and His words, redeemed by
simple faith in His invested Son, predestined to be conformed to the image of
His Son, … that He would proclaim them, and His work in them, through the Power
of His Holy Spirit, and in Christ – "the Praise of His Glory!"
If you
haven't seen it before, you should see it now. Our response to this proclamation
should be that we live our lives with the sole purpose of demonstrating that we
are to the Praise of His Glory. We should have no other purpose in life, it
should be voluntary, and it should be spontaneous. He alone is worthy of our
adoration. Let us walk in a manner worthy of His brilliance and His glory.
Paul writes of those who were the first to hope. Many commentators say many
things about this, so I'll add my two cents worth here. Different groups of
people have been special to God at different times. The Old Testament has many
examples, especially of individuals. It's not really until we are introduced to
Abram (Abraham) and we meet Melchizedek that we should see that, along the way,
groups of men and women in the world who loved and worshipped the One God and
did so in a corporate sense rather than as a single individual. Melchizedek was
the One God's High Priest and King of Salem. This city became Jebusalem under
the Jebusites before the time of King David. It was David who conquered the city
from the Jebusites and renamed it Jerusalem. We do not know much about this man
Melchizedek or his followers in the One God. Our bible is the story of the Son
of God coming through the family of Abraham, so it is largely a Jewish book and
not Melchizedekian.
Abraham, being a man who loved God, and who was loved
by God for it, received a blessing and promise from God that the Messiah, Savior
of the world, Prophet of God's Word, King of Kings, High Priest of all, would
come through the generations of his family. This made the resulting nation God's
special people. No where is there found that this special covenant relationship
with God would bring about corporate salvation for the nation. Salvation is, and
always has been about the individual who loves the One God with all of his
heart. Ezekiel wrote that the corporate Jew had no hope.
Then He
(God) said to me, "Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel;
behold, they say, 'Our bones are dried up, and our hope has perished. We are
completely cut off'” (Ezekiel 37:11).
The nation of Israel was never
a part of the family of God as a corporate entity. Individuals along the way of
history believed God and looked forward to His blessing, and became members of
His family, but never did the Nation of Israel believe “en masse”.
Previous to Abraham, and running concurrent alongside of the Nation of Israel,
were the Gentiles (Abraham was a Gentile), and they did not have a family
relationship to God as a corporate entity either. Individuals along the way of
history believed God, love Him, and looked forward to His blessing, and became
members of His family, but never did the Gentiles believe en masse. The Gentile
had "no hope" (Romans 15:12, there would be a time in the then future when the
Gentiles would have hope).
And again Isaiah says,
"THERE
SHALL COME THE ROOT OF JESSE, AND HE WHO
ARISES TO RULE OVER THE GENTILES, IN HIM SHALL THE GENTILES HOPE."
(see: Isaiah 11:1-10)
But God, predestined through His will
whereby His investment of His Son, and the hearing of Him, would result in a
people who loved God – because they wanted to – who would become those who have
"The Hope of Glory," a thing to be possessed, not hoped for.
So, it is
those under the new covenant, beginning with Pentecost, who have been
incorporated into a new corporate relationship with God whereby every member is
a person of faith. “Someone who loves God through the Power of the Holy Spirit,
IN CHRIST.” There is no member of this body who has not believed. This is the
only group of people who ever have had guaranteed hope. They have it because
they are all IN CHRIST. This body of believers are so by God's redemption that
we would be God's own possession, to the praise of His glory.