We are Growing
Series: Who is the Church?
Speaker: Steve Jeffrey
Date: 8th February 2026
00:00:00 --> 00:00:14 If you have just tuned in to us here at St. Paul's, we just started last week journeying our way through the book of Ephesians, discovering who is the church.
00:00:14 --> 00:00:37 And that is really the foundational, crucial question. We're looking at who we are as we look forward as a church to what God is calling us to in the next five to 10 years of our life and ministry together here to our neighbours.
00:00:37 --> 00:00:55 Ephesians really helps us to break out of the modern concept of just this personal relationship with God that sees the church as more as a what than a who.
00:00:55 --> 00:01:05 The church, God's called out and blessed people, is not just central to God's plans.
00:01:06 --> 00:01:11 It is, in fact, in the book of Ephesians, at the centre of God's heart.
00:01:11 --> 00:01:23 The Bible overflows with imagery of God's affection, his love for his church, the church being the bride of Christ.
00:01:23 --> 00:01:26 The church is beautiful to God.
00:01:26 --> 00:01:53 As I said last week, the 18th century American pastor and theologian Jonathan Edwards said that the whole grand scope of scripture leads you to believe that God created all things in the material universe so that the eternal son of God might be provided with a spouse.
00:01:53 --> 00:02:23 That is God's plan for all of history.
00:02:23 --> 00:02:39 And in the next phase of life and ministry together, my prayer is that ultimately our affections would be awakened for who God's church is and why she exists.
00:02:41 --> 00:02:49 As Charles Spurgeon preached, nothing in the world is dearer to God's heart than his church.
00:02:49 --> 00:02:58 therefore being his let us belong to it that by our prayers our gifts our labours we may support
00:02:58 --> 00:03:09 and strengthen it and so in summary our plans whatever they might be for the next five to ten
00:03:09 --> 00:03:22 years are to beautify the bride of christ which is some paul's chats with so uh we journey into
00:03:22 --> 00:03:32 ephesians i've got three points uh this morning um as we move forward as a church our our our uh
00:03:32 --> 00:03:42 goal is to grow as the bride of christ so three points the first one uh blessed to grow uh we saw
00:03:42 --> 00:03:48 last week in the first pit or the first bit of ephesians one uh that god is the source of every
00:03:48 --> 00:03:55 spiritual blessing in jesus christ god has poured out his sovereign grace through the lord jesus
00:03:55 --> 00:04:02 and brought together and is bringing together his eternal family his bride his church his people
00:04:02 --> 00:04:11 and the first thing that paul does as we move into the second bit is that in verse 15 is that paul
00:04:11 --> 00:04:20 prays he gives thanks that the ephesians have in fact received every spiritual blessing in christ
00:04:20 --> 00:04:25 they're adopted they're redeemed they're forgiven they're saved they are christian and helpfully what
00:04:25 --> 00:04:34 he does in verse 15 is he gives us two markers to test whether or not we are in fact blessed that
00:04:34 --> 00:04:46 we've received those blessings he mentions faith in the lord jesus and love for all god's people they're
00:04:46 --> 00:04:53 the two tests they're the evidence when paul says i heard about these things i went ah yep those those people
00:04:53 --> 00:05:03 are in two so the first test here is faith in the lord jesus in other words it's it's what we believe
00:05:03 --> 00:05:18 is the first test faith is primary in fact in the bible it is always more important what you believe
00:05:18 --> 00:05:24 than how you live it is always more important
00:05:24 --> 00:05:36 this is crucial crucial if i stop there you'd be all it's all it'd be controversy
00:05:36 --> 00:05:47 um what makes a person a christian is first of all primarily first and foremost what they believe
00:05:48 --> 00:06:01 not how they live what they believe the belief that makes a person a christian is faith in the lord jesus
00:06:01 --> 00:06:12 specifically the lordship of jesus now this is if you like the opposite of the common view of christianity
00:06:13 --> 00:06:18 most think these days it is entirely irrelevant what you believe
00:06:20 --> 00:06:22 it's how a person lives that really matters
00:06:22 --> 00:06:29 but the bible says that what we believe is primary in fact the bible leads me to conclude
00:06:29 --> 00:06:33 that the view it doesn't matter what you believe as long as you live a good life
00:06:33 --> 00:06:38 you know uh depends on you know matters what you that that view is is illogical in fact
00:06:40 --> 00:06:49 you see because what we truly believe deep down inside us determines how we live it determines what we do with
00:06:49 --> 00:07:00 our lives it's in fact impossible to separate belief and life a christian believes that the bible is god's
00:07:01 --> 00:07:12 self-revelation to humanity and as such it is true and reliable but we don't become a christian by believing that
00:07:12 --> 00:07:20 the christian believes that obediently following jesus means a life of service and generosity and
00:07:20 --> 00:07:26 and truthfulness and forgiveness and and a heap of other but we are not saved by a life
00:07:27 --> 00:07:30 of service and generosity and truthfulness and forgiveness
00:07:32 --> 00:07:38 a religious life of diligent obedience and doing the things the bible says and trying really hard can
00:07:38 --> 00:07:43 in fact be evidence that you have no faith in the lord jesus but in fact faith in yourself
00:07:45 --> 00:07:51 faith in your goodness faith in your ability faith in your morality
00:07:53 --> 00:08:04 to have faith in jesus christ is to admit that you can't trust in your own strength that the bible is true and
00:08:04 --> 00:08:13 reliable but you can't live a life of service and generosity and truthfulness and forgiveness
00:08:16 --> 00:08:21 you can't do any of those things but you can't live the life that god has called you to
00:08:22 --> 00:08:29 and so you finish you rest in the finished work of the lord jesus that is what it means that faith in him
00:08:29 --> 00:08:37 you see the only reason a person is a christian is because they have trusted they have believed they
00:08:37 --> 00:08:45 have rested in jesus christ not because of years of attendance at church or because of good doctrine or
00:08:45 --> 00:08:56 because of bible knowledge that's the first test the second test the second marker is love and particularly
00:08:56 --> 00:09:07 in love for all of god's people for all of god's people all of god's church so when you put these together
00:09:07 --> 00:09:12 this is filling out the first point if you like faith in jesus is primary
00:09:14 --> 00:09:19 love for all of god's people is necessary
00:09:19 --> 00:09:29 primary primary necessary faith in the lord jesus will lead to a life of love for what god loves
00:09:31 --> 00:09:35 and the implications for this are going to be explored as we go further into ephesians i'm not
00:09:35 --> 00:09:43 going to unpack it all here the the principle though is faith is primary but practice is necessary
00:09:43 --> 00:09:53 you see if you truly believe something in life if it if it you truly hold it as a as a deepest
00:09:53 --> 00:10:00 sense of value and world view something that it will shape the choices that you make
00:10:04 --> 00:10:13 but it will shape it over time it's like faith in the lord jesus is an immediate
00:10:13 --> 00:10:22 certain thing and the life it produces it gradually shifts over time so is it possible to have faith in the
00:10:22 --> 00:10:26 lord jesus and be inconsistent yes
00:10:29 --> 00:10:36 is it possible to have faith in the lord jesus and do some terrible things yes
00:10:36 --> 00:10:40 yes
00:10:41 --> 00:10:47 so what that means is that if we are ever judgmental towards a professed christian who has failed
00:10:48 --> 00:10:50 it means that in that moment
00:10:52 --> 00:10:53 we've forgotten the gospel
00:10:55 --> 00:10:59 judgmentalism towards another means that we've forgotten the gospel
00:10:59 --> 00:11:03 and we've started to lean in on our self
00:11:06 --> 00:11:13 faith is primary but practice is necessary what that means is that if faith is primary what it means
00:11:13 --> 00:11:18 is you trust jesus and and you trust what the bible reveals and what it's calling you life is calling you
00:11:18 --> 00:11:19 to
00:11:19 --> 00:11:26 and and and that life is calling you to you will spend a lifetime of shifting that and growing into
00:11:26 --> 00:11:32 that and what that means that if you're christian uh and you are having sex outside of marriage which
00:11:32 --> 00:11:39 the bible says you shouldn't uh or if you are being uh if you're not being generous or if you're
00:11:39 --> 00:11:44 gossiping and slandering or if you're not forgiving someone and growing in bitterness towards people
00:11:45 --> 00:11:50 you should not say ah it doesn't matter that stuff doesn't matter i am saved by faith in the lord jesus christ
00:11:50 --> 00:11:55 because faith is primary you should not say it doesn't matter
00:11:58 --> 00:12:08 instead what you should do is you should say if my life is not changing do i really have faith
00:12:08 --> 00:12:21 now i'm not saying that if you're you're continually battling sin in certain areas i'm not saying you're not
00:12:21 --> 00:12:29 christian i'm just saying that you shouldn't be sure that you have faith in the lord jesus at that point in
00:12:29 --> 00:12:34 your life that you're trusting him at that point in your life that's what i'm saying
00:12:34 --> 00:12:38 that's an area for growth that's an area to go deeper
00:12:41 --> 00:12:50 you shouldn't be confident you shouldn't be sure unless you are on a repentant growth track in that
00:12:50 --> 00:12:51 area of your life
00:12:56 --> 00:13:04 so a new life starts by faith this is what paul's doing here for us in the very first section a new
00:13:04 --> 00:13:15 life starts by faith in jesus christ and that life grows over time that life changes us to into the image of
00:13:15 --> 00:13:24 the lord jesus and paul starts here by giving thanks that the the ephesians have started that they are in
00:13:24 --> 00:13:35 christ and now he prays that they will grow grow into that and that they would grow into who they already
00:13:35 --> 00:13:46 are in christ that's the trajectory of the christian growth growing into who or who we already are
00:13:46 --> 00:13:54 i keep asking verse 17 i keep asking the god of our lord jesus christ the glorious father may give you
00:13:54 --> 00:14:03 the spirit of wisdom and revelation so that you may know him better and i pray that the eyes of your heart
00:14:04 --> 00:14:11 might be in light you see growth in the christian life is growing deeper
00:14:11 --> 00:14:21 it's growing deeper it's growing deeper it's not growing in doing it's growing in who we are
00:14:24 --> 00:14:32 as god's much-loved father the children and so therefore it is uh growing deeper knowing our
00:14:32 --> 00:14:38 glorious father in a deeper way in a more intimate way let me try and illustrate this a little bit uh
00:14:38 --> 00:14:52 when prince george was born to um uh william and kate uh in 2013 uh that baby little george was like
00:14:52 --> 00:14:59 every other baby born he had no knowledge of his parents at all
00:14:59 --> 00:15:08 uh or if you like very little knowledge of his parents he kind of knew where the milk was
00:15:09 --> 00:15:13 that's you know uh but there's so much more to know isn't there
00:15:15 --> 00:15:24 he had virtually no knowledge of his parents and yet when he was born he was born prince george
00:15:24 --> 00:15:36 he was rich he had a title he had privileges he had unknown he had his future mapped out for him and he
00:15:36 --> 00:15:47 had absolutely no idea of that when he was born and yet it was his the moment that he was born he had no
00:15:47 --> 00:15:51 idea who his father was he had no idea who his grandfather was
00:15:55 --> 00:15:57 and what his future was
00:16:00 --> 00:16:06 he was second in line to the throne and yet all he cares about is the milk
00:16:06 --> 00:16:16 and it will take a lot he's like 12 years later he's still growing into that he has more awareness
00:16:16 --> 00:16:26 now of who he is and that he is different and that there is a future that his life is right now from the
00:16:26 --> 00:16:31 moment he was born his future was being shaped in him
00:16:31 --> 00:16:37 getting ready for the day that he takes the throne
00:16:39 --> 00:16:41 that's the picture of the christian
00:16:43 --> 00:16:49 it's a life of knowing of growing into knowing who our father is
00:16:51 --> 00:16:53 and what that future is for us in him
00:16:53 --> 00:17:02 and that's what paul prays here that they would know the father better and for as they grow in the
00:17:02 --> 00:17:09 knowledge of the father their present life will be shaped based on their future
00:17:14 --> 00:17:23 so what is the dynamic in the christian life that will affect this growth in us now it's kind of the
00:17:23 --> 00:17:33 same for little george um he was born his future is determined and from the very get-go
00:17:33 --> 00:17:36 his life is shaped towards that future
00:17:40 --> 00:17:48 and so here's the dynamic of the christian life verse 18 the future that shapes our present i pray
00:17:48 --> 00:17:56 that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope
00:17:59 --> 00:18:02 hope is the dynamic of the christian life
00:18:04 --> 00:18:06 that faces that that affects
00:18:08 --> 00:18:14 our christian life now that shapes our life you see the real dynamic of the christian faith is hope
00:18:14 --> 00:18:20 verses uh 13 14 tells us that that uh that the christian and the church receives the holy spirit
00:18:20 --> 00:18:29 as a deposit from the future the holy spirit is the first installment of the future redemption of the
00:18:29 --> 00:18:37 universe coming into our life right now bringing that that redemption that hope that regeneration
00:18:37 --> 00:18:45 into our life right now shaping us now for that future it's the deposit it's the installment
00:18:47 --> 00:18:52 now in our day the word hope is not so strong it carries a sense of uncertainty well you know i
00:18:52 --> 00:18:59 hope it's true i hope it works out um in the new testament the word hope means a life
00:18:59 --> 00:19:03 shaping certainty about something that is yet to happen but you know it will
00:19:07 --> 00:19:14 now hope is not just the dynamic of the christian life it's the dynamic of the human life
00:19:15 --> 00:19:19 you can't live without hope hope is the engine room of our lives
00:19:20 --> 00:19:25 how we live the choices we make what we give our time and energy to how we handle our circumstances
00:19:25 --> 00:19:33 are all shaped by our perceived future hope is the change dynamic for the christian
00:19:34 --> 00:19:44 and the more we grow into the glorious father what happens is the more we understand the hope that we have
00:19:44 --> 00:19:45 in him
00:19:49 --> 00:19:55 that's specifically why paul uses the word here or the statement the glorious father he gives us an idea
00:19:55 --> 00:19:59 of what the hope is of what the hope is by using the term we already need to say the father of our
00:19:59 --> 00:20:06 lord jesus christ the glorious father the word glorious father the word glory there is most often in the new
00:20:06 --> 00:20:12 testament attached to the domain of god where god resides where he is
00:20:12 --> 00:20:28 our hope is with god in all of his glory and so we are being changed moment by moment into his glory
00:20:29 --> 00:20:36 now paul mentions three things about this hope that i want to uh unpack firstly we're being called into
00:20:36 --> 00:20:42 this hope verse 18 i pray the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope
00:20:42 --> 00:20:52 to which he has called you this is simply saying that the whole goal the whole purpose of of a christian being
00:20:52 --> 00:21:03 saved is this future hope the whole reason for salvation is future hope and the hope here
00:21:03 --> 00:21:14 is the part of the salvation plan of god in jesus christ that we've not yet received we've received all
00:21:14 --> 00:21:19 these other things in the first verses three to fourteen received all those things this is the bit that
00:21:19 --> 00:21:27 we've not yet received but we are looking forward to and as we have guaranteed received everything that's in
00:21:27 --> 00:21:36 verses three to fourteen this is guaranteed too and this hope is nothing less than life in the new heavens and the new
00:21:36 --> 00:21:46 earth in the presence of the glorious father or as romans five puts it the hope of the glory of god and it's the
00:21:46 --> 00:21:49 hope of sharing in that magnificence
00:21:49 --> 00:21:56 now the second thing about this hope that is included in paul's prayer
00:21:57 --> 00:22:03 is that it's a rich hope verse 18 i pray the eyes of your heart may be enlightened or that you may know
00:22:03 --> 00:22:13 the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people now some english translations will take holy people and
00:22:13 --> 00:22:22 say in his saints uh now holy people there is a reference to god's set apart people
00:22:23 --> 00:22:29 it's it's it's a reference to all christians everyone who has faith in the lord jesus it's not a special
00:22:29 --> 00:22:37 category of of christians you know like sometimes people will say like you know i would say my wife you
00:22:37 --> 00:22:45 know natalie's just a saint um and uh what they mean by that is just a remarkable person um
00:22:48 --> 00:22:58 it's true of her in two ways um both remarkable person but also in christ uh but that that's that's
00:22:58 --> 00:23:03 not the reference here holy people saints is a reference to everyone who has faith in the lord jesus christ
00:23:03 --> 00:23:14 and that means that this hope is for everyone in christ and what is for all christians is the riches
00:23:15 --> 00:23:22 of his glorious inheritance uh the the word inheritance here as it really is for in our way of thinking it is
00:23:22 --> 00:23:32 the substance of your wealth it is your entire value is is your inheritance
00:23:33 --> 00:23:40 it's what you would leave behind when you die all of it everything
00:23:42 --> 00:23:50 now what is astonishing here in this verse is that this isn't referring to the the inheritance that the
00:23:50 --> 00:23:52 christian receives
00:23:55 --> 00:23:58 it's referring to the inheritance that god receives
00:23:58 --> 00:24:01 what
00:24:01 --> 00:24:08 this is what god receives
00:24:08 --> 00:24:08
00:24:11 --> 00:24:12 his church
00:24:13 --> 00:24:22 the plan of god to bless humanity through jesus christ and to make a new people for himself
00:24:22 --> 00:24:28 to share in his glory for all of eternity is god's inheritance
00:24:30 --> 00:24:32 that's how it's expressed here
00:24:36 --> 00:24:38 that should blow our mind
00:24:42 --> 00:24:44 let me try and illustrate it for you if i can
00:24:44 --> 00:24:51 elon musk is the richest person in the world his net worth apparently is worth something around
00:24:51 --> 00:25:01 670 billion us dollars uh which is nearly a trillion australian dollars depending on what the markets did on friday
00:25:01 --> 00:25:02 um
00:25:05 --> 00:25:12 so imagine this task you get a phone call from spacex headquarters
00:25:13 --> 00:25:24 um steve uh your elon musk would love you to buy him a birthday present that's just going to blow his socks off
00:25:24 --> 00:25:27 that's your one task
00:25:29 --> 00:25:37 what do you do with that i mean how can i afford that i mean what what do you what do you get him
00:25:38 --> 00:25:47 what do you buy how do you buy it how do you what do you do for someone who who's got the resources to access
00:25:47 --> 00:25:57 anything in this world what could you possibly get him where he opens us on his birthday and he is broken
00:25:57 --> 00:26:00 to tears by it and goes oh my goodness
00:26:02 --> 00:26:07 this is more valuable to me than than my stake in space x
00:26:12 --> 00:26:15 this is my most treasured possession
00:26:17 --> 00:26:22 i have no idea
00:26:24 --> 00:26:29 and so paul is referring to something here that just impossible to imagine
00:26:30 --> 00:26:38 this is the god who owns everything in the universe his worth is displayed by the grandeur of it all
00:26:41 --> 00:26:42 but that's not his inheritance
00:26:42 --> 00:26:52 the swiss alps is not his inheritance the depths of the ocean the vast is the space
00:26:53 --> 00:27:01 what is more valuable to god than everything more than the stars and the galaxies and the solar systems
00:27:01 --> 00:27:04 his church
00:27:08 --> 00:27:09 his people
00:27:14 --> 00:27:16 and in case you're unsure of that
00:27:16 --> 00:27:23 the last verse the last sentence here it just just blows your socks off
00:27:24 --> 00:27:26 the church which is his body
00:27:27 --> 00:27:32 the fullness of him who feels everything in every way
00:27:32 --> 00:27:40 now what paul's doing here is using paradoxical language to get us to try and get us into the depth
00:27:40 --> 00:27:48 of this astounding truth the church is the fullness of him who fills the entire universe
00:27:48 --> 00:27:53 the church
00:27:53 --> 00:27:54 the church
00:27:54 --> 00:27:56 fills up
00:27:56 --> 00:27:57 christ
00:27:57 --> 00:28:01 who is the one who fills the universe in every way
00:28:04 --> 00:28:07 how can jesus who created the universe who is
00:28:07 --> 00:28:10 is
00:28:10 --> 00:28:12 its head of the church
00:28:13 --> 00:28:17 who fills everything in every way
00:28:18 --> 00:28:20 be filled up by his church
00:28:23 --> 00:28:26 and so the answer to this paradox
00:28:27 --> 00:28:30 is in the metaphor of the body here
00:28:30 --> 00:28:32 the head and the body
00:28:32 --> 00:28:35 a head is incomplete without the body
00:28:37 --> 00:28:38 this
00:28:38 --> 00:28:41 astounding
00:28:41 --> 00:28:44 i know is a word too often probably but this really is astounding
00:28:44 --> 00:28:44 right
00:28:46 --> 00:28:48 this astounding wonder here
00:28:49 --> 00:28:49 calls
00:28:50 --> 00:28:51 the theologian
00:28:53 --> 00:28:55 john calvin to exclaim
00:28:55 --> 00:28:56 in his
00:28:58 --> 00:29:00 commentary on ephesians
00:29:01 --> 00:29:04 this is the highest honor of the church
00:29:04 --> 00:29:05 the church
00:29:05 --> 00:29:06 that unless
00:29:06 --> 00:29:07 he
00:29:07 --> 00:29:08 christ
00:29:08 --> 00:29:10 is united to us
00:29:10 --> 00:29:14 the son of god reckons himself in some measure
00:29:14 --> 00:29:15 imperfect
00:29:15 --> 00:29:16 or
00:29:16 --> 00:29:19 the language he meant there
00:29:19 --> 00:29:21 was not only that he is imperfect but incomplete
00:29:22 --> 00:29:24 what an encouragement for us to hear
00:29:24 --> 00:29:27 that not only he has us
00:29:27 --> 00:29:29 us as one with himself
00:29:31 --> 00:29:37 is he he is complete in all his parts or does he wish to be regarded as whole
00:29:37 --> 00:29:43 so sorry let me say what an encouragement for us to hear that not until he has us one with himself
00:29:44 --> 00:29:52 is he complete in all of his parts or does he wish to be regarded as whole
00:29:52 --> 00:30:05 he is praying here that god's people would be captivated by our value to god
00:30:05 --> 00:30:15 as one commentator wrote here the whole purpose of this prayer is that god wants us to be smitten
00:30:15 --> 00:30:21 with how rich god feels when he looks at his church
00:30:23 --> 00:30:23 now
00:30:23 --> 00:30:26 with all its faults now
00:30:28 --> 00:30:32 because he sees the beauty and the majesty of his son
00:30:34 --> 00:30:40 the glory of his son and to the degree that we understand this hope as being profoundly
00:30:40 --> 00:30:44 personal and intimate is the degree that we will exercise self-control over sin
00:30:45 --> 00:30:52 that we will grow into the life of obedience to christ that we've been called into and until we are
00:30:52 --> 00:30:56 astounded by how rich god feels when he looks at us
00:31:00 --> 00:31:01 our value to him
00:31:02 --> 00:31:04 as his holy people his church
00:31:04 --> 00:31:10 then we will not live the life that we are called to live as his people
00:31:12 --> 00:31:15 we won't have the hope the joy the satisfaction
00:31:16 --> 00:31:21 there's one t-shirt that i nearly bought recently except this i just don't agree with it
00:31:22 --> 00:31:27 but it is funny because most other most people would agree with it it's a it's a t-shirt it's
00:31:28 --> 00:31:30 produced by a christian company of all things
00:31:30 --> 00:31:35 there's a picture of jesus there on the front of it with him
00:31:35 --> 00:31:40 arm stretched out looking down at his church and the caption is disappointment the lot of you
00:31:42 --> 00:31:47 it's often how we feel but it's not what ephesians 1 is telling us
00:31:48 --> 00:31:48 at all
00:31:48 --> 00:32:01 it's also important to emphasize that the christian hope is not just personal intimate
00:32:02 --> 00:32:11 divine love uh it is it is also a material hope um we get a glimpse of that in verse 19 where there's
00:32:11 --> 00:32:16 a quick reference when he raised christ from the dead in other words the future hope that we have
00:32:16 --> 00:32:24 uh it is is an intimate personal relational physical hope as jesus christ is raised physically on the
00:32:24 --> 00:32:30 third day imperishable so is the christian that is our future that is our hope it is not a spiritual
00:32:30 --> 00:32:36 realm it's not clouds it's not harps it's not floating you see one of the remarkable differences
00:32:36 --> 00:32:42 between the christian faith and every single other religion and philosophical system in the history of
00:32:42 --> 00:32:52 humanity is this one only christianity declares that heaven comes down to restore and perfect the
00:32:52 --> 00:32:59 material world when jesus was resurrected very clearly in the gospels he walked he cooked he ate he talked
00:32:59 --> 00:33:04 he laughed he could be seen he could be touched and the christian hope therefore
00:33:04 --> 00:33:14 is not a consolation prize in that in the end our hope is a hope where suffering is undone
00:33:15 --> 00:33:24 our hope is a restoration of everything that we dream for in this life it is not a consolation prize
00:33:25 --> 00:33:33 the christian hope is a restoring a very real restoring of the material life that we are so
00:33:34 --> 00:33:42 fixated with and created to enjoy everything that we've ever wanted in life every longing every desire
00:33:42 --> 00:33:53 of the heart comes back to us physically materially a million times over in a perfected world it is glorified
00:33:55 --> 00:33:57 and god is working everything
00:33:57 --> 00:34:02 because he is smitten with his church
00:34:04 --> 00:34:11 he's in love with his church and he's longing to be with his church to embrace her to walk with her to
00:34:11 --> 00:34:15 laugh with her to enjoy her in perfect unity
00:34:21 --> 00:34:23 and that's why paul wants us to know the third thing
00:34:23 --> 00:34:32 including this prayer that our hope is a confident hope because of the power of god
00:34:32 --> 00:34:38 to bring it about not because our ability to keep in step with it but because of the power of god
00:34:38 --> 00:34:44 paul prays the eyes of her heart might be light and so that we might know his incomparably great power
00:34:44 --> 00:34:49 for us who believe and he says that power a bit further down is the same power as the mighty strength
00:34:49 --> 00:34:58 exerted when he raised christ from the dead it's the power that seated jesus at the right hand of the heavenly realms far above all
00:34:58 --> 00:35:03 rule and authority power and dominion where where god placed everything under his feet
00:35:03 --> 00:35:17 which what that means is that jesus was resurrected triumphant placed in the position of power which means that he rules everything in the spiritual realm in the physical realm
00:35:19 --> 00:35:25 and it's the power that he was appointed to to be head over everything for the church
00:35:25 --> 00:35:39 what that means is that the power that jesus is exerting in ruling everything in heaven and on earth and under the earth
00:35:40 --> 00:35:42 is to bring the church to its inheritance
00:35:47 --> 00:35:54 every power he's exerting is for you that you might receive your inheritance
00:35:55 --> 00:36:07 god is bringing his power to bear on absolutely everything in history for his people
00:36:09 --> 00:36:15 to be his inheritance he's exerting his sovereignty over everything in your life and my life
00:36:17 --> 00:36:20 that we might get our hope that he might get his church
00:36:20 --> 00:36:30 so how do we grow in hope let me just really quickly this one i could just expand upon more and more
00:36:32 --> 00:36:41 but let me try to be quick real quick um how do we grow in the exact same way as paul is doing here for
00:36:41 --> 00:36:50 the ephesians pray this prayer pray that god may give you the spirit of wisdom and revelation so that you
00:36:50 --> 00:36:55 might know him better and pray that the eyes of your heart might be enlightened
00:36:58 --> 00:37:06 pray this prayer for yourself pray it every single day pray for the spirit of god who has been
00:37:06 --> 00:37:12 given to you from the future and giving you a foretaste of the future that this spirit will give you
00:37:12 --> 00:37:17 wisdom revelation that will open up to you your hope
00:37:17 --> 00:37:23 pray for the eyes of your heart to be enlightened
00:37:24 --> 00:37:28 that you might see and you might taste of the lord is good
00:37:28 --> 00:37:31 of all the things that paul could have prayed for
00:37:31 --> 00:37:42 in in in in in the new testament in his letters this is the one thing that he keeps praying for
00:37:42 --> 00:37:50 that you would know your father better he could have prayed for their poverty and release from prison and
00:37:50 --> 00:37:56 for safety but he prays that they would know their father better because in knowing him they know their hope
00:37:59 --> 00:38:05 so pray and then direct your gaze to christ
00:38:08 --> 00:38:15 um let me just he's praying for a spirit of revelation and we get that is specifically in god's
00:38:15 --> 00:38:21 revelation what he has revealed to us in his word let me tell you as someone um i don't just have to
00:38:21 --> 00:38:28 fight i've got adhd and i don't have to fight my adhd every day with medication i've got to fight my
00:38:28 --> 00:38:33 spiritual adhd every day and we've all got spiritual adhd
00:38:35 --> 00:38:43 every single day so easily distracted i've got glory in front of me in the scriptures
00:38:43 --> 00:38:48 waiting to be unpacked waiting to be seen and i'm oh there's a bird
00:38:50 --> 00:38:58 oh hang on a bit my calendar oh that email oh youtube oh funny thing i've just seen let me just forward that
00:38:58 --> 00:38:58 to
00:38:58 --> 00:39:06 immediate trivialities and glories distracting me
00:39:06 --> 00:39:10 from real glory
00:39:12 --> 00:39:17 my eyes are gazed and fixed on the temporary and distracting me
00:39:21 --> 00:39:27 the way to grow as a christian is by fixing our eyes on christ and away from sin
00:39:29 --> 00:39:35 you don't defeat sin by fixing your eyes on it you defeat sin by fixing your eyes on christ
00:39:36 --> 00:39:40 we kill hope
00:39:40 --> 00:39:44 by fixing our gaze on our temporary riches
00:39:44 --> 00:39:49 because what we fix our eyes on is what we give our hearts to
00:39:52 --> 00:39:53 meditate on christ
00:39:54 --> 00:40:01 and your hope regularly in the scriptures fix your eyes there and ask god to exert his power
00:40:01 --> 00:40:11 it's a spiritual exercise ask god to exert all of his mighty power so that you will not just say fixed
00:40:12 --> 00:40:16 gazed in his revelation but that when you are
00:40:19 --> 00:40:20 ! you will see glory
00:40:22 --> 00:40:23 fight for your hope
00:40:23 --> 00:40:31 when you read a passage of the bible ask god ask yourself how how would i be different if i
00:40:31 --> 00:40:38 truly believe this to be true and the knowledge will come the wisdom will come a vision of glory
00:40:38 --> 00:40:46 will come not always not immediately but it will come pray this prayer here for yourself
00:40:46 --> 00:40:55 constantly gaze on god in his word with jesus at the center because that's ultimately the power that will melt your
00:40:55 --> 00:40:59 heart it will build your hope in the gospel is when you see jesus
00:41:01 --> 00:41:04 if i might view it like this
00:41:04 --> 00:41:11 when you pray that prayer for yourself
00:41:13 --> 00:41:17 view it as jesus praying this prayer for you
00:41:19 --> 00:41:23 now he didn't actually use these words but he did a very similar thing in john 17
00:41:24 --> 00:41:27 jesus prayed that the father would call us to himself
00:41:27 --> 00:41:33 he prayed that we would be his valued treasure
00:41:36 --> 00:41:41 and that we would have his power and that god would exert his power to bring him to himself
00:41:44 --> 00:41:54 and for and here's the thing for us to get all of that for us for for john 17 to be fulfilled
00:41:54 --> 00:41:58 for for for this prayer to be fulfilled for the ephesians
00:42:01 --> 00:42:04 jesus had to be rejected so that we could be called
00:42:07 --> 00:42:15 he had to be cast out so that we could be called he had to be treated as worthless
00:42:15 --> 00:42:21 so that we could be god's inheritance
00:42:21 --> 00:42:25 he had to be broken by god's power
00:42:28 --> 00:42:31 so that by god's power we could have life and brought to our hope
00:42:34 --> 00:42:40 hebrews 12 says for the joy that set was set before him he endured the cross
00:42:40 --> 00:42:41 the joy
00:42:41 --> 00:42:43 when jesus looked to his future
00:42:43 --> 00:42:46 he saw joy
00:42:46 --> 00:42:49 what was that joy
00:42:51 --> 00:42:51 us
00:42:51 --> 00:42:51
00:42:55 --> 00:42:57 us coming to life and hope through his death
00:42:58 --> 00:42:59 and his despair
00:43:02 --> 00:43:06 having his church with him for all of eternity his bride
00:43:06 --> 00:43:07 that was his joy
00:43:07 --> 00:43:07 that was his joy
00:43:09 --> 00:43:11 he did that for us
00:43:12 --> 00:43:15 so gaze in on god in his word
00:43:15 --> 00:43:18 pray that you would know the glorious father
00:43:18 --> 00:43:21 that light would break into your heart
00:43:21 --> 00:43:25 that you would be overwhelmed by his love
00:43:25 --> 00:43:28 and the future hope that he has in store for you
00:43:28 --> 00:43:31 as of
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