The Gift of Grasping the Relevance of God’s Program

Eph 1:8-10 July 26, 2020

I. Introduction: A. The question that I received the most from people when COVID-19 first started was always asked with a bit of panic in their voice. This was the question: “Are we in the end times, are we in the book of revelation?” 1. My answer was always the same, this is not what we learned in the book of revelation, if it was it would be way worse, way more people would die and way more things would be going on! 2. But I went on to say there are many things going on in the world that the scripture says are signs that the end is drawing near. B. I could not help but think what stability, what peace, what wisdom comes from knowing God’s word and especially what He has done, is doing and what He is going to do in this world. 1. Then during this season I came across Eph 1:8-10 and I realized deep within my heart and could not help but THANK God for the amazing GIFT God has given us when He gave us HIS WORD! 2. Read Eph 1:8-10 3. My heart is burdened for how many Christians have all of this at their fingertips and very seldom they open up this book, let alone read and study it. a) In Hosea 4:6 God said “my people are being destroyed because of a lack of knowledge b) Proverbs 19:2 says it is not good for a person to be without knowledge c) Proverbs 14:33 says “Wisdom rests in the heart of one who has understanding!” 4. Bottom line and this is true even for Christians, it is not good, actually you could make decisions and react in a way that could destroy your life and

others, and you can lack wisdom on how to live in days like today, if you do not know God’s word and what He is doing! C. But Eph 1:8-10 tells us that God not only made His purposes known to us but He actually did it in a way that was full of wisdom and INSIGHT, a way that allows us to see the true nature of things and the ability to grasp the relevance for us in this present time! 1. That is what it means when it says God did this in all wisdom and insight! 2. Read v8b-9a • Let’s look at this a bit closer II. Eph 1:8-10 A. Note something we learned just a few weeks ago in the middle of v9. 1. Read 9b 2. This will of God that He made known to us is according to the kind intention of His purposes, kind intention of his will! 3. You all already know that the kind intention of God’s purposes and will means that God delighted to do this, He wanted to do this, He took great pleasure in doing this, it is well pleasing to Him 4. Simply it was well pleasing for God to build and fulfill all His purposes and will in Jesus! B. He goes on to explain this a bit fuller and clearer in verse 10a! Read 1. By administration He is talking about how God manages His affairs, how He will carry out His purposes and will! 2. By suitable to the fullness of times He is talking about what God is going to do in the future, in the fullness of times, at the consummation of the ages, when the completion of what God has been pleased to plan, everything God has been doing from Gen 1:1 through Rev 22:21. C. Then He even explain this a bit fuller and clearer in verse 10b. 1. Basically He is talking about the time when everything will be summed up in Christ. 2. Another way to say that is that it will be a time when the main point of everything will be Jesus, everything can simply be summarized in Jesus, that Jesus is the expression of all that God will be doing at that time.

1. Everything in history and everything that is going on right now is simply moving this whole world towards a time when everything will be summed up in Jesus, everything in the heavens and things on the earth!
2. It will be the time when God fulfills through Jesus every prophecy in this book, Old and New Testament and all of His covenants He has revealed in His Word! a) At the heart of this is the covenant God made with David when He promised him that one from his family line would be a forever king, reigning forever over forever kingdom b) Remember what we learned in rev 19:19 “for the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy! c) Simply Jesus is the heart of and fulfilment of prophecy! D. If you are familiar with your Bible you know this is where everything is moving. Just listen as I read just a few passages to reinforce this:
3. Speaking to Abraham He says Gen 22:18,
4. In the blessing of Judah, Jacob says this Gen 49:10 (shiloh basically means the one to whom it belongs) Reread 10c-d
5. Dan 2:44
6. Dan 7:13-14
7. Isa 9:6-7
8. Listen to what the Angel told Mary when He announced to her that she, a virgin would have a child and just who this Child is! Read Lk 1:30-33
9. Rev 11:15-17 • So how does all of this III.Apply to you and me? A. REMEMBER these verses start with the fact that God made all of this known to us with all wisdom and insight, or simply a way that allows us to see the true nature of things and the ability to grasp the relevance for us in this present time!
10. Knowing God’s Word, knowing prophecy, knowing God’s plan that is well pleasing to Him and brings Him delight should help us understand the true

nature of what is going on today and recognize that ultimately it is not about flesh and blood but an invisible war with demonic forces behind the scene. Even deeper than that, like in the book of Job, God even uses Satan to carry out His purposes! 2. Satan thinks he is winning as he divides people over viruses and over race and over politics and morality but actually God is allowing him to do his thing so as to move us to a time when everything will be fulfilled in Jesus. 3. Hard times in and with the world should not surprise anyone who knows their Bible. 4. All of this has to happen so man can learn experimentally that true life can only be found in Jesus and so things can move towards that time when all of God’s purposes will be fulfilled in Jesus GOSPEL B. Knowing this book shows us the end is near when we look at prophecy and current events that are lining up with them 1. Alignment of nations we see in Old Testament Prophecies is happening 2. Catastrophic events happening in the world show us that the things to come in revelation are not just figurative language but can be realities 3. Signs of the end of time Jesus spoke of in Matt 24 are happening 4. And the character of people today is just like it says it will be in 2 Tim 3. C. But none of this should surprise us if we understand God’s WORD, PURPOSES and WILL. Read 1 Thess 5:1-11