I attempted to show in the sermon this past Sunday that Paul offers us two anchor points for our lives, and upon which our lives depend. Namely, the unsearchable riches of Christ and the church of Jesus Christ. Here is where I found those in a key part of Paul’s letter to the churches in the region of Ephesus —
7 Of this gospel I was made a minister according to the gift of God’s grace, which was given me by the working of his power. 8 To me, though I am the very least of all the saints, this grace was given, to preach to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ, 9 and to bring to light for everyone what is the plan of the mystery hidden for ages in God, who created all things,
10 so that through the church the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places. 11 This was according to the eternal purpose that he has realized in Christ Jesus our Lord, 12 in whom we have boldness and access with confidence through our faith in him. 13 So I ask you not to lose heart over what I am suffering for you, which is your glory.
(Ephesians 3:7-13, English Standard Version)
It turned out that we would only have time yesterday to begin an exploration of those “unsearchable riches of Christ,” and could not make it to the miracle of what is found in the church of Christ. So this coming Sunday, we will take up as our study that second anchor point for our lives, the church, and explore the miracle there that God has given to the world.
I invite you to continue in your reading and careful studying of Ephesians this week. And I suggest paying particular attention to chapters 1-3, in order to discover what exactly Paul means when he says that “through the church the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places” (Eph. 3:10). To aid you in your study, check out the resource page on this letter that The Bible Project has produced.
See you Sunday!
Pastor Matthew
