Do you ever remember your own child or someone else’s child so excited about something? They begin to speak like little energizer bunnies that just go on and on and on. Well in a manner of speaking, Paul is like that small child going on and on about God’s great work in our salvation. He doesn’t have time to slow down and in one breath, he heaves out this massive 202-word sentence that is before us this morning.
He carefully relates to us, the work of each member of the Trinity, vigilant to describe it all in detail. Don’t forget as we go through this letter that Paul is just beginning to lay the groundwork for the practice portion of His letter. He begins by letting us know that we are fully seated in heaven with Christ (We are vested in our retirement with Him). And in chapters 4-6, Paul reminds us that God has left us for the present to walk here on earth. And it is important to remember that if we miss the theology of chapters 1-3 we will be frustrated as we will miss how to live out chapters 4-6.
The key idea that we should get from these verses is that we are to praise God by meditating upon and extolling the work of the Triune Deity in accomplishing our redemption for us.
In this passage of Scripture, Paul outlines for us, “What the Father accomplishes in our redemption, what the Son accomplishes in our redemption and what the Spirit accomplishes in our redemption. Last week we looked at the first two accomplishments of the Father in securing our redemption. Today we will look at the last two of these.
C. He illumines us (vv. 9-10)
If you remember from last week the first accomplishment of the Father by which He secured our redemption was that He blesses us. He has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ. He has given us these blessings of heaven as if it were already done, as if we were already in heaven. The second accomplishment of the Father by which He secured our redemption was that He chose us. He chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world for His own purposes with the result that it would bring praise to Him.
This morning we will look at the final two accomplishments by which the Father has secured our redemption. The third accomplishment is that He illumines us. We find this truth in verses 9&10.
i. The fact of our illumination
Paul notes two aspects concerning God’s illumination of the believer. The first aspect that we see concerning God’s illumination of us is the fact of our illumination. In verse 9, Paul says, “He made known to us the mystery of His will according to His kind intention which He purposed in Him.” God has made known to the believer the mystery of His will.
Are you feeling a little special because you can understand God’s mysteries? Is there just a bit of smugness welling up inside you because you know what God has planned for the fullness of times? Well you can stop right now because Paul says that God has revealed this to us not because of our superior intellect but because of the kind intention that He purposed in Christ. Let’s look more closely at the fact of this illumination by God.
In 2 Corinthians 4:4, God says that Satan has blinded the minds of those who do not believe lest they should see the glorious light of the gospel of Christ. The minds of the unbelieving are blinded. Why do we see? Because God has removed the blinders. In Matthew 16, Jesus asks His disciples who people think He is. They answer that some think He is John the Baptist, some Elijah, or one other of the prophets. Then He asks them, “Who do you say that I am?” Peter says, “You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God.” And Jesus says, “Very good Peter. You are so smart. I am proud of you.” No. That is not what Jesus said. He said, “Blessed are you Simon Barjona, because flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven.”
Peter had no reason to boast. The Father had revealed the truth of Jesus’ identity to Him according to His kind intention. And the blessing that Peter had was knowing who Jesus is.
And in the following verses to 2 Corinthians 4:4 which was read earlier, Paul says, “For God, who said, ‘Light shall shine out of darkness,’ is the One who has shone in our hearts to give the Light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ.” God has made the light of the Gospel shine in our hearts.
A favorite pastime of mine is to do Dell logic problems. They are usually set in the form of several statements and by those statements you must figure out who went where or did what, when. And as you combine the statements together you are able to determine what is and what isn’t true until finally you solve the problem.
This, however, is not the way you found God. You did not figure Him out. He revealed Himself to you. Now does this mean that we didn’t need to wrestle with the Scripture and seek its truth? No, the means that God uses to bring us the knowledge of salvation is the Spirit of God working through the Word of God. Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God. But, please do not be proud about this knowledge because it was given to you by God.
You could be the most intelligent person alive and give yourself to studying the Scripture so that you will know God but apart from His revelation of Himself to you, you will not find Him. There are people today who do nothing but study the Scripture. They meticulously look for detail after detail in the Scripture to understand it. They put us to shame by their diligent effort in it. And yet these people do not know God. They even profess that they do not believe the Scripture is God’s Word. They declare that it is man’s fallible word. They have no spiritual sense because God has not revealed the mystery of His will to them. It is just that to them, a mystery.
Martin Luther, before He came to know Christ as His Savior studied the Scripture diligently. But instead of loving God because of the Word, he came to hate God. Listen to his testimony.
“If I could believe that God was not angry with me, I would stand on my head for joy” (think about this statement of excessive emotion (He would stand on his head if God wasn’t angry with him – remember this is a German speaking). Luther goes on, “[But] a single word in Romans 1:17 stood in my way (the righteousness of God is revealed). For I hated that word ‘righteousness.’” He had understood that the “righteousness of God” meant the justice with which God punishes the unrighteous sinner. The breakthrough came in 1518 as he continued to study the context of Romans 1:17. This diligent study of the Word of God proved to be the means of God’s grace to him. Here he says, “At last, by the mercy of God, meditating day and night, I gave heed to the context of the words, namely . . . ‘He who through faith is righteous shall live.’ There I began to understand that the righteousness of God is that by which the righteous lives by a gift of God, namely by faith . . . Here I felt that I was altogether born again and had entered paradise itself through open gates.” (from Piper, “The Legacy of Sovereign joy”)
As hard as Luther pounded on the door of the Word of God he could not open the door. But as God revealed to Him the meaning of the Scripture it lived before Him. Let us be humble before God and acknowledge His own work in revealing to us the mystery of His will in Christ according to His good pleasure.
There should be no boasting about this, but true humility. Paul notes this in Romans 11:25. He says that God has hardened the nation of Israel temporarily and allowed an influx of Gentiles to come into the kingdom of God. Verse 25 reads, “For I do not want you, brethren, to be uniformed of this mystery (WHY?) – so that you will not be wise in your own estimation – that a partial hardening has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in.”
Don’t think that you are here because you are something special. God could have as easily hardened your heart as He did to a multitude of Jews. And remember that He will once again work through the Jewish nation on a grand scale. So this illumination of your heart through faith in Christ should not cause your to boast but to humble yourself at the remarkable work of God in our midst who brought this about for His own glory. For the Jews who were seeking God’s righteousness have not found it but we who were not seeking God’s righteousness have. “Oh the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God . . . His ways are past finding out.”
ii. The specifics of this revealed mystery
The second aspect that we see concerning our illumination is the specifics of this revealed mystery. Now a mystery in the New Testament isn’t something that we are trying to figure out. It was something that was just now being revealed. The rapture is one such mystery. There was no teaching in the Old Testament that some in the church would be immediately be changed and brought to heaven without experiencing death. In the same way Paul is describing another mystery that is being proclaimed.
Just what is this mystery that was revealed to us saints of which Paul speaks in these verses? Paul mentions it in verse 10 but it seems to be a little difficult to comprehend for its loquacious (wordy) character. Here is what he says, “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.”
Let me try to simplify this statement. The mystery deals with the future governmental administration. Now it is not the Clinton administration. It is not the Bush administration. It is not the Kerry administration. It is going to be Christ’s administration. This administration is God’s ordering of the world at the end of the times. It is describing Christ’s rule in the millennium and beyond.
This is what Paul means when he describes the summing up of all things in Christ. God is drawing to a conclusion with a view toward Christ as its ruler. All of earth’s history is pointing to Christ and His return. As things seem to get darker in the last days it is simply preparing for the coming of the light of Christ’s rule.
Righteousness, justice, holiness and truth will characterize his rule. This present and increasing darkness will only highlight the beauty and greatness of Christ’s kingdom. No punches will be pulled in subduing rebellion, no darkness will be allowed and the world will rejoice under the leadership of Christ.
Paul also describes the extent of this rule. And this is perhaps where the mystery comes in. The full extent of His rule had never been previously revealed in the Old Testament. What is going to be the extent of His rule? All things. Things in the heavens and things in the earth. Everything is going to be under Christ’s control. Psalm 2 speaks only partially of this. There, the Father says that Messiah shall have the nations as His inheritance. But because Jesus is God not only will the nations be subject to Him but everything in heaven will be as well. His dominion will not just spread across the globe but it will encompass those believers who have already died and are in heaven. We will be partakers in that kingdom. And He will reunite heaven and earth finally and completely at the end of the millennial kingdom when there will be a new heaven and new earth and the Lord God and the Lamb will be dwelling in the New Jerusalem in the midst of His people on the earth. We can praise God that He has illumined us to His mysteries.
D. He makes us inheritors (vv. 11-12)
The fourth accomplishment by which the Father secures our redemption (or salvation) is that He makes us inheritors. Now we are inheritors of this very mystery. We shall rule and reign with Christ. Because we have died and been raised to new life with Christ we have an inheritance with Him. What does this inheritance look like? Everything! Because Christ will own everything we will own everything. We are in Christ. When we trusted Christ as our Savior we were placed into Him. Therefore whatever Jesus gets we get. And this is described by the first words of verse 11. In Him (or in Christ) we have obtained an inheritance.
Turn to 1 Corinthians 3:21-23. Usually I just read a passage to you instead having you turn to a passage, but this one is so neat your eyes need to focus on it. 1 Corinthians 3:21-23 says, “So then let no one boast in men. For all things belong to you, whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas or the world or life or death or things present or things to come; all things belong to you, and you belong to Christ; and Christ belongs to God.”
What is so exciting about this? Not just that we will inherit all things but look at our connection to Christ in verse 23. “You belong to Christ and Christ belongs to God.” Would you say that there is a strong connection between Christ and God? Of course there is. Christ is God. He belongs to the Triune Godhead. Or it might be better to translate it this way, “He is part of the Triune God.” This isn’t a belonging of possession. Jesus doesn’t belong to God as if God owns Him. He belongs to God in the sense that He is part of the Triune being. He is inseparable from it. So this is what is so exciting about what Paul is saying. We are part of Christ in the same way that Christ is part of the Trinity. If somehow Christ’s divinity could be retracted and His participation in the Godhead could be removed, so could our participation with Christ. This is so exciting for the believer. We have been made partakers of the divine nature through which we can now live! This is what Paul is describing when He talks about us being made inheritors. We have access to all that Christ has access to because we have been eternally and inseparable joined to Him in the same way that He is eternally and inseparably part of the Trinity!
1. By His choice
There are two aspects to this inheritance we have obtained that Paul outlines for us in verses 11-12. The first aspect of this inheritance we have in Christ is that it is by His choice. Verse 11 describes this. “Also we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to His purpose who works all things after the counsel of His will.”
Before we focus on this verse I want to make just a brief explanatory comment. Have you started picking up a pattern yet to this section of Scripture? It is very strong in speaking in terms of God’s sovereign work concerning salvation. But don’t let this cause you to minimize your own responsibility before God. This in no way makes you unaccountable to God or negates your own responsibility to respond properly to His Word. If you are hearing this today you understand that God’s Word calls you to action. And if you neglect to act on God’s Word you are fully responsible for your inaction. If you realize that you need to put your trust in Christ alone for your salvation and you refuse to do so, you have sealed your damnation by your own action.
Now let’s focus back on verse 11. Our inheritance is based on God’s choice. Look at how Paul words it. It is based on the choice of the One who works out all things according to the counsel of His will.
No one can thwart God’s plan. He works all things out according to the counsel of His will. What is interesting in this passage is that Paul uses the two words to denote the will. Literally it is according to the will of His will. However, it might make more sense to translate it as “the decision (or consideration) of His will.
God’s choice was not based on anyone’s opinion. He didn’t call me up one day and ask, “Dave, what do you think on this matter of inheritance? Do you think you could give me a few pointers?” He has worked out this inheritance in Christ according to His own purpose and according to the decision of His own will. Those who have the inheritance are so because God has ordained that all who are in Christ have become inheritors. When we come to partake of Christ by receiving Him through faith, the Father makes us inheritors. Nothing will change the decision of God’s will. His choice was to make us inheritors in Christ and so shall we be, we who have come to Christ.
Let me use an illustration to make this point clear. Let us say that some man has taken you into his family through adoption. And he declares, “It is the decision of my will that all who are part of my family shall inherit my estate.” Because you have become part of this man’s family his determinate will has declared you to be an inheritor. As you have been born again in Christ you are now made an inheritor and God’s unchanging will has determined it to be so.
2. For His praise through those who believe
The second aspect of this inheritance we have is that it is for God’s praise through those who believe. Verse 12 describes this. “To the end that we who were the first to hope in Christ would be to the praise of His glory.” All that God has done in the life of believers in securing their salvation has been done to bring glory to Himself.
When we look back at just what it is that God has done for us, we will marvel. Praise and honor to God will go forth from our mouths because of those He has saved. Peter says, that, “the genuineness of our faith . . . will result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.”
Our salvation will show that God kept His promise to save all those with faith in Christ. And it will be revealed to the whole world that none of us deserved this great love that God has shown us. Yet from beginning to end God will be proven to be the victor.
God the Father has called you to live a life pleasing to Him by placing you in His beloved Son. The life that you are enabled to live because of your position in Christ is what will bring glory and praise to Him. You hope that is in Christ is what demonstrably manifests to the world that our God is great. As we close, let me ask you a few questions that will help you to recognize this great position of privilege and bring praise to God.
Do you see that God has made you perfect in Himself?
Do you realize that God has done that so you can live righteously?
Do you understand that the Father has given us the same access to Himself as He has given to the Son for the accomplishment of His will?
If this is the case as the passage indicates, do you see that there is no reason for you to not live in the joy of your salvation?
Let me encourage you to live the way that God wants you to in recognizing and appropriating what He has given to you in Christ. This week let us meditate and revel in all that the Father has done in securing our redemption. Next week we will revel in all that the Son and the Spirit have done in securing our redemption.