EPHESIANS 3:7\u201313<\/b><\/p>\n
His intent was that now, through the church, the manifold wisdom of God should be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms<\/i><\/p>\n
(Ephesians 3:10).<\/i><\/p>\n
Not only is the mystery<\/i> (the secret of God) published by a prisoner, but it is also published by a man who is \u201cless than the least of all God\u2019s people\u201d (Ephesians 3:8). Yet the mystery itself is \u201cthe unsearchable riches of Christ,\u201d which is made known to the greatest powers in the creation (vv. 9\u201310). The contrast is important and instructive.<\/p>\n
First of all, the mystery consists of riches\u2014riches of wisdom. God had given wisdom in the Old Testament period, but with the completion of the Bible, the fullness of wisdom is now published. God had kept the riches of the mystery locked up in the tabernacle and temple, and nobody but the priests were allowed to go in. Now the way of access is wide open and all God\u2019s people are invited in.<\/p>\n
But for us to receive these riches, we must receive them from a prisoner, despised and rejected of men, \u201cless than the least.\u201d God works in mysterious ways, and it is often the person who has the least outward glory who has the most wisdom to offer. Very often the most faithful churches are small, struggling groups that have nothing to show for themselves. Yet, it is just such churches that often wind up proclaiming the mystery of God before the \u201crulers and authorities.\u201d<\/p>\n
The church, regardless how humble her estate, proclaims God\u2019s truth before the greatest powers in creation. And that proclamation changes the world. It alters history. It moves the kingdom toward its grand fulfillment.<\/p>\n
What are these powers we deal with through the church? First of all, the \u201crulers and authorities in the heavenly realms\u201d can refer to the political and social rulers of humanity, for the expression heavenly realm<\/i> can refer to the estate of power and majesty that surrounds kings and other potentates. Paul anticipated speaking before Nero, for instance. But, second, these rulers and authorities are angelic beings who in some mysterious way administer the world under God\u2019s command. Some are fallen angels. The faithfulness of the church defeats these demonic powers and encourages the righteous angels in their work.<\/p>\n
CORAM DEO<\/b><\/p>\n
Deuteronomy 23\u201325<\/p>\n
Maybe you don\u2019t think your life and your work count for much. Unseen by you, \u201cpowers and authorities\u201d are observing you. Your life and worship count as part of God\u2019s great history-reversing plan. God has promised, we must believe. Be encouraged.<\/p>\n
For further study: Isaiah 48:1\u201314 \u2022 1 Cor. 15:25\u201327 \u2022 1 Peter 1:10\u201312<\/i><\/p>\n
friday<\/p>\n
february<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
EPHESIANS 3:7\u201313 His intent was that now, through the church, the manifold wisdom of God should be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms (Ephesians 3:10). Not only is the mystery (the secret of God) published by a prisoner, but it is also published by a man who is \u201cless than … Continue reading “HISTORY-CHANGING MYSTERY”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-11925","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-sermons"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11925","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11925"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11925\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11925"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11925"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11925"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}