Scripture reading: Psalm 95:1-7a.

Sermon text: Ephesians 1:15-23.

Life didn’t look too good regardless of how you viewed it.  The political leadership steadily veered toward insanity; the society seemed so corrupt that few people held out any hope of renewal; and the author of the letter sat in the capital city under house arrest. Could anyone find any good news in the situation?

St. Paul’s circumstances should have prevented him from writing one of those most beautiful passages of Scripture, the Letter to the Ephesians. Instead, the opening chapter describes such a glorious picture of grace that simply reading it lifts our souls and renews our spirits, strengthening our belief that Jesus Christ shall reign over all Creation.

Today is the last Sunday of Pentecost, the Sunday of Christ the King. Today, the Church rejoices in a reminder that Jesus Christ reigns over all who declare Him Lord of their lives, believing in His resurrection. Today, we remember that Jesus’ reign includes not only the time to come, but also the present. Jesus’ reign has already begun, and His blessings to His people extend back before the foundation of the world.

Sermon

To understand the sermon text, we must first read preceding verses so we can follow St. Paul’s train of thought. St. Paul’s opening words in verse 3 open a rich treasure of benefits for those who believe in Jesus as Lord.

St. Paul told the Ephesians, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him.” God, the Father of Jesus Christ, the crucified and resurrected Messiah, had opened to us the blessings of “heavenly places.” St. John wrote that Jesus serves as our “Advocate with the Father,” constantly interceding for us in heaven (1 John 2:1-2).

These blessings began before the “foundation of the world.” In a mysterious way, God chose us even before creation to lead us to salvation as messengers of His grace. However, we must remember that this choosing brings immense responsibility. Throughout the Scriptures, God chose no one without expecting His will to be followed by those He chose. St. Paul told the Ephesians that God chose us “ that we should be holy and blameless before him.” We must live lives that demonstrate our separation from the sin of the world, so that no one can blame us for bringing shame to the name of our Father in heaven.

St. Paul continued by saying, “In love he predestined us for adoption through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved.” In the books of Galatians and Romans, St. Paul had equated our spiritual birth to adoption in God’s family. In Roman law, the adopted person received all the privileges of the natural born children. This adoption gives us access to Almighty God; as we prayed earlier in this service, we can say with confidence, “Our Father.” Again, St. Paul reminded the Ephesians that this adoption occurred to “the purpose of His will” and “to the praise of His glorious grace.” Our lives must follow the will of God, proclaiming to the world the blessings of His grace in our lives.

St. Paul then explained some of the great benefits of our adoption. “In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight making known to us the mystery of his will, according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth.” Sin pervades our society, wrecking every life it touches and leading to both physical and spiritual death. Jesus redeemed us from enslavement to sin with His blood on the cross.

“In him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will, so that we who were the first to hope in Christ might be to the praise of his glory.” Again, St. Paul reminds us that through our adoption into the family, we receive an “inheritance” from God Himself. God did not merely choose us for salvation; He also “predestined” us to serve as the “praise of His glory.” God established the paths for His children to follow before our births, both physical and spiritual. We bear the responsibility for living in those paths. As David so eloquently spoke in Psalm 23, “He leads me in the paths of righteousness for His sake” (Psalm 23:3). If you want to know the path God prepared for you, begin living in righteousness, following the law of love in your life. Doing so fulfills the purpose of God in creation and demonstrates our spiritual birth to the world.

St. Paul then gave the Ephesians one of the most comforting passages in Scripture. “In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory.” When we believe in Jesus’ sacrifice for our sins and confess Him as Lord, we are sealed with the Holy Spirit. This description reminded the Ephesians of the seals used to secure letters. The seal insured the contents of the letter remained secret until opened by the intended recipient. Even more, the Holy Spirit serves as the “guarantee” of the inheritance we will receive in the new age, when Jesus will visibly reign forever.

Does this give you an idea of why we should join the Ephesians’ faith mentioned in verse 15? The Holy Spirit Himself both seals us to insure our salvation and also serves as the guarantor of our inheritance assured by our adoption at our conversion. He works in our lives to direct us and protect us as we live in ways that show God’s presence in our lives.

These great blessings led St. Paul to praise God for the Ephesians’ faith and “love for all the saints.” He prayed that God, “the Father of glory,” would give the Ephesians — and us today — “a spirit of wisdom.” God promises to give wisdom to anyone who asks for it (James 1:5). Wisdom helps us live rightly. Unlike knowledge, wisdom doesn’t come from mere study. Wisdom comes only from God alone.

St. Paul also prayed that God would give believers a “revelation in the knowledge of him, having the eyes of your hearts enlightened.” God doesn’t want His children to live in ignorance of His laws. He gives us Scripture so we know His will in life; He gives us the Church to help us through support, love, and encouragement. When we learn Scripture and participate in the life of our congregation, we are reminded of “the hope to which he has called you.” St. Paul had written to the Romans, “in this hope we were saved” (Romans 8:24). Hope in the Greek sense means a certainty. Our hope in our salvation will one day culminate in eternal life beyond description.

St. Paul also wanted the Ephesians to know of the “the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the working of his great might that he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come.”

The work of God through Jesus’ resurrection had a purpose beyond our own salvation. We must remember that God has always planned to exalt Jesus as Ruler of all Creation. St. Paul wrote to the Philippians during his imprisonment, “God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”

St. Paul concluded this chapter by stating that God “put all things under his feet and gave him as head over all things to the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all.” God has already exalted Jesus in His resurrection and at His ascension. One day, as St. Paul wrote to the Philippians, all Creation will confess Jesus as Lord.

Does it amaze you that St. Paul could write this letter while in house arrest? How could a man unjustly imprisoned write so boldly and joyfully of Jesus’ love for us?

Notice that God called the Church, “His body, the fullness of him who fills all in all.” St. Paul knew something that many people forget or ignore today: The Church represents Jesus on earth. St. Paul spent his entire life after Damascus caring for her and building her in the worst of circumstances. The Church may look battered and torn at times, but she remains Jesus’ Body on earth. We cannot abandon her; we must support her with our whole lives. Jesus’ reign on earth should begin in our lives. If Jesus reigns in our lives, we must bring glory to His body on earth as well as to Himself.

When Jesus rules in our lives, we allow the Holy Spirit to love everyone through us. We allow the Holy Spirit to love those that we could never love without Him. We can love those who persecute us the way St. Paul and countless Christians after him have done. We can love people enough to tell them about our redemption through Jesus and lead them to our Savior. We can then lead them to join His Body, the Church, and start to work with us to show His reign on earth.

Jesus’ rule on earth works through our prayers and through our work in His Body. Jesus’ rule on earth expresses itself through our work for the poor and oppressed. When the world sees our love for the unloved and for those oppressed by the corruption of the world, they will be drawn to His Body and join us in our work as He rules in our lives.

Jesus’ rule on earth also works through our care for His creation. We must always remember that God blessed His creation and gave Adam the responsibility of caring for it. The Church has begun in our lifetime to emphasize care for God’s creation again. We must continue that task until the time Jesus returns to claim His rule on this earth.

C.S. Lewis reminded us of a wonderful truth in The Screwtape Letters, writing of the Church as “spread out through all time and space and rooted in eternity, terrible as an army with banners.” Lewis wrote that to the demons, this is “a spectacle which makes our boldest tempters uneasy.” If you want to see the results of Jesus’ rule in this world, you should look no further than the Church in action. The demons tremble when they see us gather to worship the Lord our God. They shudder in fear when they hear us pray. They roar in frustration when God answers our prayers. They rage in futility when God saves those for whom we pray and adds them to His Body on earth, the Church.

Do you want to know what it means when Jesus rules as King over all? Join the Church and begin to work in the world as the Holy Spirit works through you. Jesus’ reign began with the Holy Spirit at Pentecost. On this Sunday, the Sunday of Christ the King, you can begin a new life, blessed by the greatest Ruler of eternity.