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This is the seventh segment in my sermon entitled, "The Mystery of Christ".
6. The Mystery of God's Eternal Purpose
(Eph 3:11) "This was according to the eternal purpose that he has realized in Christ Jesus our Lord,"
-All these mysterious things we've been talking about were according to God's eternal purpose. They're new, in that they weren't known fully before to the sons of men and now they're fully revealed, but they're not new to God. He's been planning this all along, from eternity past God knew he would choose Paul for this purpose, reveal himself through his word and the prophets and climatically reveal himself through his Son Jesus, break down all the barriers between the peoples of the world (whether linguistic or cultural, barriers that he put there to graciously restrain the evil of the human race at Babel), graciously grant a people repentance and belief in his son and then graciously grant them his Holy Spirit equipping them with spiritual gifts to serve the church, and that he would do this through the proclamation of his gospel
-God realized his eternal purposes for the world in Christ Jesus (Revelation 4-5), Christ's perfect life and death purchased God's loving interaction with the world, both in salvation and judgment.
-This Christ is our Lord, his purpose is enough for me. Do you remember when Jesus is brought to the temple when he's only a baby? And there's this man Simeon, who was righteous and devout and had been waiting, Luke says, for the consolation of Israel, and it was revealed to him that this baby that this poor peasant maid was bringing in to the temple was that consolation, and I love what he says: "Lord, now dismiss your servant in peace, according to your word; for my eyes have seen the your salvation that you have prepared in the presence of all peoples, a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and for glory to your people Israel." Just to be the least messenger boy of a Lord like this, who has this eternal purpose for our salvation, is enough for me. He's confronted with the mystery of God's eternal purpose in this little baby boy, and all he can do is worship and praise God. Whatever the station he may put me in, whatever the service he may assign me to, whatever the trial he may ask me to endure, I am content under such a Lord. I can trust his eternal purpose.
-All these mysterious things we've been talking about were according to God's eternal purpose. They're new, in that they weren't known fully before to the sons of men and now they're fully revealed, but they're not new to God. He's been planning this all along, from eternity past God knew he would choose Paul for this purpose, reveal himself through his word and the prophets and climatically reveal himself through his Son Jesus, break down all the barriers between the peoples of the world (whether linguistic or cultural, barriers that he put there to graciously restrain the evil of the human race at Babel), graciously grant a people repentance and belief in his son and then graciously grant them his Holy Spirit equipping them with spiritual gifts to serve the church, and that he would do this through the proclamation of his gospel
-God realized his eternal purposes for the world in Christ Jesus (Revelation 4-5), Christ's perfect life and death purchased God's loving interaction with the world, both in salvation and judgment.
-This Christ is our Lord, his purpose is enough for me. Do you remember when Jesus is brought to the temple when he's only a baby? And there's this man Simeon, who was righteous and devout and had been waiting, Luke says, for the consolation of Israel, and it was revealed to him that this baby that this poor peasant maid was bringing in to the temple was that consolation, and I love what he says: "Lord, now dismiss your servant in peace, according to your word; for my eyes have seen the your salvation that you have prepared in the presence of all peoples, a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and for glory to your people Israel." Just to be the least messenger boy of a Lord like this, who has this eternal purpose for our salvation, is enough for me. He's confronted with the mystery of God's eternal purpose in this little baby boy, and all he can do is worship and praise God. Whatever the station he may put me in, whatever the service he may assign me to, whatever the trial he may ask me to endure, I am content under such a Lord. I can trust his eternal purpose.
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