“God’s Will: The Gospel”
Sermon Title: God’s Will: The Gospel
Scripture: Ephesians 1:8-10 ESV
Introduction
Our understanding of the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ has been in transformation. Despite the different understanding of the gospel held by different branches of Christianity (Catholics, Eastern Orthodox, Protestant), it is becoming more holistic where it’s not just about saving people and getting them to heaven. How we understand the gospel may not be such a narrow view, but much deeper than we realize.
The gospel coalition defines the gospel as the good news of what God, in love, has done in Jesus Christ, especially in his cross and resurrection to deal with our sins and reconcile us with Himself. This understanding of the gospel is not incorrect, but this gospel is not complete. It’s too individualistic, too human centered, and it’s centered on how I solve my problem. Matters outside of yourself tend to feel otherworldly. We have trouble relating to things that are happening right now. For example, what does the gospel say about racial justice, the pandemic, the environment, the climate change, and other for matters outside of ourselves?
Mystery of God’s Will
“He made known to us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure, which he purposed in Christ, to be put into effect when the times reach their fulfillment—to bring unity to all things in heaven and on earth under Christ.” (Ephesians 1:8-10)
Jesus tells us that he not only came to deal with sin but to do the will of God who sent him (John 6:38), so what is God’s will?
· The mystery of God’s will is not just about who to marry, which university or career to choose. God’s will is so much greater than our sin problems and God’s concern encompasses all of creation, not just humans. This is not to say our relationship with God individually and corporately is not important. After all, our relationship with god is one of the pivotal cornerstones of God’s will and all of God’s will is done through us, the body of Christ, made possible in Jesus Christ.
· Christ came to realign and center all thing to himself. Everything will be complete, redeemed, restored, and glorified when all of creation acknowledges that Jesus is King of kings and Lord of lords and is held supreme. We too, in body, mind, and soul, realigned and restored along with all creation because that is God’s desire.
· God’s will cannot be fully comprehended nor packaged. At the same time, Paul explicitly tells us in Ephesians that God’s will is the gospel rather than our individualistic sinful plight, and he equates the mystery of God’s will with the mystery of the gospel when he says, “Pray also for me, that whenever I speak, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel.” (Eph. 6:19)
God’s Will: Reconciliation and Union with God
· God’s will is to unite all things in creation under Jesus. In Greek, the word “unite” is ἀνακεφαλαιώσασθαι (ana-kefa-lie-o-sas-thigh), which means to sum up all the misaligned parts as a comprehensive whole. Unity in Christ emphasizes that what was broken, ruptured, and divided by sin will be made whole and reconciled in Jesus Christ. This unity in Christ means that everything divided will be united as in our union with God; everything that was corrupted will be made whole as in biblical justice; what was destroyed and decayed will be brought into freedom and glory as in ecological justice.
· Reconciliation and union with God is not just a status change. It’s not that God doesn’t see your sins because of Christ’s righteousness over you; it’s about transformation, as it says in 2 Cor. 3:18: “And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.”
· Mark 12:28-30 tells us about the greatest commandment to love the Lord with all your heart, soul, body, and mind – this is about transformation. Sanctification and glorification are not separate things (although we often study them separately), but from God’s perspective, if you saved then you are being sanctified and you are being glorified into the image of Christ (transformation). However, if there is no transformation than we must cast doubt and ask if we really are saved. At the same time, we are not to judge others because the timing of our transformation is different for everyone; was not the thief who was crucified along with Jesus transformed before his death?
· Our reconciliation and union with God must be transformational because God is not interesting in populating heaven. He is interested in creating a nation of royal priests and co-heirs with Christ.
God’s Will: Reconciliation and Union with My Neighbour
· The mystery of God’s will is that there is no difference between Jews and Gentiles. Christianity’s roots are in Judaism; God chose the Jewish people to worship and make know God’s glory, but in Christ, there is no difference between Jews and Gentiles. We Gentiles, by grace, are invited to have a seat at God’s table with Abraham’s descendants.
· The second greatest commandment is to love your neighbour as you love yourself (Mark 12:31). The Jews mistakenly thought Jesus was talking about other fellow Jews, but through the parable of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:29-35). Samaritans are to Jews as Israelis may be to Palestinians. However, it was the Samaritan who proved to be the neighbour because he showed mercy, care, and compassion to his enemy the Jew. Jesus commands us to “go and do likewise.”
· God’s will is for us to be reconciled to our enemies which requires acceptance and union with those who are different form us. It requires us to be concerned for social and racial justice for those around us – the poor, the marginalized, the outcasts, the disabled, and the oppressed – because it is God’s desire to create a nation of all people of every tongue and nation to co-reign with Christ with justice. We cannot reign with justice if we are partial to the strong, the rich, the powerful, and the “elite” of society.
God’s Will: Reconciliation and Union with All of Creation
· The Noahic covenant, specifically in Gen. 9:13, we see that God’s covenant is not only with Noah and his descendants but to the animals and to the earth. We also see in John 3:16, “For God so loved the world…” the Greek word for “world” is “kosmon” (root: kosmos) which can mean world, the universe, the cosmos, the inhabitants of the world, and not just humans. God is invested in His creation, just as we are invested in the things we create such as artwork. Another picture of all of creation being restored to peace and harmony is found in Isaiah 11:6-9. The picture of a natural prey and predator together is the perfect picture of reconciliation with all of creation, and humanity’s dominion over animals (cf. Gen. 1:28) is restored. In Rev. 5:13-14, we see every creature in heaven, on the earth, and under the earth praising Christ. This is the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. This image of a redeemed and restored world is good news for all people and for all creation.
Conclusion – Christ is sovereign over all.
· As image-bearers of God, we have the privilege and the responsibility to share this good news and to be stewards of the gospel, of Christ’s life, death, resurrection, and eternal reign. We are not only forgiven and saved for heaven, but we are saved and promised sanctification and glorification into the image of Jesus Christ. Wherever God has placed you, you are to share and participate in the gospel of Jesus Christ by caring and defending the neglected, the hungry, and the least of those in society.
· The gospel is the good news of what God, in love, has done in Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection, to deal with the brokenness, death, and the death of sin, to reconcile to Himself humanity with one another, and to restore and to redeem all creation in heaven and earth, under the headship of Jesus Christ.
Response and Reflection
· Through a gospel-centered perspective, where do you see in places around (ex. In your community) that need the reconciliation and union with God through the gospel?
· Are there areas where you feel God is calling you to share and be a steward of the gospel?
· Has this changed or challenged how you view the hope of the gospel in anyway?