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Series Code: IIWSS
Program Code: IIWSS023027S
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00:00 (uplifting music)
00:16 >>Welcome to "Sabbath School," 00:17 brought to you by It Is Written. 00:19 We're glad that you could join us today 00:21 as we continue our study in the book of Ephesians. 00:24 This week we are looking at lesson number two. 00:27 Lesson number two is "God's Grand, Christ-Centered Plan." 00:32 This is week two of a 14 week journey 00:34 that we are taking through the book of Ephesians, 00:37 and you are in for some exciting things today. 00:41 But before we begin, let's start with prayer. 00:44 Father, thank You for drawing us together again this week 00:47 as we continue our study of the book of Ephesians. 00:49 We ask that You would bless us with a deeper understanding 00:52 of not just this book, but of You, Your character, 00:56 and Your will for our lives. 00:58 We ask Your blessing on our study today and we thank You, 01:01 in Jesus' name, amen. 01:05 Well, not only are we glad to have you with us today, 01:07 we're also glad to have our special guest, Dr. John McVay. 01:10 He is the resident of Walla Walla University. 01:13 He has also served 01:14 as the dean of the seminary at Andrews University. 01:18 John, welcome back once again. 01:20 >>Nice to be back with you. 01:21 >>So we've got a really exciting study today. 01:23 This is "God's Grand, Christ-Centered Plan." 01:26 Last week we kind of got an overview 01:29 of the book of Ephesians, and we're digging down 01:31 into some of the meat of it this week. 01:34 And we're really focusing 01:35 on a passage in the book of Ephesians, 01:39 in Ephesians, chapter one, that starts in verse three 01:42 and goes down through verse 14. 01:44 I'm gonna read verse three 01:45 because it kind of just gets us started 01:46 and then I'm gonna 01:48 let you run with it-- 01:49 >>Sure, sure. >>...because there's a 01:50 whole lot here. >>There is. 01:51 >>Verse number three says, "Blessed be the God 01:53 "and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, 01:56 "who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing 01:59 in the heavenly places in Christ." 02:02 And with that verse, there's 12 more-- 02:05 13 more verses that, 02:08 well, maybe my math's 02:09 not exactly right-- >>(laughing) Sure. 02:10 >>...but a few more verses that kind of unpack this-- 02:13 >>Yes. >>...and help us understand 02:15 several grand themes here 02:16 in the book of Ephesians. 02:17 Help us walk through this. 02:19 >>Well, this passage that's our focus 02:21 for this week's lesson, 02:23 Ephesians, chapter 1, verses 3-14 02:26 is a treasure, Eric, and it's a treasure 02:30 because we have a ringside seat 02:34 in the heavenly places, 02:36 at the throne room of God, 02:38 where we have a chance to listen, mouths agape, 02:42 to the wondrous plans 02:44 that God has for us as believers in Christ. 02:49 And we get to go back clear 02:51 before the foundation of the world 02:53 to hear God, through the prayers of Paul, 02:59 to hear God speak grand promises 03:02 and rich blessings to us as followers of Jesus. 03:05 >>So this is a passage that should encourage us, 03:08 it should inspire us. 03:09 It gives us, as you said, a ringside seat 03:12 or a closeup view of not just 03:16 what's happening around us, 03:18 but of much deeper, much more spiritual, 03:21 much more eternal things. 03:23 >>We tend to think, don't we, 03:25 that things happen to us randomly, that our lives were just 03:27 a bit of floating flotsam in the cosmos. 03:31 This passage corrects all of that, 03:33 that our lives, 03:36 our coming to faith in Jesus is something 03:39 that has been a divine intention and dream 03:43 throughout the eons of time past, 03:46 and wonderful to have that ringside seat 03:50 and to listen in on all of that. 03:52 >>So help walk us through a little bit of this passage. 03:55 What are we finding here? 03:57 >>Sure, the way I like to summarize this passage, Eric, 04:00 is that there are eight verbs here, 04:02 there are eight verbs, and they're all good; 04:05 nothing to fear at all from this passage. 04:08 They're all things that God does for us on our behalf. 04:13 So number one, God blesses us. 04:17 Aren't you glad for that? 04:18 >>Oh, that's encouraging. 04:19 >>You know, God's intention is to bless us 04:23 in time immemorial, 04:25 He intended, purposed to bless us. 04:29 And let's not miss that thought just because it's expressed 04:31 in common language that we understand. 04:34 God blesses us, and He does that in a specific way. 04:38 He does that with every spiritual blessing. 04:43 So get ready, this whole passage, 04:45 there's nothing parsimonious here. 04:47 He is not the strict accountant saying, 04:49 "I'm only gonna give Eric, you know, 04:51 "this little bit of my grace. 04:53 "And eh, let's mete out two grams 04:56 of forgiveness to Eric today." 04:58 Not what's going on here. 05:00 This is grace poured out in abundance. 05:03 This is forgiveness delivered in massive quantity 05:07 more than we could possibly need. 05:09 >>He talks about every spiritual blessing. 05:11 >>Every spiritual blessing. 05:13 And then the location is interesting, isn't it? 05:15 In the heavenly places or in the heavenly realms in Christ. 05:20 And this is how Paul, 05:22 in numerous places in Ephesians, refers to heaven, 05:26 and we'll want to unpack that. 05:27 We'll probably do that as we study lesson four 05:30 because that's an interesting study 05:32 to trace those occurrences. 05:34 But we would usually think about God blessing us down here. 05:38 >>Right. 05:39 >>The emphasis of this passage is what God does up there, 05:45 and interesting to watch that spiritual geography. 05:47 >>So not only does He talk about blessing us, 05:49 He also, it says, He chooses. >>Yes. 05:52 >>How does that work out? 05:54 >>He chooses believers to be holy 05:58 and blameless before Him. 06:01 Again, that moves counter to our expectation, 06:06 or could move counter to our expectations of God. 06:08 We might expect God to be nitpicking 06:11 at our flaws and failings, 06:13 and if we show up at the throne room, 06:16 we can expect a long list: 06:18 why did you do this, that and the other? 06:20 And our lists are all long, aren't they? 06:22 But again, God's character, 06:24 God's basic modus operandi, 06:28 way of operating toward human beings 06:31 and toward those of us who are believers, is not to curse, 06:37 but to bless, not to dismiss, but to choose us, 06:41 and to choose us to be holy and blameless before Him. 06:47 >>So He blesses us, He chooses us, 06:50 and we get down to verse number five, 06:51 it says, "Having predestined us to adoption 06:55 "as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, 06:57 according to the good pleasure of His will." 07:00 So He destines us or predestines us. 07:04 >>Sure. >>Walk us through that-- 07:05 >>Sure. >>...a little bit. 07:06 >>That language, "predestined," 07:08 is rather challenging, isn't it? 07:11 To our western ears 07:14 rooted in individualistic societies 07:17 where it's the freedom of the individual 07:19 to do whatever she or he wishes to do, 07:22 that's really important to us, we struggle with this 07:26 because this sounds like God is going to invade 07:29 our freedom of choice, and God is gonna come in and say, 07:33 "Well, I think I'll have Eric do this," 07:37 or "I'll have Susan do that." 07:39 "I'll save Eric, but Susan is damned." 07:43 That has the feeling to it. 07:45 And there are those, of course, down in Christian history 07:48 who have taken it more 07:49 or less that way. >>Right. 07:50 >>I think we need to take a step back here 07:52 and just listen to that language, "destined," 07:57 probably the way I would prefer to translate it, 07:59 but has destined us or predestined us, 08:03 let's listen that through the ears 08:05 of those citizens of Ephesus. 08:08 You remember we're in Ephesus in this letter, right? 08:11 One of the great cities of the Roman empire, 08:13 perhaps the fourth largest city, 08:15 third or fourth largest city. 08:17 And we have to kind of listen 08:19 to some of this through their ears. 08:21 And when we do that, something interesting happens. 08:23 This is what happens. 08:25 In fact, they do not belong to a democratic society 08:28 where it's one person, one vote, and all the rest. 08:31 Their lives are already destined. 08:34 They understand themselves 08:36 from their moment of birth to have been destined 08:38 by a whole string of deities and powers. 08:43 Who they will be, what will happen to them is predestined 08:47 at the moment of their birth by the particular conjunction 08:51 of the stars and planets, which they regard as divine beings 08:54 and deities that are entirely involved in their lives. 08:58 So Paul is not speaking to people 09:00 who believe they have individual choice 09:03 to determine their future. 09:05 He's speaking to people who are under the pall 09:08 of being predestined, the astral powers, 09:13 the powers of darkness, the powers in the heavens, 09:16 have already chosen who they will be, 09:18 what they will become, everything about their lives. 09:21 They are under the hand of fate. 09:23 So it's different to read the passage 09:25 through those ears than through our ears. 09:28 >>Yeah, we have a tendency to, and it's a natural tendency, 09:31 to view things through our own society, our own experiences. 09:35 And it can be a little bit difficult 09:36 to transport our minds back here to when this was written 09:41 to a group of people-- 09:43 >>Sure. >>...that it was written to. 09:44 Of course, there are applications 09:45 in our lives. >>Of course. 09:46 >>It's not as if the Bible is just written to them, 09:48 but Paul was writing predominantly 09:50 to the people living in Ephesus 09:52 and we can bring lessons out of that, 09:55 in fact, we should and ought to do that. 09:59 So what else do we see in here? 10:01 What are some other verbs that we find 10:03 as we go through this passage? 10:04 >>Well, that's the first three verbs, right? 10:06 God blesses, God chooses, God destines. 10:08 Verb number four, He gives. 10:11 He gives us, in the Beloved, that is in Christ, 10:14 He gives us His glorious grace, verse six, 10:17 if you're tracking there. >>Very good. 10:20 >>And of course, all of these blessings, 10:22 He repeatedly reminds us, 10:24 come to us from God the Father through Christ, 10:28 in Christ, by Christ. 10:30 Again, this is a Christ saturated letter. 10:33 So He does not wish us to forget 10:36 the role of Christ in the Beloved. 10:40 God the Father loves His son Jesus Christ, 10:46 and we are in ways that are kind of challenging 10:49 for us to understand, we're so wrapped, 10:51 we're so tight with Jesus. 10:53 When we're believers, we're so tied up with 10:55 and tight with Jesus 10:57 that the Father looking to Jesus sees us 11:01 and pours out His grace through Christ upon us. 11:06 >>So we've gone through four of the eight. 11:09 >>Mhmm, yes. 11:10 >>We've got four more to go. 11:12 What's the next verb that we see here in this passage? 11:15 >>Well, it's a verb that I like to see translated 11:19 something like "lavished," 11:22 which He lavished upon us. 11:25 "In Him"-- verse seven-- 11:26 "we have redemption through His blood." 11:29 So "redemption" is a term drawn from the slave market. 11:34 To redeem something is to buy it back, 11:38 to pay the price for freedom. 11:41 So Christ, through His blood, through His atoning sacrifice 11:46 has paid the price, if you will, 11:48 for our freedom from sin and Satan. 11:53 Hallelujah, right? 11:55 And has also given us "forgiveness of our trespasses, 11:59 "according to the riches of His grace, 12:02 which He lavished upon us." 12:06 Now, you know, that's a wonderful word, isn't it, 12:09 for, again, who is God? 12:12 What's His attitude toward us? 12:14 Is He parsimonious? 12:16 Is He parceling bits and pieces out to us? 12:19 Is He keeping account of all of the spiritual assets 12:22 He's pouring into the life of Eric and John? 12:26 This picture gives us a wondrous picture of God 12:30 who lavishes, pours out with utter generosity 12:36 all the spiritual blessings that we need. 12:38 >>So He's not trying to give us 12:39 just little bits and pieces. >>No. 12:41 >>He's wanting to just pour out in abundance 12:44 overflowing-- >>Yes. 12:45 >>...His many graces. 12:47 >>And Paul's trying to encourage us 12:49 to step into that abundance, 12:52 to not think about entering a world 12:57 where there's a tight budget on grace. 13:00 He's inviting us to enter into the very character of God 13:03 as one who blesses us, who pours out upon us, 13:07 who lavishes forgiveness and redemption upon us. 13:12 >>Then in verse number nine we find something else. 13:14 It says, "Having made known to us the mystery of His will, 13:19 "according to His good pleasure 13:20 which He purposed in Himself." 13:22 What do we find in that verse? 13:24 >>Yeah, so God has all these great intentions for us, right? 13:27 He has this plan for our lives. 13:30 It involves us coming to faith in Jesus, 13:33 it involves us living rich lives 13:38 of confidence in God 13:40 and the grace He expresses every moment through Christ. 13:44 That's what He has in store for us. 13:47 But if He never reveals that to us, 13:50 if we don't know about it, 13:52 that's a problem, right? >>Right. 13:54 >>And so Paul is making the point here 13:56 that not only does God hold these heavenly councils 14:00 and before the foundation of the world 14:02 make these great statements and decisions 14:06 about the availability of faith and grace in our lives 14:11 and the lives of all human beings, not only does He do that, 14:14 but He troubles Himself to reveal that to us. 14:18 And this for Paul is at the heart 14:20 of what he calls "the mystery" 14:22 or "the mystery of the gospel," 14:23 as we move through in Ephesians, 14:25 we'll see him using this term. 14:27 It's often tied very much to the special nature 14:30 of the gospel as Paul understands it, 14:33 which is focused on the fact 14:35 that it includes both Jews and Gentiles, 14:37 you know, they're both included, that's part of it. 14:40 Here it's this wonderful idea 14:43 that He troubles Himself to reveal it to us. 14:47 It's a mystery, but it's now an open secret, 14:49 because through the gospel that Paul preaches, 14:52 it has become revealed to us. 14:55 >>I think that gives us a beautiful picture 14:57 into the character of God, 14:58 that He wants us to know what's going on, 15:01 He wants us to know how He feels about us 15:03 and what's available to us, 15:05 and that we don't have to be discouraged 15:08 in this world and despondent, but that there is hope, 15:12 in fact, there's an immense amount of hope. 15:14 I think that's a beautiful thing. 15:16 We get down to verse number 10, 15:19 and in verse 10 it says that, "In the dispensation 15:20 "of the fullness of the times 15:22 "He might gather together in one 15:24 "all things in Christ, both which are in heaven 15:27 and which are on earth--in Him." 15:30 So this idea of the fullness of time, 15:34 unpack that a little bit for us. 15:36 >>I'll try. 15:38 I mean, we are dealing with here 15:39 where, Eric, we're dealing with the wonders 15:42 of God's grace expressed in the councils of heaven. 15:46 So the things that are revealed 15:50 belong to us, right, 15:51 and to our children, and it does seem to me 15:54 that this is pretty, pretty, pretty grand news. 15:58 So verses nine and 10 are the thesis statement for the book. 16:01 We may wish to come back to this after the break, 16:03 but He sets forth His purpose 16:07 in Christ for the fullness of time. 16:10 So I take that to mean that in eons past, 16:16 there is a council among the Godhead, 16:18 Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, 16:20 all three are mentioned in many passages in Ephesians. 16:23 So let's assume it's a council among the Godhead, 16:27 Father, Son, and Spirit, 16:29 and they make some decisions 16:31 about salvation history as it will unfold on Planet Earth. 16:37 And they determine that in the fullness of time, 16:42 at the end of time, which for Paul includes his day, 16:46 okay, the last days, the eschaton, the fullness of time, 16:50 certain things will be happen, 16:52 Christ will appear, Christ will come. 16:56 And so I think that's what's being discussed here 16:59 is the council deep eons of time among the Godhead 17:05 about salvation history on earth 17:06 and the appearance of Christ. 17:08 He wants us to know 17:09 that the appearance of Christ is no happenstance. 17:14 The appearance of the gospel as Paul preaches it, 17:17 including both Jews and Gentiles, is no happenstance. 17:21 This is long planned, this is from time immemorial, 17:26 and we have the privilege, Paul says, 17:28 of watching it be worked out. 17:31 >>So we're gonna come back 17:32 and pull that apart a little bit after the break. 17:34 But I wanna kind of tie together this section 17:36 looking at these different verbs, 17:38 these eight verbs that are in this passage 17:41 with verse number 13. 17:43 Verse number 13 says, "In Him you also trusted, 17:47 "after you heard the word of truth, 17:49 "the gospel of your salvation; 17:51 "in whom also, having believed, you were sealed 17:54 with the Holy Spirit of promise." 17:56 Here we see a very much a verb 18:00 that is considered an end time verb, and that is "sealing." 18:03 >>Yes. >>Paul's using it here 18:04 in the book of Ephesians, 18:06 we kind of toss it about living here in 2023. 18:11 Talk a little bit about this. 18:12 >>Sure, so to back up to verb seven, 18:15 the verb there is that God "heads up" all things in Christ. 18:19 We've talked about that 18:20 as part of the thesis statement of the letter, 18:22 and that's really important. 18:24 We'll be touching on that as we move through the letter. 18:27 And then comes the eighth and final verb. 18:30 And it talks about God "sealing" believers 18:34 with the Holy Spirit, 18:36 and this goes back to the first century context 18:39 where things were still sealed, 18:43 letters were sealed, 18:46 valuable contents of an amphora or 18:49 a storage jug would be sealed, and so on. 18:54 So it's a mark of ownership 18:57 and certainly God places His mark of ownership on us 19:01 as we declare faith in Christ, we're His, 19:04 and that happens here at the time of conversion. 19:07 >>Very good. 19:09 So we're gonna come back in just a moment 19:10 as we continue looking at this section 19:13 of the book of Ephesians. 19:14 But I wanna encourage you, 19:16 make sure you pick up the companion book 19:18 to this quarter's Sabbath school lesson. 19:20 It is the book of Ephesians 19:21 or a book called "Ephesians" by Dr. John McVay. 19:24 You can find this at itiswritten.shop. 19:28 Again, at itiswritten.shop. 19:30 We're gonna come back in just a moment 19:32 as we continue looking at this incredible passage 19:34 in the book of Ephesians. 19:36 We'll be right back. 19:37 (upbeat music) 19:41 >>I'm John Bradshaw from It Is Written, 19:44 inviting you to join me for "500." 19:47 Nine programs produced by It Is Written 19:50 taking you deep into the Reformation. 19:53 This is the 500th anniversary 19:55 of the beginning of the Reformation 19:57 when Martin Luther nailed his 95 Theses 19:59 to the door of the Castle Church in Wittenberg, Germany. 20:02 We'll take you to Wittenberg and to Belgium, to England, 20:05 to Ireland, to Rome, to the Vatican City, 20:09 and introduce you to the people who created the Reformation, 20:12 who pushed the Reformation forward. 20:14 We'll take you to sites all throughout Europe 20:16 where the reformers lived and in some cases died. 20:19 We'll bring you back to the United States 20:20 and take you to a little farm in upstate New York 20:23 and show you how God spread the Reformation here. 20:26 Don't miss "500." 20:28 You can own the "500" series on DVD. 20:31 Call us on 888-664-5573 20:36 or visit us online at itiswritten.shop. 20:42 (upbeat music) 20:46 >>Welcome back to "Sabbath School," 20:48 brought to you by It Is Written. 20:50 We are continuing our study of lesson number two. 20:52 I'm here with Dr. John McVay. 20:54 And John, we talked before we went to break 20:56 a little bit about the sealing, 20:57 let's tease that out just a little bit more. 20:59 What's going on-- >>Sure. 21:01 >>...with the sealing? >>We mentioned that seals 21:02 in ancient times played important roles. 21:05 There was a privacy role, particularly with letters, 21:08 but they also marked ownership 21:10 on the part of someone of whatever is sealed. 21:14 And so in this instance, 21:15 that seems to be very active, doesn't it? 21:18 Someone in Ephesus comes to faith in Jesus, 21:21 and Paul says, "At that moment, when you accept Christ 21:25 as your Lord and Savior, you are sealed." 21:29 Now, we often reflect on passages 21:34 that have to do with sealing, like Ezekiel and Revelation, 21:37 where a sealing occurs at the end of time, 21:42 before Christ's return, 21:44 marking end-time people as belonging to God. 21:50 What we have to do is get used to the idea 21:51 that Paul can, as he does here 21:53 and in chapter four, verse 30, 21:55 of Ephesians, refer to a sealing 21:58 that occurs at the beginning of the Christian life, 22:00 not at the end of time, 22:03 though it's related to the end of time, 22:05 because if you look at what he says here 22:07 in verses 13 and 14. 22:10 "In Him, you were sealed"--jumping to the end of verse 13-- 22:14 "you were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit." 22:17 So we need to understand something about this sealing, 22:20 it is personified 22:22 by the presence of the Spirit in our lives. 22:25 So the Spirit's presence working 22:27 in our hearts and lives constitutes, if you will, 22:30 the seal, the mark of God's ownership upon us. 22:33 So we're sealed 22:34 with the promised Holy Spirit at our conversion. 22:37 And that Holy Spirit, Paul describes, as the guarantee 22:42 of our inheritance until we require possession of it, 22:45 which would be at, when? 22:47 The end of time. >>There you go. 22:48 >>So it is related to the end of time, 22:51 but from the beginning of my Christian life 22:54 until the end of my life, 22:56 or potentially the end of time 22:59 when I would participate by God's grace 23:01 in that eschatological end time seal, 23:05 through that whole span of time, 23:07 my life as a Christian disciple bears a seal, 23:11 the presence of the Holy Spirit, marking me as God's own. 23:16 >>It's a beautiful picture of the sealing going on. 23:19 Wanna look at something else here, 23:21 John, when we look at the introduction 23:23 to the book of Ephesians, it's a little different 23:26 than you might look at the introductions to other books. 23:30 This one kind of stands out. 23:31 What makes it different, what makes it stand out? 23:34 >>What makes it stand out 23:36 is the volume of worship language 23:40 that we find here. 23:41 So in Paul's other letters, 23:44 Romans, First, Second Corinthians, 23:47 we always tend to get some worship element that occurs 23:51 right there at the beginning, usually a thanksgiving, 23:56 where Paul is reporting 23:59 giving God thanks for the addressees, 24:02 the people that he's writing to in the letter. 24:05 That's generally what is there. 24:07 However, in Ephesians, 24:09 we have this richness of what goes on. 24:12 If I'm getting it right here, 24:15 we have a brief prayer benediction, 24:18 chapter one, verse two, we have-- 24:21 that's praying for God's blessing upon people. 24:24 We have this lengthy, 24:26 what we could call a "praise benediction," 24:28 which we're studying this week. 24:30 A praise benediction is thanking God 24:33 for how He's been active in the lives of believers. 24:38 Then you have a thanksgiving section, 24:41 chapter one, verses 15 and 16. 24:43 You have a prayer report, chapter one, verses 16 through 23. 24:47 You move a little further into the letter, 24:50 you have another prayer report at the beginning-- 24:52 at the last half 24:53 of chapter three, and finally a doxology. 24:57 And then you have some exhortations about worship 25:00 that occur in chapter five and six. 25:02 So you have this rich array of praise and worship language 25:07 in the epistle to the Ephesians, which is highly unusual. 25:10 I think it's fair then for us to call Ephesians 25:13 a kind of handbook of Christian worship 25:16 because it gives us so much of this praise 25:18 and worship language, and we can't forget 25:21 that the letter itself is written to be read out 25:25 as a part of Christian worship. 25:27 So if you wanna go to someplace 25:29 in the New Testament that talks a lot about worship 25:33 and gives us some examples of how early Christians, 25:37 particularly Paul, worship, this would be it. 25:40 >>A beautiful introduction, 25:42 a unique introduction. >>Unique introduction. 25:44 >>And a great handbook or guidebook for us today. 25:47 >>Draws us into an atmosphere of worshiping 25:49 before the throne of God, particularly into an atmosphere 25:53 of that key term, "thanksgiving," 25:56 draws us into how important it is to thank God. 25:59 >>John, we don't have too much time left, 26:01 but I wanted to come back to verses nine and 10. 26:03 >>You made mention-- >>Yes. 26:05 >>...of some significant things in there. 26:06 Help us to see one or two key more things in there. 26:10 >>Again, that's the thesis statement for the letter. 26:12 Here's God's ultimate plan. 26:14 You wanna listen in, in the throne room, 26:16 you wanna hear God's plan. 26:17 Here's what you're going to find. 26:20 This is God's plan for the fullness of time, to head up, 26:24 head up, or sum up everything in Jesus Christ, 26:29 and, says Paul, 26:30 I do mean everything, everything in heaven 26:33 and everything on earth, united in Christ. 26:37 I won't use many Greek words as we chat together, 26:40 but there's a fascinating one here, it's "anakephalaioó." 26:44 It's a Greek verb that means literally "to head up." 26:48 You hear the word "kephale," 26:49 the Greek word for "head" there 26:51 and it's an accounting term. 26:53 Back in ancient times they didn't put 26:56 a row of figures on a page and then sum them up down here. 27:00 They put a row of figures on a page and they sum them up. 27:03 We still use that language today, don't we? 27:05 They summed it up at the top. 27:07 So it's God's role, God's goal, 27:09 God's grand plan to sum everything up in Christ. 27:13 And when I choose Him, as a person in Ephesus, 27:17 or a person in the world today, when I choose Jesus, 27:21 I am joining that great plan, 27:24 my life is getting headed up and caught up in Jesus. 27:27 >>John, thank you for helping us understand 27:29 the thesis statement of Ephesians 27:31 and these beautiful passages here in three through 14. 27:34 And thank you for joining us this week. 27:37 We're looking forward to seeing you again next week 27:40 as we continue our study of the book of Ephesians. 27:43 Next week, lesson number three. 27:45 Until then, God bless you, and we'll look forward 27:47 to seeing you again next time on "Sabbath School," 27:49 brought to you by It Is Written. 27:54 (uplifting music) 28:26 (music ends) |
Revised 2023-06-29