Glory In The Church

Please turn to Ephesians chapter 3 where we will continue looking at the doxology that ends the doctrinal portion of Ephesians.

When you have that, go ahead and stand for the reading of God's Word. For this reason

I bow my knees before the Father from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his spirit and your inner being so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith that you being rooted and grounded in love may have strength to comprehend with all the

Saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth and to know the love of Christ surpasses knowledge that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.

Now to him who was able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think according to the power at work within us to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations forever and ever.

Amen. You may be seated. Dear Heavenly Father, we ask that as we study this doxology that we would learn more of your glory and more of how we ought to come to you in prayer.

In Jesus' name. Amen. God has given us instruction in prayer.

One of the ways that he has given that instruction is in examples of prayer such as this prayer here at the end of the doctrinal portion of Ephesians that ends with this doxology.

Paul prays that God would receive glory. That is what a doxology is.

It is words about the glory of God and he says specifically for God to have glory in the church.

Subsequent messages, we'll look at the other phrases here in Christ Jesus and throughout all generations forever and ever and even the

Amen. But today we are concerned particularly with glory in the church.

That God would receive glory in the church. Now glory is something that he's talked about a good bit in this letter already.

If you look at the paragraph that is Ephesians 1 11 through 14 you can see it a couple of times that he is very concerned about the glory of the

Lord. 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 are the first to hope in Christ might be to the praise of his glory.

So his statement here is that God has predestined a particular people so that we who are the first to hope in Christ might be to the praise of his glory.

So those people would be able to to glorify him, make his glory known, and that others would even praise him for his glory.

Then it continues on in 13 and 14. 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.

So what is supposed to happen that we receive an inheritance and all that happens our perseverance until that time and then the reception of the inheritance that would all be to the praise of God's glory.

Paul is explaining here in Ephesians God's whole plan of salvation that whole plan of salvation terminates in the glory of God.

Now that glory is a glory that in part is a glory in the church.

Glory in the church is glory to God. In part this is talking about the church praising

God. To glorify God is to ascribe glory to him.

He cannot become more glorious. He is eternal. He is unchangeable. He cannot be glorified in the way that others are glorified.

When creatures are glorified they become more glorious. God does not not become more glorious. Glory is simply ascribed to him.

It says in Psalm 96 7 through 8 ascribe to the Lord of families of the peoples.

Ascribe to the Lord glory and strength. Ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name.

Bring an offering and come into his courts. So there when it describes glorifying him it is ascribing to him that glory that is already his.

Now when Paul says here in Ephesians chapter 3 to him be glory he's talking about people ascribing to him glory.

But how does that glory come to him? It comes to him in the church. Now on one hand the church glorifies him in this traditional sense of we praise him and as we praise him we are ascribing glory to him.

As we thank him we are acknowledging him as the giver of all things and we are ascribing more glory to him. But glory in the church is itself something that brings glory to God.

When the church itself is glorious that brings glory to God because it is

God who is found at the church. We can see this even in verse 13.

So I ask you not to lose heart over what I am suffering for you which is your glory.

Paul is talking about how God has made him a minister of the gospel especially to reveal the mystery of Christ which is the

Jews and Gentiles being united into one church and that this is something glorious.

This church that has come about by Jews and Gentiles uniting that had not existed before that is a glorious thing and Paul is suffering for the sake of this glory.

This is why we shouldn't worry about him being in prison. It is for purpose. It is for the purpose of our glory.

Yes it is God's glory ultimately but our glory brings him glory. Now this is an amazing truth because often the problem is that people want glory to the exclusion of God.

They want glory and the focus on man receiving glory takes away glory from God but here

God receives glory by his church being glorious. Paul is laboring for the he's laboring for the glory of God.

This is what happens through the temple of God.

This is a God has God created this church Jews and Gentiles together into one building.

He has described it in the previous chapter at the end it said in him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the

Spirit. So the Spirit working in the church that brings glory to God it is an indoxation of the church.

Okay indoxation refers to glory coming in. In Solomon's day when he created the temple at the last point when he dedicates it when he makes that long prayer about how you're familiar with what

I'm talking about hopefully how when bad things happen and people pray facing towards the temple

God will forgive etc etc right he prays this prayer at the very end of that as he dedicates the temple he makes the sacrifices

God comes and fills the temple with a cloud this is his glory this is known as indoxation okay the the glory coming into the temple

God bring glory to himself by making the actual physical brick -and -stone temple glorious.

In Zechariah 2 it says sing and rejoice O daughter of Zion for behold

I come and I will dwell in your midst declares the Lord and many nations shall join themselves to the

Lord in that day and shall be my people. This is talking about what

Paul is talking about the mystery of Christ the nation is joining together Jews and Gentiles joining together in one church and then what will happen and I will dwell in your midst and you shall know that the

Lord of hosts has sent me to you and the Lord will inherit Judah as his possession in the

Holy Land and will again choose Jerusalem so I come and I will dwell in your midst declares the

Lord and many nations will join themselves and I will dwell in your midst and you shall know the

Lord of hosts has sent me to you. God comes and dwells in the midst of his people on that last day what this is talking about is an indoxation of the

New Testament temple there was an indoxation of the Old Testament temple you saw it with the tabernacle with Moses when the cloud filled the temple then later with Solomon when the cloud filled the temple and then with the

New Testament Church when the Holy Spirit fills the temple and brings God glory by making the church herself glorious.

Glory in the temple is glory to God this glory in the temple is particularly the love of Christ see what it said here about his love it is said in verse 16 that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his spirit and your inner being so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith that you being rooted and grounded in love may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth and to know the love of Christ surpasses knowledge that you may be filled with all the fullness of God describing what is the fullness of God coming into the temple what is that indoxation where the cloud fills the temple it is for them to have strength by the

Spirit in order to know the unknowable love of Christ that is what that glory is as you know the love of Christ the church becomes herself more glorious it is not just that it is not just that the love of Christ brings

God glory as as we love each other and people see oh wow

God is glorious is not just that it is it that it itself is a glorious thing and by being a glorious thing brings glory to God so this is a glory that is not one of outward appearances as was the glory of the

Old Testament temple and the New Testament God's people worship in spirit and in truth by that I mean not in the outward trappings of glory but rather in truth what those things were illustrating what was the temple illustrating for us in a typological fashion a type being a pattern of something that else right like if you're if you're typesetting a book you would have metal types if you're using an old printer

I've used this analogy last week for something completely different but you have all the little metal types and as they press down they make the actual words so it is that the temple is a type of the church right it points forward to this thing

God's people are worshiping in spirit and truth so that that outward glory is an illustration of the more substantial more important inward glory that the church experiences knowing the love of God church becomes more glorious and knowing the love of God this is not an outward glory it is an inward glory as Paul says in 2nd

Corinthians 4 7 we have this treasure in jars of clay what's going on there in both 1st

Corinthians and 2nd Corinthians so that the Corinthians have a temptation to be distracted by outward glory they're interested in different ministries saying they're from Paul or Apollos etc based on different kind of outward glories that they are interested in and then 2nd

Corinthians they're very attracted to these super apostles who have more outwardly glorious ministry and Paul is pointing out to them that their ministry is a glorious ministry

Paul's ministry is a glorious ministry even though he is shipwrecked and beaten etc etc not because of the outward things but because he has that treasure in jars of clay so the church is glorious not based on outward things but based on inward things now those n -word things may have some expression externally as you see them but that is not their primary expression you know if we care about God's worship we'll tend to the building and make sure it looks in good order and it's hospitable but that's very different than making than the glory of the kingdom being cathedrals if we care about the worship of God we will sing joyfully and clearly and we'll have music that upholds the singing but the glory of our music is not the glory of the

Old Testament music where the focus was on the instruments and all those things in addition to the words in our case the words are the main thing the instruments are not the main melody is the melody that's in our heart the instruments are are negligible in terms of in terms of being something that guarantees any sort of real glory the glory is in the melody that is in our hearts that love of Christ that we are to know the old temple had incense you could smell it the

New Testament has prayer not that they didn't have prayer in the Old Testament but we know that the instance that we offered

God is our prayers to God and that he is glorified and as much as we are filled with the knowledge of Christ having having known his forgiveness having known the access we have to the throne of grace through his love for us so that we would offer up our zealous prayers the various things that we have are not like the

Old Testament where they are primarily outward the sacraments we have are in some ways have to be careful how

I say it but in some ways they're intentionally humble right they are baptism the

Lord's Supper these are very small things compared to the significant outward signs that you would see in the

Old Testament temple with the sacrifices etc and so people get distracted by these outward things that are they think that the glory of the church is primarily supposed to be in these outward things or in buildings what -have -you but it is primarily in the love of Christ it is only in the knowledge of the love of Christ and in as much as that expresses itself outwardly likewise it is possible to profane the temple and the

Old Testament the temple could be profaned where you would take those holy things that where God was pleased to dwell in this temple because it had been made a holy place to him and you were to and you were to add unclean things right so how might you profane the temple one way of profaning the temple was bloodshed if you were to kill someone inside the temple that profanes the temple what profanes our temple is it not bitterness towards one another biting and devouring one another like Galatians describes that profanes this temple if the temple if the the glory of the temple is the love of God among us then bitterness profanes it and people take that very lightly don't they they don't feel that it's really that significant of an issue to remedy rifts among the body because they don't see it outwardly affecting the glory but it is the only glory that matters that love of Christ is the only glory that matters now when

I say love of Christ I am saying that subjectively I'm talking about Christ's love for us and us knowing it but it does have an outworking of us loving

Christ and loving others that is that is the implication of us having the love of Christ we will love others and if that is what makes the church so glorious that is important to maintain it's it's as though you were just to kill a man in the middle of this assembly and just leave his body there like it's no big deal everyone understands that for the

Old Testament temple that desecrates it it desecrates the New Testament temple as well if we have bitterness and we are biting and devouring one another if you were to offer an unclean sacrifice in the

Old Testament temple if you were to sacrifice a pig that would desecrate it that was how the temple was desecrated when

Antiochus Epiphanes sacrificed a pig that is not recorded in the pages of Scripture but it is prophesied in Daniel 11 and it does show up in the books of the

Maccabees when we offer unclean sacrifices where our hearts are not not right before God because we do not know the love of Christ as we ought we are offering unholy gifts on the altar

Matthew 5 says if your brother has something against you leave your gift at the altar and go first be reconciled to your brother and then come and offer your gift okay you do not you do not wait until you offer your gift as though if you if it is acceptable to do that that means that the glory is in the gift but the glory is not in the gift the glory is in our love for one another as we know the love of Christ as we have the fullness of his love another way that temple might be desecrated by the presence of Gentiles by the presence of those who do not belong in the assembly likewise so we have those in the assembly who do not truly trust in Jesus Christ who's in whose heart there's a bitter root forming who are going away secretly worshiping other gods do not love

Christ who do not know the love of Christ who are not growing in the love of Christ as it describes in Hebrews 6 this is why it is so important to press on to greater things not just the milk but the meat in order that we would know the love of Christ so that there are not people in the assembly secretly turning away why is that such a problem it's not just a problem for the individual it's a problem for the whole church the whole church that Christ has established loses the glory the indoxation of the spirit not just in the individual as he comes and dwells in our heart but as he comes and dwells in our assembly it is compromised his glory is compromised as we profane the temple with our bitterness toward one another with a lack of unity leave your gift at the altar and go first be reconciled to your brother and then come and offer your gift there are various audiences that we would seek to demonstrate this glory to and it's worth enumerating them because as I've mentioned this glory is not an outward glory and so there is a great temptation to act in a way that cares about the outward glory or cares about those who care about the outward glory first of all there's

God he sees the glory that is in the church as we know the love of Christ all this description and this prayer is something that God is very aware of that we would know that we would know the love of God secondly there are angelic beings 3 verse 10 just verse 10 in this chapter in Ephesians so that through the church the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known to the rulers and the authorities in the heavenly places so why is it that Paul is laboring for the glory what is this thing that is happening through the church through the union of Jews and Gentiles together in the creation of this church being indoxated by the

Spirit through the church the manifold wisdom of God is being made known to rulers and authorities as the church is being made glorious and God's wisdom angelic beings are witnessing it

Hebrews 12 22 1st Corinthians 11 10 both talk about angels being in our presence when we gather for worship but I don't think we have any reason to not to deny excuse me that this is also talking about those angelic beings that he has referred to earlier in this even evil angelic beings he said in chapter 2 and you were dead in your trespasses and sins in which you once walked following the course of this world following the prince of the power of the air that spirit is work at work in the sons of disobedience talks about him as the prince of the power of the air and then it says it talks about him having raised us up and seated us up in the heavenly places there are several intimations here that he has in mind a display of his glory by making the church glorious to angelic beings beyond the elect angels but even to demonic angels even to his enemies that he would show his wisdom by making the church glorious now this is also the case for us that we having been given spiritual eyes eyes of faith we should see the glory in the church verses 16 through 19 if I can just read these again says that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with the power through his spirit in your inner being so that Christ may dwell in your hearts or faith that you being rooted and grounded in love may have strength to comprehend with all the

Saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth and to know the love of Christ surpasses knowledge that you may be filled with all the fullness of God okay knowing the love of Christ leads to being filled with God to being in doxated but it's not an ignorant in doxation it is one where you know that you are being filled with glory

God's glory the church should know that she is being filled with the glory of God that she is being filled with God's presence as she knows

Christ more and more and so the next audience is God's church the

God's church should see that glory more and more and you should train your eyes to see that glory rather than to seeing other glories if you go to a church and it seems very impressive make sure that that that you are impressed not by outward trappings but by the love of Christ are these people who know

Jesus Christ and are these a people who really know the love of Jesus Christ so much that that love is flowing out of them to one another is the spirit moving in this place it's funny because I have a lot of friends who will talk primarily in terms of the spirit but what they are talking about is not the indoxation that is described here they're talking about something else it's very external it's a bunch of people just acting very crazy right the spirit was really moving there right how does the spirit move the spirit moves by teaching us the love of Christ in a way that flows out from us that we would love one another now the last audience is the audience that we're most attempted to impress but it's the only audience that is removed from this at least until the end whenever all of this love of Christ becomes fully manifest and that is the unbelieving world the unbelieving world does not see these things they will consider continue to see the church as not being glorious and we will continue to need to resist the temptation to satisfy their desires see the church is glorious I think

I've mentioned before that one of the cults I've spent some studying the Iglesia Ni Cristo they have a fascination with breaking

Guinness Book World Records because they think that by doing that they are demonstrating to the world how glorious the church is okay it doesn't matter if you have done the largest blood drive it doesn't matter if you have the largest indoor arena these are actual records that they've broken that doesn't make the church more glorious it is through the real love of Christ in the church that the church is more glorious 1st

Corinthians 2 verse 7 says but we impart a secret and hidden wisdom of God which

God decreed before the ages for our glory our glory wisdom right wisdom manifest wisdom to the principalities etc and Ephesians chapter 3 here same author is talking about wisdom for our glory none of the rulers of this age understood this for if they had they would not have crucified the

Lord of glory so they did not if they understood that they would have understood that Christ and his love is glorious they would not have crucified them but they do not understand the real glory of the church everyone who hates

Jesus Christ does not know the love of God we love him because he first loved us if they don't love him what does that mean they have not experienced his love and they cannot experience the glory of the church they cannot know it do not be tempted to to want to satisfy those desires for glory to feel ashamed of the gospel of Christ because it's not attended with the sort of glory that the world anticipates none of those things are our real demonstrations of the glory of God even though so many people go after that so many churches seek to make the seek to make

God's kingdom more glorious by the aesthetics and this can go in both directions right this can go the modern megachurch route where it's all about the lights and smoke show or it can go the traditional route where it's all about cathedrals okay in either of those directions not one of those is not neither of those is safe the glory of God's church that actually brings glory to him it's the knowledge of the love of Christ which passes all understanding you must pursue you must pursue that particular glory you must pray for that particular glory latch on to this promise that God has given not just that he will glorify himself through the church but he will do it by glorifying the church itself if you desire good things for the church you do not merely have to pray that God would be glorified by working in that way but you can even you are permitted as Paul is to directly pray for God to glorify the church herself it is right for you to do that and the more you pray according to God's will the more you incorporate the various aspects of his promises the various intentions of his will and not just the end of his glory but even that it happened through the means of the church's glory herself the more you are aligning your will with God the more he will be ready to answer you knowing that you will respond in the appropriate praise understanding his purposes he has us pray to him in order that our wills would be aligned to his pray for the means as well as the end pray not just for the glory of God but the glory of God in the church that she herself would be made would be made glorious and pursue that glory by knowing the love of God actually go to his word in order to know his love then share that love with others as you teach them about the glory of God in that knowledge of the love of God and walk in that love

Ephesians 5 2 says and walk in love as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God see that kind of language it's using that temple language is it where it talks about a fragrant offering and sacrifice it's appealing to that again it's saying this is the real glory of the temple is that love of Christ as he loved us so love others love one another do not do not diminish the importance of maintaining unity the bond of peace through the

Spirit do not minimize mending rifts there's a temptation to see those things as side jobs that God gives you know there's the main job of going to his word and praying and being part of church and if you're a pastor then the temptation is to see well that's that's just the main job

I preach week to week if I've got you know other things going on with personal relationships and things those are those are a side thing no all this other stuff that God gives us all these means of grace are to prepare us for the for those battles

I'm not don't hear me as diminishing our worship before him but it is all invalidated if the temple is desecrated it is all invalidated if we don't don't have the real glory that is through the indoxation of the