The Plan of The Ages

If you can please stand for the reading of God's word from Ephesians chapter one. Ephesians chapter one starting in verse three, hear ye the word of the

Lord. 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.

In love he predestined us for adoption to himself as sons 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 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.

You may be seated. We pray for God's blessing over the preaching of his word.

Lord, we thank you again that you're the God of life that in you we have life and breath and movement and being.

All things come from that good and bountiful hand. We ask Lord that this morning you would be glorified in the preaching of your word how we uncover the vastness and the grandeur of your great plan for humanity.

And we ask all these things in Christ's mighty name. Amen. Well, beloved,

I have a question for you. And the question is this. Are you a planner?

Are you the type of individual that you like to plan well in advance? If you were to ask me that question, the answer would be guilty as charged.

I like a good plan and I don't like it when things don't go according to plan.

And yet, how meticulous are you in your planning?

I know that in my planning I can tend to be quite meticulous. A couple years ago when my wife and I lived in Canada, we lived in Edmonton, Alberta, which is the most northern, most populous city in North America.

Past it, there's not much civilization. And so when we decided on our first vacation that we were gonna go visit family in Wisconsin, we only had two kids at the time and I think my wife was pregnant as well.

But we, in order to get there in a timely manner, I planned exactly when we would stop for gas, when we would stop for lunch or breakfast or dinner, and how long those stops would be.

And my wife said, that'll never work. And I said, watch me. And as we started going around our travels down through Alberta into Saskatchewan and all the way down to North Dakota, that was our first day of travel.

We knew it was gonna take two days to get to Wisconsin. And in our first stop, timer's out.

And I'm making sure that we're getting everything on time. And you might think, how did you do that with two kids?

Well, they were young enough where they were still in diapers. So it was as easy as just taking it off, putting a new one on and continuing on our journey.

And to her surprise, not mine, we got there right when

I said we'd get there because the plan worked. And the second day didn't necessarily go according to plan.

As our second day from Minot, North Dakota all the way to Milwaukee, Wisconsin, we hit some pretty terrible traffic.

That wasn't in my plan book. And that delayed us by several hours.

However, I wanna share with you this morning that regardless of whether you're a good planner or a bad planner or if you even plan at all,

God has a plan for you and I. Not only does he have a plan for you and I, he has a plan that he has been working since before even time was.

And he's been working it out according to the purpose of his will. And his plan will not be interrupted.

His plan will not be delayed. His plan will be right on time and has been thus far.

If you're following along in today's teaching and preaching, examine with me verse seven again from Ephesians 1.

Speaking of this great plan that the Lord has for his people, it says, in him, the him being

Christ, we have redemption through his blood, again, the blood being the blood of Jesus, the forgiveness of our trespasses according to the riches of his grace.

God has a magnificent, incredible plan. And that plan can be traced all the way back to the

Garden of Eden. When we see in the first three chapters of the Bible, the narrative of scripture says that God created the heavens and the earth and God placed all things on this earth, including humanity.

And when God placed the first couple in that garden, he gave them a commission to go forth and have dominion over the earth to spread that garden and its influence across the entire globe, to be fruitful and multiply.

Yet in that garden was an enemy. The enemy was a serpent who came in the midst of the garden to deceive

Adam and Eve, to rebel against the one who made them.

And in that, some theological persuasions may say that that was a bump in God's plan, that God didn't foresee that.

You know, I grew up in a religious setting where you can catch God by surprise. God may or may not have known about the events of 9 -11 before they were transpired.

God may or may not know how you will respond to certain events and things. God is at the mercy of the whims and will of man, but that is not the

God of Holy Scripture. The God of Holy Scripture, he has a plan and everything is going according to plan as he is working out all things for good in redemptive history.

Sin did not take God by surprise in the garden. In fact, in his supreme wisdom and foresight, he purposed his plan of salvation by promising humanity a seed that would arise from that terrible conflict of sin.

And that seed would bring hope by crushing the head of the serpent, the enemy that was in that garden.

And God purposed for his eternal redemption to be accomplished even in that garden.

How do we see this continue to work out in redemptive history? Well, he purposed again the plan of salvation by promising a seed that would arise and crush the head of the serpent and who would grant us everlasting deliverance by the blood of Jesus.

You see, the blood of Jesus is what offers, is what opens the blessing and opportunity and the assurance of salvation.

Again, notice what verse seven says. In him, we have redemption through his blood.

I wanna ask you this morning, what is so special about the blood of Jesus that in his blood, we have such hope of redemption and even the forgiveness of our trespasses according to the riches of his grace?

Well, here's what's so special about the blood. If you know anything about divine justice, even from the inception of sin into humanity in that garden narrative, we see that God immediately clothes

Adam and Eve with the clothing of another, with a creature and clothes them, pointing toward the sacrifice of sins that would be necessary for the redemption of the world.

We also see that throughout redemptive history, God allows the people of God, Israel, his covenant people, to bring forth sacrifices, to be a temporary covering for the sins as they awaited for the final

Passover lamb, the final covering for sins in the person and work of Jesus Christ.

You see, what makes the blood of Jesus so incredible, so powerful, is that unlike the blood of goats and bulls and sheeps,

Jesus' blood can offer an everlasting redemption. Why?

Because it is the only blood that can fully satisfy the wrath of Almighty God.

It is only in Christ's sacrifice that we see a lasting covering for sin.

And why is that? Well, the answer is real clearly defining the gospel of our salvation, that Jesus lived the life that you and I could not live.

Jesus, unlike any one of us, was perfect and blameless and spotless, never sinned, never fell short of the glory of God, never broke the commandments.

He was truly unique, the one and only Son of the Father, full of grace and truth.

Jesus' blood is powerful to save because he lived the life that you and I could not live, and therefore, on the cross, he died the death that we all rightly deserved.

Death on the cross, by means he spilled his blood and offers us all redemption in him.

If you're following along in today's teaching, you received an insert this morning. It is only by the blood of Jesus that we can have redemption and forgiveness.

You see, God's plan was not deterred by the fall, but revealed in that he has since demonstrated that his plan includes the redemption of the world and the forgiveness of sins for all who would trust in Jesus.

I wanna define this term real quick, the word redemption. What comes to your mind when you think of that word redemption?

You know, in the Greek, it's actually a legal term. It's a term of acquittal in which you are in a setting where you are maybe in a legal proceeding, and the redemption is that you are now free.

You are no longer under acquittal. You're no longer under the heavy hand of the law, but you have been redeemed from the consequences of the law.

And of course, we receive forgiveness. Not only were you redeemed, you were forgiven in Christ.

Redeemed in that your state has been changed from that of someone who is guilty to someone who is no longer guilty because of your sins being forgiven by the blood of Jesus Christ.

Jesus is the one who pays our fine. He pays our consequences on that cross.

And God's plan of the ages leads us straight to the person of Jesus Christ.

Now, Jesus Christ is not simply a way to God. In today's culture, in a multicultural setting where there's vast numbers of religious thoughts and denominations and religions, it's real easy to appease people by saying that Jesus is just the right way for me.

And whatever path you go on, it will lead to God eventually. The Bible does not teach such a message.

Instead, the Bible teaches us very clearly from the words of the Lord Jesus Christ himself in John 14, six, where he said,

I am the way, the truth, and the life, and that no man cometh unto the

Father but by me. Jesus is not a way or a good way or even a better way.

He is the way to God the Father. If you want to have a right standing before God on that great day, that day in which you will stand before him, you will have only one plea to make if you are in Christ, and that is the plea of another that the blood of Jesus has been applied to me and that I now live and work and breathe in his righteousness, not a righteousness of my own, but a righteousness that comes from Christ.

But if you be not in Christ on that day, you have nothing to stand on.

Your works of righteousness are but filthy rags according to scripture. There is nothing that you can do to earn salvation.

It is only totally and wholly by the work and blood of another, even

Jesus Christ, who is the way to God. The Bible tells us in Acts chapter four, verse 12, that there is no other name given among men by which we may be saved other than the name of Jesus.

Not only is the blood of Jesus so important to our redemption, so is his grand name, that there is no other name given among men by which we may be saved, but the name and the blood of Jesus, who is himself the way, the truth, and the life.

To him be glory, amen. And notice what this Jesus does in his redemptive plan for the ages.

Notice what it says again in verse seven and eight. In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses according to the riches of his grace.

Can I tell you something? The God that we serve, he's rich. He's rich.

He's rich in the most important way. He is rich in grace.

You know, when a person is rich, oftentimes people come and they ask them for money or resources or opportunities, and sometimes it doesn't always feel good when people only come to you because they want something of you, but in this case,

God wants you to come on to him because he is rich in mercy, rich in grace, and he wants to share his riches and grace with you because in Christ and through the shed blood of the cross, he has adopted us as sons and daughters of the most high, and he wants to share that grace, that redemption, that forgiveness, that mercy with his people.

Notice what it says in verse eight then. Which he lavished upon us in all wisdom and insights.

He lavished, I love that word, lavished. What comes to your mind when you hear the word lavished?

I think of something like fancy, like something exciting, something that, given something of value, of much worth.

See, in God's plan of the ages, he has purposed to lavish his elect in Christ with grace.

Grace being God's undeserved kindness, his unmerited favor. Grace isn't just a word that we sing.

It's the very word by which we understand our right relationship with God.

He does not treat us according to our sins, but rather he has decided to look at us with the eyes of grace.

Not the eyes of a judgmental father, but the eyes of a merciful father, looking upon his sons and daughters with much love, with much affection, with much grace.

Undeservedly so, though. We do not deserve any of this.

Yet, in his plan, he has purposed to give us this grace in all wisdom and insight.

I want you to write that in the next part. God has lavished us with his grace in all wisdom and insight.

See, again, I love that word, lavish. The word is translated from the Greek word parisio, which literally means to exceed a fixed number of measure, to be left over and above a certain number or measure.

So think of it this way. The word lavish, if I were to give you a mental picture, think of Psalm 23, where God gives you a cup and what's happening to that cup?

It's overflowing, and that's what the word lavish here means.

Some translations will translate the word lavish to be, or parisio in the

Greek, to be bestowed. But I don't think that word does justice to this

Greek term, which literally is being borrowed, the imagery being borrowed from Psalm 23, where you have that cup which overfloweth.

An overflowing cup of blessing. Exceeding that which was measured.

Abounding, overflowing onto your lap. That is how God decides to treat us in his plan, to lavish us with his mercy, lavish us with his grace, lavish us with his love.

Isn't that incredible? Isn't that praiseworthy? See, in God's plan, he has purposed for your cup, the cup being a picture of yourself, of your life, to overflow with his grace.

Not only so that we can be saved onto eternal life, but to give us the grace needed for day -to -day life as we endeavor to put on the

Christian character and be part of God's grand plan of the ages by being conduits of this amazing grace.

That's what God is doing in our lives. He's giving us this grace so that it will overflow into us, not just onto salvation, but so that we can actually live life.

Friends, did you know you need grace to live life? You need grace when hardship comes your way.

You need grace when you fail and fall flat on your face. You need grace in every aspect of life, whether it's at work or at school or at home.

With our children, we are in constant need of grace. Praise be unto God, then, that he lavishes it on us.

It's overflowing, and because of that, because of this grace which is overflowing, being lavished upon us, grace then should move us to live in fulfillment of God's plan and will.

It is the way that we become participants in the plan that he has for the ages by sharing and declaring the grace that we've received in Jesus Christ.

You see, again, I love that image of an overflowing cup because the cup isn't just meant to overflow into the floor, it's meant to flow into the lives of others.

That's why it's so important that when we come together in the Lord's day, when we gather in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, that we fellowship, that we love the brotherhood, that we share, we break bread together because we are, in that way, abounding in the grace that God has poured into our lives, but it doesn't stop even there because we have a sacred obligation to then bring that grace where?

To the world. Outside of the four walls of the church, the world is in need of much grace, and because God has lavished his people with grace, we are to bring that excess of grace into the world so that they may see the glories of Christ in and through you.

You see, you are all to be a light, as Christ was. He called his disciples, he says, you are the light of the world.

The world that we see today, though we look outside these stained glass and windows, we see there's much brightness in today, but the reality is that spiritually, outside of these doors, the world is dark.

It's in great darkness, and we are the light bringing forth grace into this world.

Not the grace of our own, but the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ. Again, God's plan will not fail when he has said he will lavish his grace on us, and he will lavish, and him lavishing his grace on us is not a trivial matter, but it's based upon God's wisdom and insight.

God's decision to lavish us with grace is, in all wisdom and insight, a working that which is pleasing to him as he works out his plan in the world that we live in.

It's not a trivial thing that Christ has lavished his grace on us. Instead, it is, in all wisdom, because he knows best, and he knows the best mechanism to reach the nations with his gospel is through grace.

It's in all insight, knowing that God ultimately knows the outcome. God knows the outcome of our efforts, and he knows the outcome of our work.

He also knows the outcome of his work, which will accomplish all that he purposed for it.

Notice what it says in Ephesians 1, verse nine. It says, making known to us the mystery of his will according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ.

You see, this plan of God includes a mystery, and who doesn't love a good mystery? Mysteries are just something that begs to be discovered, begs to be uncovered.

And there's a sacred mystery here in the heart of God's plan for humanity.

And this mystery, which was not understood for the majority of redemptive history, has been made known to us in the person and work of Jesus Christ.

So I want you, if you're following along in the teaching, God has revealed the mystery of his will.

And what is the mystery of his will? Well, friends, it is set forth in Christ.

The mystery of which Paul is speaking of revolves around the person and work of Christ.

So God has revealed the mystery of his will, which revolves around the person and work of Christ. Why don't you write that in there, mystery in Christ.

I would like to read from Colossians chapter two. Colossians chapter two, and it says in verse two and three, that their hearts may be encouraged, being knit together in love, to reach all the riches of full assurance of understanding and the knowledge of God's mystery.

So you want to know what the mystery is? Which is Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.

If you want to know what the mystery of God is, look no further than the face of Jesus Christ.

Now, why is Jesus the mystery of God? Because he is that sacred secret, which was kept for the majority of redemptive history.

Things that the prophets and the Old Testament patriarchs long to see, long to look into, but were not able to see, but only from afar.

Christ is the fulfillment of all prophetic history.

You see, he is the mystery of God revealed to us in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.

Again, why is Jesus at the center of this sacred mystery? It's because all of prophetic scripture points, anticipates, and is fulfilled in Jesus.

He's the centerpiece of all scripture. He is the eternal word made flesh.

God who entered into time and space to reconcile us and the cosmos to his dominion in his kingdom.

This is why Jesus is the great mystery of God revealed unto us.

Jesus is not just a mystery of God, he is the face of God. The Bible says in Colossians 1 .15,

he is the image of the invisible God. He's the image.

If you were to see God, you'd be beholding the face of Christ. Now, you may be asking yourselves, well, aren't we made in God's image?

We are made in God's image. Christ is the image.

I will also say of this incredible Christ that he is the reflection of the very nature of God.

God came into human flesh, dwelt among us.

We've beheld his glory, the glory of the one and only from the Father full of grace and truth. This is a marvelous mystery that God came into the flesh, died for our sins, and was raised up to glory.

And that's what we see from 1 Timothy 3 .16 where Paul says, great is the mystery of godliness.

He who was manifested in the flesh. Some translations like the King James says,

God was manifested in the flesh. Although I prefer the reading

God, it's up to debate. It's a debate in the church whether it should be translated God or he as some of the earliest manuscripts says he, but some of the more traditional manuscript lines say

God. But regardless, the truth is the same, is it not? Because he,

Christ, who according to John 1 .1 is the word who was in the beginning, who was with God and was

God. And the one who became flesh and dwelt among us.

The one of whom John 1 .18 says, who is the only begotten God, who is in the bosom of the

Father, who has explained Him, revealed Him. You see, Jesus is the revelation of God's mystery.

In Jesus, we see God more clearly. In Jesus, we see the full manifestation and revelation of the

Godhead as it says in Colossians 2 .9, that in Him, the fullness of deity, the fullness of the

Godhead dwells bodily. Jesus is indeed the mystery of God made known to us.

But the mystery does not end there. It doesn't just stop at the face of the

Lord Jesus Christ, but it also goes beyond that and it includes us,

Christians, those who have believed. And how do we know this? Notice what the

Word of God continues to say in Ephesians 1 .10. I'll read verse nine and 10 again.

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.

I absolutely love this text because it encapsulates the grand totality of redemptive history, that what

God has been doing since the beginning, since creation, since the garden, since He began to work through the prophets and through Israel and the patriarchs, is that He is coming forth to bring all things under Christ.

So God's plan, if you're following along in the insert, God's plan for the fullness of time is to unite all things under the

Lordship of Jesus Christ. It's no mystery, friends, that we live in divided times.

The world has never been more divided in my lifetime. This is a scary situation and scary time in world history.

We're literally living in historic times. Earlier this week, I had an appointment in Mountain View, and as I'm walking to that appointment, there's a,

I don't even know what you call them anymore, where they sell newspapers, like a newspaper rack. You actually have to pay for it still.

You gotta put like a quarters in. I don't even know they still have those around. But they have this thing, and in it, it says,

Russia invades Kiev. And I'm thinking to myself, like, this is incredible.

The times in which we're living, and let us not forget, and let's not be unmindful of the times in which

God has allowed us to be living in, right here and right now. We're living in historic times.

And now more than ever, the church needs to arise, needs to know its place and take its place in God's plan and purpose for humanity.

Because ultimately, God is going to unite all things. Not in a politician, not in a political party, not in a social movement, but instead,

He's going to unite all things under the proper headship and lordship of King Jesus.

Of whom the Scripture says in Philippians 2 .9, that God gave

Him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus, every knee shall bow, and every tongue confess whether on earth, underneath the earth, in the sea, or that which is in the sky, and confess that Jesus Christ is

Lord unto the glory of God the Father. All things will be under the lordship of Jesus.

Every atheist, every agnostic, every Muslim, every Jew, every

Hindu, every lover of iniquity, will bow before the proper

Lord of lords and King of kings, even Jesus Christ.

And so in the fullness of time, this will come about. Now what is meant by that term in Ephesians 1 .10,

in the fullness of time? That is the conclusion of this age and the consummation of all things.

That God's plan will be fulfilled and uniting all things again under Jesus Christ.

This is a certainty. God's plan would not be foiled, neither by Satan, by man or the nations.

God will have the first say and He will have the final say.

His word will be accomplished. Nothing will change the immutable

God, the immortal God from His plan and purpose for the ages.

But there's another mystery that I want to unveil for us this morning. And the mystery is again pointed to in verse nine and 10, 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. See, if you're following along the next bullet point, the mystery of the ages is that God is including the

Gentiles into the planet and promises of Israel.

Making us members of one body. How do we know this? I want you to turn to Ephesians chapter three, verse four and six.

Ephesians three, verse four. When you read this, you can perceive my insight into the mystery of Christ, which has not made known, which was not made known to the sons of men and other generations as it has now been revealed to His holy apostles and prophets by the

Spirit. This mystery is that the Gentiles are fellow heirs, members of the same body and partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel.

God's mystery and plan includes us, the people of God.

Part of the mystery is this phenomenal promise that the Gentiles who were once outside of the covenants, outside of the promises of God, outside of Abraham, we have now by grace entered into the one body of God's people, no longer outsiders or foreigners to the promise.

We've now been grafted in. We're now members of the covenant of the

God of Abraham. God in His infinite wisdom and goodness and His grace has elected those amongst the

Gentiles to enter into the fold and household of God in an expression of true and amazing grace.

These promises are yours if you be in Christ today.

You have not entered into this life -saving relationship with Jesus Christ. The scripture calls you to repent of your sins, to turn away from iniquity, to put all your trust and faith in Jesus Christ who alone can save you from your sins.

And confess the Lord Jesus Christ with your lips and believe in your heart that God raised

Him from the dead and the Bible says in Romans 10, nine, you will be saved.

What an incredible promise we have for those who confess the Lord Jesus Christ.

The grandeur of this plan, this plan of the ages is that we are saved by the

God -man Jesus Christ who elected us into the fold of His people Israel and made both

Jew and Gentile one by the power that enables Him even to subdue all things to Himself.

Indeed, this Lord Jesus is glorious and worthy to be praised and worthy to be worshiped.

May you know Him this morning and the power of His grace and the lavish mercy that He has given to you and may you walk in the power of His resurrection, living and walking by the

Spirit. May you have peace and peace in your hearts through Christ who has reconciled us to God.

Let me pray. Gracious and dear Lord Jesus, we thank you that on the cross you demonstrated your love for us, that you lavished us with this grace which overflows in abundance to work out that which is well and pleasing to you.

Lord Jesus, we thank you that you saved us not by any works that we did or could do but because all by your amazing grace you desired us, you elected us, you chose us before the foundation of the earth that we would be called holy, blameless and chosen.

Lord Jesus, we thank you that you allow us to partake in this grand plan of the ages, being

Gentiles and Jews in one body, asking and begging people to be reconciled to God that they too may taste and see that the

Lord is good. Help us, Lord, in our weakness. Grant us grace and patience for today.