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Source: https://www.sermonindex.net/speakers/scott-macleod/the-church-the-bride/
Well, let's turn our bibles to the book of Ephesians where we were this morning. I've been studying the book of Ephesians for the last probably month and Few things that I've enjoyed from it just to follow on from where we left off.
Let's go to chapter 2, please. Ephesians chapter 2 and let's look at verse number 10. Ephesians 2 verse number 10. For we are his workmanship created in Christ Jesus unto good works Which God hath before?
Ordained that we should walk in them. I want you to think of that first expression for we are his Workmanship. Now, let's go to chapter 3, please. Just over one chapter Chapter 3 and Let's look at verse number 2.
Now this word dispensation was mentioned this morning and Express what it means and Paul says if you have heard of the dispensation of the grace of God Which is given me to you word how that by revelation.
He may known unto me the mystery as I wrote a four in few words and I would take it that that's referring to the last part of chapter 2. Verse 4 whereby when ye read ye may understand my knowledge in the mystery of Christ.
Which in other ages? Was not Made no one unto the sons of men as it is now revealed onto his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit. I might not get a chance to touch it later. But just so that we all understand the end of verse 5 holy apostles.
That's New Testament apostles and Prophets that is New Testament prophets. Not Old Testament prophets at all and that can be proven from the context verse number 6 that the Gentiles should be fellow heirs and of the same body and partakers of his promise in Christ by the gospel and then Paul Mentions that he's made a minister now come down to verse number 9.
And he's continuing with the mystery and to make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery? Which from the beginning of the world? Have been hid in God Who created all things by Jesus Christ? Now here is where my thoughts are verse 10 to the intent or for this purpose.
All what we've been reading and all what the whole Ephesian epistle is about to the intent that now on to the principalities and powers in Heavenly places. I would take that to be good Angelic hosts and governments that God has set up to the intent that now on to the principalities and powers in heavenly places might be known by the church or By through the church the manifold wisdom of God.
Now look at where this is anchored verse 11 according to the eternal purpose. Even before there was an earth Even before there were stars and planets and and people this is coming out of the mind of God According to the eternal purpose which he purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Now let's turn to verse number 18 and Of course It's following from verse 70. I should read verse 17 that Christ may dwell in your heart Hearts by faith that ye being rooted and grounded in love may be able to comprehend.
And that word really should be apprehend with all saints. What is the breadth and length and depth and height and to know the love of Christ with passes knowledge? That ye might be filled with all the fullness of God and that's really what?
Ephesians is all about the fullness of God's dealings now on to him that is able to do exceeding Abundantly above all that we ask or think according to the power that work within us verse 21 unto him the glory in the church.
By Christ Jesus listen to it for time. No throughout all ages world Without end and that's all we'll read. We'll look to the Lord to bless his public reading of his word. Really? What's on my mind is?
I want to try to start up by making a distinction between what was mentioned this morning the Universal Church or as the Word of God calls it the body of Christ and a local church and I hope we all see the distinction between that an Awful lot of people in the religious systems.
They don't see any distinction between those two unique Churches if I can word it that way. If I was to go back when I got saved April the 4th 1990 I had no idea all this Stuff was going on. All I knew is I was a sinner and I saw for the first time Christ died for me.
That's all I understood. I didn't realize according to what we read this morning and in Ephesians chapter 1 that at that very moment I was indwelt sealed by the Holy Spirit. I had no idea. I found that out later.
Another thing I did not understand was is that I was actually placed into The body of Christ the bride. I had no idea. That is a privilege that every single Christian no matter where they are. No matter where you meet them, whatever color skin is on their face or whatever dialect they speak.
The minute they put their faith in Christ. They are a part of the massive church that God is building right now. One of the writers tells us that at this very moment God is bringing out from the Gentiles a People for his namesake and I'm sure you've you've experienced this.
Maybe you've been on a trip someplace and you've met somebody I don't know you might have seen them get thanks for their food or something and sort of I wonder if they're a Christian and then you might Go over and start to talk to them and and you find out they're born again.
They're saved and you don't know anything about them. But right away. There's that that connection like I know this person. See that is a that that's a networking of being linked with Christ all across this world.
Now that church commenced in Acts chapter 2 at the day of Pentecost. I think we all should know that and if you were to look through the Word of God you're gonna find that now not a lot of people think that the Present-day church is a replacement of all the promises that were given to the nation of Israel.
But that that is not supported by Scripture. That's why I tried to emphasize in Ephesians chapter 2 that the church age that we are in right now. It was completely hidden in the Old Testament. There's not even a trace of it now because we are in the day of grace.
We are in the church. We can look back With the knowledge that we have in the New Testament and I can see pictures of it. You take for instance Moses. Well, Moses was rejected as a Redeemer by his own people.
What happened he went into the backside of the desert and he married a Gentile bride. Okay, there's a picture I can look at Joseph who was rejected by his brethren. What happened to Joseph sold into Egypt and he picked up a Gentile bride?
So you can see those you can see those faint pictures in the Old Testament but the thing to keep in mind is all through the Old Testament it was completely hid as To what God was going to do and it's reserved for what Galatians tells us in the fullness of time God sent forth his son.
Now now the way I want to sort of start today is I want to ask you a very simple question you know. If I was to ask you to give me the dispensations that are roughly given to us in the Word of God dispensations.
Let's review that again. Dispensations it's it's the way God is dealing with mankind at a certain period of time. Okay, so you go back into the Old Testament you have I mean, I can't remember all these I have to write them down.
So I'm gonna innocence conscience government promise law grace and finally millennial reign. Seven. Okay. Now if I was to ask you a question. Which one of those dispensations periods of time would you like to have been born in?
Someone says man, I'd love to been born in isn't innocence love to have seen the Garden of Eden. Perfect from the hand of God would have been something to have talked to Adam and Eve before they committed sin.
You could go all through the different ages you ever thought about the flood. Wouldn't have been something to have been born and one of the members of the on the ark and seeing the flood and everything.
I wouldn't that have been something you could go into other dispensations. Maybe when Solomon reigned and and all his glory and and the stones were like gold all over the place and all the wealth. And the wisdom and and all the excitement of being linked with the kingdom.
Solomon is my king. You want to know something? The dispensation that you and I are in is Is the ultimate. It is it. Listen, huh? I've been enjoying this so much to the point that it's almost like you feel like just saying hallelujah.
We'll contain ourselves. So Here's how here's how you need to understand it. You take all the different dispensations of the of the of the Old Testament as they start to build. This time of year that we're in you start to see a little green sprig start to come up out of the ground that's innocence and Then leaves start to come on it conscience and Then the thing starts to come to a bud.
Oh. There's gonna be a flower and then as that flower starts to develop. You can see the stages as that plant is progressing through it and then finally that flower blooms. And what are y 'all waiting for you're waiting for when the fruit comes?
Listen the dispensation of grace that we are in. You know, Jesus Christ was sent was born at just the right moment. And all those different dispensations, you know really what they did one just went a little higher and look to the next and the next went a little higher and look to the next and the next and the next and then finally Christ came the fullness and Then as a result of his death and the work that he accomplished on the cross at Calvary.
This is where verse 10 comes in in chapter 3 to the intent that now You see what did the angels all the angelic hosts behold in the Old Testament. They saw the perfection that came from the hands of God.
They saw the world the universe they saw a man and a woman Perfect from the hand of God and then all of a sudden sin came into the world. What's God gonna do. Well God hid it from them. They didn't know all those angelic hosts as they witnessed and they looked upon earth.
They saw it in figure. Lambs were taken all the sacrifices of the Old Testament and everything all the promises the prophets were all their prophecies they were all pointing forward to that tremendous moment when Christ would come into the world and You know what what the angels the angelic hosts are witnessing right now as we sit here.
They see the church the first fruits of the redemptive work of Christ. No limit can be put upon that work. Sometimes we get this this narrow little view that the blood of Christ the work of Christ. It's just affecting this little globe that I'm on listen the universe is Affected by sin in all its vastness all the animal creation the human creation the plant like everything is affected by sin and God has a massive plan and it's all centered in his son and The work that he did and as never right now verse number 10 there Ephesians chapter 3 verse 10 to the intent that now through the church.
Principalities and powers they may behold what the manifold wisdom of God. You know you go back when those that are familiar with computers, you know. Yeah, you remember when Windows 3 .1 came out and they boasted what was it?
I don't know 16 million colors that their graph, you know all that stuff, right? And then Windows 95 came out and then there was like true color 32 million cars. You know what? We read here in Ephesians 3.
Hope I got all that right see some smiling. Maybe I'm way off my rocker. But anyway, these are street the manifold grace. The variegated grace of God the multicolored. Multicolored listen Microsoft has nothing on God.
With all his 30 with all his ability to produce a little card that can produce colors ranging in 32 million colors. Doesn't even come close to the unlimited shades. That are found in the grace of God seen in the church.
You just go right through the whole of Ephesians and the whole thing that he's building up is what? Gentiles. Jews that were so opposed. Here were the privileged Jews here were the pagan Gentiles dead in sins completely dark.
What has God done? God hasn't brought the Gentile up to the level where the Jew was. No, it's higher than that. God has brought those two together and he's made one new man in the person of Christ. He's brought that new man so high up.
Just get lost for words. You can't really fully describe what God is doing and you know what the angelic hosts are looking at. Maybe you think nobody pays attention to what's going on. Tell you this there's millions of them up there looking down and They're seeing God from the four corners of the world.
All different language. I love to think about that. You know, sometimes when your gospel meetings are not going just as good as it is. You think it is. I love to think that that at that very moment the Spirit of God is working in every dialect corner to corner.
Never goes to sleep. Don't you ever let someone get on a platform behind a podium podium and tell you that no one's getting saved. God's work is coming to a grinding halt. Not at all. God's work is just advancing according to plan.
Everything is just moving and the church is being built a Stone here a stone there. Stone there. Aren't you glad you're a part of it? I Tell you I I just I think it's incredible that I am in. What is called the bride the Bride of Christ?
Now I'm gonna quote a man because if I was to say this probably some some would contest me on it. I was enjoying a comment by mr. Albert McShane. He's a fairly well-known respected teacher. Northern.
Now gone home to heaven, you know what he said from his teaching on Ephesians nothing Comes close to the bride. Not even the nation of Israel. He went a little further. We we tend to look from where we are and we tend to look off to the thousand-year reign of Christ and go.
Wow He says right now. It's far better than the millennial reign. Nowhere in the Word of God. Does it exalt the thousand-year reign like it does the great this of destination of grace? What God is doing you want to know something?
Listen, I want you to listen listen. Noah. It's not on the bride. He's not in the church as great of a man as he was. Abraham Moses Solomon David just keep going down go through all your minor prophets major prophets go through go just go through them all.
They're not in the bride we are and In a comedy you think of it from a natural why God would use these things is amazing. You think of it from a natural perspective? What is everybody waiting for as you're all standing up there?
Do you know what you're waiting for? You're waiting for the father to present the bride nurturing percenter to the man. Do you know what's gonna happen in a coming day? Little insignificant me. No, I'm not gonna be in the nosebleed seats way way way way way way back there.
Oh, I'm in the bride here. Don't forget about me. Not at all. I'm gonna be right next to my Savior and he's gonna present the bride to himself in the presence of the whole thing and Everybody's just gonna bow and worship and go.
I'm so glad I'm saved. I'm glad I'm living where I'm when I'm living. I'm glad I'm able to say I Belong to Christ. Just what we read this morning Purchase, but I often think of this every time I when I fly with Murray at night.
Yeah, you fly over all these cities and then it's dark for a while and and you see all these little lights. You know what God sees me looks down from heaven me. Look at that light. He belongs to me. I purchased him Him.
I purchased you. I purchased you. You you and I dear child of God we are included and we are in on the biggest thing that God's doing will ever do. May God bless his word.