Life from a great perspective! Ephesians 1:4

When we began this series in Ephesians a couple of Sundays ago I likened it to climbing a mountain to get e new perspective on things. What a mountain it is. The majestic view that we have from the summit of Mount Ephesians is such a contrast to the worldly character of the viewpoint of our own age. Every day the people we rub shoulders with at work and in the shops, the people that dole up our entertainment on our televisions and write on matters of human interest in our magazines see things from the human point of view. Appearance -how to live a few years longer, how to get rid of lines, fulfilment- how to advance in your career, how to be more assertive, security- how to plan for retirement, how to make your savings grow, self esteem- how to make and keep friends. Viewed from where we stand we see only the reflection of the self and it is far from inspiring. In our world today we need more than ever to climb up high until we see that there is a higher throne, there is a higher view point one from which we see that the whole of reality is under the sovereign direction of God working out a wonderful salvation we as humans in his image are caught up in this great design. The exhilarating view of God's great salvation.

You and I need to view our lives from the heights. As Paul travelled about the Roman Empire he came to colonies and to cities where people were spiritually and materially impoverished. Many of them were slaves. They had nothing of this world's goods. They were depressed, discouraged, beset with fears and anxieties, jealousies and hostilities. They were under the grip of superstition and filled with the dread of the future. They had no hope of life beyond death. And it was the apostle's great joy to tell them about God's great purpose and to extend to them the offer of salvation- a salvation which, if accepted would free them, would transform them and make them over into wholly different people, would bring them into a sense of joy and love and faith and radiant experience. That happened again and again. And its still happening today.

You will recall that we have divided this great doxology of praise that flows as one sentence from verse 3 to 14 into three sections. Firstly there is the focus on the Father's choosing which we looked at last time. The section closes with the Holy Spirit's sealing. But now in verses 7 to 10 the focus is on Jesus. In these verses we look at what the cross achieved seen first of all as redemption and secondly as forgiveness of sins and thirdly the accomplishment through the cross of God's purpose of summing all things up under the headship of Christ.

1. Redemption

In him we have redemption through his blood . The word redemption means to buy back something with a price. Now there are three ideas that lie behind redemption that we need to look at carefully. First of all the notion of redemption presupposes that you and I are in a bad situation- a situation of bondage, of oppression with a bleak outlook. One of the best illustration that we have of redemption is in the book of Ruth. Naomi's family fell on hard times and not only had to leave Israel for Moab because of the famine but they had earlier sold off some land in order to provide themselves with food for some time. When Ruth returns with her mother in law Naomi she is landless, husband less and provisionless. She has become one of the landless people in Israel and as a single woman she is very vulnerable to being attacked or taken advantage of- Boaz instructions to his men to keep guard of her remind us of just how threatening her situation is.

The second idea that we need to understand is the necessity of a redeemer. The story of Ruth begins with a cloud of darkness over Naomi and Ruth. Their husbands are dead, their prospects are bleak they are dependent on the charity of the farmers of Bethlehem. But all of that changes when Naomi hears that Ruth has encountered Boaz who is Naomi's close relative. She realises that he could if he wished play the part of a kinsman redeemer and liberate them from their oppressive circumstances. A shaft of sunshine all of a sudden penetrates the darkness and gloom of the story. But there were three attributes that Boaz had to have in order to play the part of the kinsman redeemer. He had to be qualified in that he was a near relative, Secondly he had to be able to redeem the land ?he had to be a man of means in other words. And thirdly he had to be willing. Redeeming the land also meant doing his duty as a next of kin and marrying the widow of Naomi's son. The story hinges on the fact that another man who was also a relative was unwilling to marry Ruth. But Boaz was willing and eager to marry her. He was qualified, he was able and he was willing. He was in other words a suitable redeemer.

Sometimes it was not a landless family that needed redemption but a hostage. Let me give you an example of that not from the Old Testament now but from the last war. We have recently celebrated the liberation of Auschwitz concentration camp where thousands of Jews were sent to their deaths in the gas chambers. Satan had entered some evil men and filled them with a hatred towards the Jewish people leading first of all to them losing their freedom of movement then to being made prisoners and finally to their death. Part of the tragedy of the Jews was that many of them never fully realised their danger until that day when the chlorine gas cam through the shower hoses. They lived for each day making the best of their grim lives and trying to look on the bright side.

But for some at least there was redeemer. Oscar Schindler was a wealthy manufacturer who took the side of the Jews. He had a munitions factory and because he was well connected he was able to make requests that Jewish workers be transferred from the ghetto to his employment. For this privilege he had to pay the Nazis generous sums of money. He bought the Jews back to freedom. He redeemed them from the gas chamber.

That brings us to the third point in that redemption has to do with price. There is always a cost involved in redemption. It is never something that can be done for free. In the story of Ruth and Boaz for example Boaz simply says, ''I have bought all.'' We have no idea what the price was. Simply that it was paid. Each one of us needs redemption because we are in the bondage of sin. We are tied by chains of habit to ways of life which rob us of enjoyment and fulfilment and which hurt others and ourselves. But worse we are heading for a dreadful future a day of reckoning and eternal punishment. And many don't even realise it. The enemy of our souls Satan will sour destruction and he tells people that there will be no judgment this life is all that there is. But God in His mercy has provided a redeemer. Jesus is qualified to be our redeemer because he is the Son of Man as well as the Son of God and he has our interests close at heart. He is also able to pay the price and is willing to do so. But what is the price? It's mentioned in v it is the blood of Jesus. The blood signifies the costliness of the death of Jesus. Royal blood was shed on the cross of Calvary. The cost was high. But Jesus was wiling to pay.

2. Remission

The second aspect of the salvation that Jesus has obtains that is mentioned is forgiveness. Actually it is more strictly called remission because the world for forgiveness means to release from a debt. It goes back to the Old testament law. Every seventh year and in the year of jubilee debts there was a remission of debts. It was the kind of thing that Nehemiah decided should take place in Jerusalem during the building of the wall when many poor people had crippling debts hanging over them that were driving them to despair and keeping them from buying their food. At such times every creditor had to release his debtors. The slate was wiped clean the money could no longer be exacted from them. That is what forgiveness does for us. All the record of our past is blotted out And God is never going to bring them up in order to condemn us.

Each year the Jews had a vivid reminder of what God's forgiveness meant. On the Day of Atonement two goats were required. One was slain and the blood offered as a sacrificial price. But the live goat was taken and the sins of the people- that had now been removed at the cost of blood ? were now confessed over its head. Then the goat was taken out into the howling wilderness never to be seen again. And if you had been there to see the boy driving the goat away into the distance until the goat became first a speck and then disappeared completely from sight, if you had been there you would have said, ''That is what God has done to my sin.''

And these blessings of redemption and the remission of sins, God has given to us ''in accordance with the riches of his grace that he lavished on us.'' The word for riches is plutos from which we get the word plutocrat for a fabulously wealthy person. And it is in accordance with the riches of his grace that God lavished on us. That is a way of stressing how great this blessing is. You see a very wealthy man can give either out of his riches or in accordance within riches that is in proportion to his riches. A millionaire who gives to a poor man out of his riches could give ?50. But many people considerably less well off could give ?50 also. But a millionaire giving in accordance with his riches might give ?50,000 because that is in keeping with his great wealth. God loves to bless. He loves to pour out al the blessings of redemption and forgiveness an acceptance upon us through his grace. This is no fable. Its not like the phone calls that we all seem to be getting recently. ''Hi!! My name is Joanna and you have just won 6 days holiday in the Caribbean''. NO this Good News is for real!

Now I want to pause at this pint and ask you if these blessings are yours. Are you redeemed are you forgiven? You see although God pours them out in abundance they must be received. Some of us want to be too much in control that we will not receive the blessings that are in Christ. A highly acclaimed surgeon was abruptly awakened in the middle of the night. There had been an accident and his skill hands were needed for immediate surgery. The quickest route happened to be through a rather tough area, but with time being a critical factor, it was worth the risk. At one of the stoplights his door was yanked open by a man with a grey hat and a dirty flannel shirt. ''I got to have your car!'' the man screamed, pulling him from his seat. The surgeon tried to explain the gravity of the situation but the man would not listen. When the doctor was finally able to get a taxi to the hospital over an hour had elapsed and it was to late as the patient had passed away 30 minutes earlier. The nurse told him that the father of the victim had gone to the chapel wondering why the doctor never came. The surgeon walked hurriedly to get to the chapel and when he entered he saw the father? he was wearing a grey hat and dirty flannel shirt. Don't push out of your life the one person who can bring you what you must desperately need.

3. Revelation

When we are in Christ by faith. When we have received redemption and forgiveness ten God gives us revelation. , He made known to us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure which he purposed in Christ to be put into effect when the times will have reached their fulfilment to bring all things in heaven and on earth under one head even Christ.'' He gives us insight into his purposes for the world. The word mystery is intriguing.

In Paul's day there were a number of religions that were called mystery religions. To be a member of one of these groups you had to undergo some exotic initiation rites involving, usually a kind of occult practice. The secrets of these mystery religions were gradually given to the initiates and were jealously guarded from the outside. It was a bit like an ancient Free Masonry.

That is not the kind of thing Paul means. He is speaking for the unfolding of God's plan for his universe- a plan that no human could have worked out unaided by God and in fact even the angels longed to discover it all. Well now this mystery has become an open secret to the church. What is the content of this open secret? Well it includes the method of redemption- how are made right with God. That was something that Old testament saints only saw dimly. They were taught to sacrifice animals and that the blood in some way had a power to remove sin. But the details were obscured. Even Abraham who was given a promise of redemption was not told that there was going to be an incarnation and that the Son of God would die as an atonement for sin. But with the coming of Christ in the fullness of time that was revealed.

Again there was the mystery of the Jews and the Gentiles being brought together into one family. This letter will have more to say about that later. But God's unfolding mystery as a whole is about making Jesus Christ his Son the focus of history and Lord of everything. In verse 10 Paul uses some very interesting words. He speaks of God's oikonomia. That word referred to the administration of a household. Here it is applied on a cosmic scale to God's plan for the arrangement of his creation. When all often times and seasons which the Father has fixed by his own authority have run their course God's great purpose to have Christ the head and focus of not only the church but all creation.

Right now there is a throne in heaven and seated on that throne is the Lord Jesus Christ. He has been crowned by the Father flowing his defeat of sin through the resurrection from the dead. When Jesus returns amidst scenes of power and great glory He will be openly acknowledged as Lord of all. Satan the archenemy of our Lord Jesus will be consigned to the lake of fire. All wickedness will be done away with, all rebellious ones will be judged and made His footstool And all God's people will welcome with joy their King. Not only so but the creation will welcome her King. She is longing for the day when Christ comes to liberate her from the frustration of her travail under sin. It's going to be a rapturous welcome when Christ is revealed as the key to history.

And this is Paul's point. God doesn't only predestine salvation he has predestined all events. He has a plan. History is moving towards a glorious climax. Shakespeare's' MacBeth pessimistically declared that history is ''tale told by an idiot full of sound and fury, signifying nothing.'' Wrong. History is wonderfully purposeful. History belongs to God, not to the puny plans of man or the designs of Satan. Jesus is Lord.

Right now he is Lord. He sits on a throne in heaven unseen to the human eye. But one day His throne will be revealed. He is coming to be head over all.

What a marvellous perspective that is. Life may be discouraging at times. We may have set backs at work. We may feel that we scarcely register on the world's scale of importance. Get up into the high mountain and see things as they are. Jesus is the focal point of all that is real. God's plan to sum everything up under his headship I is moving forward. And today and then on Monday and Tuesday and throughout the coming days you and I are caught up in that great plan as we seek to bring together our work plans, our marriages our reading of the newspaper ?everything in fact- under the headship of Jesus. That's a perspective that changes things!