“Introduction to Ephesians” 	Eph.1:1-2	“The BIG Picture” tape 174 	2-16-2003

The Big Picture
 I’ve talked to you many times about how vital it is, in order to live the Christian life, to keep at the front of your thinking the bigger picture – the grand scheme of things. It’s ultimately only the big picture that matters.
 If you are sitting in a $100,000 luxury car, you might think your condition is pretty good. But if the camera pans back and you discover that you are in that car, and the car is in the process of going off a cliff, you realize your condition is bad.
 If a football player is rocketing down the sideline untouched toward the end zone, he will feel pretty good about himself. But if the camera pans back and you can see that he’s running toward the wrong end zone, that’s bad. And if the camera pans back even further and you see that the stadium is empty, because there is no game scheduled that day, the meaning of the whole thing changes again.
 You see it’s the biggest picture that determines the meaning of any event.
 The reason the Christian life is so hard in many ways is because we are living with a huge disadvantage. 
Our only chance at success in the Christian life is to spend most of our time thinking from the perspective of the bigger picture, and yet right now we are in a situation where our thoughts are dominated mostly by what our 5 senses perceive. And our 5 senses perceive a very minute, tiny fraction of the whole picture of what’s going on.
 The world that you can see, and feel/hear/taste/smell…isn’t even 1/1000th of the story. And the only way to have a meaningful life is to expand your perspective. 
 One of the reasons we don’t elect young children to be President of the United States is because the world of a child is too small. In order to be a major player in this world, you have to have a perspective bigger than just your back yard. You have to take into consideration the unseen.
 When I was a whitewater-rafting guide, there were times when we had a nice hot day and we hit a calm spot when people asked if they could jump out and just float in their life jackets. And if the circumstances were right, I said, “Sure.” But there were times when that would happen, and then a little while later someone else would ask and I would say “no.” 
 The reason was that even though the circumstances looked the same, I knew of some things that they didn’t know about. Sometimes it seems like nice calm, deep water, but I happen to know from experience that in that area there are rocks just a couple feet below the surface, and the water is moving faster than it seems like it’s moving.
 Other times people wanted to get out and swim in a deep, slow pool, and I would say no because I knew the reason it was a deep, slow pool is because the river was basically dammed up behind a huge rapid that is coming right around the corner.
 There are times when the most important factors in a situation are things that can’t be seen. And in times like that it’s critical that you operate based on what you know to be true but can’t see.
 This book is going to enable us to do that. Ephesians is a book all about the bigger picture. It pans the camera all the way back. It’s all about the grand scheme of things.
 This book will take us from being stuck with the tiny little slice of the pie that our senses perceive, to seeing the whole picture.
 This is a book that will lift you into the heavenlies like no other book. 1:3 starts us right off talking about us not just being blessed, but being blessed in the heavenly realms. Again in 2:6 God has seated us with Christ in the heavenly realms
 This book will astonish you with how massive and grandiose this whole thing we are involved with is.
 Ephesians shows you that you are in over your head. You are mixed up in something that is so much bigger than you, so high, so lofty, so important, so momentous and weighty, that by the time you are done reading about it, the little slice of the pie that your senses see fades into oblivion. 
 That’s why this book is such a treasure – because in our earthly existence it is so hard for us to look at things from God’s perspective.
 You have probably all heard the old joke about the man who said to God, “What is a million dollars to You?”
 “A million dollars is like one cent. And a million years is like one second.”
 “Will you give me one cent?”
 “Sure…in just a second.”
 We sometimes give lip service to God’s perspective on things, but in reality we are still stuck in this world.
 The more the things of this world have our attention, the less able we are to see things from God's perspective…
 And so we need to spend considerable time mediating on the truths of Ephesians to help adjust our perspective.
 Let me just give you a little taste of what I’m talking about.
 1:11 talks about the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will
 God has an ultimate plan. And He doesn’t just wait for a while and then implement the plan at the end. Everything is being worked out in conformity with that plan.
 In v.10 Paul is talking about the mystery of God’s will (that grand scheme of things – God’s highest ultimate purpose for all things) 
 10 to be put into effect when the times will have reached their fulfillment… 
 The ages of history don’t just happen because time is just droning on and on while God waits for a certain day on His calendar. 
 All the ages – all the eras and epochs and times and generations and ages all have a purpose. 
 And v.10 tells us what that final purpose is. What is it that all of history is moving toward?
to bring all things in heaven and on earth together under one head, even Christ. 
 Cosmic unity. The reconciliation of all things to God in Christ.
 (When I say “cosmic unity” I don’t mean everything just kind of melts together into one blob – by “unity” what I mean is that no one will estranged from God anymore.
 Through Jesus Christ all things will be made right.
 That’s why the phrase “in Christ” appears 16 times, and the words “Lord,” “Jesus,” or “Christ” appear 92 times.
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This big picture perspective takes us way beyond this world.
 In the plan to bring about that final goal, the whole world and all of humanity make up only part of the picture.
 In 3:15 Paul talks about the whole family of beings that are part of the restoration, and only part of that family is on earth. The rest are in heaven.
 Repeatedly in Ephesians we read about those great, powerful spiritual beings in the heavenly realms.
 Those beings are major players in God’s plan. These are the big leagues. This is big time. 
 They are not angels. They are rulers. They are never called angels. They are called authorities, powers, dominions, 
 In 2:2 Satan is called the ruler of the authority of the air.
 A major part of God’s ultimate purpose for all things is that through the church the manifold wisdom of God should be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms, according to His eternal purpose (3:10,11)
 That’s one of the big reasons why history is going the way it’s going – to bring us to that...through the Church.
 Down in v.18 Paul is talking about the power of God for us who believe – that power is like the power God exerted in raising Christ from the dead and seating him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, 21 far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every title that can be given, not only in the present age but also in the one to come. 22 And God placed all things under his feet …
 And amazingly, we have a role in all that.
 We are embroiled right in the middle of this cosmic purpose being carried out by God.
 What is our role?
 That’s quite a question, because the bigger the organization, the smaller the individual’s role is, right?
 If your job where you work is to manage or work closely with several people, within that little sphere your role may be fairly significant.
 But when you back up and look at the entire division of the company that you are a part of, maybe your personal role in that whole division is somewhat minor.
 And your role in the entire corporation is really miniscule. 
 Then when you think about all the workings of everything that’s happening in that field in all the companies all around the world, your contribution may be smaller still.
 So where do we fit in in the unimaginably massive grand scheme – God’s overall plan for all things – all of history, all the end times, everything from Gn.1 to Rev.22?
 It’s not as minor as you might think. The ultimate purpose for absolutely every being and every event is to ultimately bring all things together under Christ.
 What is our role in that? 
 Well, a major component of that grand plan is for the Church to reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ. (4:13) 
 How is that done? The first part of ch.4 tells us – 2 things:
1.	Guard the unity of the Spirit in the Church and 
2.	use of our spiritual gifts in ministry to the Church.
 In a huge organization you have some people doing minor things. 
You have some people who contribute very little. 
You have some people who could be eliminated and the organization would still reach its goal just fine.
 But then you have other people who, if their job doesn’t get done, the purpose of the organization just doesn’t happen.
 That’s the kind of role we, the Church, are playing in God’s ultimate plan.
 FF Bruce put it well when he said that the picture we get in Ephesians is that the Church, in this age, is God’s pilot scheme for the reconciled universe of the future.
 Ecclesiology 
 One reason why the book of Ephesians is so precious to me is it is the greatest statement in the Bible on what they call Ecclesiology (the study of the Church).
 The more you learn about the institution of the Church, the more love you have for it, and the more wonder and awe are inspired in your heart as you consider the infinite wisdom and grace of God.
 Six times in this book you see the word “mystery.” In the NT that word refers to something that used to be unrevealed and therefore unknown, but that has now been revealed.
 It is for the proclamation of this mystery that Paul was born. That was his purpose for being alive – that’s what God called him to. His task was to go around the world and proclaim this mystery.
 And the mystery was… the Church. 
 In the OT there were hints of the reconciliation of Jews and Gentiles, and the reconciliation of all things to God, and the arrival of the Kingdom of God on earth, etc…
 But no one knew how that would happen or in what form it would come.
 No one could have ever dreamed of the amazing reality of the Church of Jesus Christ.
 You and I are living in God’s sacred secret – the mystery age of the Church. 
 When Paul wrote to the people in Corinth he told them they were babies needing milk rather than solid food. But then he said,
 1 Cor.2:6-10
We do, however, speak a message of wisdom among the mature, but not the wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age, who are coming to nothing. 7 No, we speak of God's secret wisdom, a wisdom that has been hidden and that God destined for our glory before time began. 8 None of the rulers of this age understood it, for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. 9 However, as it is written: 
 "No eye has seen, no ear has heard, 
no mind has conceived 
what God has prepared for those who love him"- 
 10 but God has revealed it to us by his Spirit. 
 The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God.
 If that message of solid food – the deep things of God, the secret wisdom of God is taught anywhere, it’s in Ephesians.
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 And the church is both the pattern and the means by which God is moving the entire universe toward it’s triumphant climax.
 The astonishing unity that the Holy Spirit has produced in the Church – that unity that we are told to guard, that unity is something of grand significance.
 God gathers up all the angels, and He calls forward all the authorities and powers and high spiritual being in the heavenly reams, and all the demons and the devil…
 And He says to the whole group and points to the Church and says, “Look, you see that? You see that reconciliation and unity? That’s what I have in mind for the whole universe.”
 We are the template and model of what is to come.
 And we are also the means by which it will come. It’s through the Church that God will cause the glories of the age to come to come into being. 
 “What should we do? How do we prepare for that? How do we hasten that Day? What should we being spending most of our energy on?…
 “Should we go to Jerusalem and start pouring the footings for the New Jerusalem or what?”

Here’s what we should do: use our spiritual gifts to edify the Church – the Body of Christ.
 When we do that the result will be the Holy Spirit will use that to build up the Body to maturity until it reaches the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.
 Some of you who were here at 9:00 so that you could try to encourage someone downstairs over coffee and doughnuts, and you did what you could to edify someone…
 Some of you, when you participated in a small group, or when you prayer leaders prayed for your people, or when you gave someone a phone call to build them up in the faith…
 When you set up signs or greeted someone at the door, or put an offering in the plate or stopped to pick up the doughnuts…
 When you delivered bread to a visitor or helped with the youth group or put together a project for children’s church…
 Whatever your contribution to the overall effort to build up the Body of Christ so that we might be edified and progress to maturity attaining the whole measure of the fullness of Christ…
 When you did those things you weren’t just pitching in to help along a little club that meets at 95th and Paschal once a week.
 You were contributing to and hastening the coming of the culmination of all things, and fulfillment of the times and eras and ages.
 So our role in this whole thing is huge. It’s our role to build up the church and bring it to maturity. 
 And it’s not easy, because those great, awesome spiritual beings who are in charge of whatever domain they rule and who have such great power and authority – those beings have declared all out war on us!
 Eph.6:12-13
our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. 
 So if you want an easy outline of the book of Ephesians it’s this: Sit, Walk, Stand.
 Ch.1-3 tells us where we sit – seated in the heavenlies in Christ. It tells us all about our riches in Christ and our glorious position in Him.
 Ch.4-5 tell us how to walk – how we are to carry on our daily conduct in day to day life in light of the truths of ch.1-3.
 Ch.6 reminds us to stand firm, because we have opposition in this whole process, and we are at war, and it’s crucial that we are able to stand our ground when attacked spiritually.
 
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 One thing about Ephesians that differs somewhat from the rest of Paul’s writings is the emphasis on the past aspect of salvation.
 We know there are three parts to redemption – past, present and future. 
 That is, as a past event you have been saved in that at a point in time in the past you were converted and delivered from sin and adopted into God’s family…
 As a present reality you are being saved in that your salvation is an ongoing process spanning from your conversion to the time you go to be with the Lord.
 And the heaviest emphasis in Scripture is on the future aspect. You someday will be saved in that you will receive the fullness of salvation when Christ returns.
 Most of the time when Paul talks about salvation, he refers to it as something that is in the process of happening or that will happen in the future.
 But in Ephesians, he dwells mostly on the past aspect. He says it is by grace that you have been saved…(past tense)
 The reason for that is what the scholars refer to as the realized eschatology of Ephesians. 
 We know there is a sense in which the end times are already in place. Jesus inaugurated the Kingdom at His first coming, and so now we are living in a time when the age to come is breaking in to this present age.
 So there is a sense in which eschatology – the eschaton (the end), is already here. It’s already being realized.
 There is a greater sense in which it is still future – the fullness of it will come when Christ returns, and that will be an infinitely greater form of the Kingdom.
 However, the part of the end times that is already being realized now is pretty amazing. And the book of Ephesians is all about just how amazing it really is.
 That’s why the past aspect of salvation is highlighted. Our future salvation will be wonderful, but the Lord also wants us to understand just how grand and spectacular and awesome and amazing our present condition is as God’s redeemed people.
 And the information about our salvation is presented not so much for us to have a sensation of feeling secure or to think about ourselves (it does do that), but the stated purpose in the book is much higher.
 Eph.2:8,9 for it is by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves, it is a gift of God…
 Most of you have memorized that verse. There are a lot of very important theological applications and practical implications we draw from that verse. 
 But what conclusion does the Lord Himself draw from it in the context? What is the larger point being made?
 It doesn’t say, “You are saved by grace, therefore be thankful.” 
 It doesn’t say, “You are saved by grace therefore be humble.” 
 It doesn’t say, “You are saved by grace therefore be gracious yourself.”
 It says, For it is by grace you have been saved (the first word in v.8 is for. It’s explaining what was said in vv.6,7.)
 God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, 7 in order that in the coming ages he might show (reveal, put on display) the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus for it is by grace you have been saved…
 Why have we been saved by grace? So that in the coming ages, when the whole, big, grand plan comes together, God will be able to show the incomparable riches of His grace. 
 Everything in this book points us to something so much bigger than this life that we experience with our 5 senses.
 Ephesians 
 Background:
Who wrote the letter? Why was it written? Who was it for? 
 The only one of those questions that is easy to answer is the first one. Paul wrote the letter. He tells us that in v.1.
 After that it gets a little tricky. Ephesians is a unique letter. Most of Paul’s letters seem to be occasional, in that there was some occasion that precipitated the writing of the letter.
 For example, when you read Colossians you get the strong impression that there was a problem with a heretical view of Christ, and Paul is writing the letter to correct that.
 The book of Philippians is a thank you letter for a gift (the occasion for the writing of that book was the giving of the gift).
 The book of Galatians is written for the purpose of rescuing the churches in that area of Galatia from apostasy.
 1 Corinthians is designed to straighten out the mess in Corinth, etc.
 But nothing like that stands out as a purpose for Ephesians.
 As for the recipients…
 We aren’t even sure who this letter was for. There are some very early, very important MSS that don’t include the words “in Ephesus” in v.1. 
 They just read Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, To the saints and the faithful in Christ Jesus: 
 On the other hand the words in Ephesus do appear in some very good MSS, and the sentence is very rough grammatically without those words.
 And that’s the spot where Paul always puts the destination. When he says “To the saints/church/brothers…” the next words are always the name of a city or region.
 And if it were intended as a universal letter with no city or region as a destination, how do you explain the fact that Paul says things that are targeted at a specfic group of people, like 1:15-17 ever since I heard about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints, 16 I have not stopped giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers. 
 And if it’s a circular letter to be passed around to anyone and everyone, why not just start it out right where he is instead of sending it with Tichicus to Asia Minor?
 I think it was most likely sent to a specific area, but it’s hard to say for sure where. It’s very possible that it was Ephesus.
 But on top of not being clear on the destination or recipients, that’s compounded by the fact that unlike Paul’s other letters no mention is made of 
•	any local person
•	any city
•	any personal information
•	any geographical remarks…
 And I think all that is by design. 

Col 4:7-8
Tychicus will tell you all the news about me. He is a dear brother, a faithful minister and fellow servant in the Lord. 8 I am sending him to you for the express purpose that you may know about our circumstances and that he may encourage your hearts. 

It’s fitting that this letter not be strongly connected to any specific congregation, because the message is so sweeping. 
 This is a letter about fullness and the whole body of Christ and the grand sweep of God’s plan.
 
Eph 6:21-24
Tychicus, the dear brother and faithful servant in the Lord, will tell you everything, so that you also may know how I am and what I am doing. 22 I am sending him to you for this very purpose, that you may know how we are, and that he may encourage you. 

I believe there are not a lot of personal comments, because the Lord doesn’t want us focused on some local situation. 
 The message of Ephesians should be understood in the most universal possible perspective, and it’s good that we aren’t distracted by anything that would detract from that.
 We do have a good idea when it was written – probably in 62 AD when Paul was imprisoned in Rome, and he wrote Colossians and Philemon at the same time.
 Ephesians and Colossians
 There are no two books in the Bible that are closer to each other than Ephesians and Colossians. 
 Both books have a similar structure, they both handle many of the same topics in the same order with the same wording.
 The repetition of ideas and terminology between the two books makes it obvious that they were written very close to the same time. It’s very difficult to see there be years or even months in between the writing of these books.
 There are only three paragraphs that lack some close similarity with something in Colossians (2:6-19; 4:5-13; 5:29-33). 73 verses have significant similarities to passages in Colossians.

 
 Let me give you one example:
 It’s obvious that Paul wrote these two books at very close to the same time. 
 Ephesians is the logical sequel to Colossians. 
 Colossians is about the cosmic exalted status of Christ. Ephesians is about the restoration of all things in Christ through the cosmic, exalted status of the Church, which is the body of Christ.
 Both Ephesians and Colossians follow the common pattern of Paul where the first part of the book is largely abstract and theological, and the second part is very practical and action oriented. 
 Paul gives a whole lot of truth about God and then says, “Therefore here’s how you should live.”
 That’s always how it is with the Christian life. Your deeds flow out of your theology.
 That’s actually how it is in the secular world too – their deeds flow out of their theology too. They imagine there is no God and they live accordingly.
 So in Colossians Paul wants those people to be living the way he spells out in the second half of the book, and the basis for that is all the theology in the first half about the exalted status of Christ.
 In Ephesians, he wants those people to do all the same things – to live in the way spelled out in the second half of the book, which is all the same stuff as the second half of Colossians.
 But the motive for the Ephesians is different. For them the motive is the theology about the grand, sweeping purposes of God in Christ and the Church.
 That’s how coherent the truth about God is. You can take pretty much any area of theology and study it, and the logical conclusion for your practical duties in life ends up being the same…
 - whether you’re studying Christ, or the Church, or the nature of God, or any other element of theology.
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 So let’s take a look at the opening greeting:
 Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, To the saints in Ephesus, the faithful in Christ Jesus: 2 Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
 Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God,
 Get used to that. This book is all about the will of God. 
 Whenever you see a reference to the will of God in the Bible, the very first thing you should do, if you want to understand what it’s talking about, is ask yourself, “Is this talking about God’s desire or God’s plan?”

So much confusion over the topic of God’s will can be cleared up by asking that one question.
 Sometimes the word “will” refers to God’s plan – what He decides to do. 
 Other times it refers to His desire – what He wants.
 His plan is always fulfilled. It always takes place. His desires are not always fulfilled.
 Is it God’s will for the wicked to be punished in Hell? Yes, it is His plan, no it is not His desire.
 Is it God’s will that some of you should be sick right now? Yes, it’s His plan. No, it’s not His desire.
 Is it God’s will that all men and women be saved? Yes it’s His desire, no it’s not His plan.
 In Ephesians it’s real easy. Any time you see a reference to God’s will in the first three chapters it’s talking about God’s plan – what He has decided to carry out.
 And any time you see it in the last three chapters, it’s talking about His desire – what He wants us to do.
“Will” in the sense of plan 1:1,5,9,11
“Will in the sense of desire 5:17; 6:6
 I tell you all that so you will understand why it’s important that v.1 says Paul is an Apostle by God will.
 If it were only talking about God’s desire, the statement wouldn’t be saying much. If Christ called Paul to be an Apostle, then of course that’s His desire. We don’t need a Bible verse to tell us that.
 The point here is that Paul’s work as an Apostle is a key part of God’s ultimate, perfect plan that is unfolding into the ultimate, perfect fulfillment described in Ephesians. 
 God’s use of Paul is a great illustration of His power.
 Paul’s Jewish name was Saul. Paul was from the tribe of Benjamin, and so his dad named him after the most famous Benjaminite ever – the first king of Israel, king Saul.
 He received the best Jewish schooling and became a very powerful Pharisee.
 After Pentecost, when the Gospel began to spread, Saul made it his goal in life to wipe Christianity off the face of the earth.
 He ravaged and brutalized the Church in Jerusalem – men, women and children alike.
 As a result the Church fled and went all over the world, carrying the Gospel with them. Paul was used by Christ to spread the Gospel even before he was converted.
 But Paul wasn’t satisfied with clearing them out of Jerusalem. He wanted to hunt them down wherever they went and either put them in prison or have them killed.
 So one day he packed his bags and headed to Damascus to go after the Christians there. But on the way Jesus Christ appeared to him, and he was converted.
 After his conversion he is called Paul rather than Saul. It’s interesting to note that king Saul was the tallest man in Israel in his time. 
 The name “Paul” means “small.” That’s appropriate, because Paul would later exult and glory in his weakness and smallness, because his smallness became a medium for God’s bigness.
 To the saints in Ephesus, the faithful in Christ Jesus:
 The recipients, as always, are Christians. But it’s always worth noting the terms Paul uses to identify them.
 Paul is always teaching – even in the greeting. The readers know this letter is for Christians, and so when Paul calls them saints and faithful, he’s making a statement about all Christians. 
 Every genuinely converted person is both holy and faithful.
 The word saints is hagiois. Sometimes it’s translated “saints” sometimes “holy ones” sometimes “sanctified ones” but it’s all the same word in the Greek.
 And those aren’t even different uses of the same word – those words (saint, holy one, sanctified one) are just three English terms that mean exactly the same thing.
 So every Christian is a saint – a holy one.
 You are holy in two ways:
1.	You are set apart by God as special.
 The opposite of “holy” is “common” or “ordinary.” The plastic cups you let your kids take out to the back yard – those are your ordinary dishes. 
 The fine china that you put on display and only use on special occasions, those dishes are special – set apart, which means they are holy to you.
 And you are holy to God. Among all of humanity, you are His fine china.
 And there is another sense in which you are holy as well. You are set apart for God, and also set apart from sin.
 That’s another way of saying you are righteous. At the core of your being, you are righteous and pure.
 So that’s what it means to be a saint. Every believer is a saint, and every saint is a believer.
 That’s the other descriptive term Paul uses to describe you – believer (or faithful). 
 That concept also has two parts:
1.	 First it means to trust in Christ. You believe the truth about Him and you entrust your life to Him. 
 That is the only way to be saved and to be forgiven of your sins – faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.
2.	 Another part of that is the idea of faithfulness. You not only believe, but you yourself are faithful.
 A person who genuinely believes the truth about Jesus Christ and entrusts his life to Him will live that out in his actions. If you trust God you will be faithful to God. You will be loyal to Him. 
 2 Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
 OK, so we are two verses into this book, all we have read is the greeting, and already we have read the name of the Lord Jesus Christ three times.
 That’s the way this whole book is going to be. Everything centers on Him.
•	 This information is coming to us from Christ (through His Apostle), 
•	we are holy and faithful in Christ Jesus (It is only our close association with Him that makes us that way), and 
•	grace and peace come to us from the Lord Jesus Christ.
 Grace and peace to you was a common greeting. It combined that beautiful Jewish idea of shalom (peace – total well-being) with the more Greek kind of greeting in the word grace. 
 A common Greek greeting was chaire (rejoice); Paul changed it to charis (grace). 
 But even though it’s a common greeting, there can be no question that Paul meant it to be understood with fullest theological implications – especially in this letter. 
 Ephesians is all about grace and peace. 
 Christ came into a world that was in desperate need of peace. People were estranged from each other (Jews from Gentiles, husbands from wives, nations from nations), the creation itself and many of the great heavenly beings were estranged from God and from His people, and we were estranged from God.
 And Christ came, and by establishing the Church set into motion the reconciliation of all things – peace.
 And it was done through grace. And the fact that it was by grace is what makes the peace possible, as we will see in ch.2.
 TALK ABOUT PEACE WITH GOD THROUGH THE GOSPEL (ROMANS)
 Close:
I hope you are excited about this trip we are about to take through the heavenlies. We will see not only the glories of your riches in Christ and the significance of all the great powers and rulers in the heavenly realms…
 But the higher we get into the heavenlies the more meaning life will have. Farther we get above the sun, the more meaning everything has.
 You see, the message of Ecclesiastes and the message of Ephesians is the same. Ecclesiastes takes us down and shows us the emptiness of the “under the sun only” perspective…
 And Ephesians takes us up to heaven and shows us the infinite meaning behind everything we are doing in the Church, because it effects what is beyond the sun.
 Next time you hear someone say, “Why is this happening to me?” you can say, “Well, for one it’s happening so that God’s eternal purpose that the rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms might eventually know the breathtaking scope of the multifaceted wisdom of God.”
 The next time you lose your car keys, or your job, or your health, or the life of a loved one…
 - you will be able to respond in a godly way not just because you have memorized all the godly responses, but because you are living life in the heavenlies. You can see the biggest picture.
 You will have insight into the meaning of all things!