Ephesians 1:22-23 NLT
[22] “God has put all things under the authority of Christ and has made him head over all things for the benefit of THE CHURCH . [23] And the church is his body; it is made full and complete by Christ, who fills all things everywhere with himself.”
God has His eye on something and it’s definitely not the world! Eugene Peterson, in his paraphrase, The Message (MSG), put it this way…
Ephesians 1:20-23
[20-23] “All this energy issues from Christ: God raised him from death and set him on a throne in deep heaven, in charge of running the universe, everything from galaxies to governments, no name and no power exempt from his rule. And not just for the time being, but forever. He is in charge of it all, has the final word on everything. At the center of all this, Christ rules the church. The church, you see, is not peripheral to the world; the world is peripheral to the church. The church is Christ’s body, in which he speaks and acts, by which he fills everything with his presence.”
A clear and wonderful description of God’s plan!
Since it has always been God’s purpose for the church to share in Christ’s inheritance, God gave Jesus authority over the church to prepare her for co-rulership with Him over the nations.
The Bible often speaks of an inheritance we are to share with Jesus.
Romans 8:17 NLT
[17] “And since we are his children, we are his heirs. In fact, together with Christ we are heirs of God’s glory. But if we are to share his glory, we must also share his suffering.”
Our inheritance in Christ has many facets to it…eternal life (Luke 18:18)… all the blessings of God’s salvation (Eph 1:11)…the Holy Spirit (Eph1:14)…God’s promises (Heb 6:12)…a priceless inheritance, kept safe in heaven for us (1Peter1:4)…
and…and…!
In Psalm 2, God promises the nations to His King as His inheritance over which He will rule with justice and peace forever.
Psalms 2:7-8 NLT
[7] “The king proclaims the Lord’s decree: “The Lord said to me, ‘You are my son. Today I have become your Father. [8] Only ask, and I will give you the nations as your inheritance, the whole earth as your possession.”
Isaiah 9:6-7 NLT
[6] “For a child is born to us, a son is given to us. The government will rest on his shoulders. And he will be called: Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. [7] His government and its peace will never end. He will rule with fairness and justice from the throne of his ancestor David for all eternity. The passionate commitment of the Lord of Heaven’s Armies will make this happen!”
Jesus, in turn, will share His inheritance with His church. Daniel saw this event in a vision centuries before it happens.
Daniel 7:13-14, 17-18 NLT
[13]” As my vision continued that night, I saw someone like a son of man coming with the clouds of heaven. He approached the Ancient One and was led into his presence. [14] He was given authority, honor, and sovereignty over all the nations of the world, so that people of every race and nation and language would obey him. His rule is eternal—it will never end. His kingdom will never be destroyed….
[17] “These four huge beasts represent four kingdoms that will arise from the earth. [18] But in the end, the holy people of the Most High will be given the kingdom, and they will rule forever and ever.”
Paul, in turn, confirms this promise.
1 Corinthians 6:2 NLT
[2]” Don’t you realize that someday we believers will judge the world? And since you are going to judge the world, can’t you decide even these little things among yourselves?”
It stands to reason, then, that the focus of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit would be on the church. God has planned to hone His people to rule with Jesus in eternity by putting us through a strenuous apprenticeship on this earth. He cannot entrust as great an eternal assignment to untrained and unequipped people.
God has left us in an evil and hostile environment to teach us…
To love Him…
To trust Him…
To obey Him…
To submit to Him…
And to train us to be holy…
And to overcome temptation by putting the flesh to death through the power of the Holy Spirit, by learning self-control, which is the fruit of the Spirit….
Despite the hostility of the unseen world and the opposition from the ungodly world around us.
All these qualities (of true sons) will be confirmed forever when we are glorified in heaven, when sin is eradicated from our lives.
The church is Jesus’ body of which He is the Head. Body and head can only live when they are joined and functioning in harmony. Is it any wonder, then, that Jesus should focus all His attention on every individual in His body. There is so much at stake as He personally supervises the preparation of each person for his/her place in eternity.
The goings-on in the world are not random and uncontrolled. If God uses the world’s rebellion and evil to train us, then surely He always has His finger on the pulse. He would never allow things to get out of control (as much as we think they are at times).
The hardships we experience, God calls discipline, training, learning to live under His authority. Unlike those who rebelled, from Adam on, we are to trust and obey God in EVERYTHING, good or bad. Why? Because He loves us! He is preparing us to reign by learning to reign over ourselves first through His grace in Christ.
Romans 5:17 NLT
[17] “For the sin of this one man, Adam, caused death to rule over many. But even greater is God’s wonderful grace and his gift of righteousness, for all who receive it will live in triumph over sin and death through this one man, Jesus Christ.”
Hebrews 12:10-11 NLT
[10] “For our earthly fathers disciplined us for a few years, doing the best they knew how. But God’s discipline is always good for us, so that we might share in his holiness. [11] No discipline is enjoyable while it is happening—it’s painful! But afterward there will be a peaceful harvest of right living for those who are trained in this way.”
It doesn’t matter that we don’t understand what is happening in the world. It doesn’t matter that we don’t know what tomorrow holds. What matters that we live every day with our eyes on Jesus. He is watching over us to perfect us for the great day when we take our place in His eternal kingdom to reign with Him.
Hebrews 12:1-2 NLT
[1] “Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us. [2] We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith. Because of the joy awaiting him, he endured the cross, disregarding its shame. Now he is seated in the place of honor beside God’s throne.”
To be continued…