Monday, January 28, 2019

PT-1 "The Purpose of the Mystery" (Eph. 3:10-11)


SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 1/28/2019 9:35 AM



My Worship Time                                                      Focus:  PT-1 “The Purpose of the Mystery”



Bible Reading & Meditation                                              Reference:  Ephesians 3:10-11



            Message of the verses:  10 so that the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known through the church to the rulers and the authorities in the heavenly places. 11 This was in accordance with the eternal purpose which He carried out in Christ Jesus our Lord,”



            We can see the purpose of the mystery in verse ten, and the authorities in the heavenly places according to John MacArthur refers to angels. He goes on to say that angels are also referred to in Ephesians 1:21 and Colossians 1:16.  Then in Ephesians 6:12 we will see Paul use similar words as he writes there about fallen angels.  Chapter six of Ephesians is one I am looking forward to studying again as it contains the believer’s spiritual armor and in that section as noted there is fallen angels that are mentioned.  MacArthur writes that “God has brought the church into being for the purpose of manifesting His great wisdom before the angels, both holy and unholy.  The New Testament emphasis is on the holy angels’ concern with the church, but it is obvious that the fallen angels can also to some extent see what is going on, through they have no desire or capacity for praise.”



            In verse eleven we can see that all of this mystery that we have been talking about for some time no will bring glory to the Lord as it was all in “accordance with the eternal purposes which He carried out in Christ Jesus our Lord.”  Let us look at Colossians 1:16 which will help us to better understand the truth of it is the ultimate purpose of God to bring glory to Himself:  “For by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities-all things have been created through Him and for Him.”   1/28/2019 9:52 AM  1/28/2019 12:52 PM



            If one would ask you the question “Why does the Church Exist?”   Some may think that it exists to evangelize the world in order for souls to be saved, and although that is a good reason that is not the correct answer.  The answer comes from the Westminster shorter catechism which states “Man’s chief ends is to glorify God and to enjoy Him forever.”  So that means that this is what the purpose of the church is.  In order to better understand this answer one has to understand God, and to understand God one must study His attributes.  We are created by God and so that means that we owe everything we have to God, and so certainly as believers we are to glorify God in all that we do.  John MacArthur writes “The supreme purpose of the church, as Paul makes explicit here, is to glorify God by manifesting His ‘wisdom’ before the angels, who can then offer greater praise to God.  The purpose of the universe is to give glory to God, and that will be its ultimate reality after all evil is conquered and destroyed.  Even now, ‘The heavens are telling of the glory of God; and their expanse is declaring the work of His hands’ (Ps. 19:1).  The church is not an end to itself, but a means to an end, the end of glorifying God.  The real drama of redemption can only be understood when we realize that the glory of God is the supreme goal of creation.  Holly angels are especially made and confirmed in purity and praise as creatures who will forever give God glory (Ps. 148:2; Heb. 1:6), and the redemption of fallen men enriches their praise.  Redeemed people, then, are to enhance angelic praise and some day in heaven to join in it (Rev. 4:8-11; 5:8-14; 7:9-12; 14:1-3; 10:1-8).”



            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  I find this extremely interesting as far as looking at the angels in this section.  I did not realize that Paul was writing about angels when he writes about “the authorities in heavenly places,” as I don’t think I actually knew before what he was writing about.  As a believer I can then enhance angelic praise to the Lord.  This is some great news.



My Steps of Faith for Today:  Trust that the Lord will give glory to Himself as He answers the man new prayer requests that are not on my spiritual plate.



Today’s quote from Winston Churchill:  “Success is never final; failure is never fatal; it is courage that counts.”



Scripture reference to this quote in our next SD.



1/28/2019 1:16 PMhttps://d.adroll.com/cm/aol/out?advertisable=NPJNIT3NEZHRFDR5UQR5HShttps://d.adroll.com/cm/index/out?advertisable=NPJNIT3NEZHRFDR5UQR5HShttps://d.adroll.com/cm/n/out?advertisable=NPJNIT3NEZHRFDR5UQR5HS


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