“I pray that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ will give you the spirit of wisdom and understanding so that you might know Him better. I pray that the eyes of your understanding may be enlightened in order that you may know the riches of His glorious inheritance in the saints”. There are some oft recurring words in Ephesians. They are “grace”, “riches” “power” “glory” and “praise “ If you also remember or recognise that the epistle is about the church, you will realise how the temple of the Lord, (the church) is built. The scripture says that the Lord “inhabits (lives in) the praises of His people”. It should be a temple of praise. Why should the people praise? Because of the riches of His grace. Ch 2 v 7 calls them “the incomparable riches of His grace”. Ch 1 v 6 “He pre-destinated us to be His Sons, in accordance with the pleasure of His will, to the praise of His glorious grace, which He has freely given to us in the one He loves. In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace, which He has lavished on us with all wisdom and understanding.” This then is how the temple is built. God gives riches to us in the spiritual world. Priceless riches beyond the scope of money. Who could pay for one sin to be forgiven? What was the price of our redemption.? We were once as slaves in the market place. The price put on our heads for our freedom, was so high, our old slave driver, did not think that anyone would think us worth it. We ourselves did not think we were worth it.? Nor that anyone would love us enough to pay the price. But Hallelujah, One stepped forward and paid the price, with His own blood. Can we ever stop praising Him for our freedom. Every person in the temple of God is redeemed and therefore all have been filled with enough grace (lavished) that praises should rise continually. If God was not rich enough, he would not be able to lavish such rich eternal blessings on everyone, but Jesus has provided more than enough. The banquet is adequate for all who want to come in, and “yet there is room for more”. Eph ch 2 tells us of our utter hopelessness and total depravity, unable to save ourselves . Then it says “But God who is rich in mercy”... There is a millionaire in America who is going about the country giving money away to all in need, but even this illustration of grace, is a poor reflection of what Christ has done. The riches of the American millionaire are limited. The amount he gives is limited, but the riches available to us is as much as we want, or can receive. Notice the personal testimony of the Apostle Paul in ch 3 v. 2. “administration of God’s grace given to me for you. Ch.3.v.7.; “I became a servant of this gospel, by the gift of God’s grace given to me.... Although I am the least of all God’s people. This grace was given to me to preach to the gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ” The wonderful thing about riches is the power that they provide. (hence the reason you should know the riches of your inheritance) There’s not much you can do if you are poor in the natural world.. This testimony shows that there are possibilities for all of us. For if the least of all God’s people should be used in such a way then God can bless us in His service. Paul had nothing to boast of in himself, everything he had worth boasting of or rejoicing in, he had received freely by grace. David’s likeness to Christ comes lamentably short when we compare the “unsearchable riches of Christ” with the tons of silver and gold he gave to Solomon. So not only has the Lord provided for us to be well fuelled with praises in worship, he has also supplied any power we might need to serve Him.. One of the greatest things we can do for the Lord is keep his command “Love one another”. Surely if such grace and forgiveness has been bestowed upon us we should have abundant power to forgive and show grace to others. If we ever stand back to admire some mighty work of men, such as going to the moon or building a mighty dam and power station, then you soon think of the cost. If one individual has financed the project, then he gets all the glory, because he had all the power, (in the riches).”I pray that out of His glorious riches He may strengthen you with power through His spirit in your inner man.” Do you get the picture now. God gives and gives and gives and gives. We receive, receive, receive and receive. He is such a wonderful God, it reveals His “glory”. To have such wealth, and wealth is power, then such a person must deserve glory. For if any great fete is accomplished, then the one supplying the power should receive the glory. “The glory of the Lord filled the temple” of Solomon. The temple was the Lord’s doing. How much more should our praises fill the church with the glory of the Lord; the “church” of course being the people. Do we not seem more concerned if the toilets are not clean or the flowers not arranged properly than if the people meet with their God in the presenc eof the Holy Spirit. If the glory could fall under the Old Covenant, how much more should we expect the glory of God’s presence under the new. Sadly, those who immerse themselves in God are merely stared at and looked upon as “over emotional” or “drawing attention to themselves”. If those who are drawn to gaze on such things would but concentrate themselves upon the Lord, rather than looking on others may be more of the glory would be made manifest, or even worse, may be we can’t see the glory when it is expressed. Solomon, it could be said is the type of the Holy Spirit, for as David provided the where-with-all for Solomon to build the temple, so Jesus has provided, forgiveness, redemption, power, wisdom understanding, so that the Holy Spirit may build us up as His body, a temple to the praise of God’s glory. Notice also that David could not build the temple because he had shed blood and was a man of war. Solomon in contrast reigned in peace for forty years, and the temple was built in complete silence. All the noise was made off the site, and construction was made without noise. So we see a contrast between Jesus, the man of war who shed his own blood, and the Holy Spirit, symbolised by a dove of peace, and who has quietly and unseen, been building the church of God for over 2000 years. One final thought, and wonderful it is . Eph. ch 4, v. 7, tells us that grace has been given to every one of us. So we are all part of the temple and we should all have sufficient “wealth” in terms of forgiveness and redemption, to cause us to praise Him from full and overflowing hearts. If we do not appreciate the riches enough to want to praise Him, then we need to pray for wisdom and understanding, because we are as a paupers living in a rich family. People who praise are by definition, happy people. People who are left riches usually show some signs of great joy, even if for a short time. So there is really no excuse for anyone, not to bring the sacrifices of praise into the house of the Lord. We have all been given plenty, to enable us to bring sacrifices of thanksgiving and praise. You will remember that we said David was a man of war, and the riches were acquired by victories over his enemies. Then read those verses in Ephesians chapter 4, which say, “he led captivity captive and gave gifts unto men”, and we have a mighty warrior who defeated the enemy, came away with booty, and distributed it freely. In Peter we read of how Jesus led such “captivity captive”. He descended into Hell, He defeated Satan, and took the keys of Death and Hell, and preached the good news of the gospel, to all those in captivity. He captured them for Himself and brought them out. You will remember that the gospel of Matthew records that at the time of the resurrection of Jesus, some people that had been dead were seen alive again. Perhaps those who wanted to return to earth did so, while those who wanted to stay in the spiritual world with Jesus went straight to heaven. In either case he led captivity captive, did he not? In the final part of that great prophecy in Isaiah chapter 53, we read that He will “divide the spoil with the strong,” because he has “poured out His soul unto death”. This is a reference to these spoils of victory. Having taken great pains he has provided all that we need to praise and serve him. Let the one who feels He is not good enough, cast away such foolish reasons, and take from the mighty hand all the riches of forgiveness and righteousness which he has for those who trust in Jesus. Let the one who says I can’t serve God, cast away such foolish reasoning, and recognise that if you want to, God will provide the power. There is great power in received grace.
Posted on: Wed, 13 Nov 2013 01:28:32 +0000
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