The Manifold Wisdom of God - Part 1 (Eph. 3:10-11) By Mike
Willis
(http://www.geocities.com/~expository/)
"To the intent that now unto the principalities and powers in heavenly places might be known by the church the manifold wisdom of God, according to the eternal purpose which he purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord" (Eph. 3:10-11).
This wonderful Scripture expresses a thought that staggers the mind's ability to comprehend and appreciate. This Scripture states that the angels in heaven learn the manifold wisdom of God through seeing what God has accomplished in the church.
Paul previously expressed his deep feeling of indebtedness to divine grace that God had given to him and the other apostles and prophets the blessed privilege of revealing his previously concealed mystery, namely that the Gentiles could be fellow-heirs of the promises of Christ through the gospel. He was blessed with the grace of preaching to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ, bringing to light to all men that mystery which God had kept secret since the world began. But now at the end of the ages, God revealed his mystery.
The "principalities and powers in heavenly places" are the various orders of angels in heaven. The angels see what God accomplished in the church and see through the church the manifold wisdom of God. The point is not that the church preaches the manifold wisdom of God when it preaches the gospel, although this is a true statement; rather, the church manifests the wisdom of God in the same manner as a beautiful painting manifests the skills of a painter, a bridge displays the skills of an architect, and a beautiful song displays the skills of its lyrist and musicians. When the angels see what God has accomplished in the church, they see the manifold wisdom of God that was concealed throughout the ages during which his divine plan was coming to fruition. Henry Alford quoted Stier as saying that to the angels, the church is "the fact of the great spiritual body, constituted in Christ, which they contemplate, and which is to them the theatron tes doxas tou Theou" (theater of the glory of God, mw) (The Greek Testament: Ephesians III:106). H.A.W. Meyer said, "To the angels, in accordance with their ministering interest in the work of redemption (Matt. xviii.10; Luke xv.7, 10; 1 Cor. xi.10; Heb. i.14; 1 Pet. i.12), the church of the redeemed is therefore, as it were, the mirror, by means of which the wisdom of God exhibits itself to them" (Meyer's Commentary on the New Testament: Ephesians 416).
That the angels witness what occurs on earth is confirmed in
other Scriptures (1 Pet. 1:12; 1 Cor. 4:9; Heb. 12:22). This passage
says that their own knowledge of God's divine wisdom is enhanced
by what they see in the church.
Here are some things that angels saw that impressed them with
God's divine wisdom.
They saw how God saves men. How could God save sinful men without losing his divine justice? The angels witnessed a truly remarkable scene when they saw God the Son leave heaven and take upon himself a physical body in the incarnation. They witnessed his sinless life, despite the most assiduous assaults of Satan (Heb. 4:15). At the end of his life, this sinless man was crucified on the cross of Calvary, shedding his blood in atonement for sin. The just debt of sin was paid by the blood of God the Son. W.A. Criswell observed, "At the same time He pays the penalty for our sin thus upholding the righteous judgments of God and yet showing mercy, dying in love for our fallen souls. How the angels, looking upon that, must have been astonished! What we lost in Eden in the sin of the first Adam, we have gained and more besides in the second Adam, Christ. . . . Satan is stung by his own venom. Goliath is slain by his own sword. Death is destroyed by its own captive. As in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive. As by one man, Adam, sin came into this world, and death by sin, so by one man, the God-man Christ Jesus, is sin destroyed, and life and immortality brought to life" (Ephesians: An Exposition 120).
They saw what God can do with sin defiled men. Every one of us was marred by sin (Rom. 3:23) and worthy of eternal damnation (Rom. 6:23). If one asked any member of the church, he would confess that his sinful conduct made him unworthy of eternal life or unfit to be used in God's service. H.C.G. Moule commented on what the angels see in us: "They see in us indeed all our weakness, and all our sin. But they see a nature which, wrecked by itself, was yet made in the image of their God and ours. And they see this God at work upon that wreck to produce results not only wonderful in themselves but doubly wonderful because of the conditions" (Ephesian Studies 118). Think of what change was wrought in sinful men. Angels saw fornicators, adulterers, effeminate, homosexuals, thieves, covetous, drunkards and revilers changed into saints (1 Cor. 6:9-11). They saw the "chiefest of sinners" turned into an apostle (1 Tim. 1:13-16).
They saw Jew and Gentile reconciled to God in one body. Paul had declared that God "might reconcile both unto God in one body by the cross, having slain the enmity thereby" (Eph. 2:16). S.D.F. Salmond observed, "The Church, therefore, that is, as is evidently meant here, the whole body of believes in the unity in which Jew and Gentile are now made one, is the means by which the Divine wisdom is to be made known and Paul's commission in that respect made good" (The Expositor's Greek Testament: Ephesians 309). The wall of alienation that had separated Jew and Gentile was broken down so that God could redeem all men in one church.
They saw the manifold wisdom of God in other facets of the
church. S.T. Bloomfield observes that God's manifold wisdom being
made known through the church includes "the founding, propagating,
and governing of the Church" (The Greek Testament II:271).
[Editor's Note: Bro. Willis will conclude these thoughts in next
week's issue.]
A Modern Day Parable by James D. Yopp, Jr.
jyopp@pobox.com
The Kingdom of Heaven is like a company whose CEO sought to hire new workers. He called the five applicants to his office in turn and handed every one a 15-page speech. To each he said "Write out a copy of this paper in your own hand and have it ready when I return from vacation."
The first applicant responded, "I believe that you are meant to be my boss, and that you will hire me nonetheless", and tended not to the matter he was given, expecting to be given the job. The second replied, saying "I will do this for you before you return." But when the CEO had returned, he had not yet done it. The third replied likewise, but went away and wrote the paper in his own hand, changing a few subtle meanings so that he might make it politically acceptable, to persuade a broader audience. The fourth went away and faithfully copied the paper in his own hand, but at the end, when he had seen that the paper was good, sought to exalt himself and signed his own name to it. The fifth went home and copied the paper exactly, changing nothing, and gave the credit to the man whose paper it was.
Who then, do you think, will be appointed to the job?
The meaning of this tale is such: When Jesus tells us to go out into the world and live as he did, making our lives a copy of his, do we think that we may simply say "You are my personal savior", and rely on him to save us? Can we tell him, "Lord, I will do as you say", and be saved on that merit alone? Can we change his words to suit our lives or the lives of others, living as we have chosen through twisting and perversion of his words? Or can we take any credit for our own righteousness and expect to see the rewards when this life is over? Nay, I say to you. To obtain a place in the kingdom of heaven, I propose this; only that we must actually DO what the scriptures show us, and to God be the glory. Amen.
He Never Missed
(From The Religious Reminder, April 12, 2000)
Some time ago, Paul Harvey reported of a 73-year-old man who had been pinned beneath his farm tractor for four days and nights in driving rain and a terrible storm. Concerned friends went to see about him just in time. He survived the ordeal, but lost a leg below the knee.
Several newspapers picked up on the story and centered on the amazing fact that a 73-year-old man could live after being pinned beneath a tractor for four days and nights in such bad weather.
What is even more amazing about this news report is the reason his friends were compelled to check on him. One fellow said it best: "He missed worship services on Wednesday night!" That's all? He was always so faithful in attendance that simply missing one worship service caused his brethren to check on him.
Not only should the older brother be commended for his faithfulness, but also his brethren need to also be praised for the genuine concern for their brother.
"And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching." (Hebrews 10:24-25)