Inheritance

Ephesians is a book written by the Apostle Paul, not because there was a crisis to be addressed or a problem to be solved. It was written to show us the beauty of the church, of what she really is like. A beautiful, though broken and messy, community set apart for His glory and yet rooted. Beautiful because she is rooted into the triune life.

And so this morning, very briefly, I promise, we are going to look at just one Greek word in Ephesians chapter 11, and that word is inheritance. And would you join with me as we stand together to read God's word? I'm just going to read one verse, Ephesians chapter 1, beginning at verse 11.

In Him, we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of Him who works all things according to the counsel of His will. The grass withers, the flowers fade, but God's Word stands forever. And this is the Word of the Lord. Thanks be to God. You may be seated, please. In our living room.

There is a puzzle that has been on our table for weeks, and it's about 80 percent finished. And when anybody sets down to work on this puzzle, the first thing they do is, what? They grab the box to look at the picture of what the puzzle should look like when it's completed. Everybody grabs the box.

Because, without the box, there are pieces that are scattered, and we're totally lost. All the pieces begin to look the same. We don't know which way they go up or down, and so you go back again, and again, and again to the box. And I want you to imagine what it might be like to put a puzzle together without the box.

It's frustrating. You almost just want to say, there's no way we can do it. And if we're really honest, life is a lot like that, isn't it? Young parents, there is no box, is there? Here's this child, you're holding this baby in your arms, and you're like, oh Jesus, maybe there's a box that comes with this too.

The whole world is just consumed with the idol of control. Planning and strategizing, predicting the future, but control we know is a myth through our own lived experience, isn't it? The future is unpredictable, and even the best laid plans of mice and men are interrupted. We make plans, but it is the Lord who determines the steps.

And as leaders and members of this church, we see the challenges ahead as we lead the church into this year and the future decades. Cultural divisions. Congregational needs, ministry pressures. And we might wonder, can God really use us? And some of you are watching this service today thinking, what is this all about?

It's like putting together pieces of the puzzle, an elder here, a deacon there, practicing the beauty of baptism, administering the Lord's table. Can the Lord really use this local church? Can He really use me and my family? Can He really possibly use such a broken center? To guide and to extend the beauty of His gospel.

In Ephesians chapter 1, verse 11, says with a loud and clarion voice, yes, He can use even broken sinners to fulfill His plans. Because friends, we have obtained an inheritance, hallelujah. If there's a sermon and a sentence, it's this. That we, though we are messy people, we have a secure inheritance in Christ.

And so we can trust in Him even when life feels like a mess. And there's only one point to my comments before we come to the table, and that is simply this. Inheritance in Christ. We have a secure inheritance. Notice what the passage says in verse 11, in him we have obtained an inheritance. Now as you've read through the book of Ephesians, you'll notice a change between verse 10 and verse 11.

Look at the text in your bulletin or in your Bibles. What is that change?

It's a subtle change, but do you see it? Paul switches between the active voice to the passive voice. Here we have obtained. He had just been talking in this beautiful, glorious sentence in Greek, the longest grammatical sentence in the New Testament from verse 3 to verse 14, of what God has done. And then here in verse 11, he switches to the passive voice to talk about what we receive.

But what is profound about this passage, this one little verse, is that this Greek verb, eklerothemen, means literally that we are allotted. In him, we are allotted. Have him been preordained or predestined according to the purpose of him who works out all things according to the counsel of his will. And the ESV translators had to pick which way to translate this phrase, We are allotted, but in Greek it actually has two meanings.

The ESV Two. The ESV only gives us one, but the new amplified version tries to tell us both, and the two meanings are simply this. We are allotted. We are given an inheritance, You have received an inheritance through the work of Christ, and, perhaps even more profound, you are Christ's inheritance. We are allotted.

We have received, and we are allotted. We are Christ. The New Amplified Version says it like this. In Him also we have received an inheritance, and we were claimed by God as His own. Do you see both meanings? And they are both critically important. The idea of eklerotheim and inheritance for Paul is deeply rooted in the Old Testament.

In Deuteronomy 32, chapter 9, Israel is described as God's portion, his inheritance. The Lord's portion is his people. Jacob, his allotted inheritance, same cognate verb in Hebrew, pronounced here in the Greek. And Israel was given an inheritance. It was the promised land, which was a visible sign of God's faithfulness to his people.

And today, through His covenant made with Abraham, through His covenant made with Moses, through His covenant made with David, now we, through the new covenant in Christ, we get to receive the beauty of those promised claims rightly given to us only through the work of Christ. And what is it that we inherit?

Well, we get to inherit life without sin. In God's kingdom when he comes again. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Can you imagine what it's gonna be like to see each other in the new heavens and new earth without sin? The intimate relationships that we will share together, it will be beautiful. Our minds can't even imagine.

And not only will we have life without sending God's kingdom, but we will have communion with God and one another without interference. And like the Levites in the Old Testament who received no land, but had God as their inheritance in Numbers 18 20, we too are given the greatest blessing of all, full communion with God.

And before we come to this table, I just want to say that this word, eklerothemen in Greek, inheritance, has a corporate aspect and an individual aspect. And the corporate aspect of our inheritance is seen in the beautiful example of our Lord. Today, we ordain new elders, a new elder and a new deacon, and we recognize that the church, the people of God, as his treasured possession.

James and Justin and ruling elders and deacons, brothers, this means that your calling is weighty and is sacred, and you are stewards. You are fiduciaries of God's inheritance. Because you are caring for someone else's bride. She is not yours. She is Christ's. And therefore, elders, you're called to shepherd God's flock, not as owners, but as stewards of what belongs to Christ, who is the head of His church, 1 Peter chapter 5.

The church is not a human institution. It is the bride bought with His blood, and your role is to guide and to guard and to nurture this inheritance, pointing us, God's people, to our true shepherd. and our eternal hope. And deacons, you are called to serve the practical needs of the church with humility and love, reflecting the compassion of Christ.

The compassion with which He demonstrates toward His bride, His allotted inheritance. And your service is not merely administrative, it is a ministry to the inheritance of God Himself. Ensuring that his people flourish as they await the fullness of their redemption. And you not just, you don't just see it in ordination, but you also see it in baptism as we watched Pastor Mark baptize Abner Nolan earlier.

When we baptize children, we're reminding the parents and all of those who observe that baptism, that this child is God's and that his promises Extend even to the children of at least one believing parent. And baptism marks Abner as set apart in the covenant community, a recipient of God's covenant promises.

And yet, baptism also points beyond itself to the reality of our inheritance in Christ. Of our faithful, loving God and His covenant promises to His people. And that when the condition of faith is met, when Abner believes, all those blessings become His. Through the work of Jesus. What a beautiful inheritance.

It is corporate. In ordination, you see it in baptism, and you're about to experience it in the Lord's Supper. In the Lord's Supper, we're reminded of Christ's finished work. It is His body, and it is His blood. It is as though Jesus says to you, do you know that I'm here? I'm dwelling with you as a foretaste of the kingdom.

He is here by His Spirit, and He intends to sanctify you and strengthen you. And so what should this make us, O Trinity? You have obtained an inheritance. It should give you profound confidence to look into the future and to say with conviction and strength that Christ will preserve His church and the gates of hell will never prevail against her.

Amen? Amen? And it should humble you. You show me somebody who understands the weight of Jesus death for them, and I'll show you somebody who is melted in humility and gratitude for Christ. And so it means, oh Christian at Trinity, to leave your self righteousness at that door.

And as much as you try to do it, you're still going to bring some of it in. And so we're going to remind you again and again and again. And the leaders of this church, who are not perfect men by any means, are struggling again and again to leave our self righteousness at the foot of the cross when we come to this table.

Because it's only Christ in whom we have retained an inheritance. It's only through the work of Christ that we ourselves are being sanctified to be made His spotless bride. And it's only because Christ gave up the wealth of the Father's presence and the Spirit's presence and glory, He gave it all up to take on flesh, to live a life that you and I could not live and die a death that we should have died for us.

And so, notice those little words, enho in Greek, in Him. It is not just corporate, but it is also deeply personal, and I wonder if you believe it. Do you see the beauty of the good news of the gospel is not that you need to be perfect. It's that you need to rest in the only one who is perfect, the Lord Jesus Christ.

And so perfect was he that he indeed died in your place on the cross. He endured the wrath of God on your behalf, and he rose again to pronounce victory over sin and death at the resurrection, and then he ascended to the right hand of the Father where he now sits interceding for us together as his church.

And so what does this mean? It means that we serve what belongs to God, leaders, elders, deacons. For you, the church, it means that you are treasured by God. We say it often in our benediction, the Lord your God is in your midst. He's a mighty one to save. He rejoices over you with gladness. Why? He sees, he sees his inheritance and he dotes over you.

And he's making you more and more into the beautiful, spotless bride that you are called to be. And for all of us, leaders, members alike, it means that we are to rest in what we have received.

Lay your deadly doings down, down at Jesus feet, and trust in Him, in Him alone, gloriously complete. So we don't have to have the full picture. We don't have to be despairing whenever it seems like the puzzle pieces don't all fit together because we know the one who has the box. And we know the one who loves you, yes, you individually, he's brought you into a corporate body called the church.

And he wants to show you the beauty of what it means to walk together in grace. So you can have confidence that in Christ we have a secure inheritance. So trust him. As you come to this table and you come in faith and repentance, even if your life is a mess, hallelujah. Let's pray together. Father, thank you that we are bought by the blood of your son, our lamb.

We are indwelt by your spirit, who is the guarantee of our inheritance. And would you continue to work in us something far more beautiful than we can imagine for your glory. Thank you for your never fading inheritance that is ours to be received and by your mercy and the power of your spirit to be.

We pray these things in Jesus name. Amen. Would you please give of your tithes and offerings with joyful and generous hearts unto the Lord.

Transcript is computer generated.