His purpose was that now, through the church, the manifold wisdom of God should be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms,to the intent that now through the assembly the manifold wisdom of God might be made known to the principalities and the powers in the heavenly places,To the intent that now unto the principalities and powers in heavenly places might be known by the church the manifold wisdom of God,to the intent that now unto the principalities and the powers in the heavenly places might be made known through the church the manifold wisdom of God,
5 sermons cite this verse
… mystery was made known to me by revelation, as I have written briefly. When you read this, you can perceive my insight into the mystery of Christ, which was not made known to the sons of men in other generations as it is now being revealed to his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit. This mystery is that the Gentiles are fellow heirs, members of the same body, and partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel. Of this gospel I was made a minister according to the gift of God's grace, which was given to me by the working of his power. To me, though I am the very least of all the saints, this grace was given to preach to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ and to bring to light for everyone what is the plan of the mystery hidden for ages in God who created all things, so that through the church the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places. This was according to the eternal purpose that he has realized in Christ Jesus our Lord, in whom we have boldness and access with confidence through our faith in him. So I ask you not to lose heart over what I am suffering for you, which is your glory. …
That's the glory of the church to make the excellencies of God known. Like the glory, for example, of his wisdom in Ephesians 3.10. through the church, the manifold wisdom of God will be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places. Your church exists to show the wisdom of God to angels, including fallen angels. But just as with Israel, the ultimate goal is not just the glory of God in general, it is the apex of his glory. Again, last night's portrayal of that moment. The apex of God's glory is the glory of his grace in the work of Christ. So Ephesians 1, 4 to 6, God chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world. predestined us for adoption to the praise of the glory of his grace. That's just about the most ultimate verse in the Bible. Maybe it is. Election, predestination, redemption through Christ unto the praise of the glory of the grace, grace, the apex of the glory of God. …
… which for ages past was kept hidden in God, who created all things. His intent was that now through the church the manifold wisdom of God should be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms according to his eternal purpose, which he accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord. In him and through faith in him we may approach God with freedom and confidence. I ask you, therefore, not to be discouraged because of my sufferings for you, which are your glory. For this reason I kneel before the Father, from whom his whole family in heaven and on earth derives its name. I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power together with all the saints to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. …
… blueprint of this mystery, which in the past was hidden in God. His intent was now through the church, now through the church, that the manifold wisdom of God should be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms according to his eternal purpose, which he accomplished in Jesus Christ. Everyone should be able to look into the church and begin to see the administration of this mystery. It's inside the church that we've got to show people how friendships and how relationships, how economics, how race relations, how mental health, how things heal up when they're brought in under the headship of Jesus Christ. You know, there's a place at the end of the Les Mis musical, at the very end where they sing, and I think I wrote it down here if I can remember, will you join in our crusade? Who will be strong and stand with me? Somewhere beyond the barricade is there a world you long to see. There's only two kinds of people that can sing like that and to have their lives galvanized with a vision like that. Two kinds of people. …
… to the praise of his glorious grace. That means that you are the greatest evidence of the glory of God in the universe. This is not the only place it says that. Ephesians 3.10 says that we have become a display case for the glory and grace of God. The angels long to look at the wisdom of God that's manifested in the church. Every so often, let me be personal, every so often, I look around the congregation. Now, one of the problems is that as the church has gotten bigger, it's more and more my job to feed the shepherds and the shepherdesses who are feeding the sheep. And as a result, I don't talk as much to people who are just coming over the line into faith in Christ as I used to. And so to some degree, I have to actually go back a year or two, but when I sit around, I can look around the congregation, I can look around on Sundays and other days, and I especially look at a lot of you that I've known for two or three years. And I look at you sometimes and I say, what a trophy of grace that is. You know, in some ways, being a pastor, I'm privy, at least in the early days, I was privy to an awful lot of your pasts. And I know what revolutions have happened in some of your lives. And I begin to realize when I look around that you are trophies of God's grace, and the Bible says ultimately the transformed lives of the people …