In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace, which He made to abound toward us in all wisdom and prudence. He made known to us the mystery of His will, according to His good pleasure which He purposed in Himself, that in the dispensation of the fullness of the times He might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven and which are on earth—in Him.
When you get sad or discouraged, I don’t know what you do. Some people listen to songs, some go shopping, some eat nicely to deal with depression, some watch mobile/TV, or you may go on a vacation. People do something as a pick-me-up to encourage themselves. Ephesians 3:14 was Paul’s pick-me-up, and it is becoming my pick-me-up.
Remember Paul’s condition was worse than any of our conditions. He was like a horse, unable to stay in one place, running around the world preaching the gospel. Now, his legs are chained, his hands are chained, and he’s arrested with a Roman soldier always with him. How discouraged must his great mind be to be stuck in one place? But the man is filled with joy and a blazing zeal. He rises in praising God. How can a man in that situation praise God?
Because a mature Christian learns an important lesson through the years: no matter what his circumstances are, he finds his happiness in things that do not change. Those things that do not change are only found in two words: In Christ. So Paul, though in a sad situation, instead of grumbling, sees the panorama of his salvation. He goes before the foundation of the world, starting with election, and goes all the way to glorification. He lifts up the Ephesians and us with him in this praise: “Hey discouraged believer, lift up your eyes, behold all these blessings. In the world you may not be great, not have great value; in Christ, you are so valuable. You were chosen before the foundation of the world. The central plan of predestination is to adopt you as His child. All this was done not because of who you are or what you will do, you were accepted in the beloved. Come on man, if you know your heart…” As a Christian grows, he knows how bad his heart is, and that makes him wonder at God’s grace more and more. For a wretch like me, God has done this, and not because of me, but to the praise of the glory of His grace. Realizing this should pick you up from any hole.
If that is not enough to pick you up, look at history. He has executed His eternal plan by sending His Son and purchasing a perfect redemption on the cross, paying a ransom. This was bought with the very, very expensive, greatest price of the blood of the Son of God. Not only historically, but experientially, God’s grace in your own personal experience gave you the joy of the forgiveness of sins. This salvation was not only planned in eternity and accomplished in time, but an overflowing grace came to us, revealing this salvation.
How did this salvation reveal itself to us? Verse 8 says, “in all wisdom and prudence.” In which form did it come to us? Verse 9 says, “having made known to us the mystery of His will,” which indicates the gospel. Why was it revealed to us historically, geographically, and effectually, and not to so many other billions? Verse 9: “according to His good pleasure which He purposed in Himself.”
Paul is using all these truths to lift us higher and higher in worship. If we argue, “Oh, we teach too much theology,” how can you ever have such high, true biblical worship without explaining and understanding this theology? Oh yes, you can have empty, mindless, sentimental, repetitive chorus, musical concert manipulation and call that worship, but God hates such worship.
I agree these are very tough. I told you this is one of the most difficult passages. So what do most pastors do? “Why trouble and break our heads, labor in the Word for hours, and struggle to make people understand these difficult passages? No one will clap, crowds will not listen, we won’t get many likes.” Someone said from the 19th century onward, a big curse which led to the downgrade of Christianity is the disrespect it shows to Bible expositors. There is no market for them, because this generation is like Isaiah 30:10: “Do not prophesy to us the truth! Speak to us pleasant words.”
You watch most popular preachers; they are not Bible preachers, just motivational self-help speakers. They just use Bible stories and words to give success, prosperity, and motivational dialogues. A verse’s context will say something, but they just remove verses out of context. “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me” is just used for landing dream jobs, achieving big things, or getting healing. It’s for self-confidence, motivation. “I can do all things, hallelujah.” Last week, our friend Johnson used “The Holy Spirit will flow as a river; a river brings fruitfulness on both sides.” What fruit? “A couple for 10 years had IVF and many treatments with no child. Last week, they got children, hallelujah. I said, ‘Don’t waste money with doctors anymore, put it in the offering bag.’ I tell you today, God’s river will bring healing.” What a horrible distortion of the Holy Scriptures! Blasphemy! And hundreds without any brain or discernment are sitting and clapping. It shows so many don’t even know the basics of theology, how to read and understand the Bible. So big crowds run to listen to this in the name of worship and Christianity. That is the trend and market today.
I could also be tempted to go with the market, but 2 Timothy 4:1 keeps ringing: “I charge you therefore before God and the Lord Jesus Christ, who will judge the living and the dead at His appearing and His kingdom: Preach the word! Be ready in season and out of season. Convince, rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering and teaching. For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers; and they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables. But you be watchful in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry.” The time has come now.
This is what controls us. So even if I don’t get claps, whistles, or crowds, and maybe some of you even go to sleep when difficult Bible passages are explained, I have to fulfill the ministry God has given me. I have to preach the Word of God in season and out of season, because my claps will come in the end. So far, we have studied till verse 9. Now we come to verse 10.
Verse 10 answers: What is the ultimate purpose of the redemptive plan? “That in the dispensation of the fullness of the times He might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven and which are on earth—in Him.” In this verse, Paul goes beyond our personal salvation and covers God’s great redemption plan for the whole universe. This, many agree, is the most difficult verse in the entire New Testament. Even translations make it difficult to grasp. You see, each commentator will give a different meaning. Reading many, doing my own study, seeing the context, and the analogy of scripture, I have come to a final conclusion of the meaning with the help of great commentators like Lenski and William Hendriksen. It will be theological trekking and climbing a tall New Testament mountain. Trekkers know that only when we sweat, trek, and go up, do we see the most beautiful scenes, which will be worth all the efforts that lazy people can never enjoy. So I am calling you to join me trekking. I promise you will see such a glorious perspective it will thrill your heart. So, ready for the morning trek!
Vision of Christ’s Government
The first word is dispensation or NASB administration. It is oikonomia, which means God’s divine arrangement, ordering, and working in the world. It is God’s management; the way God runs things. When a Prime Minister/President takes office, he puts his administration and cabinet members together to carry out his plan. He executes his plan through his administrators. Just as Pharaoh appointed Joseph as administrator of Egypt, he was in charge, he ordered, ruled, governed, and controlled. During those seven years of famine and prosperity, Egypt was under the administration of Joseph. Even today, our country does not use it much, but you will see America and other countries using this word. “This happened under the Biden administration,” but “this Donald Trump administration, we corrected that.” The idea is executing a plan through administrators.
In God’s administration, who is God’s administrator for this plan? Verse 7, “In Him we have redemption,” it is the same person. God has given this administration to Christ. So the word has the idea that Christ has been appointed as the administrator by God. All of God’s gospel purposes are under the administration of Jesus Christ. So we see the vision of Christ’s sovereign government.
The word also means “Law of the house; order of the house.” It is like an architect who draws a plan for a house. A good architect will plan where the electrical wires, water taps, pipes, cupboards, beds, and walls go. As the house is being built, it all looks so messy, dirty, ugly, and confusing. But once the whole house is completed, we stand in awe: “Wow, it has come out so nicely.” So God is the architect of the plan, and He appointed Christ as the administrator to execute the plan. Christ came, died, redeemed us, finished His earthly ministry, and ascended. Christ is doing ministry in heaven. God is still building the house, but it still seems so confusing, sometimes messy. The house is yet to be completed. When the full work is done, it will all look perfect.
The verse talks about the time of this government: “That in the dispensation/administration of the fullness of the times.” What does “fullness of times” mean? It’s like an old-fashioned hourglass. You would have seen it. “I give you one hour,” and you turn the glass. The top, full of sand, will slowly trickle down. When the last grain of sand falls, it is one hour. After all the sand fills one end, it is the fullness of time; the glass is full; time has arrived. That is how it is used.
The same word is used in Galatians 4:4: “But when the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son.” The same period the Bible also calls the “last days.” Hebrews 1:1-2 says, “God, who at various times and in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets, has in these last days spoken to us by His Son.” “Last days” doesn’t mean the end of history, but the last days began when Jesus came for the first time into the world. 1 Corinthians 10:11: “These things are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the ages have come.” So this phrase, the fullness of the time, is the time period which began with the first coming of Christ and will end with the second coming of Christ. The first words our Lord preached in Mark 1:15 were: “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel.”
Joining the two words, administration of fullness of times, is the rule of the time period between the first and second coming of Christ. Based on the context and other Bible passages, Christ is the administrator of this time. This is also called the gospel age. The reign of Christ is not just future, but now in this gospel age. When history records the administration of Donald Trump, it will have a time reference: “First presidency between 2017 to 2021 and second 2025 to 2030.” When Ephesians 1:10 speaks of the administration of the fullness of times, it speaks of the time between His first and second coming.
This understanding is consistent with the Bible and context. If you fail to grasp this, when explaining the next phrase, “summing up of all things in Christ,” you will go in 101 directions and into confusion, even to extreme universalism, “Oh, then the Bible teaches Christ will save everyone at the end.” So we see His sovereign government.
Final Purpose of This Government
Verse 10: “He might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven and which are on earth—in Him.” The first phrase, “gathering together in one all things in Christ,” means to unite everything under one head. It means to “sum up all things.” You take many different numbers and add them up to one big number. That is the picture. So the final purpose of this sovereign government is to unite everything under Christ. What all things are to be united? The next phrase tells us: “all things in heaven and all things on earth.” This is a sweeping description of the totality of the universe. Every realm of the universe, visible and invisible creation. All in heaven and on earth are united under Christ, under His reign.
Look at Ephesians 1:20, where we have an expansion of this thought. He’s speaking of the greatness of God’s power, which He worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, far above all principality and power and might and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in that which is to come. And He put all things under His feet, and gave Him to be head over all things to the church, which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all.
You have a parallel passage in Matthew 28, where Jesus said, “all authority has been given to me,” where? “In heaven and on earth.” “I have absolute authority.” So we see Christ’s sovereign government and the final purpose of His sovereign government.
Putting these things together, let us capture the big picture. This is God’s great, final, ultimate purpose. Human minds can never think of anything greater. This is the Mysterion, a mystery hidden for ages. People have been searching for where world history is going, what the purpose of all these different nations and civilizations is, but God invites us in this verse to see His glorious eternal purpose. God’s grand purpose is that “He might gather together in one all things in Christ.” There is a grand purpose of God, and all thousands of years of world history are moving toward this. This has a present personal aspect and a future universal aspect.
Present: Paul has said that God elected and predestined us in eternity and that His grace accomplished perfect redemption in time. How did redemption grace overflow to us? “In wisdom and prudence,” and in what form? By “revealing His mystery,” through the gospel. Why did the gospel come to us? It was God’s good pleasure. How was God’s good pleasure effectually worked in our lives? It worked because of the powerful administrator Jesus Christ and His mighty sovereign mediatorial government.
Ephesians, you were dead in sins, worshiping ugly Artemis, it was impossible to save you. You know why you are saved and now blessed with heavenly wisdom. You know why you have this now while millions are listening to these motivational, stupid preachers and being deceived for years. You know why God saved and opened your eyes? Because Christ is the powerful and efficient administrator of every purpose of God in this gospel age.
The Father plans, elects and predestines, and appoints Christ as the administrator to implement the plan. He first purchases a perfect redemption on earth and goes to heaven. Now with all authority in heaven and on earth, He reigns, intercedes, and effectually applies and implements every one of God’s redemption purposes. It is because of His mediatorial reign that you and I were snatched from the devil’s mouth and are sitting in God’s house today. This powerful administration will go on until He saves us to the utmost. No power in the universe will be able to resist this sovereign government.
This is grand beyond comprehension, but the thought is clear: anything in this life is not left to drift or operate for itself. They are all under the government of Christ. He, as the administrator of God, takes all things in heaven and on earth and makes all things work together for good for them that love God and for His church, and for every individual in it. Yes, it may all seem confusing today because the house is under construction, but when the final house is completed, you will be amazed at His work.
Future: There is a future universal aspect of this government. That is why it says everything in heaven and on earth. See, God has a huge, huge plan. We are so narrowed and small-minded. God is broad, large-minded, and His administration and plans are so beyond our imagination. God’s plan to manifest the riches of His grace to the eternal praise of the universe not only involved personally saving us but also to completely restore the universe, all in heaven and on earth, to a glorious and perfect state and give us new heavens and a new earth as our eternal inheritance.
The first step of that is to redeem us personally and forgive our sins. That is the first stage, but there are great universal implications of Christ’s work. His work will not just personally save us, but restore the whole universe from the power of evil. We need to realize the cross of Christ had a tremendous impact on the whole universe. It made Him the only eligible administrator to redeem the whole universe again and make everything new. He will restore new heavens and a new earth for His people as an inheritance. This is all part of the gospel. This is the amazing mystery of the gospel. Yes, we know the gospel a little bit, but so much of the glory of the gospel is still mysterious, so hard to grasp, and tremendously unbelievable.
All in heaven and on earth are summed up in Christ; everything becomes perfect. That is Utopia realized. Thomas More wrote a novel about an imaginary island where everything was perfect: politics, laws, people. The world has been trying to get to Utopia for thousands of years. Every politician who comes to power promises a Utopia. They all fail. Why? Because the Fall has affected not only mankind but even the world’s environment, animals, and land; the world is cursed, a sin-diseased world. The whole creation groans in childbirth for deliverance. This is a cursed, decaying world. You know why you and I get frustrated in life? We expect Utopia on this cursed world. Ladies, you expect perfection from a sinful husband. We expect perfection at home, at work, and we get upset.
Utopia comes when all is summed up in Jesus Christ. It is beyond our imagination, so glorious. Isaiah 11 talks about such marvelous things: the whole creation will be reconciled, not only man with God, and man with man, but man with the whole creation. Utopia! God’s administration is working out a definite and pre-purposed plan in our time. All the movements of history, governments, wars, and every small event in your life and mine are all moving toward this grand purpose: to be all summed up in Christ.
Applications
I titled this section “Vision of Christ’s Reign.” Our greatest need is to get a vision of Christ’s sovereign reign, just as Isaiah, whose life was so troubled with all the events, went to the temple and saw God on the throne, and that changed his life. So many things will change in our life if we get a glimpse of the powerful sovereign reign of Christ. Oh, may God open our eyes to get a vision of Christ’s reign! It will fill our life with praise, trust, and peace, whatever happens, and a new zeal for the gospel. Praise, trust, peace, and zeal for proper gospel work.
Praise: We need fuel to kindle the fire of praising God. This truth gives us several reasons to praise God. The central message of the Gospel is who Christ is and His work.
- Behold who Christ is, His uniqueness and the glory of His person in this verse. If the government/administration of all that God is doing in the gospel age, from the first advent to the second advent, is committed to Him in such a way that He has absolute power in heaven and on earth to carry out the Father’s purpose, this truth reveals the uniqueness and glory of His person. He is not just someone who shamefully died on a cross, but now the sovereign government of God is in His hands. All kings, governments, and all authority are under Him, and He will redeem the whole universe by His work. No created being; no angel, not even an exalted archangel, can do such a universal, impossible task. No one is worthy of this. He alone is worthy to open the seals of God because He is God Himself.
Have you taken time to grasp the exalted view of Christ that Scripture gives, developed very high thoughts of Christ, looked at Him deeply, stood amazed at His glory, and fallen prostrate before Him and worshiped Christ? Oh, the vision of Christ’s reign is our greatest need. Think of everything on earth, the vast earth, heaven, all billions of galaxies, all reduced to one sum in Christ. Christ is above all. How mighty He must be? Colossians 1:17 says, “in Christ all things consist,” or they hold together. God has put all rule and all authority under His feet. Not that He “shall,” but He has already put. So as we come today, we need to worship Him from the perspective of Ephesians 1:10. We worship a Christ who is God; we should fall at His feet with fear and trembling. Even in His humiliation, demons trembled and fell at His feet. The apostles were blown away at times by His power, rebuking the mighty sea, creating food, and healing all diseases. “Who is this?” And finally when He conquered death and stood in front of them, they fell down saying, “My Lord and my God.” He is King of kings and Lord of lords, the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last. Worship His majesty! All hail the power of Jesus’ name, let angels and the whole universe prostrate fall.
- Behold the glorious work of Christ. We often focus on Christ’s work in the past, and we focus on the future that He will return, but His present work is so often obscured. We have no clear understanding. But Paul says to these Ephesian believers, if you view your salvation rightly, you will not only praise Christ’s work in the past, for complete redemption and forgiveness of sins (verse 7), and praise Him for eternal inheritance in the future (verse 13). But you will praise Him for your present experience of grace as the fruit of Christ’s present work as the administrator of the gospel age.
It is Christ’s government that rules now. His administration doesn’t work as we think. This government is a mysteriously sovereign government. God should open our spiritual eyes to see that. All things may seem to be working against it, but it is actually fulfilling His plan. The Bible from the beginning shows us a model of how that government works. Joseph realized this wisdom in a small picture of his life and Israel. He said, about all the wrong things that happened to him, “You did it for evil, but God was ruling all this for good.” This is how you should remember the cross of Christ triumphed.
When Israel was downtrodden by Rome as slaves, Christ was born as a poor baby, grew, started His ministry, many followed initially, but most left Him. Religious leaders caught Him and killed Him on the cross. The disciples were so confused. “Nothing makes sense. What is happening? Jesus has completely lost. Where is His sovereign government?” You’d say it doesn’t seem to make much sense. There seems to be so little order, so little plan. “What is all this?”
Our Lord explains what is happening behind the scene in His high priestly prayer. He is not a little bit frustrated about events; very calmly, John 17:1-2 says, “Jesus lifted up His eyes to heaven, and said: ‘Father, the hour has come. Glorify Your Son, that Your Son also may glorify You, as You have given Him authority over all flesh, that He should give eternal life to as many as You have given Him.'” It doesn’t say “shall give authority in the future,” but “You have already given.” What is the purpose? To bring peace among the nations? No, “that He may give eternal life to those you have given.” Wow! Do you see how His administration works? When all seems visibly against it, it is actually winning and triumphing.
Psalm 2 majestically talks about His government: “Why do the nations rage, And the people plot a vain thing? The kings of the earth set themselves, And the rulers take counsel together, Against the Lord and against His Anointed, saying, ‘Let us break Their bonds in pieces And cast away Their cords from us.’ He who sits in the heavens shall laugh; The Lord shall hold them in derision. ‘Yet I have set My King On My holy hill of Zion.’ ‘I will declare the decree: Ask of Me, and I will give You The nations for Your inheritance, And the ends of the earth for Your possession. You shall break them with a rod of iron; You shall dash them to pieces like a potter’s vessel.'”
God is saying, “I will establish my administrator upon the throne and nothing will frustrate His purposes in working out My eternal decree.” Psalm 110:1: “The Lord said unto my Lord, sit thou at my right hand, until I make thy enemies thy footstool.” Now notice this last phrase of verse 2: “Rule thou in the midst of thine enemies.” He reigns in the midst of His enemies and uses His enemies. All governments, men, angels, and demons, including Satan, are His slave dogs accomplishing His purpose now.
So worship Christ for who He is, and worship Him for His mysterious sovereign reign. We are so small-minded. Selfishness blinds us. God is large-minded. God has a glorious plan He is accomplishing. These are huge concepts: election, predestination, administration. We are part of that. Oh, He is a big God. Come on man, how glorious these things are! Not stories, but the infallible Word of God. When you start believing this, you will serve God even in prison.
- Praise God by tracing your conversion to the government of Christ’s power. The great central purpose of this administration, according to John 17, is to give eternal life to those whom God chose. In Acts 5, Peter says, “Jesus whom you murdered by hanging on a tree. Him God has exalted to His right hand to be Prince and Savior, to give repentance and forgiveness of sins.” It requires all authority in heaven and on earth to save a soul. That should tell us what an impossible task it is to save any of us. Paul is full of praise because he was able to trace back his salvation. How did a Christ-hater, Saul, become the bond-servant of Christ, Paul? He never even dreamed of it. It was not by any accident, but because Christ is the mighty administrator of the gospel. How did the Ephesians, living such horrible paganism in the fortress of the devil, the Artemis temple, were able to come out into the gospel light? Think of yourself. How did you come to Christ? I was attending a relative’s marriage last week, remembering all my upbringing, our culture, our religion, which people have built for thousands of years. I wondered how I could leave such a strong religion, with its many attractions, the power of the devil, the attraction of the world, and flesh-pleasing ways holding us. How can anyone leave flesh-pleasing, proud ways and come humbly as a depraved sinner to Christ? Why didn’t we run into 1001 false teachings, but came to the true gospel?
Paul helps us to see the mighty spiritual power that happened in the conversion of the Ephesians and in our own conversion. You were brought into the blessings of the gospel because of the mighty Christ, who runs an administration with all power in heaven and on earth. Such an almighty government was needed to save you. That is the only reason you are in Christ. The devil, the world, and the flesh held you as an eternal captive and said, “I’ll not give them up.” And the world said, “We’ll not give them up, we will hold them captive.” And King Jesus said, “They are chosen by the Father, and I have redeemed them by My blood. I, with all My authority, will release them.” And He stretched out His mighty power, and all those 1001 enemies couldn’t do anything. We were released from 1001 chains and bound as captives. We were freed. Oh, praise God for this Christ’s sovereign government.
Join the apostle Paul and praise God for verse 10, as he traces his salvation and all that grace saving you and the grace continuing to come to you even today is a result of the all-powerful administration of Christ. It is a result of the success of His administration. Christ is the mighty administrator of the gospel.
- Trust this government/administration all your life. You will live with divine peace and comfort. If Christ is on the throne, all is well. God has a determined plan. Nothing can change this plan. At a personal level, the great purpose of His administration is to grant eternal life to you—not like these false prophets who promise blessings, money, riches, and healing. He will bring every event in life for your sanctification. He will control everything to achieve that. Learn to see that is what He is doing in your life.
At a universal level, all world history, nations, wars, our government acts, political tensions, confusions, every confusion in your life, troubles, and trials, may all seem like a mess. All of it may seem meaningless, purpopseless, and chaotic, even in our own lives. Life seems so confusing. Great thinkers pull their hair out, asking “Why is this happening or that happening? What is the meaning of all this?” If you understand Ephesians 1:10, you understand something that has completely bypassed the great thinkers of our day: behind all this seeming confusion, an administration is working to sum up all things in Christ.
If Christ’s administration is true, then there is nothing really accidental, haphazard, or meaningless happening in this world and in our lives; not even the hopping of a sparrow or the loss of a hair on our head. Verse 11: “who works all things according to the counsel of His will.” All men are unconscious agents in His hands, even governments and politicians. Herod, Pilate. Pilate said to Jesus, “You don’t talk to me? I have the authority to release you.” Jesus said, “No, you are not in charge. You cannot do it unless it is given from above, unless my administration allows you to do it. My Father’s plan is that I should die on the cross. You with all Roman power cannot stop it.”
Think of all that God used for His plan. The envy of the Jewish leaders, the treachery of Judas, the timidity of Pilate, the cruelty of the Roman soldiers were all subservient to God’s designs and all fulfilled His inscrutable purposes. Who would suppose that these were successive steps to fulfill God’s plan, so that Christ dies, rises, and is exalted to the throne of heaven and the means ordained for the salvation of His chosen people? Yet that is what happened. By all these confusing events, many conflicting prophecies were fulfilled. That is how precisely His administration works in your life and the world now.
All confusing and innumerable events of every day seem to happen randomly and pass away without any particular effect. But He who sees all things from the beginning has ordained that a sleepless night, a traffic jam, forgetting a key, every sickness, every financial problem, every family problem, every disappointment, every trial in life, and even the sins of people will all accomplish His glorious plan.
In your life, it may all seem very confusing, even painful. But realize that the house is still under construction; we may see it as messy and confusing. On this side, we may say, like Jacob, that all these things in my life are happening against me. But a day will come when we will see from the other side, like Joseph, and say, “You did it for evil, but God used everything for the greatest good.” You will see how all this led to your sanctification and glorification. Let us strongly trust the promise of this great administrator: “All things work for our good.” Oh, what a different perspective a vision of Christ’s reign will give. It will fill us with praise, it will fill us with trust and peace in the midst of life’s different storms. Thirdly, this vision will give zeal to do gospel work properly.
This vision will give zeal to do gospel work properly. I say “proper gospel work” because there are thousands of wrong kinds of gospel work. The sadness of Christianity in our country is because of those wrong kinds of gospel work. This verse should teach us the right gospel work.
First, this truth shows us why the gospel triumphs in the hearts of men. Why does the gospel still triumph? It triumphs as the fruit of the administration of Christ. There is not one single gospel triumph that is not a monument to the mighty administration of Jesus Christ in this gospel age. We are all witnesses of Christ’s government’s success.
If we are to do proper gospel work, we must learn to base our expectation for the success of the gospel not upon our administration of the gospel, but upon Christ’s administration. All of your prayers, expectations, and efforts for the success of the gospel are not upon your cleverness or lack of it, your skill, or favorable circumstances for the gospel. No, the success of the gospel is rooted in the mighty government of Christ. That’s the core of its success.
Instead of making us lazy, what zeal and confidence this should give us to share the gospel in any circumstance with anyone. It is not purely based on how cleverly or nicely I said it, using the right words, at the right time and in the right place. No, if I faithfully share the gospel truth in the most simple way I know, the government of Christ will use it as a means and bring success.
That is what God taught Paul and made him a great missionary. He looked at Corinth. It had a grand pagan temple and was a city of uncleanness. He became scared, wondering if anyone would listen to him. The Lord comes to him at night and says, “Don’t be afraid, don’t stop preaching the gospel. I have many people in this city. I am the administrator of the gospel. Never forget it, Paul. You are just an instrument.” So he stayed for a year and a half teaching God’s word. A church started. How? Because of Paul’s wisdom? No, he says he came to them in weakness, fear, and trembling. It was the government of Christ.
This is the secret of the gospel: Keep looking at the government of Christ. When we look at ourselves and our situation, we will be scared, but when our focus is on Him, we see that He is reigning. He can even use a donkey’s speech to change people. He will give success. I just need to obey Him and share the gospel the best way I know. Then, souls will come, churches will be formed, and Christ will grow His kingdom through me.
Oh, a vision of Christ’s reign is the secret of all gospel success. Can I tell you this is the secret the Lord taught the apostles, which made them turn the world upside down? How does our Lord begin the great commission in Matthew 28? He didn’t begin with “go and preach.” Notice how He begins in Matthew 28:18: “And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, ‘All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth.'” This is a clear explanation of Ephesians 1:10. These are His last words; they should ring in the apostles’ ears always as they go into all the world. The first words are not “go,” no, first you must realize, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth.” First, you need to get a vision of Christ’s reign.
“Therefore go,” under what canopy and perspective? The perspective that “I am the administrator of the gospel task.” The success and accomplishment of your mission rest not upon you, but upon My government and authority. I, as the Lord of heaven and earth, command you. You must obey. When I go and I find men’s minds blinded, not at all interested in the truth of the gospel, what shall I do? Shall I accommodate the gospel to make it a little more attractive? Shall I decorate it with false promises, “if you believe, He will give you money, healing, give you what you want”? Shall I become a conman or a clown because no one listens to the gospel? Should I become a motivational speaker and make the gospel palatable to unregenerate nature? Never. I will go out in the consciousness that He’s the administrator with all authority in heaven and on earth. Success is in His hands. My job is to obey.
What is gospel work? It’s not going and saying something with blind zeal and somehow getting decisions, and then making a person a “double child of heaven” with false assurance. No. Preach the gospel, make disciples, then don’t leave them as orphans. No, baptize them. That is a technical term to gather them as a community of believers/churches and plant churches, visible communities of believers. The Great Commission is not to just go around and preach the gospel, but you are to plant churches. “I’m the administrator, not you. Do it as I command.” You may think you can do the job better by going out, preaching minimal basic truth, manipulating people to make decisions, and then going to another person or town. No, no, I am telling you, make disciples, baptize them, and don’t stop there. Verse 20: “teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you.” Establish a teaching ministry that builds them up into practical godliness. Not just teaching them theory, but teaching them to observe. Then comes the glorious promise of His presence and success in the work: “And lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age. Amen.”
Do you see how this vision of Christ’s reign will fill us with zeal to do gospel work properly? Isn’t the lack of this the reason all the wrong gospels are rampant in our country? Paul says Christ has appointed us, the church, for the task of the administration of the gospel today. How should we do it? We just follow Him. Even in our work, we obey the boss. He tells us, “This is my company. You are the manager. This is how you should manage this, step 1, 2, 3, 4.” If we just do one step and tell him, “Boss, I thought other steps were not required, non-essential, impractical. I just carried out what is practical.” He would say, “Fool, your job is to follow the administrator’s orders, not to evaluate and pass a sentence upon what was essential and non-essential. I am the boss. You are fired.” The Lord Jesus, the great administrator appointed by the Father, speaks to us and gives us an administration. We should obey His orders and rule, not do what we like and call it ministry.
Our weakness as a church is that we are not active in gospel work. Oh, may God give us this vision of Christ’s reign, fill us with zeal and confidence and energy for praying for souls, and boldly sharing the gospel. When a church, like the New Testament church, gets this vision, that is when revival starts.
Practical Step
We planned this many years ago, but we didn’t continue. We need to revive a GRBC Gospel Sharing Experience. We share stories of how we shared the gospel. This is what many good churches do to encourage one another and train one another in gospel work. How do we share with a person from a traditional Christian background, or a person from a Muslim or Hindu background who has been saved?
Recently I have adopted a method with people from traditional Christian backgrounds. “Can I ask you a question? We all will leave this world. Do you believe that as soon as you die you will go to heaven and enjoy eternal life? John 3 says, ‘God loved the world that anyone who believes Christ will not perish but have eternal life.’ Do you have that assurance?” There are only three answers: “No,” “don’t know,” or “yes.”
If they say no or don’t know, then you can say, “You have not truly believed. See, you can hear about Christ your whole life and never truly believe.” You can share a story about looking at Christ in faith. A look of faith is about who Christ is and what He has done on the cross. That is what will save you.
If they say yes, I ask, “On what basis do you believe you will go to heaven?” Most times, they say, “Because I go to church, I am good.” “How good do you have to be to get to heaven? How many good works?” The Bible says you have to be perfect. We can explain the standard of the law, how lust is adultery, and how anger is murder. “Can you be so good?” As Spurgeon said, “Till men have faith in Christ, their best services are but glorious sins.”
When they are thinking, I mention the only way to go to heaven is by GFC, not KFC: by Grace, through Faith, and Christ alone. The only way you get to heaven is by trusting in God’s grace and believing in Jesus’ perfect work. He imputes His righteousness to me and takes my sin on Him. A transfer happens. One person who had been going to church for 40 years said, “I never heard that in my whole life.” I will tell you that is the sad condition of these traditional churches. They never teach the true gospel because once they hear the gospel and get saved, they cannot be kept under the bondage of their religion with its prayers, tithes, church attendance, and other religious practices. Most churches in our country teach that it is Christ plus this and that. No, it is GFC. It is all grace, it is only through faith, and you go to Christ alone. We have a great responsibility to preach this gospel of grace, because no one else is doing it. That is why our country is like this. Remember, the goal is to faithfully present the person and work of Jesus Christ in a clear, loving way, leaving the results to God.
A Few Words of Warning
You may be sitting here, thinking, “Okay, Christ is an administrator. What does that have to do with me? I don’t care.” My friend, you feel that way because the god of this world has blinded you. Just as a Christian rejoices that Christ is the administrator of the gospel age, so every unconverted person has to tremble that Christ rules, and you still have not submitted to His Lordship. His administration will bring terrible judgment and an eternal, unimaginable, unbearable punishment for you.
If God opens your eyes and makes you see one glimpse of Christ’s government, you will run to Christ. Because the CCTV camera of Christ’s government is watching you day and night under this administration, and it is continuously printing fine challans and punishments for every crime against this government. Imagine a big list. Nowadays, we can go to a website and see how many challans and notices from traffic police, or income tax demands, debts, defaults, and interest pending. We can even check our Cibil score. Traffic police don’t catch you immediately; they just update your record. A few years ago, I saw I had four traffic challans for 6,000 rupees and was shocked. I didn’t even know it was a no-parking zone, but I parked, so there was a challan. In the same way, if God opens His website of your challans, IT demands, debts, and interest, you will faint. Your Cibil score is bad because your sin debt has mounted to heaven, and in the gospel age, too.
You know the final work of Christ’s administration is to summon you into His presence, judge you for all your sin debt, and punish you until every last cent is paid back to His justice. You cannot, so He will eternally damn you into hell. Today you may be sitting here, and all this about Christ reigning and His government seems like a dream. But one day, Philippians 2 says everyone sitting here, this same knee, will bow, and this same tongue will confess, “Jesus Christ is Lord, He is the reigning king.” God will bring that confession out of your mouth. You will worship Him. He is worthy of all of this. God will wrench that confession from every being in heaven and on earth. If that confession doesn’t come from your heart now, in this gospel age, it will come out on the Day of Judgment. By then it will be too late. Christ’s administration will result in one of two things for every man, woman, boy, or girl. He will either be your Savior now or He will be your judge to send you to hell.
Can I beg you this morning not to just hear and go? In your mind’s eye, look to Christ, keep looking at Him until He opens your eyes to see who He is, and what He did for you. That look of faith will save you from all your sins. May God open your eyes to see His glory and submit to Him in faith and repentance.
Grace Reformed Baptist Church, Bangalore 