Thought for week ending 29 August

Ephesians 3:10-12

¹⁰ God’s purpose in all this was to use the church to display his wisdom in its rich

variety to all the unseen rulers and authorities in the heavenly places. ¹¹ This was his eternal plan, which he carried out through Christ Jesus our Lord.  ¹² Because of Christ and our faith in him, we can now come boldly and confidently into God’s presence.

There’s something within this passage of scripture I hadn’t noticed before, or else, it didn’t previously draw my attention.  When you read a novel, there is a beginning, a middle and an end.  It can entertain, it can tell an interesting story and once you finish it, you move on to another.  You wouldn’t normally keep going back to the one you had just read or any other that you had previously read. The next one may be just as good, not so good or even better, you read that one and move on.  It is a relaxing way of spending time, it might not be for everyone, but for many, it is the way to chill and there’s nothing wrong with that.  With the bible, it’s different.  The bible makes you think, the bible speaks to you on a personal level, it contains many stories, one of which is said by believers to be ‘the greatest story ever told’ and you repeatedly need to go back to it, and each time you do so, it will speak to you in different ways.  It will affect you differently at different times in your lives although the core messages will be the same. 

In verse ten of today’s passage,  Paul teaches us that ‘God’s purpose in all this was to use the church to display his wisdom in its rich variety to all the unseen rulers and authorities in the heavenly places’  Surely when the church is mentioned in this context, it is a much greater concept than being part of a congregation, part of a presbytery or even part of a national church, it is much, much bigger than all that. 

The bit that stood out for me was the mention of ‘the unseen rulers and authorities in heavenly realms’.  Firstly, it assures us there definitely is a heavenly place where our souls will go when this life comes to an end.  I guess we’ve all at various times in our lives wondered what heaven might be like.  Any time I’ve thought about it, never at any time before now, did the concept of heavenly rulers and authorities cross my mind.  Will these rulers be angels or another form of heavenly being?  It also makes me wonder if there is more than one ‘heavenly place’.  It makes me wonder if there are heavenly places for the redeemed and heavenly places for those who did not have Christ in their lives.  Are there heavenly places inhabited by Satan and his followers?  When rulers and authorities are mentioned, it suggests that it is not just a few people that will enter heaven.  Rulers and authorities are required when large numbers of people are involved and require to be guided and organised.  I can only imagine that organisation will be fairer and considerably  more efficient than what we see coming from the rulers in this world, both nationally and internationally.

We are reminded that God has a plan and that it is a plan that will most certainly be fulfilled as with all other biblical prophecies and predictions, in a time that is of God’s choosing.  As a part of the Global Church, all we can do is to believe and pray and do all we are capable of in living the way God would have us live.  If we have an opportunity to share our faith, we should take it.  If anyone asks us why we believe we will go to heaven at the end of this life, our answer should always be ‘because of what the Lord did for me – it is all down to Him and nothing down to me other than my belief in Him’.  Nothing in my hands I bring, simply to the Cross I cling.

Prayer

Heavenly Father, we thank you for your glorious plan of redemption and your manifold wisdom beyond anything we can comprehend, that your plan of salvation should be kept hidden from the enemy of our soul so that he was unable to interfere with the triumph of the Cross, the glory of the Resurrection, and the mystery of the indwelling Holy Spirit within the Christian Church.  We thank you that we are part of that redeemed company who, in the ages to come, will show forth your immeasurable glory and over-abounding grace, to your praise and glory. We thank you, in Jesus' name, Amen.