GOD’S UNVEILED MASTERPIECE
Posted by Pastor Greg Allen on January 15, 2023 under 2023 |
Bethany Bible Church Sunday Sermon Message; January 15, 2023 from Ephesians 3:8-13
Theme: The church, made of all people who have been redeemed by the blood of Jesus, is the great masterpiece of the almighty God
(All Scripture is taken from The New King James Version, unless otherwise indicated).
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The word ‘masterpiece’ is often overused. Things sometimes get called ‘masterpieces’ simply to draw attention to them. That has led some people to be a little cynical of the word; and to say, “Who really has the right to call something a ‘masterpiece’ anyway?” But even though people sometimes dismiss the word as overused, there are still works of art that have been justifiably considered authentic ‘masterpieces’.
If you allow for the legitimacy of that word, what would you consider to be among the greatest ‘masterpieces’ in the world? Wouldn’t you agree that the word should be applied to such paintings as Leonardo’s Mona Lisa—known around the world for its haunting ‘smile’? Or how about Van Gogh’s Starry Night—a work of art that has perhaps been reproduced and represented on products more than any other? Or how about The Scream by Munch? Or Vermeer’s iconic Girl with The Pearl Earring? And of course, think of Michelangelo’s Creation of Adam in the Sistine Chapel—and, of course, his sculpture David. Or think of literature. Many believe that Moby Dick is the greatest American novel—the masterpiece of Herman Melville. And think of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby; or Harper Lee’s To Kill A Mockingbird. Or think of music. Wouldn’t you agree that Beethoven’s Fifth is a genuine masterpiece?—or Vivaldi’s The Four Seasons?—or Wagner’s The Flight of The Valkyries—or, of course, Handel’s Messiah? Even if you thought the word ‘masterpiece’ was over-used, you’d have to admit that these all deserve the name.
What qualifies something to be called ‘a masterpiece’? Far greater minds than yours and mine have struggled to answer that question. But at the most basic level, it seems that a true ‘masterpiece’ is a work of craftsmanship of some kind that receives universal recognition and praise for its outstanding display of richness, wisdom, creativity, skill, and timelessness. It impresses us as having a particular uniqueness—a one-of-a-kind thing—that gives it tremendous worth and value. As one friend suggested to me, “A masterpiece is a work that must be revered and respected.” And do you notice that, in naming these great works of art, I also mentioned the names of the artists? It seems like a natural thing to do. Their names will always be associated with their works; and that’s because, in some remarkable way, a true masterpiece always displays something marvelous about its creator.
And dear brothers and sisters in Christ; based on that criteria, I ask that you join me this morning in admiring what is—without question—a true masterpiece. It’s described for us in Ephesians 3. It deserves to be considered the greatest masterpiece of them all; because it is God’s own masterpiece—worthy of being revered and respected. It is greater than any other of His vast created works; because, out of all of the other things that He has created in this material universe, it alone is the only one that will be admired throughout eternity. It’s the masterpiece that He Himself loves and cherishes above all others.
And what is this masterpiece of God? It is His Church. I don’t speak of the mere ‘building’ that we call ‘the church’; nor of any denomination or organization that defines itself as ‘the church’. Rather, I speak of the whole assembly of all human beings—throughout history—who have been redeemed by the blood of Jesus Christ, united to Him by faith, and destined by God to share forever in Jesus’ eternal glory. The Church of the redeemed truly deserves to be thought of by us as the greatest ‘masterpiece’ of them all—the Masterpiece of Almighty God Himself—the masterpiece of His grace.
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It was about this greatest of all masterpieces that the apostle Paul wrote in Ephesians 3:8-14. And it’s very interesting to think about his own relationship to this great masterpiece; because he had been given the unique privilege from God of revealing it to the world. Like a great work of art that had been covered by a veil, Paul felt honored that he—as it were—got to pull the rope at the great unveiling.
In writing to his believing Gentile brothers and sisters in Christ, Paul said;
To me, who am less than the least of all the saints, this grace was given, that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ, and to make all see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the ages has been hidden in God who created all things through Jesus Christ; to the intent that now the manifold wisdom of God might be made known by the church to the principalities and powers in the heavenly places, according to the eternal purpose which He accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord, in whom we have boldness and access with confidence through faith in Him. Therefore I ask that you do not lose heart at my tribulations for you, which is your glory (Ephesians 3:8-13).
He was in prison when he wrote those words. He had been put in shackles and chains because of how he proclaimed the love of God for fallen humanity through the cross of His Son Jesus. Paul suffered greatly for his God-given task of unveiling this masterpiece to the world. But he still counted it a magnificent honor to be allowed to preach—as he said in verse 6—“that the Gentiles should be fellow heirs, of the same body, and partakers of His promise in Christ through the gospel”.
This masterpiece had been veiled in times past—“hidden in God” from the beginning of the ages as a “mystery”; but only now—at the right time—being put forth on display for all to see. And what a privilege and honor it was that had been given to Paul! Just think of it! He—who had formerly been a persecutor of the church—had been converted and brought to faith in Jesus. He had been made a part of this great masterpiece. And now; it had been given by God to him—of all people!—to unveil it and declare it to the world!
I wonder, dear brothers and sisters; do you and I appreciate what a privilege it is to be a part of this great work of God called the Church? Do you appreciate what an honor it is for you and me—individually—to be a recipient of His grace; and more, to then be united together with all redeemed people in order to constitute His greatest of created works?—His greatest masterpiece in Christ—His Church of the redeemed? Do you consider it a great honor to proclaim the gospel of the Lord Jesus that invites others to become a part of this masterpiece by faith?
I hope that you never speak badly of the Church. Yes; it’s true that it has its faults and problems on earth. It doesn’t always live up to the measure of what it truly is. As the Bible tells us, it has not yet been revealed what we shall be. But the Church is still very much worth loving, and serving, and giving ourselves over to protect, and build up, and purify. It is God’s great masterpiece of grace; and it is destined to be admired throughout eternity.
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So then; let’s look at what Paul wrote; and together, let’s admire the qualities of this great masterpiece of God.
Now; a true masterpiece is something to which the artist gives his or her very best. We admire a recognized masterpiece because the artist poured all that he or she is into it. And this is literally true with the Church—the great masterpiece of God. As members of Christ’s body—the Church—we have been adorned with all the riches of Christ Himself. And so, the first thing that we see about the Church is that …
1. IT RECEIVES ALL THE BLESSINGS OF CHRIST’S RICHES.
God the Father has poured all the blessings of Christ upon His Church; and all the riches of the Lord Jesus now belong to us as a free gift of God’s grace. In verse 8, Paul wrote; “ To me, who am less than the least of all the saints, this grace was given, that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ …”
Think of what Paul told us at the very beginning of this letter. He said, in Ephesians 1:3;
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ … (Ephesians 1:3).
What are those riches? Much of what Paul wrote in Chapters 1-2 describes them to us. But even then, we could never list them all. They are—as Paul said—“unsearchable”; meaning that we could never, in our frail humanity, fathom the full extent of them. They are as unlimited as the glory of Jesus Himself. But Paul prayed that we would grasp at least something of them—and apply them to daily life. As he will go on to say in verses 14-19;
For this reason I bow my knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, from whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named, that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man, that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height—to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God (Ephesians 3:14-19).
The Church is that upon which God has poured out all the glory and heavenly riches of His own beloved Son Jesus! Just think of what a great masterpiece the Church is—of which we, dear brothers and sisters, have been made a part!
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Now; another thing about a truly great masterpiece is that it’s never an accidental thing. It is the product of careful thought and preparation. In a great piece of music, or a great sculpture, or a great painting, there is an obvious, discernable intentionality. That great work may be kept hidden by the artist from public view until the work is ready to be seen. But once it is finally revealed, it’s obvious that it is a product of careful design and purpose.
And this is true of the great masterpiece of God—the Church. And so, another thing that this passage tells us about God’s Church is that …
2. IT REVEALS THE HIDDEN INTENTION OF GOD THE CREATOR.
The Church had been kept a ‘mystery’ through the centuries of the Old Testament era—although the prophets of old were given fleeting glimpses of it now and then. But in verse 9, Paul expressed the privilege he felt of preaching the revelation of it; “and to make all see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the ages has been hidden in God who created all things through Jesus Christ …”
The Church—this great masterpiece—was something that He had intended to bring about all along. In Colossians 1:24-27, he wrote;
I now rejoice in my sufferings for you, and fill up in my flesh what is lacking in the afflictions of Christ, for the sake of His body, which is the church, of which I became a minister according to the stewardship from God which was given to me for you, to fulfill the word of God, the mystery which has been hidden from ages and from generations, but now has been revealed to His saints. To them God willed to make known what are the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles: which is Christ in you, the hope of glory (Colossians 1:24-27).
Just as is true of any great masterpiece, this greatest of all masterpieces—the Church—reveals the hidden plan of God our Creator! It shows that, all along, He had planned to redeem fallen sinners through the blood of His Son, and to unite them together into one new body.
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Now; in any great masterpiece, along with how it reveals a great intentionality and design, it also reveals the profound wisdom of the planner and designer. No one today could ever create what only Michelangelo created, or compose what only Handel composed, or paint what only Van Gogh painted. These are works of unique genius. They display the wisdom of the artist to the careful and attentive viewer.
And that’s what we also find to be true of this great masterpiece of God that is called the Church. As this passage shows us …
3. IT DISPLAYS GOD’S MANIFOLD WISDOM TO ALL.
Paul wrote in verse 10 that this great hidden plan of God—this great mystery—is proclaimed in the preaching of the gospel, “to the intent that now the manifold wisdom of God might be made known by the church to the principalities and powers in the heavenly places …” The ‘principalities and powers in the heavenly places’ are the angelic beings who behold the majesty and glory that God brings about in His saints—redeemed from the fall and glorified with Jesus. And when it is all done, and when we will all stand before God in the full glory of Jesus Himself, those angelic hosts will behold it all and fall down in worship before God—adoring Him for what they behold of His wisdom!
You see; the angels are beings who do not experience what we experience. They don’t experience redemption. The fallen angels who—with Satan—rebelled against God cannot be redeemed from their fallen condition as we have been. And so, the elect angels of God—who have not rebelled against Him—look with great fascination at the whole project of our redemption. In 1 Peter 1:12, we’re told that the things that are brought about by the preaching of the gospel are “things which angels desire to look into”. They had studied what they could of the work of God in bringing about this great masterpiece—the Church; and they even now long to know more about it. Eventually, even the fallen angels—who are destined for judgment in the lake of fire—will see the glory of this great masterpiece and will be forced to acknowledge God’s glorious wisdom.
And in it all, the spiritual beings of the heavenlies see glimpses of the manifold—that is, ‘the multifaceted’—wisdom of God on display. They see how God worked all things together for the good of those He has loved, and has destined to be conformed to the image of Jesus. They behold something of the majestic wisdom of the Artist. Even today—as Jesus has taught us—“there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents” (Luke 15:10). As Dr. John MacArthur has put it, “In the classroom of God’s universe, He is the Teacher, the angels are the students, the church is the illustration, and the subject is the manifold wisdom of God.”1
Dear brothers and sisters; there is coming a day when the angels of heaven will behold us—the Church of all the redeemed—fully glorified and presented to our Lord Jesus Christ as His beautiful Bride; and they will fall down before God in worship and praise Him—with loud shouts of praise—for the magnificent manifold wisdom He has displayed in this His greatest masterpiece! What an honor it is to be a part of that redeemed assembly! What an honor it will be to be put on display as His masterpiece!
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Now; none of this was an afterthought. As Paul goes on to tell us in verse 11, this was all done “according to the eternal purpose which He accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord …” So, this tells us yet another thing about this great masterpiece …
4. IT’S THE FULFILLMENT OF GOD’S ETERNAL PLAN IN CHRIST.
You see; even when our first parents—Adam and Eve—had disobeyed in the garden, and brought the ruin of sin upon us all, the devil had thought that he had gained the victory. But God had already purposed in His heart to redeem fallen humanity by the blood of His Son. Jesus was—as it tells us in Revelation 13:8—“the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world”. It would be He who would crush the head of the serpent. And at the due time, Jesus—the Son of God—was born into the world to redeem us. He took the guilt of our sins upon Himself and paid the debt for us on the cross with His own blood.
Jesus Himself testified of this. When He prayed His great prayer in John 17—just before going to the cross for us—He said;
Now—in the fullness of time—this masterful plan has been revealed; and Paul got to proclaim it. We are the beneficiaries of it. The Church is the fulfillment of God’s eternal plan for the ages!
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Would you like to know just how much this great masterpiece of God is the fulfillment of His plan for the ages? It results in sinners like you and me now—by faith in Jesus—being given full and permanent access to the throne of God. We see it in verse 12. Paul says that it was fulfilled in Jesus Christ, “in whom we have boldness and access with confidence through faith in Him.” Bold access to whom? To God Himself! So; this shows us yet another thing to admire about this masterpiece called the Church …
5. IT GIVES REDEEMED SINNERS FULL ACCESS TO GOD.
Apart from God’s grace through faith in Jesus Christ, you and I could never approach God. We are fallen in our sin; and a holy God could never have sin in His presence. But Jesus has taken the full debt of our sin on Himself. There is now absolutely nothing that prevents a redeemed man or woman, in Christ, from entering into the fullest possible fellowship with God. We—as His redeemed people—can now come to Him freely and ask anything of Him as His beloved children. As it says in Hebrews 10:19-22;
Therefore, brethren, having boldness to enter the Holiest by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way which He consecrated for us, through the veil, that is, His flesh, and having a High Priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water (Hebrews 10:19-22).
The Church is the assembly of those that God has graciously called to Himself—having washed them completely clean in the blood of His Son. We never have to hold back. We may at times stumble, and fall, and fail. In fact, we often will. But we can now come to Him—as to a loving Father—for full forgiveness and restoration. He will always welcome us to Himself fully and freely; because He accepts us in His beloved Son, “in whom we have boldness and access with confidence through faith in Him.”
The Church is the full assembly of those who are accepted by God. What a masterpiece of His grace it is!
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Now; any great masterpiece is a priceless thing. A recognized masterpiece is cared for by professionals. Whenever there is a showing of such a painting or work of art, it’s protected by glass, and security guards are posted around it. A great deal of energy and cost is spent in making sure these works of art are preserved and properly cared for.
One such masterpiece was stolen. In 2004, Munch’s The Scream was stolen from a museum in Oslo. A year later, the thieves were arrested; but the painting itself wasn’t recovered until yet another year had passed. Once it was recovered, much effort was put into restoring it in order to make it available again for public display. It was a strange episode in art history that showed how much such things are valued; and how important it is to protect and care for them.
And this shows us one more thing about the Church—this great masterpiece of God …
6. IT IS WORTH EVERYTHING THAT IT MAY COST US TO SERVE.
I see this in what the apostle Paul said in verse 13. After saying all these things about the Church, he wrote to his brothers and sisters in Ephesus and said, “Therefore I ask that you do not lose heart at my tribulations for you, which is your glory.” He was willing to suffer for the cause of ministering to the growth and expansion and protection of this glorious Church; because it was worth it.
Jesus certainly thought it was worth what it cost Him. Paul once wrote to the pastors of the church in Ephesus and told them “to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood (Acts 20:28). And now, Paul himself was suffering for his service to the church; because he also knew that it was worth the cost. He said in Ephesians 3:1, “For this reason I, Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus for you Gentiles—”
And dear brothers and sisters; this masterpiece of God—the Church—is also worth whatever it may cost you and me to serve. Whatever it is that God has given us to do, in order to serve His precious church and cause it to grow, we should do it with all our energies.
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So then; the Church of the redeemed—the body of Christ—is truly God’s greatest masterpiece. It is a work of His creation that will outlast every other of His created works. It is treasured by Him so much that He gave His own beloved Son to secure it for Him as His own precious Bride.
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ; let’s join the angels in heaven in admiring this glorious masterpiece; and in giving praise to the wisdom of its Creator. Let’s love it, and serve it, and proclaim the gospel of Jesus upon which it is based. Let’s do what we can to protect its honor. And most of all, let’s make sure that we ourselves are a part of this glorious masterpiece by faith in Jesus our Redeemer.
1John MacArthur, Jr., The MacArthur New Testament Commentary: Ephesians (Chicago: Moody Press, 1986), p. 97.
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