This is a great letter, the Ephesian
letter, how rich it is with a way of salvation. But we're beginning
in verse 7, chapter 1, going through verse 12, and I would
call your attention to the 10th verse as we go across it. Because here is something that
Paul has thrown in that has a lot for us to consider. Ephesians
1, 7 through 12. in whom we have redemption through
his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches
of his grace, wherein he hath abounded toward us in all wisdom
and prudence, having made known unto us the mystery of his will,
according to his good pleasure, which he hath purposed in himself."
Now watch verse 10. that in the dispensation of the
fullness of time he might gather together in one all things in
Christ, both which are in heaven and which are on earth, even
in him, in whom we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated
according to the purpose of him that worketh all things after
the counsel of His own will, that we should be to the praise
of His glory, who first trusted in Christ. Now verse 10 again,
that in the dispensation of the fullness of time, He might gather
together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven,
and which are on earth, even in Him. Colossians 1 and verse
20. And having made peace through
the blood of His cross by Him to reconcile all things unto
Himself, by Him, I say, whether they be things in earth or things
in heaven. Now, I would like to speak this
morning on this subject. The far-reaching effect of the
death of Christ. The far-reaching effect of the
death of our Lord. We usually think about it strictly
from the standpoint of salvation. We shall see that it goes broader
than that. Now, there are two things in
the Scripture which are absolutely amazing. And both of them, no
doubt, will tax our understanding which we learn from the Scripture. For both of them, we know, we
have heard and read and heard them preach. And yet, it is possible
that we might not have grasped the full extended truth that
is to be found in this place. that there is more involved in
these two things than we might have imagined. And then when
they are brought to our attention, and they are laid out before
us from the Scripture, then we easily recognize the blessed
truth that is there. Now, the two things that we want
to consider today are as follows. Number one, the far-reaching
effect and the consequences of sin, not just upon mankind, but
upon all creation. How far the reaching effects
of sin were upon the whole creation. We'll say more in a minute. Now
the second thing that we want to consider is basically our
subject and our text for the morning, and that is the far-reaching
reconciliation affected by the death of Christ when He died
upon the cross. That our Lord's death had an
effect and a reconciliation far beyond that of man and sinners
unto God. Now, I'd like to begin by an
illustration. I think both of these things
could be likened to the casting of a stone into a still body
of water. And the casting in of that stone
actually makes the greatest impact at the point where it enters
into the water. But the ripples are felt and
seen all the way to the bank or the shore in every direction. At the place where the stone
actually lands, there is the greatest splash, plunk, and the
greatest eruption, and the greatest upheaval, but then, as we know,
the ripple covers the whole face of the water all the way to the
edge. Who is there that has not stood
and done that, cast a stone into a body of water? Now, with that
in mind, there was a time if time it may actually be called,
when all of God's creation, all that God had made as He worked
and made all of that, it dwelt at one time in a very tranquil
peace, peace throughout all of God's creation. And there was
unity, unity in all of those that God had created. In that
time, all things were subservient unto the God who made or created
them. When God had created, not by
evolution, by the way, but in a creative week as described
in Genesis chapter 1, He then declared that all that He had
created was good. That it was very good. He looked
upon it in Genesis 1 and verse 31, and declared all that he
had made to be good and to be very good. He in the beginning
created the heaven and the earth. Genesis 1 and verse 1. And having created the heaven
and the earth, he then, as John Owen said, provided himself two
distinct families of being that they might serve him. And those
two families were, of course, the angelic family and the human
family, that each might give him his honor, that each might
worship him, that each might glorify the great God of heaven. The angels, being spirit beings
as to their nature and essence, he appointed to dwell in heaven
as their habitation. This was the habitation of the
spirit being, or the angels that God had created without number. Man, however, he placed upon
the earth in a garden, a beautiful garden, and a peaceful garden. The man was to dress it and was
to keep it, for the earth was very well equipped and very well
suited as a dwelling place for the man and the woman whom He
had created. In Psalms 115, in the 16th verse
we read, the heavens, even the heavens are the Lord, but the
earth has He given unto the children of men." I would like to temporarily,
if you would allow me, to yield the pulpit up for a moment to
Brother John Owen. that He might come before us
this morning and give us a description of the original creation. Says
He, quote, This order of things was beautiful and was calmly,
for each of the two beings had their own immediate dwelling
place, each were dependent directly upon God, and He was the immediate
head of them both, and he communicated directly with them." Thank you,
Brother Owen. Man in his image and his likeness. The angels as spirit beings. Capable of being in the immediate
presence of Almighty God and not be destroyed. Capable in
their original estate of fellowship with God and of living in His
presence. However, we know that all did
not live well thereafter. We know that sin entered into
the creation involving and touching and affecting two families that
God had created in the beginning. And some angels and the whole
human family apostatized away from God. They fell into sin
and fell away from God. For there were the angels that
sinned, Peter calls them, in 2 Peter 2 and verse 4. There were the elect angels,
1 Timothy 5 and verse 21. And all sinned in Adam as our
federal head, And the angels that sinned were cast down to
hell and reserved there unto the day of judgment. 2 Peter
2, verse 4. Not sparing them. God gave them
or provided for them no remedy. There was none to take hold of
the angels. Hebrews 2, verse 16. There was none to assume their
nature and bear their sin and redeem them. But for man, a Savior
was given to redeem those that had been chosen in Christ from
the foundation of the world." 2 Thessalonians 2, verse 13. Now, one thing is certain, and
that is that the Person of Christ, the eternal, everlasting Son
of God, is the very foundation, and yes, I'll say the very substance,
of the eternal purpose of God. Ephesians 3 and verse 11, according
to the eternal purpose which is purposed in Christ Jesus our
Lord. And there in verse 9, in Him
was hid the mystery from the foundation of the world. then was brought to light with
the appearing of the incarnate Son of God wearing our flesh."
So let's lay a premise as preparation for the two things that we wish
to consider this morning, such as the entrance of sin into the
world in no way took God by surprise or caught Him off guard. It did
not frustrate the God of heaven. He lost no control, for God's
sovereign purpose included the falling of man into sin. The entrance of sin into heaven
and into earth, even though for a time the harmony and the order
of the original creation was greatly disturbed. Man and earth
fell under a curse because of sin. And yet God had made an
eternal purpose, even before the world began, to rescue by
a promised Redeemer many of the sons of Adam. Now, our first
point for emphasis is that one that I stated. the far-reaching
effect of sin, the entrance of sin upon all things and creation. Now, does it come as a surprise
for any to hear that the entrance of sin had great influence beyond
the depraving of the human family? Sure, Adam and Eve became corrupt
in their natures and their very being. And death passed upon
them, or as Paul said, passed through them. They both lost
fellowship with God. They ran and hid rather than
meet God in the cool of the day in the garden. They were driven
out of paradise. They became naked and stripped
of their original righteousness. And they became cowards and they
became liars when sin entered into their nature. Now, man's
fall consists in two aspects, if we might keep them separate.
Number one is total depravity. That means that the entire being,
all faculties throughout man, every member and every faculty,
fell under the corruption of sin and entered into spiritual
darkness. Darkness upon the mind and the
will and the understanding and the affection. Total depravity. Man became totally depraved in
all of his being, in all of his nature. Now the second thing
is total inability. Not only did man become totally
depraved, but totally inability, so that in one's own self, in
their own strength, by their own wit or wisdom, they cannot
repent, believe, or turn to the Lord Jesus Christ. All who are
the children of Adam are a dead in trespasses and sin, and under
the dominion of sin. John Bryan, an old-timer, wrote
in the 1700s, and I quote, the seeds of all vice are in all
men, though all vices are not predominant in every person,
unquote. It is this sin with one, it is
that sin with another. This sin is hardly a temptation
to one, but it enslaves and bondages another. However, the ruin and
the confusion and the enmity, the effect of the curse of sin,
the destruction and the misery that came in with the entrance
of sin, are by no means confined or restricted only to the human
It is not possible that the effects and the consequences of sin should
begin and end with mankind, that is, affecting mankind only. Not possible that sin affect
man and man only and nothing else with which man has to do. For example, While yet upright,
man lived in a garden supplied with trees that were good for
food. They were pleasant to the eye.
A river ran out of the midst of the garden, Genesis 2, 8 through
10. His work was easy. His burden
was light. His conscience was then free
and easy before sin entered in. But when Adam is a sinner, the
earth is then cursed too as a direct result and connection to the
sin of Adam. God said to him, Cursed is the
ground for your sake. Here's the thing. God would not
allow a fallen Adam to live as a sinner upon the pristine earth
that he once had dwelled upon. Instead, it became curse. It was filled with weeds and
with briars, so that man now must get his living by the sweat
of his brow, that is, by the exhortation of greater labor. Paul, in Romans chapter 9 and
verse 19 through 23, tells us something about this. that creation
was made subject unto bondage or vanity. And, he said, it longs
for deliverance, but it will continue until the manifestation
of the sons of God. In their glorification, the sons
of God will inhabit a new and a better country. The promise
of the Scripture. Thus the most evident result
of man's sin the cursing of the earth. This we can see. Paul
tells us in Romans 1 verse 18, the wrath of God is revealed
from heaven against all unrighteousness and ungodliness of men who hold
the truth in unrighteousness. But some good expositors have
also written that the breach made, the damage done, by the
entrance of sin is much more extensive than that effect which
it had upon man and the earth. Now, let me say that this should
not surprise us to hear. We should not be surprised at
all to hear this breach began in heaven. The first breach of
sin was in the celestial realm. It was there that sin originated. in Lucifer, and where there came
a division between some of the angels and the other. Yes, we
could call them the apostate and the elect angels of God. There came a division between
heaven and earth. There came a division between
sinful men and holy angels. There came a division man against
man, that even though we be of the same species, great is the
enmity that reigns man against man, and in some degree between
the genders, male and female, and in a great degree between
Jew and Gentile. Oh, how great was the enmity
and the divide between the Jew and the Gentile for centuries
up until the death of our Lord. And most of it had to do with
religion, we know. And don't forget, man, the natural
man, the unregenerate man, is at enmity against God. He does not love God, nor Kenny. The enmity was mutual, I think,
on God's part as well. Else why would we read of God's
hatred toward the workers of iniquity in Psalm 5 and verse
5. Let's remember how God dealt
with the sin of men and the sin of angels. Number one, man. He did not send Adam immediately
to hell, condemn him and damn him for his sin, but He cast
him out of the garden And he cursed the earth upon which he
would live, but he gave a promise of one that would bruise the
head of the serpent. Genesis 3 and verse 15. There is the very first promise
of a Savior, a Deliverer, a Redeemer. So soon as they are fallen is
the promise opened like a beautiful flower. of one that would bruise
the head of the serpent. Secondly, let's look in the angelic
family. The angels that sinned, what
did He do? He cast them down to hell and
reserved them unto judgment. That's 2 Peter 2 and verse 4
again. And giving them neither a promise
of recovery nor a redeemer. to come and reunite or reconcile
them to God. So the question is, can we say,
based upon a text like, for example, Hebrews 9 and verse 22, that
there was some defilement of the heavens that needed cleansing
by the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ? Is this, as Owen thought,
a reference to gospel worship there in Hebrews chapter 9? So the entrance of sin went far
beyond the depraving of Adam and Eve and the family that came
out of them. Secondly, we want to go now to
the far-reaching reconciliation affected by the death of Christ
and His exaltation. That His primary purpose was
the redemption of sinners. Yes, He sent Him into the world
to save sinners. Yet according to other texts
in the Scripture, the death of the Lord had an effect boresome
fruit, had consequences beyond human salvation. Beyond the saving
of sinners of the flesh. Now, by the death of Christ,
look at our text in Ephesians 1 and verse 7. That's where we
are. In verse 7, Paul says, we on
our part have redemption. We have forgiveness of sin. We are redeemed. Our sins are
pardoned by the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ and His cross. The death that He died has saved
us. The full salvation is in His
body and death. And in the end of verse 7, this
redemption is according to the riches of His grace. That this
great salvation has as its essence the riches of His grace. Now here in Ephesians 1, we have
another one of those flowing phrases, if I may use that, for
which Paul is famous. He goes on and on. comma, semicolon,
and such like. Writing on and on. And having
mentioned, therefore, the grace of God in the end of verse 7,
the abundant measure, the superabounding of it in verse 8. And such grace
has abounded toward the people of Christ in spiritual understanding. For verse 9, they have been introduced
into that mystery which He has purposed according to His own
will and pleasure. Then Paul throws in verse 10. And let's stop and take a closer
look at that. Let's do like Moses. Let's turn
aside and see the glory that is here in this verse. It is
full. It is rich. It contains a very
great truth which we might overlook if Paul had not so freely spoken
about it in his writing. He has spoken the plan of salvation
so gloriously that we might run over this without catching the
full impact of it. Now, in verse 10, and again in
verse 20 through verse 23 of Ephesians 1, Paul speaks of the whole or of
the larger design in the death and exaltation of Jesus Christ. John Eady put it this way, quote,
the death of Jesus is described in this paragraph both in its
primary and its ultimate results, unquote. Its primary and its
ultimate result. For first, Paul declares, we
have redemption. We have forgiveness of sin. And secondly, there is, by one
and the same event, or the one death, there is a recapitulation,
there is a regathering, there is a bringing together again
things in earth and things in heaven. Goodwin wrote, Paul brings
forth the whole of God's design which he purposed in himself
so as to more glorify the grace and Christ the person. We consider
verse 10. It becomes very clear here that
Paul has in mind more than the saving of the elect. more than the union of the church
to Christ as His body. Now, these are primary purposes
in the death of the Lord, we freely admit. Still, His death
has an efficacy. That is, it has an intended effect
that goes beyond the saving of the elect, but is done by one
and the same death and suffering of our Christ. In verse 10 we
have, at least, I'm going to use some different version, but
we have in the King James Version here, the word dispensation. That in the dispensation of the
fullness of the time, He might gather together in one. Now the word here that's translated
dispensation, You can find it at least seven times, I know,
altogether in the New Testament. It's a long word in the Greek. Don't ask me to pronounce it. But just to note the ways in
which it is translated in other places in the Scripture. This
word, dispensation. You go to the Gospel of Luke
chapter 16 and verse 2 and verse 3. And verse 4, three times there,
Luke 16, 2, 3, and 4, it is rendered stewardship. It is a man who
is worried and concerned about his stewardship, but it's the
same word that we have here in Ephesians 1 and 10. Then listen to Paul in 1 Corinthians
9, and verse 17, he writes to them and he says, a dispensation
of the gospel is committed unto me." In Ephesians 3 and 2, if
you have heard of the dispensation of the grace of God which is
given to me to you, Colossians 1, 25, I made a minister according
to the dispensation of God which He has given me for you. In none of these places, none
of the seven, does the word have a reference to a period of time. It is stewardship that is in
view in this place. It is the administration of a
household. That's what the word means. To
manage an estate for another. To be A religious economy. And the word comes from the root
word meaning a house manager or a house overseer. One who
manages an estate. And so the word is stewardship
that we have here in this play. That the purpose of God might
be managed. That in the fullness of the time,
the time appointed by the Father, all things should then be gathered
together in one, in heaven and in earth. Now, we must have this
and bear this in our mind, for it is a fact that all things
have fallen into disorder and confusion because of and by the
instants of sin. And there is great estrangement,
one from another, because of the entrance of sin. Which on
the other hand means that all the disorder and all the confusion
and all the estrangement is because of the entrance of sin into God's
creation, particularly in the world. All of it comes from All
of it is produced by the entrance of sin. All division and hate
and separation and estrangement and such like. However, God the
Father has purposed together all things together again in
Christ and under the headship and management of the Lord, which
is done by the death that Christ died upon the cross. First of
all, God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself. 2 Corinthians
5, verse 19. Very clearly, God was in Christ
reconciling the world unto Himself. That is, He was overcoming the
enmity that they had against God, giving them a new heart
that they might know Him, Then secondly, in Ephesians 2, 13
through verse 16, God, through the death of Christ, has reconciled
Jew and Gentile together in one body. There was an enmity of
longstanding between the Jew and the Gentile. There was deep-seated
enmity. The Samaritan woman said the
Jews have no dealings with the Samaritans, especially on the
part of the Jew. Against the pagan nations, they
look down their noses in great disdain. And in Ephesians 2,
Christ abolished the enmity in His flesh, broke down the middle
wall of partition, which Paul says are the commandments and
ordinances that were against us, and reconcile Jew and Gentile
together in one body. For Christ's blood is the great
reconciling power that brings Jew and Gentile together in fellowship. Yet this is not the full sum
of the reconciliation made by Christ and effected by Him and
His death. Or in Ephesians 1, 10 again,
gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in
the heavens and which are on the earth. That verse that we
read in Colossians 1 and verse 20, having made peace through
the blood of His cross, by Him to reconcile all things unto
Himself, By Him, I say, were the things in heaven or things
in earth." Now, go back to 1 Tim and look at the word, gather
together. That He might gather together,
in Ephesians 1 Tim, it could and has been rendered to sum
up or to head up. In some versions you'll find
it that way. That He might sum up. That He
might head up. The word is again in Romans 13
and verse 9. Translated in the King James
as, quote, briefly comprehended, unquote. Where Paul says, all
commandments are comprehended. That is, they are summed up. They are brought together. They
are put under one head. They are headed up in one commandment. Love thy neighbor as thyself. Here's that word again. I guess
the only two times that it is in the New Testament. Gather
together. Comprehend it. Summed up. Put
together under one common head. And the verses in Ephesians 1.10
and Colossians 1.20 refer not only or just to salvation, but
they include Heaven and earth, as we read. Now before we proceed,
let's enter a few more verses into the record as evidence,
as being relevant to the subject that is now at hand. Listen to these verses. Take
them down. I won't go slow enough for you
to turn, probably. But Acts 3 and verse 21. Speaking of Christ, Peter does. He says, "...whom the heaven
must receive until the restoration of all things." The passage in
1 Corinthians 15, 24-28. And in verse 24 particularly,
Paul says, "...when he shall have put down all rule and all
authority and all power." Then in verse 28, "...when all things
shall be subdued unto him." Verse 25 and 26, "...he must reign
till he has put all enemies under his feet, and the last enemy
to be destroyed is dead." Paul mentions it again briefly in
Ephesians 1, 20-23, that Christ is raised from the dead, He is
exalted to God's right hand, far above all powers, and God
has put all things under His feet, and given Him to be head
over all things under the church. In Philippians 3.21 there is
a powerful verse, "...who shall change our vile bodies, that
they may be fashioned like unto His glorious body." Now this
is a grand and a glorious work. And how will the Lord Jesus do
this? For we are flesh, we are dust,
we are frail, We are earthly. The answer is this. It will be
accomplished in accordance with a power whereby he is able to
subdue all things unto himself. The great work that he described
upon the body will be accomplished by that great work or power whereby
he has the ability to subdue all things to Himself, to bring
all things under control unto Himself. Thus, while it is true
that Scripture became incarnate, suffered, died, rose again to
save sinners from their sin. And this is predominant in the
Scripture. It is the primary purpose of
our Savior coming. But they also teach us at the
same time that the effect of his death and of his exaltation
to the right hand of God will culminate in a gathering together. The subduing, the restitution,
if you prefer that word, all things, when he has put down
all of his enemies, including death, that all things be made
new all things subdued and brought together under the headship of
Christ. When sin is put away, when He
has done away with sin, when righteousness reigns throughout
the kingdom of God, when all that is disturbed by sin and
breaches of sin have been healed by the death of Christ. when
all enemies have been crushed under His feet, when order is
restored, when all has been done to the glory of God and of our
blessed Savior. But sin is put away forever.
It's lost its power, and it has been put away. It will never
again create disorder in God's blessed world. Let us never lose
sight of the fact that this is done by Christ, by His death,
by His work, by His great sovereign authority. Now one thing in closing,
do not think that this has to do with universal restoration. Some have taken these texts that
even the angels and even those in hell shall be restored to
God. by the death of Christ. I think that is not the meaning
at all. Not universal restoration of
all that have gone off from God, but all of the people of God
saved and brought safely to glory and all of the disturbances in
creation have been calmed by the death of Christ applied to
that and by His sovereign Lordship and conquering His enemies. so
that He is Lord, Lord of all. Praise the Lord for the work
of Christ. All right, please stand for a
word of prayer.