Ephesians 1:7-9
"In whom (in Christ) we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace; Wherein (Grace) he (Christ) hath abounded toward us in all wisdom and prudence; Having made known unto us the mystery (or secret) of his (God's) will, according to his good pleasure which he hath purposed in himself."
Guess that I must say this that when we understand the mysteries or secret things which God held within Himself and told the Prophets of old NOT to write or reveal what they had been shown that this is what we're NOW to know. Namely this that as John wrote and is recorded in the first chapter of his letter is this that Jesus when He was received back into Heaven and was declared the SON of GOD that from that moment on all of which we know as Faith, Grace, Love (charity), Revelation, and Truth is nothing short of CHRIST Himself. For He is the Holy Spirit who has been given to man and when man/woman have become a willing recipient of Him in His ontological essence or form. He as both the Father of spirit's and Christ then dwells in us and begins the operation of our total salvation. And Remember, we made the comment that everything begins and ends in and with God. Especially when we teach the covenants with regard to the Old Testament, when God made that Covenant with Abraham in spite of all the weakness and iniquity of the Nation of Israel, and the children of Abraham, did it break the Covenant? No, because you see it began with God and it's end is with God or in our case with Christ Himself. And why is this so? Because the fulness of the Godhead was in Jesus while He ministered to Israel. And because He swore by no one greater than Himself in other words He made all His covenants between Himself and the promised Son who was yet to become materialized in the flesh of man as the "son of man" this is to say the second Adam but without our sin nature.
Hebrews 6:13
“For when God made promise to Abraham, because he could swear by no greater, he sware by himself.” (Genesis 3:15, 22:15-18; Isaiah 45:23; Jeremiah 22:5, 49:13; Micah 7:20)
And it's the same way with all these promises of Scripture, they begin and end in God Himself. Now verse 10.
Ephesians 1:10a
"That in the dispensation (or administration or that period of time) of the fulness of times..." (Daniel 2:44; Amos 9:11; Micah 4:1-2; Malachi 3:1 and 1 Corinthians 10:11)
In other words, when human history will finally be brought to the full, when time and the material world will finally wind-down, and we feel that's it's going to be 7000-10,000 years in total duration. We've already come 6000 years, so we know there's a 1000 years left which no doubt will be this fullness of time we see in this verse which is still awaiting the human race. However God is in control and His meanings and purposes may have already taken place with His setting all things straight and in order through His Son. Now continuing on, and we've got to keep the thought here. Remember "having made known unto us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure which he hath purposed in himself." Remember God is Sovereign, and He can do it anyway He sees fit. God can keep things secret if He sees fit, and we saw that He did until He reveals many of these things to the Apostle Paul. Here's how it works out for us, we may hear God's voice and words but we don't always comprehend just what His intent is in them. Because we don't know the enigma of the interim or the timing from God's perspective. Now there is going to be the fruition of the whole program.
Ephesians 1:10
"That in the dispensation of the fulness of times (when it will all wind up) he (Christ) might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; even in him:"
Now most of us know where we're going next already, but before we go back to that we would like for you to turn ahead a few pages to the Book of Colossians chapter 2. We could just about go back to verse 1, we have to drop in at verse 8.
Colossians 2:8-9
"Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, (Wow! That hits a lot of people right in the face doesn't it? Oh how many people hang onto tradition and customs? Here we're warned against it. Be careful, don't hang on the traditions or customs of men, in other wards don't do as your fathers have done and) after the rudiments of the world (these are the old Jewish system), and not after Christ. (Why?) For in him (Christ) dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily."
All the Godhead was and is in Christ epitomized, and that's what it says. He is up there in Heaven, not in some invisible mist like spirit world, but bodily! The same body that He left with at the Mount of Olives in Acts chapter 1, and ascended into glory. And why does the church and those outside of it play down, make light of and deny Christ? Because they have NO knowledge of Him and for many they stand in refusal or denial of Him. Even though some have graduated from Bible-schools and institutions of higher learning which were Bible based. It has been our experience that many have learned more about business and business management than they did of Christ and the New Covenant or even Grace. This is not to put them down but is for our learning not to do as they have done or are currently doing. Why? Because as John the Baptist and Jesus both told the priests, they were blind guides leading the blind and we're NOT to be one of them. Now before we go back and take a run at our timeline again come back to Ephesians 1, because repetition is the only way these things finally soak in.
Ephesians 1:9b-10
"...according to his good pleasure which he hath purposed in himself (Psalm 2): That in the dispensation of the fulness of times (when God is going to deal with the human race in a particular way, which we call the 1000 year reign of Christ, which is but one scenario) he might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and on earth, even to him:"
Okay, Heaven and earth. Take your Bible and let's go back to Genesis 1:1, and we'll find way back here that we're going to have the earth made ready for Adam and Eve. But even before we get to the Abrahamic Covenant of Genesis chapter 12 where it all of a sudden becomes a reality, in verse 1 of the Bible we have two spheres of God's influence and what are they? Heaven and Earth. Now remember what we just read in Ephesians? That He might bring into one all things in Christ, both which are in Heaven and on Earth. Now we can't ignore that. We're going to separate them, and then we're going to see how they all come together. But here in Genesis 1:1 we find -
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