Seating is God assigned and obtained by obedience
To close this section with one more example think back to the disciples, specifically James and John and their conniving mother. Recorded in Matthew 20 this Jewish mother went and knelt before Jesus. She asked Jesus to grant that one of her sons be at his right and the other at his left in his kingdom. Jesus does not deny that such a place exists or that it will be assigned. He deferred this to God the Father. Apparently, those were places people have been prepared for, but God the Father was the preparer. Jesus, like us in this context, is subject to God the Father. He leaves no question on this matter. Neither does he hint at any jealousy of it. 1
Coming back to this letter, Paul compared the power God used to place Jesus in this position as the same power, force, effectiveness God the Father was using in the lives of the Ephesian Christians.
The power for the Ephesians was according to the yet to be displayed power of God in where he sat Jesus Christ.
We are like the Ephesians
The next lesson will focus on the 22nd and 23rd verses, but note how that 22nd verse speaks of the church universal. God’s plan was not just for Israel, or Jerusalem, Judea or even Ephesus. His plan was global and forever. He holds out his hope to all people. We should recognize that while Paul wrote to the Ephesian Christians, the word are pertinent to us. The work God did in Jesus was according to his plan.
Things to consider in light of this:
- God calls us to his version of hope (not ours)
- God calls us to the riches of allotment in his kingdom (not ours)
- God’s power is toward his ends (not ours)
- In God’s plan is the hope, riches, power that will best fit with our rest and place in his kingdom
A conclusion
Maybe you have heard of J.R.R. Tolkien? Perhaps you can frame some knowledge of him as an author from the movie series: The Lord of the Rings. Few recognize that the world of his imaginations stretched far beyond his famous written trilogy and its prequel: The Hobbit. Dying in 1973, he was unable to publish those broader stirrings of his mind-craft.
He had a son, Christopher Tolkien, who took up his legacy. The Weekly Standard published an excellent article by Hannah Long entitled The Steward of Middle Earth. Christopher Tolkien’s life work unfolded as a stewardship of his father’s 70 boxes and thousands of pages of imaginations. In August of 2018, he concluded more than 40 years of editing and assembly with presumably the final Tolkien publication: The Fall of Gondolin.
The imaginarium of J.R.R. Tolkien was broad. He started it off, and his son concluded it. What humans do in their imaginations God did with his words making a real world and putting independent creatures, people, in it. God effected the pinnacle of human history by sending his son on a search and rescue mission within the creation.
The analogies between the Tolkiens and God are imperfect, but God’s plan continues to unfold. If we respond to the recruitment offer, we will find all we ever desired. Finding and obtaining come by obedience just like Jesus, but God’s version of hope, God’s version of allotment and his immeasurable power are trustworthy. He will conclude all he has started, and it is not imaginary.
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