Welcome to the Gospel Reverb podcast. Gospel Reverb is an audio gathering for preachers, teachers, and Bible thrill seekers. Each month our host, Anthony Mullins, will interview a new guest to gain insights and preaching nuggets mined from select passages of Scripture in that month’s Revised Common Lectionary. The podcast’s passion is to proclaim and boast in Jesus Christ, the One who reveals the heart of God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. And now onto the episode.

Anthony: Hello friends, and welcome to the latest episode of Gospel Reverb. Gospel Reverb is a podcast devoted to bringing you insights from Scripture found in the Revised Common Lectionary and sharing commentary from a Christocentric and Trinitarian view.

I’m your host, Anthony Mullins, and it’s my delight to welcome our guest, Ted Johnston. Ted serves on the faculty at Grace Communion Seminary, where he teaches The Practice of Ministry, and Christian Counseling. He’s also the editor of the Surprising God blog. Before he retired in 2019 from full-time ministry, Ted served 32 years in ministry at Grace Communion International.

Ted, thanks for being with us, and welcome back to the podcast. And it’s been a minute since we’ve had you on here, so we’d love to catch up. How are you doing? What have you been up to? And especially, what has you experiencing delight these days?

[00:01:27] Ted: Thank you, Anthony. It’s great to be with you. In answering your questions, there’s a couple things I’d like to say. First, I want you to know how much I appreciate Gospel Reverb, and I’m thankful for opportunities to contribute. But I should also say that I’m thankful to be here at all. About two years ago …

Anthony: Yeah, amen.

Ted: … I had a massive heart attack, and by God’s grace I’m still kicking, just not very high. Which means I’m moving at a bit of a slower pace, and I do find, though, increasing delight in that pace, and that’s been a struggle for me in many respects. You know me. But through it all, I’m reminded more and more every day that Jesus has me in his grip, and for that I am very grateful.

[00:02:13] Anthony: Amen. And I just … your commentary on a slower pace made me think of a free documentary out there called Godspeed.

Ted: Yes.

Anthony: And yeah, you’ve probably seen it, but I love the aspect of it that Jesus moved about the area of Galilee at a speed of about three miles an hour, just walking at a slow pace. And maybe there’s something to this season of life that we’re both entering into, that we slow down, and it’s a good thing.

Ted: Yeah.

Anthony: We’re glad you’re here, Ted, and so excited to be talking about these texts today. So, let’s dive in.

Our first pericope of the month is Matthew 23:1–12. I’ll be reading from the New Revised Standard Version, the updated edition. It is a Revised Common Lectionary passage for Proper 26 in Ordinary Time, which is November 1.

Then Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples, ² “The scribes and the Pharisees sit on Moses’s seat; ³ therefore, do whatever they teach you and follow it, but do not do as they do, for they do not practice what they teach. ⁴ They tie up heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on the shoulders of others, but they themselves are unwilling to lift a finger to move them. ⁵ They do all their deeds to be seen by others, for they make their phylacteries broad and their fringes long. ⁶ They love to have the place of honor at banquets and the best seats in the synagogues ⁷ and to be greeted with respect in the marketplaces and to have people call them rabbi. ⁸ But you are not to be called rabbi, for you have one teacher, and you are all brothers and sisters. ⁹ And call no one your father on earth, for you have one Father, the one in heaven. ¹⁰ Nor are you to be called instructors, for you have one instructor, the Messiah. ¹¹ The greatest among you will be your servant. ¹² All who exalt themselves will be humbled, and all who humble themselves will be exalted.

So, Ted, Jesus warns against religious leaders who, “do not practice what they teach and who use spirituality to gain recognition and status.” How does the Gospel free us from the need to perform as a religious identity and instead invite us to participate in the authentic life Jesus already shares with us in the Father through the Spirit?

[00:04:37] Ted: This is a challenging passage for sure. I’d like to give a little context before I dive into your specific question. The three readings we’re going to look at in Matthew in this episode deal really with the topic of judgment, which typically we hear that word judgment, we think in very negative terms.

But what’s really important, I think, here to understand, is where these pericopes appear in Matthew’s story, and they’re all occurring during Holy Week, just hours before Jesus, who is our judge, takes our sin upon himself and goes to the cross and dies in our place. And I think it’s very intentional that Matthew is making the placement of these parables, which maybe Jesus gave other times too, but he puts them right there.

And here in Matthew 23, where Jesus previously had minimized confrontations with the Jewish religious authorities, he now directly targets them because he realizes his time is now, and he’s intentionally creating a confrontation. Whereas before, he was careful not to do that because it wasn’t his time, but now is his time. And he calls them out with no uncertain words of judgment for their abuse of their authority, which is God-given, but badly used. And Jesus says they are hypocrites who dishonor God by their unconcern for the problems, the heavy loads that their teachings create for ordinary people.

And for that, Jesus calls them to account. And so, these are harsh words, and you can read further in Matthew 23, you see hear his words are even harsher than these. But this is who Jesus is. And Matthew is making it clear that Jesus, the Messiah, is also the judge of humankind, and now he’s bringing judgment upon the religious leaders of the covenant people. And so that’s kind of the context in which we’re dealing with this.

[00:06:41] Anthony: He also said that the disciples already have one instructor, and it’s himself. It’s the Messiah.

[00:06:48] Ted: Yes.

[00:06:48] Anthony: And he said this instruction, “The greatest among you will be your servant.” So, if Jesus himself is the supreme revelation of the triune God, what does this self-giving servanthood, some call it kenosis, tell us about what God is actually like. And how might participation in the life of Father, Son, and Spirit reshape our understanding of leadership, authority, and what people deem great, as apparently the Pharisees are getting it wrong?

[00:07:17] Ted: Yeah, Jesus, of course, is speaking these words to his disciples, and there’s others listening in, presumably some of these religious authorities that he is calling into account. But he’s making it clear that his disciples, those who follow him, those who walk in the way of Jesus, are not to seek after status, but rather to follow him in taking the low places to serve.

Leadership, as Paul makes clear, is one of the Spirit’s gifts to the Church, and it is a very different kind of leadership than what is seen in these religious authorities. Jesus’ way of leadership is self-sacrificial, servant-like. And now, again, the context, as Jesus’ sacrificial death draws near, it is judgment time, but it’s a type of judgment that would not have been anticipated. It involves Jesus giving himself by dying to save sinners. It’s judgment wrapped in grace. And as Matthew is making clear, Jesus is the judge. And this judge is the grace of God.

[00:08:23] Anthony: Yeah, I’m sitting next to … I’m in a kitchen setting. My wife and I are traveling, Ted, and I’m next to a stove. And when you said judgment wrapped in grace, I was thinking of how much I love — and this is just a weird analogy — how much I love asparagus wrapped in bacon.

Ted: That works great.

Anthony: I tell you what. Judgment wrapped in grace is so much better, isn’t it? That it is encased in the reality of grace, and of course, grace has a face, and that is the face of Jesus.

[00:08:52] Ted: I think another way to say that is that Jesus, who is the judge, God’s judgment that has been given to Jesus is inseparable from God’s love. Those are not two different faces of God. They’re the one face …

Anthony: That’s right …

Ted: … the one life of God. And as we’re going to see in these pericopes, grace precedes judgment.

[00:09:12] Anthony: Yes.

[00:09:13] Ted: That’s an important part of understanding as we get to the next pericope. That’s really important to understand, and even when we get to the third week in this month, that happening there, too. So, yeah, those are key issues to understand, otherwise one can really badly misunderstand the topic of judgment and somehow thinking judgment overthrows grace or is contrary to grace. It’s not the case at all. They’re all one together in the one person of Jesus.

[00:09:47] Anthony: That’s right. That’s right. Held together in Jesus Christ. It cannot be bifurcated artificially …

[00:09:52] Ted: Amen.

[00:09:52] Anthony: … or we end up in bad places. Amen.

All right, let’s move to our second passage of the month. It’s Matthew 25:1–13. It is a Revised Common Lectionary passage for Proper 27 in Ordinary Time, November 8. Ted, read it for us, please.

[00:10:12] Ted:

“Then the kingdom of heaven will be like this. Ten young women took their lamps and went to meet the bridegroom. ² Five of them were foolish, and five were wise. ³ When the foolish took their lamps, they took no oil with them, ⁴ but the wise took flasks of oil with their lamps. ⁵ As the bridegroom was delayed, all of them became drowsy and slept. ⁶ But at midnight there was a shout, ‘Look! Here is the bridegroom! Come out to meet him.’ ⁷ Then all those young women got up and trimmed their lamps. ⁸ The foolish said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.’ ⁹ But the wise replied, ‘No! there will not be enough for you and for us; you had better go to the dealers and buy some for yourselves.’ ¹⁰ And while they went to buy it, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went with him into the wedding banquet, and the door was shut. ¹¹ Later the other young women came also, saying, ‘Lord, lord, open to us.’ ¹² But he replied, ‘Truly I tell you, I do not know you.’ ¹³ Keep awake, therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour.

[00:11:24] Anthony: This parable is often interpreted primarily as warning, and it is warning, and I don’t want to dismiss that at all.

Ted: Yeah.

Anthony: Because it says, “Be ready, and you might be left out.” But if Jesus is the bridegroom and who has been lifted up to draw humanity into the life and fellowship of Father, Son, and Spirit, how might that change the way, or does it, our understanding of the call to keep watch? What does readiness look like when it’s rooted in relationship rather than fear?

[00:11:55] Ted: Just a reminder, again, of the context. This is the period of time during which we refer to as Holy Week, and the theme is Jesus teaching about being ready through faith. Matthew 25:13 uses words that echo Matthew 24:42 with its admonition to keep awake, keep watch. So there, there’s something about readiness that is being addressed here.

The scene, of course, in this parable is a village wedding with young women, perhaps bridesmaids or friends or servants of the bridegroom, waiting to escort the bridegroom in a torch-lit procession as he brings his bride home. The lamps are probably torches that would be wrapped in oil-soaked rags and then put on fire and would burn for several minutes and then would go out.

Without a further supply of oil, they would go out as soon as they were lit or very shortly after. Thus, an important aspect of this parable, this I think is key, is the delay, the issue of delay. The inference being that there will be a long time until the appearing of Jesus. That’s the bridegroom. And note, and this is, I think, really important, that all 10 of these young women are included in the wedding party.

[00:13:17] Ted: And I think that speaks to the issue of a universal inclusion. The wise and the foolish are included.

[00:13:25] Anthony: Amen.

[00:13:26] Ted: That’s where it starts. It starts with grace. Yet all of them — and this is also, again, this issue of universal — all of them fall asleep during the long wait. So much for the wise.

Thus, the point is not that we should be on constant hyper alert, and sometimes this passage is used to make that point, but this is saying just the opposite. We’re not being called to constant hyper alert, but we must have the necessary provision for the wait. And who knows how long that wait is actually going to be as we think in terms of the period of time between Jesus’ first coming and second coming.

Now, this parable does not spell out exactly what that provision for that wait is, but it does point to the importance, I think it’s pretty clear, of faith in Jesus. The 10 young women are part of the wedding, yet only half of them exhibit that sort of faith. And those who do not, having been included, now exclude themselves.

And Jesus says to them, “I do not know you.” Which by the way, echoes the statement that Jesus makes in Matthew 7:23, in Jesus’ words of warning there. You can … Those who are preaching from this pericope might want to look at some of these other passages in Matthew where similar terminology is used. But here’s, I think, the point we want to take away. And once again, just like in the previous passage, Jesus is showing that faith in him is the sole criterion for judgment. And so, the question is this: do we or do we not in faith accept the inclusion we have with God in and through Jesus? And here the time has come when each person’s answer becomes evident.

[00:15:10] Anthony: I’m struck that the wise bridesmaids didn’t give their oil to the others. What do we make of that?

[00:15:17] Ted: Yeah, I don’t know. Let’s put it this way. I think sometimes a bigger deal is made of that than we’re probably asked to. Keep in mind in parables, there’s one main point. You don’t want to press the details on every little detail.

But I think maybe we could say this: this is not an issue about selfishness. It’s about the need for each person personally to trust Jesus. And so, what can be looked at as a communal happening also has a very personal application. And again, the issue is, do you recognize Jesus for who he is, your judge and your Savior? And so, there is a way in which one person’s trust in Jesus cannot be transmitted to another as though I can believe for you. I think I would take that from it, but I wouldn’t press it too hard.

[00:16:15] Anthony: Yeah, that’s an excellent point. We can only survive so long on secondhand convictions, right? We all need pastors, mentors, coaches and whatnot, but at some point, we stand on our own convictions, right? And therefore, because of our conviction that Christ is, as you said, our Savior, we’ll keep awake. But in doing so, we won’t worry so much about the day and the hour because we don’t know, right? So why waste our energies on that sort of thing?

[00:16:46] Ted: And the fact of the matter is having trust in Jesus is sufficient provision for that waiting.

[00:16:53] Anthony: That’s right.

[00:16:54] Ted: Hallelujah.

[00:16:55] Anthony: Yeah.

Our third pericope of the month is Matthew 25:14–30. It is the Revised Common Lectionary passage for Proper 28 in Ordinary Time, which this year comes on November 15.

¹⁴ “For it is as if a man, going on a journey, summoned his slaves and entrusted his property to them; ¹⁵ to one he gave five talents, to another two, to another one, to each according to his ability. Then he went away. At once ¹⁶ the one who had received the five talents went off and traded with them and made five more talents. ¹⁷ In the same way, the one who had the two talents made two more talents. ¹⁸ But the one who had received the one talent went off and dug a hole in the ground and hid his master’s money. ¹⁹ After a long time the master of those slaves came and settled accounts with them. ²⁰ Then the one who had received the five talents came forward, bringing five more talents, saying, ‘Master, you handed over to me five talents; see, I have made five more talents.’ ²¹ His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and trustworthy slave; you have been trustworthy in a few things; I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master.’ ²² And the one with the two talents also came forward, saying, ‘Master, you handed over to me two talents; see, I have made two more talents.’ ²³ His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and trustworthy slave; you have been trustworthy in a few things; I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master.’ ²⁴ Then the one who had received the one talent also came forward, saying, ‘Master, I knew that you were a harsh man, reaping where you did not sow and gathering where you did not scatter, ²⁵ so I was afraid, and I went and hid your talent in the ground. Here you have what is yours.’ ²⁶ But his master replied, ‘You wicked and lazy slave! You knew, did you, that I reap where I did not sow and gather where I did not scatter? ²⁷ Then you ought to have invested my money with the bankers, and on my return I would have received what was my own with interest. ²⁸ So take the talent from him, and give it to the one with the ten talents. ²⁹ For to all those who have, more will be given, and they will have an abundance, but from those who have nothing, even what they have will be taken away. ³⁰ As for this worthless slave, throw him into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’

So, the first two servants seem to act from trust, while the third servant acts from fear and from a distorted picture of his master. “I knew you were a harsh man.” So, I’m curious, Ted, from a Christocentric Trinitarian perspective, how does Jesus reveal the true character of the Father, and how does what we believe about God shape the way that we participate in his kingdom based on what we’ve read?

[00:20:07] Ted: Yeah, here’s another one of these parables that is often used as a club over people’s heads. And it’s not hard to use it that way if you’re so inclined, because there’s a certain harshness to it, at least at first blush. But here a master goes away and leaves his servants with responsibilities to fulfill. The master has a certain expectation and trust in these followers. And notice again the theme we saw before.

There is a long time to wait, and the issue is who will be ready again — after this long time of waiting — who will be ready when the master finally comes back, returns? And readiness is defined as having faith, that is trust in the master. There’s that, those you hear those resonances of themes here, which are really important. And I think that it’s important to see how the master gifts all three. There’s that grace precedes judgment theme again.

[00:21:13] Anthony: Yes. Yes.

[00:21:15] Ted: Yeah, but a key point in this parable is that faith in Jesus, trust in Jesus, is not passive. It’s active and living faith, participating in the work that the master is doing, participating in the work that Jesus is doing, making the most of the opportunities that he provides. The parable represents these opportunities as talents, at least in this translation, which is a very large sum of money, and there’s been various guesses as to how much money a talent was worth in this day, but suffice it to say, all three were given a whole lot of money. Amazing opportunities, if you can equate the talent with opportunities.

Different amounts, though all very large, are given to each servant according to their ability, and a return is expected in proportion to the sum of what was entrusted. Key point here, the point of this parable is not about earning salvation through works. The three are already included. The three already are receiving the largesse, the wealth of the master.

No, rather it’s about trusting Jesus, it’s about faith, receiving what Jesus has given, and then joining him and using those gifts to share with him in serving others. I think you have to draw those conclusions when you understand the context of what Jesus is doing and saying during this period of Holy Week leading up to the cross.

It’s significant that the two faithful servants receive identical commendations from the master even though the scale of their responsibility, and therefore their achievements, is different. Thus, we learn that what counts is a faith-filled response to whatever the master gives. So, it’s not about superiority, inferiority; it’s about the generosity of the master. So, what about this third servant? His fault is that he doesn’t recognize the master’s goodness. He doesn’t see the master as generous. So instead of responding in trust, in a response that would be appropriate to the generosity of the master, he responds with what? Fear, which is a form of unbelief.

Hoping to avoid doing anything wrong, he finishes up doing nothing. And rather than trusting the master, rather than trusting Jesus to be the generous one that he is, the fearful servant views him as a hard task master. And thus, when the master returns, he is not ready, for he does not trust, does not truly know the master. So, when Jesus says, “I never knew you,” that’s not because Jesus is stupid, it’s because there was not that relationship of reciprocal knowing.

[00:24:09] Anthony: Yeah.

[00:24:10] Ted: And so, again, what is the standard of judgment? What is the criterion of judgment? It is knowing Jesus, trusting Jesus, being responsive to him, sharing him, who he is, and what he’s doing.

Oh, because trust, faith is a dynamic thing. It’s not just about acquiring knowledge about Jesus. And ultimately, as we know, the faith that we have in Jesus is a faith that he has, which he shares with us. It’s all his gift And once again, judgment equals grace. Judgment comes wrapped in grace, and grace precedes accountability.

So again, the same basic criteria, but just in different stories saying the same thing. And you can imagine the disciples going like, “What?” “What’s Jesus getting at now?” And I don’t know if it took one, one month, two months, two years, or whatever for them to understand. And Jesus promised, “The Holy Spirit will teach you what I told you.” They got it. They got it.

[00:25:15] Anthony: Yeah. They got it.

[00:25:16] Ted: But, …

[00:25:17] Anthony: And it …

[00:25:17] Ted: It’s so contrary to the economy of the world.

[00:25:22] Anthony: That’s right. That’s right. And that’s why I appreciate what you said about God’s generosity because often we’ll come to a text like this, and we’re just hoping that we’re not the, the third slave, right? That we have not been trustworthy with what we’ve been given.

Ted: Yeah.

Anthony: But it’s in knowing God. The Apostle John said as much in John 17:3, “Eternal life is this, knowing God and the one whom he sent, the Son, Jesus.” That’s where trust grows. And I also really appreciated what you said because it can seem like the master wasn’t generous with the third slave. However, as you alluded to, a talent is a significant, maybe decade’s worth of earnings.

[00:26:11] Ted: Yeah. He was set up for life from the very beginning. Yeah.

[00:26:14] Anthony: That’s right. So, God was just super abundantly generous in every case, and I think we cannot lose sight of that when we come to a difficult text like this.

[00:26:24] Ted: That’s key. Yeah.

[00:26:26] Anthony: So, the master invites the faithful servants to enter into the joy of your master. What if the heart of this parable is not simply about accomplishing more for God but again sharing in the life and joy of the Triune God? How might that change the way that we understand faithfulness, vocation, and even Christian mission?

[00:26:49] Ted: Yeah, that is clearly being inferred here. We need to learn more about that, and actually we will learn more about it in the next passage we look at from Paul’s epistle. But fundamentally trusting Jesus is a dynamic relationship that includes our sharing in what he’s doing, our participation. And the joy we experience is our sharing in the joy of the Lord himself. As we’re told in Scripture, it was for the joy set before him that Jesus went to the cross.

[00:27:24] Anthony: Yes, come on.

[00:27:25] Ted: I love — there’s a book called The Joy of Jesus, which unpacks that passage in chapter after another. And we often think of Jesus being dour and down, and he had some stuff to be dour and down about, no question about it. But fundamental to the heart of Jesus is one of great joy because he sees the end. He sees the outworking of the plan that Father, Son, and Spirit have had from all eternity.

And this parable certainly is about responding to God with thankfulness and trust. But that thankfulness and that trust involves real participation. And not just hiding away the gifts that God has given, but to use those to share in what Jesus is doing. And in doing that, you’re sharing in the joy of the Lord himself.

[00:28:24] Anthony: Amen and amen.

All right, Ted, we’re in the home stretch. We have one final text for the month. It’s Ephesians 1:15–23. It is a Revised Common Lectionary passage for Reign of Christ, the end of the liturgical year on November 22. Would you read it for us please, Ted?

[00:28:46] Ted: Sure.

¹⁵ I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love toward all the saints, and for this reason ¹⁶ I do not cease to give thanks for you as I remember you in my prayers, ¹⁷ that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you a spirit of wisdom and revelation as you come to know him, ¹⁸ so that, with the eyes of your heart enlightened, you may perceive what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance among the saints, ¹⁹ and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power for us who believe, according to the working of his great power. ²⁰ God put this power to work in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, ²¹ far above all rule and authority and power and dominion and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the age to come. ²² And he has put all things under his feet and has made him the head over all things for the church, ²³ which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all.

[00:29:50] Anthony: Wowzer. What a doozy of a text.

Ted: Yes.

Anthony: So, tell us, Ted. Yeah. Please do say. What does this text illuminate about the God revealed in Jesus Christ?

[00:30:01] Ted: And by the way, I just love it. In Greek, this is all one sentence.

Anthony: I love that.

Ted: Oh, yeah. I thought I’d try it with only one breath, but I don’t have those, my lungs don’t work that way anymore. Oh, I love this passage. I’d like to take you, though, to verses 1–14 before I read this, but we’ll get to that in a moment. But I do want to note for the sake of those who’ll be preaching this, that this pericope is the epistle reading for the final Sunday of Ordinary Time, which is designated as Reign of Christ Sunday, or sometimes called Christ the King Sunday.

And the reason for this to be put at the end of the year is that we would end the year focused on the supremacy of Christ, and that is surely what Paul is pointing out here, the supremacy of Christ. But I would like to point out that prior to this particular passage, verses 15–23 and verses 1–14, Paul establishes the good news in Christ, that God has included all humanity in his love and life through Christ.

[00:31:04] Anthony: Yes.

[00:31:05] Ted: And sometimes people get to this, verses 15–23 and say, “Wait a second. Paul gave us all these promises and all of these great proclamations about the grace of God. Is he now trying to take those away?” Is he somehow, like, I didn’t really mean it? Not at all. He’s not …

Anthony: Fake out …

Ted: Yeah. He’s not taking back what he has given. Paul is telling us that what God has in Christ given humanity already becomes our personal possession when we as believers receive these gifts by faith. There’s that theme again that we saw in Matthew. And the faith we’re talking about here, though, as Paul makes clear in his writings, is not our own, but is a sharing in Jesus’ own faith.

Just as we shared the joy of Jesus, we share in the faith of Jesus, the faithfulness of Jesus, the One who makes this all possible. And that faith, that gift from Jesus, is given to us by the Holy Spirit. And I want to point out here that what I’ll be saying in this discussion I’m borrowing heavily from Karl Barth’s commentary on the book of Ephesians, which is very helpful if you can find a copy.

[00:32:22] Anthony: Yes.

[00:32:23] Ted: So, note that our receiving of this gift by trusting Jesus does not create the gift. That’s an important point.

Anthony: Yes, it is.

Ted: It doesn’t bring about a new reality. Instead, we’re receiving what Jesus has given us. It’s about being given Jesus’ eyes of faith to see what already is true of us because of who Christ is and what he has done on our behalf.

And Paul is making it clear that through the miracle of illumination, having become followers of Jesus, we cannot, we must not remain motionless. Paul’s understanding of what our triune God has done and is doing for our salvation might be stated this way, and this is a quote from Barth, “God wills, then acts, and his action flows down to us, then returns to him in human response.”

And he refers to that as the circle of grace. It’s of grace because every step in this circular movement is fully and only in Christ. And this speaks to the vicarious humanity of Jesus because not only does Jesus show God to us, bring the revelation of God to us, he brings the response of humankind back to God.

Anthony: Hallelujah.

Ted: So, we’re talking about sharing who Jesus is as fully human, the One who has made the perfect human response on our behalf. So, the point is that when we see or we understand or we know who God truly is and what he truly has done for us, and therefore who we in Christ truly are, something powerful is set in motion.

And verse 17 here identifies that as the knowledge of God. So, knowledge of God is not just about facts, acquiring facts about God. It certainly includes that. But it is about a true sharing in the life and the love of God, that to know God is a highly relational idea. And indeed, that’s what Paul is getting at because he apparently sees in some of the believers in Ephesus that their knowledge of God is too limited, too weak, and because of that, their responsiveness to God has been short-circuited.

So, this gift of illumination, or call it enlightenment, is the principal gift that Paul wishes for the believers in Ephesus to receive, and in receiving that gift, to be moved forward.

[00:34:44] Anthony: Through the years, Ted, you have served as a pastor to several congregations faithfully, powerfully. And I want you to think of those people, those churches, and if you were going to preach this particular text on Reign of Christ or Christ the King Sunday, and you’ve already done an excellent job of this, bringing in Barth, but what else would you proclaim and herald if given the opportunity to speak to those dearly loved ones of yours?

[00:35:13] Ted: I think I’d pick up on that theme of illumination, We’re wanting to understand the supremacy of Christ in all things, that includes in representing God and in representing us both. And as we already have seen, these believers in Ephesus were able to see the truth of their identity in Christ.

But as Paul discerned, to some extent they were still a little bit blind and needing, in their walk with Christ, a deeper and fuller revelation. A revelation that would move them forward with and in Christ to participate more fully in the human action that Christ has made and continues to make on our behalf.

So, Paul wants them and us today to know, and here he lists three great truths concerning who God is and his relationship with us. And I read through those, but let me unpack them a little bit. The first he mentions is the hope of God’s call. This is what God gives us in Christ, the hope of God’s call. The call has to do with the beginning of our Christian lives, but to what did God call us?

So, I would remind people that part of our response to the sovereignty and the magnificence of Christ is a responsiveness to the call that we had. There’s a purpose that God has in mind when he called us, and Paul refers to this as the hope to which he has called you. So, what is it that we hope for when we receive the calling of God?

There’s a long list of things that Scripture points to, but it includes a lot of things like fellowship with God, becoming progressively like Christ, to expect and to receive the peace of Christ, to also expect that there will be resistance, even sharing in Christ’s suffering. But we can expect to receive Christ’s presence in our lives and our help as we go through that.

And we can expect to receive the ultimate source of hope, which is our inheritance, which brings us to the second premise: We receive the riches of God’s inheritance. Paul is referring here to what God will give us for which we are to thank the Father. If God’s call points back to the beginning of our Christian life, God’s inheritance points to its culmination, the final inheritance of which the Spirit at work in our lives is the guarantee. Pick up on some of these, these Biblical themes here.

God’s children are God’s heirs, fellow heirs with Christ, Paul says in Romans 8:17. And one day, by his grace, Jesus’ inheritance will be ours, and Paul wants the believers in Ephesus to know that and to be encouraged by that and to be strengthened by that, to know the glorious riches of it, and thus to be able to anticipate that with great joy.

And no doubt Paul was concerned about that because there were a lot of things he knew in their lives that would be joy killers, not the least of which is the resistance they were receiving from those in Ephesus against their belief in Christ. So, you’ve got this hope of the call, and you’ve got the riches of the inheritance, the beginning and the end, so to speak, but what about the beginning?

That’s the third thing that he points out, and it is the greatness of God’s power which spans that time between our call and the receipt of the fullness of our inheritance when Jesus comes back. Paul is convinced that God’s power is sufficient for the journey.

[00:38:34] Anthony: There’s that theme again.

[00:38:35] Ted: There’s that theme again of the long period of waiting, and God’s power is needed and is sufficient for that time of waiting, for that journey. And so, he mentions, as verse 19 is literally translated by Barth, he mentions the energy of the might of his strength for us who believe.

The energy of the might of his strength for us who believe. And then Paul goes on to show why we can be confident concerning God’s power, and he points to the evidence of the most powerful thing that you could think of, the resurrection and ascension of Jesus which are the decisive demonstrations of God’s mighty power, overcoming that which no man can control and that which holds us in bondage, namely the power of death and the power of evil, the two great enemies of humankind. In Christ, by the Spirit, God has conquered both, and therefore we are assured that God can, and in Christ has, rescued us from both.

Anthony: Hallelujah.

Ted: It’s like Paul is saying to the believers in Ephesus, “Don’t you get it?”

[00:39:50] Anthony: Don’t you get it? Come on, folks.

[00:39:51] Ted: Don’t you realize? I’ve often thought I don’t really want Paul as my pastor because he gets harsh sometimes. And I don’t mean to disparage Paul by any means, but I think sometimes he probably got a little frustrated. He’s going, “Don’t you see? Don’t you get it?”

[00:40:05] Anthony: Don’t you see?

[00:40:05] Ted: I want you to see. Open your eyes! See the depth of the glory of Jesus Christ and what that means for you! So, note that Paul sets forth here a demonstration of divine power accomplished in Christ, and notice that it’s not what’s accomplished in Christ’s followers. It’s his power, not ours.

[00:40:27] Anthony: His power, that’s right.

[00:40:29] Ted: Which that’s a good thing is to see. I think there are times in our lives, and this would include me, where I thought, “Oh, I’m doing pretty good.”

Anthony: Yeah.

Ted: It would’ve been when I was younger. I wasn’t facing so many physical limitations but it’s humbling, dude, at times when you know … And I think of Paul when he had the thorn in the flesh and he said, “My grace,” God told him, “My grace is sufficient for you, so don’t worry.” It’s what he’s saying here. Yeah. He’s like, “Folks, I know life can be difficult.”

[00:41:01] Anthony: Yes.

[00:41:02] Ted: But you again, you need to get a clearer vision of the grace and the power of God, which is a gift to you, not of yourself. It’s not from you. You don’t have to gin it up inside of yourself. It’s something that comes to you in and through Christ, who is with you. And so, because of that, because of knowing that, being confident of that, we do not fear death, we do not fear evil, and there is great joy in that, great assurance, great peace.

[00:41:30] Anthony: Amen.

[00:41:31] Ted: And man, human life in this fallen world brings all sorts of things to tear that peace and that assurance and that joy down.

[00:41:43] Anthony: Oh, don’t we know.

[00:41:44] Ted: So, look to Jesus. Look to Jesus.

[00:41:46] Anthony: Look to Jesus. Look to Jesus.

[00:41:47] Ted: I love Graham Kendrick’s song. He talks about, “For this, I have Jesus.” And I forget what theologian he was quoting. I would want to say, “For this, Jesus has me.”

Anthony: Yes.

Ted: But it goes in both directions. For this issue you’re facing, you have Jesus. You have all that Jesus is and does and shares.

Anthony: Amen.

Ted: And be confident in that, be trusting in that. And he knows if they can get a glimpse of the supremacy of Jesus in those ways, they’ll have all they need for the journey.

[00:42:21] Anthony: Amen. And that’s what we mean by Christocentric, friends. We have Jesus, who is the center of all things. We don’t put him there; we don’t place him there. We just acknowledge what is already real and true, and the most significant thing about this existence. And because of who he is and what he’s done for us and in us and on our behalf, as you said, Ted, there’s no fear of death, no fear of evil.

You mentioned earlier in this podcast that fear in and of itself is unbelief. And I heard a quote recently that “Fear is a good scout, but a terrible leader.” In other words, God has given us the gift of being able to acknowledge danger and trying to protect ourselves. That’s good.

But when it becomes the way that we think and live and act and make decisions out of fear — that’s not what God has for us, because we know his good, perfect love casts out the fear that does not belong. And so, Lord, help us in our unbelief because you have done it all.

[00:43:30] Ted: Yes.

[00:43:30] Anthony: Amen and amen.

Ted, I want to thank you. You are a gift to me personally, and I’m so thankful for you and Donna and the friendship that we have shared through the years. Thank you for your words of encouragement here today, and I also want to thank our team that put this podcast together. It’s not just me. I’m just the voice, but a lot of people are in action to make this possible. Thank you one and all.

Ted: Yes.

Anthony: And Ted, as is our tradition here, we like to end with a word of prayer, and we’d be grateful if you’d pray for us.

[00:44:00] Ted: Sure.

Heavenly Father, as Paul prayed for the Christians in Ephesus, my prayer for all listening to this podcast, and many of them who serve as pastors and other leaders in the Body of Christ, is that we as adopted children of God will know you, experience you, and embrace you as our Father more fully, and that as Paul teaches us, we will understand the hope of your call, the riches of your inheritance for us, and the greatness of your power on our behalf. And then secure in this knowledge, may we, through the leading of the Holy Spirit, be set in motion, sharing what Jesus is doing in our world for the sake of the world. In this we pray in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Thank you for being a guest of Gospel Reverb. If you like what you heard, give us a high rating, and review us on iTunes, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcast content. Share this episode with a friend. It really does help us get the word out as we are just getting started. Join us next month for a new show and insights from the RCL. Until then, peace be with you!