What is God’s “plan for the fullness of time,” and how extensive is its reach? Ephesians 1:9-10.

Paul uses three labels for God’s plan. It is (1) “the mystery of his will,”(2) “his purpose,” and (3) “a plan for the fullness of time” (ESV). What is God’s ultimate, final plan? To unite everything, everywhere, in Jesus.

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The term that Paul uses to describe the plan is a picturesque one (Greek, anakephalaiosasthai), to “head up” or to “sum up” all things in Christ. In ancient accounting practice, you would “add up” a column of figures and place the total at the top. Jesus heads God’s final, eschatological plan. This Christ-centered plan was crafted “before the foundation of the world” (Ephesians 1:4) and is so broad that it encompasses all time (“the fullness of the times,” NKJV) and space (“all things … things in heaven and things on earth,” ESV). Paul announces unity in Christ as the grand, divine goal for the universe.

In discussing God’s “plan for the fullness of time” (Ephesians 1:10, ESV), Paul shares the theme that he will weave through the letter. God begins His plan to unify all things, rooted in the death, resurrection, ascension, and exaltation of Jesus (Ephesians 1:15-2:10), by founding the church and unifying disparate elements of humankind, Jews and Gentiles, in it (Ephesians 2:11-3:13).

In this way, the church signals to the evil powers that God’s plan is underway and their divisive rule will end (Ephesians 3:10). As the Bible says elsewhere: “For the devil has come down to you, having great wrath, because he knows that he has a short time” (Revelation 12:12, NKJV).

The last half of Paul’s letter opens with a passionate call to unity (Ephesians 4:1-16) and continues with a lengthy exhortation to avoid behavior that damages unity and, instead, to build solidarity with fellow believers (Ephesians 4:17-6:9). Paul concludes with the rousing image of the church as a unified army, participating with vigor in waging peace in Christ’s name (Ephesians 6:10-20).

<–Monday Wednesday–>

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Jesus Said Go Image © Lars Justinen from GoodSalt.com]

A while back a lady went into the hospital for a few days. While she was there, a local elder, and deacon came to visit her. However she was released from the hospital before the Senior or Associate pastors of the church could come see her. After her release, she mentioned to me that none of the pastors had come to see her in the hospital. I corrected her, and told her that two pastors came to see her. According to 1 Peter 2:9 the local elder and deacon are both pastors.

The New Testament church was an active church with everyone pastoring and evangelizing. In Acts 8, Philip, a deacon, is evangelizing and baptizing. In Acts 7, we see Stephen, another deacon, being stoned to death – and it wasn’t for taking up the offering or adjusting the Sabbath School classroom thermostat. No, he was stoned to death for preaching the gospel! Wait a minute. I thought preaching was the pastor’s job? Not in the New Testament church! In the New Testament church all the members were ministering and evangelizing.

In the Dark Ages a wide separation was made between the clergy and the laity but that was not the biblical design. As we progress out of the Dark Ages the gap between clergy and laity must be narrowed, in order to get back to being a remnant of the New Testament model church.

Many years ago I moved to Texas to be a Bible Worker. The church had thousands of Bible study lead cards that needed to be mailed out. The pastor asked a lady in our church if she could take them to the post office to be mailed. She responded, “Well if I do that, then what is William going to do?” She felt that since I was the paid “Bible Worker,” I should be doing all the work and should mail them myself. Wrong! Fact is, if I am doing all the work, then I am not doing my job.

My job, now as a pastor is to equip and empower the laity to do evangelism.  If I go by myself to give a Bible study, then shame on me! I should always bring another church member with me so they can learn how to give Bible studies and also to bond with the student and be another link to the church family. As well as giving Bible studies I also teach people how to chain reference their Bibles, to give presentations and get decisions for Jesus. Currently I have been working with FC Life, the Lay Institute for Evangelism in the Florida Seventh-day Adventist Conference. .I have traveled around the state of Florida with FC Life training lay people to do evangelism by giving personal and group Bible studies.  A small study group is a church within itself. Remember, in New Testament times, churches were in people’s homes. The non-churched small-group Bible study members see those who come to the home of the Bible study leaders as their church family, and they see the Bible study leaders as their pastors. Remember that “pastor” is also a verb and not just a noun. Whoever you are, if you are caring and nurturing others then you are pastoring.

If pastors or Bible workers think of themselves as the ones who are to do all of the preaching and evangelizing, then they are not biblical but are stuck in the Dark Ages. Very few pastors today still want to create a huge gap between pastors and laity, while more and more pastors are like Moses, when he said, “would God that all the LORD’S people were prophets, and that the LORD would put his spirit upon them!” Numbers 11:29 With this spirit upon our paid clergy, the gospel can spread like wildfire and turn the world upside down, just like it did in the book of Acts when every member was an evangelist! Please keep in mind that if the pastor or Bible worker are doing all of the preaching and teaching, then they are not doing their job. You know the pastor and Bible worker are doing their jobs when encourage and empower you to share the Gospel. 

Amen!(41)

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