THE PURPOSE OF SALVATION

Eph 1:7

Morning Meditation 3/20/16

This text says: “That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus.”

What is heaven going to be like? We know that there will be no sickness no sorrow no dying no tears no war no more parting of friends no discomfort and no end. We know a little of what it will look like when we read the description of the New Jerusalem in Revelation 21-22. Our present text gives the purpose of salvation rather than emphasizing what I have just named. Let’s look at this text.

The word “That” (hina) means “in order that, so that.” So that “in the ages to come” give purpose to salvation. God has saved us and has a purpose in and for us in the ages to come. God will not be through doing things for us when this age has ended. The word “ages” (aion) means “for ever, an unbroken age, perpetuity of time, eternity.” We have a very limited comprehension of God. God gave his Son to die for his enemies (me and you). This kind of giving strains our thinking to the uttermost. You would think that after God has given all he has that heaven would be a place where we would be doing all the giving, i.e., honor, glory, majesty, worship, etc. And we will be doing that. But God has only begun giving. He will continually show us what he has given to us in Christ Jesus and he will be doing this in the ages to come. The words “to come” (eperchomai) “to overtake.” It means that when the eternity that we have been told about overtakes us. The verb form is a present middle participle. The present participle could be translated “coming” i.e., the eternal ages are rolling in on us right now. “To come” is not future and Paul is saying that the ages are rolling by in our present and will overtake us. The ages to come are of such a nature that they are not spoken of in the present case as past or future. The ages to come are one eternal now.

The words “he might show” (endeiknumi) mean “to point out, to show, demonstrate, prove, whether by arguments or by acts.” The verb is an aorist middle subjunctive. The aorist tense encompasses the whole idea as a fact. The middle voice means that God will do this himself. The subjunctive mood means that it is potential for all but will only happen in the case of believers (see verse 8). This is a goal that God will achieve.

The words “the exceeding riches” (huperballo) mean “to surpass in throwing, to throw over or beyond any thing.” It is a present participle and speaks of God’s present possessions. The word “riches” (ploutos) mean “riches, wealth, abundance of external possessions.” God is not going to get rich, he is rich. And his riches far exceed anything we could ever imagine. In eternity God is going to open his store house and begin to show his “exceeding riches.” I said begin because it will never end.

The words “of his grace” (charis) mean “grace, that which affords joy, pleasure, delight, sweetness, charm, loveliness.” We talk about grace and try to define it here. There we will get the whole picture and with a body that will be able to stay together as we contemplate it.

The words “in his kindness toward us” are a reference to all God has done for the believer, his salvation, his security, all the answers to prayer and all the promises of the future. This is kindness beyond our ability to comprehend.

The words “through Christ Jesus” mean first of all through the anointed One whom God appointed heir of salvation. Heb 1:2 “Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds;” The word “Jesus” is his name as Saviour. “Thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins” (Matt 1:21). There is an eternal link between Jesus and the saint. There will never be an end to the things God will do for his children. There will never be a time that they will forget that it is because of the cross. All God’s riches will be shared by saved sinners because of the incarnation, life and substitutionary death of Jesus Christ our Lord. Let’s bow and worship before him.

This brings in a whole new dimension of thought. We are not just saved from hell. Salvation is not just an escape from judgment. It is being brought into an eternal purpose that God is working out at the present with eternity in view. God puts eternity in our hearts when he saves us. By faith we are partakers of the divine nature (2 Pet 1:4) and he begets in us a living hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead” (1 Pet 1:3).

God gives us this information to rejoice in ahead of time. A pilgrim people need to stay pilgrims and not dissolve into the world. This is the reason for the doctrine of separation. God wants a people in the midst of the world who are totally unlike the world and have their hope in Jesus who has promised them a world without end. We preach and sing about the world to come. We evangelize and ask people to join us by faith in the gospel and join us as pilgrim people who have a certain destiny with the imminent expectancy of the coming of our Lord.

I am thrilled to get a little peek at what God has in mind for me in eternity. I’m going to continue my journey with far away look. If you catch me day dreaming, don’t be surprised. I can almost hear the trumpet. I can almost catch a glimpse of him stepping form the throw to the white horse. Hallelujah.

May God bless you.

In Christ

Bro. White