A New Beginning

9 January 2013

Opening Prayer/Worship

Hymn: Rock of Ages, Cleft for Me

Theme: The Mystery of Christ

Topic: A New Beginning

Reading: Ephesians 3:1-12

This is the reason that I Paul am a prisoner for^* Christ Jesus for the sake of you Gentiles—²for surely you have already heard of the commission of God’s grace that was given to me for you,³and how the mystery was made known to me by revelation, as I wrote above in a few words,⁴a reading of which will enable you to perceive my understanding of the mystery of Christ.⁵In former generations this mystery^* was not made known to humankind, as it has now been revealed to his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit:⁶that is, the Gentiles have become fellow-heirs, members of the same body, and sharers in the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel. ⁷ Of this gospel I have become a servant according to the gift of God’s grace that was given to me by the working of his power.⁸Although I am the very least of all the saints, this grace was given to me to bring to the Gentiles the news of the boundless riches of Christ,⁹and to make everyone see^* what is the plan of the mystery hidden for ages in^* God who created all things;¹⁰so that through the church the wisdom of God in its rich variety might now be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places.¹¹This was in accordance with the eternal purpose that he has carried out in Christ Jesus our Lord,¹²in whom we have access to God in boldness and confidence through faith in him.^*

Introduction

The word mystery or mysterious implies that which is incomprehensible, inexplicable, extraordinary, and so on; and can only be understood through revelation from God.  We know through the Scriptures that everything regarding Christ is a mystery; He is God’s gift, atonement for our sins, and demonstration of God’s immense love for mankind.  The immaculate conception of Christ, His ministry while here on earth, sacrificial death, resurrection, and ascension are events that cannot be explained based on human understanding.  According to our Scripture reading for today’s study, it is a mystery how Christ, through His death and resurrection, adopted everyone into the family of God, co-heirs with Himself and God’s chosen nation, Israel.  That marked a new beginning for all people.  Everyone is loved by God; Christ died for the whole world, and we are all one in Him.  Knowledge of this mystery of the gospel of Christ will enable us see in others, the love of God; and treat everyone as God will want us to- loved, redeemed, precious, priceless and extremely beautiful.

Questions/Discussion

1. How is the mystery of Christ a new beginning for humanity?

Psalm 72:1-7, 10-14

¹ Give the king your justice, O God,
and your righteousness to a king’s son.
² May he judge your people with righteousness,
and your poor with justice.
³ May the mountains yield prosperity for the people,
and the hills, in righteousness.
⁴ May he defend the cause of the poor of the people,
give deliverance to the needy, and crush the oppressor.

⁵ May he live^* while the sun endures,
and as long as the moon, throughout all generations.
⁶ May he be like rain that falls on the mown grass,
like showers that water the earth.
⁷ In his days may righteousness flourish
and peace abound, until the moon is no more.

¹⁰ May the kings of Tarshish and of the isles
render him tribute, may the kings of Sheba and Seba bring gifts.
¹¹ May all kings fall down before him,
all nations give him service.

¹² For he delivers the needy when they call,
the poor and those who have no helper.
¹³ He has pity on the weak and the needy,
and saves the lives of the needy.
¹⁴ From oppression and violence he redeems their life;
and precious is their blood in his sight.

Isaiah 60:1-6

Arise, shine; for your light has come,
and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you.
² For darkness shall cover the earth,
and thick darkness the peoples;
but the Lord will arise upon you,
and his glory will appear over you.
³ Nations shall come to your light,
and kings to the brightness of your dawn.

⁴ Lift up your eyes and look around;
they all gather together, they come to you;
your sons shall come from far away,
and your daughters shall be carried on their nurses’ arms.
⁵ Then you shall see and be radiant;
your heart shall thrill and rejoice,^*
because the abundance of the sea shall be brought to you,
the wealth of the nations shall come to you.
⁶ A multitude of camels shall cover you,
the young camels of Midian and Ephah;
all those from Sheba shall come.
They shall bring gold and frankincense,
and shall proclaim the praise of the Lord.

 2 Corinthians 5:11-21

Therefore, knowing the fear of the Lord, we try to persuade others; but we ourselves are well known to God, and I hope that we are also well known to your consciences.¹²We are not commending ourselves to you again, but giving you an opportunity to boast about us, so that you may be able to answer those who boast in outward appearance and not in the heart.¹³For if we are beside ourselves, it is for God; if we are in our right mind, it is for you.¹⁴For the love of Christ urges us on, because we are convinced that one has died for all; therefore all have died.¹⁵And he died for all, so that those who live might live no longer for themselves, but for him who died and was raised for them. ¹⁶ From now on, therefore, we regard no one from a human point of view;^* even though we once knew Christ from a human point of view,^* we know him no longer in that way.¹⁷So if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation: everything old has passed away; see, everything has become new!¹⁸All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation;¹⁹that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself,^* not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting the message of reconciliation to us.²⁰So we are ambassadors for Christ, since God is making his appeal through us; we entreat you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.²¹For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

2. What lessons and strength are there for us in the knowledge of the mystery of Christ?

Galatians 3:15-29, 4:1-7

Brothers and sisters,^* I give an example from daily life: once a person’s will^* has been ratified, no one adds to it or annuls it.¹⁶Now the promises were made to Abraham and to his offspring;^* it does not say, ‘And to offsprings’,^* as of many; but it says, ‘And to your offspring’,^* that is, to one person, who is Christ.¹⁷My point is this: the law, which came four hundred and thirty years later, does not annul a covenant previously ratified by God, so as to nullify the promise.¹⁸For if the inheritance comes from the law, it no longer comes from the promise; but God granted it to Abraham through the promise. ¹⁹ Why then the law? It was added because of transgressions, until the offspring^* would come to whom the promise had been made; and it was ordained through angels by a mediator.²⁰Now a mediator involves more than one party; but God is one. ²¹ Is the law then opposed to the promises of God? Certainly not! For if a law had been given that could make alive, then righteousness would indeed come through the law.²²But the scripture has imprisoned all things under the power of sin, so that what was promised through faith in Jesus Christ^* might be given to those who believe. ²³ Now before faith came, we were imprisoned and guarded under the law until faith would be revealed.²⁴Therefore the law was our disciplinarian until Christ came, so that we might be justified by faith.²⁵But now that faith has come, we are no longer subject to a disciplinarian,²⁶for in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith.²⁷As many of you as were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ.²⁸There is no longer Jew or Greek, there is no longer slave or free, there is no longer male and female; for all of you are one in Christ Jesus.²⁹And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s offspring,^* heirs according to the promise.

 

4:1 My point is this: heirs, as long as they are minors, are no better than slaves, though they are the owners of all the property;²but they remain under guardians and trustees until the date set by the father.³So with us; while we were minors, we were enslaved to the elemental spirits^* of the world.⁴But when the fullness of time had come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law,⁵in order to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as children.⁶And because you are children, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our^* hearts, crying, ‘Abba!^* Father!’⁷So you are no longer a slave but a child, and if a child then also an heir, through God.^*

3. How do we apply the knowledge of the mystery of Christ in our lives?

Hebrews 2:1-18

Therefore we must pay greater attention to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away from it.²For if the message declared through angels was valid, and every transgression or disobedience received a just penalty,³how can we escape if we neglect so great a salvation? It was declared at first through the Lord, and it was attested to us by those who heard him, ⁴while God added his testimony by signs and wonders and various miracles, and by gifts of the Holy Spirit, distributed according to his will. ⁵ Now God^* did not subject the coming world, about which we are speaking, to angels.⁶But someone has testified somewhere, ‘What are human beings that you are mindful of them, ^*or mortals, that you care for them?^{* 7} You have made them for a little while lower^* than the angels; you have crowned them with glory and honour, ^*8 subjecting all things under their feet.’ Now in subjecting all things to them, God^* left nothing outside their control. As it is, we do not yet see everything in subjection to them,⁹but we do see Jesus, who for a little while was made lower^* than the angels, now crowned with glory and honour because of the suffering of death, so that by the grace of God^* he might taste death for everyone. ¹⁰ It was fitting that God,^* for whom and through whom all things exist, in bringing many children to glory, should make the pioneer of their salvation perfect through sufferings.¹¹For the one who sanctifies and those who are sanctified all have one Father.^* For this reason Jesus^* is not ashamed to call them brothers and sisters,^*12saying, ‘I will proclaim your name to my brothers and sisters, ^*in the midst of the congregation I will praise you.’ ¹³And again, ‘I will put my trust in him.’ And again, ‘Here am I and the children whom God has given me.’ ¹⁴ Since, therefore, the children share flesh and blood, he himself likewise shared the same things, so that through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil,¹⁵and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by the fear of death.¹⁶For it is clear that he did not come to help angels, but the descendants of Abraham.¹⁷Therefore he had to become like his brothers and sisters^* in every respect, so that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest in the service of God, to make a sacrifice of atonement for the sins of the people.¹⁸Because he himself was tested by what he suffered, he is able to help those who are being tested.

Intercession/Worship

Conclusion

Christ died, reconciling all people to God and has committed to us the ministry of reconciliation.  Let us always remember that we are ambassadors of Christ, and live such that through the presence of the Holy Spirit in us, our words, thoughts and actions will reflect the love God has for everyone in Christ Jesus.

Closing Prayer (Collect for Epiphany Sunday)

Eternal God, who by a star led magi to the worship of Your Son. Guide by Your light the nations of the earth, that the whole world may know Your Glory; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, One God, now and forever. Amen.