Eph. 1:9b-10 Satisfied With His Sympathy, Scheme, Stewardship, Summation, Sphere & Solution part 10

Captivate in Our Riches in Our Savior v.7-12          

     Excite Us With What We Are Shown   v.9-10

 Involve Us In His Sympathy   according to his good pleasure

Impact Us With His Scheme         which he hath purposed in himself 

 Itemize For Us  His Stewardship  That in the dispensation of the fullness of times

Illuminate For Us His Summation he might gather together in one all things in

                                                                       Christ

Introduce Us To His Sphere both which are in heaven, and which are on earth

Immerse Us In His Solution  even in him:

I reminded back to 1971, I was stationed in Wichita, Kansas and would jog 5 miles daily to stay in shape for basketball.  I played on the base team which allowed for some neat travel and fun duty.

I would review various memory verses as I jogged and try to pray.  I wish I still had the ambition to do that now, the combining of the physical exercise with the spiritual exercise.  My landing gear is too warn out and damaged and the central processing unit isn’t what it was either.

There wasn’t a Navigator military ministry on the Air Force base so I met with a Nav. business men’s group off base.  I led 3 individual studies on base with men and held two group studies which totaled 5 studies I was responsible for leading per week plus 2 I attended.

I look back at my youthful zeal and all this idealistic vision I had and how I wanted to pioneer this base effort.  I would get all down about the progress of things and call this business man to share my discouragement.

He would always tell me to read Eph. Phil. and Col. and then to call him back afterward if I still felt down.  I look back and always think that was unique advice.  It’s amazing that Paul was in prison when he wrote these letters and that he had these relational insights in such a dismal backdrop in his life.

Prison time can’t be a high point in anyone’s life but Paul accrued his down time into a positive experience in his walk with the Lord.

Involve Us In His Sympathy  according to his good pleasure  

This is a clarification and enlightenment from the Lord where He disperses His sympathy.  The Spirit is explaining the connection we’re given with His tenderness in the patience of His purposes and pleasure.

His good pleasure is the delight, gratification, and satisfaction which God has in blessing us.  He allows only what is good for us in our life.

Everything that is permitted is to deepen our intimacy in Christ as we respond in faith through His securing sympathies.  Nothing separates us from the love of God and all things work together for good for us.

According to His good pleasure means we don’t earn God’s attention or blessing based on us talking Him into anything or because we’ve done certain things to warrant and guarantee His satisfaction.

His approval and liking is not based on us but based in His character of goodness.  James says we error by thinking good comes from anything other than God.  That seems like an obvious conclusion but do we believe it and live in the reality of it?

James 1:16-17 do not err, my beloved brethren. Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.

The caution not to err is don’t be deceived as to the source of good.  Don’t embrace an opinion that imagines that good comes from anything but God.  God is the spring and supply of all good.

Everything the Lord does for us is according to His good pleasure.  Pleasure is that thing that delights God and is satisfying to Him.  According to, means it’s not a random, capricious, or accidental.  God is not haphazard but systematic in the deliberate distribution of goodness and it pleases Him to do it all for us.

Impact Us With His Scheme  which he hath purposed in himself

The Lord has a scheme in each thing that takes place; it’s all according to method and format.  Each detail in our lives has a purpose and it is to all lead us in a progressive interactivity in our relationship with Him.

Purpose means to set before one’s self with an intention, a point, a goal and objective.  The Lord is working in us based on the sympathy of His goodness, a scheme of a determined goal and a stewardship of timing.

Itemize For Us  His Stewardship  That in the dispensation of the fullness of times

A stewardship is a dispensation.  Dispensation is a word which means administration, or governmental management.  Many of the conservative fabric of our culture are grieving our present dispensation of national governmental details.

We are under the Obama administration or dispensation.  That’s just in the confines of the present, but when we consider the universe, as to God’s dealing is concerned, or the spiritual dispensation of this age, we’re under the dispensation of grace currently, which is under a broader umbrella of the new covenant.

The dispensation referred to in v.10, is the dispensation of the fullness of times.

There is an important difference between the fullness of time singular and the fullness of times plural. The fullness of time is referred to in Gal. 4:4 as the first coming of Christ when He came in the form of a baby, then matured through childhood, and ministered in His final expressions for three years until His murder or surrender of Himself for us.

The fullness of times is the second coming of Christ and more specifically the millennial reign of Christ where He is on earth as King of kings for a thousand years.

This is the mystery or secret which was not clear to humanity or obscure in prophetic declaration but is now being openly explained.

Illuminate For Us His Summation  he might gather together in one all things in Christ

This is the period when everything is culminated under Christ’s domination.  Jesus Christ as a glorified man will reign over all the world in the throne of David.

Introduce Us To His Sphere        both which are in  heaven, and which are on earth;

The sphere of authority will be over all of heaven and earth.

Immerse Us In His Solution  even in him:

We are illuminated to this great truth, introduced to the grand sphere of exaltation that Christ will reign over, and immersed in the wonderful solution that all will find healing and help in Him.  Christ will have total universal dominion.