God’s Got It!

Ephesians 3:2-12

It’s always fun at the beginning of a new year to hear their predictions, isn’t it? So, a couple days ago, we had to get an oil change on our van and get a tire fixed, and so I’m sitting in the entryway area, and there happened to be an old magazine from 2025 in February predicting how the baseball teams would finish in this year. And of course, who did they have winning the National League Central? The Cubs, of course. And you know how that worked out, right? Yeah, we won. People make their predictions. And of course, one of the biggies is in regards to the economy. What is the economy going to do in the new year? Is the economy going to boom? Is the economy going to be slow? Is the economy gonna be just so-so? Is the economy gonna shrink? And of course, when you look back, some of the predictions that get made are pretty good. Some of them are, eh, so-so. Some of them completely miss it. Is it fair to say that we humans want to know and even control the future? I think that’s a pretty fair statement, that that’s something that we desire. And in some ways, that’s really, really dangerous because it can lead people into stuff that is really, really dangerous. In fact, even occultish. Think of things like tarot cards and psychics and palm readers and astrologers, and all that kind of stuff, which is opening up the door to the devil. That’s dangerous. But we wanna know, don’t we? It’s just sort of knit into us. What is the future going to hold? How can I approach the future? What can my attitude be towards the future? All of which brings us, in my mind anyway, to the wise men. What exactly was a magus? That’s what the Greek word is. Nobody really knows. That’s why the NIV chose to take the plural of magus, which is magoi, and just anglicize it and put it in as magi. Because they didn’t wanna try to translate it because we’re just not sure what a magus was. The King James, on the other hand, decided to translate it, and they translated it as wise men. And so you and I probably are more comfortable calling the magi the wise men. That’s fine. Is that a good translation? Maybe. We think it might be, but we ultimately don’t know for sure. What we think we know about the wise men is this, that they were apparently to become just experts in everything, and particularly for the purpose of giving guidance to whoever the ruler was. They seem to have formed some kind of a group of advisors for rulers of those days. And just as the economy is something that is of great concern for people in 21st century times, so the economy was of great concern for people back then. And particularly for those people who were in the ruling class, that they would know how best to rule and how best to thrive. Why all this talk about economy? It’s because the word economy is actually one of the key Greek terms in this text. In verse two and verse nine, when the NIV translates administration, that is the Greek word oikonomia, which is our word, economy. The Greek word oikonomia literally means the rule of the house or the law of the house. And you can kind of understand then how it came to be translated a little bit more broadly as guidance or administration or caretaking or even leadership. All those sorts of things are part of that word that Greek word economy. And God is very interested in the economy. No, not the one you and I have been talking about. He’s interested in that too, because God’s interested in everything about our lives, which is great. But God’s economy has a far different purpose. What is the purpose of God’s administration of, well, everything? Everything. It’s to get as many people to heaven as possible. That’s God’s whole plan, is to get as many people as possible to heaven. Which then leads us to a reasonable question. Why in the Old Testament did it kind of not really look that way? It was that way, but it kind of didn’t look that way. It looked as if the Savior God was only for the Jewish people. The Old Testament scriptures were written in the Jewish people’s language. It was the Jewish people who had the promises. It was the Jewish people who had the covenant of God, that law covenant with its sacrifices and the kosher laws and the Sabbath day observances and circumcision, et cetera, et cetera, et cetera. It appeared as if salvation was for the Jews. They were called the people of God. Gentiles were not even allowed to partake of the Passover. We’d have been excluded unless we became Jewish, which you could do. But why did God do it that way? At one level, the answer for the question is gonna be very dissatisfying. At another level, it’s gonna be wonderfully heartening. Why did God do it that way? Because he knew that was the best possible way to get the most possible people to heaven. That’s God’s economy. That’s God’s administration. And because God not only knows the past, not only knows the present, but also knows the future and knows it fully and perfectly, and not only knows what will happen, but all the things that could happen, God knows exactly what needs to happen for the most possible people to get into heaven. And when we think about it that way, that actually gives you and me wonderful, wonderful encouragement and peace as we face a new year. What is God going to be doing? God is going to be ruling all things for the good of his people. God is going to be ruling all things for the express purpose of getting as many people into heaven as possible. And can you imagine? You and I are in. You and I are part. We hear what Paul says about himself in the text. He says, “Although I am the least of God’s people.” And when I read that, when we were studying that in the Greek, our conversation was just so much more that in the Greek our conversation was just, wait a minute, if Paul’s the least, what in the world does that mean about us? We’re the leastest? We’re the worst? If Paul’s the least, what in the world are you and me? But who did Jesus die for? He died to pay for the sins of all the world. And you and I are part of all the world. And so because of that, you and I, mystery of mysteries, God loves sinners like you and me. We’re in. How far are we in? Verse six, just nails it, I think it’s verse six. Yes, verse six. “The Gentiles are heirs together with Israel, “members together of one body, “sharers together in the promise of Christ, “heirs together with Israel.” The Greek has the idea that it’s all tied together. That Jew and Gentile alike, every believer in Jesus, is completely united in the body of Christ. And so how in are you in the body of Christ? You are fully in, you are completely in, you are 100% in because God has brought you in. And no matter what may come in 2020, no matter what may come in 2026, kind of wild to say that, isn’t it? No matter what may come in 2026, you know you’re in. You’re into the most important group that has ever existed, the body of Christ. And you’re in not because of who you are or aren’t. You’re in because of who Christ is and how he died for you and how he rose for you. And because he died for you and because he rose for you, you’re in. And that gives you a peace and a joy as you focus on and enter into 2026 that no unbeliever can possibly have. Because what do they have to worry about? The economy. By contrast, you get to worry about God’s economy. And you’ve got nothing to worry about because God’s got it. He knows exactly what he’s going to do, and he knows exactly why he’s going to do it. And you know the purpose for which he’s going to do it, to get as many people as possible into heaven. You think about it in regard to the wise men. As I spoke about earlier, we don’t know a whole lot about them. What we are pretty sure of is that they knew a lot of stuff about a lot of stuff. They obviously knew astronomy because they recognized this new star. By the way, did you notice? It doesn’t say that the star led them all the way. It’s not what happened. They saw the star when they were wherever they were. They saw the star in its rising is really a better translation of the Greek. They saw the star, and then it was apparently gone. And the reason you know that is because when they leave Jerusalem, they went to Jerusalem because why wouldn’t you? Where would the newborn king of the Jews be? In the capital city of the Jews, right? That’s just logical. So they went there to Jerusalem, and they don’t find no newborn king of the Jews. Instead, they find Herod, who was a madman like we talked about last week. And they must have been so down and discouraged. And as they’re leaving Jerusalem to head the few miles to Bethlehem, what do they see again? The star. And the Greek is they joy, joy, great, very. It’s like they’re jumping up and down, going, the star, the star, the star is back up there. If the star has gone ahead of them the whole way, they’re not reacting that way. But if they had seen the star, then it wasn’t there. And now they see it again, and it actually guides them to where Jesus is. Now we can understand why they’re jumping up and down with excitement and joy. So what was God willing to do to get these wise men into the kingdom of God? He was willing to do machinations with the stars in the sky, for goodness sake. People have tried to make all kinds of explanations how it’s this planet and that planet and this planet coming together. Maybe, but I think a much better explanation is that God just worked a miracle. Can you imagine? God was willing to put a star up in the sky, take that thing back out, put that star back up at exactly the right time and move it around so that he could make sure that these wise men came to meet Jesus. What is God’s economy? What in God’s economy is he willing to do to get sinners to heaven? Whatever it takes. And if it takes throwing stars around in the sky, God will toss stars around in the sky. And are you and me any different, any worse, or any better than those wise men? Not a bit. We’re a bunch of sinners saved by Jesus just like they were. And if God was willing to do that for them, will he not be willing to do similar things for you and for me? Absolutely. If that’s what’s necessary. There are many who enter into a new year with trepidation, with fear, with worry. I’m sure there are some who enter with a sense of excitement. You as a believer in Jesus, get to enter the new year with peace and joy. Why? Because you know what God’s economy is. You know what God is doing. That he is ruling all things for the good of his people, ruling all things to make sure as many people as possible get to heaven. And whether that means war or peace, whether that means richness or poverty, whether that means sickness or health, indeed whether that means death or life. We’re okay with it. Because we know who’s guiding it. The God who loves us deeply and who will love us forever. And knowing that, my dear brothers and sisters, let’s enter into this new year with joy and peace. Amen. Amen.