Searching the Unsearchable
Ephesians 3:8b
Illustration: What we are going to talk about today is Searching the Unsearchable. Have you ever considered the unsearchable things of the universe? Take for instance, a woman’s purse. Inside a woman’s purse are things untold, things hidden that will never be found. And few things cause a man more trepidation than those small words: “Can you look in my purse?” My Mom’s purse growing up was the worst. It was less of a purse and more of a ruck sack. I could never find anything in it growing up. When you opened it up it was like a whole other world. It was a place where the laws of time and space did not operate and light did not penetrate. It was like a worm-hole in the universe and if you opened it up and reached inside your hand would come out on some planet at the other end of our galaxy. A woman’s purse scares a man. Don’t send me in there. Send me to the front lines of combat. Send me into the Bermuda Triangle. Send me into the ring with Mike Tyson. But do not send me into that purse to search for something. Don’t send me in to search the unsearchable.
This week we are scratching at the surface of the unsearchable things of something else. Actually it is not something, but, it is Someone. Paul says in Ephesians 3:8, “Although I am less than the least of all God’s people this grace was given me: to preach to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ.”
Paul preached the unsearchable riches of Christ. Let us note two points from this sentence. First, there is the fact that in our Lord Jesus Christ there are unsearchable riches to be found out. Let us look at point number one this week.
Unsearchable Riches (v8b)
In Christ are unsearchable riches. Paul says, “Although I am the least of all God’s people, this grace was given me: to preach to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ”. Unsearchable riches. The word for “unsearchable” in the Greek is awesome. It means “beyond tracing out”. It is used in two other places and they help us to get a fuller idea of what is meant. The Greek version of the OT translates what Job says when he says in Job 9:10, “God performs wonders that cannot be fathomed, miracles that cannot be counted.” Then the word is used again in Romans 11:33 where Paul says, “Oh the depths of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable His judgments, and his paths beyond tracing out!” What we are talking about are the unsearchable riches of Christ. The idea is not so much that these riches are inexhaustible so much as they are unfathomable. For finite created beings in our peon minds to attempt to comprehend even a penny of the infinite divine riches that are in Christ is totally oppressive to the point that we have to leave the thought all together and say with David, “Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too lofty for me to attain!”
The idea is that you cannot comprehend how rich Christ is, or even the full nature of His riches. People love to admire the rich, but, they are beggars compared to Christ. I love Accounting. You tally up all the numbers and organize them in order to give the picture of an organization – a financial picture, so you can comprehend how rich a company is and the way they are rich. But you can’t do that with Jesus Christ. You cannot tally it all up and finally put a price-tag on Him to say, “this is how much He is worth”. Because when numbers fail Christ’s worth goes on. His worth goes on and on and on into infinity and beyond. You simply cannot price Him.
And you could never buy Him. All He is and the worth of all He is cannot be equaled by anything. All efforts at buying Him or trading for Him are only to cheapen what cannot be cheapened. It’s all cheap compared to Him. If then, you would ever have Him it requires not that He is bought, but, instead it requires that God out of His infinite generosity would give Him to you.
And that is just it – in Him, the Living, Risen, Son of God is where all the fullness of God’s riches are found. Colossians 2:3-4 says, “I want the churches to have the full riches of complete understanding, in order that they may know the mystery of God, namely, Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.” In Christ, only in Christ, is where ALL the treasures of wisdom and knowledge are found. And when you are in Christ, what Paul said in 1 Corinthians 1:5 is true for you too, “For in Christ you have been enriched in every way – in all your speaking and in all your knowledge.”
His Riches are Our Riches
Why does this matter to us? Because His riches are ours! This is what Paul has been saying, have we been listening? Chapter 1 verse 3, “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ.” Then verse 7-8, “In Christ we have redemption and the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace, that He lavished on us with all wisdom and understanding.” And we know it is ours because Paul says God gave us the Holy Spirit as a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance (v14). And then in chapter 2:7 again Paul says that in the future age we will be an exhibit for all to see. What will they all see in us? Paul says, “…the incomparable riches of His grace expressed in His kindness to us in Christ Jesus.”
You see, I want this to lay on your heart today: In Christ is found the treasure of all treasures. In fact, compared to Him, all other so called treasure is no treasure at all. It all becomes like the rags of a penniless beggar. Paul said, “Whatever was to my profit I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish that I may gain Christ.” Paul sounds a lot like David in Psalm 16 when he says, “You are my Lord and apart from You I have no good thing.” And he sounds like Asaph, who says in Psalm 73, “Whom have I have in heaven but you? And earth has nothing I desire besides you.” Or again in Proverbs 8 when it says, “With me are riches and honor, enduring wealth and prosperity. My fruit is better than fine gold, what I yield surpasses choice silver.”
Until we see the fading and fleeting treasures this world are bankrupt and are of no gain to us, we will not even begin to see the unsurpassable, unsearchable riches of Christ. In other words as long as our eyes are on the wealth of this world we don’t even begin to see the wealth of Christ. And when we with both hands loosen our tightfisted grip on the riches of this world, which really are poverty, we will find great joy never known before in the eternal wealth to be found in our heavenly Savior. Christ is the treasure of all treasures. Nothing compares to Him when we make Him our treasure.
What joy can be known while we become rich in this world and remain poor in Christ? Can you truly gain the whole world while losing your soul and compare such transient worldly joy to the “surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus as Lord” and all His riches? If you would say “Yes, I am rich; I have acquired wealth, and am in need of nothing”, then my friend as Christ told the Church of Laodecia I would tell you that you I pity you because you do not even know that “you are poor, wretched, blind, and naked.”
He is the One who, though truly and divinely rich became poor for our sakes, that with Him we might become truly rich (2 Cor. 8:9). And if you would but today in your eye catch a glimmer that what you possess here in this world is poverty, and, that in Christ is the luxuriously lavished riches of heaven, then you would become like the man of Matthew chapter 13.
Who was the man of Matthew 13? He had wealth, but, then he found a treasure hidden in a field. And upon finding it, he knew what he found, and so he hid it again. His heart was leaping with joy, and so he went and sold all he had to buy that field, because in that field was where the treasure lay hidden. He knew that all he had could in no way compare with the treasure he found. And he knew that in selling all he had to buy the field where that treasure lay he would amass a fortune beyond anything he ever gained. But he was like Paul, because in order to buy the field and possess the treasure he had to consider everything he now had to be a loss compared to the riches of that treasure. And no matter how much he had now, he knew he would always live in poverty knowing that the treasure remained buried. Do not let the treasure remain buried. Do not leave Christ buried. Do not hold onto the world and never lay hold of Him. Forsake any love for the riches of this world that you may take hold of the riches of Christ Jesus the Lord.
Your riches may be money. Your riches may be admiration. Your riches may be achievement. Let me define for you what “riches” means. Riches means that which you think you lack and therefore work to attain.
Application: You lack nothing when you live in Christ. One of the greatest drivers of fear is the thought that there isn’t enough. There isn’t enough. I won’t have enough to pay the bills. I don’t have enough in me to go through this. I don’t have enough wisdom to figure this out. I don’t have enough courage to face the uncertain future. I don’t have enough to tell this person about Jesus Christ. We are always tempted to think that there just aren’t enough resources to do what it is we have to do.
The first fact is you don’t have enough and the next fact is that your eyes are on the wrong person in the first place. Christ has enough. And in all of His “enough”, He has all the abundance of supply you need. We may remember the verse in Philippians 4 that says “My God will meet all your needs according to His glorious riches in Christ Jesus.” But how many of us actually rely on that? How many of us remember the verse in the same chapter that says, “I can do everything through Him who gives me strength” but really are not relying on it? How many of us can remember the verse in 2 Corinthians 12:9, “My grace is sufficient for you for my power is made perfect in weakness…When I am weak then I am strong” but are not relying on it? How many of us can remember our Lord saying in Matthew 6, “Your Father in heaven knows what you need so quit worrying and start putting His kingdom and His righteousness first in your life”. How many remember these words but are not relying on them? If this is what God has said in all these verses how should our attitudes be shaped towards our circumstances? What we are talking about here is faith. We are talking about putting trust in what God has said. What we are talking about is bowing in prayer and saying, “God I know you know my needs. I know you will meet my needs out of the riches you have in Christ. I know because of you I can do all things, face all things because I know that you give grace and power to me in my weakness. I don’t rely on my strength.”
Now, believing this requires we know that God has said this. Need I again preach the never-ending need for knowing the Word God has spoken, that this is the all-sufficient, ever perfect supply of what we need to hear?
Our Riches:
Wisdom, Grace, Love, Forgiveness, Radiant White glorious Garments (Rev. 3:4; 19:7-8), Royal Status and Authority (Rev. 2; 1 Cor. 6:2-4), Crowns, Acceptance by Christ before the Father (Rev 3:5), Right to eat from the tree of life, Right to enter the City of God, Prohibited from being hurt by the second death, a new name, Prominent place in God’s temple, Every spiritual blessing (Eph. 1:3), Adoption as sons, part of the family of God, A place prepared for us by Christ (Jn 14:1-3; Rev. 21), an inheritance that is described like this: what no eye has seen, what no ear has heard, what no mind has conceived for those who love God, The presence of God and the Lamb (Rev 21-22), worshiping, praising, thanking, fellowshipping, beholding, seeing, marveling, wondering at the infinite glorious riches of that are in the Person of God the Father and God the Son our Savior
Conclusion
There is something that makes a person worthy in God’s eyes. It is the inner-awe of the things of God. It is the marveling and wondering of the human heart at the spectacular riches of God’s mercy and grace towards us. When Joseph and Mary heard the prophet Simeon say things about Jesus Luke 2 tells us that they “marveled at what was said about Jesus”. Do you marvel at what is being said about Jesus? The Psalmist in Psalm 119 said, “I have hidden your word in my heart…I meditate on your precepts and consider your ways. I delight in your commands because I love them…the law from your mouth is more precious to me than thousands of pieces of silver and gold.”
Application:
1. Start searching the unsearchable riches of Christ. Sit down and think about who Christ is. Meditate upon Him. Think about Him. You must change in how you think of Him. We have not yet beheld Him as He is.
2. Start seeing that you are supplied with all you need to live a rich Christian life because of the endless riches in Christ that are yours. I have heard people say things like, I wish I had lots of money, I would give lots more to the Church. That’s great. Let me give some perspective. The thought behind a statement like that is that if I have an abundance of something I have an abundance to give. Let me say this: I care far less about the cash flow of this church then I do about the flow of the character of Christ. You may not have an abundance of money, but you have amassed a fortune in forgiveness, in grace, in love, in kindness, in compassion, in peace. If you don’t see now in chapter 3 that God has given these things in untold and innumerable quantities then you won’t “forgive as you have been forgiven” as chapter 4:32 says. If you don’t see in chapter 3 that you have an abundance from God of love then you won’t “live a life of love” as 5:2 says. If you don’t see how God has given you a wealth of His own strength then you will not stand firm against our enemies who are the powers of this dark world, the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms in 6:12. Paul is shaping your thinking as a Christian in chapters 1-3 so that he can then shape your living as a Christian in chapters 4-6.
3. Stop seeking riches here on earth. Stop living as if what you can see here and now is all there is and is forever.
4. Start living as if what is unseen and is coming is what is eternal (2 Cor. 4:18). Start living with the riches and for the riches that are yours to come.
Ephesians 3:8b
Illustration: What we are going to talk about today is Searching the Unsearchable. Have you ever considered the unsearchable things of the universe? Take for instance, a woman’s purse. Inside a woman’s purse are things untold, things hidden that will never be found. And few things cause a man more trepidation than those small words: “Can you look in my purse?” My Mom’s purse growing up was the worst. It was less of a purse and more of a ruck sack. I could never find anything in it growing up. When you opened it up it was like a whole other world. It was a place where the laws of time and space did not operate and light did not penetrate. It was like a worm-hole in the universe and if you opened it up and reached inside your hand would come out on some planet at the other end of our galaxy. A woman’s purse scares a man. Don’t send me in there. Send me to the front lines of combat. Send me into the Bermuda Triangle. Send me into the ring with Mike Tyson. But do not send me into that purse to search for something. Don’t send me in to search the unsearchable.
This week we are scratching at the surface of the unsearchable things of something else. Actually it is not something, but, it is Someone. Paul says in Ephesians 3:8, “Although I am less than the least of all God’s people this grace was given me: to preach to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ.”
Paul preached the unsearchable riches of Christ. Let us note two points from this sentence. First, there is the fact that in our Lord Jesus Christ there are unsearchable riches to be found out. Let us look at point number one this week.
Unsearchable Riches (v8b)
In Christ are unsearchable riches. Paul says, “Although I am the least of all God’s people, this grace was given me: to preach to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ”. Unsearchable riches. The word for “unsearchable” in the Greek is awesome. It means “beyond tracing out”. It is used in two other places and they help us to get a fuller idea of what is meant. The Greek version of the OT translates what Job says when he says in Job 9:10, “God performs wonders that cannot be fathomed, miracles that cannot be counted.” Then the word is used again in Romans 11:33 where Paul says, “Oh the depths of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable His judgments, and his paths beyond tracing out!” What we are talking about are the unsearchable riches of Christ. The idea is not so much that these riches are inexhaustible so much as they are unfathomable. For finite created beings in our peon minds to attempt to comprehend even a penny of the infinite divine riches that are in Christ is totally oppressive to the point that we have to leave the thought all together and say with David, “Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too lofty for me to attain!”
The idea is that you cannot comprehend how rich Christ is, or even the full nature of His riches. People love to admire the rich, but, they are beggars compared to Christ. I love Accounting. You tally up all the numbers and organize them in order to give the picture of an organization – a financial picture, so you can comprehend how rich a company is and the way they are rich. But you can’t do that with Jesus Christ. You cannot tally it all up and finally put a price-tag on Him to say, “this is how much He is worth”. Because when numbers fail Christ’s worth goes on. His worth goes on and on and on into infinity and beyond. You simply cannot price Him.
And you could never buy Him. All He is and the worth of all He is cannot be equaled by anything. All efforts at buying Him or trading for Him are only to cheapen what cannot be cheapened. It’s all cheap compared to Him. If then, you would ever have Him it requires not that He is bought, but, instead it requires that God out of His infinite generosity would give Him to you.
And that is just it – in Him, the Living, Risen, Son of God is where all the fullness of God’s riches are found. Colossians 2:3-4 says, “I want the churches to have the full riches of complete understanding, in order that they may know the mystery of God, namely, Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.” In Christ, only in Christ, is where ALL the treasures of wisdom and knowledge are found. And when you are in Christ, what Paul said in 1 Corinthians 1:5 is true for you too, “For in Christ you have been enriched in every way – in all your speaking and in all your knowledge.”
His Riches are Our Riches
Why does this matter to us? Because His riches are ours! This is what Paul has been saying, have we been listening? Chapter 1 verse 3, “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ.” Then verse 7-8, “In Christ we have redemption and the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace, that He lavished on us with all wisdom and understanding.” And we know it is ours because Paul says God gave us the Holy Spirit as a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance (v14). And then in chapter 2:7 again Paul says that in the future age we will be an exhibit for all to see. What will they all see in us? Paul says, “…the incomparable riches of His grace expressed in His kindness to us in Christ Jesus.”
You see, I want this to lay on your heart today: In Christ is found the treasure of all treasures. In fact, compared to Him, all other so called treasure is no treasure at all. It all becomes like the rags of a penniless beggar. Paul said, “Whatever was to my profit I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish that I may gain Christ.” Paul sounds a lot like David in Psalm 16 when he says, “You are my Lord and apart from You I have no good thing.” And he sounds like Asaph, who says in Psalm 73, “Whom have I have in heaven but you? And earth has nothing I desire besides you.” Or again in Proverbs 8 when it says, “With me are riches and honor, enduring wealth and prosperity. My fruit is better than fine gold, what I yield surpasses choice silver.”
Until we see the fading and fleeting treasures this world are bankrupt and are of no gain to us, we will not even begin to see the unsurpassable, unsearchable riches of Christ. In other words as long as our eyes are on the wealth of this world we don’t even begin to see the wealth of Christ. And when we with both hands loosen our tightfisted grip on the riches of this world, which really are poverty, we will find great joy never known before in the eternal wealth to be found in our heavenly Savior. Christ is the treasure of all treasures. Nothing compares to Him when we make Him our treasure.
What joy can be known while we become rich in this world and remain poor in Christ? Can you truly gain the whole world while losing your soul and compare such transient worldly joy to the “surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus as Lord” and all His riches? If you would say “Yes, I am rich; I have acquired wealth, and am in need of nothing”, then my friend as Christ told the Church of Laodecia I would tell you that you I pity you because you do not even know that “you are poor, wretched, blind, and naked.”
He is the One who, though truly and divinely rich became poor for our sakes, that with Him we might become truly rich (2 Cor. 8:9). And if you would but today in your eye catch a glimmer that what you possess here in this world is poverty, and, that in Christ is the luxuriously lavished riches of heaven, then you would become like the man of Matthew chapter 13.
Who was the man of Matthew 13? He had wealth, but, then he found a treasure hidden in a field. And upon finding it, he knew what he found, and so he hid it again. His heart was leaping with joy, and so he went and sold all he had to buy that field, because in that field was where the treasure lay hidden. He knew that all he had could in no way compare with the treasure he found. And he knew that in selling all he had to buy the field where that treasure lay he would amass a fortune beyond anything he ever gained. But he was like Paul, because in order to buy the field and possess the treasure he had to consider everything he now had to be a loss compared to the riches of that treasure. And no matter how much he had now, he knew he would always live in poverty knowing that the treasure remained buried. Do not let the treasure remain buried. Do not leave Christ buried. Do not hold onto the world and never lay hold of Him. Forsake any love for the riches of this world that you may take hold of the riches of Christ Jesus the Lord.
Your riches may be money. Your riches may be admiration. Your riches may be achievement. Let me define for you what “riches” means. Riches means that which you think you lack and therefore work to attain.
Application: You lack nothing when you live in Christ. One of the greatest drivers of fear is the thought that there isn’t enough. There isn’t enough. I won’t have enough to pay the bills. I don’t have enough in me to go through this. I don’t have enough wisdom to figure this out. I don’t have enough courage to face the uncertain future. I don’t have enough to tell this person about Jesus Christ. We are always tempted to think that there just aren’t enough resources to do what it is we have to do.
The first fact is you don’t have enough and the next fact is that your eyes are on the wrong person in the first place. Christ has enough. And in all of His “enough”, He has all the abundance of supply you need. We may remember the verse in Philippians 4 that says “My God will meet all your needs according to His glorious riches in Christ Jesus.” But how many of us actually rely on that? How many of us remember the verse in the same chapter that says, “I can do everything through Him who gives me strength” but really are not relying on it? How many of us can remember the verse in 2 Corinthians 12:9, “My grace is sufficient for you for my power is made perfect in weakness…When I am weak then I am strong” but are not relying on it? How many of us can remember our Lord saying in Matthew 6, “Your Father in heaven knows what you need so quit worrying and start putting His kingdom and His righteousness first in your life”. How many remember these words but are not relying on them? If this is what God has said in all these verses how should our attitudes be shaped towards our circumstances? What we are talking about here is faith. We are talking about putting trust in what God has said. What we are talking about is bowing in prayer and saying, “God I know you know my needs. I know you will meet my needs out of the riches you have in Christ. I know because of you I can do all things, face all things because I know that you give grace and power to me in my weakness. I don’t rely on my strength.”
Now, believing this requires we know that God has said this. Need I again preach the never-ending need for knowing the Word God has spoken, that this is the all-sufficient, ever perfect supply of what we need to hear?
Our Riches:
Wisdom, Grace, Love, Forgiveness, Radiant White glorious Garments (Rev. 3:4; 19:7-8), Royal Status and Authority (Rev. 2; 1 Cor. 6:2-4), Crowns, Acceptance by Christ before the Father (Rev 3:5), Right to eat from the tree of life, Right to enter the City of God, Prohibited from being hurt by the second death, a new name, Prominent place in God’s temple, Every spiritual blessing (Eph. 1:3), Adoption as sons, part of the family of God, A place prepared for us by Christ (Jn 14:1-3; Rev. 21), an inheritance that is described like this: what no eye has seen, what no ear has heard, what no mind has conceived for those who love God, The presence of God and the Lamb (Rev 21-22), worshiping, praising, thanking, fellowshipping, beholding, seeing, marveling, wondering at the infinite glorious riches of that are in the Person of God the Father and God the Son our Savior
Conclusion
There is something that makes a person worthy in God’s eyes. It is the inner-awe of the things of God. It is the marveling and wondering of the human heart at the spectacular riches of God’s mercy and grace towards us. When Joseph and Mary heard the prophet Simeon say things about Jesus Luke 2 tells us that they “marveled at what was said about Jesus”. Do you marvel at what is being said about Jesus? The Psalmist in Psalm 119 said, “I have hidden your word in my heart…I meditate on your precepts and consider your ways. I delight in your commands because I love them…the law from your mouth is more precious to me than thousands of pieces of silver and gold.”
Application:
1. Start searching the unsearchable riches of Christ. Sit down and think about who Christ is. Meditate upon Him. Think about Him. You must change in how you think of Him. We have not yet beheld Him as He is.
2. Start seeing that you are supplied with all you need to live a rich Christian life because of the endless riches in Christ that are yours. I have heard people say things like, I wish I had lots of money, I would give lots more to the Church. That’s great. Let me give some perspective. The thought behind a statement like that is that if I have an abundance of something I have an abundance to give. Let me say this: I care far less about the cash flow of this church then I do about the flow of the character of Christ. You may not have an abundance of money, but you have amassed a fortune in forgiveness, in grace, in love, in kindness, in compassion, in peace. If you don’t see now in chapter 3 that God has given these things in untold and innumerable quantities then you won’t “forgive as you have been forgiven” as chapter 4:32 says. If you don’t see in chapter 3 that you have an abundance from God of love then you won’t “live a life of love” as 5:2 says. If you don’t see how God has given you a wealth of His own strength then you will not stand firm against our enemies who are the powers of this dark world, the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms in 6:12. Paul is shaping your thinking as a Christian in chapters 1-3 so that he can then shape your living as a Christian in chapters 4-6.
3. Stop seeking riches here on earth. Stop living as if what you can see here and now is all there is and is forever.
4. Start living as if what is unseen and is coming is what is eternal (2 Cor. 4:18). Start living with the riches and for the riches that are yours to come.
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