For His Glory — Ephesians 1

0:00 Morning everyone. Jeff said something earlier about hanging on to summer and so here I am in opposition to the fashion police Pretending that it's warmer and sunnier than it is because I don't want to admit that the best season is over. Let's open in prayer. Dear heavenly Father, we come to you this morning to open your word, to learn from it, to hear your words through your spirit. We ask that you soften our hearts and our minds today that we might hear your truth and nothing but your truth about your love for us and your plan for us.

0:51 So we commit this time to you in your son's precious name, Amen. I've got a lot to get through today. So I was hoping to recap a little bit about what Ray talked about last week, but we don't have time. So go listen to it if you missed it. And that's all I'm going to say about that.

1:14 So Ephesians chapter one and I'm going to start in verse four and we're covering through verse 14. And right off the rip, this portion, let's see, I'm not going to read the whole thing all at once. Let's just read the first couple of verses. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, just as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love, having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will, to the praise of the glory of his grace by which he has made us accepted in the beloved. We'll stop there for a second.

2:05 This whole passage from verse three through verse 14 is all one sentence in the Greek. So we've got some punctuation added in here. We're going to kind of parse it out but it's literally one sentence in the original text. In this section from verse three through 14 where we start talking about the blessings of redemption, three times in this these first 14 verses Paul reminds us about the inevitable result of god's intended goal and all of his actions that that he should be magnified and glorified. In verse six, he says, to the praise of his glory and grace.

2:44 In verse 12, he says, that we should be to the praise of his glorious grace. Grace. In verse 14, he says, to the praise of his glory. Three times right here. So, don't want to lose track of this concept.

2:59 As we look at this passage and we're going to get to talk about election predestination and then a couple of other of god's blessings towards us. I want us to remember this first that all of this is to the praise of his glory and grace. This is what it's for. This is this is what it's about. It's about glorifying him.

3:24 Just as he chose us in him Our possession of every spiritual blessing is as certain as our being chosen by him and chosen before the foundation of the world. So, we're going to spend a little bit of time on this concept of predestination and election. And this is a topic that you could parse out over four, five, six messages or have a whole series on it. But we don't have time to get through that today. So, we're going to talk about it somewhat, but do know that I'm not trying to gloss over it.

4:07 We just have 14 verses to get through. So, here's what we're going to... I'm going highlight a couple of high points on this. So, in scripture we have on one hand the sovereignty of God. And on the other we have man's free choice and hence his responsibility.

4:46 Fiat Lux. Okay. Jade Nicholson said this, Now before we begin to examine the context, let's first enjoy the glorious truth that God, from the beginning, had us in mind. And that, whatever it completely means, we can look forward to experiencing the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. He's quoting two Thessalonians two fourteen there.

5:18 So again, as we look at this whole section up until verse 14 and we're thinking about, okay, it's about the praise and the glory of God. And then also as we look more specifically just about election and God's sovereign choice, before we get too deep into the weeds, let's set what's really at the focus here. Let's enjoy the glorious truth that God, from the beginning, had us in mind and chose us. So, some specifics about this. So, we're going to look at both aspects of this.

6:03 So, first, God does choose people for salvation. Two Thessalonians two thirteen. Believers are those who are elect according to the foreknowledge of God. One Peter one:two. And people can know whether they are elect by their positive response to the gospel.

6:22 Those who hear it and believe it are elect. One Thessalonians one:four-seven. So we have this concept of election and choosing that is taught in Scripture. Now secondly, the Bible never teaches that God chooses people to be lost. He never condemns people who deserve to be saved.

6:51 Think about that for a second. Because there are none. Though he does save some of the human race who ought to be condemned. In Romans, Paul says that God prepares vessels of mercy for glory. But it does not say anywhere that he prepares people for destruction.

7:19 Mankind is perfectly capable of doing that on their own. We do that ourselves. Right? We do this by our own unbelief. Now, on one hand we have the doctrine of election and it lets God be God.

7:36 He is sovereign. He can do as he pleases, though he never pleases to do anything unjust, which would be in direct opposition to his very nature. And insert series here about knowing God and his character. There's another three month study for you. But, he wouldn't do anything unjust.

8:01 And so the same Bible that teaches election teaches human responsibility and free will. We cannot make the doctrine of election, we can't turn this into an excuse for not being saved. Someone isn't saved because they were destined to not be saved. God makes a bona fide offer of salvation to everyone, all people everywhere. How many references do you need for this?

8:34 John three sixteen, three thirty six, five twenty four, Romans ten:nine, ten thirteen. I can give you 10 more of these, right? God's offer of salvation is to everyone. And everyone who believes on him will be saved. Anyone can be saved by repenting of their sins and believing on the Lord Jesus Christ.

8:56 This is what's taught in scripture. Therefore, if a person is lost, it is because they choose to be lost and not because God desires it. For he desires that all should be saved. First Timothy two:four. So, look at this seeming dichotomy and how do we reconcile this in our mind?

9:25 If we were if God chose us for salvation and we had no say in the matter and God is a puppet master pulling on strings. Well, he could do that. Let's for the sake of argument say, Well, it's within his power to do that. But that doesn't sound like a God who wants a relationship. That's...

9:49 If you... God doesn't want a robot. God doesn't want... That's not what He created us for. When you look...

9:56 When you read Scripture and it's all about our relationship with God. I mean, He saves us but then we can be in a relationship with Him. We'll get to adoption in a little bit. But this concept of being saved and then adopted into His family, this There's a free will aspect of it. There's a human component to this.

10:23 And we as believers, those who have accepted Christ as their personal Savior, we can definitely say that we were chosen by God. But believers are chosen before they have done anything or been anything for God. Because this was determined way beforehand. So, if we can use this analogy of light for a second, this great truth that believers are chosen is a light and it casts some shadows. Namely, in trying to reconcile human responsibility with divine sovereignty.

11:31 But they are past our finding out. I think, I think we can accept that fact. God's reasons are beyond our finding out. There are some things that are revealed in scripture and he reveals parts of his plan in our lives. But you could be going through something right now that you still don't understand the point of it.

11:54 Or maybe you'll get through your entire life and not understand, you know, that thing I went through in my thirties, I still don't get it. Because if he doesn't, he doesn't have to reveal his plan or his purpose to us all the time. Sometimes he does and we get to see it in retrospect. His choosing is according to the pleasure of his will. So, now that we've looked a little bit at both of these concepts that are taught in scripture, the point that I want us to perhaps take home today, and this is a little bit of my own thinking about it over the past week and trying to come up with, all right, what is the point of this?

12:43 What's something that we can think about here? And I don't think our point should be whether we need to embrace election or embrace free will or that we're supposed to ignore election or ignore free will. That we have to land on one side or the other side. And I don't even think the point of this is that we have to compromise and sort of straddle the middle. I don't think it is.

13:07 And you might disagree and that's that's okay. This is my... This is kind of where I got to this week. And that's that we can accept both and say, This concept is true and so is this one. And for believers we know that we are we are God's elect now that we're on this side of forgiveness.

13:31 We can understand this. We can see that. But what is our job? Again, it's not our job to try to pick a side or ignore something or explain away the part that we don't like necessarily. But what is our job is to fulfill the Great Commission.

13:54 And share the gospel with all because it is our privilege to be a part of God's plan of salvation for all. We should regard all people to be of the elect and share God's love with them, share God's gospel with them accordingly. We are privileged to be a part of that. So, may our focus about this be the simple, beautiful truth which is what? That god from the beginning chose us that that he had us in mind from before time began.

14:38 That he would save us and use us for his purpose, in his grand plan. That we should be holy and blameless before him in love. We are chosen, not only for salvation, but also for holiness. Any understanding of God's sovereign choosing es our personal responsibility for personal holiness and sanctification falls far short of the whole counsel of God. So, this thought about free will and man's responsibility.

15:54 There's there's an aspect of it before we're saved and also after it continues on. We should not forget the words, in love at the end of verse four. Whether you use in love as part of verse four or starting chapter five, however your verse five, depending on how your translation puts it. Holiness and blamelessness are nothing without love. Clark put it like this, But as love is the fulfilling of the law and love the fountain whence their salvation flowed, therefore love must fill their hearts towards God and each other.

16:47 That we should be holy and blameless before him in love. He predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to himself according to the good intention of his will. Predestined us to adoption as sons. This is the father's destiny for his chosen. That they would enjoy adoption as sons.

17:10 This was determined ahead of time. And God's unfolding plan for us not only includes salvation and personal transformation. But he determined ahead of time that all who would be saved would also be adopted into his family as sons. And receive all the rights and privileges as such. John Stott said this, This high position in the family of God gives us something in Jesus that Adam never had.

17:44 When people ask us the speculative question why God went ahead with the creation when he knew that it would be followed by the fall, one answer we can tentatively give is that he destined us for a higher dignity than even creation would bestow on us. So, he chose from before, all before time, that we would be saved. And then not only that, we get to be adopted into his family. We share all the privileges of Jesus Christ, the Son. And God views us through Christ.

18:32 And all of this is to the praise of his glory and grace by which he has made us accepted in the beloved. The relational aspect that I touched on a minute ago is presented again here. It's emphasized here as Paul describes the status of the beloved or the accepted. The Greek word is karito. And it means highly favored or full of grace.

18:58 It's the same word that's used in Luke one when Gabriel is addressing Mary. It's the same word. Highly favored and full of grace. And that is granted to every believer because of God's grace. Jesus was completely accepted by the Father.

19:17 All of his character, all his words, all of his work were completely accepted to God the Father. This is my son in whom I am well pleased. And now we are accepted in the beloved because of Christ. In Christ, in Him. I'm reminded of Ray pointing out how many times that phrase is used, in Him or in Christ, or some permutation of that.

19:46 I forget how many times it was, but Ray brought that to us to our attention last week. This plan of God gave glory to the grace of God. By the giving of the law, God's justice and holiness were rendered most glorious. By the giving of the gospel, his grace and mercy are equally glorious. That's Clark.

20:25 So, god's plan in the gospel and we we see this all the time. God's plan in the gospel is often rejected because it glorifies god and his grace and not the effort or achievement of man. To the praise of the glory of his grace. Remember, that's the focus of this whole section till verse 14. Three times we have this.

21:22 Here's one of the in hymns, another one of them. In him, we have redemption through his blood. The him is the beloved of verse six. In him, we have redemption and nowhere else. There is no possible redemption outside of Jesus Christ and his redeeming blood.

21:40 Redemption always implies a price being paid for the freedom that is purchased. In Greek it uses the word apoptosis, which means to liberate on receipt of ransom. Here, the price is his blood. Showing that the blessing from the Father and the Son come not only from a divine decree, but it also comes according to his righteousness and holiness. He cannot bless in opposition to his righteousness and holiness.

22:17 Jesus doesn't redeem us by his sinless life or his perfect moral example. Mind blown. Only by his death in our place and his perfect ness dying in our place. Spurgeon said this, Observe. It is not redemption through his power, but it is through his blood.

22:45 It is not redemption through his love. It is redemption through his blood. Now, we don't need to take a superstitious or mystical view of the blood. Okay? I'm not trying to go there.

22:59 It was not Jesus's physical blood that saved anyone, but his real and total payment. Him being the perfect sacrifice. Him being the perfect, living the perfect sinless life. Him being the perfect and sinless and spotless sacrifice dying in our stead. In his whole person on the cross.

23:26 Our redemption through his blood were according to the riches of his grace. Means what? The redemption and forgiveness given to us come to us in the same measure as his grace. So, it's not a small redemption. It is not a small forgiveness that was won.

23:47 It was immense. Or immeasurable. That is our redemption and our forgiveness according to the riches of His grace. That much, which he made a bound toward us in all wisdom and prudence. Now, we in our finite fickle minds think it might be unwise of God to lavish such redemption and forgiveness on guilty sinners.

24:24 Right? For a righteous man, someone might possibly dare to die. But in all his wisdom and prudence, such redemption and forgiveness on guilty sinners. Having made known to us the mystery of his will. Verse nine, According to his good pleasure which he purposed in himself, that in the dispensation of the fullness of times he might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven and which are on earth.

25:31 And we see this theme through the book. Part of what belongs to us under the riches of His grace is knowing the mystery of his will. The knowledge of the mystery of his will. Which was God's great plan and purpose for us. And it was once hidden, but revealed now through Christ.

26:02 In the New Testament, a mystery is something that is hidden to the unbeliever. But it is clear to the Christian. He might gather together in one all things in Christ. God's ultimate plan, part of God's ultimate plan, is to bring together, to ultimately resolve under one head all things in Christ. And this will be either through Jesus as a savior or Jesus as a judge.

26:41 And this will happen in the fullness of time. So speaking of the millennia. The Greek word for gather together is anakafa dei agomaii. Okay. And I thought the Germans had the corner of the market on like nine plus syllable length words.

27:00 But apparently the Greek have some. And I found this word and I was, wow. Okay. That's the longest one I've seen so far. But the word means to unite or to bring together under one head.

27:11 It's used to describe the process of adding up a column of figures and then you put the sum at the top. So, Paul's trying to explain to us that God will make all things add up at the end. And he's currently in process of coming to that final sum. And the great resolution and deliverance that even creation groans for? Romans eight eighteen-twenty two.

27:45 That's what this is talking about. This is the great resolution and deliverance. The day when every wrong will be righted. When every matter will be resolved according to God's absolute, holy, perfect love and justice. In whom also we have obtained an inheritance.

28:08 For believers, Jesus is not a judge, but the one in whom we have an inheritance. Believers are predestined for this, chosen before according to the counsel of his will. Again, the reasons for his choosing reside in him, not in us. Being predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will. We see three aspects of God's plan working together here.

28:54 It begins with his purpose and then the counsel of his will and then it results in his work. God made his plan carefully according to his eternal purpose. Taking counsel within the Godhead. Another strange thing for us to wrap our minds around, really. And then he works in all wisdom.

29:21 G. Campbell Morgan put it like this, Our God is a God who not only wills, he works. And he works according to his will. The word counsel stands for a deliberate planning and arranging in which the ways and means of carrying out the will are considered and provided for. That we who first trusted in Christ should be to the praise of his glory.

29:53 So, God's purpose in all this is that all those who have trusted Christ will exist to the praise of his glory. Because the goal of God's ultimate plan is to glorify him. It's what all of this is about. We who first trusted in Christ... So, this speaks of the Jewish believers.

30:15 The words, you also, in verse 13, are the Gentile believers. Speaking to the believing Jews first, now their right to a share in the inheritance is not based on their former national privileges, but solely on their union with Christ. God's plan has a place for both Jew and Gentile and it brings them together in Christ Jesus. In him you also trusted, after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, in whom also having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, to the praise of his glory. In him you also trusted, After you heard the word of truth.

31:18 Here's some more of that human responsibility again. God's sovereign choice works, but it does not exclude human cooperation. The ones who were so sovereignly chosen were also the ones who trusted, heard the word of truth, and believed. So we have an outline here a little bit of the process of salvation. You having heard the word of truth, trusted and believed.

32:14 The seal is therefore the Holy Spirit himself and his presence... I already said that. The sealing with the spirit is not any strange emotional feeling or some mystical inward experience. But the indwelling of the Holy Spirit is a real physical indwelling. And His granting us power and sealing us, sealing and securing our salvation and our promise.

32:45 The word guarantee is araban, and it means down payment, literally. And it's only used in the New Testament in reference to the Holy Spirit. He's the down payment of our coming glory. Nothing else is needed or provided. Having believed you were sealed.

33:07 So, the sealing doesn't come before we believe. We can't demand some sort of assurance. If you demand some assurance from God before you believe, that's treating God as if his word can't be trusted. So, Paul's showing us again, we see the hearing, the trusting, the believing and the sealing. So, he's outlining here how the process works.

33:34 The process of salvation. Meyer put it like this, For sealing there are needed the softened wax, the imprint of the beloved face, the steady pressure. Would that the Spirit might impress the face of our dear Lord on our softened hearts that they may keep it forevermore. The guarantee of our inheritance, the pledge of our inheritance. Paul changes pronouns here.

34:15 He had the we in verses eleven and twelve. The you in verse 13. And now it is our in verse 14. He's hinting at what he will more fully explain in chapters two and three. The union of believing Jews and Gentiles to form a new organism, The Church.

34:45 The one Church under the one head. Until the redemption of God's own possession to the praise of his glory. So again, as we think about God determining a plan beforehand. As we think about the riches that we have in Christ. Let's not forget the simple truth that God chose us and had us in mind from the beginning and that his plan, that all His actions, all His work would be to the praise of His glory and grace.

36:07 Our redemption and our forgiveness from our sins and our condemnation, which were immense, were paid for by our Lord Jesus Christ. And it was no small feat that we know. Lord, maybe we never forget the sight of this. May we not forget to see your great plan from before time through the current and into the future. Maybe not lose sight of your plan and how it ultimately brings all glory to you for we have nothing in ourselves to offer.

36:49 All we have is to offer ourselves to you in service, and that we may be used by you to further your plan and to further your church in expanding your church, the body of believers, that we may all be united under one head. So we thank you for this time. We ask that you would remind us of these things and keep them in our minds that we may live lives that glorify you. We pray these things in Jesus name, Amen.