Ephesians 1 v 11 thru 14

Transcript

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Are in Ephesians 1 again. This morning we'll be at verses 11 through 14. We've talked about how this chapter is really one of the most theologically rich, majestic passages in all of scripture, and how verse really verse 3 through 14 and the Greek is all one long sentence and it is all one um flowing passage in which Paul is praising God for his saving work in Christ. And he's not merely explaining salvation, he is worshiping because of salvation in these words, and the truth of salvation in Christ that is offered by God Himself spurs Paul on to break out into praise for grace and mercy. And in verses three through six, he praises the Father for choosing us. In verses seven through ten, he praises the Son for redeeming us. And now this morning in verses 11 through 14, he praises the Spirit for securing us in salvation. And these verses really bring to light three um rather magnificent truths that our inheritance is decreed by God, that our hope is centered in Christ, and that our salvation is sealed by the Spirit. And so this morning I really want to back up to verse three and read down through 14 just to keep the context in our minds. Uh, and then we'll look at uh verses 11 through 14. So beginning in verse 3, it says, Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the in the heavenly places, even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love he predestined us for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the beloved. In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, which he lavished upon us in all wisdom and insight, making known to us the mystery of his will, according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ, as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth. In him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will, so that we who were the first to hope in Christ might be to the praise of his glory. In him, you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, you were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it to the praise of his glory. Let's pray. Father, we thank you for your word today. Lord, may it enlighten us, may it inform us, may it cause us to join with the apostle this morning in praise to you for salvation that is only found in Christ. Lord, we ask you to have your way today in our minds, in our hearts, in our midst. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. So Paul begins this section talking about that our inheritance is decreed by God. He says, In him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will. So our blessing is an inheritance. And the phrase that is used there, we have obtained an inheritance, can also mean we were made an inheritance. We became that inheritance. And both ideas really are biblically true because we receive an inheritance from God. Romans 8.17 says we are heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ. 1 Peter 1:4 says we are an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading. That's what we have received in Christ. But scripture also teaches us something even more astonishing that God receives us as his inheritance. As frightening as that may be for us. Deuteronomy 32, 9 says, the Lord's portion is his people. The Lord's portion is his people. Coming up in Ephesians 1, verse 18 says the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints. So we are talking here. Paul is writing about not merely what we gain, but he's writing about us belonging to God. He's talking about us being God's inheritance that is purchased by Christ. And the foundation of that is predestination. In him we have obtained an inheritance having been predestined. Predestined. Now, this is a word that a lot of people struggle with. They also struggle with election. I remember having a conversation with a friend years ago, and we were talking about election, and she looked at me and said, So now I have to win some election. And I said, You're not running for anything. In fact, you're not running to be accepted by God. You're running away from God. And she goes, Then what does this mean? I said, the elect means the chosen. That's what it's talking about. When it talks the Bible talks about election, it means being chosen by God. Like when you go to the polls on election day and you vote for your candidate. We're not running for office, but God elects us anyway. Why? Because our salvation is all of grace. It is all of grace. Left to us, we would continue to defy God and run from him and shake our fist in his face by our actions, left to our own devices. But he doesn't leave his elect to his own devices. He has predestined them. He has predestined them. Paul grounds our inheritance, both what we receive and what we are, in God's eternal decree. Having been predestined according to the purpose. According to the purpose. So predestination means that before the foundation of the world, God determined the destiny of his people. And here's the great news. We have a Savior who prayed for us before he was crucified. He's praying in John 17. It's called the great high priestly prayer. And Jesus says, He's pouring out his heart for, starting with his twelve. And then he starts pouring out his heart for those who would come after them. And he says, Father, I don't pray for the world, but I pray for those you've given me out of the world. Which is great news because earlier in John in chapter 6, Jesus said, All the Father has given me will come to me, and I will lose none of them. See, because we can't cause our salvation, we can't uncause our salvation. Because our salvation is all of grace. And it started before we were ever even a thought in our parents' minds, before they were ever a thought in their parents' minds, and before they were ever a thought. And you can go all the way back because it happened before the foundation of the world. That's because God's in charge of it. I mean, it echoes what Paul has already written in verse 5 we just read. He predestined us for adoption. Romans 8, 29 and 30 talks about those whom he predestined, he also called. Those he called, he also justified. Those he justified, he also glorified. Paul's using a technique of writing about all of those things in the past tense because God has decreed them, therefore they are as good as done, because God has said this is what will happen. Predestination is not presented as some sort of cold doctrine. There are lots of lots of people who would call themselves reformed in their doctrine who view predestination entirely wrong. And because of that, there are people who don't hold to a more reformed doctrine who then view the reformed doctrine completely wrong, because you have people who think, well, I'm predestined to salvation, therefore it doesn't matter what I do. It's that whole argument against the concept of a believer being secure in their salvation of, well, you just think you can get saved and live any way you want. That's why you're a Baptist. I don't know a Baptist who understands the doctrine of eternal security who would agree with that statement. Why? Because we were bought at a price. We looked at last week, Paul or Peter writes about the fact that we were the price that was paid for us was the blood of Christ, meaning his life. So we can't get saved and then continue to live any old way we want. Because then what we did is we followed a program and we didn't get saved. We prayed the prayer, we signed the card, we did the things somebody told us to do, we said the magic words and poof, nothing changed. If your life isn't different than it was before you think you came to faith in Christ, you didn't come to faith in Christ because if you did, you're a new creation. Old things are passed away, all things become new. And that's the reality for all of us. Because it was predestined, Paul is not presenting this as some cold, heartless doctrine. Rather, he's presenting it as a comfort to those who believe. He's saying, You believe not because you chose to, but because God chose you in eternity past. Why did he choose me? I don't know. And I'm okay with that. Told you before, I heard John MacArthur say one time in a question and answer session, he said, you know, I am okay with having to admit that God can understand things that I can't. And that's the reality of it. Well, it doesn't make sense because we have to repent and believe. Yes, and even the faith and the repentance are gifts that God gives us. By grace you're saved through faith, and that not of yourselves, it is a gift of God. Our very salvation is a gift, and it's a gift that God chose to give us from before the moment He spoke this universe into creation. Why? Because He's gracious and loving and merciful and just, therefore, Christ had to pay the price. Because someone had to pay for our sin. And he sent his son to do that. John Calvin wrote, We shall never be clearly persuaded that our salvation flows from the fountain of God's free mercy until we come to know his eternal election. Meaning, if we try in any way, I've heard my whole life, we'll make a decision for Christ. Choose Jesus. Invite Jesus into your life. Invite Jesus into your heart. Those are great sounding phrases, but they're not in the Bible and they're not biblical. Accept my favorite is accept Jesus as your Lord and Savior. You think he needs our acceptance? We got the cart before the horse because we need his acceptance. We need him to accept us, and he does so by grace and mercy. And our salvation is not some fragile thing that will fall apart when we do something wrong, because our salvation does not rest on our will, it rests on God's purpose. In him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will. From beginning to end, salvation is God's doing. God the Father, God the Son, God the Spirit. God's absolute sovereignty is here. He works all things according to the counsel of his will, not some things. This is one of those times in Scripture where the word all means all. There are times in Scripture where all means talks about that, like Paul writes to Timothy, he says, I encourage you to pray for all men. Well, he tells him what all men means. He talks about kings and he talks about leaders and he talks about common people, and he talks about slaves, and he's saying you pray for all kinds of people. But in this case, all things means everything. Everything. All of it. All things. Why? He works all things according to the counsel of his will. Well, Proverbs 19:21, the purpose of the Lord will stand. Isaiah 46, 9 and 10, my counsel shall stand and I will accomplish all my purpose. Isaiah 55 talks about that my word will not return to me void, but it will accomplish what I have set forth for it to do. God's will will happen. Whether we think it will or not, because he doesn't need our acceptance. And so God's sovereignty extends over every detail of history, including our salvation. Herman Bavink wrote, The counsel of God is the firm and unshakable foundation of the salvation of the church. Let me read that again. The counsel of God is the firm and unshakable foundation of the salvation of the church. What does that mean? God chooses. Man, there are churches on every corner that will tell you you make the decision by your own free will. Our own free, autonomous will, apart from first the moving of the Holy Spirit on our hearts following the proclamation of the gospel, will always choose to reject God. We have no free will to make wake up one day and magically go, ah, I'm gonna accept Jesus today. Because that's the context in which those things are usually said. And we don't accept him. We trust him, we put our faith in him. I mean, that's what faith belief has to do with trusting, meaning we're reliant upon him for our salvation and not anything we can do in and of ourselves. So our salvation was not an afterthought. It was planned from before time began. The second thing is that our hope is centered in Christ in verse 12, so that we who were the first to hope in Christ might be to the praise of his glory in Christ. I mean, this this passage, right, starts with what two words? In him, we have obtained an inheritance. Verse 12, so that we were the first we who were the first to hope in Christ. Verse 13, in him. You also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, believed in him. Remember, we talked about last week or the week before, over 100 times in this letter, this short six chapters, Paul uses the phrases in him or in Christ or in the beloved. Over and over again. Why? Because our hope is anchored in Christ. It's not us, it's not about us. This phrase hope in Christ means more than a wishful thinking, oh, I hope I win the lottery. No. Biblical hope means a confident expectation based on God's promise. That's a hope you can take to the bank. That's the reality. Colossians 1.27 says, Christ in you, the hope of glory. The hope of glory. Hebrews 6.19, we have this as a sure and steadfast anchor of the soul. Our hope. Our confidence for eternity is not in our own works. It's not in what we do, it's not in our own morality or rule keeping or faithfulness. Our hope rests entirely in Christ. Otherwise, we don't have salvation. It must be in Christ. And notice the ultimate goal there at the end of verse 12, so that we who are the first to hope in Christ might be to the praise of his glory. To the praise of his glory. Three times in this chapter, Paul repeats this phrase. Verse 6 to the praise of his glorious grace, verse 12 to the praise of his glory again, and verse 14 to the praise of his glory. The ultimate purpose of our salvation is the glory of God. That's the purpose. It's not like we're playing Monopoly, and ooh, I got my get out of hell free card. That's not the ultimate purpose. The ultimate purpose is God's glory. Meaning what? Meaning, He makes us alive in Christ because we were dead in our trespasses and sins. Now we are alive in him, and we go and we share that. And we share the gospel with people, and God is glorified in that because then the Holy Spirit empowers that proclamation of the gospel, and someone else comes to faith in Christ, and then they go and do the same thing. And God receives more and more glory. Jesus even says that go and do good works so that the world may see your good works, and they will glorify God. It's all for God's glory. I mean, Charles Spurgeon said the salvation of the saints is not merely for their happiness, but for the glory of God. We often think that salvation is primarily about us. But scripture teaches it is ultimately about God displaying his glory in redeeming sinners. In reality, every saved sinner is a trophy of God's grace. Then verses 13 and 14, we see that our salvation is sealed by the Spirit. Paul turns from we, likely Jewish believers, and he changes. I mean, if you look back at verse 11, in him we. Verse 12, so that we. Verse 13, in him you. Now he's talking, I believe, about Gentile believers. He's talked about the we, his fellow Jews. Now he's talking about Gentiles. In him, you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit. We see the application of redemption here. What it means is, I mean, the means that are used is the hearing of the gospel, right? In him when you heard the word of truth. That aligns perfectly with what Paul wrote to the church in Rome, Romans 10, 17. That faith comes by hearing, literally hearing the word of Christ. The word about Christ. And so salvation begins with hearing the truth. James 118 also says he brought us forth by the word of truth. So the gospel must be proclaimed. There's a really bad understanding of a phrase by one of the early church fathers, and it says that he supposedly said, share the gospel, and if you must, use words. That sounds great, right? People are going to come to faith in Christ just because of how we live our lives, because we're so holy and righteous. The Bible says the gospel is the power of God for salvation. We have to proclaim the gospel. Why? Because part of the gospel is telling people why they need to be saved and then telling them how they are saved by grace through faith in Jesus Christ. So we have to proclaim the gospel. God ordains not only the end, meaning salvation, but also the means, which is the proclamation or preaching of the gospel. And the response, Paul says, is when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him. The response is faith. Faith is the instrument of our salvation. The gospel, the good news of Christ is the means. Faith is the instrument by which we are saved. Ephesians 2.8. By grace you have been saved through faith. John 3 16, whoever believes in him should not perish. Faith, trusting. Jesus says, You believe in God, believe also in me. Even faith is a gift of grace. Martin Luther wrote, Faith is the work of God in us, which changes us and brings us to new birth. And then we have the security. You heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, believed in him. You were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit. In the ancient world, a seal really signified three things. It signified ownership. A king's seal showed possession. This belongs to the king. Second Timothy 2 19 the Lord knows who are his. The Spirit marks believers as belonging to God. It also signified authenticity, a seal confirmed that something was the genuine article. This really came from the king. It has his seal on it. His signet ring. The presence of the Spirit authenticates true faith. Romans 8:16 says the Spirit Himself bears witness with our Spirit that we are children of God. And then the last thing is that a seal signified security. A sealed document could not be tampered with. It could only be opened by one of two people, the recipient to whom it was sent, or someone of greater authority. Our salvation, secured by the Spirit, saves us to God. So he's the recipient. And the only one who can break that seal besides the recipient is the one who is greater than the one who sealed us, and we are sealed by the Spirit of God. Who's greater? No one. Our salvation is sealed and secured by the Holy Spirit. The Spirit guarantees that our salvation cannot be undone. Well, what about I know so-and-so, and they got saved and they were active in the church for years and years, and then this happened and they walked away from the church, they were never saved. First John tells us that. If they had been of you, they would have remained so that it was clear they were part of you. So if someone professes faith in Christ and learns how to play church, and then they walk away and they have nothing to do with God, they didn't lose their salvation, they were never saved. That's not my opinion. That's what scripture teaches us. But they did, yeah, what did Jesus say? On that day, many will come to me and say, Lord, Lord, did we not cast out demons in your name? Did we not do that? Did we not, did we not teach Sunday school? Did we not take up the offering? Did we not do this? Did we not look at us how great we are? And he's gonna say, Depart from me, you workers of iniquity. I never knew you. Our salvation is not about what we do, it's about what he has done. And we are sealed by the promised Holy Spirit. The Spirit is the guarantee of our inheritance. Right, verse 14. So 13, in him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit. Who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it to the praise of his glory? So the word guarantee, it's the word arabone, and it literally means a down payment or a deposit. How many in here have ever bought a house and you had to put down earnest money? Right? You go in, whatever, 500, 1000 bucks, 1,500, whatever it is. Put down earnest money. Okay, I'm I haven't got my financing in order yet, but I'm working on my financing. Here's my $500 earnest money, and it kind of holds that until everything comes through and it's completed. The Holy Spirit is our guarantee. He's our earnest money of our salvation. He is God's gift to us that we might be secure in Christ. He's a dowry. He's what's paid to us for our relationship to God. The Holy Spirit is the first installment of eternal glory in our lives. What we are experiencing now is only beginning. Romans 8.23, we have the first fruits of the Spirit, the beginnings of the Spirit. 2 Corinthians 1.22, God has put his Spirit in our hearts as a guarantee. Now, there are lots of companies out there who will offer you a guarantee of some sort, right? Go buy a new car, certain brands. We'll give you a 10-year, 100,000 mile warranty. Well, who on God's green earth only drives 10,000 miles a year? We've had our car two years and it's got 54,000 miles on it. So that guarantee is going to run out way before we get to 10 years. Well, this has a lifetime warranty. Who's lifetime? Our guarantee is the Holy Spirit of promise, and it's an eternal guarantee. It does not end. That's the reality. I mean, John Owen, the great Scottish reformer, he wrote the Holy Spirit is given to believers as the great pledge of their future inheritance. The Christian life, therefore, is lived between the promise and the possession of that eternal life. We have the inheritance secured, but not yet received. And then the final goal, the last phrase of verse 14, to the praise of his glory. Paul ends the same way he began. Right? This sentence in the Greek, one sentence from verse 3, blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. He's praising God, well spoken of. Speak well of the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. And he finishes the sentence by saying, to the praise of his glory. From beginning to end, this passage from verse 3 to verse 14 is all a doxology. Paul is pouring out praise to God for salvation. Everything in salvation points back to this reality. The Father planned it, the Son accomplished it, and the Spirit applies it. That's the reality. And the result is then eternal praise. Our salvation is a symphony of grace that is composed by the triune God. It is merely the picture of God in his grace working in and through us. So how do we apply this then? What can we say? What's the practical part of this for us? Well, rest in the sovereignty of God. Rest in the sovereignty of God. Your salvation is not fragile. It's secured, planned by the Father, secured by the Son, and sealed and guaranteed by the Spirit. A lot of people, but my dad's life verse that he would always write in his Bibles, Philippians 1, 6. He who began a good work in you will perform it until the day of Christ Jesus. Who began the good work? He, God, began the good work in you. We didn't choose to do something. God began the work. We didn't choose God until he chose us right. We love him because he first loved us, first John. If God predestined you, redeemed you, and sealed you, he will certainly glorify you. Rest in his sovereignty. Second, place your hope fully in Christ. Salvation is not about church attendance, it's not about morality or religious effort. It is in Christ alone. We even sing a song about that. In Christ alone, my hope is found. Whoa. Why? Because Acts 4.12 says, Neither is there salvation in any other. For there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved. Our hope is not in ourselves, but it's in the finished work of Christ. So live for the glory of God. Paul says three times that our salvation exists for God's glory. The purpose of our lives is not self-fulfillment, but it is to exalt God. It is to lift him high. First Corinthians 10 31, whatever you do, do all for the glory of God. So the summary of Ephesians 3 through or 1, 3 through 14, that this entire passage is a single glorifying of God by celebrating the saving work of the triune God. The Father chose us before the foundation of the world, and he predestined us for adoption, verses 3 through 6. The Son redeemed us through his blood and revealed the mystery of God's saving plan, verses 7 through 10. And then our passage this morning, verses 11 through 14, the Spirit seals believers and guarantees our inheritance until the day of final redemption when we go to be with God. From eternity past to eternity future, salvation is entirely a work of God's sovereign grace. It is God's doing. Jonathan Edwards captured this tremendously when he wrote these words. In other words, the Father planned our salvation, the Son purchased our salvation, and the Spirit preserved our salvation. And the ultimate purpose is like a repeated chorus of a song to the praise of his glory. To the praise of his glory. Our salvation began in eternity, it was accomplished at the cross, secured by the Spirit, and is going to culminate in an everlasting glory. So may our lives now and through eternity be to the praise of his glory. Let's pray. Father, we thank you for your word.