The Good News of Our Election

Ephesians Week 4 | The Good News of Our Election (In Christ)

3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, 4 even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love 5 he predestined us for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, 6 to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved.

Eph 1:3–6.

Introduction

As we continue in the study of this section, let me remind you that the goal of this section is to stir our hearts for a passionate worship to God.

Paul demonstrates that to us here in v.3 - he blesses God. When we use the word bless, we often think about us. “I want to be blessed”. “That song really blesses me”. “Your life is a blessing.” Sure, that’s alright. But we are not blessed, we are also called to bless God.

The word “bless” means to speak well of Him, to honor Him, to praise His Name. It’s a celebration of His character and deeds of salvation in our lives.

[PSALM 103]

1 Bless the LORD, O my soul,

and all that is within me,

bless his holy name!

2 Bless the LORD, O my soul,

and forget not all his benefits,

3 who forgives all your iniquity,

who heals all your diseases,

4 who redeems your life from the pit,

who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy,

5 who satisfies you with good

so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.

[Ps 103:1–5]

I will bless the LORD at all times; his praise shall continually be in my mouth. [Ps 34:1]

As believers in Christ, when we truly understand God’s amazing grace, we cannot stop but praise.

Every Sunday as we gather together in corporate worship - we practice to bless the Lord for He blesses us.

Our worship is grounded in understanding what God has done for us. The more we understand, the more our hearts will burst into praise.

Last time, we learned that all of our salvation is planned, executed, and applied by the triune God. The three persons in the Godhead.

The Father’s electing grace (vv.4-6)

The Son’s redeeming grace (vv.7-12)

The Spirit’s sealing grace (vv.13-14)

In every section, there’s a refrain - we should be to the praise of His glory.

Today, we are going to focus on the first part, The Father’s electing grace. Some call it - the doctrine of election and predestination and why it is important to understand it, as we seek to deepen our worship of God.

The Father’s electing grace gives us three things:

It guarantees that our salvation is secure.

It grounds our pursuit of holiness

It gives us a secure identity

It guarantees that our salvation is secure

A lot of people question the fact that you can’t really be sure of your salvation. They question the truth that “once saved always saved”. Some even are teaching today that you can lose your salvation. In other words, you can fall away from Christ. Is that so? [Human basis of salvation] Note: All religion basically is based on human effort to come to God.

If salvation is ultimately based on me then I can never be secure in my salvation. But here we see that ultimately it is based SOLELY on God and his choice to save me to be part of His church.

In fact, the whole focus in this section from vv.3-14, is the triune God solely accomplishing the work of salvation for our benefit and for His glory.

In v3, we see the source of our blessings - The Blessed One who is worthy to be blessed… why? Because…

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places… (Eph 1:3)

The question then is “In what manner did God bless us…”? That’s where v.4 comes in. [Sa unsa nga paagi]

“even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world…”

Now what Paul is doing here is taking us back 30,000 feet to see the grand view of God’s plan for our salvation. I’ve been flying an airplane now for quite a while and the view up there is always different down here. The perspective is so different.

When we think about the Christian life, the church, and salvation and how we became Christian, our view is often the ground zero rather than the 30,000 feet. But Paul wants to take us way beyond that to say that grand plan of God.

Your coming to Christ is not an accident. God is not out there sitting hoping that some people will respond to the Gospel. No. What we see here in Ephesians 1 is God as Master who plans to save and bless a group of people in Christ before the world began - only on the basis of His Sovereign choice.

Do you know why Paul blesses God in v.3? Because he was so absolutely astounded and overwhelmed that God had chosen him before the foundation of the world.

Maybe you ask, Pastor do you believe in election? Of course, I believe it, because it’s in the Bible. The reason you and I are saved is because God the Father chose us in Christ.

When did He do this? “Before the foundation of the world.” Do you know when is that? The phrase ‘the foundation of the world’ describes the beginning of time, space, and the universe - all of God’s creation.

So before time began, before space and matter, molecules, stars, galaxies, seas and mountains, nations, kings and castles, and human inventions and iPhones, before you exist… God chose the believer - you and I.

…and all who dwell on earth will worship it, everyone whose name has not been written before the foundation of the world in the book of life of the Lamb who was slain. [Re 13:8]

The beast that you saw was and is not, and is about to rise from the bottomless pit and go to destruction. And the dwellers on earth whose names have not been written in the book of life from the foundation of the world will marvel to see the beast, because it was and is not and is to come. [Re 17:8]

When God wrote your name in the Book of Life, it was not written by pencil but the written by a burning iron of his love. It’s permanent and secure.

But what about human choice and responsibility? I believe in that too. Why? Because it’s also taught in the Bible.

All that the Father gives me will come to me [DIVINE SOVEREIGNTY], and whoever comes to me [HUMAN RESPONSIBILITY] I will never cast out. [Jn 6:37]

We are invited to believe, we are invited to repent and trust Christ. That’s human responsibility. At the same time, God chose to set his love upon you before the foundation of the world. That’s divine sovereignty. That’s also true.

But that’s opposites. In your mind. But in God’s mind, it’s not.

The point of the doctrine of election is that you and I cannot take even a small ounce of credit for our salvation. You cannot say God saved me because of me. No. God saved me because of God and for God alone.

In this section, we can say that God thought it, Jesus bought it, the Spirit wrought it, and grace has taught it, and brought it. It is all of God and nothing on us. And that guarantees our salvation. [before the foundation of the world, before creation - God had you in mind, you haven’t existed yet, you haven’t done anything yet, there’s no church to go to yet, there’s no scripture to read yet, there’s no religious deed to do with…]

Somebody asked a little boy, “Have you found Jesus?” He said, “No, Jesus found me. I was the one who was lost, and He found me.” When did God find you? Before the foundation of the world. That’s the correct starting point.

Maybe as you hear this message, you will say I don’t know if I’m chosen by God? Do you hear his calling in your life to come to Christ? Are you trusting him alone for your salvation? Do you realize that you can’t bring anything that can contribute to your salvation? If you’ve done that, you are God’s elect. If not, you can come to him right now.

What guarantees our salvation is God’s choice of us. (because it’s on the basis of God not on me)

It grounds our pursuit of holiness

…even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. (Eph 1:4)

The “that” gives us the purpose of election. This awesome privilege of election should stimulate every believer's heart to pursue holiness.

In context, all believers are made holy by virtue of their union with Christ. In fact, Paul calls the Ephesians believers in v.2 as “saints”, it comes from the word holy. We are made holy because of Christ. There’s no such thing as unholy Christian. All Christians are holy, positionally in Christ. Because we are in Christ, and Christ is holy therefore we are holy and blameless before God.

Furthermore, the phrase “we should be” is in the present tense, which means a continuous state - a pursuit, a practice that we try to live out every day (to be holy) by His grace in the power of the Spirit.

The word Holy - set apart FROM sin/evil/worldliness and set part TO God who is Holy. There is a FROM and TO direction in Holiness. A constant practice of fleeing from sins and evil in our hearts. Both internal and external. In our study of Ephesians later, we will talk about the language of Paul about this aspect - PUT ON/PUT OFF.

We need to be set APART FROM - bitterness, anger, lust, greed jealousy, envy, etc.

put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires (Eph 4:22)

Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. 32 Be kind to one another [PURSUE], tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you. (Eph 4:31–32)

We need to be SET APART FOR - God, his glory, righteousness, holiness, love, wisdom, etc.

But as for you, O man of God, flee these things. Pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, steadfastness, gentleness. (1 Ti 6:11)

So holiness is not about a minus - it’s also a plus. A pursuit of something. We shouldn’t just be holy but also BLAMELESS.

Blameless - without blemish, free from faultiness. (Spotless; WALANG BAHID; WALANG MAIKUKUBLI)

This picture reminds one of the Old Testament sacrificial animal which was required to be free of defects. Under Jewish law, before an animal could be offered as a sacrifice it must be inspected and if any blemish was found it must be rejected as unfit for an offering to God. Only the best was fit to offer to God.

…and he shall bring his gift to the LORD, one male lamb a year old without blemish for a burnt offering, and one ewe lamb a year old without blemish as a sin offering, and one ram without blemish as a peace offering (Nu 6:14)

Now what does Paul mean when he tries to apply this description to us as ‘chosen’ believers?

I like what William Barclay comments on this [Daily Study Bible] “...think of the whole man as an offering to God. It thinks of taking every part of our life, work, pleasure, sport, home life, and personal relationships, and making them all such that they can be offered to God. This word does not mean that the Christian must be respectable; it means that he must be perfect. To say that the Christian must be “blameless” is to banish contentment with second bests; it means that the Christian standard is nothing less than perfection.”

Of course in this world, we won’t be perfect, we still sin, but the genuine longing of a chosen believer is to be holy like his God. [LIVE OUT HIS POSTION]He is already holy in Christ by virtue of position, now by God’s grace he/she is directing and orienting his/her life toward that.

As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance, 15 but as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, 16 since it is written, “You shall be holy, for I am holy.” [1 Pe 1:14–16]

My beloved, Is holiness and blamelessness your greatest desire, orientation, priority, and pursuit in your life? Are you crying to God “Lord, make me more like you”? Is that your greatest goal in your marriage? As a single, I long to be holy to God.

As a parent, do you parent in such a way that reflects holiness for God as a priority? [or you just want your children to be “successful” as the world defines it] Do you want them to be amazing lovers of God?

BEFORE HIM - Lastly, Paul says we should be holy and blameless BEFORE HIM. What does it mean?

Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, 26 that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, 27 so that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish. (Eph 5:25–27)

This talks about the eschatological aspect, that someday like a wedding we (church; chosen believers) will be presented to God as holy and without blame before God.

Let that future reality become the priority today.

When we think about this - our response to the purpose of election should be like Queen Victoria’s reaction when she realized she would one day be queen: When she was young, Victoria was shielded from the fact that she would be the next ruling monarch of England lest this knowledge spoil her. When her teacher finally did let her discover for herself that she would one day be Queen of England, Victoria’s response was, “Then I will be good!” (Swindoll, Insights on Galatians & Ephesians)

Review: (The Doctrine of Election gives us…)

It guarantees that our salvation is secure.

It grounds our pursuit of holiness

It gives us a secure identity

...In love 5 he predestined us for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, (Eph 1:4–5)

This verse tells us the motivation for God’s choosing of us. LOVE. That’s His nature. Love desires to have an object to love. In His sovereign grace, he decided to choose us to be the objects of His electing love. God chose to love you not because we are nice, lovable, worthy, etc. No, He just set His love on you out of His own good pleasure.

Our God is in the heavens; he does all that he pleases. (Ps 115:3)

It pleases God to set His love upon you. That’s who you are, individually and collectively. We are loved.

Illus: If a wife will ask a husband, why do you love me? What does a good husband say? If he says I love you because you are cute, I like your personality, your eyes, etc. That’s shallow. A real mature love is “I love you because I love you.”

What’s the result of this? Out of his love… he predestined us for adoption to Himself as sons through Jesus Christ…

PRE-Destined - “marked out beforehand”. Like God choosing us in eternity past, His goal of adopting as sons (be part of his family) was already settled in the heart of God even before He created a world for us to live in.

Because of sin, we are orphans, lost without a home, and we have no right to call God our Father. Do you see those kids on the street without parents? We are like that, spiritually speaking apart from the sovereign grace of God.

We are predestined to be adopted as sons. Paul uses this phrase to emphasize something to us.

William Barclay Ephesians Commentary “In Roman law, “When the adoption was complete it was complete indeed. The person who had been adopted had all the rights of a legitimate son in his new family and completely lost all rights in his old family. In the eyes of the law, he was a new person. So new was he that even all debts and obligations connected with his previous family were abolished as if they had never existed.”

In other words, the adopted is NOW FULLY ACCEPTED and HAS a secure AND FULL IDENTITY OF THE FAMILY THAT ADOPTS HIM.

How does God do this? Through Jesus Christ. By virtue of our union with Him, you and I are adopted as sons of God. Do you know what this means? It means as Jesus is God’s beloved so you are God’s beloved. As Jesus is holy, so you are holy. As Jesus is chosen, so you are chosen. Whatever is true of Christ positionally, is true of you. His righteousness is your righteousness. His spiritual ATM and bank account are credited to your account. His spiritual riches are your spiritual riches. His inheritance is your inheritance.

This truth right here is mind-blowing. Why does God do that? According to His good pleasure and to the praise of His glorious grace.

People today are looking for a sense of self-worth. A sense of value, and self-acceptance. A place to belong. These are identity hunger. We want somebody to tell us and cheer us on “That we matter, You are the champion, my friend…”

The world recognizes that. So they produce a lot of books, seminars, workshops, therapy - on how really wonderful you are, and how to be a successful person, and how to be number one, and how to become an intimidator instead of being intimidated.

If it doesn’t work, you try religion. You try to develop a system of works to measure your sense of acceptance. A system of religious righteousness. A religious checklist that gives him/her value. If he fails with that standard, he would consider himself a second-class Christian. He would beat down himself or herself. If he’s doing right, there’s a sense of self-righteousness within and superiority of others.

If our sense of self does not come directly from Christ and the gospel, we will always be insecure with ourselves. If you need a romantic relationship to make you feel more valuable, then you are building your identity in a sinking sand. If you need branded clothes to make you feel significant, you are prone to despair and frustration of being irrelevant eventually.

You are valuable because you are in Christ. Chosen to be holy and blameless, Predestined to be adopted as sons - to the praise of his glorious grace. That’s who you are. That is secure and unchanging. That’s what matters at the end.

Tennis superstar Arthur Ashe died of AIDS, which he contracted from a blood transfusion during heart surgery. More than a great athlete, Ashe was a gentleman who inspired and encouraged many with his exemplary behavior on and off the court.

Ashe could have become embittered and self-pitying in the face of his disease, but he maintained a grateful attitude. He explained, "If I asked, 'Why me?' about my troubles, I would have to ask, 'Why me?' about my blessings. Why my winning Wimbledon? Why my marrying a beautiful, gifted woman and having a wonderful child?"

Ashe's attitude rebukes those of us who often grumble, "Why me? Why is God allowing this to happen?" Even if we're suffering acutely, we must not forget the mercies God pours into our lives—such things as food, shelter, and friends—blessings that many are deprived of.

And what about spiritual blessings? We can hold the very Word of God in our hands and read it. We have the knowledge of His saving grace, the comfort of His Spirit, and the joyful assurance of life everlasting with Jesus.

Think about God's blessings and ask, "Why me?" Then your grumbling will give way to praise.—Vernon C Grounds

Are you ever burdened with a load of care?

Does the cross seem heavy you are called to bear?

Count your many blessings, every doubt will fly,

And you will be singing as the days go by. —Oatman

With unwanted burdens come undeserved blessings.

God never stops giving us reasons to praise Him.