Chosen to Endure by the Triune God

Introduction

Relearning Algebra in College was much better for me.

Being reminded of something I learned earlier helped drive it home in a more lasting way.

Context

· A new series. Enduring in Christ. A new book, Ephesians.

· If we are going to endure here in Spring Lake as the Lord has allowed us to for the past 160 years, it is going to be because we are in Christ.

o This is how we will keep our first love…the gospel of our salvation.

· So, it is fitting that we engage with one of Paul’s most famous letters to the very church that would come to be corrected by the Lord Jesus in Revelation 2.

· Paul labored in founding the church at Ephesus for 3 years.

o He writes during his imprisonment in Rome to this church.

o There is no evidence that there is a crisis that he is trying to address.

o It seems that he simply wished to encourage them about the things he had previously taught them.

§ To keep the focus on the main thing.

· His letter opens up with every English teacher’s worst nightmare. A run-on sentence.

o This run-on sentence goes on for 202 words in the form of overflowing praise for the God who has saved us.

· This opening praise will introduce all the themes that Paul will expose in the rest of this letter.

o So today, we will be focused on the reasons why God is so worthy of praise according to Paul.

§ We will then dig in on those reasons and their application to our lives as we continue through the letter in future weeks.

For today, as we will see, it is enough for us to praise the Triune God for the great blessings we have from the Father, in the Son, and through the Holy Spirit.

Theologian Paul Gardner says,

“Paul praises the Father for the blessings mediated to us by the Holy Spirit that we have as Christians because we are ‘in Christ.’”

·

Blessed and Chosen by the Father (1:3-6)

Ephesians 1:3–6 ESV

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.

· God is worthy to be blessed because He is a good who blesses.

o This is an expression of the perfection of God’s goodness.

· Now there are many kinds of blessing;

o There is the blessing of life that God has given all living things.

o And there is the common blessings that we all enjoy, such as the blessing of living here in this wonderful state.

o These are all common blessings that God bestows on his creation as a witness of his goodness and worthiness.

· But there is a third kind of blessing; the one in view here.

o These are spiritual blessings that are available only to those who belong to God through Jesus Christ. Covenant blessings.

§ Those who have trusted in His death, resurrection, and ascension and have been united with Him by faith.

§ Paul freely uses this phrase “in Him” to point to this reality.

This is what it means to be a Christian: not to be saved or to follow after Him as a disciple (not primarily).

But to be so closely identified with Jesus Christ in His death and resurrection that we are as one with Him.

Being in Christ is the means by which we gain access to all the wonderful blessings that God gives us.

· Indeed, God has blessed us with every spiritual blessing.

o This is a summary of all that God has given us in Christ.

o We have everything pertaining to spiritual life in Christ through the gift of the Holy Spirit.

· And, he has blessed us in the heavenly places.

o This is that we are enjoying the benefits of Christ’s heavenly reign here and now.

o We are citizens of a new kingdom where Jesus reigns.

§ The kingdom of “already-but-not-yet.”

· There are four reasons Paul gives as proof of the worthiness of God to be praised by His people.

God is worthy of our praise because He chose us.

· This is the language of election—one of the central themes in Scripture.

o We see it in Gen. 12:1-3 with Abram.

o And again, with Israel in Deut. 7:6-8; 14:2.

· Deuteronomy 14:2 (ESV)

Deuteronomy 14:2 ESV

2 For you are a people holy to the Lord your God, and the Lord has chosen you to be a people for his treasured possession, out of all the peoples who are on the face of the earth.

o Now, Paul says that God has chosen a people for himself in Christ.

§ Not just a church for people to belong to, but every person in it.

· Election is the foundation for all the blessings that we enjoy in Jesus Christ.

o That the elect people of God were chosen purposefully by God “before the foundation of the world.”

§ Before there was time, God set His people apart.

· John 17:24 (ESV)

John 17:24 ESV

24 Father, I desire that they also, whom you have given me, may be with me where I am, to see my glory that you have given me because you loved me before the foundation of the world.

· For what were we chosen? To be holy and blameless before him.

· Colossians 1:22 (ESV)

Colossians 1:22 ESV

22 he has now reconciled in his body of flesh by his death, in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before him,

o That we would have the stain of sin removed with its legal demands.

o That we would have the holiness of Christ added to us.

§ That we could stand before the Father in the judgment.

· God did not just arbitrarily elect; it was a work motivated by perfect love.

o From eternity past, God decided that we should be adopted into the family of God and receive blessings.

· God’s electing and predestining of His people is according to His good will.

o This means that the blessings we receive are not due to anything worthy in us, but only as a result of His grace.

We aren’t saints because we tried harder or did more than others, but because, in love, God chose us.

· It was according to His purpose and His will that this be the case.

o He chose us because it pleased Him to do so

· Election and predestination are often issues that become a cause for confusion and division in the body.

o I am convinced that this is because we miss the reason for this beautiful doctrine.

o It is meant for our comfort. To give us hope and assurance to carry us through every difficulty.

Predestination was never meant to be a doctrinal club used to batter people into acknowledgments of God’s sovereignty. Rather, the message of God’s love preceding our accomplishments and outlasting our failures was meant to give us a profound sense of confidence and security in God’s love so that we will not despair in situations of great difficulty, pain, and shame. —Bryan Chapell

· So, there can be no pride in an election; it is meant to bless the believer.

o Not the object of endless arguments nor an excuse not to evangelize.

o But to assure those who have trusted in Jesus that their failures don’t undo God’s love for us.

· The purpose of election is adoption; that we become true members of God’s family, and He becomes our real Father.

As Father loves His Son, so we are loved by Him as sons (and daughters) in Christ.

We experience the perfection of His love for His Son Jesus Christ.

· Galatians 4:6–7 (ESV)

Galatians 4:6–7 ESV

6 And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba! Father!” 7 So you are no longer a slave, but a son, and if a son, then an heir through God.

· The theological purpose of the great work of election and adoption is that God’s redeemed people would praise his glorious grace.

o When we reflect on the free and gracious gifts of God that we have in Jesus Christ, the only proper response must be that we praise Him.

o But we must realize that our election is not merely a free pass.

§ We are set apart for holiness…God’s elect cannot be characterized by ongoing and deliberate sin.

Redeemed and Adopted in the Son (1:7-12)

Ephesians 1:7–12 ESV

7 In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, 8 which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight 9 making known to us the mystery of his will, according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ 10 as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth. 11 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, 12 so that we who were the first to hope in Christ might be to the praise of his glory.

· Paul moves into a second round of praise, that we are redeemed and adopted in the Son.

o And he explains the wonderful role that God plays in our blessing.

· The second God is worthy of the praises of his people.

God is worthy of our praise because he redeems us.

· And so, we move from God’s electing work in eternity to God’s redeeming work in time.

o There are present and future applications of redemption.

· Redemption has to do with a price paid to free someone from captivity. That we are free from prison.

o Our prison is sin. Both our individual sins and the sin nature that we inherited from Adam.

· We are freed by means of Jesus’s sacrificial death on the cross.

o Jesus’s shed blood applies to us for our trespasses–the sin that requires God’s judgment.

· We have complete forgiveness of sins.

· Psalm 103:12 (ESV)

Psalm 103:12 ESV

12 as far as the east is from the west, so far does he remove our transgressions from us.

· Isaiah 44:22 (ESV)

Isaiah 44:22 ESV

22 I have blotted out your transgressions like a cloud and your sins like mist; return to me, for I have redeemed you.

· Jeremiah 31:34b (ESV)

Jeremiah 31:34 ESV

34 And no longer shall each one teach his neighbor and each his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, declares the Lord. For I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.

· Micah 7:19 (ESV)

Micah 7:19 ESV

19 He will again have compassion on us; he will tread our iniquities underfoot. You will cast all our sins into the depths of the sea.

· Riches of His grace: Jesus’s sacrifice was all-sufficient to pay for our sins.

· Lavished: God isn’t stingy with His grace. It abounds over our sins, washing them away completely.

Jesus Christ is an unlimited treasure for unworthy people.

· Wisdom and insight: Again, we see that there was nothing haphazard or accidental about God’s salvation.

o He knew exactly what was needed to redeem us; to save us. He planned it all in eternity past.

§ He counted the cost and gladly paid it.

· Making known to us the mystery of His will:

o Mystery isn’t speaking of some kind of ignorant doubt, but something hidden in time that is now revealed.

o What God has revealed to us in Christ is the magnificent plan of salvation that is in capped of in Christ Jesus.

· Hebrews 1:1–2 (ESV)

Hebrews 1:1–2 ESV

1 Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, 2 but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world.

· Jesus Christ is the capstone of God’s grand plan of salvation and leads to the end that God purposed, that all things would be united in Christ.

o Bringing everything that was broken in the fall back into order.

· Paul calls this a “plan for the fullness of time.”

o It wasn’t a bet or some half-cocked plan, where God was flying by the seat of His pants, hoping beyond hope that it would work.

§ The text says that God was actively bringing it about (administering all of history with meticulous, purposeful detail) to bring about the uniting of all things in Christ.

· It all points to Jesus.

· Paul then gives a third reason why God is worthy of the praises of His people.

God is worthy of our praise because he has given us an imperishable inheritance.

· Jesus’s work on the cross granted us access to the blessings and promises of the Father.

o He made it apply to us.

· And so, Jesus’s redeeming work makes us co-heirs with Him.

o So that we who are the recipients of this great grace would praise His glory.

§ That in Jesus Christ we behold the revelation and manifestation of who God is.

· His power, majesty, purity, holiness.

§ And having seen the glory of God in salvation through Jesus Christ, we might respond in praise.

Revealed and Sealed through the Spirit (1:13-14)

Ephesians 1:13–14 ESV

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, 14 who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory.

· Paul gives a final reason for praise:

God is worthy of our praise because he has sealed us with His Holy Spirit.

· We need not worry that we would fall short of taking hold of the great salvation of God in Jesus, because He has made it sure through the giving of the Holy Spirit, his own presence made manifest in our hearts.

o The third person of the Trinity is our guarantee that we are saved and that we will inherit the kingdom with Him: He is the source of every spiritual blessing we have in the heavenly places.

· Paul says the Spirit is promised: He is a part of God’s mystery in the Old Testament, revealed.

o For example, Ezekiel 11:19–20 (ESV)

Ezekiel 11:19–20 ESV

19 And I will give them one heart, and a new spirit I will put within them. I will remove the heart of stone from their flesh and give them a heart of flesh, 20 that they may walk in my statutes and keep my rules and obey them. And they shall be my people, and I will be their God.

· The Spirit acted upon us at the moment of salvation, such that three simultaneous events took place.

o We heard the gospel (the word of truth), believed in Jesus Christ, and were at that moment sealed for eternity.

o This seal that was put upon us marks us as God’s precious possession for all eternity.

· The Holy Spirit is our guarantee:

o A guarantee is a down payment laid down with a sure expectation of full payment to follow.

§ The presence of the Holy Spirit in us is the sure hope that we will come to possess all the fullness of God’s blessing when Jesus Christ comes in the new creation.

· This is a great comfort for us because it teaches us

The success of Christian life is measure not in the distance we travel in holiness, but rather in who makes it to the end.

God’s Holy Spirit is the guarantee that we will make it to the ened, because of Jesus’s completed work, not ours.

We are weak, and we may very well stumble and fall in many ways.

We may find ourselves crawling.

But the Holy Spirit is our assurance that we will finish the race, and that all the wonderful promises we have in Jesus Christ are, “yes and amen!”

· And so we come again to the reason we have these precious graces, that we would praise His glory.

Who is like our God? Who is a Savior like the Lord Jesus? Who is a helper like the Spirit?

Conclusion

· Paul’s introduction to his letter teaches us to praise in his praise.

· Praise is one of the most important actions we can take in Christian life.

o We need to meditate upon and contemplate the wonder of God’s grace and the greatness of His plan of salvation through Jesus Christ.

· Further, he teaches us that salvation is an act of the triune God.

o And each person completely and unequivocally worthy of all honor and praise.

· God the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.

o He chose us, predestined us, adopted us, redeemed us, forgave us, and sealed us for salvation.

· All these many gifts we have in Jesus Christ; through the unique work He accomplished for us.

o We are blessed in Him, chosen in Him, predestined to in Him, redeemed in Him, united with Him, granted inheritance in Him, and sealed in Him.

· And it is the work of the Holy Spirit, who administers these great blessings to us.

o He is the spiritual blessing we have been given by the Father.

o He is the means by which we receive these great gifts.

o And he is the proof that we have been set apart in Christ by the Father and that we will endure to the end.

So, people of God, let us praise the God who has saved us and richly blessed us in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ!