2. A Reason to Rejoice - Part 1 (Eph. 1:3-4)

A Reason to Rejoice - Part 1

LETTER TO THE EPHESIANS

A Reason to Rejoice

November 12, 2017

Dr. David S. Steele

Intro

A. Last week, we witnessed the powerful preamble of Paul as he whet the appetite of the Ephesians believers for the truth of God’s Word.

1. We learned a bit about the author and learned that he was an apostle. This apostle was commissioned by the will of God (v. 1).

2. We learned a bit about the recipients of his letter. He refers to them as saints, as people who are faithful in Christ Jesus (v. 2).

3. We learned about the motivation for writing the letter to the Ephesian church. Indeed, his letter is a celebration of divine favor where he extends

grace and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ (v. 3).

B. This morning, the title of the message is A Reason to Rejoice

1. After studying the powerful preamble, it should not surprise you when you learn in the verses that follow, that Paul tells the Ephesian believers

that they have a reason to rejoice. And since Paul also writes to the collective people of God, we too have a reason to rejoice!

C. Text -

D. We have been blessed beyond all measure.

1. We have a reason to rejoice because God has chosen us! - Truth Point

E. Building a Bridge to Skeptics and Arminians

1. I understand the concerns that many people have about the doctrine of election.

2. Early on in my Christian journey, I held to a two-fold assumption:[1]

* Election was according to foreknowledge - This is the view that says, “God looks down the tunnel of time and chooses all those who he see will one day possess saving faith - hence the phrase, ‘election according to foreknowledge.’”[2]

* The will is entirely free - This person has the power or ability to accept or reject the gospel. This person has as the power to believe the gospel or disbelieve the gospel.

“For Arminianism, human decision making holds a central place in salvation. This results in a theology that is not exclusively God-centered but is distorted in the direction of the self … Arminianism supplies exactly what today’s evangelicalism demands: a gospel that preserves a determinative role for personal choice.”[3]

3. Both of these assumptions are widely held in the church. In fact, it is very likely that some of you this morning are clinging to these assumptions.

4. After wrestling with Scripture, I came to the conclusion that both assumptions were wrong-headed and unbiblical.

5. So what you will hear in this message is in the context of understanding, empathy, and humility. If you’re wrestling with the doctrine of

unconditional election, I know where you’re coming from. I’ve walked in your moccasins - for many years, I travelled on the path that opposed this doctrine.

F. Convincing the Unconvinced

1. People are all over the map when it comes to this doctrine.

* Some people are confused about the doctrine of election.

* Some people feel nothing but chagrined about the doctrine of election.

* Some people celebrate this doctrine.

2. My task is to show you that the doctrine of election is not only biblical but that every Christ-follower should rejoice in it!

3. We have a reason to rejoice because God has chosen us! - Truth Point

G. The Backdrop of Election

1. We are totally depraved.

a. “Total depravity means that natural man is never able to do any good that is fundamentally pleasing to God, and, in fact does evil all the

time.”[4]

b. Sinners are born, not made (; ).

c. The heart is wicked ().

d. No desire for God ().

e. No inclination to do good ().

f. A deep hatred and hostility for God ().

g. No fear of God ().

h. Dead in sin ().

i. Enslaved in sin and unable to come to Christ apart from God’s empowerment (; ; ).

j. A posture that is best described as total inability.

“Man is a free agent but he cannot originate the love of God in his heart. His will is free in the sense that it is not controlled by a force outside himself. As the bird with a broken wing is ‘free’ to fly but not able, so the natural man is free to come to God but not able.”[5]

k. Under the wrath of God apart from Jesus Christ (; ).

2. We are sinful to the core.

Sin is Evil in Its Effects - Thomas Watson[6]

a. Sin has degraded us of our honor.

b. Sin disquiets the peace of the soul.

c. Sin produces all temporal evil.

d. Sin unrepented of brings final damnation.

* “What a pity is it so sweet an affection as love should be poured upon so filthy a thing as sin! Sin brings a sting in the conscience, a curse in the estate; yet men love it. A sinner is the greatest self-denier; for his sin he will deny himself a part in heaven.”

3. Our wills are free, yet paralyzed.[7]

Free Will 101

a. We possess free will.

* Jonathan Edwards defines the will as “That by which the mind chooses anything. The Faculty of the Will, is that power, or principle of mind, by which it is capable of choosing.”[8]

b. We are never forced to act contrary to our nature.

* We always choose according to our strongest inclination.

* “A man never, in any instance, wills anything contrary to his desires, or desires anything contrary to his will.”[9]

* “By free will we mean that man’s will is not coerced. We mean that man is not forced by some external force greater than himself to do something he does not want to do. We mean that man is free to do what he wants to do within the limits of his ability” (emphasis mine).[10]

c. Freedom does NOT imply ability.

* Sinful creatures are free to fly - but not able.

* Sinful creatures are free to swim under water without oxygen for an extended period of time - but they are not able to do so.

* Joni Eareckson Tada is free to jump out of her wheel chair and dance - but she is utterly incapable of performing this activity.

* Sinful creatures are free to come to God - but not able apart from God’s drawing them.

“We have not natural ability to discern and choose God’s way because we have no natural inclination Godward; our hearts are in bondage to sin, and only the grace of regeneration can free us from that slavery.”[11]

d. Totally depraved people are free to do good or evil but only able to do evil because of the radical nature of their sinful condition (; John

8:34).

* “With sin’s entrance, man lost ability to do good, not liberty.”[12]

4. Once you get a better understanding of your lost condition, that you are without hope and without God, you are in a position to hear and receive

what Paul has to say in verses 3-4.

H. Over the course of the next few weeks, I want to zero in on these two verses and show you pillars of truth that will help undergird your Christian life

and demonstrate why you have a reason to rejoice!

I. PILLAR # 1: THE PREEMINENT BLESSING (v. 3).

A. FOUR CRITICAL REALITES (v. 3).

1. The fountainhead of all the blessings that we receive finds its origin in God the Father.

a. This amazing truth is reflected in the well-known, Doxology:

Praise God, from Whom all blessings flow;

Praise Him, all creatures here below;

Praise Him above, ye heavenly host;

Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.

b. That all our blessings come from the hand of God the Father is seen throughout the Bible.

““Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, for he has visited and redeemed his people” (, ESV)

“Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves, because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen.” (, ESV)

“To them belong the patriarchs, and from their race, according to the flesh, is the Christ, who is God over all, blessed forever.” (, ESV)

2. These blessings are linked to the Lord Jesus Christ.

a. Blessed (εὐλογέω) - “To act kindly toward; to provide benefits.”

* Notice the the domain of this blessing - God the Father has blessed us “in Christ.”

* Notice the degree of this blessing - “ … who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places” (v. 3). This verse acts as a sort of “umbrella” that is the basis for each one of our spiritual blessings. Some of these blessings will begin to unfold in verses 3-14! The degree of this blessing is astronomical. God has “blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places.”

* This should make your soul sing! This should cause worship to pour forth from your lips! This should motivate you to tell the nations of God’s great love!

* When this reality got into Paul’s bloodstream, he exploded in praise and worship to God:

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort,” (, ESV)

“The God and Father of the Lord Jesus, he who is blessed forever, knows that I am not lying.” (, ESV)

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,” (, ESV)

3. These blessings are spiritual blessings.

a. Spiritual (πνευματικός) - “Supernatural.”

b. Blessing (εὐλογία) - “The full abundant blessing of the gospel.”

c. Our blessings are in the heavenly (ἐπουράνιος) places.

* The Bible tells us that God lives in heaven ().

* God rules from heaven and initiates his saving work there.

* God’s throne is in heaven which reminds of his lordship over all things.

* Heaven is the focus of the blessings of salvation.

d. Indeed, these are spiritual blessings!

4. These blessings are totally undeserved.

a. The minute we feel feel like God owes us, we miss the meaning of the blessing of God.

b. “As a human being I might prefer that God give his mercy to everyone equally, but I may not demand it. If God is not pleased to dispense his

saving mercy to all men, then I must submit to his holy and righteous decision. God is never, never, never obligated to be merciful to sinners. That is the point we must stress if we are to grasp the full measure of God’s grace.”[13]

Illus – Saving Private Ryan Video Clip[14]

· A dying soldier’s final words to the man whose life he saved was “Earn this.” Half a century later, the man who survived is elderly and stands in a cemetery to honor the man who saved him.

· Movie Clip: “I lived my life the best I could. I hope it was enough.” He turns to his wife: “Tell me I’m a good man.” His wife says, “You are.”

Conclusion

A. The first pillar that undergirds our Christian lives and gives a reason to rejoice is the preeminent blessing. This is a blessing that we can never earn!

This is a blessing that cannot be bought! Our blessings were earned for us by the God-man, the Lord Jesus Christ when he perfectly fulfilled the law of God, suffered, bled, and died on a cross, and was raised victoriously on the third day!

B. I’m wondering:

1. Are you filled with unspeakable joy because of the blessings that you have received in Christ?

2. Do the blessings that you receive in Christ cause you to worship God in spirit and truth?

3. Have these blessings given you a new perspective - a new sense of wonder and astonishment as you behold the grace of God in the face of Christ?

4. Here’s what Paul says: “Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have

suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ” (, ESV)

C. If you are a Christian, you have been blessed beyond measure!

says, “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,” (, ESV)

1. The blessings that you have received in Christ should be permeating every aspects of your life.

· Families/parenting

· Marriages

· Careers

· Relationships in the community

· Attitudes and actions, etc.

2. We have a reason to rejoice because God has chosen us! - Truth Point

3. The source of our spiritual blessings is grounded in our eternal election. That is where we turn our attention next week.

[1] Both assumptions land squarely in the Arminian camp.

[2] Please understand that every serious-minded student of the Bible must believe in the doctrine of election. To discount it, is to do violence to the Bible. Once a person admits that this doctrine is biblical, one must either embrace election according to foreknowledge or unconditional election.

[3] James Boice and Philip Graham Ryken, The Doctrines of Grace (Wheaton: Crossway Books, 2002), 28-29.

[4] Edwin H. Palmer, The Five Points of Calvinism (Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 1972), 13.

[5] Loraine Boettner, The Reformed Doctrine of Predestination (Philadelphia: P&R Publishing, 1969), 62.

[6] Thomas Watson, A Body of Divinity (1692; reprint, Edinburgh: Banner of Truth, 1992), 135-136.

[7] “Man, by his fall into sin, hath wholly lost all ability of will to any spiritual good accompanying salvation; so as a natural man being altogether averse from that good, and dead in sin, is not able, by his own strength to convert himself, or to prepare himself thereunto (WCF, Chapter 9, Sec. 3).

[8] “A Careful and Strict Inquiry into the Modern Prevailing Notions of the Freedom of the Will,” in The Works of Jonathan Edwards, 2 vols., ed. Edward Hickman (1834: reprint, Edinburgh: Banner of Truth, 1974), 1:4.

[9] Ibid, 4.

[10] G.I. Williamson, The Westminster Confession of Faith (Philadelphia: Presbyterian and Reformed, 164), 85.

[11] J.I. Packer, Concise Theology (Wheaton: Tyndale House Publishers, 1993), 86.

[12] G.I. Williamson, The Westminster Confession of Faith, 86.

[13] R.C. Sproul, Chosen By God (Wheaton: Tyndale House Publishers, 1986), 38.

[14] Thanks to Marvin Olasky, Worldview: Seeking Grace and Truth in Common Life (Greensboro: New Growth Press, 2017), 70-71.