A Remedy Of Praise
Sermon • Submitted
0 ratings
· 29 viewsPaul praises the triune God in the opening sentence of Ephesians.
Notes
Transcript
We are going to be looking at what many theologians and scholars call “the doxology”.
Doxo - greek for Glory. Doxology then means to glorify.
CSB Study Bible: Notes Chapter 1
This section often is called “the doxology” because it recites what God has done and is an expression to him of worship, praise, and honor.
It’s the opening sentence after Paul’s greeting in Ephesians.
That’s right, I said one sentence. You might see periods and many sentences in your english bibles, but if you were reading this in the Greek language it would be one long flowing poetic sentence.
It’s amazing that in just one sentence, Paul worshipfully deals with very important concepts like: Election, Spiritual Adoption, and Redemption.
Election - God’s sovereign choice in our salvation.
Spiritual Adoption - God’s sovereign choice to make us his children.
Redemption - God’s sovereign choice to make us unholy wretches now holy trophies of grace.
Let’s read our text:
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, 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 to himself 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, 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.
Intro
I was listening to a sermon by Pastor Tony Merida where he detailed how having a wrong view about where history is headed and who is in control of it can lead people towards three different outlooks on life. While they are different, they are all ungodly and unhealthy.
He explained the three as Hedonism, Apathy, and Despair. Here is how he defined them...
Hedonism: you’re indulging the flesh regularly, rather than pursuing godliness;
Apathy: you’ve lost zeal and passion for Christ, perhaps during this covid time.
Despair: you look at the events of the world and feel hopeless.
Along with his description, Pastor Tony read some ancient pagan gravestone inscriptions that William Barclay dug up detailing how these views effect how we live our lives:
On one tomb, hedonism is illustrated: “I am nothing, I was nothing, so you who are still alive eat, drink and be merry.”
Living life for the next great enjoyment or over indulgence.
On another tomb apathy: “Once I had no existence; now I have none. I am not aware of it. It doesn’t concern me.
I don’t really care what happens to me. And I shouldn’t really care because I probably can’t do anything about it.
On another is despair: “What is below?” “Deep darkness.: “What is upward? All a lie.” “Then we are all lost.”
This is probably the one our culture is currently most enthralled in. Covid is the end of the world. You can’t trust anyone. The sky is falling.
Hedonism, apathy, and despair.
How can we escape them?
From what I’ve read in the scriptures, the only sure remedy for the hedonism, apathy, and despair of this earth is to see God clearly and then recount all the reasons God is worthy to be praised.
Set our gaze on Him and voice our observations about Him to Him! Doing this in a state of “exultation”, “rejoicing”, or “glorify”.
Doxology - to glorify
We see this in the Psalms. When the psalmists feel low they recount the goodness of God and praise Him.
Why are you cast down, O my soul,
and why are you in turmoil within me?
Hope in God; for I shall again praise him,
my salvation
Why are you cast down, O my soul,
and why are you in turmoil within me?
Hope in God; for I shall again praise him,
my salvation and my God.
Right now, in the midst of a pandemic, lock downs, election year, divisive rhetoric, civil unrest, and mass divisions… We need something to raise us out of the mire and muck of our culture.
So today, I hope to give you a remedy of praise from Ephesians 1:3-14.
Exposition
Paul starts this long praise sentence with this amazing theme found in verse 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,
Bless God who has blessed us.
When the bible uses the word “blessed” in reference to God, it has a connotation of praising God or adoring God.
When the bible uses the word “blessed” in reference to humanity or creation, it has a connotation of us receiving a benefit or gift.
Here is a simple way to understand it:
Being blessed is like receiving a benefit from something:
God benefits from His existence by being praised because he is worthy.
We benefit from God’s existence by enjoying Him and all that He is praiseworthy for.
So, what follows this verse is all the benefits or “spiritual blessings” we receive as a result of God being praiseworthy.
Just like the opening in verse 3 states “Blessed be the God and Father of Our Lord Jesus Christ...” the rest of this text explicitly states that all the things mentioned are for the purpose of praising God.
It’s very trinitarian in nature:
Verses 3-6 highlighting The Father’s plan For Us;
Verses 7-12 highlighting The Son’s Accomplishments For Us;
& verses 13-14 highlighting The Spirit’s Guarantee In Us.
Notice how each of these sections end with praise!
Verse 6: After highlighting The Father’s Plan: Paul says, “to the praise of his glorious grace”.
Verse 12: After detailing The Son’s Accomplishments: Paul exclaims, “so that we who were the first to hope in Christ might be to the praise of his glory.”
Verse 14: After declaring The Spirit’s Guarantee: Paul rejoices saying, “to the praise of his glory.”
Essentially, Paul teaches us that everything done by God is done for His glory.
And God’s pursuit for His glory benefits us.
Therefore, we should praise Him!
So this is a single sentence doxology detailing the praiseworthiness of our Triune God!
I’d like us to meditate on these three sections regarding our spiritual blessings.
After each one of them, I want us to publicly praise God in prayer.
First reality we praise God for...
Praise God For The Father’s Plan For Us
Praise God For The Father’s Plan For Us
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 to himself 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.
These verses show us some amazing things God had planned for us.
“even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him.”
Making you holy.
But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.
Making you blameless.
God no longer sees our sin. But he now sees the righteousness of His son.
CSB Study Bible: Notes Chapter 1
Holiness and blamelessness are the results, not the basis, of God’s election.
“Come now, let us reason together, says the Lord:
though your sins are like scarlet,
they shall be as white as snow;
though they are red like crimson,
they shall become like wool.
“In love he predestined us for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ”
Making you a son/daughter.
We are no longer children of wrath. We are children of blessing. Children of God.
CSB Study Bible: Notes Chapter 1
Adoption is the legal declaration that we are God’s children with all of the rights, privileges, and duties belonging to believers.
Before you were born, God knew you, God planned for you to be His son or daughter. He so loves you that he wanted you to be a part of His family.
But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God,
“according to the purpose of his will”
Made you an object of His desire.
By saying “according to the purpose of His will”, Paul is essentially saying that God wanted to do this for you. He desired to do these things for you.
He didn’t do this begrudgingly. No one was twisting His arm to do it.
Don’t you love that! Isn’t it amazing that the God of the universe [wanted to adopt you, wanted to choose you, wanted to make you an object of His desire]
Scandalous!
The fact is that God created you with the intention of purposing his will in your favor.
“to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved.”
Made you in found in Christ.
over and over Paul says “in Christ”
God, placed your life in Jesus. Colossians 3:3
For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.
Do you realize just how much God has planned for you!?
You don’t need to find fulfillment from the world. You don’t need to find your purpose from the world.
God has something better for you than anything else, anyone could design.
Let’s praise God, right now for how he has a plan for us.
Second reality that we praise God for...
Praise God For The Son’s Service To Us
Praise God For The Son’s Service To Us
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.
Look at what these verses reveal to us about how the Son served us...
“In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses,”
Jesus shed His blood to redeem and forgive us.
Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God.
“according to the riches of his grace, which he lavished upon us,”
Jesus Lavished His grace upon us.
I like to imagine a dump truck of grace being poured out on top of us.
“Lavished”
The Theological Dictionary of the New Testament A. Outside the New Testament.
of things, “to be present overabundantly
The grace we receive from Jesus is actually more than we need. Isn’t that incredible!?
“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.”
Jesus Revealed God’s mysterious plan for creation to us.
You and I have been invited into the backroom with God so that he can share with us his secret plan for all of creation. A plan made possible by Jesus’ death and resurrection.
The ESV Study Bible Chapter 1
The work of Christ on the cross is the central axis for the history of creation, whether in heaven or on earth (see also Col. 1:15–20), since he has redeemed his people and silenced all hostile powers (see Eph. 3:10).
“In him we have obtained an inheritance,”
Jesus Bought us His inheritance.
The Greek construction of this phrase could mean both that...
Jesus bought and reserved an inheritance for us.
That Jesus bought and reserved us as His inheritance.
“having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will,”
Jesus Works all of this out by His will.
Jesus wanted to do this. Jesus is actively working in creation for God’s glory and our benefit!
Jesus is making sure that everything goes according to the Father’s plan. He is actively working behind the scenes in all things in order to see us through to the end.
“so that we who were the first to hope in Christ might be to the praise of his glory.”
Makes us trophies of God’s grace.
Paul is probably referring to the idea that the original witnesses and apostles are merely instruments to bring God glory.
But the same is true for us now who believe.
Their degree of glorifying God might be higher than ours (in some mysterious way that we can’t quite understand)
But our glorification of God through our hope in Christ will also be amazing when we are in glory with Him.
You have been forgiven. You have been redeemed. You are now an object of God’s affection.
The greatest problem you have ever had was solved by Jesus. Not only that, he revealed to us how he solved it and how he is going to solve every other problem in existence.
This can destroy anxiety. This can eradicate our feeling of needing to solve every issue that comes our way.
Let’s praise God, right now for what the Son has done for us.
Third reality we praise God for...
Praise God For The Spirit’s Guarantee In Us
Praise God For The Spirit’s Guarantee In Us
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.
Look at how these verses describe the Spirit’s Guarantee in us...
“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,”
The Spirit Sealed our souls in Christ.
When something was sealed in ancient Roman culture it meant it was not to be opened until it fulfilled it’s purpose or had made its way to its destination.
Melted wax would imprint a family or government seal on to the item that was being sealed.
1 John 4:4
Little children, you are from God and have overcome them, for he who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.
“who is the guarantee of our inheritance”
The Spirit gives us a taste of God’s full presence in the here and now.
It’s like God has set up a massive trust fund in our name and slowly disperses it to us until we hit a certain age. Then, and only then, will we be given complete access to our funds!
But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you.
Romans 5:5
and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.
1 Thessalonians 1:6
And you became imitators of us and of the Lord, for you received the word in much affliction, with the joy of the Holy Spirit,
“until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory.”
The Spirit is carrying us to the day when Christ returns for us.
This is how the sealing and the guarantee work.
And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.
God didn’t just save us and leave us on our own. He actually has come to us. He has indwelled us. He is with us!
We get to experience many of the realities of our future in heaven in the here and now.
Let’s praise God, right now for how we experience the Holy Spirit’s guarantee to us
Conclusion
We praise God...
For the Father’s plan for us.
For the Son’s service to us.
For the Spirit’s guarantee in us.
Lift you eyes to God!
Don’t get caught up in the hedonism, apathy, and despair of this world.
Get caught up in God!
And remedy all your temptations to hedonism, apathy, and despair with praise for God!