Praise to a Sovereign God for Choosing Us

Ephesians 1:1–2 KJV 1900

1 Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, to the saints which are at Ephesus, and to the faithful in Christ Jesus: 2 Grace be to you, and peace, from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ.

Ephesians 1:3–6 KJV 1900

3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ: 4 According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love: 5 Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will, 6 To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved.

Ephesians 1:7–14 KJV 1900

7 In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace; 8 Wherein he hath abounded toward us in all wisdom and prudence; 9 Having made known unto us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure which he hath purposed in himself: 10 That in the dispensation of the fulness of times he might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; even in him: 11 In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will: 12 That we should be to the praise of his glory, who first trusted in Christ. 13 In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise, 14 Which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory.

Last week we discovered the Apostle Paul began this longest sentence in the Bible by looking at the first phrase of this sentence.

Ephesians 1:3 KJV 1900

3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ:

God is Good - He deserves our praise.

All good comes from God in the form of spiritual blessings.

These spiritual blessings are attached to the Holy Spirit who works in and through our lives.

Therefore, these are not physical earthly blessings, but rather are found only in the presence or realm of God and manifested in this physical earth.

Which means, we only have these blessings and access “in Christ”.

This morning, we are going to simply deal with blessing 1 found in verse 4.

Ephesians 1:4 (KJV 1900)

4 According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love:

God Chose:

Adrian Rogers says, “

Adrian Rogers Sermon Archive I. We Are Chosen

God thought it. Jesus bought it. The Spirit wrought it.

Chosen has to do with selection, picking, and election. There is a really big division when it comes to this study. Therefore, I want to really cover it this morning.

The one camp is known as

Calvinism, and basically states that God has chosen or elected some to be saved while choosing or electing some to be lost and spend an eternity in hell.

I believe the issue happens with a misunderstanding of election. When speaking of election,

Does it refer to the beginning of salvation or the result of salvation?

What is doesn’t reference

Salvation

1 Timothy 2:3–4 (KJV 1900)

3 For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour;

4 Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth.

Do not ever allow someone to convince you of the idea that God chooses some to be saved and chooses some to be damned to a devil’s hell.

Matthew 25:41 (KJV 1900)

41 Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels:

2 Peter 3:9 (KJV 1900)

9 The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.

If an individual is not saved, it is not because of they have been predestined to hell, it is because they did not come to Jesus Christ.

Matthew 11:28 (KJV 1900)

28 Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.

John 3:16 (KJV 1900)

16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

Acts 2:21 (KJV 1900)

21 And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved.

Romans 10:13 (KJV 1900)

13 For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.

Revelation 22:17 (KJV 1900)

17 And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely.

So, I do not believe that Chosen or election has to do with Salvation so the term predestined does not reference election per se but outcome.

What is does reference

The one called will end up a certain way, namely looking like Jesus, being counted as a co-heir.

So, here is the dilemma that we need to solve this morning.

Election = Getting Saved

or

Election = the Result of Salvation

When is comes to salvation,

Romans 8:28–30 (KJV 1900)

28 And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.

29 For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren.

30 Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified.

It has to do with God’s Marvelous Grace, but we have to respond to God’s purpose. He has given us a freewill.

It goes all the way back to the garden where God created man and women in his image and placed them in a garden with 2 trees, a tree of life and a tree of knowledge of good and evil. He allowed man to decide and ever since then man has been in a valley of decision. Are we going to trust God who created everything or are we going to trust ourself.

Notice in our passage this morning:

The flow of Paul’s argument is to praise God for his work through Christ to make a holy and blameless people, ones predestined to sonship, for the praise of his glory (1:5–6)

Ephesians 1:5–6 (KJV 1900)

5 Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will,

6 To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved.

and this was accomplished by the blood of Christ, which results in the forgiveness of sins and the summing up of all things in Christ (1:7–10).

Ephesians 1:7–10 (KJV 1900)

7 In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace;

8 Wherein he hath abounded toward us in all wisdom and prudence;

9 Having made known unto us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure which he hath purposed in himself:

10 That in the dispensation of the fulness of times he might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; even in him:

Ephesians 1:11 (KJV 1900)

11 In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will:

Ephesians: A New Covenant Commentary (Chosen through Christ (1:4–6))

In 1:11 he links “predestined” with the argument that God has planned for “us” (likely meaning believers generally) to be for God’s praise and glory. When Paul uses “predestined” he connects it with inheritance; when he speaks of redemption, he argues the efficacy (or adequacy, or effectiveness) of Christ’s blood for the forgiveness of sins.

A closer look at 1:4–6 shows a tightly packaged argument that stresses God’s blessing which was lavishly extended.

The key noun is grace; it is God’s grace that manifests his blessing, it is God’s grace that is so prolifically bestowed.

Paul explains that it was always God’s plan to redeem his world through the Lord Jesus Christ; indeed it was God’s good pleasure that informed his will. An astonishing number of parallels are found with Rom 8, including specific concepts such as predestination, sonship, and Spirit. Moreover, the general topic and mood is similar: God has chosen and redeemed a people to himself in Christ, and this claim is assured through the Spirit of God.

Paul speaks of our sonship in Christ.

God Chose:

Ephesians 1:4 (KJV 1900)

4 According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love:

Whom Did He Choose:

Ephesians 1:4 (KJV 1900)

4 According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love:

Who is the us?

Ephesians 1:1 (KJV 1900)

1 Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, to the saints which are at Ephesus, and to the faithful in Christ Jesus:

Where Did He Choose:

Ephesians 1:4 (KJV 1900)

4 According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love:

When Did He Choose:

Ephesians 1:4 (KJV 1900)

4 According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love:

God determined before the world was ever created that He would have a people …

• who would be “in Him,” that is, in His Son, Jesus Christ

• who would be “holy and without blame”

• who would live “before Him in love”—forever and ever

God wants us to be with Him. God does not want us separated from Him, gripped by sin and shame, sorrow and pain, death and hell. God wants us to live forever and ever with Him.

Hebrews 4:3 KJV 1900

3 For we which have believed do enter into rest, as he said, As I have sworn in my wrath, if they shall enter into my rest: although the works were finished from the foundation of the world.

Why Did He Choose:

Ephesians 1:4 (KJV 1900)

4 According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love:

The word holy (hagious) means to be set apart and consecrated to God. It is the same word that is used for “saint” in verse one.

The word blameless (amomous) means to be free from sin, dirt, and filth; to be above reproach and without blemish; to be without fault and defilement.

Simply stated, the great blessing of God is perfection; God has chosen the believer to be perfect.

But note: the believer’s perfection is in Christ and in Christ alone. No man—not even a believer—can live a perfect and sinless life. No man is righteous or ever will be. Jesus Christ is the only Person who has ever lived a sinless and perfect life; therefore, He is the only Person who has the right to live with God.

Our only hope of ever living with God is to believe in Jesus Christ—believe so much that God will take our faith and count it as the righteousness of Christ.

This is the glorious gospel: God loves us so much that He has accepted us in the righteousness of Jesus Christ. He has taken our faith in Christ and counted it as the righteousness of Christ. Therefore, we are acceptable to God because we trust in Christ and in His righteousness—accepted as being perfect in the perfection of Jesus Christ.

1 John 3:14–17 (KJV 1900)

14 We know that we have passed from death unto life, because we love the brethren. He that loveth not his brother abideth in death.

15 Whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer: and ye know that no murderer hath eternal life abiding in him.

16 Hereby perceive we the love of God, because he laid down his life for us: and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren.

17 But whoso hath this world’s good, and seeth his brother have need, and shutteth up his bowels of compassion from him, how dwelleth the love of God in him?

1 John 3:23 (KJV 1900)

23 And this is his commandment, That we should believe on the name of his Son Jesus Christ, and love one another, as he gave us commandment.

1 John 4:7–12 (KJV 1900)

7 Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God.

8 He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love.

9 In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him.

10 Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.

11 Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another.

12 No man hath seen God at any time. If we love one another, God dwelleth in us, and his love is perfected in us.

Life in Christ means being a member of Christ’s body, being shaped together into the temple wherein the Holy Spirit dwells, and in the unity of that Spirit accomplishing the work of God prepared by God for his people to do.