To the Praise of the Glory of God's Grace

Ephesians 1:3–6 NKJV

3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, 4 just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love, 5 having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will, 6 to the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He made us accepted in the Beloved.

We looked last week at the first of these spiritual blessings in heavenly places. A blessing which we (those of us who are saints and faithful in Christ) have receieved in eternity before creation before time. God chose us, Not at a point in time but he eternally chose us is choosing and will chose us. He is the Alpha and the Omega the beginning and the end. I Am that I Am. He who is omniscient and never changing chose us. When we consider this we realise just how deep our salvation goes. If you were ever in the mind of God you have always been in the mind of God. If He has ever chosen you then you chosen always. We cannot think of God’s choice as being like when we chose something. We chose something when it enters our mind to chose. We must receive new information and weigh up the pros and cons. But the everlasting and eternal God does not receive new information. Everything that God knows He has always known and he knows everything. For this reason God is immutable which means he never changes. He is the same yesterday, today and forever. So let us let that thought sink in for a moment. God has always chosen you is you are truly His. That also means there is nothing that you have ever done or ever will do that God doesn’t already know and yet He chose you. You will never surprise God. You will never shock Him. Any sin that we’ve committed or any disappointment we have caused God has already been considered and dealt with by the blood of Christ on the cross of Calvary. He knows you more deeply than you know yourself and yet He chose you. Why? not because you did anything to earn it or deserve it in any way whatsoever. Yet out of the election flows ever other blessing for the Father because it is by this choosing that we are in Christ and it is in Christ that we have all the riches of heaven.

The Father has great and wonderful plans for you. You have been...

Chosen With Purpose

Ephesians 1:4 NKJV

4 just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love,

Holy What doe you think of when you think of that word? Holy.

Some people think of perfection, goodness, godliness, some may even have negative connotations with the word like self-righteousness, holier than thou.

I think when we imagine holiness our best reference is Christ. He is the example of holiness. Goodness, kindness, pure of heart, without blame, sinless.

I think this is the best way for us to think of what God has purposed for us in choosing us. He chose us to be like Christ.

Romans 8:28–30 NKJV

28 And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose. 29 For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren. 30 Moreover whom He predestined, these He also called; whom He called, these He also justified; and whom He justified, these He also glorified.

Some would have argued that the teaching of God’s election causes people to live a sinful life because they don’t have the fear of losing their salvation to drive them to obedience and holiness. But I believe that the Biblical teaching of election does just the opposite. It gives us such a deep purpose. A Purpose to holiness.

Ephesians 2:8–10 NKJV

8 For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, 9 not of works, lest anyone should boast. 10 For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.

Philippians 2:12–13 NKJV

12 Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling; 13 for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure.

In fact holiness is the fruit or evidence that you have been chosen by God. For a person to say I will continue in sin because God’s grace will abound because I’m chosen only proves by their attitude that they are not chosen or at least they are not yet converted.

2 Peter 1:2–11 NKJV

2 Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord, 3 as His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue, 4 by which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust. 5 But also for this very reason, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue, to virtue knowledge, 6 to knowledge self-control, to self-control perseverance, to perseverance godliness, 7 to godliness brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness love. 8 For if these things are yours and abound, you will be neither barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9 For he who lacks these things is shortsighted, even to blindness, and has forgotten that he was cleansed from his old sins. 10 Therefore, brethren, be even more diligent to make your call and election sure, for if you do these things you will never stumble; 11 for so an entrance will be supplied to you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

So Paul tells us that first and foremost our election is to holiness and spotlessness.

He then proceeds to elaborate on this election in verse 5

expressing another wonderful purpose that God has chosen us for.

Ephesians 1:5 NKJV

5 having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will,

Predestined to Adoption

Predestined means pre ordained or determined beforehand.

All that we considered with God’s choosing us is true also of His predestining us. For the all knowing eternal God to determine anything means that it must be beforehand for us because if He determined it then it was and is and always will be determined. We should not understand this predestination or His choosing us to mean that there was a point in time even way back in the past that God determined or choose, rather this is language that Paul uses to help our finite mind to comprehend that it is before us, before creation, before time. But for the all knowing eternal One to predetermine means that He has always determined. He determined eternally and He chose eternally. Because He never changes and knows everything always.

So it was God’s eternal determination that we should be adopted into His family forever.

There are two other places in the New Testament that speak of our adoption into God’s family.

Romans 8:14–17 NKJV

14 For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God. 15 For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, “Abba, Father.” 16 The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, 17 and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together.

Galatians 4:1–7 NKJV

1 Now I say that the heir, as long as he is a child, does not differ at all from a slave, though he is master of all, 2 but is under guardians and stewards until the time appointed by the father. 3 Even so we, when we were children, were in bondage under the elements of the world. 4 But when the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law, 5 to redeem those who were under the law, that we might receive the adoption as sons. 6 And because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your hearts, crying out, “Abba, Father!” 7 Therefore you are no longer a slave but a son, and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ.

Three great blessings seem to stand in in these references in relation to our adoption.

No longer under bondage

The image used is that of a slave child who grows up in the Master’s home. The Master desires to make the child a son by adoption. Until the adoption ceremony the child is no different than any of the other slaves, but once he is adopted he receives all the benifits of a son and he receives and inheritance as a son of the Master.

Paul likens our time before the adoption ceremony like the time before Christ came when we were still under the Law and once Christ came and conquered death and sin on the cross we were set free from the Law. on and individual bases it could be likened the time before our conversion to Christ. Even though God has predestined us to adoption until our conversion we are like any other slave but once we put our faith in Christ we are officially adopted into the Family of God, receiving all the spiritual blessings of a son and being set free from the bondage of sin.

Receieved the Spirit of the Son whereby we cry out Abba Father

Through the adoption we have receieved the Holy Spirit who bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God. The Holy Spirit or the Spirit of the Son cries out from within us to God Father! Abba! Because of this adoption we enjoy all the benifits of a Father son relationship with God, just as He is the Father of Christ He is our Father who we can talk to receive guidance and help from, He is a good Father who gives good things to His children when the ask of Him.

Joint heirs of God through Christ

Through the adoption as sons we receive the inheritance of God through Christ. Of all that is His, He will withhold nothing from us that is good.

Adoption as sons

Why doesn’t Paul say sons and daughters? Is he a chauvinist?

I do not think so. In fact I believe that Paul purposefully says the adoption as sons for a reason.

First our adoption is in Christ who is the Son. Which is important because sons traditionally receive the inheritance except in the case of there not being a son.

I have no doubt that Paul has in mind here that both men and women in Christ receive sonship.

Galatians 3:28–29 NKJV

28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus. 29 And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.

Our identity in in Christ.

Not in race

Not social status

Not in gender

we are all one in Christ

For the Praise of the Glory of His Grace

Ephesians 1:5–6 NKJV

5 having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will, 6 to the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He made us accepted in the Beloved.

When we ask the question why? If God choice and pre determination that I should be made holy and adopted is not based on any merit of mine then why did God chose me and not someone else. The teaching of God’s election is such a prominent New Testament teaching. Paul taught it in every church Christ taught it Peter taught it, It’s in all the gospels. And yet no where is this mystery answered. This teaching has tremendous tension and I know that God knew the difficulty that it would cause the church throughout the centuries, so why did He leave this tension? All I know is that why God choses is only answered with “according to the good pleasure of His will.”

It seems to me the the emphasis every time the Bible teaches about election is that it has nothing to do with us, our choice, our works, nothing. It has everything to do with God’s grace. The purpose being that no one can boast no one can glory in themselves but all glory goes to God.

1 Corinthians 1:26–31 NKJV

26 For you see your calling, brethren, that not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called. 27 But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty; 28 and the base things of the world and the things which are despised God has chosen, and the things which are not, to bring to nothing the things that are, 29 that no flesh should glory in His presence. 30 But of Him you are in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God—and righteousness and sanctification and redemption— 31 that, as it is written, “He who glories, let him glory in the Lord.”

Ephesians 2:8–9 NKJV

8 For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, 9 not of works, lest anyone should boast.

So this teaching is not for us to figure out who is chosen and how isn’t. It should not make us lazy Christians who think that they don’t have to do anything. And it certainly shouldn’t make anyone proud. In fact, election destroys pride in the heart of the believer and should humble us. It should cause us to wonder at the almighty power and wisdom of God and ultimately it should cause us to praise the glory of God’s amazing grace to undeserving sinners.

Ephesians 1:6 NKJV

6 to the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He made us accepted in the Beloved.