All right, here are our verses.
Ephesians 1 and verse 3 through 6. This is Paul's great eulogy
to the church at Ephesus concerning the blessed spiritual blessings
that we have. Blessed be the God and Father
of our Lord Jesus Christ who hath blessed us with all spiritual
blessings in heavenly places in Christ. I think it would say
in the heavenlies. according as He has chosen us
in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should
be holy and without blame before Him in love, having predestinated
us under the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to Himself according
to the good pleasure of His will, to the praise of the glory of
His grace wherein he hath made us accepted in the Beloved. Now the last part of verse 6
will come to be our emphasis in time to come this morning. Look at it again. Wherein he
hath made us accepted in the Beloved. Now, I know that you're
aware that we are casting our nets out into the deep this morning,
hoping for a great catch of the truth of the Word of God. Now, this is a subject that we
have today that was once preached as a truth by some men of old. Preachers used to stand by this
truth. It is hardly ever heard of or
heard in our day and in our time, probably is never even thought
of by the Armenians and is even, I'm sad to say, heard with suspicion
by some of those who profess to be sovereign grace or Calvinistic
or reformed in their doctrine. Now, from reading the older writers
on both sides of the issue, I find that it was a source of contention
among them and to them, and at times among them it became rather
heated and rather controversial between them. one side calling
and accusing the other of being, quote, ignorant, enthusiastic
preachers, unquote. John Gill was in the middle of
this doctrinal fight during the time of his ministry. And he
took a strong stand and position on the side of eternal union
between Christ and the elect, that it was an eternal one, that
it is a union from everlasting, and that it is actually the ground
of all other spiritual blessing that are bestowed upon the children
of God. John Gill, in his writing, strongly
complained against the tactic of his adversary who charged
those holding to the doctrine of eternal union of being weak
on the matter of sin and sanctification of the believer. And they tied
the two things together, saying that those who held to eternal
union, that is, the mystical union of Christ and his people,
taught, and here's their quote, need not be afraid of their sin,
unquote. To which Brother Gill replied,
this making this unholy connection was a ploy. And the intention
of the ploy was to bring the doctrine of eternal union into
disgrace in the eyes of the people as well as those that believed
it and that preached it. Now this is a common tactic even
in our day. It is a common tactic of the
merit mongers in our day and among those who oppose the truth
of God. If you would, allow me please
a short time to make a valid point and a short digression. which can be relevant to what
I have just said and am saying today. I'll give some examples
of how some seek to bring certain doctrines into disgrace by trying
to associate them with lasciviousness, saying that these doctrines,
if taught and received and practiced, would lead men and women into
a lascivious, ungodly, worldly, and fleshly life. The first example
that I would mention is that this argument, and we've heard
it before, that if one is elected, as said here in this verse of
the scripture, and for ordained, as it was said here in this verse
of the scripture, verse 3 and verse 4, that they might live
any way they please, They might not even go to church or read
the Bible thinking, well, what is to be will be in such life.
Example number two, salvation by grace and grace alone. Grace plus nothing, grace minus
nothing will make one, they say, live in sin, but not according
to Paul in Romans chapter six, for he defends that doctrine
of salvation by grace. Example number three, tell believers
that they are not under the law, that they are free from the law,
and they will turn around and use it to live a loose and a
worldly and a fleshly life. They will become what somebody
of old called, quote, stinking antinomians, unquote. But are
we not free from the law by the body of Jesus Christ, as Paul
says in Romans 7? We are not under the law, but
under grace, Romans chapter 6 and verse 14. And then example number
four. Some draw the conclusion from
the doctrine of eternal security, that if one thinks they cannot
fall out of the grace of God, they will live a worldly, a sinful,
an ungodly, and a dishonoring life unto the Lord. Well, there
are some who have turned the grace of God into lasciviousness,
as we read in Jude and verse 4. But all good and all true
doctrine All of the doctrines of God and of Christ have at
one time or by someone been perverted, corrupted, abused, denied, and
opposed. That does not mean that it is
not a sound doctrine because it is opposed by some or many. God is still true if every man
is a liar. with that digression behind us,
with the hope that it proves relevant to our present subject
and our present study at hand, and that is the mystical union,
that vital eternal union between Christ and the elect. Now before we get into it, let
me remind you that this is pictured in the scripture by several images
in the word of the Lord. Such are known and recognizable
by us in our life, in our mundane living. by people of the world,
there are intimate unions that are set forth in the scripture
that portray the relationship of Christ and his people. I shall name some quickly. That
of husband and wife. In Ephesians chapter 5, Paul
likens the church to the bride of our Lord Jesus. What a union,
the bride and the groom. Well, then there's the head and
the body. In Colossians 1.18, Ephesians
5.23, and Ephesians chapter 4.15 and 16, the head and the body. Christ is the head and the body
is the church. Then there's a close one, the
vine and the branches. In John chapter 15 and verse
5, I am the vine, ye are the branches. What an intimate union
is that. And the vine cannot live apart
from the branch. Then there's the foundation and
the building. In that great passage, in Ephesians
2, 20 through 22. Now, before we proceed, let's
be reminded that the question today is not just about a believer's
union with Christ per se. It is not about union in and
of itself. for most that call themselves
Christian, believe to some degree that there is some sort of a
union that is formed between Christ and his people, and for
as Calvin reasoned, No person can benefit from Christ's redemption's
work unless there be a union that is formed between Christ
and they. And get this, that every saving
blessing that ever comes upon our unworthy head is contingent
upon our union with the Lord Jesus Christ. Every spiritual
blessing comes through, by, and in Him. And any that are ignorant
of this, or that deny it, are at the same time ignorant of
the connection between the spiritual blessing and union with the Lord
Jesus Christ. At the same time, some Unionist
views must be rejected as unsound, inadequate, heretical, and unscriptural. For example, that of what we
call mystics. who think or taught that there
was a merging of the very essence of God and men into one union,
that God or rather that men are merged into union with God. Then we reject that unionist
view of the rationalist, that there is a union of or with the
Christian logos in all human spirits whatsoever. And again,
we reject that Sassanian view of union, that the mystical union
is nothing more than a moral union of mutual love, and it
does not include Christ being in us. Now concerning the union
of which we speak this morning, the union of Christ and his people. And the question is this, what
is the point of contention? If we believe in a union, most
believe in a union of Christ and his people, then what or
where is the point of contention? As already stated, it is not
about union itself. It is not even about who are
in union with Christ, but the issue is when and what. We will emphasize that. When
is or was the union formed? When or at what point? Is the union in effect between
Christ and his people, is it in our lifetime? Is it when we
are born and brought into the world? Is it later when we believe
on the Lord? Or was it in eternity before
the foundation of the world? Then what? That is, what is the
cementing bond of the union between Christ and his people? What gives the union its substance? What is it that makes it real
and literal? What comprises the union? Our faith? Our love? Our devotion
to Christ? Our submission and obedience
unto Him? The love that we have toward
Him? The seal of the Spirit? Or the
promises of God? What is it that gives union and
cements that union together? Thus we can see, when anyone
agrees that there is indeed a union, a union and that between Christ
and his elect, or between Christ and his people, still, when that
is agreed upon, there is much more to consider and much more
to discuss. A clear definition given of that
union must be given. So let me illustrate. You will
now feel another digression coming on here in the middle of this. Take election, for example. Many
will say, oh, yes. I believe in the doctrine of
election. And then they explain it this
way. I believe that God elected everybody. I believe God elected
all of the human family. Or someone else will say, well,
I believe that we are elected when we believe. What is this
but to make us elect ourselves? Somebody else is going to say,
oh, I believe that only applies to the nation and the people
of Israel. And somebody else is going to
say, I think that only applies under servant, not salvation. Now, what kind of election would
that be? Take another example, foreknowledge. Some take it to mean God knowing
ahead of time what would happen and so forth. And so he appointed
those, they say, that he knew ahead of time would believe and
he saw them believing on his son. Take for the nation as we
have it here in verse four of our text. Some will say, I believe
that God for ordains those that he knows or that he foresees
will accept Christ. Others have said, After the sinner
believes on Christ, he is then marked out or foreordained to
go to heaven to have eternal life. So, union with Christ does
not mean the same thing to all that confess that there is a
union of or with Christ and his people. I have to agree again
with old Dr. Gill. The opinion of people on
these matters are largely formed on two accounts. Think about this if you would.
Here's how they come to their position or belief. Number one,
by hearing or reading the opinion and position of those that they
highly regard. If they think highly of someone,
more likely to agree with him and to take his opinion and doctrine. But then secondly, because they
have not logically from beginning unto the end, thought the matter
completely through, and may not be sufficiently acquainted with
the divine purpose to do so in the second place. So back to
those two questions. Number one, When is the union
formed? When was it in force? At what
point in time or eternity was this union formed and cemented? Number two, what is the cementing
bond? the decree of God or the faith
of the person or the individual. Seems that logic and reason would
show us to answer the first would also go far in answering the
second one that we have raised. For now, let's put our attention
on what Paul has written in that verse in Philippians chapter,
Ephesians chapter 1 and verse 6. Part of that great passage
on the saving purpose of God that he wrote to the Ephesian
church. after I tell you that Thomas
Goodwin, an old-time Puritan, in his exposition of Ephesians,
makes the distinction between those blessings and works done
for our salvation before time and those done in time. what was done in eternity, what
is done in time toward the salvation of the people of God. The question being, which does
verse 6 belong to? Do we put verse 6 with the blessings
in eternity or the blessings that are done in time? And who is this Beloved? Is this Beloved Christ? Or is
it the children of God? As both of them are often called
Beloved in the Scripture, without any doubt. By Beloved is intended
the Lord Jesus Christ in Ephesians chapter 1 and verse 6. And Methinks that Goodwin is
right, that being made accepted in the beloved belongs among
those blessings with which we were blessed before the foundation
of the world. For the first thing in pursuing
that argument, notice something here in the text, and that is
that Paul changes tenses after verse 6. After verse 6, he changes
tenses beginning in verse 7. And that verse three through
verse six, he speaks in the past tense. Having blessed us, in
verse three. Having chosen us in him, in verse
four. Having ordained us, in verse
five. And having made us accepted,
in verse six. Then in verse 7, if you may notice,
he speaks more from here and forward in the present tense. In whom we are having redemption,
the forgiveness of sin. Now the word accepted here in
the King James Version in Ephesians 1 and verse 6 is but one more
time used in the New Testament. This Greek word, from which this
is translated, is twice in the New Testament. It is here, one
other place. And that is Luke chapter 1 and
verse 28. When the angel appeared to Mary
and said to Mary that she was, or that she had been, highly
favored. Thou art highly favored. And that's the word that we have
here in Ephesians chapter 1 and verse 6. Highly favored. And we know, of course, that
this has been hijacked and misapplied by Rome in order for them to
deify Mary. But the word means to be gracious
to or to be gracious toward. It means to highly favor and
it means to act in or with grace toward one. John Eady, I was
reading him, referring to the past indefinite time, he said,
as to the Greek and the 10th. It is a bestowing of grace in
an abundant measure, and it is done in, through, and by his
beloved. wherein He graced us in Him,
that is, the Lord Jesus Christ. He made us highly favored in
the Lord Jesus Christ. Now, can we have grace, someone
may ask, before we repent and believe? Can we have grace before
Christ comes into the world? Can we have grace even before
the world ever began. Paul answers that in 2 Timothy
chapter 1 and verse 9. He speaks there of our having
been given grace in Christ Jesus before the world began. Note two things. in Christ Jesus
and before the world began. Having given us grace in Christ
Jesus before the world began. Now if we were chosen in Christ
before the world, Ephesians 1, 3 and 4, if we were given grace
in Christ before the world, 2 Timothy chapter 1 and verse 9, then does
it not imply a union, at least a relationship of some sort with
Christ as seen there in Ephesians chapter 1 and the verses that
we read? Bless us with all spiritual blessing. chosen us in Christ, for ordained
us to the adoption of children by Jesus Christ, and highly favored
or much graced us in the Beloved, in verse 6. Now all of these,
even as Goodwin also wrote, are founded upon our relationship
unto His person. And God has highly favored us
in Him for this relation's sake, that relationship between Christ
and the elect, through Christ, God's beloved. In fact, Ephesians
1.6, this making us accepted or highly favored has two things
here to commend it. Let's look at them and point
them out. Number one, it is grounded in
the one who is God's beloved. It is not grounded in a human
mediator or savior, but it is grounded in God's beloved. May I add the one dearest and
nearest unto God, the son of his love, grounded in God's beloved
one, his only begotten son. But secondly, it is eternal. It is from everlasting. It is from before the world. And from the beginning, the union
is formed by decree before the world ever began. And it is to
be seen in its intended end in verse six, a manifold display
of the riches of the grace of God in this matter between God
and his elect. So, let's consider something
here. Would you consider it with me?
Logically, let's think it through. When did Christ become our surety? Now, He's the surety of the everlasting
covenant, Hebrews 7 and 22. When did Christ become our surety? Was it when He became incarnate?
Was it when our sins were laid upon him as he went to the cross? Was it when he died upon the
cross, that awful death? Nay, his surety ship is from
or through the everlasting covenant. If you don't know what a surety
is, it is one who stands good for the debts of another. So
when did he become surety? Now the next question is, when
were we first in the Lord Jesus Christ? Was it when we believed? We believed and were in Him? No, the scripture said, from
before the world. Then another question, when was
Christ first slain for our sins? Was it at Calvary? Nay. We read in Revelation 13 and
8, He was slain from the foundation of the world. Slain before the
foundation of the world. That is, in the mind, in the
decree, in the will, in the purpose of God. You read it again in
1 Peter 1 and verse 20. Read these things, for they speak
unto us of this. Now, another question. When did
God first set his love upon his people? Think about that. When
did God first love his people? We know God loves his people.
When did he first love them? Was it when they believed? Was
it when they began to love God in return? No. His love is everlasting. Jeremiah 31.3, it is without
end. He loved them. And I want you
to get this. He loved them or loved us no less. when we were
dead in trespasses and in sin, and He loved us no more when
we were converted and were believers and served Him. His love is unfluctuating. It is immutable. It is unchanging. So He loved us no less in our
sin and no more in our service unto Him, whichever state or
condition they may be in. Nothing can separate them from
the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. Read it in Romans
8, 35 through verse 39. John Gill, you can tell I read
him a lot this week, in a contention with one of his contemporaries
in that day, concerning the union with Christ, did write this.
There is an elect union, a legal union, a federal union, a representative
union between Christ and the elect from everlasting. And then he added, quote, all
these take their rise from the everlasting love of God in Christ,
unquote. Now, come let us reason together. Is there a union prior to faith
and conversion? Then how does Paul teach the
saints at Ephesus that they are quickened together with Christ
and raised up together with Christ and made to sit together in the
heavenlies in Christ? Jesus. In Ephesians 2, 5 and
6 you read that. And to the Colossians in chapter
2 and verse 13, quickened together with him. We weren't even here
then. We did not have our actual existence. We were not born then. How saith
Paul? quickened with Him, raised with
Him, and ascended in Him. To those saints at Rome, in Romans
chapter 6 and verse 6, Paul writes this, knowing this, that our
old man is crucified with Him. We weren't alive then. We weren't
in the world then. But our old man is crucified
with Him. Well, how then does Paul say
in Galatians 2 and 20, I am crucified with Christ. By the way, this
is also how he became dead to the law, by being crucified with
Christ and dead to sin. How? Apart from a prior union. How, apart from a union, Is Paul
crucified with Christ and we are crucified with Christ and
raised with him apart from a union of some sort or manner? Furthermore, if there is no eternal
union, then there is no such thing as eternal justification. I believe in it. Do you? For
the latter stands or falls with the former. There is no justification
apart from the Lord Jesus Christ. whether viewed from the eternal,
or by the death of Christ, or by grace, or by faith, as it
is mentioned in the New Testament, in its progressive steps, as
we may call it, justified from eternity, justified by the death
of Christ, by faith, and by grace, all of them mentioned in the
Scripture. Perhaps the reason that so few
today hold a view of eternal justification is that they have
not a proper view or concept of the eternal union. How are
we given grace in Christ Jesus before the world began if there
is not a union of some sort by which it is accomplished? I'm
going to ask you another question. in another direction of eternal
union. What has become of that blessed
doctrine of eternal security if there is no eternal union
between Christ and the elect? Better known as the perseverance
of the saints of God, once saved, always saved, as some call it.
How can that be apart from a union with Christ? Thus, the mystical
union between Christ and the elect need not be delayed until
they have an actual beginning, or even until they have actually
believed or made themselves holy. Therefore, faith or belief is
not the first forming of this great union, but it is a part
of the union being manifested through the work of Jesus Christ. It is a part of the manifestation
of the union. I read another author I like,
Abraham Kuyper put it this way, quote, Scripture teaches that
we were in the Lord Jesus when he died on the cross, when he
arose from the dead, and that we ascended to heaven and have
been seated with him at the right hand of God." Unquote. The scripture
teaches all of that. When the Father chose us in the
Son and gave us grace in Him, a mystical union was established
between the Son and the elect. a union that cannot be nullified. In fact, I read one author who
said of this eternal mystical union that not only does it exist,
but it is so deep and so extensive that any and all subsequent relationships
with Immanuel, quote, spring from this fundamental root relation
alone, unquote. So if we be asked to define or
to sum up this union that we speak of, we could do so, I think,
from this short quote from Louis Burkhoff, quote, that intimate,
vital, and spiritual union between Christ and his people by virtue
of which he is the source of their life and of their strength,
of their blessedness, and of their salvation," unquote. This is a description of that
union. And yet this union if it were
to be compared unto a river. Think about that, an underground
river. If we compared it to a river,
yet it runs not underground all of its course, but it bubbles
up. The fountains of the deep are
broken up in the incarnation of the Son of God, when the union
by decree would be actually brought into fruition, when that which
God willed in eternity was fulfilled through the Incarnate One, assuming
our nature in union with Himself, not only to manifest and confirm
the union but that it subjectively might be realized in the elect
by and through regeneration, calling, and conversion, so that
this union by decree bring the elect into communion with the
Lord Jesus Christ, so that as this union existed before they
had being, yea, before the world became, so it existed before
we were believer. And that we are brought to faith,
as one said, because faith is the fruit and effect of union. Faith is the fruit of the union. It is not the first cause that
is our faith. If faith alone be the bond of
the union, then the union at any time is no stronger than
the faith of the person. And is it faith as a principle
or faith as an act? that they would have to be the
cementing bond. We ought to mention an objection
which was of old raised against the eternal union and might be
raised yet. That is that eternal union Here's
how one put it and opposed it, as, quote, foul leprous members
united with him, unquote. And so they objected to the eternal
union on that ground. The one cannot be one with Christ. prior to the indwelling of the
Holy Spirit, that they must first be cleansed from their sin as
a condition of union with the Lord Jesus Christ is their contention. Well, how shall we answer that? It sounds plausible. I think
a lot of folk might hear that and say, hmm, that sounds reasonable,
and I think it's so. we might remind them of the likeness
of eternal union and eternal justification. And that is how,
in some senses, they run parallel. But we recognize that this would
carry no great weight with them. This wouldn't be a good argument
with them as they that reject the one reject the other. One
rejects eternal justification will reject eternal union and
vice versa. And so that the two doctrines
stand or they fall together. So we challenge them on two points. Here they are. Number one, are
the saints, the believers, the converted, in union with Christ? Yes, they are. Well, are they
perfect? Are they without sin? Are they
sinlessly perfect? No. They still sin, yet they
are in union with Him and feeling themselves as believers, foul,
leprous members of Christ, even in their regenerate and converted
state. Are we not aware how foul and
leprous are our sin? Even Paul, admitted this in his
life. You can read it in Romans chapter
7. Secondly, and I think this is
a good point, take with them the argument, the love of God. If I mistake not, it is the general
consensus, the opinion and the belief of those same ones who
deny eternal union that God loved his people before Christ died
for them and before they were in union by faith. Before they
loved him, it is their doctrine that God loved them. How can
this be? that God loves foul, leprous
sinners and people. Well, because his love is everlasting. The love of God abides in whatever
condition the elect might pass through on their journey through
this world and to heaven. Even dead in trespasses and in
sin, and even made alive in Christ, finally fully consummated in
that world that is to come. Well, suffice it to say in closing,
God's works are finished. from the foundation of the world. Hebrews 4 verse 3, his works
are finished. That is, in his mind, his will,
and decree, they are as good as done. What about Romans chapter
4 verse 17, the case of Abraham? He caused those things which
are not as being. He calls those things not yet
as if they were. He called Abraham the father
of many nations while as yet he was childless, married to
a barren wife, and passed the age of childbearing, and he called
Abraham the father of many before it came to pass. But it came
to pass exactly according to the promise of God. I close with
this, and you think upon it, the elect union is what Gill
called, quote, an elect union in Christ from everlasting, unquote. Sealed by the will and the decree
and the purpose of Almighty God. this great union, the mystical
union, the eternal, vital union of Christ and his elect.