Well, good morning, and I wanna
welcome our visitors here this morning, glad to have you with
us. And I hope you can return, as Jim pointed out, our pastor's
out today, so I hope you can return and hear him. This morning,
as you can see, I'm preaching from Ephesians chapter one, if
you wanna be turning there. I've preached, as some of you
know, in the past from this same passage, but today my emphasis
is a little bit different. You know, like me, many of you
may have heard this description of believers. That is, it's being
referred to as trophies of God's grace, trophies of God's grace. And that's the title of today's
message. And the concept is taken from
verse six of Ephesians one, which I think shows that indeed to
be an accurate description of those who truly believe on the
Lord Jesus Christ for all their salvation. Verse six falls within
a long 12-verse sentence that begins in verse three that we're
going to be looking at today. So beginning there in verse three
of Ephesians 1, we read, blessed be the God and Father of our
Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings
in the heavenly places in Christ, 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, having predestinated
us into the adoption of children by Jesus Christ himself, according
to the good pleasure of his will. And here's where the emphasis
is today. All these blessings are said to be to the praise
of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the
beloved. trophies of God's grace, if you
will. Now, I'm referring to believers
as trophies of God's grace, so I'm talking about a living soul.
But you know, when we think of a trophy, we typically think
of an inanimate object. It's an object that honors the
achievement of someone. For example, if you won a trophy
at a track meet, well, the trophy does nothing to contribute. toward
that winner's achievement. It's given to honor the person
for his or her winning the race. And in my day, you know, we didn't
have participation trophies, as they call them. No, only the
winner got the blue ribbon or the trophy designating their
achievement. It's a trophy that the one victor
deserved. Well, so it goes for true believers. As they, as trophies of God's
grace, they show forth His achievement, His victory over sin and Satan. By the God-given gift of faith,
by which a sinner will look to Jesus Christ and to Him alone
for all their salvation, they, these trophies of God's grace,
if you will, They praise and glorify him. All their blessings,
it says, are to the praise of the glory of his grace wherein
he hath made them accepted in the beloved. And we know that's
referring in Jesus Christ. Christ, our God, the Father himself
referred to him that way at his baptism. If you remember in Matthew
3 when he said, this is my beloved son in whom I'm well pleased.
Well, let's read through the rest of that sentence, picking
up where we left off, starting with verse seven. Paul, speaking
of Christ, the beloved, writes, In whom we have redemption through
his blood, the forgiveness of sins, and here's that emphasis
again, according to the riches of his grace. Now grace, grace
by definition is bestowed upon those who do nothing to earn
it. So that which these trophies, if you will, that they possess
in Christ, it's solely owing to this eternal, unbreakable
union with Christ, and then to his doing and dying for them,
all according to the riches of his grace. Verse 8, wherein he
hath abounded toward us in all wisdom and prudence. having made
known unto us the mystery of his will according to his good
pleasure, which he purposed in himself, that in the dispensation
of the fullness of times he might gather together in one all things
in Christ. And I believe that's referring,
remember Paul here speaking to the believers, the Gentile believers
at Ephesus. And I think he's speaking of
all things bringing in together one in Christ, neither Jew nor
Greek. In other words, Jews and Gentiles,
both which are in heaven, and that may be referring to those
who've gone on before, and which are on earth, even in him, 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, and here's the emphasis again,
that we should be to the praise of his glory. who first trusted
in Christ, and as some think that may, and it could mean this,
that who first trusted in Christ was God the Father in the everlasting
covenant of grace, when he gave them to Christ. I believe in
this context it's referring, Paul is saying us Jews, to whom
the gospel came first, in whom you Gentiles, in whom ye also
trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel
of your salvation. in whom also after that you believed
you were sealed with that Holy Spirit of promise. He'll keep
you. Which is the earnest of our inheritance
until the redemption of the purchased possession. That's speaking of
our redemption into heaven's glory. And here it is again,
unto the praise of his glory. We see in this long sentence,
verses six, seven, 12, and 14, We see in those verses God's
chief design, that in all that he does, but specifically here
in the salvation of sinners, that he alone is to receive all
praise, all glory, and all honor. So whatever we believe about
how God saves sinners, we should be checking it against this.
Does it solely glorify God? We see here that in every aspect
of salvation as enumerated here in Ephesians 1, it's all to the
praise of his grace. It's all redounding to his glory. Well, in light of that emphasis,
how are believers made to be these trophies, to be to the
praise of the glory of his grace? In answer, I want to point out
three very clear observations, I think, from this passage. regarding
God's work of salvation. Three observations owing to the
three persons of the Godhead, God the Father, God the Son,
and God the Holy Ghost, or the Holy Spirit. So being trophies
of his grace, we see first that it's owing to the believer's
eternal union with Christ, the God-man. Another way of putting
it would be it's owing to God's electing grace. As we see in
these first verses, Paul ascribed to God the Father three manifestations
of his grace and love toward these saints. And first, having
chosen them in Christ, verse four. Secondly, having predestinated
them to the adoption of children by Christ, verse five. And then
as we read in verse six, accepted them in Christ. All these eternal
blessings to the praise of the glory of his grace. And as we
delve into this, God the Father's electing grace, I want you to
know this election, this choosing by God of a people to be saved,
it's not just a choice to choose some and not others, but that
choice, they weren't just chosen by God, they were chosen by God
in Christ, in Him. Among these 12 verses that make
up this wonderful sentence, I want you to see that emphasis, that
it's in Christ. I saw it there in eight places,
in seven of those 12 verses. Let's just survey that real quickly. In other words, how all the blessings
of salvation are in Christ. Verse three began with that proclamation
when it says, the Father is he who hath blessed us with all
spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ. All, that covers
everything, doesn't it? But he continues to enumerate
those in different aspects of our salvation as he continues
in verse four, saying, according as he hath chosen us in him. Again, that doctrine of election.
It's not just that God chose a people, but that he chose them
unto salvation in their Savior, in Jesus Christ. Before the world
began, God the Father, he gave them to God the Son. to be their
surety. That's what Christ is called
in the book of Hebrews, the surety of a better covenant. Surety
is one who will come and pay a debt that's owed for you. To
be their substitute, to stand in their place, to be their representative. What he did, he did for those
that God gave him before the world began. To be their redeemer,
their savior. And Christ willingly took that
all upon himself. You remember, he said, I gave
my life, you don't take it from me. And then in our focus, verse
six, he says, all that is to the praise of the glory of his
grace, wherein, he said, he hath made us accepted. Here it is
again, in the beloved. And then in the next verse, it
begins with in whom. That is, in the beloved Son,
in whom the Father's will please, in Jesus Christ, we have redemption
through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches
of his grace. Skip down to verse 10, that in
the dispensation of the fullness of times, he might gather together
in one all things, here it is again, in Christ. In Christ,
both which are in heaven in heaven and which are on earth, even
in him, verse 11, Christ, in whom also we have obtained an
inheritance. You're born into an inheritance. You don't do anything to earn
that. Being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh
all things after the counsel of his own will, continues in
verse 12, saying that we should be to the praise of his glory
who first trusted in Christ. Christ, verse 13, it says, in
whom ye also trusted. Now granted, the in Christ phrases
there, we've read up to now, speak of that eternal union that
God has made between his chosen people and Christ. Here is speaking
of Christ as the sole object of our faith. In whom ye also
trusted after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of
your salvation, in whom also after that you believed, you
were sealed with that Holy Spirit of promise. So all of these eternal
blessings, they're said to be in this person, in the Lord Jesus
Christ. And I say that it's all about
Christ, including as we saw in that last verses there, that
it's him who is the sole object of our faith. And you notice
it's not just attributed to Christ as if salvation is merely by
Christ. Salvation is by Christ. But if
you mean by that, that it's simply his meeting a prerequisite of
sorts that makes salvation a possibility, that's not what the language
here suggests in Ephesians 1. No, they're found in Christ. So what we are, these trophies
of God's grace, It's owing solely to this eternal, unbreakable,
immutable union that's been made ours according to the eternal
purpose and counsel of God's own will, not ours. We possess,
see exactly what our dear Savior has earned for us due to that
unbreakable, eternal union with him. And that's the only way
a holy God, who cannot commune with sin, could accept sinners
such as you and me, accepted in the beloved. You know, we
refer to God as our maker. Well, God our maker, so to speak. He made us accepted in Christ
by the same sovereign prerogative and almighty and sovereign power
by which he created this world. He spoke this world into existence. We often quote 2 Corinthians
4, 6, for God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness.
He said, let there be light, and there was light. That same
almighty God hath shined in our hearts to give us what? The knowledge
of the glory of God. Where? In the face of Jesus Christ,
in the person and work of Christ. And we know that the ground of
acceptance by God the maker, having accepted us in the beloved,
we know that to be, as Jim read in 2 Corinthians 5, because God
the maker has made him, the son, his beloved son, to be sin for
us who knew no sin, that we, the trophies of God's grace,
might be made the righteousness of God in him. If you recall
earlier in that passage Jim read, It spoke of how God was in the
world not imputing their trespasses unto him. And that's how we know
that verse 21 is referring in the context. It's referring to
this glorious, sovereign act of imputation where we discover
that for all he saves, Christ was made sin. What does that
mean? It means he had their sins imputed or reckoned to their
account. so that he could be their surety,
so that he could bear the just penalty that was due unto the
demerit of their sins, not his, so that likewise, each and every
one whose sins he bore, they would have the entire merit of
his perfect obedience unto death. That's his perfect righteousness,
righteousness, perfect satisfaction to the Father's law and justice. They would have the merit of
that, imputed, accounted, or reckoned to their account. You
see, it's all in Christ, and it begins with God the Father's
electing grace from before the foundation of the world. Well,
secondly, we see that believers being made trophies of His grace
is owing to God the Son's finished work for us at a point in history
some 2,000 years plus ago at Calvary's cross. In other words,
It's secondly owing to God's redeeming grace. As we read there
in verse seven, in whom, that is, in the beloved Son, in whom
the Father's will please, in Jesus Christ, we have redemption
through his blood, the forgiveness of sins according to the riches
of his grace. This is speaking of that which
Christ in time accomplished in history. as he walked on this
earth, as their surety, as their substitute, as their representative,
as their redeemer, their savior. And we know that due to the sovereign,
the infallible, therefore the sure to take place purpose of
God the Father, and having made his people one with Christ, why
it was always sure and certain that Jesus Christ would indeed
come, be born of the Virgin Mary, take into union with his deity
as God, a sinless humanity, and then walk this earth in complete
obedience to live and to die and to be buried and raised again,
all for the justification of those given to him by the Father. justified, declared righteous,
declared not guilty. Now, as we speak of redemption,
know this, Christ did not shed his blood to just somehow make
redemption and forgiveness possible. The definition of the word defies
that kind of understanding. It's not something that's made
possible by way of his death, his shed blood, as if as if that
death just somehow paved the way for sinners to procure their
own redemption or appropriate unto themselves the redemption
price that Christ had paid. See, not one drop of his blood
was shed for any who aren't eternally redeemed. The redeemed, they
always have been, they always shall be accepted in Jesus Christ,
their surety and their savior. Based on God's never-changing
view of them in Christ. See, having viewed them in Christ,
having imputed or charged to their accounts the merits of
his work of redemption. While it's in him, they have
redemption. As 1 Corinthians 1.30 puts it,
But of Him, God the Father, are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God
is made unto us wisdom and righteousness and sanctification and redemption,
that according as it is written. Why? Here's that same chief design
of God. He that glorieth, let him glory
in the Lord. You see, Christ is made our wisdom. He is our wisdom. It's His righteousness
that is made to be ours. It's in him that we're set apart
or sanctified, and it's by him that all of God's people have
been redeemed. You see, only these who were
graciously put in him, that is, as we read, chosen, predestinated
to the adoption of children and accepted in him, only to them
is he made to be their redemption. And I know folks will argue and
say, oh, no, I believe Christ died for all. And you say, well,
then who's your savior? And they'll say, as I probably
would have at one point, they'll say, well, no, you've got to
believe to make it effectual. And you'll say, well then, that
would be salvation by you. You're the difference maker there,
not Jesus Christ. And here's how I would have answered
that. I said, oh no, I believe Ephesians 2, 8, 9. Faith is a
gift of God. And you know, I never did ask
myself that next question. Why did God give me what I call
my so-called faith at the time and not give it to others? You
see, if it's any other way than as we have set forth here in
Ephesians 1, the sinner would have room to glory in himself.
For by grace are you saved through faith, and that not of yourselves,
it is the gift of God. It's not of works, lest any man
should boast. Now, I wouldn't go around bragging
about, oh, I've decided for Jesus back at that time when I believed
that way. But you know, I had room to. But see, that's not
God's way of salvation, not by grace. It's not the way that
redounds solely to his glory. And we say that part of being
made trophies of God's grace that we can say is owing to his
redeeming grace includes the forgiveness of sins. He said
that in verse seven. He said, we have redemption,
the forgiveness of sins. So the apostle here is speaking
of this work of redemption and the connected forgiveness of
sins. It's as a thing possessed, we
have it. Forgiveness is not conditioned
on you as none of salvation is conditioned on you. It's not
as many would suggest. in misquoting 1 John 1.9, that
forgiveness comes at the cost or is the product of your repentance. Now the sense of 1 John 1.9,
if we confess our sins, he's faithful and just to forgive
us and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. That's not a conditional if.
No, instead it's indicating there, if we confess our sins, We've
been redeemed. We've been forgiven. Now, how
do I know that's the connotation or the right understanding of
that verse? It's because of the gospel of grace that would deny
grace. See, we those chosen in Christ
from before the foundation of the world, we don't do a thing
to redeem ourselves. No, the saints, the set-apart
ones, they were put in Jesus Christ who would and did in time
redeem them. And you remember Christ as he
hung on the cross, one of his final sayings was, it's finished. And redemption was indeed finished,
then and there. That point in history. And yet,
consider with me the vast dimensions of this redemption that took
place a little over 2,000 years ago at Calvary. As verse four
taught us, Before the foundation of the world, the saints were
chosen in Christ, said to be holy and without blame before
him. Now, how can they who would fall
in Adam come into this world, as the scripture teaches us,
as spiritually dead sinners? How can they be so accounted
holy from eternity past? Well, it's only by their sure
to have taken place redemption. that Christ would and has worked
out in time at the cross. That's a big God. As Jim said
in the 10 o'clock message, when you think of that, the mind and
purpose of God from all eternity, it boggles the mind. But let's
not be mistaken. The saints do nothing to become
redeemed. They have redemption. And not
only that, they have the forgiveness of sins. So when we think of
redemption, as the word suggests, we need to think of it, as the
word denotes, as a price being paid or as a ransom. Christ referred
to himself that way in Matthew 20, 28. He said, even as the
Son of Man came to give his life a ransom for many. You've heard
me, and I got this from others, you've heard others before me
say this, but it's a good way to remember it. That is, redemption
is not a mere attempt made. It's a price paid. And it was
a price that was paid in full. No balance remaining due. You
see, it's a price paid to God the Father, because it's his
justice that's been offended. It's his law that's been broken.
It's against God that all sins are committed. It's paid to God
whom the Bible tells us he's not gonna clear the guilty. He's
not gonna save you and show mercy on you at the expense of his
justice. That's why Christ had to come and die as a substitute
for sinners. His justice is going to be satisfied. Revelations 5, 9, Christ said
to redeem men, unto God by his blood. So we see clearly there that
the redemption price is his death, his shed blood. And it was a
debt that was paid unto the father and we know it was sufficient.
We know it paid the debt in full because Christ arose from the
grave in victory over death. Righteousness demands life just
as sin demands death. You know, in Acts 17 31, we read
that. That he's now given assurance
unto all men, of what? That he's gonna judge the world
in that righteousness which Christ accomplished, and that he raised
him from the dead. Proving his justice was satisfied. And that by that everlasting
righteousness that he rendered, that demands everlasting life,
demanded he come out of that grave, and it demands that they
too shall be raised to everlasting life, all for whom it was rendered. He bought them with his blood. First Corinthians 6, 20 puts
it this way, speaking to believers, it says, you're bought with a
price. Now that's redemption. And dare
any suggest, as sadly many do, that his death, his precious
blood, was shed for even one person who will perish. You see, and that's what it is,
that's the redemption price, it's his death. That's precisely
the price of redemption as we see clearly from Ephesians 1
here. We have redemption, how? Through his blood. By God's redeeming
grace, you see, their sins were remitted. They were paid for. And though those blessings describe,
I guess, different aspects of salvation, I'm speaking of redemption
and forgiveness, they're not detached from one another. In
fact, we know this because the word, the Greek word that's translated
as forgiveness here in Ephesians 1, 7, And it's translated as
forgiveness in six other places, if I counted them correctly.
That very same word is translated as remission in nine other New
Testament passages. Remission and forgiveness are
one in the same. It's a word that means deliverance,
pardon, release, and a complete forgiveness. In other words,
it means paid in full. And that should make some, we
should be able to identify that. You know when you get a bill
and it says remit to, you remit a payment to pay it off. And by doing so, you're released
from the obligation. You're forgiven of that debt.
But only if it was paid in full. So we've seen here how believers,
they're made trophies of God's grace, first by his electing
grace, secondly, by his redeeming grace, and thirdly, we see believers
being made trophies of God's grace as owing to their regeneration
and conversion in time by the third person of the Trinity,
the work of God, the Holy Spirit. Or another way of putting it,
it's owing to God's regenerating grace. Look with me at verse,
beginning at verse 11 again. Speaking of Christ, 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, that we should be to the praise of his glory,
who first trusted in Christ, and whom ye also trusted. That's
speaking of our regeneration conversion there. After that
ye heard the word of truth by God's means of calling his people,
the gospel of your salvation. The gospel that we read about
in Romans 1, it's the power of God unto salvation. Why? Because therein is what? The
righteousness of God revealed. See, just as it was always, did
I finish that? Yeah, the redemption of the purchased
possession unto the praise of his glory. And just as it was
always sure and certain that Christ would accomplish the redemption
of all those that the Father chose in him unto salvation from
eternity past, well likewise it's an unfailing certainty that
by that same sovereign power that Christ was raised from the
dead, that all those who were put in Him, in Christ from eternity,
and for whom He lived and died, you see, they're going to be
raised to walk in the newness of a Spirit-given life. They're
gonna be born again of the Spirit, and reflect that in belief of
God's gospel wherein that righteousness is revealed. And you know, and
they do that by that blood-bought gift of faith. and that by the
regenerating work of the Spirit. And you know, ultimately, they
will be raised just as Christ was raised to heaven's glory. God's redemption of a chosen
people does not negate the necessity of faith in time. Instead, it
ensures it and ensures it will take place. You see, they shall
all come to him Jim quoted this in the 10 o'clock hour from John
chapter six, where Christ said, all that the Father giveth me,
that is those given to him by his electing grace, Christ's
assurity he would come in time to redeem them and show forth
his redeeming grace. He said, all that he giveth me
shall come to me. Well, that's his regenerating
grace. And him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out. I'm not sure I can adequately
convey the impression, or I think we should have, of the awesome
blessing and privilege it is for true believers to have been
made trophies of God's grace. As our focus verse six stated,
God's electing grace, his redeeming grace, his regenerating grace,
it's all to the praise of the glory of his grace. wherein he
hath made us accepted in the beloved. I skipped over that
acceptance. Let me make a comment about that
right now. You know, if you tell me something
and I go, well, I'll accept that as if it's so-so, That's pretty
much the way our English word accepted is often used. But the
Greek word that is translated accepted is much stronger than
that. It's a word that means highly favored. Some say it even
means laudable and praiseworthy. Now, how can we ever have been
considered acceptable in the sense that this word denotes
before a holy God? We're sinners. We can't, based
on anything found or done by us as sinners, outside of Christ,
but oh, in Christ. Having been made one with God's
beloved Son, every believer, every sinner chosen, redeemed,
and called by his grace, we're so completely and totally accepted
of God that as we read in the eyes of holy, all-knowing, omniscient
God, we're highly favored. laudable, praiseworthy, in Christ. Not as sinners in ourselves,
but as sinners saved by grace in Christ. You see, true believers,
he and his salvation redounds to God's glory. It's all to the
praise of the glory of his grace. Well, how about somebody, you,
who hears this message? Are you truly a trophy of God's
grace? I know that, sadly, many, because
I was one of them, mistakenly would apply that description
to themselves at a time, for example, with me, when I imagine
salvation was actually conditioned at some little part. I give Christ
most of the credit. But the ultimate difference maker
was me. You see, I was like the multitudes
who call themselves Christians that actually believe Christ
came and died to redeem everyone. And so salvation then by default
has to be based on something done by Irene and you. It has
to be based on the response of you, the sinner. But know this,
we called it grace, that's not salvation by grace. Salvation
by grace is not at all conditioned on the sinner. It wouldn't be
grace if it were. Not if the ultimate determining
factor, the thing that makes a difference, whether you're
gonna be among those who inhabit heaven's glory or among those
who perish, if the difference maker is something that you think
you chose to do or you refused, or vice versa, you refused to
do, no, they will come to him. They will believe on him. But
if you imagine that the difference maker is to be found in you,
the sinner, Well, then that presumed trophy is one that really ought
to have your name on it. It ought to be awarded to you.
Because in essence, that would be you saving yourself. Oh, I
had faith at a time when I believe that. And I thank God he delivered
me from that. But it was faith in faith. It
wasn't faith in Christ. Because Christ did no more for
those that perished in my mind back then than he did for those
he saved. Look, no one is saved because they believe. The true
trophies of God's grace, they believe because they've been
saved, and that's a vital distinction. We'll know this, that trophy
that so many presume to have earned for themselves, It's not
gonna stand at the judgment. As I was studying this and thinking
about that, I was reminded of stories in the past where vandals
would break into the trophy cases of schools or university athletic
departments and desecrate or steal or destroy the trophies
of those who were honored for their various achievements. It
reminds me of, in our day, how it's suddenly popular for protest
groups to tear down and destroy statues of men honored for their
past accomplishments, whether it be war heroes or founders
of our nation or whatever. And while I don't support that
notion, I have to admit it's true that those who are heroes
to some, they had flaws. They were mere mortal men like
me and you. They were sinners. And those flaws are used to attempt
to justify their destruction. But, oh, listen, not so for the
trophies of God's grace. You see, they're chosen in Christ,
and in him we read they're holy and unblameable, without blame,
according to Ephesians 1. I'm reminded how they're like
the bride of Song of Solomon, how she's fair, all because it
was because of their groom that she was fair and so beautiful
as it describes it. So know this, that the trophy,
the proverbial trophy case, I'll call it, of Almighty God is never
gonna be broken into to cast these trophies aside. No, they're
gonna prevail for all eternity, because they're the products
of the eternal, immutable, everlasting grace of God and the Lord Jesus
Christ. We read in Romans 8, Romans 8,
starting in verse 38, Paul said, I'm persuaded in neither death,
nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, that's in governments, nor powers,
nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth,
nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the
love of God, which is where? In Christ Jesus our Lord. This
is, and I'll close with this, these trophies of God's grace,
this is what Christ said of them in John chapter 10. Earlier in
John 10, He had said, I am the good shepherd and the good shepherd
giveth his life for the sheep. And just prior to the verse I
want to read, the verses I want to read here, he had the Pharisees
who wouldn't believe on him, he turned to them and he said,
well, you believe not because you're not my sheep. In other
words, he was telling them, I didn't come here to die for you. That's
why you won't believe. But in verse 27, he says, but
my sheep, My sheep that he gave his life for, these trophies
of grace, they hear my voice. And I know them and they follow
me and I give unto them eternal life and they shall never perish.
Neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. My Father which
gave to me, he's greater than all. And no man is able to pluck
them out of my Father's hand. I and my Father are one. So we
see here safe and secure. For all eternity are true believers
these trophies of God's grace. Thank you for your attention.