for thy throne. We come boldly
before Thy throne, as Scripture tells us to, not in any merit
of our own, but simply in You, Lord Jesus, and in Your righteousness.
We pray as we lift up these prayers to Thee that Thy will would be
done, that You would give strength and grace to the different people
on the list that we read, the different prayer requests of
our brothers and sisters in Christ, and that You would strengthen
them through whatever trial they're going through, We also remember
Sister Pat, too, who's at home sick, too, as well. And we lift
her up, as well, to You, Lord, and pray that You would give
her grace and strength, and if it's Your will, to put a healing
hand upon her. Lord, we pray that You would be with the services
today and the messages. Oh, that they would go forth
with power in Your Spirit and that You would use them to edify
and build up Your saints. And oh, if it's Your will that
You'd use them to draw Your lost sheep to Thee, we pray. to get
all the glory and all the honor and all the praise from everything
that we do and say here today, whether it's the singing or whether
it's the preaching, and whether it's just our conversations as
we fellowship together after services, that you might get
the glory and that you might get the honor and that you might
get the praise. And it all goes to Thee. In Jesus' name, Amen. Ephesians 1 is where we'll be
today. In the name of the message is
all glory to God. All glory to God. Ephesians 1,
verses 10-12, that in the dispensation of the fullness 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. 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." Now, I've often said that how do you measure a man's preaching?
No matter who's preaching, no matter whether he's a well-known
preacher or whether he's just a young preacher starting out,
Or whether he's some man supposedly preaching the Gospel outside.
You measure it by who gets the glory. Who gets the glory? Does God get the glory in the
preaching? Or does man get the glory? If
man gets the glory, that man is not preaching the Gospel.
But if God gets all the glory, if He gets all the honor, if
He gets all the praise, then all glory goes to God. And if
that man's preaching Christ and Him crucified, then we as God's
sheep should desire to be there, to hear the preaching of His
Word, to hear about the Savior, the One who gets all the glory,
all the honor, and all the praise. Now last week we looked at how
the Gentiles were included in the covenant of grace, in the
election of grace, and that being the mystery of His will in the
Gospel, that the body of Christ would be made up of both Jews
and Gentiles. Both Jews and Gentiles. Now God's
elect come from every kindred, every tribe, every nation, and
every people. He has a people scattered throughout
time. Throughout time. It's mind-boggling. I was always thinking about this.
Throughout time, He has a people scattered. Sheep are scattered.
He is drawing in His sheep. Drawing in His sheep with the
preaching of the Gospel. Now this was shocking to the
Jews. Shocking to the Jews that the Gentiles were included. Because
they thought of the Gentiles as dogs. And they thought that
they were the ones, everyone else was under them. But oh, what a wonderful covenant
of grace we have in Christ. Look at verse 10. "...that in
the dispensation of the fullness 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." Turn to Jeremiah 32 if you would. Here before us we see that from
eternity, God had purposed and planned redemption in Christ.
Redemption was planned by God in eternity. Planned by God in
eternity. And it all came about in the
fullness of time. When it was God's time for Christ
to come upon this earth, He came. Not a second later and not a
second before. He came. And God is a covenant
God. What He purposes and plans will
come to pass in His time. Look at Jeremiah 32, verses 37-40. Behold, I will gather them out
of all countries, whither I have driven them in mine anger, and
in my fury, and in great wrath, and I will bring them again unto
this place, and I will cause them to dwell safely." And notice
this too. When God decrees something, it
comes to pass, doesn't it? If He says, shell, it comes to
pass, doesn't it? Because He's a God. And remember,
He's a covenant God. So, what He's covenanted shall
come to pass. Look at it. And they shall be
my people. There's no doubt. There's no
doubt. And I will be their God. Isn't
this marvelous, beloved? Think of us. We were scattered. We were sheep lost. And He drew
us, didn't He? He drew us. Look at this. And
I will give them one heart. Unity. Unity in the body of Christ. Not people going all over the
place, but unity in the body. One heart. Christ, our King,
that's who we look at. Christ Jesus, the Lord. He is
the King. I'll give them one heart, and
one way. Christ is the only way. Why? That they may fear me forever.
Now, we fear God with a reverent fear, not a slavish fear. But
a reverent fear. He's the God of the universe.
God. It's a reverent fear. And I will
make with them an everlasting covenant, and He did in Christ.
that I will not turn away from them to do them good, but I will
put my fear in their hearts that they should not depart from Me."
Those He saves, He keeps. He keeps. Notice back in our
text again in Ephesians 1, verse 10. It says, "...might gather
together and want all things in Christ, both which are in
heaven and which are on earth, even in Him." Now think of this,
all the former prophecies, promises, types, and shadows, they centered
and were fulfilled, summed up in Christ. They all pointed to
Him. Right to Him. He is the head. We looked at it in Colossians.
And we're the body. And as I said, God's sheep are
scattered throughout different parts of the earth throughout
time. But in the Lord Jesus Christ, we will be all gathered together
in one. There won't be any arguments
and disputes in heaven. None. There won't be any disagreements
about one preacher or another. We'll be one in Christ. One in
Christ. It'll be amazing. I remember
talking to Tim James about some stuff, and Tim James said that.
He goes, well, Paul and Barnabas are getting along now in heaven.
They're having a great time. Unity. Perfect unity in Christ. Oh, what a blessing. What a blessing. Look at verse 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. Now in whom? This is Christ Jesus
our Lord. In whom? The Lord Jesus Christ.
And in whom is all salvation. All salvation. And also note, Paul often uses
his expression, right? He uses his expressions all the
time. In Christ. In Christ. In whom? In Him. This is speaking of Christ. And Christ is everything to Paul. He's everything. Is He not so
with us who believe? Is He not everything to us? Everything. Everything. And think of this.
Think of this. Paul will not mention a single
mercy without Christ. Paul doesn't bring up doctrines
without Christ. Without Christ. And think of
this, if you were to ask any of the disciples what he believed,
he would have pointed and said, I believe in Him. I believe in
Him. And one might ask him 50 times,
what do you believe? I believe in Him. He would continue to point to
Christ and say, I believe in Him. He would not point to 50 different
doctrines, but he'd point to Christ. He
is the object of my faith. He is my King. Christ is the object of the believer's
faith. And think of this, in the learning
of Him through the preaching of the Word, we learn that these
great doctrines, which are wonderful, Right? Wonderful. But they're
all centered in Him. They're all centered in Him.
I remember a story of Brother Henry Mahan coming to preach
at Brother Norm Wells' church up in the Dalles, Oregon, who
I hope one day will be here to preach for some time. Just a
wonderful, dear fellow. And I remember he was a landmark
Baptist and didn't know Christ at the time and had no idea. He was a preacher, and with the
landmarks, they have closed communion, where they close the table to
only, they won't let anyone other than members have a cup. And Henry kept saying to, not
even like visitors from other churches, and Norm kept bringing
up the Lord's Supper, and Henry kept saying, it's not about that,
Norm, it's about Christ. And he kept bringing it up. It's
not about that. And Henry just kept hitting the nail. It's not
about that, Norm. It's about Christ. And praise
God, the Lord saved Norm that weekend. Revealed himself to
him. So we are to look to Christ.
He's the object of the believer's faith. Let us trace our mercies,
all the mercies that we have as believers, let us trace them
to Christ. To Christ. He gets all the praise. He gets all the glory. And He
gets all the honor. Christ Jesus is the one we look
upon, purchased by His precious blood. Every blessing we have
in Christ is a result of the purchase of His blood. Oh, may
we never ask for mercy or seek to obtain anything. except in
connection with Him, with Christ. Now look at this. It says, in
whom? Being Christ. Also, we have obtained
an inheritance. Look at the verbiage here. Have
obtained. We could park here for years.
Have obtained. Have obtained. Paul speaks with
no doubt, no uncertainty. He states by inspiration of the
Holy Spirit that this inheritance was those who are in Christ have obtained an inheritance.
Turn, if you would, to Hebrews 9, verse 12. Christ obtained
our eternal redemption for we who believe. This is also true of redemption
we have in Christ Jesus our Lord because He obtained it. He obtained
it. Hebrews chapter 9 says this, verse 12, neither by the blood
of goats and calves, but by His own blood He entered in once
into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us. We
preach a successful Savior. He did it. He didn't just make
it possible, as false preachers proclaim, for you to be saved.
Scripture declares He obtained it. He obtained eternal salvation,
eternal redemption for us, for His people. And so our text says,
"...in whom also we have obtained an inheritance." We've obtained
this inheritance. Now, when we get the glory, the
fullness of that, but we've obtained it in Christ. Oh, the Lord Jesus Christ has obtained
eternal redemption for us, and in Him we have obtained an inheritance. And this is given to us, beloved,
by the pure, free, and sovereign grace of God in Christ, plus
absolutely nothing. It's by the grace and the mercy
of God with nothing added. Free grace. Redemption and inheritance
obtained by the Lord Jesus Christ and through the Lord Jesus Christ
for His people. What do we say? Praise His mighty
name. That's all we can say. Give Him
the glory. Give Him all the honor. Give Him all the praise. Look,
it says being predestinated. Now, we touched on predestination
when we looked at verse 5, so I'm going to be real brief here
because we already covered that quite a bit. But here's a word
before us that's absolutely hated by those who oppose the fact
that God is sovereign. They hate this word. I hate it. But it's a word we see found
in Scripture, even though many despise this precious truth. Predestination is not only the
sonship, look in verse 5, right? Having predestinated us unto
the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to Himself according to
the good pleasure of His will, it's not only the sonship, But here in our text, to an inheritance
that is in the Lord Jesus Christ. Turn, if you would, to 1 Peter
1, verses 3-5. And we know that our election
in Christ, we are also predestinated to be conformed to the image
of Christ. So predestination not only secures the grace of
adoption, but prepares and provides a heavenly portion in our inheritance
which can never fade away, beloved. Never fade away. Why? Because it's in Christ. It's in Christ. Look at 1 Peter
1, verses 3-5. Blessed be the God and Father
of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to His abundant mercy...
And God is so merciful to us, isn't He? He's merciful to us.
before we're saved and even after we're saved. Hath begotten us again into a
lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus from the dead, to an
inheritance incorruptible, incorruptible, and undefiled. See, those He
saves, He keeps, doesn't He? Those He saves, He keeps. And
that fadeth not away. Reserved in heaven for you. Reserved in heaven for you. You
ever go to a restaurant and make reservations? And there's a table
waiting? Reserved in heaven for you. For
those who believe. Oh, what a mighty God. What a
mighty God. And look at the verse 5. Who
are kept by the power of God. The same power that saves us,
right? Keeps us. who are kept by the
power of God through faith, you must believe, unto salvation,
ready to be revealed in the last time. Oh, what a wonder. And we say,
to the praise and the glory of His grace. We just give Him all
the glory. Look at the latter part of the
verse here, too. Back in verse 11. According to the purpose of Him
who worketh all things after the counsel of His own will,
God does things on purpose. Now think of this too. This is
the fourth time that Paul mentions the will of God. In verse 1 he
states that he is an apostle by the will of God. Paul is an
apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God to the saints which
are at Ephesus and to the faithful in Christ Jesus. In verse 5 the
Bible declares that we are to look that we are, and look at
verse 5, that we are predestined to the adoption of children by
Jesus Christ according to the good pleasure of His will. And
in verse 5, that we are predestined to the adoption
of children by Jesus Christ according to the good pleasure of His will. And there's only one will, beloved.
There's only one will in this universe. Only one. And that
will is supreme. And that is the will of God.
He does things according to the purpose of His will. Whatever
He pleases, He does. Turn, if you would, to Romans
9. He does as He pleases. He's sovereign whether people
like it or not. Whether they agree or disagree,
God still reigns. And He does according to His
will. And it's all to the praise of the glory of His grace. Romans
9, verse 20-23. Nay, but, O man, who art thou
that replyest against God? Shall the thing formed say to
him that formed it, Why hast thou made me thus? Hath not the
potter the power over the clay? Hath not God the power to do
whatever He pleases? Absolutely. of the same lump to make one
vessel to honor and another unto dishonor? What if God, willing
to show His wrath and to make His power known, endeared with
much long-suffering, the vessels of wrath fitted destruction,
and that he might make known the riches of his glory on the
vessels of mercy which he had aforeprepared unto glory." Oh,
God's people are vessels of mercy. Vessels of mercy. Let's go back
to Ephesians 1. And let's notice the words here
also that are used throughout this chapter. And they show that
all these wonderful truths are in Christ. They're nowhere else.
They're nowhere else. Look at verse 1, "...and to the
faithful in Christ Jesus." Verse 2, "...from the Lord Jesus Christ."
Verse 3, "...all spiritual blessings were in Christ." Verse 4, "...chosen
in Him, Christ." Verse 5, "...by Jesus Christ, adopted by Christ."
6. Accepted in the beloved. Verse
6. Accepted in Christ. Verse 7. Redemption through His
blood, the forgiveness of sins. Verse 10. Gathered together in
Christ. And verse 12. Trusted in Christ. Paul is hitting the nail of free
grace. He just keeps hammering that
nail. Christ. Christ. Christ is the only hope. Remember I said if you asked
any of the apostles who they're faith in, who they're trusting,
they would have pointed to Him. To Him. Now we can see why it's
vital to preach Christ. Because all our salvation is
in Christ. Millions of people are sitting
this morning and they're speaking. I don't call it preaching, because
they're speaking. And they're speaking, telling
them what they have to do to gain salvation. Preaching is
all about preaching Christ and Him crucified. Lifting Christ
up. Oh, may God give freedom and
liberty to His grace preachers this day, to those who are preaching
the Gospel. Freedom and liberty to proclaim
the Gospel of Christ to a lost and dying world. And may the
Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ and His free grace go forth with
power Go forth with power to the edifying of His saints, to
the building up of His saints, and to the gathering in of His
sheep. That's our hope, isn't it? That's our hope. Let's finish
up in verse 12. That we should be to the praise
of His glory who first trusted in Christ. Now this is the second
time that Paul gives all the glory to God. The third being
in verse 14, but look at verse 6. To the praise of the glory
of His grace. Look at verse 12 again, that
we should be to the praise of His glory. And in verse 14, unto
the praise of His glory. The true gospel, beloved, the
true gospel glorifies God in Him alone. It glorifies God in
Him alone. False gospels give the glory
to man. And they exalt man to a place
where God is at the creature's mercy, at the mercy of man. Oh,
we preach a God who we're at His mercy. We're at His mercy. God be merciful
to me, a sinner. Oh, we preach a great God who
can save whomever He pleases. And the true gospel glorifies
God. And it humbles the pride of man.
It glorifies God and it humbles the pride of man. It exalts God
as a sovereign king over the whole universe. And He can do
whatever He pleases. And He does. Despite sometimes
men getting worked up about what He does. No matter how much a person gets
worked up about what God's done, it isn't going to change it. He's sovereign, beloved. Either
we believe that God is absolutely sovereign, or we don't. We preach from this pulpit, and
the men who will fill the pulpit, we preach Christ and Him crucified,
and a sovereign God who does whatever He pleases. And we bow
our knee to that. It's wonderful to know that my
eternal soul, and you who have believed, that your eternal soul
is in the hands of a sovereign God. What great comfort. It gives us comfort and joy.
Oh, it's wonderful. So the true gospel glorifies
God and humbles the pride of man. It exalts God as a sovereign
king and put man in his rightful place. And where's that? Right
in the dust. Right in the dust. Old grace preacher once said,
we make our headquarters in the dust. And that's true. Oh, the true gospel magnifies
and glorifies God. Salvation is in Christ Jesus.
And it's all to the praise of His glory. And we who are saved,
think of this, we who are saved are trophies of the grace of
God in Christ. Oh, it's wonderful. And we are nothing in ourselves,
are we? But we're the vessels of mercy.
We're the vessels of mercy. I obtained mercy. God didn't give me what I deserve.
And if you're here a believer, he didn't give you what you deserve.
He gave you mercy. No wonder we want to give Him
all the praise and all the glory and all the honor. Salvation
is of the Lord. It's all His doing. It's all
His doing. Look, it says, who first trusted
in Christ. We, to whom the Gospel was first
preached. and who were first converted
to the faith of Christ and placed in our hope and trust in Him.
It's speaking of those who went before them in Christ. Look at
Romans 16, verse 7. Who first trusted in Christ. Romans 16, verse 7. Salute Andronicus, Injunia, my kinsmen and my fellow
prisoners, who are of note among the apostles who were in Christ
before me, who first trusted in Christ.
Think of this, those who have experienced the grace of God
in Christ longer should glorify Him even more. We should be,
as we grow in grace, our praise should grow. Our desire to give
God all the glory should grow. Because He's deserving of it
all. And remember this, if you're saved, you're a vessel of mercy
to the praise of the glory of His grace.