Good morning. I invite your attention
to Ephesians chapter 3, the epistle of Paul to the church in Ephesus,
chapter 3. This morning's message will continue
the message from last Lord's Day. That message was not finished. And again, I would remind you
that the synopsis for the message has been expanded, so if you do not have the new synopsis,
it's on the tract table, and that's to tell you that you have
a copy. As you locate your passage, we were just informed a moment
ago of the infirmity afflicting our sister Jenny's father. I was reminded that in the past
very few weeks, there have been two deaths of
loved ones. And then last week she had COVID. And today she gets the news regarding
her father. And I was reminded that Solomon
says, remember your creator in the days of your youth. And then
he says, when your youth is gone, the clouds return after the rain. As soon as you're over one trouble,
here comes another. That storm passes, oh good, the
sun's coming out, and here comes another one. My friend Henry Mahan used to
say old age is not for sissies. Well, it is not. The clouds return after the rain. But I digress. Ephesians chapter 3. Since we are continuing the message
from last Lord's Day, and since some of you were not here for
that occasion, And since we're looking at a subject that is
of vital importance to us, I'm going to be referring to the
synopsis and particularly to the introduction, and especially
since the introduction was expanded. So if you have your synopsis,
I'm just going to read it. I'm not going to spend time commenting
on it, but let us consider the introduction to this message.
Ephesians 3 verse 11, the King James Version here speaks of
God's eternal purpose which he purposed in Christ Jesus our
Lord. But the Greek text does not speak
of a purpose nearly purposed, but rather of a purpose actually
done. Commentators are divided regarding
as to the manner in which God's purpose was done in Christ. Some
say God's purpose was made in Christ. Most say it was accomplished
in Christ. And both are theologically correct. God's eternal purpose was made
in Christ before the foundation of the world and accomplished
in Christ when he shouted in his death, it is finished. God's purpose cannot fail. He
himself says so. Isaiah 24, verses 24 through
27, he says, Jehovah of hosts has sworn saying, surely as I
have thought, so it shall come to pass. And as I have purposed,
so shall it stand. Jehovah of hosts has purposed,
and who will annul it? In Isaiah 46, verses 9 through
11, he says, I am God. And there is no other. I am God,
and there is none like me, declaring the end from the beginning and
from ancient times things that are not yet done, saying, My
counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure. Indeed, I
have spoken it. I will also bring it to pass.
I have purposed it. I will also do it. Note also
that our text speaks of God's eternal purpose in Christ Jesus,
our Lord. God's eternal purpose was accomplished
in Jesus of Nazareth, the Christ who is the incarnate Son of God,
our Lord and Savior. We will here consider God's eternal
purpose in Christ Jesus, our Lord. God's purpose is His fixed
intention. The purpose of Him who works
all things according to the counsel of His will. Ephesians 1 verse
11. God does all His works on purpose
and for a purpose. God does nothing unintentionally
or accidentally. Second, God's purpose is eternal
because it spans the ages. having neither beginning nor
ending in time. Third, God's eternal purpose
in Christ Jesus our Lord is his decree from eternity for the
salvation of his people who confess that he has saved us and called
us not according to our works but according to his own purpose. and grace which was given to
us in Christ Jesus before time began. God's eternal decree for
the salvation of his people concerns things done by him for them from
eternity, before the foundation of the world, before time began,
before the ages, beforehand, from the beginning, from the
foundation of the world. And it concerns people who were
by him foreknown, foreordained, and predestined. We here will
consider these aspects of God's eternal purpose for his people.
In the last Lord's day, we considered that God foreknew his people.
God eternally and savingly loved his people. And God predestined
His people, and today we consider the fourth point, and that is
that God chose His people. This is the fourth point in our
short series of messages, God chose His people. We read in Romans chapter 9,
verse 11, that the purpose of God, according to election, is
not of works, but of him who calls." Now, what is a purpose? A fixed intention, a determination,
the purpose of God according to election. We may say there
is a purpose of God according to predestination, a purpose
of God according to redemption, The purpose of God according
to justification, sanctification, but here it is, the purpose of
God, it is His purpose according to election. What are we told
regarding it? It is not of works. God's purpose
does not depend on what we do, not at all, but upon Him who
calls. Now, you speak with some people
and they will tell you that God in his purpose from old eternity
looked down through time and he saw people who would make
a decision for Christ or walk the aisle or get baptized or
do some other work and God said, okay, I'm choosing that one. It is my purpose to choose that
one to salvation. That cannot be true. That would
be the purpose of God according to works. Ah, that would be the
purpose of man according to works. It would be God rewarding man
for what he foresaw man doing. But no, no, no. This is the purpose
of God, of him who calls and not according to works. Now consider
the text. It is Romans chapter 9, verse
11. Why did God make that statement? because he then was going to
say, Jacob I have loved and Desau I have hated. God, is that not a little unfair?
No! No! That's not unfair. That is the purpose of God according
to election, not of works, but of him who calls. And of him
who calls, consider this, they are the called according to his
purpose. I must tell you, I have studied this subject for
many years. I was a preacher, a Calvinist
preacher. when the Lord saved me in 1975. And I was a preacher when he
saved me, and I preached the very next Lord's Day. And I've
been preaching since 1975. I have studied this subject of
God's purpose, but I must tell you, God has purposed to teach
me some things concerning it in the last two or three weeks.
the purpose of God according to election. Oh, election. I mentioned Henry Mahan a moment
ago. Someone told him that he was
going to preach a message on the hated doctrine of election. And Henry replied, you're going
to preach on The loved doctrine of election. Well, it's true. Some hate it. God's elect love it. You can
spot God's elect. They love this doctrine. God
chose me. Oh, yes. Tis not that I did choose
thee. For Lord, that could not be. this heart would still refuse
thee, hast thou not chosen me? Thou from the sin that stained
me, washed me and set me free, and to this end ordained me that
I should live for thee." I'm so glad God has a purpose, had
a purpose from old eternity. I'm so glad that In that purpose,
God chose me to salvation. For if God had waited for me
to make the choice, it never would have been done. Now there
are two texts in God's Word that speak of his purpose according
to election. We're going to look at them.
Two texts. First of all, there is in Romans,
Ephesians chapter 1. Verses 3 through 4, these words. The God and Father of our Lord
Jesus Christ chose us in Christ. When? Before the foundation of
the world. Why? That we should behold Him
without blame before Him in love. So, who did the choosing? The
God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. When did He do it? before the foundation of the
world. Why did he do it? The purpose of God according
to election, that we should be holy and without blame before
him in love. Second text is in 2 Thessalonians
chapter 2 verse 13. Now, before I read that text,
I need to make reference to something that is said Before what you
read in this text Paul says Paul writes to the Thessalonians We
are bound to give thanks to God for you Brethren Beloved by the
Lord When I Paul why are you bound to give thanks to us thanks
to God for us because God from the beginning chose you for salvation through sanctification by the
Spirit and belief in the truth to which he called you by our
gospel for the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. Now these are the two major texts
that explain the purpose of God according to election. It is
not of works, but of him who calls." It is God's purpose. It is from old eternity. Now,
there are reasons why God did this choosing, fourfold reason,
that we might be holy. To be holy signifies three things. First, separated from the world. When something is made holy,
It is separated from the world. Second, it is consecrated to
God. Third, it is dedicated to the
worship of Him. In the tabernacle of old, in
the wilderness, where Aaron ministered, there were, well, everything
in it was said to be holy. a holy altar, holy bread on a holy table. What made it holy? Look at that
bread on that table. Twelve loaves put on that table
every morning. What was special about that bread? It was the same bread that was found in every other
tent in Israel. Same bread, except that this
bread was separated from the other breads consecrated unto
God and dedicated to His worship. Those other loaves of bread out
in the camp, anybody could eat them. Anybody could! This bread
on that holy table, this holy bread on that holy table, in
that holy tabernacle, no one could eat it but the priests. None could eat it but the priests.
What was special about the bread? Not the recipe. It was the fact
that it was separated from the world, consecrated unto God,
dedicated to His worship, and that is what God does with His
people. What's different about us? We're
just common ordinary people. We're just like everybody else
you meet, except that God has taken us out of the world, separated
us from the world. He has consecrated us to himself
and said, you are mine. You will worship me and none
else. That's what it is to be holy.
God chose us to be holy. Now, I'm so glad God chose me
to be holy because had he not, I never would have done it on
my own. Never would have done it on my own. All right. He chose
us to be holy and without blame. That word blame means blemish. Without blame, without blemish. What does that mean? having no thing that would disqualify. The lamb that was to be slain
on the altars had to be without fault and without blemish. So the father takes his son out
to get the lamb that is to become an offering. They go into the
field. There are many lambs in that
field. The father is looking for the
perfect lamb, and he chooses it. And the son says, now father,
this is over here, pretty good looking lamb. Well, this lamb somehow or other
got its nose cut, don't know how, but why not eat it and save
the best lamb? And the father says, no, no,
no, no, no. This lamb is to be an offering to God. It cannot
have a cut on its nose, nor anywhere else. Well, this one, this looks
like a good lamb. It just has a little bit of a
limp. No, no, no. We do not give to God a lamb
with a limp. It has to be without fault and
without blemish. That's what God chose us to be.
without blemish, without fault, without blame, perfect, and not
in any way disqualified from worshiping Him. Third, God chose
us to be before Him in love. Do you realize that God hates
the wicked, but God's elect have never been never will be the
objects of his hatred. Even when Saul of Tarsus is out
there persecuting God's people, God still loved him. God still
loved him. Nothing we ever do changes God's
love toward us. God loved King David when he was committing adultery
in the bed with Bathsheba just as much as God loved David when
he killed Goliath. We never stand before God in
hatred. If God has chosen someone, that
one will stand before him in love, always be before him in
love. God never looks upon us, his
people, and then picks up a daisy and says, I love him. I love
him not. I love him. I love him. An Armenian
may say so. The free willer may say so. God
loves me today, but if I sin, He will not love me tomorrow.
Well, you're going to sin for sure. But if you're one of God's
elect, you're going to stand before Him in love. You're going
to stand before Him in love. We do not cower in His presence. We stand before Him in love. Always the objects of His love. And then God chose us from salvation
or for salvation. We may say that God chose us
for salvation in a threefold sense. He saved us from our sins,
all our defilements, all our sins of every sort. He saved
us from all the consequences of our sins. And what are the
consequences of our sins? The soul who sins shall die. The wages of sin is death. No one God chose for salvation
will ever perish, never perish. And from the wrath to come, God
has saved us. There is a day of wrath coming. He has delivered us. from the
coming wrath of God. And what a day that will be in
the revelation of Jesus Christ. We read that when he is seen
come in the clouds, the great men, the mighty men will call
upon the mountains and say, fall on us, fall on us. and hide us
from the face of the Lamb, for the day of His wrath has come."
Now that is a strange expression. The day of the Lamb has come. It is the day of His wrath. Folks,
lions may have wrath, grizzlies may have wrath, When did a lamb
ever have wrath? Have you ever seen a wrathful
lamb? Well, there's one coming. There's
one coming. That man of sorrows and acquainted
with grief, led as a lamb to the slaughter. He who is led
to the lamb to the slaughter is coming back, the very same
lamb, coming in his wrath. And the wicked call upon the
mountains, fall on us, fall on us. We'd rather die at your hands
than to die at the hands of the wrath of this Lamb. Well, we're
going to look up and see the same Lamb coming. We're going to see Him coming. We sing, What a day that will
be when my Jesus I shall see, when I gaze upon His face, the
one who saved me by His grace. Yeah, here comes my Lamb, here
comes my Redeemer. How can that be? God shows us
the salvation to be saved from His wrath. Note also this, not only And this is in 2 Thessalonians
2, verses 13 and 14. Not only did God choose us to
salvation, He even predestined the means and the manner in which
the elect would be chosen. We are bound to give thanks to
God for you, brethren, beloved by the Lord, because God hath
from the beginning chosen you for salvation in what manner? Notice what Paul has written,
through sanctification by the Spirit. Now, God saves every
sinner the same way. How? Through sanctification by
the Spirit. What is sanctification by the
Spirit? To be sanctified is to be made
holy. That's what the Holy Spirit does.
The Holy Spirit calls us out of the world. And then, belief
in the truth. What is the truth? Well, there's
two things. First, it is the gospel. It is
the gospel of truth. But Jesus Christ is the truth. He himself is the truth. The Holy Spirit separates us
from the world, and we believe the gospel. How do we do it? Through God-given faith. By grace
you have been saved through faith, and that faith is not of yourselves,
it is a gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast. Through
sanctification by the Spirit, belief in the truth, by which
he called you by our gospel. Now there's the way in which
sinners are saved, by the preaching of the gospel, by the preaching
of the gospel. I've had men ask me, Moose, why
do you not give an invitation after the message? Well, there's
no need to. Why not? I do not separate the
invitation from the message. My message is an invitation.
My message is a call. In preaching the gospel, what
are we doing? Calling men to Christ. If you
believe in Christ, you're one of God's elect. You've been sanctified
by the Spirit. You have believed the truth. You've been called by the gospel.
And then you will say, I did so because God chose me for salvation
before the foundation of the world. God's purpose according
to election. Tell you what, the more I study
this, the more I like it. God's purpose according to election. All right, number five. God prepared his people for glory. Romans 9, verses 22 and 23. We read, what if God, by the
way, notice this, that Romans 9, 22, in this point, It's just a few short verses
after we read God's purpose according to election. Now, in God's purpose
according to election, we read, Jacob, I have loved, but Esau
I have hated. And for this purpose, I raised
up Pharaoh, that I might show my name in all the earth. Now
some will say, well, now God, you're being just a little bit
unfair. Well, read this. What if God, Romans 9, 22 and
23, what if God, wanting to show his wrath and to make his power
known, endured with much long suffering the vessels of wrath
prepared for destruction? and that he might make known
the riches of his glory on the vessels of mercy which he had
prepared beforehand for glory." What if? What if? All right. We hear a read of vessels of
wrath and of vessels of mercy. And there is the illustration of the potter.
He made them both. Vessels of wrath, they are prepared
for destruction. How were they prepared for destruction? There are some who say God chose
some to salvation and God chose some to reprobation and God chose
some to be saved and God chose some to be damned. Alright, now
listen to me carefully and I hope there's no one here embracing
such a thought because you will search the Scriptures in vain for one single instance in Scripture
where God chose anyone to be damned. You'll search Every time
election is mentioned in the scriptures, it is unto salvation. It is unto holiness. It is unto
blamelessness. It is unto God's love. But preacher it here says, they
are prepared for destruction. Who did that? Some say, well
God did. He prepared them for destruction.
No, they prepare themselves for their destruction. Every sin
we do prepares us for destruction unless we are of God's elect,
prepared for destruction. Everything we do against God
prepares us more and more and more for destruction. God does
not have to prepare us for destruction. we are more than willing to do
it to ourselves. These vessels of wrath prepared
for destruction for their own misconduct against God, but notice
this, God is long-suffering to them. Long-suffering, endured with
much long-suffering. The long-suffering of God waited
in the days of Noah, all those years when Noah was told of God
to prepare an ark for the salvation of his family and all who would
believe. Moses preached over 100 years
while preparing that ark. And remember, it took him a long
time to prepare that ark. It was a huge undertaking, a
big venture. And there was no blackendecker
and no craftsman. All right? It was whatever he
had. And as he worked, he preached.
God's going to destroy this world. And all the wicked upon it did
that for over a hundred years, preached that message. A hammer in one hand and the
gospel in the other, declaring the sinners that they needed
to repent. And every day when Noah preached,
they laughed at him. How's he going to do it, Noah?
It's going to rain. Going to rain water down from
heaven. Noah! It has never rained before! And it had not rained. It had
never rained. The Lord watered the earth with
the moisture. It's never rained, Noah. You're
crazy. They mocked Him. They mocked
His God. And God for over a hundred years
endured them with much long-suffering. And the more they mock Noah and
his God, the more they prepare themselves for destruction. And
then it came. God endures with much longsuffering,
but there comes a time when his longsuffering is done. And so
it was upon these vessels of wrath who had prepared themselves
for destruction. On the other hand are these vessels
of mercy which God had prepared beforehand. When was that? Before the foundation of the
world. When are vessels of wrath prepared for destruction? In
time through their sins against God. When were the vessels of
mercy prepared for salvation? Before the foundation of the
world. in God's eternal purpose. He prepared His people for glory. Now point number six, God foreordained
Christ to redeem His people. 1 Peter chapter 1, verses 18
through 21, we're told, You were not redeemed with corruptible
things like silver and gold, but with the precious blood of
Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot, He
indeed was foreordained. Watch that word! He indeed was
foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest
in these last times for you who through him believe in God. Now,
what was beheld by men on Calvary 2,000 years ago, when men looked on
Calvary And when they saw the Lamb of God on that tree, dying
for sinners, they were seeing with their eyes what God had
predestined before time began, manifested in these last times
for you. And this foreordained, redeeming
Lamb is therefore the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.
When was he slain? Watch. He was slain 2,000 years
ago on Calvary, and he was slain a few thousand years before that,
before God created the heavens and the earth. The Lamb slain
from the foundation of the world. When the world was founded by
God's hand, Christ the Lamb was already slain in God's eternal
decree and from all eternity their names were written in the
book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.
The book of life written before time began. The names of all
God's chosen people enrolled in that book. My father, earthly
father, who was a godly man, a faithful gospel preacher, told
the story of another preacher who said that when a sinner gets
saved, that there is an angel beside God's throne. And when
a sinner gets saved, that angel picks up a quill and goes over to this vessel before God's throne. This vessel is full of the blood
of Jesus Christ. And this angel dips his quill
into that vessel of blood and comes back to the Lamb's Book
of Life and writes the person's name in. As soon as one gets
saved, This man said, this angel writes his name down in the Lamb's
Book of Life. Well, someone told the preacher,
preacher, your illustration is contrary to the scriptures. Because
according to the scriptures, the names of God's people were
written in the Lamb's Book of Life before the foundation of
the world. And to which the preacher said,
Well, my illustration may not be scriptural, but it sure is
good preaching. Sometimes what people call good
preaching can just be pure outright heresy. So it was with this. When were the names written in
the Book of Life? Before the foundation of the
world. With what were they written? the blood of the Lamb? How could it be written with
the blood of the Lamb if He was not already slain? Well, He was
already slain before the foundation of the world. I tell you, God's
decree and God's purpose Do you see what we're saying? When men
looked on Calvary and saw the Lamb of God on that tree, they
were seeing what God had seen before the foundation of the
world. The Lamb slain from the foundation of the world, the
names of God's people written in the Book of Life of that Lamb
slain, and therefore the death of Jesus Christ by wicked men
was therefore predestined by God. What did you say, preacher? I
said, the scriptures say the death of Jesus Christ was predestined
by God. It had to occur in time because
he had already occurred in eternity. What had been purposed had to
be manifested. What God had determined before
the foundation of the world had to be shown to men. Now, how
was God's predestination of the death of Jesus Christ manifested? Two texts speak of it. They both
are in the Acts of the Apostles. Peter said the wicked men, him,
Jesus Christ, being delivered by the determined purpose and
foreknowledge of God. You have taken by lawless hands,
have crucified and put to death, but you just fulfilled God's
determined purpose. We're told in the scriptures
that man's wrath will praise God. Man's wrath will praise God. Do you realize that when those
wicked men took Jesus Christ and with their lawless, wicked,
iniquitous hands, nailed Him to a tree, they had no idea they
were doing what God had predestined before time began? Now God was
not the author of their sin, not at all, but he did use their
sin to fulfill his purpose and his predestined plan for the
death of Jesus Christ. Christ's disciples acknowledged
to God in a prayer that for truly against your holy servant Jesus,
whom you anointed Both Herod and Pontius Pilate, with the
Gentiles and the people of Israel, were gathered together to do
whatever your hand and your purpose determined before to be done. Why did heathen rage? Why do
the people plot the vain thing? Look at that death of Jesus Christ. Herod, Pontius Pilate, and the
people of Israel, and they all hate each other. They all hate each other. Pontius
Pilate hated Herod, and Herod hated Pontius Pilate. The people
of Israel hated Pontius Pilate, and Pontius Pilate hated the
people of Israel. They all hate each other, but
they have one common enemy, and He is Jesus of Nazareth. One
common enemy. And so what did they do? They
all get together. All the enemies of Jesus Christ
get together and crucify Him to a tree, and Peter says, And
God determined that you would do that. That was his purpose.
God used you to shed the blood of the Lamb by which he would
save, redeem, and cleanse, justify, and sanctify his people. The
wrath of man shall praise thee. And it does so because that's
God's purpose. That's God's purpose. And it
will never fail. O God, our Father, how glorious is your purpose, all-encompassing, eternal and never failing, and even wicked men fulfill it
through their sinful deeds. How awesome is your name, how
awesome is your purpose. And how glorious is it that you
and your purpose have chosen a people, prepared them from
eternity for glory, and then foreordained the means by which
they would be redeemed. We give you praise. We give you
glory. Receive our thanksgiving in Jesus'
name, we pray. Amen.