The salvation of sinners is God's
supreme work, and the eternal well-being of His everlastingly
loved people is the great object of His covenant purpose. Indeed,
it is the reason for the revelation and for the coming of the Lord
Jesus Christ, the Son of God, into the world. The reason why
the Lord Jesus Christ came into the world was the eternal well-being
of those people whom God loved. And God's desire was to bestow
happiness upon the objects of his love. And that is the reason
for everything that we see around about us. It is the reason for
the existence of this universe. It is the reason for time and
space and for the creation of all things. God's desire to bestow
happiness upon the object of his love. And if you are one
of the Lord's people today, this is all for you. Let that sink
in for a moment. Think about that for a moment.
When Adam fell in the Garden of Eden, God did not wipe men
off the face of the earth. as he might well have done. Think about what would have happened
if God had just said, this is a failed experiment. Think about
that for a moment. Think of all the tears that would
never have been shed. Think of all the pain that would
never have been felt. Think about all the children
who would never have been hurt Think of all the bloodshed that
would have been prevented. Sin brought a heavy price. But instead of wiping man off
the face of this globe, the Lord God slew an animal and covered
man's shame. He covered man's nakedness with
the skins of a slain beast, showing, first of all, the close connection
between sin and death, and secondly, foreshadowing the necessity of
substitution and a covering for sin. And when the wickedness of man
became so abhorrent and repugnant that God said in Genesis chapter
6 verse 6, it repented the Lord that he had made man on the earth
and it grieved him at his heart so much so that he sent a flood
upon the earth, and the world that then was being overflowed
with water perished. Yet Peter tells us in 2 Peter
2, in sparing not the old world, he saved Noah, the eighth person,
a preacher of righteousness, bringing in the flood upon the
world of the ungodly. Notice what this tells us. It
says that Noah was a preacher of righteousness, not a doer
of righteousness. The Bible tells us that there
is none righteous, no, not one. He was not a doer of righteousness,
but he was a preacher of righteousness. And for the sake of the elect,
for the sake of God's beloved people, for the sake of doing
his people good, the Lord preserved Noah, one of eight in the ark. He saved Noah and his family. And it is this great work of
salvation which is our subject today. And I long, I long that
the Lord would make me a preacher of righteousness, not that I
am a doer of righteousness. but to be able to preach righteousness
amongst men by that imputed righteousness of the Lord Jesus Christ and
point sinners to Christ is the greatest privilege that a preacher
can have. So we're going to be thinking
about salvation today. And I just have a few points.
I've got four points that I want to make and I'll make them quickly
and then we will be done. But the first thing I want to
draw to your attention is that salvation is an act of God. Indeed, it is the gift of God. And our thoughts today are going
to be upon this little passage, Ephesians 2, verses 1 to 10,
and specifically these references that are made a couple of times
in these verses to the fact that we are saved by grace. by grace ye are saved. And so this is our theme. And the first thing we note is
that salvation is an act of God. It is an act of God the Father,
God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. The eternal God in his
three persons has achieved and accomplished this salvation. Now we have seen in recent weeks
as we've been thinking about this passage, over a few weeks
now we've thought about the quickening power of the Holy Spirit, we've
thought about the mercy of God and its richness, we've thought
about the love of God and its greatness, and here we're thinking
about the salvation of God and how gracious it is. And we see
here that this salvation flows from God's rich mercy and his
great love towards us. The source of our salvation is
primarily the mercy and love of God the Father. though that
is not to the exclusion of God the Son or God the Holy Spirit. But primarily, when we think
about this desire to save, we think about the will and purpose
of God the Father. Because as we've been thinking
already today, it is the Father who commissioned the Son and
committed the elect, his chosen people, into the care of the
Lord Jesus Christ. It was the Father who prepared
a body for the Lord Jesus Christ, we're told in the book of Hebrews. It was the Son who was sent. It was the Father who sustained
the Lord Jesus Christ during the years of his life. and it
was ultimately the father who slew the Lord Jesus Christ as
the substitute for his people upon the cross. Isaiah, that
great prophet of the Old Testament in chapter 53, verse 10 says,
it pleased the Lord to bruise him. It pleased the father to
bruise the son. It pleased the Lord to bruise
him. he hath put him to grief. When thou shalt make his soul
an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong
his days, and the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in his
hand. And so it's the Father's love
and mercy that first found the way of securing our salvation. But that did not exclude the
work of the Lord Jesus Christ because it was the Lord Jesus
Christ who willingly and voluntarily came into the world in order
to save sinners. Remember what the angel said
in Matthew chapter one, thou shalt call his name Jesus for
he shall save his people from their sins. That was the reason
why he came. He took the nature of men, to
deliver God's chosen people, God's children from their sin. Paul calls this the mystery of
godliness. God was manifest in the flesh. And in Hebrews 2, verse 13, we
see there an Old Testament passage taken and applied to the Lord
Jesus Christ. And that shows us the essence
of this covenant purpose that the Lord Jesus Christ was fulfilling. And the writer to the Hebrews
there says, Behold I and the children which God hath given
me. For as much then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood,
he also himself likewise took part of the same. That is, Jesus
took our flesh and blood, that through death, the death of the
cross, he might destroy him that had the power of death, that
is, the devil. So the Lord Jesus Christ came
into the world in order to accomplish our salvation. The Lord Jesus
Christ, faultless in life, the lamb without spot, took our sin
upon himself and died in our place, accomplished what he was
sent and what he came to do. to deliver them who through fear
of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage. And so that's
God the Father's involvement in this work of salvation and
God the Son's involvement in this work of salvation. And we
discover too that God the Holy Spirit brings all those blessings
which were gained by the death of the Lord Jesus Christ to the
experience and the enjoyment and the encouragement of those
for whom Christ died. Those who were committed into
the care of Christ by God the Father, those for whom Christ
died upon the cross, they are quickened or made alive or regenerated
by God the Holy Spirit, who quickens and converts them by gospel preaching,
and those loved of God, those chosen in this everlasting covenant
of peace, those elected by the Father, redeemed by the Son,
are made alive by God the Holy Spirit. And so we see all the
persons of the Godhead working together in order to accomplish
the salvation of God's people. This covenant, this plan of salvation
was adopted by the one true God in eternity and it was fulfilled
or worked out in time by the three persons of the Godhead. Years ago, many years ago, perhaps
I've shared this with some of you in the past, but many years
ago I heard a little phrase employed to quite adeptly describe this. And here it is, I'll share it
with you again. The Father thought it, with respect
to our salvation. The Father thought it. The Son
bought it. The Spirit brought it. and praise God, I've got it. See if you can remember that.
It's a nice way to think about the work of the triune God in
the accomplishment of our salvation. But in this context of God working
out our salvation, God making this salvation and way of salvation
possible, an interesting question arises. Because we might think
to ourself, would the triune God that we've just been thinking
about, the God who conceived this plan of salvation, the God
who decreed this plan of salvation, the God who personally went forth
to accomplish so great salvation by the death of the Lord Jesus
Christ upon the cross, would he then leave the success of
that salvation up to the feeble and froward and fallen will of
already condemned sinners who at the best of times can't maintain
a settled opinion on any matter of substance in this life. No,
that's why it's called so great salvation, because it is the
Lord's work. Indeed, in the book of Jonah,
we read salvation is of the Lord. It is the Lord who has chosen
to save us. It is the Lord who has redeemed
our souls from death. And it is the Lord God, the Holy
Spirit, who brings spiritual life and faith to the experience
of the elect through the preaching of the gospel. So here is the
first point in our thought today, that salvation is an act and
gift of the triune God to his people. The second point is this,
that salvation is applied by grace. So God is the one who
works our salvation and accomplishes our salvation and then God applies
that salvation to individual sinners by his grace. Now grace is a gift that does
not hinge upon any of man's works. This salvation of which we speak,
this salvation which Paul is speaking about when he says in
Ephesians 2, verse 5 and verse 8, by grace are ye saved, by
grace ye are saved, this salvation isn't dependent upon man's works
or man's will or any eligibility in man upon the grounds of our
worth or our merits. In fact, the Apostle Paul expressly
excludes man's activity or involvement in salvation and he tells us
that we are mere passive recipients of God's goodness and God's grace. In Romans 9, in verse 16, he
writes there, So then it, that is, election unto salvation,
is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God
that showeth mercy. It couldn't be any clearer than
that. And in Romans 11, verse 5, he
goes on to say that there is a remnant, that is, there is
a little flock, according to the election of grace. And if
by grace, says Paul, then it is no more of works, otherwise
grace is no more grace. But if it be of works, then it
is no more grace, otherwise work is no more work. It can't be
grace and works together. It has to be either or, because
these two mutually exclude one another. If there is anything
of work, if there is anything of merit, if there is anything
of the will of man in salvation, then it's not of grace. But if
it is of grace, then works must be excluded. That's the logic
of Paul, and that's the message of the gospel. So the Holy Spirit
repeats this little phrase twice in our passage today for confirmation. And just look at the force and
the import of these words. By grace ye are saved. They're emphatic. You know, there's
no ifs or ands or buts or maybes in that little phrase. The Holy
Spirit says through Paul the Apostle, by grace ye are saved. There's no might be, can be,
ought to be, should be, could be. You are saved. You're saved by grace. This great work of God is given
freely to men and women and boys and girls. And every word in
that little phrase has power and every word has force. Our
salvation is a present reality. That's why the apostle says,
you are saved right now, right here today. Those who believe
in the Lord Jesus Christ, those who have been called by the gospel,
those who have been quickened by the Holy Spirit in accordance
with the death of Christ and the will of God. This is a present
reality that we enjoy and experience. It is a reality by divine decree
and nothing but nothing may intrude or contribute to this work of
salvation. If anything is added, then it
detracts from grace. And that's what we mean when
we talk about sovereign grace. Nobody would listen to a great
composition by some composer, some musician and think, you
know what, I can add a few notes here and take a few notes away
there and improve upon that. Or a great painting and think
that if they just take a brush and go over this little bit or
that little bit, they can make a better job of it. This is God's
work and we are his workmanship. and God's work of salvation is
by grace. And let me say one more thing
on this point before we move on. Some might find Paul's emphasis
in this matter to be offensive, imagining that it jeopardizes
in some way human responsibility or shows a lack of equality on
God's part. But both accusations fail because
they ignore the matter of sin and its deadening effect. Indeed, the word of God tells
us we're dead in trespasses and in sins. There is a need that
we are to be born again. There is a need that we must
be quickened or made alive. That is the way in which this
passage of chapter two in Ephesians opens. Ye hath he quickened who
were dead. And all men and women, all men
and women and all boys and girls are condemned already. We're
not neutral to decide yea or nay. Whether we will or whether
we won't, we're dead already, we're condemned already. We are
in thrall to Satan. We are subject to the wicked
and fleshy, lustful nature that came upon us by the fall. We're born in sin. And it takes
sovereign grace to break that power. It takes sovereign grace
to break those bonds. And God reserves the right to
liberate whomsoever he will. And this fact alone, that fact
alone, gives the dead sinner hope and makes what we have to
preach as preachers of righteousness good news to needy people. One of the old commentators could
say, the decree of election stands firm and sure, not upon the works
of men, but upon the absolute, sovereign, and efficacious will
of God. So the salvation of his chosen
people is not precarious, but a most sure and certain thing. And that leads us nicely into
our third point. And that is this, that salvation
is anchored in gospel certainties. So we've seen that salvation
is of the Lord, that it is God's work. We have seen that God gives
his salvation by grace, that it is not of man, not of our
works, not of our will. And here we see that salvation
is anchored in gospel certainties, gospel promises. Not only has
God planned our salvation, not only has God effected everything
needful for our salvation, he has fixed and confirmed the outcomes
of his will. all of God's elect, all of those
redeemed people that Jesus Christ died for, all those whom the
Holy Spirit quickens and makes alive and gives the new birth
to, will be saved, and not one of them will be lost. You see,
the gospel is not a proposition. It's not a general offer or a
good idea. It's a declaration of what God
has done in the Lord Jesus Christ. Look with me very briefly at
the way the Apostle Paul links the chain of gospel truth in
chapter one. I know we've kind of jumped into
the book of Ephesians here, in chapter 2, but if we had gone
back and read this opening few verses in chapter 1, we would
read this, that the elect were chosen to be made holy before
the foundation of the world, that they were predestinated
to be part of God's family by adoption, that they were accepted
in Christ justified and reconciled to God in the Lord Jesus Christ,
that they were redeemed and forgiven through Christ's precious blood
that was shed on the cross, that they are appraised and confirmed
in that divine purpose by gospel preaching, and they are quickened
by the Holy Spirit and converted in time and saved in time for
all eternity according to the purpose of God. Now that's what
Paul has declared in the opening verses of Ephesians. And here
he's going on to show how our hope is anchored in those promises. Because if that was not confirmation
enough that we are saved by grace, Paul says that God has already,
look at his words there in verse six of chapter two. He says,
and hath raised, already raised us up together and made us sit
together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus. It's past tense. God has raised us up together
and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus. Now Paul
was writing to people that were still alive in the world as he
writes to us who are still alive in the world because this is
a living word and it is as relevant for us today as it was back then
when he wrote it to the Ephesians. The Lord Jesus Christ, being
raised from the dead, being ascended into heaven, sat down at the
right hand of the majesty on high. And there, says Paul, his
redeemed people are already seated with him. Such is the sureness
and certainty of our position in Jesus Christ. Now he tells
us that Christ is seated and that being seated in the presence
of God implies honour and success and pleasure and rest from labour. The Lord Jesus Christ isn't standing
in heaven anxiously or nervously wringing his hands wondering
who is going to be saved and who won't be saved after all
his hard work. What a foolish notion that is. And Paul says, we, you and I,
brothers and sisters in the Lord, you and I who trust in the Lord
Jesus Christ, you and I who have been brought into this newness
of life by being born again by God the Holy Spirit, you and
I are seated with Christ. And if Christ has honour and
success and pleasure and rest from his labour, so we have honour
and success and pleasure and rest from our labour in him. Which is exactly our justified
state in Christ right now. Even if our old man does not
yet. allow us to enjoy what our faith
teaches us we already possess. Because we are saved and we are
seated together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus. And that is
our sure state in time and it will be our sure state when the
Lord Jesus Christ returns to take us home to heaven. And here's the fourth point,
and with this I'm done. Our salvation, this salvation
which God has accomplished, this salvation which is the work of
the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, this salvation which is given
to us by grace and is anchored in the accomplishments of God
and in the work of the Lord Jesus Christ, it assures us of our
good for time and eternity, and for his glory for all eternity. Maybe you remember how we began
our thoughts today. I said that salvation is God's
desire to bestow happiness upon the object of his love. and the
divine actions of the triune God in the covenant of grace
has assured that outcome. And the divine justice accepts
Christ's blood as the redemptive price for the cleansing and forgiveness
of our sins. it assures the outcome of our
salvation, our happiness at the will of God. And the quickening
work of God the Holy Spirit and that application of gospel truth
as we hear the gospel preached and we believe in what we have
heard assures that outcome. In Christ, your spiritual life
is more certain than your natural death. Jehovah is our great God who
has done all things well and soon he will gather his church
and people to himself with grace and we shall have glory. The psalmist tells us in Psalm
84, verse 11, the Lord will give grace. That's what we've been
thinking about in Ephesians chapter two, verses one to 10. The Lord
will give grace and glory. The Lord will give grace and
glory. No good thing, says the psalmist,
will he withhold. We are seated with Christ in
heaven. We shall have every reason to
sing God's praise and the praise of his glory for all eternity. That's a good reason for us to
begin right now. May the Lord bless these thoughts
to us and encourage us in his word. Amen.