I invite your attention back
to that third chapter of Ephesians. Ephesians chapter 3. My text is in verse 11. My subject is God's eternal purpose
accomplished in Christ Jesus. I like the sound of that. God's
eternal purpose accomplished in Christ Jesus. And here we find it in our text. Paul speaks of that which is
according to the eternal purpose Which he, and your King James
says purposed, but the word, Paul uses a different word actually. The word he uses means accomplished. The purpose is accomplished. God's purpose is his fixed intention. Intentions. They're good things,
I suppose, or they can be good. God's intentions are fixed. They're purposed. There's no hemming and hawing
about it. There's no maybe about it. It
is a fixed intention. When God purposes something,
it will be done. It will be accomplished. We hear
read of Paul speaking of God's eternal purpose. It is eternal
because it spans the ages, all of them. God's purpose has no beginning
and no end. It is accomplished, but it never
ceases to be. Eternal purpose. God's eternal purpose in Christ
Jesus is His decree, His fixed intention from eternity through
eternity for the salvation of His people. That's God's purpose
in Christ, to save His people. And it is accomplished, just
as He said it would be. This eternal purpose concerns
things done by God from eternity, Acts 15, 18. Before the foundation
of the world, Ephesians 1, 4. Before time began, 2 Timothy
1, 9. Before the ages, 1 Corinthians
2, verse 7. Beforehand, in Romans 9, verse
23. God's eternal purpose in Christ
Jesus concerns things He had already done for them from the
beginning. When He purposed it, it was done. It was done in God's decree. This purpose concerns people
who are by God foreknown, Romans 8, 29. For ordained, 1 Peter
1 20, and predestined, Ephesians 1 verse 11. If you love the sovereignty of
God, and I do, I think you're going to like my subject. I think
you will. If you glory in man's free will,
you're not going to get much enjoyment out of what I've got
to say tonight. I'll just let you know beforehand.
But then again, go ahead and listen anyway. It just might
be God's purpose to change your mind. And if it is His purpose,
it'll be done and you will rejoice. This eternal purpose is already accomplished in Christ
Jesus. has been accomplished from eternity. When it was purposed, it was
done. That's the way God does things. Known to God from eternity are
all his works, Acts 15, 18. And from eternity God calls those
things which do not exist as though they did. Romans chapter
4 verse 17. Before the foundation of the
world, I did not exist. And God called me then. He purposed
my salvation before I existed. But Lord, I did not exist. And
God said, well, yes, you did. In my purpose, in my decree,
you did. In God's purpose, in God's decree,
everything regarding His purpose in Christ Jesus was performed
and done. It only has to be shown and manifested
in time. We're going to look at what God
has done, what God has purposed, and what God has accomplished
in Christ Jesus. I've got 13 points, and we're
going to be brief. And if you like, I'll give you
opportunity to follow along in the Scriptures with me. They're
all in the New Testament, so if you want to look up the references,
be glad for you too, and I'll give you 15 seconds to find each
one. Alright? Romans 8, 29. Here's the first thing in God's
decree, and not necessarily in this order. This is somewhat
of a logical order in God's decree. It somewhat defies our logic. Suits his. Suits his, but it's
all done in one time. But here's the first, Romans
8, 29. We read here, "...of those whom God foreknew." Did you see
that? Whom He foreknew, that's God's
eternal purpose, the foreknowledge of His people. Now what does
this mean, foreknew them? Some say, well, He was aware
of them because He is omniscient. That is not what the word means.
Yes, God is omniscient. God has intellectual knowledge
from eternity through eternity of all things. But that's not
what this word means. For new, he before time knew. I want you to consider that word
new for just a moment. That word know is not intellectual
knowledge, it is experiential knowledge. It is a knowledge
that you have, not a knowledge you merely have in your mind,
in your brain, It is a knowledge that you have through experience.
The first time this word no is found in the New Testament is
in Matthew's Gospel chapter 1. And there is a man named Joseph
espoused to a woman named Mary. She is a virgin. She is with
child. And it's not his. He has never
known her. You may say, Joseph, do Are you
saying that you do not know who Mary is? Oh, I know who she is,
but I have never known her. The Scriptures declare that Joseph
knew not Mary his wife until after Jesus was born. Now, do
you see something about this knowledge? It is experiential. This is the knowledge of love.
This is the knowledge that God has of all His people, and He
has had this knowledge from all eternity. He foreknew them. They
were His! They were His! God will say of some, I never
knew you, depart. I never knew you. Intellectually
He did, in His omniscience, But in his foreknowledge, that experiential
knowledge, he never knew them, never did. But there are some
people whom he foreknew. They were his. He embraced them. He entered into the most intimate
of relationship with them. And they know that they were
foreknown by God. They were loved. Jesus says,
You have loved them like you loved me and you have loved me
from the foundation of the world before time began. God loved
me then. For he knew me. He knew who I
was. Not only knew that, he said, you're mine. You're mine. He says, I have loved you with
an everlasting love, love that goes all the way back into eternity
past and a love that stretches into eternity future and a love
that is immutable, never changes, never changes. God will never say to you, I
love you more today than yesterday, but not as much as tomorrow.
He never says that. His love is ever constant. from
eternity through eternity. That's His love and that is His
knowledge of His people. We're told that because God foreknew
these people, He did something. Whom He foreknew. Are you still
there? Romans 8, 29. Whom He foreknew, He also predestined. Now, you know that was before
the foundation of the world. Whom God foreknew, He predestined. to be conformed to the image
of Christ. And every one of them will be.
Whom he predestined, he called. Whom he called, he justified. Whom he justified, he glorified. Consider this. They already are
glorified. Here it is. He also glorified. Past tense. The glorification
of all those whom God foreknew before the foundation of the
world is so certain that it is in God's decree considered as
already done. And that is why all things work
together for good to them who love God, to those who are the
called according to His purpose. There it is, that word, His purpose. God foreknew them and everything
in life will work to their good. You cannot say that of everyone.
But God says, if I foreknew you, everything in life works for
your good. Second, same text, Romans 8, 29. God not only foreknew
his people and his eternal purpose, he predestined them. For whom
he foreknew, he also predestined. Now that word predestined means
determined beforehand. determined to beforehand. God
fixed it in His decree. Those whom God foreknew were
predestined in three ways. First, they were predestined
to be conformed to the image of His Son that He might be the
firstborn among many brethren. God thanks so highly of His only
begotten Son that he says, every one of my adopted sons is gonna
be just like him. And bit by bit, they will be.
The only begotten son is kind and gracious and merciful, loving,
and eventually, all God's people whom he foreknew will be that
way because he predestined it. Furthermore, number two, God
predestined His people to be His adopted children by Christ,
Ephesians 1, 5. Having predestined us to adopt
His sons by Jesus Christ to Himself according to the good pleasure
of His will. Predestined to adoption. I read in the book of Ezekiel
that I was born in the land of Canaan. My father was an Amorite, my
mother was a Hittite, idolaters, and indeed the devil is my father.
I was born in his family. I was of my father the devil
from my birth. And then God said from eternity
you were mine and you will be and he adopted me into his family.
And he did so because he predestined it. He predestined that I be
his adopted son. And every one of his children
are that way. They all are predestined to be
his adopted children. He's put us in his family. Third,
God predestined his people to be the recipients of an eternal
inheritance in Christ. Ephesians 1 verse 11, in Him
also we have obtained an eternal inheritance. What is that inheritance? Well, for one thing, it's heaven.
Now, note the tenses. We have obtained an inheritance. It's already ours. Heaven already
belongs to me because God predestined it before time began, before
the foundation of the world. In Him also we have obtained
an inheritance being predestined according to the purpose of Him
who works all things after the counsel of His will. I love the
doctrine of predestination. Were it not for predestination,
I would never belong to God as his adopted child. I would never
be like Christ. And I would never have heaven.
Never. All right, third thing God has
done. 2 Timothy 1 verse 9. The second thing we consider
in God's eternal purpose accomplished in Christ Jesus. 2 Timothy 1
verse 9 we read that God gave grace to his people. When did
he do it? 2 Timothy 1 verse 9. God has
saved us and called us with a holy calling Not according to our
works, but according to God's own purpose and grace. We were
called according to God's purpose and grace, and it was given to us in Christ
Jesus when? Before time began. Before the
foundation of the world. In God's purpose, I was given
His grace before time began. Before I existed, except in God's
decree, I was given God's grace. Surely the mercy of Jehovah is
from everlasting to everlasting on those who fear him to such
as keep his covenant. Surely God's grace has been on
me from eternity past and shall be on me through all eternity
yet to come. Number four. Ephesians chapter
1 verse 4. Ephesians chapter 1 verse 4. We here read that God chose His
people to salvation and all its benefits and foreordained the
means by which they would receive it. Ephesians chapter 1 verse
4. Notice what Paul writes. He, God the Father, chose us
in Him, that is Christ, before the foundation of the world.
Why did He choose us? that we should be holy and without
blame before him in love. Therefore, he chose sinners who needed to be made holy, who
needed to be made without blame. who did not deserve God's love. Now, hold your finger in that
place, because we're going to come back to it, and now locate
2 Thessalonians 2, verses 13 and 14. 2 Thessalonians 2. Same
subject. God chose his people to salvation
and all its benefits, and foreordained the means by which they would
receive it. 2 Thessalonians 2, verse 13.
We read, God from the beginning chose you
for salvation. Bear this in mind, God chose
no one to damnation. That's the choice they make for
themselves. Every time election is mentioned
it is unto salvation. They're chosen for salvation.
Notice, through sanctification by the Spirit, God not only chose
who would be saved, but he foreordained the means by which they would
be saved. Through sanctification by the
Spirit. The Spirit of God finds them, separates them from the
world, and consecrates them unto God through regeneration and
belief in the truth. Everyone of God's elect will
be sanctified by his spirit and they will believe in the gospel
of Jesus Christ and To which he called you by our gospel for
the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ in God's
purpose Everyone he chose for salvation will be saved and they
will be saved in the way that God ordained They'll all be saved
the same way sanctified by the Spirit Belief in the truth through
the preaching of the gospel So that they may behold him without
blame before God and love All right Here's the fifth thing
God has done. Back to Ephesians 1, verse 6. Ephesians 1, verse 6. Here's the fifth thing in God's
eternal purpose accomplished in Christ Jesus. God graciously
favored his people to be suitable for acceptance in Christ. Ephesians
1 verse 6, "...to the praise of the glory of His grace by
which He made us accepted in the Beloved." Now, when were
God's elect and predestined ones accepted in Christ? Before the
foundation of the world. Now consider this. The Scriptures
declare that in Christ there is no sin. In Christ there is
no sin. And God's elect have been in
Christ from eternity. And there is no sin in Christ.
Never. There is no sinful person in
Christ. No sin of any sort in Christ.
That means that before the foundation of the world in God's decree,
when He chose me for salvation, and purpose that I behold Him
without blame before Him in love, He put me in Christ, and that
was the state in which I was put in Christ. I was put in Christ
as holy. If I was put in Christ as holy,
since there is no sin in Him, if I was put in Christ as holy,
that means I was sanctified from eternity. If I was put in Christ
as without blame, Before eternity, that means I was put in Christ
as justified from eternity. My sanctification is eternal
in Christ. Sanctified by God the Father,
preserved in Jesus Christ and called in time. But there they
are, God's elect before time began. Sanctified and justified
in Christ Jesus and standing before God in love because in
Christ there is no sin. 6th God prepared his people for
glory. We now go to Romans chapter 9
verse 22 Romans 9 verses 22 and 23 and we consider that God prepared
his people for glory Romans chapter 9 verses 22 and
23 What if God wanting to show his wrath and
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. God had some vessels
prepared for mercy, and they were prepared before the foundation
of the world. He prepared his people for glory.
Nothing God has done with regard to his people has been an afterthought.
It's by an eternal decree. He prepared his people for glory. Number 7, 1 Peter chapter 1,
verse 18. 1 Peter 1, verse 18. Number 7,
God foreordained Christ to be the redeemer of his people. 1
Peter 1, verse 18. Peter writes, You were not redeemed with corruptible
things like silver or gold. They never will redeem you. You
were not redeemed with corruptible things. Now skip a couple of
lines, you come to the word but. But you were redeemed with the
precious blood of Christ as of a lamb without blemish and without
spot. He, Christ, indeed was foreordained,
there's our word again, foreordained, predestined before the foundation
of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you,
who through Him believe in God, who raised Him from the dead
and gave Him glory, so that your faith and hope are in God." When
was Christ the Lamb shedding His redeeming blood? Here we
read He was foreordained before time began. This was not an afterthought. This is not an afterthought.
We have some theologians who tell us that Jesus Christ came
to establish a kingdom on this earth and when the Jews would
not let him establish it, he had to go to plan B, that meant
die on the cross. No, that is not plan B. That
was plan A from all eternity. He was foreordained. foreordained. The Lamb foreordained. How do
we know? Go to Revelation chapter 13 verse
8. Revelation chapter 13 verse 8. Here's the eighth thing that
is in God's eternal purpose accomplished in Christ Jesus. Here it is.
God sacrificed the redeeming Lamb. Revelation chapter 13 verse
8. Now we just read about the land
that was foreordained but now has been manifested. The point
that I want you to get is this. What men saw on Calvary, what
men saw was only the manifestation in time on earth of what God
had foreordained and accomplished in eternity in heaven. What God did in heaven before
time began was shown to men on Calvary. What is Christ? He is the Lamb slain from the
foundation of the world. At the foundation of the world,
Genesis 1-1, he was already the Lamb slain. Already slain! The Lamb slain from the foundation
of the world, for whom? Those whose names were written.
There it is. God's got a record. God chose
them. predestined them, wrote their
names down in his book of life before time began and then Christ
died for them. My father was a faithful gospel
preacher and he told a story of a man who said that when a
sinner accepts Jesus, that's the term the man used, that an
angel leaves the throne of God and takes a quill and goes down
and dips it into that fountain filled with blood and comes back
to God's book of life and he writes the name of the one who
accepted Jesus. And someone said, wait a minute.
The names of God's elect were written in the Lamb's book of
life before the found days in the world. What you're preaching
is wrong. It's bad preaching. And he said,
well, it may be theologically wrong, but it's good preaching.
That's the way it is in some people's minds, but that is not
the way it is, folks. That is not the way it is. God
sacrificed that redeeming lamb on heaven's altar before time
began, and now Acts chapter 4, verse 27. Acts chapter 4, verse
27. Here's the ninth thing we consider
in God's eternal purpose accomplished in Christ Jesus. Number nine,
Acts chapter four, verse 27. God foreordained the death of
Jesus Christ. Peter says, truly, against your
holy servant Jesus, speaking to God, whom you anointed, whom
God anointed, both Herod, the king of the Jews, and Pontius
Pilate, the governor of the Romans, with the Gentiles, the Romans
in particular, the Roman soldiers and the others, and the people
of Israel, all those Jews who said crucify him. Herod and Pontius
Pilate hated each other, and the Gentiles and the Jews hated
each other, but in Jesus Christ they had a common enemy, and
they joined together against him. Now, why did they do so? They were gathered together to
do whatever your hand and your purpose determined before to
be done. Oh, that's strong. It's as plain
though as it can be, is it not? All those people who gathered
against Jesus Christ, why did they do it? God predestined it. they did what his purpose had
foreordained before time began. Does not excuse their wickedness,
does not excuse their evil, but God says even the wrath of man
will praise me. And God predestines that even
man's wrath will be downed to God's glory and men will be responsible
for the evil that they do. That which God foreordained before
time began, when Christ was the Lamb slain from the foundation
of the world, Herod and Pontius Pilate and the Romans and the
Jews, they made sure that the scripture was fulfilled and God's
decree was done. Number 10, Titus chapter 1 verse
1. Titus chapter 1 verse 1, this
is the tenth thing in God's eternal purpose accomplished in Christ.
God promised eternal life to his elect. Titus chapter 1 verse 1 we read,
The faith of God's elect and the acknowledgement of the truth
which accords with godliness is in hope of eternal life which
God, who cannot lie, promised before time began. God made promises
before time began. We make promises and we never
can keep them. But you can rest in this, if
God promised something even from eternity, it will be done. Undoubtedly,
it will be done. Number 11, Matthew chapter 25,
verse 34. Matthew's gospel chapter 25,
verse 34. Here is the final judgment. And
all the nations have been gathered. Jesus Christ has returned. All
the nations are gathered there before Him at that final judgment.
His sheep on His right hand, the goats, unbelievers, are on
His left. And he will say, Matthew 25 verse
34, The king will say to those on his right hand, Come, you
blessed of my father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you
from the foundation of the world. Think about it. God prepared
a kingdom for his people before the foundation of the world.
I've heard people who say that Some will lose their salvation,
and God prepared a place for them in heaven, and lo and behold,
they're not going to be there to get it. Not true. Not true. That kingdom prepared? No empty
mansions in glory, folks. None. None. A kingdom prepared
before the foundation of the world. Number 12, 1 Corinthians
2, verse 7. 1 Corinthians 2, verse 7. Here's the 12th. God foreordained
to reveal to His people the wisdom of His eternal purpose. We speak the wisdom of God in
a mystery. It is hidden wisdom. And this
hidden wisdom is that which God ordained before the ages for
our glory. There's a revelation being made,
folks. A revelation being made. God's wisdom, the world will
never understand it. How is it revealed? Christ said, I will utter things
kept secret from the foundations of the world. And Paul said this
mystery is now being revealed through Christ's gospel preachers. What are they preaching? Same
thing I'm preaching to you tonight. God has a mystery to the world. It is revealed to His people.
What is it? His election, His predestination,
His foreordination, His foreknowledge. All these things are in God's
eternal decree and it's all accomplished. And now it's revealed through
the preaching of the gospel. One more. This is number 13,
Ephesians chapter 2, verse 10. Ephesians chapter 2, verse 10. Here's the 13th thing we consider
in God's eternal purpose accomplished in Christ Jesus. Here it is. God prepared the good works of
his people. For we are his workmanship, created
in Christ Jesus for good works. We were created for a purpose.
For a purpose. That purpose is good works. which
God prepared beforehand. Prepares what? Good works. When is beforehand? Before time
began. Any good work that is done by
God's people in time was predestined and prepared by God before time
began. That we should walk in them.
Every one of them. Every good work. We were created
for good works and God prepared those good works before time
began. For example, even when we believe
the gospel, some people say, well, that's
a work I did. God did that work. God did that work. Jesus says in John 6, 29, This
is the work of God that you believe in Him whom He sent. But preacher,
I was there, I did believe. Yes, you did. You believed that
it was God's work. He did it. This is the work of
God that you believe in Him, in His Son whom He sent. Now
folks, here's the point we stress to you tonight. Someone asked Rolf Barnard one
time, does God give everybody a chance to be saved? And Rolf
Barnard said, God does nothing by chance. Nothing by chance. God does everything on purpose.
His purpose is eternal. He purposed it by an immutable,
eternal decree. And Christ has accomplished it.
Every bit of it. And it's done. I'll give you
one more reference then we'll close. Acts chapter 13. Acts chapter 13. Verse 48. Acts 13 verse 48. And as many as had been appointed, chosen,
predestined, foreordained to eternal life, believed. When I was in seminary, it was one of those schools that,
you know, this is God's Word and you better
not change it. except in Acts 13, 48. And they
would say, and as many as believed were appointed to eternal life.
That's not what it reads, folks. That's not what it reads. And
as many as had been appointed to eternal life believed. None of us will ever believe
in God's decree. unless He decreed we do so, and
then gives us the faith to do so. I am so glad He did so with
me. I tell you folks, I rejoice in
this. People speak of election and
predestination as though it were some terrible thing. You who
know yourselves chosen and predestined by God, is that not a most glorious
truth? that God would have mercy upon
such sinners as you and I are, and choose a number that no one
could number? That was His purpose before time
began. He purposed all things for them good. Everything in
life that happens, whether you think it bad or good, God said,
it's for your good. Prepared a kingdom for us before
the foundation of the world, and purposed that we, who were
predestined to his love before time began would bask in it for
all eternity. And I believe that. I hope you do too. Because this
is a glorious truth of God's eternal purpose accomplished
in Christ Jesus.