Let's take our Bibles and turn
with me to the book of Ephesians. The book of Ephesians. Precious, precious book that
we read from, refer to, as far as doctrinal truth, no clearer
in all of Scripture. precious epistle that was written
to the Church of the Ephesians. I've never preached through this
book. As many times as we've looked
at it, I've never taken it verse by verse, but I'd like, Lord
willing, for us to start tonight and go through on Wednesday nights
the book of Ephesians. I'd like to read the first two
verses. Ephesians 1, verses 1 and 2. Paul, an apostle of Jesus
Christ by the will of God, to the saints which are at Ephesus
and to the faithful in Christ Jesus, grace be to you and peace
from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ. Let's pray together. Our Father, we thank you this
evening for this precious time that we have. And Lord, I ask
you to bless as we study your Word. Help us. Teach us. Lord, cause us to worship
as we hear and believe for Christ's sake. Amen. This book, this letter, and as
I was going over my notes today, I'm reminded of that passage
that says all scripture is given by inspiration of God. Profitable. Profitable. for reproof, for
rebuke, for instruction in righteousness. When we read the Word of God,
think on this, this is God Himself speaking through the medium of
a man. This is God speaking. So these
words These precious words, these are breathed by God. These are
not just the words of men. Men can say, well, the Bible
was written by men. It was penned by men. That's
right. But these words are the words
of Almighty God. Scripture sets forth that we receive and are taught
tremendous instruction. You know, when I first started
looking at this, I thought, well, I'll tell you this, I'm sure
numerous times. When verse 3 starts through verse
14, it's only three sentences. There's three sentences between
verse 3 and verse 14. Three sentences. And the Apostle
Paul is setting forth in those three sentences the blessing
that we give to the Father who chose a people, to the Son who
redeemed the people, and to the Spirit of God who regenerates
God's people. Three sentences. And it's the
easiest thing in the world for us to Try to get to verse 3. That's where we usually start.
That's where I start quoting, you know. We'll start in verse
3, you know. Blessed be the God and Father
of our Lord Jesus Christ who has blessed us with all spiritual
blessings in heavenly places. And then he goes into the electing
grace and redeeming and regenerating grace. And it's as if when we
read the first two verses, you think, well, they're just so,
you know, understandable. that you just almost just kind
of go over them without thinking. And I started going over my notes
this morning. And as I went over my notes,
I had crossed out and changed and rewrote so many things in
so many places. I just started taking all the
pages out and then rewriting. So I rewrote the whole message
today. There was just too much. So Lord willing, I'm going to
try to get through, and not labor, you know, the first two verses.
If it's just verse 1, it'll be verse 1, but I'll try for verse
2. The first thing that we're reminded of, that we're taught,
is this. We are reminded by the Spirit
of God of who we are in ourselves as being born in Adam. Here's what the Spirit of God
had the apostle write. He started off and he said, Paul, in himself, just like any other
man, dug out of the same lump, a fallen son of Adam, no fancy
title, No fancy religious uniform, just Paul. Paul knew who he was and he knew
what he was as being born in Adam. He knew that he was ruined
in the fall. Turn over to Philippians 3. Hold
your place there in Ephesians. Just turn toward the back just
a couple of pages, a few pages. Philippians chapter 3, before
his conversion, before Paul's conversion, Paul in pride and
self-righteousness, Paul was a legend in his own mind. Listen to what Paul said, Philippians
chapter 3. Here's Paul the apostle relating
what he was in his old man, in self-righteous religion. Philippians
3 verse 5. Well, let's read verse 4. Though I might also have confidence
in the flesh, if any other man thinketh that he hath whereof
he might trust in the flesh, I more. He said, if there was
going to be any trusting in the flesh, I would be the one. that would be able to trust in
the flesh. Circumcised the eighth day of the stock of Israel. According to the law, I was circumcised
on the right day of the tribe of Benjamin. This was from Jacob, Jacob's
lineage, the only one of the tribes. It didn't have that spirit
of apostasy. He said, I was in the right tribe. And Hebrew of the Hebrews, mama
and daddy were both Hebrews. As touching the law, I was a
Pharisee of the strictest sect. I mean, the respected of the
respected. And concerning zeal, I persecuted
the church. These rebels in his mind who
were rebelling against the God that Paul said he knew and loved
and served, I was zealous persecuting the church. And touching
righteousness, which is in the law, He said, you could not find
anything wrong with what I did. Paul. You know, many of the apostles,
you take Peter and his brothers, fishermen. They were just fishermen. No pedigrees, no higher learning,
not Paul. The scripture says that Paul
was an extremely educated man. According to Acts 22.3, he was
brought up and taught according to the perfect manner of the
law of the fathers, zealous before God, set at the feet of the doctor
Gamaliel. a doctor of the law. Paul said,
I knew what I was talking about. But one day on the road to Damascus,
this self-righteous Pharisee, zealous in his walk, just settled
in his pedigree on the road to Damascus, Almighty God, the Lord
Jesus Christ stopped this man and knocked him off his high
horse of arrogant pride and the Lord Jesus Christ taught Saul
of Tarsus who he was and what he was doing and who the Lord
was. And Saul of Tarsus who claimed
to know God when he heard the voice of God speaking to him.
He said, Lord, who art thou? And the Lord revealed to him,
I'm Jesus of Nazareth, the one that you're persecuting. And
now, that Saul of Tarsus, converted on the road to Damascus, by the
grace of God, is going to pin this letter this epistle to the
church at Ephesus. And he starts off, and this is
how he starts it. Paul. Just Paul. One that knew himself to be a
wretched man. Oh, wretched man that I am. One that knew, but for the grace
of God, I'd be an outcast. I am what
I am by the grace of God. One saved by the grace of God. One rescued by the grace of God. So in this opening of this letter,
just the name Paul. He sets forth, I know something
of who I am. I'm a sinner saved by grace. And secondly, we're taught of
God's sovereignty. He says Paul, an apostle. Our Lord told His apostles, He said in John 15, 16, you've
not chosen me, I've chosen you and ordained
you. that you should go and bring
forth fruit and that your fruit should remain. You didn't choose
me, I chose you. Now an apostle was one that was
ordainedly and divinely called to that office. The office of
an apostle was as far as the officers in the church an apostle. Ephesians 4.12, it says that
this office of an apostle, just like the pastors and teachers,
it was for the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the
ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ. And these
men, these twelve apostles, they were called by and taught the
gospel by the Lord Jesus Christ. Turn to Galatians chapter 1 verse
11 and 12. We've looked at this just the
other day, but we'll look at this again. These men called
by and taught by. Now you think about this. Personally, these men were personally
spoken to and taught the gospel from the very mouth of the Lord
Jesus Christ. Galatians 1, 11 and 12. But I
certify, brethren, I certify you, brethren, that the gospel
which was preached to me is not after man. For I neither received
it of man, and I told you the other day, it means heard it
for the first time. I didn't receive this of man.
I neither received of a man, neither was I taught it, but
by the revelation of Jesus Christ." Now, you know why I know for
a fact that Paul never heard? I mean, we could always speculate. People, well, but don't you think
he could have? But here's what we have to understand.
These words are the words of God. These are breathed by God. So when the Apostle Paul, under
the inspiration of God's Spirit, says, I neither received it of
man, neither was I taught it of man, that's the way it was.
That's the way it is, right there. Did he ever hear it from a man
before? No. How do you know? Because
God said he didn't. I neither received it. An Apostle
was taught. expressly by the Lord Jesus Christ. Now concerning God's sovereignty,
I said, you know, when we looked at that, I said, Paul, an apostle.
When I said we learn of God's sovereignty in that title that
Paul, that office that Paul had, the Scripture says in Acts 9.15,
whenever the Lord stopped Saul of Tarsus on the road to Damascus
and blinded him, sent him in to Damascus, led him in by the
hand, and called Ananias. Ananias was a preacher. He told
Ananias, he said, you go over there, there's a Saul of Tarsus,
and you go and you speak to him. Of course, you know the story,
how Ananias said, Lord, we've heard of this man. And this is
what the Lord said, Acts 9.16. He is a chosen vessel unto me. To bear my name before the Gentiles
and kings, the children of Israel, for I will show him how great
things he must suffer for my name's sake. The apostle Paul
calls himself by his first name, Paul, an apostle, an apostle
taught of God call of God, learn the gospel from the Lord Himself.
And here, the apostle writing under the inspiration of God's
Spirit revealed that he was a chosen vessel unto the Lord. And the
Lord confirmed, not only the apostle Paul, but all of the
apostles. He confirmed their calling by
giving them the ability to do many of the same miracles that
the Lord Jesus Christ Himself performed. I want you to keep
your place, turn over to Hebrews 2, verse 1 to 4. Hebrews 2, verse
1 to 4. Remember, whenever the Lord was
calling His apostles, the New Testament was penned by the apostles. The New Testament penned by the
apostles. They learned the gospel from
the Lord Himself. The Lord was going to confirm,
these are my chosen vessels. These are my apostles. The Spirit
of God moved upon these men to pin out the New Testament. But
the New Testament was not written. It was in the process of being
written. And until Paul the Apostle and
Peter John, Jude, John again on the Isle of Patmos. Until
these scriptures were written out, these men were writing these
letters and sending them to churches. They were going about preaching
the gospel. And they needed some confirmation.
God knew they needed confirmation. And so the Lord was pleased to
confirm these, these, are my men. These are my apostles. Hebrews, scripture sets forth
Hebrews chapter 2 verses 1 to 4. Therefore we ought to give
the more earnest heed to the things which we've heard, lest
at any time we should let them slip. For if the word spoken
by angels was steadfast, and that's the word of the law that
was given under the administration, scripture says, of angels. If the word spoken by angels
was steadfast in every transgression and disobedience, receive a just,
recompensive reward, how shall we escape if we neglect so great
salvation which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord
and was confirmed unto us by them that heard him. God also
bearing them witness. Listen to the wording of God
Almighty. You know, people talk about,
you know, they still have miracles and signs and wonders and always
having these healing services and stuff. No, they don't. No, they don't. God also bearing
them witness, both with signs and wonders and with divers miracles
and gifts of the Holy Ghost according to His own will. We ought to give heed, the Apostle
says under the inspiration of God's Spirit to the things that
we heard. These men spoke and wrote as
the Spirit of God gave them utterance. Now, we're going to be reading
in the book of Ephesians, and the scripture is going to be
setting forth in verses 3 through 6 of the Father's electing grace. predestinating grace. It's going
to be set forth in verse 7 on the Lord's redeeming grace and
of the Holy Spirit's effectual and particular regenerating grace
of God's elect. And you know, whenever we get
to realizing, we read these scriptures, and you read something and it
sets forth without question, without doubt, without controversy,
God's sovereignty. And men will stand today and
they'll refute. They'll say, that's just not
fair. Brother Ralph Barnard got up
and preached a message one day. He said, a message on two of
the biggest lies that's ever been told on God. He said that
God loves everybody and Jesus Christ died for everybody. You
can just imagine, you know, silence in that congregation. That's
true. That's true. The Scripture does not bear out
that Almighty God loves every man without distinction. No,
it does not. That the Lord Jesus Christ died
for everybody And men will, you know, but let me ask you this,
when the Lord Himself said, John 10, 15, I lay down my life for
the sheep, when the Scripture sets forth in the book of Ephesians,
when Paul the Apostle wrote, according as He hath chosen in
Him, He hath chosen us, I'm sorry, in Him, before the foundation
of the world that we should be holy and without blame before
Him in love. When the Apostle Paul in writing
to the church at Thessalonica in 2 Thessalonians 2.13 said,
We're bound to give thanks unto God all the way for you, brethren
beloved of the Lord, because God hath from the beginning chosen
you to salvation. through sanctification of the
Spirit and belief of the truth. Now listen. These words are written,
penned by the hands of men that were moved upon by the Spirit
of God. These are God's words. And these
men were confirmed by miracles and signs and wonders and gifts,
the scripture said, we just read, of the Holy Ghost. Now, men will
stand in pulpits and they will proclaim that men have a free
will. Turn to John 1. Turn to John
1. John was an apostle. John was
an apostle. John was an apostle called by
God, confirmed by God, moved upon by God, and God Almighty
spoke through John. John that wrote this gospel right
here, that wrote 1 John, 2 John, 3 John, penned the book of the
Revelation, John on the Isle of Patmos, John. John was called
by God, Carl, taught by God. And this is what God had to say
concerning man's will. Verse 12 of John 1, But as many
as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of
God, even to them that believe on his name, which were born,
not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh. nor of the will of man, but of
God." Now, let me just say this as
clearly as I know how. I know what the vast majority
of the preachers that are standing in pulpits are saying concerning
God dying for everyone when the Lord said He didn't. Men are
saying that all men have a free will when the Spirit of God that
confirmed these men to pin this down said they don't. And I'll
say this, until these proclaimers that refute God's Word, until
they are taken out, until you go with me, you pick. You pick the graveyard. You pick
the graveyard. You pick whichever one you want
and I'll go with you until you walk up to a grave and you speak
to that person in that grave and they come to life. I'm going
to tell you something. Scripture sets forth that Peter
came to a woman named Tabitha And Tabitha died. She was dead. And the Spirit of God, Mark,
moved upon Peter to speak to that woman. And that woman came
back to life. God Almighty confirmed Peter. Peter and John going up to the
temple to pray and they were walking there and there was a
man, he was lame, both his feet, been there all of his life, Blame
silver and gold have I none, but such as I have in the name
of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk." And he got
up. Until these men can walk up and
heal a paralyzed man of the palsy, as Peter did at Aeneas, until
they can speak to those that are blind, And they see, until
they cast out demons as Paul did to that possessed damsel
at Philippi, until God Almighty confirms them, and there's no
more confirmation. God confirmed his preachers,
his apostles. And until these disputers are
proven to be telling the truth, and they're not, My friends,
we would do well to hear what these apostles have got to say,
because it's God speaking through these men. God confirmed them. God Almighty called them, taught
them, confirmed them. They've written these Scriptures,
and the Spirit of God says all Scripture is given by inspiration
of God. So when someone says something
that disputes this Word, they are a false prophet. If they speak not according to
these words, Scripture says, it's because there's no life
in them. Back in Ephesians 1. The third
thing we're taught is we're taught whom we serve. an apostle of Jesus Christ. Paul, an apostle of God made flesh. John wrote, turn over
to 1 John, 1 John, the epistle of 1 John, back after James and
Peter. 1 John 1, 1-3. 1 John 1, 1-3. Again, I remind you, listen to
these words and listen to them as coming from the voice of the
Lord Himself. These were divinely ordained
men, but when we read these words, think of these words, these came
from the mouth, from the heart of the Lord himself. Listen to
this. That which was from the beginning, 1 John 1, 1, which
we have heard, which we've seen with our eyes, which we've looked
upon, our hands have handled of the word of life, that's the
Spirit of God, moving upon these men to write these words, and
it's the Lord speaking of Himself. And John is saying, this is what
we did. And the Spirit of God is saying,
this is what they did. We've looked upon and our hands
have handled the Word of life, for the life was manifested.
and we've seen it and we bear witness and show unto you that
eternal life which was with the Father and was manifested unto
us, that which we've seen and heard declare we unto you that
ye may have fellowship, that ye also may have fellowship with
us and truly our fellowship is with the Father and with His
Son, Jesus Christ. The Lord said that. The Lord
said their fellowship John is saying our fellowship, the Lord
is saying their fellowship is with the Father and with Jesus
Christ. Paul said, I'm an apostle of
Jesus Christ. I'm an apostle of God in the
flesh. And these things that you read
and you see that he did and that he said, God is saying, this
is what I did. This is what I said. John declared,
back in the Gospel of John, he declared, he said, Behold, the
Lamb of God. And what did God move upon him
to say? That taketh away the sin of the world. Peter declared in John 6, 69,
We believe. Will you go away also? He said,
Lord, where are we going to go? We believe and are sure that
Thou art that Christ. You're the Son of the living
God. The Lord Himself said in John 6, 38, For I came down from
heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of Him that sent
me. And this is the Father's will which has sent me. that of all which he hath given
me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up again at the
last day." Here's the verse that I quoted a while ago of the Lord
concerning his crucifixion. John 10, 15, Paul said, this
is one I serve, right here. I'm an apostle of Jesus Christ. And the Lord Jesus Christ said
these words, As the Father knoweth me, even so know I the Father,
and I lay down my life for the sheep. Now my question is this,
what is the confirmation that the Lord Jesus Christ is
who He says He is. What is God's turn to Acts 2? Acts 2.22. What is the Father's
confirmation? This is my beloved Son. What
is the Father's confirmation? Acts 2.22-24. You men of Israel,
hear these words. Jesus of Nazareth a man approved
of God among you by miracles and wonders and signs which God
did by Him in the midst of you. As ye yourselves also know Him
being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of
God, ye have taken and by wicked hands have crucified and slain
whom God hath raised up. having loose the pains of death,
because it was not possible that he should be holden of it. Verse 32, This Jesus hath God
raised up, whereof we all are witnesses. What's the confirmation? That the Lord Jesus Christ is
who He said He is. What is God's confirmation? God
raised Him from the dead. God raised him. Now you say,
well, I follow this and I follow this. I'm a Mohammed or I'm this. They're all still in the ground. There's one Lord. There's one
faith. One baptism. Paul said, I am
an apostle of Jesus Christ. And that, by the will of God. Hebrews 5, 4, No man taketh this
honor unto himself, but he that is called of God, as was Aaron,
the Lord Himself was called a high priest. God called him. The Lord
said of His apostles, You did not choose Me, I chose you. I
ordained you. higher calling than the credited or crediting,
let me say it like that, of being called according to God's will. The Lord Jesus Christ Himself
prayed this in the garden. Not my will, but thine be done. Thine be done. Paul said, I'm
an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God. God willed to
put me where I am. And then fourthly, we're taught
to whom Paul writes. This is a letter that is written
to believers. This letter is written to Christians.
Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God to the saints,
which are at Ephesus, and to the faithful in Christ Jesus. Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ
by the will of God, to the set-apart ones, set apart by God to the
sanctified ones. And who set them apart? I can tell you this, they didn't
set themselves apart. They did not set themselves apart
from before the foundation of the world and place themselves,
Pat, in the Lord Jesus Christ. They did not place themselves
where they are in the Lord. Who set them apart? You know
this. God did. God chose them. God set them apart. And that
according to His own free will. God's free will. Only one's got
a free will. God Almighty does as He will. In the army of heaven among the
inhabitants of the earth, no man stays his hand. Lord willing
here, this next week, we'll start in verse 3 and we'll be looking
at God who chose. a people, an elect before the
foundation of the world. And I know, I know, I know that
this is to the flesh. I know it's controversial, but
brethren, we ought to obey God rather than men. When God Almighty says to Moses,
I will have mercy on whom I'll have mercy, I'll have compassion
on whom I'll have compassion, and feathers get ruffled. The bottom line is this, who
said that? Who said it? I will have mercy
on whom I will have mercy and whom He will. Romans 9.18 says,
He hardeneth. Verse 9.21, Hath not the potter
power over the clay of the same lump to make one vessel unto
honor and another unto dishonor? I've said before, men can fight
against and war against and dispute and all this kind of stuff. And
you know what's going to happen when it's all said and done?
God's still going to be true. Unless He brings a man to bow
to Him, He'll cast him out. I'm telling you, Paul said, I'm
an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God to the set-apart
ones. at Ephesus, those set apart in
electing, predestinating grace to the saints and to the faithful
in Christ Jesus. I looked up at faithful, full
of faith, full of faith. They believe God. Those that
are set apart by God, set apart in electing grace. God Almighty
is going to grant them faith. God's going to call them. And
they'll be saved by grace through faith. The full of faith ones
in Christ Jesus, that's what it means. Those that are full
of faith, they believe God. I tell you, I know this. Grace
grows. I mean, faith grows. Lord, I
believe. Help my unbelief. I know it does. We grow in grace. The Lord even
told His disciples, His apostles, O ye of little faith. I think,
what a blessing. He didn't say, O you of no faith.
O ye of little faith. The Scripture says that He's
writing this letter set apart ones to the faithful, those convinced,
those that are sure, those that believe God, those that are kept
by the power of God, those that abide by God's power and possess
a heart, a willing heart for Him. And those that are faithful,
full of faith, they're ever striving. to make their calling and election
sure. Paul says, I won't be long, I'll
quit. Verse 2, notice the word be in
your Bible. It should be in italics. Grace
to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. You know, we think of the grace
of God, the compassion, mercy of God. You know, there's a sense
in which the Lord is gracious to all men. There's a sense in
which the Lord is gracious. God is good. He's good. Matthew 5.45, For He maketh His
Son, I read that verse just I don't know, 4 o'clock, 4.30. I was
just going over my notes and I looked at that. For he maketh... whose son is it? It's His Son. For He didn't say He maketh the
Son, which is true, but He maketh His Son. He made it. He made the Son. He spoke it
into existence. For He maketh His Son. to rise
on the evil and on the good and sendeth rain on the just and
the unjust. The Lord bestows His mercy on
the most worthless as He does on His beloved people who are
only made what they are by His grace because they are just like
everybody else. But the grace that the Apostle
is speaking of here It's peculiar grace. Peculiar grace. Sovereign grace. Saving grace. Merciful grace to a beloved people. Look at it one more time before
we close. Grace to you. I will have mercy. I will have
compassion. I will be gracious. for whomsoever I will. Grace
to you, peculiar grace, unmerited favor that Almighty God is pleased
to bestow to His elect in Christ and that before the foundation
of the world eternally. The Apostle is setting forth
the very foundation of God's dealings with His people. Here's the foundation of God's
dealing with His people. Grace to you. Grace. God's grace. Chosen in Him, that's
what Ephesians 4 says, that we should be holy. Verse 5, predestinated
us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to Himself. And
look at verse 6, to the praise of the glory of His grace, wherein
He hath made us accepted in the Beloved. We believe through grace, that's
what Acts 18.27, justified freely by His Grace. As I said a while ago,
Paul says, I am what I am by the grace of God. So the apostle
declares to the saints which are at Ephesus to the faithful
in Christ Jesus, grace to you and peace from God our Father
who ordained our peace. chose us in Christ that we should
be holy and without blame before Him in love. God ordained the
peace. The Lord Jesus Christ, when He
says it, grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord
Jesus Christ who procured it. How? By the shedding of His own
blood, Colossians 1.20, having made peace. through the blood
of his cross. Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ,
by the will of God, to the saints which are at Ephesus, and to
the faithful in Christ Jesus, grace be to you, and peace from
God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ. May the Lord
bless these words to our heart, for Christ's sake.