Good evening. If you would, turn
back with me to Ephesians chapter 1. I'm sure all of you can have
experienced this. You've started your week. Things
are going well. You've got your day going, your
accomplishing tasks. Things are moving along great.
Just having a really good week at work, at home, whatever. You've
got your checklist of things you need to get done and things
are checking off and you're moving along. And then the phone rings. Someone walks into your office.
And all of a sudden, you're no longer making progress. You're
behind the eight ball. And things have gone from calm
to chaos in a heartbeat. That basically sums up my days
lately. Just go from calm to chaos, from
joy to sorrow, sickness or health to sickness, just never knowing
what the next moment might bring. And a twinkling of an eye, it
changes. As Eric was up here this morning, I was so thankful that his messages
this morning is the same message I have this evening. There is a sure and certain foundation
in this world, and we have it right here in the gospel. In
all our chaos, when the Lord enables us to come
to a passage of scripture and blesses us to see what Christ
has done for us, what great things God has done for his people. It is a sure and a lasting foundation. A couple of weeks ago, My day
had started off great. I was ahead. Everything was going
well. Gabe called me and said, would
you read in the study? I was like, great. Generally, when he calls, things
have already gone haywire. And I'm just like, OK, just one
more thing. All right, I can take it. But this day, I was
like, I've got to have time before service. I'm going to get off
a little early, and I'll have time to sit down and study. And
about three hours later, the phone call came. And as usual,
I was running late, getting off on Wednesday evening, didn't
have time to truly prepare. And as the day goes on, I'm trying
to figure out, where am I going to turn? word do I want to bring in the
study or do I think will be a blessing. And my mind turned to Ephesians
1 and it just blessed me and it
blesses me every time I read it. So let's read this chapter
together again and then we'll take some time and just look
at the riches of grace that are revealed here. How God chose,
how God redeemed, how God sealed his people. It's all declared
right here in Ephesians chapter 1. Ephesians 1 verse 1. 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. Blessed be the
God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with
all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ, according as
He hath chosen us in Him before the foundation of the world,
that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love. having
predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to
Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will, to the
praise of the glory of His grace, wherein He hath made us accepted
in the blood, in whom we have redemption through His blood
the forgiveness of sins according to the riches of His grace. wherein
he hath abounded toward us in all wisdom and prudence, having
made known unto us the mystery of his will, according to his
good pleasure which he hath purposed in himself, that in the dispensation
of the fullness of times he might gather together in one all things
in Christ, both which are in heaven and which are on earth,
even in him, in whom also we have obtained an inheritance,
being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh
all things after the counsel of his own will, that we should
be to the praise of his glory who first trusted in Christ. in whom ye also trusted, after
that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation,
in whom also, after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that Holy
Spirit of promise, which is the earnest of our inheritance, until
the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of
His glory. Wherefore, I also, after I heard
of your faith in the Lord Jesus and love unto all the saints,
cease not to give thanks for you, making mention of you in
my prayers, that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father
of glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation
in the knowledge of Him. the eyes of your understanding
being enlightened, that ye may know what is the hope of his
calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance
in the saints, and what is the exceeding greatness of his power
to us-ward who believe, according to the working of his mighty
power. which he wrought in Christ, when
he raised him from the dead, and set him at his own right
hand in the heavenly places, far above all principality and
power and might and dominion and every name that is named,
not only in this world, but also in that which is to come. and
hath put all things under his feet, and gave him to be the
head over all things to the church, which is his body, the fullness
of him that filleth all in all." We're just going to look through
this verse by verse. Ephesians 1.1 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. The very first
thing that captured my attention while I read this was the phrase,
the will of God. That phrase brings me comfort,
brings me assurance, just the The four words, the will of God. What did I find comforting and
assuring about this? The will of God. This declares
the sovereignty of Almighty God. As Nebuchadnezzar said, he, God
Almighty, doeth according to his will. God is the only one
who does according to his will. If he wills a thing, it shall
come to pass. And if he doesn't will a thing, it has no power to come to pass.
It will not happen. What a word of surety, the will
of God. Next, I was caught up by God's
particular people. This letter is written by Paul,
and he addressed it to a select, a distinct group of people. Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ,
by the will of God, to the saints, which are at Ephesus. Every promise,
every blessing, Every curse that is recorded in God's word is
to a somebody. It's to a distinct person. Have you ever tried reading a
letter that wasn't addressed to you? I've got a stack of letters
at home. It's mostly letters from my grandmother
to her mother while they were stationed overseas. And every
now and again I like to pick them up and read them. And some
of the letters I can read and everything's fine. But other
letters, because I knew both the sender and the receiver,
then other letters I'll read and I'll get, I understand all
the words in it. I know exactly what the words
mean. But I come to some phrases. to some people that are mentioned,
to some places that are referred to? I don't know them. And I lose the context of the
entire letter. I can't know specifically what
that letter meant. This particular letter was written
to the saints which are at Ephesus. Had Paul stopped right there?
There would be no reason for me to continue reading this letter. I'm not a saint at Ephesus. We're not saints at Ephesus. It would not have been addressed
to us. But thank God he did not stop there. He says to the saints
which are at Ephesus and to the faithful. Aren't you glad he didn't stop
right there? to the faithful in Christ Jesus. Can any of us claim to be faithful
apart from Christ? Oh, we put on a good show sometimes. Well, try to convince one another
that we are faithful, but to satisfy the holy God's standard
of being faithful. Not a soul born of Adam can claim
that status. Thanks be to God for our Lord
Jesus Christ, who joined Himself to us. He is faithful, and the
saints, both at Ephesus and not at Ephesus, are faithful in Him. In verse 2, Paul continues his
salutation by revealing his prayer for the saints, which is, by
God's grace, the same prayer we have for one another. Grace
be to you and peace from God our Father and from the Lord
Jesus Christ. Grace and peace. What blessings! Grace to be looked upon favorably
by the holy, just God. And peace, peace which in our
natural flesh we disdain, we hate it to our own destruction. But in Christ, because of His
obtaining of our peace, Paul's prayer for us for grace and peace
is answered. Grace be to you and peace from
God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ. His salutation being ended, Paul
jumped straight away to the heart of the gospel substitution. Verse three. Blessed be the God
and Father of our Lord, Jesus Christ. Our Lord, God the Son,
is the eternal God who walked this earth as a man. And as a man, he blessed God
in perfect holy blessing. And as a man, he cried out upon
that cross, my God, my God. The eternal God in three persons. We can't explain it. We can't
understand it. We can't enter into it. Don't dare ask me how God the
Son increased in wisdom and stature and in favor with God and man. That's astounding. The eternal
God inhabiting a child's body increased in wisdom
and stature and in favor with God and man. I can't understand it. I can't
explain it. But I can, by God's grace, sing
the praises of our God, who is a just God and a Savior. Blessed be the God and Father
of our Lord Jesus Christ, What has the God and Father of our
Lord Jesus Christ done? Who hath, who hath done, it's
finished, it's past tense, it's always been past tense, who hath
blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places
in Christ? Why has he blessed us? Why has
he caused us to prosper in spiritual blessings? Verse four. According as he hath chosen us
in him in the Lord Jesus Christ. Why are we blessed? Because we
are chosen in him. Well, when did he choose us?
Was it when we decided for him? When we decided we'd start going
to church when we said, oh, I'll stop doing all these bad things. When did he choose us? Before
the foundation of the world. And to what end? What's the result
for us? that he chose us before the foundation
of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before
him in love. And this wretch, this sinful
man, a man that is full of sin, a man described over in chapter
two, verse one, as being dead in trespasses and sins. Who,
in verse two, walked according to the course of this world,
according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit
that now worketh in the children of disobedience. What does all
that mean? It can be summed up in that last
word of verse two, disobedience. who I am by nature, disobedient,
rebellious. And in verse three, about the
middle of it, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the
mind. That is what I am by nature. That is what all of Adam's children
are by nature. Is it possible that this man,
a child of wrath even as others, should be holy and without blame
before Him in love? It is possible. Back in Ephesians
1, 5, the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, having predestinated
us, predestinated us. This morning, Eric mentioned
the way of the wicked. That's the way I was on. The way I was going. In love. God, the father. Said of this center. As he did
of Noah of old. So you found grace in my eyes. And that path that you're on,
I've predestined, I've turned it over, and I've set your destination
to be Christ. It's not a path I would have
taken. It's not a path I wanted. But because he chose me, because
he loved me, he gave me a destination. And that destination, having
predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to
himself. Destination is to be a part of
the family of God Almighty. having predestinated us unto
the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, and don't
you love this next line, according to the good pleasure of his will,
to the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made
us accepted in the beloved. The triune God, according to
the good pleasure of His will, chose from a fallen race of mankind,
a race of disobedient, rebellious, sinful, dead, ungodly men and
women, He chose a number that no man can number to show them
mercy and grace. Father of God chose these people
and he gave them to the Son of God. And in the next few verses,
we'll read how he redeemed us. Ephesians 1.7, in whom, in the
beloved, in our Lord Jesus Christ, we have right now in this present
sinful existence, we have redemption through his blood. The wages
of sin is death. Our sins were not swept under
a rug. They weren't silently disregarded. Justice was satisfied. The Holy
One of Israel came to His people, to His bride, and He lived the
righteous life that we could not and would not. Then he bearing
the sin and the shame of his bride, the sin and shame that
she had earned to herself, that sin and shame that we actively
seek out, he became one with her. And he
took her burden and he went to Calvary's tree. He endured the
judgment. He suffered under the wrath that
we earned. He bled. He laid down his life
because of our sin. When he cried out, it is finished,
our redemption price was paid. When we had nothing to pay, our
Lord Jesus Christ paid the debt we owe, and he freely forgave
us. Verse 7, in whom we have redemption
through His blood, the forgiveness of sins. For what reason were
our sins forgiven? Was there some good found in
us? As many will stand up and declare,
God looked down through time and saw that my good deeds would
outweigh my bad deeds, and therefore I'm, no, no, there is nothing
good in this. No, but, continuing in verse
seven, according to the riches of His grace, wherein He hath
abounded toward us in all wisdom and prudence, having made known
unto us the mystery of His will, according to His good pleasure,
which He hath purposed in Himself that in the dispensation of the
fullness of times he might gather together in one all things in
Christ, both which are in heaven and which are on earth, even
in him. in whom also we have obtained
an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him
who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will."
His will, his doing, his good pleasure. God is sovereign. And he has displayed to us his
wisdom and his power in Christ. And this blesses me so much.
Why should the holy, triune, self-sufficient God choose to
save a sinful, wretched people? Why should God the Son come from
glory to suffer and to die so that he gets all the glory.
Verse 12, that we should be to the praise
of his glory who first trusted in Christ. We sinners saved by
God's grace, we do indeed look to and trust in our Lord Jesus
Christ. Well, we weren't the first to
do so. Before we ever looked to him,
God placed his trust in Christ and he placed his chosen people
in him. The Father of God chose us, the
Son of God bore our sin, suffered, bled, and died to redeem us,
and the Spirit of God regenerates and seals us. Verse 13, In whom
ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth by the
preaching of the gospel. That's how we hear the word of
truth. The gospel of your salvation,
in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that Holy
Spirit of promise, which is the earnest of our inheritance, until
the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of
his glory. When a man proposes to a woman, Traditionally, he gives her a
token, an engagement ring. A token is a symbol of his promise
to be her husband. From that time, she has the hope. She has the confident expectation
of becoming that man's wife. But until the wedding day, she's
not his wife yet. While we are in this world, the
Holy Spirit tells us the things of Christ. He speaks to us concerning
our Lord and his glory. But one day, oh one day, He's
going to reveal to us our full salvation. One day, we'll drop
this robe of flesh, and we will enter into His presence without
sin, and then we will know as we have been known. As the seasons of our life come
and go, with all the changes, with all the good times, all
the bad times, all the hard times, how we long for a lasting and
a firm foundation. In everything we've read in this
chapter, absolutely nothing has been left questionable. There's been no hint of hesitancy. Listen to some of the declarations. Who hath blessed, hath chosen,
hath made, have redemption. All of it's in the past tense.
It's all done. It's accomplished. It's finished. Above and beyond that, there's been no mention of anything
I've had to do. I'm not involved. He hath chosen in Christ He hath
blessed in Christ. He shed his blood. He sealed. He purchased. Salvation is of
the Lord from the very beginning to the very end and everywhere
in between. I'm not involved. So what will I do? What will
I do because of all that he has done for it? Verse 15. Wherefore, I also, after I heard
of your faith in the Lord Jesus and love, faith in Christ produces
love and it shall be expressed. Unto all the saints, cease not
to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers.
Don't we do the same thing today? I wish I could say I cease not,
but I can't. Christ ceases not, but I can't say that for myself.
But with every mention of a brother or a sister, with every mention
of the Lord moving in a place, raising up a congregation that
believes. Do we not give thanks and ask
the Lord's blessings upon them, just as Paul recorded here? Paul prays and the Holy Spirit
working in us gives us similar prayers for each other. That
the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, from whom
all blessings flow, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom
and revelation in the knowledge of Him. Oh, that we might know
more of Christ. The eyes of your understanding
being enlightened that the blindness of sin might be removed, that
we might be able to see more of His glory, that ye may know
what is the hope, that confident expectation of His calling, and
what the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints,
and what is the exceeding greatness of His power to usward who believe. according to the working of His
mighty power, which He wrought in Christ when He raised Him
from the dead, and set Him at His own right hand in the heavenly
places, far above all principality and power and might and dominion
and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also
in that which is to come. and hath put all things under
his feet, and gave him to be the head over all things to the
church, which is his body, the fullness of him that filleth
all in all. Oh, that we might know Christ
and be found in him, that we might see him high and lifted
up, and that he receives all glory, all honor, Pray the Lord has been pleased
to bless us and that in all of life's ups and downs, we might
find our comfort in this sure word that God has given to his
chosen, redeemed, and sealed people.