Good morning, everybody. It's
great to see you here. I'm glad to be here. I want us to begin. Ed Parker just
stole about every part of my text I could think of this morning
in the Bible class, but he left unscathed at least the reading
that I had proposed to take care of this morning. If you'll find
the book of Ephesians in the New Testament, there is hardly any other place
in all the Bible more explicit plain, clear, setting forth of
God's truth as the letter to the Ephesians. I don't remember where I was, I
don't remember who was preaching, but I remember the first time
I had any clue to Ephesians chapter 1. Somebody didn't tell me to
turn on the microphone. Now here's my proposition. I want to read with as little,
I know you don't believe me, with as little comment as I possibly
can. And then when we get into chapter
2, we'll go more slowly. But it is imperative for us to
understand these things. Here is the grace of God. the
gospel of God, the Son of God, gloriously set forth. Paul begins in verse 1 of Ephesians
chapter 1, Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ, by the will of
God, and 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. Now if you'll start paying attention
to the punctuation that begins at verse 3. From verse 3 to the
end of verse 14, there are only three sentences. Now if you've
got problems with vision, you might not distinguish a comma
from a period, but I got out my magnifying glass just to be
sure. And I'd already done this in
my old Bible and it's risky to even bring it up here. I've got
to get used to this new one and I should have started a lot sooner.
But beginning at verse 3, salvation is set forth in three ways. The first one is from God the
Father. The second one has to do with
God the Son. And the third one has to do with
God the Holy Spirit. Now that's full salvation. Father,
Son, and Holy Spirit. Anything less than that is no
salvation at all. Well, preacher, I don't believe
in the Holy Spirit. Then you don't believe in about
half of this Bible. So why don't you just declare
yourself an unbeliever and be done with it? We certainly cannot
dispense with God the Son or God the Father. It is the triune
God in perfect harmony Alright, let's see if we can start reading
or we won't make it this morning. Verse 3. Here's the beginning
of this sentence that takes us down. It's on the next page in
my Bible to the end of verse 6, I believe, if I remember right.
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who
has blessed us. Now who is this that has blessed
us? God the Father. who has blessed us with all spiritual
blessings." Where? In heavenly places in Christ. Christ is all the blessing there
is. It's all Him. According as He,
God the Father, has chosen us in Him, that's in Christ, How
long ago? Before the foundation of the
world. God elected a people before this world was ever made. Without
His people, He doesn't need this world. But this world is created
to put on prominent display how God saves sinners in His precious
Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. Alright, verse 4 again, according
as God has chosen us in Christ before the foundation of the
world, that we should be without blame before Him in love, having
predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to
Himself. Therefore, all of God's The people
that He gave to Christ, they're His by adoption. They belong
to Christ by adoption. I won't tell you who it was that
told me this, but when Betty and I lost our youngest daughter,
Melody, at 23 I think it was, back in 92, a preacher's wife came up to me
and she said, She said, Rupert, God doesn't want us to adopt
children. That sure is awfully strange.
That's how God gets His children. This was a person who was stupid
and dumb. I never said a word, but it just
cut me to the heart. If she committed suicide, she
can't be in heaven. Well, I can fight that too because
the Bible says the exact opposite. We've got all kind of notions
that ain't worth two cents. And we've all got them. We picked
them up somewhere in the previous part of our life. Alright, that
we should be holy, end of verse 4, and without blame before God
in love. Still on that one sentence now
that began with verse 3. Verse 5, "...having predestinated
us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to Himself."
How does He get these children? By the adoption of children by
Jesus Christ to Himself. This phrase belongs just about
everywhere in our Bible. God does everything according
to the good pleasure of his will. He's never done anything that
reflects negatively on a single one of his attributes. Every
true biblical description of God is to honor God. And this adopting His children
through Jesus Christ is one of those blessed ways. Alright,
here's the final statement in this first sentence. This would
be verse 6. This is like a chorus in between
salvation by God the Father and salvation by the Lord Jesus Christ,
which comes up in verse 7. To the praise, this is verse
6, to the praise of the glory of His grace, wherein He has made us accepted,
this ain't on probation now, it is accepted, past tense too
by the way, accepted in the Beloved. Now who is that? That is our
precious Redeemer, the Lord Jesus Christ. And there's your period. Now we begin salvation by God
the Son, beginning at verse 7. In whom we have redemption through
His blood, the forgiveness of sins according to the riches
of His grace. And most every one of us grew
up under false religion that says Christ died for everybody
in this world. If that's the case, then His
blood is not worth anything. He doesn't try to redeem, He
redeems. Now if you've got time to sit
down and spend the afternoon, I can show you places in this
Bible that'll curl your hair when it comes to this notion
of universal redemption. There ain't no such critter.
It reflects negatively on the triune God, Father, Son, and
Holy Spirit, and that cannot be. Therefore, we must find out
where we've missed it. In fact, we have missed it. "...in
whom we have redemption through Christ's blood," verse 7, "...the
forgiveness of sins according to the riches of His grace, wherein
He has abounded toward us in all wisdom and prudence, having
made known unto us the mystery of His will according to the
good pleasure which He has purpose in Himself. The good pleasure
of God which Christ has purposed in Himself. That in the dispensation
of the fullness of times, God 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." Most people mark the word predestinated
out of their Bibles, but it's here more times than it's translated
predestinated. But here's one that is just flat
out laid there just to sprinkle salt on some people's
raw womb. in whom also we have obtained
an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of Him
who works all things after the counsel of His own will, that
we should be to the praise of His glory who first trusted in
Christ." There's the second period. beginning at verse 3. We have one at the end of verse
6, and now one at the end of verse 12, and we'll have one
in just a moment at the end of verse 14. We come now to God
the Holy Spirit, in whom also you trusted after that you heard
the word of truth. If you don't hear the true gospel,
you cannot believe. It's impossible. And this statement
says it as plainly as it can be stated, in whom you also trusted
after that you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your
salvation, in whom also after that you believed, you were sealed,
sealed with that Holy Spirit of promise. Here's salvation
by God the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit in verse 14,
which is the earnest, that's like the down payment, which
is the earnest of our inheritance, not talking about an earthly
inheritance, but a heavenly one. The earnest of our inheritance
until the redemption of the purchased possession unto the praise of
His glory. Period. I want to put an exclamation
mark there myself, but I'll leave her go for now as Brother Richardson
used to say. I don't know if I can do this
or not. I want to read a little bit further
if I may. at least through verse 21. Try
to do it without saying anything. Wherefore, I also, Paul also,
after I heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love
unto all the saints, I 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 Christ, the eyes
of your understanding being enlightened, that you may know, listen carefully,
what is the hope of God's calling, that you may know the hope of
God's calling, I done lost my place, y'all.
Where was I? Well, shucks, I didn't know I
got that far. "...the eyes of your understanding
being enlightened that you may know what is the hope of God's
calling and what the riches of the glory of His inheritance
in the saints." Now watch this carefully. I don't have time
to stay here long. And what is the exceeding greatness
of His power? What work is being described
here as the exceeding greatness of God's power? It is to usward,
to the Ephesian believers and to the Apostle Paul. It is to
usward who believe. Oh, that ain't no great thing,
is it? It's the miracle of all miracles, that's all. And I can
prove it right here. Who believe according to the
working of God's almighty power, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Now watch this, here's the kicker. which God wrought in Christ? This glorious salvation, God
worked it in Christ? When? When He raised Christ from
the dead. How much power does it take to
make us a believer? The same power it took to raise
Christ from the grave. and that's no small amount, which He wrought in Christ when
He raised Him from the dead and set Him at His own right hand
in heavenly places. I have no idea how to find out how much effort, how much love,
how much purpose had to take place for that to ever occur.
Yet it plainly has. And this right hand, where our
Savior is presently seated, is far above all principality and
power and might and dominion, and every name that is named,
not only in this world, but also into that which is to come. Alright,
now we're going to jump down to chapter 2. Now that's my background
reading, I'll call it, even though it's right here back to back. Lord, I should have better sense,
but I don't. I'm trying to do the impossible. Ephesians chapter 2. Now Paul is turning to the Ephesians,
and he refers to them in the first phrase of chapter 2. referring to the Ephesian believers,
you has God quickened or made alive? How come we have to be made alive
to be believers? Because we're dead in trespasses
and sins. I mean dead, dead. Spiritually
dead. You has He quickened who were
dead in trespasses and sins. wherein in times past, he's talking
now to the Ephesian church, you walked according to the course
of this world, and that's how every human being comes into
this world. He walks according to the course
of this world. He may be a highly moral person
or he may be an absolutely immoral person, but it's the same either
way. Wherein in time past you walked
according to the course of this world, according to the prince,
namely the devil, the power of the air, the spirit that now
works in the children of disobedience. I need to say this because I'll
probably forget it later. If you've never been devil-possessed,
you ain't Christ-possessed. Because if he comes out in, the
devil goes out. And I mean to stay. to stay. I wish I remembered the text.
It's somewhere in Matthew, but I don't want to take time to
find it, but I've showed it to you many a time. Alright, verse
3. Among whom also we all had our conversation, or perhaps
better, our manner of life, in times past, in the lust of our
flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind,
and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others. Now
you don't have to rob banks and kill people to make this list.
This is every child descended from Adam. No matter what century
or what nationality or what part of the globe. It's all one and
the same. We're born spiritually dead. Verse 4, but God who is rich
in mercy, for His great love wherewith He loved us. Who's Paul talking about? He's
talking about the Ephesian believers and himself, and all of God's
other children for that matter. Even, verse 5, when we were dead
in sins, God has quickened us together
with Christ. Now when Christ came out of that
tomb, he brought all of his people with him. I mean the ones that were already
converted and the ones that would be converted before the end of
time. even when we were dead in sins,
has quickened us together with Christ. By grace you are saved,
and has raised us up together and made us sit together in heavenly
places in Christ Jesus, that in the ages to come." Here's
an explanation as to why God devised such a plan of grace
as this. It is to put His grace in Christ
on display for all to see. That in the ages to come, He
might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness
toward us through Christ Jesus. For by grace are you saved through
faith, and that, that faith not of yourselves, Lord, if we have
to come up with faith, we might as well have to come up with
righteousness and everything else in the whole package. It
would make the throne on Christ's head a hollow throne. No, I tell
you, these things came from Him and faith is one of those. And
there's plenty of arrogant, arrogant, lost religious people this morning
who say, I have my own faith. Well, you're going to hell if
you do. For by grace are you saved through
faith, and that not of yourselves. It is, oh bless His name, it
is the gift of God. not of works, lest any man should
boast." Now you don't think religion
makes people want to boast, do you? My soul is rotten with it
on every hand. I've been in it a long time,
I ought to know. I probably got kicked out of more
churches than you've ever been to in your life. The only reason was they can't
tolerate this book. When you're talking to the pulpit
committee, they say we want somebody that knows and understands and
can teach the Bible. They think they're telling the
truth, but they're lying. You could take these two chapters
and empty most churches on a given Sunday. Verse 10, we are God's workmanship. These
are those people that God gave to Christ, His church, His bride. We are His workmanship. Now watch
this, created in Christ Jesus to what? Unto good works. Now, have you got a good work?
Where did you get it? Oh, I came up with that myself.
Well, it ain't no good if you did. It's tainted with sin like
everything we touch. It has to come from Christ, created
in Christ Jesus unto good works which God has before ordained. Look that up in the concordance
and you'll probably find predestinated I remember a lady that came here
many years ago now, whom some of you knew. She came for several weeks in
a row. She showed up at my house one
Monday morning, and she said, I want you to know I won't be
back. And I said, how come? She said, because you preach
predestination. I said, oh, I thought you wanted
to hear the Bible. Before, she had, I don't know
what preacher she had, well, I do know, but Free Will Baptist,
pretty much. Of course, that's about what
all Baptist are is Free Willers now. There is not many places
you'll hear a gospel that is sovereign grace from start to
finish. She said, I won't be back. I
said, well, I'm sorry. But I ain't taking it back. Alright, let's see if we can
answer some questions now. Short time that remains. I call it salvation by grace
alone. Salvation by grace alone. Here's the first question. Who
does God save? Who does He save? The Lord Jesus
said this in Luke 19. He said, I am come... Let me see how to put it. Well, well, well. If I have to do much of this,
we're not going to make it. It's Luke 19 verse 10. Once I
see it, I can remember it then, but that's not much good. The Son of Man has come to seek
and to save That which was lost. He didn't come to save good people.
He died for sinners. Honestly, the very phrase good
people is a misnomer. There ain't no such person. Honestly. The better people are in regard
to this world and their friends and so forth, the deader they become. It is
just incredibly so. Christ died for the ungodly. Paul says in 1 Timothy 1, This is a faithful Savior, worthy
of all acceptation. Christ Jesus came into the world
to do what? To save sinners. He doesn't save
good people. If you think I'm telling you
a fib, I dare you to read Luke chapter 4. The first time our Lord went
back to Nazareth, after he began his public life in ministry.
And he didn't, I bet he didn't get ten minutes into his sermon
before they grabbed him by the nap of the neck and pulled him
to the top of the highest hill that Nazareth was built on. And they did their dead level
best to throw him headlong down that cliff. And our Lord just
miraculously walked right through the middle of him. That's where
his mother was, that's where his stepfather was, that's where
his brothers and sisters were. But they hated God. If this is
what God does, if this is how God saves, we want nothing to
do with it. Those famous two illustrations,
one of which was Naaman the leper, Our Lord said to that crowd,
and don't you know it, the place was packed, I can guarantee you,
because they'd heard about all these things he had done in other
synagogues. Now here he is coming back home,
and they think he owes them. Oh, they're going to see a real
display of who he is. He said, there were many lepers
in Israel in the time of Elisha the prophet. But unto none of
them did God give life. But through Elisha, He cured
this man's disease of leprosy. Naaman the Syrian. But now, he
didn't take it lightly. He didn't take it until he was
flat of his back. Elisha told him to go wash in
the Jordan seven times, and he'd come the seventh time. He wouldn't
have any leprosy when he came back up. Oh, he said, we got
plenty of rivers in Syria, and they're a whole lot cleaner and
prettier looking than this. So he jumped back on his chariot
along with his servants, and they took off. But his servants
had more sense than he did, so they persuaded him, why on earth
won't you just try it? So he went back, you know, with
his tail between his legs, And sure enough, he was cured. And
then, our Lord gives one other illustration from Elijah the
prophet, when, oh goodness, I can't remember his name, went to the Gentile woman whose food was gone, the drought, that Elijah had himself predicted. He said, there won't be rain
on this earth until I say so. When God told him to say so,
he said so. But in the meantime, their crops
died, their animals began to die, and a whole lot of people
starved. Oh, preacher, you're stupid if
you think God would do this. Well, my soul Doesn't He control
every event of every day that passes by, seven days a week,
24-7? If you think God ain't in control,
then your God ain't God. The God of this Bible is the
God of this universe. My soul, He speaks and it's done. You stick with Ephesians or not? I was going to try to comment
on why God saves, and if you're still with Ephesians chapter
2, let me read you a couple of statements here that will set
it forth pretty clearly, I think, for us. Why does God save? Starting at verse 4 in Ephesians
chapter 2. But God who is rich in mercy
for his great love wherewith he loved us even when we were
dead in sins has quickened us together with Christ. By grace
you are saved and has raised us up together and made us sit
together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus that in the ages
to come God might show, put on public display, the exceeding
riches of His grace in His kindness toward us through Christ Jesus. Alright, a third question. I'm just going to trust your
memory on this one. Let me see if I can find something here. Yeah, there we go. I'll tell you where this is when
I read it. This is a psalm of David. The Lord said unto my Lord, David's Lord said to
the Lord Jesus, sit you at my right hand until
I make your enemies your footstool. The Lord shall send the rod of
his strength out of Zion, rule you in the midst of your enemies. Your people shall be willing
in the day of your power, in the beauties of holiness from
the womb of the morning, you have the due of your youth."
Christ is ageless. He's the same yesterday, today
and forever. He doesn't change. I mean, He
can't change. If you change, you have to give
up your Godhead. And that ain't about to happen. Not at all. We have as much reason to be
thankful as we can possibly find on the pages of this book. God
put us on this earth when he did, for however long he did,
and it is his doing and not ours. We'll be blessed if He lets us
even touch anything He's doing. But as far as us running the
show, it ain't gonna happen. It cannot happen. Well, Ed read this a dozen times,
I think, in Isaiah 53 this morning. The third question is, how does
God save? Here are three words that are
significant when it comes to this matter of God's salvation.
The first one is the word substitution. Substitution. Christ is our substitute. He stood in our room, place,
and stead. And what he did, we are said
to have done. because He gives it to us as
a free gift. The second word that is of vital
importance is the word imputation. Our sins were charged to Christ
on the tree. And when He died, those sins
were gone forever. Gone. Gone forever. Then there's another question. having to do with when does God
save? And I've tried to spare you a
little bit here on this one, in that I have written down five
different scriptures that help set this forth. The question
is this, when does God save? And that brings up this other
question, what has it pleased God to do? And that's a word
that crops up in our Bibles, the word pleased, on a number
of occasions. Here are just five. The first
one is found in 1 Samuel 12, verse 22, and it says that God
is pleased to make you His people. Pleased. I mean, I can't imagine God doing
anything except what He's pleased with. Secondly, in Psalm 115 and verse
3, when David had had some kind of back set, I don't remember
the actual circumstances, but some of the people that knew
him and didn't like his God, they started teasing him, David,
you say your God can do anything, you say He's all powerful, where's
your God now? Your child has died. Your wife's
left you. You've lost your fortune. Where's
God now? And here's what he said. Our God is in the heavens. He
has done whatsoever he has pleased. And if he did it then, he's still
doing it now. He's doing it today. I'm talking
about every event on this globe. Every write-up in every newspaper
of every murder and rape and robbery and whatever else goes
on. I'm telling you, if God doesn't
want it to take place, it ain't gonna take place. Because if He's trying to stop
it and can't, then He's not God. Here's the third one. Isaiah
53.10, Mr. Parker. It pleased the Lord to
bruise Christ, to bruise Him. Now this is not a sadistic kind
of pleasure. I mean, this is the key to the
entire treasury of God's grace. If the Lord Jesus doesn't die,
We have no Redeemer and no redemption. What are we going to do? We're
going to perish like everybody else. Oh, but if Christ goes
to the tree and rises from the dead and ascends to glory, all
is well. All is well. And the fourth one. 1 Corinthians 1.21, it pleased
God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe. Do
you know in many churches the pulpit is out back somewhere? I don't know if anybody even
knows where it is. They've gone to bigger and better things.
I'm telling you, God purposes that Christ is to be preached.
to be preached. It pleased God by the foolishness
of preaching to save them that believe. Colossians 119, it pleased
God that in Christ all fullness should dwell. Now I got one more
question, and I'll be brief. I know you don't believe it,
but it's all right. I'm going to prove it to you. What is the nature of God's salvation? What is the nature of God's salvation? Or another question that might
help answer that one, how does the Bible describe God's salvation? Now here's one of the answers.
There's a ton of them, but here's a very good one. And I'll tell
you where that is in just a second. I know that whatsoever God does, it shall be forever. Nothing can be put to it, and
nothing can be taken from it, and God does it. People like you and me, might
fear before Him. This is the Almighty. This ain't a peanut God. Some
kind of little good luck charm. Ain't no such thing as luck. I know that whatsoever God does,
it shall be forever. Nothing can be put to it and
nothing taken from it that men should fear before him. I got one and a half minutes
till 12 o'clock.