This morning we are looking at
the first chapter of the book of Ephesians, Ephesians chapter
one, if you want to follow along in your Bible. Now, God's word
is not to be argued or debated or subjected to our reasonings
or our arguments, but God's word is to be believed. God does not
answer our arguments. God does not, as scriptures say,
give an account of his matter to any. God's word is to be believed
as it is, and to the preacher, God's word is to be declared
as it is, not apologized or avoided. Now, we first bow to and submit
to God's Word by His grace. That's the only way we will.
We first bow and submit, believe God's Word, and then He reveals
His will and purpose to us. Ephesians chapter 1 is a straightforward,
plain and clear declaration of the gospel. of what salvation
is, that is, how we are saved and who it is that does the saving. If someone were to ask me to
give a few scriptures to sum up salvation, I would turn to
Ephesians chapter 1. It begins this way, verse 1.
Now, though the Apostle Paul was used to write this book,
nevertheless, this is God Almighty's Word. Not the words of a man,
but God Almighty's Word. And so, therefore, to be believed.
Paul, an Apostle of Jesus Christ, a hand-picked messenger of Jesus
Christ by the will of God. An Apostle by the will of God.
As with everything, it is by God's will. Scripture says, God
worketh all things after the counsel of his own will. Nothing is left up to the will
of man. Nothing is in the will of man. Man's will is depraved. Man will not choose good, only
evil. Man will not choose God. Christ said, You will not come
unto me. Man will not come. Man will not believe. Man will
not choose unless God first chooses him, unless God makes him or
her willing in the day of His power, Psalm 110, verse 3. Yes, blessed is the man whom
God chooses and causes to approach or come unto Him, Psalm 65, verse
4. So Paul says, By the will of
God I am an And he writes to the saints, verse 1, I read,
to the saints which are at Ephesus and to the faithful in Christ
Jesus. To the saints and faithful. And
we shall see that one is a saint, or that is a sanctified or set
apart or holy person and faithful. That is, has faith, full of faith,
because God, by His grace, chose them to be so and made them so,
sanctified and faithful. In Christ Jesus, he said, to
the saints and faithful in Christ Jesus. Now, these three words,
this is the key to understanding the will of God, the love of
God, the salvation of God, the whole counsel of God, you'll
find it in these words, in Christ Jesus. God Almighty chooses,
saves, loves, keeps the objects of His salvation, of His purpose
of salvation. He does this in Christ. Everything He saves is in Christ. He purposed in Christ. The very reason for the existence
of this ball of dirt and the inhabitants of it And the continuation
of all things is found in Christ, just as Noah was in the ark,
as Moses was in the cleft of the rock. Salvation is to be
in Christ, to be found in Him, Paul said in Philippians 3 verse
9. be chosen in Him. In verse 3,
it says we are blessed in Christ. Verse 4, we're chosen in Christ. Verse 6, we're accepted in Christ. Verse 7, redeemed in Christ. Verse 10, gathered together,
all things, all persons He saved, gathered, will be gathered in
Christ. Verse 2, he goes on, Grace be
to you, that is to those saints and faithful who are found in
Christ. Grace be to you and peace from
God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ. Grace. We shall see that grace is something
God does to us and for us. It is not an offer or something
offered to us, but a work of God for us and in us. Grace and peace. Now again, this
peace is not an offer of amnesty, which we must accept. but a work
of Jesus Christ performed for the objects of God's love, God's
choice, and God's salvation. Peace is something Christ made
for His people by the blood of His cross, not an offer of amnesty. Grace and peace to you from God
our Father. Verse 3, Blessed be the God and
Father. of our Lord Jesus Christ, who
hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly things
or places in Christ. The Apostle, as with every believer,
gives all the glory, all the honor, all the credit to God
for everything, especially salvation. The Apostle says, Blessed be
God who hath blessed You will not hear the Apostle, or any
true preacher, thanking God for doing things for God, for congratulating
Him, for letting God, allowing God, choosing God, accepting
Jesus, making Him Lord. Only moderate and false preachers
do that. But the Apostle blesses God,
or rather gives God all the glory. He gives all the glory. all the
honor, all the credit where all the glory, honor, and credit
is due. Blessed be God. And the first thing he praises
and thanks and blesses God for is verse 4, according as he hath
chosen us in Christ before the foundation of the world. All
true objects of God's electing grace glory in God's choice of
them. All true objects of God's electing
grace, electing saving grace, they glory in God's choice of
them, not vice versa, according as He hath chosen us in Christ. Now, our Lord himself kept reminding
his disciples of this. He kept reminding them who did
the choosing. He said to them on a couple of
occasions, you did not choose me, but I have chosen you. One time he presented the question,
whom do men say that I am, and they gave various things that
others were saying about him. Some say you're Elijah, some
say you're John. He said, well, who do you say
that I am? Peter spoke on behalf of the
rest of them. He said, Thou art the Christ,
the Son of the living God. And Christ immediately said,
have not I chosen you? That is, you wouldn't know this,
you wouldn't know me, you wouldn't be following me had I not chosen
you. Now the apostles knew they would
never have chosen Christ had he not chosen them. They would
never have followed him had he not powerfully, sovereignly called
them one day. They all knew that the only reason
they were disciples The only reason they were believers, the
only reason they were apostles, is because God chose them, that
God sent Christ to find them, to save them, to call them, to
teach them, to lead them, to guide them, to provide for them,
to keep them, to save them. Yes, they knew their salvation
was 100% of the Lord, and therefore It was the theme of all of their
writings, the theme of all of their preaching, as it is the
theme of all true believers. Did Paul choose Jesus as his
personal Savior? Think back on the salvation of
the Apostle Paul, Saul of Tarsus. Think about it. Why, he didn't
believe in Jesus Christ. He wasn't even seeking Jesus
Christ. But the Lord Jesus Christ came
to him, found him, called him. Paul, who chose who? Verse 4,
he says, according as he hath chosen us. Well, when, Paul,
when did He choose you? After you believed? Did He choose
you after you believed in Him? Oh, no. Verse 4, Paul says, "...according
as He hath chosen us in Christ before the foundation of the
world." That's awfully clear, isn't it? He had chosen us in
Christ before the world was made. Well, why, Paul? Why did He choose
you? Because He saw some good in you? Because He could use you? Because He needed you? Why did
He choose you? Because you're a better person
than others? Because you have more gifts and
talents and you could add to? No. Verse 5, Paul says, it's
according to the good pleasure of His will. It's according to
God's good pleasure. Now, God is first and foremost
holy, and the only way He can have anything to do with sinful
creatures is to make them holy and without blame before Him
in love. That's what verse 4 says. He
has chosen a people in Christ before the foundation of the
world that we should be holy and without blame before Him
in love. And God does this in love to
these objects of His salvation. God saves every person He loves. Did you hear that? Listen to
me, everyone. God Almighty saves everyone He
loves. Wouldn't you if you had the power?
Well, God has the power and He does so. The objects of His love
and His salvation, those He chooses to be holy, verse 5 says, He
predestinated. having predestinated us unto
the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to Himself. according
to the good pleasure of his will. He predestinated some unto the
adoption of children. All are not God's children. No,
no. But clearly it states here that
God chose and predestined some, yea, many, yea, many, as the
sands of the sea and the stars of the sky, he predestined to
be adopted, as in adoption or human adoption. You choose the
child, not vice versa. So it is with God. So it was
with God. He chose the objects of His,
those to be the objects of His salvation and His adoption. Why
did He do this? Verse 6, As with everything,
it is to the praise of the glory of His grace. To the praise of
the glory of His grace. Grace is unmerited favor. Grace is unsought favor. As we said, it is not an offer
to us, but a work of God for us, to us, in us. Even faith
is by grace. Ephesians 2, 8 and 9 says that
is not of yourselves. It's the gift or that is the
grace of God. This faith is bestowed upon those
objects of His choice, not of works. Faith is not a work. and
not a work of the human will, an act of the human will, or
a decision by man. No, lest any man should boast. Nobody's going to boast. If they
do any boasting, it will be boasting of God's choice of them, of God's
work of grace for them. See, it is all to the praise
of the glory of God's sovereign, electing, saving grace. Oh, how clear it is in Ephesians
1, in God's Word. I hope you see it. Better yet,
I hope you rejoice in the truth. May God make it so with you.
Amen.