Paul has written a great letter
here to a great and a spiritual church at that time in its history,
and I want us to look at that and speak and study spiritual
blessings. Here's our text, Ephesians 1,
3 through 6, for those on the takes and such like, CDs. All right, Paul says, blessed
be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ who has blessed
us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ,
or in the heavenlies. 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 under 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 Beloved. Now, we'll have three points
of emphasis. One will be number four, as he
hath chosen us. One will be number five, who
hath ordained us to the adoption of children. And one will be
number six, whereby he hath made us accepted in the Beloved. It was Paul that had brought
the gospel into Ephesus. He had come there, well he was
actually there twice, on his second missionary journey, and
then the third missionary journey, and I believe that time he dealt
well with them, about the space of two years time, teaching them
and exhorting them concerning the things of God and perhaps
the reason for that extended stay is explained partly when
he writes to the Corinthians in 1st Corinthians 16 18 and
19, he tarried there because he said, quote, a great door
and effectual opened unto me. The gospel was being freely and
well received in that particular place and God blessed the gospel
to the hearing of many and the believing of not a few and a
gospel church was born there and raised up under the ministry
of the Apostle under the Gentile. And a church, by the way, that
was a mixture of Jew and of Gentile and rather heavy on the Gentile. By the way, you can read the
Apostle very touching farewell unto the elders at Ephesus in
the 20th chapter of the book of Acts. We won't turn there.
It's rather lengthy. Verse 17 through verse 38. But
he tells them in verse 25 in that great meeting that they
would see his face no more in the flesh, that he would not
be among them anymore in this world as a minister. Then later,
he wrote this grand epistle under the church at Ephesus, which
no doubt was a strong part of the heart of this great apostle. Now, it seems here that the context
of the epistle under the Galatian, the things that he writes, and
the things that he does not write, gives us sort of a gauge of the
condition of the church at that time, that it was spiritual,
that it received good and sound and strong doctrine. Because
you remember in Acts chapter 20 again, when he met with them,
he had forewarned them of the elders of a coming attack upon
the gospel there brought about by what he referred to as grievous
wolves who would enter in and would not spare the flock. So
Paul leaves them with these great words in Acts chapter 20 and
verse 32. And now, brethren, I commend
you to God and to the Word of His grace, which is able to build
you up and to give you a place among all of them which are sanctified."
Now, since he never expected to be present with them again,
he sends them this great and spiritual epistle. And we notice
in it that he does not seem to chastise them for any error in
doctrine or in practice as he did Corinth and Colossae and
Galatia and other places where he takes them to task for things
that they had allowed to occur. Now we notice in the epistle
that the opening greeting is short. It is made in the name
of God, our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ. And in that, he
wishes the saint to have grace and peace from the hand and the
throne of God. That's in verse 1 and 2. Rather
short, as it were. But beginning with verse 3, which
is our text today, he speaks to them of spiritual blessings. Spiritual blessings. delivers
one of his great and flowing eulogies or doxology that he
often writes unto the churches in the New Testament, which as
it is punctuated in our English runs all the way down to the
end of verse 14 before in English we find a period. And in this
doxology or eulogy, whatever, there are two things that Paul
accomplishes in this passage, or he addresses in this passage. And number one is the praise
that is due from them unto God, the praise that they ought to
send up unto God in the heaven for the rich and the bountiful
and unexcelled blessing that he had bestowed upon them as
the elect and the saints of God. It was as if he had opened the
windows of heaven. sent upon them a great flood
of blessing and of truth and of gospel for that Paul blesses
God and we notice that the first word blessed in verse 3 who hath
blessed us now that word means one meaning is to praise and
It is from a word that could mean adorable, that we might
adore, or that we might bless, or that we might praise God.
It actually would have us to speak well of Him, to speak well
of God, or a proper view of God's word. And God's word is almost
lost. in the churches in our particular
day. But so he would have them to
praise God for what God had done to them and for them. And then
the second thing that he would have them to know and to do is
that he confirms unto these Ephesian Christian and believers that
their salvation is all of grace. It is a work of God. It has been
done by God, and that from start unto finish. It was purposed
by God in Christ before the world ever began, and so it establishes
them in the gospel of the grace of God that Paul had preached
among them. Paul sets forth what some very
good expositors have described in different terms. One called
it the divine beneficence, the divine beneficence under them. Another called it the divine
generosity that God had been so gracious and generous under
them. And what does Paul do here? He
traces their salvation all the way back to its first source
or to its origin. And that origin is the eternal
will and the eternal purpose of God before the foundation
of the world. And in accordance with that,
he tells them that they were chosen in Christ and that before
the world and they were set apart or they were ordained. to the
adoption of children by Jesus Christ and that unto himself."
Calvin put it this way. They were appointed to life before
they were born, end quote. But then we might also say, not
only before they were born, but before the world and before creation. They would have them to bless
God with him, that is, with Paul the Apostle, for his having blessed
us with all spiritual blessing. And he focuses on the one having
blessed us. It is none other than God. And catch these words. Not just
blessings, but he categorizes them and emphasizes them as spiritual
blessing. Blessing they are, yes, but they
are blessings that are spiritual. They are spiritual in nature. Yea, with every spiritual blessing. So every word here practically
is very weighty. With all spiritual blessing,
everyone, all of them, each and everyone, the whole that makes
up the sum total of our blessing, the whole number of that class
that are classified as spiritual blessing broken upon our head. And for a reason, he does that. And to make a distinction, the
apostle, I'll say again, calls the blessing spiritual. Not just
blessing, but spiritual blessing. And this word spiritual will
keep coming before us in our study today and next Lord's Day,
God willing. Spiritual is to be found in other
passages of the scripture where other things are denominated
as spiritual in nature. In 1 Corinthians 9 verse 11,
spiritual things is the word that he uses. In 1 Corinthians
10 and 3, he talks about spiritual meat. In verse 4, about a spiritual
drink and a spiritual rock. He tells them in 1 Corinthians
15 and 44 of a spiritual body that they shall have in that
life that is to come. Furthermore, he speaks of spiritual
psalms, of a spiritual house, of spiritual sacrifices, that's
our study next Sunday, and thus spiritual can mean not cornal,
not fleshly, not mundane, but heavenly. religious, if we want
to use the word, heavenly or religious blessing. Now these
blessings here in Ephesians 1 do not first and foremost refer
to such things as good health, a long life, a good job, a good
life in this world, long life or possession, though we might
count them as blessing having come from the hand of God. But
Paul does not leave us in doubt at all as to the matter and the
nature and the essence of these blessings. Of what sort are they
and of what do they consist? For he declares them. Now, just
as was the case with Abraham, you'll find that over in the
book of Genesis, chapter 2 and chapter 3. I will bless you,
he says to Abraham. I will bless you. And that was
under the nature also of a spiritual blessing. And when he comes down
to Genesis 22 and verse 17, he doubles it and he says there,
In blessing, I will bless you. And he tells Abraham the essence
of the blessing. A promised son, I'll make of
you a great people and a great nation. So Paul does the same. He distinguishes the blessing
with which they are blessed. And in verse 3, in heavenly places,
in Christ, which he then adds to spiritual. So let us be very
clear as to the origin and the sort of these blessings that
Paul is naming. They are, number one, spiritual. Number two, they are in the heavenlies
or heavenly places. And they are spiritual matters
or things. Now, number three, they're a
blessing with which they are blessed in Christ. in connection with Christ because
these blessings come through or by or in connection and by
means of Christ. They are conferred on us through
Christ. and come by Him. And they're
not afterthoughts with God. They're not something that He
came up later with, or came up after the fall, or later in history. They're not a remedy that God
devised after Adam fell. For these blessings were in the
mind and the purpose of God before time, before creation, before
the creation of man, and before ever Adam and Eve sinned and
fell in the garden. Now let's look at them individually. The first blessing that Paul
mentions here is election. And let's note the connection.
Blessed us with all spiritual blessings and in verse 3 and
then verse 4. According has blessed us with
all spiritual blessing according as he has chosen us in him. He has chosen us. is one and
the same with the Bible doctrine of election. For the word simply
means to choose or to pick out. It means to pick out, to select,
or to choose from a number. And then let's notice the word
according. According as he has chosen us. Now this word is both a frequent
and an important word in the New Testament. It often makes
great truths stand out unto us. The word is summed 15 times in
this Ephesian epistle alone. At least 15 times Paul uses this
word in connection with the doctrine that he is teaching. And in verse
4 is a form of the word that can be rendered as because or
inasmuch even as, just so, according as He chose us. In as much, even
as He chose us. According to Vine's New Testament
word dictionary, and also Strong's Concordant, the word carries
a meaning and a sense of down or under. In accord with. down or under and reaches back
to what is said in verse 3 about being blessed even with every
spiritual blessing and the connection between this mass of blessing
and our election in the Lord Jesus Christ or the election
begins the explanation of what the blessing involved. He has
blessed us, He has chosen us. He has blessed us in as much
as He has chosen us in Christ. So let's try to sum up Paul's
line of thought or reason or logic in this passage of the
scripture. And that is that the whole encompassing
mass or body of spiritual blessing which are poured out on the saints
is in accord with God's purpose of election of them in Christ
before the world ever began. To emphasize, before creation,
from the beginning. As we read in 2 Thessalonians
2.13, God had from the beginning chosen you to salvation. He has ordained some unto eternal
life. Acts 13 and verse 48. Even as many as were ordained
unto eternal life. Now this election need not wait
until Christ has been incarnated and died. It need not wait until
we have been born or until we believe, because Paul is clear
it was before the foundation of the world. So what is this
election in the biblical sense of the word? We have elections
and we elect to do certain things we hear people talking about,
but what is biblical election? It is not the sinner electing
themselves by choosing Christ or by believing. Nor is it the
sinner choosing him or choosing to be born again, deciding to
be born again. Nor is it for any act of the
sinner whatsoever. Not for any act. Actual or foreseen
is election. For as Paul tells us in Romans
9 and verse 11, it is before one is born, and it is not determined
by good or by evil, but that the purpose of God according
to election might stand. The example of Jacob and Esau. nor has God elected everyone
in the world. Some people believe that. He's
elected everyone, and you lose that election by not believing
upon Him. And as is said in Romans 9, 11,
there is a purpose of God according to election. Now, the purpose
of God in regarding to election and that it might stand, Romans
9 and verse 11, that it might stand, that it might abide, that
it might remain. that it might continue, that
it might stay, that it might not be lost or eradicated, that
it might remain firm and immutable. And so before the twins, Jacob
and Esau were ever born. It was said unto their mother,
The elder shall serve the younger. Genesis 25 and verse 23, Romans
9 and verse 12. And thus this was contrary to
the custom in Israel, for there were certain privileges that
were afforded the firstborn son in a family. But it was disregarded
in the case of Esau and Jacob, and it was according to the will
of God, therefore settled, even though the two had the same parents,
were conceived in the same time, had the same fleshly relationship
unto Abraham, Both were Jews and Esau was even the firstborn
and yet God loved Esau, loved Jacob, and hated Esau. Almost got that twisted. Malachi
1, 2, and 3. Romans 9 and 13. They were brothers
conceived and Born twins, same mother, same
father, same relation to Abraham, but God loved Jacob and he hated
Esau. And the purpose of God might
stand. Now, not to labor the case in
respect to election, but this explains why Rebecca was partial
to her son Jacob while he was born and in his younger day. While the father was partial
to Esau, the firstborn. Why Esau sold his birthright
to Jacob, that's explained by the purpose of God according
to election. And he sold that privilege of
the birthright for a plate of deer stew on a particular day. and then went off into apostasy
and became an enemy of all righteousness. Now, election is put first in
Paul's list of spiritual blessing, having chosen us in him before
the world. What is biblical election? Well,
I decided to invite Brother Herman Wittes to the pulpit to define
it. Quote, Election is the eternal,
free, and immutable counsel of God about revealing the glory
of His grace and the eternal salvation of certain persons."
End quote. Which is? And so it is, for election
is of grace. Romans 11 and verse 5, an election
according to grace. And in the Ephesian letter, we
keep reading of the grace and of the glory of God in the great
salvation. Look at chapter 1 and verse 6. To the praise of the glory of
His grace wherein He made us accepted in the beloved. Look
at verse 7. In whom we have redemption through
His blood according to the riches of His grace. Chapter 1 and verse
12. That we should be to the praise
of the glory of His grace who first trusted are hoped in Christ. Over in chapter 2 and verse 7,
in the ages to come, he might show the exceeding riches of
his grace through Christ Jesus. So we cannot separate grace and
election. Election is of grace. Election is an act of grace. To choose to salvation is to
bestow grace upon that individual. Now, the first dawning of grace
in the scripture and in experience, the first dawning of grace is
the election of many to eternal life in Jesus Christ before the
world. When was grace first given? Was
it when Christ became incarnate? Was it when man fell? Was it when Christ
came full of grace and truth, John 1, 14? Or was it when He
died upon the cross that was burst open this great grace under
the children of God? Was it when we first believed? that grace was given unto us. To answer that, there's an amazing
statement by Paul, and it's found in 2 Timothy chapter 1 and verse
9, who has saved us, called us with a holy calling, not according
to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which
was given us in Christ Jesus before the world, began. Now there are two things for
us to notice in that verse. Number one, God acted according
to purpose. According to his purpose. This
is clearly stated in Ephesians 1 verse 5. according to the good
pleasure of his will. Verse 9, according to the good
pleasure which he purposed in himself. Verse 11, according
to the purpose of him who works all things after the counsel
of his own will. Now the second thing, something
else is said in 2 Timothy 1 and verse 9 that agrees with the
passage in Ephesians chapter 1, and that's this. before the
world began. We were given grace in Christ
before the world began. That is, before time in eternity. And in Ephesians chapter 1 and
verse 4, the choosing of Christ, of us in Christ, was before the
foundation of the world. before the great universe and
the world was spoken into existence by the word of God. Hebrews 11 and verse 3 that God
spake all things into existence. Even then, before the world,
was Christ slain in the decree of God. We read that in Revelation
13, verse 8, the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world. Peter writes of that. 1 Peter
1 and 20, who verily was foreordained before the foundation of the
world, but is manifest in these last times for you. So let's
speak then of another of the blessings that Paul sets forth
in Ephesians chapter 1. And this time it's verse 5. And
it says very clearly, having predestinated us unto the adoption
of children. For ordained adoption predestinated,
marked us out, set it forth, whatever. We should remember
that election and predestination, though they are two distinct
blessings from God, actually are so closely related that they
stand or they fall together, in that the elect are then appointed
to obtain the adoption of children by Jesus Christ. And those predestinated
to the adoptions of sons are one and the same with those who
were chosen in Christ before the foundation of the world.
For being chosen in Christ They shall have every blessing that
goes with it, including the faith to believe on Christ. So their election does not end
there and does not stand alone, for God makes full provision
to make it effectual unto the proper and appointed end. And notice, if you will, that
each one of these blessings are given their aim or their purpose,
what God has decreed as to their end. Let's run through the text
again. Look at verse 4 with this in
mind. Chosen in Christ, with a purpose or aim, what is that? It is this, that we should be
holy and without blame before Him in love, such as the fruit
of election, guiltless before the God of heaven. It is made
effectual, that is, producing the intended effect by the redemption
that is in Jesus Christ and the quickening of the Holy Spirit
in regeneration. Now, as we noted earlier, Paul
will soon give the ultimate aim in God bestowing these blessings
upon us. The manifestation and the display
of the glory of His grace and the glory of God. This is the
primary, ultimate end of God blessing us with these spiritual
blessings. Yes, that we might be saved and
be happy and be brought to eternal life and a life unending with
our Savior. But the primary end or purpose
is the manifestation of the glory of God, that He be glorified
with all glorification. Look at verse 5 again. having
predestinated us to the adoption of children, and that by Jesus
Christ unto himself. This immediately establishes
two facts. Number one, not everyone is a
child of God. Not everyone is a child of God. We have heard the saying, It's
all about us. We're all the children of God.
Everybody is the children of God. Some teach this, but 1 John
3, verse 10 distinguishes between the children of God and the children
of the devil. So there are the two. Secondly,
Those that are children of God are not so by their fleshly or
by their natural birth. That which is born of flesh is
flesh, only flesh. Always flesh will never be anything
but flesh. So the conclusion, our election
is in God's elect. who is Christ. Christ is also
called the elect. Isaiah 42 and verse 1, mine elect. 1 Peter 2 and verse 6, elect
and precious is how he describes our Lord. Even so, as our election
is in the elect, our sonship is in the son. Our sonship is
in the Son of God, the eternal Son of God, the Lord Jesus Christ. Now, let's look at adoption.
The word adoption is from the joining together of two words
in our English. One means son or children, and
the other means placing. So adoption is son-placing. That's the meaning of the word
adoption. To bring one into a family. To bring one who is not by nature
of the family, to bring them into the family. Now, this is
not so by nature. It is not naturally related,
the person that is adopted and has no inherent right to be a
part of that other family. And by the way, There are some
examples of civil adoption in the scripture that will help
us understand the two adoptions, the one civil and the other spiritual. For example, did you remember
that Moses was adopted when a little baby, when he was weaned? He
was adopted by Pharaoh's daughter and raised up in the house of
her daughter and of Pharaoh. Exodus 3 and verse 10 and Acts
7 and verse 21, Moses was adopted. There's another adoption in the
Old Testament, Esther. In the book of Esther was adopted
by her uncle Mordecai, Esther chapter 2 and verse 7 because
she was an orphan. Her parents both were dead or
deceased. She was adopted. And then there's
a great adoption. Mephibosheth, a man lame on both
of his feet, was adopted by David, 2 Samuel chapter 9. David fetched him out a loaded
bar, brought him into his house, set him at his table, and fed
him all the good things of the house. Now to repeat, these were
civil adoption, did not give one right to heaven. But they
supplied the mundane things and necessities of life in earthly
families. But the adoption in Ephesians
1 and other places is spiritual. It is a spiritual work as the
sons of God. And that makes us heirs of God
and joint heirs with Christ and gives us an inheritance that
fades not away, reserved in heaven for us. Maybe it's unusual or
unique, but Paul is the only New Testament author that uses
the word adoption in his writing, and he does so at least five
times in his epistle. Now, adoption comes only by election
and predestination, and it depends on absolutely nothing in the
person nothing natural, and Paul discounts any and all merit and
ancestry or law-keeping or works that adoption proceeds only as
a blessing of God bestowed upon whom he will. So the second blessing
is adoption of children. It is in Christ, it's unto God
through Him. So then look at verse 6 for the
third blessing that is mentioned here. The two things in the sixth
verse, look at them. To the praise of the glory of
His grace, wherein He hath made us accepted in Thee, Beloved. What is the blessing here? Accepted
in the Beloved. When did it occur and when was
it in effect that we were accepted in the Beloved? Well, first of
all, it is the result of grace. Verse 6, to the praise of the
glory of His grace. Verse 7, the last part, according
to the riches of His grace. Verse 8, the last part, wherein
he hath abounded toward us, for grace is the immediate subject. Now the blessing in verse 6,
made us accepted in the beloved, made us accepted in the one loved,
in the one loved of God. And the word accepted here, at
least in the King James translation, is only one more time in the
New Testament. And that's a strange place. It's
in Luke chapter 1 and verse 28. In the words that were spoken
unto Mary thou has thou art highly favored is the word here yet
made us accepted in the Beloved. It is to richly and abundantly
blessed. Now that does not mean that Mary
was a dispenser of grace, but was a recipient of the grace
of God. Notice Paul say, God has graced
us in Christ. We, like Noah, have found grace
in the eyes of the Lord, and grace and our union to the Lord
Jesus Christ has made us dear to God and accepted in the beloved. He loves them. that are in the
Beloved One, them that are chosen in the Beloved He loves, such
as by grace, therefore, are acceptable to God in Jesus Christ." Now
note, Paul uses the word grace at least nine times in the first
three chapters of Ephesians. And in those first three chapters,
he is speaking principally of salvation, of salvation and saving
work of God. And nine times the word grace
flows off of his inspired pen. Now, the question When did this
acceptance occur? When was it in effect? Was it in eternity? Is it in
time? Was it before things or during
our lifetime and experience? I agree with Thomas Goodwin,
and if you can read him and have access, it is worth it if you
can follow him, for he's rather long-winded and lengthy. But
I agree with Goodwin. at the same time as election
and predestination before the world, and they are, as Goodman
points out, expressed in the same tense. And the next verse
Paul changes his tenses in verse 7 and forward. He has blessed
us. He has chosen us. He has predestinated
us. He's made us accepted in the
Beloved. Remember, again, 2 Timothy 1
and verse 9, that grace was given in Christ Jesus before the world
began and then was manifested and applied and became effectual
in due time. One Puritan said, Christ is the
cabinet in which grace is stored for the elect of God. Now all of these blessings God
has blessed us with. So bless God who has blessed
us with all spiritual blessing. And I don't know if this is another
sermon or not yet, but All blessings that we experience personally
in our dealing or God's dealing with us actually flow out of
these first blessings that we have. All blessings experienced
in time flow from the same fountain. The major three that we have
considered in Ephesians chapter 1 this morning spiritual blessing
now that would be a regeneration calling conversion faith sanctification
perseverance all of those things are blessings of God, but they
flow out of These great blessing that we have mentioned this morning.
Thank God that