In Ephesians chapter 1, we'll
read the first 14 verses. Principally, we will be looking
at and focusing on verse 13 and 14 during the course of our study,
but let's read up to it beginning in verse 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. Grace be to
you, and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Blessed
be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed
us with all spiritual blessing in the heavenlies 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 unto 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. in whom we have redemption
through his blood, the forgiveness of sin 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
had purposed in himself, that in the dispensation of the fullness
of time he might gather together in one all things in Christ both
which are in heaven and which are on the earth, even in him,
in whom also we've 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, now watch from here on, who first trusted in
Christ, in whom ye also trusted, after that you heard the word
of truth, the gospel of your salvation, in whom also, after
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 under the praise of
his glory. Now look at verse 13 again, in
whom you also trusted after that you heard the word of truth,
underline this mentally, the gospel of your salvation, in
whom also, after you believed, you were sealed with the Holy
Spirit, I promise. Methinks that one would be hard
put to find anywhere else in the sacred scripture a most glorious
description of the great salvation that is in Jesus Christ. Paul
traces it here from its origin or its beginning, which he says
is before the foundation of the world, to the redemptive work
of Christ and the application of it to the elect by the Spirit
of God, that then they are sealed by the Holy Spirit, which Paul
calls the earnest of our inheritance. Now, what we've read, every verse
of it would be worthy of a sermon in its own right. But we want
to work our way to verse 13 and verse 14, yet we cannot isolate
them from the text that goes before it. Paul speaks here of
a great blessing, which is like a sweet alabaster box of ointment
that is broken upon our head, as we read the account in the
scripture. In that, he says to them, they
had heard the good news of salvation. They had heard the gospel of
their salvation. They had heard the proclamation.
They had heard the announcement of what had been accomplished
in the Lord Jesus Christ. and they had heard and believed
the testimony of Christ and been sealed with the Holy Spirit of
the Spirit of earnest of the Spirit until the day of redemption. But Paul does not begin in this
passage with their conversion or their believing, though he
recounts it for them again in verse 13 and 14, but he begins
with a spiritual blessing with which they were blessed in the
heavenlies, literally it is, and that in the Lord Jesus Christ. Nor, in considering salvation,
we do not consider it to have taken its rise in our initial
conversion, or when we were called, or regenerate, or when we believe,
or when we heard of Christ. Puritans have said there are
two sorts of spiritual blessings here that we look at before we
actually get to the application of redemption in and through
Christ and by the Spirit. And that salvation, first of
all, was purposed before the world ever began. And secondly,
it is accomplished, and thirdly, It is applied according to the
goodwill of God. All of this we have in this wonderful
first chapter of the book of Ephesians. Now, notice that Paul
freely speaks of this using such terms as we have read here as
chosen, predestinated, adoption, the good pleasure of his will,
according to the purpose of him that works all things after the
counsel of his own will. before the world ever began,
before God ever spoke into existence, before he ever created, and that
out of nothing. Before he did that, he had chosen
a people in the Lord Jesus Christ, and he had set them apart, set
them forth, purposed them to the adoption of children in chapter
1 verse 4 and verse 5, and had made them accepted in the beloved
that you have in verse six that we read. Now, secondly, we have
the purpose salvation accomplished by the death of Christ, and this
is summed up in the seventh verse, if we look at it again, in whom
we have redemption, even the forgiveness of sin, according
to the riches of his grace. Now, having been chosen in Christ,
Christ has redeemed those that were given unto him by the Father,
because they were fallen in Adam and were sinful, and he was made
sin, and he endured the curse of the law, their sins, every
one. were laid upon him, and he bare
them in his own body on the tree." He redeemed, that is, he bought
his people out of their bondage and their slavery. Now, Thomas
Goodwin, a Puritan preacher and an author, has written one of
the most detailed expositions of Ephesians chapter 1, down
to chapter 2 and verse 10 that I've ever had the pleasure of
reading. And he makes that distinction
about these two sorts of blessing that we have here. A, those that
were from before the world. He has blessed us with certain
blessings and that before the world ever began. And then be
those blessings that are ours and come to us by and through
the Lord Jesus Christ incarnate and in the world. And he made
a distinction, Goodwin did, that might whet our appetite to whether
or not he did embrace and was known as a supralopstarian. He said this, and I'll share
it with you. The first sort of blessing were
ordained us without consideration of the fall, though not before
the consideration of the fall, and the second sort of blessing
were ordained us merely upon consideration of the fall and
to us considered as sinners in that decree." End of quote. Now of course he agreed that
all things which God decreed were in his mind at one and the
same time. Not successively did God decree,
but he decreed all that he would at one and the same time. So God has purpose to save a
people out of the fall and from their sin. And not just to save
them for this life and in this life, and to go to church and
to enjoy that and read the Bible and live a certain way, but to
bring them actually to final and full glory in heaven, to
give them that eternal inheritance that is reserved for them in
heaven through our Lord Jesus Christ, and to live and dwell
in immortal and glorious bodies, and be with Christ forever and
forever, that where I am, there they may be also." In other words,
each one chosen in Christ, redeemed by his death, will then have
applied to him and will experience that that God has intended and
decreed for them. And then being saved, living
as a saved person in the world in which we are grieved by the
remainder and by the acknowledgement of indwelling sin yet remaining
in us. being tempted at time tossed
about to and fro troublesome waves of this life as they beat
upon us and yet our God has us sealed under the day of redemption
and then will bring us to glorification and eternal glory and to be forever
and ever in the presence of our blessed Lord. Now, all of that
having been said, let's come to verse 13 and verse 14, and
the first thing that greets us here is a contrast in the words
in whom you also trusted. Now this sends us back to the
12th verse of the first chapter where we read there of we who
first trusted the margin as it hoped We who first trusted are
hoped in Christ. Now the whole of verse 7 is that
we should be to the praise of the glory of his grace who first
hoped in Christ. And it refers back to the previous
verses that God's purpose and working all things out according
to the purpose of his will, serves a particular and a delightful
end, and that is that the ones first trusting in Christ should
be to the praise of his glory. We first trusted in Christ who
should be to the praise of his glory. Then comes the contrast
that I was talking about. If you look at verse 12 and verse
13, we and you. In verse 12, we who before had
hoped in Christ. And then in verse 13 he brings
in, and you also. We who first hoped are trusted
and you also. Now the question becomes this.
Who are the people that are contrasted here by the we and by the you? Is it the apostle and the laity? Is it the ministry and the laity? Or is it the Jew and the Gentile
in the flowing context of this epistle? Who are the we and who
are the you also? Now, the question in our mind,
in mine anyway, might be compounded by the evident fact that up to
this point in the epistle, the Apostle Paul had consistently
used we and us as all-inclusive of the ones chosen in the Lord
Jesus Christ, foreordained unto adoption, and redeemed in and
by the death of our Lord. That is, all of the elect believers
that were among them. How then will we explain the
abrupt contrast that is brought in here, we and you, even you
also." That seems to have an emphasis in the mind of Paul. Yes, we believe first, we hope
first in Christ, but you also. Now, such would be natural if
the author intended to make a transition from the general to the more
specific aspect of the subject of salvation, redemption, the
gospel, and such like. Now this is the probable case
and the contrast therefore between us and you also is in fact the
contrast between the Jewish and the Gentile elect that were alike
chosen in the Lord Jesus Christ. Now the reason I say that is
because the Apostle Paul does this rather frequently in his
writing and particularly here in the Ephesian epistle, especially
down in chapter 2 and verse 11 through verse 22. He tells them
in verse 11 of the second chapter, ye were Gentiles in the flesh,
and he has them recall what that meant in time past. And in verse 13, they were once
afar off. In verse 14, 15, 16, and 18, Paul mentions there that
the two people, Gentiles and Jews, were meshed into one by
and through the body of Christ. One new man or one new body. he puts it there he mentions
both and twain Jew and Gentile both are twain in one body reconciled
by Christ you can see it again in Ephesians chapter 3 this time
verses 1 through 8 that it was purpose of old, as stated in
Ephesians 3 and verse 6, that the Gentiles should be fellow
heirs, literally joint heirs, and of the same body and partakers
of his promise in Christ by the gospel. Now back to Ephesians
1, 12 and 13, and Paul's reference here to the two people, especially
the order of experiencing the blessings of salvation through
Christ the Lord. First of all, we noted that he
speaks in verse 12 again of those who first trusted or who first
hoped in Christ meaning the Jew who believed first in Christ. Though I know there are some
expositors who take it to refer to the messianic hope held forth
by the Jewish nation of one great that was to come. And yet the
New Testament does emphasize and strongly and often that the
gospel and the manifestation of Christ in that was a privilege
first given unto Israel, that this blessing first came unto
them. You notice that I purposely avoided
using the word offer and have used the word given. Remember
that famous verse in Romans 1 and verse 16? How often has it been
quoted that the gospel was to the Jew first, to the Jew, and
then also under the Greek or under the Gentile? Hear the words
of the Apostle Peter as he speaks in Acts chapter 3 and verse 26
addressed to Jewish hearers. God having raised up his son
Jesus Christ unto you first sent him to bless you and Paul is
clear to the envious Jews that opposed his preaching of the
gospel in Acts chapter 13 and verse 46 he said to them look
It was necessary that the gospel, that the word of God, should
be first spoken unto you. And then consider a statement
again from the Apostle Paul, this time found in Romans chapter
16 and verse 7. He speaks there as such as, quote,
were in Christ before me," unquote. That is, they were Christians
before Paul was a Christian or a believer. And then, too, please
remember that at the first of his ministry, Christ forbid his
servants and apostles to go and preach unto the Gentile. Go not
into the way of the Gentile, Matthew chapter 10 and 5, You'll
find it again in Matthew chapter 15 and verse 24. You might remember
also that it took a special revelation from heaven by God unto the apostle
Peter to get him ready to preach the gospel unto the Gentile. You'll find that in Acts chapter
10 and a rather lengthy account of it. After the incident at
Antioch, in Acts chapter 13, Paul declared this in verse 46,
lo you put it away from you, lo we turn or we go unto the
Gentile. In Acts 18 and verse 6, in the
city of Corinth When the Jews opposed themselves and blasphemed,
Paul shook his raiment, and he said unto them, Your blood be
upon you and your heads. I am clean. From henceforth I
will go unto the Gentiles." Now, the book of Acts closes with
Paul declaring at Rome in Acts chapter 28 and 28. Be it known
unto you, therefore, that the salvation of God is sent unto
the Gentiles, and they will hear it. Be it known unto you that
the salvation of God from henceforth will be sent unto the Gentiles,
and they will hear it. Because you see, the time had
come. According to Acts 11 and verse
18, God hath granted repentance unto the Gentile unto life. Acts 14 and verse 27, he hath
opened the door of faith unto the Gentile. Paul deals with
this I think in our text in Ephesians 1 and verse 13, you also, we
first believed our hope and you also, meaning Gentile convert,
whom he now particularly addresses in the Ephesian epistle. you as well as those of Israel
who had hoped in Christ before you, and that in spite of their
once being denied the gospel, when it came unto them, came
not as soon as it did unto the Jew, but it came later, still
by God's appointment and purpose. there being more recent converts
the Gentiles in that assembly before you others had believed
but you were in others were Christians and in Christ in that sin before
you were and yet Paul tells them If I might use the words of John
Gill, if you don't mind, and I'm quoting, the Gentile believer
participated in the same grace and privilege with a believing
Jew. The same promises belong to all
call. and the same common salvation,
the same faith was wrought in one as in the other. And they
were interested in the same Christ and were heirs of the same inheritance,
the words of John Gill. Now in spite of being called
later, and in spite of learning Christ later, They had no lack
of gospel salvation, for salvation loses nothing with the passing
of time, and the gospel loses none of its glory or beauty with
the passing of time. or from one sort of people unto
another, for that matter. For the gospel is the same to
whatever people it's preached to. Salvation is the same wherever
it is declared. As an example, A person called
today, in our day, in our time, is as richly blessed, is as spiritually
endowed as the first Christian believers after Christ's death
ascension again into heaven. Once called, one called late
in their life. is still in the same blessing
and the same joy and the same hope as those that were called
in the season of their youth. So see the words, in whom ye
also. in whom or in him it refers to
the antecedent Christ in the verses that are before in the
end of the twelfth verse of chapter 1 the very one and same Christ
in whom the Jews had hope and the words here you also are as
he speaks to a certain section of the church. The King James
has the word trusted in italic because it is not there in the
Greek text, and the translators took it to refer to trusted or
hoped in verse 12 and figured it to be what is called an ellipsis
in grammar, something that is implied and something that is
needed to fill out the meaning. But John 80 sees, in verse 13,
the compacted sentence. In whom you also, having heard
the word of God, the gospel of your salvation, you believed
and were sealed with that Holy Spirit of promise. with verse
14 expanding upon the ceiling of the spirit in Believer. Thomas Goodwin speaks of three
things here in verse 13 Ephesians chapter 1. A, that the Gentiles
in and through Christ had an equal standing with the Jew in
salvation. The one and same salvation in
all of its fullness. Not a second-class salvation,
but one and the same. And then B, we also see in that
verse that the good news of salvation was contained in the gospel,
the preached word of God. The gospel was preached in their
hearing and at a certain time became the gospel of their salvation. And then C, we notice that the
apostle said, as believers, like the Jew, the Gentiles also were
sealed with the Holy Spirit of God and that with a promise under
the inheritance. Now, these things are described. Number one, they heard. Number
two, they believed. And number three, they were sealed
with the spirit of God under the day of redemption. Now, what
they heard, it put two ways for something, the word of God and
the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. Now, it's
not surprising, for these are several times joined together
in the New Testament. As an example, 1 Peter 1, verse
25, the word of the gospel which is preached unto you. There's
the gospel and the preaching of it. In Acts 15 and verse 7,
Peter preached the word of the gospel to the gathering at the
house of Cornelius. In Colossians 1 and verse 5,
we read of the hope which is laid up for you in heaven, whereof
you heard before in the word of the truth of the gospel. Now the gospel is what? The gospel
is the testimony of Christ. It is the declaration. It is
the good news of his finished work. It is the record that God
has given of his son. And that son has borne the sin
of his people and taken them away. And though dead and buried,
is raised again the third day, and ever lives at the right hand
of God. Triumphing over death in his
resurrection out of the grave. And notice how Paul refers to
it. The gospel of your salvation. The gospel, the good news, the
declaration, the proclamation of your salvation are delivered. Because the chief subject of
it, of the gospel, is salvation. The chief subject there is salvation. And when by grace one is enabled
to believe the report of the gospel. It is, in every sense,
glad tidings. It's good news. When we heard
it, our hearts leaped and they rejoiced. It becomes a personal
thing when God makes it so and applies it. The glad tidings
of your salvation. It is good news from a far country
that I am a sinner by nature and by practice. I have lived
in sin and I deserve the punishment of my sin. But now I'm alarmed
by that condition. I'm fearful because of how I
stand in that And then comes the glad tiding, the good news,
one coming across the mountain, crying out the good news and
giving forth the glad message. Christ died on the cross bearing
sin that we might be delivered. from its condemnation and from
hell. Now, to some the gospel might
be counted a foolish thing, and it is. Some hear this glorious
gospel and they count it foolishness. They push it off. How can one
die and save others? How can one himself be so shamefully
crucified and yet be the savior of others? How can one put to
death? be the author of life to others
such as many Jews. The cross is and was a stumbling
block unto them that they had their hopes dashed when Christ
died upon the cross. for they had expected and desired
a great temporal prince and deliverer. Then to a large mass, the gospel
is simply a stale, outdated religious dogma that ought to be cast aside. But to the believing one, to
the one regenerate whose heart is opened by the Lord Jesus Christ. The gospel is not foolishness
and it's not stale. It is fresh. It is wonderful. It is a delightful sound. falling
upon the ear. In it we see the power of God
and the wisdom of God in the gospel, that is, in the death,
the burial, the resurrection of our blessed Savior. Now, the
gospel comes to people in two totally different ways. According
to Paul, In 1 Thessalonians 1 verse 4 and verse 5, A, he said, to
some it comes in word only. That is, they hear the sound
of it, they hear the bare words of it, but having not hearing
ears, or the faith of God's elect, it makes no lasting or changing
impression upon them, but then be to others. It comes in word,
but not in word only, but also in the power and the demonstration
of the Holy Spirit. And Paul takes this. as being
an evidence of their election, that the gospel comes in converting
efficacy, he takes as a sign of their election. For to the
regenerate elect, the gospel comes on an errand of mercy. to fetch them out of the dunghill,
as Spurgeon expressed it, that they might walk in the way of
the Lord Jesus Christ. But now going back to Ephesians
1 and verse 13, when and what they heard, they believed. And believing, they were sealed
with the Holy Spirit of promise. Now, we should not think that
the Holy Spirit simply puts a seal upon them that believe, for the
Holy Spirit is the seal. The Holy Spirit is the seal. They're sealed with the Holy
Spirit, not just by, but with the Holy Spirit. Now, this Paul
several times declares in his epistles concerning that seal
and the Holy Spirit. For example, 2 Corinthians chapter
1 and verse 22, who has sealed us and given us the earnest of
the Spirit in our heart. Now, we know what an earnest
is. don't we? In Ephesians 4 and verse 30,
and grieve not the Holy Spirit whereby you are sealed unto the
day of redemption. 2nd Timothy 2 verse 19, the foundation
of the Lord stand assure having this seal the Lord knows them
that are his. Thomas Goodwin, again, you tell
I read him heavily, was of the opinion that this act of sealing
was by a work of the Spirit of God upon the heart, the conscious
mind, and understanding of the believer, and seals the promise
of the gospel, the promise of Christ and the gospel unto the
heart, and then kindles assurance in those that are so worked in
by the Spirit. But Paul says more about the
believer and the Holy Spirit. In verse 14, Ephesians chapter
1, which is the earnest. You are sealed with the Holy
Spirit, which is the earnest. That is, the Holy Spirit Himself
is the earnest. And this word is in the New Testament
three times. Each time from Paul by the way
in Ephesians 1 14 who is the earnest of our inheritance 2nd
Timothy 2nd Corinthians chapter 1 verse 22 has given us the earnest
of the spirit 2nd Corinthians 5 and verse 5 has given unto
us the earnest of the spirit now an earnest is what we might
call a A down payment. Well, an earnest is the first
portion or a fraction of the full price or full realization
or possession. And it seals the intent to convey
the whole thing promised or that is in view. As an example, in
some transaction between person, the purchaser gives to the seller,
and the seller receives an earnest money. And this says that the
purchaser will later give the whole sum and pay the whole debt,
of which the time the property will be conveyed in full. when the full is paid. Now the spirit is the earnest
and is given to those that believe. One old-time author put it this
way, and I like old-time authors, quote, this giving of the person
of the Holy Spirit to any is the highest earnest of heaven."
Those who are given the spirit, the spirit comes to dwell in
them, to live in them, and be in them is the highest earnest
of heaven. They that have the spirit have
the earnest of life in heaven. It is also one of the highest
proofs, I think, of the preservation of the saints of God, though
we don't have time to speak on that subject here this morning.
Paul calls it the earnest of our inheritance, the giving of
the Holy Spirit as the earnest. And in God's pledge to his elect,
that the inheritance that God has bequeathed to them in Christ
is held for them in indissoluble reserve, and none are heirs of
God and joint heirs with Christ, but shall receive the fullness
of their inheritance in Christ. and the spirit is the earnest
of that is the guarantee if we might say. Now remember when
Israel entered into Canaan and the land was departed was parted
that every Israelite had an inheritance. Every single Israelite received
an inheritance in the land of Canaan. And every elect has obtained
an inheritance. Ephesians 1 and 11 and 1 and
14 here in our text. Now this inheritance is by promise. Galatians 3 and verse 18. As Paul is discussing the case
of Abraham. Colossians 1 and verse 12. He hath made us meet to be partakers
of the inheritance in the saints in light. Hebrews 9 and verse
15. It is an eternal inherited. 2 Peter chapter 1, 3 and 4, God
according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a
living hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead
to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled, and that fades
not away, reserved in heaven for you. So that the Spirit of
God, therefore, is that promise or guarantee of the fulfilling
of the full inheritance. Thus, as Paul reminds the Gentiles
here at Ephesus, they heard the gospel, they believed, they were
sealed with a holy spirit of promise, and that ceiling will
stand until the day of the redemption of the purchased possession,
when it shall be fully realized and fully bestowed in eternal
glory. The gospel of your salvation. How sweet the sound that saved
a wretch like me When in our conviction, our misery, our fear,
a torment of our conscience, then God came and did seal us
and cause to fall upon our ear the sound and promise of deliverance
in Christ Jesus, the gospel of our salvation, the good news,
the wonderful story. Thank God for that.