Sovereign Grace Chapel located
at 135 Annabel Lane in Beaver, West Virginia invites you to
listen to a gospel message concerning Jesus Christ our Lord. If you
would please turn with me to Ephesians 1. Ephesians 1, and I'm going to
read verses 1 through 6. 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 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 beloved. We read here in verse four, according
as he has chosen us. The he here is God, Verse three
says, the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. I want to
look at choosing this morning. This choosing is the election
of God. The choosing of those in Christ
by God the Father. We see here that all spiritual
blessings are given to us according as God the Father has chosen
us in him, that is Jesus Christ, before the foundation of the
world. I want to cover the following
questions concerning election. Why did God elect or choose?
How did God elect or choose? When did God elect or choose?
Who did God elect or choose? And then how do we know those
chosen and the God of election and thee elect. So why did God elect or choose? God Almighty was pleased to create
man, create the world, and create everything in it, create the
heavens and all that there is to give glory to himself. He
was pleased to give glory to himself by coming down to this
earth. that He created and was coming
as a man. He was the glory of God personified,
the Son of God. We see it said three times here
in the chapter we are in, in Ephesians 1, starting in verse
6, to the praise of the glory of His grace, wherein He hath
made us accepted in the beloved. that we should be to, in verse
12, that we should be to the praise of His glory who first
trusted in Christ. And again in verse 14, which
is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased
possession unto the praise of His glory. God Almighty has been
pleased to do all things, including electing a people in His Son,
Jesus Christ the Lord, because it pleased Him to do so, and
that He might glorify Himself. That is what these verses are
saying. The only one that has the right to do so, God has said,
I am that I am. It really is not any more deep
than that. If you are looking for more as
to why God chose a people in Christ, I'm afraid what you're
looking for does not exist. Those whom he chose were for
the purpose of giving glory to his name because he was simply
pleased to do so. If you do not believe this, then
you do not believe the God because this is what he says in his word.
So how did God elect or choose? Ephesians 1 verse 5 says, having
predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to
himself, according to the good pleasure of his will, completely
and solely based on his will, God Almighty did not look down
in time to see what man would do and choose us based on that. God did look in time to see what
man was doing, and he was not pleased with man at all. In Romans
3 and verse 12, we read, they are all gone out of the way.
They are together become unprofitable. There's none that doeth good.
No, not one. But we read again right here
in this chapter as to how God chose a people for his name.
He did this according to the good pleasure of his will. If
you want to be concerned with will, then this is the will you
need to be concerned about. What is God's will for me? So
what is God's will? Thankfully, we read here that
he was pleased. In other words, it was his will
to choose a people in Jesus Christ, the Lord, the Son of God. So
that is how he did it, by his will. When did God elect or choose? When it comes to God, saying
when is not really even a valid way to ask a question. God is. And as I've already said, God
said, I am that I am. God is an eternal being. God
has always been. And that's not even a right way
to say it. This is also a word of time. So how do we say it? The only way to say it is God
is. But this God chose the elect, his people, a specific number
of people. This number does not include
everyone. But he chose these people from
before the foundation of the world. Verse four here tells
us this very thing. God chose us and he did this
from before the foundation of the world. So who did God elect
or choose? Simply put, those he wanted to. God selected a people not based
on what they did or did not do. It was purely based on his choice. God does not tell us why he specifically
chose us in his word, other than that he was pleased to do so.
But we know from scripture what it was not based on. In Romans
9, verses 11 through 13, we read this. For the children being
not yet born, neither having done any good or evil, that the
purpose of God according to election might stand, not of works, but
of him that calleth. It was said unto her, the elder
shall serve the younger. As it is written, Jacob have
I loved, but Esau have I hated. So these children were not even
born yet and had not done any good or evil. They were still
in Rebekah's womb. So they had not sinned against
God. They had not decided to follow Jesus. They had not done
anything. This is saying here that God
did not look at what they would do. It had nothing to do with
them, but it had everything to do with the purpose of God according
to election or choosing. God said he loved Jacob and hated
Esau. It is as simple as that. Now
these whom God has chosen do have a time when they are manifested.
They do have a time when they begin to manifest some of the
characteristics of a man chosen of God. God's people, even though
you might not see it all the time, but those chosen of God
when he has been pleased to give them life, manifest a broken
heart and a contrite spirit. A spirit that tells them that
apart from someone else greater than them, greater than fallen
man, likened to themselves, if someone not greater than them
intervenes, they will surely perish. These people have many
other characteristics. These are all given of God as
they would not have them otherwise. They are given a new heart to
where they then have a battle against this flesh, which continues
as long as God Almighty keeps them on this earth. Those vessels
that God has shown mercy on were before prepared unto glory, vessels
of mercy. Election. This is a doctrine
that many people do not want to talk about. They do not want
to believe. They do not want to acknowledge.
There have been several so-called pastors that have said, I believe
in election, but I cannot preach that because it will split my
church. Well, just a few things about this statement for just
a minute. The main phrase I want to look at being, it will split
my church. But really the first problem
with this statement is it starts with I. When you start off with
I, you are going to go wrong from there on out, unless you
are saying, I am wrong. But second is thinking that it
will split God's church, because if it is in fact God's church,
it is because it is for their good that they will be split.
Because we know all things work together for good to them that
love God, who are the called according to his purpose. So
if it splits God's church, he wanted it to. He certainly commands
all those who he sends to preach his gospel to tell the truth
no matter what. But if he split it and he wants
it back together again, he'll bring it back together again.
But last of all is thinking that it is your church. The church
is not a product of man. If it is your church, it needs
splitting into several parts until there's nothing left. But
the church of God the Father is just that, His church. The
church is a group of called out ones. First of all, we know the
church is no man's church save Jesus Christ because no man chooses
a sinner and no man calls out a sinner. God alone calls out
a sinner, it is clear in scripture. But Christ himself says the church
is his. In Matthew 16, 18 we read, and
I say also unto thee that thou art Peter, and upon this rock
I will build my church, this is Christ speaking, and the gates
of hell shall not prevail against it. There are many more places
where it talks about Christ and His church. So I think it's clear
from scripture that the church is God Almighty's church, and
He will do with it as He pleases, and what He does will be to their
utmost benefit. God adds to the church daily
those that should be added. But men have trouble with election
as they think they can choose. Mankind thinks that they can
make the right choice, It is no surprise to those who are
chosen and called by God, they know this to be true because
they know this is how it was for them. But let's read of a
choosing by men that we read in scripture. Turn with me if
you would, Joshua 24. Joshua 24. And beginning in verse 15. "'And if it seem evil unto you
to serve the Lord, "'choose you this day whom you will serve,
"'whether the gods which your fathers served "'that were on
the other side of the flood, "'or the gods of the Amorites
in whom land ye dwell. "'But as for me and my house,
we will serve the Lord.' "'And the people answered and said,
"'God forbid that we should forsake the Lord "'to serve other gods.'
For the Lord our God, He it is that brought us up and our fathers
out of the land of Egypt. From the house of bondage in
which did those great signs in our sight and preserved us in
all the way wherein we went and among all the people from whom
we passed. And the Lord drape out from before
us all the people, even the Amorites which dwelt in the land. Therefore
will we also serve the Lord, for he is our God. And Joshua
said unto the people, Ye cannot serve the Lord, for he is an
holy God. He is a jealous God. He will
not forgive your transgressions nor your sins. If ye forsake
the Lord and serve strange gods, then he will turn and do you
hurt and consume you, after that he hath done you good. And the
people said unto Joshua, Nay, but we will serve the Lord. And
Joshua said unto them, unto the people, Ye are witnesses against
yourselves, that ye have chosen you, the Lord, to serve him. And they said, We are witnesses. What is the moral of the story,
they say? You choose God, then you are witnesses against yourself. Did they worship God and God
alone? No, they cannot. Our choice to serve God, if it
does not come from God, that is to say, if God did not choose
us and purpose to save us and give us a new heart that can
serve him, then we will not or never serve God by our choice.
How do I know this is true? We already read it in Romans
3 in verse 12. They are all gone out of the
way. They are together become unprofitable. There's none that
doeth good. No, not one. So those who say
they have chosen to serve God by their choice are witnesses
against themselves. So who are those that have been
chosen of God? Well, simply put, it is those
whom he was pleased to choose, elect, select, pick, or any other
verb that means this very thing. You can also say those whom God
loves. But also, those that God loves
and has chosen will, in his good time, come to possess certain
characteristics, as I've already stated. We know that whom he
hates were before fitted to destruction. God did not have to do anything
to fit those unto damnation. They were fitted to that in the
fall of their daddy, Adam. But those whom he chose were
aforeprepared unto glory. Those whom he chose, God Almighty
prepared them unto glory. So how do we know those chosen?
Basically this, they hear the word and believe. Turn with me
to 1 Thessalonians 1. 1 Thessalonians 1. Paul and Silvanus and Timotheus,
unto the church of the Thessalonians, which is in God the Father and
in the Lord Jesus Christ, grace be unto you and peace from God
our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. We give thanks to God
always for you all, making mention of you in our prayers. remembering
without ceasing your work of faith and labor of love and patience
of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ in the sight of God and our Father,
knowing, brethren, beloved, your election of God. So we see here,
Paul is speaking of himself here when he says knowing. He says
he knows of their election, but how does he know that? The same
we know it, and he goes on to tell us in verses five and six.
For our gospel came not unto you in word only, but also in
power, and in the Holy Ghost, and in much assurance, as ye
know what manner of men we were among you for your sake. And
ye became followers of us and of the Lord, having received
the word in much affliction, with joy of the Holy Ghost. Because
the gospel, that message of Jesus Christ and him crucified, came
to them, but not in word only. Had it come to them in word only,
they would have left empty. But it came to them in power
and in the Holy Ghost in much assurance. What was the result
of this? They received the word that they,
that is Paul and others, spoke in much affliction with joy of
the Holy Ghost. It stirred them up. It caused
an upheaval in their soul. But along with that comes the
joy of knowing that Jesus Christ the Lord did it all. So then
they became followers of those who spoke the truth and of Jesus
Christ. If you believe God, you will
follow others who you know are following after Jesus Christ
the Lord. If not, then the gospel came
to you in word only. The gospel to a believer causes
them to love Christ and his people. So this is how we know those
chosen of God. I wanna talk a little bit about
the spiritual blessings we receive. In verse six, we read in Ephesians
verse six. Ephesians 1 verse six. to the praise of the glory of
his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved. But again, in verse three, we
read, blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly
places in Christ. First of all, these blessings
are to the praise of the glory of his grace. This is not so
that we can boast in ourselves because it had nothing to do
with us or our choice. It was all in Jesus Christ our
Lord. Here are some of those blessings
and they are mentioned in our passage. We are made accepted. We have redemption. The forgiveness
of sins. He has made known unto us the
mystery of his will. We have peace. all for this purpose
that we might be gathered together in one in Jesus Christ the Lord. God chose us because had he not
chose us, we would never come and there would be none that
would do this. Choosing is not salvation. Choosing
or election is not coming to Christ, but He chose us unto
salvation. And He does this through sanctification
of the spirit and belief of the truth, whereunto He called us
by His gospel. 1 Peter 1 and 2 reads, Elect
According to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through sanctification
of the Spirit, unto obedience and sprinkling of the blood of
Jesus Christ, grace unto you and peace be multiplied. And
then again in 2 Thessalonians 2 and 13 we read, but we are
bound to give thanks always to God for you, brethren, beloved
of the Lord, because God hath from the beginning chosen you
to salvation through sanctification of the spirit and belief of the
truth. Had God not chosen us, we would
never be sanctified by the Holy Spirit that is set apart. We would never hear his gospel
and so never believe the gospel. Those that believe God must do
it in spirit and in truth. The natural man cannot do this.
This election, this choosing by God was unto this end. So if you do not come to believe
in God who elected, then you will never come to believe him.
In that not happening, that is coming to believe Jesus Christ,
you will die in your sins and perish forever. God in whom all light dwells
is the only one that can choose to love. Scripture says that
God is love. Whatever love is, then you have
to define it by who God is, because he is love. Remember in scripture
that it says we love God because if we love God it was because
of something What does the scripture tell us? Because he God loved
us first 1st John 4 19 we love him because He first loved us
Had he not loved us. We would never have loved him
God Almighty chose to love us He did this even though we would,
in time, spit in His face, trample on the name of Christ, who is
the only begotten of the Father, and anything else that is an
abomination to God. But because He wanted to glorify
His name, He was pleased to choose some people that would come to
believe Him and bow down to Him in time, in His appointed time. He did this in the only begotten
Son, who is the elect. Christ is the elect. This is
the one where it says in the chapter we started with that
he first trusted in Christ. God the Father trusted that Jesus
Christ the Son would honor the Father and magnify his name.
This Jesus Christ was the firstborn among many brethren. Those chosen
in him are a product of Jesus Christ the Lord. The only reason
we were ever elected or chosen of God the Father is because
of His elect, Jesus Christ, the Son of God, that we might be
to the praise of His glory. And His glory is Jesus Christ
the Lord. Isaiah 42.1 reads, Behold my
servant, whom I uphold, mine elect, in whom my soul delighteth,
I have put my spirit upon him. He shall bring forth judgment
to the Gentiles. He is the one that we read of
in 1 Peter 2, verses four and six, as being the chief cornerstone,
elect, precious. But again in our text, in verse
12 we read that we should be to the praise of His glory who
first trusted in Christ. That is, God the Father trusted
Jesus Christ the Son to carry out what was needed for salvation.
Christ the elect accomplished this completely and satisfied
the justice of a thrice holy God. So let me say this. You can know
the doctrine of election, but still not know the God of election,
and not believe the elect Jesus Christ. But you can know the
elect Jesus Christ, and believe the elect, and not know the doctrine
of election. If you do know the elect, he
will teach you of the doctrine, because he is the God of election,
and you will learn of him. But if all you have, if all you
care about is the doctrine, then that is all you have, and it
is not enough. If you hate the doctrine of election,
then you hate the God of election, because He is the God who elected. God Almighty chose for whom He
would love, those whom He would love. Love is a choice with God. Christ tells us himself that
he chose us. In John 15 and verses 16, we
read, ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you and ordain
you that you should go and bring forth fruit and that your fruit
should remain, that whatsoever you shall ask of the Father in
my name, he may give it you. And again in verse 19 of John
15. If you were of the world, the world would love his own.
But because you are not of the world, but I have chosen you
out of the world, therefore the world hateth you. There are those
who will mock the elect, Jesus Christ, the God of election,
just as those did at the cross. They do today. In Luke 23, 35,
we read this. And the people stood beholding,
and the rulers also with them derided him, saying, he saved
others, let him save himself, if he be Christ, the chosen of
God. The same ones who did this back
then also hate God's people who love the God of election. Those
are they who do not know God and hate God. There are also
those who say God chose us based on what we will do. But what
does the scripture say right here in our passage? He chose
us and predestinated us according to his own will. Verse 11. Clearly, election is in the Bible. It's all over the place. Even
talking objectively, if you do not believe it is in there, you
either have not read the Bible or you do not understand English,
if English is the version you're looking at. But if you know the
elect, he will in time show you that he elected and chose some
people and predestinated them to the adoption of children of
God. all because of his will and nothing
to do with fallen man's will. Doctrine without Christ is as
a sounding brass or a tinkling cymbal. But knowing the God of
the doctrine is the beginning of wisdom.