It's working for now, so if you
would turn to Ephesians chapter 1 I'm just gonna read verses 9 and
10 of Ephesians 1 Ephesians 1 verse 9 having made known unto us that
the mystery of His will, according to His good pleasure, which He
hath purposed in Himself, that, in the dispensation of the fullness
of times, He might gather together in one all things in Christ,
both which are in heaven and which are on earth, even in Him."
I'm just going to stop right there. We'll warn you When you
go to Ephesians 1 and maybe start verse 9 or 10 You can't get by
without looking at 1 through 8 There's no way I've titled
this sermon the mystery of his will The mystery of his will Now I
thought about this, and when you title a sermon, The Mystery
of His Will, some people maybe think about
the Book of Revelation. Other people may think, oh good,
he's going to tell us something deep and hidden, the secret wisdom
of the great God Yahweh. Well, it is deep. It is deep. But it's not a secret anymore. There are secret things. And
the scripture is plain. It says the secret things belong
unto God. They're His. God does have secret
things. But it also says Christ revealed
some secret things. And Paul has told us in his epistles
that God hath revealed unto him this mystery. We have been given the revealed
purpose of God's will and God's will in His Word. We don't have to worry about
the secret things. We have enough problems trying
to understand what we've got written down here. A mystery is a truth that has
always been, but is revealed. It's not something that cannot
be known. It's something that has been told. To the Apostle
Paul, he has written it down. And what Paul is writing down,
what he wrote down, is not new. It was just newly revealed. When you read and study the epistles
of the Apostle Paul, you will see constant references by him
to the Old Testament scriptures. What he wrote wasn't new. The
truth is the truth. It has never changed. What is newly revealed is newly
revealed in the gospel of Christ, which Christ delivered to Paul
by revelation. The first words here are saying,
it says, having made known. I looked at this in the Greek.
This is one word. It's about this long, but it's one word. It's in the Aorist tense, which
is the past tense. It is also active. Active. And the actor is God. God actively has made known unto
us the mystery of His will. That's what Paul wrote. This happened in the past when
Paul wrote it. It had to be revealed to
him before he could write it down. I know that's simple, but
that's the truth of the matter. See, there are some people now
who think there are great mysteries being unfolded, you know, even
as we... This book tells us, actually
does tell us the future. I don't know all the future.
God does, but he has given to us what he has done in our past,
in our presence, and in our future. God actively revealed to the
Apostle Paul the mystery of his will. And that's the his. That's the first question. Who
are we talking about? Whose will is it? Paul is writing
the mystery of the will of the Father who did all these things
listed in Ephesians chapter 1 verses 1 through 8 up until this point. He's speaking of God the Father
and what God the Father has done in Christ. For us and to us. Both. The context of this verse is
speaking of the mystery of His will toward us. That's who this book is written
to. Verse 1 says, this is written 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. He's writing this to believers. And all of us here who believe
God qualify as those, the faithful in Christ Jesus. If you've been
given His faith, the perfect faith, you are the faithful in
Christ Jesus. It's not saying how faithful
you are, it's saying you are full of His faith. That's the context of this verse.
It is in Ephesians 3 and verse 4, Paul refers to it in the right
place. Well, verse 3. How that by revelation
he made known unto me the mystery, as I wrote afore in a few words,
whereby when ye read, ye may understand my knowledge in the
mystery of Christ. So what Paul wrote, it says it,
afore. is the mystery of Christ. So what did Paul write before?
I agree with John Gill. This is the way he wrote it.
In the two first chapters of this epistle, that's Ephesians
1 and 2, which are a compendium of the mystery of the gospel
in its several parts. as predestination, election,
redemption, regeneration, and salvation completely by free
grace. That's the mystery of Christ.
That's the gospel of Christ. Paul calls it in one place, the
mystery of the gospel. So what did he write a for? Verse
3 of Ephesians 1, he said, blessed be the God and Father of our
Lord Jesus Christ who has blessed us with all spiritual blessings
in heavenly places in Christ. What else did he write a for
about this mystery? We were chosen in him before
the foundation of the world. 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. The choosing of God has a result. The choosing of God has a result. The choosing happened before
the foundation of the world. But there is a result in time
in this earth to every chosen soul, to every person that God
has chosen. Not only are we to be holy, I
think that's marvelous. I think that's wondrous. I think
that's a miracle. But not only are we holy, to
be holy, we are to be without blame in Him. It's in Christ that we
should be holy and without blame before Him. Now that is before
the Father in love. Having predestinated us under
the adoption of children, is the next verse, by Jesus Christ
to himself according to the good pleasure of his will. And that is where you read, having
predestinated us under the adoption of, and the word is sons. Full
grown adult sons. Not just babes in Christ. Full
grown adults. We are predestinated to that,
and Walter's right, which is having predestinated us. That
comes before according to the chosen us. We are predestinated. This is the message Paul wrote
to these believers in Ephesus, and to us. We are predestinated,
were predestinated, under the adoption of sons. by Jesus Christ to himself according
to the good pleasure of what? His will. According to the good pleasure
of His will. God's will has to do with His
pleasure. And this is all to the praise
of the glory of His grace. Wherein He hath made us accepted
in the Beloved. Every single thing here that
the Father has done, He has done in the Son. Every single thing that has been
done to us and for us has been done in His Son, our Lord Jesus
Christ. He has made us accepted in the
Beloved. I still find that amazing. I
still find that amazing. I am accepted in Christ before
the Father of Lights. I am holy and without blame before
Him in love. And so is everyone here who believes
Him. Who has been given faith. Be
faithful in Christ Jesus. This is where we are right now. This is not the future, although
it is our future. This is where we are now. What
a gift we have been given in Christ. What a life we have been given
in Christ. To where God the Father can look
upon me and not be revolted. And not say, go away. In Christ, we are totally and
completely accepted. Because we are in Christ. Then it says, in whom we have
redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins according
to the riches of His grace. Paul can't write something down
here like this. You can't write something down
here like this and leave out the cross of Christ. The redemption
of his shed blood. Because everything we have, everything
God gave us here, was earned by the Son of God. it was paid
for by the Son of God. Without blood, there is no remission. Without shedding of blood, there
is no remission. Without shedding of blood, there
is no redemption. There is no acceptance. There is no adoption. There is
no praise to the glory of His grace. And there's no being accepted
in the beloved without this redemption. Now he didn't use the word cross
here, but it says we preach Christ crucified is what he wrote to
the Corinthians. The Jews a stumbling block to the Greeks is foolishness,
but to us who believe Christ, the power of God and Christ,
the wisdom of God. And this is all according to
the will of the Father. And according to His good pleasure,
the good pleasure of His will. It pleases God to save His people
from their sins. Isn't that a wonderful thought?
Our God is in the heavens. He is done whatsoever He hath
pleased. And I will extrapolate from there.
He's done whatsoever He hath pleased. He is doing whatsoever
He hath pleased. And He shall always do whatsoever
He hath pleased. In whom we have redemption through
His blood, it pleased the Lord to bruise and put him to an open shame. Why? Because it pleased the Lord
to save His people from their sins. And this is the only way. Redemption through His blood. That's the only way. The forgiveness of sins. according to the riches of His
grace. Jesus Christ suffering and dying
upon that cross, shedding His blood for remission of sins,
dying, going into the tomb, that is because of the riches of His
grace. That was according to the good
pleasure of His will and so is our salvation because
of this. In Ephesians 6 and verse 19 it
is called the mystery of the gospel. The mystery of Christ
is the mystery of the gospel, and the mystery is all of grace,
because the gospel is all of grace. All of Ephesians 1, and 2, and
3, but anyhow, this particular section of scripture, This is
the gospel of God's sovereign grace in His Son, our Lord Jesus
Christ. All of it's true. Of who? He tells us later. Jews and Gentiles
alike. That was a new thing. Jews and Gentiles alike. Circumcision
matters nothing. Uncircumcision matters nothing. A new creature is what matters. And this is what God has written,
God has put down here for us in black and white through the
pen of the Apostle Paul translated into English for us that God is saving His people. Jew and Gentile alike, bond and
free, barbarian and Scythian, whatever we want. This man receiveth sinners. Walter said that this morning
on the radio. Then he asked the question, are
you a sinner? If you don't know you're a sinner,
you don't know Christ. What was it Henry used to say?
Quote that, a sinner is a precious
thing, the Holy Ghost has made him so. In whom we have redemption through
His blood, the forgiveness of sins. Now for some people that's
the be all end all. Forgiveness of sins. But I tell
you this, that's just the beginning for us. That's just the beginning
for the true child of God. Forgiveness of sins is wonderful,
it is marvelous, it is gracious, and it took His precious blood.
But He doesn't stop there. We are predestinated under the
adoption of sons. wherein he hath abounded toward
us in all wisdom and prudence." He has all wisdom. He has all
prudence. But he's abounded toward us.
He's abounded. We have been given just to taste
a little bit. Taste and see. taste a little
bit of the glory of God in our Lord Jesus Christ through His
Word. He has abounded to us. He has
given us life. He has given us love. And not only a love for Him,
a love for His Word. We want to hear the Gospel preached. We want to read His Word. We are, he'll go on to say, his
body, his church, his assembly, his true assembly. God's grace is always specific,
particular, That's what his gospel says. Paul wrote this to the saints
at Ephesus and the faithful in Christ Jesus. It's grace be to
you, the father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us according
as he has chosen us, that we should be holy and without blame
before him in love, having predestinated us for the praise and the glory
of His grace, in whom we have redemption. The only way you can claim any
of these promises is if He has given you life and faith and
love in Him. This is a message for the regenerated
converted child of God. And this is part of the gospel
of Jesus Christ. The gospel of Christ has never
been an accident. It was never just a possibility. It is according to the good pleasure
of His will. Having made known unto us the
mystery of His will, according to His good pleasure. It's His
pleasure to reveal His Son to His people. And the salvation of His people
in His Son pleased God the Father. which he hath purposed in himself." There's a lot of things going
around and there's a lot of places where you can go where they will ask you if you
have in the word nowadays is input. Understand this is the salvation
of God that Paul's writing here. There is no input from man. There
is no input in purpose or in the accomplishment of the salvation
of God's people. It is totally and completely
the work of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. It's the work of God. We can't do any work. We can
work, but we can't do any good work. It's the purpose of God which
He purposed in Himself. Man has no part in the purposing
or the accomplishment of the work of the Father, the Son,
or the Holy Spirit. But He doesn't just leave us
here. I said that. And verse 10 is where it tells
us. Because this is the future. that in the dispensation of the
fullness of time, now look that up, it means the administration
and the completion of time. That's what the fullness of time
is, the completion of time. He might gather together in one
all things in Christ both which are in heaven and which are on
earth even in Him. In Him. He will gather together
in one all things in Christ. Now at one time we were only
in the mind of God. He predestinated us under the
adoption of sons. That happened before He chose
us from before the foundation of the world. We weren't anywhere
around there. But, in Christ, we were there
together. And one day, God is going to
gather together all, everything in Christ, all of His people
in Christ, in one. There's going to be not only
a unity of the spirit, there's going to be a unity of the body. In one. Heaven and earth, it doesn't
matter where you are. There's going to be a gathering. And
this hasn't happened yet. This has not happened yet. Believers
have more to look forward to than a new heaven and a new earth. Believers are going to be in
a way that we are not now. We are one, His assembly, one
church, one body. But there's coming a time when
it's going to be totally and completely perfect, because it's
not only a new heaven and a new earth, it's a new heaven and
a new earth wherein dwelleth righteousness. I have no idea what that's going
to be like. I cannot comprehend sinlessness. I know my sins have
been forgiven, I believe that with all my heart. But that doesn't
stop me from sinning. Every day. It may stop some sins. I may not do some things I used
to do. I may not do everything. I get
these goofy thoughts in your head at one time or another.
But I cannot comprehend sinlessness. in me, not in you. We are such fallen, wretched
creatures on this earth. I already said it. I was depraved,
I am depraved, and I'll be depraved until I awake in his likeness. And I won't know how to act,
I guess I will. But I can't comprehend it now.
But that is what we are. That is a statement of purpose,
the word that. In the dispensation of fullness
of times, he may gather together in one all things in Christ,
both which are in heaven and which are in earth, even in him.
in whom also we have obtained an inheritance being predestinated
according to what the purpose of him who worketh all things
after the counsel of his own will." The mystery of his will is revealed
in the gospel. The salvation of his people is
not even complete yet. We are kept by the power of God
through faith unto salvation. There's a completion of this
salvation that's going to happen. And we are going to be gathered
together in one with all things in Christ. According to the counsel of His
own will, that we should be to the praise of His glory. Who first trusted in Christ? The mystery of His will is His
work in His people. Jew and Gentile, bond and free,
rich or poor, everyone who is saved is saved
the same way. according to the good pleasure
of His will. According to the purpose, His
purpose, which He purposed in Himself. Paul told the Ephesian elders
who came to see him before he went to Rome, he told them he
had not shunned and declared to them all the counsel of God.
He said he kept nothing back that was profitable. This first chapter of Ephesians
was written after that. Paul was in prison in Rome, I
believe. The doctrine of election, the
doctrine of predestination, the doctrine of redemption through
his blood, all of these words here Paul wrote to these Ephesians
Because it was profitable. It's profitable. There are people
who want to ignore this. Because Walter, they don't feel
that's part of the gospel. But it is. It all flows through
the gospel. Now, is it something you preach
every time? No. But Paul was writing this
to believers, and we are to preach this to believers. It's profitable for your soul
to know that God has chosen you before the foundation of the
world and that your rest, your life, your very soul rests in
His hands and not your own. That is a comfort given to the
people of God by His Son. Christ said we're in His hands.
We're in the Father's hands and nobody's going to pluck you out
of My Father's hands. You can't even pluck yourself
out. It's important to know who saved
you. It's part of the Gospel. The
mystery of His will is profitable for the saints at Ephesus, and
for those here in this room, the faithful in Christ Jesus. It's written in this book. It
says all scriptures are profitable for approval, instruction. Some people won't preach it.
Some people won't hear it. But here it is in black and white. And in my Bible, underlined in
red. He has given us His Word. And we are to read it? What did
He say? Whereby, this is Ephesians 3
and verse 4, whereby when ye read, ye may understand my knowledge
in the mystery of Christ. That's why we have this book. Paul wrote it down for believers
and for our comfort, for our exhortation, for our rebuke,
for our instruction. The mystery of His will is the
mystery of the gospel, which is the mystery of Christ. He hath saved His people from
their sins, and He is bringing them in. Jew, Gentile, bond-free, none
of that matters. and He's assembling them. And
we are part of an assembly on earth. His church, His body. His glory. To the praise and
the glory of His grace. Heavenly Father, we're thankful
again for this time. And we hope to give you some of the praise
that you are due. We know we can't do much, but
we want to do what we can. Lord, you are gracious, merciful, compassionate,
as well as holy, righteous, and just. You made the way to save your
people from their sins. And you are accomplishing that,
bringing them in. Thank you, Lord. In Christ's
name we pray. Amen.