He says, who has saved us and
called us, excuse me, 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, let me
just stop right there. Now, if you'll look at the structure
of this sentence and how it's laid out, it says, who have saved
us and called us with a holy calling. Now, if you look there
the way this is said, then there is a pause and he defines something, not according to our
works, but according to his own purpose and grace. okay he's
defining the saving and the calling as being not according to our
works but according to his own purpose and grace but then he
picks up the thought that he began who has saved us so so
let me and i'm not trying to take away from the word of god
but for the clarity of the understanding of his meaning here Not according
to our works, but according to His grace is modifying that first
phrase, okay? So if we lift that out, we'll
see what the sentence was actually saying before he used that as
a modifier of what was going on in the first phrase. So let
me read it this way. Who has saved us and called us
with a holy calling, which was given us in Christ Jesus before
the world began. Now someone will say, well, wait
a minute, you're changing the whole entire meaning whenever you do it that
way. It was the purpose and grace that was given to us before the
world began. Well, wait a minute, if I lift
that out and I say, who has saved us and called us with a holy
calling, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world
began, does that not have backing in Ephesians chapter one? Okay,
Ephesians chapter one colludes to the fact that that is the
meaning of this verse also. Okay, so he's saying that the
saving and calling is not according to works. That's the theme of
Paul in all of his writings. It's not according to works. It's always been according to
his purpose and grace. But it says here, he has saved
us, past tense, and called us, past tense, with a holy calling. Now this holy calling is different
than what we call calling when we talk about quickening. A lot
of times people say that quickening is that calling. He predestinated
those whom he foreknew, he predestinated those whom he predestinated,
he called. Okay, so here you see there is
foreknowledge, there's predestination, there's calling. That's in time,
calling is in time. Well, that was also past tense
too, so you're gonna have to figure out what he meant by that.
Who called us. Here it's past tense as well.
He saved us and called us with a holy calling, which was given
to us in Christ Jesus before the world began. But now, you
see that's why I think that what it says is what it says. It says,
then, before the foundation of the world, before the world began,
but now is made manifest. What's made manifest? His purpose
and grace or his saving and calling? See, that's what you gotta determine.
But now is made manifest by the appearing of our Lord and Savior,
Jesus Christ. Wait a minute, is the appearing
of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ showing His purpose and
grace? Well, yes, but what specifically was the appearing of our Lord
and Jesus Christ for? For the saving and the calling. He appeared
for the saving of His people and the calling His sheep to
Himself. That's what He was there for.
And so if we look at this and it says, but is now made, then
that means that the saving and the calling according to his
purpose and grace was before the foundation of the world.
And if it was, then we were saved and called before the foundation
of the world, but it's made manifest in time. So is God's decree,
Is God's election actually salvation? Well, the Protestant and the
Calvinist says no. How do I know they say no? Because
every time I bring up justification, they always tell me election
is not justification. Election is not salvation. We
were elected unto salvation, but election is not salvation.
That's what I hear all the time. Is there a difference in that?
Have you ever heard that brother? Is there a difference in that?
We were elected unto salvation. Well, yeah, if you put salvation
in time, we were elected, yep, to experience that salvation
somewhere in time. But there again, now you guys
are divided amongst yourselves because you say some of you are
saying that it was at the cross and some of you are saying it
was at your faith. So which one of you guys are right? Now, if
you look at us superlapsarians, we're consistent. We're saying
that it was all before the foundation of the world and that it just
becomes evident in experience and in knowledge and in view in time. The declaration of it and the
foundation of it was before the foundation of the world. but
yet it's manifested by Jesus coming and through the gospel. Now,
is that true? Well, let's read on. It says,
but is now made manifest by the appearing of our Savior, Jesus
Christ, who hath abolished death and hath brought life and immortality
to light through the gospel. Wait a minute, was there not
life and immortality before Christ's death? There was. There was life
and immortality before Christ's death. But He brought that to
light by being manifested to us in time. And what that manifesting
in time is showing is what he did in that heavenly tabernacle,
the tabernacle that this lower earthly tabernacle was fashioned
after, he did before God as the Lamb slain. In that everlasting
covenant, he stood as that lamb slain, as the surety, as the
substitute, as the propitiation, as our advocate, as our high
priest, as our sacrifice, as our redeemer. You lay all those
words down, that's who Christ was in the everlasting covenant.
And upon that, that's the basis, upon that, God deemed us, declared
us, looked on us as saved and called. We are the called, remember? Whenever we read in Romans 8,
there went from the phrase the called to the fact that those
who he foreknew, he predestinated those he prayed, he called, we
were the called. And because we were the called,
we were called, right? We were the call. Here we see
that He has saved us and called us with a holy calling. Not with a human calling. Okay? Not with a human calling, but
with a holy calling. If I stand up here and preach
to you, is that a holy calling? That's a human calling, but it's
not a holy calling. Is the message holy? As long
as it coincides with the truth of God's word, I would say yes. But is that what actually called
you? No, he's the one who called you.
Because doesn't the Bible say faithful is he who called you?
He who called you, he will also do it. It was Him who called. The calling is never from me
or from you. The calling is from Him. But when did He call? Well,
He called whenever He called me out of light into darkness.
When He called me from death to life. That's whenever He called. That is a calling. But this one
here says this calling was before the world began. There was a
calling of His people into Christ. There was a calling of His people
into Christ. And so Christ is our advocate. And so whenever Christ came and
manifested all the things that was before ordained, declared,
and laid out by God, He manifested that in time, and so He brought
life and immortality to light through the gospel. The gospel
doesn't bring life. reveals life, it brings life
and immortality to light. So election, and I would say
that this is what this is speaking of, election has nothing to do
with the gospel, election has nothing to do with a preacher,
election has nothing to do with having to wait in time, election
was before the foundation of the world. And that election
was our salvation. Now, I know when I say that,
people get wound up and say, then you're saying that the cross
and the blood is not necessary. Then why did Christ even have
to come if God did that? Because... It was the Christ
coming and doing what he did is the basis upon which God declared
all that stuff before the foundation of the world. That in the fullness
of time Christ would do that. Just like the illustration that
I gave you back whenever we talked about eternal justification.
The judge brings the gavel down and says because that sure he
says he's going to take his place and I deem that righteous. I
deem that justice. Justice is him. If he says he
will take that place, then that's good enough for the court of
law. then that man will not be guilty, this man will be done.
Bailiff, this man will be executed on such and such date and at
such and such time, go and let that guy go. Okay? Well, right
there in that courtroom, when that judge makes that declaration,
this man over here becomes the guilty man, that man over there
becomes the free man, even though this man has not yet been taken
to prison and executed, and this man has not been released from
his prison before his execution, this man is justified this man
is condemned both of them still in a state of where they originally
was not yet determined the time exactly well of course with God
he knew the time but this man had not been taken out to be
executed and this man had not been released from his cell yet
but whenever the gospel came the bailiff went down and opened
that jail and said you're free was he free then Or was he free however many days
later, whenever that guy was actually executed? No, he was
free. He was declared just on the basis
of this man at this time, not guilty. And then it was manifested
whenever the bailiff let him go. And it was also manifested
whenever this man died. That's whenever that justice
was displayed. That's whenever that justice
was declared. And that is the only scenario. That is the only interpretation
of Scripture. That is the only way that the
verses of Scripture that says, blessed is the man unto whom
the Lord imputeth not sin can even make sense. Because if,
we in time are imputed with sin, then there is no such a man as
in that verse, because someone has been imputed sin. If we have
been imputed sin and the only way that we can not be imputed
sin is for before there ever was sin for God to say these
people are going to be created and they're going to be made
out of the same lump of natural man who cannot please God and
our sinners. but yet unto them, I'm not gonna
impute sin because I'm going to send my son to be the propitiation,
to be the redeeming, to be the substitute, to be the... I'm
gonna send my son who is already promised in the everlasting covenant.
I want to send Him who is going to cover all of the transgressions
of all of these people, of all time, before the cross, after
the cross, that whole entire time. My Son is going to cover
that thing because I have imputed their sins to Him. and I've imputed
his righteousness to them. So although they are actually
sinners, and although they continue to sin, and although he has not
yet died and will die at a certain time, all these Old Testament
people, I'm not going to impute sin to them, and they're going
to be just before me, and they will receive quickening, they
will receive faith because of the faith of that one. and then
Christ comes and then from there on past that, these people, same
thing. Everything that Christ did here
manifested was declared to their account there. That's the only
way that the scriptures can ever be true to say, blessed is the
man. unto whom the Lord and puteth not sin. Or that says, he does
not behold iniquity in Jacob or perverseness in Israel. If
ever there is a time that he does, then those verses are thrown out.
Then tell me, who is it speaking of? What is it speaking of? I'm
open for correction. All right, brother. Anybody got
any thoughts on that? Or anything to add to it? 417. We'll have a We'll have one, probably one
more session on election, Lord willing, next week, and then
we'll move on to atonement. 417, did you say 417? Just with
an everlasting love?