Open your Bibles, if you would, to the book of Ephesians chapter 1. Ephesians chapter 1 will continue our study. We're going to be on verse 4 again. We were on verse 4 last week. And we're going to be on verse 4 again this week, looking at another part of this verse. And then, Lord willing, next week we'll be on verse 5, Lord willing. Look at this, in verses 3 to 6.

Let's read that first of all. And we're seeing here, brought forth, that God's people are chosen in Christ before the foundation of the world. And then we're going to find out why in verse four today. Why? Oh, this is going to be wonderful. Let's read verses three to six. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ who had blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ. Notice that's a fact, right? It's already been done. It's already been done. Now look at this.

According as he has chosen us in him before the foundation of the world. So the reason we have all these spiritual blessings in Christ is because God the Father chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world. That's why that word there, according in verse four, ties it right back into verse three. So it's just giving us a broader perspective of why we have all spiritual blessings in Christ. Because it's because God chose us in Christ.

Now here, look at this. Here's the reason why. Look at this. Now we know we're sinners, right? We're born into this world dead in trespasses and sins. Ephesians 2 is going to tell us that when we get there, verses 1 and 2. And that dead there is graveyard dead. There's no life. There's no life. So that's our natural state, right? But look at this.

So we're born into this world. We come into this world. We're sinners from the top of our head to the bottom of our feet, right? Job says. And we know by nature we're sinners, by choice we're sinners, right? Because that's how we are. And by deed we're sinners. So basically, everything we do is tainted with sin. And even after we're saved, everything we do is still tainted with sin, but, but our position with God has changed. Now we've always been sons.

We looked at that last week, right? Believing on Christ doesn't make us sons of God. We believe because we're sons of God. Right? Religion's got it wrong. When they have you pray the prayer, they say, well, now you're part of the family of God. No, we've always been part of the family of God. We just didn't know it. We just had no idea. Oh, it's beautiful. It's absolutely beautiful.

But here's the reason. why the Lord chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world that we might be, look at this, that we should be, and that should there doesn't bring forth a might or anything like that, it's an emphasizing that this is what we are, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love. Brian, we're born sinners, man. We're still sinners, but now we're in Christ and his righteousness, we're holy and without blame before God in love. This is a fact. And that love there is the everlasting love of God. That's the love that doesn't change, right? That's the love that has been set upon us from eternity. The love we can't really fathom, right? We can't really fathom this marvelous love.

But it's true. See, we're not ordained to wrath because God and Christ has loved us from before the foundation of the world. We're what's called vessels of honor. We don't feel that way, do we? We don't do, we sister. We don't feel like vessels of honor, but that's what we're called in the scriptures. And how long have we been vessels of honor?

Amen, brother Charlie. For maternity. For maternity. This verse brings that forth. Now that's hard for us to fathom, isn't it? Because again, we're sinners by birth, nature, and choice. And now, now we actually struggle against sin now, that we're born again. Now look, it gets even more wonderful, too, if it can.

Look at this. Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to what? Somebody read that for me. Good pleasure of his will. Look at that. Now this is talking about us. This is talking about why we were chosen in Christ, That we're now holy and blameless in Christ. That we have all spiritual blessings in Christ. That we're predestined to the adoption of children in Christ. Why? According to the good pleasure of God's will. There's our answer when we say, why me? Why me? There's our answer right there. Right there. Isn't that beautiful? Because we do that, don't we?

We look at ourselves and go, I wouldn't have chosen myself. But God chose us in love. And he can't wink at our sin, can he? He can't wink at our sin, so he chooses us in Christ, and Christ comes down to this world as our substitute, and bleeds and dies in our room and place, lives a perfect life, and that perfect life is counted towards us. That's his righteousness. He says, does it get any better? Uh-huh. And then when we die, he takes us home and we're holy and without blame before God and love for eternity. We're going to look at what those two words mean.

Ephesians 1.4 is just an absolutely incredible verse. It's absolutely, the whole first chapter, actually the whole, I was listening with Vicki this morning to Ephesians, and we listened to chapters one, two, and three, and my dear bride's like, preach it, Paul!

You just keep going! It was wonderful to hear. First chapter, he's just going and just, he's just a continuous doxology of praise to the Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit. It's wonderful. It's wonderful. And she says, he done some good preaching there, didn't he? I said, oh yeah, he sure did. And we're just listening to somebody read the Bible, eh? Oh, it was wonderful. Oh my. But it brings us such joy, doesn't it? Such joy in our hearts. These are true facts.

And these, Paul's writing to people who are in Ephesus who have been born again by the Holy Spirit of God, okay, who were full on pagan idol worshipers. And God has done for them what he did for the Thessalonians. And Paul wrote to the Thessalonians, he says, if you turn from idols to serve the living and true God. God has turned them.

And we're going to look at a verse in Song of Solomon. You know what? When God starts to draw us, we run to him. You've heard me say that many times, right? We're going to see a verse where that is bought out. We know how we're made willing, right, by God. But when we're made willing, we run to the bridegroom. We go, we love him. We love him. So we're not robots, beloved. No, we're born again, given faith to believe on Christ, and we are gone.

There's my Savior. There's my Lord. Oh, it's wonderful, beloved. Then look at this. Look at Paul who just breaks out in verse 6. He just breaks out and prays. To the praise of the glory of his grace. Oh, to the praise of God's grace he's saying. All these things and praise God for his grace. Wherein he hath made us accepted in who?

Singular. Who is the beloved? Amen. Christ is the beloved. Isn't that wonderful? And look at those words. Where and he hath made us accepted. Holy and without blame before him in love. Because of the righteousness of Christ. If we sit there and meditate upon that, I'll tell you, it'll bless us so much. holy and without blame, before God, before a holy and righteous God in love.

Now last week we looked at the fact, the first part of verse four, where we looked at the profound truth that God chose a people in Christ. That's so clearly set before us, isn't it? When people say, well, I don't believe that, it's so clear. You can't interpret those words any other way. And the Greek word means to choose for oneself, remember? We saw that last week, to choose for oneself. Every believer is chosen by God for himself. Now that just blows our mind away, doesn't it? You remember when there was, you remember when we were little ones and there'd be a baseball game and everybody started choosing people? Right? Now, you guys know I was disabled, born disabled. And so, now I knew I was always gonna get chosen, because I could catch. See, he's smiling.

Because I could catch the ball. Somebody hit it out there, I'd catch, I'd track that ball down and catch it. But I couldn't hit, I couldn't hardly hit, and I couldn't run. Except when I would, I love chasing, I love chasing pop flies for some reason, I don't know why. But as far as running the bases, I wasn't as fast as everybody else. But I always knew I was gonna get picked, but sometimes it was near the end and I still got picked though, didn't I? Didn't matter what position it was.

Do you know that, now here's something to blow your mind. Do you know that you and I were chosen the same time as God chose Paul? Same time God chose Peter. The same time God chose John. There wasn't any pecking order. We were chosen in Christ. We were chosen by God for himself.

Now, no one ever told me that. When the Lord saved me, I knew nothing about that stuff. I just knew I needed a savior. Why did I run to him? Well, now I know it's because he made me willing. And I know he gave me faith to believe. But now I find out, as I'm an older believer, that he chose me for himself.

That is so humbling. because we're the last people we would have chosen, right? And we know that the scripture says, there's none that seeketh God. What does that mean? There's none that chooses God. That's what that means. So natural man, there's not one man on this earth or woman or child who will seek God. There's not one who understands in the natural state So marvel, if you're a believer, and you're running to Christ still.

Because that's the grace of God. And there's a reason why you're doing that. Because God chose you before the foundation of the world in Christ. Exus, you and I have talked about that with Chris and Jane, and you'll be like, man, he chose me. He chose me before the foundation of the world. It leaves us in awe, doesn't it, brother? My, and he's changed us, hasn't he?

Well, that's to do with the word holy, means to be set apart from the world. We're chosen by God for himself, set apart for himself, that we should be without blemish before God. without spot. Sin is from the top of our head to the bottom of our feet, yeah? Even after we're saved, yeah? But as far as our position before God, holy and without blame.

Before Him in love. Not just because He likes us, because He loves us. I'll tell you, I am never going to get over this. I was putting this message together. I was ready to shout. Vicki says, the message is flowing good. I said, it just keeps coming. More upon more. It's beautiful.

Again, we looked at the fact last week too that that we don't believe and then become sons of God, we believe because we are sons of God. And that was clearly brought forth in Galatians chapter four, where it says, because you are sons, God has sent forth the spirit of his Son into your hearts, whereby you cry, Abba, Father. Right? So we wouldn't cry, Abba, Father, If God hadn't sent the spirit of his son into our heart, that means we're born again, right?

And so now we do cry that. Now we cry, I have a father. That's absolutely incredible. My oh my. If you want to write that down for reference, that's Galatians four, verses four to seven. And because we're heirs, because we're heirs of God, God sends forth his spirit into our hearts because we're sons and gives us faith to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ.

And that faith has one hub, right? One center, doesn't it? It's not the church. It's not the ordinances. It's not the confessions, although they're good tools. It's not all these other things. It's Christ and Christ alone. And that is who the preacher is supposed to preach. If I tell you what you have to do and I can't even do it myself, it's not profitable for you or me, is it?

But if I say, let us look to the one who done it all for us, that'll give us hope, won't it? Remember the hope that's set before us, that lies, that's before us. And we're always be ready to give an answer for the hope that is within us. What's that hope? Christ. Tell me, right Brian? Tell me about Christ, man. Tell me more. And just keep telling me more. Oh, I can never hear enough. I can never hear enough about my Savior. Oh.

Now this truth is very humbling. This truth is very humbling for us. That, that before we believe we're still sons of God. It's so humbling for us. And it's actually counterintuitive to human pride, right? Because human pride is like, look what I've done. True, true Christianity is, look what Christ has done. Look what he done for me. Remember that gathering demoniac? I love that picture.

And the Lord says that he wants to go with the Lord. He wants to stay on with the Lord. He says, go and you go and tell the great things the Lord has done for you. And I can guarantee you that man never shut up about Christ until his breath was silenced. But then now he's praising God in glory.

Eh? man And one day we'll be with him we're gonna meet him So it's counterintuitive to human pride but for the holy for the born-again blood-washed saint this this truth brings deep comfort and assurance that we're in Christ That he has us That he redeemed us Because We were chosen in Christ before the foundation of the world. We are now in Christ, holy and without blame, before God in love. And that will become even more manifest when we get to glory, won't it? When we have no sin. But this is our state now. My. My.

Marvel at what the Holy Spirit has Paul penned here before us. Let's read verse four again. According as he has chosen us, that means to select for oneself, so that's God choosing us for himself, in him, that's in Christ, before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love. Now marvel at what the Holy Spirit has Paul penned here.

And here we are, he's penning these words to a bunch of former idol worshipers. Oh yeah. pagan heathens like we were, Charlie. Oh my! Man, there's hope here for us, isn't there? Oh yeah, this is wonderful. Oh, God's people were chosen by the Father in Christ to be, look at this, now let this sink in.

Because this is the opposite of what we feel we are. To be holy. That means to be a saint. You know, there's a church out there in the world that they make people saints after they're dead. Those folks ain't saints. God's people are saints. It just means the set-apart ones, holy ones.

And the amazing thing is we don't feel holy. And the minute we do, pride is just creeping right in. Pride is just creeping right in. Look at this. Now, we've been redeemed of the Lord. We've been born again. We're blood-washed sinners. We're dead in trespasses and sins. And before the Lord saves us, we're without hope in this world. Remember how we were before the Lord saved us?

Remember before you were even religious how you were? Or some of you, you were in religion from when you were little. Remember how it was? Remember how much you had to do to satisfy the preacher and to satisfy the people around you and satisfy your own self-righteousness? Remember? That's gone. That's all gone now, isn't it? Is it not the hardest thing to do is just rest in Christ? I'm speaking honestly, it is for me. Just to rest, just to say, okay, Lord, I'm not gonna get worked up about this.

Enemy comes in and says, oh, you're a fraud. Oh, you're this. Oh, you're that. You ever had that happen? Yeah, we have, haven't we? Oh, you're just such a sinner. Yeah, I am. But praise God, I'm washed in the blood. Right? Praise God! There's power in that blood to cleanse us from all our sins, and it has.

We're redeemed. We are the redeemed of the Lord. But we were born, just like everybody else, in our natural state when we came into this world, dead in trespasses and sins, without hope. So marvel at this wonderful, amazing text that we have before us, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love. It refers to the purpose for which God has chosen us in Christ and redeemed us by Christ's perfect sin-atoning death. Why? That we might be holy and without blame before God and love. Because we're not holy by nature, are we? That's why Christ said you must be born again. You must be. And you know, chosen, redeemed sinners will be forever holy and without blame before God and love, forever.

And Brother Chris, it ain't based upon nothing we do. Now, that's counterintuitive to religion, isn't it? Because they say, you've got to do all this. And then they say, well, if I believe like you guys believe, I could do whatever I wanted to. No, no, no, you're revealing yourself there.

Because the true believer is not an antinomian, even though we're free from the law. We will not go out that door and do whatever we want. Now, we may slip and we may sin in our lives. We may speak stuff and go, oh, why did I say that? We'll get upset like everybody else. But what's the difference? The difference is, now, tell me if this is true. Later on, we'll go, why did I say that? Why did I do that?

Forgive me, Lord. Even though we know we're already forgiven, right? Let's just come into the Lord with a repentant spirit. Right? And how many times do we sin and we don't even come to Him because we don't think we did anything wrong? Isn't God's grace amazing?

Isn't it incredible that we are now holy and without blame before God the Father in love because of the blood and righteousness of the Lord Jesus Christ? So people find fault with me all the time. People find fault with you all the time, right? You ever have people throw your Christianity in your face? Right? Say, yeah, you're right.

Praise God for the blood of Christ. Praise God for my Savior. Forgive me for what I said there, or if I may have offended you, if I may act like a hypocrite. Thank you for pointing that out. I'm going to go talk to my king. And I know, I know this. I'm a lot worse than you think I am. Praise God for the blood.

And we should be holy and without blame before him in love. Oh, it's beautiful. Beautiful. So let we who are the redeemed of the Lord be in awe and wonder of this wonderful doctrine set before us. Number one, we're chosen by God. Number two, to be holy and blameless before him. And number three, in love. And that's an unchanging love. That's an everlasting love. It's a love that's been forever set upon us and we didn't even know it. It's just incredible.

And think of this, Martin Lloyd-Jones said this, I thought this was really good. He said this, he said, believers are chosen by God to be holy. It brings forth the purpose of God in Christ for his people to undo, remove, and rectify completely the effects of the sin and the fall by making his people holy and without blame before him. In doing so, Christ destroys the works of the devil.

It's a fact we are now holy. It's a fact we are now, isn't that wonderful, Travis? Without blame. Even if our own heart condemns us, we can say, oh, praise God for the blood. Praise God for the blood and righteousness of Christ, by whom I'm holy. And we don't say that in a, I'm holy. We don't say it like that, do we? I'm holy and I'm just amazed that I am in Christ. Because I know that in me is nothing good. Paul wrote about that, didn't he? Romans 7. Just read Romans 7. There's a struggle with Paul.

Some people say, well that was before he was born again. No it wasn't. It was after he was born again. You know how I know? Because he cries, oh wretched man that I am who can deliver me from this body of sin. Is that not what we cry too? Oh my. I'll tell you what. So marvel at the perfect, sin-atoning work of the Lord Jesus Christ when he died in our room and place. And as a result of that perfect work, now again, this is a result of that perfect work of Christ in redeeming us, right, through his shed blood and through his perfect righteousness, that we should be holy and without blame before God and love. that we would be holy in.

Right? I was reading about that word, should, and several commentators said, this is not that, oh, you should be that way if you do this. No, you're going to be that way. Words had different meanings back in the 1600s. My. In Christ, the believer has new love. You ever think of that? A love for God that we never had before. A love for his gospel, love for Christ, love for his people, love for his word that we never had before. We have new relationships now, don't we?

Brothers and sisters in Christ now. My, and we stand in Christ, don't we? We stand in his righteousness. The reason we're accepted in the beloved, which we're gonna see next week, is because of the righteousness of Christ. That's all. No other reason. Except the blood and righteousness of the Lord Jesus Christ. Nothing in us. There's nothing in us that made God choose us. We're all just a bunch of dead dog sinners.

He says, he said this. He said, Travis, You're mine. I'm going to set you apart from myself. Marsha, you're mine. I'm going to set you apart from myself. And he looked down through the generations. He said, Chris and Julia, you're mine. I'm going to set you apart from myself. Look down through the generations, right? Exodus, you're mine. I'm gonna set you apart from myself. Charlie and I are almost the same age, so our generation, Wayne, Charlie, I set you apart. Doesn't that blow your mind away? Brian, Sister Barb, Steve, Vicky, Karen, isn't it amazing?

Look what God hath wrought. And all because it pleased Him to do so, right? Oh my! And we've been chosen in Christ before the foundation of the world. to be holy and without blame before God and love. Let's read verse four again. According as he has chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love. See the word holy in verse four?

In the Greek it means this, holy and set apart, sanctified, consecrated, a saint. means all those things in the Greek word. I'm gonna read it again. Holy, we sure don't feel holy, but God declares us holy in Christ, even though we're still sinners. Holy, set apart, chose us for himself, set apart from the world, sanctified, means to be made holy, consecrated, oh my, a saint.

Those are facts from that word. See the word without blame? The two words without blame is actually one word in the Greek. And this word means this. Okay, now let this sink in. Without spot. Without blemish. Spotless. That's what that verse says. That's what that one word means. Okay, how can sinners be without spot? By the blood of Christ. How can sinners be spotless from sin? By the blood of Christ. How can we be without blemish? Because the blood of Christ. Turn, if you would, to Song of Solomon. We did this study in Song of Solomon years ago. And this verse, when I was putting this together, this verse just popped right before me. Oh my, Song of Solomon.

And we'll see where the bride tells the daughters of Jerusalem that she's black and calmly. She's black and calmly. And there's so much ties into this verse because we are still sinners even after we're saved, right? We're still sinners. But God doesn't, God looks at us and sees us holy and without blame before him in love.

Look at this. Song of Solomon, chapter one. Song of Solomon, chapter 1, verses 4 and 5. Now, remember how I said we were run to Christ? Psalm 103 says we're made willing in the day of God's power. That means to be drawn, right? Look what the bride says here. This is beautiful. Draw me in what? We'll run after you. What happens when God's drawn a sinner to Christ? He runs, amen, brother. And this is the bride saying, we'll run after you, Lord. If you draw us, we'll run after you. But otherwise, we'll never run, right?

Isn't that beautiful? Look at the truth that's just set right there. The king hath brought me into his chamber. We will be glad and rejoice in thee. We will remember thy love more than wine, the upright love. Love thee. Look at this. Now look at the state. Now this is the bride again. I am black. That means in the Hebrew just pitch black. Like black. But calmly. O ye daughters of Jerusalem, as the tents of Kedar, as the curtains of Solomon.

So in verse four, we see that she desired the Lord to draw her, that she might run after him. And again, that's just a picture of us being drawn to Christ, we run to him by the Holy Spirit of God. How? Through the preaching of the gospel. And then look, the king's brought her into his very chamber, and the bride, she's just overwhelmed with love. She's just overwhelmed with the grace that he shows, the compassion that he shows, the condescending grace of the groom.

And the church looks into herself and says what she says here, I am black. You know what that's a picture of? Our sin. That's a picture of us looking at ourselves and going, I'm a leprous sinner. Like leprosy represents sin, I'm full of leprosy. I'm black. I'm absolutely black. From the top of my head to the bottom. Now, don't we confess that? But look at, see the next word though? Oh my, this ties right into our verse today. She says, I'm black, O ye daughters of Jerusalem, which means full of spots and sin, and myself is covered over with the leprosy of sin. But behold, the clothing of Christ's righteousness and the washing in his blood. She says, I'm calmly. You know what that word calmly means in the Hebrew? Beautiful. How can we be black and calmly? How?

Because we're still sinners. But God sees us, Brother Chris, holy and without blame in Christ and His righteousness. I'm beautiful in God's sight. Oh my, does that not warm your heart? And it's only because of Christ's righteousness, and it's only because of Christ's blood. That's the only reason. So she says, she says, I'm full of sin, but yet I'm beautiful.

And she's testifying to the daughters of Jerusalem, like we testify to the world. Oh, you daughters of Jerusalem, as the tents of Kedar, as the curtains of Solomon. Oh, my, it's beautiful. Behold, by the clothing of the righteousness of the Lord Jesus Christ and the washing of his blood, we are beautiful in God's sight, calmly, beautiful in God's sight. My and that's again.

That's beautiful in the Hebrew Now we don't feel that way do we but it's true It's true and we saw do you see how this these verses tie in with with Ephesians 1 4 Holy and without blame we're beautiful in God's sight clothed in the righteousness of Christ and only because of Christ and and only because of Christ alone. By the blood and rites of Christ, which God has put upon us, upon me, which is what we see in our text, we are now holy. We who are born again blood-washed saints are now holy and without blame before God in love. Now, he's always loved us, but we were born dead in trespasses and sins, weren't we? Yeah? And we've been redeemed by the blood of the Lamb because we were chosen in Christ to be holy and without blemish before God in love for eternity. Praise His mighty name. Praise His mighty name. Brother Exodus, do you want to close us in prayer? or bring in volunteers, very, very much.