Yes, I, to the end, shall endure. His promise is yea and amen. More happy, but not more secure,
the glorified spirits in heaven. Let's read together Ephesians
chapter 3, verses 13 through 19. Ephesians chapter 3, verses
13 through 19. Wherefore, I desire that you
faint not at my tribulations for you, which is your glory,
which is for your benefit. Don't allow my troubles to distress
you. Some of you often express concern
for my health and well-being. Just as it seems the Ephesian
saints must have expressed their concern for the Apostle Paul,
his health and well-being as he endured physical and spiritual
hardships. imprisonments, opposition, misrepresentation,
and slander from his foes, foes who should have been his friends,
foes who pretended to be his friends often. With Paul, I say
to you, don't let my troubles distress you. They don't distress
me. Physical infirmities are just
part of the process of leaving this world, and they are ordered
of God. He will sustain me as he does
you until we have finished our work on this earth appointed
to us for his glory. Opposition from those who oppose
the gospel, I'm trying to learn to just ignore. Just ignore it. I don't fuss with them, fight
with them, let them scratch and fight by themselves. I'm just
not interested anymore. Slanderous men and their misrepresentations,
I never try to answer. I suggest that you do the same.
This is your glory, Paul says. That is to say, all these things
are for your benefit. Understand this. God's servants
are made better pastors, better preachers, better friends, and
made more beneficial to your soul by the things that they
have to face with adversity, trial, heartache, and trouble. This is your glory, verse 14,
for this cause, that is for your glory, for your benefit, I bow
my knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, of whom the
whole family in heaven and earth is named, that he would grant
you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened
with might by his Spirit in the inner man, that Christ may dwell
in your hearts by faith, that ye being rooted and grounded
in love may be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth
and length and depth and height, and to know the love of Christ,
which passeth knowledge, that ye may be filled with all the
fullness of God. And my text is verse 15. And I'm confident God's given
me a message for you. Ephesians 3 verse 15, of whom
the whole family in heaven and earth is named. This whole third
chapter of Ephesians is really built upon one word. If we understand
Paul's use of this one word, we'll have the key that unlocks
this epistle to us. The key word is family. Paul's
doctrine in our text is the family of God. His doctrine throughout
the book is the family of God. And that's my subject tonight,
the family of God. What is more precious to a man
than his family? There's not a man or a woman
upon the earth who's not a member of some family. The poorest as
well as the richest has his birth and his kin and can tell you
something about his family. We understand the meaning of
the word family. A family is a group of people
living in one house under the rule and government of a single
head, the father, the father. That's what a family is. There
are not many such things in our day, but that's what a family
is. A family is a group of people living together in one house
with one head that governs the family, the father. Family consists
of men and women and their children, boys and girls who are descendants
of common parents. And we love our families. Our
families gather together for special occasions, particularly
Thanksgiving and Christmas, sometimes Easter. They gather together,
and the family hearth is all crowded with the children and
grandchildren for just a few hours and brings delight to each
member of the family. brothers and sisters for a few
hours, and parents and children sit down together. There's so
much to talk about, so much to see, so many questions to ask,
so many interesting things to be told. Happy is the house when
the whole family is gathered together, when the whole family
gets together. Family gatherings are natural,
right, and good. It does me good to see them kept
up. They're one of the few very truly pleasant things that remain
surviving the fall of our race. Next to the grace of God, I know
of no principle that unites people so much in this sinful world
as family. Family. Blood is a powerful bond. How often have you seen men and
women stand up for family members, defend them, protect them, so
that you are cautious to say a word concerning the family,
even when the family members have different tastes, tastes
that are just the opposite of theirs. Even when family members
behave in a way that you wish they didn't, family stands up
for family, defends family, protects family. And that's right. Anything
which helps to keep up family feeling ought to be commended. It is a wise thing when it can
be done for the whole family. But I'm not here to talk to you
about our earthly families. Family gatherings are sometimes
sorrowful things. It would be strange indeed in
such a world as this if they weren't. There are few family
circles. that don't show gaps in vacant
places over the years. Changes and death make havoc
of our families in just a little while. All other delights can't
entirely suppress the feelings of sadness and sorrow when we
gather with family and there's a face that's not there, a voice
that's not heard. When our children grow up and
begin to leave home, go off to college or pursue their careers
or get married, we raise them for that purpose. That's what
we want for them. But when it happens, there's
a sadness that mom and dad feel that they really never expected
to feel. A sadness they just can't avoid. weeks ago when Audra Grace had
just come over here 35 miles away, and the first weekend she
was gone. Shelby got a call from Faith. She and Doug were out driving
around. Kind of an unusual Saturday for them. They have for most
of their married life, ever since Audra Grace was three years old,
every Saturday been involved in some kind of sporting event
with them. Some kind of sporting thing.
The whole Saturday is filled up with those things. And a lot
of times through the week. And Will was off playing in a golf
tournament, and Audrey Grace was gone, and Faith kind of hemmed
and hawed. Shelby said, you feeling a little
empty nest syndrome, are you? And she admitted it so. That's
just to be expected. That happens. That's what you
raise them to do. You want them to grow up and
get married and stand on their own two feet and become productive,
good citizens and have a family of their own. But when they start
to leave, there's just an emptiness that you feel. Most of you are
at the age you know what I'm talking about. You've enjoyed
the privilege of, you who have enjoyed the privilege of being
raised in loving, happy, godly families. Oh, how you ought to
cherish that. how you ought to cherish that.
Cherish every fond memory. Lots of folks in this world know
nothing about it. Cultivate strong family ties
of love and joy. But at their very best, all earthly
families must soon be broken, all of them. But bless God, there
is a family of which I hope we are all members at last. It is a family despised by many
and not known by many. But this is a family of more
importance than any family on the earth. It's the family of
which our text speaks, the family of God. Here is a family that's
everlasting. Not one member of this family
shall ever perish. Oh, what privileges belong to
this family. All the family of God are people
loved and chosen of God, adopted into His family by free grace,
predestined to everlasting life by Him, redeemed by the precious
blood of His Son, accepted in His Son, justified, sanctified,
made holy, and accepted with God. Oh, what riches belong to
this family. All the riches of God's covenant.
All the riches of God's everlasting love. All the riches of his grace. All the riches of his goodness.
Here in Ephesians 3, Paul speaks about the riches of his glory. All the riches of God belong
to all the family of God. All God's elect in heaven and
in earth. make up one holy, blessed family. I ask your attention while I
try to show you something of the unity and blessedness of
the whole family in heaven and earth. I want you to see some
of the amazing benefits of being a member of this family. And
I pray that God will make you a member of the family. when
at last the family has been gathered together by Christ Jesus. Our
family gatherings on earth must have an end someday. Now hear
me as the servant of Christ and the friend of your soul. As I
try to tell you something about a family that will never have
an end, A family in which there is no death ever. The family of God. I'll give
you my message in three short statements. First, the family
of God is one. Second, the family of God is
inseparable. And third, as the children of
God, we are anticipating a great family gathering. First, understand
this. The family of God is one. One. One. What is this family that the
Bible describes as the whole family in heaven and earth? Of whom does it consist? In what
respects are the people of God in heaven and earth one family? How can it be said that everyone
in this family own the earth? Every one of them are one. As
well as all those in heaven above, one family. How can this be?
Let's answer the questions from the scriptures. The family of
God consists of all true believers. God doesn't have one family of
Old Testament saints and another family of New Testament saints.
He doesn't have one family in heaven and another family on
earth. All true believers are the family of God. All who have
the spirit, all who trust Christ, all the saints of God in every
age, people, nation, and tongue make up the whole family of God
in heaven and earth. The family of God includes all
the household of faith. It is the same as the whole election
of grace. It is the mystical body of Christ,
the bride of Christ. Metaphor after metaphor is used
in scripture to show us the oneness, the unity, and the union of this
family, every member with the other. It's called the living
temple of God. It is a flock of sheep with one
shepherd, and the sheep shall never perish. It is the church
of the firstborn, the church universal. In a word, every man
and woman in this world, every child in this world who has been
born again, everyone who trusts the Lord Jesus Christ and truly
trusts Him, everyone who is redeemed by His blood and called by His
Spirit since the beginning of time is a member of this family. Now turn to John chapter 1, and
I want you to see this and see it clearly. Membership in this
family doesn't depend upon any earthly privilege. Membership
in this family doesn't depend upon any earthly privilege. I
find it very difficult, and always have since the day God saved
me, to find people who profess to believe the salvation by God's
grace and then turn around and have the notion in their head
that somehow that earthly relationships have something to do with God's
grace. friend I went to school with, worked with, worked with
him every day selling shoes. He's been a Reformed Baptist
preacher since he got out of college. We were working together
one day and we had a little time to chat while waiting on customers
to come in. And we were talking about this very thing. He said,
they had two boys, he and his wife, and he said, he said, I
can't help but to believe that since my wife and I are believers,
That gives our sons a better hope of themselves being believers.
Oh no, oh no. My daughter doesn't deserve grace
any more than Saddam Hussein's daughter deserves grace, nor
does yours. Bloodlines don't carry grace. The grace of God, membership
in this family, does not come by any earthly privilege. Look
here, John 1, verse 11. The Lord Jesus came unto his
own, and his own received him not. Now that could be read this
way. He came to his own things, and
his own people received him not. Or it might better be read, he
came unto his own people, and his own people received him not."
Christ was a man among the Jews of the seed of Abraham. He's
the lion of the tribe of Judah, and he came to the Jews. His people, the people who had
all their generations, throughout their history, spoken of the
time when He would come and spoke about believing in Him, hoping
in Him, trusting Him. He's our rock, and there's no
rock like Him. You just read about it. All their
ages, they talked about Him. And when He came, they received
Him not. Being kin to the son of God gave
them no advantage, none whatsoever. And being kin to Lindsay Campbell
won't give you any advantage. Being kin to Don Fortner won't
give you any advantage. Verse 12, but as many as received
him. The word is not a word speaking
of a passive reception, but of an active reception. As many
as reached out and took him. As many as believed Him, as many
as came to Him, as many as trusted Him, to them gave He power, the
right, the authority to become the sons of God. God sends forth
the Spirit of His Son into our hearts, causing us to lift our
hearts to heaven and call God our Father, even to them that
believe on His name. which were born not of blood,
nor of the will of man, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of
the will of man, but of God." To be a member of this family,
you must be born again. Born again. Given life by Christ. You can't see the kingdom of
God and you can't enter into the kingdom of God except you
be born again. You can sit here and listen to
me preach or have these other preachers in, have preachers
or the best preachers in the world come in. You can have the
best preachers who've ever been in the world come in. You can
have the son of God himself come here and preach to you and explain
to you the things of God and you'd still be as blind as a
bat unless God gives you life. You can't see the kingdom of
God. You can't enter the kingdom of God. You can't make a decision
to come into the kingdom of God except to be born again. Christ
alone can make you a living member of this family by the gift of
his spirit. This family, the whole family
is his new creation, the creation of grace. And the Lord Jesus
still brings into his church, his family, daily, such as should
be saved. How many folks do you reckon
will be born of God while we're gone preaching these next couple
of weeks? Just exactly such as should be saved, that's how many.
Each day, he brings into his church, all over the world, such
as should be saved. The oneness of this family is
set before us in the book of God in a number of ways. Those
the Lord loves in heaven and in earth are one. For their names
are all written in one family register, written by the hand
of God before the world began, called the Book of Life of the
Lamb, slain from the foundation of the world. That mystical role
no human eye has ever seen contains the names of all the family of
God. The people of God are born by
degrees, but they were all chosen at once from eternity. Look by
faith upon that book and know that those names are inscribed
there permanently. Permanently. Celestia sang before
the message, more happy but not more secure, the glorified spirits
in heaven. What is their security? What
is my security? What is your security? Not what
we do, not what we experience, not what we perform in this world. Our security is the purpose of
God, the purchase of Christ's blood, the power of God's Spirit,
nothing else. The saints of God are one. because
we're all partakers of one family covenant, a covenant ordered
in all things ensured, a covenant made with us in Christ our head
and representative before the world began. Sadly, we are one
with all the human race in our father Adam. None of us have any difficulty
when we think honestly of identifying ourselves with all Adam's family. There is a family likeness to
us all, and it's a terribly ugly likeness. We realize that we
are one in Adam. One family, by the common sweat
of the brow, the common tendency, the common propensity, the common
practice of sin, by the common sorrows and troubles of Adam's
fallen family, the whole family gets sick. The whole family ages
and rarely gracefully. The whole family, the body begins
to crumble and wear down. We have a common certainty. The
whole family will soon die. But blessed be God, there is
another Adam. The last Adam, our Lord Jesus
Christ, in whom all God's elect are one family. It is with him
that the family covenant stands as an everlasting covenant, a
sure covenant, a covenant ordered in all things and sure. He has
from eternity secured to all the chosen family, all the blessings
of the covenant. Read this book and see what Christ
achieved for his family. His death accomplished our redemption. His obedience accomplished our
righteousness. His resurrection secured our
resurrection. His eternal life is the guarantee
of our eternal life. Because I live, he said, you
shall live also. His holiness is our holiness. His sanctification is our sanctification. His acceptance is our acceptance. His glory is our glory. He said, Father. Give me the
glory I had with you before the world was. Give me now publicly
the glory you gave to me as the covenant surety before the world
was. And then he says, the glory that
you gave me, I've given to Mark and Donna Dana. His glory is our glory. Let us never lose sight of this
fact. Christ is our covenant surety.
In him, we have a nearer, surer, and truer oneness with God's
saints in heaven than we do with any family in this world that
doesn't know God. We're one in covenant headship
with the spirits of just men made perfect. but not with the
ungodly brother in the flesh, or the ungodly sister in the
flesh, or the ungodly mother in the flesh, or the ungodly
father in the flesh, or the ungodly son in the flesh, or the ungodly
daughter in the flesh. With them, there is not this
same nearness. It's a different kind of nearness,
a different kind of unity, a different kind of family. We are fellow
citizens with the glorified spirits above. But upon Earth, and even
walking with family on Earth, we are strangers and foreigners. So that the unbelieving husband
will never be able to understand. his unbelieving wife. And the
unbelieving wife will never be able to understand the unbelieving
husband. Won't happen. The unbelieving mother and father
will never understand the believing child. Never happen. Never happen. I have friends right now who've
been for some time dating and planning to marry a man or woman,
two different situations. And the bride's family. just doesn't understand. They
just don't understand. And they're causing a lot of
trouble, trying their best to prevent the marriages. Our Lord
Jesus, on one occasion, and it's recorded for us both by Matthew
and Mark, came and said to him, said, your mother wants to talk
to you. And the Lord was meeting with his disciples, just like
I'm here talking to you. And as they came in, they said,
your mother wants to see you. She's waiting right outside there.
And the Lord said, behold, my mother and my brethren. Behold, my mother and my brethren. Mary had no precedence whatever
over all the other disciples. She was just one of the disciples,
one of the family. I say again, let us never lose
sight of Christ as our covenant surety. Spurgeon made this observation. Christ Jesus represented us even
as he represented the glorified ones in old eternity when the
covenant was signed and in that hour when the covenant stipulations
were fulfilled upon the bloody tree. And he represents us with
the glorified one still as it takes possession of the inheritance
in the names of all his elect and dwells in glory, which he
is preparing for his one church and family. How blessed it is
to remember that the saints in heaven and the saints on earth
have the covenant promises secured to us by the same seal. The sacrifice
of the bleeding lamb is the grant of our acceptance for all God's
saints above and all God's saints below. And God, the Holy Ghost,
is the seal of the family. The seal of the family, by that
circumcision not made with hands, called the new birth, the gift
of life and faith by the Spirit of God, by which all the blessings
of the family are sealed to us as we are identified as members
of the family. We are all one with the saints
in heaven because we are all born of the same father. God
is father to his whole family in heaven and earth. He loves us all. He forgives us all. He protects
us all. He provides for us all. He hears
us all, all as his one family. All who are members of this family,
whether in heaven or earth, have been born again by the same spirit
that causes us to lift our hearts to God in faith with joy and
cry, Abba Father, God is my Father. The nature of the regenerate
people, all God's family is the same, whether in heaven or on
earth. Now that's going to take a little
thought in your mind, because we can't hardly grasp it. We
can't hardly grasp it. But that nature that is in us is
the living incorruptible seed that abides forever. That new
man created in righteousness and in true holiness that can
never die. The saints of God above have
exactly the same nature we do right now. They have exactly the same nature
we do right now. They're called the sons of God.
So are we. They delight in holiness. So
do we. They are the church of the firstborn.
So are we. They all love Christ. So do we.
They're all immortal. So are we. The only difference
is that they have shaken off the dust of the earth. and the corruption of mortality,
and they put on more beautiful garments, but they are the same,
the same as we. So slight, so slight is the change
that takes place in the twinkling of an eye. So, so slight. Just, bat your eyes real quick. So slight is the change that
takes place in the twinkling of an eye that it's written in
the book of God to be absent from the body is to be present
with the Lord. No time to change clothes, just
drop the robe of flesh. Only difference. Only difference.
We are one with the saints in heaven. because we're all partakers
of the same divine love, loved of God with an everlasting love,
with love surpassing thoughts, so loved that he gives himself
entirely in all the persons of his holy being as one everlasting
portion to his elect. What more can God do for the
saints above? See yonder Abraham, Isaac, and
Jacob, Peter, James, and John, and Paul, and Barnabas, and Sisyphus,
see them yonder? What more could God do for them? What more can He do for you and
me? He's done for us all that He's
done for them. We're all one because we're all
heirs of the same promise, whether in heaven or on earth. Here I
am, a sinner trusting Christ. I believe the Son of God. I trust
Him. He's my only hope, my only righteousness,
my only Redeemer, my only Savior. I trust Him. As such, a sinner
trusting Him. I am assured by the God of heaven
that all the fullness of heaven's glory is as much mine as it is
Peter or Paul's. They're there to enjoy it, and
I'm waiting to obtain it, but I hold the same title deed as
they do. That title deed is the grace
of God and the blood and righteousness of God's darling son. My heritage
as an heir of God is as large, as full, and as broad as theirs. One more thing in this regard.
The saints of God in heaven and earth are one because we are
members of the same body. And that body cannot be complete
without us. The last word in Hebrews chapter
11 and verse 40 is with regard to those who have gone before
into glory. The apostle has described for
us all those mighty heroes of faith. All those great men whose
names are written in the book of God. All those great women
described in Hebrews 11. And then he says one last thing.
They, without us, cannot be made perfect. That is, this family
can't be complete until we join them in glory. All right, here's
the second thing. The family of God is inseparable. Our text tells us of the whole
family in heaven and earth, not two families, not a divided family,
but one complete family. We feel pain and sorrow at the
death of our loved ones, but we're comforted in our sorrow
because we are assured that death doesn't destroy God's family.
Nothing can separate the members of God's family from one another. Death doesn't separate the household
of God. It can't separate us from the love of God. The separation
caused by death is really only an apparent separation. Now,
I thought about that for a long time when I was writing this
message out today. I chose my words deliberately. The separation
caused by death is only an apparent separation. It's not real. It's
not real. It's not real. The family is
still one. Is it possible that our father
can be bereaved? Is it possible that our heavenly
father can be bereaved? Of course not. Of course not. That means the death that separates
us is only an apparent separation. Death can't separate us from
our elder brother. In fact, in John 17, 24, the
Lord Jesus praises our high priestly prayer, and this is what he says.
This is what he says. Father, I will. that they also
whom thou hast given me be with me where I am, that they may
behold my glory. So death didn't separate us from
him. It only brings us into nearer and dearer and more precious
communion with him. Death can't really separate us
from one another. We read in the book of God about
the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and Manasseh, who lived on the other
side of the Jordan River. but they were one with God's
Israel. So it is with God's Israel today. The whole family in heaven and
earth, though the swelling Jordan stands between us and them, we're
one family, one Israel, one people of God. We meet with the saints
of God at every age in worship when we come to God through Christ
the Lord. That's what Paul tells us in Hebrews 12. We read it
Sunday morning. We've come to the family of God,
the General Assembly, and Church of the Firstborn. It's impossible
to restrict our communion with God's people by the boundaries
of time and place. We're one on Earth. and we are
one in heaven. Now, I realize that part of the
family is in the upper room, but we're still one family. We
feed in different passages, but we're one family, and space doesn't
divide us. God comprehends all space. Space
is the bosom of the Almighty. I don't know how to illustrate
this. I'm talking way above my head, I know. But I have friends
literally all over the world. with whom I'm in fellowship all
the time. I travel often and I'm away from my wife, but we're
together all the time. All the time. I mean literally,
all the time. All the time. Hearts are together. And there are certain things
we've been living together for so long now that we know one
another's day by day, hour by hour, moment by moment habits.
Shelby tends to get up earlier than me. Not a lot earlier, but
a little earlier. And we have coffee together every
day and have pretty much the same conversation every morning
for the first, oh, 30 seconds to a minute. And I'll call her
when I'm gone, and she'll call me, say, did you hit me when
I had coffee this morning? I said, yeah, I heard you. I
wasn't out of bed yet, but I heard you. I understood exactly what
she said. Because we're together. though
we might be separated by oceans, together. I have friends in heaven
with whom I'm in communion as well, one with them. Sorrows
don't separate the family of God, not the family in heaven
and in earth. Those in heaven are soldiers
who have fought and won their rest. We're still on the battlefield,
but we're one army. And sin. Not even sin separates
the family of the redeemed. The saints in heaven have been
washed in the same blood I've been washed in. They wear the
same garments of salvation I wear. They're justified by the same
atonement I'm justified by. And that inseparable oneness
of God's family is presently displayed. Now, I want to talk
about mystical things that can only be apprehended. I won't
even say understood, just apprehended by experience. But the service
of those who've departed blends with ours, and they being dead
yet speak. Are not the works of the apostles
still effectual today? I just read Paul's letter to
the Ephesians again today and still speaking to me, still speaking
to me. Today we reap the benefits of
the mighty and faithful soldiers of the cross who've gone before
us. The work of the faithful abides many years after they've
gone to glory. One's souls and other waters,
God gives the increase. And the saints on this earth,
continue to reap the benefits of those who've gone before us,
and reap the benefits of their labor and their prayers, prayers
they offered before they died in the flesh. How many a mother
has died without an answer to her prayers? I thought of John
Newton's mother this morning. She died when Newton was just
a small boy. But the first early years of
his life, every day she read scripture to him and sang to
him and sang with him and prayed with him and gave him to God. And when Newton had spent his
life in ruinous trade, seeking every way possible to destroy
himself, God heard and answered her prayers. So it is with multitudes. A pastor's desires are seldom
accomplished while he lives on this earth. But God still hears
the cries of the righteous. The testimony of the saints blends
with that of the saints on the earth, saying, thou wast slain
and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood and the whole family
in heaven. If I read the story of the prodigal
son, and I know I do, the whole family in earth and heaven rejoices
when one prodigal child comes home. Isn't that amazing? The angels of God, and God, Father,
Son, and Holy Ghost, and Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and the Apostle. There it goes, right on time.
Rejoicing together, towering over all this, our oneness is
presently displayed in the fact that Christ is the common joy
of all, the saints on earth and the saints in heaven. One last
thing. As the children of God, we're
anticipating a great day, a great day. And that's the day of the
gathering of the whole family. When the word in Ephesians 1.10
is fulfilled, and Christ shall gather together all things in
heaven and on earth in one in him. The prospects of our earthly
families are uncertain. It is a great mercy that we don't
know what the day may bring forth. we must all experience sorrowful
separations. Many a delightful boy will follow
the particle's path. Many a cherished fair daughter
will follow the bent of her own lascivious will. Disease, pain,
sin, and death will break up every happy family circle in
time. To say the least, Many of our
families have gathered as a whole for the last time. But oh, how
I thank God. There is one family whose prospects
are different. All the members of this family
shall be gathered whole, and all at last gathered together
in one in Christ in the last day with glorified bodies as
His is. and all the members of God's
family gathered in one company at last, with one mind and judgment,
one in perfect holiness, one in everlasting reward, one in
the perfection of Christ's beauty, one in the perfection of absolute love,
holiness, beauty, righteousness, sanctification, peace. One in
Christ. When the whole family is gathered
together. This is the family of God. God make you part of it for Christ's
sake. Amen. All right, Lindsey, please.