after faithfully preaching the
gospel of God's free grace in Christ Jesus for almost 50 years
on the last day of his life in this world, April 6, 1827. Robert Hawker quoted Ephesians
chapter 1, verses 3 through 12 to some friends and family standing
by him. As he quoted the passage, He
gave brief explanatory comments to the things he revealed. And
when he got to verse 12, that we should be to the praise of
his glory who first trusted in Christ, the old pastor paused
and asked, and who first trusted in Christ? And then he gave this
answer. It was God the Father who first
trusted in Christ. Here's my text and my subject,
Who First Trusted in Christ. The word who in this twelfth
verse is a plural pronoun and that fact has led many good commentators
to object to Hawker's interpretation. suggesting instead that Paul
had in mind the Old Testament saints or perhaps the apostles
or earlier believers. But Hawker's interpretation,
it seems to me, is the only interpretation that fits Paul's language. Though
it is true the masculine article translated by the English word
pronoun, or by the English pronoun who, must refer to more than
one person. He refers to the entire Godhead,
Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, and he refers to a covenant made
by the triune God with Christ, our surety, as our representative
before the world began. Throughout this paragraph, it
is God the Father who speaks for the triune Godhead, who speaks
for the Holy Trinity. We are saved to the praise of
the glory of the triune God, Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. Three times in these 14 verses
we're told that God saved us for the praise of His glory,
for the praise of the glory of His grace. This is not praise
just for one person in the Godhead, but rather praise for God the
Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Ghost by whom we are
saved. Now this interpretation that
the word who here refers to God, trust in Christ, must be obvious
when we realize that this word is found nowhere else in all
the Word of God, the word translated trusted in. This is the only
place you find it anywhere in Scripture. Everywhere in Scripture
where it speaks of our faith in Christ or of our trust in
Christ, another word is used. This word is a perfect participle,
implying an action completed once and for all with finality
in the past, never needing to be repeated. It's a word I repeat,
found only here in Ephesians 1 verse 12. Our great God, before
the world was, trusted Christ. as our mediator, our representative,
our surety, our savior, and our redeemer, in whom we also trust,
after we hear the gospel, the word of truth, the good news
of our salvation, giving us faith in Christ by the mighty operations
of God the Holy Spirit. I repeat again, nothing else
will really fit the context. Paul is here talking about an
inheritance. The inheritance that we have
already obtained. The inheritance we have already
obtained. But we haven't obtained our inheritance.
Oh yes we have. We haven't yet personally, experimentally,
taken possession of heaven's glory. But we obtain this inheritance
being predestinated according to the good purpose of him who
worketh all things after the counsel of his own will in Christ,
to whom the inheritance was given, in whom God first trusted before
the world began. Let's begin reading at verse
7. In whom, that is in Christ, we have redemption through his
blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his
grace, wherein he hath abounded toward us in all wisdom and prudence. And now the apostle explains
to us the wisdom and prudence of God in all his works, having
made known unto us the mystery of his will. having made known
to us secret things known only to God until He reveals them
to us, 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. There's a day coming when God's
going to gather all his people in Christ in this glorious inheritance. In verse 11 we read, in whom
also this one who shall gather all his elect together in resurrection
glory. We have already presently obtained
an inheritance being predestinated according to the purpose of him
worketh all things after the counsel of His own will, that
we should be to the praise of His glory who first trusted in
Christ. Now let's look at some Scripture
together. Turn back to the book of Jeremiah, Jeremiah chapter
31. I want you to look at these very
familiar passages of Scripture. First understand that this passage
is talking about a covenant. A covenant. A compact of grace
made between the triune God, Father, Son, and Holy Ghost,
and us, God's elect, in our representative, Christ, our surety. This covenant is revealed in
terms of a covenant in the Scripture. Often in the New Testament, the
word covenant, the very same word translated covenant, is
translated testament. Because God's covenant really
is a testament. It's revealed to us in terms
of a covenant, so that we can get some kind of handle on these
things. Don't ever imagine that God does
things sequentially, that God thinks through things. He knows
everything. God Almighty did everything at
once, eternally, eternally, finished. But He reveals things to us in
human language as a covenant so that we can get some grasp
on the wonders of His grace. And in this covenant, insofar
as the benefits and blessings of the covenant are concerned,
they are all free and unconditional. I mean by that, nothing promised,
nothing purposed, nothing given to us in the covenant depends
in any way upon anything that we do. The covenant is absolutely
free and unconditional. This is sometimes referred to
as a covenant of peace, commonly referred to as the new covenant.
The New Covenant as opposed to the Old Covenant because it is
newly revealed. But this New Covenant is the
everlasting covenant of grace, the covenant of peace, ordered
in all things insure by our God. Look here in Jeremiah 31 and
verse 3. The Lord hath appeared of old
unto me, saying, Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting
love. Therefore with lovingkindness
have I drawn thee. And then in verse 31, he starts
to speak about the covenant revealed to us in the experience of God's
grace. Now we know that this covenant,
while using the terms in reference to the nation of Israel, is not
talking about that physical nation, but rather it is talking about
the Israel of God, because the Apostle writing in Hebrews chapters
8 and 10 tell us plainly that these words are talking about
the covenant of which we are partakers. verse 31, Behold the
days come, saith the Lord, that I will make a new covenant with
the house of Israel and with the house of Judah, not according
to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that
I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt,
that is, not a covenant of works, not a covenant of law, which
my covenant they broke, although I was a husband unto them, saith
the Lord. Verse 33, But this is the covenant
that I will make with the house of Israel, and with the house
of Israel after those days, saith the Lord, I will put my law in
their inward parts, and write it in their hearts. But wait
a minute. Man by nature, we're told in
Romans chapter 1, is born with the law of God written on his
heart and his conscience. All men know what's right. All men know the difference between
good and evil by nature. Well, what's this talking about?
He's talking about the new birth. He puts his law in us, taking
away the heart of stone, giving us a heart of flesh, a living
heart, and inscribes in our hearts his law, giving us a heart that
delights in the law of God after the inward man. Look at the next
word. And I will be their God, and they shall be My people.
And they shall teach no more every man his neighbor, and every
man his brother, saying, Know the LORD. For they shall all
know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them. This
is life eternal, our Savior said, that they might know Thee, the
only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom Thou hast sent. so that
those who are made to experience and are partakers of this covenant
in the experience of God's grace are men and women being born
of God's Spirit, being taught of God, who know God. They shall
know me, for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember
their sin no more. Turn over to chapter 32. He continues
to talk to us about this same covenant, verse 38. and they shall be my people and
I will be their God. Don't you love it when God speaks
like that? Shall and will. I will and you shall. Verse 39,
and I will give them one heart and one way that they may fear
me forever for the good of them and of their children after them.
Verse 40, and I will make an everlasting covenant with them
that I will not turn away from them to do them good. When God
comes in saving grace, He sheds abroad His love in our hearts
by the Holy Ghost given to us in the revelation of Christ.
And in that revelation of His love for us in Christ, He makes
this covenant with us. That is, He makes us to know
this covenant made with our Savior before the world was. and He
assures us that He will not turn away from us to do us good. Oh, for grace to walk in that
assurance every hour of every day. Our God will never turn
away from us to do us good, but I will put my fear in their hearts
and they shall not depart from me. This is our peace, this is
our security, this covenant of God's grace, ordered in all things
insure. Look at 2 Samuel chapter 23. 2 Samuel chapter 23. David, the great king of Israel,
is on his deathbed. And the king, the sweet psalmist
of Israel, makes an utterance on his deathbed. Verse 5, when a man is about to die or thinks he
is, he thinks about his family. And most have to think about
the family with much regret, as David did. This man after
God's own heart had a house full of rebels. Celeste was asking me the other
day about the statement in Proverbs, train up a child in the way he
should go when he's old, he'll not depart from it. I said, don't
know for sure what it means. I'll tell you what it doesn't
mean. It doesn't mean if you raise your kids right, God will
save them. That's not what it means. I know that because David
raised his kids right. David was a man after God's own
heart. My best understanding is, and as you read the Proverbs,
this will help you. The Proverbs are wise sayings
given by inspiration that have a physical truth, a natural truth
that's just so. As a general rule, as a general,
not a hard, fast rule, as a general rule, a well-trained child becomes
a well-established, responsible adult. so that child grows into
adulthood with maturity and responsibility. And the Proverbs having a natural
teaching also have spiritual meaning that we must seek after
for these Proverbs are written in the book of God to teach us
about our Savior. But here is this man, David,
man after God's own heart. He looks back over his family.
He had many wives. As far as I can tell, he had
just one who feared God, Abigail, the wife of Nabal. His wife,
Michael, Saul's daughter, hated God and hated him. That's what
his house was like. His sons, Amnon, Absalom, oh,
how his heart must have broke as he thought of his children.
And he thinks about God's house, God's family. God's people. And
a man about to die thinks about eternity. Now listen to how David
spoke. Verse 5, although my house be
not so with God, my house is not what I hoped it would be.
It wasn't what I planned. Things didn't turn out the way
I had worked. My God has made with me an everlasting
covenant, ordered in all things and sure. Now watch what it says. This
is all my salvation. And this is all my desire. although he make it not to grow.
That is, although I don't yet see it all accomplished, this
is all my salvation and all my desire. In other words, David
says, as I look back through my life in this world and all
the experiences of time, and I look forward to tomorrow, eternity
with God my Savior. This is all my salvation, all
my hope, all my desire, God's covenant. God's covenant. Now wait a minute, wait a minute.
Christ is our salvation. Christ is our desire. This is
what God says concerning Christ. I will give thee for a covenant
to the people. So that Christ is himself. the embodiment of the covenant,
the gift of the covenant, and the blessing of the covenant.
The only condition of the covenant and all the blessings we have
read about, the knowledge of God, eternal life, the possession
of God in our soul, the possession of everlasting glory with Christ,
redemption, forgiveness, the non-imputation of sin, righteousness,
The only condition in this covenant are conditions met by God our
Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, the surety of the covenant. Everything in the covenant was
promised to us upon condition of Christ's obedience as our
surety. Turn to Hebrews chapter 13. Hebrews
chapter 13. There never was a danger of that
condition not being met by the Son of God. There never was the
slightest possibility of failure on His part. The Lord God says
concerning His servant, our covenant surety, He shall not fail. He was willing to obey, He was
able to obey, and He did obey His Father's will even unto death
by His obedience unto death, pouring out His precious blood
as our substitute. Hebrews 13, 20. Now the God of
peace that brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, that
great shepherd of the sheep, now watch this, through the blood
of the everlasting covenant. What? This is talking about Christ's
death. But he says God brought him from the dead through the
blood of the everlasting covenant. When all that God required of
us was met and accomplished and satisfied by the doing and dying
of the Lord Jesus. The Lord Jesus was raised from
the dead by the merit of his sin atoning blood just as we
are raised from the dead by the merit of his blood. Now God make
you perfect in every good work to do his will, working in you
that which is well-pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ,
to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen. And you might read
it this way. God make you perfect in every
good work to do his will, working in you that which is well-pleasing
in his sight through the blood of the everlasting covenant.
Amen. That by which Christ ascended
into heaven as the God-man our Savior is that by which God works
in us to do his will and that which is well-pleasing in his
sight. Our Savior's obedience as our substitute and surety. Now, our text here in Ephesians
1 verse 12 speaks about God's trust in his son. Having found
a ransom for our souls in the person of his son, the Lord God
gave his chosen into the hands of his son as sheep in the hands
of a shepherd. and trusted Him with the salvation
of our souls and with all His glory. Look at John chapter 6. John the 6th chapter. Hear our
Savior tell us about this. In the covenant of grace before
the world began, the Son of God volunteered to stand forth as
our surety. God the Father trusted His elect
into His hands, put into His hands all his elect and all his
glory which must be accomplished in the earth by the doing and
dying and salvation accomplishments of our Lord Jesus Christ. The
Apostle Paul says we have this treasure in earthen vessels.
God has trusted to us his gospel. God has trusted to us his gospel. Our son-in-law Doug came to ask
for faith's hands in marriage. And when a young man does that,
it's kind of the inbred responsibility of the girl's daddy to make him
uncomfortable. So I tried to make him a little
uncomfortable. And this is what he's asking for. This is some
kind of request. He came over and said, in those
days he didn't call me Don, he called me Mr. Fortner. He said,
Mr. Fortner, I'm asking you to trust me with
your daughter, her life, and her welfare. That's some kind
of request, isn't it? That's some kind of request.
Trust me. Put her in my hands. I'll take
care of her. Put her in my hands. I'll provide
for her. Put her in my hands. I'll protect
her. Put her in my hands. and you don't have to worry about
her. The Lord Jesus stood forth as
our surety in the covenant of grace and says to the triune
God, trust me with your people. Trust me with them. I'll provide
for them. I'll protect them. I'll take
care of them. You never have to give a thought
to it. And the Father trusted us into the hands of His Son,
the God-Man, our Mediator. Let's see if that's what it says,
what our Savior tells us in John 6, 37. All that the Father giveth me,
giveth me presently in regeneration, in conversion, by factual calling
of His Spirit. All that the Father giveth me.
Every time a sinner is born again, given life and faith in Christ,
the Lord God by His Spirit is giving one of His own to the
Lord Jesus. All that the Father giveth me
shall come to me, no question about it. And Him that cometh
to me I will in no wise cast out. For I came down from heaven
not to do mine own will, but the will of Him that sent me.
And this is the Father's will which has sent me. Now watch
this. which he hath given me, hath given me from eternity as
a trust in my hands, that of all which he hath given me I
should lose nothing, but raise it up again at the last day. Thus it is that the Lord Jesus
spoke of all his sheep being given to him, his sheep who are
his, He said, other sheep I have which are not of this fold, them
also I must bring. They shall hear my voice and
there shall be one fold and one shepherd. He says, these other
sheep, I already have them. They were given to me by my Father
in eternity because the Father gave them me. Them I must bring
and they shall hear my voice and they shall come to me. is
the Father's trust to me. In everlasting covenant grace,
the Father trusted His Son, our all-glorious Christ, with the
salvation of His people. And when our Savior had finished
His work, whereby He obtained eternal redemption for us, securing
the salvation of His chosen, He asked His Father, and the
Father gave to Him as the just reward of His obedience, the
glory He had with Him before the world was. You're still in
John, look at verse, chapter 17. Look at chapter 17. The Father raised Him from the
dead and said, Thou art my Son, this day have I begotten Thee.
Sit Thou at my right hand until I make Thy foes Thy footstool.
This is what our Savior asked for, John 17. But notice that
the glory given him manifestly in his resurrection and ascension,
the glory given him manifestly when he had finished his work
in time, is the glory he had with the Father before the world
was. These words spake Jesus and lifted
up his eyes to heaven and said, Father, the hour has come. Glorify thy Son. that thy son
also may glorify thee, as thou hast given him power over all
flesh, that he should give eternal life to as many as thou hast
given him. And this is life eternal, that
they might know thee the only true God and Jesus Christ, whom
thou hast sent. I have glorified thee on the
earth. I have finished the work. thou
gavest me to do. I finished, Father, everything
you trusted me to do. And now, O Father, glorify thou
me with thine own self, with the glory which I had with thee
before the world was." What does Paul tell us in Hebrews
4? The works were finished from the foundation of the world.
the world was when the Lord Jesus drew near as our covenant surety
the father struck hands with the son and the father put all
things in the hands of his son and he said now go do what you
said and the works were finished now look at verse 13 of he of
Ephesians 1 in whom ye also trusted Paul
says, God has done all this great work for us from everlasting,
that we should be to the praise of his glory who first trusted
in Christ, in whom ye also trusted, at the time appointed for mercy,
love, and grace to every chosen redeemed sinner. That sinner
is born again, called by the irresistible power and grace
of God the Holy Ghost to life and faith in Christ. This God-given
faith is not trust in some imaginary Jesus who wants to save but can't
unless you let him do so or unless you help him. Oh, no. That Jesus
that's preached everywhere in this world is nothing but the
idolatrous figment of man's depraved imagination. This God-given faith
is faith in that Christ the Father trusted as our surety before
the world was. It is a well-founded faith in
Him of whom Jehovah says, He shall not fail. If God the Father
trusted Him, He is a trustworthy Savior. He is a trustworthy Savior. Upon
the basis of this covenant, The Lord God accepted us and blessed
us with all spiritual blessings in Christ from eternity and declares
that we were then in eternity justified and called and glorified
by him in whom we were redeemed our surety. Now, what does this
mean when the scripture speaks of Christ as a surety? Let's
say that one picture is worth a thousand words. Turn back to
Genesis chapter forty-nine. Genesis chapter forty-three,
I'm sorry. Genesis forty-three. Joseph's brethren have gone down
to Egypt to buy corn. And Joseph knew who they were
but they didn't know Joseph. And he got them to acknowledge
that their daddy was living and they had another brother who
was home with their daddy. Joseph kept Simeon as a prisoner. He said he arranged what looked
like Simeon and stole some goods, and he said, I'm going to keep
him here, and I'm going to prove whether or not you're honest
men. You go down and bring your baby brother up here to Egypt,
and then I'll know. And he said, oh, we can't do
that. That'd kill our daddy. He said,
you're not going to get Simeon until you do. And back in chapter
42, verse 36, Reuben pleaded with Jacob. He pleaded
with Jacob. Let me be sure of this. You give him to me, and I'll
take Benjamin to Egypt, and I'll bring him back to you. And if
I don't, then you require his life by taking the life of my
boys. I had never noticed that until
preaching from this passage one night. Brother Bob Poncer came
to me, I preached on a Sunday morning and Bob Poncer came up
on Sunday night and he said, did you notice back in chapter
42 that Reuben had volunteered to be surety for Benjamin? I said no, I hadn't noticed that.
But Jacob refused to trust him. Reuben made the condition of
his surety ship the life of his son. But our Lord was not the Lion
of the tribe of Reuben. He's the Lion of the tribe of
Judah. Now look at verse 8 of chapter
43, And Judah said to Israel his father, Send the lad with
me, and we will arise and go, that we may live and not die,
both we and thou, and also our little ones. I will be surety
for him of my hand, shalt thou require him. If I bring him not
to thee, and set him before thee, then let me bear the blame forever. And Jacob said, here he is. Take him. Take him. He's your
responsibility. He's your responsibility. I hold you. responsible for him. Not him, not your boys, you. You said requirement in my hand
and Judah stood as surety for Benjamin. So it is that our Lord
Jesus stood and stands before the triune Jehovah as our surety. A surety is one who assumes total
responsibility for another's obligations. Total responsibility. God required of us satisfaction
for our sins. He required of us perfect righteousness
by the obedience of man in the flesh. He required of us a perfect
nature with which to live before him forever. We forfeited everything
in the sin and fall of our father Adam. The Lord Jesus stood forth
as our surety, as the last Adam. And he said, Father, trust them
to me. I will go. And I will perform
righteousness for your people. I will take their sin to be my
own. And I will give them a new nature. And at the last day, I will raise
them up and give them a body in which to serve you in the
perfection of holiness forever and I will present them to you
holy and without blame and without spots. And the father trusted
him. And the work was done. Our surety
assumed total responsibility for us. Swearing to his own hurt,
he was snared with the words of his own mouth, and he obeyed
all that was required of us in our room instead. And now, when
the sinner is born again in time, God gives us faith in Christ
And we are brought to trust the surety. The surety of the everlasting
covenant. Eric, I've been thinking a lot
about you last week. Thought about you, prayed for you a lot
this week, and I thought about you, prayed for you a lot the
last 22 years. You got some tough days ahead of you. You got some
tough struggles ahead of you. You won't have any idea what
I'm talking about now, but you will. You will. How's he gonna
make it? How will he stand? How are we gonna make it? How
you gonna stand in the day when trouble comes? It may be that we will yet be
subjected to more severe persecution than we've known for bearing
the testimony of the gospel. Brother Lindsey indicated that
to be his concern in his prayer back in the office, my concern. And we all make good dress soldiers
in a dress parade, but when the rubber hits the road and it costs
you something, reckon how we'll make it. I have
read over the years a good bit about the martyrs and the things
they suffered. And the fact is, ladies, I couldn't
do that. There's no way on this earth
I could do that. No way on this earth. Hanging on a pole while
fire consumes my body, sing God's praise or preach the gospel of
God's grace, I couldn't do that. I couldn't do that, no, nor you,
nor you, except by the word of our surety who declares my grace
is sufficient for thee. The triune God trusted Christ
with my soul from everlasting and never Are you listening? Never gave it a second thought. He never gave it a second thought. Oh God teach me so to trust my
surety. He who undertook for me from
everlasting has proved himself faithful. all the days of my
life to this sinful man. And I'll tell you what I expect. I really do. I really do. I expect him to continue proving
himself faithful as my surety until at last he presents this
man faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy. Oh God, teach us now to trust
our surety. Amen.