Back in Ephesians chapter 1 that
we read from a moment ago, I want to look at the last three words
there in verse 6. In the beloved, in the beloved. Take those out and all those
blessings that Paul speaks of, we would not have. Because every
one of them, he says, we have been blessed with all spiritual
blessings in heavenly places. But he didn't stop there. These
blessings come to us through the Lord Jesus Christ in the
beloved. That's the one and only place
that God Almighty meets with sinners or allows sinners to
meet with him. And what a blessed place it is. And to be loved is the place
of absolute acceptance. Absolute acceptance. Because
of Him, not me. No strings attached. Accepted
in Christ Jesus without any strings attached. no fine print, no disclaimers. The old hymn by that very title,
In the Beloved, puts it like this. In the Beloved, accepted
am I, risen, ascended, and seated on high, saved from all sin through
his infinite grace, with the redeemed ones accorded a place. In the Beloved is not only the
place of absolute acceptance, it's the place of Perfect security. Perfect security. Now I grant,
we don't always seem to believe that, as we should, but as Paul
said in Romans 8, who shall separate us from the love of God which
is in Christ Jesus? We need not fear. We need not
fear that ever, ever happens. Again, quoting from that old
hymn, in the beloved, how safe my retreat. In the beloved, accounted
complete. That's scriptural. Who can condemn
me? In him I am free. Savior and
keeper forever is he. Perfect acceptance, perfect security
in Christ Jesus. That's why it's so. We have the
reason, because of the beloved. This is my beloved son, God the
Father spoke from heaven, in whom I am well pleased, in whom
I am well pleased. And Paul said we're accepted
in him. If I'm in Christ, does not God
say the same thing concerning me? God sees all that he needs
to see, all that satisfies him. Every demand met, he sees in
his beloved son. And this union, this union of
Christ and his church is an eternal union. We were given to his son,
chosen in Christ before the foundation of the world. That's what we
read a moment ago. Chosen in Christ Jesus before
the world began. That pretty much takes it out
of my hands, doesn't it? Therefore, it cannot depend on
me. It never has. It never has. And it never will. And I'm glad
that that's so. Let me read you a verse, one
of my favorites. In Ezekiel, you'll recognize
the passage that I'm reading from, Ezekiel 16. After God comes
to that deserted infant, that newborn babe that's been cast
out into the field to die, unloved, uncared for, he passes by, and
it was a time of love. And the result of our God's amazing
grace is this, and thy renown went forth among the heathen
for thy beauty, now listen to this, for it was perfect, for
it was perfect, Through my comeliness, which I put upon thee, saith
the Lord God. God who is able to present us
faultless in Christ before the presence of his glory. Let me
quote that hymn one more time. The chorus of it reads like this.
In the beloved, God's marvelous grace calls me to dwell in this
wonderful place. God sees my savior, then he sees
me. in the beloved, accepted, and
free. What a marvelous place to be. And we can never be separated
from Him and His everlasting love. And if that wasn't enough,
in those few verses I read, it gave us more assurance to God's
people why these things must be so. God does it for His glory. God purposed to do it for his
own glory. Look again at verse 5 here in
Ephesians 1. Having predestinated us unto
the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself according to
the good pleasure of his will. This all has its beginning not
in the will of man, what a foundation would that be, but in the will
of God, in the will of that one being who has his way all the
time with everyone. Who can resist his will? And
look on down, if you will, in verse 11 again. In whom also
we have obtained an inheritance, that is Christ, being predestinated
according to the purpose of Him, that is God, according to the
purpose of Him who worketh all things after the counsel of His
own will. That makes all the difference,
does it not? It's by the will of God that
we've been accepted into be loved to the praise of the glory of
His grace. In chapter 2, we're told the
same thing. And here in Ephesians 2, verse
7. God has saved his people, called them out of darkness into
light, and this is his ultimate purpose. Yes, they're everlasting
salvation, but here in verse 7 we're told that in the ages
to come, he, that is God, might show the exceeding riches of
his grace. Don't you like that? God's grace
will never file for bankruptcy. It will never cease to flow. God always has grace for all
of his people all of the time until he brings them the glory.
Until each and every one of them are brought by the Lamb of God
around the throne of God, he'll never cease to give them grace. He'll give them grace and glory.
Oh, He's rich in grace, that He might show the exceeding riches
of His grace in His kindness toward us through Christ Jesus. In other words, when it's all
done, when God brings all of His chosen sheep home, it will
be to the praise of the glory of His grace. We'll say, look
what God has done. My soul, look what grace has
done. Praise God for his glorious grace
by which he accepts a poor sinner in Christ. It's all an act of
his mighty grace. That's why we sing, to God be
the glory. We don't divide the credit here
as to who saves a sinner. It's all God's work, isn't it,
Lord? God does it all. God calls us. God chose us. God keeps us. And God, by His
grace, if ever a sinner, excuse me, if ever a sinner is brought
to heaven, it will be because the grace of God has brought
them there. First of all, we'll answer just
or rather ask a couple of questions concerning our text, and then
we'll answer them. And we'll be brief. First of
all, accepted by whom? Accepted by whom? Who does the
accepting? Who needs acceptance? We do. We do. Not God. We sinned against Him. He's the
offended party. It's up to Him to accept sinners
or not. Most preaching today puts God
on trial. It pleads with sinners to accept
God. God's not the one that needs
our acceptance. We need His acceptance. In today's so-called Justice
system. Criminals found guilty are often
offered a lesser penalty. They're offered what's called
a plea bargain. Will you accept this? God doesn't
plea bargain, does he? God doesn't plea bargain. Not
before the judge of all the earth. There are no plea bargains with
him. No deals, no appeals. He accepts us on the grounds
of absolute justice satisfied. The justice of God argues for
the salvation of all of his chosen just as much and just as powerfully
as his mercy. Because Jesus Christ enabled
God by satisfying every demand of his holy law and offering
to him full satisfaction for the penalty, by paying the penalty,
rather, of his broken law, he enabled God to be just, perfectly
just in justifying a sinner. John said, if we sin, we have
an advocate with the Father. And the blood of Jesus Christ,
God's son, cleanses us from all sin. If we confess our sins,
he's faithful and just. Justice is a matter as well,
to forgive us of all sins. I can only imagine. Lester, I
can imagine when I was a boy and was caught doing something
wrong, standing before my father and saying, I want a plea bargain.
I want a plea bargain." No, it would never happen. Paul, when
he was in Athens, speaking to those philosophers on Mars Hill,
he said this, at the times of this ignorance God winked at,
but now he commanded all men everywhere to repent because
he had appointed a day in which he will judge the world in righteousness. not by man's standard, oh no,
but by God's standard. And he'll do so by that man whom
he hath ordained, whereof he hath given assurance unto all
men, in that he hath raised him from the dead. Oh, in that day,
what a day, when all mankind are ushered in the presence of
a holy God. Not God that they imagined. Not
the God that is the figment of their own warped imagination.
Not the God that they manipulated. Not the God that they thought
was no more than a rabbit's foot. Oh no, but the God of all mankind. That God who is alone, high,
and lifted up. That God sets upon his holy throne
and all men are ushered into his presence. Oh my. No wonder
Paul said, and I say with him, in that day, I want to be found
in him. Don't you? Oh, how glorious.
How glorious our Redeemer will appear. How we will then appreciate
his righteousness. that we stand before God clothed
in, absolutely accepted in to be loved. No wonder we're told
they cast their crowns at His feet and give Him all the glory. They cry, worthy is the Lamb. Oh, in that day to be found in
Him and being found in Him, having a perfect righteousness. God
Almighty being perfectly satisfied. a perfect acceptance. I must
be accepted by God on absolutely just grounds and I am in the
Beloved. Accepted in Christ by God according
to His grace and His purpose and all for His glory. It's all
God's doing. This is what Jonah found out,
didn't he? This is what every sinner that
God is pleased to strip, every sinner that God saves, He teaches
them this. Our Lord said, everyone that
has learned of the Father does what? They come to Me. They come to the only Savior
of sinners because salvation is in Him, in the Beloved. To God be the glory, great things
He has done. What does it matter? What does
it matter to be accepted by a preacher or a church and not to be accepted
by God Himself? But in the Beloved, God accepts
us. Accepted in whom? We've answered
that, but let's go on. God accepts us when He beholds
Him. We may ask, how can God, knowing
what I am, confessing with the Apostle Paul, being honest before
God, confessing, O wretched man that I am, There remains in me
right now, right now, an old fallen nature, that Adamic nature
of my father Adam, that makes me cry out with Paul, O wretched
man that I am, who shall deliver me? How can such a creature as
that be accepted by a holy God? But then, then, I look away from
self. And I looked to him, the Lamb
of God. I looked to that one who perfectly
obeyed God. I looked to that one to whom
God himself spoke and said, this is my son. I'm well pleased in
him. That one who alone could say
when he walked this earth in every footstep of perfect obedience
to his Heavenly Father, he said, I always, I always do those things
that please the Father. In every thought I've ever had,
there's never been a thought that didn't please my Father.
Every word, every motive, every action. And in His life, He was
acting as the substitute for His people as well as in His
death. Oh yes, looking to self, knowing
what I am, I say, how can such a sinner be accepted by such
a holy God? But oh then, then, looking away
from self, And looking to Jesus Christ, beholding him, I say,
why not? Why not? In the beloved, in Christ,
why not accepted by God the Father? Because in him, God is well pleased. In the beloved, period. It began with him and it ends
with him. Let me read you a statement.
by John Gill, an old preacher that lived many years ago. I
like this. I thought it was good. He wrote, this being accepted
by God the Father, Christ and the elect were looked upon in
the eyes of the law as one person. This is what surety means. Even
as the bondsman and the debtor among men are one in a legal
sense so that if one pays the debt, it is the same as if the
other did it. This legal union arising from
Christ's suretyship is the foundation of the imputation of our sins
to Christ and of his satisfaction for them and also of the imputation
of his righteousness to us and of our justification by it. Christ and his people being one
in the law sense, their sins become his and his righteousness
becomes theirs. Is that not what we read in 2
Corinthians 5? God made him to be sin for us
that we might be made the righteousness of God in him. When Christ became
our surety, our sponsor before God, he became totally responsible
to God for us to pay our debt, to fulfill our obligations, and
to bring us to glory. When Christ became our surety,
God ceased from that moment to look for satisfaction to us. He doesn't. Isn't that comforting? He doesn't look to us. He looks
to his son. When Christ became our surety,
our everlasting salvation, and our security became a matter
of absolute certainty because he shall not fail. Indeed, beloved,
there's only one. There's only one. There's none
other name other than that glorious name, Jesus Christ by which men
must be saved. There's only one savior. There's
only one way. And Christ said, I'm the way,
the only way. No man comes to God except by
me. They never have. They never have,
not in Old Testament or New, and they never will. There's
only one redeemer, only one in whom we're accepted. You remember
when Moses asked God, if I've really found favor, grace in
your sight, show me your glory. And God said, Moses, you don't
want me to answer that. You can't behold my glory. No.
But he said, this much I can do. There's a place by me. There's a place by me. And I'll
put you up on a rock. And I'll pass by and put you
in the cleft of that rock. There's a place by me. And there
is a place at the right hand of God the Father, Jesus Christ
our advocate, a place by him where God puts sinners in perfect
acceptance by him. Oh, rock of ages, cleft for me. Let me hide myself in thee, in
the beloved. In verses 3 through 13, 14 times here in Ephesians 1, just
in those few verses alone, we read up in Christ, in him. I've never heard language used
anywhere else except in God's word like that. Have you? In
him. In. Not next to, not beside of,
but in Christ Jesus. God sees everyone of those he
chose in Christ as accepted in Christ. God doesn't look past
Christ for anything. He doesn't look past Christ for
anything. He doesn't need to. He doesn't
need to. He finds full satisfaction. in His beloved Son. It pleased
God that in Him, that is in Christ, should all fullness dwell. And He doesn't look to Christ
without seeing each and every one of those that are in Christ
Jesus. That's what He said, our Lord,
didn't He? In His high priestly prayer to the Father in John
17, I am them and thou in me, that they all may be perfect
In us, if God sees me in Christ, he's well pleased. I'm as accepted
as Christ himself is. Now, Larry, that's saying something. Yes, it is. But is that not what
the word teaches? Is that not what this text teaches?
Accepted. Accepted. Accepted fully. Accepted completely, accepted
eternally in Christ Jesus. What a comforting thought that
is. What a place to be that never changes. He's always the same. Poor sinners try to measure the
reason of their acceptance before God by their feelings. Now how soon can feelings change? Or by their own faithfulness?
Old Peter, how sincere he was when he said, I'll never deny
you. A few hours later, he's doing that very thing. Don't
you know he was thankful to find out afterwards that his acceptance
before a holy God didn't depend upon his faithfulness, but the
faithfulness of his great shepherd who told him that very night,
Peter, I prayed for thee that thy faith fail not. And he is
even now at the right hand of God the Father making intercession
for us. And God hears him. God hears
him, he cannot turn away his dear anointed one. And all those
he intercedes for, God hears, for Christ's sake. Look at Christ. Consider him, his worth, His
merit, His glorious person, His absolute perfection, and by Him,
know that you are accepted by God. Measure your standing before
God, not by yourself, but by Him. By Him. Measure your standing,
your acceptance by a holy God, by Jesus Christ Himself. Oh, there's the ground of your
comfort. And then last of all, who are accepted? Who are accepted? Good people. Holy people. Oh no. Sinners everyone. Look at verse 1. Here again in
Ephesians chapter 1. In verse 1, Paul says, Paul,
an apostle of Jesus Christ, by the will of God, to the saints
which are at Ephesus, and to the faithful in Christ Jesus. Saints in Christ Jesus, called
to be saints, but called out of darkness. They're sinners,
everyone, without exception. Oh, but every sinner chosen in
Christ, are accepted in Christ, are eternally united with Christ,
and never shall be divided, shall never be plucked out of his hand. Turn, if you will, back to Romans
chapter 8. This is what Paul says here,
when he offers that challenge, who shall separate us from the
love of God in Christ Jesus? Our eternal union with the Son.
by the Father is the very basis of what Paul says in verse 28
here in Romans 8. We know that all things work
together for good. The them that love God, the them
who are called according to his purpose, how do we know? How
do we know? For whom he did predestinate,
or rather them he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be
conformed to the image of his son, that he might be the firstborn
among many brethren. Moreover, them that he predestinated,
them he also called, and whom he called, them he also justified. justify. And whom he justified,
them he also glorified. What shall we say to these things? Well, I'll tell you what a child
of God says. He rejoices in it and says, if God be for us, who
can be against us? A man lived many years ago by
the name of John Kent wrote a lot of good hymns. In his later years
he became blind and he would dictate the hymns to his grandson
who would write them down for him. Let me close this message
by just quoting a few verses of one of his many hymns. He
wrote this, to which Jesus and the chosen race subsist the bond
of sovereign grace that hail with its eternal train shall
never dissolve nor rend in twain. He swore but once the deed was
done, was settled by that great three in one, Christ was appointed
to redeem all that the Father loved in him. One in the tomb,
one when he rose, one when he triumphed over his foes, one
when in heaven he took his seat while seraphs sang, all hell's
defeat. This sacred tie forbids their
fears, for all he is and has is theirs. With him their head,
they stand or fall, their life, their surety, They're all complete
in Him, accepted and to be loved. Oh, what a glorious place. What
a glorious place to be in Christ Jesus. God bless you. Thank you
for your attention.