Chapter 1, Ephesians chapter
1. This will be our first reading
today as Ephesians 1. We'll read verses 3 through 14,
which are some of the most wonderful, glorious, amazing words to be
found anywhere in this book. It is One old preacher a long time
ago called this, the genealogy of the believer. This is where
believers come from. This is their origin. And it is glorious indeed. Now before we read, may we pray? Lord we have in front of us the only written divine communication
between the God of heaven and earth and your creatures living on
this same earth. Genesis 1-1 is the beginning
The very last verse in Revelation 22 is the end. In this book is everything a sinner needs
to know to believe and trust and rest in the precious Lord
Jesus Christ. We can go no further than this
book takes us. We're not told everything. Everything
is not explained. But it's enough for a sinner
to be brought to a Savior and have everlasting life. Lord, Would you bless our time
here this morning? Create in us a reverence for
the Holy Scriptures, a reverence for the gospel of Christ, and
an interest, oh, create in us an interest to the salvation
of our souls. Help us. Help this preacher. Oh my, how he needs your help. Honor and glorify your son. And if the day ever comes that
that one goal cannot be pursued with all of our heart, we beg
you to shut this place down. visit us this day, O Lord, for
Christ's sake. Amen. Alright, Ephesians chapter 1
and verse 3. Salvation is described in Hebrews
chapter 1 in three aspects, three things. Salvation is by God the Father,
God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. And that's the three
parts that make up these verses from 3 to 14. Those of you that
have been here a while, you've got to be familiar with this.
I just want to use this text to take us to my other text,
which is in Luke chapter, well I won't tell you the chapter
yet, because you'll be trying to find out what it is. All right,
verse 3 of Ephesians 1. Blessed be the God and Father
of our Lord Jesus Christ, here's what the Father has done, who
has blessed us with all spiritual blessings, But guess what? In heavenly places. And that heavenly place is in
our Savior Himself. God has in fact put everything
in His Son for a sinner like you and me. blessed us, past tense, this
took place in eternity before this world was ever created,
blessed us with all, not some, not most, all spiritual blessings
in heavenly places in Christ, colon, therefore the following
statements are to be referred to that one that we've just read.
Here are those blessings enumerated. according as He has chosen us." Did we choose God or did God
choose us? He chooses us. And then we find out about it
and it's the most glorious thing in the whole world. Chosen us in Christ before the
foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without
blame before Him in love. My dear friend, if you and I
are in Christ, God sees you, accepts you as perfectly and
totally holy. in the imputed righteousness
of the Lord Jesus Christ, that we should be holy and without
blame before Him in love." Some people take the phrase, the prepositional
phrase, in love and make it a part of verse 5, which is great, either
one. In love, having predestinated
us, or simply having predestinated us. unto the adoption of children." Christ is God's only begotten
Son. Believers who are in Christ are
adopted. That's what this is telling us.
Having predestinated us to be adopted unto the adoption of
children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure
of His will." God does everything on purpose according to the good
pleasure of His will. "...to the praise of the glory
of His grace wherein God has made us accepted in the Beloved."
Accepted in Christ the Beloved. Now we come in verse 7 and it
takes us through verse 12 to describe the redeeming work of
our Lord Jesus Christ. Having mentioned our Savior in
verse 6 as being the Beloved, Verse 7 says, in whom? In that beloved we have redemption
through his blood, the forgiveness of sins according to the riches
of his grace, wherein he has abounded toward us in all wisdom
and prudence, having made known unto us the mystery of his will,
according to his good pleasure, which he, God, has 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, in whom in Christ
also we have obtained an inheritance being predestinated according
to the purpose of Him who works 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 that's the first
period I do believe since since the end of verse 6. Now we have
two verses, 13 and 14, that tell us about the work of God the
Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Christ, in whom you also trusted. Now
who is it that has trusted Christ? In whom, in Christ, you also
trusted. After Something has to precede
trusting Christ, believing Christ. After that you heard the word
of truth. Contrary to popular religious
opinion, God does not use false doctrines and untrue statements
and people telling lies about who God is and what he does.
He does not use any of that, none whatsoever. It is said to
be after you heard the Word of Truth, which is exactly the same
thing if you say after you heard the Word of Christ. Christ is
that Word. He is that Gospel. He is that
message. He's the glorious Redeemer. So
we are said then to trust after we hear not just the gospel. Look closely at verse 13 again. It is called the gospel of your
salvation. In whom? In Christ also, after
that you believed. You were sealed with that Holy
Spirit of promise. The Spirit of God seals the believers
in Christ for eternal glory. Verse 14, that same Spirit, the
Holy Spirit, is the earnest of our inheritance. That is the
forerunner to our inheritance. to be indwelt by the Spirit of
God and the Spirit of Christ assures us that in the eternity
to come we'll have this glorious redemption of the purchased possession. Let me read the whole of verse
14, which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption
of the purchased possession unto the praise of His glory, period. Let's see, one, two, three sentences
in the first fourteen verses of Ephesians chapter one. The text that I promised you
in the Gospel according to Luke is in chapter, let me think, Well, I've got it right in front
of me. Chapter 19. Now, I've been following the same
theme somewhat though you might not know it if I hadn't mentioned
it but uh... last Sunday we were trying to
find a lost sinner and those are the only people
that God saves are people that through the spiritual work of
God's Spirit through the gospel Through our Lord Jesus Christ
He brings us to the end of ourselves that we might know Him as the
way and the truth and the life. Now let me read 10 quick verses
in Luke chapter 19 and then I've got six questions I'd like for us
to answer this morning. Alright, the first 10 verses
of Luke chapter 19 is a description of the conversion of a man by
the name of Zacchaeus who is also a publican, that is not
a republican, a publican, that is He is a tax collector for
the Roman government. He is despised and hated by almost
every Jew walking the earth at that time, with some exceptions
of course. But it seems that the Lord goes
out of His way to save this particular person. This man that just gathered taxes
of all kinds for the Roman government. A publican, a tax collector. And Jesus entered, this is verse
1 in chapter 19, and passed through Jericho. I did know at one time
how far it was to cross the city, you know, from one city limit
to the other. It is huge. This city, since Joshua and the
children of Israel conquered it, this city was destroyed totally,
not one stone left on top of another. And a curse was put on it by
God Any man that sought to rebuild this city would do so in the
death not only of his first born but of his second. And that's
exactly what transpired. And here our Savior is, the kindest,
gentlest, most wonderful man ever to walk this earth by a
gazillion miles above anything anybody else and all of us put
together could do. But I'll guarantee you one thing.
He did not so much as even try to perform a miracle inside of
Jericho. You know why? Because it's cursed. And he was in on the cursing.
So now that he's left the city limits, he encounters this inquisitive
man by the name of Zacchaeus. Jesus entered and passed through
Jericho. And behold, there was a man named
Zacchaeus, which was the chief among the publicans, the tax
collectors, and he was rich. And he sought to see Jesus, who
he was. And he could not for the press
of the crowd, because he was little of stature. And he ran
before and climbed up into a sycamore tree to see Him, for He, the
Lord Jesus, was to pass that way. And when Jesus came to the
place, you talk about a divine appointment, that appointment
was made in old eternity before this world was ever made. God
appointed His Son to meet a sinner by the name of Zacchaeus." And
here they are. And every time there's a conversion,
every time a person is born again, this glorious, wonderful arrangement
goes into effect. Verse 5, and when Jesus came
to the place he looked up, and he saw Zacchaeus, and he said
unto him, he calls him by name. As far as I can tell, never mentioned
that they crossed paths anywhere else but here. Our Lord calls
him by name, Zacchaeus, make haste and come down. for today
I must, I shall, I will abide at your house." And Zacchaeus, let me find my
place, verse 6, Zacchaeus made haste
and came down and received him joyfully and when they saw it
They all murmured saying that he was gone to be the guest with
a man that is a sinner. Now who makes that kind of statement?
Lost people? Pharisees? Gentiles? Jews? All colors from anywhere
on the globe? We all think the same way. He's
gone to be guest with a man that is a sinner. And Zacchaeus stood,
this was in his own house at that big supper, Zacchaeus stood
and said to the Lord, Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I
give to the poor, and if I have taken anything from any man by
false accusation, I restore him fourfold, four times over. And
Jesus said to him, this is what our Lord said to Zacchaeus, this
day is salvation, come to this house. He could not have made
that statement that he just made about himself the day before,
because yesterday he was still greedy, couldn't get enough. Jesus said this day is salvation,
come to this house. for as much as Zacchaeus also
is a son of Abraham." Now here's my text, verse 10, "...for the
Son of Man is come to seek and to save that which is lost."
Lost. Totally, absolutely lost. Unable to change our situation,
Shoot, for that matter, we don't even want to change it! But even
if we did, here's what it takes. The Lord Jesus not only saves
a sinner, He finds him. He seeks him. He doesn't wait
for the sinner to seek Him. Zacchaeus is only inquisitive
as to why he ran up that tree. He didn't even know that God
put him up that tree. He thought that he was the one
that did it. But indeed, things work out exactly as God purposed
and planned, and they always do. All right, here's my question
for you this morning based on Luke 19 and verse 10. Why did
the Lord Jesus come to this earth? What did He come down here for?
If you're very familiar with the Gospels, you know that everything
wasn't pleasant. People tried to kill our Lord
a number of times before He died at the hands of His Father, as
well as the hands of wicked men on Calvary's cross. And they couldn't make Him do
that. He came down here to die. Why did the Lord Jesus come to
this sin-cursed world? To seek and to save that which
is lost. Now, Curtis got a little bit
off track this morning when he had us go to Romans chapter 5.
If you'd turn there just a minute, I'll try to make a few statements
based on Romans chapter 5. Now listen, let me talk to you
before you get too far along. We do not make ourselves sinners. We are not sinners because we
sin. You understand? Just a few verses out of Romans
chapter 5. The first one is verse 12. Here's how we became lost. This is how you become a sinner. Wherefore as by one man, and
that's the first Adam mind you, in the garden if you please,
"...as by one man sin entered into the world." This whole world is a world full
of sinners, and it every bit goes back to the garden when
Adam ate of the tree that God had forbidden them to eat of. "...Wherefore, as by one man
sin entered into the world, and death by sin, and so death passed
upon all men, for that all have sinned." Oh, I'm not saying you and I
don't have plenty of sin, but I'm just telling you here's how
you become a sinner, which involves what? Imputation,
Curtis, and representation. You become a sinner in this manner
so that God can make us righteous in another Adam and a second
man, even the Lord Jesus Christ, and make us righteous and holy
in Him. He cannot condemn you on one
ground and then justify you on another. Leave that to the I might better not say this,
just leave it to the courts of the land, they can do that kind
of stuff and talk out of both sides of their mouth, but God
cannot. God must be just. He may and in fact He is merciful,
but He doesn't have to show mercy. So how did we become lost? Romans
chapter 5 verse 12 Death passed upon all men because Adam had
sinned. He's our federal head and our
representative. Look down at verse 18. Now there are statements that
back this up, not only in the New Testament, but in the Old
as well. But we're just going to have to keep it pretty narrow
this morning. Verse 18, Romans chapter 5, Here's
a restatement now of what we read in verse 12. Therefore,
as by the offense of one, Adam in the garden, the first Adam,
judgment came upon all men to condemnation. And here we are some 2,000 years
since Paul penned these words, and it's still an accurate description
of everybody that's born in this world. judgment came upon all men to
condemnation even so by the righteousness of one here's the other side
here's the wonderful side even so by the righteousness of one
namely the last Adam and the second man according to 1st Corinthians
15 the free gift came upon all men
unto justification of life." Now this is not all men without
exception, but it's everybody that God saves from the start
of the human race to the end. And then again verse 19, for
as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so by
the obedience of one, namely our Lord Jesus, shall many be
made righteous. Our Lord Jesus saves and makes
righteous every soul for whom He died on Calvary's cross and
shed that precious blood. It is a lie straight out of hell
that Christ loves everybody and died for everybody because if
that is true then His death ain't worth talking about. Let's go
play some golf. And I know, I've been right there,
I believe that junk. I converted sinners based on
that false gospel. And I cannot tolerate it ever
again. God shut my mouth forever if
that's the path I'm going to take and renounce what I now
profess to believe and preach. Alright, here's the second question. What does lost mean? What does it mean lost? You can find this, I believe
it's in Ephesians chapter 2, where it gives us three things
to describe what it is to be lost. Oh, you want to turn there? I'll turn with you, because I
can't quote it right now. I can sit at my desk and quote
it much easier than I can here. I don't know why, but that's
how it is. Chapter 2 in Ephesians and verse 12. Here's a three-part description
of what it means to be lost. Here's the simple version first.
Without Christ, without hope. and without God. Here it is in
the verse, that at that time you were without Christ. He's
talking now to the Ephesian believers and what they were in the past.
So this is certainly speaking of us either in the present case
or when we were converted in the past. That at that time you
were without Christ People aren't born knowing and
loving Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth
of Israel, spiritual Israel by the way, and strangers from the
covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in this
present world. Without Christ, who is set forth in our Bibles
as being His people's wisdom, righteousness, redemption, He's
that one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus.
To be without Christ is to be utterly and eternally condemned
No hope, none at all. The word without hope could easily
be without forgiveness, without redemption, without a mediator,
without eternal life, without acceptance before God. To be
without God is to be without God's presence, God's mercy,
God's love, and God's blessings. you don't have to worry about
the blessing. Somebody in town will try to give you some, you
know, about every time you go in a store or something. Those are curses. This is real,
real blessing. Third question. Who is lost? Where do you find
lost people? Have you seen one lately? Like I told you last Sunday,
a sinner is a sacred thing. You know why? The Holy Ghost
hath made him so. God has to take sinners and make
them real sinners in their own eyes. Oh, we confess to doing
all kind of stuff, you know, that's minor, not major. You know, just a little sin here
and there. Nope, that ain't it. This sinner is a sinner from
head to foot. His head, his heart, his body,
his mind, everything is operating against God, against Christ,
and against his own soul. Now, if the Lord Jesus, as we
read in Luke 19, 10, has come into this world to seek and to
save that which is lost, then the Lord Jesus brings to pass
events and circumstances and preachers and believers to encounter
this person, to communicate the message of His grace and of His
mercy. Take, for example, if you still
got to Luke passage, if you turn to chapter 15, for just a moment
I can show you a couple things easier than I can stand here
and try to describe it to you. Now you know that in Luke chapter
15, I hope you know, I think you
know. If you don't, you ought to know. Luke 15 is a single parable with three
parts. Part of it, the parable has to
do with the lost sheep. And if a person belongs to Christ
by divine gift, then His sheep are always lost until He finds
them to seek and to save that which was lost. So in Luke chapter
15 and verse 4 we read, He's lost this sheep, He's got ninety-nine and he's
lost one. What man of you, having a hundred
sheep, if he lose one of them, does not leave the ninety and
nine in the wilderness and go after that which is lost until
he find it? And when he's found it, he lays
it on his shoulders rejoicing, and he comes back and tells all
of his friends and everybody else that wants to hear. And
verse 7 says, I say unto you likewise, that likewise joy shall
be in heaven over one sinner that repents, more than over
ninety-nine just persons which in their own sight do not need
to repent. And therefore they go into eternity
just like they were in this life, tickled to death with themselves
and lost. doomed, damned, and dying, lost. The churches are full of these
people. I used to be one of them, and I believe most of you did
too. I forget who wrote these words.
Oh, beware of faith ill-grounded. Tis but fancied faith at most. all done lost it let me try it again see if it'll
work I doubt it does oh beware of faith ill-grounded tis but
fancied faith fancied faith at most to be healed and not be
wounded is to be found before you're lost it's important folks to find
out that we're lost. And I cannot, I cannot personally
nor can any other human being personally make you believe that. He can put it in up here but
somebody else can put it out the very same way. But if God
takes our words, our prayers, our intercession in their behalf
and pursues the case, the battle is already won. All right, the
fifth question. What does it mean to be saved? Arthur Pink, I forget what book
it's in, I read it somewhere many years ago, defines it this
way. First of all, to be saved is
to be delivered from the penalty of sin. Delivered from sin's
penalty. Secondly, it means to be delivered from
sin's power. Now I can show both of those
to you in the book of Romans. The first one is in chapter 8
in Romans. verse one Romans 8 you know this
by heart I think there is therefore now not will be not used to be now
right now no condemnation that's no it's the same thing as no
damnation to whom? To those who are in Christ Jesus. There it is. Now how about that,
the power? It's over in chapter 6 of Romans
and verse, I believe it's verse 14. Here's what it means to be saved. to be saved. For sin shall not have dominion
over you. Before we're in Christ, sin does
with us whatever it pleases. And sin ain't always a negative
thing. We might in our unconverted state be quite wonderful people
but they're just glaring sins in God's sight because we not
only take delight in people speaking kindly of us in that respect
but we like to think we is somebody and we ain't nothing Christ is
everything sin shall not have dominion over
you now this is a total surprise the first time you lay eyes on
this statement. How come sin no longer rules
over me? It used to. Why not now? Four, that could be also because
you are not under the law but under grace. Now you can't be under grace
unless you're in Christ. And if you're in Christ, sin
cannot reign over you because He won't allow it. I bet you there's more Bible
conferences and religious meetings across the United States of America
to tell people how to live a holy life. and it is all totally worthless! Nothing to it! People are worse
off after going than they were before they went! All right, one more question.
Let's go back to Luke chapter 18 We were in 19, correct? Chapter
18. Now these chapters of Luke 15, 18,
19, I mean they are crammed full of wonderful, wonderful statements
and as well as the the description of what a sinner is and how a
sinner is to be relieved. So the question that I wind up
with, and I believe it's number six, who then, if what I've described
is the truth about the way things are, God, Christ, ourselves,
sin, salvation, if that's the truth, Then who can be saved? Can anybody be saved? Well, let
me read it to you straight out of the book. Beginning at verse
18, in Luke 18, is that famous story about the rich man who
comes running to Christ and falls on his knees and he calls him
good master and our Lord has a problem with him calling him
good master. He could have called him a good God and our Lord would
not have said a word, but he takes a word for a man and speaks
it to Christ as his master, good master. What must I do to inherit
eternal life?" And our Lord kind of gently asked him, you know,
well, have you ever heard of the Ten Commandments? Oh, he
says, I've kept them since I was a toddler, you know, youth. All
my life I've kept them. And the Lord Jesus in infinite
knowledge and wisdom picks just one little thing to let this man find out what's
really in his heart he said go sell all your possessions
and your goods come and follow me and be my disciple and the
man went away sorrowful and our Lord
Jesus told us something about the rich right after this parable
in Luke chapter 18. Now remember, Zacchaeus wasn't
broke was he? He was a wealthy man. God saved
him. But our Lord is here telling
us, if you'll look at verse 25, The Savior says it is easier
for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter
the kingdom of God. Becoming a believer is a divine
work. Nothing is hard for God. The Apostles are amazed in verse
26. They said, who then can be saved? My goodness, if a rich man can't
be saved, who can be saved? Well, the last time I checked, Nobody enters heaven without possessing what is called
in our Bibles poverty of spirit. Blessed are the poor in spirit. And our Lord answers in verse
27, who then can be saved? The things which are impossible
with men are possible with God. You know what our problem is? We don't like to be shut up to
just one option. God, we think we can help him out. We might even be able to do some
things better than he does. I mean, I know we're totally
ignorant about this stuff, but that's what we think. We're born
thinking this. But I know for certain the message
of this book from one cover to the other is salvation is of
the Lord, namely the Lord Jesus Christ, Jehovah God, Father,
Son, and Holy Spirit. Oh, I'm reaching for the wrong
book.