If God will enable me, I want
to show you something this morning of the wisdom and prudence of
His great grace. Ephesians chapter 1 verse 8,
wherein, wherein, that word refers us back to verse 7, and to the
riches of God's boundless grace in Christ. The Apostle Paul seemed
never to be able to express his ideas adequately concerning God's
grace. He speaks of God's grace as the
riches of his goodness, the riches of His glory, he calls it three
times, and hear the riches of His grace. In the riches of His
grace, He hath abounded toward us, constantly bounds out toward
us, constantly works marvelously in our direction in all wisdom. I remember that word wisdom refers
to the infinite knowledge of the all-wise God. And prudence, prudence refers
to the great, the infinitely great skill, the insight by which
our God accomplished his wise and good purpose of grace toward
us in making known the mystery of his will. wherein he hath 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
hath purposed in himself." Now, in these two verses, the Apostle
Paul tells us that our great God has, by His Spirit, abounded
toward us in all wisdom and prudence, in all the knowledge and insight,
in all the wisdom and skill of his infinite being, in the revelation
of the mystery of his will, and he's done it according to his
own good pleasure which he purposed in himself. Now, when you read
the word mystery in Scripture, Do not imagine that it is referring
to something that is mysterious and unknowable. Mystery in Scripture
is referring to something that's hidden and kept secret. The word
mystery, as it is used here, refers to that which cannot be
known except by divine revelation. The mystery is unfolded to us
and revealed to us in the experience of His grace. The mystery of
His will, which God the Holy Spirit has made known to us in
the revelation of His grace, giving us faith in Christ, is
our eternal election and redemption by Christ, that which He purposed
in Himself. You remember in Romans 8, 28-30,
Paul speaks to us of God working all things together for good
to them that love God, to them who are the called according
to His purpose. His purpose being his everlasting
love toward us and that he has called us and justified us and
glorified us in Christ. And his purpose towards such
people is that we ultimately, finally be conformed to the image
of his dear son, the Lord Jesus, that he might be the firstborn
among many brethren. The mystery of his will. is all
that Paul has declared in verses 3 through 7. Look back at those
beginning of verse 3. He tells us, God hath blessed
us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ.
And now he's showing us this great mystery, this mystery that
could not be known, except we are made to experience it. according
as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world,
that we should be holy and without blame before him, having predestinated
us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself according
to the good pleasure of his will. He did it to the praise of the
glory of his grace wherein he hath made us accepted in the
beloved. in whom we have redemption through
his blood, the forgiveness of sins according to the riches
of his grace. Now, God's everlasting love for
us, his eternal purpose of grace toward us, even the redemption
of our souls by the sacrifice of Jesus Christ are secret things. They're hidden. They're hidden. They're hidden. So, Brother John,
everybody knows about those things. Oh, no, you don't. Oh, no, you
don't. These are secret things. And
the secret things belong to God. But the things that are revealed
belong to us and to our children. What on earth are you saying?
These are secret things? The fact of them are not secret
things. The fact that God chose us, that
God chose a people, the fact that God purposed all things,
the fact that Jesus Christ accomplished somebody's redemption, that's
no secret. These things were not done in
a corner. These things are openly proclaimed throughout the Scriptures.
But your election, your acceptance in the blood, Your adoption in
the family of God, your redemption by the blood of Jesus Christ,
the forgiveness of your sins cannot be known except God give
you faith in Christ. And by the gift of faith in Christ,
these things are openly revealed in us. This is what Paul says
in Hebrews 11. Faith is the substance of things
hoped for, the evidence. of things not seen. When faith
is given, the mystery is revealed. How do you know that God loves
you? Well, I learned to sing Jesus
Loves Me when I was a little boy. That doesn't tell you anything. How do you know God loves you?
Well, we know God loves everybody. That's about as useless as anything
I know. If God loves everybody, what does it matter whether He
loves you or not? If God loves everybody and some folks go to
hell, that's meaningless. No, God doesn't love everybody,
He loves somebody. Who does He love? Does He love
me? How do you know that Christ bore
your sins at Calvary, satisfied the wrath and justice of God
for you? How can you be sure of that if you deny that He died
for everybody and redeemed everybody? If He died for everybody and
redeemed everybody, there's no good news to be proclaimed. Because
His blood, His redemption, His death would be meaningless if
multitudes for whom He died perish in hell anyway. How do you know
He died for you then? Faith. is the evidence. Believing Him, I read my title
clear to mansions in the sky. That's all, that's all. God commands
the light to shine out of darkness, and shines in our hearts to give
the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face
of Jesus Christ. Down here in Ephesians 1.13,
In whom you also trusted, After that, you heard the word of the
truth, the gospel of your salvation. How is it that you come to believe
on the Son of God when God the Holy Spirit proclaims in your
soul that you are partaker of these things, that you have an
interest in Christ, giving you faith in Christ? in whom also,
after that ye believed, ye were sealed, sealed by his grace,
by his Spirit." We've got a beautiful picture of this in the very opening
words of Genesis. Turn back there if you will.
Genesis chapter 1. Now this is what happens in conversion.
This is how men and women come to experience grace. This is
how lost sinners are brought to the light and knowledge of
Jesus Christ. This is how blind eyes are opened
and the light shines in our souls. Genesis chapter 1. In the beginning,
God created the heaven and the earth. And then something happened. Then something happened. In the
beginning, God created man upright. And then something happened. And the earth was. The earth became. That's the
word. The earth became without form
and void. That's not the way God created
it. God created all things perfect. But something happened. Some
cataclysmic judgment fell over the earth. And the earth became
without form and void. And darkness was upon the face
of the deep. That's what happened to our race.
That's how come you're in the shape you're in. That's how come
everything about things of God are confusing to you. Because
darkness, darkness, oh, the darkness of your heart, the darkness of
man's depraved mind, the darkness of man's understanding, darkness
over the face of the deep. And then something happens again.
God steps in. Aren't you glad he did? And the
Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. As God the
Holy Spirit moved upon the dark, confused, empty, formless, void
earth. So he moves upon the dark, confused,
empty, formless, void called humanity. And when he moves,
God said, let there be light. He commands the light to shine
out of darkness. in our hearts to give the light
of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. And when God the Holy Spirit
moves and God says, let there be light, there was light. There
was light. I promise you, I promise you,
if God Almighty will open the window of heaven and pour out
His grace in your soul, you who came in here today all shrouded
in darkness We'll walk out of here today walking in light,
light that no man can explain and no man can comprehend, and
light that cannot be gainsayed, light given by God Almighty. The Apostle Paul told the Thessalonian
believers that he knew their election. But how on this earth
can I look at you and say, I know you're one of God's elect? He
said, because our gospel came to you not in word only. but
in power of the Holy Ghost, a demonstration of the Spirit, and in much assurance. And that's exactly how we know
our election. That's exactly how we know our
forgiveness. That's exactly how we know our
redemption by Christ, because God the Holy Spirit gives us
faith in His Son. Our text is telling us, back
here in Ephesians 1, Our text is telling us that the sovereign
purpose of God in redemption and grace is not some whimsical
thing, not some randomly performed thing, but rather God's purpose
of grace in redemption, His purpose in giving grace, is that which
is the exercise of His infinite wisdom and prudence. Paul says,
all wisdom. and all prudence, all the wisdom of God, what a
word, all the insight and skill of His infinite being, that's
what works in the saving of our souls. We see His power in the creation
of this world. Look at the sun. Boy, that's
the wisdom of God. No, that's the power of God.
You look at the stars in the sky. Oh, look at the wisdom of
God. No, that's the power of God.
Look at the intricate detail of humanity. Just the slightest
change in the chemical makeup of our bodies land us in a lunatic
asylum. Oh, that's the great wisdom of
God. No, that's the power of God. That's the power of God. Oh, we see God's great skill
in creating this world, sustaining this world. No, that's the power
of God. Read the book. Where do you see
all the wisdom of God, all the prudence
of God manifest? Only in redemption and grace. And there it is manifest. Manifest. Not so manifest that
we comprehend it. Not by a long shot. Not so manifest
that it can be set down and explained. Not close. But manifest, David,
so that we know it. So that we know it. In a word,
our God not only saves His elect in the only way He could save
us, but He saves His elect in the very best way possible. As is always the case, God teach
me this, His way is the best way in everything, in everything.
So let me show you the obvious wisdom and prudence of His grace.
I said show, I didn't say explain. Explain it, I can't. In fact,
I can only show you that which I know is obvious, and that's
very little. And we'll spend eternity diving
into the depths and soaring into the heights of the wisdom and
prudence of His grace. First, we'll look at the wisdom
of God's grace. And I'll have to move through
these things quickly, but I want to show you several things here
with regard to the wisdom of God's grace, the manifestation
of it. First, I see the wisdom of God's grace in the choice
of His Son to be our Redeemer. I don't pretend to understand
the deep, hidden mysteries of the covenant of grace. I don't understand much of what
I believe, and I don't understand much of what I preach, but there
are some things I know. I know by the revelation of His
grace, I know by that which is written in this book, and I know
by that which God has taught me in the experience of His grace. deep, hidden mysteries of the
proposals and agreements and oaths of the triune God. But I do know that God made a
covenant. I know God doesn't need to plan,
devise, or work anything out in His mind. Mother Donnie Bell
once said, God never forgot anything, and God never learned anything.
That's pretty good. He doesn't need to work things
out in his mind. He doesn't need to plan things
out like we do. But God made a covenant. He declares
it in Jeremiah 31. God the Father made proposals
to His Son for the accomplishment of our redemption. Well, how
can you say that? He said, ask of me and I'll give
you the heathen for your inheritance, didn't He? Our Lord Jesus said
with regard to His obedience unto death, this commandment
have I received of my Father. God the Father made proposals
in the covenant of grace to his Son, proposals which our Savior
voluntarily accepted. He said, I gave my ear. They
bored out my ear with awe. He said, I gave my back to the
smiters. I'm his voluntary servant. And God the Holy Spirit promised
to apply all these things to us. Our Savior striking hands
with the Father. The Lord God has sworn and secured
the salvation of His elect, and He did it before the world was,
before the time began in which we now live, before this thing
called time existed. God the Father proposed conditions
upon which redemption could be accomplished. And God the Son
said, I'll do it. I'll satisfy all the demands
of a holy, righteous, and just God. I will perform all your
will. When he came into the world,
he said, Lo, I come. In the volume of the book it
is written to me, I delight to do thy will, O my God. And God
the Spirit said, at the appointed time of love, I will sprinkle
the blood upon the chosen. And so the covenant was fixed.
Now remember, I'm talking to you about things that took place
before the world began, when no one existed except God, the
Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. And in those councils of peace,
in that covenant of grace, God set His heart upon His darling
Son and chose Him to be the person who would perform this great
work of redemption. Paul describes it this way, He
set Him forth. Peter says, He who verily was
ordained before the foundation of the world. Christ is the Redeemer,
the chosen Redeemer of God's elect. Therefore, He is called,
mine elect whom I uphold. When God set His eye on His Son,
chose Him to be our Savior, chose Him as our surety, chose Him
as our substitute, and accepted Him, He set His eye on us in
His Son, chose us in Him, and accepted us in Him. before the world began. The wisdom
of God is seen in this. Christ is the Redeemer, and God
Almighty says concerning His elect, deliver him from going
down to the pit. I have found a ransom. He says,
I have laid help upon one that is mighty. I have exalted one
chosen out of the people. Wisdom in choosing Christ as
our Redeemer is manifested in numerous ways. Let me call your
attention to just a few. Christ is in every way a fit
and proper person to redeem us. He is himself God and man in
one glorious person. He who would redeem and save
us must be God and man in one person. The Lord Jesus Christ
could not, in his eternal deity, redeem and save anyone. God the
Father could not, in his holy being, redeem and save anyone. God the Holy Spirit could not,
in his infinite capacity as the infinite God, redeem and save
anyone. Now you can be sure When this
preacher says God can't do something, I am very careful about what
I say. God cannot lie. It's contrary to His character.
And God, in His essential being as God, cannot save. Some folks
say, well, God could have saved sinners any way He wanted to.
I had a theology professor. He denied God's sovereignty and
everything, but when it came to blasphemy, he'd stand up for
it. He said God could have saved
folks just by saying, I'll save them. But he chose to save us
by his son so he could show us his great love. Foolish. That's
nonsense. What barbaric cruelty do you
think there is in God? You think he sacrificed his son
for nothing? No, no, no. The only way the holy God could
save Rex Bartley, wash away your sins and bring you to glory,
is if God becomes a man. When God in human flesh I see,
my hope begins to rise. Oh, what wisdom! God Almighty
stepped into humanity and became one of us. The Word was made
flesh and dwelt among us, so that now God provides a sacrifice
of infinite worth A sacrifice that can do the job because the
sacrifice is one with us. A man like us. A man in all things
like we are except this one thing. He knew no sin. He did no sin. No guile was found in his mouth.
He's holy, harmless, undefiled, and separate from sinners. And
this man, because he is the perfectly innocent man, but a man of infinite
worth, because this man is himself God. This man is able to suffer
and to satisfy all the demands of God's infinite holiness. Oh,
he who is God became one of us. People often talk about the virgin birth
and the incarnation of our Lord. We speak of it so commonly, I
think we fail to grasp the wonder of it. He who is the eternal
Jehovah came here as Jehovah's servant. The infinite, omnipotent
God became a finite, feeble man. He who is the eternal spirit
was born of a woman. The immortal God became flesh
and blood. The incomprehensible God came
here in a human body. God. Independent. Self-sufficient. All-sufficient. God. Darwin, he walked on this
earth hungry, needing food, clothing, and shelter. is the eternal I am, got tired
and had to sleep. God, who owns all things, walked
on this earth as a man living upon the charity of human beings. He who upholds all things by
the word of His power lived here as a man possessing nothing. He who knows all things The infinite
God. Is He really a man? He had to
learn how to walk and talk and read and write, just like you. Learned and grew. He who wrote
the law of God and gave it to Moses at Mount Sinai became the
subject to the law and performed obedience to the law as a man.
The holy Son of God. came under obligation and under
the sentence of the law as a guilty sinner when he was made sin for
us. He who is life was made to die. God, infinitely, immutably, unchangeably
happy. Made to suffer sorrow, pain,
torment and death. He who is the object of God's
perfect love became the object of his furious wrath. The sovereign
of heaven and earth says, I am a worm and no man. A worm. A worm. Fear not thou, what did he say? Worm Jacob. Because I became
a worm just like you. I have redeemed thee. Yes, God
the Eternal Son died as our substitute. God Almighty seems to have said
from old eternity, how can I magnify my law and make it honorable?
And he sent his Son into this world to bring in everlasting
righteousness. And the Lord Jesus Christ lived
under the law. He was made under the law, made
of a woman, made under the law, that He might redeem them that
were under the law. And He lived on this earth all
the years of perfect manhood in perfect righteous obedience
to God's holy law, not for Himself, but for us, the people whom He
covenanted to redeem from eternity. And He fulfilled it, fulfilled
every jot and tittle of the law. Not one commandment, not one
ceremony, not one sacrifice, not one ritual, but what He fulfilled
in all by His obedience on this earth. And He did so as the God-man. God demanded of Adam perfect
obedience. Perfect obedience. He said, Adam,
this whole thing's yours. Look at it. Look at it. There
is this whole thing, George. It's yours. There are lots of things I like
to see. I like to visit places. I sure would like to have seen
that. This whole thing, George, gave
Adam every beast of the field as his house pet. Everything
in subjection to him. Everything put under his feet.
Isn't that just one thing I require of you? I require of you the
constant abiding recognition and acknowledgement of my right
to be God. See that tree? That's mine. And you can't have it. That's mine. You can't have it. And Adam reached up with all
the might of his hatred, and tried to knock God off his throne,
and took gods, and plunged us all into death
and depravity. But the purpose of God hadn't
changed. God purposed from eternity to put all things in subjection
under the feet of man. And the Lord Jesus Christ came
here second Adam, the last Adam, and fulfilled all the will of
God, obeying the law and walking before God in the abiding, constant
acknowledgement of his right to be God. That's called faith. lived here perfectly, submissive
to the Father in all things, as our representative. And by
the faith of Jesus Christ, we are justified. By His obedience
as the faithful servant of God unto death, we are justified.
And His life of righteousness as a man, as a man, is of infinite worth before God
Almighty Because this man is God. And then at last he came
to the end of his days. To the fulfillment of his purpose. To the end of his mission in
this world. to the hour for which He had been born, to the hour
for which this world had been made. And He goes up to Mount
Calvary, and takes our sins, and makes them His very own,
and dies under the horrible wrath of God Almighty as our substitute,
as God pours out on Him all the vials of wrath and judgment that
would have sunk a whale to hell. Jesus Christ, with one tremendous
draft of love, drink damnation dry because this man who is perfectly
and infinitely righteous is made sin and God died for us I put you God can't die I know
that I know I'm not a fool I know that I know that But he did. The God-man redeemed us with
his precious blood. And now, oh, what wisdom. This one who died in our stead
has been exalted to the Father's right hand. And the Lord God has turned over
everything to that man. He turned over everything to
him. Turned over everything to him. I remember years ago, Brother
Dr. Brooks, this has been a long
time ago. He was talking about Joseph. And he said, anybody wanted anything,
Pharaoh said, go to Joseph. Go to Joseph. I've made him Lord
over everything. God Almighty has made Jesus Christ
our Joseph. Made him Lord over everything. Oh, what wisdom. What wisdom. He's given him the reigns of
the universe that he should give eternal life unto as many as
the Father has given him. He's given him the rule of the
universe that he should be a prince and a savior for to give repentance
and remission of sins unto all his Israel. Bless God! Who else should have the right
to rule? Jesus Christ had been made to rule this universe, and
the Father has put all things under the feet of man. Remember,
that was his purpose in the beginning. Satan said, I'm not going to
be put under the feet of a man. That was his purpose in the beginning.
The angels who fell and lost their first estate, we will not
serve a man. God said everything will be put
under the feet of a man. That man. That one. All in one
man. Well, we don't see everything
put under the feet of a man. No. Not in the actual manifestation
of it. But we see Jesus, who was made
a little lower than the angels, crowned with glory and honor. And God said to him, sit right
here till I put everything under your feet. And under his feet
all things shall be. Now, let me say just a little
bit, just a little bit about God's prudence. Oh, the prudence
of His grace in accomplishing His great purpose. I see great,
great abounding prudence, wisdom, skill, insight in the salvation
of sinners by Christ the substitute, don't you? He hath made him who
knew no sin, sin for us. that we might be made the righteousness
of God in Him. How on this earth can God Almighty
forgive my sin? How? I can forgive your sin, sort
of. Sort of forgive it. Sort of forgive
it. Because I'm just like you. And
anything that you may do against me, I deserve. Anything. But even in the light of that,
I can't forget it. And it's always back yonder.
That's just all there is to it. That's just all there is to it.
How can God, who says He's holy, and will by no means clear the
guilty. Forgive a sinner only if he can
magnify his law and make it honorable in the sacrifice of a substitute,
only if he can be just and the justifier, only if he can find
a way in mercy and in truth, in justice and in grace, in righteousness
and in peace to forgive the sinner. Behold the Lamb of God. Now, now, by the infinite sacrifice
of that one man who is God, being made sin to put away sin by the
sacrifice of himself. Yeah. God can forgive me by him. God
can forgive me by that man. Yes, sir. I see something of
the marvelous prudence of God's great grace in the work of His great providence. God moves in a mysterious way
His wonders to perform. He plants His footsteps in the
sea and rides upon the storm. Deep in unfathomable minds of
never failing skill, He treasures up his bright designs and works
his sovereign will. And you know what his will is?
The salvation of his people. Get over to the book of Acts.
There's a tribe of people who live off the coast of Italy in
a little island, insignificant little island, Maltese people. Some of you have met Jeanette
Murrell, Bob Murrell's wife down in Collins Grove, Tennessee.
Her family is Maltese. Maltese. They were barbarians. Wild folks. Superstitious. But just like the kind of folks
Brother Heller deals with in New Guinea. Wild barbarians. Barbarians. But God has some
elect people there for whom Christ has died, and they must hear
the gospel, and they must be saved. So two ships leave from
the same port at the same time. One carrying nothing but a band
of cutthroats, sailing under the symbols of the sea gods,
pirates. And you know what they did? They
sail directly to Malta. Not a problem in the world. Not
a problem in the world. Another ship is carrying a prisoner. A prisoner of Jesus Christ for
you Gentiles. And that ship carrying the Apostle
Paul and his companions set sail at the same time from the same
port. They got close to this little
island called Malta, and they ran into a storm. Horrible storm. So much so that everybody was
fearful for their lives, and they began to think about abandoning
ship, and God came to His servant Paul and said, Everybody's going
to be all right. Stay on the ship. Stay on the
ship, but throw everything overboard. And folks didn't want to pay
attention to that. Paul said, it's going to be like I told
you. God said everything will be all right. But you've got
to get rid of everything. So they throw it all overboard.
And they just let her drive. This is beyond my control. Oh,
it's good for us to get that way. This is beyond my control. I can't do anything now. What
do you do? Leave it alone. And let the ship
of providence drive as it will, and it's driven well, for Christ
is at the helm. And you know what happened? The
ship busted flat to pieces. And they all had to make their
way to shore, one way or the other. Best they could, some
swam, and others, we're told, came to shore on broken pieces
of the ship. One of them was a man with a
message from God. And they're out in the shivering
cold, wet, wet. And they're building a fire.
And as they're throwing wood on the fire, this man, Paul,
he looked like everybody else. He didn't wear a collar or anything.
He was just an ordinary fellow. Only difference is, he was a
saved fellow, nothing worse. He knew God and others didn't.
But he's throwing wood on the fire. What a thing for a preacher
to do if you want to get one less thing for a preacher to
do. He went out and gathered wood like everybody else, threw
it on the fire. And as he did, a serpent left over him. A deadly serpent. Everybody on
that island knew if that man gets bit by that serpent, he's
dead. Give it 15 minutes. And Paul
said, went about his business. And then they fell down and started
to worship him as a god. He said, no, no, I'd be like
you, but let me tell you who God is. And God was pleased to
save a multitude on that island. And you know where the other
ship was? Sitting there in port, waiting to take his servant to
Rome to preach the gospel. Oh, the wisdom of God's providence. I'm 56 years old. Now, to some
of you, I know that's young pup. To others of you, that's getting
up there. But I'm 56 years old. And I don't know much about God's
providence. But I could sit down and write
a book. I could write a book. Just identifying
events in my life these 56 years in which God Almighty has altered
the course of families and people and cities and nations just for
me. For one purpose, Because in His
grace 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 had purposed in Himself. I believe in you.