I presume that most of you folks
were raised in the country. I was raised in the city, but
I remember distinctly in those days before you were scared to
death of things being full of broken bottles and pollution
and disease and such as that in all your waterways. I'd go
to the mountains and visit my grandparents. I used to love
to get out in the stream by their house. You know, you'd play in
the stream on one side and drink the water in the spring down
the other side, but it was fairly deep. When I was a boy, at least,
it looked deep to me, and we'd pull our shoes off as soon as
we got there, roll our breeches up, and go wading around just
sloshed around in that cool, refreshing water that was so
delightful. That's kind of what I want to
do this morning. I want you to just, if you can in your mind
at least, take your shoes off and your socks and roll your
breeches up, and we're going to wade around in the most blessed,
refreshing waters you'll ever find. Ephesians chapter 1. Ephesians,
the first chapter. I don't need to tell you this
is one of my favorite passages of Scripture. And I say that
without in any way detracting from any other portion of Scripture,
but there are some passages that are clearly more personally applicable
than others. Let me illustrate it for you.
I don't know anyone whom I've ever heard quote Numbers, the
first chapter, where Moses was inspired of God to give the genealogies
of the children of Israel as they came out of Egypt and were
about to go into Canaan. Now it's very important that
the genealogy is there. It's very, very important because
the genealogies of the Jews trace the history of the Jews right
up to the time of Christ's incarnation and prove him to be without question
that one who was verifiable as the Messiah promised in the Old
Testament. But those genealogies have very
little practical use as far as our day-by-day lives are concerned,
though they are very, very important. Ephesians 1, we'll quote that
a lot, look at that a lot. We talk about that a lot because
that has some practical, constant, daily application to our lives.
So this morning I want us to look at Ephesians chapter 1.
Actually, I had planned to preach a message to you today bringing
in all six chapters of Ephesians, but I I gave it up. I'll stick
to the first chapter and then tonight we'll just take a brief
overview of chapters two through six. But the subject this morning
is grace explained. I want to show you how the Apostle
Paul, by the Holy Spirit, explains to us the teaching of the grace
of God. He understood, as he wrote to
the Ephesians, that he was writing to a people who were themselves
engulfed in religion. They were pagan, they were idolaters,
but they were engulfed in religion, so like most folks in Danville,
Kentucky. Utterly engulfed in religion.
Talk about grace, use the words grace, but have no understanding
whatsoever of what grace is. So he opens the chapter and opens
this epistle with an explanation of the doctrine of the gospel
of the grace of our God. But before we look at the explanation
Paul gives, and I'm going to look at it in a little detail.
I want to tell you why this book is so precious, and I hope it
will become more and more so to you as well. I love this epistle
because of the person of whom it speaks. It speaks constantly
of the Lord Jesus Christ. As I open Ephesians, it seems
no matter where I'm reading, whether in the first chapter
dealing with God's decrees and God's purpose and God's election,
or whether it's in the fourth chapter, dealing with God's instruction
of His people, and edging us about by the ministry of the
Word, wherever I open Ephesians, it brings me immediately into
the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ. I read this book again
on the way home the other day, and I have noticed many, many
times, in the first chapter particularly, how often the words, in Christ,
in Him, by Him, for Him, through him as Christ and so on are used
in the first chapter. But I had never really sat down
and just marked and counted how often those words are used throughout
this epistle. In six chapters, fifty-five times,
and I'm sure I may have said, Paul uses those words, fifty-five
times. I think I know the subject of
the book. The book's talking about him. It's talking about
the Lord Jesus Christ. So that as you open the book,
Wherever you look in these verses, you find Jesus Christ presented
in His saving glory, in His majesty, in His excellency, in His grace
and in His goodness to His people. I love to muse upon the things
written in this book because of the people to whom Paul addresses
himself. Notice he says in verse 1, Paul,
an apostle of Jesus Christ, by the will of God, to the saints
which are at Ephesus." Ephesus. Who were these Ephesians? Well,
they were Gentiles, number one. They were men and women without
any claim upon God, men and women without any promise from God,
men and women without any reason to anticipate any blessing from
God. Not only were they Gentiles,
they were idolaters. They worshipped a false god.
They worshipped many false gods and had no idea who God was. Not only were they Gentiles and
idolaters, but their religion actually promoted, it didn't
just tolerate, it actually promoted every form of sexual perversity
imaginable. In the great temple Diana, one
of the great wonders of the world, In the great temple of Diana,
there was a brothel. It was just fornication and adultery
and such things were not only tolerated, they were actually
promoted and taught just as they are in the religions in our day.
And in Ephesus, you had a great center of learning. These were
brilliant folks, dumb as an ox when it comes to spiritual things,
but brilliant with regard to other things. In Ephesus, there
was a center of culture, of learning, of wealth, so that tradesmen
wanted to move to Ephesus. That's where you go to make money.
The philosophers walked the streets of Ephesus. The orators were
found on every corner in Ephesus. There was a tremendous, tremendous
mix of people in Ephesus. It was considered the light of
Asia Minor. It was the wealthiest city, metropolitan
city in the area, that which attracted everything and everybody. And yet, among these people,
there was no knowledge of the living God. Among these people,
there was no understanding of the character of God. Among these
people, religious as they were, as devoted as they were to their
various forms of religion, there was no understanding of grace
and salvation in Jesus Christ the Lord until God sent the Apostle
Paul there. And he just passed through there,
I believe, on his way back from Corinth and he preached briefly.
And then he came back and as he came back he found twelve
disciples who had been converted. Some out of John the Baptist's
ministry, some of his own. He found them there and he preached
the gospel for two and a half or three years at Ephesus. And
God raised up a thriving, thriving congregation right in the midst
of utter darkness. Right in the midst of utter unbelief,
right in the midst of idolatry and ungodliness, God established
the light and preserved it for many, many years, as long as
it suited his purpose. And so may he be pleased this
day to establish the light and preserve and hold forth the light
of the gospel in this place. What a contrast there is. in
the very first verse, between the person writing the epistle
and those to whom it was written. Notice how Paul speaks of himself.
Paul. Not Reverend Paul. That would
be presumptuous, blasphemously presumptuous. Holy and Reverend
is his name, not mine. Don't you ever call me Reverend.
Don't ever do it. Folks called me on the phone
all the time, is this Reverend Fortner? I said no, you got the wrong
fella. There's nothing reverend about me. And I'm dead serious,
there's nothing reverend about me. I served him whose name is
holy and reverend. Not Dr. Paul. And he had a right
to wear it. This fella didn't go to the drugstore
and buy him a doctor's degree at one of those doctor's degree
drugstores. This fella earned it well, but he speaks of himself
as Paul. not even brother Paul to distinguish
himself from other brethren. Just Paul. Just Paul. Who are
you, Paul? Just Paul. Paul, an apostle. And notice he doesn't say Paul
the apostle. He says Paul, an apostle. Just one messenger among many,
but a messenger. A messenger of Jesus Christ. A messenger from Jesus Christ,
a messenger representing Jesus Christ, a messenger whose message
is Jesus Christ by the will of God. We read it earlier in chapter
3, verse 7, it says, I was made a minister. It wasn't something
I chose. It wasn't something I was looking
for. It wasn't something I was trained for. I was made a minister. And ministers, preachers of the
gospel are not made by Bible colleges and seminaries. Preachers
of the gospel are not made by mama and daddy or by denominations
or even by pulpit committees. Preachers of the gospel are made
by God Almighty. He gifts and calls whom He will
and sets them where He will. And those who are gifted and
called of God to the work, somehow they just know it. They just
know it because God puts them into work, and a man's gifts
make room for him. And as his gifts make room for
him, he understands this is God's doing and not mine. A messenger
of Jesus Christ by the will of God to the saints. Now, these folks weren't waiting
to be made saints. These were not folks waiting
on that silly old man in Rome who can hardly walk to decide
whether or not they could be canonized as saints. They were
not waiting to make themselves saints. These were not, these
were not men and women who somehow by their works lift themselves
up by their own bootstraps into sainthood. Oh no. These are men
and women who are saints. I'm talking to some folks who
are saints. I'm looking for Bobby Estes, a saint of God. What does
that mean? It means he's holy. means he's
sanctified. It doesn't mean he is being made
holy or being sanctified. That's not the language of this
book. It means he is holy because God made him so. He is sanctified
in Jesus Christ because God made him sanctified and faithful. Faithful. All God's people are.
All of mine. I hear preachers all the time
say believers ought to be faithful. Believers are They just are. They don't have to be bowed,
beaten, pushed, and pulled, and tugged, and pumped, and pounded.
They're just faithful. Folks ask me all the time, you
know, you need to do this, do that, get so-and-so to come to
church. My soul, we're here. We hold the doors open all the
time. If you're hungry, come and eat. If you're thirsty, come
and drink. But we're not about to go begging
folks to come tip their hat toward God and do us a favor by coming
to grace us with their presence once in a while. Oh no. Oh no. If you ever find out what's going
on here, you'll count it your highest privilege being here.
If you ever find out what's going on, you'll count it your highest
honor to be part of it. faithful in Jesus Christ, because
God made himself faithful, to the saints which are at Ephesus. What a contrast. Here's this
man, Paul, who by nature, in the circumstances and conditions
of society, would not even rub shoulders with these Ephesians,
lest he defile himself. You talk about racial prejudice.
Man, the Jews, if they came in contact with Bill Rodley, they'd
stop and wash their hands. These Pharisees would have. So
dirty. Spiritually and morally and physically
dirty. We won't have to do you. And
yet Paul now hazards his life. to preach the gospel to these
folks who once he despised and who by nature despised him. And
they're one in Christ. Paul, the scriptures teach us
plainly that not many wise, not many mighty, not many noble are
called. But blessed God, some are. Most
of God's servants, most prophets in the Old Testament, most preachers
and apostles in the New Testament era, are men who were nobodies
and nothings, really. Most of them were shepherds.
Most of them were fishermen. Most of them were men who were
not even skilled tradesmen. They were just ordinary Joes. No education, no specific training,
no great learning, no great theological background. Just some Joe out
there that God called and taught. That's some Joe, though. When
God calls him and God teaches him, that is some Joe. But once
in a while, God would call a man like Isaiah, a prophet in the
king's palace. That's who Paul was. Saul of
Tarsus was somebody. Saul of Tarsus was a As far as
the world is concerned, he was a man whose opinion was respected,
whose words were reverenced. This man had been well-taught
and well-trained. He was probably one of the most
brilliant, well-trained men who walked the streets of the earth
in his day. This man, Paul, was somebody.
And now he's saved by God's grace, a messenger of God's grace. He
considered himself nothing, however, except a messenger. Just a messenger. That's all we are. Just messengers.
Just messengers. Lindsay stood up here a little
bit ago. A messenger. He came here Tuesday night. Looked
forward to hearing what he had to say. Folks tell me he gave
you a message. That Ron, Sunday night, Larry, Sunday morning.
Want to hear those messages. But just messengers. Now, it
doesn't much matter whether the messenger is a brazen well-schooled,
polished orator who chooses every word deliberately and never makes
a grammatical mistake. Boy, he's right on the money.
Whether the messenger is kindly uncouth in his speech, lacks
training, doesn't have any real command of the king's English,
doesn't know the difference between an adjective and an adverb, And
does it matter? Really. Now, I want to be the
best messenger I can. I'm an errand boy, but I want
to be a good errand boy. But at the same time, I recognize
that the important thing is not the way I present the message,
but the message presented. You understand that? Don't get
caught up in the trap of flesh of admiring the messenger. James
admired the messenger. Admire the message. Admire the
message. And no matter who the messenger
is, admire him for his message. You got that? You got that? The messenger is Mecca. The message
is over there. The message is Christ crucified.
Paul said unto me, who am less than the least of all saints,
that's me. I look out of this congregation,
I look at places where I go preach, and I think my soul of all men,
all men, me, messenger, is this grace given that I should preach
among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ. I love this
book of Ephesians because it brings me into heavenly places.
Now look at two or three texts with me. Actually we'll look
at six of them. five of them, rather. This term,
heavenly places, is peculiar and distinct to the book of Ephesians
alone. Do you ever notice it's not used
anywhere else in scriptures? Not even in the Greek text that
I can find. Not used anywhere else in the
scriptures. It's found only in the book of Ephesians, and it's
used five times in the book of Ephesians. The word heavenly
places, or the word that's translated heavenly places, is usually translated
by modern translations But I kind of like the old translation
better. I think it has considerably more
significance. Heavenly places implies heavenly
truths, heavenly doctrines, heavenly words, heavenly possessions,
heavenly experiences, things that are ours given to us by
the grace of God in Jesus Christ the Lord. Look in verse 3, Ephesians
1 verse 3. Heavenly places refers to the
place of eternal covenant blessings in Christ. Open the book and
we read, Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly
places in Christ. Heavenly places then speaks of
that place, if you can call it a place. that place in eternity
before time was when God the Father looked upon God the Son
as our covenant Trinity and blessed us with everything God Almighty
is and God Almighty has and God Almighty requires in Jesus Christ. In Christ. In Christ. Everything God has. Did you get it? Everything God
has that can be given to creatures is ours and has been ours from
eternity. Look in chapter 1 again, verse
19. Heavenly places speak of our
great high priest and the place of his royal, kingly intercession,
advocacy, and sovereign dominion. In verse 19, And what is the
exceeding greatness of his power to usward who believe, according
to the working of his mighty power? That is, we believe according
to the power of God working in us, which he wrought in Christ,
the very same power, when he raised him from the dead and
set him down at his own right hand in heavenly places. There it is, the Son of God seated
in heavenly places in the glory of God himself, seated there
at the Father's right hand, far above all principality and power
and dominion and might and every name that's named. God has seated
his son as our representative, as our high priest in the place
of royal honor and acceptance at his right hand, and there
He makes intercession for us according to the will of God.
And this one who makes intercession for us is none other than the
sovereign, omnipotent King of glory who has power over everything
and everybody. Now then, look in chapter 2 and
verse 6. Heavenly places identifies and
defines our spiritual union and communion with Christ. Look at
this. God has raised us up together
and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ. Now I want you to bow over that
thing a little bit. Yonder upon the throne of in
heaven sets that man, who is God, Jesus Christ the Lord. Do you have any question at all
about that? Any doubt? Any hesitancy concerning
that? I believe, I believe Jesus Christ
arose from the dead and took his seat at the right hand of
the majesty on high, satisfied with all he's done, and satisfying
to God Almighty, forever accepted, forever blessed. The text says,
John 4, at the right hand of God Almighty in Christ and with
Christ accepted, blessed, and honored. Now sometimes I feel far off. I wish it were not so, but honesty
compels me to acknowledge God forgive me, I usually feel far from God. But my comfort, my assurance,
my hope, my faith is not derived from nor found in the cracked,
empty cistern of my depraved heart and my corrupt feelings. and my lying emotions, my faith,
my comfort, my hope, my assurance is found in this book. And this
book, brother, says that surely as I believe Christ, I've been
raised up by God and I sit with him in heavenly places. So that
we can honestly speak and we can confidently say near So very
near to God, nearer I cannot be. For in the person of his
Son, I move nearer to him. Go a step further. This book
teaches us here, brother, that dear, so very dear to God, dearer
I cannot be. For in the person of his Son,
I move nearer to him. Now, if you can get hold of that,
That'll float your little boat through troubled waters. That'll
give you some help. We're raised up together and
made to sit together in heavenly places in Christ. Now then, look
at chapter 6. I'm sorry, chapter 3 again, and
verse 10. These heavenly places are places
where we're taught by divine revelation. to the intent that
now, under the principalities and powers in heavenly places,
might be known by the church the manifold wisdom of God. Here, the Holy Spirit teaches
us that the angels of God gather in assembled congregations
of saints, chosen, redeemed, called sinners like we are. And as we sing and pray and worship,
and as I preach and you listen, as we are instructed in the Word,
the angels of God gather with us right here in this heavenly
place to receive instruction about and grace and salvation. You've come to a heavenly place
this morning. Heavenly place. As near heaven as you're going
to get until you take your last breath. Heavenly place. Heavenly place. Take off your shoes. You're on
holy ground now. And I'm not talking about this
building. Oh no. I've met with folks out on the
beaches down in Mexico. I've met with folks in the jungles,
in the islands. I've met with folks on the ocean
side. I've met with folks under thatched roof. And I've met with
folks who had just sticks tied together for building. I've met
out in cow pastures. I've met together with God's
church in heavenly places where God condescends. to teach us
by his grace. A place of divine revelation. Now then, look at chapter six
and verse twelve. Heavenly places are places of
privilege and perplexity, assurance and anxiety, comfort and conflict. For we wrestle not against flesh
and but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers
of darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high. Do you have a marginal reference
in your Bible? Heavenly places. The world is
an enemy to our father. The devil is in arms against
our king and our master. The flesh is at war with the
spirit. Our carnal hearts are enmity
against God. Therefore we need not be much
surprised if we find ourselves engaged in a daily, constant conflict and warfare. Tomorrow we're made more than
conquerors through them that loved us, gave themselves for
us. That means Christ has conquered our enemies, he's prevailed and
there's no possibility of us being prevailed over. But in warfare, there are constant setbacks and
slow, almost indiscernible gains. And that's the way it's been
with me for thirty years. constant struggle, constant setbacks. And every time I think maybe
I've made one step up the hill, I find my pride and the corruption
of my heart throws me back again. And this warfare I recognize
between flesh and spirit. The warfare over which there
is absolutely, or to which there is absolutely no end, no cessation,
no truce, until Jesus Christ delivers me from this body of
death. And there's good reason for it. As long as we're in this battle,
Rex, our only hope is Christ. to look to Christ, to trust Christ,
to cling to Christ, to call on Christ, to believe Christ. And therefore He's fixed it.
So we must always look to Him, trust Him, call on Him, cling
to Him, be to Him, hide in Him. He must be our all. And indeed
He is. And I love this blessed book
because it talks so much about grace. God's free sovereign the
factual saving grace in Christ. Now let me wrap this up, and
I'll show you a tenfold definition of grace in this first chapter. Here's
Paul's inspired explanation of grace. I'll give it to you one
word at a time. If you want to jot them down,
they'll all be easily remembered. The first word is plurality. You read the first chapter of
Ephesians and you understand that grace, in Bible terms, grace,
true grace, saving grace, flows to sinners through the person
of Jesus Christ, God's Son, our Mediator. But it flows to us
and operates in us by the three persons of the Holy Trinity,
Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Now I stress that for many reasons. First, because it is absolutely
so. It is taught in the scriptures.
We worship one God in the trinity or triunity of his sacred persons,
Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. That one God is revealed and
known only in the person of the Lord Jesus Christ, in whom dwells
all the fullness of the Godhead bodily. But we live in a day
and age in which Various forms of heresy that deny the Trinity
have arisen and have become accepted and have become accepted as being
Christian religions. Mormonism today is looked at
as being Christian. It ain't Christian, not even
close to Christian, less close to Christian than just ordinary
Arminianism is. It's utter idolatry. Mormonism
denies, right out denies that Jesus Christ is God and denies
the doctrine of Trinity. Russellism, Jehovah Witnesses,
people call them Christian. There's nothing Christian about
them. They deny that Jesus Christ is God and deny the glorious
Trinity. You read the first chapter of
Ephesians and the Apostle tells us that all three persons in
the Godhead are actively involved in the work of our salvation.
Salvation was planned by God the Father. It was purchased
for us by God the Son and it is performed in us by God the
Holy Spirit. Now we recognize then that Father,
Son, and Holy Spirit work together in covenant agreement for the
accomplishment of our salvation through the mediation of Jesus
Christ our Lord, the Son of God. The second word is predestination. Look with me in chapter 1 and
verse 3 again. This text of Scripture is sort
of like 2 Corinthians 5.21. I quote it almost every time
I preach. Not accidentally, but deliberately. If I don't quote
it, it's an accident. Blessed be the God and Father
of our Lord Jesus Christ. That is, let's say something
good about God. That's the word. It means eulogize
me. When a person's dead and buried,
you might not have liked him when he was living, but now he's
dead, you don't have to put up with him no more, so you stand
up and say something good about him. Well, here we speak good about God. Not because we're compelled to,
but because we have been spoken well of by God himself from eternity. This is Paul's reason. Since
God has spoken well of us, let us speak well of God. Blessed
be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed,
who hath spoken well, who hath eulogized us with all spiritual
blessings in heavenly places in Christ. How? according as
he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world and
chosen us with this object in mind that we his elect should
be holy and without blame before him perfectly holy in Jesus Christ
the Lord in love having predestinated us unto the adoption of children
by Jesus Christ to himself according to the good pleasure of his will
Now, predestination is not a deep, mysterious, complex, hard-to-understand
doctrine kind of tucked away back here in Habakkuk somewhere. No, it's not some complex, hard-to-understand
thing. Predestination simply means to
determine beforehand. Anybody who doesn't understand
that? I'll stop and get a dictionary and read it to you. It just simply
means determined beforehand. You mean, Pastor, according to
what you just read, God Almighty has predestinated that some men
and women be His children forever in Jesus Christ the Lord? You
got it. That's exactly what it means.
That's exactly what it means. And in sovereign predestination,
God has from eternity arranged everything that comes to pass
before anything came to pass to accomplish that purpose of
grace so that all his chosen shall be blessed of him and be
found before him holy and without blame in Jesus Christ whenever
they go. So I don't like that. If you
ever get into it, you will. If you ever find out what it
is, you'll like it. Oh yeah, grace involves predestination. And where there is no declaration
of God's sovereign purpose of grace in predestination, there
is no declaration of the gospel of the grace of God revealed
in this book. The third word is praise. in
verses 6, 12, and 14, we're taught a standard by which to judge
all doctrines, judge all religions, all religious activities, all
religious songs, all religious ideas, all religious notions,
judge everything by this standard, everything. You pick up a newspaper
and you read what's going on in church and They got this club,
and that club, and they got this activity, and that activity,
and they got this ball game, and that ball game, and they
got this show, and that show, and they got this program, that
program. Ask one question. One question. One question. You read a sermon. If you want a distressing comedy
routine, read the announcements and titles of sermons in the
newspaper. Read them, listen, listen. Lindsay teaches Sunday
school class, listen. I preach, Larry, Rod, Lindsay
preaches, listen, listen. Turn on radio, television, plug
a tape in, listen. And judge everything by one question. Who gets the glory? Who gets the glory? What's the
intended purpose? Who gets the glory? Because everything
regarding the gospel of the grace of God is to the praise of his
glory. Everything. Everything. The fourth
word is position. In verse six, we are told that
we are in Christ. That's our position. What a place to be in Christ. In Christ. I've talked to a lot of folks
who find security because they're in the Catholic Church and some
because they're in the Baptist Church and some because they're
in the Mormon Church or some other church. Some because they're
not in any church. The only place where there's
any peace security, comfort, safety, and salvation for your
soul is right here in Christ. In Christ. We were in Him by
God's purpose from eternity. And now we have been put in Him
in the experience of grace by faith. And being in Christ, we
are accepted. That doesn't mean acceptable. That'd be pretty good. That's
what it means. It means we're accepting. The word is the same
word that is used when the angel said to Mary, thou art highly
favored, God, in his perfect holiness. That God we read about last week
who has a purer eye than to behold in this looks on Mark Henson in Christ and smiles. With favor, I take thee up. Nothing to offend, nothing to
disbelieve, nothing to cause God to draw back or push you
away. Accept. And Mark, that's where
it's always been. You just got in on it a few years
ago, but that's where it's always been. God hadn't changed his
mind. We were accepted before he made
the world. Accepted when our father Adam
fell. Accepted when we came forth from
our mother's womb speaking lies. Accepted all the days of our
rebirth. Accepted when by nature children
of wrath even as others. Accepted when we trusted him
and accepted now and accepted forever. No change, no variation. Now then, look at verse 7. Here's
the fifth word. by which grace is defined, purchase, in whom we have redemption through
his blood, even the forgiveness of sins according to the riches
of his grace. There are some sinners in this
world who have been, by the precious blood of Jesus Christ, out from under the wrath and
justice of God's offended law, purchased from the curse of the
law, for whom Jesus Christ by his blood has entered at once
into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption. Jesus Christ
by his blood didn't make something possible, he did something. He
didn't make it possible for us to be redeemed. He redeemed us.
He did not make it possible for us to be purchased. He purchased
us. Purchased us as his everlasting
possession. The sixth word is pardon. Now, those who have been purchased,
those who have been redeemed by the blood of Jesus Christ
are pardoned. As a matter of fact, as you read
verse 7, It seems that Paul gives a definition to the word redemption
by these words, the forgiveness of sin according to the riches
of his grace. They're used synonymously. In other words, those for whom
Christ died Those for whom the blood of Christ was shed, those
who were purchased by the blood of Jesus Christ are those who
on the basis of that blood are pardoned, forgiven of all sin. Here we are, predestined, positioned
in Christ, purchased by blood, pardoned. pardoned of all sin. All sin. Past, present, and future. Some of God's saints, by reason
of poor, poor instruction, carry a terrible baggage of guilt because of sin. And they, you
know, I get letters and calls Folks stop by the office and
visit with me. Folks come through town and want to chat with me.
You know, they went through a divorce and some preacher told them they've
got to suffer for that the rest of their lives. They've been
divorced and remarried. Brother Ken Weimer would tell
me about folks in Africa, some of those idiotic missionaries
go down there and a fellow's got several wives and he'd tell
them to get rid of all the wives and kids except for one. That's
called grace. That's idiot. But what do you do? Pardon. God says, forgive. If thou, O Lord, shouldst mock
iniquities, O Lord, who should stand? But there is forgiveness
within. Aren't you glad? Forgiveness. And when God forgives, He so
thoroughly forgives, that there are no consequences to bear in
everlasting glory. That means he never brings the
issue up. He never, he never brings it
up and holds it over your head. You've been forgiven. Forgiven. The next word is providence.
Listen to the way in which the Holy Spirit explains the intricate
details of God's adorable providence, beginning in verse 10, that in the dispensation of the
fullness of times, he might gather together in one all things in
Christ. This is God's purpose, he says.
He's going to gather everything in Christ, both which are in
heaven and which are on earth, even in him, in whom also we
have obtained. Isn't that wonderful? Not we're
going to get if we hold out and hold on and persevere and keep
doing good. It says we have obtained. We
have obtained an inheritance being predestinated. This is
how we obtained it. According to the purpose of Him
who worked it. We have obtained this because
of God's predestination that's passed. Who is now presently
working all things after the counsel of His own will. that
we should be to the praise of his glory who first trusted in
Christ. I've got to hurry, but I want
you to understand that God's providence is the outworking
of God's predestination and his purpose, that at last, Paul and I were talking last
night for the Paul Harris He was urged to take some tests
and apply for Canadian citizenship when he was in college. He said,
you know, I don't know why I had no interest, but probably I'd
have never heard the gospel. Had no interest in God. No regard
for God. Didn't give a hoot who God was
or what He was. But he had an interest in it. is stand before Him to the praise
of His glory, holy, unblameable in Christ. The next word is performance. Grace is not a proposition, but
a performance. It's not something God offers,
it's something God does. We do not believe according to
the propositions or the offers of God's grace, but as the result
of the operations and performances of God's grace. This operation
of grace by which we believe has an intimate, indivisible
relationship with the word of truth. Look at verse 13. In whom you also trusted, that
is just exactly As God the Father trusted the surety with his glory
and his elect, so you also trusted Christ the surety with your soul's
everlasting salvation. After that you heard, not before
but after, after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of
your salvation. The gospel is called the word
of truth because it reveals him who is the truth. It is called
the gospel of your salvation because it is that means by which
God brings salvation to you. It is called by John the word
of life because it is the means by which the Holy Spirit gives
life to chosen redeemed sinners. Do you believe? Do you believe
on the Lord Jesus Christ? Bob, you're getting ready to
confess that you believe on him. Do you believe on the Son of
God? Do you believe on Jesus Christ
the Lord? If so, it is because God, by
his word, has spoken the word of life to you, caused you to
hear the gospel of your salvation, and revealed in you him who is
the way, the truth, and the life. The next word, look at verses
13 and 14 again, is preservation. In whom ye also trusted, after
that you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation.
In whom, there it is again, in Christ. In Christ also, after
that you believed, or having believed, ye were sealed with
that Holy Spirit of promise, which is the earnest of our inheritance
until the redemption of the purchased possession. A seal implies several things.
When you talk about a seal, for example, that is placed on the
back end of a trailer, they load up a trailer. I used to load
freight when I was in school. We'd load up the trailers and
drive and pull that thing off the dock. I wasn't allowed to
seal it. My hands weren't good enough. I just part-time hired
help. They paid me by the hour. Now
when they got ready to seal that thing, They sent a foreman out
with a seal. He tied it up, put a piece of
lead on there, and sealed it. He sealed it. Now that seal implied
some things. First, it implied privacy. That
means you got no business looking in here. This is private stuff. This is private stuff. I seal
an envelope. That's for privacy. I don't want
you reading my postcard. It's private. and secret things belong to the
Lord. Ron Wood, you've been sealed. Sealed. Private property. That's the next thing. That which
is sealed is the property of the one who sealed his opponent. Seal also implies preciousness. An item that has been sealed
is at least relatively precious. Its preciousness is determined
both by the one who owns it and by the reason why he holds it
dear. And you and I, who are God's
private property, are precious to him. And a seal implies preservation
as well. The thing sealed is preserved
from harm or spoilage. I've often told you during this
time of the year I try to help shove a little bit of stuff in
the garden. I'm not much of a house husband. I wouldn't pass mustard
for 20th century husbandry. But I try to help a little bit. She cans a little bean. We set and break them up. She
washes them, fixes them, gets the jars ready, gets the lids
and rings ready. My job is to salt and seal. I
put a teaspoon of salt in each quart of beans, tie those ladies
down, put them over in the canner, tie it down, wait a few minutes,
take it off, set them off after the pressure goes off. This is
what I think of, ping, ping, ping. These ladies have all done
it. Next spring, Our next winter,
or the winter after that, if they last that long, she'll open
those things up, pull that lid off. That means it's still good. The seal kept. It was good, preserved
from harm or spoilage. And you and I, who are in Christ,
are preserved by the grace of God from harm or spoilage until
the redemption of the purchase of salvation. The resurrection
of these bodies. that had been purchased by the
blood of our Lord Jesus Christ. The last word is power. Verses
18 through 20, the Apostle Paul here talks about the power by
which we believe. We believe according to the working
of God's mighty power. You see, grace, like God, is
omnipotent and irresistible. omnipotent and irresistible. Grace is that by which God makes
chosen redeemed sinners willing in the day of his power to call
on his God. It's the very same grace by which
God raised the dead body of our crucified Redeemer. The very
same power. What does it take? To get a sinner
to believe on Christ, what does it take? Nothing but the power of God. Nothing but the power of God. And when God calls you by His
grace, you will have no will to lose Him. And you'll be glad
it's that way. Ezekiel, can these bones live? Lord, I don't know, but you do. Well, prophesy to the bones,
so I prophesied. And I said, Oh wind, spirit of
God, come and breathe on these slaves. They arose, a mighty
army. And so shall I do to all the
children of Israel, that is to all my elect, saith the Lord."
Amazing grace. How sweet the sound that saved
a wretch like me. I once was lost, but now I'm
found. Was blind, but now I see. And that's not all. The Lord
has promised good. His word my hope secures. He will my strength and portion
be as long as life endures. And when this heart and flesh
shall fail and mortal life shall cease, I shall possess within
the veil a life of joy and peace. I trust you'll join me. in that
blessed life of joy and peace by the grace of God. Amen.