Todd's Road Grace Church would
like to invite you to listen to a sermon by our pastor, Todd
Nyvert. We are located at 4137 Todd's
Road, two miles outside of Manowar Boulevard. Sunday services are
at 10.30 a.m. and 6 p.m. Bible study is at
9.45 a.m. Wednesday services are at 7 p.m. Nursery is provided for all services.
For more information, visit our website at toddsroadgracechurch.com. Now here's our pastor, Todd Nyvert. I'm preaching upon this subject
the purpose and the wisdom of God. We begin reading in verse
8 of Ephesians chapter 3, Paul says, unto me, who am less than
the least of all the saints. Now that wasn't mock humility
on his part. He believed himself to be less
than the least of all the saints. And when he grew in grace more,
he called himself the chief of sinners. But he says unto me,
who am less than the least of all saints, is this grace given,
that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches
of Christ. And to make all men see what
is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the
world hath been hidden God, who created all things by Jesus Christ
to the intent or for this purpose, that now unto the principalities
and powers and heavenly places-that's speaking of angels, angelic beings-now
unto the angels might be known through the church, they're going
to come to this knowledge through seeing God's dealings with the
church, the manifold wisdom of God according to the eternal
purpose which He purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord. The purpose and the wisdom of
God. Now Paul tells us of an eternal
purpose, which was purposed in Christ Jesus. This purpose is
eternal. It was made before the foundation
of the world, and it was to be executed in time. And an angelic
audience is going to watch this eternal purpose being executed
in time, and that's talking about the Lord coming in time and taking
on flesh and keeping the law and putting away sin, the angels
will be watching that God might reveal to them His manifold wisdom. Now let's begin with His eternal
purpose. Notice it says, according to
the eternal purpose, which He purposed in Christ Jesus our
Lord. God is a God of purpose. Everything He does is on purpose. Somebody once said to a preacher,
I don't understand election. And he said, well, he said, are
you saved? The person said, well, I believe
I am. Did you save yourself or did
God save you? And he said, oh, God saved me.
And he said, did he do it by accident or on purpose? He said,
I see. I understand. God is a God of
purpose. Now, if there is no God, nihilism
is true. There's no meaning. There's no
meaning to life. There's no purpose. Everything
is random, chance. But you know, really, when it
comes right down to it, nobody really believes that. Somebody
says, I don't believe in God. Yeah, you do. Yeah, you do. You
may try to convince yourself that there is no God, but deep
down everybody knows that somebody made all this, this creation,
and nobody made him. Everybody believes that God is,
and this God is a God of purpose. I don't know how many times I've
heard men and women maybe not even religious. Quote half of
Romans 8, verse 28. Well, everything works for good. I believe everything's going
to work out. I think there's a reason everything's working for good.
Well, let me quote the Scripture to you. And we know that all
things work together for good to them that love God, to them
who are thee called according to his purpose. In Isaiah chapter 14, verse 24,
"...surely as I have thought it, so shall it come to pass. As I have purposed it, so shall
it stand." Verse 27 says, "...for the Lord of hosts hath purposed
it, who shall disannul it?" Isaiah 46, 11 says, "...I have spoken
it, I will also do it. I have purposed it. I will also
bring it to pass." Now, this is who God is. Everything done
in time, He has purposed in eternity. Anything else is not God. A God
that's not just like that is a non-existent God. This is the God of the Bible. And note the eternal purpose,
which He purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord. Human religion begins
with this, man and the help God can give him. Man and how God
can help your life and make your life better. Now somebody that
knows God doesn't begin there. In the beginning, God. We begin
with who He is, His true character. In the beginning was the Word,
and the Word was with God, a distinct person, and the Word was God,
the Son of the living God. We begin with God, and He purposed
everything in creation to fulfill this end, Christ being the Lamb
slain from the foundation of the world. This universe was
created for the cross. The fall of man was for the cross. All things are for the cross. The cross is the most godlike
thing God ever did, and He manifests who He is. All of His glorious
attributes are seen in the cross of the Lord Jesus Christ. Now
listen to these scriptures. II Timothy 1.9 says, He saved
us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our
works, but according to His own purpose and grace, which was
given us in Christ Jesus before the world began." Ephesians 111
says, being predestinated, according to the purpose of Him who worketh
all things, after the counsel of His own will. Romans 911, speaking of Jacob
and Esau, for the children, being not yet born, neither having
done any good or evil, that the purpose of God according to election
might stand, not of works, but of him that calleth. It was said
unto her, The elder shall serve the younger, as it's written.
Jacob, have I loved? and he saw have I hated." God's
purpose is that salvation might not be by works. Romans 8.28
says, "...and we know that all things work together for good."
to them that love God, to them who are the called according
to His purpose." You see, God really is God, and He exercises
sovereign, absolute, complete control over the free and uncoerced
actions of men. Yes, you do what you want to
do, but God exercises sovereign control over that. Somebody says,
well, I don't know if I like that. I do. I do. I love the
God of the Bible, the God of purpose. Now, notice the last
phrase of verse 9 in our text. It says, God created all things
by Jesus Christ to the intent, or for this purpose, that the
principalities and powers in heavenly places. That's talking
about angels. angels, principalities and powers
in heavenly places. He's going to demonstrate to
them through what He does for the church. They're going to
observe. They're going to see. He's going
to see and display to them through what He does for the church His
own manifold wisdom. Now, the Bible has a lot to say
about angels. They're created beings. Peter
tells us they're greater in power and might than we are. I don't
know that I've ever seen an angel. The scripture says, be not forgetful
to entertain strangers, for thereby some have entertained angels
unawares. It could be that I have entertained an angel unawares.
I don't know, but I don't know, I don't believe I've ever seen
an angel. There are two different kinds
of angels, elect angels and fallen angels. The fallen angels, we
read about the fall of Lucifer in Isaiah chapter 14. the fallen
angels, the demonic spirits. Some say that a third of the
angels fell from that Scripture in Revelation 12, where the dragon
knocked a third of the stars of heaven down to the earth.
That's supposed to be the fall of Satan and his angels. And
they fell. They hate God. They sought to
deceive Adam and Eve. It was Satan in the body of a
serpent that sought to deceive Adam and Eve. And I think this
is interesting. In Luke chapter 4, when Satan
was tempting the Lord Jesus Christ, he's trying to get Him to fall.
I guess he didn't know that the Lord couldn't. You know, the
Lord's impeccable. He cannot sin. I've heard people
say, well, if He couldn't sin, what is the reason for temptation. Well, I know if the Lord could
sin, He would not be immutable. He could be changed. And that
is a complete denial of His character. But at any rate, the devil was
trying to tempt Him to sin. And look what it says in verse
5 of Luke chapter 4, the devil taking Him up into a high mountain
showed Him to all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time.
Every government at that time, every future government, every
past government, all the kingdoms of the world. And the devil said
unto him, All this power will I give thee in the glory of them.
For that is delivered unto me, and to whomsoever I will, I give
it." You see, Satan is called the god of this world, and he
controls Governments-you know, people say America's a Christian
nation. No, it's not. Never has been,
never will be. There's no such thing as a Christian
nation. Satan controls the world. Now, he's under God's thumb. He's God's devil and can't do
any more than God wills for him to do, and he ends up carrying
out God's purposes. He doesn't know it. You know,
when the Lord was crucified, he thought, I've won. I've finally
defeated him. And he didn't realize that he
had been delivered his final death blow, and his head was
crushed by what the Lord did on the cross. He doesn't realize
that he's doing God's will, but he's God's devil on God's chain. And he and his fallen angels
and demons and so on. And then there's who Paul calls
the elect angels. Now, they're spoken of throughout
the Scripture. As soon as Adam and Eve fell,
we read of two cherubims who kept them out of the garden.
That's some kind of order of angels. There were the angels
that came with the Lord to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah. It was an
angel that announced the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ to Mary
and Joseph. His name was Gabriel. Angels
came to the shepherds at night. There were angels present at
the resurrection, and there will be angels who come and gather
the elect from the four corners of the earth. And when the Lord
returns, he's going to come again with his mighty angels in flaming
fire, taking vengeance on them that know not God and them that
obey not the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. Why, even heaven
is described, part of heaven is described as an innumerable
company of angels. And angels, the Scripture says,
desire to look into these things, these things of salvation, because
it shows the greatness of God. I think of the great mystery
of godliness. God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the
Spirit, seen of angels. Oh, how they were amazed and
stood in awe when the mighty Creator The Ancient of Days,
the Infinite, became an infant. They thought, what is He doing?
How they were amazed as they saw Him mistreated by wicked
men. And I'm sure they were ready
to smite at the command of the Father. They, what is this? They were amazed as God demonstrated
His manifold wisdom to them. I think of when the Lord was
nailed to a tree. They're thinking, what is going
on? They were amazed how God is demonstrating who He is through
the cross. But you would never know who
God is, you would never know His manifold wisdom except through
the cross of the Lord Jesus Christ. But angels, oh, He's demonstrating
to them through what Christ did for the church, the manifold
wisdom of God. Let's talk for a few moments
about the church. We've talked about God's purpose. We've talked
about angels. Let's talk about the church.
It is the church that God is going to make known His manifold
wisdom through His dealings with the church. What is the church?
The church is the elect. The church is those for whom
Christ died. The church is His bride. Husbands,
love your wives as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself
for it. Feed the church of God, which
He purchased with His own blood. Hebrews 12.23, the church is
called the General Assembly and Church of the Firstborn, whose
names are written in heaven. Understand this. There are local
churches. I pastor a local church. And then there is the universal
church. That's every believer to ever
live. Now, this church It never grows,
and it never diminishes. It's an exact number, all of
God's elect, all of those whose names are written in the Book
of Life of the Lamb, slain from the foundation of the world. Now, in a local church, you always
have wait and tares. People come, people go. Sometimes
it seems to get bigger, sometimes it seems to get smaller. But
in the church, big C church, the church that is the bride
of Christ, his body, it never grows and it's never diminished. Now, you see all kinds of organizations
that identify themselves as churches, big churches, seeker churches,
and all of these different things. Now, the church is only identified
by the gospel it preaches. If the gospel is not preached,
whatever else it is, it's not a church. It's some kind of man-made
religious institution. But a church is identified by
the gospel it preaches. If the gospel is not preached,
it's not a church. Now, this church, the one of
which the Lord said, He walks in its midst. Where two or three
are gathered together in my name, there I am in the midst of them.
He's still the one who walks in the midst of the candlesticks,
which refers to those seven local churches in Revelation chapters
2 and 3. This church, though insignificant
to man, doesn't even count, no influence, no power. The natural
man sees no beauty in the church of the living God, but it's the
apple of God's eye. And the church, every member,
is comprised of sinful men and women saved by Christ to manifest
the manifold wisdom of God. This is the purpose of the church,
for God to demonstrate His manifold wisdom, to make known His own
glory. Let me remind you of something
I've already said. The Church, the world was created, the Church
was made for the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.
All God does, He does for His own glory to manifest who He
is and to demonstrate His manifold wisdom. What is this manifold wisdom
of God that he shows through the church to this audience of
angels that he purposed before time began? What is the manifold
wisdom of God? It's chiefly this, how God has
made a way to be just and justify people who are unjust. That's the chief wisdom of God. He's made a way for God to be
just and still justify ungodly, unjust men and women. Now, have you ever considered
that? Have you ever given this any thought? How can God be just
and justify someone who's guilty? You know, He said, I will by
no means clear the guilty. Now, let me say this regarding
the God of the Bible. The God of the Bible is a holy
and just God, and He will not let one sin go unpunished. If He did, He would no longer
be just, He would no longer be God. God is just. God is holy. God must punish
all sin. Now, somebody may think, why
can't He just forgive sin? Because He's God, because He's
just, because He's holy. What would you think of a human
judge who, let's say, someone murdered your child maliciously,
and the judge said, well, I'm going to forgive him? Why, he
would be outraged. That would be wrong on that judge's
part. A judge would be unjust if he'd
simply pardon criminals. Now, the great question is, how
can God be just and yet justify people who are sinners? Now,
the church is comprised of sinners. Guilty, unjust people. How can God be just and justify
and declare to not be guilty people who are actually guilty
and sinful? Now, men could not come up with
an answer to that question. A judge could think, well, this
person is guilty. I found them guilty, but I'm
going to make it to where they're not guilty anymore. Men can't do that. That's
beyond the scope of man's ability. And if he could think of a way
to do it, he'd like the power to execute it. This is something
beyond the ability of man, this glorious manifestation of God's
wisdom. Now, what wisdom we see when
the infinite God, the holy God, gave His Son to be the substitute
for His people." Now listen carefully. This is the very heart and soul
of the gospel. God gave His Son to be the substitute
for His people. Now what does that mean? That
means my sins. my actual transgressions, the
evil things that I thought, the evil things that I've done. God
gave those to Christ so that he became guilty of those actual
transgressions. When he died on Calvary's tree,
it was not an innocent victim dying. He was guilty. That's why he didn't open his
mouth in self-defense. He knew he was guilty. Now, he never sinned. He knew
no sin. He did no sin. In him was no
sin. He said regarding Satan, the
prince of this world hath come and found nothing in me. He found
nothing to work with. There's nothing that he could
grab hold of. I'm perfect. I'm without sin.
He took that perfect righteousness and gave it to everybody he died
for. So God has found a way to be
just. and justify me, make it to where
I am not guilty, where he can say to me, Well done, thou good
and faithful servant, enter thou into the joy of thy Lord. I did
do well, because the very life of Christ is my life before God,
just as my sin became His sin, and He died for it. And God's
law is honored. God's justice is satisfied. Sin
is punished in the Lord Jesus Christ. And His perfect righteousness
actually becomes my righteousness, that I'm guilty of committing
it. I'm guilty of being perfect. That is the great mystery of
the gospel, how God can be just and justify the ungodly. What wisdom is seen in the gospel
of the Lord Jesus Christ? How this magnifies is love. God
is love. And what-and let me say this
about the love of God. It's not what religious people
have it out to be. God's love is not unconditional.
God doesn't love everybody. He said, Esau, have I hated? God doesn't love all men with
that exception. Thou hatest all workers of iniquity. And God's
love is not unconditional. If He loves you, it's because
in Christ you deserve His love. And he said concerning his people,
how this honors his love. The Lord said concerning his
people to his father in this great high priestly prayer, thou
has loved them as thou has loved me. And he said to his people,
as the father has loved me, so have I loved you. Oh, the love
of God that he would give his son. I stand amazed in the presence
of Jesus the Nazarene and wonder in amazement how he can love
me. And you know that angels were
watching all this. The angels are saying, what love
that He would give His Son for people like that. What love that
He would love them the way He loves His Son. Oh, the angels
stand in wonder. What wisdom is seen in making
His people more secure than they would have been had Adam never
fallen. Now, had Adam never fallen, we'd be standing on our own as
long as we can stand. But if we fall, it's over. But
because of the death of Christ, God's people can never fall away.
They're all together secure, accepted in the Beloved, saved
in Christ. And what wisdom he demonstrated
in saving in such a way as where he gets all the glory, and no
glory goes to man. You ask any believer, Do you
get any of the credit in your salvation? No, no. He did it
all. We don't give our works the credit.
We don't give our free will the credit. We don't give our efforts
the credit. Not unto us, not unto us, but
unto thy name give glory for thy mercy and thy true sake. All glory goes to him and we
have complete rest in what he did. Now listen to me. I'm resting in Him. I'm resting
in Him. I'm complete in Him. Oh, what
peace there is, because He is our peace. Now, I am trusting
Him completely to save me, and all my eggs are in this basket.
If He didn't do it all, there's no hope for me, but thank God
He did it all, and He demonstrated His glorious wisdom in making
a way to be just and to justify, to declare to be not guilty,
somebody like me who in and of myself am nothing but sin. Praise God for His glorious grace. We have this message on DVD and
CD. If you call the church right away, we'll send you a copy.
This is Todd Kniper praying God will be pleased to make Himself
known to you. To request a copy of the sermon
you have just heard, send your request to messages at toddsroadgracechurch.com. Or you may write or call the
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