Now, the study this evening will
be taken from Ephesians, the fifth chapter. Ephesians, the
fifth chapter, but I want to back up for just a moment into
the preceding chapter and understand that chapter divisions are something
that the translators put in there and sometimes, well, most of
the time, they are helpful for us to find the third chapter,
the fifth chapter, the sixth chapter, but sometimes they put
in a disconnect, because this is all written in one thought
and one inspiration given to Paul. He said, Be ye kind one
toward another. And I think we see in this verse
tenderhearted, forgiving one another. I think we see in this
verse what I'm calling, and I don't know if this is a proper term
or not, you can line me out if I'm wrong, but we see in this
verse the attributes of faith. Some of the attributes of faith,
that faith that's God-given, the faith of God's elect, it
causes us to be tender-hearted. It causes us to be kind one to
another. It causes us to have a forgiving
spirit, a spirit of patience and long-suffering with others
who may have wronged us. Even so, even as, even as kind,
tender-hearted, forgiving, even as the Lord Jesus Christ, even
as God, for the Lord Jesus Christ's sake, for His blood, His righteousness,
His offering, His sacrifice, His obedience, even as God, for
Christ's sake, hath forgiven you. Hath forgiven you. Now that's a blessed, blessed,
that's a blessed man. To be forgiven of God. Now you
think of all that we are, all that we have done, all that we've
committed against God, all the sin and trespasses, all of our
iniquity, we have been forgiven. Forgiven. Hold to that. Forgiven. Eternally forgiven. Not just mom and dad. Not just the church. forgiven
of God. Just think about that for a while.
That will comfort your heart, that will warm your heart, that
will cause you to rejoice in the Lord Jesus Christ. It'll
cause you to have no confidence in the flesh. It'll cause you
to worship God and to rejoice in that glorious atonement that
the Lord Jesus Christ made on the behalf of His people. God, for Christ's sake, hath
forgiven freely, for giving you all your sin. The blood of Jesus
Christ, God's Son, cleanses us from all our sin before God. That's the good news of the Gospel.
The Lord Jesus Christ came to save sinners. He came to seek
and to save that which was lost. Now all we like sheep have gone
astray, we've turned everyone to our own way, but the Lord
laid on Him our iniquity, put away our sin by the sacrifice
of Himself. Now, having said that, look at
verse 1 in chapter 5. Be ye therefore, be ye therefore,
now that looks back to what has been said. Be ye therefore followers. followers of Him. How could you
not? He's forgiven you all sin. He's
given you an eternal pardon. Who can lay anything to the charge
of God's elect? There is no condemnation to those
who are in Christ Jesus. How could you not be a follower
of the Lord Jesus Christ? How could you not be one in love
with Him? In union with Him? In league
with Him? And serve Him as a loving bondservant? Be ye therefore followers of
God. Now it's interesting this word
here, followers, if you look it up, it actually means be a
imitator. Be a imitator of God and do this
as dear children. Believers are, believers are
followers of God. Believers do love to imitate
their father. God Almighty. He said, Be ye
holy therefore, because I'm holy. We love to follow Him in that
way that's honoring to God Himself, to His Word, to His Truth, to
His Gospel. Believers are followers of God,
looking to the Lord Jesus Christ to provide all things for them
as His beloved and dear children. Dear children. You know, dear
children are children that are loved of God. Loved of God as
dear children. And they are followers. Believers
are followers. The Lord said, describing His
sheep, you remember, excuse me, John chapter 10, as He describes
His sheep, He said, I give them eternal life. And they'll never
perish. All that the Father hath given
me, they shall come to me." In John chapter 6. But in John chapter
10, remember those Pharisees said, if you be the Christ, tell
us plainly and we'll follow you. We'll believe you. And the Lord
said, I told you. I told you I'm the Christ. But
he said, you don't believe me. And here's the reason why. You're
not my sheep. You're not of mine. You're not
of my jewels. You're not of my church. You're
not of my elect. For my elect, my sheep, they do hear my voice. I know them, and they do what?
They follow me. They follow me. Oh, they follow
Him as dear children. They follow Him as dependent
children. Now, small children, like your
little girl, she is totally dependent upon you and your dear wife.
totally dependent. And believers in the Lord Jesus
Christ, they are totally dependent upon God Almighty in the Lord
Jesus Christ to provide all things for us, to sustain us, to keep
us, to call us, to elect us, to glorify us in Christ Jesus,
to make us heirs of God and joint heirs with the Lord Jesus Christ.
Believers are chosen in Him They are adopted in Him, they are
accepted in Him, they are redeemed in Him, they are justified freely
by His grace in Him, they are sanctified in Christ Jesus, and
they are made heirs of God and joint heirs with the Lord Jesus
Christ. These are some of those unsearchable
riches that we read about over here in chapter 3. When he talks
about, he said, I'm less than the least of all the saints,
is this grace given that I should preach among the Gentiles the
unsearchable, unsearchable, unsearchable riches in Christ Jesus. Oh, I tell you, the blessedness
we have in Christ. Therefore, as dear children,
we follow Him. We're in love with Him. We're
in league with Him. We're in union with Him. the Lord Jesus Christ. We are
children, we are His children by His grace. We are His children
by His choice. You remember that's how we started
this study. Turn over there to Ephesians
chapter 1. We are His dear children by His
electing love, by His electing grace. Our Lord plainly says,
He said, you didn't choose me, I've chosen you, and I've ordained
you that you should go forth and bring forth fruit unto my
glory. Ephesians chapter 1, verse 3,
Blessed be the God and Father by Lord Jesus Christ, who had
blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly things
in Christ Jesus, according as He had chosen us in Him, before
the foundation of the world, that we should be holy without
blame, before Him in love, having predestinated us unto the adoption
of children." The adoption of children by Jesus Christ to Himself, according
to the good pleasure of His will, to the praise of His glory, to
the praise of the glory of His grace, wherein He hath made us
Accepted. Notice it does not say He made
us acceptable. He made us accepted in the Beloved
in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins according
to the riches of His grace. We are His children by God's
electing, distinguishing, sovereign grace. Not only that, we are dearly
loved of God. dearly loved of God, loved of
God with an everlasting love. If you'll find I John, I John
chapter 3, I John chapter 3, we are His children, get hold
of that, we are His children by God's sovereign mercy. We are not only His children,
but as His children, we're dearly, dearly loved of God. Loved of God. 1 John chapter
3, verse 1. Behold! Behold! Now, whenever you see that word
in Scripture, think of it as a stop sign. Just stop a minute. Just stop and contemplate a minute.
You just stop and think about it a minute. You just stop, look,
and listen. Behold! What manner of love,
sovereign love, everlasting love, redeeming love. Behold what manner of love the
Father hath bestowed upon us that we should be called sons
of God. Sons of God. We are by nature,
in Ephesians chapter 2, we are by nature children of wrath even
as others. But by His grace, we've been
made sons of God. Dear children, dearly loved of
God in Christ, that we should be called the
sons of God, therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew
Him not. Beloved, verse 2, now, right now, right now, Are we
sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be?
But we know, we know that when He shall appear, we shall be
like Him, for we shall see Him as He is. Every man that hath
this hope in him purify himself in Christ, even as he is pure."
When God sees us, He sees us in Christ Jesus, complete. In Him dwells all the fullness
of the Godhead, all the fullness of the Godhead in that body,
and believers are complete in Christ Jesus. Nothing lacking. Complete. Completely redeemed. Completely justified. Completely
sanctified. Completely, completely done. Finished. Completely saved in
Christ Jesus. Now, look at verse 2. Back in our text. Followers of
God as dearly beloved children. Now, here's our walking instruction. Here's our walking orders. These
are God's, not suggestions, these are God's commands to His children
as obedient children. Now, walk in love. Walk in love. As Christ also loved us, He loved
us. Now, walk in love. This is love
to Him, love to one another, and here's the key to all that's
commanded of the believer, love. Love. By this shall all men know,
you, my disciple, that ye love one another. You see, it's the
love of Christ. In II Corinthians 5.14, it's
the love of Christ that constrains us. Walk in love. Walk as children
of light in love. Now, turn again to I John 3. Again, but in the chapter 3,
verse 14. Walk in love as His dear children. Oh, walk in love. Walk in love,
not in bitterness, not in anger, not in wrath, but walk in love.
I John chapter 3. We know. We know that we pass
from death unto life because we love the brethren. He that loveth not his brother
abides in death. Whosoever hateth his brother
is a murderer." And you know that no murderer has any evidence
of grace in his heart. No murderer has eternal life
abiding in him. Hereby perceive we the love of
God because He laid down His life for us. He laid down His
life for us and we ought to lay down our lives for one another.
Well, whoso hath this world's good, and seeth his brother hath
need, and shutteth up his bowels of compassion from him, how dwelleth
the love of God in him. Let us not just say we love one
another, let's demonstrate it. My little children, let us not
love in word, neither in tongue, but in deed, and in truth, in
sincerity, with a right motive, hereby we know that we are of
the truth, Christ who is the truth, and shall assure or persuade
our hearts before Him." Oh, walk in love. Walk in love. The Lord Jesus Christ, we know,
is the supreme example, the supreme and only true example. He exemplifies
love. He did walk in perfect love. Perfect love. Now, we don't ever
hold ourselves forth as an example of love. I would not dare tell
you to love someone as I do, but I would tell you to love
one another as He loved us. As He loved us. The Lord Jesus
Christ is that true example of obedience, that true example
of love. He did walk in perfect love. And His obedience before God,
honoring the law of God, is our righteousness before God. I'm not saved because of my walk. I'm saved in Christ Jesus because
He walked for us. And the fruit of the Spirit in
us is love. God who has begun a good work
in you, He will perfect it. He will perform it. The Lord
Jesus Christ is that example of love, that example of forgiveness. Let me show you that. I think
it's over in 1 Peter chapter 2, if you'll turn there. 1 Peter
chapter 2. The Lord Jesus Christ is our
glorious God and Savior, and He is everything that exemplifies
the attributes of God, if we can say it that way. 1 Peter
chapter 2. Verse 21, now let's read verse
20. For what glory is it if when
you be buffeted for your faults you shall take it patiently,
but if when you do well and suffer for it you shall take it patiently?
This is acceptable unto God. For even here unto where you
call, because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example
that we should follow His steps who did no sin. Neither was guile
found in his mouth, who when he reviled, reviled not again.
When he suffered, he threatened not, but committed himself to
him that judges righteously, who his own self bare, I sin,
and his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins,
should live under righteousness by whose stripes you were healed. You were healed, for we were
a sheep going astray, but now are returning to the shepherd
the Great Shepherd, the Good Shepherd, the Chief Shepherd,
and the Bishop of our soul. The Lord Jesus Christ is everything
that exemplifies forgiveness and loving kindness, long-suffering,
and patience. Now, look back at the text again. We are to forgive one another,
as we read earlier, We are to forgive one another as He has
forgiven us. And we are to love one another
as He has loved us. Look what it says there. Walk
in love as Christ also loved us. We are to forgive one another
as He has forgiven us. We are to love one another as
He has loved us. Now remember I told you last
week. He has forgiven us freely. Justified freely by His grace.
He has forgiven us fully. We have complete pardon from
all sin. He has forgiven us forever in
that He has forgotten all our sin because they're paid for
100% and put away by the blood atonement of the Lord Jesus Christ. God said their sin and their
iniquity will I remember no more. They do not exist. They do not
exist. separated from us as far as the
east is from the west. He has forgiven us freely, fully,
and forever, forgetting all our sin. Now, he says there, walk
in love, walk in love even as also, as Christ also had loved
us. How has He loved us? Well, I
offer you these Three or four things. How has He loved us?
Freely. Freely. You remember the story
of Gomer in the book of Hosea? There's a scripture over there
in Hosea 14.4, when Hosea was on the auction block in her filth
and in her guilt, God said, I will love them freely. Freely. That's how He loves us. Freely.
How has He loved us? He's loved us sovereignly. Sovereignly,
having loved His own, John 13, verse 1. Having loved His own,
He loved them to the end. Hail sovereign love that first
began the scheme to rescue fallen man. Hail matchless, free, eternal
grace that gave my soul a hiding place. Sovereign love. How has He loved us? Unchangeably.
Unchangeably. The Lord Jesus Christ is the
same yesterday, today, and forever. He said, ìI am the Lord, I change
not, therefore you sons of Jacob are not consumed.î Heís loved
us freely. Heís loved us sovereignly. He
has loved us unchangeably. He has loved us everlastingly. It says in Jeremiah 31, ìIíve
loved you with an everlasting love, therefore with loving kindness
Iíll draw you to myself.î Everlasting love. Heíll never fall out of
love with his bride. He loved the church and gave
Himself for it. He loved the church so much,
so supremely, that He died to redeem her and to buy her with
His own blood. And He's going to get what He
bought. And He will not lose her. He will not divorce her.
He will not put her away. We are His. We are bought with
a pride, therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit,
which are His. He's loved us freely, sovereignly,
unchangeably, everlastingly. How about this one? He's loved
us sacrificially. He laid down His life for us.
John put it this way, 1 John 4, you remember? Hearing His
love. Hearing His love. And when he talks about love,
here in his love, he starts with a negative. Here in his love,
not that we love God. That's not the example of love.
Here in his love, not that we love God, but that he loved us. And sent his son to be the sacrifice,
the propitiation, the atoning victim, the covering for our
sin. That's love. Sacrificial love. He has loved Us, now, walk in
love. Walk in love. Boy, that's a motive,
isn't it? What motivates you? Ah, get out the whip of the law.
Whip up on those people. Oh, no. All you have there is
just a bunch of religious, miserable people under the bondage of the
law. No, we've been set free. We've
been set free. I tell you what motivates God's
people, if not the whip of the law, It's not fear of punishment. It's not even promise of reward.
I tell you what motivates God's people. God's people are motivated
by His love for us. We love Him because He first
loved us. Is that what it says? 1 John
4, what is that, 19? Verse 19? Something like that.
I know it's in 1 John. We love Him because He first
loved us. Walk in love as Christ also has
loved He's loved us. Now, consider these four things.
I told you I'm going to spend most of the time here in verse
2. Consider these four things. Number one, consider what He
gave. Consider what He gave. It says here, "...and hath given
Himself." He gave Himself. He gave Himself. It's in whom
we have redemption. He gave Himself. In Hebrews 9,
Verse 26, it says, "...he appeared once in the end of the age to
put away sin by the sacrifice of himself." In Hebrews 9, verse
12, it talks about our great high priest, seeing we have a
great high priest that has passed into the heaven. Chapter 4, verse
14. But it says in Hebrews 9, verse
12, that our great high priest, he didn't bring the typical animal
sacrifice, did he? He didn't bring the blood of
bulls and goats. Oh no, the blood of bulls and goats will not and
cannot take away sin, never has atoned for one's sin, not at
all. All that was just a picture and type pointing to the Lamb
of God, the Lord Jesus Christ. And John the Baptist, when the
Lord Jesus Christ in his earthly ministry came on the scene, John
the Baptist who grew up in the temple, whose father was a priest,
knew all about those sacrificial lambs, he saw that every day,
that sacrificial lamb. He saw that every year on the
Day of Atonement. But he dismisses all those lambs
and points to the Lord Jesus Christ and said, There's God's
Lamb! Behold Him! Don't follow me. You look to that Lamb. The Lord
Jesus Christ. You see the point I'm making?
He gave Himself, His own blood, and in doing so, He obtained. He didn't make an effort. He
didn't make a down payment. He didn't make an attempt. He
made an atonement. It's not an attemptment, it's
atonement. He gave Himself for our sin and
obtained eternal redemption for us with His own blood. He gave Himself. He gave Himself. One old writer that many of you
read after, John Gill, lived back in the 1700s. He made this
statement concerning the Lord Jesus Christ and giving Himself
as a sacrifice for sin. Brother Gill said he gave away
his time, his service, his strength, his name, his fame, his reputation,
all the comforts of life and life itself, his whole human
nature, soul, body, that is in union with His divine Person.
And that not only for the good of His people, but in their room
and in their stead, not for angels, nor for all men, but for His
chosen, His church, His sheep, His people. And He did it when
they were sinners. Turn to Romans chapter 5. Turn
to Romans chapter 5. He did it for them when they
were unlovely, when they were ungodly, Romans 5, verse 6, "...for
when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the
ungodly." Who died? Just not that some Jewish man
died. No. It's who He is that gives power
to what He did, that gives His atonement the infinite value
that it has. Christ has died. The Lord Jesus
Christ, God incarnate, God in human flesh, Christ died for
the ungodly. For scarcely for a righteous
man will one die, yet for a good man some would even dare to die.
But God commended his love, God commended his love toward us,
and that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us, much more
than Much more then, being now justified by His blood, we shall
be saved from wrath through Him." Oh, that's good news. He gave
Himself for us. Number two, consider for whom
He died. Consider for a minute for whom
He died. He said in the text here, Christ also hath loved
us and hath given Himself for Us. For us. He died for the likes of us. For us. Us. His covenant people. His church. Find 1 Peter 3. For us. We call this substitution. We
call this a real substitution. The Lord Jesus Christ died in
our room and in our stead, bearing the guilt and shame and weight
of our sin. And in bearing our sin, He took
God's wrath upon Himself in putting away of our sin. I Peter 3, verse
18, For Christ also hath once suffered for sins the just one. He is the just one. He is just,
holy, righteous. He is the just one without sin,
who knew no sin, who did no sin, who had no sin. He is the just
one and He suffered for the unjust. For sinners. That He might bring
us to God. Bring us to God. through the
satisfaction of His atonement, through the satisfaction of His
blood, to bring us to God. Can we be brought any other way
than by that one sacrifice for sin? No other way. No other way. No other name under heaven given
among men whereby we must be saved that He might bring us
to God being put to death Sin demanded death. The wages of
sin is death. His death wasn't something fictitious. His death was real. He died being
made a curse for us, redeemed us from the curse of the law,
being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit of
God, Him being delivered for our offenses. He had none of
His own. But He took our sin to Himself.
And in Psalm 40, He calls our iniquity. He says, they're my
iniquity now. He took our sin to Himself. And He was delivered for our
offenses and raised again for our justification. So He died
for us. He gave Himself for His bride. Particular redemption. Definite
atonement. Call it what you want. I call
it an effectual redemption, an effectual atonement. The Lord
Jesus Christ stood in the room instead of His people and those
for whom He stood, those for whom He died, their sin effectually,
eternally put away by His one sacrifice. There were many sacrifices
under the law. There were many priests. But
those sacrifices never put away sin. This one sacrifice For by
the one offering hath he perfected forever them that are sanctified."
Hebrews 10, 14. By the one offering. Had to be
offered just one time. Why? Because it's effectual unto
God. Here's what we see. Thirdly,
consider this. Consider to whom the offering
and sacrifice was offered. Now this is key. A lot of people
do not understand or have not been taught correctly on this
very vital issue. Consider to whom the offering
and sacrifice of the Lord Jesus Christ is offered. Look what
it says. "...hath given himself for us
an offering, a sacrifice to God." To God. Now this is God's Lamb. This is God's sacrifice. And I'm emphasizing this because
it's not offered unto men. This is not offered unto men. Now, here's the point. It's not
that the Lord Jesus Christ, as the God-man mediator, did not
come and die to satisfy men. Our sin was against God. It's
God Himself that needed satisfaction. You see, this is the altar, this
is the blood on the altar of God that's before the Lord. You read that all through the
Old Testament. All those offerings, those burnt offerings, and all
those different offerings, they're always on the altar before the
Lord. They're not offered unto men.
They're not offered to satisfy men. This is God's atonement
for sin. I tell you what, this religious
world is ignorant on this point. They are. They're ignorant on
this point. They think that somehow, by something they do, that they
make the blood atonement of the Lord Jesus Christ satisfying
unto them by what they do. No, not at all. It's not offered
unto men, it's offered unto God. This is God's sacrifice for sin. Him being delivered by the determinate
counsel and foreknowledge of God. It's the satisfaction that
God demanded is the reason the Lord Jesus Christ died. That leads me to my fourth consideration
here. For, back in our text, for a
sweet smelling savor. What is that? It's an aroma.
It's a satisfaction unto God. Substitution, learn these two
words and learn the gospel. Substitution Satisfaction. Consider the consequences of
the Lord's atonement, of His sacrifice to God. The effect,
the outcome, the results. Satisfaction. Satisfaction. For we read, if you turn to Isaiah
53, a very familiar passage, Isaiah 53, verse 10. Actually, this verse reads in
the original, when it talks about the sweet-smelling savor unto
God, to God for an odor of a sweet smell. Isaiah 53, 10. Yet it pleased
the Lord to bruise him. He hath put him to grief. He
put him to grief. It was not what wicked men did
that day that's satisfying unto God. It's what God was doing
at Calvary. That's our hope. It pleased Pilate
to sentence Him. It pleased Pilate to condemn
Him. It certainly pleased the old Pharisees to condemn Him. They went out and held a council
how they might destroy Him. But what we must see and we must
understand, it pleased God to bruise Him in our stead. Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise
Him. He hath put Him to grief, when thou shalt make His soul
an offering for sin. He shall see his seed, oh, how
does he see them? Covered in the blood of Christ.
He shall prolong his days, he gives them everlasting life,
and the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in his hand. He shall see the travail of his
soul and shall be satisfied. Satisfied by his knowledge shall
my righteous servant justify many, for he shall bear their
Iniquities, their sin. To God for a sweet-smelling savor. Satisfying unto God. Now, our
worship unto God, and I talked about that earlier, the reason
we're here this evening is to worship God. To hear His gospel,
to worship God. But you know, there is no worship
that's accepted unto God apart from that satisfaction the Lord
Jesus Christ made on our behalf. He said, I am the way, the truth,
the life. No man comes unto the Father but by and through Me.
Our worship and our preaching and anything we do has no weight
or merit to it, divorced from the blood atonement and satisfying
death, glorious resurrection and enthronement of the Lord
Jesus Christ. So much so that God says this in Isaiah 65. Read it sometime. In verse 5, the preceding verses,
it talks about those who are holier than thou. You've often
heard that statement, that phrase. Well, you think you're holier
than me, or holier than thou. You know that comes from Isaiah
65, where God says this, God says this about those who think
they're righteous and somebody. He said, you which say, stand
by yourself, or come not near to me, for I am holier than thou.
That's self-righteousness, that's self-glory, that's pride and
presumption. You know what God says of that?
The attitude of, I am holier than thou, that's the attitude
of the Pharisee. God, I thank you, I'm not like that man over
there. And that's self-righteousness,
always justifying self and condemning others. Our Lord says, These
are smoke in my nose, a fire that burns all the day." You
see what he's saying there? Our so-called works or goodness
in the nose of God, apart from the Lord Jesus Christ, is nothing
but stink. Filthy rags in God's sight. That's why I'm saying no one
can come to Christ, no one can worship God Almighty in spirit
and in truth apart from the Lord Jesus Christ. Everything else
is smoke, smoke and mirrors, fantasy and fiction, phantom,
no reality. The Lord Jesus Christ died walking
love as Christ also has loved us and has given Himself for
us and offering and sacrifice to God for satisfaction. Is the Lord Jesus Christ, is
He enough? Is He enough? If He's all you've
got, you've got enough. God said so. I'm satisfied. I'm satisfied.