Now, looking again at Ephesians
chapter 2, God describes to us what we are by nature, what we
are in ourselves, children deserving of God's just wrath and punishment. You say, well, why? Well, God
is holy, and because God is holy, He must punish sin, and by nature,
by birth, By practice and by choice, we are born in sin. We are sinners. But our hope
is this, not that we'll do better, because our best is never good
enough. Man at his best state is altogether vanity. Our hope
of salvation is this, found in verse 4, but God, but God, It's not, but you turn over a
leaf. It's not, but you must reform. It's not, but you must
change your ways. No, you can change your way all
you want to, but it still won't bring salvation. It still won't
bring forgiveness of sin. But God, that's our hope. Who has made us to differ from
another? It's God who has made us to differ. But God, God who
is God, not talking about a peanut God, talking about God who is
God. God who makes a difference in
the lives of His people by His grace. And oh, what a difference
He makes from what we are by nature, by birth, children of
wrath, born in sin, guilty before God, to what God has made us
by His grace. A trophy of His love, a trophy
of His grace. But God, who is, look at verse
4, who is rich, rich beyond description. He's rich in power. He's rich
in sovereignty. He's rich abundantly in all the
attributes of His character. You name it, love, mercy, grace. Eternality, power. He's rich
in every attribute of His character. Our God is a great God. He said,
I am God, beside me there is no other. But God who is rich
in mercy, for His great love wherewith He loved us. Even, even when we were so unlovely. Even when we were dead in our
sin. separated from God. Without God,
without hope, and without Christ. It says in verse 12 of this same
chapter. But God who is rich in mercy
for His great love wherewith He loved us even when we were
dead in sin. Dead and shut out. Dead and without
God. Dead and without hope. He's quickened
us together. He's quickened us together with
Christ Jesus. by His grace alone that we are
saved." Our blessed and most glorious Lord is rich in His
sovereign mercy, rich in His love toward His chosen people. Notice it says, wherewith He
loved us. Now who's He talking about? Who's
He talking about? If you go back to chapter 1,
He's talking about those covenant people. In chapter 1, verse 3
and verse 4. where it says, Blessed be the God and Father of our
Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessing
in heavenly places in Christ Jesus, according as He hath chosen
us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should
be holy without blame before Him in love. He loved His own. Having loved His own, He loved
them to the end. He loved His own people with
an everlasting love, with an eternal love, with a covenant
love. And because God has loved His
own, whom He has chosen in Christ Jesus, because God has loved
His own with that sovereign love, He in time crosses our path and
quickens us and makes us alive in Christ Jesus. This is what
we call sovereign mercy. This is what we call sovereign
grace. Notice, wherewith He loved us. Now, we didn't first love
Him. We didn't first love Him. Now
let's just be honest. We didn't first love Him. John
said we love Him because He first loved us. He loved us. We didn't love Him
first. He loved us with that everlasting
love. Here in His love, John said,
not that we love God, but that He loved us and He sent His Son
to be the sacrifice for our sin. The Lord is not slack concerning
His promise, as some men count slackness, but He is longsuffering. To who? To His people, to usward,
not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.
Our Lord is rich in His sovereign mercy. He said, I will have mercy
on whom I will have mercy. Now, oftentimes we emphasize
the sovereignty of that. But you know what God said? He
said, I will have mercy. God, who is God, must show mercy. I want to be an object of that
mercy, don't you? He said, I will have mercy on
whom I will have mercy. Our Lord is rich in mercy. You
cannot exhaust His mercy. He is plenteous in mercy. He is plenteous in redemption. See what he's saying here? Our
Lord is rich in mercy. Not by works of righteousness
which we have done, but according to His mercy. He saved us. It is of the Lord's mercy that
we are not consumed. Our Lord is rich in mercy. And
then he talks about His great love. His great love, wherewith
He loved us. God so loved the world, that
He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him
should not perish, but have everlasting life. Now that doesn't mean that
God loves all men everywhere indiscriminately, but it does
mean that God loves His own who are in this world. His covenant
people. His chosen people. Our Lord is
great in love, wherewith He loved us even, verse 5, even, even
so, when we were dead, dead, dead in sin. There was nothing
in us, now you think with me, there was nothing in us that
recommended God's love toward us. There was nothing in us to
merit God's love toward us. Was there? Not at all. We were
dead in sin. Dead and shut out. Dead and guilty. Yet He loved His own with an
everlasting love. His sovereign love reached down
to us when we were in the vilest condition. In the vilest condition. Not in the best condition. In
the vilest condition. Dead in our sin. Our sin and
our total depravity is no hindrance to His great love, no hindrance
to His great mercy, no hindrance to His quickening grace toward
us, not at all. Matter of fact, the Scriptures
declare that Christ came to save not good folks. Whom did He come
to save? He came to save sinners. This
is a faithful saying worthy of all acceptation. that the Lord
Jesus Christ came to save sinners. The Lord Jesus Christ died for
the ungodly. Is that a description of you?
Do you consider yourself, in and of yourself, ungodly and
guilty before God? Well, I'd take hope if that's
what you think of yourself, ungodly, because the scriptures teach
over here in Romans chapter 5, turn over there, Romans chapter
5, the Scriptures declare that the Lord Jesus Christ died for
the ungodly. Look at Romans 5, verse 6. For
when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the
ungodly. For scarcely for a righteous
man will one die, yet peradventure for a good man some would even
dare to die. Look at verse 8. God commendeth
his love toward us And that while we were yet sinners, Christ died
for us. Much more than being now justified
by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him. Through
Him. Our sin is no hindrance to God's
mercy. Our sin is no hindrance to God's
love. Not at all. I tell you what is,
our self-glory, our self-righteousness, and our religious pride. Now,
that's a hindrance. Our sin will never keep us from
Christ, but I tell you what will. My self-righteousness will keep
me from Christ because I'll keep thinking that, well, I can do
it, that I can merit somehow God's favor. But when God teaches
you that you're a sinner, that you're guilty, you find your
total hope of salvation in Him alone. And it causes you to go
out of yourself unto Him. who is everything in salvation. God had quickened us together. See the next part of verse 5
in Ephesians 2. Even when we were dead in sin,
He quickened us together with Christ. Now what does it take
to raise a dead man to life? Not my decision, not my walking
in an aisle, not my joining the church, not my baptism, none
of these things. Look what it says. When we were
dead in sin, He quickened us. He gave us life. Now notice,
that word quicken simply means to make alive. Quicken, the quickening
work of God. He quickened us together with
Christ. With Him. Together with Him,
by whose grace you are saved. The Lord by His mighty power
has raised us from the grave of spiritual death and made us
one with Christ Jesus who is life. Salvation is being joined
to Him who is life. Salvation is togetherness with
Christ, oneness with Christ, union with the Lord Jesus Christ.
Our Lord said in John 14, 19, because I live, you shall live,
In 1 Corinthians 15, 22 it's recorded in Christ shall all
be made alive. The Father had given him power
over all flesh that he should give eternal life to as many
as the Father had given him, quickened together with Christ
by his power, by his grace. In regeneration, and that's what
we're talking about here, and in the new birth the sinner is
brought from darkness to light, from death to life, from sin
to salvation in Christ Jesus. This is a work of God. This is
what we call, and we say that salvation is of the Lord. It's
His doing. Turn to Colossians chapter 1.
Quicken together with Christ. Regeneration is a work of God's
grace and power by the might of His Spirit working within
us. Notice if you will, Colossians
chapter 1. Verse 12, giving thanks unto the Father, verse 12, who
has made us meet, and the word there is fit, to be partakers
of the inheritance of the saints in light, or in Christ, who hath
delivered us from the power of darkness, he delivered us from
the power of darkness, from the power of death, and hath translated
us into the kingdom of the Son, the kingdom of the Son of kingdom
of His dear Son, or the Son of His love, in whom we have redemption
through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches
of His grace." The believer in Christ Jesus is made a new creature. If any man be in Christ, he's
a new creation. Turn over here to 2 Corinthians.
2 Corinthians chapter 5. He is made in Christ Jesus. Christ in you, the hope of glory. 2 Corinthians chapter 5, look
at verse 17. Therefore if any man be in Christ,
it's all relative to Him. Salvation is relative to Him.
If any man be in Christ, he is a new creation. He is a new creature. Old things are passed away. Behold,
all things are become new. New. Believers in Christ Jesus,
when quickened and made alive, are made new creatures in Christ.
Not only that, believers in Christ Jesus are made partakers of a
new divine nature in Christ Jesus. Find II Peter, II Peter chapter
1. They have a new holy nature imparted
to them in the new birth. We still have that old Adam nature,
But in regeneration and in the new birth, we have that new nature
given and implanted within. Notice 2 Peter 1, verse 3, "...according
as His divine power hath given unto us all things..." Notice
what it takes here, "...according to His divine power, hath given
unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, due
to the knowledge of Him that hath called us to glory and virtue,
whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises,
that by these promises of the gospel, that by these ye might
be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption
that is in the world through lust." That's what happens in
regeneration. No wonder our Lord said, you
must be born again. Of His own will begat He us with
the word of truth. The new birth is not something
we do. Regeneration is not something we do. It says there you have
He quickened who were dead in trespasses and in sin. And then
he says in the statement there in the last part of verse 5,
Ephesians 2 verse 5, by whose grace you are saved. By whose grace you are justified. That's what he's saying there,
justified. By whose grace you are justified. by God's grace
alone. Sovereign, free, favor of God
given to us. His unmerited, free, sovereign
love and favor given to us. The sinner makes no contribution
in his salvation. Salvation is the gift of God. Salvation is the free gift of
God. We're justified, justified cleared
of all guilt freely, freely by His grace. I like that word freely.
You know why? Because I'm a bankrupt sinner.
Thank God that salvation is free because I have no merit. I have
no merit. Salvation is the free gift of
God. God who spared not His own Son
but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also
freely give us all things, all things? freely, the gift of His
grace. For by grace you are saved. Now
read on, look at verse 6, Ephesians 2 verse 6. And, you mean there's more? And, oh I tell you, and hath raised us up together. There's that word again together.
quickened together, He's raised us up together, and, there's
another word he keeps adding, and made us sit together in heavenly
places in Christ Jesus, in the Lord Jesus Christ, made one with
Christ in union together with Him, quickened together with
Christ, raised up together with Christ, made to sit together
in the heavenlies in Christ Jesus. We see the certainty of our eternal
glory. We see the certainty of our eternal
salvation because the Lord Jesus Christ, He occupies glory for
us and ever lives to intercede for us. Because He lives, we
shall live. Find Hebrew chapter 7. He is our forerunner who has
entered into the heavenlies and has occupied the throne of glory
for us, for His people, has raised us up together, made us sit together
in the heavenlies in Christ Jesus. And there He ever lives to intercede
for us. Notice in Hebrews 7 verse 25,
Wherefore He is able, He is able, He's able to save them, His covenant
people. He's able to save them to the
uttermost. Or, it says, marginal reference,
able to save them evermore that come to God by Him, by Christ. Seeing He ever lives to intercede
for them. For such a high priest became
us, he was holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, made higher
than the heavens." Back over to chapter 9 of Hebrews, verse
24 again. For Christ did not enter into
the holy places made with hands, which are figures of the true,
but into heaven itself. Now get a hold of this. Now to
appear in the presence of God for us. For us. The Lord of glory is our representative. He's our mediator. He is our
advocate. We read in Hebrews, or rather
Romans 5, 19, by one man's disobedience, many were made sinners. So by
the obedience of another, the Lord Jesus Christ, shall many
be made righteous. Now this truth, or this doctrine
of representation, or what the old timers called federal headship,
is very important. Adam stood as a federal head
for all his race. What he did, they did. When he
sinned, they sinned. His guilt was passed on to them. You say, well that's not fair.
Well, that's the way it is. But I tell you this, the other
part of that, there's another representative man, and God's
going to deal with all men in those two representative people. Adam all died. Adam, death, guilt,
sin, judgment. In Christ, shall all be made
alive. In Christ Jesus, by His obedience,
by His faithfulness, life, peace, salvation, righteousness given,
justified in Christ Jesus. What's through the head is through
the body. He is our representative. By
one man's obedience shall many be made righteous. What's true
of him is true of his covenant people, for they're one. Where
he is, they are. What's true of him is true of
them. Now listen to this scripture. Jot this down. This is 1 John
4, 17. Herein is our love made perfect.
that we may have boldness in the day of judgment, because
as He is, so are we in this world." God sees us in Christ Jesus,
and the way God sees us is the way we really are in His presence. Without blame, holy, unblameable,
unreprovable in His sight, In Christ Jesus, He presents us
faultless before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy."
Oh, I tell you, that's good news, is it not? Quicken together with
Christ? Raise up together with Christ?
He's made us to sit together in the heavenlies in Christ Jesus. No wonder He says, come boldly
to the throne of grace. that you may obtain mercy and
find grace to help in time of need. Now, back at Ephesians
chapter 2, look at verse 7. Ephesians 2 verse 7, that, notice
it says, He's made us sit together in the heavenlies in Christ Jesus.
Now, get a hold of this. Now, this is, wrap yourself around
this and rest in this. Where He is, that's where we
are. In God's purpose, in God's decree,
in Christ Jesus, the believers are already seated in the heavenlies
in Him. Look at verse 7. That, there's
not even a period there at the end of verse 6. There's a colon
there. That, in the ages to come, in
the eons to come, in the eternity to come, He might show the exceeding,
just not that He might show the riches of His grace, but He expands
that out, that He might show the exceeding riches of His grace
in His kindness toward us. There's that sovereignty toward
us. And here and then again, in Christ
Jesus, through Christ Jesus, through the Lord Jesus Christ.
Verse 7, here's the end and purpose of all God's will in salvation,
to display the glory of His mercy, love, and grace eternally in
Christ Jesus. In the ages to come, in future
days to come, throughout eternity, all the elect of God will be
displayed as trophies of His wonderful, saving, electing grace. Glory is not about sin, mama.
Glory is not about sin, brother. Glory is about being one with
Christ Jesus and singing, worthy is the Lamb that was slain to
receive all honor, glory, and blessing, exceeding riches of
His grace, He said. He says here, riches being added
to His grace to denote the value of it, the freeness of it, the
liberty of it, liberty of God in giving grace to us. When all
earthly riches fail, and they will, the riches of His grace
will never fail, will never end. We have redemption through His
blood, the forgiveness of sin according to the riches of His
grace. 2 Corinthians 8-9, one of my favorite scriptures. He
said, For ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though
He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor that you through
His poverty might be rich. He's made us heirs of grace and
joint heirs with the Lord Jesus Christ. We have an inheritance,
believers do, in Christ Jesus that's incorruptible, that's
undefiled, that faith's not away, that's reserved for you in Him
throughout eternity, that in the ages to come. There is an
eternity to come, and He's going to show the exceeding riches
of His grace in His mercy, in His kindness toward us, toward
us who are so unworthy, who are so undeserving. Was it Jacob
who prayed, Lord, who am I? I'm not worthy of the least of
Your mercies and of Your truth, or as David said, Who am I, Lord,
that you should show such mercy to such as I am?" We're amazed
by His mercy toward us, aren't we? When we consider what we
are, when we consider that we've sinned against God, that we've
all sinned to come short of the glory of God, yet He shows mercy
to us in spite of all our sin. And then in verse 8, 9, and 10,
back in our text, He says plainly, for by grace you have been saved. For by grace you have been saved. And notice this, it's through
the means that he's ordained, faith. And this faith is not
the gift, this faith is not of yourself, this faith is the gift
of God, not of works, lest any man should boast. Salvation that
we so desperately need. Each of you need this. Each of
you need this. We need salvation. We need the
Lord Jesus Christ. Salvation is all of God's free
grace. And this salvation is received
by faith, and this faith is a gift of God. It's not of works. Now,
salvation. Two or three things here. I'll
let you go. Verses 8 and 9. Salvation is all of grace. All
of God's free favor. The only reason for grace is
grace. That's what it says in John 1,
16. Of His fullness have we all received grace for grace. Grace because of grace, and it's
grace stacked upon grace. It's grace upon grace. The only
reason for grace is grace. The golden thread of grace runs
all the way through Our salvation from election, from election
to glorification. And all the way in between, the
golden thread of grace runs all the way through the scheme of
God's salvation. Let me give you these scriptures.
Talk about electing grace. Romans 11, 5. There's a remnant
according to the election of grace. And then we talk about
calling grace. Calling grace is God who saved
us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our
works, but according to His own purpose, His own purpose and
grace, given us in Christ Jesus before the foundation of the
world. So there's electing grace, there's calling grace, there's
justifying grace, justified freely by His grace through Christ Jesus,
and then there's redeeming grace, redeeming grace, as it says in
Ephesians 1 verse 7, in whom we have redemption through his
blood, the forgiveness of sins according to the riches of his
grace, and then there's believing grace. You know, it takes grace
to believe, believing grace. Acts 15 11, we believe through
the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ that we shall be saved even as
others. In Ephesians 1 verse 19, he talks about what is exceeding
greatness of his power to usward who believe, according to the
working of His mighty power. His mighty power working in us
causes us to believe Him, to love Him, and to trust Him. And
we have a good hope, a good hope, through grace, find II Thessalonians. It's a good hope. The good hope
we have is a good hope of grace. II Thessalonians 2, verse 16,
Now our Lord Jesus Christ Himself And God, even our Father, who
has loved us and given us an everlasting consolation and a
good hope through grace. You see, it's grace in election,
it's grace in our calling, it's grace in our believing, it's
grace in our redeeming, and we have a good hope through grace.
No wonder the Apostle Paul said, I am what I am, by the grace
of God, by the grace of God. We can't overemphasize God's
sovereign grace, not at all. And then secondly, he says in
verse 8 of our text, for by grace you are saved, and then he says
through faith, through faith. This salvation is received by
faith. Now listen to me carefully. Faith
is not the cause of our salvation nor the condition of salvation.
Christ is the cause of salvation. Faith is not our righteousness,
Christ is our righteousness. Faith is the way, means, and
instrument which God has ordained to receive and enjoy Him. Romans 4, 16 declares, therefore
it is of faith that it might be by grace to the end the promise
might be sure to all the seed. The faith of God's elect. love
and acknowledge the truth that salvation is all of God, all
of grace, all of faith, and all in Christ Jesus. It declares
in Hebrews 11, without faith it is impossible to please God.
Without faith. Without faith it is impossible
to please God. You ever think about that? What's
he saying? Without faith it is impossible
to please God. A man who's without faith is
a man without Christ. Without Christ,
it is impossible to please God. And the Savior is received by
God-given faith. Whosoever believeth that Jesus
is the Christ is born of God. Faith is the fruit of a birth. This saving faith, it says, is
a gift of God. It's not of ourselves. True faith
is not the product of our sinful flesh, not the power of the creature's
will, but it's the sovereign gift of God, totally the gift
of God's grace. No wonder that Peter called it
precious. If you'll turn to Philippians chapter 1, it talks about, again,
faith being the gift of God, not of ourselves. In Philippians
chapter 1, Philippians chapter 1 verse 29. Look what it says. For unto you
it is given, it is given in the behalf of Christ for his sake. Unto you it is given in the behalf
of Christ, not only to believe on him, that's given of God,
but also to suffer for him. It's given of God. Faith is a
gift of God. I like what Arthur Pink, I read
a book It's either his attributes of God or the sovereignty of
God. But he said faith is something exotic. That is, it's not native
to our depraved, dead heart. Faith is something exotic. That
means that God, by His sovereign power and His grace, He implants
faith in the heart by His sovereign purpose and His sovereign power. The only thing that's native
to this wicked heart is unbelief. Unbelief. Unbelief and sin. Faith
is a gift of God. If you truly believe the gospel
of God's saving grace, it's because God gave you life. God gave you life. And the fruit
of that is faith in Christ. Faith in Christ Jesus. True faith
is not the product of our flesh, nor our so-called will. Not of him that willeth or of
him that runneth, but it's God that shows mercy. It's totally
the gift of God. No wonder that Peter called it,
remember what he said of faith? It is precious, precious faith,
oh precious. And then he said it's not of
ourselves, it's not of works, it's not of our desiring, it's not of our deserving, not
of our performing, it is a free and sovereign gift of God. Faith, oh, to believe God. I say with that man in scripture,
Lord, I believe. I do believe. Help my unbelief. I still have so much unbelief. But, oh, to believe Him, to trust
Him, to rest in Christ Jesus. And this is the gift of God,
not of works, lest some creature should say, some creature should
boast, and surely they would. In closing, look at verse 10.
I've used most of my time, but let's look at verse 10 for just
a moment. For we are His creation. We are His workmanship. He's
worked on us. He's done a glorious work of
grace for us by redeeming us and justifying us by His blood,
but He's also done a glorious creating work within us. God
who has begun a good work in you, He will perform it. He will
perfect it. He will finish it. For we are
His workmanship. We are His creation. Created
anew in Christ Jesus. And it is unto good works which
God hath before ordained that we should walk in them. Someone
said salvation is a work wrought for them. without them. Sanctification is a work wrought
in them by God of His good pleasure. Regeneration is not reformation
of the old nature. It is a creation and the creating
and the implanting of a new holy nature. Believers are partaker
of that divine nature. Now, because of that, because
of that, created in Christ Jesus unto good works which God hath
before ordained that we should walk in them." I want you to
turn back to Philippians chapter 2 again, or Philippians chapter
2 this time, and I want you to look at this verse here. Unto good works. This is the
fruit of salvation, not the cause, but the fruit and evidence of
salvation. Notice, if you will, Philippians
chapter 2. Let's read verse 12. Wherefore,
my beloved, as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence
only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation
with fear and trembling. Now, does that mean a lot of
people look at that word work and salvation and think that's
something we do? No, he's saying simply employ yourself in the
things that accompany salvation. Work out your deliverance, work
about what God has worked in you and do it with fear and trembling.
Now look at verse 13. For it is God which worketh in
you both the will and the do of His good pleasure. We are His workmanship created
in Christ Jesus unto good work. Now let me show you another scripture.
If you'll find John chapter 15. John chapter 15. And the Lord
says to His disciples the same thing here, John 15, 16. He said,
You have not chosen Me, You have not chosen Me, but I have chosen
you. And I have ordained you that
you should go and bring forth fruit, that your fruit should
remain. And whatsoever ye shall ask the
Father in My name, He may give it to you. unto good works that
God hath prepared, that we should walk in them. The preparation
of good works and the performance of them is of the Lord, not to
be justified, but this is the fruit of salvation. Faith without
works is dead. And this is not a single act
of the believer, but the walk and life of faith that is the
fruit of the Spirit. The fruit of the Spirit is what?
Love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, meekness, temperance,
faith, these things, given of God. It's the fruit of the Spirit.
It's the fruit of salvation. For we are His workmanship created
in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before prepared
that we should walk in those works, in that that God has ordained,
and to do so in such a way to bring honor and glory unto Him. Honor and glory unto Him.