All right, turn in your Bibles
with me now to the book of Ephesians, chapter 1. You know as well as I do that
no person, no individual is saved, redeemed, or made an heir of
eternal life simply because he's elected. That's not true. Election is not salvation. Election is unto salvation. Christ Jesus is salvation. Election is not salvation. Christ in you That's salvation. That's the hope of glory. That's
eternal life. The Lord has given us eternal
life, and this life's in His Son. It's not in a doctrine.
It's not in election. It's not in theology. It's not
in a doctrine. It's in a person. This is what
Paul sets forth here in Ephesians 1. Let me show you just briefly
now a little review of what I gave you Sunday morning. Verse 3,
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who
hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in the heavenlies,
in Christ, not in election, but in Christ. He blessed us with
all spiritual blessings in Christ. Look at verse 4, According as
he hath chosen us in Christ before the foundation of the that we
should be holy and without blame before him in love. Holy, not
in doctrine, not in election, in Christ. That we should be
holy and without blame before him in his presence in Christ
Jesus. Verse 5. Having predestinated
us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself according
to the good pleasure of his own will. God our Father having already
predestinated us. Having already, that's what he
said, having foreordained us unto the adoption of children.
It's settled. He's predestinated us to be the
sons of God. Not through election, through
Christ. in Christ unto himself. And verse 6, to the praise of
the glory of his grace wherein he hath made us accepted, not
in a doctrine, in the beloved. That's what Mike just sang about.
In the beloved, accepted am I. In Colossians 1 verse 12, don't
turn to it, you're familiar with it. Colossians 1 verse 12 says
the Father hath made us meet He hath made us fit and qualified
to be a partaker of the inheritance of life in the saints, not in
a doctrine, in a person. He made us qualified in Christ
to be fit and to be partakers of the
inheritance of saints. Colossians 1.22, the Father hath
reconciled us unto himself. that he might present us holy,
unblameable, unreprovable in his sight. Not in a doctrine,
in a person. And then verse 7, listen. In
whom? It's not in election that we
have redemption, it's in Christ. In whom? In whom we have redemption. In whom we have redemption. through
his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches
of his grace. I gave you this little four-point
outline when I closed the message Sunday morning. Redemption, in
whom we have redemption. Redemption means new ownership. When you redeem something, you
buy it back and it's yours. That's what the scripture says,
you're not your own. You're not your own, you're bought
with a price. Therefore glorify God in your
body, in your mind, in your spirit, in your soul, which are his.
We're redeemed. In whom we have redemption. Now
what's the price of redemption? Through his blood. Our Lord didn't
redeem us by his love, or even by his power. or by his works,
he redeemed us by his blood. It's the blood that maketh atonement
for the soul. That's the thing I tried to close
with Sunday morning. It's the blood. I've given you
the blood upon the altar to make an atonement for your soul. It's
the blood that makes atonement for the soul. We are redeemed
through his blood. The blood of Jesus Christ, God's
Son, cleanseth us from all sin. And verse 7 says this, in whom
we have redemption. That's the certainty of it. In
whom we have redemption. We already have it. It's a present
possession. It's a certain possession. It's
an eternal possession. In whom we have redemption. We
have redemption through his blood. It's already ours. When he died
on the cross, he redeemed us. We have redemption. It's ours. He that believeth on the Son
hath. Spurgeon said one time, he that
believeth on the Son hath, H-A-T-H, he said that spell's got it.
He said that's a funny way to spell it, but that's what it
means. He hath everlasting life, in whom we have redemption. It's
ours in Christ Jesus. That's the certainty of it. And
then the evidence of it. What is the evidence of it? The
forgiveness of sins. That's right, our sins are forgiven,
past, present, and future. The Lord said he'll remember
them no more, no more. Over here in Colossians 1 verse
14, that same verse is repeated again, Ephesians 1 and then Colossians
1 verse 14. In whom? In whom we have already
redemption. How? Through his blood. the forgiveness
of all sins. I remember when my dear beloved
friend, Brother Griswold, whom I loved so very much and preached
with him and for him and together with him hundreds of times, held
meetings all over this country. One of the finest preachers of
the gospel I've ever known, a man who loved Christ, loved the gospel,
preached the gospel. could handle the Old Testament
pictures better than anybody I knew. And then one day, after
days and weeks of illness and suffering and depression, he
took a gun and shot himself. And my son Paul, I talked to
him, I said, Brother Griswold took his own life. He said, well
the same God who forgave his first sin forgave his last sin. And that's right. The same God
who forgave his first sin, who forgiveth us all our sins. Don't you forget that now. Don't
you? I don't know what you'll do or
what I'll do someday. That depends on the providence
of God. But I do know this. in whom we have redemption through
his blood, not through our works or lack of them. A whole lot
of them is through his blood, even, even, think about it, even
the forgiveness of all our sins. Now, some of them, not the worst
ones, not the best ones, all of them. The blood of Jesus Christ,
God's Son, cleanses us from how many sins? If I've got one on
my record, I'm lost. Just one. In thought, word, or
deed, I'm lost. Just one charge against who can
lay anything to the charge of God today. It's God that justifies. I'm not justified by my preaching,
I'm justified by my Lord. I'm not saved by my preaching,
I'm saved by his grace, redeemed by his blood, forgiven of all
my sins, past, present, and future, the ones I don't even know about
and don't give much thought to, secret sins, presumptuous sins,
all kinds of sins. That's one thing we've got a
lot of is sin. Yeah, that's right. All right, let's look at verse
8. wherein he hath abounded toward
us in all wisdom and prudence." Wherein the Lord hath abounded
toward us. The Lord, the Heavenly Father,
Almighty God, hath abounded toward us in all wisdom and prudence. You know what that word aboundeth
says? I looked at that word today.
There's a whole bunch of meanings of that word aboundeth. Wherein
the Lord hath abounded, he hath abounded toward us in all of
his wisdom and his holiness. Prudence is holiness. And that
word abounding says this, superabounded. He's superabounded. It's this,
it says this, in excess. It says this, in great abundance.
in quality and in quantity. He has abounded, superabounded
toward us in all wisdom and holiness in the work of redemption and
the salvation he accomplished by Jesus Christ to us. The glorious display of God's
wisdom and power in the selection of the person he chose to redeem
us. His son. The son of God and the
son of man. In the fullness of time, God
sent forth his son, made of a woman, made under the law to redeem
us. That's divine wisdom. Superabundant. Excessive. In quality, it's the
wisdom and the holiness of God in selecting the only one who
could redeem us. The only one who had the power
to redeem us. The only one who had the power
to redeem us. He did that for us. And then
secondly, in the way he accomplished our redemption. It says here in 1 Corinthians, Let's see in Romans chapter 3. In the way that he accomplished
our redemption. Listen to this. In Romans 3 verse
25. And this is, he chose the person.
And then he says in verse 25 of Romans 3, whom God has set
forth. in promise, in prophecy, in picture,
in person, he has set him forth to be a propitiation through
faith in his blood, in such a way as to declare in all wisdom and
prudence his righteousness for the remission of the sins of
Old Testament Saints through the forbearance of God. To declare,
I say at this time, right now, in the time of the Gentiles,
his righteousness that God may be just, a just God and a Savior,
and that just above him that believeth on Jesus Christ, the
holiness of God and the justice of God were both honored in the
person of God's Son. He hath abounded toward us in
all the wisdom of God, superabounded. excessively in all the wisdom
and holiness of God. Herein is love, not that we love
God, but He loved us and sent His Son to be a perpetuation
for our sins. Then in the fullness of our salvation,
in the freeness of our salvation, in the freeness of His grace
and mercy, in the eternality of his grace and mercy. In him,
God's grace and mercy was highly exalted, given all preeminence. In him, there is no reproach
to the holiness of God or the justice of God. In Christ, Satan
is defeated, sin is condemned, sinners are saved. In Christ,
the ungodly are justified without works and made righteousness
by the holiness of another. In the elect, God has washed
them, sanctified them, justified them, and their sins are remembered
no more. That's what this verse is saying
here, wherein he hath abounded, the Father hath abounded, superabounded,
excessively, in abundance, given us all wisdom and all holiness. in all prudence. How did he do
that? Well, look at verse 9. Having
made known to us. It has to be made known to us.
We don't know it by nature. The natural man receiveth not
the things of God. The foolishness of it. But he made known unto us. He
made known unto us the mystery of his will. According to the
good pleasure which he purposed in himself, he made known unto
you and me, sitting right here, the mystery of his will. And
how did he do it? Two ways. Number one, by revealing to us
outwardly the mystery of his will through the preaching of
the gospel. He pleased God by the foolishness
of preaching to save them that believed. Whoso shall call on the name
of the Lord shall be saved. But how shall they call on him
in whom they have not believed? And how shall they obey him of
whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without
a preacher? And how are they going to preach except they be
sent? Oh, how blessed and holy is the feed of him that bringeth
good tidings, great joy, good things. God has made known to
us the mysteries of the world. the mystery of his will through
the preaching of the gospel. Not only outwardly, but inwardly. He made known unto us inwardly
by the illumination of the Holy Spirit. God sends the Word and
he sends the Spirit to make it effectual, to give you understanding,
to give you a love for and receive it. That's right. God who separated
me from my mother's womb. I know that, don't you? He separated
me from my mother's womb. It took me a long time to find
it out. It took Paul forty years to find it out. Forty years he
hated the gospel. All that time the Lord chose
him from his mother's womb. from his mother's womb. It pleased
God who separated me from my mother's womb to reveal his Son. Where? To me? Yep. But that's
not what he said. In me. That's it. In me. In me. In me. And that's where
it's got to be revealed. Are you wasting your time? Not
here, not just on paper, not just in memorizing scripture,
not just in quoting cliches. It's when God reveals his Son
in me. In me. That's right. The mystery of his will is revealed
two ways, preaching the gospel, and the Holy Spirit doing an
operation of grace and mercy on a man's heart. With a heart,
man believes in the righteousness. With a heart, confession is made
to salvation. Repentance is a hard, hard work. God said, I'll take that old
stony heart out of your flesh and give you a new heart. And
you'll love me. You'll love my son. You'll love
my word. You'll love the gospel. You'll love him that begat and
him that begot nothing. You'll love him. The mystery
of his will. Now look at this. According to
the good pleasure which he has purposed in himself, verse 9,
having made known to us the mystery of God the Father's will, according
to the good pleasure, his good pleasure, which he purposed in
himself. John Gill said this, and I just wrote it word by word.
The gospel of Christ is sent when and where the Lord God has
determined within himself to send it, and where it will go,
according to the good pleasure of his own will. And the persons
who are called by that gospel are called according to his own
purpose and grace which was given us in Christ Jesus before the
world began. That's the truth. That's what
he says here. He made known to me and made
known to you the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure
which he had purposed from the foundation of the world. in himself. I'll be merciful, that's what
you read, Joe, I'll be merciful to whom I will be merciful. I
will be gracious to whom I will be gracious. He has saved us and called us
with a heavenly calling, not according to our works, but according
to his own purpose and grace which was given to us in Christ
before the world began. Verse 10 and 11. I'm going to
read these two verses. The best commentary on these
two verses is the word itself. Just let it read itself. What
do we understand? What has he made known? Let's
read it. Verse 10 and 11. That in the dispensation of the
fulness of time. When is that? That's the time
that God himself has appointed. Fixed in the scriptures. Fixed
in God's eternal purpose. from the creation of the world.
One day heaven and earth shall pass away, there will be a new
heaven and a new earth, when? In the fullness of his own time. He will gather together in one
all things which are in Christ. He'll gather together in one
all things in Christ Jesus. Let me read you over here in
Colossians 1, Colossians 1, verses 19 and 20. Listen to this. For it pleased the Father that
in Christ should all fulness dwell, and having made peace
through the blood of his cross, by him to reconcile all things
to himself." By him, I say, whether they be things in earth or things
in heaven. People say, well, that's people
who are already in heaven, those people who are still on the earth.
That's all right, but it's more than that. He hath reconciled
all things unto himself, whether it be things in heaven, angels,
seraphims, cherubims, all that, all things, all things are reconciled
by him. That's what he says here. He
has gathered together in one all things in Christ, all things
that belong to Christ, all things that pertain to Christ, all things
that pertain to the salvation of Christ, both which are in
heaven and which are on even in him. I reckon you could just
call this sermon here, Even in Him. It's all in him. There's nothing that's not under
his feet. We don't now see everything under his feet, but it's there.
It's there. Thank God we're there, aren't
you? Thank God we're there. In his hands and under his feet,
in his heart, Verse 11, "...in whom also already
we have obtained an inheritance." It's not something we're going
to have in the future, we're already heirs of God, already
sons of God, already we've got the inheritance already laid
up, reserved. Let's read that over here in
1 Peter 1. You talk about comfort, and you
talk about assurance. My, my, my. In 1 Peter 1, verse
3, "...Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
which according to you is abundant," there's that word again, superabundant,
in quality and quality, abundant mercy. That's the only kind of
mercy he's got, it's abundant more than you need. having begotten
us unto a living hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ
from the dead, to an inheritance incorruptible, undefiled, that
faith is not a way that is reserved already in heaven for you who
are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation,
ready to be revealed in the last time." It's already there. It's
already mine, yours. Verse 11, "...in whom we have
obtained an inheritance, being predestinated, being foreordained,
the whole thing being settled by promise and purpose, the purpose
of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own
will." Don't give me any free will medicine, I don't want to
hear anybody. The only free will is the will
of the Heavenly Father, and it's totally free, totally free. Turn to Jeremiah 18 just a moment. Jeremiah chapter 18. A brother,
Joe, read this also a while ago about the potter, about the potter. Jeremiah 18, verse 1. Jeremiah
18, verse 1. the word which came to Jeremiah
from the Lord, saying, Arise now, and go down to the potter's
house, and there I'll cause you to hear my words." Then I went
down to the potter's house, and behold, he wrought a work on
the wheels, and the vessel that he made of clay was marred in
the hands of the potter. So he made it again, another
vessel, as seemed good to the potter to make it. Then the word
of the Lord came to me, saying, O house of Israel, cannot I do
with you as this potter, saith the Lord? Behold, as the clay
is in the potter's hand, so are you in my hands, O house of Israel. Where had you rather be? Where had you rather be? In his
hands. In his hands. in the hands of him who worketh
all things. And all things work together
for good, the eternal good, the eternal glory of those who love
him and who are called according to his purpose. All things do
not work together for good for everybody. They are working together after
the counsel of his own will, and they work together for good
to those who love God and who are the call according to his
purpose. Now, verse 12. Oh, I love this right here. In
verse 12, that you should be. All this is done, all this that
our Heavenly Father hath decreed, hath purposed and promised, all
this is that we should be to the praise of his glory. What are you saying, preacher?
I'm saying this. All that our God, our Heavenly Father, hath
decreed and purposed and promised is that we should be, we should
be, both passively and actively, that we should be, not just work
for his glory and praise his glory and sing and preach, but
be, that we should be where we are and what we are, and what
we do, and what we say, and where we stand, and where we walk,
and where we rest, that we should be to the praise of his glory. He
says, I was hungry, I wouldn't ask you. God doesn't need anything
that I have. The cattle and cows and hills
are mine. Everything is for my glory. The heavens declare the
glory of God. Everything's to his glory. And
this is his purpose for us, that we should be, whatever we are,
wherever we are, whatever we do, that we should be to the
praise of his glory, to trust in him. One old writer said this. One day I was walking in the
quietness of my garden. I looked upon the master's creation. I looked upon the trees. and
the plants, and the flowers, and the roses, and the lilies,
and all of these things that God had made. And I realize that
Solomon in all his glory was never arrayed like one of these.
These plants and these flowers exist for one purpose, to show
forth the glory of their Creator, just by being what he made them.
just by standing where he planted them, just by glorifying his name,
that they should be for his glory, whether a man sees it or not.
In fact, he says, think of the desert rose, think of the blooming
cactus, which stands unseen in the desert by men. That cactus
and that desert rose pours forth its beauty and fragrance into
the lonely desert air, and God is glorified just by their being
what he made them. Just by being what he made them. So you'll never amount to much.
Yeah, I will too, because he made me for his glory. You will
too. Made you for his glory. Just
who you are and where you are and what you do, where you stand,
you glorify him. And that's those who trust him.
Look at that next line. that we, verse 12, that we should
be to the praise of his glory. That's what he ordained us to
be, to the praise of his glory, who first trusted in Christ.
Job was one of the oldest who trusted Christ. He said, though
he slayed me, I trust him. I trust him. And then the apostles,
they first trusted in Christ. They first trusted in Christ.
Then look at the next line, in whom you also Just like Job, just like Paul,
in whom you also, that's all you got. That's enough. He's
made you fit and neat and qualified. The inheritance will say, because
you trust him. You trust him. I'll trust and
not be afraid. When did I trust him? All right,
listen. I quit. Here's the means of salvation.
In whom you trusted that you should be. to the praise of his
glory, who first trusted in Christ, in whom you also trusted after
you heard the word of truth." This is hearing with the heart.
It's not just hearing a doctrine. It's not just hearing somebody
coming down the pipe. This is hearing with the heart,
the understanding with faith. In 1 Corinthians 1, Paul said,
Brethren, I know your election of God, because our gospel came
to you not in word only, but in power, in the Holy Ghost,
in much assurance. That's how it came. In whom you
trusted after you heard the word of truth. We heard the gospel
of our salvation, in whom also, after we believed, We were sealed,
sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise. That sealing, that stamp
of the everlasting covenant, that's not circumcision. That's
not baptism. That's not baptism. That seal
is not baptism. Through the years, I have run
upon several older people, who for some reason or other, when
they got about my age, they decided to be baptized again. And I want to say to them, baptism
is not the seal of your covenant, it's not the seal of your house,
it's the Holy Spirit. Whose you are and in whom he
dwells. And this comes by the way quite
often, quite often. And I want to say to those people
who are 70 and 75, and I'm talking about lots of... You need to add something to
Christ. You've got to have some kind of seal or sign or... Be
careful now. Be careful. in whom you trusted
after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation,
in whom also after you believed it, when did you believe it?
When did you believe it? You were sealed, not by circumcision,
not by baptism, not by any kind of outward grace, not by any
kind of ritual, but the very Spirit of God dwells Let me read
you a verse now here in Romans chapter 8. Now you listen. Romans
chapter 8. This is the sealing. This is
the sealing of the Holy Ghost. Seal forever. Romans chapter
8, verse 9. Romans 8, verse 9. But you are
not in the flesh, but in the Spirit. If so be that the Spirit
of God dwells in you. Now, if any man have not the
Spirit of Christ, he is none of his. That's the secret of
the Holy Spirit. Go down to verse 14. For as many
as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God. You
have not received the spirit of bondage, the elements of this
world. touch not, taste not, handle
not, ritualism, circumcision, you've not received the spirit
of bondage again to fear, you've received the spirit of adoption
whereby you cry out, my Father, my Father, my Father which art
in heaven. Watch that now. I don't need something to start
up here again after 77 years of the Spirit of God living in
my heart and the Word of God speaking to my soul. I don't
need a sign now. I don't need a sign. I don't
need a ritual. I don't need anybody doing anything
to me. It's done. It's done. The great transaction
is done. I'm my Lord's and He's mine. I'm my beloved and He's
mine. Don't reach out to something
else. You give a testimony to these
young ones here about what's going on here. Is he unsure,
uncertain about his relationship with God? He's been apostolic
all these years. See what I'm saying? You have
to be careful. I'm an old man. I've been preaching
a long time. I've crossed the path of a lot
of people, and I know a little bit about what I'm trying to
do. And you be careful. about reaching out for something,
something to give you some assurance, something to give you some feeling.
He's my feeling. The Holy Spirit, verse 14, is
the earnest. He's the guarantee, the guarantee
of our inheritance. He's the pledge, he's the foretaste,
he's the down payment, he's the firstfruits of our inheritance.
We have the Holy Spirit in anticipation of the full possession of the
inheritance. We have the Spirit of God. He
is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased
possession. He says, come on home, come on
home. Beloved brother Frank's getting
ready to come on home. And I don't need to add anything
to what God's done. It's done. I tell you these things because
I tell you the truth. I tell you the truth. And the truth is in the Word.
That's where the truth is.