All right, let's open our Bibles
to Ephesians chapter 1, Ephesians 1. Somebody asked an old preacher
one time, what was the reason for the success of his preaching
and teaching? seemed to understand what he
was preaching. He said, repetition. That's the
key to preaching and teaching. Every time I get up to preach,
he said, I tell them what I'm going to tell them. And then
I tell them. And then I tell them what I told
them. And that's what I'm going to
do again tonight. This morning we talked about
how the Father had blessed us with all spiritual blessings
in heavenly places in Christ, according as he chose us in Christ
before the foundation of the world. And he accepted us in
the Beloved. He received us. And then the
Son redeemed us. The Son of God came down here
and redeemed us and forgave our sins, and then he enlightened
us. He abundantly gave us insight
and wisdom into the mysteries of God, taught us, gave us understanding
of the gospel. He not only redeemed us and enlightened
us, but the Son enriched us. It says, "...in whom we also
have an inheritance incorruptible, undefiled, that fadeth not away,
reserved in heaven for you who are kept for the power of God."
Now in verse 13 of Ephesians 1, Paul turns to the Holy Spirit and talks about how the Holy
Spirit has quickened us and taught us and We generated us and saved
us. You see, if there's a king, there's
got to be a kingdom. There's got to be a kingdom.
If there's a king, a king's not a king without a kingdom. If
there's a bridegroom, there's got to be a bride. If there's an election, there's
got to be an elect people. Has to be. Somebody's got to
come. If there's a redemption, someone
has to be redeemed. He didn't die in vain. And if there's a call, whom he
foreknew he predestinated, whom he predestinated he called, if
there's a call, somebody's got to respond. Or a call is useless. So that's what he said here in
verse 13, in whom you also trusted after you heard. In whom you
also trusted after you heard the word of truth, the gospel
of your salvation. In whom, after that you believed,
you were sealed with the holiest spirit of promise. There can
be no faith without hearing the gospel. If you turn to Romans
10, that's clearly, clearly, plainly dealt with in Romans
10. Verse 13, listen. There can be
no faith without the gospel preached. There can be no one believing
on Christ who hasn't heard of Christ, in whom you trusted after
you heard. Look at Romans 10, verse 13.
For whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved.
Lord, save me. Lord, have mercy. Be merciful
unto me, a sinner. But how then shall they call
on him in whom they've not believed? And how shall they believe in
him of whom they haven't heard? You can't believe in someone
of whom you haven't heard. And how shall they hear without
a preacher? That's what the eunuch said to
Philip. Philip said, do you understand what you're reading? He said,
I cannot, unless somebody shows me. And how are they going to
preach if they're not sent? God's got to send them. He's
got to give them the message. So that's clear. Our Lord said,
He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me.
has everlasting life. He that hears and believes. That's
what verse 17 says here. So then faith comes by hearing,
and hearing by the word of God. When our Lord sent his disciples
out to preach, he said, Now you go into all the world and preach
the gospel to every creature. And he that believeth and is
baptized shall be saved. You've got to hear to believe.
And he that hears and believes shall be saved. In 1 Corinthians
1.21, Paul said, it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching. Preaching is not foolishness,
but that's what it is to the world. That's what they call
it. But it pleased God by this, what the world calls foolishness
of preaching to save them that believe. That's God's order.
That's God's purpose. So our text says, in whom you
trusted, the one who redeemed us and forgave us and enlightened
us and enriched us, you trusted in him when? When you heard! What did you hear? It's described
in two ways. He says you heard the word of
truth, the word of truth. And then he says you heard the
gospel of your salvation. the word of truth and the gospel.
Let's look at that word of truth. The scripture says we are born
again by the word of truth. You need to look at that in James
chapter 1. It says that just exactly like
that. We are born again by the word of truth. You see, Christ
told Nicodemus You can't see the kingdom of God, you can't
enter the kingdom of God unless you're born again, unless you
have a new nature, a divine nature, a spiritual nature. Flesh and
blood will not reveal it to you, but my Father which is in heaven.
So how are we born again? By hearing the word. That's exactly
right. The word is the seed. The Holy
Spirit is the agent in the new birth, he quickens, he gives
life, but he takes the word and gives life. Listen to James 1
verse 18. Of his own will, that's what
we've been studying now for three services, of his own will begat
he us. What is a begatting? It's a birth,
it's a conception, it's the beginning of life in a dead sinner. of God's own will. It's not of
him that willeth or of him that runneth, it's of God that shows
mercy. God chose us. Almighty God gave us life. The
gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. But of
his own will begat he us how? With the word of truth. And that's
what Paul said over here in Ephesians 1. In whom you trusted, in whom
you believed, whom you received, after you heard the word of truth. The word of truth gave you life. It's the word of life. That's
right. Our Lord was praying to the Father,
and he said, Father, sanctify them by your word. Your word
is truth. Give them life, make them holy,
sanctify them by the word. See, the word is spirit and life. I want you to look at John. John
chapter 6. John chapter 6. I feel very strongly
about this particular point. Life, salvation comes by hearing,
faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word, the word of truth,
in whom you trust it after you've heard the word of truth. Look
at John 6 verse 60. John 6, verse 60. Our Lord is
speaking here. Listen to what he says. John
6, verse 60. Many, therefore, of his disciples,
when they heard this, they said, this is a hard saying. Who can
hear it? Who can understand it? That's
what they're saying. When Jesus knew in himself that his disciples,
that is, his followers, these people, not the twelve, but the
others, murmured at it, at his preaching, he said to them, does
this offend you? What and if you shall see the
Son of Man ascend up where he was before? It's the Spirit that
quickeneth, the flesh profiteth nothing. The words that I speak
unto you, they're Spirit, they're life. The gospel is life, the word
is life. The Holy Spirit takes the word. and begat life of his own will,
begat he us with the word, preaching of the gospel. Read on down further
now. Verse 66, from that time when
he, well read 65, Jesus said therefore I said unto you no
man can come to me except it were given him of my father.
So from that time many of his disciples went back and walked
no more with him. And then said Jesus to the twelve,
these are the handpicked chosen ones. Will you also go away? And Simon Peter answered and
said, Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal
life. That's just so. We're begotten by the Word. Preach the Word. Everybody in this auditorium
that's It knows God, was quickened,
given life, came to faith by hearing the gospel. That's right,
hearing it preached in the power of the Spirit. The Spirit of
God is not present, and the Word of God is not present. People
can get religious experiences, but they're not going to get
life. Life is the Word of Life. It's the Word of Life. It's the
Word of Life. That's just so. And you heard,
now look at that chapter, verse 13 again, Ephesians 1, in whom
you trusted after you heard the word of truth. The truth about
God, the truth about yourself, the truth about Christ, the truth
about the gospel, the gospel of your salvation. Paul said,
I'm not ashamed of the gospel. Listen, I'm not ashamed of the
gospel. He said, I'm ready to preach
the gospel in Rome or anywhere else. I'm not ashamed of the
gospel. The gospel is the power of God unto salvation. That word power there, you know
what it is, you're shaking your head, it's dunamis, dynamite,
it's the power of God unto salvation. For in the gospel is the righteousness
of God revealed from one degree of faith to another. There's
power in the preached word, power of life. Then he says in verse
13, read, On whom you trusted after you heard the word of truth,
the gospel of your salvation, in whom also after you believed
you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise. Now the Holy
Spirit didn't begin a work in us and seal us after we believed.
We wouldn't have believed if he hadn't been sealed in the
Spirit, given to the Spirit, under the power of the Spirit.
What Paul is saying here is the Holy Spirit. Now listen to me.
The Holy Spirit is the seal, the seal and assurance that that
covenant includes us. The Holy Spirit is the confirming of our interest in the favor
of God. The Holy Spirit is the sign and
the pledge of your interest in Christ. That's right, He is.
the sign. Circumcision was a sign of that
covenant with Abraham, given to Abraham. Circumcision
was a sign he was a Jew. But the sign and pledge and earnest
that we're in God's favor and in Christ and redeemed is not
circumcision or baptism or church membership or a feeling, it's
the Spirit of God in you. That's exactly right. That's
the That's the sign. That's the proof. I'm going to
show you that in 2 or 3 scriptures. Turn first to Romans 8. Romans
8. Romans 8, verses 7 through 10.
And remember what we're looking at now. The Holy Spirit, the
token, the pledge, the earnest, the confirmation, the assurance
of our interest in Christ and our favor with favor of God is
the Holy Spirit. It's not baptism or circumcision
or church membership or anything like that, it's the Holy Spirit
in you. Now look at Romans 8, verse 7.
The carnal mind, the natural mind, is enmity against God.
It's not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. So
then they that are in the flesh cannot please God. But you're
not in the flesh, you're in the creature, you're in the Spirit.
If so be that the Spirit of God dwells in you. If any man have
not the Spirit of Christ, he's none of his. If he doesn't have
the Spirit, he doesn't have the sealing, he doesn't have the
life, he doesn't have the proof, he doesn't have the token, if
he doesn't have the Spirit. All right, look down at verse
14. For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they're sons
of God. You have not received the spirit
of bondage, again, to fear. You have received the spirit
of adoption, whereby you cry, Our Father. Do you pray? You do. Do you say, Our Father,
which art in heaven? You do. Do you mean it? Of course
you do. And that's evidence. You have
a spirit of sonship. You have a spirit of adoption. when your son looks at you and
says, Dad, he's saying a whole lot there, as your daughter.
Dad, they're owning you. They're owning you. They're owning
the relationship. They're confessing the relationship.
They're rejoicing in the relationship. They're depending on the relationship. They're taking from that relationship. Dad, that says a whole lot. And the answer always comes back,
What is it, honey? You know, what is it? Father. That's what that's saying. You
have received the Spirit. It's not going in the pool, it's
not walking in and out, it's not, I accept Jesus, it's the
pledge and proof and seal that you're in Christ is the Spirit
of God's in you. And you've got the Spirit of
adoption. You say, honestly, truthfully, Father, Father, Father, Father,
Father, Father, Father, Father, Father, Father, Father, Father,
Father, Father, Father, Father, Father, Father, Father, Father, Father, Father, Father, Father, Father,
Father, Father, Father, Father, Father, Father, Father, Father, Father, Father, Father, Father, Father, Father,
Father, Father, Father, Father, Father, Father, Father, Father, Father, Father,
Father, Father, Father, Father, Father, Father, Father, Father, Father,
Father, Father, Father, Father, Father, Father, Father, Father,
Father, Father, Father, Father, Father, Father, Father, Father, Father,
Father, Father, Father, Father, Father, Father, Father, Father, Father,
Father, Father, Father, Father, Father, Father, Father, Father,
Father, Father, Father, Father, Father, Father, Father, Father, Father, Father, Father, Father, Father,
Father, Father, Father, Father, Father, Father, Father, First
John 3 says this, He that keepeth his commandments
dwells in him, and he in him. And hereby we know that he abideth
in us by the Spirit he has given us. We know he abides in us by
his Spirit. Look at chapter 4, verse 13. Hereby know we that we dwell
in him, and he in us, because we were baptized, no, because
we joined the Church, no, because we just feel like it, no, because
he's given us his Spirit! That's it. All right, let's go
back to our text now. He's given us his Spirit. That's
what he's saying there, the Holy Spirit seals us. And that next verse says this,
Ephesians 1. And the Holy Spirit is the earnest,
the pledge of our inheritance. The Holy Spirit is the guarantee,
he's the foretaste, he's the firstfruits of our inheritance. We have the Spirit of God now
in anticipation of the purchased possession, the full possession
of what Christ has purchased for us. That's what that says. The Holy Spirit is the guarantee,
he's the pledge of our inheritance that Christ has purchased for
us until that day of redemption. All right, in these next verses,
in these next few verses, I believe these next eight verses
allow us to listen in on a prayer, Paul's prayer for all believers. Paul's prayer for all believers.
Let's look at this. Verse 15, "...Wherefore I also,
after I heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus, and your love
to all the saints, cease not to give thanks for you, and make
mention of you in my prayer." Since I heard these good reports,
since I heard of your faith in Christ and your love for one
another, There's some things that just go together, don't
they? And those two go together. Faith in Christ, love for one
another. Where you find faith in Christ,
you find love. And then here's another thing.
Paul said two things that go together. Since I heard of your
faith, and since I heard of your love, I do two things. I cease not to give thanks to
God for you and to pray for you. Somebody wrote this one down,
says some things just go together. One's not complete without the
other. And here's a double combination. Paul says, I heard about your
faith and your love for one another. That goes together. And when
I heard about your faith and your love, I responded in two
ways. I thanked God and I prayed for
you. And here's his prayer. All right,
here's his prayer. that the God of our Lord Jesus
Christ, the Father of glory, may give you the spirit of wisdom,
a spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him, the
knowledge of Christ. Do these people not know Christ?
Oh, yes, they knew him. So did Paul. But this is a prayer
for an increase in knowledge. That's right, Paul is praying
that they will grow in grace and in the knowledge of the Lord
Jesus Christ. If you turn to Philippians chapter 3, the Apostle
Paul is giving his testimony in Philippians chapter 3, and
this is after he had been redeemed for years, after he had been
preaching for years. After he had been a missionary
for years, and just before he was martyred, when he was in
prison in Rome, he wrote this epistle. And in Philippians 3,
this is his confession. Listen. Verse 7 of Philippians
3. What things were gained to me,
those I counted lost for Christ. And I count all things but loss,
for the excellency of the knowledge of Jesus Christ my Lord." Isn't
that what he's praying for them? An increase in wisdom and knowledge
of Christ? I read on, "...by whom I have
suffered the loss of all things, and I do count them but done,
that I may win Christ, and be found in him." not having
mine own righteousness,' this is not a new believer now, this
is an old veteran, not having my own righteousness which is
of the law, but that righteousness which is through the faith of
Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith, that I may
know him, that I may know the power of
his resurrection, the fellowship of his suffering be made conformable
unto his death, if by any means I might attain to the resurrection
of the dead. Don't ever stop praying for grace,
growth in grace, growth in the knowledge of Christ. If any man
thinks he knows, thinks he knows, he knows nothing, the scripture
says, like what he ought to know. If he thinks he knows, I know
that. The Holy Spirit is the spirit
of wisdom and the spirit of revelation, and we've got to be taught by
him. Our Lord said, I'll give you another comforter, and he'll
take the things of mine and show them to you. He told his disciples
that after I'm gone, the Holy Spirit will come and he'll take
the things that I've said to you and bring them to your remembrance.
Then I said a long time ago, but you forgot. And that's what
Paul's praying to them in Ephesians 1, that the God of our Lord Jesus
Christ, the Father of glory, give you a spirit of wisdom and
a revelation in the knowledge of him. And then here's the next request,
verse 18, that the eyes of your understanding, don't ever quit
praying these things. If you've just got six more months
to study and to preach, pray God will give you a little wisdom
to wind up this thing. Isn't that right? Cecil, you've
been around a long time, I have too, but you never stop desiring
to know Him, know His Word, know something. The eyes of your understanding
being enlightened that you may know. I pray you may know. I
thought they already knew. They don't know nothing like
they ought to. That you may know three things. Listen. The hope
of His calling. the hope of his calling. Let's look at that a minute,
that you may know the hope of his calling. And the Bible calls
our hope a living hope because he lives. And the Bible calls
our hope a sure hope because it's by grace and not works.
And the Bible calls it a bested hope because when we see him,
we're going to be like him. But the hope of his calling I
found is in Romans 8, that you may know the hope of his calling.
Now let's see it. Romans 8, turn over there. Here's the hope of his calling,
that you may know it. That's what I've been preaching
on for three services now. Here's the hope of his calling.
Romans 8, got it? Verse 24. We're saved by hope. Romans 8. But hope that seems
not hope, when a man sees it, what does he get hope for? But
if we hope for what we see not, then do we with patience wait
for it? Likewise, the Spirit also helps our infirmities. We
don't even know what we should pray for, like we are. But the
Spirit himself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot
be uttered. We've got somebody interceding
for us. Holy Spirit of God, according to the will of God. He that searcheth
the heart knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit. I don't,
he does, because he makes intercession for the saints according to the
will of God, not according to their will, according to the
will of God. So we know that all things work together for
good to them who love God, who are the called according to his
preface, the hope of his calling. What's the hope of his calling?
Read on. Whom he did foreknow, he did
predestinate to be conformed to the image of his son. Bank
on it. And whom he predestinated, he called. Rest in it. And whom
he called, he justified. Believe it. Whom he justified,
he glorified. Now what's he going to say to
these things? Will God be for me or who can be against me?
That's the hope of his call. It's a sure thing. It's a sure
thing. He that spared not his own son,
how should he not with him freely give us all things? That's the
hope of his calling. If he called me, if he knew me,
and he predestinated me, and he called me, and he justified
me, and he clarified me, that's my hope. He did it. Who shall
lay the thing to the charge of God's elect? It's God that justified
it. Well, who can condemn it? It's Christ that died. It's God
the Father, God the Spirit, God the Son, God the Father. That's
the hope of his calling. As long as I hang around here,
I'm going to keep reminding you, that's the hope of his calling.
It's not a hope, a hope, a hope either. It's not anything you
do or did or are going to do. Thank God. But you may know the
hope of his calling. Secondly, that you may know,
listen, verse 18. hope of his calling, and know
the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints." Boy,
oh boy, you talk about an inheritance. I'm going to give you something
here now, something you'll remember. Five times in Ephesians, Paul
talks about this riches of his grace, riches of his glory, riches
of his inheritance, riches of his grace and glory, riches of
his inheritance, But you know, when Paul went up there to the
third heaven and visited, he came back and
he was reluctant to even talk about what he heard. He said,
it's not possible. But two scriptures have given
me a little insight into what Maybe he saw them, physically
and spiritually. One of them is right in the first
chapter of the Bible, and the other is in the last chapter.
Let's look at Genesis 1. When you talk about that new
heaven and new earth, talk about the return of our Lord, and it's
going to be a new heaven and a new earth where he will dwell
with righteousness. That's going to be good, isn't
it? Well, let's go back here and read about this first garden
in just a moment and what God said about it. In Genesis 1,
verse 26, I'm talking about the physical now, I'm talking about
the new earth, I'm talking about this glorified flesh we're going
to have. Verse 26, Genesis 1, and God
said, Let's make man in our image after our likeness. He has predestinated
us to be conformed to the image of Christ. David said, When I
wake, I wake with his likeness, his image and his likeness. I'm
going to have that some day. That's what he's talking about
right here. Let's make man in our image and our likeness. All
right, read on. Let him have dominion over the
fish of the sea, the fowl of the air, the cattle of all the
earth, every creeping thing that creepeth on the earth. So God
created man in his own image, and the image of God created
he, him, male and female, created he, them. We are the new creation
in Christ, created in him, in Christ, that's what scripture
says. A man being Christ, he's a new creation. A woman, a new
creation. You're not a man, you're a woman.
You men are not women, you're men. Don't ever forget that either,
keep it separate. So God blessed them, and God
said to them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth,
and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and
the fowl of the air, over every living thing that moveth upon
the earth. And God said, Behold, I have
given you every herb, every seed which is upon the face of the
earth, every tree in the riches of the fruit of the tree, yielding
seed to you. It will be for me, to every beast
of the earth, to every fowl of the earth, to every thing creepeth
on the earth, wherein there is life. A living soul, I'd given
every green herb for meat, and it was so, and God saw everything
he had made. And behold, it was very good. Very good. Very good. And he said, I'll
make a new heaven and a new earth, and it can't be any better than
very good. Isn't that right? Very good. We're going to have a new body.
It's got to live somewhere. It's got to walk somewhere. It's not
going to walk on a bunch of golden streets. Now, I never did like
to walk on concrete or gold or anything like that. I want to
walk on the grass, green pastures and still waters. We may have
right there some understanding of what I'm going to see in a
very short time. a short time. God's new creation. The whole
creation, now it says in Romans it's going to be restored. The
whole creation is waiting for the manifestation of the sons
of God when God is going to make a new earth. And we're going
to live on it. So that's the physical. And God
says you can't improve on very good if God's Almighty says it's
very good. There we go, look at Revelation
21. Let's go to the last chapter, the second, next to the last
chapter. And here comes the spiritual. Here comes the spirit of the thing. Verse 1, chapter 21, I saw a
new heaven and a new earth. The first heaven and the first
earth were passed away, there is no more sea. I, John, saw the holy city of
New Jerusalem coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as
a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a great voice out
of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with me,
and he is going to dwell with us, walk with us. He will be our
God, we will be his people, and God shall be with them and be
their God. from their eyes, all tears, no
more sorrow, no more weeping, think about that now, no more
cause for weeping, happiness, eternal joy, no more tears, no
more things that cause tears, no more death, nothing is going
to die. The last enemy of the story will
be death, no more death. No more sorrow. Think about young
people. They get married and they're
so happy and have children. Then they start getting their
hearts broken. Hearts broken. Sorrow. It's just part of life. Part of life. We're not going
to have any of that. No sorrow. No crying. No staining the pillow at night
with tears. No regrets. No crying, no regrets,
not going to be any more pain. You ever kiss one of your children
and hurt the hand, kiss away the pain? That's kind of hard
to do, isn't it? God can. No more pain. No more pain. For all these former things, and he that sat on the throne
said, Behold, I make all things new. And he said to me, You write
this now. because this is true and faithful, the hope of his calling, the
riches of his inheritance. When you think you've got some
understanding of the riches and the glory of his inheritance,
you can't even hold a candle to it. You can't commit to begin
to get started. It's better than anything I can
imagine. I don't have the faculty to imagine
the hope of his calling, the riches of his glory. All right,
here's my last point, Ephesians chapter 1, my last word. of this path. Thirdly, that you
may know the hope of his calling, the riches
of his inheritance, and listen, verse 19, the exceeding greatness
of his power to usward who believe. The exceeding greatness of God's
power to usward who believe. According to the working of his
mighty power. What does that mean? Well, the
power of God to us is our regeneration, giving us life, our redemption,
redeemed us in Christ, our resurrection someday, and our exaltation in
this glory of the new heaven and new earth. The power of God
is going to bring all of this to pass. How can I illustrate
that? Paul does, listen. his power to us-ward, and the
working of his mighty power, which is the same which he wrought
in Christ when he raised him from the dead, and set him at
his right hand in the heavenly places. Far above principalities
and powers and might and dominion and every nameless name, not
only in this world but in the world which is to come. And he's
put everything under his feet. and gave him to be head of all
things in the church, which is his body, the firmness of him
that fitteth all in and all." The same power, the same promise,
the same glory that raised Christ and exalted him will raise you
and exalt you. You are no second-class citizen
in glory. You are a son, you are a daughter, you are joint
heir with Jesus Christ. That's right. And you say, oh,
I can't even imagine such a thing. You can if you know the power
of God. He's able. He's able. He's able to rejoice. We've got nothing to fear. Got
nothing to fear. That's going to be glory, isn't
it?