Open your Bibles now to Ephesians
1. This chapter 1 begins with Paul's
salutation. He said, this is Paul. God used
men to write the scriptures. Prophets in the Old Testament,
apostles in the New Testament. And Paul was a special apostle
to the Gentiles. God chose him to bear his name
to us Gentiles. And he said, I'm an apostle of
Jesus Christ by the will of God. And note carefully to whom he's
writing. This is so important that we
not only find out who's speaking, but to whom. And he says, I'm
writing to the saints. The saints are not those who
are made saints by a special act of a denomination because
of some great accomplishment here on the earth, but every
believer is a saint. Every believer is a saint sanctified
by God the Father, sanctified through the blood of the Son,
sanctified by the Holy Spirit, and our Lord said, sanctify them
through thy word, thy word is truth." This is an epistle to
the saints, and he identifies them further. He says, I'm writing
by the will of God to the saints, which are at Ephesus, and to
the faithful. The saints are faithful. The
people who believe Christ, they continue to believe Christ, and
like the patriots of old, they'll die believing Christ. These all
died in the faith. So this chapter 1 is not addressed
to everybody out there in the world and in religion. It's addressed
to a special, particular people. By the will of God, Paul is an
apostle writing to the saints at Ephesus, the faithful in Christ
Jesus. I'm going to apply this scripture
to myself and you are to yourself. We must fit this requirement. We're saints. We're believers.
And his salutation continues. He said, Grace be to you. Well,
they're already objects of grace, for by grace were they saved.
If they hadn't already been made objects of the grace of God,
they wouldn't be saved. But Paul is praying that that
grace may be multiplied and that grace might grow, that they might
grow in grace and in the knowledge of Christ Jesus. They already
have peace with God. My peace I give unto you, he
said. Therefore being justified by faith we have peace with God
through our Lord Jesus Christ. But we don't have as much peace
as we want. We have peace with God, that's
secure, but peace in the heart Peace with other people, peace
in believing, so all grace grows. All grace grows. So that's what
he's saying. More grace be unto you. Multiply grace be unto you. And
peace from the only source of grace, from God the Father. Mike gave that this morning as
the benediction. Now the God of all grace. after
you've suffered a while, establish you and settle you and perfect
you. He's the God of all grace. If we have any grace at all,
it'd be from Him. From God our Father and from
our Lord Jesus Christ. Now, in verses 3 through verse
6, the Apostle Paul talks about
the work of the Father in redeeming these saints and faithful believers. He says in verse 3, blessed be
the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. He's the Father
of our Lord Jesus Christ and because He's the Father of our
Lord Jesus Christ, He's our Father. Our Lord said one time to His
disciples, I go to my Father and your Father. He's our Father
through Christ and because of Christ. And Paul blesses the
Father here because He's blessed us. He said, Blessed be the Father,
the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed
us. If we're saints, he's blessed
us. If we're in Christ Jesus, he's blessed us. He's blessed
us to be in Christ Jesus. It's of God that I'm in Christ
Jesus. You see that? Paul, an apostle
of Jesus Christ, by the will of God to the saints, which are
an emphasis of the faithful, in Christ Jesus. Blessed be the
God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ who has blessed us, who
has blessed us with all spiritual blessings in the heavenlies in
Christ. He's blessed us with all spiritual
blessings. Now what are these spiritual
blessings? They're not temporal blessings. They're not earthly
material blessings. They're heavenly blessings. Heavenly
blessings. justified in Christ, sanctification,
righteousness, and redemption. Of God are you saints and faithful
in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us. All we need, wisdom,
righteousness, sanctification, and redemption. He's blessed
us. He has already blessed us. This is not future blessing,
this is present blessing. Blessed be the God and Father
of our Lord Jesus, who hath already blessed us. All that heaven requires,
he's given us. All that heaven demands, he has
given us. All that heaven commands, we
have in Christ Jesus. All spiritual blessings. He that hath the Son, hath life
already. All right, look at the next verse.
according as he hath chosen us. The Father chose us, and he chose
us in Christ. We are saints and faithful in
Christ. The Father hath blessed us with
all spiritual blessing in Christ, according as he chose us in Christ
before the world began, before the foundation of the world.
God chose us in Christ. Now, it is not that I did choose
thee. Lord, that could not be. This
heart of mine would still refuse thee, but thou hast chosen me."
Our Lord said to his disciples, you didn't choose me, I chose
you. One of the hymn writers said,
chosen, not for good in me, wakened up from wrath to flee, quickened
by the Savior's grace, in his sight perfected. made holy. We're chosen in Christ. Turn
to Isaiah 42. Isaiah chapter 42. The Lord Jesus
Christ is God's elect. And we are elected in Him. Christ be my first elect, God
said, and chose us in Christ our head. In Isaiah 42 verse
1, he says, Behold my servant. Behold my servant, whom I uphold,
mine elect, in whom my soul delighted. I put my spirit upon him, he
shall bring forth judgment to the Gentiles." Christ! He's God's
elect. And God has chosen us in Christ.
In Christ. Now another scripture I want
you to look at is 2 Thessalonians, chapter 2. God chose, he says, your chosen
generation, your royal priesthood, your holy nation, your special
people. 2 Thessalonians 2.13. But we're bound. Paul said to
give thanks always to God for you brethren. Notice to whom
he's speaking. Brethren, beloved of the Lord. And we give thanks to God because
God had chosen you. God's from the beginning. Chosen
you, have chosen you to salvation. Not to service, to salvation.
Through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth,
God has chosen you. And He chose you, now watch this
next line, in Ephesians 1. God has blessed us with all spiritual
blessings in Christ, everything we need. Paul said in another
scripture, we're already dead. Made fit, qualified, meet is
the word, M-E-E-T. We're made meet by the inheritance
of the saints. In other words, if I, by God's
will, drop dead right now, fall to the floor, my body's dead,
my spirit goes to be with God, or you, we go straight into glory. Christ said to the thief, today
you're with me. You're going to be with me in paradise. He
doesn't need any polishing or changing or alternations. He's fit. He's sufficient. God's
blessed us with all spiritual blessings. We already have them
in Christ. We're seated in Him at the right
hand of God. He's our forerunner. He's the forerunner of every
believer. And we have, we're sufficient,
qualified in Christ. I got a letter from a friend
of mine this week. It upsets me sometimes. I wonder
if people hear what we're preaching. This dear friend has listened
to me for years. He gets my tapes, and he wrote
me a letter. He's 80 years old. I'm put out
with him. I'm going to write him this week.
I'm put out. I'm upset. He wrote me a letter, and he
said, I'm 80 years old now, and the time is short. I'm worried
about the judgment. I'm worried about the judgment.
I wonder how I'm going to fight the judgment. It says we are
all going to stand before the judgment of God. Haven't you
heard anything? There is therefore now no judgment
to them who are in Christ. No judgment. Who is he that can
lay anything to the charge of God's elect? God's justified
us. Who can condemn us? Christ died. Isn't that sufficient? I'm not
going to the judgment, and neither is any other believer. God has
already blessed us with all spiritual blessings in the heavenlies in
Christ, according as he chose us in Christ, that we should
be what? Holy. Right down in Christ. Holy with our brain. What in
the world are they going to have a judgment to try me if I'm holy? I don't have anything for which
to answer. He answered it at Calvary, paid the debt. Will
you believe that? I've got to ask my friend, don't
you believe that? You mean you're going to stand at the judgment?
For what will God try you? For what will God judge you?
For what will God Almighty test you? You're going to be tested?
You wonder how you're going to do? I'll tell you now how you're
going to do. You're going to fail. David said, Lord, don't bring
me into judgment with you. Don't bring me into judgment
with you. I know how you'll do. I know how you'll do. You'll
perish at the presence of the God before whom you stand, if
he's not perfect in Christ Jesus. We're already holy. He chose
us. That's why he's blessed us with
all spiritual blessings, because he chose us in Christ Jesus.
that we should be holy, unblameable, unreprovable in his sight, in
his sight, having predestinated us unto the adoption of sons,
adoption of children. You see, this word predestination
is in the Bible four times, twice here, twice here, verse 11 and
verse 5 here. And over here, if you'll turn
to Romans 8, it's over here in Romans 8 twice. And every time
it has to do with what we're going to be. What we're going
to be. Well, let's see what it says
here. In verse Ephesians 1, 5, having predestinated us unto
the adoption of children by Jesus Christ. Children of God. God
has predetermined that those whom he chose are going to be
his children. Like which child? Like which
son? All right, Romans 8, verse 29. For whom he did foreknow, he
did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his son. See
that? That he might be the firstborn
among many brethren. Election, the choice. God, blessed be the God and Father. He's given us everything we need.
All that heaven requires. Even as He chose us in Christ
Jesus, chose us before the foundation of the world that we should be
holy without blame before Him in love. Gave Christ to us as
our surety and our redeemer and our righteousness and all we
need. Having predestinated us to the adoption of sons, to be
sons of God. Beloved, now are we sons of God. Behold what manner of love the
Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be chosen and
made sons, that we should be sons of God. It does not yet
appear what we shall be, but right now we're sons of God.
But I tell you what we're going to be, when we see Him, we're
going to be like Him. Like Him. That's right. Now watch this. According to
the good pleasure of His will. In other words, You start where
you are. God's blessed me. I stand before
you and you sit out there blessed of God. Blessed with all spiritual
blessings in Christ Jesus, through Christ Jesus, because of Christ
Jesus. Your name written in the book
of life. All sins put away. Forgiven. Righteous before God. Holy. How come you got this? According as He chose me. He
chose me. to that end. He chose to save
me. He chose me to salvation. I didn't
choose Him, He chose me. You see that? He chose me to
salvation. Take a step back. Why did He do that? Why did He
choose any of us? That we might be conformed to
the image of His Son. That Christ might be the firstborn
among many brethren. That heaven might be populated
with a holy, righteous, perfect people, every one of them just
like his son. Loving what he loves, enjoying
what he enjoys, being made like him in spirit, attitude, motive,
and everything, just like Christ. Predestinated. Before I was born,
my members were written in that book, yours were too. That's
what David said. Before I was ever born, my members
were written in his book. He knew them all. I knew that
even before you were born, he said, you're going to be like
Christ. I predestinated that, predetermined it. The steps of
a good man are ordered by God. I've never taken a step in this
world that wasn't ordered by God. Why did he do that? Because he willed to, according
to the good pleasure of his will. Wasn't my will, it was his will. It's not of him that willeth,
it's not of him that runneth, it's of God that showeth mercy.
We're born not of the will of man, not of the will of the flesh,
born of God. The word free will is in the
Bible 17 times. Now, every 16 of them is talking
about free will offerings. 16 of the 17 times, or 13 of
the 14 or 16 of the 17, talking about free will offerings. The
only time It has anything to do with a decision that somebody
makes. It's in Ezra, chapter 7, where
it says, of your own free will, you can go up to Jerusalem or
you can stay home. Our free will got us where we
are in the mess we're in. The free will of God got me out
of it. Now, so if you want to start where you are, and He's
blessed me. He blessed us, you too. When I say me, I mean you
too. Because He chose to do it. And He chose to do it that He
might have a heaven and a new earth populated with a people
like Christ. Just like the Lord Jesus. And
He did that because He willed to do it. Now if you want to
start back there, when all of this was planned and purposed,
you start back here with the will of God. Before the foundation
of the world, He willed to have a people. And then he says, they're
going to be like Christ. And then he chose them in Christ.
And then Christ came down here and suffered and died for them,
and he called them. Not so. Why did he do all this?
Verse 6, to the praise of the glory of his grace. That's why
he did it, that God may be glorified. Of God are you in Christ. who
of God is made unto us wisdom, righteousness, sanctification,
and redemption, that according as it is written, he that glorieth,
let him glory in the Lord. Over here in Revelation 7, it
talks about this great multitude in glory, and it says in Revelation Verse 9, After this I beheld,
and lo, a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations,
kindreds, peoples, tongues, stood before the throne, before the
Lamb, clothed with white robes, all wore the same thing, palms
of victory. They cried with a loud voice,
Salvation to our God, who sitteth upon the throne, and unto the
Lamb. And all the angels stood round
about the throne, about the elders and the four beasts, and fell
before the throne on their faces, and worshipped God, saying, Amen."
Now, here's a sevenfold blessing. Blessings, glory, wisdom, thanksgiving,
honor, power, might be unto whom? Unto our God, forever and ever. Everything he does is for his
glory. We're in verse 6, Ephesians 1,
He made us accepted in the beloved. Now my friends, that can't be
questioned or doubted. Did you choose God or did He
choose you? He chose you. When did He choose you? People
say, when I believed. That's not what Scripture says.
You believed because He chose you. He didn't choose you because
you did anything. You believed because He chose
you. He chose us for the foundation of the world. For what purpose?
That we should be holy. That we should be like his son.
That he would have a people in glory, all clothed in white robes
of righteousness, praising his name. That's right. Why did he
do all this? According to the good pleasure
of his own will. Our Lord Jesus, in Matthew 11,
let me read this to you. Matthew chapter 11. He says here
in Matthew 11.25, at that time Jesus answered and said, I thank
you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hid these
things from the wise and prudent, and you have revealed them to
babes. Even so, Father, it seemed good in your sight. That is the
answer. It seemed good in his sight,
according to his will. Now the next few verses you have
the work of the Son in our redemption. He says in verse 7, well verse
6, He made us accepted. Now watch this, not acceptable,
accepted. We have eternal life. We have
the spiritual blessing. We are sons of God. We are made
holy. We are accepted. I didn't accept
Him. He accepted me. There's a difference. I received Christ, I believed
Christ, but I didn't accept him. He wasn't up for acceptance or
rejection. He accepted me and the Beloved
in Christ. All right, watch this. In whom? That is, in Christ. We have redemption
already. He has redeemed us through his
blood. We have redemption through his
blood. Turn to Leviticus 17. Leviticus
17, listen to this, verse 11. Leviticus 17, the life of the
flesh is in the blood. The life of your flesh is in
your blood. You can go to a doctor and he can give you a blood test
and he can find out if there's something wrong with you, a disease
that shows in the blood. If they take your blood out of
your body, you're dead. Or if your blood becomes infected,
you're dead. The life of your flesh is in
the blood. But also the life of your soul is in the blood,
but not in yours. Listen to what he says here.
I've given the blood to you on the altar to make an atonement
for your soul. It's the blood that makes an
atonement for the soul. Blood is precious, but it's not
as precious as his blood. We're redeemed, not with corruptible
things such as silver and gold, but with the precious blood of
the Lord Jesus Christ. He redeemed us with His blood.
He bought us back. We had a price on our head. Justice
and the law had a price on us because of our sin. Christ paid
the price. He redeemed us. How? By His blood. Without the shedding of blood,
there's no remission of sin. We have redemption through his
blood. Not only that, but we have the forgiveness of sins.
The Son has redeemed us. The Son has forgiven us. Look
at Hebrews chapter 10. And this is a total forgiveness.
This is not a conditional forgiveness. This is a total forgiveness.
In Hebrews chapter 10, listen to this, verse 11. And every
priest, standard daily, ministering, offering oftentimes the same
sacrifices, which can never take away sin. But this man, this
God-man, after he'd offered one sacrifice, one sacrifice, what? His blood for sin, sat down at
the right hand of God from henceforth expect until his enemies be made
his footstool. By one offering, he hath perfected
forever them that are sanctified. perfected forever by one sacrifice,
one offering, his blood, perfected. Listen, while the Holy Ghost
is a witness to us, for after that he had said before, this
is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, saith
the Lord. I'll put my law into their hearts and in their minds
while I write them, and their sins and iniquities will I remember
no more, no more. He hath redeemed us, forgiven
us. We have no sin. Absolutely in
Christ there is no sin, no charge. But we don't. Not only has He
redeemed us and forgiven us of sins according to the riches
of His grace, but He hath abounded toward us in all wisdom and prudence. He's the wisdom of God. Here's
the question. That was before the prophets
of old. How can man be just with God?
How can he, born of a woman, be clean? Behold, the moon, it
shineth not. The stars are not pure in God's
sight. How can man, who drinks iniquity like the water, be holy,
clean, perfect in God's sight? That's the question. Well, the
wisdom of God answers it by substitution, by Christ coming down here, God.
Now, man can suffer, but man can't satisfy. God can satisfy,
but God can't suffer. So Christ Jesus came down here,
the God-man in the flesh, born of a woman, made of a woman,
made under the law. And he was tempted and tried
in all points as we are, yet without sin. And by his obedience,
he perfected a righteousness in our place instead. He who
knew no sin was made sin, for us that we might be made in Him,
God's righteousness. He went to the cross and paid
the debt. So He fulfilled by His obedience, God's law, and
He satisfied by His blood, God's justice, and it's paid for. We're righteous, we're forgiven.
And it's done wisely. It's done so that God can be
just, both just and justified. That takes the wisdom of God.
Man never thought that up. That's of God, the wisdom of
God. Christ is the wisdom and the
power of God. By power he redeemed us through
wisdom. And then verse 9, now he's redeemed
us, the Son, he's forgiven our sins, he's dealt with God in
wisdom and prudence, and he's made known unto us the mystery
of his will. according to his good pleasure
which he purposed in himself. No man knows the Father but the
Son, and he to whom the Son will reveal it. Let me show you one
verse that will help you with that scripture. 1 John 5. 1 John
5. Listen to this. 1 John 5.20. He hath made known to us this
eternal mystery, how God can be just and justify. according
to his good pleasure which he purposed in himself. Look at
verse 20, 1 John 5. And we know that the Son of God
is come, and he hath given to us who are so dumb and ignorant
in our natural state, but he has given us a heavenly understanding. He hath abounded toward us in
wisdom and prudence. He had made known unto us his
will. He had given us an understanding
that we may know him that is true, and we are in him that
is true, even in his Son, Jesus Christ. This, my friend, is the
true God, and this, my friend, is eternal life. It cannot be
comprehended nor understood nor entered into unless through Christ
you see all of this accomplished and fulfilled by him. Father,
I finished the work you gave me to do. Here it is. To redeem
us, to forgive us, to give us a righteousness, perfect standing
before the law and justice, and to do it in wisdom and prudence,
to satisfy God Almighty's righteousness, and to make known to us in a
revelation of Himself, the very glory of God. It's not a religious decision.
This is a godly miracle. He made known to me these things
that angels desire to look into. Watch this now. That in the dispensation
of the fulness of time, when all this is over, he's going
to gather together in one all things in Christ, both which
are in heaven and which are on earth. He's redeemed us. He's
forgiven us. He's enlightened us. He's illuminated
our minds and He's enriched us. In whom we have, verse 11, obtained
an inheritance. You're looking, and I'm looking,
at an heir of God. An heir of God, all that God
has. I'm a joint heir with Jesus Christ. He's a son by natural essence. He's one with the Father. I'm
a son by adoption. That's right. I'm a son by adoption
who was not a son by nature, a son by adoption. But I'm just
as much an heir as he is, because I'm a joint heir with him. Now
that's so. I know that's incomprehensible
by these natural minds, but I'm an heir of God and a joint heir
of Christ. You are too. He has given us
an inheritance Because we've been predestinated according
to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel
of his own will to be sons. Who's your heir? Your son. Your son by your wife and your
adopted son too. He's your heir too. That's right. But they're the only heirs. Your
son and daughter. Your offspring. And I'll tell
you who God's heirs are, his children. He predestinated us
to be children. That's what predestination, just
get this in your mind, election has to do with people. He chose
us in Christ. But predestination has to do
with what those people are going to be. He predetermined they're
going to be like Christ, sons of God and heirs of God, and
we're already sons of God and heirs of God. And look at verse
12, that we should be to the praise of His glory who first
trusted in Christ. The Father, did you notice when
I got through with those verses about the Father's work, it says
to the praise of His glory. And then when we read here about
the Son who has redeemed us and forgiven us and dealt with us
in wisdom and enlightened us and revealed God to us and enriched
us, made us sons of God. Why'd he do it? To the praise
of the glory of his grace. How'd you get in on this? Well,
look at verse 13. Here's the work of the Holy Spirit,
in whom you trusted after you heard the word of truth. I'll
tell you, by the word of God, we're quickened. By the word
of God, we're made alive. By the word of God, we hear the
truth. By the Word of God we are taught
the truth and we believe when we hear the Word. Whosoever 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 are
they going to believe in him for whom they have not heard? And
how shall they hear without a preacher? So 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.
The Holy Spirit quickened us. The Holy Spirit brought the gospel
to us. And the Holy Spirit sealed us.
Sealed us. And he is our pledge. Look at
verse 14. He's the pledge of our inheritance until. I only
need this pledge for until. until the redemption of the purchased
possession to the praise of His glory, until the revelation of
God's Son, until all this that God has given to us becomes ours
in reality. I hate to say use that word,
but faith is going to give way to to experience and hope is going
to give way to reality. It says that over here in Romans
8. Let me show you that. Romans chapter 8. In Romans 8
chapter verse 22, it says We know that the whole creation
groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now. Not only
they, but we ourselves also, who have the firstfruits of the
Spirit, we groan within ourselves, waiting for what? The adoption,
the redemption of our bodies. And that's what it says in verse
13 and 14, in whom you trusted after you heard the gospel, the
gospel of your salvation. the word of truth, in whom, after
you believed, you were sealed in Christ by the Holy Spirit,
sealed in Christ. And that Holy Spirit is the earnest,
the pledge, the token who abides with you. His Spirit beareth
witness with our spirit that we are sons of God. The fact
that you believe this is evident you are a child of God. The fact
that this is a cause of rejoicing to you is evident that you are
a child of God. These are evidences. The fact
that you can enter in with some understanding to this gospel
of God's grace is proof you're a child of God. That's the Holy
Spirit bearing witness. And this will go on until the
redemption of the purchased possession, until the full revelation of
the sons of God. Let me close just reading some
of these last verses. And Paul now, he says this to
these people, verse 15. Wherefore, I also, after I heard
of your faith in the Lord Jesus and love to all the saints, I
cease not to give thanks for you, making mention of you in
my prayers. And this is my prayer for you,
that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory,
may give you the spirit of wisdom and knowledge and revelation
in the knowledge of him, that the eyes of your understanding
be enlightened, that you may know what is the hope of his
calling, his calling, the riches of the glory of his inheritance
in the saints, the exceeding greatness of his power to us,
according to the working of his might." This is salvation of
the Lord. You see this? It's his calling,
it's his inheritance, it's his power, it's his mighty power,
which he wrought in Christ when he raised him from the dead and
set him at his own right hand in the heaven of far above principalities
and power and might and dominion and every nameless name, not
only in this world but in that which is to come, and he's put
all things under his feet, given him to be the head over all things
to the Church, that's us, which is his body, the fullness of
him that filleth all in all. What a marvelous, marvelous,
marvelous chapter. magnifying the marvelous grace
of our God.