Unto the Praise of His Glory

Q: What does the Bible say about election?

The Bible teaches that election is God's sovereign choice of certain individuals for salvation, as seen in Ephesians 1:4. The doctrine of election, as presented in Scripture, signifies God's sovereign choice in selecting individuals for salvation according to His will and purpose. Ephesians 1:4 states, 'He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world,' highlighting that our selection for salvation is not based on our merit or foreseen faith, but solely on God's grace. This doctrine is central to understanding God's redemptive plan and emphasizes that salvation is initiated by God, reinforcing the idea that we are chosen according to His good pleasure.

Q: How do we know predestination is true?

Predestination is affirmed in Scripture, particularly in Ephesians 1:5, showing that God predetermined our adoption as His children. Predestination refers to God's eternal decree to determine the destiny of individuals, specifically in terms of salvation and adoption as His children. Ephesians 1:5 expressly states, 'Having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will.' This verse confirms that predestination is a central element of God's sovereign plan that occurs before the foundation of the world. It underscores the idea that our salvation is entirely an act of God's grace and sovereign will, thus supportively affirming the truth of predestination as taught in Scripture.

Q: Why is grace important for Christians?

Grace is essential for Christians as it is the means by which they are saved and sustained in their faith (Ephesians 2:8-9). Grace is a fundamental component of the Christian faith, as it embodies the unmerited favor of God towards humanity. Ephesians 2:8-9 states, 'For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.' This emphasizes that salvation is entirely a gift from God, not something we can earn or achieve. Additionally, grace is vital for the ongoing Christian life, nurturing spiritual growth and strength in times of struggle, further rooting believers in their dependence on God's mercy and love.

Q: What does it mean to be accepted in the beloved?

Being accepted in the beloved means that believers are received by God through Christ, as stated in Ephesians 1:6. To be accepted in the beloved signifies that believers, through their union with Christ, are embraced into God's family and stand fully approved by Him. Ephesians 1:6 declares, 'To the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He made us accepted in the Beloved.' This acceptance is grounded in Christ’s redemptive work, whereby believers are no longer seen as alienated from God but as beloved children. This transformative truth reassures Christians of their standing before God, emphasizing His grace and the new identity they possess in Christ.

Q: How does the Holy Spirit work in a believer's life?

The Holy Spirit works in a believer's life by illuminating truth, sealing them for salvation, and guiding their spiritual growth. The Holy Spirit plays a vital role in the lives of believers by acting as a guide, comforter, and helper. In Ephesians 1:13-14, it states, 'In Him you also trusted, after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation; in whom also, having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise.' This sealing affirms that believers belong to Christ and secures their inheritance in the heavenly realm. Additionally, the Holy Spirit enlightens believers to understand Scripture, empowers them for holy living, and assures them of their relationship with God, effectively working to transform them into the image of Christ.

All right, let's open our Bibles
together now to the book of Ephesians, chapter 1. Now, the author of this epistle
states his name first. He says, Paul. And he declares
his office. He said, I'm an apostle. There
were only 12 of them. An apostle must have seen the
Lord, and he must have received his gospel directly from Christ
Jesus. And he says, I'm an apostle of
Jesus Christ. And he tells how he came to be
an apostle by the will of God, not by his own will and not by
the will of his fellow men and brethren. He became an apostle
by the will of God. And he's writing this letter,
this is a private letter, this is a family letter. This letter is addressed not
to everybody, but to the saints. Every believer is a saint. An
individual doesn't become a saint after he's dead, canonized to
the church because some miracle has been performed in his name.
But every believer is a saint, sanctified in Christ Jesus, sanctified
by the Father, sanctified by the Son, and sanctified by the
Holy Spirit, set apart for the glory of God. And he writes this
letter, as most of the Bible is written to believers. The
only thing that an unbeliever, an unregenerate man, has in the
Bible is judgment, condemnation, the wrath of God. But he's writing
to the saints. which are an emphasis to the
faithful. This letter is addressed to believers
who are faithful in Christ Jesus. And in the salutation, verse
2, Paul says, Grace be to you, grace be to you, amazing grace,
how sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me. I once was
lost, but now I'm found. It's grace that found me, and
grace that called me, and grace that keeps me. And peace, you
see, there can be no peace without grace. Grace comes first. Grace
be to you the grace of God, and peace from God our Father and
from the Lord Jesus Christ. Now, in verse If you'll just underscore the
word Father, blessed be the God and Father. The Apostle Paul
is going to talk to these believers, to the saints and to the faithful,
about what the Father has done for us. And he blesses God the
Father, he praises God the Father. And he says, blessed be the God
and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, and Paul begins where
he is. with what he has. And he says
he has blessed us. Who blessed us? The Father blessed
us. The Father blessed us. He's the
fountain of blessings. He's the fountain of grace. He's
the fountain, as Tom said, of every good and perfect gift.
And he has blessed us already. He has blessed us with all spiritual
blessings in the heavenly in Christ Jesus, in heavenly places
in Christ. The Father has given to us all
that we need in Christ, everything we need, everything we need to
make us meet or sufficient to inherit heaven's glories. I use this illustration. When
a baby is born into this world, comes forth from the womb, and
the doctor holds banks it or whatever he does, and that baby
cries. That baby has everything right then, everything that he'll
ever have physically. It has two arms and two legs
and five fingers and five toes and two ears and a nose and everything. In thirty years, that baby will
be a full-grown, mature, beautiful woman or handsome man. But everything
that he'll have, that that baby will have when he's 30 years
old, he had the moment he came out of that womb. He's not going
to add any other thing. He has everything sufficient
to be a full-grown, mature adult. And when we're saved by the grace
of God in Christ Jesus, we have justification, we have sanctification,
we have wisdom and righteousness, we have redemption, we have In
other words, if God's pleased, like the thief on the cross,
to take a believer to glory immediately, in five minutes, after he brings
him to see Christ and love Christ, he'll occupy a place in glory
as prominent and much like Christ as the Apostle Paul who labored
all the years for the glory of God. That's right. God has blessed
us with all spiritual blessings. I think there's too much emphasis
put on this thing of of carnal, material, physical blessings
in this world. That's what most people talk
about, having a good job and a fine home and a good car and
all these things. But I don't need those things.
I can enjoy them. But what I need is spiritual
blessings. I need the grace of God in Christ
Jesus. That's what I need to know Him.
You see that? And that's what God's Right now,
right where I am, Paul said, God has blessed us. He's writing
to these believers. I'm an apostle, and I'm writing
to saints. I'm writing to the faithful.
And God has blessed you with all spiritual blessing. You're
complete in Him. You are redeemed in Him. You're
saved in Him. You're not looking for a second
blessing, a third blessing, a fourth blessing that will greatly equip
you for heaven. You have everything you need.
whenever God's face takes you home, in Christ, in Christ. And then Paul takes a step back
in verse 2 and talks about how this came to be. He said he blessed
us, every one of us, with all spiritual blessings in Christ
according as he chose us in Christ. I didn't choose him, he chose
me. You see, these blessings that God gave me, He chose to
give them to me. And He chose me as an object
of those blessings. And He chose you. He chose us.
It's not that I didn't choose thee. For there, that could not
be. This heart would still refuse
thee, but thou hast chosen me. He chose to give me this. And
there I found grace in the eyes of the Lord. more righteous than
those people in the day in which he lived. God made him righteous.
God didn't look down and find a man that he could trust. You can't trust any man or woman. There's no good in any of us.
No, God chose me. God chose Abraham. God chose
Isaac. God chose Jacob. Jacob ever loved,
Esau ever hated. And God, he blessed us with these
spiritual blessings, forgiveness, righteousness, redemption, eternal
life, because he chose to do it. He made you an object of
his love and an object of his grace. He chose to do it. And
he didn't choose to do it when you believed. He didn't choose
to do it when you accepted Jesus. He chose you in Christ before
you was ever born. Yea, long before that. He chose
us in Christ before the foundation of the world. That's when he
chose us. God didn't look down through
the years and see who would choose him. He chose them and enabled
them to choose him. Enabled them to. He chose us
in Christ. And that's a theme of praise. I'll tell you, every time you
find election in the Bible, you'll find whoever's talking about
election talking about it with praise, not with distaste and
not with not uncomfortable, or said, Bless God, the Father of
our Lord Jesus, who hath chosen us in Christ before the foundation
of the world. Bless him! In 1st and 2nd Thessalonians,
he said, I'm bound to give thanks to God for you, brethren. The
leaven of the lamb, because he hath from the beginning chosen
you to salvation. One day our Lord Jesus just stopped
where he was, lifted his eyes to heaven. He'd been talking
with those religious fellows, you know, that I talked about
this morning, and finally he just stopped and lifted his eyes
to heaven. He said, I thank you, Father. I thank you, Lord of
heaven and earth, that you have hidden these glorious truths
and mysteries from the smart alecks and the wise folks of
this world, and you've revealed it to me. I thank you. Because it seemed good in your
sight. So Paul said, God blessed us. He's writing to the people
who believe. And he said, God blessed us with
everything we need. And he did it because he chose
to do it. Well, why did he choose you, Preacher? I don't know.
You'll have to ask him. I don't know. I just, I'm glad
he did it. Why did he choose you, Preacher?
David said that. Who am I? Who am I? That you
should show mercy to me. Who are my people? any more than
any other people. Mephibosheth said that. Why do
you show such mercy to such a dead dog? He chose to. David chose
to bless Mephibosheth. He hanged seven of his brothers.
And his cousin, didn't he? Hanged him on a tree and spared
Mephibosheth. Why? Because he promised Jonathan
he'd be merciful to his cousin. That's right. And he chose us
for the foundation of the world. Listen, that we should be holy,
not because we were holy. He chose us that we should be
holy and that we should be without blame. Can you imagine being
without blame? I mean totally without blame.
I read something this week about
a fellow that said he wrote a book and it ought to be entitled,
I Never Met a Problem, I Didn't Call. I could write that same book,
couldn't he? I never had a problem I didn't cause. Most of our problems
can be laid at our feet. We're to blame. We're to blame. We're to blame. But I'll tell
you in Christ, I'm without blame. Who can lay anything, anything
to the charge of God's will? Now when God justifies it, we're
without blame. without blame, before him. That's
where we're without blame. Now, before one another, another
proposition, but before him. God has blessed me with everything
I need, everything he requires, everything he commands, everything
heaven demands, everything he's blessed me, because he chose
to do it. And to make me holy and you holy without blame before
him, watch this, in love, in love having predestinated us
Paul starts to these people, writes to them, and says, God
blessed us. He steps back one step and says, because he chose
to bless us. And then he steps back another step and says, he
chose to bless us, and he's blessed us because he's predestinated. Now, folks read that word and
discuss that word, and it just sort of does something to them.
Dr. Jacob drinks that poison liquid
and turns into Mr. Hyde. That's predestination that
he's drinking, and it just turns him into a monster. But it shouldn't,
because it just means what it says. Listen. He chose some people
because he predetermined, predestinated, that every one of them are going
to be like Christ. Isn't that just what they're
saying? See, he's blessed us because
he chose to bless us, and the reason he chose some people to
bless them is because he predestinated, predetermined, that heaven was
going to be populated. You read a scripture in the study
a while ago, Dr. Tom read it right here, that
heaven's going to be populated. Isn't that what you just read?
One of y'all read it. But God Almighty's going to populate
the new heaven and new earth, and He's going to populate the
new heaven and new earth with a people like Christ. That's
right. We're going to be perfectly conformed
to his image. Everybody in glory is going to
be like Christ. That's what the Father predestinated. Predestination came before election.
That's right. He chose us, having already determined
that heaven was going to be populated, the earth was going to be populated
with a people conformed to the image of his Son, sons of God. Sons of God, that's what it says.
Sons of God. And all of this, listen, having
predestinated, it's just like Joseph. You know, here's a little
Jewish boy in God, God's going to put him on the throne of Egypt.
On the throne of Egypt, to preserve his people alive. God has predestinated
he's going to be on the throne. And all the things that happened
to him down this road that led to the throne, God ordered and
purposed and directed. And that's you and me and all
these people here. God blessed us because he chose
to bless us, and back there he predetermined what we're going
to be. We're going to be like Christ. And our steps are ordered
by the Lord. Everything's going to take place
to bring you to be like Christ. Now listen, it goes on. According
to the good pleasure of his own will, It wasn't your will that
brought you to Christ, it was His will. We're born not of the
will of the flesh, not of the will of man, we're born of God.
It's not of Him that willeth, it's not of Him that runneth,
it's of God that shows mercy. It's His will. And what's this
next line? And why'd He do all this? Every
bit of it. Beginning back yonder in the
council halls of eternity, back yonder, further back than the
mind can possibly go, even in imagination. God willed to have
a people. God willed to have a kingdom.
God willed to have a new heaven and new earth. God willed that
it should be populated with a people like Christ. And God chose them.
And God, in time, blessed them. And all of this was to the praise
of the glory of His grace. Ever better. We pray, is his
grace that blessed me? Is his grace that chose me? Is
his grace that determines our end and goal? It's his grace
all the way from Alpha to Omega, from beginning to end. He did
it that he may be glorified, that no flesh should glow in
his presence. Now watch this life. Wherein
he hath made us. He hath made us. We didn't do
it. He made us accepted. Not acceptable, pastemic. Accepted in the beloved. We're
accepted in Christ. Now, if you look over the work
of the Father, everything he did was in Christ. Everything
he did in us and for us and everything he will do for us is in Christ.
He chose us in Christ, he blessed us in Christ, he predestinated
us to be like Christ, and he accepted us in Christ. Now, in
these next verses, he talks about the Beloved. You see, verse 7
starts with, "...in whom," so underscore whom. We're going
to talk here about the Son. We're going to talk about the
Son, what the Son has done. He says, "...in whom," that is,
in the Beloved, we have redemption. We have redemption. We have redemption
through his blood. We have redemption, we have forgiveness
of sins according to the riches of his grace. He hath redeemed
us. Listen to Paul over in Hebrews
chapter 10. Hebrews chapter 10, listen. In
verse 9 of Hebrews 10, the Lord Jesus is speaking here, and he
said, Then said he, Lo, I come, I come to do thy will, O God. You see, what is the will of
God? good pleasure of his will that you have with people like
Christ. And he chose them, and he blessed them. But he's got
to do it based on his justice and righteousness. You see, Almighty
God has got to save us consistently with his character. You see what
I'm saying? He's got to save us consistently
with his character. And so Christ said in verse 9,
I come to do your will. I come to do this eternal will,
this counsel. And he taketh away the first,
that he may establish the second. He taketh away the first Adam,
Christ is the second Adam. The first covenant, the old covenant,
the new covenant of grace. The first tabernacle, Christ's
tabernacle among us. The first priesthood, Christ
is our high priest. The first mercy seat, Christ
is our mercy seat. He takes away our first nature,
born and seen. Bearing the image of the earthy,
he gives us a new nature. He's gonna take away the first
heaven, there'll be a new heaven. Take away the first earth, there'll
be a new earth. In Christ, all things are brand
new. Behold, I make all things new.
Takes away all those things. He takes them away by fulfilling
them. By fulfilling them. Now, in verse
10 said, by the which will, now Christ said, I come to do your
will, my father. By the which will, by God's will,
we're sanctified. We're sanctified, how? Through
the offering of the body of Jesus Christ gradually, progressively? No, sir. We are sanctified through
the offering of the body of Jesus Christ, what's it say? Once upon
all. That's right. Now, we grow in
grace and we grow in the knowledge of Christ, and we'll get to that
in a minute. But my friends, I'm sanctified right now in Christ. and before God as I was when
God saved me and as I'll ever be, by the blood and righteousness
of Christ. Now, verse 11, every Old Testament
priest stands daily, I talked about this this morning, ministering,
offering the same sacrifices. These are patterns, these are
pictures, these are, they can never take away sin. The lamb,
it couldn't take away sin. The blood of animals couldn't
take away sin. All these, but this man, and
he was the God-man. Alfred offered one sacrifice
for sin or ever sat down. Only priest that ever sat down
in the presence of God, because he's the only one to ever finish
what he came to do. He is his only sacrifice that
ever fully, totally, completely redeemed his people. Old Dr. A.J. Gordon was pastor
of the Church of the Open Door in Boston back yonder years ago.
He told a story, said he was on his way home one day, walking
down the street, way back around the turn of the century, and
he met one of his little Sunday school boys coming toward him.
And that little boy had a homemade wire birdcage in his hand. And
in that birdcage, Dr. Gordon said he saw two little
frightened field birds just crouched over in the corner of that birdcage.
That little boy was smiling, carrying that birdcage, wire,
homemade wire birdcage down the sidewalk. And Dr. Gordon stopped
him, called him by name. He said, where'd you get the
bird? The little boy said, I trapped him. He said, what you going
to do with him? He said, I'm going to play with
him and then feed him to the cat, probably. Dr. Gordon said, my heart just beat
and broke for those little birds. And he said, I looked at them
there in captivity, and I said to the little boy, I said, would
you sell them? He said, but you don't want these birds. They
can't sing. They can't do nothing. They ain't canoes, you know.
He said, the woods are full of them. He said, you can get all
you want. And all he said, I want those. I want those. Now, if
you sell them, I'll buy whatever you ask. Well, this is way back
yonder. And the little boy said, you
want them? Real bad? He said, I want them real bad.
He said, it cost you $2. birds cagin' off. Preacher reached
in his pocket and got out two dollars and handed it to the
little boy, took his bird cage and his two little birds, and
the little boy went on down the street. Every once in a while
he'd turn and look back and shake his head at that preacher. That
fool preacher. Spent that kind of money for
two old field birds. And we got Gordon's house, stood
there and watched him, and he went on down the street, turned
around, and finally went around the corner. And he said, I held
that cage up in the air, I took the wire off the little cage
door, and I opened it, and I held it up to the blue sky. And I
said, little birds, I'm about you. You mind? I'm setting you
free. He tapped the cage, and he said
they spread their wings and flew out into that blue sky. He said
he could almost hear them as they sailed into the sky, singing,
redeemed, set free. And Dr. Gordon said, I wasn't
a prisoner of Satan, I was a prisoner of the law of God, the justice
of God. It had me in captivity. And the law was going to try
me and kill me. And Christ Jesus met the law
and the justice of His Holy Father, and He said, I want those burns.
Well, they ain't no good. They can't do a thing. There's plenty more just like
them. I want those. I want those. He chose those.
He predestinated those. He determined to save those.
He said to Jacob, you're mine. I don't care how far you go,
you're mine. I don't care how far in captivity you are, you're
mine. You're mine. I want that one.
I want that one. I want that one. And so he bought,
he bought us. He bought us not with silver
and gold. He bought us with the silver
of his sweat and the gold of his blood and redeemed us. and open the cage and set the
captive free. And I'm redeemed. I'm not going
to be redeemed. I'm redeemed. That's what it
says here. In him we have redemption through
his blood. We have the forgiveness of sin
and all of it according to the riches of his grace. We didn't
deserve it. We didn't earn it. We didn't
merit it. We don't deserve it now. It's according to the riches
of his grace. wherein he hath abounded toward
us in all wisdom and prudence." Now look what he did also in
verse 9. And he made known unto us. He not only redeemed us,
but he made known unto us the mystery of his will. Now watch
this. The Father chose us. The Father's will to have a people
predestinated to be like Christ, he chose us. And he's blessed
us with everything in Christ. Now Christ died for us and redeemed
us. But I don't know that yet, see, in my sin, born in sin,
sinful by nature. And all that God's done for me,
by nature I haven't discovered. No man knoweth the things of
God, save the Spirit of God. And I don't know these things.
So He's got to enlighten me. You see, what the Father decrees
and wills and predestinates, that's a mystery. But the Lord
Jesus Christ not only redeemed us, but it was his work and his
office, not only to be our priest and king, but to be our prophet.
And he comes to this earth in the flesh, and he reveals the
Father. No man knows the Father, the
secrets of God, the mysteries of God, the will of God. The
Savior does. The Lord Jesus does. That's when
the disciples said, well, show us the Father. He said, you're
looking at the Father. He's the same, the same, the Father. He
came to reveal the Father, to declare the Father. Like I said
this morning, when you find out who Christ is, you'll find the
answer to the mysteries of this Word, because He and the Father
are one. He Himself is the Word. You can't separate the written
Word and the incarnate Word. They're one and the same. The
Word is Christ. What's a Word? A Word is a vehicle
of thought. If I stand here tonight in complete
silence, you're not going to know what I'm thinking. I've got to speak some words,
and when I speak these words, you know what I'm thinking. The Father is in complete silence
to the man who doesn't have the word, Christ. But when that man
has the word revealed in his heart, he has made known unto
him the mystery of God's will, according to his good pleasure
which he purposed in himself." You don't learn this by education,
it comes by revelation. You think you're going to, when
you come to the knowledge of the gospel, you run into Mom
and Dad's house and you say, sit down there, I'm going to
teach you what God showed me. You just think you are. You're
going to get thrown out for what you're going to do. Whether you
run down to your brother's house, you've come to find out the grace
of God, the mercy of God, the goodness of God and Christ Jesus.
You run down to your brother's house and say, that religious
mess you're in is just a lot of hogwash. I'm going to tell
you the truth. You're going to sit on the doorstep
for what you're going to do. It has to come to him the same
way it came to you. It's our revelation. Have you found that to be so?
It's so. Verse 10, that in the dispensation
of the fulness of time, he might gather together in one all things
in Christ, in Christ by divine choice, in Christ by divine grace,
in Christ by revelation and faith, in Christ by choice. My choice,
too. He made me will. I know it doesn't
have any unwilling bride. Just like your bride came down
this aisle one day with you, willingly. You wouldn't have
had her no other way, would you? And this bride's going to come
down willingly, too. Arm in arm with Christ, because
she wants to. See what I'm saying? And now
watch verse 11, and here's what the Son did for us, too. in whom
also we have obtained an inheritance. It's already ours. Being predestinated,
what is this inheritance? It's the inheritance of children.
You've got to be a son to have the inheritance. See, Christ
is the heir. We're joint heirs with Christ.
Being children of God, we're heirs of God. And it's already
ours, because we're his children. And we're his children in Christ.
So in Christ we've been redeemed, in Christ we've been enlightened
and illuminated, in Christ we've been enriched with an inheritance,
being predestinated according to the purpose of him who never
fails, who worketh all things after the counsel of his own
will. That's what Christ did. Now, why did he do it? Look at
the next verse, that we should be to the praise of his glory. Brethren, knowing your election
of God and your calling. Not many mighty, not many noble,
not many wise are called, but God hath chosen the foolish things,
the things that are not, the base things. Why? That no flesh
should glow in His place, but that we should be to the praise
of the glory of His grace. Praise God from whom all blessings
flow. Praise the Son who loved us,
who willingly came to redeem us, who fulfilled God's holy
law and gave his precious blood, who enlightened us, who illuminated
us, who revealed the Father to us, who enriched us with an inheritance
and all of it to the praise of his glory. Unto him who loved
us and washed us from our sins in his own blood, unto him be
the glory and the praise both now and forever." I tell you, it's not hard for
a real sinner to give the praise to the one who saved him. Not
I. And then watch this next verse,
the Holy Spirit, in whom you trust him. In whom you trust
him. He's writing to the believers
now, who do you trust? We trust Christ. Whom do you
believe? We believe Christ. In whom do
you rest? We rest in Christ. Who is your
salvation and your hope, your righteousness, wisdom, sanctity?
Christ. Well, when did you find that
out? When did you trust him? Brother
Barnard asked a person one time, said, are you a Christian? He
said, yeah. He said, how long have you been
a Christian? He said, I've always been a Christian. He said, that's
too long. That's too long. I talked to a young man about
this just a few days ago. I said, you start preaching this
gospel of grace in order to preach it effectively and boldly. You've
got to come to understand that it is not just the deeper truth,
it's the gospel. You can't preach it boldly and
courageously and like it ought to be preached unless you're
persuaded that this is the way God saves sinners. God doesn't
save sinners by their free will, He saves sinners by His free
will. God doesn't save sinners because they do certain things,
He saves sinners because Christ did certain things. And we find
that out. When do we find that? When we
hear it, when we hear the word of truth. When did you trust
Christ? When you heard the word of truth. I was raised in the church, I've
been in church ever since I went to church wearing my cap pistols,
two and three years old, one on each hip, you know. Sit there
and go to sleep in my mom and daddy's lap. When I got nine
years old, they said it was about time for me to be saved, so they
saved me and baptized me and did all these other things. I
rededicated because I couldn't stay out of meanness, you know.
So every time they'd have rededication, I'd go down and get it fixed
up again. Decided to be a preacher and all that sort of thing. In
1950, by the grace of God, I heard the word of truth. I heard it
here, and I heard it here. I heard who God is. I heard who
Christ is, I heard what we are, by nature, by fall by fall, by
birth, by choice. I found out there's a problem
between me and God. And that problem was taken on
by Christ who solved it, by himself, without any of her help from
me. And God in grace gave it to me, I heard it. And when I
heard the God word of truth, I trusted Him. I don't have any trouble telling
you when the Lord revealed the gospel to me. That's when it
was. That's when it was, when I heard
the word of truth. Now, you heard a preacher say,
God, if you take the first step, God will meet you halfway. That's
not the truth. You heard a preacher say, if you'll come down and
I'll accept Jesus, he'll save you. That's not the truth. Christ
is not down here. He's on the throne. If you'll
do this, that, and the other, God will do this, that, and the
other. No, that's not the word of truth. The word of truth is
this, in Adam all die. In Christ we're made alive. The
word of truth is this, that salvation is by grace through faith, and
that not of yourself, it's the gift of God. The word of truth
is, I'll be magnified, saith the Lord. The word of truth is,
Jesus Christ didn't come down here to try to save anybody,
he came to save those the Father gave him. And he redeemed them
and washed them from their sin by his blood. And there are a
lot of preachers and people having a struggle with what they call
the gospel of grace. Because they're trying to put
that new wine in old bottles and she won't fill it. And they're
trying to sow patches on their rags of righteousness and that
won't do either. That's right. And you've got
to, like the Apostle Paul, count all things but loss if you're
going to have the excellence of the knowledge of Christ. You've
got to turn your back on your old profession, your old works,
your old religion, your old rededication, your old tithing, your old Sabbath
keeping, and your old everything else. Isn't that right? When
you hear the word of truth, and the gospel of God's grace is
not some deeper truth you learn later, it is the truth. And before
you hear the salvation that's in Christ by grace, you ain't
never heard the truth. That's just so. That's just so. In whom you trusted. When? After you heard the word
of truth. What? The gospel. The personal
work of Christ. The gospel of your salvation.
I'm not trying to pinpoint times and places, that's not, and somebody
may say, well I feel like God was working me all the time.
Well sure he was. Sure he was, that'd be dumb not
to know that. He's working me when I was a
heathen. He put a hedge around me, I was his child. He protected
me, he fed me, he clothed me, he brought me to the place that
he was going to bring me. He brought me to hear the gospel.
The Ethiopian eunuch didn't suddenly become God's child when Philip
stepped up in a chair and preached Christ to him. It was God's will and God's direction
and God leading him that brought him where he was when he met
Philip. Isn't that right? Was God working with him? That's
why he went to Jerusalem, because God was working with him. That's
why he was reading the Bible, because God was working with
him. That's the reason Cornelius was on a prayer. God was working
with him. Sure, he was in your life. He
was in your life when you had a life. He's the author of it. Sure,
that's true. Somebody says, well, just like
me, you know, back when I was twenty, Twenty-four years old,
I heard the gospel of God's grace. I heard the truth as it is in
Christ Jesus. Prior to that time, God was working
with me. I wouldn't have been there to
start with. But that's when I heard it. Now watch this, the gospel
of your salvation, in whom after you believe. Now, don't fall
into the hard-shell pit, well, if a man's elect, he's going
to be saved no matter what. That's not so. If a man's elect,
he's going to be saved. It's not no matter what. It's
he will be willing. He will hear the gospel. He will
love the gospel. He will receive the gospel. He
will bow to the gospel. He will embrace the gospel. Yes,
he will. My sheep hear my voice and they
follow me. Every sheep I have which are
not of this fold I must bring. But I guarantee you they must
hear the gospel. And they've got to willingly,
lovingly, personally embrace it. He that believeth not the
gospel shall be damned." I don't care who he is. And after you believe that, you
were sealed with that Holy Spirit of promise. Here's the work of
the Spirit. See, the Father, the Son, the
Holy Spirit. And the Holy Spirit brought the gospel to us, regenerated
us, gave us ears to hear, eyes to see, hearts to believe, and
the Holy Spirit sealed us. We're baptized in Christ by the
Spirit of God. Have you had the baptism of the
Holy Spirit? Have you? Well, if you're saved, you have. If you're saved, if you're Christ,
if you belong to Him, you were baptized into the body of Christ
by the Holy Spirit. You were submerged and immersed
into the body of Christ by the Holy Spirit. You were being Christ.
If any man has not the Spirit of Christ, he's none of His.
Now, I believe there's a constant filling of the Holy Spirit. I
sit there and wrestle and pray and ask God, don't let me get
up there by myself. Fill me with thy Spirit. Empty
me of my contrariness and empty me of my vindictiveness and empty
me of my lack of affection and empty me of my argumentative
nature and fill me with the Holy Spirit. Don't you pray that before
you pray? Fill me. And you can't get filled
once for all. First place, you couldn't stand
it. I can't stay up this high all the time. I've got to come
down and watch the ballgame once in a while. Isn't that right? You can't. There's no way. But a filling of the Holy Spirit,
filling of the Holy Spirit. But I'm not looking for a time
when I get this old flesh conquered. That'll be the day, won't it?
That'll be the day when he comes, when he comes. not baptized with
the Holy Ghost and speak in tongues. That's just the ridiculous carping
of folks who don't know anything about the scriptures. The Holy
Spirit seals you, now watch it, and that Holy Spirit is the earnest. That word earnest is pledge,
promise, token. It's the earnest of our inheritance.
Have you ever owned a piece of property? You see that property,
and you go down there and tell the man you want it, and he said,
well, you've got to put up some earnest money. So you give him
$500. That's earnest money. That's
your property. Legally, nobody can touch it. Because you've
already paid. Isn't that right? Am I correct
in that? It's earnest money. When you propose to your wife,
you put an engagement ring on her finger. That was a promise,
pledge, earnest. You're going to get another one.
and the Spirit of God dwelling in us, that's God's pledge and
God's promise. You're going to get another one.
I guarantee you, he said, this is my pledge, the Spirit of God
dwelling in you. And that verse 14 says, he's
the pledge, he's the promise, he's the earnest, he's the token
unto the redemption of the purchased possession. Why? To the praise
of his glory. Southern Baptists started something
years ago, save to serve. saved to serve, saved to tell
others. Now, a man who is saved will
serve God, and he will tell others, but that is not why God saved
him. He saved him to the praise of the glory of his grace. It
says that three times. It talks about what the Father
has done, to the praise of his glory. It talks about what the
Son has done, to the praise of his glory. It talks about what
the Spirit has done, to the praise of his glory. And then Paul,
verse 15, says, of your faith in the Lord Jesus.
I heard about you and your love to the Saints." Those two characteristics
are found in every believer. They go together, they are inseparable,
faith in Christ and love. Faith in Christ and love for
the brethren. He said, I cease not to give
thanks for you making mention of you in my prayers. I tell
you, when you hear about somebody who believes Christ and who loves
Christ and loves others, two things, two responses. One, you
thank God for them, and you pray for them. Thank God for you,
and I pray for you. See what I'm saying? When you
find out, when somebody proves by faith and love that they're
in Christ, thank God. And you pray for them. And then
he went on. Here's his prayer, and I'll wind it up. I pray that
the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory,
may give you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge
of him." I thought they knew him. They do. They want to know
him better. Paul knew him, but he said, oh,
that I may know him. I don't know anything like I
ought to know it. Oh, my, my, my, my. Don't arrive. Don't become an authority. If
you live to be as old as Methuselah, nine hundred years old, you'll
never touch even the hymn of the gospel. You'll still know
in part, preach in part, and see through a glass dimly. Paul
said, I want you to grow in wisdom and the revelation of the knowledge
of him. And listen, I want the eyes of your understanding to
be filled with light, his light, that you may know what's the
hope of his calling. What is the hope? Beloved, now
are we sons of God. It does not yet appear what we
shall be, but when he shall appear, we're going to be like him. And
he that hath this hope purifies himself, as he is purified. What's
that hope? We'll be like him. And that you
may know that. And what is the riches of the
glory of his inheritance in the saints? And what's this? And
the exceeding greatness of his power to us who believe. according to the working of his
mighty power." I want you to know something about this mighty
power of God. And in the next few verses, he
tells us what it is. "...which he wrought in Christ
when he raised him from the dead." Now, brethren, Christ lay in
the tomb, and his resurrection is called a begetting. He's the
first begotten from the dead. You lay in spiritual deadness. And God hath begotten you unto
a living hope." The same power which he wrought in Christ when
he raised him from the dead. Christ's body, human body, was
lifeless. You spiritually and I were lifeless. Our human bodies, his human body
couldn't raise itself. He was raised by the power of
God, isn't that right? And we didn't raise ourselves. You have
equipped them who were dead. And his resurrection was the
unaided work of God, and your resurrection from deadness is
the unaided work of God. And listen, read on. This mighty
power, don't you know what that power toward us is? Verse 20,
which he wrought in Christ when he raised him from the dead,
and set him at his own right hand in the heavenly place. What
did God do when he raised Christ? He took him to glory. And that's
what he's going to do with you. By that same power, he's going
to take you to glory. far above all principalities,
and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named,
not only in this world, but that world which is to come. And he
hath put all things under Christ's feet, and gave him to be the
head over all things to the church, which is his body, the fulness
of him, that filleth all in all." That is not but one thing that
anybody can say. to that which I have raised,
amen. So be it." Now, that's the word
of God. That's what God says. That's
our promise in Christ. That's God's purpose in Christ.
And God has appointed a day in which he's going to judge this
world by that man, Christ Jesus. And he gave us proof of that
and evidence of it when he raised him from the dead. All right,
Mike, come and lead us in a closing hymn.

Unto the Praise of His Glory

What does the Bible say about election?

How do we know predestination is true?

Why is grace important for Christians?

What does it mean to be accepted in the beloved?

How does the Holy Spirit work in a believer's life?

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Unto the Praise of His Glory

What does the Bible say about election?

How do we know predestination is true?

Why is grace important for Christians?

What does it mean to be accepted in the beloved?

How does the Holy Spirit work in a believer's life?

Sermon Transcript

About Henry Mahan

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