Now, no chapter in the Bible
glorifies God in his redemptive work, in his redeeming work,
like chapter 1 of Ephesians. Secondly, no chapter in the Bible
makes plainer and clearer that salvation is of the Lord from
beginning to end than in chapter 1 of Ephesians. No chapter in
the Bible is clearer on the fact that salvation, the salvation
of the righteous, is of God and of him only. It's the gift of
God, it's the work of God, his workmanship created in Christ
Jesus. And no chapter in the Bible presents
clearer in this thing of redemption the work of the Father, the Son,
and the Holy Spirit, quite like Ephesians chapter 1. And as one
preacher said, no chapter in the Bible is so full of Christology. You know, I wish we would discuss
Christology more than we do theology. No chapter in the Bible is so
full of Christology like chapter 1. Look at verse 3. Blessed be
the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed
us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ. Look at verse 4. According as
he chose us in Christ, before the foundation of the world,
that we should be holy and without blame before him in love. Look
at verse 5, "...having predestinated us unto the adoption of children
by Jesus Christ, according to the good pleasure of his will."
Verse 6, "...to the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein
he made us accepted in Jesus Christ." Verse 7, "...in Christ,"
in whom, that is, in Christ, we have redemption through his
blood, the forgiveness of sin. according to the riches of his
grace. Look at verse 10, that in the dispensation of the fulness
of times, he might gather together in one all things in Christ,
both which are in heaven and which are on the earth, even
in Christ. This is Christology. Look at
verse 11, in Christ we have obtained an inheritance. Let me show you
something else about this chapter. Did you ever notice that in the
first chapter of Ephesians, from verse 3 through verse 14, did
you ever notice there are just three sentences? There are a
lot of commas and a lot of semicolons and a lot of colons, but there
are just three sentences from verse 3 through verse 14, three
sentences. And all three of those sentences
end with the same statement, all three of them. Let me show
you the first one here. In verse 3, 4, 5, and 6, that's
all one sentence, just one sentence. And in that one sentence, Paul
deals with the design and the purpose of the Father in redemption. That's what he did in one sentence.
Let me read it to you and show it to you. Here he says in verse
3, "...blessed be the God and Father, though not the Father,
of our Lord Jesus Christ, because he is blessed." The Father has
blessed us. Verse 4 says, And the Father
chose us in Christ, yea, before the foundation of the world.
He chose us in Christ. Christ is the first elect. The
average person has a strange idea about election, that God
favored this one and favored that one and favored that one.
He favored Christ, and he honored Christ. And he chose us because
of Christ, loved us in Christ, and set us apart for the glory
of Christ. Everything we have is because
of his Son. The Father is going to honor
the Son, and in honor of the Son, he's going to honor everybody
in Christ. So when God talks about mine elect, he's talking
about Christ. When he talks about my servant,
he's talking about Christ. When he talks about my messenger,
he's talking about Christ. And everything I have, Jim, is
because of Christ. He's the heir, I'm the joint
heir, joint owner, but he's the owner. He's the heir, and I'm
a joint heir, but it's in his name. It's in his name. And he chose us before the foundation
of the world, verse 5, the Father predestinated us. Look at verse 6, here's the closing
statement in that sentence. The Father has blessed me, he
chose me, he predestinated me to be like Christ, to the praise
of the glory of his grace. That's why he did it. We're saved
to the praise of the glory of his grace. We're not saved to
the praise and glory of the preacher who led us to the Lord. We're
not saved to the praise and glory of the soul winner who witnessed
to us. We're not saved to the praise and glory of a dear departed
mother who prayed for us, thankful for us. But we're saved to the
praise of the glory of his grace. He made us accept in the Beloved. Then you have the 2nd sentence.
These are just one sentence from verse 3 through verse 6, having
to do with the Father's design, the Father's purpose, and the
Father's glory. Then the 2nd sentence begins
with verse 7. You see, the period after Beloved
made us accept in the Beloved, period. That's what the Father
has done. The 2nd sentence goes from verse
7 all the way through verse 12. one sentence, and it glorifies
the blessed work of Jesus Christ in saving sinners. It says, verse
7, "...in whom we have redemption." What is redemption? He bought
us back, he paid the debt, all the debt I owe. Sin left a crimson
stain, he washed it as white as snow. He left nothing unfinished,
he left nothing unpaid. I have full redemption. Deliver
him from going down into the pit. I found the rest. But I have redemption through
his blood, through his blood, and I have the forgiveness of
all my sins. There isn't one sin against one
believer on the book of God. All sins have been forgiven,
and all of it according not to the works which we have done,
but according to the riches of his grace, wherein he hath abounded
toward us in all wisdom." Christ is the wisdom of God. and the
power of God. And Jesus Christ not only redeemed
us, purchased us, put away our sins, but he made known unto
us the mystery of his will. He revealed the Father. Our Lord
Jesus Christ said, he that hath seen me hath seen the Father.
You see, Christ in his offices is not only priest and not only
king, priest to redeem and king to reign, but he is prophet to
reveal. The only thing we know of the
Father is what we learn of the Son. He said, No man knoweth
the Father, but the Son, and he to whom the Son will reveal
him. And Jesus Christ actually made
known unto us. If you learn of Christ, you learn
of God. And when you learn Christ, you learn God's mercies. God's
mercies are found in Christ. And he made known unto us, he
opened, manifested, revealed, made known unto us this glorious
mystery of God the Father's will, according to the good pleasure,
according to his good pleasure which he purchased in himself.
He's the one that made the decision that you should be an object
of his love. He's the one that made the decision that you should
be a recipient of his grace. He's the one that made the decision
whose eyes are going to be open and whose ears are going to be
unstopped and whose heart is going to be enlightened. And
he did all of it, verse 10, that in the dispensation of the fulness
of time, he might gather together in one. There would be one shepherd
and one foal. There would be one family, one
body. And he's going to gather together
all things in Christ. both which are in heaven, those
Saints that have already died and gone to glory, Moses and
Abraham and Isaiah and David, and also those which are upon
earth, those that are in Christ. Not in the right church, not
in the right pool, not in the right doctrine, but those who
are in Christ. And watch verse 11, "...in whom,"
that is, in Christ also, "...we have literally obtained an inheritance."
But that inheritance is the kingdom of God. We've obtained that inheritance,
being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh
all things after the counsel of his own will. He closes that
sentence. He talks about the work of the
Son. He redeemed us, he gave us a perfect righteousness, he
forgave our sins, he enlightened us, he illuminated us, he opened
our deaf ears and our blind eyes. and opened our darkened heart,
and we entered into an understanding, the Son of God hath come and
given us an understanding, that we may know him that is true,
and that we may be in his Son. This is the true God, and this
is eternal life. And he hath given us an inheritance,
reserved, undefiled, that paideth not away in heaven, according
to his own purpose. and pleasure which he determined
in himself. I'll have mercy on whom I will
have mercy. I'll be gracious to whom I'll
be gracious, verse 12, that we should be to the praise of his
glory. That we should be to the praise
of his glory, who first trusted in Christ. The next sentence
is verse 13 and 14, one sentence. It ends the same way. When he talked about the work
of the Father, his design, his purpose, his decree, knowing
unto God all his works from the beginning, he said, My counsel
shall stand, I will do my pleasure, I purposed it, I'll do it, I've
decreed it, I'll bring it to pass, to the praise of my glory. And in time, his Son, in the
fullness of time, became flesh, became a man, performed for us
all that was required of us, all that was demanded of us,
all that was commanded of us, died on that cross, ascended
back to glory and sat down, and one day he's going to gather
together all things in Christ, Old Testament and New Testament,
Old Covenant and New Covenant, that they may be one. Now then,
here's verse 13, the work of God sped up to the praise of
his glory. Verse 13, in whom you trust. Oh, here's something we hadn't
seen before, the sinner's response. He hadn't come across that yet,
hadn't touched it yet. I'll show you that in a minute.
But in whom you trust, here's the work of the Holy Spirit,
after you heard. Everybody's heard the gospel.
They hadn't heard it. They hadn't heard it. It's different hearing it and
hearing it. Christ said they have ears, but they don't A preacher,
a man who has ears, hears. He hears with those ears, but
he doesn't hear with understanding. There's a difference in hearing
with the ear and hearing with the understanding. A little child
this morning hears me, but they're not understanding me. They're
not even understanding what adults understand. They can't comprehend. It's like teaching them algebra
in the first grade. They can't comprehend. Christ
said, except he may be born again, he cannot comprehend the kingdom
of God. He cannot see, discern the kingdom of God. He cannot
understand it. And Christ said, after you heard,
you heard the word of truth, you heard the gospel of your
salvation, you heard that grand and glorious good news of redemption
that's already been decreed, designed, and purchased, and
you heard And you trust him in whom you believe, and you believe
after you heard it. See, that's clear, after. In
whom you trusted after you heard the word. Man's not saved before
he hears the gospel. Now, no man can be saved who
doesn't trust Christ, isn't that right? Well, how can you be saved
without trusting Christ? You can't. How can you trust
Christ without hearing of Christ? How shall they call on him in
whom they've not believed? I should have believed in him
of whom they had not heard. You trusted after you heard. That's
when you trusted. And you heard the truth. You're
not saved by trusting error. Look at it carefully. In whom
you trusted, trusted, and we'll talk in a minute about what it
means to trust him. But in whom you trusted, you trusted a person.
You didn't trust this preacher. You didn't trust the denomination.
You trusted this in whom? The same in whom verse 7 says
we have redemption. That's whom you trusted, the
in whom. In whom you trusted after, please remember that,
after you heard. What did you hear? You heard
the truth, the word of truth. You're not going to be saved
believing lies. You're not going to be saved, Ron, believing lies
about men or God. You're not going to be saved
believing lies about Jesus Christ. Man can't be saved by trusting
another Jesus or another spirit or another gospel. You heard
the word of truth. You shall know the truth and
the truth will make you free. The truth of whom? Christ said,
I am the truth. The truth is embodied in a person. The truth is unknown apart from
that person. If he is the truth, a man who
does not know him does not know the truth. Is that correct? in
whom you trusted after you heard the word of truth, after you
heard the gospel. The gospel is good news, the
gospel is the gospel of God, it's the gospel of the glory
of God, it's the gospel of the grace of God, it's the gospel
concerning the Son of God, it's the gospel of redemption, it's
the gospel, Paul said, of his glory. and it's the gospel of
salvation. It's not the gospel of positive
thinking, it's not the gospel of financial success, it's not
the gospel of bodily healing, it's not the gospel of you can
be a success, it's the gospel of salvation. Salvation from
sin, salvation from enmity, salvation from the kingdom of darkness,
salvation from from condemnation, because it's the gospel of your
salvation, in whom also, in whom also, after you believe, you
were sealed, you were preserved, after you believe. God doesn't
save a man who doesn't believe, and he doesn't seal him either.
He doesn't preserve him. Seal him! And I'll use that age-old
illustration, but it's a good one. When women are canning tomatoes
or canning beans or canning corn or something, they go through
the process, heating the jars, putting in the stuff, and then
the steam and the cooker and all that, and then they take
them out and sit them down, and they listen for the lid to seal. Seal. If one doesn't, it's not
sealed, and it'll fall. It'll fall, because it's not
preserved. But when they're sealed, they're
sealed for good. And how are we sealed? After
a man believes, we are saved by faith. After a man hears that
gospel, that gospel of truth, that gospel of salvation, and
believes it himself, he is sealed by whom? The Holy Spirit upon
us. You can run around talking about
getting the Holy Spirit later on, being saved and getting it.
Oh, no, you're sealed by the Holy Spirit. If any man have
not the Holy Spirit, he's none of his. We may receive the filling
of the Holy Spirit, we may receive and be empowered by the Holy
Spirit, we may preach or teach under the influence of a greater
portion of God's Spirit, we may have the Holy Spirit and measure,
but we have the Holy Spirit. Christ has the Holy Spirit without
measure. He abode on him for good, for always. The only man
upon whom the Holy Spirit came and abode. I try to state that. But we have the Holy Spirit,
and you are sealed. You ask anybody to break God's
seal? I don't. I tell you this, when the old
king in past ages wrote a letter and sealed it with that wax,
you know, and got the king's seal and put it on it. You better
not open it. That's a man's seal. This is
God's seal. We're sealed. And not only that,
but that Holy Spirit is the earnest, the earnest. What is that? A
token? The boy sits out on the front porch in the swing, been
going with this girl for a year or two, and he's got a little
box in his pocket. And he says to her, he says,
She says, I thought you'd never ask. And she says, of course
I will. So he reaches in his pocket and
gets out this little box and opens it, and he's got a ring.
And he puts it on her finger. It's an engagement ring. It's
a pledge. He says, I pledge my love to
you, I pledge myself to you, and one day you'll be mine. And
that's what the Holy Spirit says here. He's the plague, he's the
token, he's the sign, he's the promise of our inheritance until
that day, until that grand and glorious marriage day, until
that day of the wedding feast, until the purchased possession
when we are going to enter into that which is already bought,
already given to us. And the Holy Spirit is my plague.
He is in dwelling presence. He is in dwelling presence. is
my pledge that I belong to Christ, that I'm going to wear his wedding
ring, not only his engagement ring. What does he say then? To the praise of his glory. Now, did you notice something
in verse 12? It says here that we should be. Now, this is so important. Brother Don Fortner called me
last night and told me what he was preaching on that day, and
he said, And I told him, but it came to this one point, and
I said, Don, listen to this a minute. And he listened to it, and he
said, I like that. Well, let's see if you like it.
Listen here in verse 12, it says that we should be to the praise
of his glory. The grand design of God in all
of this, in choosing us, predestinating us, in calling us, in redeeming
us, in sending his Holy Spirit to set us apart and to sanctify
through the word of truth, and to bring us to know and to love
and to rejoice in and trust the Lord Jesus Christ. All of this
is that we should be, be to the praise of his glory. It doesn't
say that we should work to the praise of his glory, though we
will. It doesn't say that we should sing to the praise of
his glory, though we will. It doesn't say that we should
suffer to the praise of his glory or that we should preach to the
praise of his glory, but that we should be to the praise of
his glory. Who I am, where I am, what I
am, what I do, doesn't matter. He predestinated me to be to
the praise of his glory. Now, their existence is for the
praise of his glory. Is this not true in creation?
Out there are the flowers and the trees this morning. They
don't say a thing, but they are there for the praise of his glory.
The clouds that float through the air, the stars, the mountains,
all of these things exist to show forth his glory by being
what he made them, by being where they are, by being what they
are. And the stars are nowhere more
important to that glory than a desert cactus who blooms where
nobody smells it. It's there to the praise of his
glory. Its being is to the praise of
his glory. Think about that desert cactus.
Think about that blooming rose of Sharon out there in the middle
of a desert, unseen of They pour their fragrance out into the
desert air, unseen, unappreciated by any human being, but God is
glorified by their being there. Do you see what I'm saying? We
were chosen, justified, called, led by the Holy Spirit to trust
Christ that we should be, both now and forever, to the praise
of the glory of his grace. Now watch something else. Did
you notice when I read from verse 3 through verse 6, that one sentence,
it said, The Father blessed us, the Father chose us, the Father
predestinated us, the Father accepted us? It doesn't say anything
about you or me, and our response doesn't. I didn't do nothing,
totally passive, no cooperation. It doesn't say, The Father looked
down and saw what I would do, and then he chose me. No, it
just said, The Father chose me. He doesn't say there was any
response on my part whatsoever to the Father's work. No cooperation,
no response, no indication that he saw anything in me that caused
him to do what he did. The cause was found only in himself.
Isn't that clear? Nothing there of the same. Well,
when I read the work of the Lord Jesus Christ, verse 7 through
12, it says, "...in whom we have redemption," not in cooperation
with whom we have redemption. Somebody said, well, Jesus did
a part, and our part, you know, sin left the crimson stain, but
me and Jesus washed it white as snow. Oh, no. He redeemed
us. He forgave us. He enlightened
us. He illuminated us. He enriched
us with an inheritance. All his work is a praise of his
glory. Center passage. But when we get
down to verse 12, Paul mentions us. When he talks about the work
of the Holy Spirit, there is a response. See that, Bill, there
is a response. I have no part whatsoever in
God's choosing, electing, predestinating purposes. I give him all the
glory. I have no work in the Son's redemption,
no part, even no response, no cooperation in his shape, form
or fashion. He did it all. To him be the
glory both now and forever. He hath washed us and redeemed
us from our sins in his own precious blood, and he hath made us kings
and priests to his Heavenly Father. But when the Holy Spirit of God
came in his quickening power, he quickens the dead and they
live. He calls the dead and they respond. They respond. He preaches the
gospel and they hear. That's what it said, in whom
you trusted after you heard, you responded, you laid hold
upon that which the Holy Spirit brought your way, in whom you
believed. When you heard that gospel, you believed. When the
Holy Spirit called, I heard. When the Holy Spirit revealed
the gospel, I believed. When the Holy Spirit revealed
Christ in his preciousness and power, I trusted him. When the
Holy Spirit showed me the bridge, I walked on it. But if thou shalt confess with
thy mouth Jesus to be Lord, and believe in thine heart God raised
him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. Turn with me to Psalm
65, Psalm 65, verse 4. Listen to this. And incidentally, this is what
Don is preaching on this morning. He told me, so this will go right
along with what you're saying, Psalm 65, verse 4. Blessed is
that man, indeed blessed of heaven. Highly favored is that man, M-A-N,
man. You know what the world says,
blessed is that man that's rich, blessed is that man who's healthy,
blessed is that man who's President, blessed is that woman who's beautiful,
blessed is that famous athlete, he's got crowds following. Oh,
no. Our Lord said, blessed is that man, highly favored is that
man whom thou choosest. Oh, that's the boy. That's the
boy. That's the fellow with the blessing. He didn't say, Blessed is the
man who chooses thee. He said, Blessed is the man you choose.
It's God who chose. And calls it. Who does it? God does. He calls it to approach
unto thee. He chose me, and he calls me,
Bill, to approach him. When the Holy Spirit came with
the gospel, I heard. When the Holy Spirit called,
I responded. When the Holy Spirit said, Listen, "...approach unto thee,
that he may dwell in thy courts." Think about it, that's the man
that's blessed. "...for we shall be satisfied with the goodness
of thy house, even thy holy temple." Yes, yes, sir, there's a response,
there's a trust. Let me give you in closing, for
a brief thing, what is it then to trust Christ? Back here in
verse 12, he said that we should be the praise of his glory who
first trusted in Christ. That's the prophets and the apostles.
They first trusted Christ. That's these Jewish believers,
the rendement of Israel. And Paul said, you Gentiles also
trusted after you heard the gospel. You trusted. What is it to trust
Christ? Number one, it's an entire reliance
on Christ. an entire reliance on Christ.
It's not to trust or rest in my faith. It's not to trust or
rest in my experience. It's not to trust or rest in
my doctrine, however orthodox it is or unorthodox. It's not
to trust my morality, it's to literally, realistically, sensibly,
intelligently, lovingly, Rest in Christ, ceasing from my labor,
entering into his rest, laying down my arms and my works, not
only my rebellion but my cooperation is laying her down. Someone said
this one time, and I don't buy this at all. Believe as if it
all depended on him and work as if it all depended on you.
I don't like that. don't like that at all. If I
am trusting Christ as my righteousness and sin offering before God,
I rest in him at all times, whether I'm resting or working. The entire weight of my soul's
affairs is on Christ. Looking at my sin and my sinfulness,
looking at my past, present and future, looking at death, judgment,
heaven and hell, I cast myself entirely on Christ to cleanse
me, to save me, to keep me saved and present me to the Father.
I have no reliance on past merit, I have no confidence in present
resolution, I have no hope in future expectations. I trust
Christ. Secondly, what is it to trust
Christ? Now listen to me. It's to trust
Christ, it's to trust him so as to receive him in all of his
offices, as he is. Now, brethren, it's not trusting
a Jesus, but the Lord Jesus Christ that saves. As Barnard said one
time, it's not Jesus saves, it's the Lord Jesus saves. And the
reason you have to differentiate today is because preachers today
have designed their own Jesus. The preachers today are preaching
another Jesus Not the Christ of the Bible. To trust Christ
is to trust him as he is. He's not who we think he is,
he's who he says he is. He's who he says he is. Some
people say, well, that's not my Jesus. Jesus you preach is
not my Jesus. I expect you're right. But we've
got to find out not who your Jesus is, or my Jesus, or somebody
else's Jesus, but who is God's Jesus? And I'll tell you, God's Jesus
is the creating Christ. He said, In the beginning was
the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God, and
he created all things. And Colossians says it was created
for him, not only by him, but for him. Everything belongs to
him. That's the Christ, I pray. He's
before all things, he's with the Father in the beginning,
he's the second person of the divine Godhead, he's not only
the creating Christ, he's the incarnate Christ, Jesus Christ,
God Almighty. became flesh, he took on himself
the likeness of sinful flesh, he became a man. Holy God, very
God of very God, and yet man, very man of very man. Whatever
that means, I don't know, but two natures in one, God and man. And he's not only the incarnate
Christ, he's the sovereign Christ. He said, I have all authority
in heaven and earth, I have all power over all flesh that I should
give eternal life to as many as thou hast given This Christ
has all sufficient sovereign authority. He'll do what he will,
when he will, with whom he will. Is that your Christ? He's not
sweet little Jesus, boy, that wants to and can't, that desires
to and is not able, that's frustrated or defeated. He shall not fail. He said the Son will quicken
whom he will. Whom he will. He said all judgment
is committed to the Son. Then he's the covenant Christ.
That's right, the covenant Christ. He's the Christ of the covenant.
His blood is the blood of a covenant. Then he's identified with that
covenant pretty closely, and if his blood is the blood of
the covenant, then he must be pretty close to that covenant.
He's the surety of that covenant, the guarantor of that covenant.
That covenant is all about him and all concerning him and has
to do with everything about him and his work. That's God's covenant. He's the covenant Christ. He
said, All that my Father giveth me will come to me. He said,
I came down from heaven not to do my will, but the will of him
that sent me, and this is the will of him that sent me, that
of all he hath given me, I won't lose any of them. That's the
sovereign Christ. He's the righteous Christ. By
one man's obedience we are made righteous. He's the crucified
Christ. He's the risen, ascended, and
enthroned Christ. And he's the Christ who has sat
down. the great high priest, not of the tribe of Levi, but
of the tribe of Judah, the kingly tribe, the high priest after
the order of Melchizedek. I'll be preaching on that tonight.
And he, having sat down, indicated he's finished his work, he's
not upset, he's expecting. The Lord Jesus is expecting his
enemies to become his footstool. He's expecting every one of his
people to be brought. There's plenty of room in heaven,
but there's not one vacancy. Every place has a name, and every
name is going to have a person. I guarantee it. That's the guarantee
in Christ, he's the surety. He's the ever-living Christ,
he's the interceding Christ, he's the coming Christ, and trusting
anybody else is trusting the wrong Christ. in whom you trust him. Thirdly, to trust Christ leads
to an open confession of Christ and identification with Christ,
identification with his word, I believe his word. Abraham believed
God. He believed that God was able
to fulfill every promise that he made. That's believing God's
word. I believe God's word. I'm not going to put a question
mark on God's I don't care what the scientists say, I don't care
what the theologians say, I don't care what the translators say,
I don't care what the living Bible says, I'm not going to
put a question mark on this world, God's world. I don't understand
all of it, I can't explain all of it. If I could, I'd be God,
but I believe all of it. I know in part, prophesy in part,
that which is perfect is come, I'm going to know like I've already
been known. I not only identify with his
word, I identify with you, his people. You are my people. Christ
said, Behold, my mother, my brother, my sisters, and I'm not ashamed
of me. If he's not ashamed to call me
brethren, I'm not ashamed to call you brethren, if you know
him. And I'm not ashamed to his gospel,
to preach the gospel clearly and plainly without apology in
this generation of compromisers. I know but one way to say it,
and that's say it. and say it. The door is shut, there is no
other way to say that. You can go around the world and
make folks doubtful whether it's open or shut, but it's shut,
and that's the way to preach the gospel. I'm not ashamed of
it. I'm not ashamed to be identified
with his church. I'm not ashamed to confess him
and believers' baptisms. I'm not ashamed. And then fourthly,
to trust Christ. Keep on trusting him. You'll
find out that he can be trusted. And you'll find out as you trust
him, you can trust him more. And you'll find out as you trust
him that he fulfills every promise. He never has failed. Trust him. Trust him.