WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:03.779 On the first day of the week, at early dawn, 00:00:05.160 --> 00:00:09.439 Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came to the 00:00:09.439 --> 00:00:12.980 tomb bringing spices which they had prepared, 00:00:13.300 --> 00:00:18.039 and they found the stone rolled away. But when 00:00:18.039 --> 00:00:20.359 they entered, they did not find the body of the 00:00:20.359 --> 00:00:23.960 Lord Jesus. While they were perplexed about this, 00:00:23.980 --> 00:00:27.920 behold, two men suddenly stood near them in dazzling 00:00:27.920 --> 00:00:32.500 attire. And the men said to them, why do you 00:00:32.500 --> 00:00:36.560 seek the living one among the dead? He is not 00:00:36.560 --> 00:00:41.439 here, he has risen. And with that, all of human 00:00:41.439 --> 00:00:46.560 history changed forever. Think about that. As 00:00:46.560 --> 00:00:50.060 a historical nerd who loves to study ancient 00:00:50.060 --> 00:00:53.380 biographies and read old, really old manuscripts, 00:00:53.700 --> 00:01:00.070 I always feel compelled on Easter Sunday retelling 00:01:00.070 --> 00:01:03.390 of how the tomb was discovered empty. And it 00:01:03.390 --> 00:01:06.790 is a simple account, isn't it? So many ancient 00:01:06.790 --> 00:01:09.049 biographers, when you read them, they embellish 00:01:09.049 --> 00:01:12.849 their stories in order to make their heroes seem 00:01:12.849 --> 00:01:16.090 greater than they actually were. So much flowery 00:01:16.090 --> 00:01:18.409 language to draw you, the reader, in to believe 00:01:18.409 --> 00:01:21.049 all the hype about their particular subject. 00:01:21.370 --> 00:01:24.629 But that is not true of the gospel accounts. 00:01:25.900 --> 00:01:27.840 It's very unusual in the ancient world. When 00:01:27.840 --> 00:01:30.200 telling the story of the empty tomb, Matthew, 00:01:30.260 --> 00:01:32.219 Mark, Luke, and John don't go out of their way 00:01:32.219 --> 00:01:36.400 to sell you anything. It's just a very straightforward, 00:01:36.599 --> 00:01:40.140 factual account. What they say is, and I'll paraphrase 00:01:40.140 --> 00:01:43.920 in my terms, here's what happened. We woke up 00:01:43.920 --> 00:01:45.939 on that first day of the week on Sunday morning, 00:01:46.079 --> 00:01:49.099 devastated by the events of the previous days. 00:01:49.640 --> 00:01:53.609 And we were afraid for our very lives. Our master, 00:01:53.750 --> 00:01:57.129 our rabbi, our Lord was gone, dead and buried. 00:01:57.750 --> 00:02:02.349 And we were lost in hopelessness and fear. But 00:02:02.349 --> 00:02:06.030 the Marys, God bless them, they faithfully woke 00:02:06.030 --> 00:02:08.250 up early that morning and went to the tomb to 00:02:08.250 --> 00:02:11.389 minister to Jesus' body, which had been laid 00:02:11.389 --> 00:02:14.330 in Joseph's tomb. But when they got there, they 00:02:14.330 --> 00:02:16.229 found the stone had been moved and the body was 00:02:16.229 --> 00:02:18.870 gone. And then suddenly out of nowhere, they're 00:02:18.870 --> 00:02:20.949 met by these angelic beings from a spiritual 00:02:20.949 --> 00:02:24.240 realm. who told them very simply and very clearly 00:02:24.240 --> 00:02:27.840 he has risen. That's it, friends. That's the 00:02:27.840 --> 00:02:30.659 whole account. The most important event, the 00:02:30.659 --> 00:02:33.080 focal point of all human existence, basically 00:02:33.080 --> 00:02:35.280 given to us in a couple of paragraphs in just 00:02:35.280 --> 00:02:39.539 one chapter of all four gospel accounts. But 00:02:39.539 --> 00:02:41.879 remember, all four were either eyewitnesses to 00:02:41.879 --> 00:02:44.680 the resurrection or they interviewed eyewitnesses 00:02:44.680 --> 00:02:47.919 who saw Jesus back from the dead, risen from 00:02:47.919 --> 00:02:50.669 the grave with a glorified body. And as John 00:02:50.669 --> 00:02:53.330 closes out his account, he writes this. Among 00:02:53.330 --> 00:02:55.569 other things, he says, this account that I'm 00:02:55.569 --> 00:02:57.210 writing, especially that of the resurrection, 00:02:57.490 --> 00:03:00.830 is written down for this one purpose, that you 00:03:00.830 --> 00:03:04.669 may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son 00:03:04.669 --> 00:03:08.090 of God, and that in believing you may have, look 00:03:08.090 --> 00:03:10.569 at that word, you may have life in his name. 00:03:11.210 --> 00:03:13.629 And that is my prayer for anyone here this morning 00:03:13.629 --> 00:03:17.000 who hasn't yet put... his or her trust in Christ. 00:03:17.240 --> 00:03:19.639 And perhaps you're here today, it's a holiday, 00:03:19.759 --> 00:03:22.439 but you're seeking truth. And if so, I commend 00:03:22.439 --> 00:03:24.560 you for that. I want you to know that there are 00:03:24.560 --> 00:03:26.759 no accidents in God's world. It's no accident 00:03:26.759 --> 00:03:29.039 that you are here in this place this morning. 00:03:29.159 --> 00:03:31.939 And if you've been a skeptic in the past, and 00:03:31.939 --> 00:03:33.780 you're not sure if the Bible is trustworthy or 00:03:33.780 --> 00:03:36.759 not, I want you to know, I get it. I was once 00:03:36.759 --> 00:03:40.080 in that same place. But the evidence for these... 00:03:40.360 --> 00:03:42.699 Gospel accounts in general and the evidence for 00:03:42.699 --> 00:03:45.759 this event, the resurrection, is so overwhelming 00:03:45.759 --> 00:03:49.139 that if you'll do an honest investigation, if 00:03:49.139 --> 00:03:51.699 you truly are open to it, it's going to lead 00:03:51.699 --> 00:03:53.939 you to the same place that led me some 40 years 00:03:53.939 --> 00:03:57.659 ago. And that is to saving faith and to peace 00:03:57.659 --> 00:04:00.340 and joy and contentment beyond anything that 00:04:00.340 --> 00:04:03.039 this world can ever offer to you. And so that's 00:04:03.039 --> 00:04:04.900 my prayer for you this morning if you don't know 00:04:04.900 --> 00:04:08.830 Jesus. But back to the story, how hard the Jewish 00:04:08.830 --> 00:04:10.969 and Roman authorities tried to squash the Jesus 00:04:10.969 --> 00:04:13.530 movement back in the day. All the news about 00:04:13.530 --> 00:04:15.849 the crucifixion and the resurrection. At various 00:04:15.849 --> 00:04:18.689 times, in various ways, they persecuted early 00:04:18.689 --> 00:04:21.110 Christians. They chased them all over the region. 00:04:21.129 --> 00:04:24.250 But all that did was cause Christianity to grow 00:04:24.250 --> 00:04:27.009 and spread faster and faster. From Jerusalem, 00:04:27.110 --> 00:04:30.310 where it was encapsulated, west across the entire 00:04:30.310 --> 00:04:34.050 Greco -Roman world. And the odds of that happening 00:04:34.050 --> 00:04:36.410 are so astronomical because I want you to think 00:04:36.410 --> 00:04:39.170 about this. Here was the founder of a religious 00:04:39.170 --> 00:04:42.310 movement who in the culture of that day died 00:04:42.310 --> 00:04:47.790 in disgrace. He died crucified as a criminal. 00:04:47.949 --> 00:04:52.189 Who follows a criminal? Here's a man who was 00:04:52.189 --> 00:04:55.800 betrayed by one of his insiders. A man who was 00:04:55.800 --> 00:04:58.160 denied three times by one of his closest friends. 00:04:58.339 --> 00:05:01.000 He was abandoned at his death by almost every 00:05:01.000 --> 00:05:05.160 follower that he had. He left no property behind. 00:05:05.259 --> 00:05:08.939 He left no wealth. He left no army. And he did 00:05:08.939 --> 00:05:12.759 not have a biological heir. What are the odds? 00:05:14.000 --> 00:05:16.480 Yet over time, the message of his life and his 00:05:16.480 --> 00:05:19.160 teaching. and his death, and most critically, 00:05:19.259 --> 00:05:22.300 his resurrection, overwhelmed and outlived the 00:05:22.300 --> 00:05:24.560 most powerful empire the world has ever seen. 00:05:25.079 --> 00:05:29.240 Think about that. And unless those first eyewitnesses 00:05:29.240 --> 00:05:32.259 actually saw a dead man come back to life and 00:05:32.259 --> 00:05:35.660 ascended to heaven, there's absolutely no rational 00:05:35.660 --> 00:05:38.259 reason they would persist in telling that lie. 00:05:39.660 --> 00:05:43.100 But they saw it. They were eyewitnesses to it. 00:05:44.519 --> 00:05:46.459 Looking back on this, the great church father 00:05:46.459 --> 00:05:48.699 Augustine wrote the following in his important 00:05:48.699 --> 00:05:51.319 work, The City of God. And as you read this, 00:05:51.399 --> 00:05:53.339 it's gonna be up on the screen. Keep in that 00:05:53.339 --> 00:05:55.459 mind that before his conversion, Augustine was 00:05:55.459 --> 00:05:58.800 immersed in the world of philosophy and rhetoric. 00:05:58.879 --> 00:06:02.519 He was a man of the academy of his day. But he 00:06:02.519 --> 00:06:04.600 logically worked this out and this was part of 00:06:04.600 --> 00:06:07.079 his argument. He says this, now we have three 00:06:07.079 --> 00:06:10.240 incredible things and yet all three have come 00:06:10.240 --> 00:06:13.899 to pass. First, It is incredible that Christ 00:06:13.899 --> 00:06:16.939 rose from the dead in the flesh and ascended 00:06:16.939 --> 00:06:21.319 with his flesh into heaven. Second, it's an incredible 00:06:21.319 --> 00:06:23.860 thing that the world has come to believe something 00:06:23.860 --> 00:06:29.120 so incredible. Third, it's incredible that a 00:06:29.120 --> 00:06:32.259 few unknown men with no standing and no education 00:06:32.259 --> 00:06:34.800 were able to persuade the world of something 00:06:34.800 --> 00:06:38.339 so incredible. Of these three incredible things, 00:06:38.540 --> 00:06:41.399 the people we are debating refuse to believe 00:06:41.399 --> 00:06:44.579 the first, They're compelled to grant the second, 00:06:44.680 --> 00:06:47.300 but they cannot explain how the second happened 00:06:47.300 --> 00:06:51.879 unless they believe the third. I know you're 00:06:51.879 --> 00:06:54.379 working that math out in your brain. It's okay. 00:06:54.860 --> 00:06:57.259 He was a philosopher at heart. It is beautiful. 00:06:57.620 --> 00:07:00.500 So we have a remarkable story in the gospel accounts, 00:07:00.639 --> 00:07:02.920 and we have a remarkable faith, but most of all, 00:07:02.939 --> 00:07:05.360 we have an extraordinary object of our faith. 00:07:06.240 --> 00:07:10.860 Jesus of Nazareth, fully God, fully man, Christ, 00:07:10.980 --> 00:07:14.089 Messiah, and Savior, and Lord. And everything 00:07:14.089 --> 00:07:17.350 about life as we know it, everything about what 00:07:17.350 --> 00:07:19.430 we know about death, everything about what's 00:07:19.430 --> 00:07:23.129 to come after death, it all hinges on this one 00:07:23.129 --> 00:07:26.490 person, Jesus, and your relationship to him. 00:07:27.810 --> 00:07:30.269 Think about that. Everything, everything we know 00:07:30.269 --> 00:07:33.990 about this life hinges on one person and your 00:07:33.990 --> 00:07:37.189 relationship to him. And that brings us to the 00:07:37.189 --> 00:07:40.180 main thesis and theme. for our celebration of 00:07:40.180 --> 00:07:42.740 Easter this year, Union with Christ. Or as you 00:07:42.740 --> 00:07:45.600 see in the title there, simply with him. Now, 00:07:45.600 --> 00:07:47.920 so far in our service last Sunday and on Good 00:07:47.920 --> 00:07:50.060 Friday, we've talked about some really important 00:07:50.060 --> 00:07:53.519 biblically rooted concepts. I'll give you a list. 00:07:53.600 --> 00:07:58.360 Being found in Christ. Being clothed in his righteousness. 00:07:58.759 --> 00:08:02.459 Our lives being hidden in him. And then on Friday 00:08:02.459 --> 00:08:04.899 night, we looked at suffering with him, dying 00:08:04.899 --> 00:08:07.360 with him, being buried with him. And now this 00:08:07.360 --> 00:08:09.480 morning, we get to lay that final building block 00:08:09.480 --> 00:08:12.319 on, the most important one of all, being raised 00:08:12.319 --> 00:08:15.860 to life with him. And this too is found in Romans 00:08:15.860 --> 00:08:18.120 6, which we looked at on Friday. I'll put it 00:08:18.120 --> 00:08:21.199 up on the screen because it's so important. Paul 00:08:21.199 --> 00:08:22.920 says, do you not know that all of us who've been 00:08:22.920 --> 00:08:25.199 baptized into Christ Jesus have been baptized 00:08:25.199 --> 00:08:28.959 into his death? Therefore, we've been buried 00:08:28.959 --> 00:08:32.340 with him through baptism into death. So that, 00:08:32.500 --> 00:08:34.820 wherever you see a so that, this is a purpose 00:08:34.820 --> 00:08:37.740 statement. Here's the purpose of us dying with 00:08:37.740 --> 00:08:41.059 him. So that as Christ was raised from the dead 00:08:41.059 --> 00:08:44.100 through the glory of the Father, so we too might 00:08:44.100 --> 00:08:48.740 walk in newness of life. Newness of life. For 00:08:48.740 --> 00:08:51.759 if we become united with him in the likeness 00:08:51.759 --> 00:08:54.759 of his death, certainly we shall also be in the 00:08:54.759 --> 00:08:57.460 likeness of his resurrection. Now, look at what 00:08:57.460 --> 00:09:00.620 I've highlighted there. United with him. If you're 00:09:00.620 --> 00:09:03.120 sitting here this morning and you have put your 00:09:03.120 --> 00:09:05.860 trust in Christ alone for the forgiveness of 00:09:05.860 --> 00:09:08.000 your sins, if you've submitted your heart and 00:09:08.000 --> 00:09:10.519 your life to him, that is a factual statement. 00:09:10.659 --> 00:09:14.899 You are united with him right now. Now, as I 00:09:14.899 --> 00:09:17.159 say that, I know this is hard. It's a bit of 00:09:17.159 --> 00:09:20.200 a metaphysical concept, isn't it? What does it 00:09:20.200 --> 00:09:22.320 mean to be united with him? Is that something 00:09:22.320 --> 00:09:25.100 we're supposed to see with our eyes or feel in 00:09:25.100 --> 00:09:27.840 our bodies? The answer is no. It's not that tangible. 00:09:28.809 --> 00:09:31.429 But it's absolutely real. It is a living connection 00:09:31.429 --> 00:09:34.809 that we have with our Savior. Sometimes we call 00:09:34.809 --> 00:09:37.470 it a mystical union because it's a truth that 00:09:37.470 --> 00:09:40.409 is supernaturally, specially revealed in the 00:09:40.409 --> 00:09:43.909 Word of God and then supernaturally applied by 00:09:43.909 --> 00:09:46.149 the Holy Spirit who lives within us. So it's 00:09:46.149 --> 00:09:49.129 not as tangible as you might think. But as a 00:09:49.129 --> 00:09:52.509 doctrine, this idea of union with Christ is found 00:09:52.509 --> 00:09:55.450 in the prepositions of the New Testament. It's 00:09:55.450 --> 00:09:58.600 everywhere. The problem is we often read past 00:09:58.600 --> 00:10:00.600 the little words in Scripture, right? They're 00:10:00.600 --> 00:10:02.799 so subtle, we read right past them. But then 00:10:02.799 --> 00:10:05.399 once you start to look at the prepositions in 00:10:05.399 --> 00:10:07.639 Scripture, you begin to see them all over the 00:10:07.639 --> 00:10:11.440 place. In Paul's writings alone, more than 70 00:10:11.440 --> 00:10:14.600 times he uses one of these phrases, in Christ, 00:10:14.860 --> 00:10:17.940 with Christ, or through Christ. And then if you 00:10:17.940 --> 00:10:19.980 expand that to the entire New Testament, more 00:10:19.980 --> 00:10:23.870 than 200 times. We see that we are united with 00:10:23.870 --> 00:10:26.450 Christ in those little prepositions that we often 00:10:26.450 --> 00:10:31.120 miss. And then there's the metaphors. The beautiful 00:10:31.120 --> 00:10:34.539 metaphors that the biblical writers use to try 00:10:34.539 --> 00:10:36.720 to illustrate for us, and we need this, right? 00:10:36.840 --> 00:10:38.740 When we're dealing with a metaphysical concept, 00:10:38.860 --> 00:10:41.159 we need illustrations. And they give us these 00:10:41.159 --> 00:10:44.440 word pictures that are so beautiful that describe 00:10:44.440 --> 00:10:47.039 the richness and the intimacy that we have with 00:10:47.039 --> 00:10:49.240 Jesus. And I know you've probably heard these 00:10:49.240 --> 00:10:51.700 before, but have you ever stopped long enough 00:10:51.700 --> 00:10:53.919 to think, what is the depth of the connection 00:10:53.919 --> 00:10:57.799 in these particular words? So for example, he 00:10:57.799 --> 00:11:01.490 is the vine. And we are the branches on that 00:11:01.490 --> 00:11:04.710 vine. That is an essential connection we have. 00:11:05.590 --> 00:11:09.049 He is the head of the body, the church, and we 00:11:09.049 --> 00:11:13.450 are members or parts of that same body. Think 00:11:13.450 --> 00:11:15.750 about the depth of that, the intimacy. He's the 00:11:15.750 --> 00:11:18.250 cornerstone of the building and we are living 00:11:18.250 --> 00:11:22.070 stones being built upon him. He is the good shepherd 00:11:22.070 --> 00:11:26.570 and we are his flock of sheep. And he is the 00:11:26.570 --> 00:11:29.750 bridegroom and we are his bride. And that last 00:11:29.750 --> 00:11:32.610 one is especially powerful because consider how 00:11:32.610 --> 00:11:35.730 marriage brings a man and a woman into a one 00:11:35.730 --> 00:11:38.870 flesh union. How from that moment on, their lives 00:11:38.870 --> 00:11:42.029 are shared completely together. And that is true 00:11:42.029 --> 00:11:44.549 of our union with Christ. Only in our coming 00:11:44.549 --> 00:11:47.549 together in this one shared life, who gets the 00:11:47.549 --> 00:11:53.330 better deal? We get an incredible deal. After 00:11:53.330 --> 00:11:55.309 all, what do we bring to that relationship as 00:11:55.309 --> 00:11:59.269 the bride? Our fallenness. our sin, our weakness, 00:11:59.409 --> 00:12:03.370 our guilt, and all of that mess is imputed to 00:12:03.370 --> 00:12:07.909 our bridegroom. He takes it upon himself. And 00:12:07.909 --> 00:12:10.809 what do we get in this union? His perfect life, 00:12:11.110 --> 00:12:15.059 his holiness, his righteousness. As his bride, 00:12:15.139 --> 00:12:17.820 we get all of that. It becomes ours and our entire 00:12:17.820 --> 00:12:20.759 body of sin gets nailed to the cross and our 00:12:20.759 --> 00:12:23.600 old self, that old nature that was once under 00:12:23.600 --> 00:12:26.899 the headship of Adam is now made new under the 00:12:26.899 --> 00:12:31.379 headship of our bridegroom. That is what we call 00:12:31.379 --> 00:12:34.940 the great exchange in this relationship. In fact, 00:12:34.960 --> 00:12:36.659 when he was raised from the dead on that Sunday 00:12:36.659 --> 00:12:39.080 morning, every person who will ever trust in 00:12:39.080 --> 00:12:42.220 him was also raised. From spiritual death to 00:12:42.220 --> 00:12:44.659 spiritual life. Let me show you Romans 6, 5 again 00:12:44.659 --> 00:12:47.539 so you see it. If we become united with him in 00:12:47.539 --> 00:12:50.200 the likeness of his death, and we all claim that, 00:12:50.240 --> 00:12:52.899 right? That's how our sins are washed away. Certainly 00:12:52.899 --> 00:12:55.100 we shall also be in the likeness of his resurrection. 00:12:55.960 --> 00:12:59.019 That means for the believer, because Jesus defeated 00:12:59.019 --> 00:13:02.740 death, our death is defeated. We have that victory. 00:13:02.860 --> 00:13:06.759 The sting of death is taken away. It has no power 00:13:06.759 --> 00:13:10.100 over us anymore. And then the real kicker in 00:13:10.100 --> 00:13:12.620 all of this is because Jesus was not only raised 00:13:12.620 --> 00:13:15.659 from the dead, he was seated in the heavens at 00:13:15.659 --> 00:13:18.299 the right hand of the Father. And so positionally, 00:13:18.299 --> 00:13:21.480 we as believers are also raised and seated in 00:13:21.480 --> 00:13:23.759 the heavens. Paul actually talks about this in 00:13:23.759 --> 00:13:27.159 Ephesians 2, and it blows my mind. He says, God 00:13:27.159 --> 00:13:30.000 being rich in mercy because of his great love 00:13:30.000 --> 00:13:32.740 with which he loved us, even when we were, what, 00:13:32.840 --> 00:13:36.059 dead in our transgressions, dead people cannot 00:13:36.059 --> 00:13:39.419 bring themselves back to life, He made us alive. 00:13:40.580 --> 00:13:43.799 He did. Together with Christ. There's another 00:13:43.799 --> 00:13:45.539 one of those statements. Together with Christ. 00:13:45.639 --> 00:13:49.580 By grace you have been saved. And he raised us 00:13:49.580 --> 00:13:54.080 up with him and seated us. Seated us with him 00:13:54.080 --> 00:13:58.139 in the heavenly places. In who? In Christ Jesus. 00:13:58.340 --> 00:14:01.960 It's all in Christ Jesus, isn't it? So we can 00:14:01.960 --> 00:14:04.159 add two more things. Made alive with him and 00:14:04.159 --> 00:14:07.210 seated with him. So even though we're in this 00:14:07.210 --> 00:14:09.850 already not yet place right now, we are still 00:14:09.850 --> 00:14:13.210 having to live our lives out here on the earth. 00:14:13.370 --> 00:14:16.169 But right now, positionally, we are citizens 00:14:16.169 --> 00:14:19.250 of heaven in that realm sharing in the victory 00:14:19.250 --> 00:14:23.590 that Christ has won for us. Mind blown, right? 00:14:23.950 --> 00:14:26.950 This is wild stuff. And the New Testament evidence 00:14:26.950 --> 00:14:30.090 for this is overwhelming. His life is your life. 00:14:30.309 --> 00:14:33.440 His death is your death. His resurrection is 00:14:33.440 --> 00:14:35.980 your resurrection. And because that's all true, 00:14:36.200 --> 00:14:40.480 his righteousness is yours. His favor with the 00:14:40.480 --> 00:14:43.200 Father is yours. His holiness is yours. You are 00:14:43.200 --> 00:14:47.240 now knit together with your Savior. Amazing stuff. 00:14:47.659 --> 00:14:50.940 And as you hear that, perhaps then Paul's statement 00:14:50.940 --> 00:14:52.879 in Galatians 2 makes more sense when he says, 00:14:53.000 --> 00:14:55.879 look, I've been crucified with Christ. It's no 00:14:55.879 --> 00:14:59.419 longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. 00:15:00.229 --> 00:15:02.809 Because we're one life shared together. Isn't 00:15:02.809 --> 00:15:06.350 that amazing? Coming back to the brilliant Augustine. 00:15:06.370 --> 00:15:08.590 In one of his sermons, he put it this way. He 00:15:08.590 --> 00:15:10.250 literally preached this in the fifth century. 00:15:10.330 --> 00:15:13.529 He said, it's as if Jesus said to us, I'm inviting 00:15:13.529 --> 00:15:17.710 you into my life. It's a place where nobody dies, 00:15:17.929 --> 00:15:22.600 where life is truly happy. I'm inviting you into 00:15:22.600 --> 00:15:24.779 the realm of the angels, to the friendship of 00:15:24.779 --> 00:15:27.279 the Father and the Holy Spirit, to the everlasting 00:15:27.279 --> 00:15:30.860 supper, to be my brothers and sisters. I'm inviting 00:15:30.860 --> 00:15:35.200 you into every part of my life. Sounds good, 00:15:35.240 --> 00:15:41.799 doesn't it? Who refuses that? Who in his right 00:15:41.799 --> 00:15:43.759 mind would refuse such an offer from the God 00:15:43.759 --> 00:15:47.240 of the universe? So in the time we have left, 00:15:47.299 --> 00:15:49.720 what I want to do now is point you to even more 00:15:49.720 --> 00:15:52.360 amazing things that come with being united to 00:15:52.360 --> 00:15:54.340 Christ. Can you handle more than that? Because 00:15:54.340 --> 00:15:56.740 that's enough. That was a meal. You just got 00:15:56.740 --> 00:15:59.019 a meal of all kinds of amazing things. There's 00:15:59.019 --> 00:16:04.279 more. Okay, grab your Bibles. Grab your Bibles. 00:16:04.299 --> 00:16:12.289 We're going back to Ephesians 1. You're saying, 00:16:12.350 --> 00:16:13.690 you know, I have a shorter amount of time than 00:16:13.690 --> 00:16:15.990 usual this morning. So we're about to go through. 00:16:16.049 --> 00:16:17.909 I'm gonna have to go through fairly quickly without 00:16:17.909 --> 00:16:20.370 a lot of detail. But man, if you wanna buy me 00:16:20.370 --> 00:16:23.470 coffee, we'll talk more about it. I'm happy to 00:16:23.470 --> 00:16:26.309 meet with you. All I wanna do before we wrap 00:16:26.309 --> 00:16:29.409 up is pile on the blessings of what it means 00:16:29.409 --> 00:16:31.450 to be united to Christ. And we're gonna look 00:16:31.450 --> 00:16:34.330 briefly at the blessings in Ephesians 1. As you're 00:16:34.330 --> 00:16:36.789 finding your place there, can I do a quick commercial, 00:16:37.049 --> 00:16:39.750 shameless plug? If you're visiting with us here 00:16:39.750 --> 00:16:42.909 this morning, come back next Sunday. Come back. 00:16:43.269 --> 00:16:45.070 Easter's great, but you know what? We do this 00:16:45.070 --> 00:16:48.429 every week, and it's awesome. And right now, 00:16:48.429 --> 00:16:50.570 we are in this great expository study in the 00:16:50.570 --> 00:16:53.350 letter to Titus, and we're going through it deeply 00:16:53.350 --> 00:16:56.590 and slowly and thoroughly. And then, Lord willing, 00:16:56.730 --> 00:16:59.769 in a month or two, we're gonna be taking a journey 00:16:59.769 --> 00:17:02.409 into the Old Testament and looking at the book 00:17:02.409 --> 00:17:05.250 of Esther, which is an amazing story of faith 00:17:05.250 --> 00:17:08.240 in action, but also... a great historical work. 00:17:08.339 --> 00:17:11.440 We get to look at how the ancient Jews were scattered 00:17:11.440 --> 00:17:13.599 among the Persian people under the kings of the 00:17:13.599 --> 00:17:17.160 Achaemenid dynasty, and it is amazing. So hashtag 00:17:17.160 --> 00:17:19.700 historical nerd time. You're gonna enjoy that. 00:17:19.880 --> 00:17:23.299 So that's my commercial. Come back. We would 00:17:23.299 --> 00:17:26.200 love to have you. Okay, we've already heard a 00:17:26.200 --> 00:17:28.819 portion of Ephesians 1 this morning. Grant read 00:17:28.819 --> 00:17:31.400 a section, verses 3 to 14, is our call to worship. 00:17:31.599 --> 00:17:34.279 Guys, this is one of the most extraordinary passages 00:17:34.279 --> 00:17:38.039 in the entire Bible. In my numeric standard, 00:17:38.420 --> 00:17:42.460 it is six sentences and 12 verses. But in the 00:17:42.460 --> 00:17:47.539 original Greek, it is what? One sentence. Just 00:17:47.539 --> 00:17:50.180 the longest run -on sentence in the entire Greek 00:17:50.180 --> 00:17:53.720 text. 202 words with absolutely no punctuation. 00:17:55.880 --> 00:17:59.099 It's just a cascade of truth that just poured 00:17:59.099 --> 00:18:01.420 out of Paul. It really is amazing. It's actually 00:18:01.420 --> 00:18:03.819 been suggested by scholars that when Paul sat 00:18:03.819 --> 00:18:06.269 down to write to the Ephesian church, He was 00:18:06.269 --> 00:18:09.190 so filled with joy and intensity with what God 00:18:09.190 --> 00:18:11.970 had put on his heart that this is the shortest 00:18:11.970 --> 00:18:14.230 greeting he has in the New Testament. He's like, 00:18:14.309 --> 00:18:17.349 I just want to get to this. And he's so excited 00:18:17.349 --> 00:18:21.130 by how the Spirit's carrying him along that as 00:18:21.130 --> 00:18:23.410 he's writing, he doesn't want to stop to take 00:18:23.410 --> 00:18:27.150 a breath, let alone end a sentence. So think 00:18:27.150 --> 00:18:29.109 about that as we look through this. It's really 00:18:29.109 --> 00:18:31.910 amazing. So look at verse one. Paul, an apostle 00:18:31.910 --> 00:18:34.980 of Christ Jesus by the will of God. to the saints 00:18:34.980 --> 00:18:37.960 who are at Ephesus and who are faithful in Christ 00:18:37.960 --> 00:18:42.579 Jesus. There it is again, in Christ Jesus. Grace 00:18:42.579 --> 00:18:44.960 to you and peace from God our Father and the 00:18:44.960 --> 00:18:48.359 Lord Jesus Christ. Short greeting, here he goes. 00:18:48.819 --> 00:18:52.099 And verse three is our key. Blessed be the God 00:18:52.099 --> 00:18:55.039 and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. So he starts 00:18:55.039 --> 00:18:57.519 with God, which is always a good place to start 00:18:57.519 --> 00:19:00.400 because God is the initiator of every good thing 00:19:00.400 --> 00:19:04.009 and every good gift. Continuing on, he has blessed 00:19:04.009 --> 00:19:08.230 us with every spiritual blessing. Underline it. 00:19:08.470 --> 00:19:12.250 Every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places. 00:19:12.349 --> 00:19:15.950 In who? In Christ. Here come the prepositions. 00:19:15.950 --> 00:19:19.950 They're everywhere. In Christ. And that makes 00:19:19.950 --> 00:19:22.769 logical sense, by the way. 1 Timothy 2 .5 is 00:19:22.769 --> 00:19:25.410 a really important passage. It says there is 00:19:25.410 --> 00:19:29.130 one mediator between God and man. And who is 00:19:29.130 --> 00:19:32.640 it? It's not any other man. It's not any priest. 00:19:32.839 --> 00:19:35.680 It's not any intermediary. There's one mediator, 00:19:35.720 --> 00:19:38.880 and it's Christ. So any blessing we receive from 00:19:38.880 --> 00:19:43.359 God will obviously come through him because he's 00:19:43.359 --> 00:19:45.980 our mediator, because of our union with him. 00:19:46.920 --> 00:19:49.180 Now, notice the location of these blessings. 00:19:49.950 --> 00:19:52.509 This has served to be a bit of a confusing thing 00:19:52.509 --> 00:19:55.470 for people in the past. These blessings are in 00:19:55.470 --> 00:19:58.089 the heavenly places. Now, we tend to make one 00:19:58.089 --> 00:20:00.470 of two mistakes when we read that. First of all, 00:20:00.470 --> 00:20:02.289 we might think, oh, these blessings, they're 00:20:02.289 --> 00:20:05.369 floating around up there in the sky, up in the 00:20:05.369 --> 00:20:07.450 heavenly realms, and they're these vague things. 00:20:07.890 --> 00:20:10.250 That's one mistake because we think, what do 00:20:10.250 --> 00:20:12.630 we think? Heavenly realms, we think beyond us, 00:20:12.710 --> 00:20:15.470 right? Or we begin to think, well, those things 00:20:15.470 --> 00:20:18.930 are for after we die. They're waiting for us 00:20:18.930 --> 00:20:21.529 up there. But guys, Paul's talking about a list 00:20:21.529 --> 00:20:24.750 of present realities here. Present realities. 00:20:24.849 --> 00:20:27.650 And they're not vague concepts floating out there 00:20:27.650 --> 00:20:30.930 in the ether. By heavenly places, Paul is simply 00:20:30.930 --> 00:20:34.230 talking about the place where all the spiritual 00:20:34.230 --> 00:20:38.609 activity in the cosmos takes place. The spiritual 00:20:38.609 --> 00:20:41.190 realm that's unseen, that we know it's real, 00:20:41.230 --> 00:20:43.990 but we can't see it. This is the unseen realm 00:20:43.990 --> 00:20:47.269 where God is at work, where angels and demons, 00:20:47.349 --> 00:20:49.410 spirit beings, are also at work, where there 00:20:49.410 --> 00:20:52.509 is sometimes conflict. And these blessings are 00:20:52.509 --> 00:20:56.130 applied in our lives, not physically, but spiritually 00:20:56.130 --> 00:20:59.369 in the inner man. So all of the spiritual activity, 00:20:59.609 --> 00:21:02.509 the most important activity, is actually taking 00:21:02.509 --> 00:21:06.490 place not out there, but in here. And that's 00:21:06.490 --> 00:21:08.170 what's going on here. In the heavenly places 00:21:08.170 --> 00:21:10.990 is the heart of man and woman. And that's where 00:21:10.990 --> 00:21:13.470 these blessings are applied. Does that make sense? 00:21:13.990 --> 00:21:16.690 So don't be confused by that. Okay, what are 00:21:16.690 --> 00:21:19.089 all these promises then? First thing we should 00:21:19.089 --> 00:21:22.329 say is this is not an exhaustive list. If you're 00:21:22.329 --> 00:21:25.819 found in Christ, You are spiritually rich beyond 00:21:25.819 --> 00:21:27.960 anything you could imagine. We could sit down 00:21:27.960 --> 00:21:31.440 and try to list all of the blessings that God 00:21:31.440 --> 00:21:33.460 has decreed for us and we'll never come to the 00:21:33.460 --> 00:21:35.460 end of it. In fact, I'm convinced that for all 00:21:35.460 --> 00:21:38.279 eternity we'll be learning even more things about 00:21:38.279 --> 00:21:40.839 God's grace and how he has blessed us. And I 00:21:40.839 --> 00:21:42.720 don't know about you, I'm excited to learn all 00:21:42.720 --> 00:21:46.039 of it. So know that first of all. Second thing 00:21:46.039 --> 00:21:49.279 that has to be said is While our God is a great 00:21:49.279 --> 00:21:52.259 provider and he promises to meet our basic needs, 00:21:52.480 --> 00:21:55.059 when you look at this list of blessings, you 00:21:55.059 --> 00:21:57.859 will not see any promises related to our physical 00:21:57.859 --> 00:22:00.799 health or our physical wealth. Not in this lifetime. 00:22:02.079 --> 00:22:05.660 We are rich beyond compare, but this is not physical 00:22:05.660 --> 00:22:08.319 material blessings. There is no promise in here 00:22:08.319 --> 00:22:11.839 for a big house or a Cadillac in your driveway 00:22:11.839 --> 00:22:15.240 or a full savings account or tropical vacations 00:22:15.240 --> 00:22:18.180 on demand. Do not let the religious grifters 00:22:18.180 --> 00:22:20.920 out there sell you on this prosperity nonsense. 00:22:21.339 --> 00:22:23.500 The promises that were given here in Ephesians 00:22:23.500 --> 00:22:27.200 1 are not material, they are spiritual. Are you 00:22:27.200 --> 00:22:29.019 with me on that? If you have a question about 00:22:29.019 --> 00:22:31.359 that, ask me later. All right, let me also give 00:22:31.359 --> 00:22:33.859 you just a quick bullet point summary of the 00:22:33.859 --> 00:22:36.460 structure of these 12 verses. Guys, only the 00:22:36.460 --> 00:22:38.599 Holy Spirit could inspire this. The structure 00:22:38.599 --> 00:22:41.400 of these 12 verses is so amazing. First of all, 00:22:41.460 --> 00:22:45.319 all the Trinitarian persons are involved. If 00:22:45.319 --> 00:22:46.920 you look at it, you might need to take a picture 00:22:46.920 --> 00:22:49.980 of this. Verses four through six focus on the 00:22:49.980 --> 00:22:53.839 activity of God the Father. Verses seven through 00:22:53.839 --> 00:22:57.220 12 are all centered in Christ, and it wraps up 00:22:57.220 --> 00:22:59.960 in verses 13 and 14 by bringing in the Holy Spirit. 00:23:01.559 --> 00:23:04.480 Amazing, right? All those people out there, oh, 00:23:04.559 --> 00:23:06.460 there's the Trinity's on the Bible. It's everywhere. 00:23:06.680 --> 00:23:09.819 You just gotta look. All three persons are here. 00:23:10.079 --> 00:23:12.359 Second thing to see, at the end of each stanza, 00:23:12.400 --> 00:23:15.759 after God, After God is mentioned in these three 00:23:15.759 --> 00:23:18.759 persons, there is this similar refrain. Verse 00:23:18.759 --> 00:23:21.720 6, to the praise of the glory of God's grace. 00:23:22.579 --> 00:23:25.579 Verse 12, to the praise of God's glory. Verse 00:23:25.579 --> 00:23:29.119 14, to the praise of his glory again. And guys, 00:23:29.220 --> 00:23:31.140 I'm going to stop here for a second. This is 00:23:31.140 --> 00:23:33.460 a theme that every believer in here this morning 00:23:33.460 --> 00:23:36.980 cannot miss. The praise of his glory. In fact, 00:23:37.079 --> 00:23:40.700 this is the highest explanation of why God has 00:23:40.700 --> 00:23:43.380 poured out these blessings in your life. It's 00:23:43.380 --> 00:23:46.720 for his own glory. Now, on one level, it's driven 00:23:46.720 --> 00:23:49.079 by his love for you, by his mercy and compassion. 00:23:49.420 --> 00:23:52.519 But the higher plane is, it's because he is passionate 00:23:52.519 --> 00:23:56.299 about his own glory. Now, when people hear that, 00:23:56.299 --> 00:23:57.900 and maybe you're like, that doesn't sound right. 00:23:58.000 --> 00:23:59.819 People hear that, they object. They say, well, 00:23:59.859 --> 00:24:03.079 doesn't that make God a narcissist? I've heard 00:24:03.079 --> 00:24:06.519 this so many times. When someone says that, and 00:24:06.519 --> 00:24:08.119 I don't blame you for it if that's the first 00:24:08.119 --> 00:24:10.079 time you've heard it, it just means you don't 00:24:10.079 --> 00:24:13.779 really understand who God is. Okay, so it would 00:24:13.779 --> 00:24:16.920 be narcissistic if a fallible, sinful human being 00:24:16.920 --> 00:24:19.799 said that. It's all about my glory, but God is 00:24:19.799 --> 00:24:22.319 altogether different from us. If you want an 00:24:22.319 --> 00:24:24.140 interesting recommendation, the great Jonathan 00:24:24.140 --> 00:24:26.519 Edwards wrote a whole treatise on this subject. 00:24:26.720 --> 00:24:29.440 It's called The End For Which God Created The 00:24:29.440 --> 00:24:32.279 World. And I highly recommend it. And here is 00:24:32.279 --> 00:24:35.200 his basic argument. Because God is infinitely 00:24:35.200 --> 00:24:39.720 perfect, he must, he must seek out his own glory. 00:24:40.809 --> 00:24:43.910 Because of his infinite perfectness. In fact, 00:24:43.910 --> 00:24:47.410 he would be unrighteous if he didn't have a passion 00:24:47.410 --> 00:24:50.690 for the glory of what is infinitely perfect, 00:24:50.930 --> 00:24:56.130 which is only himself. Think about that. So the 00:24:56.130 --> 00:24:59.609 glory of the uncreated creator is the greatest 00:24:59.609 --> 00:25:02.250 and highest end of all things. So naturally, 00:25:02.329 --> 00:25:05.569 that is what God is ultimately most concerned 00:25:05.569 --> 00:25:09.299 about. I know you'll process that as time goes. 00:25:09.359 --> 00:25:11.259 You might need to re -listen to this. Or look 00:25:11.259 --> 00:25:13.579 at that little treatise by Edwards. It's really 00:25:13.579 --> 00:25:16.480 amazing. But in relation to you and I as believers, 00:25:16.640 --> 00:25:18.980 God's perspective is clear. What he desires, 00:25:19.119 --> 00:25:23.539 what brings him glory is our worship, is our 00:25:23.539 --> 00:25:26.380 sense of awe in his presence, our thankfulness 00:25:26.380 --> 00:25:29.579 and our obedience to his word. That's what gives 00:25:29.579 --> 00:25:33.500 him glory. What he wants to hear is, my God, 00:25:33.579 --> 00:25:36.740 how great thou art. And not just from our lips, 00:25:36.799 --> 00:25:39.700 but from our hearts, from our inner man. That's 00:25:39.700 --> 00:25:41.220 what he wants. That's what brings him glory. 00:25:41.359 --> 00:25:43.460 Can I also share with you what he doesn't want? 00:25:44.640 --> 00:25:47.420 What he doesn't want, and the Bible makes this 00:25:47.420 --> 00:25:51.039 very clear, God, listen, God will not share his 00:25:51.039 --> 00:25:55.480 glory with another. He will not. That it's the 00:25:55.480 --> 00:25:58.980 greatest insult to his person to try to take 00:25:58.980 --> 00:26:02.579 even a sliver of his glory. So when we as fallible 00:26:02.579 --> 00:26:05.299 creatures run around claiming that we can contribute 00:26:05.299 --> 00:26:09.480 to our salvation by our good works or that we 00:26:09.480 --> 00:26:12.720 can earn merit before an infinitely holy God, 00:26:12.799 --> 00:26:15.259 think about that. We are attempting to claim 00:26:15.259 --> 00:26:19.099 at least partial credit for our salvation. And 00:26:19.099 --> 00:26:23.109 that is a great insult to our God. It's an attempt 00:26:23.109 --> 00:26:25.390 to steal a portion of his glory. It's the ultimate 00:26:25.390 --> 00:26:29.470 insult to his merciful nature. And that's why 00:26:29.470 --> 00:26:32.190 we talk about we come to him empty -handed, relying 00:26:32.190 --> 00:26:36.650 solely on his grace through Jesus Christ. And 00:26:36.650 --> 00:26:38.730 listen, God is pleased to pour out the blessing 00:26:38.730 --> 00:26:41.430 of salvation on anyone who will come with those 00:26:41.430 --> 00:26:44.609 empty hands and say, I don't deserve it. And 00:26:44.609 --> 00:26:48.509 I don't bring anything to the table. That's when 00:26:48.509 --> 00:26:51.950 he is. He is pleased. That's when he is glorified, 00:26:51.990 --> 00:26:56.289 when we trust in him 100%. Then when we're saved, 00:26:56.490 --> 00:26:59.210 for all eternity, we have absolutely no grounds 00:26:59.210 --> 00:27:01.650 to claim any of that glory. It all goes to him. 00:27:03.170 --> 00:27:07.509 And that's what he's about. Amen? All right, 00:27:07.549 --> 00:27:09.250 continuing in our summary of the divine structure 00:27:09.250 --> 00:27:12.410 here. A third thing we see is a repeated emphasis 00:27:12.410 --> 00:27:15.670 on God's sovereign will, sovereign purpose, and 00:27:15.670 --> 00:27:18.579 sovereign plan. Verse five, according to the 00:27:18.579 --> 00:27:21.940 kind intention of his will. Verse nine, the mystery 00:27:21.940 --> 00:27:25.480 of his will. Also verse nine, his kind intention 00:27:25.480 --> 00:27:29.319 which he purposed. Verse 11, according to his 00:27:29.319 --> 00:27:33.039 purpose and also the counsel of his will. Listen, 00:27:33.160 --> 00:27:36.740 guys, this raises a rhetorical question. Do we 00:27:36.740 --> 00:27:39.420 earn any portion of these things or do they come 00:27:39.420 --> 00:27:41.799 because of God's sovereign will, purpose, and 00:27:41.799 --> 00:27:45.279 plan? It's obvious, isn't it? So why do we always 00:27:45.279 --> 00:27:48.119 want as human beings in our flesh to inject us 00:27:48.119 --> 00:27:51.900 into it when it's all God, all his plan, all 00:27:51.900 --> 00:27:54.779 his purpose, all his will? And sovereignty is 00:27:54.779 --> 00:27:57.160 written all throughout this passage in at least 00:27:57.160 --> 00:28:00.400 11 different places in these verses. You'll see 00:28:00.400 --> 00:28:04.599 it, including references to him choosing us and 00:28:04.599 --> 00:28:08.900 referencing twice that he's predestined us. And 00:28:08.900 --> 00:28:10.839 then piggybacking on that, you see the concept 00:28:10.839 --> 00:28:13.680 of grace being mentioned. along with some beautiful 00:28:13.680 --> 00:28:16.240 descriptions of it. First in verse six, to the 00:28:16.240 --> 00:28:20.240 praise of his glorious grace. Verse seven, according 00:28:20.240 --> 00:28:23.660 to the riches of his grace. And then verse eight, 00:28:23.720 --> 00:28:26.960 we're told that God not only extended grace, 00:28:27.079 --> 00:28:30.920 but lavished his grace on us. The language is 00:28:30.920 --> 00:28:33.799 so powerful here. Guys, are you seeing in the 00:28:33.799 --> 00:28:37.099 structure how amazing these verses are? Man, 00:28:37.119 --> 00:28:39.319 go home this week, you want an assignment, just 00:28:39.319 --> 00:28:41.799 study this passage and you will be blown away. 00:28:44.999 --> 00:28:49.700 Okay, the picture that I get, the picture I get 00:28:49.700 --> 00:28:51.680 as I was working on this last night, it's like 00:28:51.680 --> 00:28:55.079 Paul's walking down a corridor of treasures and 00:28:55.079 --> 00:28:57.740 he's walking down this long hallway and he's 00:28:57.740 --> 00:29:00.019 just describing all the things that he sees as 00:29:00.019 --> 00:29:02.200 he goes. These beautiful treasures that God has 00:29:02.200 --> 00:29:04.920 given to us and what he realizes as he's writing 00:29:04.920 --> 00:29:07.160 and he can't take a breath, he's like, well, 00:29:07.240 --> 00:29:08.619 if I talk about that one, I gotta talk about 00:29:08.619 --> 00:29:10.380 that one. If I talk about that one, I gotta talk 00:29:10.380 --> 00:29:13.119 about that one. And he just goes on and on. It 00:29:13.119 --> 00:29:16.099 is just so beautiful. And all these truths are 00:29:16.099 --> 00:29:20.359 interconnected. Okay, enough, Jeff. Just get 00:29:20.359 --> 00:29:23.299 to the blessings, right? Okay, so verse three 00:29:23.299 --> 00:29:25.140 again. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord 00:29:25.140 --> 00:29:27.759 Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual 00:29:27.759 --> 00:29:31.180 blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, just 00:29:31.180 --> 00:29:36.299 as he, what? Chose us. in him. Another one of 00:29:36.299 --> 00:29:41.299 those important phrases. Chose us in him before 00:29:41.299 --> 00:29:43.559 the foundation of the world. Can that be true? 00:29:45.359 --> 00:29:47.960 That we would be holy and blameless before him? 00:29:48.079 --> 00:29:50.759 Okay, blessing number one. Because we've been 00:29:50.759 --> 00:29:54.319 raised to life with Jesus, we've been chosen 00:29:54.319 --> 00:29:59.059 to be holy and blameless in his sight. I mean, 00:29:59.079 --> 00:30:02.279 that alone is a mic drop, is it not? Because 00:30:02.750 --> 00:30:04.990 The reason this one is put first is if without 00:30:04.990 --> 00:30:08.730 this, all the others would never happen. All 00:30:08.730 --> 00:30:11.990 the others would not matter. But for every believer, 00:30:12.049 --> 00:30:15.089 we're told over and over in Scripture that God 00:30:15.089 --> 00:30:20.410 foreknew us in the sense of foreloving us. When 00:30:20.410 --> 00:30:22.690 you see the word foreknow or foreknew in Scripture, 00:30:22.890 --> 00:30:25.690 don't misunderstand. It's as if God just had... 00:30:25.950 --> 00:30:30.589 knowledge about us no he for loved us he marked 00:30:30.589 --> 00:30:34.450 us out for salvation even before he began to 00:30:34.450 --> 00:30:38.089 create the world and so this not only emphasizes 00:30:38.089 --> 00:30:41.730 god's 100 sovereignty over salvation but it rules 00:30:41.730 --> 00:30:44.450 out our participation in it because not one of 00:30:44.450 --> 00:30:46.730 us was present at the foundation of creation 00:30:46.730 --> 00:30:51.950 so it's ruled out now within time and space we 00:30:52.569 --> 00:30:54.490 I always have to give this disclaimer because 00:30:54.490 --> 00:30:56.329 I don't want you to think we believe in robot 00:30:56.329 --> 00:30:59.789 theology. Within time and space, we do truly 00:30:59.789 --> 00:31:02.549 make a decision to put our trust in Christ. Of 00:31:02.549 --> 00:31:05.710 course, I know I did many years ago. I wanted 00:31:05.710 --> 00:31:08.130 it. I made that decision. But what the Bible 00:31:08.130 --> 00:31:10.410 tells us, almost like Wizard of Oz pulling the 00:31:10.410 --> 00:31:12.809 curtain back to see what's really going on, right? 00:31:12.930 --> 00:31:15.730 What the Bible tells us is without God choosing 00:31:15.730 --> 00:31:19.029 us first, not one of us would ever have arrived 00:31:19.029 --> 00:31:23.390 at that very real decision. And those two things 00:31:23.390 --> 00:31:27.650 can fit together. God's choice in eternity past, 00:31:27.869 --> 00:31:31.049 our decision in time and space. Behind the scenes, 00:31:31.069 --> 00:31:33.910 what had happened was God chose us, elected us, 00:31:34.029 --> 00:31:36.950 and then in time and space called us, drew us 00:31:36.950 --> 00:31:40.329 to himself, and then he regenerated our hearts, 00:31:40.349 --> 00:31:44.130 changed our affections such that we would turn 00:31:44.130 --> 00:31:48.349 to him and make that decision to be saved. But 00:31:48.349 --> 00:31:50.049 if God doesn't do that work, none of us gets 00:31:50.049 --> 00:31:53.130 here. Not one of us would be in this room worshiping 00:31:53.130 --> 00:31:56.609 today if God hadn't done that work. And to think 00:31:56.609 --> 00:31:59.670 that my election, my election proceeds from a 00:31:59.670 --> 00:32:03.289 grace that was born at the dawn of creation is 00:32:03.289 --> 00:32:06.890 such a glorious thought. It really is. Don't 00:32:06.890 --> 00:32:10.450 let it make you arrogant. Let it make you humble 00:32:10.450 --> 00:32:12.910 that at the dawn of creation, God had you in 00:32:12.910 --> 00:32:15.930 mind, that your name was written on his heart. 00:32:17.789 --> 00:32:22.210 Amen? It got quiet there. And then don't miss, 00:32:22.210 --> 00:32:24.930 by the way, what Paul says in verse four, that 00:32:24.930 --> 00:32:27.710 we're chosen in Christ in union with him with 00:32:27.710 --> 00:32:30.789 a particular end result, that when it's all said 00:32:30.789 --> 00:32:33.509 and done and we pass from this life, right, into 00:32:33.509 --> 00:32:36.490 a better stage of life, that God will have completed 00:32:36.490 --> 00:32:39.750 the work he promised to do in you. Catch that 00:32:39.750 --> 00:32:42.869 now. He's promised to complete his work in you. 00:32:43.339 --> 00:32:47.000 And someday he will perfect it and you will be 00:32:47.000 --> 00:32:53.059 holy and blameless before God. That's amazing. 00:32:53.220 --> 00:32:54.579 All right, we'll go faster to the other ones. 00:32:54.619 --> 00:32:57.359 Number two, because we've been raised to life 00:32:57.359 --> 00:33:00.779 with Jesus, we're predestined to be adopted as 00:33:00.779 --> 00:33:03.000 children of God. Look at the end of verse four 00:33:03.000 --> 00:33:05.779 and end of verse five. In love, he predestined 00:33:05.779 --> 00:33:10.180 us to adoption as sons. Here it is, through Jesus 00:33:10.180 --> 00:33:15.140 Christ to himself. according to the kind intention 00:33:15.140 --> 00:33:19.380 of his will, to the praise of the glory of his 00:33:19.380 --> 00:33:22.660 grace, which he freely bestowed on us in his 00:33:22.660 --> 00:33:26.160 beloved. So building upon God's choosing of us 00:33:26.160 --> 00:33:30.000 before the world was made, now we see that God 00:33:30.000 --> 00:33:33.160 predestined or foreordained that we would, and 00:33:33.160 --> 00:33:35.319 there's no uncertainty in this, that we would 00:33:35.319 --> 00:33:38.900 come into his family, that we'd be adopted as 00:33:38.900 --> 00:33:43.009 sons and daughters. And be adopted how? Through 00:33:43.009 --> 00:33:45.950 our mediator, Jesus Christ, our only mediator. 00:33:46.349 --> 00:33:49.410 He grants us full status as his children. We 00:33:49.410 --> 00:33:52.210 get full access to God the Father. We now go 00:33:52.210 --> 00:33:54.769 straight to the throne of grace with confidence, 00:33:54.890 --> 00:33:57.769 the Bible says, through Jesus Christ. We don't 00:33:57.769 --> 00:34:00.250 need priests. We don't need any human beings. 00:34:00.490 --> 00:34:02.710 We have the confidence to go to the throne of 00:34:02.710 --> 00:34:06.769 grace because of this. This is staggering, you 00:34:06.769 --> 00:34:11.309 guys. We can say, we can call God Abba. And what's 00:34:11.309 --> 00:34:13.730 so staggering about this is prior to us being 00:34:13.730 --> 00:34:17.570 saved, we were sons of disobedience living under 00:34:17.570 --> 00:34:20.110 the wrath of God. Talk about a reversal of fortune. 00:34:20.590 --> 00:34:23.050 And now we're sons and daughters with access 00:34:23.050 --> 00:34:27.550 to the creator of the universe. Are you seeing 00:34:27.550 --> 00:34:31.110 it? Are you seeing the blessings? Wow. Before 00:34:31.110 --> 00:34:33.090 we move on, take note that this predestination 00:34:33.090 --> 00:34:36.389 is according to the kind intention of God's will, 00:34:36.550 --> 00:34:39.630 according to his pleasure. Listen, I know election 00:34:39.630 --> 00:34:42.070 is hard for us as human beings, but God loves 00:34:42.070 --> 00:34:45.349 it. He's pleased by it. It's part of his kind 00:34:45.349 --> 00:34:48.170 intention. He doesn't do it reluctantly. He is 00:34:48.170 --> 00:34:52.530 delighted to elect us unto salvation. And imagine 00:34:52.530 --> 00:34:55.269 this, choosing in his absolute freedom to save 00:34:55.269 --> 00:34:58.389 sinners, rebellious people, and make them his 00:34:58.389 --> 00:35:01.250 beloved children for his own pleasure, for his 00:35:01.250 --> 00:35:03.750 own glory. This should be an absolute wonder 00:35:03.750 --> 00:35:07.440 to us that any of us is saved. And that's why 00:35:07.440 --> 00:35:09.679 week after week we get up here and what do we 00:35:09.679 --> 00:35:12.380 do? We sing his praises because we understand 00:35:12.380 --> 00:35:15.940 who we were and who we are now. Praise the Lord 00:35:15.940 --> 00:35:18.559 for that. Blessing number three, because we've 00:35:18.559 --> 00:35:21.119 been raised to life with Jesus, we are redeemed 00:35:21.119 --> 00:35:24.380 by his blood and our sins forgiven. Verse seven, 00:35:24.519 --> 00:35:26.920 in him we have redemption through his blood, 00:35:27.039 --> 00:35:29.860 the forgiveness of our trespasses according to 00:35:29.860 --> 00:35:33.179 what? The riches of his grace which he lavished 00:35:33.179 --> 00:35:35.579 on us. This one speaks for itself, doesn't it? 00:35:36.269 --> 00:35:39.530 This is a direct result of the cross. Jesus is 00:35:39.530 --> 00:35:42.969 voluntary laying down his life and becoming our 00:35:42.969 --> 00:35:46.789 substitute on the cross. What does the word redemption 00:35:46.789 --> 00:35:50.190 mean? It means paying something to free somebody. 00:35:50.949 --> 00:35:54.329 Paying the ransom price in order to set us free. 00:35:54.489 --> 00:35:57.610 It is the zeroing, accountants in the room, the 00:35:57.610 --> 00:36:02.150 zeroing out of our accounts of sin. It's just 00:36:02.150 --> 00:36:06.730 wiped. It's wiped. And imagine the collective 00:36:06.730 --> 00:36:10.030 weight of mankind's sin put on his head as he 00:36:10.030 --> 00:36:12.590 endured the wrath of God for six hours on a cross. 00:36:12.789 --> 00:36:15.329 Are you grateful this morning that you have a 00:36:15.329 --> 00:36:19.769 substitute? What a blessing. Number four, because 00:36:19.769 --> 00:36:21.869 we've been raised to life with Jesus, we're given 00:36:21.869 --> 00:36:25.789 knowledge of his mysterious will. End of verse 00:36:25.789 --> 00:36:27.989 eight. In all wisdom and insight, he made known 00:36:27.989 --> 00:36:30.849 to us the mystery of his will. Again, according 00:36:30.849 --> 00:36:33.869 to his kind intention. Guys, he's being kind 00:36:33.869 --> 00:36:37.599 to us. In all of these things, which he purposed 00:36:37.599 --> 00:36:41.559 in him, there it is again, with a view to an 00:36:41.559 --> 00:36:44.099 administration suitable to the fullness of the 00:36:44.099 --> 00:36:48.179 times, that is the summing up of all things in 00:36:48.179 --> 00:36:51.579 Christ, again, things in the heavens and things 00:36:51.579 --> 00:36:54.980 on the earth. So how has God revealed his will 00:36:54.980 --> 00:36:59.599 to us? Through his divine word, which first of 00:36:59.599 --> 00:37:01.519 all is the person of Christ. He is the divine 00:37:01.519 --> 00:37:04.760 word, is he not? He's the logos. in whom, Paul 00:37:04.760 --> 00:37:07.440 says, are hidden all the treasures of wisdom 00:37:07.440 --> 00:37:11.719 and knowledge, all in Christ. First of all, that's 00:37:11.719 --> 00:37:14.500 how God has shown us his will. It starts with 00:37:14.500 --> 00:37:17.159 Jesus. And then secondly, it's the written word 00:37:17.159 --> 00:37:19.739 of God, which I see sitting in your lap. Oh, 00:37:19.780 --> 00:37:23.360 that silly little book? Yeah. All the divine 00:37:23.360 --> 00:37:25.659 mysteries of God's will, the creator's will for 00:37:25.659 --> 00:37:28.340 you. And the part of God's will that Paul has 00:37:28.340 --> 00:37:30.980 in mind specifically here is how all things are 00:37:30.980 --> 00:37:33.420 gonna end up. Don't we all wanna know how things 00:37:33.420 --> 00:37:35.719 are gonna end? How all things are gonna be summed 00:37:35.719 --> 00:37:38.679 up in Christ. How by studying God's word and 00:37:38.679 --> 00:37:41.440 by the wisdom and insight that the spirit gives 00:37:41.440 --> 00:37:44.539 us, we can come to conclusions about the ultimate 00:37:44.539 --> 00:37:48.119 purposes of redemptive history and how it's all 00:37:48.119 --> 00:37:50.500 gonna come to an end because God has revealed 00:37:50.500 --> 00:37:55.159 it to us in his divine word. Wow. Number five, 00:37:55.260 --> 00:37:57.780 because we've been raised to life with Jesus, 00:37:57.860 --> 00:38:00.739 we are heirs to a great inheritance in the life 00:38:00.739 --> 00:38:04.130 to come. Who didn't love a good inheritance, 00:38:04.389 --> 00:38:08.909 right? In him, verse 11, also we have obtained 00:38:08.909 --> 00:38:12.230 an inheritance, having been predestined, there's 00:38:12.230 --> 00:38:15.610 that word again, according to his purpose, who 00:38:15.610 --> 00:38:18.750 works all things after the counsel of his will. 00:38:18.829 --> 00:38:20.889 Oh wait, did you hear that? He doesn't work some 00:38:20.889 --> 00:38:23.789 things and then lets human beings decide everything 00:38:23.789 --> 00:38:27.019 else. No, he works all things after the counsel 00:38:27.019 --> 00:38:30.360 of his will to the end that we who are the first 00:38:30.360 --> 00:38:32.880 to hope in Christ would be to the praise of his 00:38:32.880 --> 00:38:36.639 glory. Every one of these is a sermon series. 00:38:37.679 --> 00:38:40.320 It's just amazing. But this is so beautiful. 00:38:40.340 --> 00:38:43.199 As adopted children, we have been written into 00:38:43.199 --> 00:38:47.400 the will. We have been written in. Adoption leads 00:38:47.400 --> 00:38:50.360 to inheritance. And we're told in Romans 8, as 00:38:50.360 --> 00:38:53.800 undeserving as we are, that somehow we've been 00:38:53.800 --> 00:38:57.039 made co -heirs with Christ to everything that 00:38:57.039 --> 00:39:02.659 God has. Are you serious? That we can look to 00:39:02.659 --> 00:39:05.480 Jesus almost like our big brother. We're co -heirs 00:39:05.480 --> 00:39:08.960 with him. And then Paul says this amazing thing, 00:39:09.059 --> 00:39:12.039 1 Corinthians 2 .9, Paul says, look, things that 00:39:12.039 --> 00:39:16.440 no eye has seen. No ear has heard, no mind imagined 00:39:16.440 --> 00:39:19.179 are the things that God has prepared for those 00:39:19.179 --> 00:39:22.480 who love him. Your inheritance is beyond anything 00:39:22.480 --> 00:39:25.139 that you can imagine. Anybody feeling blessed 00:39:25.139 --> 00:39:28.780 yet? Because there's one more. Number six, because 00:39:28.780 --> 00:39:31.199 we've been raised to life with Jesus, we are 00:39:31.199 --> 00:39:36.139 sealed in him by the Holy Spirit. Verse 13, in 00:39:36.139 --> 00:39:39.039 him you also, after listening to the message 00:39:39.039 --> 00:39:41.800 of truth, that's the gospel, the gospel of your 00:39:41.800 --> 00:39:45.829 salvation. having also believed you were sealed 00:39:45.829 --> 00:39:48.949 in him with the Holy Spirit of promise, who was 00:39:48.949 --> 00:39:51.650 given as a pledge of our inheritance with a view 00:39:51.650 --> 00:39:54.949 to the redemption of God's own possession, that's 00:39:54.949 --> 00:39:58.389 us, to the praise of his glory. The language 00:39:58.389 --> 00:40:01.590 is amazing here. And what a way to end this list 00:40:01.590 --> 00:40:04.809 of promises. All of these promises are sealed 00:40:04.809 --> 00:40:08.150 and guaranteed by God himself, the Holy Spirit. 00:40:09.289 --> 00:40:11.670 They cannot be broken. They cannot be taken away. 00:40:11.769 --> 00:40:15.190 They cannot fade. They're guaranteed. He has 00:40:15.190 --> 00:40:17.590 put his mark of ownership on us and he's given 00:40:17.590 --> 00:40:20.309 us an absolute pledge concerning our eternal 00:40:20.309 --> 00:40:24.269 security. The fact that the spirit of God indwells 00:40:24.269 --> 00:40:27.130 us now is said to be a down payment towards our 00:40:27.130 --> 00:40:29.949 full redemption on that day when we would be 00:40:29.949 --> 00:40:32.230 ushered into the presence of Christ. We have 00:40:32.230 --> 00:40:36.530 a down payment in the spirit. Wow, what a list, 00:40:36.550 --> 00:40:41.320 right? I'm going to ask the question again. What 00:40:41.320 --> 00:40:45.960 rational person says no to this? If you're here 00:40:45.960 --> 00:40:48.480 this morning and you don't trust in Christ, why 00:40:48.480 --> 00:40:51.820 would you refuse this? Every blessing in the 00:40:51.820 --> 00:40:54.760 spiritual realms. But let me finish with this. 00:40:54.780 --> 00:40:56.320 I'll finish with this reminder and just wrap 00:40:56.320 --> 00:40:59.900 up. Again, all of this blessing is found only 00:40:59.900 --> 00:41:05.099 in Christ. Only in Christ. If he's not your savior, 00:41:05.219 --> 00:41:07.480 if he's not your Lord, if you haven't died to 00:41:07.480 --> 00:41:09.500 yourself and taken up a cross to follow him, 00:41:09.599 --> 00:41:13.500 these blessings are not yours. You don't have 00:41:13.500 --> 00:41:17.639 them. And you can't go buy them. And you can't 00:41:17.639 --> 00:41:19.880 try to wake up tomorrow and say, I'm gonna work 00:41:19.880 --> 00:41:22.880 harder to try to earn God's favor. You'll never 00:41:22.880 --> 00:41:27.320 earn enough. You can't find a loophole. Can't 00:41:27.320 --> 00:41:29.000 go to your lawyer and say, find me a loophole 00:41:29.000 --> 00:41:33.630 in this so I can get in. What it takes is simply 00:41:33.630 --> 00:41:38.550 saying, I have nothing to offer you, Jesus. I 00:41:38.550 --> 00:41:40.670 have nothing to offer you except my repentance 00:41:40.670 --> 00:41:44.289 and my desire to know you and to give up my life 00:41:44.289 --> 00:41:47.730 so that I can find true life in you. That's it. 00:41:48.989 --> 00:41:52.550 That's it. If that describes you and you want 00:41:52.550 --> 00:41:55.250 that and you've sensed the Spirit of God drawing 00:41:55.250 --> 00:41:59.170 you this morning, don't delay. Today is the day 00:41:59.170 --> 00:42:02.400 of salvation. Put your trust in him today. And 00:42:02.400 --> 00:42:04.480 if you have any questions about anything you've 00:42:04.480 --> 00:42:06.679 heard today, will you find me after the service 00:42:06.679 --> 00:42:09.599 or look me up this week? It'd be my pleasure 00:42:09.599 --> 00:42:11.719 to talk to you about it. For those of us who 00:42:11.719 --> 00:42:13.300 are here this morning who are found in Christ, 00:42:13.559 --> 00:42:16.039 the message this Easter morning is pretty simple. 00:42:16.539 --> 00:42:19.340 Because he was raised to life, you are raised 00:42:19.340 --> 00:42:23.159 to life. That is a present reality. You are raised 00:42:23.159 --> 00:42:25.980 to life and being blessed by God with every good 00:42:25.980 --> 00:42:28.619 gift that we need and every spiritual blessing 00:42:28.619 --> 00:42:31.119 in the heavenly realms. And because we have those 00:42:31.119 --> 00:42:35.099 things, we bless God. Because that's how it starts, 00:42:35.219 --> 00:42:37.840 right? Blessed be God. We bless God in return. 00:42:38.619 --> 00:42:40.699 Now, when we do that, we're not giving him anything 00:42:40.699 --> 00:42:43.659 that he lacks. He lacks for nothing. Our blessing 00:42:43.659 --> 00:42:47.719 is to give him praise, to give him thanks, and 00:42:47.719 --> 00:42:51.449 to joyfully. together as a body, offer our lives 00:42:51.449 --> 00:42:55.449 to him as living sacrifices. For what? For his 00:42:55.449 --> 00:43:00.670 glory. That's how it works. Friend, why do you 00:43:00.670 --> 00:43:03.670 seek the living one among the dead? He's not 00:43:03.670 --> 00:43:08.030 in that tomb. He's risen. Let's bow our heads. 00:43:12.130 --> 00:43:15.869 Lord, this passage renders us almost speechless. 00:43:18.090 --> 00:43:21.429 when we think about what it means to be united 00:43:21.429 --> 00:43:25.489 to you. We're so undeserving, Lord. We're so 00:43:25.489 --> 00:43:29.570 rebellious. We're so selfish. And then you changed 00:43:29.570 --> 00:43:32.449 our hearts and none of us here this morning can 00:43:32.449 --> 00:43:35.730 explain why you did that except your good pleasure 00:43:35.730 --> 00:43:40.869 and your choice and your will. And so we are 00:43:40.869 --> 00:43:43.269 not arrogant about it, not even close. We are 00:43:43.269 --> 00:43:46.690 humbled by it. That at the dawn of creation, 00:43:47.289 --> 00:43:50.530 our names were written on your hand and you marked 00:43:50.530 --> 00:43:53.110 us out and forloved us and said, there's coming 00:43:53.110 --> 00:43:58.329 a time when I will draw them and call them and 00:43:58.329 --> 00:44:01.010 regenerate their hearts and then justify them 00:44:01.010 --> 00:44:03.250 in my sight and then complete a work in them 00:44:03.250 --> 00:44:06.469 so that someday they can come to me for all eternity, 00:44:06.570 --> 00:44:09.269 holy and blameless, and spend all of eternity 00:44:09.269 --> 00:44:12.929 worshiping and praising the name of the Lamb 00:44:12.929 --> 00:44:16.090 who has taken away our sin. What a story we have. 00:44:16.860 --> 00:44:19.480 Lord, I pray that you will continue to seal these 00:44:19.480 --> 00:44:21.440 truths in all of our hearts, that we would not 00:44:21.440 --> 00:44:23.780 keep it to ourselves, that we would go out into 00:44:23.780 --> 00:44:26.619 this world that is so lost and so in need of 00:44:26.619 --> 00:44:28.820 this message and begin to share with people how 00:44:28.820 --> 00:44:32.199 great you are and how many blessings you have 00:44:32.199 --> 00:44:34.679 for those who will simply come with empty hands. 00:44:35.829 --> 00:44:38.369 Father, thank you for saving us this morning. 00:44:38.690 --> 00:44:41.670 Lord, for every person here this week will help 00:44:41.670 --> 00:44:44.210 us, cause us to meditate on these truths and 00:44:44.210 --> 00:44:46.170 to praise you all the more and help us to do 00:44:46.170 --> 00:44:48.949 that right now as we continue to sing. Lord, 00:44:49.070 --> 00:44:51.590 we love you and we praise you that we were found 00:44:51.590 --> 00:44:53.369 in Jesus this morning. Amen.