We come again today to the first chapter of the
book of Ephesians. Our subject is what God has
done. Verses 3 through 14 compose one of the
most expressive paragraphs in the Word of God.
Actually, in the Greek language, it is one sentence
of 202 words. That's the longest sentence you
have ever written. I would dare say it probably
wasn't composed of that many words. But the Apostle
Paul begins to write, and he can't stop. One
word after another flows from his inspired pen
until he writes to us what God has done. It is
something like a snowball that begins rolling
down a hill and picks up both mass and momentum.
As the Apostle Paul writes, the paragraph gains
in glory and praise to God for his master plan
of redemption. Last week we discussed what God
has done initially, and our first subject was
that God has blessed us. In other words, God
has provided us with eternal benefits because
we are in Christ Jesus. These benefits, it is
said, involve every spiritual blessing. That
is, everything that we need pertaining to life
and godliness. He has lavished upon us spiritual
resources that are inexhaustible. These blessings
are said to be in the heavenlies. That is, the
sphere of reality having to do with the supernatural.
It is the realm or the dimension of spiritual
reality. He has blessed us. Then we began to
study, secondly, that he has chosen us. Verse
4, just as he chose us in him, in Christ, before
the foundation of the world, that we should be
holy and blameless. What this means is that God
has selected us for himself out of the peoples
of the world. This act of choosing is an unconditional
act of God. What that means is that it was not
done on the basis of our worth or our works.
Paul writes to Timothy a very poignant verse
in 2 Timothy 1 .9. For he says, God who has saved
us and called us with a holy calling, not according
to our works, but according to his own purpose
and grace, which was granted us in Christ Jesus
from all eternity. And so this act of God in
choosing out people for himself was an unconditional
act. It was not based upon the worth or the merit
of any of the individuals involved. It was not
based upon their works. It was based solely upon
his grace and his purpose, which is from all
eternity past. It is an unconditional act, secondly,
because it is not based upon our foreseen faith.
Again, I'd like you to turn to 2 Peter chapter
1. Right at the beginning of this book, Peter
addresses the recipients of the letter, who are
those who are scattered in various places, and
he says about them, who are chosen according
to the foreknowledge of God the Father by the
sanctifying work of God. of the Spirit, that
you may obey Jesus Christ and be sprinkled with
his blood. And notice Peter also uses this term,
who are chosen. He goes on to say who are chosen
according to the foreknowledge of God. Now there
are those who believe that this explains this
matter of election. At least it does to their
satisfaction. They say God foreknew, he knew
ahead of time. Who the ones were who were going
to believe. He knew ahead of time who was going
to receive his word. And based upon his foreknowing
that they would believe, he chose them. And there's
only one problem with that. Foreknowledge means
more than knowing something ahead of time. The
idea in foreknowledge is that God knew intimately
the people. that he had in view, and that he
selected them. You see, inherent in the biblical
term foreknowledge is the idea of God predetermining
and choosing. But Peter is not saying here that
God saw ahead of time who was going to believe
and chose them. That would be a very meaningless
kind of choice. In fact, it completely undermines
any idea of God's choosing. If God simply chose
those who were going to believe. The idea in
foreknowledge is that God saw ahead of time the
individuals involved. He knew them intimately.
He selected them and chose them. And then in
time, the sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit
took place. That is, the Holy Spirit wooed those
individuals, drew them. to the faith in the Lord
Jesus Christ so that they would obey Jesus Christ
and be sprinkled with his blood. My friend, the
choosing of God was unconditional, absolutely
and totally. God did not choose on the basis
of our works, our worth, or a foreseen faith
on our part. Now this does not violate at all
human responsibility. The Word of God also teaches
that each person is responsible for his own choice
to reject God's revelation. And the Bible says
that man naturally does that because of his sinfulness.
There is none who seeks after God. As we stated
last week, God's sovereignty and man's responsibility
are a paradox to our minds. These two parallel
truths can only be... reconciled and resolved
in God's infinite intelligence and wisdom. How
they work together, only God knows. It is a secret
that belongs to him. But we can say for sure
that the Bible teaches both of them as being
equally true, that God sovereignly chose. But
on the other hand, every man is responsible for
his own decision. We see this once more, if I
may take time to point this out, in 2 Thessalonians
2, 13. And here we have the work of the Holy
Spirit in setting these two truths side by side
in a beautiful balance. 2 Thessalonians 2, 13.
That we should always give thanks to God for
you, brethren beloved by the Lord, because...
God has chosen you from the beginning for salvation.
You see, there is this doctrine again. But he
goes on to say, through sanctification by the
Spirit. And so here is another word similar to
what Peter said, we read a few moments ago. But
said in balance here against God's choosing,
through the sanctification of the Spirit, is
the next phrase, and faith in the truth. There
is man's part. There is man's decision, man's
choice to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ to
be saved. So once again, the Bible presents the
two truths in parallel, in balance. They are
a paradox. They cannot be reconciled in our minds,
but God works them together in his infinite wisdom
so that we are saved. Someone asked, will a person
then be saved without faith? Can he be elect
but unbelieving? The answer is absolutely not.
For every person that God has chosen will come
to faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. It is impossible
for a person to be saved without faith. But then
will a person believe without elective grace
working in his life? Apart from God's choice,
God's divine grace, the work of the Holy Spirit
wooing him, will he believe? Again, the answer
is no. He will not. For man's heart is depraved,
totally depraved. Every part of his being, including
his will, is in opposition to God. No person
will believe on the Lord Jesus Christ under the
saving of his soul apart from this grace on the
part of God. We sang about that in the last hymn,
if you noticed, in the last verse. We praised
God for his sovereign grace. That's exactly what
we're talking about. That God has chosen some
does not mean that he is unjust to the rest.
Because God has chosen some to salvation does
not mean that he has therefore chosen to send
others to hell. That doctrine is not taught in
the Bible. Election, God's choosing, predestination,
however you want to term it, these things are
always used in relation to the saved. But never
does it say, never does God reveal to us that
he chooses some people to go to hell. The matter
of the fact is that he simply allows them the
loss. to go on in the direction of their own
choice. Their choice is disobedience and rebellion
against God. God simply allows those people that
he has not chosen to go on to the destiny that
they themselves choose of their own will. But
he intervenes on the part of some, thank God.
by the work of the Holy Spirit, lest there would
be none saved, not one. Election is the work
of God in choosing the instruments or the vessels
which he would use in accordance with his eternal
and sovereign purposes. This doctrine is used
in the Bible of several groups or individuals.
For example, Israel is said to be God's chosen
people. One example of that is Isaiah 41, verses
8 and 9. But we see it many times in the Old
Testament, and we see it in the New Testament.
In Romans 9, 13, for example, there is a quotation
from Malachi 1 in which God says, Jacob I loved,
but Esau I hated. Those are the two sons of Isaac.
Did God hate Esau? No, God loved Esau. Indeed,
Esau received blessing. What does it mean, then,
when it says, Jacob I loved, Esau I hated? Well,
it means in relation to God's elective purposes,
God's choosing of an instrument to use, he chose
Jacob and did not choose Esau. Now, was that
because Jacob was a particularly nice fellow?
As a matter of fact, if you were back in those
days and you had to know them, you were neighbors
of Isaac, you would probably choose Esau over
Jacob. He was a whole lot easier to get along
with. He was a sportsman. He was a man of the
earth. He was the kind of a person you could
identify with. Jacob seems to have been a mother's
boy. Some say even a little bit of a sissy. He
was a deceitful person. He probably wouldn't
have chosen Jacob. But God says, I have chosen
Jacob. He is my choice. And it was through Jacob's
descendants that he brought the Redeemer into
the world. Why? Because Jacob was better than
Esau, not in the least. Simply because that was
God's sovereign purpose. And then there are angels,
1 Timothy 5 .21, who are called my... or whether
his chosen angels, his elect angels, evidently
referring to the holy angels, the ones who did
not fall. The Lord Jesus Christ is said to be
elect or chosen. 1 Peter 2, 6, I lay in Zion
a choice, a chosen, an elect stone, a precious
cornerstone, speaking about the Lord Jesus Christ.
The apostles were chosen. They were elect. Jesus
said to them, you have not chosen me, but I have
chosen you and appointed you that you should
go and bear fruit and that your fruit should
remain. Paul makes it clear in Galatians 1, verses
15 and 16, that he was chosen for the office
of apostle from his mother's womb. before there
was any opportunity for him to do good or bad.
God simply said, I choose you. And then it is
used, this idea, this word, elect, choose. It
is used in relation to believers in this age.
It is the church, the called out body of the
Lord Jesus Christ. I'd like you to turn to Romans
chapter 9. with me and look at verses 22 and
23. Now we're cutting into the middle of a wonderful
chapter here, but I want you to try to glean
with me what we're talking about. That is that
God has chosen us to be a part of this body and
this age. Election is the work of God choosing
the vessels that he would use according to his
own sovereign eternal purpose. But if God, although
willing to demonstrate his wrath and to make
his power known, endured with much patience vessels
of wrath prepared for destruction, and he did
so in order that he might make known the riches
of his glory upon vessels of mercy, which he
prepared beforehand for glory, even us, whom
he also called, not among Jews only, but also,
from among Gentiles. So you see, once again,
we see the truth that God has chosen, on the
basis only of his sovereign eternal purpose,
you and me who are in Jesus Christ, not of Jews
only, but of Gentiles as well. We are a part
of his chosen body, his vessel in this age for
the declaration of his word to the world. It
seems to me that this doctrine about which we
speak is a wonderful antidote for low self -esteem
and self -worth. For you see, if you are a Christian
today, God sees you as eternally valuable. The
Lord Jesus Christ shed his blood to save you.
You are of infinite worth to the eternal God.
You have been chosen by him. Not of your own
doing, but of his alone. And so if you struggle
with feelings of inadequacy or worthlessness,
please try to come to an understanding of who
you are in Christ Jesus. Ask the Holy Spirit
to enlighten you to that truth and to help you
understand what the spiritual resources are that
you have in Christ. Now, all of that by way of
review from last week. In our outline, we come
now to this point. We have talked about what
God has done for us. He has blessed us. He has
chosen us. We've talked about the objects, us,
the likes of us. We've talked about the action,
God's choice. Now notice with me, back in Ephesians,
chapter 1 and verse 4, the basis. of this act
of God, just as he chose us in him. Now, in those
two words, we have the foundation for salvation.
You see, it was not enough that God simply choose
a people to rescue from their own chosen destiny
of hell. It was not enough that God look ahead
and select a people for himself. In order still
to be just and holy and righteous, God had to
do something to deal with their sin, these people
that he would choose. He simply could not overlook
their sin. He had to deal with it in an honorable
and eternally just way. And so God chose a way
to do that. It is in Jesus Christ that our sins
have been cared for. That is why the Lord Jesus
Christ is said to be the Lamb slain from the
foundation of the world. Notice that language.
We are said by Peter to be redeemed by precious
blood as the Lamb without blemish and without
scrap who was foreknown before the foundation
of the world. In other words, before creation,
and we'll get to that in a moment, God not only
chose us, But he chose the method by which he
would save us, and that is through the death
of his own son. God appointed the son to come
into the world to be the sin bearer of his people,
so that he then might be just in saving those
people from the condemnation that they themselves
deserve. The basis? of our salvation is found
in him, the Lord Jesus Christ. And apart from
him, there is no salvation. A man of another
generation wrote, To thee, O Lord, alone is due
all glory and renown. Ought to ourselves we dare
not take or rob thee of thy crown. Thou wast
thyself our surety. in God's redemption plan.
In thee, his grace was given us long ere the
world began. And that does indeed bring us to
the next point in our study in verse 4, and that
is the time. When was it that God chose us? Well,
it says, before the foundation of the world.
That exact phrase is found two other times in
the New Testament. I have referred to one, 1
Peter 1 .20, where Christ is said to have been
foreknown as the sin bearer before the foundation
of the world. The only other place it's found
is in John 17, where Jesus speaks in verse 24
about the Father loving him before the foundation
of the world. This phrase refers to eternity
past, as we call it. It refers to action that
took place before God laid the foundation of
creation. It is before Genesis 1 -1 that God
looked ahead into the creation of time and space.
and chose a people, you and me, to be in Jesus
Christ. God's elective decree was formed in eternity
before anything could have influenced that choice.
That is again why we talk about the grace of
God. There is nothing that influenced God's choice,
nothing whatsoever, except that God chose. a
people out of the peoples of the world to be
his own. Now, what is the purpose of God doing
this? Well, it says in verse 4, he did this that
we should be holy and blameless before him. Notice
that it says that we might be before him. That
means in his presence. Or another way of saying
it is this, that as God sees us, We're talking
here about what we refer to as positional truth.
God chose us in Christ before the foundation
of the world so that we would be in his sight
as he would see us a holy and blameless people.
Holy refers to that which is set apart for special
use for destiny. God chose you that you might
be before him as a vessel reflecting the purity
of his own holiness. So the glories of God may
be reflected in you for the rest of eternity.
You say, how can that be? But how God is going
to do that, I do not know fully. He doesn't tell
us. He gives us a hint or two when we get into
chapter 2. But there is some way in which God
has set you apart if you are today trusting in
the Lord Jesus Christ so that throughout all
eternity to come, that is forever and forever
and forever, he might point to you. and exhibit
you as a reflector of the glories of his purity
and holiness. He has chosen us that we might
be holy before him, but also that we might be
blameless. There's not a great deal of difference
here in thought. It literally means without blemish.
There's a word that is used in some places of
the absence of defect. in animals that were to
be sacrificed under the old covenant. There is
a word that is used of the Lord Jesus Christ
in 1 Peter 1, 19, again in Hebrews 9, 14. And
it is used of the church in its future state
in Ephesians 5, 27, and we'll look there in a
moment, and then Jude 24. And it is said... could
be descriptive of us right now as well in Philippians
2, verse 15. We are to be the blameless sons
of God in this generation, right here and now,
Philippians 2, verse 15. Is not it a marvelous
thing that God has taken vile and unholy sinners
like you and me? and has chosen us that we should
in eternity to come be the objects of his grace
and his glory, so that as he lavishes these upon
us, we then will reflect that glory and grace
to all of God's creation, whatever that entails
in the future. God has chosen you to be set apart
for a special destiny. that you might be blameless
and unblemished as he sees you. My friend, if
God sees you this morning, if you are in the
Lord Jesus Christ, if you have trusted him as
your Savior sincerely and genuinely, God sees
you without any fault whatsoever. You say, yeah,
but you don't understand what I've done this
week or how I acted this morning or what I said.
Look. I don't know. That's right. You see, as
God sees you, he knows all those things, but
he still chooses to see you as blameless and
unblemished in his sight. Because he sees you
in his Son. And there's nothing in all creation
that can change that. There's nothing that can
separate you from the love of God. which is in
Christ Jesus our Lord. God loves you just as
much as he loves his own dear son. As God sees
you, you are as holy, you are as unblemished
before him as the Lord Jesus Christ is. That
is why John remarks in his first epistle, as
he is, as Jesus is, so are we, he says, in this
world. Isn't that an amazing thing to you? That
God sees you that way? You see, really the goal,
the aim of the Christian life is for us to live,
to conduct ourselves in such a way that more
and more we walk according to the way that God
sees us. The whole idea of the Christian life
is to get the practice of our walk up to where
the position is that we are in Christ Jesus.
Turn with me over to chapter 5 and look at these
marvelous verses. He says in verse 25, Husbands,
love your wives. How are we to love our wives?
Well, he says, just as Christ. also loved the
church. There's not a husband here this morning
who's able to do that in himself. We are to love
our wives as deeply, as utterly, as completely
as the Lord Jesus Christ has loved the church.
He goes on to say, and gave himself up for her.
that he might sanctify her. Now there's the idea
of holy again. That he might set her apart, having
cleansed her by the washing of water with the
word. Now there is a sense that when you and
I hear the word of God and we believe it, there's
a washing that takes place in us. We are cleansed
from our sin. forgiven of all of our trespasses.
We're washed. And then there's another sense
in which every time we come to the Word of God
and read it, meditate upon it, every time we
come to a church service and we hear the Word
of God, that we are cleansed. We're washed in
our walk. The Word washes us. And he says this
all takes place that he might... Present to himself
the church in all her glory. That's something
that's going to take place in the future. It
hasn't happened yet. The Lord Jesus Christ is
our bridegroom. We, the bride, are still being
called out. The bride is still being formed.
The gospel is being preached today around the
world. People are trusting the Lord Jesus Christ.
They're being saved, being added to the bride.
So the bride is still being called out. The Lord
Jesus Christ is waiting for that day when the
bride is complete. You see, if God has chosen
the people, as the Bible says he has done, then
it means that somewhere, sometime, The last chosen
person is going to believe in this age. The church,
the body, or the bride, as it's called here in
Ephesians 5, is going to be complete. I believe
it is at that moment that the rapture of the
church will take place. I think that is a great
motive for soul winning. If you want to see the
Lord Jesus Christ come back to the earth, if
you want to see the church caught up, that the
church might be presented to the Lord Jesus Christ,
if you want to see that take place, then my friend,
be busy winning people to Jesus Christ. Because
only God himself knows who that last person is
that God has chosen. Now when that person is
chosen, the church is leaving. It's going out
of the world, and it's at that time that he will
present to himself the church. And notice that
it's in her glory, so it's in our glorified state.
After the changing of these lowly bodies, after
the rapture, this is going to take place. He
says that he might present to himself the church.
The idea is that he might place the church beside
himself. That is a tremendous thought. What is
it, do you think, that is exciting to a bridegroom
when he walks out of that door over there and
comes to stand here in the front of the church?
Do you think it's that his parents are sitting
in the front row? Do you think that his future
mother and father -in -law are sitting on the
other side is exciting to him? My friend, the
bridegroom has one thing in mind, and that is
a beautiful, person coming down the aisle. And
he can hardly wait until she's there to be beside
himself for their union in marriage. You see,
the Lord Jesus Christ is waiting today, waiting
for the bride to be complete. And when that day
comes that the bride is complete, she will be
called out to go to her destiny. And all of her
glory will be caught out from the earth to be
beside the Bridegroom, the Lord Jesus Christ.
Notice that the last sentence of this verse says,
Having no spot or wrinkle or any such thing,
but that she should be holy and blameless. The
same two words is back. in chapter 1. You who
have trusted in the Lord Jesus Christ have a
glorious destiny. Are you today living like it?
Considering the fact that one day you will be
like him in every respect and will stand beside
him At his throne in the heavenlies where he's
seated now. Considering the fact that he has
chosen you before time even began to live right
now as a vessel to reflect his glory. But not
only for now, but for all of eternity to be his
chosen instrument and vessel that throughout
all of his creation His creatures might know
what is life by you. Considering that, are you
walking worthy of the calling with which you've
been called? You say, well, Pastor, I'm not even
sure that I'm one of those people. How do I know
that God has chosen me? You can know that for
sure. If today you will trust on the Lord Jesus
Christ, if today you will obey his command to
believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and be saved,
you can know without any doubt whatsoever that
you are one of his. Will you do it? Will you
trust him? Do you feel that tug in your heart?
Is the Holy Spirit right now sanctifying you,
as the Word of God says? Is he wearing you? Is
he showing you your sin? Is he revealing your
need, your utter selfishness to you, your lostness,
the mess you have made of your life? Let me tell
you, you're not coming to that understanding
by your own effort. That's the work of God in
your life. If you have not yet trusted in the
Lord Jesus, well, today you do it. Believe on
him. Let's pray together. With our heads bowed,
our eyes closed, as the Spirit of God does his
work in my heart and yours. I wonder if there's
some friend here who would say, Pastor Carl,
I have not ever sincerely, honestly, truly given
up hope in myself and thrown myself on the grace
of God. I have never honestly received the Lord
Jesus Christ as my Savior, knowing that I couldn't
save myself. or at least help in it. But I'm
beginning to understand that there's nothing
I can do except receive and believe. And today
I'm right on the verge of that. My friend, will
you take the step of faith? It is not enough
for you to see your need. You have to start there.
But you have to see the one who has met your
need at Calvary by his death and by his resurrection.
He is alive today and he stands ready to save
you if you will trust him. Father, I pray that
in the quietness of these moments, there will
indeed be those who will make that decision.
And who, being prompted by the Holy Spirit, will
open their hearts and believe on the Lord Jesus
Christ and be saved. I wonder, my friend, if
right now you would pray that within your own
heart and silently use your own words telling
God that you know your sinner. but you're trusting
him, receiving the Lord Jesus as your army. Will
you do that right now? like me I once was lost
but now am found was blind but now I see Lord,
thank you for that grace. with sovereignly worked
in our hearts to rule us to christ that we might
obey him and be sprinkled with his blood we give
ourselves up to you as fully as we know how lord
having begun to understand something more of
what your word teaches regarding the mystery
and the miracle of our salvation May we go out
from here to be faithful declarers of this gospel,
loving men and women, showing them the kindness
and the grace of God in our lives, and sharing
with them by our lips how they might come to
know him. And Lord, we pray then that you will
use that word that we share. to bring to yourself
those whom you have chosen before the foundation
of the world. Amen.