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    <title><![CDATA[Columbus Baptist Church's Podcast]]></title>
    
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    <itunes:subtitle><![CDATA[Sermons]]></itunes:subtitle>
    <itunes:author><![CDATA[Christopher Freeman]]></itunes:author>
    <itunes:summary><![CDATA[Wanting to listen to all our sermons? Not just the last 10? Go to http://columbusbc.com/church-cast 

These are the sermons and services of Columbus Baptist Church.

We are located at 1258 Palms Rd. in Columbus MI 48063

You can reach us at 810-367-3094 or secretary@columbusbc.com

]]></itunes:summary>
    <description><![CDATA[Wanting to listen to all our sermons? Not just the last 10? Go to http://columbusbc.com/church-cast 

These are the sermons and services of Columbus Baptist Church.

We are located at 1258 Palms Rd. in Columbus MI 48063

You can reach us at 810-367-3094 or secretary@columbusbc.com

]]></description>
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      <itunes:name><![CDATA[Columbus Baptist Church]]></itunes:name>
      <itunes:email>pastorchrisfreeman@gmail.com</itunes:email>
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      <title><![CDATA[07 Ephesians 1:18-23 A Pastor's Prayer Part 2]]></title>
      <category>Podcast</category>
      <itunes:author><![CDATA[Chris Freeman]]></itunes:author>
      <itunes:subtitle><![CDATA[Title: “A Pastor’s Prayer” Part 2 Text: Ephesians 1:18-23 FCF: We often struggle to recognize our need of God to know Him and our relationship to Him. Prop: Because knowing God intimately leads us to recognize our need of Him, we must seek the Spiri]]></itunes:subtitle>
      <itunes:summary><![CDATA[Title: “A Pastor’s Prayer” Part 2

Text: Ephesians 1:18-23

FCF: We often struggle to recognize our need of God to know Him and our relationship to Him.

Prop: Because knowing God intimately leads us to recognize our need of Him, we must seek the Spirit for wisdom and revelation.

 

Scripture Intro:

[Slide 1] Turn in your bible to Ephesians chapter 1. In a moment we’ll read from the Legacy Standard Bible starting in verse 15. You can follow along in the pew bible or in whatever version you prefer.

 

Last week Paul began his third sentence in the book. He brings the conversation to a much more personal level by expressing his prayer for the Ephesian church. He thanks God every time He remembers them in prayer because of what God has done for them and what God is continuing to do for them. And his prayer is one we might expect of any pastor worth his office. That they would, through the Spirit, know Him accurately and intimately.

 

Today, Paul will reveal what the purpose or result of knowing God accurately will produce in their lives. By extension, we will see what an accurate and intimate knowledge of God will mean for us, and how we might come to such knowledge.

 

Please stand with me to give honor to and to focus on the Word of God as it is read.

 

Invocation:

Omnipotent Father, You dwell in unapproachable light. You are hidden from our eyes. Though the light of nature and reason can show us some of who You are, ultimately, we cannot know You accurately and intimately without You  revealing Yourself to us. In this place, we are humbled. So Father we plead with You, through Your Spirit, make Yourself known to us today. Help us to know You accurately and intimately. Convince us of our relationship to You and all that that entails, so that we might be what You have purposed us to be. We pray this in Jesus’ name, Amen.

 

Transition:

[Slide 2] “When you come to knowing God, the initiative lies on His side. If He does not show Himself, nothing you can do will enable you to find Him.” C.S. Lewis

 

“God hath in Himself all power to defend you, all wisdom to direct you, all mercy to pardon you, all grace to enrich you, all righteousness to clothe you, all goodness to supply you, and all happiness to crown you.” Thomas Brooks

 

[Slide 3] “Our theology is never right till in our hearts we invest God with infinite power and perfections.” William Plumer

 

“Our love of God will always be according to our knowledge of Him and His perfections.” Thomas Wilson

 

Let these thoughts pour over us as we seek the Lord to reveal Himself to us this morning.

 

I.)                  Knowing God intimately leads us to recognize what is our hope, our value, and our strength, so we must seek the Lord for His Spirit of wisdom and revelation. (18-19)

a.       [Slide 4] 18 - so that you

                                                               i.      Verse 18 actually opens with the phrase after this, but for clarity the LSB has brought forward the prepositional phrase here to help us understand that it connects to the previous thought from verse 17.

                                                             ii.      Paul seeks God to send His Spirit of wisdom and revelation to the Ephesian church to accurately and intimately know the Father.

                                                           iii.      What follows then will be the purpose of knowing God accurat]]></itunes:summary>
      <description><![CDATA[Title: “A Pastor’s Prayer” Part 2

Text: Ephesians 1:18-23

FCF: We often struggle to recognize our need of God to know Him and our relationship to Him.

Prop: Because knowing God intimately leads us to recognize our need of Him, we must seek the Spirit for wisdom and revelation.

 

Scripture Intro:

[Slide 1] Turn in your bible to Ephesians chapter 1. In a moment we’ll read from the Legacy Standard Bible starting in verse 15. You can follow along in the pew bible or in whatever version you prefer.

 

Last week Paul began his third sentence in the book. He brings the conversation to a much more personal level by expressing his prayer for the Ephesian church. He thanks God every time He remembers them in prayer because of what God has done for them and what God is continuing to do for them. And his prayer is one we might expect of any pastor worth his office. That they would, through the Spirit, know Him accurately and intimately.

 

Today, Paul will reveal what the purpose or result of knowing God accurately will produce in their lives. By extension, we will see what an accurate and intimate knowledge of God will mean for us, and how we might come to such knowledge.

 

Please stand with me to give honor to and to focus on the Word of God as it is read.

 

Invocation:

Omnipotent Father, You dwell in unapproachable light. You are hidden from our eyes. Though the light of nature and reason can show us some of who You are, ultimately, we cannot know You accurately and intimately without You  revealing Yourself to us. In this place, we are humbled. So Father we plead with You, through Your Spirit, make Yourself known to us today. Help us to know You accurately and intimately. Convince us of our relationship to You and all that that entails, so that we might be what You have purposed us to be. We pray this in Jesus’ name, Amen.

 

Transition:

[Slide 2] “When you come to knowing God, the initiative lies on His side. If He does not show Himself, nothing you can do will enable you to find Him.” C.S. Lewis

 

“God hath in Himself all power to defend you, all wisdom to direct you, all mercy to pardon you, all grace to enrich you, all righteousness to clothe you, all goodness to supply you, and all happiness to crown you.” Thomas Brooks

 

[Slide 3] “Our theology is never right till in our hearts we invest God with infinite power and perfections.” William Plumer

 

“Our love of God will always be according to our knowledge of Him and His perfections.” Thomas Wilson

 

Let these thoughts pour over us as we seek the Lord to reveal Himself to us this morning.

 

I.)                  Knowing God intimately leads us to recognize what is our hope, our value, and our strength, so we must seek the Lord for His Spirit of wisdom and revelation. (18-19)

a.       [Slide 4] 18 - so that you

                                                               i.      Verse 18 actually opens with the phrase after this, but for clarity the LSB has brought forward the prepositional phrase here to help us understand that it connects to the previous thought from verse 17.

                                                             ii.      Paul seeks God to send His Spirit of wisdom and revelation to the Ephesian church to accurately and intimately know the Father.

                                                           iii.      What follows then will be the purpose of knowing God accurately. For what reason does Paul desire the Ephesian church to know God accurately and intimately?

                                                           iv.      But before Paul goes into that reason, he has a little aside. A parenthetical doctrinal thought that is quite important.

b.       [Slide 5] —the eyes of your heart having been enlightened—

                                                               i.      The word enlightened is a perfect passive participle. The struggle in this context is knowing what verb the participle is modifying.

                                                             ii.      This is why some translations render this “that the eyes of your heart might be enlightened” referring back to the verb “give” in verse 17.

                                                           iii.      However, to make the participle modify the verb “give” typically translators alter the form of the participle to something other than perfect passive. This seems to be an oversight.

                                                           iv.      By its nature a perfect passive participle expresses an action that was completed with continuing results and it is something that was done TO them and not something that they did.

                                                             v.      It is much more likely that this participle modifies the next verb in the sentence.  

                                                           vi.      Therefore, we need to translate this as the translators of the LSB and several others do, “The eyes of your heart having been enlightened.”

                                                          vii.      Notice also that Paul does not speak of the group here, he speaks of each individual in the group. He is talking about the eyes of their heart (singular) having been enlightened. Paul is certainly concerned about the corporate nature of God’s redemption plan, but once again we cannot ignore the individual side either. It is both/and, not either/or.

                                                        viii.      The enlightening of the eyes of each of their hearts is something that is necessary before Paul could expect the result of the Ephesians knowing God accurately and intimately. And perhaps even before the action of God giving them the Spirit of wisdom and revelation.

                                                            ix.      But Paul is sure that the Ephesians’ eyes of each of their hearts have been enlightened.

                                                             x.      So, what is the result of knowing God intimately and accurately?

c.       [Slide 6] will know what is

                                                               i.      “Will know” is being treated as a noun here. It is actually the object of the preposition “so that”.

                                                             ii.      And knowledge here is a different word than the one used previously of “full knowledge” of God.

                                                           iii.      This word for knowledge in the Greek speaks not to intimate or relational knowledge, but to raw possession of information about something. It is to become aware or cognizant of a fact or facts.

                                                           iv.      So what facts will they become aware of or cognizant of since they hearts have been enlightened and they know God intimately and accurately?

                                                             v.      The first of these is…

d.       [Slide 7] the hope of His calling,

                                                               i.      Hope here is an object upon which expectations are centered or grounded.

                                                             ii.      Hope is further defined here with the words “of His Calling.” This defines for us an internal characteristic of the hope.

                                                           iii.      In other words, the thing that produces the hope we must recognize is the call of God.

                                                           iv.      Call here is an authoritative summons. It is the command to participate or take part in something. And typically, in the New Testament, that is the gospel call.

                                                             v.      Since it is the call of God the Father, and it is one that produces hope, we must assume Paul intends here the internal call, not the external call.

                                                           vi.      It is not the potential hope of the gospel call which goes out to all men. It is the particular and individual hope of God’s inward call for us to believe and hope in Christ.

                                                          vii.      Our intimate and accurate knowledge of God the Father will lead us to recognize the truth of the hope produced by God calling each of us to Himself.  

                                                        viii.      But we must also recognize…

e.       [Slide 8] what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints,

                                                               i.      It is important to note that the words “what are” are not in the Greek. Paul sees these three truths as a package, not three separate items.

                                                             ii.      Knowing God intimately and accurately must lead to us recognizing the truth of the riches. Of the wealth.

                                                           iii.      But Paul refines those riches with two phrases. The difficulty is knowing exactly how they stack together.

                                                           iv.      Some commentators say “the glorious riches of His inheritance” others say “the riches of His glorious inheritance”.

                                                             v.      I tend to favor the latter but really either gets the idea across.

                                                           vi.      But now we must deal with the last two phrases here.

                                                          vii.      Of His inheritance in the saints.

                                                        viii.      As was mentioned earlier in verse 11, God claims those whom He has predestined and chosen in Christ as His own inheritance or possession. Although whose inheritance it is in that verse is somewhat debated, here it is much less so. This is not the inheritance that God gives to the saints… rather this is God’s inheritance which is located IN the saints.

                                                            ix.      Meaning that the riches of God’s glorious inheritance, is in those whom He has predestined, chosen, redeemed, forgiven, sealed and guaranteed.

                                                             x.      And so, our intimate and accurate knowledge of God the Father will lead us to recognize the truth of the wealth of God’s glorious inheritance in … us.

                                                            xi.      And finally, the third thing we will know from an accurate and intimate knowledge of God the Father is…

f.        [Slide 9] 19 - and what is the surpassing greatness of His power toward us who believe according to the working of the might of His strength,

                                                               i.      Surpassing means to exceed or to do something to an even greater degree. And Greatness means extreme greatness of size or extent or magnitude.

                                                             ii.      Super abundance. Extreme Greatness. Or we might even say, perfect greatness. It could not get greater. It is infinite.

                                                           iii.      [Slide 10] Of His power.

1.       Paul uses 4 Greek words in this verse that all generally mean, power.

a.       There is a possibility that by doing so he is just trying to emphasize that God’s power is limitless and perfect. God is omnipotent, a teaching which is ubiquitous throughout the Old and New Testaments.

b.       God possesses all power. So much so that God never grows in power, God never struggles to accomplish something He sets out to accomplish.

c.       God’s power, like all His attributes, is synonymous with His essence. So much so that God is called “The Power” which Jesus said He will sit at the right hand of.

2.       But there is also a possibility that Paul intends something within the nuanced meanings of these words individually.

a.       Assuming this, the first word is the word from which we get our word dynamite.

b.       The Greek word is the least nuanced of them all simply meaning power which seems to stress the capability or ability.

c.       The next word is translated “working” here. As the translation indicates this is God’s power put into effect. It is a power that does something. Implying that God possess power whether or not He uses it.

d.       The next word translated “might” here refers to His governing power or His sovereign dominion. This word for power is never used of any human being in the NT, and is only once used for a being other than God or Jesus. Only in Hebrews is it said that Christ nullifies the one who holds the sovereign dominion over death” And in that case it cannot be absolute since Christ nullifies it. Meaning that when it speaks of God, it is absolute sovereign dominion.

e.       The last word translated “strength” here refers to God’s inherent or latent power which is His essence.

f.        Were we then to plug in all the nuanced meanings we could render this “and what is His infinite ability toward us who believe according to His effective sovereign inherent power.

                                                           iv.      [Slide 11] But let’s work on the other words so we can get the whole picture.

                                                             v.      Toward us who believe

1.       Who believe is a participle being used as a direct object. In that we can render this, simply, believers.

2.       Toward is a preposition of direction or benefit.

3.       God’s power is flowing toward or for believers. The idea is that God is giving believers power to be and do things. Enabling power we might say.

                                                           vi.      According to

1.       This is another preposition of reference.

2.       From where does God’s enabling power come?

                                                          vii.      [Slide 12] Putting it all together we might translate it like this.

                                                        viii.      “and what is His infinite enabling power for believers which flows from His effective, sovereign, inherent power.”

                                                            ix.      Since the eyes of each of their hearts have been enlightened, the accurate and intimate knowledge of the Father will also cause them to recognize the truth that God has infinite enabling power for believers which flows from His effective, sovereign, inherent power.

g.       [Slide 13] Summary of the Point: As we saw last week, Paul prays that God would give the Holy Spirit to the Ephesian church in such a way that the Spirit illuminates and reveals accurate and intimate knowledge of the Father to them. Here Paul reveals the purpose for that. What is the purpose of them knowing God accurately and intimately? It is so they would see the truth of some things. That their hope is produced by God’s calling them to repentance and faith. That God’s rich and glorious inheritance is in them, His saints. And that God’s enabling, inherent, infinite, sovereign, effective power is for believers. As a prayer offered by the apostle for them, asking the question, what are they to do with this is quite perplexing. We might be tempted to say – simply recognizing these facts is enough. But we can’t recognize these truths until our hearts are enlightened. And recognizing these truths is a result of knowing God intimately and accurately. Ok, so we must know God intimately and accurately, but that is something Paul says must be accomplished by the Spirit’s wisdom and revelation. So, what is the application? We must seek the Lord to give us wisdom and to reveal Himself through His Spirit to us so we can know Him accurately and intimately to recognize these truths.

 

Transition:

[Slide 14 (blank)] But Paul isn’t quite done discussing God’s power toward us. What is that power capable of? Is that power just for each of us individually or is there a bigger purpose? What will that power ultimately do in us and in the world?

 

II.)                Knowing God intimately leads us to recognize what is our place in His cosmic redemption plan, so we must seek the Lord for His Spirit of wisdom and revelation. (20-23)

a.       [Slide 15] 20 - which He worked in Christ, by raising Him from the dead and seating Him at His right hand in the heavenly places,

                                                               i.      Paul now wants to connect God’s enabling, inherent, infinite, sovereign, effective power to other events in His redemption plan.

                                                             ii.      What is this power capable of? Well, this is the same power which He worked in Christ by raising Him from the dead.

                                                           iii.      God the Father, Son, and Spirit are all participants in the raising of the Son from the dead.

                                                           iv.      But if Jesus were merely a man, He could never raise Himself from the dead.

                                                             v.      But it is not just the raising of Christ from the dead in which this power is demonstrated, but also in God seating Him at His right hand, which is a position of favor, honor, and equality.

                                                           vi.      This is an important point because later Paul will talk about how we are raised and seated with Christ in heavenly places… but he omits the words “at His right hand”.

                                                          vii.      While we may be united to Christ and receive the covenant blessings through Him as our human representative, we do not inherit the divine privileges of being seated at the right hand of God.

                                                        viii.      This then is an allusion back to the prophesy in Daniel 7 about the Son of Man approaching the Ancient of Days and being seated next to Him.

                                                            ix.      By doing so the Ancient of Days is recognizing that this man is equal to Him.

                                                             x.      Such a prophesy is perplexing indeed, until Jesus the Messiah steps on the scene and claims to be that Son of Man.

                                                            xi.      This also alludes to Psalm 110 where the Lord of David’s Lord is given a place of honor. Even before Jesus’ incarnation Rabbinical schools had already started understanding both Daniel 7 and this psalm to be messianic in nature.

                                                          xii.      God’s enabling, infinite, inherent, sovereign, effective power saw to it that Christ was raised from the dead and then seated above every other man, that the man Christ Jesus would reign equal to the Father in glory forever.

                                                        xiii.      In fact, Paul will go on here to describe Christ’s position.

b.       [Slide 16] 21 - far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come.

                                                               i.      We’ve already discussed how the book of Ephesians possesses cosmic language in this masterful redemption plan God has made.

                                                             ii.      The words rule, authority, power, and dominion seem to cover the gamut of the created order.

                                                           iii.      It would be a foolish endeavor I think to try to assign what each sphere is referring to, but I think we are safe to conclude that Paul means that every realm, every sphere, every level of the created universe will be put under Christ.

                                                           iv.      Not even just in a collective sense, but even in an individual sense. Every name… will be under His name.

1.       Writing to Ephesus, a place of great occult worship of demons and spiritual entities, there would be a belief that to know the name of an entity is to possess power over that entity. So as to invoke their power.

2.       Here Paul prays that God’s power has put Jesus above every entity with a name.

3.       There is no name you can invoke that is higher than Jesus Christ.

                                                             v.      And not just in the present age or time period, but in the age to come – which the scriptures describe as… never-ending.

                                                           vi.      God’s enabling, infinite, inherent, sovereign, effective power has not only raised Christ from the dead, but has seated Him as King of Kings, Lord of Lords, and ruler of all creation, now and forevermore.

                                                          vii.      Isn’t that beautiful?

                                                        viii.      No wonder Paul desires the Ephesians to know God accurately and intimately so they can recognize this truth. It is huge!

                                                            ix.      And guess what… He isn’t done!

c.       [Slide 17] 22 - And HE PUT ALL THINGS IN SUBJECTION UNDER HIS FEET,

                                                               i.      Paul quotes from Psalm 8 here.

                                                             ii.      Not only did God’s power raise Christ from the dead. Not only did He seat Him at His right hand above every other authority, but He subjugated everything under Him.

                                                           iii.      In fact, in seating Christ with Him, The Father forced everything to be subdued under His feet.

                                                           iv.      We should see this, as the New Testament portrays it, as already and not yet. Is Christ in this place now? Yes. Will He be in this place to a perfect degree when His Kingdom is consummated? Yes.

                                                             v.      One way or another, every creature in heaven, on earth, or under the earth, will confess that Christ is Lord. And that confession is not merely a forced statement on the lips. No. Everyone will have to submit to Christ’s ruling authority.

                                                           vi.      There will come a day when no one will be permitted to rebel or resist His rule ever again. 

d.       [Slide 18] and gave Him as head over all things to the church,

                                                               i.      This second phrase here is just one of the most earth-shattering mind-blowing things that God could say to us in His word.

                                                             ii.      Jesus is the head, the king, the dominion holder over ALL THINGS. That much has been established quite clearly.

                                                           iii.      God uses His power to raise Christ and seat Him as King over all.

                                                           iv.      But God’s power also gave Jesus to the church.

                                                             v.      He is ours.

                                                           vi.      He is our groom, our brother, our friend, and our King.

                                                          vii.      And what are we?

e.       [Slide 19] 23 - which is His body,

                                                               i.      We are His bride. We are the reward of His Suffering. We are the heritage, the inheritance, the posterity of His Father.

                                                             ii.      We are His body.

                                                           iii.      It is difficult to know whether or not the image of a head and a body is meant to be connected.

1.       Headship can mean source. As a body cannot exist without the head, the head is the source of life for the body.

2.       And since Christ is head over all things and all things are put in subjugation under His feet, the church being His body implies that all things are put under us as well. We will reign with Christ.

3.       However, headship in general also communicates authority which is clearly implied in the previous context that Christ is the head OVER everything.

4.       Therefore, I don’t think it is Paul’s intention to say Christ is the head and the church the body in an anatomical metaphor. As if Christ is a member of His own body.

5.       Instead, I think we should look for a different meaning.

                                                           iv.      Later in Ephesians 5, Paul will speak to husbands and their role with reference to their wives.

1.       There he makes the case that no man hates his own body. We care for our own body. In a similar way the man is to care for his wife as Christ cares for His bride.

2.       Paul talks about this as though being nourished by Christ and becoming one flesh with Christ are a mystery concerning the relationship of Christ to His church.

3.       There He says that Christ gives Himself up for her, sanctifies her, cleanses her, so that he can present to himself a church in all her glory, having no spot or wrinkle, but being holy and blameless.

4.       In 1 Corinthians Paul speaks of the husband as the “head” of his wife. There he also clearly implies authority and not source.

                                                             v.      Therefore, I conclude that being called here “the body of Christ” is another way to be called His bride. Certainly, we are many members of that body – but we are His body nonetheless. 

                                                           vi.      But a body, a bride, for what purpose? To what end? What is our place in all this?

f.        [Slide 20] the fullness of Him who fills all in all.

                                                               i.      This is, by far, the most difficult phrase in all of the book of Ephesians to understand.

                                                             ii.      There is absolutely no consensus among my 38 commentaries on the book of Ephesians as to what this phrase means.

                                                           iii.      One scholar has said that this clause contains, “an unsolved enigma” and that in it “the writer intends to say something very important, but precisely what that is cannot be determined with any degree of certainty.” (Mitton)

                                                           iv.      Another commentator recognizes the intended beauty of the phrase. In Greek there is alliteration with the words “fullness, fills, all, and all,” each beginning with the Greek letter pi which has the “P” sound. There is also a cadence to the words, almost as if this was poetry. And yet… the commentator laments that the beauty is marred by its mystery.  

                                                             v.      There are no less than 7 different interpretations of this phrase.

                                                           vi.      Don’t worry, I’m not going to bore you with all of them. I’m just going to tell you what I think.

                                                          vii.      Paul began this praying that God would reveal Himself to the Ephesians so they would know Him accurately and intimately, and since their hearts have been enlightened, they would recognize the truths that God’s calling is their hope, that they are infinitely valuable to God because they are His glorious inheritance, and that God is actively giving to them His enabling, infinite, inherent, sovereign, effective power.

                                                        viii.      This power, he reminds them, is the same power that raised Christ from the dead and seated Him in a position of preeminence and supremacy over all of creation.

                                                            ix.      This power gave this head of all things to them, His bride. Why?

                                                             x.      So, He might do what a husbands should do for their wives. Care for them as his own body.  

                                                            xi.      Care for us how?

                                                          xii.      By perfecting us completely as He will bring all things to perfect completion.

                                                        xiii.      What is our place in this cosmic redemption plan of God?

                                                        xiv.      Christ is doing an ongoing completing and perfecting work in us and that is part of His plan to complete and perfect all of creation.

                                                          xv.      This is testament to the power of God, that in Christ, all things will be made perfect and whole again. And we are the living proof of that future surety.

g.       [Slide 21] Summary of the Point: Before, Paul communicated how intimate and accurate knowledge of God produces a recognition in us of God being the source of our hope, our value, and our power. And as he expands on the power of God toward us, he shows us what God’s power has done, what it will do, and what it is doing now. God’s power has raised Christ from the dead and seated Him above everything in creation. It has given Christ to His church who is His body. And His power now, through Christ, is perfecting us, just as it will through Christ one day perfect all of creation. This reveals to us the truth of God’s purpose for His church. Once again, how do we come to recognize these truths? We must seek the Holy Spirit to reveal to us an accurate and intimate knowledge of God.

 

Conclusion:

So, what have we learned today CBC that refines our beliefs and alters our lifestyles?

 

Basics of Faith and Practice:

[Slide 22] Assuming the eyes of your heart have been enlightened, knowing God intimately and accurately will lead to a recognition of the truth of God giving us our hope, our value, our power, and our purpose. Everything we are as His people, is brought to bear upon our minds when we know Him intimately and accurately. So how do we get that knowledge? Paul made it clear in last week’s sermon. It is by the revelation and wisdom of the Spirit of God. He must reveal God accurately and intimately to us. This means that our application cannot be full of lots of behavior modification. Rather it must be full of prayer. We must seek the Spirit to reveal God to us accurately and intimately. And the Spirit does this through the Word of God. Through personal study, the preaching of the Word, and by iron sharpening iron where we teach one another on what the Scriptures reveal about our God. And we come to accurate and intimate knowledge of our God by overt statements from the Word of God and by good and necessary inferences from the Word of God. This is how the Spirit of God gives wisdom and reveals who God is to us.

 

So let us apply this text to our lives today. What must we think and do because of it?

 

1.)    [Slide 23] Mind Transformation: “What truth must we believe from this text?” or “What might we not naturally believe that we must believe because of what this text has said?” We must affirm that accurate and intimate knowledge of God comes only when God reveals Himself to us.

a.       Does God reveal Himself to men who are not believers?

b.       We have to confess that this is true. Although it is limited.

c.       In Romans 1:19-20 we see that God does indeed reveal Himself to unbelieving men so they can observe His divine attributes and His eternal power. Men can arrive at an understanding of God by merely observing what God has created.

d.       This has been called the light of nature or the light of reason.

e.       But could a brilliant man, without God’s special revelation, arrive at these truths of our hope, value, power, and purpose in God? No. 

f.        There are two pieces of information that lead us to this conclusion in the text this morning.

g.       First, that Paul has prayed that the Spirit would give wisdom and revelation to the Ephesians in the full knowledge of God. That Paul seeks God for this is evidence enough that this kind of knowledge is inaccessible to us unless God chooses to reveal it to us.

h.       Second, Paul predicates their arrival at the results of intimate and accurate knowledge of God upon the fact that God has enlightened the eyes of each of their hearts.

i.         Not only must God reveal Himself through His Spirit, but God must change something about us in order for us to come to this knowledge and its subsequent understandings.

j.         Unlike Gnosticism, where secret knowledge is attainable by devotion and the work of men, Biblical Christianity teaches that God alone reveals Himself because man cannot attain that knowledge without God’s intervention.

k.       Intimate and accurate knowledge of God is only given to someone whose eyes of their heart have been enlightened and who the Spirit gives wisdom and revelation.

2.)    [Slide 24] Mind Transformation: “What truth must we believe from this text?” or “What might we not naturally believe that we must believe because of what this text has said?” We must affirm that The Holy Spirit reveals The Father to us primarily through The Word.

a.       This is, admittedly, not found in this text, but through other passages of scripture such as Romans 10, 2 Timothy 3, 1 Corinthians 2, and Titus 3, we see that God’s Spirit reveals who God is and what God has willed for us, through the Word of God.

b.       As the writer of Hebrews attests, Jesus Christ is the fullest expression of revelation to men and if we have seen Him, we have seen the Father.

c.       Jesus is so much the revelation of God to men that He is called the Word in John’s gospel. And our New Testament Scriptures are a record of all that Jesus taught and revealed to His apostles.

d.       As we put all this together, we come to the conclusion that the Holy Spirit’s primary means of revealing an intimate and accurate knowledge of God is through His Word.

e.       Full and deep knowledge of God comes by overt statements in the scripture and also by good and necessary inferences concerning God’s nature.

f.        God is love. We know this because the bible clearly tells us. When we look at God we see what real love is. He is essentially love.

g.       But nowhere does the bible speak of God being one in essence and three in persons. Furthermore, the word Trinity does not exist in the text of scripture.

h.       No where does the bible speak of Jesus having two unmixed natures united in one person. Nor do the scriptures use the words hypostatic union.

i.         Nevertheless, the early church fathers arrived at these conclusions about the Godhead and the God-Man nature of Christ. Furthermore, they arrived at these good and necessary inferences so strongly that they word the creeds in such a way that if anyone denies such teachings, they are not genuine followers of Jesus Christ.

j.         God uses His Spirit to give wisdom and revelation to us not just in overt statements from the scripture but by knitting together all that He has said to form good and necessary conclusions about Him. When we do we can recognize our hope, our value, our power, and our purpose.

3.)    [Slide 25] Exhortation: “What actions should we take?” or “What is this passage specifically commanding us to do that we don’t naturally do or aren’t currently doing?” We must seek the Lord to give by His Spirit accurate and intimate knowledge of God.

a.       I have heard preachers and teachers advise Christians to begin their bible study with prayer. They advise to do so as if this was a conversation with God. We pray to Him and read His Word as He speaks to us.

b.       I think that is great advice. But I’d like to fortify it a bit.

c.       We need to pray, seeking the Lord to reveal Himself to us in His Word, in order to humble ourselves before a SPIRITUAL book that is SPIRITUALLY understood.

d.       I fear that many Christians come to the Word of God endeavoring by their own understanding to arrive at the truths of the Word of God.

e.       But Proverbs 3:5-6 warns not to lean on your own understanding. Instead, we are told to trust in Yahweh and in all our ways acknowledge or recognize Him… and then He will direct our paths.

f.        Acknowledgement and recognition and trust speaks to living our life in absolute dependance on God.

g.       And if intimate and accurate knowledge of God comes to us through God’s Spirit, it is especially important to us when we read the words of Scripture to be trusting in and acknowledging God’s prerogative to direct and guide us.

h.       We must approach the Word of God, whether we are reading, studying, or hearing it preached, with utmost humility, recognizing that God must reveal Himself to us through His Word. It is not something we can presume to be available to us simply because we are humans or even because we are believers.

i.         Paul asks the Spirit to reveal these things… to humans he is convinced are believers.

j.         Every time you go to read the Word of God, study it, hear it preached, you should enter into it humbly, asking the Father to use His Spirit to reveal its meaning to you.

k.       We must humble ourselves and confess that we are unable to know God without God making Himself known. So let us seek, beg, plead with God to show Himself to us. Especially when we go to His Word, but even in all areas of life. Let us not lean on our own understanding.

4.)    Mind Transformation: “What truth must we believe from this text?” or “What might we not naturally believe that we must believe because of what this text has said?” We must affirm what is the hope, value, power, and purpose of believers. 

a.       Oh what an amazing text of scripture this is.

b.       Paul says that if we know God intimately and accurately, we will come to recognize certain truths about our need of Him.

c.       First, that His calling is our hope. He has called us to Himself and to holiness. Without His call, we would still be in our sin. Praise God for calling us!

d.       Second, that our value is extravagant in that God has claimed us as His inheritance. Some preachers today conclude that we must be very valuable because God sent His most prized possession to save us. But this flips everything upside down. We were not valuable enough to come and save. But as God claims us through the redemption of Christ’s atonement as His own possession, then our value becomes extravagant.

e.       Third, that His power is toward believers. The same power that raised Christ and established Him over all things, is working in us.

f.        Finally, that He has a purpose for us in His cosmic redemption plan. That purpose is to be filled with Christ as Christ fills all of creation. We are being completed as Christ completes all creation. We are His and He is making the Kingdoms of this world, His Kingdom. We are the people of His Kingdom.

g.       Knowing God intimately and accurately helps us to arrive at these things and many more.

h.       Praise the Lord for all He has done, who He is making us to be, and what He will do.

5.)    [Slide 27] Comfort: “What comfort can we find here?” or “What peace does the Lord promise us in light of this passage of scripture?” Take a look at chapter 1 and see all that God has done, is doing, and will do for His elect.

a.       For time’s sake, we won’t spend long here.

b.       But just look at what we’ve seen!

c.       Do you not feel comforted? Yes, the world is filled with devils. Yes, the world remains unconvinced that Jesus has won. Yes, the Kingdom is not done spreading yet.

d.       But do you doubt it will? You shouldn’t.

e.       God is still on plan A. There is no plan B. All will happen as He has willed it to happen.

6.)    [Slide 28] Evangelism: “What about this text points us to Jesus Christ, the gospel, and how we are restored?” Will you continue to despise such a God?

a.       Romans 2:4 “Or do you think lightly of the riches of His kindness and forbearance and patience, not knowing that the kindness of God leads you to repentance?”

b.       Look what God has done! Look what God is doing! Look at what God will do! For His People!

c.       My friends, if you are here today and you have not believed on Jesus Christ. If you have not repented of your sin and put all your hope in Jesus’s person and work to save you…

d.       Will you continue to think so lightly of the riches of His kindness, forbearance, and patience?

e.       Do you not know that it is His kindness that leads you to turn from your sin and believe on His Son?

f.        Repent and believe on Jesus.

 

[Slide 29 (End)] Let me close with a prayer by the Reformer Martin Bucer.

 

Lord God, Heavenly Father, because You have created us to be thoughtful creatures, people who learn and do good, so strengthen Your Holy Spirit within me to always learn and do good, and thereby sanctify and magnify Your name and serve my neighbors for their salvation, through our Lord Jesus Christ, Amen. 

 

Benediction:

Now may He who has rescued us from the domain of darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son,

 

Fill you will all knowledge so that you will walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, to please Him in all respects, bearing fruit in every good work, increasing in the knowledge of God.

 

Until we meet again, Grace and peace to you.]]></description>
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    <item>
      <title><![CDATA[06 Ephesians 1:15-17 A Pastor's Prayer Part 1]]></title>
      <category>Podcast</category>
      <itunes:author><![CDATA[Chris Freeman]]></itunes:author>
      <itunes:subtitle><![CDATA[Title: “A Pastor’s Prayer” Part 1 Text: Ephesians 1:15-17 FCF: We often struggle growing in our faith in perceivable ways. Prop: Because God’s redemptive plan continues to work in true believers, we must continue to grow. Scripture Intro: [Slide 1]]></itunes:subtitle>
      <itunes:summary><![CDATA[Title: “A Pastor’s Prayer” Part 1

Text: Ephesians 1:15-17

FCF: We often struggle growing in our faith in perceivable ways.

Prop: Because God’s redemptive plan continues to work in true believers, we must continue to grow.

 

Scripture Intro:

[Slide 1] Turn in your bible to Ephesians chapter 1. In a moment we will read from the Legacy Standard bible starting in verse 15.  You can follow along in the pew bible or in whatever version you prefer.

 

Last week we closed out the second sentence of the book of Ephesians. I know I had mentioned that I would perhaps, do a final sermon over the entire sentence, but I think, I hope, I was able to keep all the thoughts together last week and we got the broader picture of Paul’s opening doxological eulogy. So rather than go over it again, I think we are free to move on.

 

Fortunately, or maybe unfortunately depending on how you see it, we face ANOTHER long sentence to complete chapter 1. In our English classes, we are taught that a paragraph isn’t complete unless there are at least 4 sentences. I don’t think modern English Grammar rules take into account Paul’s sentences. 😊

 

Verses 15 through 23 are, again, one sentence in Greek. Fortunately, it is not nearly as long and the themes here are, in some ways, a recapitulation of what we’ve already seen.

 

Today we will bite off what is essentially the introduction to the sentence’s main idea, and then next week we will look at some of or the rest of the sentence. I’m not actually sure how much I’ll try to cover next week.

 

But today we get to see Paul’s heart as a pastor. We get to see his compassion and love for the Ephesian church. We get to see his desire for them to know God more. Every Shepherd desires this for their flock. I can confidently say that this is the prayer of every Elder here… for you.

 

So, let’s get into it. Please stand with me to give honor to and to focus on the Word of God as it is read.

 

Invocation:

Faithful Father, You have done all to save us. Therefore, we are not our own, we have been bought with a price. Because we belong to You, our future, our life, is Yours. And You will not abandon us. You have given us Your Spirit and You have ensured that we will grow. My prayer, Loving Father, is that You will continue to grow us in our love for other believers, that You will continue to help us to endure in our faith, that You will continue to give Your Spirit’s wisdom and revelation to us to know You more accurately, so that we may worship and serve You rightly. I pray this in Jesus’ name… Amen.

 

Transition:

[Slide 2] “Let us not cease to do the utmost, that we may incessantly go forward in the way of the Lord; and let us not despair because of the smallness of our accomplishments.” John Calvin

 

“True saving faith clings to Christ and His Word, regardless of the consequences caused by that faith.” Henry Mahan

 

[Slide 3] “As soon as the love of God was shed abroad in my soul I loved all, of whatsoever denomination, who loved the Lord Jesus in sincerity of heart.” George Whitefield

 

“The fact beats ceaselessly into my brain these days that there is a world of difference between knowing the Word of God and knowing the God of the Word.” Leonard Ravenhill

 

[Slide 4] “When you come to knowing God, the initiative lies on His side. If He does not show Himself, nothing you can do will enable you to find Him.” C.S. Lewis

 

“There is n]]></itunes:summary>
      <description><![CDATA[Title: “A Pastor’s Prayer” Part 1

Text: Ephesians 1:15-17

FCF: We often struggle growing in our faith in perceivable ways.

Prop: Because God’s redemptive plan continues to work in true believers, we must continue to grow.

 

Scripture Intro:

[Slide 1] Turn in your bible to Ephesians chapter 1. In a moment we will read from the Legacy Standard bible starting in verse 15.  You can follow along in the pew bible or in whatever version you prefer.

 

Last week we closed out the second sentence of the book of Ephesians. I know I had mentioned that I would perhaps, do a final sermon over the entire sentence, but I think, I hope, I was able to keep all the thoughts together last week and we got the broader picture of Paul’s opening doxological eulogy. So rather than go over it again, I think we are free to move on.

 

Fortunately, or maybe unfortunately depending on how you see it, we face ANOTHER long sentence to complete chapter 1. In our English classes, we are taught that a paragraph isn’t complete unless there are at least 4 sentences. I don’t think modern English Grammar rules take into account Paul’s sentences. 😊

 

Verses 15 through 23 are, again, one sentence in Greek. Fortunately, it is not nearly as long and the themes here are, in some ways, a recapitulation of what we’ve already seen.

 

Today we will bite off what is essentially the introduction to the sentence’s main idea, and then next week we will look at some of or the rest of the sentence. I’m not actually sure how much I’ll try to cover next week.

 

But today we get to see Paul’s heart as a pastor. We get to see his compassion and love for the Ephesian church. We get to see his desire for them to know God more. Every Shepherd desires this for their flock. I can confidently say that this is the prayer of every Elder here… for you.

 

So, let’s get into it. Please stand with me to give honor to and to focus on the Word of God as it is read.

 

Invocation:

Faithful Father, You have done all to save us. Therefore, we are not our own, we have been bought with a price. Because we belong to You, our future, our life, is Yours. And You will not abandon us. You have given us Your Spirit and You have ensured that we will grow. My prayer, Loving Father, is that You will continue to grow us in our love for other believers, that You will continue to help us to endure in our faith, that You will continue to give Your Spirit’s wisdom and revelation to us to know You more accurately, so that we may worship and serve You rightly. I pray this in Jesus’ name… Amen.

 

Transition:

[Slide 2] “Let us not cease to do the utmost, that we may incessantly go forward in the way of the Lord; and let us not despair because of the smallness of our accomplishments.” John Calvin

 

“True saving faith clings to Christ and His Word, regardless of the consequences caused by that faith.” Henry Mahan

 

[Slide 3] “As soon as the love of God was shed abroad in my soul I loved all, of whatsoever denomination, who loved the Lord Jesus in sincerity of heart.” George Whitefield

 

“The fact beats ceaselessly into my brain these days that there is a world of difference between knowing the Word of God and knowing the God of the Word.” Leonard Ravenhill

 

[Slide 4] “When you come to knowing God, the initiative lies on His side. If He does not show Himself, nothing you can do will enable you to find Him.” C.S. Lewis

 

“There is no such thing as genuine knowledge of God that does not show itself in obedience to His Word and will.” Sinclair Ferguson

 

Let these words help to prepare your hearts for the exposition of the Word this morning.

 

I.)                  God’s redemptive plan is still working in true believers, so we must continue in faith and love. (15-16)

a.       [Slide 5] 15 - For this reason

                                                               i.      Paul begins his third sentence in this letter with a prepositional phrase outlining that what follows was caused by what came before it.

                                                             ii.      But that does leave us with a little bit of uncertainty. To what exactly is Paul pointing as the cause for what he is about to say?

                                                           iii.      It is most certainly the entirety of what he just said.

                                                           iv.      God the Father is worthy of praise because by predestining us to adoption as sons, he chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world to be united to Him as the head of a new covenant through faith, so that we may have redemption and forgiveness of sins through His blood, and so being united to Him and by being predestined, we have been claimed as God’s own possession, and sealed with His Spirit which is a guarantee for our salvation that we may be part of the restoration and reordering of the world under Christ.

                                                             v.      Because of ALL OF THIS…

                                                           vi.      What must Paul do?

b.       [Slide 6] I too, having heard of the faith in the Lord Jesus which exists among you and your love for all the saints,

                                                               i.      But before we get to what Paul must do in response to this, he actually adds one more element to the cause.

                                                             ii.      What else forces Paul to respond?

                                                           iii.      It is his hearing of their faith and their love.

                                                           iv.      We saw similar things when we studied 1 and 2 Thessalonians.

1.       Although we are sealed and given the Spirit as a guarantee of our redemption, as we said last week, this will produce fruit in us and growth in Christ. We will be more and more pressed into the mold of Christ.

2.       Our fruit and our growth do not save us, but they provide evidence that we have been indwelled with God’s Spirit.

                                                             v.      Notice here Paul’s hearing about their faith.

1.       This is one aspect that some use to suggest that Paul did not know his audience, and therefore, this is not a letter sent to Ephesus but to several churches.

2.       However, Paul has not been in Ephesus in 5 years. How much has changed or happened in our church in 5 years? And saying that he has heard of their faith does not suggest necessarily that he doesn’t know some or many of them personally.

                                                           vi.      Instead, it speaks to the public display of their faith.

                                                          vii.      Notice also that their faith is in the Lord Jesus

1.       Here we see that the content, the object, the location of our faith rests in the person and work of Jesus Christ.

2.       It is inside or into Jesus that our trust is placed.

3.       We don’t trust in our trust. We don’t trust in our prayer. We don’t trust in our works. Ultimately, we trust in who Christ is and what He has done.

4.       And since He is the object of our faith, it is not a one-time faith, but an ongoing faith.

                                                        viii.      This faith in Jesus is found among you. We must again ask the question of the pronouns.

1.       The last time we saw the second person plural pronoun, I tentatively assigned it the meaning of gentile Christians in Ephesus.

2.       Does the second person pronoun continue to inherit that?

3.       It does not. And the reason it doesn’t is because Paul changes the paradigm by using the first-person plural to describe his reaction to all that has been said. He says “I too”.

4.       Therefore, we should only take this “you” to refer to the Ephesian church as a whole. Not necessarily the gentile Christians there.

                                                            ix.      Finally, notice that Paul is commending their love for all the saints.

1.       Paul once again uses the word all with the article implying all in an absolute sense.

2.       Of course that is sharpened by the word saints.

3.       Meaning of course that Paul has heard of their enduring love for the universal body of Christ.

4.       This cannot merely mean Jewish Christians but must refer to all believers universally.

                                                             x.      So, given that God has done everything in salvation, and given that they possess enduring faith in Jesus and love toward the universal church… what must Paul do?

c.       [Slide 7] 16 - do not cease giving thanks for you,

                                                               i.      “Do not cease” is the main verb in the clause so far, Paul cannot stop doing something as a result of all that he has said and the public fruit of the Ephesian church.

                                                             ii.      And the thing he cannot stop doing is giving thanks for them.

                                                           iii.      The entire second sentence is about praising God for His glory, and Paul too cannot stop praising God for His glory which has been displayed in saving the Ephesian church which is most evident in their enduring faith and their deepening love for al believers.

                                                           iv.      As a pastor I can say that some of the sweetest prayers for me to offer up to God are those of thanksgiving for His redemption and His people growing in the Lord.

                                                             v.      But Paul is not just unceasingly giving thanks. There is one more participle that modifies the main action.

d.       [Slide 8] while making mention of you in my prayers:

                                                               i.      This participle modifies the main verb to explain when the action of being unable to case giving thanks occurs.

                                                             ii.      It is specifically when Paul remembers them in his prayers.

                                                           iii.      Paul seems to be a man of prayer. In several of his letters, he mentions praying for those to whom he writes.

                                                           iv.      Being under house arrest, I am sure that he had plenty of time to write, pray, and meet with local believers.

                                                             v.      Here the Ephesians are told that he prays for them and when he does, he cannot stop thanking God for what He has done and specifically what He has done in them as evidenced by their enduring faith and love for all believers.

e.       [Slide 9] Summary of the Point: After feverishly expressing deep praise to God for His work to redeem His people, Paul now brings his letter to a much more personal level. He expresses his need to express his thankfulness to God every time he prays for the Ephesian church, primarily because of God’s work to save them and the ongoing effect that has had on them to be a people of enduring faith and deep love for all believers. In this, we see that God’s redemption doesn’t stall out. He continues to redeem us, growing our faith and deepening our love for one another. This then becomes our application. We must continue to grow in faith and love.

 

[Slide 10(blank)] Transition: But what is the content of Paul’s prayer for them? We know that he doesn’t stop thanking God for them when he mentions them in prayer… but what is the main thing Paul enters into prayer for them about?

 

II.)                God’s redemptive plan is still working in true believers, so we must grow in the full knowledge of God. (17)

a.       [Slide 11] 17 - that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory,

                                                               i.      Once again Paul uses the title of God the Father as the God of our Lord Jesus Christ.

                                                             ii.      We saw this when we looked at verse 3, Paul repeats it again.

                                                           iii.      This is covenantal language. Similar constructions occur in the Old Testament.

                                                           iv.      “The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob” or “The God of Israel.”

                                                             v.      It establishes the covenantal representative of particular promises that God has given through that covenant figure.

                                                           vi.      But calling Jesus Lord in addition to this, puts a heightened priority on Jesus’ place in the covenant over which he presides.

                                                          vii.      Jesus presides over the New Covenant. He is the Last Adam. He is THE seed of Abraham. He is the prophet greater than Moses. He is the crusher of the serpent’s head. He is the Davidic heir to the eternal throne of Israel. He is the High priest in the order of Melchizedek. He is the King of King and He is the Lord of Lords and all things will be brought into order under Him.

                                                        viii.      But this also communicates something special about the God of Jesus.

                                                            ix.      This God, is the one making the covenant. He is the one giving the promises and blessings through that covenant. He is the one who graciously and lovingly has entered into promises and covenant blessings with humans. Which is quite odd, since He is also the one offended and slighted by human sin.

                                                             x.      This God is the Father of glory.

                                                            xi.      The title Father can sometimes mean origin or source, but here it is unlikely that it takes that meaning. Instead, it is referring to the first person of the godhead who is given a quality… and that quality is glory. We could even see this as an adjective, Glorious Father.

                                                          xii.      Paul mentioned three times that all that God did in salvation is for the purpose of the praise of His glory or the praise of the glory of His grace. And he began the sentence saying that God the Father is blessed or praiseworthy.

                                                        xiii.      Therefore, the title Father of glory, points us back once again to all that God has done.

                                                        xiv.      Glory has the idea of honor, fame, radiance, splendor, recognition or renown.

                                                          xv.      God deserves highest honor, fame, recognition and renown, for His radiance and splendor displayed in His character and in His work.

                                                        xvi.      And so, to put all the pieces back together, Paul, while praying in gratefulness to God for them, is seeking this Father who gave them all of this, to give them something more.

                                                       xvii.      What?

b.       [Slide 12] may give to you the Spirit of wisdom and of revelation

                                                               i.      This Father of Glory and the One who set up a covenant with His Son with whom we become joint heirs as we are untied to Him through faith, Paul seeks out to give even further gifts to the Ephesian church.

                                                             ii.      For what gifts does Paul ask?

                                                           iii.      First, is the spirit of wisdom. There are three ways to view this and they are all represented in various popular translations.

1.       The Holy Spirit of wisdom, meaning a work the Spirit does in us as He indwells us.

2.       Spiritual wisdom, meaning a wisdom specifically about spiritual matters from a spiritual source.

3.       A human spirit of wisdom whereby God enlightens the spirit within us to be wise.

                                                           iv.      In the end, since God is sought for this, I don’t see a huge difference between the ultimate meaning of the passage. Even if it is a human spirit, God is being sought for it to be granted to the Ephesian church. Meaning they don’t have it naturally.

                                                             v.      So, one way or another, Paul is seeking God, probably through His Spirit, to illuminate the minds of the Ephesian church.

                                                           vi.      We know from other passages of scripture that this is indeed a role that the Holy Spirit occupies for believers. This seems to be the best view, especially since the other two do not eliminate the Spirit from being involved in that process.

                                                          vii.      But it is not only the Spirit of wisdom but also The Spirit of revelation.

                                                        viii.      This word gives us another aspect of divine or supernatural communication from God to us.

                                                            ix.      This actually makes an even stronger case for the Third person of the Godhead being in view here, since revelation must come from God and not from man.

                                                             x.      If Paul was asking for God to give them a human spirit of revelation, this would mean that man produces revelation. Which is not even what modern “apostles and prophets” believe. They still claim that their messages are from God.

                                                            xi.      God uses His Word and the Spirit along with His word to illuminate and reveal Himself to His people. People who are Spiritual people. Meaning not natural people.

                                                          xii.      But what is the wisdom and revelation being requested for? What is its mission?

c.       [Slide 13] in the full knowledge of Him,

                                                               i.      The expression full knowledge here probably does not express that Paul’s prayer is that they know everything there is to know about God.

                                                             ii.      This is not how this expression is normally used and it actually contradicts some theological ideas we have about God being infinite and we being finite.

                                                           iii.      Instead, this most likely means that they have an accurate or purely true understanding of God.

                                                           iv.      There is some disagreement as to which person of the Godhead “Him” is referring. A case could be made for all three, but the scriptures seem to put priority on knowing the Father through the Son and by the Spirit. So, we should see this as the knowledge of the Father of glory.

                                                             v.      If God can only be worshipped in Spirit and in truth, having an inaccurate or erroneous view of God precludes individuals from worshipping Him.

                                                           vi.      Paul’s prayer is that their knowledge of God is precise and without error. And the only way that can happen is when God Himself gives Spiritual wisdom and revelation of Himself to His people through the Spirit which has sealed them and indwelled them.

                                                          vii.      What knowledge about Him specifically? Well, we will get to that next week.

d.       [Slide 14] Summary of the Point: Paul continues to the basic idea of his prayers for the Ephesian church. It is not just one of thankfulness, but it is also that this God who gives so much… so many Spiritual blessings… would continue to give, through the indwelling of the Spirit, wisdom and revelation of Himself to His people. True believers, those who are truly sealed and indwelled by that Spirit, desire to know God more and more. To know Him accurately so they can worship Him rightly. Paul’s prayer for the Ephesian church becomes our application today. We too must grow in our knowledge of God.

 

Conclusion:

So, what have we learned CBC that refines our beliefs and guides our lifestyles?

 

Basics of Faith and Practice:

[Slide 15] After the first very long sentence describing all that God has done to save us to be His possession, Paul now brings all that to bear upon the Ephesian church as he reveals his prayerful desire for them. Paul prays thankfully that God has redeemed them and is continuing to manifest fruit in their hearts. And his prayer is, generally, that God would grant to them Spiritual wisdom and revelation to know God the Father accurately. That their knowledge would continue to grow. Not just so they become scholars or theologians. But so their hearts and lives would be shaped by His glory and His grace.

 

So how must we respond to the prayer of this pastor? How must we apply this text to ourselves?

 

1.)    [Slide 16] Mind Transformation: “What truth must we believe from this text?” or “What might we not naturally believe that we must believe because of what this text has said?” We must affirm that God’s redemption of us is ongoing.

a.       Even a cursory look at the New Testament affirms that God is not done with us once we are converted.

b.       So much so, that many practices in the church, like church discipline, rest on continual repentance and belief unto obedience being the predictable norm of the believer.

c.       Even children’s songs reflect this idea. He’s still working on me, to make me what I ought to be.

d.       This reflects the reformation doctrine of being declared righteous vs. being made righteous.

e.       If we see ourselves as being made righteous at conversion, then we have the problem of sin to deal with.

f.        We can redefine what sin is, making it easier for us to avoid being accused of it, and therefore maintain a version of perfection.

g.       We can establish remedial ways to purify ourselves of sin through penance and purgatory.

h.       But if we are declared to be righteous, that gives us the understanding that in a legal sense, God has given us the verdict of righteous. Not because we actually are, but because Christ is and Christ has taken our place, and we have been put INTO Him.

i.         The reformers said that we are simultaneously justified and still sinners. And this is a conclusion formed from the New Testament teaching on the subject. Paul assumes the people he writes to are not yet perfect. Paul assumes he himself is not yet perfect. And yet he also says that we become the righteousness of God.

j.         This is a perfect doctrine to remind the Ephesians of immediately after saying they have been sealed and given the guarantee of the Holy Spirit Himself. 

k.       We, in 21st century Christendom, need a similar reminder.

l.         Just because we are sealed and guaranteed of a future redemption, does not mean we sit at the bus stop and wait for Jesus to roll in and pick us up.

m.     This assumes that the only reason God saved us was to spare us His wrath.

n.       But Paul has already told us that the reason God saved us was to the praise of His glory.

o.       We have been saved to continue to praise Him and also to see to it that others do the same.

p.       Jesus said that by our good works we will make it so unbelievers would be forced to glorify our Father in heaven.

q.       Since God’s purpose to save us is for us to be restored image bearers living among other broken image bearers… we must look like God. We must act like He would act, talk like He would talk, think like He would think, and be what He would be.

r.        How do we know what that is?

s.        Jesus said if you have seen Him, you have seen the Father. We must live more and more like Jesus.

t.        Our salvation is simultaneously done, ongoing, and in the future.

u.       There is a past aspect, a present aspect, and a future aspect of our salvation.

v.       Therefore, as those who have been sealed by the Spirit, we are continuing to be conformed to Christ while we wait for Him to complete our redemption.

w.     So what does this mean for us?

2.)    [Slide 17] Exhortation: “What actions should we take?” or “What is this passage specifically commanding us to do that we don’t naturally do or aren’t currently doing?” Elders must be unceasingly thankful for God’s work to save and grow His people.

a.       As Elders caring for the souls of God’s people, we face many dangers.

b.       On the one hand, since it is our job to look after, lead, teach, and disciple God’s people, we can allow success to dilute us into thinking that it is us.

c.       People are coming to Christ, people are holding fast to their faith, people are deepening in their love, growing in their knowledge of God… because we are especially good at what we do.

d.       We might be tempted with pride to assume that because we are such great speakers, or teachers, or because we are so humble, or knowledgeable… that we really are the special sauce that makes the church grow in converts and maturity.

e.       And it isn’t just the Elders that could be swept away with that idea. Church members too can think that without Pastor so and so or without Elder this and that… I would never know God or I would be half the Christian I am today.

f.        But when Pastor so and so fails or when Elder this and that falls – it’s like the world has ended because their little g god has failed them.

g.       But we Elders face the other side too, when people aren’t growing as we’d like them to. When they are still struggling with something after several years or when they seem to be making really unwise decisions…

h.       We might be tempted to get frustrated or even angry with them and with ourselves.

i.         Brothers when we confess that God is the one who saves and God is the one who grows His people… we start to put our role into perspective.

j.         When people are growing we thank the Lord. When people aren’t growing, we seek the Lord.

k.       We play an important but ultimately very small part in all of this.

l.         Paul knew this. That is why He didn’t stop thanking God for the salvation and sanctification of the Ephesian church. And that is why Paul sought the Father to send His Spirit to give more wisdom and revelation of Himself to them.

m.     We would do well to follow his example.

3.)    [Slide 18] Exhortation: “What actions should we take?” or “What is this passage specifically commanding us to do that we don’t naturally do or aren’t currently doing?” We must stand firm in our faith.

a.       Our faith being in Christ, means that we put our trust and our hope into the sphere of Christ trusting on His work and His person.

b.       That faith must be accurate in that we believe the right things about Christ’s person and work, and that faith must be enduring in that we hold fast and do not waver.

c.       Having doubts is not the end of our faith, but ultimately our faith must be in Christ.

d.       In this we must be sure that our faith is not in something that is Christ adjacent.

e.       We can’t depend on our obedience to Christ.

f.        We can’t depend on our faith in Christ.

g.       We can’t depend on our church.

h.       We can’t depend on our ritual practices.

i.         We can’t depend on the sacraments.

j.         We must depend on Christ alone. His person and His work.

k.       We must depend on Christ as the God-Man and we must depend on His sacrificial atoning death on the cross. His righteousness. His advocacy. His future return.

l.         This is what our faith must rest in and on.

m.     All our issues with sin are ultimately not a behavioral issue. It is an issue of faith. Are we truly trusting IN Christ?

n.       If we are, we trust Him enough to depend on Him and submit to His commands.

4.)    [Slide 19] Exhortation: “What actions should we take?” or “What is this passage specifically commanding us to do that we don’t naturally do or aren’t currently doing?” We must deepen our love for one another.

a.       Because we begin to look like God by looking like Christ, we must also observe the new command Jesus gave to His disciples.

b.       To love one another as He loved them.

c.       Christ demonstrated what it meant to love other believers.

d.       Certainly, Christians ought to be characterized by our love for all humanity – but Christ calls out especially our love for one another.

e.       Love doesn’t mean tolerance. Jesus rebuked Peter.

f.        Love doesn’t mean acceptance. Jesus corrected doubt in His followers.

g.       Love does mean selfless unconditional giving of oneself for others. Jesus selflessly, unconditionally gave His life for His disciples. He informed them that Satan wished to sift them like wheat but He interceded for them.

h.       And our love should be directed toward all believers. Not just those who are here in our local assembly… but believers universally.

i.         I’ve been pastoring here for 10 years. And in that time, I’ve made no bones about it, there are churches out there that aren’t good churches. Organizationally, they are not churches that we should affiliate with or stand with.

j.         But that doesn’t mean that we are the only church who has it right! Quite the opposite actually. We might disagree on some things, some things which make it impossible to be gathered in the same local congregation. But that doesn’t mean we do not love believers in these churches and fellowship with them.

k.       I actually did an interview this week for a pastor in Imlay city. He is getting his masters degree and as part of that he had to interact with another person who disagreed with him on a secondary doctrine. We talked about a few doctrines that would be challenging or impossible to be in the same church and hold in disagreement.

l.         But my conversation with him was full of grace, kindness, love, and comradery as we talked about what we agreed on and what we disagreed on… in peace and in love.

m.     I think of the friendship of Dr. R.C. Sproul and John MacArthur. Both are in glory now. But their friendship was deep in spite of having VERY different views on baptism.

n.       We as believers should deepen in our love for all believers. And that love must transcend denominational boundaries without thinking it a necessity that we all join in one local assembly.

o.       Are there churches and people we must stay separated from? Certainly. But that is usually those who hold to beliefs that make them… unchristian. In other words – they are false teachers. We love false teachers but in a different way. Not as brothers… but as lost people who are teaching others to be lost too.

p.       As we grow in Christ – our love for other believers must deepen. We must fight the urge to compete with other churches, or be overly picky on doctrine before fellowshipping with them.

q.       And of course, we should have an even greater intimacy with those in our local assembly. We should be closer than family. We should be ready to forgive, love, invest in, strive for, serve and support every single member of this church.

r.        Do you see the universal church this way? Do you see this local assembly this way? It’s time for you to deepen in your love.

5.)    [Slide 20] Exhortation: “What actions should we take?” or “What is this passage specifically commanding us to do that we don’t naturally do or aren’t currently doing?” We must seek the Lord for Spiritual wisdom and revelation to know God more accurately.

a.       This is not the last time Paul is going to make the case for deepening our knowledge of God in the book of Ephesians.

b.       In fact, the purpose of the church is to grow in their knowledge of Christ to grow up into His full stature.

c.       What is the point of knowing God accurately?

d.       Doctrine produces practice. And right doctrine produces right practice.

e.       In 1st Timothy Paul corrects the idea that Christ has already returned because it had led to people not marrying, not eating certain foods, and allowing women to pastor the church. They had assumed they were in the eternal state where people were no longer given in marriage and where there was no more male or female.

f.        Paul makes the case that not only are we not in the eternal state but we are still under the created order of husbands leading their wives.

g.       The early church took great pains to outline God’s nature as a triune God and Christ’s God-Man status. Far from unnecessary doctrines the church agreed that these teachings were absolutely necessary for any to be a follower of Christ.

h.       Understanding God accurately helps us to worship Him better and to live for Him better. But understanding God inaccurately distorts our worship and lifestyles.

i.         The good news is that the Holy Spirit helps us by illuminating the scriptures to us and revealing God to us as we study His Word, as we hear His word preached, and as we sharpen one another.

j.         Now we can grieve the Spirit in this. We can fight the Spirit in this. But when we enter humbly to the text of scripture and seek Him, He will show us the truth so we may believe the right things about God and live in response to that. When we submit to the preaching and teaching of the Word of God The Spirit will show us ways that we must believe or live differently.

k.       And the cool thing is that this is never really done.

l.         I’ve been a Christian for over 30 years. Some of you have been a Christian for much longer than that.

m.     I can tell you that God is still working on me. He is still showing me NEW things and more accurate ways to understand Him. He is still showing me ways I need to be more like Him.

n.       The same will be true for you.

o.       We all need to stay humble and teachable. God isn’t done with us yet. He has a lot more to show us.

6.)    [Slide 21] Comfort: “What comfort can we find here?” or “What peace does the Lord promise us in light of this passage of scripture?” God is the giver of our salvation and His Spirit will grow us.

a.       Salvation is not something we earn or maintain.

b.       It is something God gave and preserves.

c.       Because it is something God gave – we have no room for boasting.

d.       Because it is something God preserves – we should see the fruit of His preservation.

e.       Jesus said that He is the vine and we are the branches. Without Jesus we are nothing – that is the aspect of God giving and not us earning.

f.        Then Jesus in that same passage says that the Father is the gardener who prunes the branches to bear much fruit. This is the aspect of God’s preservation.

g.       What a comfort to know that our salvation is not earned or maintained by us.

h.       Certainly, we must grow… and that is where we must strive and work hard… but God has us and will keep us and that is a comforting thought.

7.)    [Slide 22] Evangelism: “What about this text points us to Jesus Christ, the gospel, and how we are restored?” God does not save us and leave us unchanged. We are saved from sin’s penalty and power.

a.       This is a common twist we see in some people who profess to follow Christ today.

b.       They think that they can believe on Jesus and live how they wish. That they can add Jesus to their lives and all the competing passions and lusts they have.

c.       They think that they can seek Jesus for salvation but skip out on sanctification.

d.       But my friends, salvation is a package deal. No one will be saved from sin’s penalty who is not also saved from sin’s power and eventually even sin’s presence.

e.       No one who doesn’t die to self can be a follower of Christ.

f.        No one can follow Christ who does not leave behind all other priorities to make Him the first priority.

g.       Jesus said that if you do not hate your mother and father, then you cannot be my disciple. This is the Jewish idea of hate which is in contrast to the love of Christ. If your love for your parents does not look like hate by comparison to your love for Christ, then you cannot be His disciple.

h.       Many seem to think that you can believe in a more moderate form of Christianity today.

i.         Where you can be a Christian without being too rigid on faith and practice. And those who hold to rigid beliefs and practices are all zealots and extremists.

j.         My friends… true Christians are supposed to look like that. They are supposed to be Christ fanatics. They are supposed to have reorganized their entire life around the Lordship of Jesus Christ.

k.       That is what a Christian is.

l.         And that form of Christianity is the only form that actually saves. Repentance of your former ways and idols and belief and hope in the person and work of Christ alone.

m.     That is the only gospel that saves.

n.       All other moderate forms… will leave you outside the kingdom.

o.       Christ is either Savior and Lord or He is neither Savior nor Lord.

p.       So, if you are here today and have either never received faith in Christ alone or you have a faith that has not produced change in your life. I implore you to turn from your sins and trust in Christ in such a way that He completely reorders your life.

 

[Slide 23 (end)] Let me close with a prayer from the Reformer Meno Simmons

 

“O merciful, gracious Lord, enlighten the eyes of all who are blind, that they may see your heavenly brightness and confess the majesty of your honor.

 

May the true heavenly light, Jesus Christ, be eternally blessed.

 

Enlighten every dark, unschooled heart with your eternal truth and the clear and brilliant ray of your Holy Spirit. May they view the eternal brightness of Christ in sincere pure faith to the praise and honor of his great name, and to the salvation of many souls.

 

Your word remains invincible and firm “The word became flesh” (John 1:14)

 

Grant also that the wrathful dragon may not entirely devour your poor little flock, but that we, by your grace, may in patience conquer by the sword of your mouth. And may we plant a seed that lives on – people who keep your commandments, preserve your testimony, and eternally praise your great and glorious name.

 

Amen, dear Lord, amen.

 

Benediction:

May the God who shouted, Moab is my washbasin

Upon Edom I toss my sandal

Over Philistia I shout in triumph,

 

Lead you to always triumph in Christ

And spread through you everywhere

The fragrance of the knowledge of Him.

 

Until we meet again – grace and peace to you.]]></description>
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    <item>
      <title><![CDATA[05 Ephesians 1:11-14 Claimed and Branded]]></title>
      <category>Podcast</category>
      <itunes:author><![CDATA[Chris Freeman]]></itunes:author>
      <itunes:subtitle><![CDATA[Title: Claimed and Branded Text: Ephesians 1:11-14 FCF: We often struggle praising God for His work in our salvation. Prop: Because we have been claimed and sealed as God’s possession through faith, we must praise Him. Scripture Intro: [Slide 1] Turn in]]></itunes:subtitle>
      <itunes:summary><![CDATA[Title: Claimed and Branded

Text: Ephesians 1:11-14

FCF: We often struggle praising God for His work in our salvation.

Prop: Because we have been claimed and sealed as God’s possession through faith, we must praise Him.

 

Scripture Intro:

[Slide 1] Turn in your bible to Ephesians chapter 1. In a moment we’ll begin reading from the New English Translation starting in verse 11. You can follow along in the pew bible or in whatever version you prefer.

 

As Paul began this sentence in verse 3, he ascribes praise to God the Father who has blessed believers with every spiritual blessing. And the Spiritual blessings He gives that make all other blessings possible are first on the list for praise. By predestining them to adoption as sons, God chose, before the foundation of the world, individuals to be united to Christ. Because of this union to Christ we have, right now, redemption and forgiveness of sins through Christ’s atoning death on the cross, and we are included in a great cosmic plan of God to put all things under Christ.

 

The response Paul demands to all of this is the praise of the glorious grace of God.

 

But Paul is not quite finished describing spiritual blessings we should praise God for.

 

Paul has talked about what God did before the creation of the world. He has talked about what we have now. He has talked about what is coming. Now Paul will share what God has done to us to change us, how we are united to this destiny God has for us, and how we will know we are His.

 

Let’s look at the text this morning. Please stand with me to give honor to and to focus on the Word of God as it is read.

 

Invocation:

Gracious and loving Father. All things that occur, happen according to your wise deliberate will. You are in absolute control of your creation and that includes the redemption and possession of your people. Though we may wrestle to understand how all this works, we must praise You for Your powerful and sovereign hand in bringing it about. Bring to bear upon us the certainty of Your Word today. May we humble ourselves before it and submit to what it teaches and to obey its commands to praise You. For You are worthy of praise. We pray this in Jesus’ name, Amen.

 

Transition:

[Slide 2] “The Holy Spirit is the heavenly Lover’s engagement ring given to us.” Michael Green

 

“The Holy Spirit is the only authenticator of Christianity.” Arthur P. Johnson

 

[Slide 3] “The ultimate answer to the insecurity or security of the believer rests on the question of who does the work of salvation.” Lewis Sperry Chafer

 

“An inheritance is not only kept for us, but we are kept for it.” Richard Sibbes

 

Let these words help to guide us in our exposition of the text this morning.

 

I.)                  We were predestined and claimed as God’s possession in Christ, so we must praise Him.

a.       [Slide 4] 11 - In Christ we too have been claimed as God’s own possession,

                                                               i.      The NET does a great job at translating this text, but I still need to point out what they’ve done and why it is a good thing.

                                                             ii.      First, the Greek text opens this verse with the phrase “in whom” which is really a modification on the phrase we’ve seen over and over again, “in Him”  

1.       Our difficulty throughout this sentence has been the pron]]></itunes:summary>
      <description><![CDATA[Title: Claimed and Branded

Text: Ephesians 1:11-14

FCF: We often struggle praising God for His work in our salvation.

Prop: Because we have been claimed and sealed as God’s possession through faith, we must praise Him.

 

Scripture Intro:

[Slide 1] Turn in your bible to Ephesians chapter 1. In a moment we’ll begin reading from the New English Translation starting in verse 11. You can follow along in the pew bible or in whatever version you prefer.

 

As Paul began this sentence in verse 3, he ascribes praise to God the Father who has blessed believers with every spiritual blessing. And the Spiritual blessings He gives that make all other blessings possible are first on the list for praise. By predestining them to adoption as sons, God chose, before the foundation of the world, individuals to be united to Christ. Because of this union to Christ we have, right now, redemption and forgiveness of sins through Christ’s atoning death on the cross, and we are included in a great cosmic plan of God to put all things under Christ.

 

The response Paul demands to all of this is the praise of the glorious grace of God.

 

But Paul is not quite finished describing spiritual blessings we should praise God for.

 

Paul has talked about what God did before the creation of the world. He has talked about what we have now. He has talked about what is coming. Now Paul will share what God has done to us to change us, how we are united to this destiny God has for us, and how we will know we are His.

 

Let’s look at the text this morning. Please stand with me to give honor to and to focus on the Word of God as it is read.

 

Invocation:

Gracious and loving Father. All things that occur, happen according to your wise deliberate will. You are in absolute control of your creation and that includes the redemption and possession of your people. Though we may wrestle to understand how all this works, we must praise You for Your powerful and sovereign hand in bringing it about. Bring to bear upon us the certainty of Your Word today. May we humble ourselves before it and submit to what it teaches and to obey its commands to praise You. For You are worthy of praise. We pray this in Jesus’ name, Amen.

 

Transition:

[Slide 2] “The Holy Spirit is the heavenly Lover’s engagement ring given to us.” Michael Green

 

“The Holy Spirit is the only authenticator of Christianity.” Arthur P. Johnson

 

[Slide 3] “The ultimate answer to the insecurity or security of the believer rests on the question of who does the work of salvation.” Lewis Sperry Chafer

 

“An inheritance is not only kept for us, but we are kept for it.” Richard Sibbes

 

Let these words help to guide us in our exposition of the text this morning.

 

I.)                  We were predestined and claimed as God’s possession in Christ, so we must praise Him.

a.       [Slide 4] 11 - In Christ we too have been claimed as God’s own possession,

                                                               i.      The NET does a great job at translating this text, but I still need to point out what they’ve done and why it is a good thing.

                                                             ii.      First, the Greek text opens this verse with the phrase “in whom” which is really a modification on the phrase we’ve seen over and over again, “in Him”  

1.       Our difficulty throughout this sentence has been the pronouns. To which him is this referring, the Father, the Son, The Spirit, or the triune God? 

2.       But Paul’s emphasis in this doxological eulogy so far has been God the Father’s execution of a redemption plan that is not only centered on Jesus, but even achieved by uniting us to Him.

3.       This was hinted at for us in the covenantal language of verse 3 where the Father is described as the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.

4.       Christ is the covenantal head of the New Covenant. And by God the Father uniting individuals to Christ, they inherit those covenant blessings which are only really available to Christ.

5.       The scriptures use the metaphors of adoption and marriage to communicate this concept. As a bride, the bride marries in and inherits the name of the Father and Son. As a child outside of the covenant, through adoption the child becomes an heir of the covenant blessings shared by the first-born Son.

6.       And so once again Paul is talking about a covenant in which through union to Christ, we inherit the blessings.

                                                           iii.      The word translated “claimed” in this text, means to appoint by lot. This is used in the Old Testament to talk about the land and people whom God claimed as His portion.  

                                                           iv.      Many translations have this as “we also have obtained” or “we also have received” however, this verb is in the passive voice. It is not something we have done but rather something that has been done to us.

                                                             v.      In fact, in this entire section, Paul uses passive voice verbs to describe what God has done to us.

                                                           vi.      Therefore, the NET translates this well as “have been claimed” we could also translate this “were chosen” as one other translation has.

                                                          vii.      The word possession in this sentence is a good word to complete the idea of appointed by lot. We could also put the word inheritance or heritage in here to get the same effect, which many other translations do.

                                                        viii.      Now the words “as God’s own” have been added by the NET to attempt to make this clear.  

                                                            ix.      But now we must come back to the “we too”. We understand that we have been claimed as God’s own inheritance in Christ. But why would Paul say “we too”? To what is Paul adding this benefit to?

                                                             x.      There are two good interpretations on how to see this.

1.       The first and my favorite would be to see this go back to the most recent concept that Paul talked about.

a.       In the previous context, Paul revealed the purpose of God’s redemption plan which was established in Christ. And that plan was to summarize or to bring to order all things, in heaven and in earth, in Christ.

b.       By Paul saying “we too” and proceeding with the idea that we have been claimed as an inheritance, this helps us to see that part of God reordering things in Christ is claiming us as His own.

c.       We too are things that God has chosen to keep in that new administration under Christ, by uniting us to Christ.

2.       The second interpretation would be to go back to the main verb of the previous thought “we have redemption” and translate the “too” here as “also.”

a.       This conveys the idea that not only do we HAVE a redemption through Christ’s blood,

b.       But IN Christ we have been claimed as God’s own possession.

3.       Again, I leave you to pick your favorite interpretation. For both are biblically true.

b.       [Slide 5] since we were predestined

                                                               i.      Unlike the previous time Paul used the term predestined, Paul puts this in the passive voice. God is not doing the action of predetermining a destiny for us, instead we, individual believers, are the recipients of the action of His predestination.

                                                             ii.      Once again, predestined is used as a circumstantial participle.

                                                           iii.      This means that the claiming that God has done, to put us into Christ, was in some way connected to His predetermination.

                                                           iv.      Familiar ways we see things like this is when the scripture says “answering he said”

                                                             v.      We understand that answering and saying are not the same thing, but they are inherently connected. You can’t divorce them from one another in logical connection, nor can you really divorce them from each other in time. They must be seen together.

                                                           vi.      In a similar way God claiming us as His own possession in Christ and God predestining us must go together.

                                                          vii.      Since they are both in passive voice, we could then render this similar to the previous example to say “being predestined we have been claimed as God’s own possession”

                                                        viii.      But what caused God to do this? From what source did He consult to predestine and claim us?   

c.       [Slide 6] according to the one purpose of him

                                                               i.      Again, we see the preposition of reference. It tells us the source of a plan’s formation.

                                                             ii.      That source of the predestination and claiming us as His possession is rooted in His purpose.

                                                           iii.      This is the noun form of the word we saw before where God the Father “set forth” or “established” his redemption plan in Christ.

                                                           iv.      In its noun form we could render it, resolve or determination.

                                                             v.      Meaning that God predestined and claimed us with reference to His own determination and resolution.  

                                                           vi.      Again, it doesn’t give us the answers we want. But it does make it clear that God is not consulting anything outside Himself to predestine and claim us to be in Christ.

                                                          vii.      This is an important point and it is one that Paul will broaden significantly by saying…

d.       [Slide 7] who accomplishes all things according to the counsel of his will.

                                                               i.      The word “accomplishes” has the idea of implementation. To actually cause something to function or to carry into effect. It implies power.

                                                             ii.      When the word “all” appears in the Greek text without an article, that often means each or every… but when the word “all” appears in the Greek text with an article, it often means “all” in the absolute sense.

                                                           iii.      In this text, the article is present. What that means is that Paul is saying that literally every single thing that is carried into effect, in all of reality, in the heavens or on the earth, is according to the counsel of His will.

                                                           iv.      Not only the predestination and claiming of us in Christ, but all things that happen are brought about by God and are according to the counsel of His will.

                                                             v.      The words counsel and will have been debated by scholars. They are, in effect, synonyms.

                                                           vi.      Yet because Paul joins them in this way, it seems best for us to try to determine their nuanced meaning.

1.       In other contexts, it seems that counsel is referring to intellect and deliberation.

2.       Whereas will is referring to more of an inclination or an attitude of preference of one alternative over another.

                                                          vii.      And so once again, although not satisfying, Paul allows us to see as much as we can about the process by which God has implemented and carried out all things including our predestination and claiming.

                                                        viii.      All things are carried into effect by Him with reference to His intelligent, wise, deliberations which informs and guides His inclination to do as He pleases.

                                                            ix.      God has not chosen arbitrarily nor by compulsion. God has implemented all things by forethought and wisdom. And that includes our predestination and being claimed as an inheritance.

e.       [Slide 8] Summary of the Point: Paul moves now into a section of his eulogy where He praises God the Father, Son, and Spirit, for bringing Spiritual benefits to us. Paul expands upon what God makes us by the Son and the Spirit. Here specifically, by being predestined we were claimed as His possession in Christ which He brought about in the wisdom and deliberation of His will. Again, a humble Christian who knows how sinful they are, must simply praise God for what He has done in claiming them as His own possession in Christ.

 

Transition:

[Slide 9 (blank)] But why have we been claimed as an inheritance? Why have we been chosen as God’s portion? What is the point of it?

 

II.)                When we hear and believe the gospel God seals us and gives us His Spirit, so we must praise Him.

a.       [Slide 10] 12 - so that we, who were the first to set our hope on Christ,

                                                               i.      Verse 12 opens with the purpose of the main verb.

                                                             ii.      For what purpose has God claimed us as His possession in Christ?

                                                           iii.      But before we get to that we have to investigate what Paul might mean by the word, “we”.

                                                           iv.      Up to this point it was appropriate for us to assume that Paul meant himself and the church in Ephesus, and then apply it to the universal church as a whole. However, Paul will now specify a “we” he is talking about. And it seems like it is a different “we.”

                                                             v.      The word the NET translates “were the first to set our hope” means to hope before.

                                                           vi.      However, there is some uncertainty about the word.

1.       First, this is the only occurrence of the word in the New Testament.

2.       Second, this word is never used in the Septuagint.

3.       Third, this Greek verb is the verb “to hope” with a prefix “pro” meaning before.

a.       However, Greek verbs that put prefixes in the verb sometimes merely serve to emphasize but not drastically affect the meaning of the word.

b.       This could mean that we could translate this word “to hope firmly” or “to continue to hope”

4.       Lastly, this word is in the perfect tense which emphasizes an action completed with continuing results.

                                                          vii.      Commentators struggle because the pronoun changes in verse 13 suggesting different audiences and the verb’s uncertain translation seems to make this even murkier.

                                                        viii.      Because of this there is some uncertainty as to what Paul might be saying.  

1.       One interpretation is that Paul is talking about the Jews. The gospel started with the Jews who hoped in Christ first, meaning before other people groups.

2.       Another interpretation is also the Jews, but it carries the idea of the Jews hoping before Christ came. Meaning they were hoping for and looking to the coming of the Messiah. This could include Paul, even if he originally missed the Messiah and fought against Him.

3.       Another interpretation has this “we” referring to those who wrote with Paul and the “you” of verse 13 referring to the Ephesians.

4.       Another interpretation is that this is a rhetorical device found in prayers where the writer begins with general pronouns and then turns to second person pronouns to make it more personal. We see this in 1 Peter 1:3-9. If this is the case the “we” here is generally of all Christians who believed, and the you in verse 13 is of the Ephesians specifically.

                                                            ix.      It is difficult to know exactly what interpretation to pick here. All of them have a good degree of merit. And none of them drastically effect the outcome of the meaning of the text.

                                                             x.      If I was pressed to make a decision, I think I would interpret this as Jewish Christians who were the first to place their hope in Christ. But any interpretation I have mentioned seems to be acceptable.

                                                            xi.      In any case, Paul has come to the human responsibility of the redemption plan of God. Everything Paul has talked about up to this point has been God working and doing. Here, those who have been predestined to be claimed as an inheritance have hoped in Christ. Their hope, their faith is the means God used to unite them to Christ.

                                                          xii.      But why has God done all this for those who hoped in Christ?

b.       [Slide 11] would be to the praise of his glory.

                                                               i.      This is now the third time in this sentence that Paul gives the reason God has done all this. Why has God predestined those whom He claimed as an inheritance? So, they would be to the praise of His glory.

                                                             ii.      And we actually see language like this in the Old Testament where God chose Israel as His portion for the praise of His glory.

                                                           iii.      Meaning of course that the path for Israel to do this is to put their hope in their Messiah.

                                                           iv.      For the Israelite, the inheritance wasn’t just for being from Abraham. It was through THE seed of Abraham, Jesus Christ. The mediatorial head of a new covenant.

                                                             v.      But what about those who were not Jews. Did they receive a different destiny? Are they fundamentally different than those who were Jews and hope in Christ?

c.       [Slide 12] 13 - And when you heard the word of truth (the gospel of your salvation)

                                                               i.      The NET omits the first two words which are another instance of “in whom”.

                                                             ii.      But these words certainly should be here. It is the essence of all that Paul is saying.

                                                           iii.      It is our union to Christ that is in view.

                                                           iv.      Paul uses the words “you also” now to refer to those to which he writes.

                                                             v.      Regardless of which interpretation you pick for who the “we” was in verse 12, verse 13 still makes sense to refer to the church in Ephesus.

                                                           vi.      Paul assures the gentile Ephesians that they too have been claimed as an inheritance through the same means that the Jews had. Through faith. Faith in the good news of Jesus Christ.  

                                                          vii.      To hear is to hear with intention or with action. To hear and receive or to hear and act.

                                                        viii.      It is not simply letting the good news pass into your ears.

                                                            ix.      It is the hearing and acting upon that news.

                                                             x.      Paul specifies that this word of truth is the good news of our salvation.

                                                            xi.      And indeed, it is good news to those who have been given wisdom and understanding to perceive it.

d.       [Slide 13] —when you believed in Christ—

                                                               i.      The NET makes a misstep here.

                                                             ii.      This phrase is flipped on end which does change the meaning slightly.

                                                           iii.      The way they have translated this it seems that our belief is in Christ, which we most certainly do believe in Christ. But that isn’t really what Paul is saying here in this verse.

                                                           iv.      This translation makes it seem like belief is a verb, when it is really a participle getting us ready for the main verb.  

                                                             v.      Instead, Paul is saying that in Christ, having believed,

e.       [Slide 14] you were marked with the seal of the promised Holy Spirit,

                                                               i.      In other words, we are united to Christ and marked with a seal of the Holy Spirit WHEN we believed.

                                                             ii.      When we heard and acted upon the gospel in belief, we were marked and sealed by the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.

                                                           iii.      This returns our focus on the action of God.

                                                           iv.      This marking and sealing are passive voice, and is clearly a divine passive.

                                                             v.      To be marked means to be branded or to be set apart as one’s property. When we hear and believe the gospel, we are marked as God’s own possession.

                                                           vi.      And this marking is a work of prophetic fulfillment where the Holy Spirit would come upon people in the last days.

                                                          vii.      But now Paul will go into this idea of the Holy Spirit… in what way is He the promised seal?

f.        [Slide 15] 14 - who is the down payment of our inheritance,

                                                               i.      Let’s start with the word inheritance.

                                                             ii.      This is the noun form of the Greek verb we saw in verse 11 – “have been claimed as God’s own possession”

                                                           iii.      Paul is most definitely pointing us back to verse 11 to understand how this works.

                                                           iv.      In Christ, we have been claimed, appointed by lot. We have been made an inheritance. We are a prize, a reward, a possession.

                                                             v.      And those who have been claimed in this way by being predestined, have heard and believed the gospel and have been sealed and marked with the Holy Spirit.

                                                           vi.      This Spirit is a pledge, a guarantee, a down payment assuring us of being claimed.

                                                          vii.      God left us with the Holy Spirit indwelling us as His signature of ownership. It is an engagement ring, declaring that we belong to Him.

                                                        viii.      The Holy Spirit acts as a little bit of heaven dwelling in us.

                                                            ix.      Until when?

g.       [Slide 16] until the redemption of God’s own possession,

                                                               i.      The redemption mentioned here is probably not identical to the redemption Paul mentioned in verse 7. Paul indicated that we HAVE, present tense, that redemption. But it is clear that Paul means that there is also a future redemption.

                                                             ii.      With the Holy Spirit being a down payment, it makes it plain that though God owns us and has branded us, we are not fully taken possession of.

                                                           iii.      It would be like getting engaged. You are off the market. You belong to another – but you aren’t married yet.

                                                           iv.      It would be like closing on a house and having the deed but waiting for the previous tenants to move out. Is the house yours? Yes and no. Right?

                                                             v.      This redemption Paul speaks of here, is when we will be fully claimed in a New Heaven and Earth and given new bodies to dwell with Him forever.

                                                           vi.      Well, how do we know that God has the deed to us?

                                                          vii.      He has sealed us and left the Holy Spirit as a down payment with us until He comes to get us.

                                                        viii.      Even in the book of Acts, the church was assured that people were truly God’s, when they displayed the evidence of the Holy Spirit indwelling them.

                                                            ix.      And what… AGAIN…  is the goal of all this?

h.       [Slide 17] to the praise of his glory.

                                                               i.      God gets all the glory for this.

                                                             ii.      Even though Paul potentially spoke to two different groups, Jews and Gentiles, himself and the Ephesians – the salvation they inherit is the same, and so is the purpose for that salvation.

                                                           iii.      It is so that His glory would be praised.

i.         [Slide 18] Summary of the Point: And so, Paul finally finishes his sentence not only talking about how God has claimed us as an inheritance but also the means that God uses to unite us to Christ so we can be His own possession. It is by faith alone. The moment we hear and believe the gospel, we are branded as His and He gives us His Spirit as a guarantee that He will return to take us home. God has done all and uses simple faith, simple hope, to join us to all that He has designed for us. And to that, true Christians must simply praise God for His glory.

 

Conclusion:

So, CBC, what have we learned today that refines our beliefs and guides our lifestyles?

 

Basics of Faith and Practice:

[Slide 19] Paul finishes his doxological eulogy. It is a masterpiece of praise to God for all that He has done in our salvation. Before the foundation of the world, by predestining us as sons, God chose us to be united to Christ through faith, and by being united to Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our sins, and by being predestined we have been claimed as His own possession so that the moment we heard and believed the gospel, He stamped us with His mark and gave us a guarantee that He will come to take us to himself fully when the New Kingdom comes, and then we will be part of a new administration where Christ is all in all. My friends… is God not worthy of praise for this?

 

Let me break this down a little farther this morning, just to make sure we know all the ins and outs of this.

 

1.)    [Slide 20] Mind Transformation: “What truth must we believe from this text?” or “What might we not naturally believe that we must believe because of what this text has said?” We must affirm that God has predestined and claimed believers to be His own possession in Christ.

a.       While this teaching is difficult to square with, and was absent from most of our biblical education growing up, Paul does not raise this teaching as a point of contention.

b.       Instead, Paul raises this teaching as a point of praise.

c.       If you are a believer today, a follower of Christ, then this has always been God’s plan for you.

d.       He predestined you. He claimed you.

e.       You are His! He owns you. You are His inheritance. You are His heritage. His posterity. His family.

f.        Do you deserve that?

g.       No. You do not.

h.       What do you deserve?

i.         Death. You deserve what Christ endured. But through His death, Christ atoned for your sin.

j.         Through His life, Christ secured righteousness for you as He takes His place as a new covenantal head.

k.       Through His resurrection He assures you of a future resurrection.

l.         Through His ascension He assures you of the coming of a Helper, the Holy Spirit.

m.     Through His intercession He assures you of peace and an audience with the Father to approach as sons for mercy and grace.

n.       Jesus said in the gospel of John that He will not lose any that the Father gave to Him.

o.       Jesus died for you. Jesus did all this, for you, and for me. In obedience to His Father.

p.       So that a new administration could be centered on Him and a posterity, an inheritance, a heritage, could be claimed by God Himself.

q.       God is still on plan A. He picked you before the world began.

r.        You are not your own… but you belong body and soul, in life and death… to God.

2.)    [Slide 21] Mind Transformation: “What truth must we believe from this text?” or “What might we not naturally believe that we must believe because of what this text has said?” We must affirm that God unites us to Christ through faith alone. 

a.       God uses faith alone as the means by which He unites us to this destiny and inheritance.

b.       It is not the mechanism or instrument… but the path.

c.       Much like God used the blood of bulls and goats to pass over sin in the Old Testament. As the writer of Hebrews says, the blood of bulls and goats itself could never forgive sin. But God used it as a means to cover sin as it pointed to the future coming of the perfect sacrifice.

d.       In a similar way, the New Testament never paints salvation as a reward for faith. Rather salvation is a gift received through faith.

e.       Faith is always a means to receive salvation.

f.        Furthermore, the New Testament seems to indicate in several places that faith itself is a gift of God.

g.       I say all this to help us understand that saving faith in the scriptures is not a work we can produce from within ourselves as an unconverted person.

h.       In order to join us to the destiny He has for us, God must open our eyes, He must, on an individual level, like He did with Lydia, reveal to us the truth.

i.         But it is important to recognize that although God does the revealing and the gifting of faith – we are not coerced in this. God does not force anyone to believe or to reject the gospel message.

j.         It seems as though God merely enables us to hear and believe.

k.       And so – there is a human responsibility to hear and believe the gospel. This is the means God uses to unite us to Christ and all the benefits that entails.

l.         This tension is difficult. But this is my attempt to try to explain it to you and I hope it has helped.   

3.)    [Slide 22] Mind Transformation: “What truth must we believe from this text?” or “What might we not naturally believe that we must believe because of what this text has said?” We must affirm that God seals us with His Spirit as a down payment for our future redemption.

a.       The imagery Paul uses here to discuss the Holy Spirit’s work in God’s redemption of believers is fairly unambiguous.

b.       Although there are certainly passages that warn people who have made professions of faith that their faith must endure to the end, we must take this passage and others like it into account as well.

c.       At the very moment we are united to Christ by faith, God seals us as His own possession.

d.       Furthermore, He gives the Holy Spirit to us as a down payment or a guarantee of future redemption.

e.       The passages that warn about faith failing have this one thing in common. They are all concerning people who are not showing evidence that the Spirit of God is in them. They are not displaying the fruit of the Spirit and/or holding to the doctrinal traditions that the Spirit has revealed to them.

f.        All this to say, we must understand that from God’s perspective, once a person is sealed and the Spirit is given as a guarantee – they are His forever. He will come to complete their redemption. There is no doubt about it at all.

g.       The only doubt that can be, is on our end.

h.       If you are sealed and indwelled by God’s Spirit – you should be bearing fruit. You should be growing.

4.)    [Slide 23] Exhortation: “What actions should we take?” or “What is this passage specifically commanding us to do that we don’t naturally do or aren’t currently doing?” We must praise God, the Father, the Son, and the Spirit, for our salvation.

a.       As an exercise of praise, so we can apply this immediately, I want to just ask you a series of questions.

b.       If you are a true believer, I’d ask you to respond to these questions with gusto. Give praise to our God this morning!

c.       Should we praise Him for all His work to save us?

d.       Are we worthy of this salvation?

e.       Is He gracious?

f.        Would He have been right to judge us for our sin?

g.       Would He have been right to leave us out of His plan?

h.       Have we done anything to earn His grace?

i.         Is the Father’s redemptive plan to save us worthy of praise?

j.         Is the Son’s work to secure our redemption worthy of praise?

k.       Is the Spirit’s work to seal us and assure us of our future redemption worthy of praise?

l.         Shall we praise ourselves for believing and hoping in Christ?

m.     Should we rather boast only in knowing Christ, in His death and resurrection?

n.       Now some questions that aren’t yes or no and ones that you should think about and not answer audibly.

o.       What ways could you praise the Lord this week for saving you?

p.       What ways could you praise the Lord this week for His masterful redemptive plan?

q.       What ways could you praise the Lord this week for His claiming you as His own possession?

r.        What ways could you praise the Lord this week for opening your eyes and convincing you of the truth of the gospel?

s.        Maybe you can share some of these ways on our CBC scoop page or with one another. Give each other ideas for ways we could praise the Lord for all these scriptures have revealed about His masterful plan to save us.

5.)    [Slide 24] Comfort: “What comfort can we find here?” or “What peace does the Lord promise us in light of this passage of scripture?” God’s plan to redeem us began before time and He will seal and guarantee His possession of us with His Spirit.

a.       We’ve said it a few times.

b.       Let me say it again!

c.       What a comfort to know that God isn’t winging it.

d.       God causes everything to happen by His forethought and wisdom which is the source of His desires.

e.       Everything that happens is not arbitrary or by chance, it is not thoughtless or random. It is by His design.

f.        What a comforting thought that is, especially when applied to the redemption of His people.

g.       He has never been on Plan B. There is no plan B.

h.       Everything is going exactly as God has willed it. And even though that is challenging, there is indeed comfort in that as well.

6.)    [Slide 25] Evangelism: “What about this text points us to Jesus Christ, the gospel, and how we are restored?” God’s plan for redemption is accomplished by the counsel of His will and through faith in Jesus Christ.

a.       The necessary conclusions of this statement bring us to what is one of the most common adulterations of the Christian gospel.

b.       And it is that salvation, forgiveness, a place in God’s heaven is secured, somehow, by human effort and good deeds.

c.       Some conclude that if my good deeds simply outweigh by bad deeds, that God will judge me worthy of His Kingdom.

d.       Some conclude that if I am objectively a better person than some of the most sinful people that have lived, like Hitler, Stalin, and Genghis Kahn, that this assures me a place in God’s Kingdom.

e.       Some conclude that God has done something for me, but in order to go to heaven, I must keep paying for my sins, and earning His grace, in this life or in an intermediate state where I will be purified and only then can I enter into heaven.

f.        But the New Testament in general and in this text specifically, we see not only that God has done everything to secure our salvation, but that it is through the mere means of simple faith in the gospel that God unites us to Christ and all the rewards and blessings of His redemption plan.

g.       What does this mean?

h.       It means that nothing that we do can affect in any way our eternal standing with God.

i.         God doesn’t compare our good deeds and bad. As James says, if you have broken the law in one point, you have broken the whole law. What are the wages of sin? Death. As long as you have committed one sin, you are worthy of death.

j.         God doesn’t compare us to the worst humans who have lived to determine our eligibility for heaven. Instead, the bible says that we must be perfect like He is perfect. In other words, God’s standard for heaven, is Himself.

k.       And where in this text is there any room at all for our works to help complete God’s work of redemption?

l.         No, my friends. It is through simple hope. Simple belief in the gospel of Jesus Christ, that God unites us to His Son and all the benefits He has secured.

m.     Why?

n.       So men can’t boast.

o.       It is only God. It is all Him.

p.       So how are you saved?

q.       Hear and believe what has been told to you today. Hear and believe that God has secured salvation for you in Christ. Hope and believe in such a way that it permanently alters the course of your life. Hope and believe in such a way that you abandon your sins and obey this God who has done all of this.

r.        Hear and believe… and when you do, you will be sealed and indwelled with the Holy Spirit.

 

[Slide 26 (end)] Let me close with a word of prayer by the Church Father Cyril of Jerusalem

 

God of all, who spoke by the Holy Spirit through the prophets, You sent forth the Spirit upon the apostles on the day of Pentecost.

 

Now send forth the Spirit upon us at this time, and by the Spirit also keep us. Impart His benefits in common to us all, that we may always show forth the fruits of the Spirit: love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.

 

In Christ Jesus our Lord, by whom and with whom, together with the Holy Spirit, be glory to the Father, both now and ever, and forever and ever, amen.

 

Benediction:

May the Lord establish you as a holy people to Himself.

May He hover over you as an eagle over its young,

Who spreads its wings and catches them and carries them on its pinions

To the end that you who have put your hope in Christ Jesus would be to the praise of His glory.

 

Until we meet again, Grace and Peace to you.]]></description>
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      <title><![CDATA[04 Ephesians 1:7-10 All Things in Christ]]></title>
      <category>Podcast</category>
      <itunes:author><![CDATA[Chris Freeman]]></itunes:author>
      <itunes:subtitle><![CDATA[Title: All Things in Christ Text: Ephesians 1:7-10 FCF: We often struggle praising God for the enormity of His redemption plan. Prop: Because The Father has crafted and revealed a cosmic redemption plan for all creation in Christ, we must praise the Fathe]]></itunes:subtitle>
      <itunes:summary><![CDATA[Title: All Things in Christ

Text: Ephesians 1:7-10

FCF: We often struggle praising God for the enormity of His redemption plan.

Prop: Because The Father has crafted and revealed a cosmic redemption plan for all creation in Christ, we must praise the Father.

 

Scripture Intro:

[Slide 1] Turn in your bible to Ephesians chapter 1. In a moment we’ll read from the Legacy Standard Bible starting in verse 7 and going to verse 10. You can follow along in the pew bible or in whatever version you prefer.

 

Last week, we discussed the first of God’s Spiritual blessings He blessed us with. God predetermined to make a family for Himself by adopting as sons those whom He chooses to put into Christ, His firstborn Son, and to share all the promises of that covenant. God did this according to His good will to us and in His love and so that we would praise Him for His abounding grace.

 

But before we move on from this, I want to adjust the temperature level on last week’s sermon.

 

It was clearly put forward as a sermon that would be confrontational. I knew that going in.

 

I think I did my best to defend my interpretation of the scriptures.

 

However, I do want to submit two things to you.

 

First, if you aren’t convinced or if you don’t quite see it my way yet – that’s ok. We can grow together in this. And even if we never see eye to eye. That’s ok too, as long as we pursue peace and fellowship regardless.

 

Second, I did make a point that seemed to say that disagreeing with me would be disagreeing with God. However, I want to add nuance to that. My intention was to keep us from spending all our time debating the topic rather than praising God for His work in salvation. And my intention with that comment specifically was to try to help those who might initially disagree with what was said, not to dismiss everything in the sermon and even to entertain the possibility that they could be wrong.  

 

With that being said, thankfully, the sermon today, I think, will be much less confrontational.

 

Please stand with me to give honor to and to focus on the Word of God as it is read.

 

Invocation:

All wise and knowing Father, You have declared the end from the beginning. You have determined what you will do and you will bring it to pass. Never has such a doctrine affected us so, as to the established plan and decree of redemption. You have set out a marvelous and mysterious plan to redeem and forgive sins. And at the center of this plan, You have foreordained Your Son to be its head. Glorious and all gracious Father, may we as Your people praise You today for the grace you have lavished on us in this cosmic plan for reconciliation. We pray this in Jesus’ name, Amen.

 

Transition:

[Slide 2] “No creature that deserved redemption would need to be redeemed.” C.S. Lewis

 

“The heart of the gospel is redemption, and the essence of redemption is the substitutionary sacrifice of Christ.” C.H. Spurgeon

 

[Slide 3] “If I had the wisdom of Solomon, the patience of Job, the meekness of Moses, the strength of Samson, the obedience of Abraham, the compassion of Joseph, the tears of Jeremiah, the poetic skill of David, the prophetic voice of Elijah, the courage of Daniel, the greatness of John the Baptist, and the endurance of Paul, I would still need redemption through Christ’s blood, the forgiveness of sin.” R.I. Wheeler

 

[Slide 4] “There can be no thought of “cheap”]]></itunes:summary>
      <description><![CDATA[Title: All Things in Christ

Text: Ephesians 1:7-10

FCF: We often struggle praising God for the enormity of His redemption plan.

Prop: Because The Father has crafted and revealed a cosmic redemption plan for all creation in Christ, we must praise the Father.

 

Scripture Intro:

[Slide 1] Turn in your bible to Ephesians chapter 1. In a moment we’ll read from the Legacy Standard Bible starting in verse 7 and going to verse 10. You can follow along in the pew bible or in whatever version you prefer.

 

Last week, we discussed the first of God’s Spiritual blessings He blessed us with. God predetermined to make a family for Himself by adopting as sons those whom He chooses to put into Christ, His firstborn Son, and to share all the promises of that covenant. God did this according to His good will to us and in His love and so that we would praise Him for His abounding grace.

 

But before we move on from this, I want to adjust the temperature level on last week’s sermon.

 

It was clearly put forward as a sermon that would be confrontational. I knew that going in.

 

I think I did my best to defend my interpretation of the scriptures.

 

However, I do want to submit two things to you.

 

First, if you aren’t convinced or if you don’t quite see it my way yet – that’s ok. We can grow together in this. And even if we never see eye to eye. That’s ok too, as long as we pursue peace and fellowship regardless.

 

Second, I did make a point that seemed to say that disagreeing with me would be disagreeing with God. However, I want to add nuance to that. My intention was to keep us from spending all our time debating the topic rather than praising God for His work in salvation. And my intention with that comment specifically was to try to help those who might initially disagree with what was said, not to dismiss everything in the sermon and even to entertain the possibility that they could be wrong.  

 

With that being said, thankfully, the sermon today, I think, will be much less confrontational.

 

Please stand with me to give honor to and to focus on the Word of God as it is read.

 

Invocation:

All wise and knowing Father, You have declared the end from the beginning. You have determined what you will do and you will bring it to pass. Never has such a doctrine affected us so, as to the established plan and decree of redemption. You have set out a marvelous and mysterious plan to redeem and forgive sins. And at the center of this plan, You have foreordained Your Son to be its head. Glorious and all gracious Father, may we as Your people praise You today for the grace you have lavished on us in this cosmic plan for reconciliation. We pray this in Jesus’ name, Amen.

 

Transition:

[Slide 2] “No creature that deserved redemption would need to be redeemed.” C.S. Lewis

 

“The heart of the gospel is redemption, and the essence of redemption is the substitutionary sacrifice of Christ.” C.H. Spurgeon

 

[Slide 3] “If I had the wisdom of Solomon, the patience of Job, the meekness of Moses, the strength of Samson, the obedience of Abraham, the compassion of Joseph, the tears of Jeremiah, the poetic skill of David, the prophetic voice of Elijah, the courage of Daniel, the greatness of John the Baptist, and the endurance of Paul, I would still need redemption through Christ’s blood, the forgiveness of sin.” R.I. Wheeler

 

[Slide 4] “There can be no thought of “cheap” forgiveness when we remember that our redemption cost God the life of His beloved Son.” Geoffrey B. Wilson

 

May these words help prepare our minds for the exposition of the text this morning.

 

I.)                  The Father’s riches of grace secured our redemption through Christ’s atonement, so we must praise the Father.

a.       [Slide 5] 7 - In Him

                                                               i.      The section we are beginning in this doxological eulogy has not quite turned to Christ just yet. Paul is still talking about God the Father.

                                                             ii.      However, rather than seeing what the Father HAS blessed us with in the past, now Paul turns to what the Father is blessing us with in the present.

                                                           iii.      The preposition “in” again is referring to a location.

                                                           iv.      But the pronoun “him” must be referring to Jesus based on the context.

                                                             v.      Once again Paul is relaying to us the Spiritual benefits The Father gives us by uniting us to Christ.

                                                           vi.      So, what other Spiritual benefits has The Father blessed us with?

b.       [Slide 6] we have redemption through His blood,

                                                               i.      Let’s begin with the preposition through. It is describing to us the means or the path by which we have this next benefit.

                                                             ii.      It is by the means of Christ’s blood, which is certainly talking about His sacrificial atoning death on the cross, which has secured for us this benefit.

                                                           iii.      Much like we see the sacrifices in the Old Testament being the means God used to cover or pass over the sins of His people. However, our benefit is not a covering or a passing over…

                                                           iv.      The benefit is redemption.

                                                             v.      Before we define redemption, it is important to see that this particular benefit is not something that God did in the past for us. Rather this particular benefit is something we HAVE. Present tense. The Greek present tense emphasizes the action happening at the time of writing and usually implies a continuous effect.

                                                           vi.      So, what does it mean we have redemption in Christ?

                                                          vii.      Redemption is a legal term indicating that we have been released, delivered, or ransomed.

                                                        viii.      Depending on the context we could see either a simple deliverance from bondage or the paying of a ransom price in order to secure that redemption.

                                                            ix.      Since both are taught in scripture, I think you can land on either side, but we should not see Christ’s blood as the payment itself.

                                                             x.      If it were, Paul would have said “with” His blood and not “through” His blood.

                                                            xi.      His blood is a metaphor for the payment for sin, which is death. And the payment of that ransom was not paid to Satan, but was rather the cost of freeing us from our bondage to sin and Satan.

                                                          xii.      Sin and Satan trapped us because we were estranged to God. Christ’s death brought peace with God and release from Sin and Satan.

                                                        xiii.      This is made even more clear in the next statement.

c.       [Slide 7] the forgiveness of our transgressions,

                                                               i.      This phrase is called appositional. What that means it that it serves to rename or re-word what was previously stated.  

                                                             ii.      What is our redemption through His blood?

                                                           iii.      It is forgiveness of our transgressions.

                                                           iv.      We should not see forgiveness as if our transgressions are simply forgotten or ignored. Forgiveness is more of a financial term here, where the debts are paid by someone else. 

                                                             v.      It has the idea of a formal release or pardon.

                                                           vi.      The reason for the release or pardon is because someone paid the debt we owed. Namely, Christ. Therefore, since the payment has been made, we are free to go.

                                                          vii.      But what caused our debt?

                                                        viii.      It is our transgressions.

                                                            ix.      Transgressions here is the idea of a wrongdoing, a false step, an offense, or a blunder.

                                                             x.      Paul uses this term and others to describe sin in general. There may be subtle nuances between the different words Paul uses, but we see him use words almost interchangeably in similar constructions throughout the New Testament.

                                                            xi.      Christ’s atonement and sacrificial death on the cross specifically redeems and forgives us of the debt we had accrued toward God because of our sins.

                                                          xii.      Paul says elsewhere that the wages of sin is death. Therefore, the deliverance or the ransom paid to God for our sins against Him is to God to cancel our debt and free us.

                                                        xiii.      Christ’s death secured our deliverance.

                                                        xiv.      Why would God do this?

d.       [Slide 8] according to the riches of His grace

                                                               i.      According to here is once again showing us the source of all that has been done.

                                                             ii.      What source led to Christ’s sacrifice to redeem and forgive us for our sins?

                                                           iii.      It is none other than the riches of His grace.

                                                           iv.      “His” here is difficult to determine. We are a good way away from Paul talking about God the Father.

                                                             v.      We could see this as the Triune God, although that would be even more “out of left field.”

                                                           vi.      The most recent subject would have been Jesus Christ.

                                                          vii.      Certainly, Jesus can show riches in grace.

                                                        viii.      However, contextually, since Paul has not quite finished praising the Father, it seems better to see this as the grace of the Father.

                                                            ix.      And so, God the Father’s uniting us to Christ in His atonement as the means to forgive and release us from our sin debt, flows out of His abundant grace toward us.

                                                             x.      And so once again, it comes back to the grace of the Father. His powerful favor He gives to us, His people, enabling us to do what we could never do for ourselves.

e.       [Slide 9] Summary of the Point: Paul’s primary point is to turn to the here and now.  What Spiritual benefits do we have presently from the Father? In this, Paul reveals that out of the riches of grace of the Father, He has secured our redemption and forgiveness through the sacrificial atonement of Jesus Christ, His Son. God has given His powerful favor to do what we could not do and atone for our sins and secure our pardon. God has released us from sin and death by providing the atonement and payment for our sins. Is there any other response that a believer can offer to this, than praising God?

 

Transition:

[Slide 10 (blank)] But providing to us a redemption is not the only Spiritual blessing the Father has given in His grace that we enjoy today. What else has God’s grace done for us?

 

II.)                The Father’s abounding grace has made known to us His redemption plan in Christ, so we must praise the Father.

a.       [Slide 11] 8 - which He caused to abound to us

                                                               i.      Still speaking of the Father’s grace, Paul continues on his quest to show how praiseworthy God is for His blessing us.

                                                             ii.      Literally the Greek text says, “Which abounded to us”

                                                           iii.      Because this is a little weird sounding in English, many translations including the LSB add a word to try to help. “Which He made to abound”, or “which He richly poured,” or as here “caused to abound.”

                                                           iv.      All of this is an attempt to bring the thought over to English readers.

                                                             v.      But we get the idea, mostly because Paul has already talked about how God has lavished His grace on us.

                                                           vi.      However, the way in which He has done so is different here as he continues.

b.       [Slide 12] in all wisdom and insight,

                                                               i.      Scholars are fairly divided over how to read this. There are basically three ideas.

1.       First, that God sourced our redemption in His grace which He abounded to us with His wisdom and insight. Meaning that this provides the motive or the manner in which God gave us grace and redemption.

a.       God is most certainly all wise and discerning.

b.       His plan of redemption reflects masterful planning and execution that certainly baffles the minds of men and angels.

c.       This is an attractive option because it refers back to what He has already said about the predestination, election, and redemption of His people.

d.       However, I’m not fully convinced that Paul is talking about that necessarily.

2.       A second idea goes forward, in that God’s wisdom and insight has made known to us the mystery of His will.

a.       This would mean that God uses his divine wisdom and discernment by making known to us what His cosmic plans are.

b.       This is an attractive option because this is more or less what Paul prays for the church in Ephesus in verse 15-22 of chapter 1.

c.       However, I’m not fully convinced of this one either.

3.       A third option is that these are actually further Spiritual benefits to those whom God has redeemed.

a.       This would mean that God has actually given wisdom and insight to us in order that we would know and understand God’s eternal purpose in redemption.

b.       And also, that we would know and understand God future plans for our redemption. 

c.       This has the advantage of looking back and forward in the context of Ephesians.

d.       This is the interpretation that I will preach from, but know that the others are fully biblical views as well.

                                                             ii.      God the Father’s grace was given in abundance to us in that He has given us wisdom, which is the use of knowledge and experience.

                                                           iii.      His grace has also given us insight, which is our capacity for rational thought, inference, or discernment.

                                                           iv.      But it is not simply these gifts, because in some ways He has given these things to all men as image bearers.

                                                             v.      Instead, these gifts are especially abounded in grace so that we would know, experience, and understand what He makes known to us…  

c.       [Slide 13] 9 - making known to us the mystery of His will,

                                                               i.      Making known is another circumstantial participle which conveys to us that this making known is related to God’s causing of grace to abound to us.

                                                             ii.      In other words, it is directly connected to His grace given.

                                                           iii.      In His abounding grace He has given us wisdom and insight by making known to us the mystery.

                                                           iv.      Mystery refers to a divine secret or secret doctrine.

                                                             v.      Today, we would be very wary of “secret doctrines” because the scriptural canon has been closed and we believe that the fullest revelation of God’s Word to us is in Jesus Christ.

                                                           vi.      But Paul writes of that very thing happening. That Christ came and revealed doctrines that were veiled in the Old Testament that are now unveiled.

                                                          vii.      But what is the mystery of God’s will?

                                                        viii.      Scholars almost unanimously agree that this points us back to God’s plan to save His people.

                                                            ix.      Paul is again referencing what he has discussed in verses 3-8.

                                                             x.      This mystery which was not fully known, has been made known to us.

                                                            xi.      God’s grace abounded to us, giving us wisdom and insight to understand this divine mystery of God adopting us and choosing us in Christ, redeeming and forgiving our sins through Christ’s atonement.

                                                          xii.      The only reason we even learn about God’s plan is because God reveals it to us. Without God revealing it… none would ever know it.

                                                        xiii.      But what is the motive that God had in making His mysterious will known to us?

d.       [Slide 14] according to His good pleasure which He purposed in Him

                                                               i.      God has revealed it to us out of His good pleasure.

                                                             ii.      God was delighted to make this mystery known to us.

                                                           iii.      The next phrase, “which He purposed in Him”, is difficult to understand.

                                                           iv.      First, we must understand that this is connected to God the Father’s good pleasure. Whatever follows is related to the Father’s delight.

                                                             v.      Second, we must deal with the meaning of the word purposed.  

                                                           vi.      Purposed means to set before, usually meant to set before someone for consideration as the reason or purpose. We could even say, established.

                                                          vii.      However, it is in the middle voice meaning God does this for or to Himself.

                                                        viii.      Paul then adds “in Him” at the end of this which could be talking about Christ or it could be talking about the Father in which case it would take a reflexive meaning… in Himself.

                                                            ix.      It seems best to take this “in Him” as talking about Christ specifically. This makes good sense in the context.

                                                             x.      So, what does this little phrase mean?

                                                            xi.      God delighted to reveal His mysterious redemption plan which He determined or established in Christ. Christ becomes the focal point of this plan which the Father is delighted to reveal to us.

e.       [Slide 15] Summary of the Point: Before, Paul showed us that The Father’s riches of grace provided redemption and forgiveness to us by Christ’s sacrificial and atoning death on the cross. But the Father’s abounding grace also has given us wisdom and understanding making known to us His mysterious redemption plan that He has determined in Christ. And God was delighted to make this known to us. Again, I ask, what does a believer in Christ have to say to this other than, Praise the Father!

 

Transition:

[Slide 16 (blank)] But what is the purpose of God setting out this redemption plan in Christ? What is the goal? And why Christ?

 

III.)               The Father’s redemption plan is for an administration with Christ as all in all, so we must praise the Father.

a.       [Slide 17] 10 - for an administration

                                                               i.      What is the overarching goal of God’s redemption plan in Christ?

                                                             ii.      For an administration. Well, what does that mean?

                                                           iii.      The word administration means stewardship or management.

                                                           iv.      It carries the idea of the activity of managing or administrating or governing.

                                                             v.      This entire redemption is for the purpose of setting up a system, an economy, or an administration.

                                                           vi.      An administration of what?

b.       [Slide 18] of the fullness of the times,

                                                               i.      Well, what does that mean?

                                                             ii.      The management or the administration is of the completion or the full to capacity of the times.

                                                           iii.      Meaning that God’s purpose in this redemption plan in Christ, is to lead to the end of all things. That all things would be complete in Him.

                                                           iv.      This plan started before the foundation of the world and its aim is the end of the world, and beyond.

                                                             v.      And what does that administration of the fullness of time look like?

c.       [Slide 19] that is, the summing up of all things in Christ,

                                                               i.      The words “that is” are not in the text but they help us to see that this is a renaming or a further explanation of the administration of the fullness of the times.

                                                             ii.      The purpose of this great redemption plan, with Christ as the center, is to bring all things in summary into Christ.

                                                           iii.      The word “summing up” is used of the summarization of a speech. In summing up a speech, you take the key points and ideas and bring them all into one sentence or paragraph, and discard the rest. There are actually applications that do this at the click of a button for us today. In this process they peel away the points that are most relevant to the document and discard what is not as relevant or is repeated.

                                                           iv.      Therefore, we could see this “summing up” as an ordering or a restructuring. It takes the chaos of what the world has become and brings it back into order.

                                                             v.      So that Christ will be all in all. That all things will be united into Christ.

                                                           vi.      The redemption plan God set forth in Christ is ultimately designed with the purpose to bring everything into order under Christ.

                                                          vii.      Everything?

d.       [Slide 20] things in the heavens and things on the earth in Him.

                                                               i.      Not just men… everything.

                                                             ii.      This is a cosmic plan of God that goes beyond merely the salvation of a people.

                                                           iii.      It includes all the realms of all creation.

                                                           iv.      There are both friends and enemies of God in the heavens and on the earth.

                                                             v.      God’s mysterious redemption plan set forth in Christ, includes the whole of creation.

                                                           vi.      Indeed, all creation groans for that day.

e.       [Slide 21] Summary of the Point: Continuing the thought from before, how God’s redemption extends to a mysterious plan he set up or established in Christ, Paul now shows us why. Why has God done this? It is so that this new order may come about, a new economy that will complete and subsume all of history and ultimately reorder and unite all things under Christ. So that Christ will be all in all. This is the wonderful purpose of God’s mystery of redemption which He was delighted to make known to us. In hearing this glorious message, true Christians can only praise the Father for His glorious will.

 

Conclusion:

So, what have we learned this morning that refines our beliefs and guides our lifestyles?

 

Basics of Faith and Practice:

[Slide 22] The grace of the Father is on display once again. God’s powerful favor to His people to bring to them a redemption and forgiveness through His Son’s sacrificial atonement for them. His grace brings us wisdom and discernment so that the mystery of His will in this plan would be made known to us. And He does all this for us because He is delighted to reveal to us a new administration that He is establishing in His Son to bring all of creation back into perfect order and harmony under Him. Wow. God’s redemption plan is so much bigger than you! It is so much bigger than me. In fact, God’s redemption plan… is all about Christ. What is our role as those who have believed on Christ? Is it not to praise the Father for all of these Spiritual blessings?

 

Let me get more specific on these things.

 

1.)    [Slide 23] Mind Transformation: “What truth must we believe from this text?” or “What might we not naturally believe that we must believe because of what this text has said?” We must affirm that The Father’s grace was lavished on us in His providing redemption and forgiveness.

a.       God’s Grace as we’ve come to see is God’s powerful favor given to those whom He freely wills to enable them to be, do, and receive what they are unable and unwilling to be, do, and receive for themselves.

b.       The Father’s grace then is meeting us in our inability. We cannot atone for our own sins. We are unable and really we are unwilling.

c.       Unbelievers who joke about being in the lake of fire with their friends have no concept of the unspeakable horrors of their punishment for their sins.

d.       And the punishment there will be eternal, implying of course that their sins will never truly be paid for, even given an eternity.

e.       And so, the Father has given us lavish grace to provide for us redemption and forgiveness of our sins through the blood of Christ.

f.        He has sacrificed Himself so that we might be pardoned. He has taken our shame and our guilt and our condemnation and He has given us His sonship in return.

g.       We were estranged from God and held captive by sin, death, and Satan. But Jesus has made peace with God by paying for our sins. All the roadblocks preventing us from being God’s true children are removed by the sacrificial atoning death of Christ on the cross.

h.       This we must believe.

2.)    [Slide 24] Mind Transformation: “What truth must we believe from this text?” or “What might we not naturally believe that we must believe because of what this text has said?” We must affirm that The Father’s grace was lavished on us to make known to us the mystery of His will.

a.       In 1 Corinthians 2 we are told more of this marvelous mystery. In verses 6-16 Paul says that natural man cannot understand the things of God because they are spiritually discerned.

b.       Which is just a long way of saying what Romans 10 says – faith comes through hearing and hearing by the Word of God.

c.       Not one single human being would wake up one day and understand and believe what God has said about His Son, if God had not revealed the mystery to Him. Not one.

d.       God must reveal this marvelous mystery.

e.       Lydia, dear Lydia, in Acts 16 is down by the river praying. And Luke’s comment is that God opened her heart to receive the teachings of the gospel.

f.         What a glorious truth that God is still actively revealing this mystery today to more and more.

g.       May we pray and continue to pray that He would open the eyes of the blind and set captives free.

3.)    [Slide 25] Mind Transformation: “What truth must we believe from this text?” or “What might we not naturally believe that we must believe because of what this text has said?” We must affirm that it was the Father’s delight to reveal this mystery to us. 

a.       A more glorious truth I cannot confess.

b.       God does not begrudgingly open the mystery of His redemption.

c.       Indeed, the gospel call goes to all men everywhere.

d.       Not just Jews but Gentiles too.

e.       Not just men but women also.

f.        Not just to those who will believe, but to those who won’t too.

g.       The gospel call rings out. God is delighted to send His word through His disciples and He is delighted to reveal the mystery of these things to those who believe on Christ.

h.       What a good and patient Father who is not slow to keep His promises. His Word won’t return to Him void. He will have a harvest.

4.)    [Slide 26] Refutation: “What lies must we cast down” or “What do we naturally believe, or have been taught to believe, that this passage shows is false?” We must deny that The Father’s only purpose in redemption, is us.

a.       Such is popular today.

b.       We fight constantly to keep man worship out of the worship of God.

c.       And it becomes even more challenging when we consider that the Father truly does love us. He does!

d.       But popular songs and teachings attempt to emphasize that God’s love for us is the only motive in sending Christ as the Redeemer.

e.       But friends… God’s cosmic plan of redemption is for ALL of creation… not even just men.

f.        All of creation is broken.

g.       Just as we are made a new creation in Christ, He is bringing a new Kingdom and a New Heaven, and a New Earth.

h.       Indeed, all things will be made new.

i.         Do not short change the Father’s plan to only include our souls. Oh, it is so much bigger than that.

5.)    [Slide 27] Mind Transformation: “What truth must we believe from this text?” or “What might we not naturally believe that we must believe because of what this text has said?” We must affirm that The Father established this redemptive plan in Christ so that all creation would be ordered in Him.

a.       Why would God do this?

b.       Philippians and Colossians will help us greatly in understanding this as we come to them.

c.       But for now, it is important for us to understand that the Father sent His Son to do this work. As a reward for His humiliation and obedience, Christ has been made over all Kings and all powers.

d.       Why is that significant? Wasn’t He God before He came?

e.       Certainly… but now He is also man.

f.        How can a man sit on the throne that belongs to the Ancient of Days? How can a man sit on God’s throne?

g.       This is how. The Father’s establishment of this redemption plan in Christ ensures that all things… ALL THINGS… will be ordered and untied to Him.

h.       Every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father.

i.         Christ will be all as all things are in Him.

j.         What should we do with all of this?

6.)    [Slide 28] Exhortation: “What actions should we take?” or “What is this passage specifically commanding us to do that we don’t naturally do or aren’t currently doing?” We must praise the Father for what He has done.

a.       Once again, Paul’s words here are to illicit deepest praise from those to whom he writes.

b.       Paul is stringing together subordinate clause after subordinate clause in a feverish listing of all that God has done to bless us.

c.       And he makes no bones about it… God is praiseworthy for all of it.

d.       And what we’ve learned today only amplifies this.

e.       God the Father is delighted to redeem, forgive, and make known to us His mysterious plan of redemption established in Christ. A plan that will complete time and finally bring everything back into order.

f.        He started before the creation of the world with this plan… and it will go on… forever.

g.       My friends. If you are a believer here today, that is worthy of praise.  

7.)    [Slide 29] Comfort: “What comfort can we find here?” or “What peace does the Lord promise us in light of this passage of scripture?” God truly has declared the end from the beginning.

a.       Getting a peek at this today we can go back to Isaiah 46:10 and recognize that the words of the prophet are indeed true.

b.       “Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times things which have not been done, saying, “my counsel will be established and I will accomplish all my good pleasure.”

c.       Boy that sounds familiar doesn’t it.

d.       God has a redemptive plan. In the Old Testament much of it was a mystery only to be fully revealed in Christ in the New.

e.       This gives us hope that God isn’t on plan B. He only has plan A. And He is still on it. And He will finish with it too.

8.)    [Slide 30] Evangelism: “What about this text points us to Jesus Christ, the gospel, and how we are restored?” All things will be reordered in Christ. He is the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords. Repent and believe on Him and you will be saved.

a.       To believers the idea that all of creation will be ordered and united under Christ, is truly a message of hope and worthy of praise.

b.       But to those who are not following Christ, part of that ordering is the dismissal of those who are wicked.

c.       In Revelation it talks about this Kingdom coming. It uses the image of a city. But those who are sinners. Those who love their sin and continue to practice it – they will be excluded from the city. They will be cast into the lake of fire with the devil and his angels forever.

d.       How can one message be received in two different ways? It all depends on what you do with Jesus.

e.       If Jesus is your hope, your savior, your Lord… then such a future is bright and blessed.

f.        If Jesus is nothing to you, or a talisman, or a magic genie, or an accepting person who never tells you to stop sinning… then you will not be with Him in His new Kingdom.

g.       I invite you to repent of your sin, the very thing that made Christ’s sacrifice necessary, and that you would believe on Him and follow Him the rest of your days.

 

[Slide 31 (end)] Let me close with a word of prayer from the puritan Anthony Burgess

 

O Lord, I bless you, not only for your pardon of those sins I have committed, but also for your goodness in preserving me from those many thousands of other sins I was prone to fall into.

 

If I could repent to the highest degree, or achieve the holiness of men and angels, it could not make up the damage sin has made upon me.

 

Who was more plunged into sin than I? Whose diseases were greater than mine? It may be that thousands and thousands of other souls are now taking their place in hell, for less and fewer sins than I have committed.

 

I do not call upon you to repeal any threat or nullify your word. I do not ask you to become unjust. But your wisdom has found out a way that I may be pardoned and you may be satisfied.

 

Your overflowing goodness overcomes me. If only I had the hearts of all men and angels to praise you.

 

I confess this to you in Jesus’ name, Amen.

 

Benediction:

May your prayers be counted as incense;

The lifting up of your praise as the evening offering.

Always giving thanks for all things in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, to God, even the Father.

 

Until we meet again, grace and peace to you.]]></description>
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      <title><![CDATA[03 Ephesians 1:4-6 Glorious, Abounding Grace]]></title>
      <category>Podcast</category>
      <itunes:author><![CDATA[Chris Freeman]]></itunes:author>
      <itunes:subtitle><![CDATA[Title: Glorious, Abounding Grace Text: Ephesians 1:4-6 FCF: We often struggle praising God for His glorious grace. Prop: Because The Father elects and predestines people to be His children in Christ, we must praise the Father for His grace. Scripture Intr]]></itunes:subtitle>
      <itunes:summary><![CDATA[Title: Glorious, Abounding Grace

Text: Ephesians 1:4-6

FCF: We often struggle praising God for His glorious grace.

Prop: Because The Father elects and predestines people to be His children in Christ, we must praise the Father for His grace.

 

Scripture Intro:

[Slide 1] Turn in your bible to Ephesians chapter 1. In a moment we’ll read verses 4-6 from the New English Translation. You can follow along in the pew bible or in whatever version you prefer.

 

As I said last week, verses 3-14 are one sentence, one prayer, one thought of Paul’s. And it is this one thought that governs the rest of the letter both in teaching and in application. As such, it is incredibly important not only to get the meaning of every single word correct, but then to see how those words relate to each other.

 

Don’t expect too many short sermons as we move forward, and definitely expect to have grammar lessons every week… this week included.

 

So let’s get to it. Please stand with me to give honor to and to focus on the Word of God as it is read.

 

Invocation:

Sovereign and infinite Father, You sit on a throne above all things. You created time, matter, space, light. You brought order from chaos. You have formed and shaped all that is and all that will be. You have decreed what is Your will and published it. And not one decree or purpose You have made, can be altered or thwarted by any being. You are in absolute control over all things in Your creation, including the salvation of Your people. I pray that You would help us to see and understand this, so that we, as Your children, may praise You rightly for Your glorious grace. We ask this in Jesus’ name, Amen.

 

Transition:

[Slide 2] “All objections to predestination proceed from the wisdom of the flesh” Martin Luther

 

“The reason for the predestination of some and the reprobation of others must be sought for in the goodness of God.” Thomas Aquinas

 

[Slide 3] “To get rid of predestination we have been willing to degrade our God into a godling.” B.B. Warfield

 

“Let a man go to the grammar school of faith and repentance before he goes to the university of election and predestination.” George Whitefield

 

And with Mr. Whitfield’s comment, the bell has rung and class in the University of God the Father has begun. Let us set out to study God’s Spiritual blessing to us of election and predestination.

 

I.)                  God, in His love, chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world to be justified, so we must praise Him for His grace. (4)

a.       [Slide 4] 4 - For he chose us in Christ

                                                               i.      The first word in the sentence here is an adverb. Adverbs modify verbs, adjectives, or other adverbs and answer questions concerning the words or phrases they modify.

                                                             ii.      In this case, the question being answered is “to what degree” or “in what way specifically”

                                                           iii.      Paul has just said that God is to be praised because He has favored believers with every Holy Spirit benefit by uniting us to Christ.

                                                           iv.      Now Paul moves on to explain to what degree God has blessed us with Holy Spirit benefits in Christ.

                                                             v.]]></itunes:summary>
      <description><![CDATA[Title: Glorious, Abounding Grace

Text: Ephesians 1:4-6

FCF: We often struggle praising God for His glorious grace.

Prop: Because The Father elects and predestines people to be His children in Christ, we must praise the Father for His grace.

 

Scripture Intro:

[Slide 1] Turn in your bible to Ephesians chapter 1. In a moment we’ll read verses 4-6 from the New English Translation. You can follow along in the pew bible or in whatever version you prefer.

 

As I said last week, verses 3-14 are one sentence, one prayer, one thought of Paul’s. And it is this one thought that governs the rest of the letter both in teaching and in application. As such, it is incredibly important not only to get the meaning of every single word correct, but then to see how those words relate to each other.

 

Don’t expect too many short sermons as we move forward, and definitely expect to have grammar lessons every week… this week included.

 

So let’s get to it. Please stand with me to give honor to and to focus on the Word of God as it is read.

 

Invocation:

Sovereign and infinite Father, You sit on a throne above all things. You created time, matter, space, light. You brought order from chaos. You have formed and shaped all that is and all that will be. You have decreed what is Your will and published it. And not one decree or purpose You have made, can be altered or thwarted by any being. You are in absolute control over all things in Your creation, including the salvation of Your people. I pray that You would help us to see and understand this, so that we, as Your children, may praise You rightly for Your glorious grace. We ask this in Jesus’ name, Amen.

 

Transition:

[Slide 2] “All objections to predestination proceed from the wisdom of the flesh” Martin Luther

 

“The reason for the predestination of some and the reprobation of others must be sought for in the goodness of God.” Thomas Aquinas

 

[Slide 3] “To get rid of predestination we have been willing to degrade our God into a godling.” B.B. Warfield

 

“Let a man go to the grammar school of faith and repentance before he goes to the university of election and predestination.” George Whitefield

 

And with Mr. Whitfield’s comment, the bell has rung and class in the University of God the Father has begun. Let us set out to study God’s Spiritual blessing to us of election and predestination.

 

I.)                  God, in His love, chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world to be justified, so we must praise Him for His grace. (4)

a.       [Slide 4] 4 - For he chose us in Christ

                                                               i.      The first word in the sentence here is an adverb. Adverbs modify verbs, adjectives, or other adverbs and answer questions concerning the words or phrases they modify.

                                                             ii.      In this case, the question being answered is “to what degree” or “in what way specifically”

                                                           iii.      Paul has just said that God is to be praised because He has favored believers with every Holy Spirit benefit by uniting us to Christ.

                                                           iv.      Now Paul moves on to explain to what degree God has blessed us with Holy Spirit benefits in Christ.

                                                             v.      He begins by telling the Ephesians that He, meaning God the Father, chose them.

                                                           vi.      The word chosen means selected or elected out of many alternatives. The Greek word is also in  the middle voice which indicates that the action of choosing is being done to or for the one doing the choosing.

                                                          vii.      This means that the choice being made is for God’s own reasons and to God’s own purposes.

                                                        viii.      Now some Christians oppose or take issue with the doctrine of election and predestination. They have interpreted these passages differently to assuage their discomfort with God choosing individuals for salvation. In this, they see God’s choice as a choice of a group or a kind of people rather than individuals.

1.       They would say that God predestined the church, believers, whoever they may be.

2.       They would say that God selected the cruise ship to get us to salvation, ie Jesus Christ, but not who specifically would board that cruise ship. It is up to each of us to decide whether we want a ticket or not.

3.       The phrase “in Christ” in this text seems to support their point. And even what we’ve said last week puts that spin on it. God only gives these promises to Christ and we inherit them by being united with Him.

4.       Ironically, although these Christians use Ephesians 1:4 to support corporate, non-individual election, Ephesians 1:4 is actually very challenging to such a view.

5.       Not because of the words “in Christ” but because of the little pronoun, “us.”

6.       In the context, the word “us” cannot refer to the universal church as a whole.

7.       It can APPLY to the universal church, but the only people to whom Paul has referred in this letter so far are himself and those who are saints in EPHESUS.

8.       That is a very specific collection of individuals.

9.       Furthermore, if we are to assume that the Spiritual blessings mentioned in verses 3-14 are applied to each individual saint and not simply to the church as a whole, then we must understand this choosing to have been done individually and not just corporately.

10.   Additionally, it is impossible to think about a group of people without also meaning, to some degree, individuals who make the group.

11.   Taking the cruise ship example, any who are on the cruise ship get to go on the cruise. But to be on the cruise ship you must have a ticket. And how are tickets distributed? Individually. Even if you get a “group rate” how are those tickets dispersed? Individually.

12.   Added to this, the word for God’s choosing here is used in the Greek translation of the Old Testament almost exclusively when God chooses individuals.

13.   Therefore, the only consistent understanding of God’s election of people is on an individual level which produces as an effect, a corporate body.

14.   In other words, we must think of it as BOTH individual and corporate and not merely corporate.

15.   God has chosen individuals to be in Christ forming His universal church.

                                                            ix.      Why should God the Father be praised? Because He chose us, every believer, individually, by name, in the lamb’s book of life.

                                                             x.      And He did this in Christ.

                                                            xi.      But rather than seeing “in Christ” as though God only chose Christ and not individuals…

                                                          xii.      The preposition “in” here refers to location, meaning that Him choosing us is choosing us TO BE united to Christ.

                                                        xiii.      God did not choose us when He chose Christ… instead He chose us to be united to Christ, to be inside the covenant in which Christ is the mediatorial head.

                                                        xiv.      All the blessings of the New Covenant come to Christ alone. But we as individuals, are chosen to be in Christ which means we are chosen to receive those same blessings.

                                                          xv.      When did God choose this for us? Was it when we believed?

                                                        xvi.      No. Long before that.

b.       [Slide 5] before the foundation of the world

                                                               i.      The preposition simply introduces something that occurs before something else.

                                                             ii.      Foundation here means establishment or laying of a foundation of a house.

                                                           iii.      This phrase foundation of the world then, establishes that God’s individual election of each believer to be united to Christ occurred before God created the world.

                                                           iv.      Before Adam fell, God already chose individuals to be united to Christ through faith and create a group of people that would be His kingdom of priests.

                                                             v.      Taking the cruise ship example, did God choose to put our names on our tickets when we decided we wanted one? No. He purchased the ticket with our name on it before the foundation of the world.  

                                                           vi.      The scriptures speak of a book called the lamb’s book of life.

                                                          vii.      In it are recorded all those INDIVIDUALS who are part of God’s Kingdom and in Revelation 13 the scriptures teach us that those names written in this book have been there since before the foundation of the world.

                                                        viii.      This utterly destroys the corporate election idea. It is simply not what the scriptures teach. At least not in isolation. God thinks individually and corporately for both sinners and His elect.

                                                            ix.      This also cripples the argument that God assigns our names upon our confession of Christ. It is simply not true. God has assigned our names to the lamb’s book of life before the foundation of the earth. Before we did any good or evil. Before we had any capacity to believe or not, God chose us to be united to Christ.  

                                                             x.      Some object and say, that God looked into the future to see who would believe and chose them.

1.       Not only does this add significantly to the definition of the word foreknowledge, but it also creates more problems and doesn’t solve the problems it tries to.

2.       The problem it tries to solve is that God punishes people for sin when He had not elected them for salvation. But if God looks ahead to see who would choose Him, and chooses them, why then would God create the people who wouldn’t choose Him. By creating people who He knew would not choose Him, isn’t He just as culpable for their punishment? Isn’t that election for reprobation too?

3.       Furthermore, it is hard to see how God electing us to salvation because we would choose Him, is NOT works based salvation. Does God ever tell us that He make these choices based on the qualities He sees in us? Is that what the scriptures teach? And if He does, how is salvation a work of God and not of our doing?

                                                            xi.      No. As difficult as it may be, we must see it as the apostle Paul sees it here. God chooses who He will put into Christ and He does so before the foundation of the world without considering any worth we may have.

                                                          xii.      But for what purpose? Why did God do this?

c.       [Slide 6] that we may be holy and unblemished in his sight

                                                               i.      God the Father chose this for individuals, not simply so that they would be saved, not simply that they would inherit the blessings of the covenant relationship between the Father and the Son…

                                                             ii.      But so those who inherit these blessings would also be His true people. A people who He sees as holy and unblemished.

                                                           iii.      Again, this hints at both individual and corporate election.

                                                           iv.      God chose individuals in Christ so that we might be something collectively… namely… a holy and unblemished people who accurately image Him.

                                                             v.      There is some scholarly debate as to whether Paul refers to justification or sanctification. Is this talking about God’s declaring us righteous or is this talking about becoming more holy and blameless?

                                                           vi.      In favor of the justification view,

1.       The words “In His sight” might hint at this being about justification.

2.       Being holy and unblemished in His sight could mean something different than actually being holy and unblemished. And I think if we are honest, it kinda has to. For none of us are holy and unblemished. Not really.

3.       But in Christ… because Christ is holy and unblemished and we are chosen to be in Him, we inherit that status legally. We are as good as our covenantal head, even if we as individuals are still sinners. God sees us as holy and unblemished. And Christ will present us holy and unblemished to the Father.

4.       This also keeps the focus on God and His work rather than moving to our works.

                                                          vii.      However, in favor of the sanctification view,

1.       This actually sets up the rest of the letter in that Paul will urge the Ephesians to actually live holy and blameless lives.

2.       Holy meaning different by loving righteousness and blameless meaning lacking a love for sin.

3.       Why must they live these lives?

4.       Because they have been called by Christ’s name. They have been chosen to be something that they should live up to.

                                                        viii.      I think I slightly favor the justification view, but really, you can pick either one, both are biblically sound.

d.       [Slide 7] in love.

                                                               i.      It is difficult to know how to interpret the final two words of this verse.

                                                             ii.      It largely depends on what it modifies. Is it referring to God choosing in love, for us to be holy and blameless in love, to be before him or in his sight in love or could it go with what follows in verse 5?

                                                           iii.      What’s the difference?

                                                           iv.      Well, if God elects, predestines, or if we are justified in His sight in love, then this is emphasizing God’s motive in His sovereign role in salvation. That it is not a mindless, random, or cold choice but one done in love toward those He chooses, predestines, or justifies.

                                                             v.      If it goes with holiness and blamelessness then it would emphasize how God’s electing of us produces a holy and blameless living person who is also loving to others.

                                                           vi.      I slightly favor the view that this deals with God’s sovereign role in salvation. Mainly because that seems to be Paul’s point through this. It is giving glory to God for His role. It also fits a pattern that is repeated in verse 5 where God does something for a purpose from a certain motive.

                                                          vii.      But in reality, either view is biblically true.

e.       [Slide 8] Summary of the Point: Paul recounts just one of the Holy Spirit blessings that the Father has given to us. Namely that in love, God chose each believer individually, before the foundation of the world, to be put into Christ for the purpose that they would be holy and unblemished in His sight. As far as blessings go… Paul starts with a banger. Can you think of a greater blessing to start with? That, if you are truly a Christian here today, God chose you before time began, to be His possession and secured under His covenant which He made in His Son, so that you would receive the benefits of that covenant and be seen as though you were as holy and unblemished as the head of that covenant… which is Jesus Christ, the Son of the Father. Wow. If we are in the right frame of mind, I can think of two responses this should produce in us. First… is the question why me? And second is the need to praise the Father for His divine election.

 

[Slide 9 (blank)] Transition: But this is only the first part of God the Father’s Spiritual Blessings that He gives to us. He has chosen us. But wait… there’s more!

 

II.)                God, by His mere good pleasure, predestines to adoption those whom He chooses in Christ, so we must praise God for His grace. (5)

a.       [Slide 10] 5 - He did this by predestining us

                                                               i.      The words “He did this by” are not actually in the Greek text.

                                                             ii.      But the NET actually does us an interpretive favor, because we might wonder what the relationship is between God’s choosing us in Christ and His predestining us.

                                                           iii.      Predestining is a circumstantial participle. Circumstantial participles tell us the circumstances under which another action occurs in the sentence.

                                                           iv.      Since the only action that has occurred in this sentence so far has been God’s choosing us, predestining us must provide the circumstances under which His choosing occurred.

                                                             v.      When circumstantial participles are in the aorist tense, like it is here, most of the time this means that the participle occurs prior to the verb and in some way necessitated or led to the main verb happening.  

                                                           vi.      Ok, after all that Grammar gobbledygook, what does that mean?

                                                          vii.      God chooses us because or after, or according to His predestining of us. Meaning He predestines us and then He chooses us, all occurring when? Before the foundation of the world.

                                                        viii.      But what does it mean to be predestined?

                                                            ix.      The Greek word breaks down into two words. Marked out-beforehand. Or we could say, predetermined.

                                                             x.      The idea here then, is that God chooses us to be holy in His sight because He has predetermined for us… a destiny.

                                                            xi.      God does not give us a choice… He gives us a destiny.

                                                          xii.      Jesus says that those who believe in Him will not be condemned, but those who do not believe are condemned already because only Christ can save.

                                                        xiii.      In other words, we all start as condemned. We all start as unbelievers. We all start with one destiny.

                                                        xiv.      It is only those whom God the Father has predestined that are given a different destiny than condemnation.

                                                          xv.      And what is that destiny?

b.       [Slide 11] to adoption as his sons

                                                               i.      The preposition “to” is a preposition of purpose.

                                                             ii.      God has predestined us for the purpose that we would be adopted as His sons.

                                                           iii.      Our destiny is that we would become children of God by adoption.

                                                           iv.      Once again, this destroys the idea that God predestines and then elects a corporate entity. The metaphor of adoption makes absolutely no sense if this is not seen as individuals.

                                                             v.      In fact, the metaphor of adoption proves that God elects and predestines from individual to corporate. You are adopted individually to become part of a family. This is exactly what Paul is saying. It doesn’t work the other way. Whether you look at Greek, Roman, or Jewish adoption law, all three emphasize the paternal authority to adopt individual children. 

                                                           vi.      How does He accomplish this?

c.       [Slide 12] through Jesus Christ,

                                                               i.      The preposition through here is a preposition of means.

                                                             ii.      Christ is not the instrument or tool to accomplish our adoption. Rather Christ is the path or the process for us to be adopted as sons of God.

                                                           iii.      Again, this emphasizes the Father’s role in adoption and the Son as the mediatorial head of a new covenant. He is the means to being made to be fellow sons and daughters of God with Him.

                                                           iv.      The NET here omits two words which are in the Greek. It was difficult picking a translation to use for this sermon. All had their pros and cons. This is a big con here for the NET.

                                                             v.      The two words omitted are “to Himself”

                                                           vi.      To is a preposition of direction, indicating for us that this adoption as sons through Jesus is a path that leads to God the Father. Essentially this is John 14:6 again, where Jesus says, “No one comes to the Father but by me”

                                                          vii.      Or perhaps another way we could say, “No one gets to call Him Father except through me.”

                                                        viii.      Well, how did God go about predestining and choosing us for this?

d.       [Slide 13] according to the pleasure of his will

                                                               i.      God chooses and predestines individuals in Christ to be holy by giving them a destiny for the purpose of making them His family members… and He made those decisions before the foundations of the world according to the pleasure of His will.

                                                             ii.      What does that mean?

                                                           iii.      According to is a preposition of reference. It is used to mark out the source of information, a plan, or an agreement.

                                                           iv.      What follows then answers the question, from what source did God consult to make these decisions.

                                                             v.      Pleasure here is actually good pleasure. It is a delightful intention or fixed intention of benevolent favor.

                                                           vi.      Will is the attitude of the mind to favor or choose one alternative over another.

                                                          vii.      The source God consulted to predestine and choose us, is His favorable will.

                                                        viii.      Again, this indicates that God did not predestine and choose in a cold, random way. Rather in a loving and benevolent way.

                                                            ix.      I’ve said this several times before but I’ll say it again. God doesn’t leave us guessing why He predestined and elected us to salvation. He tells us. We just don’t like the answer because it doesn’t tell us enough.

                                                             x.      God predestines and elects according to His good will. And that is it.

                                                            xi.      It is pure grace. Man has no part in any of this.

e.       [Slide 14] Summary of the Point: Paul’s second point here on this blessing of the Father is connected by the word “predestining.” His predestining is what led to the action of Him choosing us in Christ. As the firstborn Christ inherits all from the Father, and Christ has shared all with those whom the Father has adopted according to His good will. God didn’t give a choice – heaven or hell. He gave us a destiny. We were born with a destiny of condemnation. But because of His predestination and election before the foundation of the world – He gave us a new destiny. A new family through Christ’s atonement. A path carved out for our adoption. So, what should we do with this knowledge? What should this doctrine produce in us? Praise. Praise to the Father for His sovereign plan.

 

[Slide 15 (blank)] Transition: So, we have seen what God has done. He has chosen us in Christ to holiness and blamelessness in His sight in love, by predestining us to adoption though Jesus according to His benevolent will. But why? What is His goal in all this? What is His purpose?

 

III.)               God graces us with grace in Christ, so we must praise Him for His grace.  (6)

a.       [Slide 16] 6 - to the praise of the glory of his grace

                                                               i.      To is a preposition of purpose. And it marks out the purpose of this destiny of sonship.  

                                                             ii.      It is to gain for Himself sons and daughters who praise Him.

                                                           iii.      But for what?

                                                           iv.      The glory, which means the majesty or the honor, or the esteem, or the fame of…

                                                             v.      His grace.

                                                           vi.      Not only is grace something that we should be wishing to others. Not only is grace the lifeblood of the Christian walk.

                                                          vii.      His Grace being big in our eyes and worthy of great praise, is the purpose of our election and predestination.

                                                        viii.      God elects and predestines us so that we will praise Him for His MATCHLESS GRACE!

                                                            ix.      It is so important for us to empty election and predestination of anything of men. Why? Because only then can we see the grace of God as truly matchless and glorious.

                                                             x.      A grace that predestines and elects based on what we will do or who we are… is no gift of grace at all. It is merely a reward for work.

                                                            xi.      But a grace that elects us out of pure favor and love, is a grace that is glorious indeed.

                                                          xii.      But how much grace has God given to us?

b.       [Slide 17] that he has freely bestowed on us

                                                               i.      The Greek word means to bestow grace. But several translations add the word freely or lavishly.

                                                             ii.      This is because it would literally be translated, “He graced us with grace.”  Which forms an idiom of abundance.

                                                           iii.      To freely or lavishly bestow is to do so without end or without limit. That God gives grace without stopping.

                                                           iv.      God freely and lavishly bestows His glorious grace on us in our election and predestination. And we must praise Him for it.

c.       [Slide 18] in his dearly loved Son.

                                                               i.      Again, this is a preposition of location.

                                                             ii.      It refers to our unity to Christ.

                                                           iii.      We are one with Christ and therefore, just as Christ received unlimited blessing and giftings from the Father through the Spirit, so also, we are given unlimited grace through the Father choosing and predestining us to be adopted children who praise Him for His glorious and abounding grace.

d.       [Slide 19] Summary of the Point: Paul finishes the first stanza of His doxological eulogy about God the Father. He has told us that God has chosen us in Christ by predestining us to be adopted through Christ. He has told us that this is because He loves us and has good will toward us. He has told us that He has done all this before the world was created and without any consideration on who we are or what we might be or do. All of this sets up the Father’s glorious purpose in our predestination and election. And it is so we, as adopted members of His family, would accurately worship Him for His glorious grace which He has lavished upon us in Christ.

 

Conclusion:

So CBC, what have we learned today that refines our beliefs and guides our lifestyles?

 

Basics of Faith and Practice:

[Slide 20] In Paul’s opening words of his good word of praise to God the Father, he told us that God has blessed us with every Holy Spirit benefit and kept them for us in the heavenlies in Christ. Now Paul expands on what some of those Spiritual blessings are and how they lead to all other Spiritual blessings. And he opens with one of the most perplexing and unfortunately one of the most controversial doctrines in the scriptures. Yet Paul clearly has no intention of starting a fight or argument. He wants his readers to be swept away by the magnitude of God’s grace. So, however we understand this passage, we must see God’s grace loom as large as possible. And that means taking the most straight forward reading of the text, which is that God predestines and elects those who will be adopted as sons and be part of His family and He does this according to His own good will without consulting anything about who we are or what we’ve done. God doesn’t give us a choice; He gives us a destiny. A destiny we weren’t born with and one we’d never see if He did not give it to us. THAT indeed, is glorious grace. And we should praise Him for it.

 

But let me break this down and, unfortunately, defend these doctrines which are so plain in the text this morning.

 

1.)    [Slide 21] Mind Transformation: “What truth must we believe from this text?” or “What might we not naturally believe that we must believe because of what this text has said?” We must affirm that God chooses before the foundation of the world who will inherit the blessings Christ purchased in His atonement.

a.       A clear and straight forward reading of this text brings us to this exact conclusion.

b.       God lovingly chooses before the foundation of the world individuals who will become holy and blameless in His sight both in their justification and in their sanctification.

c.       Who He chooses is a mystery and the individuals He chooses certainly form a corporate group of people who all have been chosen together…

d.       But with those caveats aside, whether we want to or not, we cannot help but confess that this doctrine is 100% true.

e.        It is by God’s Sovereign choice in electing individuals that they inherit the blessings of the New Covenant.

f.        And when we go back to the passages about the New Covenant, passages like Ezekiel 36 and Jeremiah 31, we read about this. God gives them a new heart not as a nation, but as individuals within the nation. God guarantees that they will follow Him. He guarantees that each individual will not need to be taught about Him because they will know Him. God tells them it isn’t for them He will do this but for His name, or for His posterity. For His family. He tells them He will make them unblemished and cleanse them from their uncleanness.

g.       Then in Ezekiel 37 directly after this, He illustrates the New Covenant to the prophet by having him preach to the valley of dry bones. Bones cannot hear, much less respond to preaching. Yet Ezekiel preached and the bones came to life, took on flesh, and fled.

h.       Whatever God does in the New Covenant, it is clear from the Old Testament passages, that God does it by Himself. Why? Because WE are dry bones. We have 1 destiny.

i.         God chose, before He created the world, who He would unite to Christ.

2.)    [Slide 22] Mind Transformation: “What truth must we believe from this text?” or “What might we not naturally believe that we must believe because of what this text has said?” We must affirm that God chooses based on His predestining us to be adopted into His family.

a.       Because of the relationship of the words in the text, we must understand that predestination precedes or in some way contributes to God’s choice before the foundation of the world.

b.       This means that God’s plan to give a destiny of adoption into His family preceded or contributed to who He would choose to be in Christ.

c.       This helps us to understand why predestination and election seem to have a corporate feel to it.

d.       Because God began with the intention to gain for Himself and family by adoption, He then chose individuals to be in Christ to form that family.

e.       There is an unmistakable corporate nature to this plan of God’s but it is accomplished through individual names put in the book of life before the foundation of the world.

f.        And we must recognize that this plan of God’s for His elect is not merely to save us from sin and death. It is to save us TO adoption.  To be in God’s family, bear His name, and to be holy and blameless in His sight.

g.       God has a plan for us first and then puts names to it.

h.       He is truly sovereign over all – including salvation.

i.         Because these things are true, we must…

3.)    [Slide 23] Refutation: “What lies must we cast down” or “What do we naturally believe, or have been taught to believe, that this passage shows is false?” We must deny that God chooses and predestines us based on something we are or something we have done or will do.

a.       God tells us what source He used to predestine and choose us.

b.       It was the good pleasure of His will.

c.       Now this answer doesn’t satisfy us. We kinda want to know more.

d.       But what this answer refutes, and what the scriptures refute, is that God determined these destinies and choices based on something He saw in us.

e.       God did not look ahead to see who would believe before he made their destiny to adoption and chose them in His Son.

f.        He consulted His good will and predestined and chose according to it.

g.       To say otherwise endangers the very core of the gospel being not of works and not of man. For if God chose us because of something we are or will do… is there no room for boasting? I see a lot of room for boasting.

h.       Instead, if God chose me because He is good and delighted to choose me… I have nothing but praise to offer.

4.)    [Slide 24] Refutation: “What lies must we cast down” or “What do we naturally believe, or have been taught to believe, that this passage shows is false?” We must deny that God chooses and predestines a group and not individuals.

a.       I came into this text fully resolved against the idea that God predestines and elects corporately.

b.       Through this text, I have come to the conclusion that I was wrong. God most certainly predestines and elects those who are saved in a corporate way. He predestines a group. A family.

c.       But He doesn’t predestine and elect empty spots in his family. He elects individuals to adoption into His family.

d.       Based on this text and the rest of the New Testament, this must be how we see this.

e.       Because the blessings of the New Covenant are given to Christ individually, and because each of us must express individual faith in Christ for God to unite us to Him, and because God will give new hearts to individuals within that New Covenant, and because God has written individual names in the book of life who will not be cast into the second death and who will not be blotted out…

f.        We must come to the conclusion that this election and predestination is of individuals to a corporate destiny found in and through Jesus Christ.

g.       We must deny that God only elects a non-individual group to salvation. For this does not hold up to the scrutiny of the entire New Testament’s teaching on the matter.

h.       Based on all we’ve discussed this morning… There is one thing we must stop doing.

5.)    [Slide 25] De-Exhortation: “What actions should we stop doing” or “What behaviors do we naturally practice that this passage tells us to stop doing?” We must stop fighting these doctrines and submit to them instead.

a.       Notice I did not say we must stop fighting OVER these doctrines, although that is also true. We must certainly stop fighting each other over these things. And I think I know how we can do that…

b.       Emboldened by this text, I exhort all of us to stop fighting these doctrines. Full Stop.

c.       Now, even when we lay aside all the caricatures and false representations of these doctrines, it does not make them easy to swallow.

d.       They are uncomfortable. I’ll give you that. It is uncomfortable to put all of our salvation in the hands of God and leave nothing for us.

e.       It is uncomfortable to think that there are many people God has not predestined and elected to salvation.

f.        But the scriptures rarely call us to believe what is comfortable. Most of the time the scriptures call on us to believe things that are quite uncomfortable.

g.       Paul makes it quite clear. God alone predestines and chooses who will be part of His family. In the same way God alone chose Seth, Abraham, Joseph, Moses, and David. God predestines and chooses. And we just need to yield to that teaching.

h.       It is ONLY when we yield to that fully that we can obey the true command of this text.

i.         Which is what?

6.)    [Slide 26] Exhortation: “What actions should we take?” or “What is this passage specifically commanding us to do that we don’t naturally do or aren’t currently doing?” We must praise God for His glorious grace in predestination and election.

a.       God planned to adopt sinners into His family through Christ’s path.

b.       If you are a believer today…

c.       God then picked you before time began to be united with His Son and in the New Covenant.

d.       God did all this because He loves you and in accordance with His good and favorable will.

e.       He put your name in the lamb’s book of life.

f.        He chose Seth to produce a line that would lead to Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, David, and eventually to the Messiah who would be your new covenantal head.

g.       He sent His Son in the fullness of time to pay for your sins.

h.       His Son was the firstborn of many brothers so you would be adopted into the family of God through His atonement.

i.         He did all of this… for you. For me.

j.         Why?

k.       So, we would praise the wonder, the power, the majesty, the glory… of His grace.

l.         God’s grace, his powerful favor to make you what He predestined and elected you to be.

m.     Your application from this text is not to go home and fight these doctrines. It is not to go home and argue with God thinking you are arguing with me.

n.       Your application is to praise the Father for the wonder of His grace!

o.       If you leave here and do anything less – it is disobedience to the scriptures.

7.)    [Slide 27] Comfort: “What comfort can we find here?” or “What peace does the Lord promise us in light of this passage of scripture?” God didn’t just choose to save us from sin. He has appointed us to be in His family, inherit His name, and live like He wants us to live.

a.       I know we’ve mentioned this already but let me just draw attention to it one more time.

b.       God designed a destiny first and picked our names for that destiny second. He decided what He would do and then to whom it would apply.

c.       This is FAR BEYOND escaping hell.

d.       We were sons and daughters of Satan my friends! We were like our father the devil.

e.       But God didn’t give US a choice, HE chose us for a DESTINY. One He marked out before the foundation of the world.

f.        Do you not feel loved? Do you not feel comfort of the good pleasure of God’s will?

8.)    [Slide 28] Evangelism: “What about this text points us to Jesus Christ, the gospel, and how we are restored?” Even though God predestines and elects those who He will save, God does not reveal to us the individuals for whom He has done this. Therefore, the invitation to repent and believe is given to all. And that means you!

a.       One of the dangers of preaching the doctrines of predestination and election is that it is largely an intramural discussion.

b.       As Whitfield said, one should start with grade school teachings before moving to university teachings.

c.       The gospel call is for people to repent and believe. Only after someone has done this will they come to recognize that their repentance and faith were gifts of God given to make sure they become what He chose them to be before time began.

d.       But a danger in preaching these things is that unbelievers become quite fatalistic. They conclude that if God has already decided this… then no matter what I choose, it doesn’t actually matter. I’m not going to change my destiny.

e.       But that is the thing… God doesn’t offer a choice; He offers a new destiny. And one piece of information God conceals from us… is to whom He offers this destiny.

f.        If you are here today and you are not a believer, then you know the destiny you have. That is condemnation. It is death. It is the wrath of God for your sin.

g.       But perhaps for the first time you’ve been made aware of another destiny in the family of God. One that God provides to all whom He unites to His Son by true faith.

h.       How do you know you have that destiny offered to you?

i.         By receiving it. Turn from your sin. Trust in Jesus as your new representative. Both to take away your guilt of sin and to give you holiness and blamelessness.

j.         Walk in a new family and live up to the family name.

k.       If you do this, then you know that God has destined you for it.

l.         It is kinda the way we always determine destiny isn’t it? How do you know you were destined to be a great singer? You sing. How do you know you were destined to be a great baseball player? You play.

m.     How do you know God has destined you for His family? You turn from your sins and you trust in Jesus as God’s Son and your new representative. In short, you trust what your Father says.

n.       Is that you today?

 

[Slide 29 (end)] Let me close with a word of prayer from the English reformer Henry Airay.

 

Set apart and dedicate our hearts, Lord, with the touch of your Holy Spirit, so we may worship you in spirit and in truth, and so we may rejoice in your Son Christ Jesus our salvation. Teach us to renounce all confidence in anything that does not include him!

 

Purge us daily more and more from all overdone affections, and from all those unbridled desires which may draw us away from you or hinder us from serving you.

 

Renew in us a right spirit, so we may worship you-not in a comfortable way that we dream up on our own, but in spirit and in truth, according to your holy word.

 

Set us apart and make us holy through your Holy Spirit, so that as we completely abandon all worldly confidence, we may wholly and only rejoice in Christ Jesus forever and ever, amen.

 

Benediction:

Now may your rising soul survey

The mercies of your God;

May you be lost in wonder, love and praise,

So that through every period of your life

His goodness you will pursue,

Until our Lord Comes again.

 

Until we meet again, Grace and Peace to you.]]></description>
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    <item>
      <title><![CDATA[02 Ephesians 1:1-3 Bless the Blesser for Every Spiritual Blessing]]></title>
      <category>Podcast</category>
      <itunes:author><![CDATA[Chris Freeman]]></itunes:author>
      <itunes:subtitle><![CDATA[Title: Bless the Blesser for Every Spiritual Blessing Text: Ephesians 1:1-3 FCF: We often struggle appreciating all that the Father has done for us. Prop: Because the Father has given us every Spiritual blessing in Christ, we must praise God. Scripture In]]></itunes:subtitle>
      <itunes:summary><![CDATA[Title: Bless the Blesser for Every Spiritual Blessing

Text: Ephesians 1:1-3

FCF: We often struggle appreciating all that the Father has done for us.

Prop: Because the Father has given us every Spiritual blessing in Christ, we must praise God.

 

Scripture Intro:

[Slide 1] Turn in your bible to the book of Ephesians chapter 1. In a moment we’ll begin reading from the Legacy Standard Bible starting in verse 1. You can follow along in the pew bible on page 1317 or in whatever version you prefer.

 

I’ll take this opportunity to remind you again of the outline that is available to you in the foyer. This is my outline which I have prepared for you and myself as we study the book together. It is subject to change as we go through the study, but I will endeavor to keep it current and supply a corrected copy, if necessary, at the end of the study.

 

I also create sermon notes each week for those who do better listening by taking notes. There will be fill in the blank, multiple choice, and true false questions each week to help keep your ears engaged as you listen.

 

Let me start this book by simply saying I had a whale of a time deciding how to begin this letter. Let me explain.

 

Verse 3 through verse 14 are not only one thought of Paul’s… they are also one sentence in Greek. As such, it was very difficult for me to try to decide what verses to pick to begin this letter.

 

To capture Paul’s thought, I’d have to preach a sermon on verses 3-14… but the only way to accomplish that would be to move forward summarizing on a high level all that Paul is saying in each verse. We could do that. I could give you just an overview…

 

But what Paul is saying is so earth shattering, and even to some Christians today, so controversial, and so full of theological language, that the only way for us to even get a true overview of what Paul is saying, is to dissect each phrase in this 202-word sentence.

 

It is quite a catch-22.

 

Here is my solution. Today, we will get through the greeting, which is rich in and of itself, and simply open up the sentence of Paul’s first thought to the Ephesians. Fortunately for us, verse 3 serves as a summary statement of all that he will say in verses 4-14.

 

In the coming weeks we will move slowly through each verse, defining each theological term, dissecting exactly what Paul is saying. And at the end of that, when we make it to verse 14, the following week I will preach a sermon over verses 3-14 having defined and looked at each verse specifically. In that sermon we will put it all together to arrive at exactly what Paul is saying.

 

As you can imagine, being a 12 verse sentence, it is probably an important opening thought to the letter. Indeed, it is THE main theological point of the letter.

 

So today, to merely crack open Paul’s point, let’s look to the text. Please stand with me to give honor to and to focus on the reading of the Word of God.  

 

Invocation:

Good and Gracious Father, we come before You today to marvel at Your generosity. You have given Your people all Spiritual blessings in Your Son. We turn to You for grace and peace. We look to You for every help and every fortification we need against the enemy. May we be even more convinced of our need to not only look to You for all things… but to praise You for Your generous and constant supply. We pray this in Jesus’ name, amen.

 

Transition:

[Slide 2] “God’s giving]]></itunes:summary>
      <description><![CDATA[Title: Bless the Blesser for Every Spiritual Blessing

Text: Ephesians 1:1-3

FCF: We often struggle appreciating all that the Father has done for us.

Prop: Because the Father has given us every Spiritual blessing in Christ, we must praise God.

 

Scripture Intro:

[Slide 1] Turn in your bible to the book of Ephesians chapter 1. In a moment we’ll begin reading from the Legacy Standard Bible starting in verse 1. You can follow along in the pew bible on page 1317 or in whatever version you prefer.

 

I’ll take this opportunity to remind you again of the outline that is available to you in the foyer. This is my outline which I have prepared for you and myself as we study the book together. It is subject to change as we go through the study, but I will endeavor to keep it current and supply a corrected copy, if necessary, at the end of the study.

 

I also create sermon notes each week for those who do better listening by taking notes. There will be fill in the blank, multiple choice, and true false questions each week to help keep your ears engaged as you listen.

 

Let me start this book by simply saying I had a whale of a time deciding how to begin this letter. Let me explain.

 

Verse 3 through verse 14 are not only one thought of Paul’s… they are also one sentence in Greek. As such, it was very difficult for me to try to decide what verses to pick to begin this letter.

 

To capture Paul’s thought, I’d have to preach a sermon on verses 3-14… but the only way to accomplish that would be to move forward summarizing on a high level all that Paul is saying in each verse. We could do that. I could give you just an overview…

 

But what Paul is saying is so earth shattering, and even to some Christians today, so controversial, and so full of theological language, that the only way for us to even get a true overview of what Paul is saying, is to dissect each phrase in this 202-word sentence.

 

It is quite a catch-22.

 

Here is my solution. Today, we will get through the greeting, which is rich in and of itself, and simply open up the sentence of Paul’s first thought to the Ephesians. Fortunately for us, verse 3 serves as a summary statement of all that he will say in verses 4-14.

 

In the coming weeks we will move slowly through each verse, defining each theological term, dissecting exactly what Paul is saying. And at the end of that, when we make it to verse 14, the following week I will preach a sermon over verses 3-14 having defined and looked at each verse specifically. In that sermon we will put it all together to arrive at exactly what Paul is saying.

 

As you can imagine, being a 12 verse sentence, it is probably an important opening thought to the letter. Indeed, it is THE main theological point of the letter.

 

So today, to merely crack open Paul’s point, let’s look to the text. Please stand with me to give honor to and to focus on the reading of the Word of God.  

 

Invocation:

Good and Gracious Father, we come before You today to marvel at Your generosity. You have given Your people all Spiritual blessings in Your Son. We turn to You for grace and peace. We look to You for every help and every fortification we need against the enemy. May we be even more convinced of our need to not only look to You for all things… but to praise You for Your generous and constant supply. We pray this in Jesus’ name, amen.

 

Transition:

[Slide 2] “God’s giving deserves our thanksgiving.” Anonymous

 

“God is never less than generous, even when we are less than grateful.” John Blanchard

 

“God’s gifts put man’s best dreams to shame.” Elizabeth Barrett Browning

 

[Slide 3] “He who feeds His birds will not starve His babes.” Matthew Henry

 

“God’s goodness is the root of all goodness; and our goodness, if we have any, springs out of His goodness.” William Tyndale

 

“God is ever giving to His children yet has not less.” Thomas Watson

 

Let these words help to prepare our heads and hearts to hear from the Lord today.

 

I.)                  God gives grace and peace to His saints, so we must praise God. (1-2)

a.       [Slide 4] 1 - Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God,

                                                               i.      If you missed last week, you can, of course, go back and listen to the sermon via the various means we have for recording sermons.

                                                             ii.      We have a Facebook page that saves the services we live stream for several weeks. We also record the video of the sermon on our YouTube channel and post the audio of each sermon on our website and to our podcast channel as well.

                                                           iii.      Paul claims to be an apostle or sent one of Christ Jesus.

                                                           iv.      We saw when we studied Acts 9 that Paul indeed was called by the will of God to be an apostle of Jesus Christ.

                                                             v.      Christ met him on the road to Damascus in a vision. He threw Paul from his horse, rebuked him for opposing the second person of the Godhead, and commanded Paul to go to Damascus and submit to proclaiming the same gospel he was opposing to Jews, Gentiles, Kings and beggars.

                                                           vi.      Paul was not given a choice. He was given a destiny. Could he have chosen to ignore it?

                                                          vii.      In his opening words here, it seems as though he doesn’t think so. For it was by the will of God that he became a sent one of Jesus Christ.

                                                        viii.      And as the Scriptures teach, none can thwart the will of God. Not even Paul.

b.       [Slide 5] To the saints who are at Ephesus and who are faithful in Christ Jesus:

                                                               i.      Since this is a greeting, we might expect there to be some kind of statement addressing the letter to a particular church.

                                                             ii.      Paul addresses this to the saints are at Ephesus who are faithful in Christ Jesus.

                                                           iii.      We are met with somewhat of a dilemma. Saints is a term the New Testament and Paul specifically apply most often to those who have professed faith in Christ. But here we see that he is addressing this letter to saints who are at Ephesus and faithful in Christ.

                                                           iv.      So, does this imply that there are saints that are not faithful in Christ?

                                                             v.      Rather than seeing this as two descriptions of the same people, we should see this as one description.

                                                           vi.      One way we could translate this is, “To the saints who are at Ephesus, that is, the faithful (or believers) in Christ Jesus.  

c.       [Slide 6] 2 - Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

                                                               i.      This is Paul’s standard greeting and I have tried to incorporate this in my conversations with other believers.

                                                             ii.      Grace of course is what?

                                                           iii.      [Slide 7] God’s power which He grants to people according to His free will, to enable them to be, receive, or do something which they are unable and unwilling to be, get, or do on their own.

                                                           iv.      Grace is the lifeblood of the Christian. Grace is what enables us to continue to live in obedience to God.

                                                             v.      This is why the historical church spoke of the means of grace or the ways in which God has set forth to communicate or give grace to His people.

                                                           vi.      God gives grace through His Word, read, studied, memorized and preached. God gives grace through prayer, fellowship with other believers, and through the sacraments or ordinances. God enables us to be, receive, or do what He wants through these means.

                                                          vii.      [Slide 8] And what is peace?

                                                        viii.      Peace is much more than the cessation of hostility between God and man, although that is certainly part of it. Peace is much more than the cessation of hostility between unbelieving men and Christians.

                                                            ix.      Peace is wholeness. Completeness. Peace is the setting to right of what has been thrown into chaos. Peace is all things being brought back into the dominion of God.

                                                             x.      As such peace is something only God can give. It is something only God can bring.

                                                            xi.      And so, Paul gives the Ephesian Christians the greatest wish he can. The greatest wish any Christian can give to another Christian.

                                                          xii.      Grace and peace to you.

                                                        xiii.      From God, the Father of Jew and Gentile, and from our one Lord – Jesus Christ.

d.       [Slide 9] Summary of the Point: Paul begins his letter the same way he begins most of his letters. He desires his recipients to be constantly supplied on the grace and peace of God. Paul also subtly acknowledges that God the Father is not only his Father and the Jews’ Father but the Father of all who are in Christ who is also the one Lord over all the church. These are themes he will continue to develop through the rest of the book of Ephesians. God takes center stage. His grace begins the work in them and His peace is the effect produced to greater and greater degrees in them. As such, there is no better hope Paul could have for his readers. What response should the Ephesians have to this? They must praise the Lord for His relationship to them and supply of grace and peace. We must do the same.

 

Transition:

[Slide 10 (blank)] Paul, leaving his greeting, now embarks on two prayers. The first forms a doxological eulogy, or a good word of praise, where Paul feverishly praises God for what He has done. The second is Paul’s prayer that his readers would understand the depths of what he says in the first prayer. Verse three serves as a great summary of the first prayer. Let’s look at it.

 

II.)                God gives every blessing from the Spirit to us in Christ, so we must praise God. (3)

a.       [Slide 11] 3 - Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,

                                                               i.      Paul begins with what will be his primary and governing theological thought of the entire book.

                                                             ii.      We will actually see him address each member of the godhead in this prayer, but Paul begins with the first person of the Godhead, God the Father.

                                                           iii.      The word blessed can have different meanings based on context.

                                                           iv.      If someone has been blessed, it means they have been favored or given a gift.

                                                             v.      If someone blesses, it means they have good hopes or wishes for someone, or gives someone a gift.

                                                           vi.      If God blesses it has more of the idea of grace and favor.

                                                          vii.      But here the word blessed is an adjective. And it is describing God.

                                                        viii.      God does not need favor from anyone, nor does God need good hopes or wishes. God needs nothing so it isn’t a gift being given to God.

                                                            ix.      So, in this case, “blessed” inherits the meaning of praiseworthiness.

                                                             x.      God the Father, as a characteristic of His being, is praiseworthy.

                                                            xi.      But what could it mean that the first person of the Godhead is both God and Father of Jesus? Isn’t Jesus God? Certainly, He is.

                                                          xii.      [Slide 12] There are actually two things happening here that we must address.

1.       First is that Paul is not writing this to deny or downplay Christ’s deity, instead Paul writes this to affirm Christ’s humanity.

a.       In pagan mythology, the idea of demigods is actually quite common.

b.       The gods could take on human form and appear to be humans. The gods could be a certain percentage of god and the rest of men.

c.       But to get pagans to understand that Jesus Christ was fully God and fully man, would be quite the challenge.

d.       Indeed, to teach Christians this truth today is very challenging.

e.       And so, that God is Christ’s God and the Father is Christ’s Father, would emphasize a unique relationship between God and the MAN Jesus Christ.

2.       The second truth this is alluding to is that this is the common way God is addressed in other good words of praise throughout the scriptures.

a.       Statements like “Blessed be the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.” Or “Blessed be the God of Israel.”

b.       This is covenantal language.

c.       So what covenant is on display with the statement, “Blessed be the God and Father of Jesus Christ?” Certainly, Paul would be referring to the New Covenant.

d.       A covenant that subsumes all previous covenants.

e.       The importance of God being the God and Father of Jesus is that Jesus becomes the new representative, the new source of all the covenant blessings from God.

f.        Israel, the patriarchs, and Adam all failed.

g.       Christ is the last Adam. Christ is greater than the patriarchs including Abraham. Christ is the King of Israel, making Him all of Israel’s head. Christ is the new and final representative of this new covenant of redemption.

h.       He is responsible for us to make sure all the covenant blessings and promises continue to flow from God the Father.

i.         And he is a representative who will never fail.

                                                        xiii.      Paul then is expressing the praiseworthiness of God the Father who is both the God and Father of Jesus Christ, who is our Lord.

                                                        xiv.      But why? Why is the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ praiseworthy?

b.       [Slide 13] who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing

                                                               i.      God is praiseworthy because He has blessed us.

                                                             ii.      So, the definition of the word needs to shift. God isn’t praising us.

                                                           iii.      What is God the Father doing?

                                                           iv.      He is favoring us.

                                                             v.      How? How is God showing us favor?

                                                           vi.      By giving to us every spiritual blessing.

                                                          vii.      Again, the word blessing needs to take on a new meaning. It isn’t praiseworthiness or favor. Now blessing takes on the meaning of a gift given to promote the prosperity of the recipient.

                                                        viii.      And Paul adds the word “spiritual” here.

                                                            ix.      He makes it clear that he is not talking about physical blessings.

                                                             x.      Sometimes Christians talk about hitting every green light on the way to work and getting a job promotion, after which they might say something like “God is really blessing me.”

                                                            xi.      That isn’t the kind of blessing to which Paul is referring.

                                                          xii.      Paul is specifically calling out the blessings God has given to us which are spiritual in nature.

                                                        xiii.      But that is just what these gifts aren’t. They aren’t physical. But what ARE they?

                                                        xiv.      We must see these blessings from God as those from the Holy Spirit.

                                                          xv.      Spiritual in the sense that they originate from the third person of the Godhead.

                                                        xvi.      God the Father is to be praised because He has given us every Holy Spirit blessing.  

c.       [Slide 14] in the heavenly places

                                                               i.      This phrase can be difficult to understand.

                                                             ii.      Because Paul talks about heavenly places in this book several times, and in each he talks about how those places are inhabited by holy and fallen angelic creatures, we must assume that this is a location. A plane of existence if you will.

                                                           iii.      Specifically, this is most likely referring to where spiritual beings dwell.

                                                           iv.      Is Paul saying that this is where these blessings come from? Probably not.

                                                             v.      Instead, this seems to indicate to us that every Holy Spirit blessing given to us is kept for us, or deposited for us in the heavenly realms, safe and secure against any incursion by physical and spiritual attack.

                                                           vi.      Our Holy Spirit benefits are sealed in a place where God not only dwells but also protects.

                                                          vii.      Does this mean that we experience none of these Spiritual blessings before we enter the Kingdom of heaven?

                                                        viii.      No. They are gifts of the Holy Spirit, meaning He has brought them to us, He transmits some of these blessings in growing ways now.

                                                            ix.      But one day we will experience every Spiritual blessing in full.

                                                             x.      How has the Father accomplished this for us?

d.       [Slide 15] in Christ,

                                                               i.      Christ is the instrument that the Father chose to communicate every single Holy Spirit blessing to us.

                                                             ii.      Christ is the vehicle God the Father has used to give to us every Holy Spirit blessing to ensure that we spiritually prosper.  

                                                           iii.      In Acts we discussed how Jews and Gentiles alike were called to believe on Christ and how the only path to remaining a true Jew was to believe on Jesus the Messiah.

                                                           iv.      Those who did not believe on Jesus, ceased being a true Israelite and were dead branches cut off from the tree.

                                                             v.      Paul, in a sense, argues the same point here.

                                                           vi.      God the Father gives every Spiritual blessing for Spiritual prosperity through Christ alone. There is no other instrument the Father has or will use to give these blessings to us.

                                                          vii.      Even the Spirit Himself only came to indwell believers when Jesus ascended and He and the Father sent the Spirit to us.

                                                        viii.      Christ is the chokepoint.

                                                            ix.      But we should know that already since Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life, no man comes to the Father but through Me.”

                                                             x.      The only way to inherit Spiritual blessings, preserved for us until we enter His Kingdom, is by being united to Christ by faith.

                                                            xi.      And the God and the Father of Christ is praiseworthy for giving these blessings through Him.

e.       [Slide 16] Summary of the Point: Now we might be wondering what exactly those Holy Spirit blessings ARE and what parts of them we have received today and will receive when we enter the Kingdom of heaven. But that will take the rest of the sentence on to verse 14 to explain. We’ll get there. For now, it is enough to recognize that God the Father has given those who are saints, namely those who are believers in Christ, every blessing from the Holy Spirit and preserved them for us in the heavenly realms where He sits alone as Sovereign over all. He is the God and Father of Christ and just as He sent His Spirit and all the blessings of His Spirit to Christ, He will also send these blessings to those who are united to Christ. So, what should be our response? The very first word of verse 3. We must praise God the Father for this.

 

Conclusion:

So CBC, what have we learned today that refines our beliefs and guides our lifestyles?

 

Basics of Faith and Practice:

[Slide 17] God is the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. God has called Jesus His Beloved Son in whom He is perfectly pleased. Jesus Christ is the mediator of a new covenant. He is the last and final human representative of a new cosmic reconciliation plan. In this, God the Father has given every blessing from the Holy Spirit to those who are united to Christ by true faith. Not only has He given these blessings to us, but they are kept secure for us until the consummation of that Kingdom of heaven… when Heaven comes to earth and God dwells with us. What response should God’s people have to these great truths? Simply, praise God! Amen?

 

Let’s get a little more specific then on what we’ve learned and how we can live differently.

 

1.)    [Slide 18] Mind Transformation: “What truth must we believe from this text?” or “What might we not naturally believe that we must believe because of what this text has said?” We must affirm that God the Father gives every Spiritual blessing to us who are in Christ.

a.       There are a few layers to this truth that we need to understand.

b.       First, we must see the glory of the Father as a loving and caring Father that provides all His children’s needs.

                                                               i.      In the scriptures it is shown that Fathers, even the wicked ones, know how to give good gifts to their children.

                                                             ii.      Christ says, “what father when their child asks for fish the father gives them a snake?  What father when their child asks for bread, gives them a rock?”

                                                           iii.      Now that isn’t to say that there aren’t crummy fathers out there. All Jesus is saying is that you don’t have to have God help you be kind to your own children.

                                                           iv.      In this our Heavenly Father is the best possible Father that could ever be.

                                                             v.      He provides all that we would need and abundantly more than we would ask or think.

                                                           vi.      God, as Christ’s Father, and Christ as Our Lord, ensures that God is also OUR Father and that He will give us all that He has given to His Son.

c.       A Second layer of this teaching is that there is nothing lacking in Christ.

                                                               i.      There are many brands of Christianity that disagree with this either by implication or by explicit teaching.

                                                             ii.      Some brands of Christianity insist that Christ has accomplished everything, but in order to access it, we must work hard or do something to get it.

                                                           iii.      Some brands of Christianity insist that without our effort we cannot be justified.

                                                           iv.      Some brands of Christianity insist that once you are converted, there is a second step YOU must take to experience a greater spiritual life, inherit more Holy Spirit blessings, and be closer to God.

                                                             v.      All of these fundamentally disagree with what this passage teaches us.

                                                           vi.      God has given Every blessing of the Holy Spirit to us who are in Christ. If you are a true believer, He has given every blessing to you.

                                                          vii.      That is not to say that you won’t grow or progress. But it is to say that there is nothing lacking in you, from the moment you believe to the moment Christ returns. Your Spiritual blessings are given to you and they are secure in heavenly realms.

d.       A third layer to this is the assertion that grace and peace are included in these Spiritual blessings.

                                                               i.      Grace is how God enables His people to do and be what He wants them to do and be and peace is the result.

                                                             ii.      Therefore, we can confirm that the grace and peace we wish to one another is from God the Father, who has given all Spiritual blessing to us in Christ.

                                                           iii.      So when we wish these things to a true believer, we can rest assured that it is not an empty wish. God will grant our hope for them to have grace and peace.

                                                           iv.      So let’s say grace and peace to you instead of “take it easy” “see ya later” or even worse “good luck”. Ugh! Grace and Peace to you!

2.)    [Slide 19] Mind Transformation: “What truth must we believe from this text?” or “What might we not naturally believe that we must believe because of what this text has said?” We must affirm that the blessings God gives are given from His Spirit and by the mediatorial role of Christ as our covenantal head.

a.       God does not give us Holy Spirit blessings because we have earned it.

b.       God does not bless us because we pray or because we read His Word.

c.       In fact, nothing we do has any impact on what God has given to us in Christ.

d.       We aren’t even in the equation.

e.       God the Triune has done this. By Himself.

f.        And we would do well to remember this.

g.       God the Father gives it from the Spirit through the Son.

h.       So, what are we?

i.         Well, we will get to it later, but we are made to be an inheritance given to Christ. We are Christ’s reward for His obedience to the Father. And the Spirit is the seal upon that reward to ensure it gets to Him.

j.         Our salvation, our sanctification, our glorification… is God’s gift to His Son sealed by His Spirit.

k.       We need a HUGE adjustment to how we see salvation.

l.         So many churches, so many worship songs, so many Christians continue to amplify and expound on how much God loved US to save us.

m.     This is true… But to say this without the other half… that God saved us because He loved His Son and desired a people who would praise Him for His grace forever… is to misrepresent what salvation is.

n.       Our salvation is primarily FOR God. It is secondarily FOR us.

o.       And we would do well to remember this.

p.       When we do… there are two responses we should have, one negative and one positive

3.)    [Slide 20] De-Exhortation: “What actions should we stop doing” or “What behaviors do we naturally practice that this passage tells us to stop doing?” We must stop boasting in any blessing God gives to us, much less any Spiritual blessing.

a.       What room is there to boast?

b.       If nothing I’ve done contributes to God’s blessing me, and God’s blessing me is primarily to bring praise and glory to the triune God, and if my salvation is simply a reward, an inheritance given to Christ for His obedience…

c.       Then what do I have to boast about?  Is there any room to think highly of me? Am I special?

d.       The only reason I’m special is because God has made me special. The only value I have is because God has given me value.

e.       Even my image bearing of God is broken by sin! It is not an image that accomplishes the purpose for which it was formed.  It is worth preserving only because of Who made it – but it is not special. In fact, it is so broken, it either needs to be destroyed or to remade.

f.        There is no room for boasting as a Christian. True Christians don’t boast in anything save knowing Christ in His death and resurrection.

g.       And even that is knowledge we were shown. We did not have it of ourselves.

h.       Upon Peter’s confession of Jesus’ Messiahship, Jesus said “Blessed are you Simon Bar Jonah because flesh and blood did not reveal this to you but my FATHER who is in heaven.”

i.         What is the second response we should have to understanding God’s gift of every Spiritual blessing in Christ?

4.)    [Slide 21] Exhortation: “What actions should we take?” or “What is this passage specifically commanding us to do that we don’t naturally do or aren’t currently doing?” We must praise God the Father for blessing us.

a.       There is only one good response.

b.       It is to praise the God and Father of Jesus our Lord.

c.       It is to praise the Father for His provision to us to give us every Spiritual blessing from His Spirit and to give those blessings through our union to His Son which He provided as our atonement.

d.       Praise is a simple application for us, but it is not always easy.

e.       We often neglect to praise God in our day to day. Not usually because we refuse to, but most often because we forget to. And oftentimes we forget because we live ignoring God’s active part in our every day lives.

f.        We live in blissful ignorance of the Creator in the world created by the One we are ignoring!

g.       But even more devastating than ignoring God and not praising Him for common things – is to ignore God and not praise Him for Spiritual blessings.

h.       When we have the fortitude to resist temptation, when we have opportunities to love others, when we teach, help, and serve, when we have the opportunity to gather with God’s people, when we have the pleasure of partaking of the sacraments, when we sing to God, when we give the offering, when we read the word, when we pray to God,  WE SHOULD BE PRAISING GOD ALL THE WHILE.

i.         Not just on Sunday and not just through song.

j.         He is worthy of praise and worship for all things, especially the Spiritual blessings He has given us in Christ.

k.       Don’t live your life as if He doesn’t exist or that he owes you what He gives.

l.         Every breath and every Spiritual blessing is a gift.  From a God who loves you BECAUSE He loves His Son.

5.)    [Slide 22] Comfort: “What comfort can we find here?” or “What peace does the Lord promise us in light of this passage of scripture?” Every Spiritual blessing in the Kingdom of Heaven awaits those who are in Christ.

a.       We do not inherit all the blessings of the Holy Spirit in this life.

b.       There are blessings we have yet to know. There are blessings we have yet to receive in full.

c.       But these blessings are not stored on earth where thieves break in and steal or where moths and rust destroy.

d.       They are not kept in lower plains of spiritual reality either, open to demonic attack. They are kept in the heavenly realms. A place in which God dwells and rules from.

e.       Although there are enemies of God that exist in this realm, they operate by the permission and the command of God the Father.

f.        As Martin Luther so astutely put it… Even Satan is God’s Satan. No being, even in rebellion, has the ability to do something that would thwart or topple God’s purposes or decrees.

g.       God has decreed that our Spiritual blessings are secure in the heavenly realms. There they will be preserved for us until that day that we die and come to heaven to be with the Lord or until heaven comes down to earth and the Kingdom of God arrives.

h.       No power of hell, no scheme of man, can ever pluck us from His hand. We are sealed until the day of redemption by the Holy Spirit.

i.          What can we say to this except… Hallelujah!

6.)    [Slide 23] Evangelism: “What about this text points us to Jesus Christ, the gospel, and how we are restored?” Christ is the only path to Spiritual blessings.

a.       God has compassion and love for those who are not followers of His Son.

b.       He gives rain and sunshine to those who are wicked. He allows people who hate Him and reject Him to live relatively fulfilling lives, have families, and enjoy all the benefits of His creation.

c.       But Spiritual blessings – blessings that come from the Holy Spirit, NEVER flow to anyone who is not in Christ.

d.       Holy Spirit blessings are only given to those whom God has chosen in Christ. We’ll get to that next week.

e.       If you want forgiveness of sins, if you want acceptance into God’s family, if you want to be an inheritance for Christ, if you want a destiny in the Kingdom of God, the only path to any of that is through Jesus Christ.

f.        It is not sincerity to a belief. It is not works of righteousness. It is not church attendance. It is not offerings given. It is not the people you’ve helped. It is not the poor you’ve rescued. It is not in religious ritual or practice.

g.       The only path to Spiritual blessings is in Christ Jesus. That is it. Because Christ alone is the only man with whom the Father is pleased.

h.       You can’t follow Mohammed. You can’t follow Budda. You can’t follow Plato. You can’t follow Paul the apostle.

i.         It is only in Christ that these Spiritual Blessings are given.

j.         Christ called everyone He preached to, to repent or turn from their sin and to believe or hope in the gospel which is that He died to save sinners and that He is the Lord of Glory.

k.       Christ is Savior. Christ is Lord. This is the gospel.

l.         Do you want Spiritual blessings – including a destiny in His eternal Kingdom of light and life?

m.     It is only in Christ that you can have it.

n.       So repent and believe on Christ.

 

[Slide 24 (end)} Let me close with a prayer by the church father Polycarp.

 

Father of Your beloved and blessed Son, Jesus Christ, we have come to know You through Him. You are the God of angels, powers, creation, and the entire race of the righteous who live in your presence.

 

I praise You for everything. I bless and glorify You through the eternal high priest, Jesus Christ, Your beloved Son, through whom and with Him, in the Holy Spirit, be glory unto You, both now and for the ages to come. Amen.

 

Benediction:

May grace, the well-spring of all mercies

And peace, the crown of all blessings,

be bestowed upon you from God our Father.

 

Until we meet again, Grace and Peace to You.]]></description>
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      <title><![CDATA[Ephesians Introduction]]></title>
      <category>Podcast</category>
      <itunes:author><![CDATA[Christopher C. Freeman]]></itunes:author>
      <itunes:subtitle><![CDATA[Title: Introduction to The Prison Epistles and The Book of Ephesians Text: Ephesians Scripture Intro: [Slide 1] Turn in your bible to the book of Ephesians. In a few moments I will ask 6 readers to come to the front to read a chapter of this amazing book.]]></itunes:subtitle>
      <itunes:summary><![CDATA[Title: Introduction to The Prison Epistles and The Book of Ephesians

Text: Ephesians

 

Scripture Intro:

[Slide 1] Turn in your bible to the book of Ephesians. In a few moments I will ask 6 readers to come to the front to read a chapter of this amazing book. At any time during this intro, if you would like to volunteer to read, you may come up to the front and have a seat. You don’t have to wait until the end to do so.

 

Today we begin a lengthy series covering the Prison Epistles. Let me get the preliminary questions out of the way before we dive in.

 

What are the Prison Epistles? Hey, that’s a great question! The Prison Epistles are a group of letters written by Paul so named because they all are written while Paul is in prison. In fact, based on who Paul sends with the letters, we assume they were all written during the same imprisonment. Which one? We’ll save that for our introduction to the book of Ephesians. But for now, that is why these books are called the Prison Epistles.

 

What books are included in the Prison Epistles? Another amazing question! The prison epistles include four letters. Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, and Philemon.

 

Hey wait, didn’t you already preach through Philemon? Wow! You remember that long ago? Yes! I did. While I was candidating to be the pastor here, I preached a two-part series on the book of Philemon. Since it was not recorded and since I wasn’t officially the pastor yet, I thought it might be cool to preach through the book again 10 years later. 😊

 

So, 4 books, how long is this gonna take? Again, you have some great questions! I’m not a prophet, but after preaching through 15 New Testament books in my 10 years here, you can gather the data points to get an idea of about how long I usually take to preach thought by thought through a book. I am estimating that this entire series will take anywhere from 50-75 sermons to complete. Which puts us at probably a year and a half to complete it, give or take a month.  

 

So, why the prison epistles? You all are on fire with the questions today! I actually really wanted to study the prison epistles right after we finished the book of Acts but because the prison epistles contain many of the same themes and because it would be another lengthy study, I felt the Lord lead me to something else which is why we studied 1 and 2 Thessalonians. But my initial desire to study the Prison Epistles after Acts stemmed from the date discussion we will have in just a moment concerning the book of Ephesians, so I’ll save those details until then.

 

I think that is most of the initial questions before we actually dive into the series and the book intro.

 

But before we do – let’s take a moment to ask the Lord to be with us this morning.

 

[Slide 2] Series or Four Independent books?

This morning I have been, perhaps, a little unclear on what exactly we are doing. I am talking about a series and also about a book study. So, the question arises, are these four letters independent of one another or are they a series?

 

Well because they are written to four distinct audiences, I have to say that this is really more of four independent books than a true series. However, the themes of Ephesians and Colossians are so similar it is hard to imagine that there is no connection between the books. Philemon and Philippians are outliers though. Philippians is very different from Ephesians and Colossians themati]]></itunes:summary>
      <description><![CDATA[Title: Introduction to The Prison Epistles and The Book of Ephesians

Text: Ephesians

 

Scripture Intro:

[Slide 1] Turn in your bible to the book of Ephesians. In a few moments I will ask 6 readers to come to the front to read a chapter of this amazing book. At any time during this intro, if you would like to volunteer to read, you may come up to the front and have a seat. You don’t have to wait until the end to do so.

 

Today we begin a lengthy series covering the Prison Epistles. Let me get the preliminary questions out of the way before we dive in.

 

What are the Prison Epistles? Hey, that’s a great question! The Prison Epistles are a group of letters written by Paul so named because they all are written while Paul is in prison. In fact, based on who Paul sends with the letters, we assume they were all written during the same imprisonment. Which one? We’ll save that for our introduction to the book of Ephesians. But for now, that is why these books are called the Prison Epistles.

 

What books are included in the Prison Epistles? Another amazing question! The prison epistles include four letters. Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, and Philemon.

 

Hey wait, didn’t you already preach through Philemon? Wow! You remember that long ago? Yes! I did. While I was candidating to be the pastor here, I preached a two-part series on the book of Philemon. Since it was not recorded and since I wasn’t officially the pastor yet, I thought it might be cool to preach through the book again 10 years later. 😊

 

So, 4 books, how long is this gonna take? Again, you have some great questions! I’m not a prophet, but after preaching through 15 New Testament books in my 10 years here, you can gather the data points to get an idea of about how long I usually take to preach thought by thought through a book. I am estimating that this entire series will take anywhere from 50-75 sermons to complete. Which puts us at probably a year and a half to complete it, give or take a month.  

 

So, why the prison epistles? You all are on fire with the questions today! I actually really wanted to study the prison epistles right after we finished the book of Acts but because the prison epistles contain many of the same themes and because it would be another lengthy study, I felt the Lord lead me to something else which is why we studied 1 and 2 Thessalonians. But my initial desire to study the Prison Epistles after Acts stemmed from the date discussion we will have in just a moment concerning the book of Ephesians, so I’ll save those details until then.

 

I think that is most of the initial questions before we actually dive into the series and the book intro.

 

But before we do – let’s take a moment to ask the Lord to be with us this morning.

 

[Slide 2] Series or Four Independent books?

This morning I have been, perhaps, a little unclear on what exactly we are doing. I am talking about a series and also about a book study. So, the question arises, are these four letters independent of one another or are they a series?

 

Well because they are written to four distinct audiences, I have to say that this is really more of four independent books than a true series. However, the themes of Ephesians and Colossians are so similar it is hard to imagine that there is no connection between the books. Philemon and Philippians are outliers though. Philippians is very different from Ephesians and Colossians thematically and Philemon isn’t written to a church at all but to one person… a man named Philemon.

 

Nevertheless, because Paul probably wrote these in such a short time, I can’t help but see them together, even if they are probably more of 4 independent studies.

 

So, we will loosely introduce this as a series and preach through them accordingly.

 

I plan to cover them in canonical order. There is some debate over which letter is sent first. But thematically, if we go through Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians and then Philemon – the topics we address will never get stale.

 

I say that because Ephesians and Colossians are remarkably similar. Although Colossians is a good deal shorter and much more argumentative than Ephesians, it is estimated that a little over half of what is said in Ephesians is also found in identical expressions in Colossians. 

 

Separating our study of Ephesians and Colossians with Philippians will be a good break between them.

 

But this point about Ephesians and Colossians being so similar is what brings us to the debate over authorship.

 

[Slide 3] Authorship:

Really until the Enlightenment and the modern era, no one in the history of the church questioned whether or not Paul wrote the book of Ephesians.

 

It has been only recently that many have supposed that a person posing as Paul took up the style and content of Paul’s letter to the Colossians and endeavored to write a letter that seemed like it was Paul’s but it actually wasn’t.

 

There are, of course, MANY difficulties with assuming that this is the case with the book of Ephesians.

 

First, Paul is named directly. He identifies himself as the author. Although this doesn’t dismiss the possibility of someone pretending to be Paul, it does change the argument from one of authorship to one of canonicity. If someone claims to be someone they aren’t… what do we call that? Yes. A lie. And if this letter is supposed to be inspired of God, can God lie? No. So if Paul is not the author of this book, this book doesn’t belong in the bible. Plain and simple.

 

Second, if Paul wrote Colossians and Ephesians at the same time, we might expect him to have similar themes and expressions distributed in these letters. In fact, Tychicus is identified as the messenger delivering Ephesians and Colossians, almost assuring us that they were sent together.

 

Colosse is actually fairly close to Ephesus, so the issues that Paul is addressing in Colosse could be just as pertinent to the Ephesians too. So why not write the same things to two different churches?

 

But one of the biggest challenges to Pauline authorship is identifying who exactly the audience is for this book we call, Ephesians.

 

[Slide 4] Original Audience:

Astute readers will see the name of the book and read verse 1 of the first chapter and wonder why this is uncertain. It says Ephesians and Paul addresses this to the saints who are at Ephesus and who are faithful in Christ Jesus. Case closed!

 

Well, not exactly.

 

There are three big challenges to this letter being written to the church in Ephesus.

 

First, the words “at Ephesus” do not appear in the earliest manuscripts we have of this letter. It says, “To the saints who are and faithful in Christ Jesus”.

 

Second, Marcion, a second century gnostic heretic, who made waves trying to control what books were included in the canon and what books weren’t, wrote about this letter that Paul wrote, only he said that Paul wrote it to the Laodiceans.

 

Finally, as we scour the book of Ephesians, it is quite interesting to discover that Paul never once names anyone, nor does he call out any particular problem or issue that he is addressing that is unique to Ephesus. In fact, Ephesians is the only book in the entire Pauline corpus that we can look at and say – there is no reason that Paul HAD to write this. There is no issue he is addressing or heresy he is correcting.

 

Because of this, some modern scholars doubt the Pauline authorship of Ephesians and attribute it to a cunning imposter who doesn’t say anything specific so he won’t get caught.

 

But one main problem with this line of argumentation is that the early church did not look highly upon works pretending to be written by apostles or other famous people in the church. From the earliest records we have, no one, not even Marcion the heretic, doubted that Paul wrote this book. This is because, typically, Paul sent his letters WITH people who vouched for the letter as having been written by the person who signed it.

 

Although that might put to bed the uncertainty about the authorship, it still doesn’t answer our questions about who is the original audience of this book?

 

Well, let’s go back to the manuscripts that omit the phrase “at Ephesus”. See the problem with that is that syntactically, that Greek sentence, although technically correct, is quite awkward.

 

[Slide 5] I have put the two possible ways to translate it on the screen here. Keep in mind that the Greek word “and” can also be translated “also”

 

“To the saints who are and faithful in Christ Jesus” is really awkward both in English and in Greek. Paul is talking about their existence and their faithfulness… If he just mentions their faithfulness, he need not mention their existence.

 

“To the saints who are also faithful in Christ Jesus” is also really awkward in Greek and also Theologically. This isn’t normally how we’d see the word “also” used in Greek and for Paul to express that they are saints and that somehow in addition to that, they are also faithful in Christ Jesus, is problematic to say the least. How can you be a saint and NOT be faithful in Jesus Christ?

 

What does this mean?

 

It could mean that “at Ephesus” was omitted on accident, or, that those words were NOT present in the original letter that Paul sent, but a blank space was.

 

Most scholars conclude that Ephesians was a circular letter.

 

Ephesus, like many modern cities, had many villages and suburbs surrounding the city where the gospel had no doubt spread in the five years that Paul had been absent from them.

 

Ephesus is also very close to several other city churches mentioned in the New Testament. Cities like Smyrna, Sardis, Philadelphia, Laodicea, and Miletus among others a little further away.

 

The thought is that since the book of Ephesians is not addressing a particular problem or issue in a church, that it was probably copied several times and sent to Ephesus first and also various cities surrounding Ephesus, and Tychicus was instructed to simply write in the name of the city he brought the letter to.

 

This view is not without its problems though. It is difficult to believe that with the cost of scrolls and the risk of sending letters to various churches, that Paul would have written the several copies of the same letter to several churches. It would have cost him a fortune and put Tychicus at great risk.

 

Furthermore, if Paul knew what cities he was sending these letters to, why didn’t he simply fill in the name of the city prior to sending it with Tychicus.

 

And why do almost all of our translations still call it Ephesians and have the words “at Ephesus” in the text?

 

Although a few early manuscripts omit “at Ephesus”, the VAST majority and some of them quite early, HAVE the phrase. Furthermore, several early church fathers, many of whom are second generation disciples, name Ephesus as the destination for this letter.

 

[Slide 6] Which leads me back to an improbable but perhaps most sensical conclusion. The early manuscripts omitted the phrase “at Ephesus” on accident or were copied from a source that omitted the phrase on accident. But God has preserved for us, by tradition and broader manuscript evidence, the actual intended audience of this book as the church in Ephesus.

 

If that is the case, why is Paul not writing any specifics? Perhaps because he intended to send it to the villages surrounding Ephesus as well as the church in the city too. This would mean that although some would read it whom he knew, many would read it whom he did NOT know.  Or perhaps because Paul didn’t have any occasion to write to them, but did wish to convey to them the message of this book.

 

[Slide 7] So, now that we’ve talked through that – Where is Ephesus and what is the culture like there?

 

Ephesus is situated at the mouth of the Cayster river on the east side of the Aegean Sea.

 

[Slide 8] The city was best known for the temple to Artemis, one of the seven wonders of the ancient world.

 

[Slide 9] Of course, when Paul visited many of the converts to Christ gave up their witchcraft and burned their spell books, putting a mighty dent in the economy. So religiously, Ephesus is a very dark place with ties to paganism and the occult.

 

[Side 10] Ephesus was also an important political, educational, and commercial center sitting on a port giving access to the greater part of Asia and Galatia. When Paul arrived, the church was already established. Pricila and Aquila had helped Apollos discover that the Christ he was preaching had already come, and His name was Jesus of Nazareth. Apollos then went to Corinth to continue the work in that church. So, the church of Ephesus was not initially founded by Paul, but was certainly expanded under his 3-year apostolic ministry.

 

[Slide 11] Of course, we know that Paul left to go to Jerusalem and was arrested and kept in prison for quite some time before being shipped to Rome to stand before Caesar.  

 

[Slide 12] We also know that Timothy eventually is called to pastor the church there at Ephesus and deal with some problems that were arising there – Female leadership, heresies, and fights over myths and genealogies being a few of them. And thirty years later the church at Ephesus is again mentioned by the apostle John in the book of Revelation, as one that although it had not succumbed to heresy, had unfortunately left its first love and allowed its love for Christ and His church to grow cold. Many scholars think that prior to John being sent to the prison island of Patmos, he was in Ephesus after the fall of Jerusalem. So, he would be uniquely positioned to write about the state of Ephesus and what the church had become in about 1 generation from its founding.

 

[Slide 13] Ephesus and the church founded there were central to the first century spread of Christianity. And as a church positioned where it was in the Roman Empire, there is, perhaps, no better church to send the letter of Ephesians to. More on that in a minute.

 

So, when does Paul write this to the Ephesians?

 

[Slide 14] Date:

Since Paul ministered at the church in Ephesus on his third missionary journey, we can easily rule out any imprisonments that occurred before that. However, Paul was imprisoned by the Jews, Felix, Festus, was a prisoner aboard a ship, then on the island of Malta, and then again under house arrest in Rome, was then released and imprisoned again before he was executed. All this occurred in a span of about 10 years.  

 

So, we must wonder, when is the most likely time that he would have had a chance to write to the churches of Ephesus, Colosse, Philippi and to a man named Philemon.

 

Due to the time, provisions, and freedoms that would be necessary to write such letters, the relationship of these letters to other Pauline letters, as well as tradition of the church, it seems best to see this letter written during the period that he was under house arrest in Rome. He had many freedoms to have visitors, he had access to materials to send letters as well as people who could transport them to where he sent them.

 

This is why I wanted to study these books after Acts. Because it would pick up right where Luke left off.

 

That would put the date of Ephesians between AD 60-62. Because the themes of Ephesians and Colossians line up and the belief that Philemon was an Ephesian, these three letters seem to have been written and sent simultaneously while Philippians could have occurred later or earlier.   

 

[Slide 15] Occasion:

As we’ve said already, Ephesians is an odd duck since Paul is not specifically addressing any problem, heresy, issue, or occasion unique to the Ephesian church.

 

But that DOESN’T mean that the letter of Ephesians is sent for no reason.

 

In fact, many scholars deem this letter to be Paul’s crowning achievement, even above Romans. So much so that some scholars argue, albeit unconvincingly, that Ephesians was written as a preamble or a cover letter to the entire collection of all Paul’s letters.

 

Again, this is unconvincing for several reasons. But it does go to show you just how rich this book is.

 

And indeed, after reading it through several times this past week, I can already tell there are some absolutely HUGE themes.

 

My guess for the occasion of this letter is that Paul, being aware of Luke’s two-part tome on the gospel of Jesus and the beginning of the church, wrote Ephesians as a sermon to proclaim the same teachings Luke was saying in his narrative history.

 

That being said, what is the purpose of the book of Ephesians?

 

[Slide 16] Purpose:

Paul’s main doctrinal point happens immediately in the first chapter. He proclaims that God the Father has a cosmic plan to reconcile all of creation to Himself and that plan centers on the glory and headship of Jesus Christ, His Son. His application, which occurs in the second half of the letter, is how specifically the church must participate in that cosmic plan.  

 

1.)    Paul attacks his main point with feverish doxology praising God for His absolute monergistic and sovereign role in the salvation of a people to Himself through His Son so that His Son would be over all.

2.)    He progresses this idea by teaching that God not only individually reconciled Gentiles and Jews to Himself through His Son, but that in Christ He is also reconciling two men (Jew and Gentile) into one new man.

3.)    Then Paul begins to apply this plan of God to how the church must participate. He speaks of unity, growth, separation from the world, rejecting our former ways and imitating God.

4.)    Then Paul talks about the need of the church not only to grow and expand but to stand firm against the forces of darkness. Paul warns that we don’t wrestle against flesh and blood. The enemy of the church is not human… it is ancient, malevolent, and powerful. But he leaves no doubt… if we take up God’s armor… we will stand. And when we stand, we play our part in God’s cosmic plan to reconcile every dimension of His creation… to Himself through Christ as its Head.

 

This… is a POWERFUL book. And if you leave this study thinking that the church today, or our church specifically, is living up to the place God gives it in this plan… then I will have failed you as a preacher.

 

My friends… this one is gonna hurt.

 

So, what are some key themes that will bring the pain?

 

[Slide 17] Key Themes:

 

1.)    All mankind, Jew or Gentile, born in false religious homes or born in Christian homes, all mankind is BY NATURE, meaning who we are naturally from conception, spiritually dead, transgressors of the law, under the rule of Satan, and deserving of the wrath of God.

2.)    God monergisticly (by Himself) saves His church by predestining, electing, drawing, and regenerating them by pure grace, so that through faith we might be saved in Christ to do the good deeds He has designed for us to do and be His body on earth.

3.)    God’s salvation of His church is into the New Man Jesus Christ. There is no Jewish church and Gentile church. There is one church which inherits all the promises of God given to the commonwealth of Israel. Christ is the New Israel. Not that Israel is replaced by the church or that there is no room for Mosaic law practicing Jews in the church. But that there is no divide in Christ.

4.)    The church must be a reunified humanity that is reconciled to God, the House of God, the body of Christ, the Heirs of the commonwealth of Israel, the bride of Christ, the Army of God, and the wisdom of God displayed to angelic rulers.

5.)    [Slide 18] Even though called a house of God, this temple must continue to grow and expand.

6.)    The church must separate from the world and imitate God in all they do including in every relationship they have with other human beings.

7.)    The church must weather the assault of ancient evil beings with God’s armor as He continues to put all things under His feet. Indeed, God will crush Satan under our feet.

 

[Slide 19] Words and concepts to keep an eye out for:

 

1.)    The phrase “In Him” or “In Christ” is mentioned more times in this book than any other letter of Paul’s.

2.)    Look for the images or pictures Paul points to of the church.

3.)    Look out for the word mystery.

4.)    Look out for cosmic language such as heavens and dominions and principalities and powers.

 

 

[Slide 20] Theological Challenges and Spicy Topics

 

1.)    The first chapter is going to be VERY heavy. If you have not submitted to the teaching of predestination and God’s sovereign election of those whom He will save… the first chapter is gonna be a bumpy ride for you. But, maybe it will be what finally convinces you that God is sovereign over who He saves. I hope it does… because that is exactly what it teaches.

2.)    Are we sinners by nature or must we sin to become sinners. This book will strongly affirm the ancient doctrine of original sin. Original meaning pertaining to the origin of our sin. Which is what the Greek word “nature” means.

3.)    We will argue about what is a gift of God in chapter 2. Is it faith or grace or salvation?

4.)    We will struggle through the implications of Gentiles inheriting the promises of Israel and what that might mean for Israel today.

5.)    [Slide 21] We will seek clarity at what it means that there is only one baptism.

6.)    We will wonder what it means that Jesus descended to the lower parts of the earth.

7.)    We will endure the toe smashing of the put off put on principle.

8.)    We will address submission of wives and love of husbands and what that means and doesn’t mean.

9.)    [Slide 22] We’ll talk about principalities and powers and how we don’t wrestle against human beings. At least not ultimately.

 

[Slide 23] Outline of Ephesians

 

1.)    The Father’s plan of cosmic reconciliation: The Glory and Headship of Christ (1:1-1:14)

a.       Greeting and recipients (1)

b.       Prayer for grace and peace from God and the Lord Jesus Christ. (2)

c.       God has blessed us with every spiritual blessing of heaven in Christ (3-14)

2.)    [Slide 24] Prayer that all believers may know this plan, God’s power to bring it about, and their place in it. (1:15-23)

a.       Paul thanks God that he has heard that the Gentiles there have believed on Jesus and are loving like Jesus (15-16)

b.       Paul prays that they’d be given spiritual wisdom to understand even more about God’s plan of cosmic reconciliation. (17-23)

3.)    [Slide 25] How God is accomplishing His plan of cosmic reconciliation (2:1-3:21)

a.       God saves individuals by grace (2:1-10)

b.       Christ reconciles two men in to one man (2:11-18)

c.       Christ unifies Jew and Gentile into one House, one temple, one family. (2:19-22)

d.       God’s wisdom is revealed through the church He has made (3:1-13)

e.       Paul is continually praying that all believers would have a deeper understanding of God’s power and love to be filled with the fullness of God (3:14-19)

f.        Paul prays to God who is able to do this and gives glory to Christ, closing out his doctrinal section (3:20-21)

4.)    [Slide 26] How the church must participate in God’s plan for cosmic reconciliation (4:1-6:20)

a.       The church must practice unity in love (4:1-6)

b.       The church must grow in spiritual maturity (4:7-16)

c.       The church must put off the ways of the world and put on God’s ways. (4:17-5:21)

d.       The church must practice relational submission and love. (5:22-6:9)

e.       The church must stand firm against the forces of darkness in the strength of God (6:10-20)

5.)    Conclusion, Greetings, and Benediction (6:21-24)

a.       Tychicus has been sent to inform them how Paul is doing (21-22)

b.       Peace and love and Grace is hoped for by Paul to them from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. (23-24)

 

Read Ephesians

[Slide 27 (end)] As I said already, this book, is gonna hurt. There is a lot in here that has already kicked me in the teeth and I can’t wait to study it further with you. Let me pray and ask the Lord’s blessing on our study for the next several weeks. As I pray, the six readers can queue up to read the text this morning.]]></description>
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      <title><![CDATA[01 Luke 6:27-36 Love more like Jesus]]></title>
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      <itunes:author><![CDATA[Bill Stewart]]></itunes:author>
      <itunes:subtitle><![CDATA[Sermon from Columbus Baptist Church's Podcast]]></itunes:subtitle>
      <itunes:summary><![CDATA[Sermon from Columbus Baptist Church's Podcast]]></itunes:summary>
      <description><![CDATA[Sermon from Columbus Baptist Church's Podcast]]></description>
      <link>https://media.podpoint.com/columbus-baptist-church-podcast/01-luke-627-36-love-more-like-jesus</link>
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      <title><![CDATA[01 Hebrews 4:14-16 Three Reasons We Can Approach Our God and Savior in Our Time of Need]]></title>
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      <itunes:author><![CDATA[Gary Montgomery]]></itunes:author>
      <itunes:subtitle><![CDATA[Sermon from Columbus Baptist Church's Podcast]]></itunes:subtitle>
      <itunes:summary><![CDATA[Sermon from Columbus Baptist Church's Podcast]]></itunes:summary>
      <description><![CDATA[Sermon from Columbus Baptist Church's Podcast]]></description>
      <link>https://media.podpoint.com/columbus-baptist-church-podcast/01-hebrews-414-16-three-reasons-we-can-approach-our-god-and-savior-in-our-time-of-need</link>
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      <title><![CDATA[01 Psalm 51 A Song For The Repentant]]></title>
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      <itunes:author><![CDATA[Chris Freeman]]></itunes:author>
      <itunes:subtitle><![CDATA[Title: A Song for The Repentant Text: Psalm 51 FCF: We often struggle knowing the depth of our sin and our hope only in God for mercy. Prop: Because God alone is the only hope for sinners, we, being sinners, must seek Him alone. Scripture Intro: [Slide 1]]]></itunes:subtitle>
      <itunes:summary><![CDATA[Title: A Song for The Repentant

Text: Psalm 51

FCF: We often struggle knowing the depth of our sin and our hope only in God for mercy.

Prop: Because God alone is the only hope for sinners, we, being sinners, must seek Him alone.

 

Scripture Intro:

[Slide 1] Turn in your bible to Psalm 51. In a moment we’ll read the psalm from the Legacy Standard Bible. You can follow along in the pew bible on page 629 or in whatever version you prefer.

 

One Puritan writer compared the preparation and delivery of a sermon on Sunday as the preacher going to the market and grocery shopping for the congregation. He provides the raw materials for the flock to prepare for themselves spiritual meals for the remainder of the week. I have found this illustration to be accurate.

 

For the last nine months we’ve been eating from one particular diet together. But sometimes it is good to take a break from the normal and shop in different aisles of the store. As a pastor I am commanded to preach the whole counsel of God’s Word. And so, for the next three weeks we’ll get some variety to our spiritual diet.

 

Today, we will approach a rather well-known but theologically rich and incredibly relevant psalm. Psalm 51.

 

Please stand with me to give honor to and to focus on the Word of God as it is read.

 

Invocation:

Holy and infinite God, you are unlike all that is in Your creation. You are perfect and pure. You are right and just in all Your ways. Yet we are sinners. We fall short, miss the mark, and transgress Your ways. Yet You are merciful none the less. You are kind and gracious. You have made provision to forgive and to restore those who are broken and contrite. You have made a way for the repentant to be set free. I pray that You would help us to see, through the anguish of the psalmist, the path to mercy and forgiveness. I pray that you would help us to understand how repentance is not only the first word of the gospel but is the path to receiving mercy from You. Teach us in this song Lord, we pray this in Jesus’ name, Amen. 

 

Transition:

[Slide 2] “When we truly comprehend our own nature, repentance is no dry doctrine, no frightening message, no morbid form of self-flagellation. It is, as the early church fathers said, a gift God grants which leads to life.” Charles Coleson

 

[Slide 3] “Every man feels more comfort and spiritual joy after true repentance for a sin than he had in that innocence before he committed the sin.” John Donne

 

“Real repentance produces confession and forsaking of sin, reconciliation and restitution, separation from the world, submission to the lordship of Christ and filling of the Holy Spirit.” Vance Havner

 

[Slide 4] “Upon the two hinges of faith and repentance do all the promises of the Bible hang.” George Swinnock

 

“The grief of repentance is never loss in any way; not to experience this grief, that is loss indeed.” R.C.H. Lenski

 

Let these words wash our minds to prepare us for the exposition of this psalm this morning.

 

I.)                  God alone is the only hope for sinners, we must confess the depth of our sin and look to God for cleansing and a restored relationship to Him.   (title – 5)

a.       [Slide 5] For the choir director. A Psalm of David. When Nathan the prophet came to him, after he had gone in to Bathsheba.

                                                               i.      Scholars agree that although th]]></itunes:summary>
      <description><![CDATA[Title: A Song for The Repentant

Text: Psalm 51

FCF: We often struggle knowing the depth of our sin and our hope only in God for mercy.

Prop: Because God alone is the only hope for sinners, we, being sinners, must seek Him alone.

 

Scripture Intro:

[Slide 1] Turn in your bible to Psalm 51. In a moment we’ll read the psalm from the Legacy Standard Bible. You can follow along in the pew bible on page 629 or in whatever version you prefer.

 

One Puritan writer compared the preparation and delivery of a sermon on Sunday as the preacher going to the market and grocery shopping for the congregation. He provides the raw materials for the flock to prepare for themselves spiritual meals for the remainder of the week. I have found this illustration to be accurate.

 

For the last nine months we’ve been eating from one particular diet together. But sometimes it is good to take a break from the normal and shop in different aisles of the store. As a pastor I am commanded to preach the whole counsel of God’s Word. And so, for the next three weeks we’ll get some variety to our spiritual diet.

 

Today, we will approach a rather well-known but theologically rich and incredibly relevant psalm. Psalm 51.

 

Please stand with me to give honor to and to focus on the Word of God as it is read.

 

Invocation:

Holy and infinite God, you are unlike all that is in Your creation. You are perfect and pure. You are right and just in all Your ways. Yet we are sinners. We fall short, miss the mark, and transgress Your ways. Yet You are merciful none the less. You are kind and gracious. You have made provision to forgive and to restore those who are broken and contrite. You have made a way for the repentant to be set free. I pray that You would help us to see, through the anguish of the psalmist, the path to mercy and forgiveness. I pray that you would help us to understand how repentance is not only the first word of the gospel but is the path to receiving mercy from You. Teach us in this song Lord, we pray this in Jesus’ name, Amen. 

 

Transition:

[Slide 2] “When we truly comprehend our own nature, repentance is no dry doctrine, no frightening message, no morbid form of self-flagellation. It is, as the early church fathers said, a gift God grants which leads to life.” Charles Coleson

 

[Slide 3] “Every man feels more comfort and spiritual joy after true repentance for a sin than he had in that innocence before he committed the sin.” John Donne

 

“Real repentance produces confession and forsaking of sin, reconciliation and restitution, separation from the world, submission to the lordship of Christ and filling of the Holy Spirit.” Vance Havner

 

[Slide 4] “Upon the two hinges of faith and repentance do all the promises of the Bible hang.” George Swinnock

 

“The grief of repentance is never loss in any way; not to experience this grief, that is loss indeed.” R.C.H. Lenski

 

Let these words wash our minds to prepare us for the exposition of this psalm this morning.

 

I.)                  God alone is the only hope for sinners, we must confess the depth of our sin and look to God for cleansing and a restored relationship to Him.   (title – 5)

a.       [Slide 5] For the choir director. A Psalm of David. When Nathan the prophet came to him, after he had gone in to Bathsheba.

                                                               i.      Scholars agree that although the titles of the psalms are very old, they are not original to the text of the psalm itself.

                                                             ii.      Although not inspired by God, they still can serve as a contextual commentary for the occasion of the psalm by an ancient commentator.

                                                           iii.      We should read this title then, as we might read the writings of Polycarp, Irenaeus, or Clement of Rome.

                                                           iv.      With those caveats, there really is no reason to doubt the title given to Psalm 51.

                                                             v.      Everything in the psalm seems to fit the context described which occurs in 2 Samuel 11 and 12.

                                                           vi.      After Nathan the prophet comes and confronts David for his sin with Bathsheba and his murder of her husband Uriah the Hittite, David realizes his sin and repents.

                                                          vii.      What is noteworthy however, is the personal nature of the repentance voiced in this psalm but knowing that David submitted this into the psalter for all of Israel to sing.

                                                        viii.      Most often we don’t think of personal repentance as something that is public. In fact, due to shame we wish it to be private. Indeed, David tried to hide his sin with Bathsheba by killing her husband.

                                                            ix.      But now David makes his repentance public to all of Israel. Why?

                                                             x.      Two reasons. First, his sin had become public. And second, he is the King of Israel. That is what leaders do.

                                                            xi.      So now, let us explore this song for the repentant.

b.       [Slide 6] 1 - Be gracious to me, O God, according to Your lovingkindness; according to the abundance of Your compassion blot out my transgressions.

                                                               i.      David begins his song of contrition, with a plea for God to be gracious.

                                                             ii.      That God would give him favor and compassion that is consistent with His loyal love.

                                                           iii.      The word “lovingkindness” is one of the most important words in the Old Testament. It is used almost 250 times and each time there is some difficulty bringing it into English. Why? Because it has many ideas rolled into it.

1.       There is the aspect of covenant loyalty where there have been promises made to be loyal.

2.       Faithfulness

3.       Love

4.       Goodness

5.       Graciousness

6.       Kindness

7.       All of these are bound into this word. Therefore, it is difficult to come up with a good English word to encapsulate all of it.

8.       Lovingkindness is often used, I think I prefer Loyal love.

                                                           iv.      In any case, David pleads with God to be gracious to him in a way that is consistent with that covenant love and faithfulness that God has.

                                                             v.      We can understand even more about this as David writes the second half of this verse.

                                                           vi.      In the psalms there are often relationships between phrases. The second phrase can reword, explain, expand on, or be set in contrast to the previous phrase.

                                                          vii.      David’s second phrase here helps us to understand what God dealing according to His loyal love would look like.

                                                        viii.      It is according to God’s abundant compassion, and the graciousness he desires of God is specifically to blot out his transgressions.

                                                            ix.      Blotting out here means to forgive but it carries with it a destructive or punitive component. To blot something out means ink must be scrapped off the page or the tablet record must be smashed.  

c.       [Slide 7] 2 - Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin.

                                                               i.      David continues begging God to wash and cleanse him.

                                                             ii.      David wants to be free of the sin he has committed.

                                                           iii.      And notice that David has used three different words to describe his failure. Why?

                                                           iv.      Iniquity, transgression, and sin are different words that when combined together serve to paint the whole picture of sinfulness. Whether it is a minor misstep or outright rebellion, whether it is accidental or purposeful, the full scope of sin is encompassed with these three Hebrew words.

                                                             v.      But why does David desire to be washed?

d.       [Slide 8] 3 - For I know my transgressions, and my sin is ever before me.

                                                               i.      He is fully aware of his failures.

                                                             ii.      He knows them, why? Because they are ever before him.

                                                           iii.      He is haunted by what he has done.

e.       [Slide 9] 4 - Against You, You only, I have sinned and done what is evil in Your sight,

                                                               i.      Is David’s statement here true?

                                                             ii.      In one sense it isn’t. He certainly sinned against Uriah, whom he had murdered. He certainly sinned against Bathsheba with whom he fornicated. He certainly sinned against the people of Israel by failing them as their King.

                                                           iii.      But in a very real sense, every sin is ultimately against God. And sinning against God is far more egregious than sinning against another human being.

                                                           iv.      David’s statement here is not to excuse himself from the hurt he caused others… rather, it is to recognize that ultimately his sin against others is a sin against God first.

                                                             v.      He has done evil.

                                                           vi.      In fact, sins against other humans can easily be dismissed. We often justify our sins against others because they deserve it. It is a twisted sense of justice that we come up with.

                                                          vii.      But when all sins are against God – who never earns our sins against Him… we are without hope for justification.

                                                        viii.      And that is what David goes to next.

f.        [Slide 10] so that You are justified when You speak and pure when You judge.

                                                               i.      David confesses that God is right to speak against him and to judge him.

                                                             ii.      There is no shadow of doubt in David’s mind… God can and should punish him for his sin.

                                                           iii.      And then David says something even more astounding.

g.       [Slide 11] 5 - Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin my mother conceived me.

                                                               i.      Some have tried to interpret this verse to say that David is confessing that he was conceived as a result of some adulterous or sexually immoral behavior by his mother.

                                                             ii.      Although grammatically that is possible, there is no justification contextually to interpret the verse this way.

                                                           iii.      It is just as grammatically possible that David is talking about his own sinful condition and its origin.

                                                           iv.      David has been begging for God’s gracious and loyal love, recognizing his own sin and even saying that God is just to judge him.

                                                             v.      If David was conceived by an act of sin, that is his mother and father’s sin… not his. And that has no real bearing on what he is saying in the psalm so far.

                                                           vi.      The only real possible interpretation, which is almost universally accepted by Old Testament scholars, is that David is talking about his own sinful condition and when it infected him.

                                                          vii.      Now I won’t say that this verse outright teaches the doctrine of original sin – but it certainly accords with it. What is the doctrine of original sin?  

                                                        viii.      [Slide 12-16] Turn with me to Romans 5 and we will read not just verse 12 which is the supposed proof text of this doctrine… but let us read 12 through 21.

1.       The doctrine of original sin is important (though it is under attack today) primarily because Paul sets Adam and Jesus up as two representatives. Jesus is actually called the last Adam by Paul in 1 Corinthians.

2.       He specifically calls Adam a Type of Christ. Meaning that what Adam has done is like what Christ has done. It is actually what we’d call an anti-type.

3.       Just as Jesus secures life, righteousness, and acceptance from God, our former representative Adam doomed us to death, sin, and condemnation from God.

4.       It is by Adam’s failure that all men die, inherit a sin nature, and are condemned before God earning His wrath. And this is all before they ever commit a sin themselves.

5.       Paul says that though the law had not yet come to reveal sin, men still died… why? Because they were sinners already even if they didn’t know they had committed sins against God.

6.       Paul says in Ephesians that we are children of wrath… by nature. Naturally. We are born that way.

7.       It has been expressed this way, “We are not sinners because we sin, we sin because we are sinners.”

8.       This is the doctrine of original sin. And what David says here is right in line with that doctrine.

                                                            ix.      [Slide 17] At his very conception… he was ALREADY a sinner. At his birth he was brought forth in iniquity. Before David ever committed any sin willfully, he was already a sinner in his heart.

                                                             x.      This serves as further proof that God is just and pure to judge him for his sin.

                                                            xi.      David does not see his sin with Bathsheba and against Uriah as a rare blemish in a long history of otherwise righteous behavior. Instead, he confesses, that this sin was borne out of his very nature.

h.       [Slide 18] Summary of the Point: As a song for the repentant this psalm focuses on one primary truth. And that is that God alone is the only hope for sinners. In the opening stanza, David explains why that is. Why is God alone the only hope for sinners? Because we are all sinners by nature. The depth of our sin is great and the stain of sin is impossible for us to remove. And worse still, every sin is ultimately a sin against The Creator and Judge of the universe. He will rule in justice. He will never pardon the guilty. In that economy, in that legal climate to where else can we run than to the judge? Indeed, we must confess our sinfulness before God and seek Him alone for mercy and to cleanse us and to restore us to a proper relationship with Him.

 

[Slide 19 (blank)] Transition: But what is the solution to David’s problem?

 

II.)                God alone is the only hope for sinners, we must seek God for a change from the inside out.   (6-12)

a.       [Slide 20] 6 - Behold, You delight in truth in the innermost being, and in the hidden part You will make me know wisdom.

                                                               i.      Now David moves to the solution of his sin problem.

                                                             ii.      Although he is a sinner by nature, he knows that God delights in the innermost person. Who we are inside. But David has already said that who he is naturally, inside, is a sinner.

                                                           iii.      So, if God is to grant mercy and restore the relationship, God must act in his innermost being and must give him truth and wisdom.

                                                           iv.      David isn’t going to find it on his own.

b.       [Slide 21] 7 - Purify me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.

                                                               i.      David speaks now of a cleansing.

                                                             ii.      Hyssop is a plant used in ritual cleansing ceremonies performed by the priest. It would be dipped in the blood of the sacrifice and sprinkled on things and people to make them ritually pure.  

                                                           iii.      David is asking for God, as his priest, to spiritually, morally, cleanse him and make him cleaner, purer, and whiter than he has ever been. To truly make him righteous.

c.       [Slide 22] 8 - Make me to hear joy and gladness, let the bones which You have crushed rejoice.

                                                               i.      Daivd begs for joy and gladness even from the same bones which God has crushed in shame and guilt.

                                                             ii.      David desires to be free of the anguish of sinning against God.

                                                           iii.      He wants to be vindicated. He doesn’t want this sin to be synonymous with him any longer.

d.       [Slide 23] 9 - Hide Your face from my sins and blot out all my iniquities.

                                                               i.      Most often in the Old Testament, God hiding his face is a bad thing.

                                                             ii.      Here, however, David doesn’t want God to look on his sin.

                                                           iii.      He wants it ignored, gone, separated, expiated, atoned for.

e.       [Slide 24] 10 - Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.

                                                               i.      David asks God to give him a new heart. One that is clean.

                                                             ii.      To actually create (not recreate) a new heart within him.

                                                           iii.      We see striking similarity to David’s plea and God’s promises concerning the new covenant where he will give a new heart of flesh to those whom He is saving.

                                                           iv.      David then asks for a steadfast spirit. A spirit that is able to endure temptation again and choose righteousness.

f.        [Slide 25] 11 - Do not cast me away from Your presence and do not take Your Holy Spirit from me.

                                                               i.      As we saw in 2 Thessalonians, no one can truly go out from the presence of God. Why? Because God is everywhere and He is every when.

                                                             ii.      But, to be cast from His “face” presence, which is the Hebrew word here, is to be put away from his favor and his compassion.

                                                           iii.      Disagreement abounds on how the Holy Spirit interacted with Old Testament saints. Did He merely come upon them? Did He regenerate them? Did He indwell them?

                                                           iv.      We certainly do know that the Spirit came upon Old Testament people to empower them to do things. Much like the Holy Spirit fell upon people in the New Testament to produce sign gifts.

                                                             v.      And this could, perhaps, be what David is referring to. He doesn’t want the Spirit to be taken from him as the King of Israel.

                                                           vi.      However, we could see this as hyperbolic language where David is basically asking that the Spirit not be grieved.

                                                          vii.      We have already said that the presence referred to previously is the benevolent presence of God. So, taking the Spirit away could simply mean, grieving Him or experiencing a dryness or farness from God’s presence.

                                                        viii.      In any case, David’s plea, really, is to return to a right relationship with God.

                                                            ix.      And that is what he says next.

g.       [Slide 26] 12 - Restore to me the joy of Your salvation and sustain me with a willing spirit.

                                                               i.      David wants to go back to the days when he rested in the joy of God’s deliverance and saving grace.

                                                             ii.      He wants God to give him a spirit which desires to obey God, and that obedience to God will be what sustains him.

                                                           iii.      David wants to walk in right standing with God.

                                                           iv.      Such is the desire of all who are truly repentant.

h.       [Slide 27] Summary of the Point: This song of repentance shows us that God alone is the only hope for sinners. So not only does David seek God to cleanse him from sin, but He seeks God to change him from the inside out. He seeks God to make him a new creation. He seeks God to help him to never be this way again. We too must seek God to change us.

 

Transition:

[Slide 28 (blank)] The repentant heart does not just want to be washed, restored, and changed. A repentant heart also wants to warn others who might fall into the same traps.

 

III.)               God alone is the only hope for sinners, we must teach sinners of Him and His ways.  (13)

a.       [Slide 29] 13 - Then I will teach transgressors Your ways, and sinners will be converted to You.

                                                               i.      David moves on to the result of the restoration of his relationship with God.

                                                             ii.      Only when he is restored will he be able to teach others who are sinners God’s ways both by command and demonstration.

                                                           iii.      Only when he is free from these things will he be able to instruct others of God’s ways and see them convert to following God.

                                                           iv.      David sees his relationship with God as the foundation of his evangelistic efforts.

b.       [Slide 30] Summary of the Point: David is beginning to widen his focus. He begins with God, expands to himself and God, and now he expands to himself and God and others who are sinners and do not worship God. David recognizes that after his restoration he can once again turn to sinners and point them to God. He has just come to God for mercy. He can point them there also. We too must teach by command and example that sinners must seek God alone for mercy and forgiveness.

 

[Slide 31 (blank)] Transition: But there is yet another aspect of his life that has been affected by his sin. David must now seek deliverance so that he can properly worship God.

 

IV.)              God alone is the only hope for sinners, we must be repentant of sin if we are to worship God.  (14-17)

a.       [Slide 32] 14 - Deliver me from bloodguiltiness, O God, the God of my salvation; then my tongue will joyfully sing of Your righteousness.

                                                               i.      Worship of God is harmed by his status.

                                                             ii.      He is guilty of murder.

                                                           iii.      Although there are no external standards set for worshipping God, our sin makes us unworthy to worship Him. This is why a sacrifice was required for the Israelites and this is one of the reasons Jesus had to die. So that an atonement could be made for us so we could be brought near to God.  

                                                           iv.      David reveals that only when he is delivered from murder can he sing, joyfully, about God’s laws and righteousness.

b.       [Slide 33] 15 - O Lord, open my lips, that my mouth may declare Your praise.

                                                               i.      With guilt and shame, we are often chased into silence. We hang our heads and we close our mouths.

                                                             ii.      With guilt comes great sorrow and despair.

                                                           iii.      David asks the Lord to open his mouth so that he can worship Him and praise Him. Why?

                                                           iv.      Because when we sin against Him, praising Him is far from our minds.

                                                             v.      When you feel like a wretch you feel unworthy to speak to Him, let alone sing to Him.

                                                           vi.      But God again is the one David turns to. Though God is the one offended, David again turns to the One He offended for help to praise Him.

c.       [Slide 34] 16 - For You do not delight in sacrifice, otherwise I would give it; You are not pleased with burnt offering. 17 - The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and a contrite heart, O God, You will not despise.

                                                               i.      A sacrifice is required to worship God, to bridge the gap between sinners and a Holy God we need a sacrifice.

                                                             ii.      However, ritual sacrifices without true repentance is repugnant to God.

                                                           iii.      Mere confession of truth and belief in a Savior without genuine repentance and obedience is equally as repugnant to God.

                                                           iv.      The real sacrifice, or might we say, the effective sacrifice is one that brings a broken spirit and contrite heart over sins committed.

                                                             v.      A person who comes in this way, God will surely show mercy to.  

d.       [Slide 35] Summary of the Point: David is relentless. God is the only hope for him. He recognizes his murder guilt. He knows that only God can deliver him from it. And until God does, he is not able to sing in joy or praise to Him. David would gladly offer every sacrifice under the sun to rid himself of his shame – but a broken spirit and contrite heart is the sacrifice that is necessary. And that is what he has come with. For us also, if we are to worship God properly, we must be continually repentant of sin.

 

Transition:

[Slide 36 (blank)] The final two verses widen David’s focus to all of God’s people.

 

V.)                God alone is the only hope for sinners, we must trust the Lord that He will one day gather His people together to worship Him perfectly, forever.   (18-19)

a.       [Slide 37] 18 - By Your favor do good to Zion; build the walls of Jerusalem.

                                                               i.      David now expands even further his view to the people of God.

                                                             ii.      He has seen how his sin has alienated him from God.

                                                           iii.      He has seen how his sin prevents him from speaking to sinners about the Lord.

                                                           iv.      He has seen how his sin prevents him from worshipping God.

                                                             v.      But now he sees how his sin has affected all of Israel.

                                                           vi.      He asks God to be favorable and gracious to Zion, and to build the walls of Jerusalem.

                                                          vii.      Zion is often interchangeable with Jerusalem but definitely has an eschatological, new Kingdom layer to its meaning as well.

                                                        viii.      Zion is not simply the physical city of Jerusalem it represents the future hope of a future kingdom governed from a future version of Jerusalem that is perfect.

                                                            ix.      Zion speaks not just of the kingdom itself but to its holy citizens.

                                                             x.      We know that David is referencing this future Kingdom because at this time the walls of Jerusalem were already built. They don’t need to be rebuilt.

                                                            xi.      David asks that God fulfills his promises to His people.

b.       [Slide 38] 19 - Then You will delight in righteous sacrifices, in burnt offering and whole burnt offering; then young bulls will be offered on Your altar.

                                                               i.      There are a few points we need to see in his final statement here.

                                                             ii.      When this future Zion comes, this perfect Kingdom that God has promised His people, at that time God will delight in righteous sacrifices.

                                                           iii.      Righteous sacrifices is an interesting term. Before he said that God doesn’t delight in sacrifices and that His sacrifices were a broken spirit and contrite heart.

                                                           iv.      But in this new Kingdom, God delights in sacrifices that are up to the standard that God has set. They are perfect. They are complete.

                                                             v.      And God will delight in righteous burnt offerings where all that was acceptable was completely burnt up.

                                                           vi.      Furthermore, at that time, young bulls will be offered on His altar.

                                                          vii.      What is this saying?

                                                        viii.      I think we could at very least say that at this time the sacrifices will be perfect and they will be filled with thanksgiving and peace with God.  

                                                            ix.      But I think we could take this even further to suggest that David is looking ahead to a time when sacrifices are no longer performed to deal with sin.

                                                             x.      Perhaps David looks ahead to a time when sacrifices mean something completely different. Looking back… instead of looking forward.

c.       [Slide 39] Summary of the Point: A song for the repentant ends with a look to the future, which is what all repentant people should look to. We trust the promises of God that He is near to the contrite. We don’t dwell on our past failures, but we continue to turn from them and to what God commands of us. God alone is the only hope for sinners. And Christ died for sinners. So, we look and trust in the promises of God through His Son that one day He will return and bring us into His Kingdom… forever.

 

Conclusion:

So CBC, what have we learned today that refines our beliefs and guides our lifestyles.

 

Basics of Faith and Practice:

[Slide 40] After Nathan confronts David and exposes his sin, David is cut to the heart. This song he has written after those events, are no doubt an accurate representation of his pleas to God for restoration. Entering this song into the psalter, David invites all of God’s people to worship the Lord with a song of repentance. A song of contrition. For that is what repentance is. It is an act of worship. It is an act of faithfulness to God. Turning from sin and to God is the first word of the gospel that Jesus proclaimed.  And this song is a paradigm, a template, a pattern for all who would repent of their sin and turn to God. It could be a wrote prayer we pray to God concerning our own sins. It could be a song we sing in our heart as we seek the Lord for restoration. Psalm 51 is a gift to us from a broken man. We too must be broken and repentant. We must seek God alone, because he is the only one who can help sinners in their plight. And we must seek Him to forgive, restore, and bring us safely to His Kingdom.

 

But let’s get a little more specific on what this psalm teaches us.

 

1.)    [Slide 41] Mind Transformation: “What truth must we believe from this text?” or “What might we not naturally believe that we must believe because of what this text has said?” We must affirm that God alone is the only hope for sinners.

a.       Why is this true? Why must we affirm this?

b.       Let’s start where David started.

c.       God alone is the only hope for sinners because He alone is gracious, compassionate, and loyally loving.

                                                               i.      God is able to cleanse and deliver us.

                                                             ii.      God is concerned about our inmost parts and who we are at our very core. Not just our thoughts and emotions, not just our bodies, but our very souls.

                                                           iii.      God as our Creator knows us better than we know ourselves. He formed us and shaped us in the womb. He has fearfully and wonderfully made us.

                                                           iv.      God can create new hearts. He can create a new steadfast spirit in us.

                                                             v.      God can sustain us. God gives favor, love, grace, kindness, goodness, and salvation.

d.       But this only tells us that God is the best hope for sinners. Why must we conclude that God is the ONLY hope for sinners?

                                                               i.      Because all mankind are sinners by nature. All mankind are children of wrath by nature.

                                                             ii.      All men, through Adam, inherit death, condemnation, and sin.

                                                           iii.      God is right to judge every single human ever born who are born with Adam as their representative, because through Adam, all men inherit this sin status before God.

                                                           iv.      And regardless of what men do in this life… they begin as sinners. And because they are sinners… they will… indeed, they must… sin.

                                                             v.      Sinners cannot save themselves. They cannot work hard enough to restore a relationship with God on their own.

                                                           vi.      David even said that if there was a sacrifice that God would have accepted, he would have given it. But God desired a broken spirit and a contrite heart.

                                                          vii.      God desires all of us to come to that one conclusion – that we are hopeless without Him.

e.       All sinners have only one hope. And it is God.

f.        That is awkward… why?

g.       Because God stands in judgment over them as a righteous judge.

h.       But this just illustrates the desperate condition of sinners. We are so hard up for help that our only recourse… is to ask the judge who just sentenced us… the judge who wrote the law we broke… for mercy.

i.         It is a good thing… He is near to the contrite. 😊

2.)    [Slide 42] Exhortation: “What actions should we take?” or “What is this passage specifically commanding us to do that we don’t naturally do or aren’t currently doing?” We must see this Psalm as a pattern for those who are repentant.

a.       There are many kinds of repentance out there.

b.       Paul speaks of a repentance that leads to death. Just like James speaks of a faith that leads to death.

c.       Remarkably they are similar.

d.       Both faith without works and repentance without works lead to death.

e.       A repentance that stops at “I’m sorry” but then continues to do the same thing over and over again – is not repentance.

f.        A repentance that produces sorrow because you were caught but not because you have sinned against God… that leads to death too.

g.       2 Corinthians 7 is a great passage in which to turn for a good description of genuine repentance… but if you want an even clearer prayer or song of repentance… I can show you nothing better than Psalm 51.

h.       This is what genuine repentance looks like.

i.         And it begins with…

j.         [Slide 43] Confession of sinful condition and plea for cleansing

                                                               i.      Notice that David confesses his sinfulness.

                                                             ii.      He doesn’t make excuses. He doesn’t blame anyone else.

                                                           iii.      He doesn’t try to justify his actions.

                                                           iv.      He doesn’t try to excuse himself.

                                                             v.      He doesn’t even treat this as something that came out of nowhere.

                                                           vi.      He confesses that he has been a sinner from conception. He confesses that he is worthy of God’s just judgment.

                                                          vii.      But he pleads that God would act in his compassion, loyal love, and priestly role to cleanse him.

                                                        viii.      We too must confess our sinful condition without caveat and without excuse and seek Him to cleanse us.

k.       [Slide 44] Plea for change from the inside out

                                                               i.      It is not enough to simply be cleansed of wrong doing… no.

                                                             ii.      We must be made new.

                                                           iii.      We must seek to be different.

                                                           iv.      We must seek to have the sin completely disassociated from us. To the extent that no one would believe that we had ever committed such a sin before.

                                                             v.      We must be changed from the inside out – not by following a list of rules, but conforming ourselves to Christ by faith.

                                                           vi.      We must seek closeness with God through His Spirit who lives in us and submit to the Spirit’s guidance in our own sin’s eradication.

                                                          vii.      Repentance cannot stop with forgiveness… it must continue to change. We must turn from sin, not simply be ashamed of it. Many people are ashamed of what they do and who they are… but that doesn’t stop them from doing and being that very thing.

                                                        viii.      Repentance moves on to change.

                                                            ix.      But it isn’t change in a vacuum.

l.         [Slide 45] Desire to be a beacon to other sinners of God’s righteousness

                                                               i.      There is a purpose to holy living.

                                                             ii.      Jesus said let your light shine before men that they may see your good deeds and glorify God in heaven.

                                                           iii.      We are a city on a hill which cannot be hidden.

                                                           iv.      We are a light in the dark which cannot be concealed.

                                                             v.      Indeed, when we are repentant people being cleansed and conformed to God’s righteousness, we are in a perfect position to point sinners to our God.

                                                           vi.      If we are sinning the same way everyone else is… why would they heed our pointing them to a God of righteousness?

                                                          vii.      But if we are changed and new people – when we tell them we are being conformed to God’s standard, they must take note.

                                                        viii.      But repentance isn’t just for evangelism it is also for worship.

m.     [Slide 46] Desire to worship God with a clear conscience

                                                               i.      We cannot worship God with a clear conscience when we know that we are actively pursuing sin that He detests!

                                                             ii.      We cannot intentionally pursue sin on Saturday and come to worship God on Sunday!

                                                           iii.      I know the trite phrase “Come as you are” is very popular today. And in some ways it is true. You don’t have to put on airs to worship God. You don’t have to wear a tuxedo or do your hair all up.

                                                           iv.      You don’t even have to come to God as a perfect person in order to worship Him.

                                                             v.      But you certainly cannot worship God and be unrepentant of sin at the same time.

                                                           vi.      Worthy worshippers of God are not those without sin, but they are those who HATE their sin.

                                                          vii.      But a truly repentant person longs for the day… that we are without sin…

n.       [Slide 47] Desire to see and join with the future Eternal Kingdom of righteousness and thanksgiving

                                                               i.      Some people who claim to be Christians rarely think of heaven.

                                                             ii.      Some people who claim to be believers, if they were honest with themselves, when they hear of the coming kingdom they can’t believe how boring it sounds.

                                                           iii.      But those who are truly repentant. Those who have been given the gift of repentance and faith unto life… those people look at a Kingdom built of righteousness and thanksgiving… and they can’t… wait… to be there!

                                                           iv.      The purging forever of sin and the dawn of righteousness and thanksgiving forever… that is what that New Kingdom will be. And if that doesn’t sound very good to you… perhaps you only have a repentance that leads to death?

3.)    [Slide 48] Evangelism: “What about this text points us to Jesus Christ, the gospel, and how we are restored?” Repentance is the first word of the gospel.

a.       When Jesus began his ministry on earth the gospel writers record that his message was generally to repent and believe the gospel.

b.       The gospel, of course, was the good news that the One that the prophets had spoken of was here and with Him the New Covenant which gives new hearts to God’s people.

c.       But the first word… before believing the gospel. Before trusting in Christ. Before surrendering to Him. Before claiming Him as Savior and Lord…

d.       Is Repent.

e.       Repent means to turn from sin. And if you have even vaguely been listening during this sermon… you know that Psalm 51 is what repentance look like.

f.        No one can believe the gospel until they first confess their own miserable status as sinful and hopelessly guilty before a holy God. No one can believe the gospel until they understand that there is absolutely nothing they can do to make themselves right with God. No one can believe the gospel until they abandon hope in anything else saving them except in what God offers IN THE GOSPEL.

g.       Until you see Christ as your only hope, you cannot possibly believe the gospel.

h.       And so my friends… if you are here today and you have never turned from your sin… may this be the day of your salvation.

i.         Repent and believe the gospel.

j.         Turn from your sinfulness and cry out to God in desperation to save you and deliver you.

k.       And whether you do that today for the first time… or you are a believer who continually is turning from sin and believing the gospel… be comforted by this…

4.)    [Slide 49] Comfort: “What comfort can we find here?” or “What peace does the Lord promise us in light of this passage of scripture?” God is merciful to the truly repentant.

a.       God is always merciful to truly repentant people.

b.       He doesn’t have to be.

c.       He isn’t obligated to be.

d.       But He is like no other god real or fictitious.

e.       He is near to the broken hearted. He is close to the contrite. He is ready to hear your pleas for mercy and He is ready to forgive, cleanse, restore, and change you.

f.        Repent is not a bad word. It is not an aggressive word. It is a word of worship. It is a word of hope. You can turn from all the hopeless dead ends… and you can cry out to the only hope you have for life… Mercy from a Holy God.

 

[Slide 50 (end)] Let me close in a prayer by the Reformer Lancelot Andrews

 

Son of David, you have found a ransom for me. Have mercy on me. Lord, help me!

 

Even the dogs may eat the crumbs which fall from their master's table. Have patience with me, Lord. I confess I do not have the ability to pay. Forgive me the entire debt, I beg you.

 

Will you forget me forever, Lord? How long will you hide your face from me? For how long can I seek answers in my own soul, and yet be so frustrated in my heart, day and night? For how long will my enemies triumph over me?

 

Consider and hear me, O Lord my God. Flood my eyes with light, so I will not fall asleep in death. For if you cast me down, those who trouble me will celebrate.

 

But my trust is in your mercy which I seek in Jesus’ name, Amen.

 

Benediction:

May you dwell under the shadow of God's throne,

Where saints have dwelt secure,

Where His arm is sufficient and your defense is sure.

 

Until we meet again, Grace and Peace to you.]]></description>
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