Central Place in the Plan of Salvation

In this part of the sermon: Martin argues that adoption holds a central place in God's eternal plan of salvation, expounding Ephesians 1:3-5 to show that God chose and predestined believers to adoption…

Martin uses the analogy of adjusting a camera lens to the widest angle (e.g., 35mm, 28mm, fisheye) to illustrate the need to broaden one's perspective to see the 'large landscape' of adoption's central place in God's plan from eternity to eternity.

Now, this morning, with our Bibles in our hands, we're going to seek to back up and adjust the lens of our minds to the widest angle possible and consider together the central place of adoption in the entire plan of God's saving mercy from eternity to eternity. Now, when you want to see a large landscape, you adjust yourself to your lens to the widest angle possible. On most standard cameras, that's 35 millimeters or 28, but you can get a specially constructed wide-angle lens that will enable you to take in everything. You can get a fisheye lens that takes in 365 degrees. So what I want to do ...

8:21 - 9:49 Read in full sermon

The point: Grasp the reality of your adoption and shape your thinking about your relationship to God in light of it, recognizing the amazing and elevating intention of God's eternal love.

Martin quotes Charles Hodge's commentary on Ephesians to support the strong conclusion that God elected people unto holiness because He had first predestined them to the dignity of sons, showing the priority of adoption in God's purpose.

one that would render us holy and without blemish before him in love, and also predestined or foreordained by the same provision of salvation in Christ to adopt us unto himself. Now some commentators go so far as to suggest that the grammatical construction of these two verses warrants the conclusion that is given in Charles Hodge's commentary on Ephesians, in which he says the following, God having predestined his people to the high dignity and glory of the sons of God, elected them unto holiness without which that dignity could neither be possessed or enjoyed. And there was another commentat...

17:18 - 18:46 Read in full sermon

Driving home: Adoption is the crowning blessing of salvation to which justification clears the way.

Martin quotes J.I. Packer's statement that 'adoption is the crowning blessing of salvation to which justification clears the way' to introduce the inferred answer about Christ's work in relation to adoption.

and work of Christ in his earthly life and ministry? Well I answer in two categories. There's an inferred answer and then there is an explicit answer. And the inferred answer derives from the concerns expressed by Dr. J. I. Packer in his very helpful little article in condensed theology on adoption. He writes this, adoption is the crowning blessing of salvation to which justification clears the way. Adoption is the crowning blessing of salvation to which justification clears the way. I trust you will remember, those who were here for my recently completed series on justification, that I said w...

24:46 - 25:45 Read in full sermon

Driving home: Adoption is the crowning blessing of salvation to which justification clears the way.

Martin uses the analogy of God dealing with offenses in a 'judicial, in the criminal court' (justification) before moving to the 'family court' to take out adoption papers, to explain the implied relationship between Christ's work and adoption.

with the wicked every day. The scripture says, the wrath of God abides upon Him that believes not. Now God cannot take, into intimate fatherly communion with Himself, creatures who are the objects of His wrath. Creatures who should be the recipients of His fiery judgment. And so justification, God's declaration that all the provocations of His wrath are resolved. Sin is forgiven. The perfect obedience of Christ is credited to us. God, by justifying the sinner, clears the way to embrace Him to His bosom as a father. So the

26:41 - 27:29 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: He explains that adoption is central to Christ's redemptive work, both implicitly through justification clearing the way for intimacy with God, and explicitly through Christ being…

Martin details Jesus' circumcision, dedication, and attendance at feasts as examples of His life being 'strictly kosher' and perfectly obedient to the Mosaic law, illustrating what it meant for Him to be 'born under the law' in Galatians 4.

and Joseph go up with baby Jesus, and they present a sacrifice of two turtle doves or two pigeons, and Christ, as the first born of Mary's womb, is dedicated unto the Lord. Why? Because the law of Moses required that for every male child that was first born. And then we see our Lord attending all of the stated feast at Jerusalem, coming all the way down from the upper regions of Palestine in the Galilean area, where Nazareth was, down to Jerusalem. Why? Because God said, all your males shall appear before me three times every year. In other words, every facet of Jesus' life was strictly kosher...

33:10 - 34:00 Read in full sermon

The point: Appreciate who Jesus is and what He has done to give you the status of adopted sons and daughters, rather than being indifferent to doctrinal preaching.

Martin uses the memorable phrase 'three G's' (Gabbatha, Gethsemane, Golgotha) to summarize the places of Christ's shameful trial, intense agony, and forsakenness, emphasizing the tremendous price paid for our adoption.

In order that he might redeem his people to the end that they might receive the adoption. All that Christ became, all that Christ did, was to the end that we might receive the status of adopted sons and daughters. And central to all that he did that secures that blessing, Paul is already identified in verse 13 of chapter 3, Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us. For it is written, cursed is everyone that hangs on a tree. When Paul says here in chapter 4 that he might redeem them, how did he redeem them? Not by the example of his life, but by the horrific de...

36:54 - 38:22 Read in full sermon

The point: If you have not yielded allegiance to Christ, trusted Him completely, acknowledged His claims, and confessed Him with gratitude, do not talk about believing on Christ, as you are a stranger to grace and the new birth.

Martin quotes his friend Dr. Donald Carson's description of what it means to 'receive Christ' (yielding allegiance, trusting completely, acknowledging claims, confessing with gratitude) to clarify the true nature of saving faith, contrasting it with merely 'tipping the hat'.

It is a yielding allegiance to Jesus as the eternal Word made flesh, trusting Jesus completely, acknowledging the claims of Jesus over us without reservation, and confessing Jesus with gratitude. My friend Dr. Donald Carson has that beautiful description of what is it mean to receive Christ. It means far more than tip the hat while you walk by the cross, say thank you Jesus, you died for sinners, I believe it, I'm fixed forever. That's not receiving Him. That's playing games with God. That's a travesty to receive Him who was the eternal Word, and now the Word become flesh. The One who says if ...

45:07 - 46:05 Read in full sermon