Goal of Election

Driving home: If in the previous words we have the fact of election He chose us, the foundation of election in Him, the time of election before the foundation of the world, then in these words we have the immediate goal of election, t…

A man building a house for his son illustrates the difference between an immediate goal (constructing the house) and an ultimate goal (his son's happiness and well-being), paralleling God's immediate goal of holiness and ultimate goal of His glory.

Everything that God does in election and in foreordination has as its ultimate goal the adoring recognition of the manifested excellence of the undeserved favor of God. That we should be to the praise, the adoring recognition of the glory, the manifested excellence. Of the grace, of the favor of God to the undeserving. Though that is the ultimate goal, the immediate goal by which the ultimate is realized is stated in verse 4, that we should be holy and without blemish. Now in many areas of human experience we know the difference between immediate and ultimate goals. Suppose you went by a site ...

10:25 - 11:27 Read in full sermon

The point: Preach through every word of Scripture, even if it feels difficult, for personal spiritual growth.

Martin shares his personal experience of overlooking the words 'before Him' for years, using it to encourage young men in ministry to preach through every word of Scripture for their own spiritual growth.

In that day we shall be presented in experience as the fulfillment of the elective purpose, the salvation that began in eternity with God choosing us in Christ, that we should be holy. The blessed God will be culminated in eternity when we will be presented to Him without spot and holy in His presence. Though that goal is not realized in experience in this life, listen carefully, that goal is embraced in principle. All the redeemed who have new hearts imparted by the operation of the Spirit, though there is much about them that is unholy. And though there are many blemishes, the mark that the ...

19:16 - 20:32 Read in full sermon

Driving home: And so sin has separated us from our God and heaven will ultimately be the restoration of the creature to full faced fellowship with God in a context of perfect holiness.

The story of Adam and Eve hiding from God in the garden after the Fall illustrates how sin separates man from intimate communion with a holy God, and how heaven will restore this unfettered fellowship.

The goal of God's electing love is that we should be holy and hold in without blemish in the sight of God which means it is a genuine holiness not a spurious or a feigned holiness. And then secondly if the thought is primarily that of the ultimate standing in His presence then He's showing us the reason of this holiness is that of bringing us into the most intimate fellowship with God that the creature can know. Let me explain what I mean by that. Since God is holy He could hold the most intimate fellowship with His creature when man was holy. And so there is an intimation in the book of Genes...

28:01 - 29:23 Read in full sermon

Driving home: And so sin has separated us from our God and heaven will ultimately be the restoration of the creature to full faced fellowship with God in a context of perfect holiness.

A quote from Thomas Manton is used to summarize the essence of heaven as 'perfect holiness in God's presence enjoying and loving Him even as we are beloved of Him,' reinforcing the sermon's theme.

provoked God to turn His back upon them but now that all the purposes of God in redemption have come to fruition God shall dwell with them He will delight in the work of His hands holy and without blemish before Him see the same thought in Revelation 22 verse 3 there shall be no curse anymore and the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be therein and His servants shall serve Him they shall see His face they shall see His face again Manton has said and I thought this thought was so precious I copied it down to share it with you verbatim if I should spend millions of years in describing heaven t...

32:41 - 34:07 Read in full sermon