Ephesians 1

Driving home: So when we assert the sovereignty of God, we are simply using this as a convenient title for that aspect of divine truth, which declares with absolute clarity that God rules in the world that he himself has made.

The mention of 'sovereignty of God' is likened to a red flag to a bull, illustrating how immediately it conjures up negative spiritual images for some people.

O Lord, our God, once again, as we come to this solemn and sober responsibility of handling divine truth, we would confess our darkness of mind by nature, our sluggishness of spirit, and we ask that you would grant to us in this hour that special ministry of God the Holy Ghost to illuminate our minds, to quicken us, to hear and to heed that which you would say to us through your word. Make us little babes to whom you will be pleased to reveal the glorious truths of your sovereign grace and mercy. Amen. We come tonight in what I believe is the, to what I believe is the 12th, 13th message in thi...

0:00 - 1:21 Read in full sermon

Driving home: So when we assert the sovereignty of God, we are simply using this as a convenient title for that aspect of divine truth, which declares with absolute clarity that God rules in the world that he himself has made.

The relationship between Romans 9, 1 Corinthians 1, and Ephesians 1 is pictured as different approaches to the same truth: theological argument, Christian experience, and a hymn of praise, respectively.

The scripture says he is working all things after the counsel of his will. And presently are we are studying, that aspect of the word of God, which declares that he is sovereign in the realm of grace, that he saves men, not according to the whims and fancies of men, but according to his own eternal purpose. Having looked at the four key words in the New Testament, which teach this doctrine, the word elect, the word called, the word predestinate, and the word foreknow, we are now studying the key passages in the writings, the writings of the inspired apostles, which set forth this truth in a ve...

1:59 - 3:13 Read in full sermon

Driving home: So when we assert the sovereignty of God, we are simply using this as a convenient title for that aspect of divine truth, which declares with absolute clarity that God rules in the world that he himself has made.

After Romans 9, one must either tear out the page, twist the words, or fall down in submission, illustrating the inescapable logic of God's sovereignty.

Paul takes the words of the objector, and he answers them, and you find a masterful display of Holy Ghost anointed logic and scriptural reasoning. And when you've come through Romans 9, there is but one thing to do. That's either to tear the page out of your Bible, or twist the words, so that they might as well be torn out, or to fall down upon one's face, and say, Oh Lord, though this transcends my understanding, it's obvious that you have a right out of the same lump to make vessels unto honor and to dishonor. You're the God who is sovereign in grace.

3:13 - 3:53 Read in full sermon

Driving home: And the whole theme of it is a hymn of praise to God for the blessings of sovereign grace.

Paul is described as drawing into the 'chamber of praise' as he contemplates God's blessings, illustrating the deeply worshipful nature of Ephesians 1.

This amens your own experience. And now, in Ephesians 1, we find the same apostle not thinking of the experience of the saints or the argument of the theologian, but we find him, as it were, drawing into the chamber of praise. And as he contemplates all of the blessings that have flowed down in the sovereign mercy of God, he writes this tremendous paragraph, Ephesians 1, 3, through 14, which in most Bibles is one sentence, probably the longest sentence in the Bible. And the whole theme of it is a hymn of praise to God for the blessings of sovereign grace.

5:07 - 5:48 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: Paul's hymn begins with 'Blessed be the God and Father,' an ascription of glory. The reason for this praise is God's blessing of believers 'with all spiritual blessings in…

Paul's heart becoming full and needing to speak is compared to the Psalmist's experience: 'while I was musing the fire burned then spake I with my mouth,' illustrating the overflow of praise from contemplation.

That which caused Paul to begin to pen this hymn of praise to the blessings of a sovereign God was his contemplation of the spiritual blessings that were his possession and the possession of all believers through virtue of their union with Jesus Christ. He's been meditating upon all that is his through Christ. And as his mind muses and turns over these tremendous blessings of God his heart becomes so full that he has to say like the Psalmist while I was musing the fire burned then spake I with my mouth. And so he begins this hymn of praise and the reason was a contemplation of all the blessing...

10:18 - 11:29 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: Paul's hymn begins with 'Blessed be the God and Father,' an ascription of glory. The reason for this praise is God's blessing of believers 'with all spiritual blessings in…

Paul was not thinking of a retirement plan or Caribbean vacations when contemplating blessings, but spiritual blessings, highlighting the nature of the blessings in Ephesians 1.

Notice our text verse 3 he hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in Christ Jesus. Paul was not thinking of the wonderful retirement plan he had with the church at Antioch. You remember they sent him out on his missionary journey and I don't believe they sat down and came to some agreement about a very agreeable retirement plan and nor was he thinking about all the wonderful times he's going to have spending a summer in the Caribbean somewhere or going to Rome to do a little sightseeing. He wasn't going there for that he was going there to lose his head.

11:29 - 12:05 Read in full sermon

The point: Examine yourself: Am I in Christ? Am I savingly joined to Christ? Has God the Holy Spirit joined me to Christ?

God has stored all blessings in Christ, likened to putting 'all his eggs in one basket,' emphasizing that if you miss Christ, you miss all blessings.

We've robbed Christ of much of his glory in our day by giving the idea that you can have the blessings that he purchased sort of in a piecemeal grab as you can kind of an arrangement. You like a little bit of forgiveness then you can get that from Jesus and a little bit of peace get that from Jesus no God has taken every spiritual blessing and stored it up in his son and it's all heaped up in him and if every blessing is in him there's none outside of it. You see God hasn't left any hanging around elsewhere. It's all stored up in him and God's got all his may I say it reverently God's put all ...

15:05 - 15:45 Read in full sermon

Driving home: beloved isn't it a shame that a truth that made Paul's heart burst with praise has made men stomp with rage isn't that a shame

Paul tracing the blessings in Christ back as far as he can to election and predestination is like finding the initial blessing from which all others flow, illustrating the logical order of God's work.

And now Paul begins to enumerate them in verse 4 all the way down to verse 14 and all we can do is touch briefly upon them for I believe we'll see six or seven distinct blessings that form the substance of that which caused Paul to ascribe praise to God. Now what is the first one we confront? Verse 4 According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world that we should be holy and without blame before him in love having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself according to the good pleasure of his will. As the apostle was thinking and meditati...

17:25 - 18:53 Read in full sermon

Driving home: beloved isn't it a shame that a truth that made Paul's heart burst with praise has made men stomp with rage isn't that a shame

It's a shame that a truth (election) that made Paul's heart burst with praise has made men stomp with rage, highlighting the controversial nature of the doctrine.

with me in blessing God in a hymn of praise to his sovereign grace how can I begin to get them to share that which I feel and know in my own heart shall I take them to forgiveness no for there's something behind forgiveness shall I take them to the inheritance to come no for that's not the cause but that's the end result of something else and so as he traces the blessings in Christ back as far as he can he ends up at what is the initial blessing from which all others flow down and we find it in verses 4 and 5 election and predestination beloved isn't it a shame that a truth that made Paul's he...

18:53 - 20:22 Read in full sermon

Driving home: let's never forget God took the initiative in this whole business this whole idea that man was just going around wringing his hands trying to find a way to get to God that's not a biblical idea

Reading a manuscript that only defined justification negatively (forgiveness of sin) illustrates the common misunderstanding of justification as only half the truth, missing the positive imputation of Christ's righteousness.

where man runs away from God God came seeking Adam who ran and hid in the bushes that's the picture of all humanity by nature running and hiding in the bushes of self deceit and self delusion but a sovereign God who comes in mercy and drives man out of his bushes and brings him to the place where he's a recipient of his grace so the first great blessing is this of God's election and his predestination the second great blessing verse 6 notice it to the praise of the glory of his grace wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved one in keeping with his eternal purpose of election predestinat...

23:20 - 24:49 Read in full sermon

Driving home: let's never forget God took the initiative in this whole business this whole idea that man was just going around wringing his hands trying to find a way to get to God that's not a biblical idea

Paul, a murderer and blasphemer, being brought to salvation illustrates the wonder of God's grace and the basis for Paul's praise.

at the request of someone the other day to go through it to analyze it it's going to be a chapter on the difference between justification and sanctification and his whole concept of justification was its negative aspect that we are forgiven God now declares us not guilty now that's the negative aspect of justification but that's only half of it the shorter catechism so clearly states justification involves not only the forgiveness of sin but actually as justified within his sight so that God not only sees my sins blotted out he sees me in Christ as though I had fully and perfectly kept the who...

24:49 - 26:06 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: These blessings do not come to all men, and their cause is explicitly stated as 'the good pleasure of his will,' 'his good pleasure which he purposed in himself,' and 'the counsel…

The forces against a believer's perseverance (wicked heart, devil, world) are described as 'the cards are stacked against you,' emphasizing that only God's keeping power ensures salvation.

But if God hadn't purposed to get him in. The devil's going to try to get him out. And the remains of the fallen nature will do their best to get him out. And the world's doing its best to get him out.

31:07 - 31:17 Read in full sermon

The point: Go home tonight and put yourself on one side of the dresser or the other and say, 'All right, now, which do I say?' regarding faith and election.

Martin shares a personal diary entry from 1963, detailing his struggle with election, predestination, and free will, illustrating that wrestling with these truths is a common and potentially fruitful experience.

I've begun to try to take an hour a day to pack up books and begin to pack in the house. So we begin to get ready to move. And as I was packing. Up, I came across a little diary.

37:39 - 37:50 Read in full sermon