Goal of Election

Introduction: The Fusion of Doctrine and Devotion in Ephesians 1

0:03 This great letter which gives, along with the book of Romans, perhaps the most comprehensive coverage of the great and cardinal truths of the Christian faith, both with reference to doctrine and also to practice.

0:27 There need never be any conflict or tension between a burning heart and a clear head, between high doctrine and deep devotion. There need never be this oft thought of distinction between a worshipful man and a man who understands Christian theology. There should not be this separation of truth from experience. And there are few portions in Scripture which more clearly demonstrate the fusion of these things than Ephesians chapter 1, verses 3 through 14, this tremendous sentence which forms a paragraph which in reality is a eulogy and a scription of praise to God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Ghost. We come in our study to consider again something of the truth which God has locked up in verse number 4. Having stated in verse 3 the general statement for which he blesses God,

Review of Election's Setting, Fact, Author, Nature, Objects, Foundation, and Time

1:49 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, the apostle then in verse 4 begins to enumerate these blessings, particularly the blessings brought, brought to us by the Father, namely election and foreordination to adoption, even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blemish before him, in love having predestinated us unto the adoption as sons, through Jesus Christ unto himself, according to the good pleasure, of his will. These two verses, verses 4 and 5, are one of those sections in scripture where almost every word or every two words introduce an entirely new category of thought with relationship to the overall theme. And so we have been considering for a couple of weeks the truth found in verse 4. We considered first of all the setting of this statement, on election.

3:09 The setting is the setting of worship. It comes in the context of a man who's prostrate before God with a heart running out to him, ascribing worth and praise to him, speaking well of him, Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus, and couched in this context of ascription of praise to God is this statement of election, showing us that, the burning heart and the clear head are not enemies. They are fused together in the biblical Christian. Then we looked at the fact of election as found in these words, He hath chosen us.

3:53 The author of election, the Father. The nature of election, a sovereign, graciously sovereign selection. He hath chosen. And the objects of election, he hath chosen.

4:07 He has chosen us believers, those who are in Christ. Then, last week, we looked at the foundation of election. He hath chosen us in him, so that God's elected choice was not divorced from Christ. Christ was never conceived of as a mediator, apart from those who were chosen in him unto life.

4:33 The people chosen unto life were never conceived of, from the mediator in whom they were chosen and so it is right to say that christ's union with his people is indeed an eternal union in the mind and in the purpose of god christ is the foundation of election as paul says in second timothy 1 9 speaking of the grace that was given to us in christ jesus before the world began and then we concluded our study by a consideration of the time of this election he hath chosen us the fact of election in him the foundation of election before the foundation of the world the time of election it predates all that we now know as the world about you we were in his mind and heart and included in his purpose long before we we had or anyone had any actual existence in time hence the certainty of the purposes of election hence the humbling

Technical Note: The Placement of 'In Love'

5:49 nature of what god his purpose that it predates anything that we have done or have become by his grace now we come today to consider the words that we should be holy and without blemish before him now there's a little technical matter about the little word or phrase in love and let me just clear away that technical matter first and then we'll move to our study in the manuscripts as they originally came to us the best manuscripts that we have in the earliest uh there was no punctuation everything was written in the manuscript and then we'll move to the written with one word hanging right on to the other and so judgment must be made with regard to the precise punctuation of many of these portions where things are not as clear as they are in other places and you have commentators and very able greek scholars both present and past who would say that the in love should be tacked on to verse five so that the thought is we were chosen to be holy and without blemish before him and now a new unit of thought having in love predestinated us

7:09 so that it was the motivation of divine love that moved god to foreordain us to the privilege of adopted sons others say no he hath chosen us to be holy and without blemish before him in the climate of love love being the perfection of holiness now both truths are taught elsewhere in scripture and so it's difficult when you have a passage which if you render it one way you've got support in scripture for it if you render the other you have support and really nothing's lost because if the truth is taught elsewhere in scripture it doesn't need this particular passage in order to exist and so what is both the difficulty on the one hand is also a comfort that nothing is lost because we can't dogmatize about the precise punctuation now i am adopting the view that the in love should be tacked on to verse five and i won't give you all my reasons for this let me just give you one of the main reasons for it and this is purely pragmatic later on in the epistle the apostle deals with the necessity of holiness and its relationship in love he says be imitators of god and walk in love so we'll have ample opportunity

8:33 to deal with the relationship between practical godliness and the experience of divine love and the second reason that this is not pragmatic this is exegetical and we come to study verse five the lord willing next week we shall see that placing the in love as attached to his having foreordained us brings us into a very close parallel with a similar statement of paul in the book of romans and so if you have a passage which is a very close parallel i believe it's right to let the weight of the parallel thought uh... be felt in the passage that is in question all right now we've done with the technical reason as to why i am considering with you the last part of verse four in putting the period after before him or uh... a uh... colin

The Immediate Goal of Election: Holiness and Blamelessness

9:31 All right then, what do we have in the words that we should be holy and without blemish before Him? 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, that we should be holy and without blemish before Him. Now I use the word the immediate goal of election because there is a difference between the immediate and the ultimate goal of God in election. The ultimate goal is stated in verse 6, to the praise of the glory of His grace.

10:25 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 where I...

11:27 A house, a building was being constructed and you saw a man with his hammer and his saw and he's pounding nails and fitting boards in place and you say, Hey Mac, what you doing?

11:39 And he says, I'm building a house.

11:42 That's his immediate goal, to construct a dwelling. Well after you get talking with him, you find out he's building the house for his son. He's been away in Vietnam. He's going to be rejoined with his family.

11:53 And he says, I'm building this place in order to provide shelter. For my...

11:59 My son, a place where he and his family can experience the joy of domestic happiness. Well what is his goal? To construct something of wooden boards or the happiness of his son? Well both are his goals.

12:13 One is the immediate goal, to have a completed structure with a view to the ultimate goal to contribute to the happiness and well-being of his son and his family. And the immediate goal is...

12:29 Necessary to the attainment of the ultimate goal. For his son and his family can't be happy living in a tent out on the sidewalks of Bloomfield Avenue. So with God in the work of grace, God's immediate goal in election shows us in him that we should be holy is the indispensable stepping stone to the ultimate goal that we should be to the praise of the glory. Of his grace.

The Goal Explained: Meaning of 'Holy' and 'Without Blemish'

13:01 And we could never be to the praise of the glory of his grace unless that grace was operative in a way that brought us to a state of perfection in holiness. So then, looking at the overall concept of the verse, now let us move to consider the goal explained. What is this goal that we should be holy and without blemish? And then...

13:30 The second area of thought will be the goal applied. The goal explained, the meaning of the words, the goal applied. What do those words say to us? Well, the first words that confront us are that we should be holy and without blemish.

13:52 Now, what do these two words mean? Some commentators, so jealous to guard the doctrine of the...

14:00 Imputation of Christ's righteousness. That is, that we are accepted before God on the basis of the righteousness of Christ, and it has nothing to do with anything in us, have tried to say that these words mean that holiness and blemishlessness that is ours in Christ. But the text will not warrant that interpretation. For notice it says, He hath chosen us, not that we should be declared holy.

14:31 But that we should be holy and without blemish before Him. And so there is the consideration of the very words and also of the parallel passage in this very book. For you'll remember in the fifth chapter that we have that statement concerning Christ loving the church, giving Himself for the church, that He might present the church to Himself. A glorious church, not having spot around.

15:01 But that it should be holy and without blemish. And it's obvious in this context that this is an experimental holiness, an infused holiness, a moral blamelessness. Well then, what does the word holy precisely mean then, if it has to do with something in us? Well, it's that same word we studied in verse 1.

15:29 When Paul addressed himself, It's the same root word to the sanctified ones, to the holy ones. And the basic idea of the word is separation unto God from that which is unclean and sinful and therefore a contradiction of His own nature and character. What is sin? It's a contradiction of the image of God.

15:56 What is holiness? Conformity to that image. So, So then, God's purpose, His goal in election, is that we should be holy. That is, that we should be separated unto God from that which is unclean and sinful, that which is a contradiction of His character or His nature.

16:19 Now, what does this word without blemish mean? Well, this is the word that is often used with regard to sacrificial animals. Those of you who are in the adult class this morning will remember the command, to find a lamb that was without blemish. The lamb that was to be examined for that four-day period, the tenth and the fourteenth day, and then was to be offered up in sacrifice.

16:45 We read of this in Numbers 6.14, one instance. There are others in the Old Testament. And it's this thought that carries over into the New Testament when speaking of Christ, Peter says in 1 Peter 1.19, 1 Peter 1.19, calling Christ the lamb who was without blemish and without spot. The word is used in Hebrews 9.14, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without spot, without blemish, unto God.

17:17 Now, think of what this meant in a lamb. A lamb that was without blemish was a lamb that had nothing that visibly evidenced the defects brought in. It was a lamb that looked just like a lamb would look if sin had never entered. There were no scars.

17:39 There were no open sores. There were no crooked limbs. It was a perfect lamb. Now, that concept of blemishlessness with regard to a physical lamb is now carried over into the moral realm.

17:55 It's a state in which there is no sin. There is no running sore, no crooked limb spiritually because of sin.

18:09 What holiness is in a positive way, that we should be holy, blemishlessness is in the negative sense. And so God's goal in election is to have a people who shall be holy and without blemish. Therefore, we are warranted to say, that the goal of God in election before the foundation of the world was nothing less than the purging away of all sin from His chosen ones, the separating of them unto Himself, and ultimately the eradication of every blemish from the totality of their being. Now, that goal is not realized in actual experience in this life. It will be realized in that day when the heavenly Bridegroom comes, and He will present us to Himself holy and without blemish. Same words used in the original.

The Goal Explained: Meaning of 'Before Him'

19:16 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 elective purpose of God has terminated upon them is that with all their heart they press toward that which they shall one day be in experience. So much then for the meaning of the words, holy and without blemish. Now two little words that escape me for years, and this is why I say to you young men preparing for the ministry.

20:32 The first time you're plunked down in the church and you'll be scared to death to do it, you'll tremble in your boots and you'll stumble and fumble, but you park down in a book somewhere and you say, I'm going to preach right through every word if it kills me. And it won't kill you. Nobody else gets anything out of it. It'll make a better saint out of you.

20:53 Now look at the two little words, and I overlooked them for years, that we should be holy and without blemish before Him. Now what do these say? What do these words mean? Well this is a unique word.

21:10 This word, katinopion, it's a unique word, only used with reference to God. It literally means in the sight of God, sometimes in the presence of His heavenly throne. Turn to several references where we find it. And it's all we're trying to do now, is find out the meaning of the words, and then we'll consider their message to us.

21:35 Second Corinthians 2. Paul speaking of his ministry as a minister of the new covenant, says in verse 17, We are not as the many, corrupting or making merchandise of the word of God, that is, using the Scriptures and divine truth for ulterior motives. But as of sincerity. But as of God, and here's the word, in the sight of God, they translate the same word here, in the sight of God, speak we in Christ. And you see what he's saying? He's saying when I preach to men, though I look at their eyes, and though I'm conscious of the reaction of their eyes, he said I'm more conscious of another pair of eyes upon me. I speak as one who's speaking and preaching in the sight of God.

22:49 Therefore, he says, how can I play tricks on you? How can I be gripped with devious, selfish motives? I'm preaching as in the sight of God. You see the force of the word in this context.

23:04 Turn over to chapter 12, which is used again in verse 19. 2 Corinthians 12, 19.

23:15 He think all this time that... We are excusing ourselves unto you.

23:20 In the sight of God speak we in Christ, but all things, beloved, are for your edification. You see what he's saying? He's saying you may put and attach to my ministry certain motives that are unworthy motives, but he said I'm conscious that I speak in the sight of God, and that my motivation is proper and right before Him. And so it's obvious that in this sense the word, means in the sight of God, under the eye of God, though not in the local presence of the throne of God.

23:58 But now you've got two references where it has the concept of the very presence of God and His heavenly throne. Colossians 1 and verse 22. Colossians 1 and verse 22.

24:15 Perhaps we should back up to verse 22, speaking of the reconciling work of... Christ in you being in time past alienated and enemies in your minds and wicked works.

24:27 Yet now hath He reconciled in the body of His flesh through death to present you holy and without blemish and unreprovable before Him. Here's the closest parallel to Ephesians 1.

24:45 He said He's reconciled you to the end that He may present you holy and unreprovable before Him. In that day, Ephesians 5, when the work of redemption is completed in His own. And then in Jude, and verse 24, we have another reference which has the connotation of being manifested before the very throne of God. Jude 24, this well-known benediction.

25:15 Now unto Him that is able to guard you from stumbling and to set you before the presence of... His glory without blemish in exceeding joy to the only wise God our Savior through Jesus Christ our Lord be glory, majesty, dominion, and power.

25:37 Notice the translation here, to set you before the presence of His glory. And so the context is obvious here, or the meaning is obvious, the thought being that of standing in...

25:53 the presence of God upon His throne. Now the word brings those two strands together and I frankly don't know which one is more dominant in the eyes and the thinking of the apostle in this context.

26:09 I don't know which one is more dominant. So what I've got to do is try to give you what it may mean in both cases. What does Paul mean when he says his immediate goal in election is that we should be holy and without blemish in the presence of...

26:32 Well, I believe he's doing at least these two things. He's underscoring on the one hand the genuineness of the holiness envisioned in the electing goal of God.

26:47 Holiness and blemishlessness before Him now than it is genuine holiness and blemishlessness because the scripture says all things are naked and opened before the eyes of Him with whom we have to do. Jesus spoke of people who were holy and blemishless before the eyes of men. Remember what He said of the Pharisees? Ye indeed appear beautiful unto men but within you're full of dead men's bones and all uncleanness.

27:27 They had a holiness and a blemishlessness before Him. But it was not that holiness which is bound up in the goal of God's electing purpose which is never, never satisfied with a mere external holiness being in the right words doing all and failing to do the no-no. That's not what he's talking about. That's as far in the biblical holiness as day is tonight.

28:01 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 Genesis that God and Adam and Eve knew what it was to hold the most intimate natural kind of communication. And when the Lord God came to hold similar communion with the creature in the garden in the cool of the day we find Adam hiding behind the bushes no longer at ease in the presence of a holy God. You remember God seeks him out.

29:23 Where art thou Adam? The voice of grace as well as the voice of judgment and conviction. And from that point on man has been hiding behind his bushes and God as it were has been held off from intimate communion because light cannot enter into communion with darkness unless something is done to dispel the darkness. 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.

30:07 And so if He chose us in Christ that we should be holy and without blemish in the presence of His very throne it was a choice unto holiness that God was willing to unfetter His creature and that the creature might have unfettered communion with His God. And that's what redemption in heaven is all about. That's what it's all about. Let me quote one servant of God who said the end of His choosing to be holy and without blemish was that we might be in His presence and that He might delight Himself in us and glory in His creatures thus made holy and happy by Him. Think of a picture. He chose us that we should be holy and without blemish before Him. He made this the goal so that every last barrier between His delighting us and holding perfect communion with us might be removed.

31:16 Those are not just the fanciful concepts of a commentator. That's the teaching of Scripture. For I read in Revelation 21 you read it with me get it through the eye gate as well when we see redemption's purposes coming to their full culmination what is the state envisioned? Listen to this great statement in Revelation 21 3 back up to verse 2 And I saw the holy city that's the church New Jerusalem coming down out of heaven from God made ready as a bride Ephesians 5 without wrinkle, without spot made ready as a bride adorned for her husband and I heard a great voice out of the throne saying behold the tabernacle the dwelling place of God is with men and He shall dwell with them they shall be His people God Himself shall be with them that's it that's what it's all about God shall be with them well what are they? creatures that by nature ran and hid themselves from God creatures who by virtue of their sins

32:41 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 to you I could say no more but only to open the things couched in this text Ephesians 1-4 heaven is perfect holiness in God's presence enjoying and loving Him even as we are beloved of Him

The Goal Applied: Doctrinal Clarification and Self-Examination

34:07 now that may be the thought the Apostle had in mind if so it fits with the rest of scripture what is God's immediate goal in election to make us holy and without blemish before Him indicating the genuineness of that holiness now in a state of imperfection the ultimate goal of that holiness in a state of perfection that we would be in a condition to be at home in intimate communion with God now having looked at the meaning of the words will you consider with me quickly and I must reduce this the goal applied what does all this say to us is it just a lot of pretty pie in the sky by and by concepts or does it come down to us if this is the proper understanding of Paul's words does it come down to us where we sit right there with some toothy personal experimental application yes it does let me suggest three or four lines of application first of all in these words there is a very clear word of doctrinal clarification you all talk about cause and effect in your physics classes well you have cause and effect in this verse it says He chose us in Christ

35:33 not because we would be holy but to make us holy and without blemish hence if you have chosen a life of holiness and that's what repentance and faith is you chose a life of holiness because He chose you unto the life of holiness and not the other way around those who say well God saw we repent and believe therefore He chose us that botches up Ephesians 1 verse 4 you've got to rewrite it this way according as He chose us in Him because He saw that we would be holy but that isn't what the text says it says He chose us in Him that we should be indicating that apart from His choice unto holiness you and I would never make such a choice and so this text has tremendous doctrinal implications left to ourselves we should have loved our sins and perished in them bless God He chose us that we should be holy so it contains a word of doctrinal clarification now secondly it contains a word of self-examination you say self-examination in a wonderful text like that yes, yes let me ask you something this morning can you bless God that He made you

37:00 an object of electing choice an electing choice which has as its goal not fleshly happiness but holiness does that make you bless God that's what it did to Paul he said blessed be God that He has chosen us unto holiness now you see the Muslim with his concept of what the world is the world beyond is he could say bless God that He's chosen us unto all kinds of sensuous and fleshly indulgence that's His heaven let me ask you this morning does this make your heart sing that God has chosen you unto holiness or could you wish well boy I just wish He'd chosen us unto the state of no taxes no sickness no I'd be content with that my friend if so you're no more a Christian than this discus there's no more grace no more a cooperative in you unto life right now than there is in this piece of wood if this doesn't cause your heart to leap with joy and say bless God His electing purpose is one that has as its goal

38:27 that I should be holy and without blemish for you see the true child of God who has been given a new heart has come to see that a life of holiness is intrinsically desirable and beautiful for its own sake regardless of what rewards may attend to it let me change it if God took away the threat of hell as the end of a life of sin would you give up your life of holiness I'm not saying now in certain instances where the doctrine of hell is a check I've committed myself on that principle before in the series on hell and I hold to that firm but as the general rule of your life if God were to suddenly reveal that he's changed his purpose with regard to hell something he never could do would you change your pursuit of a life of holiness or do you see something so intrinsically beautiful in a life of holiness namely it's the path in which you have intimate communion with God that even if there were no hell in the contrary path you'd cling to the path of holiness with all the spiritual tenacity God gives you that's the mark of a true Christian is that true of you he chose us to be holy

The Goal Applied: Consolation and Exhortation

39:53 does that make you bless God so there's not only a word of doctrinal clarification in this text there's a word of self-examination but then thank God and I've already hinted at it I find in this text a great word of consolation child of God in eternity God purposed to make you holy and without blemish before him and if he purposed that who can frustrate his desire for God's grace not only brings you to conversion and to holiness in principle now but that purpose will bring you to holiness in perfection in the world to come the fact that he chose you to holiness and brought you into a state of holiness in principle now is the root of the great tension and conflict the flesh lusted against the spirit the spirit against the flesh these two contrary one to the other but thank God his electing purpose was not just to make me holy in principle now which is the root of the conflict but that I should be holy and without blemish before him in his very presence it's hard to think what it would be like to live a day without wrestling with corruption and sin

41:22 it's hard to think isn't it you ever try to think of it what would it be like to go through one day and never feel one stirring of indwelling corruption not one stirring of impatience of lust, of pride, of lethargy of dullness, of spiritual indifference not to feel one, one little iota and to know that that absence of feeling was not just self delusion but in the presence of the burning eye of God he couldn't even find any now that's what you're destined to do as a child of God he hath chosen us that we should be holy and without blemish before him and then I close with a word of exhortation and it's so obvious in the text has he chosen as the immediate goal of his electing purpose that I should be holy and without blemish well then if I love God his choice is my choice and what he's out to accomplish in me I'm out to accomplish by his grace as I work out my salvation with fear and trembling and that's not just a logical deduction that's a scriptural concept I read now from 2 Peter 3.14

42:48 in the light of the perfection of holiness that awaits you at his coming what should you do? well listen to what he says verse 14 of 2 Peter 3 wherefore beloved seeing that ye look for such things that is the return of our Lord in judgment upon an ungodly world and in the fulfillment of his saving purpose in his own seeing that ye look for such things give diligence that ye may be found in peace without fault and blameless in his sight is that what you're going to be? then seek to be it that's the whole structure of the biblical concept of God's work of grace he says this is what I'll make you though you don't have it in perfection now you labor for the attainment of it by my grace follow after that holiness without which no man shall see the Lord let me state it this way what we shall be in that day in perfection we are now in principle in desire and in conscious endeavor what we shall be in that day in perfection

44:16 that is holy and without blemish before his eye we are now if we are true believers in principle in desire and in conscious endeavor therefore if you were content to just drag your carcass in here this morning and plunk it on the pew and drag it out and go home feeling well I've done it with no thought am I bringing to him holy worship does his eye does his eye not the preacher's eye does his eye see a heart that's stirred with desire after him does his eye see a heart that runs out with my lips when I sing his praise did his eye see a heart that was moved to pray with the brother who led us in prayer see how practical all of this is what you're going to be in perfection you are now in principle you are holy you're seeking to be blemishless before him his eye is the all important matter listen if you're not back here tonight to study the word you're not back here because

45:45 before his eye you have good reason not to be my friend if you don't you better be here if you want to keep on clinging to some idea you're a Christian if you've got the idea well I've even got my hour and that's enough my friend if you found some way to get through a week with the fuel of one gathering with God's people and still make it take the pulpit next Sunday and share your secret with the rest of us we have all we can do some of us clawing three or four times a week meeting with God's people and praying and we still wonder sometimes if we're going to make it you must really be in some state that you can get by on the fuel of just one gathering with God's people and I'm not speaking of those who are providentially hindered I'm not speaking of our dear sister who every time I visit her gets that look in her eye and says oh I long to be with you I'm not speaking of that that's the rare exception do you know it? do you know it? and I know it and I'm not scolding I'm asking you to be honest are you seeking to be holy and without blemish before Him, His eye? that's the great issue and see how practical it is I say Lord my Sabbath day is before your eye am I conducting myself as you would have me?

47:04 that's the issue that's the issue my leisure time is before your eye am I using it as you would have me? that's the issue and so I would exhort you as God does as God's people I would entreat you as God's people to be stirred up to make as your conscious goal that holiness and blemishlessness which will one day be yours in perfection make it your constant endeavor now by the grace of God anyone who says that the doctrine of election leads to carelessness leads to prayerlessness leads to loose living never learned it from Ephesians 1-4 anyone who says the doctrine of election will kill your devotion anyone who says the doctrine of election will kill your passion to evangelize he never read it and understood it from Ephesians 1-4 we've just parked down for three weeks and gone over in a relatively sketchy way the great concepts we've not used this as a springboard to preach on a number of things we've just looked at the words that the apostle uses and as we've seen this great sweeping statement of the fact of election the foundation of election the time of election

48:31 the goal of election I hope we can say as we've never been able to say before blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ who hath chosen us in Him before the foundation of the world that we should be holy and without blemish before Him child of God I hope if you remember at least the basic structure of what we've considered for if you as I said last week as just an ordinary humble child of God carrying out your responsibility in that circle where God's placed if you understand the meaning of the words of Ephesians 1-4 and can simply explain them you have a grasp upon the doctrine of election which in principle which in principle maybe not in extensive amplification but in principle is all that the most profound theologian can ever have and I hope you have it in the context of Ephesians 1-3 and then you'll have something that lots of theologians don't have a heart that says blessed be God let us pray