According to His Will

Introduction to the Hymn of Praise and the Father's Blessings

0:03 The church at Ephesus, as we continue our studies in this great letter of the Apostle, this church founded through his own labors,

0:20 to which he writes in order to further establish that church in the great truths of the doctrine of salvation, particularly from the focus of God's saving purpose coming to light in and through the church. We are presently studying the first paragraph of the body of the letter, bounded by verses 3 and 14, which, as we have emphasized from week to week, is a hymn of praise to the triune God. Though there is profound theological content in this paragraph, we must never forget that it does not come to us

1:04 as a formal theological treatise to be analyzed alone, but it comes to us as a eulogy, so that we have not rightly absorbed the content until it leads us to utter the word spontaneously, Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. In our previous studies, we have seen that generally this hymn is broken down into, into three main stanzas, a stanza of praise particularly to the Father, a stanza of praise particularly to the Son, and thirdly, a stanza of praise particularly directed to God,

1:50 the Holy Spirit. Our study for some weeks has been in the first stanza of this hymn of praise, Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. And the Apostle praises him in general, verse 3, that it is the Father who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ. Then he breaks down that general statement of praise into the two distinct and specific blessings of the Father which were uppermost in his mind when he penned this hymn of praise, namely, election unto holiness, verse 4, and predestination,

2:34 predestination or foreordination unto sonship as we see in verse 5. And just as verse 4 is perhaps the most comprehensive single text in all of scripture on the various facets of the blessing of election, so verse 5 is the most comprehensive statement on the blessing of predestination as it first of all indicates that it's a blessing of predestination, that it's predestination unto sonship, that it is by Jesus Christ, that it's goal is personal, it is predestination unto sonship, unto himself.

The Ground, End, and Meritorious Cause of Election and Predestination

3:18 And now this morning we come to consider the last phrase of verse 5 and lay the introduction to verse 6, where you will notice that following these statements of election unto holiness, for which he blesses God, predestination unto sonship, the sonship for which he blesses God, he uses these words according to the good pleasure of his will to the praise of the glory of his grace which he freely bestowed on us in the beloved. In the phrase according to the good pleasure of his will you have the ground of election and predestination, God's will.

4:03 In the next phrase you have the final end of election and predestination, God's glory to the praise of the glory of his grace. And then you have the meritorious cause of election and predestination, God's son which he freely bestowed on us in the beloved. And so if you want just a little mental peg upon which to hang the main divisions of thought in our next few studies, you have the ground of election and predestination, the end of election, God's will, the end of election, God's glory, the meritorious cause of these blessings, God's son.

The Connection of God's Will to Election and Predestination

4:44 Our focus today will be upon the first of these three things,

4:50 the ground of election and predestination, namely the good pleasure of the will of God. To think our way through this little phrase, according to the good pleasure of his will, will, we shall first of all consider its connection with verses Four and Five, for it is vitally and organically connected with verses Four and Five and we should understand that connection. Then secondly we shall seek to understand the meaning of the words, what did Paul mean when he said the good pleasure of his will, and then thirdly it the essential message of these words to our own hearts particularly, under the form of painters. Well, in some places it may seem that there's actually a personality really, but it certainly is not the من 好.з feai celebrations.usi.aڊ monde Tsfrim.awl the Jessica F therapeutically we shall continue to,, then secondly we shall seek to understand the meaning of the words, what did Paul mean when he said the good pleasure of his will, and then thirdly the essential message of these words to our own hearts particularly, under the form of the will.

5:34 of three simple propositions and three sober warnings. Well, that's where we hope to go this morning in our study. First of all, then, what is the precise connection between this phrase, according to the good pleasure of his will, and what has preceded in verses 4 and 5? Well, when you find these words, or according to, you know that whatever follows the according to is tied up with what preceded it, so that the apostle is in essence saying, yes, I bless God for his election unto holiness.

6:16 I bless God for his predestination unto sonship, but I bless him for these blessings in the light of the fact that they come to me and to us as believers, believers in accordance with or based upon the good pleasure of his will. In other words, it's as though the apostle Paul has at least lifted his pen from the paper or from the parchment upon which he is writing, and after saying, blessed be God who hath blessed us with all blessings, particularly election and predestination, he asked the question, what is the ultimate?

7:01 What is the ultimate reason as to why such blessings should be conferred upon me and my fellow believers? Is the answer to be found in us as believers? Is the answer to be found in the world out of which we were brought into these blessings? Is it to be found in angels?

7:22 Is it to be found in the devil or demons? No, no. He says the ultimate reason for which these blessings, which have come to us as believers, is locked up in the activity, not of our wills or the will of angels or of other men, but it is locked up in the will of God. So he says, blessed be God who hath chosen us, who hath predestinated us according to the good pleasure of his will.

7:58 So then you see this very issue that has perplexed, has perplexed multitudes throughout the history of the church. The very issue that has caused people to utter blasphemy, the very issue that has caused some people to stumble, is forced upon us by the words of a hymn of praise. And that issue is the relationship of the divine will to the human will in the impartation of the blessings of salvation.

8:31 And that's precisely the... the focus of the apostle's thought.

Addressing Objections to Discussing God's Will in Salvation

8:35 He's not been theorizing about things out here. He says, blessed be God who blessed us, who has conferred upon us spiritual blessings in Christ. And as he contemplates the ultimate source from which these blessings flow, he says they are locked up in the activity of the divine will. Now the moment you begin to contemplate this subject, the relationship of the will of God, to the will of man in the imparting of salvation, some people say, now wait a minute, the Bible says the secret things belong to the Lord.

9:11 Let's just not talk about the secret things. Well granted, Deuteronomy 29.29 does say the secret things belong unto the Lord. But the following part of the verse says, but the things that are revealed are to us and to our children.

9:25 Is this part of divine revelation?

9:28 Well you see the issue of what is the precise relationship between the divine will, and the human will in salvation. That's not a secret thing to be a no-no in the church.

9:40 That's a revealed thing. It's a revealed thing. Others say, well, that has nothing to do with practical issues. Now let's be practical.

9:49 We're living in the 20th century. It's alright for those people back in the Reformation, back when you had nothing to do but sit by your mug of beer and debate theological issues, to talk about predestination and election. But look, we're living in the 20th. Essentially, we've got to commute into New York even to go to work.

10:08 And we've got to commute out of New York to go to church. And you know, we're practical people. These are lofty. Oh listen, listen.

10:17 Were you made to praise God and render to Him your worship and your adoration? Were you made to echo from the heart the eulogy of Ephesians 1? And you can't avoid this issue and say it's impractical. Even if you see no practical bearing, that's not the issue.

10:36 The issue is, the issue is that God has revealed this truth for your sanctification and for His glory. Someone says, yeah, well that's alright, but that's only for some Christians and for people who've got great minds and can wrestle with complex things. I'm just a simple-minded person. Alright, to whom is Paul writing these words?

10:57 To a school of theologians at Ephesus? No, he says, to all the saints and believers at Ephesus. And before he finishes his epistle, you know that there are children in that church? There are slaves in that church?

11:09 There are common people of the artisan class? So there's nobody exempt from wrestling with the issue of the relationship of the divine will to the human will in the application of salvation. Granted, we need to steer clear of all human speculation. We need to steer clear from any course dictated merely by the pressure of human logic.

11:34 But when we come to a phrase like this, elected us and predestined us according to the good pleasure of His will, then this is a revealed thing which we must contemplate. And it's revealed in the setting of worship. Therefore, if you would render worship to God not only in spirit but also in truth, it must be in the light of this truth. And because this comes to common people and we are a gathering of common people, God is...

12:07 He is calling upon us to think upon this issue. Let me say in conclusion as we've just tried to show the relationship between verses 4 and 5 and this phrase, that someone has rightly said, true and false theology may be judged by this simple criterion, do they magnify God or man? True and false theology may be judged by this simple criterion, do they magnify God or man? Now, that's the question.

12:39 That's the general principle. May I draw out of it a more specific one? True or false theology of salvation, the doctrine of soteriology, the doctrine of salvation, from the Greek word soter, savior.

12:57 If true and false theology in general is to be determined by the place it gives to God or man, true or false theology specifically with reference to salvation and the application of God or man, the application of salvation is determined on this very issue. What place do you give to God's will and man's will?

13:19 That's the precise issue. And on that point, truth or error pivots with reference to the application of salvation. And it's that very point that is introduced by a hymn of praise. So much then for the connection with verses 4 and 5 and why we must apply ourselves to grapple with the meaning of the words.

Defining 'The Good Pleasure of His Will'

13:39 Now in the second place, what do these words mean?

13:45 Even as He chose us before the foundation of the world that we should be holy and without blemish before Him, in love having foreordained us unto adoption as sons through Jesus Christ unto Himself according to the good pleasure of His will. Well, let's start with the words, the meaning of which is most obvious, are most obvious. First of all, His will. That is, the will of the Father, who is the, the focus of this present part of the eulogy.

14:17 Now the word will here is used with reference to God as it is used in general with reference to men as well.

14:25 One's will is one's determination, purpose, or choice to do something. We say of a certain person, it was not his will to come. Or we say, will you come? Or one of you kids says, I will not eat spinach.

14:40 Well, I hope if your mother and father serve it, they say you will eat spinach. You're saying, it is not my purpose to do such and such. And mom and dad say it is my purpose that you shall do such and such. But in either case, you're both agreed on the meaning of the word will.

14:56 You may not be agreed as to what is being willed, but you are agreed as to the meaning of the word will. Well, in this context, the apostle says that these great blessings have come to us on the ground of the exercise of God's, determination, God's purpose, and God's choice. Now that the determination or purpose and choice of God is the prime cause of everything is asserted everywhere in Scripture, right in this very hymn of praise. Look at verse 11.

15:32 He says, Having been foreordained according to the purpose of Him who worketh all things after the counsel of His will, language cannot be made any more expansive than that. All and things.

15:54 Can you get any two words? I don't care how many syllables you make them that are more expansive than that. Things. What's a thing?

16:02 Well, everything is a thing.

16:05 And what's more expansive than all? If you've got all, there's nothing more to be put into it. So in the two little words, all things, the apostle says, all things are being worked, after the counsel, that is, after the purpose, after the unchangeable resolve of God's will. But now notice, something peculiar is said about the exercise of that will of God with reference to the activities of election and predestination that is not said in verse 11.

16:42 In terms of the general administration of everything in His universe, God is working, doing all things after the counsel of His will, that is, the unchangeable nature of the resolve of God. But with reference to election unto holiness and predestination unto sonship, it is said this was done not according to the mere will of God or to the counsel of His will, but notice the distinct word that is used, according to the good pleasure. Now this is exactly the same word which our Lord used in the 11th chapter of Matthew.

17:26 You'll remember in that particular passage, having beheld the impenitence and the unbelief of those cities to which He preached. It says in verse 25 of Matthew 11, In that hour Jesus rejoiced in spirit and said, I thank Thee, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that Thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent and hast revealed them unto babes, for evil is done unto them, even so, Father, it seemed good in Thy sight. That's the precise word used here. It was Thy good pleasure.

17:59 It's the word used in Philippians 2.13, a verse we've been referring to often in our Sunday evening series on sanctification. For it is God who worketh in you both to will and to do of His, same word, good pleasure. And it's in the same family, family of words, as are used in those instances when the Father spoke out of heaven and said, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.

18:34 Now you begin to get something of the idea of the meaning of the word.

18:42 It has reference to an exercise of the will of God, which was not mere determination and mere sovereign purpose, which it is His right, to have and to exercise. But it has reference to an exercise of the will of God in which there was sheer delight. Now let me illustrate the contrast between the two. Suppose one of you youngsters was to come to your mummy tomorrow and say, Mummy, I haven't been telling you about this because I was afraid I might have to go to the doctor, but I've been having a pain in such and such a place for the past three or four days.

19:21 And so it's gotten bad enough that you're willing to go to the doctor, and maybe even get a needle if you need it. And so off you go to the doctor, see. And the doctor runs a series of tests on you, and he talks to your mum and dad and says, Look, I think he's going to have to go in the hospital and have an operation. Well, after the doctor explains to you what your problem is, and the fact the only way you can be well is to go and have an operation, I would trust that you, as an intelligent, reasoning creature, would say, Well, mummy and daddy, I don't like to, but I see this is for my good, and so you submit to the operation for the sake of your own well-being.

20:01 That's an exercise of your will that has in it sheer determination.

20:06 But suppose you happen to like roses or some other kind of flower, and as you see spring beginning to break loose all over, you say, Well, I am going to get out, and in the backyard I'm going to plant a little rose garden, or some other kind of a garden. Well, you see, you're exercising your will, but this exercise, this exercise of your will brings pleasure and delight. In one, there's sheer determination. In the other, there is the good pleasure of your will.

20:36 And that's the concept that we have in this verse. In fact, Williams, in his excellent translation of the New Testament, translates this portion as follows. God elected us, God predestined us, to carry out the happy choice of His will. So, so that in this phrase, according to the good pleasure of His will, there is not only the note of inflexible, untalented sovereignty, but there is the concept of ineffable delight.

21:12 It was an exercise of sovereign will in the context of delight and of joy. So then, our being elected unto holiness, our, our being predestined unto the adoption of sons, our being appointed for such blessings, and the very appointment of those blessings is traced to an activity of God's will in which God Himself found great delight. So much then for the connection of verses 4 and 5 with the phrase,

Three Propositions on God's Sovereign Purpose and Delight

21:54 so much for grappling with the basic meaning of the phrase, now we come to the heart of our study, and the basic meaning of our study. What does this say to us? Sitting here where we sit this morning, may I suggest it says three things to us by way of simple propositions addressed primarily to our minds, and then it says something to us in the way of three sober warnings addressed not only to our minds, but to our wills and to our affections. First of all, then, three simple propositions that flow out of these words.

22:29 Proposition 1. The great privileges conceived and conveyed in election and predestination have their ground in the sovereign purpose of God.

22:44 He chose us, He predestined us according to the good pleasure of His will. Are some men who by nature are unholy and disinherited, are they to be brought into a, to a state of holiness in the very presence of God? Are there some who will enjoy the liberty and freedom of the access of adopted sons? Well, why?

23:14 Is it because they conceived such blessings and appointed them for themselves? Is it because somehow they have coerced God to appoint such? No, no. The apostle says, these great privileges conceived and conveyed in election, election and predestination have their ground in the sovereign purpose of God.

23:40 Second proposition, these specific individuals who receive these blessings are determined by the sovereign purpose of God. For notice, the apostle does not say, blessed be God who chose to have a people made holy, who, predestined to have a people as sons, but he personalizes it. He said, blessed be God who hath chosen us, having foreordained us according to the good pleasure of His will. So the good pleasure of His will

24:21 not only marked out the privileges to be conveyed, but it marked out the people to whom the blessings would be conveyed. So I would, I would personalize the questions. I would not only ask you, are there some of the sons of Adam to be brought unto holiness and sonship, but have you been brought unto holiness and sonship? Do you rejoice in hope of the glory of God, of one day being presented in His presence without spot or wrinkle or any such thing?

25:00 If so, what's the reason that lies behind it? Oh, you say, because, I believe the gospel. Yes, and why did you believe the gospel? Well, because the gospel came to me.

25:10 Yes, and why did it come to you? Because I had a Christian mother. Well, why did you have a Christian mother? Well, because she had a Christian mother.

25:19 Yes, and why did she? And when you're done tracing the whole thing out, you come back to where Paul was here, and you have to say, according to the good pleasure of His will. Even so, Father, it seemed good. It was the happy choice of Your will.

25:42 Not only that men, some men in general, should have the privilege of being brought out of a state of uncleanness into a state of holiness, out of a state of being disinherited into the state of adoption, but, oh, Father, that I should be one, thus elected unto holiness, thus predestined unto the adoption of sons, I acknowledge, oh, God, that it was according to the happy choice of Your own will. That's the second proposition. And now the third, and this brings us to the pivot of what I believe the apostle is conveying here this morning.

26:23 This sovereign appointment of definite individuals to distinct privileges was a source of delight and joy to God.

Reasons for God's Delight in His Sovereign Will

26:37 It was a course, according to the good pleasure of His will, the happy choice of His will. But you say, why should God's appointment of definite individuals to these distinct privileges bring Him joy? May I suggest three reasons, very briefly, any one of which can be traced out almost to infinity. First of all, because what God willed was supremely consistent with the full exercise of all His glorious attributes.

27:15 Now think with me. Think with me. I've labored at trying to reduce this to its simplest words, and I can't get it any simpler than this, and I know it makes you think, but follow closely. Why should this sovereign appointment of definite individuals to these distinct privileges of election and foreordination unto sonship, why should that bring Him delight?

27:39 Well, the first answer is because what He thus willed when He elected and predestined was supremely consistent with the full exercise of all His glorious attributes. For remember, election and predestination have to do with men conceived of as fallen in Adam. Man is lost. Man is undone.

28:03 God in His holiness reacts with hostility to man in that state. His justice demands His damnation and His punishment. Now, if God were to give full expression to His justice in the face of man's sin, there would be a glorious display of His justice, a powerful display of His holiness if the whole human race had been damned. But where would be the display of His grace?

28:34 Where would be the full display of His mercy? Where would be the display of His love? It wouldn't be there. Oh, in some measure it would be there.

28:45 He sends His reign upon the just and the unjust. His love could be seen in what He had created, but there would not be the full display of His love and His grace. Conversely, if God were, and this is only theoretical for it cannot be, but to underline the principle, if God were to display His love to His creatures in such a way that He blinked at their sins, and did not punish sin, there would not be the full display of His holiness, the full display of His justice. That could not bring delight to Him.

29:22 So do you see something of the dilemma? But when He elected unto holiness in Christ, and predestinated unto sonship through Christ, what God willed in that act of willing was supremely consistent with the full exercise of all His glorious attributes. His holiness and His justice will be fully displayed. Why?

29:55 Because He chooses in Christ. And Christ is the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world, and God purposes that in time His Son, in whom the elect are chosen, will hang upon a Roman gibbet, will bear His bosom to the full weight of divine wrath, until all the billows crushing down upon Him will cause Him to cry, My God, My God, why hast Thou forsaken Me? And in the abandonment of the Son of God is the fullest display of divine justice, the most terrifying display of infinite holiness.

30:39 And yet, and yet, when we ask why is justice meted out upon Him, why does holiness in God the Father burn against the sin put to the account of His Son? We say because God so loved that He gave. And so love, infinite love, is displayed to the fullest extent as well as justice and holiness. And then, you see, because these blessings purposed in Christ, consistent with holiness, and justice in love, because they are appointed to specific people

31:23 for no reason in them, He preserves the unsettered exercise of His sovereignty. So He elects us, sovereign exercise, in Christ, consistent display of holiness, justice, and mercy, elects us unto such blessings which only infinite and eternal love in the heart of God could ever conceive. And so, in electing us unto holiness, in predestinating us unto sonship, in Christ and through Christ, do you see it this morning? Here was the full exercise of all His glorious attributes,

32:07 and whenever God displays His attributes, it brings Him delight. And so, this choice of some to the blessings of salvation and grace was the happy choice of His will. And then, secondly, it was a happy choice of His will because what He willed would bring such delight to the creature.

32:40 God's intention for man is clearly seen in the account of creation. He sets him in a context of perfect bliss. He has nothing but thoughts of good for the creature. And now, in the new creation, He elects a people, according to verse 4, to be what?

32:58 Holy and without blemish before Him. He predestinates some unto adoption, unto Himself. You see, the whole end of redemption is to bring the creature back into that intimate relationship with the Creator. And so, when we turn to Revelation 21, as we saw two weeks ago, God Himself shall be their God, and they shall be His.

33:22 Sons, not only in position, but in character and in experience. And that brings Him delight because God knows that the creature was made to find His supreme delight in Himself. So when He elects that He shall be holy to form the basis of communion, and He predestinates that they shall be sons unto Himself to have the intimate bond of communion, this couldn't help but bring delight to Him. Why?

33:48 Because He knows in so electing and predestinating, He's going to bring supreme delight to the creature, and what delights the creature delights Him. May I use an illustration that's very homey, but it's the best one I know to convey. Back when I was a kid, many, many moons ago, and it should become one more moon as of next week. No, twelve more moons.

34:11 I remember there are times when we'd find turtles out on the roads near where we lived. There was a pond that was nearby, and once in a while they'd get out, or somebody would put them out, and we'd pick them up, and we'd make a pet of them for a day or two. I remember some of my buddies, used to drill a little hole through the side of the shell, and put a piece of wire in, and you know, keep the turtle in the yard, but there came a day, there came a day when you felt sorry for that turtle, and you knew that he was out of his native habitat. He was made to be by the pond, so he could swim in the water, and go after the things that he wanted in the water, and then when he wanted to, perch himself up on a rock, and sun himself, and back in the water.

34:51 And there came a day when, knowing that he was out of his native habitat, would move our little children, children's hearts in the realm I'm sure of common grace, for left to ourselves I'm sure we'd be cruel, but I can remember what tremendous delight it was, that day when we'd take the thing back to its pond, and you'd put it down by the shore, and you'd set it, and you could almost, if the thing could talk, you know what it would be saying. You could almost feel its delight, when it was back in its native habitat, and strange to say, the delight of the turtle did not exceed the delight of our little boy's heart. In seeing that turtle return to the thing for which it was made, had brought delight to me.

35:33 Now if that's true of one creature to another creature, can you imagine what delight there must be to the heart of God, when he predestinates a people unto sonship to himself? When by the exercise of his will, he knows that he will secure not only sons for himself, and all that will mean to him, but when he knows what delight that's going to bring to the creature, there's only one who knows fully what the delights of heaven are going to be. That's God and the people who are already there. And knowing that, do you see why Paul says, according to the happy choice of his will?

36:18 God could see what you and I will feel and know in that day when we look upon him. Love him, as McShane says, with un-sinning heart. Reflect perfectly, his love, his love, his love, his love, his love, his love, his love. His lightness.

36:32 And seeing that his decrees of election and predestination would secure that, certainly it was the happy choice of his will. Not only because it involved the full display of all of his attributes, but because it would bring supreme delight to the creature. And thirdly, because what he willed would bring such honor to his son. For remember, perfection is where?

37:02 In Christ. He hath chosen us in him. Predestination to sonship is through Christ. And it's interesting that this same word occurs in Colossians 1.19.

37:15 It was the Father's, here it is, good pleasure, that in Christ all fullness should dwell. It is the Father's delight that in everything his Son shall have preeminence. That men shall fall not only before the throne, but also before the throne. Not only before the throne of God, but of the land.

37:34 And shall say, not only worthy art thou, O Lord our God, but say worthy is the land that was slain to receive blessing and glory and honor, and dominion and might and power. And so when the Father elected in Christ unto holiness, and predestinated through Christ unto sonship, he knew that when those blessings would come to light in the redeemed, his Son would be enshrined in their hearts, his praise would be upon their lips, and one day his very image would be reflected in their persons. And that brought him great delight, for it's the Father's delight

38:17 that his Son should be magnified and praised. So then I suggest this third proposition, that when God willed these distinct blessings for these definite people, it brought him great delight. Why? Because in it there was the full exercise, there would be the full display of all his glorious attributes.

38:43 Secondly, what he willed would bring supreme delight to the creature. Thirdly, what he willed would bring such honor to his own beloved Son. Well then might we say in the words of a writer, it is an unsanctified mind which is uncomfortable in the presence of divine sovereignty. My friend, if you're uncomfortable in the presence of these words this morning, according to the good pleasure of his will, if this is what is conveyed in the exercise of divine sovereignty, that which brings pleasure to the heart of God, your mind is unsanctified.

Warning 1: Beware of Severing What God Has Joined

39:25 If you're uncomfortable in the midst of such doctrine, every true child of God rejoices, is that which makes glad the heart of his God. Now may I conclude this morning with three brief but sober warnings that grow out of our study of this text. The first warning is this. Beware of severing in your thinking what God has joined in the Apostles' words.

39:57 For the words of inspired Apostles are words of spiritual reality. You're not just dealing with words of the Bible, the words of the Bible convey things as they are. Phrase in our day, tell it like it is. Everything in scripture tells like it is, not like you think it ought to be.

40:18 Or in human wisdom say, it will be better if it were like this. No, no. Infinite wisdom has spoken and told us things that are. And I would warn you this morning from severing in your thinking what God has joined in the Apostles' words.

40:36 And what do I mean by that? Follow me out. When you take election and predestination and wrench them loose from the concepts we've dealt with this morning and in previous mornings, that election is in Christ, that we should be holy and without blemish before Him. We are predestined unto adoption as sons unto Himself.

40:58 There's that personal element in redemption. And then when you wrench it loose from the concept, as we've dealt this morning, that this was the delightful exercise of the will of God, because it would confer positive blessings of grace and salvation, not only to display His own character and to glorify His Son, but to bring delight to the creature. When you wrench these lofty doctrines of election and predestination from these concepts, you're left with a hard, cold, impersonal God, who rules with an inflexible determinism.

41:39 You end up with a God that's pretty close to the Allah of the Muslim. And I have seen denominations blighted, and churches shrivel, ministers become hard and cold, and young men and women become hypercritical and censorious because they believed in sovereignty. Oh yes, they did. But they believed in it wrenched out of the context of Ephesians 1.

42:09 There's no evidence that they were caught up in the glory of that personal relationship with God in and through Christ, which is in the very core of election and predestination. So beware of wrenching loose and severing what God has joined on that hand, and then on the other side. When you take the concept of intimacy, He's elected us unto holiness and blemishlessness before Him, and chosen us unto adoption of sons, and chosen us unto Himself. When you take the concept of the intimate relationship of God and His people,

42:51 you take the concept that God has purposed to fully display His law of embrace in Christ, and wrench those things loose from absolute sovereignty, you know what you end up with? You end up with a flabby, unprincipled, sentimental, gushy kind of Christianity that is a far cry from Ephesians 1. And here what Christ did, in joining His brethren, do not put us under what God has joined together. Hold firmly in your mind and feel the glow of in your heart this fact, that it was according to the purpose of His will

43:34 that there was election and predestination. But never forget that it was the happy choice of His will that we should stand before Him, that the bride should be presented unto Him, without blemish, and without spot, We were predestined unto adoption of sons unto Him. And by the Spirit who has come to us, we cry out, The Father never wrenched sovereignty loose from those overtones of pure biblical mysticism, the intimate, deep relationship of the heart of the redeemed with the Savior. My second warning is this.

Warning 2: Beware of the Tyranny of Unsanctified Logic

44:11 Beware of the tyranny of mind which will upset the balance of Scripture in order to satisfy the demands of unsanctified logic.

44:24 What do I mean by that? Simply this, and this is primarily for the students. Some of you who don't see the implication of this, just bear with me. Some have reasoned from the teaching of Ephesians 1, 3, and 4 and said, All right, if election of son to particular blessings is a fact, and if the predestination of son unto particular blessings is a fact, these were according to the good pleasure of His will, the happy choice of His will, therefore, the bypassing of others and leaving them to the just desert of their sin was also the happy choice of His will,

45:05 as though God delighted in assigning some to remain under the power of their sins and be damned for them. I challenge anyone to find anything in Scripture that supports the idea that God's decree, to bypass some, was the happy choice of His will. It was the choice of His sovereign will, yes, and the element of divine sovereignty can never be removed from the concept of God's passing by. Jacob have I loved, Esau have I hated.

45:41 Brethren, it was His painful choice, for the Scripture says in Isaiah that judgment is His strange work. God says, I have no delight in the desert, but that He turn and live, turn ye, turn ye, for why will ye die, O house of Israel? God is bound, if I may say it reverently, by Himself to judge every impenitent sinner, and He is not bound to show mercy upon any sinner.

46:14 So His sovereignty is exercised in the bypassing of some, yes, but let us never, never conceive that this was the happy choice of His will, and don't allow yourself to be submitted to the tyranny of unsanctified logic that will upset the balance of Holy Scripture.

Warning 3: Beware of Abusing God's Will to Your Destruction

46:34 And then this third warning is directed particularly to you who are outside of Christ. Beware of abusing to your destruction what God has revealed about the exercise of His own will. Peter's words are so applicable here, the ignorant and the unstable rest the Scriptures to their own destruction. Paul's statements about everything depending on the will of God were never given to be a pious cloak for indifference to your soul's salvation.

47:08 You know how I can prove that? Listen to this same man who wrote these words when he's out preaching to sinners. And I read in Acts 17 that he stands upon Mars Hill and he says, God commandeth all men everywhere to repent. The same God that He blesses in Ephesians 1 and says, Blessed be God who chose us, who predestined us according to the good pleasure of His will.

47:32 He says in Acts 17, That God commands you to repent. Not only does He command men to repent in God's name, but He admonishes them to repent and to believe the gospel. Acts 20, 21. He castigates people for their unbelief.

47:50 He says, Behold, ye despisers, wonder and perish. And He quotes from the Old Testament on the terrible, sinful sin of unbelief. Then we have the example of our blessed Lord Himself. And I want you to turn now to Matthew 25 for our closing passage this morning.

48:08 Matthew 11, I'm sorry, in verse 25.

48:18 The context is that upbraiding of our Lord recorded beginning in verse 20. Matthew 11. Then began He to upbraid the cities wherein most of His mighty works were done because they repented not. He holds them accountable for their impenitence.

48:38 Then He pronounces these woes upon them for that state of impenitence. Then following that, verse 25, at that season, in the face of human unbelief and impenitence,

48:52 the blame of which He lays at the feet of the unbelieving and the impenitent, Jesus answered and said, I thank Thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that Thou didst hide these things from the wise and understanding. And didst reveal them unto babes. Yea, Father, for so it was well pleasing in Thy sight. All things have been delivered unto me of my Father.

49:19 And no one knoweth the Son save the Father. Neither doth any know the Father save the Son. And he to whomsoever the Son willeth to reveal Him come unto me.

49:33 Oh, do you see the beauty of the balance of Scripture? This tremendous statement that the revelation of Christ comes in consistency with the good pleasure of the Father's will is bounded on the one hand with our Lord holding men accountable for their unbelief and bounded on the other by His earnest entreaty that they would come to Him for salvation.

50:02 Oh, dear unconverted young person, child, visitor, friend this morning, beware of using the truth of Ephesians 1 as a mantle and a cloak for your indifference to the salvation of Christ.

50:21 I would not tear off one thread of the fabric of God's truth relative to this principle. Salvation not only in its procurement but in its application ultimately rests upon the exercise not of human will but divine will. Amen. But I would bound that statement by the concept of Scripture that you are responsible for your present unbelief on the one hand and by the gracious invitation of Christ on the other hand come unto me.

51:05 You must come. He invites you to come. Ah, but some of you say, I don't, that's not...

51:11 Put your hand upon your mouth. You're in the presence of God. Yes, but I can't...

51:17 Put your hand upon your mouth. You're in the presence of God. Yes, but it doesn't make...

51:22 Put your hand upon your mouth. You're in the presence of God.

51:32 And stop talking long enough until the glory of it fills your soul and you cry out, Blessed be God who hath chosen me unto holiness and predestined me unto sonship according to the happy choice of His own will. And you who are out of Christ that same God says you leave this building in unbelief and your damnation is your fault but you need not leave in unbelief. He invites you to come. Come unto me all ye that labor and are heavy laden

52:13 and I will give you rest. Blessed be God for the activity of sovereign will in a way which caused Him delight and blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus that we were included in the exercise of that happy choice of His will. What is the ground of our election and our predestination according to the good pleasure of His will.