According to His Good Pleasure

Introduction to God's Hymn of Praise and the Focus on Saving Wisdom

0:03 We turn again this morning to Ephesians chapter 1 and continue our studies in this amazing section of Scripture.

0:18 This one sentence, hymn of praise that has gathered within its boundaries some of the most profound thoughts that can ever enter and be entertained by the human mind. And this hymn of praise addressed to Father, Son, and Holy Spirit for that so great salvation given to us in Jesus Christ.

0:48 We shall be focusing our attention this morning upon the latter part of verse 9, but that we might not miss the woods for the trees, let me remind you of the dominant lines of thought in the Apostle's hymn of praise. He states the general theme of that hymn in verse 3, 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. And then he begins to enumerate those blessings. He blesses the Father for election and predestination in Christ.

1:27 Then he blesses the Father for that redemption that is in Christ and by Christ, verse 6. And then the grace, which undergirds both the blessings of salvation in the past, election, redemption, is the grace that is overflowed in imparting saving wisdom, verse 8, which he made to abound toward us, the which, referring to his grace, that grace abounded toward us in all wisdom and prudence, making known unto us the mystery of his will. So he praises God for election, and predestination. He praises God for redemption.

2:12 He praises God for the impartation of heavenly wisdom. Then, as he does with so many other parts of this hymn of praise, and many other places in his epistles, the Apostle, having stated the dominant note, he then opens it up. It's like looking at the flower as a whole, and then the Apostle takes one petal at a time and shows us the different facets, of the truth involved in it. So having praised God for grace that overflowed to give wisdom and prudence, that is, penetrating insight into divine realities, that's wisdom,

2:53 and prudence is the ability to apply those realities to life, he then begins to break down that subject of saving wisdom, and he answers various questions about that wisdom. And the, the first question he answers is, how does that wisdom come to us? Yes, grace has overflowed, granting this wisdom and prudence, but how did grace work to give that wisdom and prudence? And he answers that question in verse 9, making known unto us the mystery of his will.

3:32 And as we saw in our study last week, the mystery of his will is another way of describing, describing the gospel. A gospel mystery is truth hidden in God until revealed by God. And so the Apostle says, we have become wise, not because, in his case, he went to the school of Gamaliel, not because, in anyone else's case, we have been exposed to certain schools of human learning. No, no.

4:00 He said, God has overflowed in grace, imparting wisdom and prudence, by making known, known unto us the gospel. He has opened unto us the mystery of his will. So when you ask the question, how does God make people wise with heavenly wisdom? The answer is, by the gospel.

The 'Why' of Saving Wisdom: God's Good Pleasure Purposed in Christ

4:21 Well, that introduces another question. Why does God make men wise with the gospel? And Paul answers that in the latter part of verse 9. How?

4:34 Making known the mystery of his will. Why? Here's the answer. According to his good pleasure which he purposed in him.

4:50 And that's the second part of this heavenly wisdom that is treated. How? Through the gospel. Why?

4:59 And his answer comes in these simple words, according to. This making known the mystery of his will accords with his own, good pleasure which he purposed in him. Now, first of all, we want to address ourselves to the meaning of these words, according to his good pleasure which he purposed in him. And then we want to draw out some of the practical implications that derive from the words themselves.

5:32 Well, this word, good pleasure, we've seen before. That's the word we met in verse 5. The apostle, Paul, having mentioned the blessings of election unto holiness in Christ, predestination unto sonship through Christ, said, according to the good pleasure of his will. And it's exactly the same word here, so we won't go into a detailed study of it, for I trust you'll remember that it refers to God's delight, his happy choice, his kind intention.

6:09 And it says, that he had a kind intention which he purposed in himself or in him. Now, this word, purpose, is only found two other times in the New Testament. It's found in Romans 1.13, where Paul says, I purposed many times to come unto you.

6:28 That is, I had a serious, specific intention to come to you. And then it's used in Romans 3.25, where it's translated, whom God set forth, or openly displayed to be a propitiation through faith in his blood. The word of itself simply means to set before.

6:51 And the form in which it comes to us here, for some of you Greek students, it's a middle. It means to set before oneself. So the meaning is either, and when I get to heaven, it's one of the things I want to ask Paul, which he had in mind, because I can't settle on which one it was, and the commentators are not settled. Either he's saying, God made known the mystery of his will through the gospel, according to his own good pleasure, which he set before himself.

7:23 In other words, his own purpose is set before him as a cohesive, comprehensive plan, or according to his good pleasure, which he displayed. In other words, his good pleasure is no longer hidden, but it is set forth, and it is set forth in him. Now this causes problems. Some commentators say it's obvious what the in him means.

7:49 It means in himself. In other words, God didn't look outside of himself for any other thing. He simply purposed to make known the mystery of his will. The cause of it lies in himself.

8:02 Others say no. It doesn't mean that. It means in Christ, because all the way through, the little phrase in him refers to Christ. Again and again.

8:10 Well, which is it? Well, I have come to a decision in my own mind. I don't ask you to buy it, but I'm satisfied in my own mind that the apostle is referring to Christ. Why was the mystery of God's will made known?

8:25 Why, it was according to his own good pleasure, which he purposed, not in himself, but which he purposed in Christ. Because, you see, that wisdom is bound, bound up in Christ. In him are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. That wisdom is made known through the preaching of Christ.

The Recurring Pattern: Grace, Sovereignty, and Christ in Salvation

8:48 That wisdom is found in the knowledge of Christ. And so, because of this recurring theme that all of our spiritual blessings are where? Verse 3, in Christ, even the blessing of spiritual wisdom and prudence, which grace has made to overflow, to us through the gospel, have come to us according to God's good pleasure, which he purposed in Christ. Now, will you notice a pattern that is emerging in this paragraph, and I've missed it in all my other preparations, but the more I study it, the more I see a pattern emerging.

9:32 When he treated election unto holiness, he said it was election unto holiness according to the gospel. And he said it was election unto holiness, according to the gospel. And he said it was election unto holiness, according to the gospel. According to what?

9:41 According to his good pleasure, or the good pleasure of his will. When he treats predestination to sonship, he says it is according to the good pleasure of his will. So election and predestination are rooted in God's gracious sovereignty. He also said that it was election where?

10:04 In Christ. He chose us in him. It was predestination unto sonship, sonship through Christ. So you have gracious sovereignty, you have in Christ.

10:19 Then when he moves to the subject of redemption, those two strands of thought come out again. Notice, verse 6, to the praise of the glory of his grace, which he freely bestowed on us in the beloved, in whom we have our redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of trespasses according to the riches of his grace. Grace. So you have redemption that is rooted in grace, redemption that comes through Christ, and now when he treats the subject of wisdom, he says it too is rooted in grace, sovereign grace, and it too comes to us through the Lord Jesus Christ.

11:01 So at every turn, whatever part of God's salvation you look at, three things constantly stand out about that salvation. Grace, sovereignty, and Christ. And as you go through this paragraph, this is the theme that binds the whole thing together. Whatever part Paul is dealing with, whatever movement in this great symphony of praise, you'll find this theme breaking out in one way or another.

11:34 Grace, sovereignty, Christ. The word grace mentioned several times. Sovereignty, sovereignty indicated in such words as purpose, the counsel, his will, all of those things pointing in the direction of sovereignty, and then the little phrase, in him, in Christ, in whom, in whom, through whom, again and again. It's as though the apostle by the direction of the spirit is saying, now look, when it's all said and done, and I've written out my hymn of praise to God for his salvation, you ought to, you ought to, look at the message that these three things

12:16 are the dominant characteristics of biblical salvation. It is rooted in grace, God's favor to the ill-deserving. It comes to us by way of the exercise of a gracious sovereignty, and it comes to us bound up in this person called the Lord Jesus Christ. Now let me say by way of application, if that is the meaning of these words as we find them in verse 9, and I believe in the light of the general context we are warranted in coming to that conclusion, this has some very practical things to say to us.

Application 1: Assessing the Genuineness of Your Salvation Experience

12:58 In the first place, you and I may use this perspective as a guide to assess the genuineness of our professed experience of salvation. You claim to be a Christian this morning? You claim to be a child of God? Let me ask you, what place do these three concepts have in your professed salvation?

13:25 Grace,

13:27 sovereignty, and Christ. What place do they have? Do you sit there this morning conscious that if your sins are forgiven, if you are indeed an heir of heaven, a joint heir with Christ, it's because God has granted, did to you the exact opposite of what you deserve? Can you, without any reservations of mind or of spirit, as well as of tongue, say that if God gave me what I deserved, I'd be in hell today, and I'd be there forever?

14:04 Can you? From the heart. I don't mean just say it, because you know that's good evangelical jargon. But does the word grace set up a chain reaction within your breast that makes you want to say with Paul, Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us according to the riches of His grace?

14:28 It's a good test. You say, well, yeah, I know you've got to trust Christ because the Bible said so, but I've never really been able to quite figure out. I wasn't quite that bad. My friend, you're in bad shape.

14:40 If that's the subtle, subconscious or conscious thinking of your own mind and heart. What place does the word subconscious, sovereignty have?

14:51 Is it a precious thought that if God had not taken the initiative to arrest you, you know that you would have destroyed yourself?

15:02 The apostle knew it. That's why he just comes back almost to the place where if you and I handed in a thing like this in our seventh grade English class, the teacher would have sent it back and said, redundant, redundant. You've got the same thoughts over and over and over and over again. You're redundant, too verbose.

15:20 All the apostles redundant in the Holy Spirit and a saved man will always be redundant when it comes to grace. And when it comes to sovereign grace, the consciousness that it was according to the purpose of his own will. And then what place does Christ have? Is he just some historical figure who sort of juggled up the record books in the past and fixed everything up?

15:46 Or is he to you what he was to the apostle Paul said for to me to live, this Christ? He didn't say for me to go to heaven by his Christ. Now, it was true that all his hopes of heaven were pinned upon Christ. Oh, my friend, if the Holy Spirit has revealed Christ to your heart to make him your way to heaven, he's revealed him in such a way that he's made him the most precious thing to your heart.

16:12 So that if you can say in truth, Christ is my way to heaven, you can say Christ is my life for me to live. This Christ, Jesus, oh, how sweet the name. Jesus, every day the same. Is that true to you?

Application 2: Testing the Accuracy of Your Understanding of Salvation

16:37 See, this is a good test as to the genuineness of your own experience of salvation. What place do these words have in your professed experience? Secondly, you may use these words as a guide to test the accuracy of your understanding of your salvation. Every true believer, in principle, loves the word grace and the concept that God put forth the initiative to save him.

17:07 Just listen to him when he prays. The rankest Arminian, if he's a believer, when he gets on his knees, you'll never hear him say, Thank you, God, that I had enough sense to use my common grace that you gave to everybody, and I turned it out to my salvation. There's never a person saved in the world who ever prayed that way. But you see, God, God not only wants us to have the experience of grace and of sovereignty and of Christ in our hearts, He gives us a book like Ephesians that we might get the experience of our hearts straight in our heads, so that our praise will not only be in spirit, but in what?

17:48 In truth as well. So let me ask you this morning, as a test of the accuracy of your understanding of your experience, do the words, the good pleasure of His will, the riches of His grace, in the Beloved, in Him, are these the words that naturally flow out when you're giving your testimony to someone?

Application 3: Evaluating the Accuracy of Any Gospel Pronouncement

18:16 Good test. As to the accuracy of your understanding of your experience, and thirdly, these three words that we find again and again, and we saw them in our text this morning, are very helpful to give a perspective, a measure, a measuring stick by which to evaluate the accuracy of any so-called pronouncement of the gospel. What place does this so-called gospel give to grace, exercised in a way of sovereignty, and funneled to us in and through Christ and Christ alone?

18:59 Oh, how many deflections there are from the biblical gospel that maintains something of Christ, something of mercy, something of forgiveness, but they don't measure up to the concept of grace.

19:17 That in Adam we forfeited every claim to anything from God but judgment, and if we get anything else it will be all of grace. And that in Adam we entered a state of spiritual bondage that makes it impossible for us to do anything to move in the direction of God. If there's ever any bringing of the sinner to God, it's because God puts forth the initiative. And all that initiative is funneled to us in the Lord Jesus Christ.

19:53 Not Christ to get us into the way, and then psychology and philosophy and everything else to help us along the way, Christ to get us into the way, Christ to sustain us, to lead us along the way, Christ to bring us safe home to glory. That's how you test the gospel. What place does it give to grace? Coming to us in sovereign exercise of His will.

God's Good Pleasure in the Historical Unfolding of the Gospel

20:22 Coming to us focused in the Lord Jesus Christ. Could say much more at that point but we'll leave it because I want to carry out some of the implications of Paul's words. When he says, in answer to the question, why did this wisdom come to us through the gospel? He says, according to his own good pleasure which he purposed in him.

20:53 Now that didn't mean in a general sense that the gospel was made known to somebody, somewhere, somehow, because God determined it should be. He was talking to specific people at a specific place, at a specific point in time. And he said if one of you Ephesians wakes up some morning, and you scratch your head and say, hey, wait a minute, wait a minute, now wait a minute. Here the Apostle Paul has been here, and the mystery of the gospel has been opened up to us.

21:20 And we've come to see the wisdom of God in the gospel mystery that's been unfolded. Why should I be born in Ephesus at such a time that I'd be old enough to hear and understand? And why should Paul come to Ephesus? And why should I have happened to be where I heard about him, there at the school of Tyrannus?

21:42 And why, when I went and heard, did the thing open up to me and cause me to see the wisdom of heaven in the message of Christ? Paul says, look, when you start asking questions like that, here's your answer. It was according to the good pleasure that he purposed in him. You see, this is all rooted in a very specific, personal way.

22:06 And so I want to suggest that you think with me this morning, that if you sit here this morning as one to whom grace has overflowed in wisdom and prudence in the opening up of the mystery of the gospel, it's because it was God's good pleasure that he purposed in Christ to bring that mystery to you historically, geographically, and effectually. Historically, geographically, and effectually. You say, what in the world do you mean? What do you mean by that?

22:41 Well, if you stick with me, I hope to explain that. Notice, first of all, historically. Paul says that the mystery of the gospel was revealed to us. We stand at a point in time when this mystery, hidden in God, Paul says in other places, for ages and generations, has now been opened up.

23:05 How often have you stopped and just thought of all the nations that have risen and fallen, in the history of the world, into which not one ray of the mystery of the gospel ever came? Think of the nation of Egypt, that great nation, that nation that ruled in power at the time of Israel's emergence as a nation. You could go through the millions of the land of Egypt and you couldn't find one person, man, woman, or child, who could say this, Christ died.

23:50 For our sins. Not one. Not one! Not one.

24:00 Not one! Think of some of those great eastern nations. Think of some of the great nations south of us. The whole Inca civilization, with its tremendous advancement in so many areas.

24:18 Not one of all those mighty Incas who could say, Christ died for our sins. The mystery of the gospel, which God purposed from eternity, was hidden in His own mind and heart. Now, Paul says, He made known unto us the mystery of His will. And you say, Why, Lord?

24:42 According to His good pleasure which He purposed in Him. Why should you and I be born, historically, at such a point in time, when the secrets of God's heart, have been unlocked and unfolded? The only answer is, Even so, Father, it seemed good in Thy sight. For Paul says in Galatians 4, 4, When the fullness of the time was come, God sent forth His Son.

25:17 It was His time schedule, not ours, but His. It's so easy for us to think of everything in terms of our own sphere of reference. Most of us here have never known what it is to have anything other than the social and political freedoms of the American society. With all of its problems, we still are the most blessed people under heaven, as far as personal liberties and freedoms.

25:45 It's hard for us to think what it'd be like to wake up in the morning and not know whether or not you could go three blocks and visit your relative. You don't know what that's like. I don't know what that's like. And it's because the freedom is such a common, commonplace thing that it becomes a despised and an unappreciated thing.

26:08 All you need to do is talk to someone who's lived under the tight-fisted rule of some dictatorial society, where there was this constant militaristic state and all these woolly-headed, I don't know what to call them, notwithstanding. We don't know what a police society is. We don't know what it is. But some people do.

26:33 And what I'm driving at is this, dear ones. We need to pause periodically and try to project ourselves into the circumstances of the millions who've gone before us, in the place of their own, never have a mystery unfolded to them. Then you begin to say with Paul, Blessed be God, whose grace has overflowed, making known the mystery of His will, according to His good pleasure, which He purposed in Him. Not only is that true historically with reference to the pagan nations, even with reference to the people of God in the old economy.

27:18 Listen to what Jesus said about the godly people of the past. And I read now from Matthew 13, 16. Matthew 13 and verse 16. There was a nation to whom God was pleased to unveil at least the shadowy outlines of the mystery.

27:40 It was like a draped statue. You could see the general form, though you could not appreciate all of the beauty of detail. And as they saw that general form of how God would show mercy to sinners, listen to the things our Lord said it created in them. Matthew 13 and verse 16.

28:01 Blessed are your eyes, for they see, and your ears, for they hear. For verily I say unto you, that many prophets and righteous men desired to see the things which ye see and saw them not, and to hear the things which ye hear and heard them not. Oh, how often must some of those holy men of old said, O God, what are you talking about? When you speak about that chapter that shall come out of Judah, I see the shadowy outline.

28:36 I see, as it were, the main structural form. But, O God, what are you saying? And God said, in essence, the mystery is locked up in my heart, and the time to reveal it is not yet come. It says they desired, they weren't content to simply be the vehicles through which God spoke.

28:56 Can you imagine what Isaiah must have gone through after he penned the 53rd chapter of Isaiah? Bruised for our iniquities, wounded for our transgression, chastisement of our peace upon him, how he must have cried out and said, O God, what are you saying in this? What is the full unfolding of that which I have written? And God says, not yet.

29:25 Righteous men long to see them. Not one of them could say, as you can now say, commonplace talk, Christ died for our sins. The most fundamental, rudimentary element of the gospel, they could not say it with the clarity with which you can now say it. Thank God!

29:48 They knew they were accepted by faith. Blessed is the man to whom the Lord imputeth not iniquity. Psalm 32. But the mystery, you see, was not yet unfolded.

God's Good Pleasure in the Geographical Unfolding of the Gospel

30:04 Oh, beloved, why should we historically stand at this point when our eyes see in our ears here what men and women who are far holier, far more godly, were never allowed to see? One answer, even so, Father, it seemed good. I say, but not only historically, but see how this principle according to the good pleasure which he purchased and purposed in himself applies geographically. For not only is the time of the unfolding of the mystery in the hands of God and dispensed with a gracious sovereignty, but the very places in which that mystery is to be unfolded

30:48 also determined by his gracious sovereignty. Turn to the eleventh chapter of Matthew for a very striking illustration of this principle, and then we will look at an illustration of it in the book of Acts. Matthew 11, verses 20 and 21. Then began Jesus to upbraid the cities wherein most of his mighty works were done, because they repented not.

31:19 Woe unto thee, Chorazin! Woe unto thee, Bethsaida! For, If the mighty works had been done in Tyre and Sidon, which were done in you, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. You remember Tyre, that nation that was so friendly to the people of God, supplied many of the materials for the building of the temple under Solomon?

31:48 A nation that in terms of its general sympathy with the covenant people of God stood head and shoulders, or a city, stood head and shoulders above Bethsaida and Chorazin. Why didn't the mystery come to them? Our Lord says, had it come to them, it would have been effectual to their salvation.

32:14 But it didn't come to them.

32:18 We talk about things in the Bible, my friend, that jar us. There's one of them.

32:25 You see, not only historically, when the mystery should be unfolded, our Lord says, many prophecies. Prophets and righteous men desired to see, but didn't. But even geographically, our Lord says, it did not go there, but the mystery came here.

32:44 The answer, according to his good pleasure which he purposed in himself. Turn to Acts for another clear illustration of this. Acts chapter 16.

33:00 The apostle Paul is commissioned to go to the Gentiles. That's his general commission. But now the specifics as to where he shall go. What precise cities.

33:10 What geographical areas he will cover. The Holy Spirit directs him by numerous means. But notice carefully the wording of Acts 16 beginning with verse 6. And they went through the region of Phrygia and Galatia, having been forbidden of the Holy Spirit to speak the word in Asia.

33:32 Here Paul has the mystery revealed to him. He says, my gospel wasn't taught to be my men. It came by revelation. And here he longs to proclaim this mystery to all men.

33:44 Christ, the focal point of that mystery. And as he proceeds to make plans to move into Asia, the Holy Ghost says, no, the mystery doesn't go there now. Doesn't go there now. No, he says, all right, we'll try another place.

33:59 And when they were come over against Mysia, they assayed to go into Bithynia. And the Spirit of Jesus suffered them not. Isn't that a strange word? The same Jesus who said to him, Paul, I've given you this revelation of myself and of the mystery of the gospel to make all the Gentiles know that mystery.

34:21 Not there. Not there. And so Paul says, but now, Lord, where? I've got to obey the commission in general.

34:30 And so while he's sleeping, the Lord gives him his answer. And a vision appeared to Paul in the night. There was a man of Macedonia standing, beseeching him and saying, Come over into Macedonia and help us. When he had seen the vision straightway, we sought to go forth to Macedonia, concluding what?

34:49 God had called us to do what? Open up the mystery. Preach the gospel unto them. Now this all is in the context of geography.

35:01 Asia is a geographical place. Lycia has to do with geography. Macedonia has to do with geography. What do we see?

35:12 We see the good pleasure of God. We see God's purpose in Christ unfolding itself, not only historically, but geographically.

35:24 I want you all to do something within the next week or two. I want you to go down on that little bulletin board downstairs where we have the missionary poster.

35:34 And I want you to take a good, hard, at least 60-second look at those pictures of some of those tribal people from New Guinea. And as you look at them, I want to have you ask yourself one question.

35:48 Why was that not my picture? I want you to ask that question. And I want you to think upon it until it begins to haunt you.

36:01 You look and say, That's a strange-looking bunch of folk. Kinky hair, bone through the nose, distended tummies. They look like something out of the Stone Age.

36:13 And I want you to ask the question,

36:16 Why was that not me? Why is there not someone back here in another church looking at a picture that is me under that form in a tribe to which the gospel has not come for sin?

36:36 Why should you be in a place, geographically, where the mystery has been unfolded?

36:43 Why should you have been born in a home? God put you... He made the geography so precise.

36:48 Listen to me, you children and young people. God didn't have to speak to someone in a vision and send them across waters to you. He plunked you right down in a home where, from the time you can remember anything, you remember Bibles laying around and being carried to Sunday school and church and hearing that Christ died for sinners. Christ rose. Christ lives. Christ is mighty to save.

37:14 Think of it. Elijah. Holy Mary. They didn't know what you know by the time you're five years old, some of you, in terms of the revelation of the mystery.

37:27 Why should that thing come to you, historically? Why should you be born at this time? Why should it come to you, geographically? I know no answer but the answer of verse 9.

God's Good Pleasure in the Effectual Unfolding of the Gospel

37:37 Having made known unto us the mystery of His will, according to His good pleasure which He purposed in Him. But there's one aspect that we've yet to touch upon and we'll do it very briefly. For many people to whom the mystery comes historically, they live this side of the revelation of the mystery. It comes to them geographically, but they aren't made wise and prudent with the mystery.

38:10 They're made hard. They're made stubborn. They're made more set in their sinful ways. Why? Because the message must not only come to us historically and geographically, but effectually.

38:26 And Paul says to the Ephesians, he says, He hath abounded to us in wisdom and prudence, making known to us the mystery of His will, not only proclaiming the mystery of His will to us, but He made it known to us. There was external proclamation, but internal illumination. And Acts 16 is a wonderful chapter because it ties together not only the good pleasure of God in the geographical factor, but in the effectual factor. For notice, after God directs the Apostle Paul to Macedonia,

39:08 and in so doing indicates His will that geographically the mystery should be unfolded there, something else has got to happen before people will be made wise unto salvation. And we read about it in Acts 16, verse 11. Setting sail therefore from Troas, we made a straight course to Samothrace, and the day following to Neapolis, and from thence to Philippi. And what happens at Philippi?

39:37 Verse 13. And on the Sabbath day we went forth without the gate by a riverside, where we supposed there was a place of prayer. And we sat down and spake unto the women that were come together. And a certain woman named Lydia, a seller of purple of the city of Thyatira, one that worshipped God, heard us geographically.

39:59 He's proclaiming the mystery. He's speaking of Christ. She heard us, whose heart the Lord opened to give heed. See what happened?

40:13 The mystery was made known historically, geographically, but then effectually it was opened up to her, so that she received the message of the mystery of God's salvation. And may I say in as simple terms as I know how, if this third factor is not present, it doesn't make any difference if you stand this side or that side of the historical unveiling of the mystery. It doesn't make any difference whether you're ten billion miles away from the geographical area where it's made known, if you're right there where it's made known, unless there is that effectual word,

40:57 the work of God. All the opening up of that mystery will do is to increase your damnation and to harden you in your sin. And that's the frightful thing of the privilege that is ours. Periodically I remind you as a congregation of this principle that all my ministry will do for some of you is to make hell the worst place to be in forever.

A Call to the Unconverted: Cry for God's Mercy and Illumination

41:25 It were better that you were entire in Sidon and never had the mystery of the gospel opened up to you. Is this the complete truth? I've complained to some of you here this morning, some of you youngsters, some of you teenagers, some of you adults, saying, I don't understand all that. Do you know about mystery and Christ and all that?

41:42 That's right, you don't. And you know why you don't? Not because I'm talking big language. There are people who say every Sunday, thank you, Pastor, that was so clear.

41:51 While you're sitting there all woolly-headed and fuzzy-headed, there are people seeing light left and right. What's the difference? They're not smarter than you. You know what the difference is?

42:02 There's been this effectual, opening up of the mystery. My friend, if you understand, it's because God in grace, according to the good pleasure which He purposed in Himself, has opened up the mystery. If you don't understand it, and if it's all just a bunch of words, then let that be a call to you to cry to God and say, Oh God, what you say is true. The natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God.

42:28 They are foolishness unto him. Lord, that's true. It's all foolishness to me. I don't understand it.

42:34 I don't grasp it. Let that realization humble you, bring you down in the dust before God, and cry out with that poor blind beggar, Son of David, have mercy upon me. The Lord Jesus is come, the prophet says, to open the eyes of the blind. That's why He's come.

42:55 You call upon Him to open your eyes and give you the grace to see and to understand the mystery of the gospel. And so in answer to that question, why did grace overflow? Imparting wisdom and prudence through the gospel to the Ephesians, Paul's answer is, it was according to His good pleasure which He purposed in Him. And that purpose expressed itself in making known the mystery, historically, geographically, and effectually, and throughout the world.

Conclusion: Praise for Wisdom and Prudence, and a Call to Proclaim the Mystery

43:36 And for you and for me as God's people, if the gospel mystery has been opened up and made us wise with heavenly wisdom, we know who we are, and we know how our sins are dealt with, and we know where we're going, and we have prudence. We know how to live now. Live in a way pleasing to God. Live a life conformed to His word and to His will and to His law.

44:00 And wisdom and prudence in saving mercy are always joined. Some of you say, oh yeah, I've got the wisdom of the mystery. I know Christ died for sins and I've got...

44:10 Where's the evidence of prudence in your life? The evidence that your life is being governed by gospel truth. If your life is not governed by gospel truth, you've not been enriched with prudence. And God never enriches with wisdom without enriching with prudence.

44:27 Grace overflows, enriching us with both wisdom and prudence. But if by God's grace you can say yes, I've been enriched with wisdom and prudence, and I often wonder why, here's the answer. Even so, Father, it seemed good in thy sight. May God enable us to praise Him, to magnify Him, and then to be like Paul, who out of a sense of overwhelming gratitude said, I want to proclaim this mystery to all men.

45:05 I'm debtor to all men. And even though he knew it had to come in the providence of God, and it had to come in the power of God, it didn't in any way minimize his zeal to proclaim that mystery. For God never applies it effectually unless we proclaim it verbally. And that's our task.

45:28 And so Paul is always praying for Christians, asking them, pray for me, that I may open my mouth to speak the mystery. Pray that I'll have boldness to speak the mystery. May God grant us that boldness, grant us that confidence, and when He's pleased to make it effectual in hearts, to give Him all the praise for His own gracious work. Let us pray.