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| Order Of Worship (Liturgy) Song of Adoration: Hymnal #98C “Sing a New Song to Jehovah” Song of Confession: Hymnal #42B: 1, 7, 11 “As Pants the Deer for Flowing Streams” *Song of Preparation: Hymnal #238 “Lord, with Glowing Heart I’d Praise Thee” Scripture: Ephesians 1:1-14 Text: Ephesians 1:3-14 Message: A Predestined Inheritance Song of Response: Hymnal #426 “How Vast the Benefits Divine” Doxology: Hymnal #248: 5 “All Creatures of Our God and King” |
Beloved Congregation of the Lord Jesus Christ,
In the original Greek, the verses of our text are all contained in one sentence. In English, they divided it up in the ESV into 5 sentences. Still, this section of Ephesians is packed. Dr. Martin Lloyd-Jones, the great English preacher preached these verses over 23 sermons. I plan to do it in one. (John Stott did it in one sermon as well, so it can be done). Without trying to apologize for a sermon before I preach it, my focus in this series will be on the last half of Ephesians. However, this first part, deeply theological, beautiful, encouraging and comforting, is the backdrop and foundation for that which is to come.
21 years ago a movie came out which was a remake of an older version. In it, a man, finds out that his rich uncle, who he didn’t know, passed away. The result is that he inherited the great wealth of the uncle. He received his house, which came with a butler and cook, his personal jet and helicopter, his business, etc. It was nearly overwhelming. Spiritually speaking, we receive something of that in Ephesians 1. We see blessing after blessing after blessing received through the salvation of God. In the early verses of our text this morning, we see the glorious work of the Triune God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Our theme is Our triune God reveals the blessings of the believer in Christ.
- Father’s Election
- Son’s Redemption
- Spirit’s Assurance (sealing)
I. Father’s Election (v. 3-6)
These verses are thought to have been or were made into an early Christian hymn. The longer you look at them and the deeper you dig, you can start to see the beautiful poetic side to them. As was mentioned they are Trinitarian. But, these verses also correspond to the past blessings, the present blessings, and the future blessings.
Paul, under the inspiration of the Spirit, begins with a doxology. (Read vs. 3). There are a couple of things to draw out of this verse. First, note that the blessings drawn from God are through Christ. In fact, Christ is mentioned by name 15 times in verses 1-14 and the phrase “in him” is used 11 times. One principle of interpreting the scriptures is that when something is mentioned often, that is to emphasize that truth. It's important.
A second thing to note is the phrase “every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places.” We might think of spiritual blessings as those things which aren’t physical. For instance, faith is spiritual, a scrambled egg is physical. But, this phrase can also be referencing the fact that the blessings are from the Spirit. I think this focus fits well in the context as the Spirit will really be woven through each verse of our text. Another thing to ask is what are “heavenly places.” That phrase is used 5 times in Ephesians and nowhere else in the Bible. Sometimes the heavens can describe the sky (consider the heavens…), it can refer to a place of grace and glory (the souls of those asleep in Jesus are in heaven), but really what it refers to here is the place of Christ’s reign, a place of principalities and spiritual powers. John Stott describes it as the “unseen world of spiritual reality.” Some translations translate it as heavenlies. So, what are these blessings?
The past blessing of the father is election. Read vs. 4-5. Election, as we know from BCF 16 and the first head of doctrine in the Canons of Dort, is the unchangeable purpose of God, to choose, out of the entire human race, those whom he would save through Christ. Many sermons can be preached on this biblical doctrine. We address it with humility, as it is a mystery of God’s grace. Notice that he says in verse 4 that we are chosen “in him.” What this means, is that God put us and Christ together in his own mind in eternity past. This was before the foundation of the world our text says.
Though there can be much said about election, let’s focus on a couple important truths that lead to practical applications. The first thing is that election is a clear revelation from God. It isn’t invented by some theologian. It is taught from the opening book of the Bible to the last. Romans 9-11 describe in detail God’s dealings with Israel, and then the inclusion of the gentiles so that his purpose in election might stand. It isn’t some arbitrary work of God. It is his way of ordaining the salvation of his people from before the foundation of the world. Even though the dealings and decree of God is beyond us, we must humble ourselves before it. Calvin is helpful here in a sermon he preached on Ephesians 1 (May 1558) he said, “Although we cannot conceive by argument or reason how God has elected us before the creation of the world, yet we know it by his declaring it to us, and experience itself vouches for it sufficiently, when we are enlightened in the faith.”
Second, election is an incentive to holiness, not a license to sin. It is often caricatured to be a free pass to wickedness. Though the doctrine of election will afford the believer unspeakable comfort and assurance that they will preserve to the end, our text says that we are elected (v. 4) to be “holy and blameless before him.” The end of Ephesians especially will carry out the ethical call of godliness. Anyone who thinks they are elect and then live a wicked life, are not assured, they are presumptuous. The evidence of election is the holy life that follows. You will know them by their fruits, we will see this from LD 7 this afternoon.
Third, election humbles us before God, it does not lead to boasting before men. If sinners were chosen because of something good in them, or because they were a bit more deserving, or they would respond better than other, etc. then maybe there could be room for boasting. But that is all stripped away by God’s word. God didn’t choose Israel because they were mighty, faithful, or deserving…. they were weak, grumbling, and God punished them for that. Election must drive sinners to their knees in utter bewilderment that God would choose them wholly based on his love and sovereign plan.
II. Son’s Redemption
Already back in verse 5 we see the phrase “adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ.” This connected with what we see now laid out in verses 7-8 “in him we have redemption through his blood.” Redemption refers to buying something back or paying a price. Usually it referred to the ransoming of slaves. Election is with adoption in mind. The election is the past blessing, adoption is the present blessing.
Adoption is a privileged position. In the original Annie comic book, which is 100 years old, when Annie meets Mr. Warbucks, the billionaire, he asked who she was and what she was doing in his house. Annie replied that Mrs. Warbucks adopted her. Mr. Warbucks then picked up Annie and said, you will never call me Mr. Warbucks again, but you will call me “daddy.” She became his daughter and everything changed for Annie. She gained a position of tremendous privilege. We gain something greater. We become sons and daughters (the term includes both) of God through adoption. Adopted sons in the Roman system received all the rights of biological sons. Vs. 7-8 list the privileged blessings.
With adoption also comes responsibility. We are adopted into the family of God. Adoption is unto holiness. He is molding and shaping us. He doesn’t spoil his children, he disciples them. Hebrews 12:10 says he disciples us for our good. Annie was given all the blessings of being a Warbucks, but also she had to be respectful, stay out of trouble, etc. We exchange our sins, our sinful nature, our baggage, for the privileged position of adoption. God chose us. If you believe in Jesus Christ as your Savior, that means God chose you. Verse 7 mentions the riches of his grace and verse uses the term “lavishes.”
So the father, sets the son on mission to reclaim us by his precious blood. Verse 9 says this saving grace of God is mysterious, but also it is revealed to us in the scriptures. We understand and experience it, but it is beyond our comprehension.
Thereafter, we see the Son’s rule in verse 10. See the flow of God’s redemption. He chose us eternity past, to give us every spiritual blessing. These blessings are received now, they are faith and adoption, redemption, forgiveness, new hearts, the riches of his grace. We are sons and daughters of the great king, we are kingdom citizens, and Jesus reigns. He is reigning now. This is a present reality that will continue in the future.
In verses 9b-10, there is a whole worldview wrapped up in those verses. At this point, the pressing question of these verses is what does it mean for Christ to unite all things in him. In the return of Christ (future) every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord (Phil. 2:10-11). Angels and saints will be united. A new earth will be re-created. The church that was militant and had become triumphant in death will be together again. This united kingdom will perfectly submit under the rule of Jesus Christ. All things will be united “in him.” That is future.
However, there is a present reality to this as well and this is part of the reason God reveals this mystery to us. We are to seek to unite all things and to submit all to the lordship of Christ. We are to be active reconcilers (II Cor. 5). As a family and personally, we confess our sins to each other and work through forgiveness. As a church, we bind ourselves together from different backgrounds, with different political opinions. It is not the color of one’s skin, their socio-economic class, their educational differences, or political convictions that unite us. It is the blood of Jesus, which draws us together as a family of God.
We are also to submit all things to Christ’s lordship. We don’t divide our lives into the spiritual and the secular. All things are spiritual and must be subject to the Christ’s lordship, willingly, with whole hearted joy. Abraham Kuyper said, “There is not a square inch of this world, over which Christ, who is lord, does not call out “mine.” This means, art, business, politics, education, science, and all of society must serve Christ’s purposes and lordship. Boys and girls, you thought that preparing your catechism is your spiritual work, but playing sports is not. Wrong, it is all spiritual. Lord willing, we will continue to study this theme in my ministry here, it is that important.
So, we have the seen the past election of the Father, the present work of redemption and salvation in the Son, and now the future (which also touches the present) assurance and sealing of the Spirit.
III. Spirit’s Assurance
In these last four verses we see the future work of the Holy Spirit. With this work, it is rooted in the past of God’s eternal election (v. we have been predestined v. 11), it continues and is applied today as those who live for the praise of his glory in verse 12, and it looks to the future through the sealing and assurance of the Holy Spirit in verses 13-14.
Let’s dig a bit deeper into a few of these encouraging statements. First, notice that we have obtained an inheritance. Once again, this is going back to our adoption in Christ. This is Old Testament language and it is built on an Old Testament promise and the beginning of that fulfillment. Read Ex. 19:5 (cf. Deut. 7:6) This inheritance is both a present and future reality. Verse 11 says that we obtained it and verse 14 says “until we acquire possession of it.” The inheritance and adoption are ours, but not yet in its fullness.
A second thing to note are the recipients. In verse 11 Paul uses the language of “we.” Who is that? That is a reference to the Jewish people. They are the ones who had received the initial inheritance and the blessings of land and security. This is Israel. But then we see a change take place in verse 13. “you also” refers now not merely to the Jews, but also the Gentiles, those non-Jews. The Ephesian church would have been made up of both groups.
A Third thing to note here is the assurance of the Holy Spirit. Verse 13 uses the word sealed. Verse 14 uses the language of guarantee. The assurance of the blessings found in Ephesians are secured by the Holy Spirit. He seals it, as a king certifying an official decree….it has authority because it comes from him. The Holy Spirit is the guarantee, the surety, the down payment of that which is to come.
There are two final questions briefly to answer. They are the how and the why. How can this take place? It is because of God’s will. We see this woven throughout this section. This was God’s eternal plan. God’s predestination was unto our holiness, that we might attain the glorious riches of his grace. Something even greater than the original paradise is in store for all who are found “in Him” “in the Beloved” “in Christ.”
They final question is why? The why is answered in the last phrase of this text, “to the praise of his glory.” This is the purpose of it all. God puts us so centrally in this cosmic plan that he with the Son and Spirit are playing out in history. But the glory of God is still first and foremost. As we begin this Reformation month, we echo the Reformation cry, soli Deo gloria.
It can be easy to get discouraged. It is easy to let our external circumstances dampen our spiritual fervor. When that happens, read these verses from Ephesians 1, and read them very slowly and think upon each phrase in prayer. Dear sinner in Jesus Christ, do you know how much God loved you? He has given you everything in Christ. Amen.
* As a matter of courtesy please advise Rev. Steven Swets, if you plan to use this sermon in a worship service. Thank-you.
(c) Copyright 2023, Rev. Steven Swets
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