Reading
DISCLAIMER: The following has been auto-transcribed. We hope it will help you to find the section of this audio file you are looking for.
210.
One spirit with the Lord.
The blessed and one draws word for God. Like what furniture? I don't know.
444.
Nsnoise.
I wonder if we might, uh, read Ephesians chapter one, brethren.
Brother Bill spoke about the church and the way it's introduced in Matthew this morning.
Very interesting and helpful to get that perspective.
In Ephesians chapter one, we get a perspective that is a little different according to God's eternal counsels, and I just find for my own soul how wonderful it is to get those truths before us.
Would that be suitable?
It's gotta be very good.
Do we have a reader?
Ephesians chapter one, Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ. By the will of God to the Saints which are Ephesus and to the faithful in Christ Jesus, grace be to you, and peace from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ who have blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ.
According as He hath chosen us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love, having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace, wherein He hath made us accepted in the Beloved.
In whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace, wherein He hath abounded toward us in all wisdom and prudence, having made known unto us the mystery of His will, according to His good pleasure which He hath purposed in himself, that in the dispensation of the fullness of times, He might gather together in one all things in Christ.
Both which are in heaven, and which are on earth, even in Him in Whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of Him who worketh all things, after the counsel of His own will, that we should be to the praise of His glory. Who first trusted in Christ, and whom ye also trusted. After that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, in whom also after that ye believed you were sealed.
00:05:15
With that Holy Spirit of promise which is the earnest of our inheritance, unto the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of His glory.
Wherefore I also after I heard of your faith.
In the Lord Jesus and love unto all the Saints, cease not to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers, that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation.
In the knowledge of Him, the eyes of your understanding being enlightened, that you may know what is the hope of His calling, and what the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the Saints, and what is the exceeding greatness of His power to us. Words who believe according to the working of His mighty power, which He wrought in Christ, when He raised Him from the dead, and set him at His own right hand in the heavenly places.
Far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come. And hath put all things under his feet, and gave him to be the head over all things, The Church to the Church which is, is his body, the fullness of him that filleth All in all.
Yes.
This morning Bill mentioned how God introduces the question of the church in the book of Matthew, and it's interesting because it is really the only gospel that mentions the church as such. First of all in the chapter 16 and then the chapter that Bill read in chapter 18.
And because God in the Old Testament times had a special chosen people and in the New Testament, the main theme of the New Testament is the church, in contrast with the in the Old Testament, which is Israel, God's earthly people. And it's very helpful to see the contrast, the difference between.
God's earthly people, Israel, and God's heavenly people, the Church.
Umm, there's a lot of movement in Christian circles today to try to obliterate the differences.
And to make them all one and the same. But it is very interesting in Matthew's Gospel, and Bill showed this morning how the Lord Jesus was rejected at the end of chapter 12 and the beginning of chapter 13. And then he begins to bring in the mysteries of the Kingdom, the way the Kingdom will appear when the king is rejected and absent.
And then in chapter 16, we have the church introduced God's.
Eternal purposes. But when we come to the book of Ephesians, we really have it as.
God sees it from the eternal perspective. In verse four of our chapter it speaks about that we were chosen in Him before the foundation of the world. So.
God's first thoughts about the church? There was not any.
Any world in existence yet.
It's, it's really amazing because we are brethren, heavenly people, the fact that we are here in this world.
Is just a brief moment in view of our heavenly destiny. And so in chapter one, as we go through it, I'd just like to point out that we have the will of God mentioned. I think it is four times.
It's not man's will that is in the picture here. It's you don't get man's will until the first verses of the second chapter. But notice in verse one Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God.
00:10:04
Verse 5. Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will. Verse 9. Having made known unto us the mystery of His will in verse 11.
In whom we have also have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh.
All things after the council of his own will. So what is focused on in chapter one is God's will, and I'd like to think of it at a vast stream of blessing that flows in.
From what we call from our vantage point, the past eternity.
Crosses the eons of time and out into that future eternity.
O brethren, God has this purpose of blessing that was established before there was any universe in existence, before the foundation of the world. We were chosen in him wonderful, wonderful place of blessing that we occupy.
As the church.
Some believers have a very difficult time understanding how that God could, on the one hand, present the gospel to Israel from a risen Christ in glory.
Assuring them that if they accepted it, Jesus would come back and set up the Kingdom.
And yet knowing full well that they would reject him.
Having purposes which were.
If we could say it reverently thought out in a past eternity as to the church which he then would proceed to bring out after he had set Israel aside.
We freely have to admit that it is beyond human understanding, don't we? Man can't understand it. It's a matter of accepting that no one under God are all His works from the beginning of the world, and no one under God are His purposes from before the foundation of the world. That's not scripture, I'm just saying that from reference to this chapter.
And so the way God works is not comprehensible, not if we could say it entirely within man's reason and mental powers to understand. It's not the way man would work.
But it is the way God works, and He has revealed it all to us. And so, as Bob says, what a wonderful thing it is to be born into this time of his grace, to be able to be part of that jewel of all of God's purposes, the church, and to be in a more privileged time than at any other time in the world's history.
So as you say, Bill, God has for the time set aside Israel, but it is important to see that God is not done with Israel. He's going to bring them back in his own way in time. And it is amazing to look at what's happened in the Middle East now, makes us realize that we're getting close to those times when God will bring.
The focus back to his people, Israel, after we have been taken home.
Romans 11 Says in verse one. I say then has God castaway his people?
God forbid he's talking about Israel, for I also an Israelite of the seed of Abraham.
Of the tribe of Benjamin, God has not castaway His people Israel. They are set aside governmentally for the time, but He is going to bring them in after we are gone.
To our heavenly portion.
00:15:03
Well, it's wonderful to see here how that the Lord works in a way that is perhaps.
As far as we are told, here, almost greater than any other area, the city of Ephesus, which was the seat of idolatry. It was the place where the temple of the goddess Diana was situated, one of the seven wonders of the ancient world.
And where you might say Satan had a stronghold of idolatry and false worship. And yet it is in that city that the apostle Paul stayed longer than any other place, as far as we know at least. And where the Word of God went out to all of Asia. It seems as if the Spirit of God was going to take hold of that place and not merely make it a center where the gospel was preached.
But deal, as it were, a fatal blow to all of Satan's aspirations. And we know, of course, that the devil, and he's the same today, didn't give in easily. The.
What we might call the riot that occurred as a result of the, uh, silversmiths who made shrines for the goddess Diana, the riot that occurred as a result of their displeasure with the gospel preaching was of such dimensions that later on in his life in Second Corinthians, Paul recalls that time and says we were pressed out of measure and so on. He says so much that we despaired even of life.
He really thought that on that occasion it was going to be the end. In reading it. There isn't a lot of time devoted to it in the book of the Acts, and it doesn't seem to have been that difficult. But evidently it must have been a very, very difficult time in Paul's life. And yet the Lord so worked in that place that here now, when Paul is in prison in Rome, it is to that assembly.
That he can communicate what I believe is the highest truth as to the believers blessings in the whole word of God. There's no higher truth as to the blessings of the believer than what we get in the book of Ephesians.
Make a few remarks on that connection in which he writes this letter.
Based on what Bill just said.
If we had an opportunity to have a conversation with Paul at at the time, we'll say the day he writes this letter.
We would have expected him to talk a lot about his present circumstances. I'm in prison and I'm not quite sure when the trial is going to be. But brother, pray for me. I need real help in my present circumstances here and things aren't going very well and I don't have a real good outlook or expectation as to what's going to happen to me when the trial takes place and so on. It's not hard to imagine that.
Now we read the letter.
Nothing.
Focused on that is there?
He's not talking about himself.
He's not focusing us on himself and his need at this moment in his life. As Bill just said, he's free in his spirit to be used of God to give us some of the highest truth of the revelation of God to man that's found in all the scriptures. Was talking, I guess it was last week to a person who has very severe medical problems.
Needs brain surgery for the third time. And the medical people that have to deal with this situation don't seem to be showing very much interest in it or activity because he's in prison for life. And so there's there's not a whole lot going on.
He heard about.
Bennett in Tasmania.
And, uh, the uncertainty at that moment as to whether the little baby would survive.
Called a couple of days after that, not to talk about himself, not to talk about his medical needs and condition and so on, but because his heart was taken out to the need of someone else that he and others in the prison were praying for with the desire to see God's hand in whatever it would be in that situation.
00:20:23
Point here is that you can read the 1St 4 chapters of this or first three chapters of this epistle. There's no exhortations to you.
You're not the focus of it as #1.
None of us are.
Where the object of some and of for our blessing in it. But the whole first chapter is about God and his Son. We're brought into it because we participate in that which he purposes.
It's his will, his purpose, his carrying it out. We come into it as his body, the fullness of him that filleth All in all. And if we're gonna enjoy the chapter?
We can't sit in our seats and say, Oh yeah, this is for me.
There is a lot in it for us, but the greater thing is to see, if I could put it this way, what's in it for God? What's in it for His Son? Do we care? Is that more important than what we're going to get, what God is going to get for Himself, what He purposes to do, His glory and that which He is doing, and so on. As you go through it, notice His.
That word occurs over and over again his and because that's the focus and the emphasis of it. Do we want to be happy as a result of taking up the chapter? We'll be happy in the measure in which.
We enter into the enjoyment of that which fulfills the heart of God and His Son and what He will do to accomplish that, and the enjoyment that we, by God's purposes, are brought into it to share in it and enjoy it as well. Paul prays in the chapter. Does he pray that we'll get through tomorrow's trial?
That will have a better job next month. No, he doesn't. That has his place. It's very important in its place. But in this particular setting that the Spirit of God is bringing before us, He says what? What does he pray for? In the first chapter? He says that the eyes of your understanding might be opened, that you might see what God is doing for His own purpose. A blessing and glory and love so that we can see what He is and what He's doing.
And in the third chapter, when he prizes the praying that that power, his power that's at work in the first chapter, might also be realized in us to enter into it and the enjoyment of it more.
Yes, just to add to that, in that same connection, a brother made a remark many years ago.
It's never left me, he said. The man who is occupied with himself is never happy.
And that holds true for an unbeliever, but it holds true with the believer, too.
The man that is occupied with himself or the woman for that matter, is never happy. And if you and I are going to enjoy the things of the Lord, God takes us out of ourselves. As Dawn says, we are the object of much of this. We are blessed in verse three with all spiritual blessings in the heavenlies or in heavenly places in Christ.
So it is intended for our enjoyment, but the source of those blessings is Christ Himself. The purposes originated with God himself and whenever man starts with himself, as we've often heard.
He not only short changes himself, but he dishonors the Lord eventually, if only because he doesn't realize all that the Lord has for him. But when we start with God and His purposes in Christ.
00:25:03
Excuse me? God is far more honored, man is far more blessed. And so that's the way the whole matter is approached in this chapter, isn't it?
Three with blessing God, doesn't it?
We could become occupied with our blessings in this chapter because it's God's purpose to bless us in Christ so that he could have a portion of blessing for his son. That's really the thought in this chapter is God is preparing, uh, a bride and, uh, a relationship of blessing for his Son, and we happen to be a part of that blessing. But the apostle Paul here doesn't start with our blessings.
He starts with the blesser and his heart is filled with the blesser and so he says blessed is the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. And so that's that's what happens when we when we when our hearts are filled with who God is it if we back up a verse, it says grace to you and peace from God our Father. Both of those things don't have man as its source.
Grace doesn't come from.
What man can produce for God, that grace comes because of what God is, has been, has been for man.
Peace is not, does not have its source in what man has brought to God, but what God has brought to man. And so the Apostle Paul here is setting the, the the the table as it were, to place God in his proper place in our souls and to cause us.
To bless him.
It's a wonderful way to start the chapter.
Don mentioned the prayer at the end of the chapter. I'd like to just, uh, call attention to the fact that he prays, uh, as Don mentioned, uh, that the eyes of their understanding would be enlightened.
Uh, in verse 18. And then there's three things that he mentioned specifically notice in verse 18. First is what is the hope of his calling?
#2 And what I what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the Saints?
And #3 What is the exceeding greatness of His power to us word who believe according to the working of His mighty power?
Those three things is what he wants the eyes of our understanding to be enlightened about. You remember in the Old Testament, uh, in the life of Elisha?
One day he got up in the morning and his servant went out to see the Syrian Army, completely encompassing the city and he was quite worried.
And Elisha doesn't seem to be worried, but he prays. Lord, open the young man's eyes that he may see. And the Lord opened the young man's eyes, and he saw.
The horses and Chariots of fire and it doesn't say round about the city.
It says round about Elisha.
God's purposes center in His people and brethren, I I find in my own soul a continual need to have our eyes open spiritually. We are geared in this world of materialism to gauge everything by material advantage. You want to get a job? You want good pay? You want a decent house? You want a nice car? Those are all material things, and there's nothing wrong with them and themselves.
But we need our eyes opened to a different sphere completely, and so that's what the apostle.
Is praying for in chapter one at the end of the chapter, but I'd like to notice that I think there is a little outline of the chapter.
In what he asked for, go back again to verse 18. The 1St is what is the hope of his calling?
That is the spiritual blessings that we have in Christ. Perhaps we could say from verse three to about down to verse nine. And then the second thing is what is the, uh, riches of the glory of his inheritance in the Saints? It speaks about the inheritance which is focused on in verses 10 and 11. And the third thing is what is the exceeding greatness of his power to us? We're to believe.
00:30:31
And that is what is focused on, perhaps we can say in verses 13 and 14, where the Spirit of God.
Is brought into the picture as the seal and as the earnest of our inheritance. So it's kind of an outline of what the Lord has or that God has a purpose for us in this chapter. But going back to speaking about the blessings that we have mentioned, somebody has already mentioned in verse three, blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ? There's the expression that is very common in Ephesians in Christ.
It's interesting to look at Colossians where the focus is more Christ in you, the hope of glory, but the focus in Ephesians is that we are seeing in.
Christ beautiful to meditate on that, but this is the blessing that is ours now in Christ, every spiritual blessing is ours.
Brother and sister in the Lord Jesus, you will not be more blessed in heaven.
Then you are right here and now. Isn't that amazing to think about? It's the same blessing. We are blessed right here and now with every spiritual blessing. Do I enjoy it? Not like I should. Do I understand it? That's why the apostle had to pray that our eyes would be opened to understand these things. Oh dear young people, dear older ones too.
Let's let these things sink into our souls. The reality of the spiritual blessings, everything materially it material is for a moment. It's temporal.
How long are these chairs that we're sitting on? How long are they going to last? I don't know, but I don't think in 100 years these chairs will be around anymore. They'll be gone. But the spiritual blessings we have in Christ are forever.
That wonderful brother.
One of the most coolest bumper stickers I've ever read in my life was over 30 years ago. Some of us were driving down from Wisconsin back to the Addison area and following a car. In the bumper sticker on the car it said he who dies with the most toys wins.
And the person was driving a very nice car.
I don't know where the person is now, but it doesn't matter how many toys, how many possessions someone has at the end of their life, they'll leave absolutely every one of them behind, whether they're a popper or a billionaire.
And there's just to repeat what's been said. All of these are ours. We're not gonna get any more. But if you read through the list, there's not a single one of the blessings that are in this chapter that are visible to the physical eye.
Because the things that are visible to the physical eye apart from people, will be gone someday. Every one of these things is only visible to the eye of faith. And the question is, do we understand what is ours? If I can pardon me perhaps for some of the younger ones. Use another example. I was sitting in a chair because I had to have a paper notarized yesterday at a bank that's just two or three blocks.
Down the main road here and I was agent between a bank officer who went back and forth between his desk and when there was need as a teller and a man and there was very clearly a language barrier between the two. And the bank officer kept repeating to the man, the man that pulled out a debit card and he said you have in this account $179 and the man was trying to answer back and he didn't understand. Well, 179 dollars are all spiritual blessings in heavenly places.
00:35:11
Don't even compare but I think he said to him 8 or 10 times he printed out printouts from the bank and everything else. He said this is yours, someone has put it in your account.
Well, all of this is ours, whether you realize it or not. The question is.
Are we enjoying what is ours and our position in Christ? What we're given here are things that is already been said and pardoned for repeating it, but are ours for all eternity. What we have can never be taken away. There's often the expression used that we've been someone who's been blessed with this or blessed with that. God loans as many things and He doesn't ask us to pay them back. He doesn't charge interest. But when something is taken away, whether it be health or possessions or even some relationships.
It's not that He's taken away our blessings. He's stopped loaning us something because the time of the loan is come due. What He's given us in Christ is for enjoyment now and for our full enjoyment for all eternity.
That's a good point, Dean. I think it is.
If you look at Deuteronomy 28, you see the contrast with Israel, and that's why it's important to keep these two peoples distinct in our mind's eye, because Israel's blessing was material and earthly.
Notice in verse one of Deuteronomy 28 shall come to pass, that thou shalt hearken diligently unto the voice of the Lord thy God.
To observe, to do all his commandments, which I command thee this day, that the Lord thy God.
Will set thee on high above all the nations of the earth, and all these blessings shall come upon thee.
And overtake thee, if thou shalt hearken unto the voice of the Lord thy God. Blessed shalt thou be in the city, and blessed thou shalt thou be in the field.
Blessed shall be the fruit of thy body, and the fruit of thy ground, and the fruit of thy cattle, and the increase of thy kind, and the.
Flocks of thy sheep. Blessed shalt thou shalt be. Thy basket in thy store, Blessed shalt thou be when thou comest in.
And when and blessed shalt thou be when thou goest out. So that their blessings were all counted in material things, and it was real.
But, brethren, the one who wrote this epistle of Ephesians.
Could say.
For Christ, he had lost everything, and yet the spiritual blessings that he has, that he had and that we have were never, never lost, cannot be lost because they are in Christ. And where is Christ now? He's at God's right hand and that's where our blessings are in him. They cannot be lost forever. So.
To make that distinction, yes, some people are more prospered economically.
That does not mean that they are more blessed. The blessings of the believer.
Are forever and they are spiritual and a person that has more things economically. Like Dean said, you can lose it.
And if you're faithful with it, it might prosper and multiply, but it's only put in our hands for a few brief moments of time to be used for Him, and then we're going to leave it all behind. But the spiritual blessings we have are forever.
Been said just to comment on it. Verse 10 has been called the key to the whole Bible.
It's often been remarked it's the key to the whole Bible.
And I want to look at it for a moment in connection with what's just been said in the last few minutes.
Says and read verse 9 to get the connection, Having made known to us the mystery of His will, in other words, what God has purposed from past eternity. He didn't tell Adam, He didn't tell Abraham. He didn't tell Noah. He didn't tell Moses. None of them could have explained or talked about what's before us today.
It was not known to them in their day. It had to wait until the Lord Jesus had come to earth and done the work that was the foundation on which the purposes and will of God were to be accomplished.
00:40:13
And in Paul's day, God said, Now I can say all that's been in my heart since before this world began, so he says, has made known unto us.
As it had not been before the mystery of His will, according to His good pleasure, which He hath purposed in himself, He didn't have any council meetings except in the Godhead. He didn't consult with us about our future or our role in His plans and programs. He didn't have any such meetings. He purposed it in Himself.
It all comes from his own heart, his own thoughts, his own will, his own purposes.
Everything that's good comes from the heart of God never originates with man, so he says.
Which he purposed in himself, and what did he purpose?
What's the whole Bible tell us the purpose? It says that in the dispensation of the fullness of times, that is according to his timetable. Not to get too technical about it, but according to his timetable, He's planning to gather together everything in his creation under His Son, under Christ.
Everything that he's created in heaven and in earth, he has purpose, is going to be under His Son.
The Chief.
Supreme object of his own heart.
And he says it's not limited to heaven. It says both which are in heaven and which are on earth. Even in him, His place, the sun is supreme, and his purposes and everything to do with heaven and everything to do with earth. It's already been commented about heavenly blessings. Little thing that might help a tiny bit in that regard.
I remember many years ago a couple of ladies came to my door along with their children that were with them and they started to present some thoughts to me about if if this and if that. I might look forward to being able to live and be blessed on the earth in a coming day.
That I could identify them for you. That I could, uh, be under Jehovah's authority and be a blessed one in the coming earth. I said to the ladies. I said, oh, I'm sorry.
I I'm not interested. I had to give up too much for that.
I, I, I've got so much more to look forward to that in heaven that to tell me that I'm, I'm just gonna have a kind of a little place on earth. No, I said. That's, that's not God's purpose for me. So I'm not interested.
It says in heaven and in earth, What's your blessing in mind that's been brought out here for us? It's heaven.
For others, it's Earth.
And all of us will be perfectly satisfied. But just we talk about them as spiritual blessings, but just look at a couple of them to see what's ahead. And he says that we should be holy.
God purposes us for His own glory and His own pleasure, to be in His presence for eternity in the closest possible place to Himself.
And so he says that's where I'm going to take you and, uh, in order for me to be happy with you and you to be happy with me, I'm going to bless you with a position of being holy.
All that's can abide in his presence has to be holy, and so he says, through my son, I've done a work to make you holy so that you'll be suited to the place that I have for you, he says without blame.
No one will ever be a thing against you.
I have done a work through my son that you will be permanently and forever.
Unblameable in my sight.
He says.
00:45:01
You're gonna be before him in love.
That's my heart. I'm God I love, and I want you to be perfectly comfortable in the place that you are to occupy for my glory. And you'll be happy. You'll be satisfied with it. You didn't participate in the choice and the council that led to it, but I, he said where I can say I assure you, I'm satisfied with what I've chosen for you. And so you're going to be without.
As it says here, it's it's my will and further than that.
I want you to, uh, have the relationship to me as being my child.
So I, I want you to be part of my family. You're not just going to be an invited guest in a wonderful place, sinless as it will be. And so I know that's that's I have something better that I will satisfy my heart. I want you to be my child in my family. You're not gonna be a grandson or granddaughter or a great all my children are first generation. So I'm gonna make a first generation child in my family.
And, uh, just one more. There are many more. But in our sex, he says. You're going to be to the praise of the glory of my grace.
That's a blessing to be the praise of the glory of his grace. And so he says, I've made you accepted in the beloved, My Son. He's the Beloved and I, I've made you accepted in him.
Anytime from now to eternity, someone looks at you are you look at yourself and you can realize that your relationship to me is.
Perfectly in the full acceptance of mine own beloved son.
It's a blessing. It's a present blessing.
I'll enjoy it better when I get to heaven, but it's yours and mine now, brethren. And uh, if we forget ourselves and look at what God does, He'll take care of making us happy.
Our hearts will be happy the the fullness of where you can go and the whole book of Romans is found in chapter 5. We joy in God.
It's the height of Romans. We joy in God. Everything else is to put us into that condition of soul that we can forget ourselves and find our joy in God.
And that's the source of permanent and perfect joy.
Want to mention, uh, in verse four, it's clear that He chose us.
Before the foundation of the world.
How is that possible if we did not even exist?
If the human race did not even exist, there is a word that is used in scripture that is helpful in understanding this.
It's the word for knowledge. God knew everything beforehand, and according to his foreknowledge, He chose us in Him, in Christ before the foundation of the world.
Want to show in contrast those who inherit earthly blessing in the future day in Matthew chapter 25? Just notice it.
These are important things to show the distinction between heavenly blessing and earthly blessing.
Matthew chapter 25 and verse 34. This is the judgment of the living.
And those who will inherit earthly blessing on the earth.
During the millennial day, notice what it says. Then shall the King say unto them, on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the Kingdom prepared for you.
From the foundation of the world, so that when the world was founded, the Kingdom was prepared for these who will inherit earthly blessing. But when it's talking about us who have heavenly blessing, it was before the foundation of the world that God chose us in Christ. Wonderful to think about it, brethren, for there was any world in existence.
00:50:01
He was thinking about you and me, and specifically.
Chose us, and I'd like to just briefly mention the relationship between verses 4:00 and 5:00 because in verse four we have choosing, which is really election.
In verse five, we have predestination. When we talk about election, we're talking about persons. When we talk about predestination, it is to a position He had in mind for us to fill. And it's not merely as Dawn has been mentioning. It is not merely that we be saved. No, that would be tremendous, just that. But it is God.
Has predestinated us unto the adoption of children or sons.
By Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of His will.
That's what God wants, his sons and brother. When I go back to the parable of the prodigal son, you remember when he came back from the far country, his thought his purpose was he was going to say to his father, make me as one of thy hired servants.
God has millions and millions of angels to serve him.
He at the what we're talking about here is not interested in merely having more hired servants. What he wants is sons that can sit down at the table with him to enjoy his fellowship, his thoughts that he has had from all eternity.
Sorry, President.
For the Ephesians here.
In verse two, that is grace be to you and peace.
Now grace is unmerited favor. We know that.
And you might have noticed that in all the epistles of Paul.
Grace is mentioned at the end, at the beginning, and the end of every.
Ourselves at pastors that Paul wrote almost all the epistles except the few where he starts out different.
And that's a great wish, because that's what we all need.
Unmerited favor and peace from God.
He's in this world.
It's worth nothing.
Because it won't last.
Only peace that we have from God can last for us while we are here in this earth, and it will last forever when we are with Him there in heaven.
Because He is our God and Father and the God of the Lord Jesus Christ and.
And he is one with the Lord Jesus, so he wishes that from the Lord Jesus Christ at the same breath.
So all our blessings come from God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.
And he has blessed us with spiritual blessings.
Earthly blessings will last for a while, but when we come to the end of our lives and we have had a lot of activity in this world, we're going to find out.
These earth, earthly things that we have all accumulated.
We have a hard time to get rid of them because nobody wants to buy them. He needs blessings himself and that cannot be bought. The blessing from God has is a free gift from him.
And that's given us also in heavenly places when we are there.
00:55:01
Well, he's spoken already about.
Shows being chosen and predestinated.
But then we have it. It was to the good pleasure of His will.
So if we want to please God.
We ought to be wanting these blessings.
And actually, every letter. When we write letters, we could start them with grace and peace, like the apostle did. It would always be appropriate if we wished everyone to whom we address a letter, we could wish it for them.
Because that's what everyone needs.
And that is through the praise He says it again, the praise of His grace, of that what He gave us.
For eternity.
And and also because we are accepted in the Beloved, which is the Lord Jesus Christ, his beloved Son.
Danny speaks about redemption.
Through his blood we have been re redeemed, only through the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ.
And our sins forgiven.
And to the riches of His again, His grace. His grace is mentioned all the time throughout this chapter here.
For what uh Don was mentioning before that.
The choosing was that we should be wholly.
And without blame before him in love. And that is positional holiness. And it is perfect, completely perfect.
There is in Scripture other scriptures that speak about practical holiness. Just to give one, in Second Corinthians Chapter 7 it says. Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the sphere of God.
And there is the need of exhortation that we should perfect holiness practically in our lives. But what we're talking about here is completely perfect holiness. That's the way we are seeing in Christ. And I think it is, brethren, when we get the enjoyment of that into our souls, the wonderful perfection.
Of the place into which God has put us, that gives us.
The power to walk in holiness of life. Sometimes I give the illustration of a girl who's going to get married. She puts on this beautiful white dress. Maybe she has to go outside to go to the place where she's going to get married. Maybe there's some dirty cars in the street. Do you think she's going to be careful how she walks? Yes, she sure is. Why is she so careful?
Because she has a completely spotless.
White dress on. That's why she's walking carefully. And oh brother, and it's the enjoyment of the fact that God has put us into that position. We don't struggle to attain holiness. God has put us into that position. And it is in the measure that we are in the enjoyment of that, that we will seek to walk practically in holiness of life. And if there is something lacking practically.
In my life, it's that which I will seek to put away, put it out of my life so that I can practically be as well, holy and without blame. All of us lack that. We're not completely, wholly practically yet, and that's why we have exhortations about walking in holiness of life. But what we have here is the.
01:00:08
Positional place of complete holiness without before God, in love without blame. Amazingly wonderful.
Many years ago, a young boy came up to the gate of, if I remember correctly, Windsor Castle. And it was when again, remember correctly, but Queen Victoria, Queen at that time was in residence and he asked the guards for permission to go in and see the Queen. And the guard said, well, you know, who are you? He was not in the best of clothing. It was clear he wasn't from some part of the royal family, and they denied his permission.
Along came another boy up to the gate.
And the other boy said, well, what is it he wants? Why is he crying? Why he said, well, he wants to see the queen. The other boy said, here, let's go. They opened the gate right up. They ran in through the, umm, the courtyard and into the palace. The other boy wasn't questioned by the guards. And here was a young boy who was saying, let's go to another young boy in the presence of the royal guards. Who was the boy? He was the Prince, the future king of England.
And when he came up to the gate, he didn't ask permission to get in and he didn't have to ask permission to take someone with him. We have the same acceptance in the Lord Jesus Christ. The difference is when he got in to see his queen, he didn't become part of her family.
We've been brought into a position as we've heard this far closer, and so there are several words before it in verse six that maybe we could just briefly look at to the praise, praise his admiration to someone for what they've done. Glory. It's the Excellency that's been manifest or shown out. Grace. It's when we get something we don't deserve. And so we have a reason to praise his excellence in giving us life eternal, but also bringing us into his family.
Giving us the position of acceptance, that's the same position that his own Son has, his own perfect, eternal son.
Is accepted, of course, in the Beloved and we have the same acceptance now and for all eternity. That boy didn't have to ask to go in because he was going in to see his mother. He was in a relationship and he didn't have to ask to bring someone with him because he was the future king of England. He was the Prince. We've been brought into position even far closer than that young boy who got for that brief moment in to see his queen.
Well, that second boy got in through.
The grace that you received from that first boy who had already.
Receive entrance.
Into this, into the presence of the Queen.
Right here we have now we have received that through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, and that's what we have received according to the riches of his grace. And then how do we get the riches?
Wherein He has abounded towards us in our wisdom and prudence.
That's the wisdom of God. Now the world has their own wisdom and prudence, and we all know about it when we buy life insurance. Now, I didn't buy any, but there's many who buys buy it, and that is.
Because this life insurance company has been very prudent and has used their worldly wisdom to become like that.
Because they gather.
Lots of money from people.
That think they have received something for themselves which they have not because it is for their children and whomever these life insurance company will give it because.
A lot of them.
They can keep it for themselves because the one who has bought it has passed away and there.
Children have passed away, so who is ending up with that?
01:05:06
Money that they have prudently edge.
And made with their own wisdom, accumulated its new life insurance company. Now we got it. Our insurance is from God Himself for eternity, and He keeps His word.
We will receive the wisdom that we need, and we have had prudence enough to chose to choose him instead of choosing somebody else.
Of whom we have no assurance at all that it will do any good.
101.
In the eternal.
God.
Is different. I want to say it's not a big man's birthday.
God's a person thus born blood thinning. I know it's the man's name.
Nsnoise.