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Like to mention before we start on verse 6 here, forward.
In verse.
18 One of the requests that the apostle Paul.
In his prayer for the Ephesians was that the eyes of their understanding would be enlightened.
And, brethren, we live in a world that tends to make us look at everything.
According to the way anybody else in the world looks at it.
And we need to have our eyes opened as to the reality of these spiritual blessings.
You remember in the Old Testament?
Elijah was in, I think it was Dothan and he was telling the king of Israel where not to go and.
The king of Assyria was worried, he said. Somebody's.
Give an intelligence to the king of Israel so that he doesn't come by where we are.
And one of his servants says no one.
Sir, but Elijah the Prophet tells what you say in your bed chamber.
And so he sent a horse to the army to surround Dothan.
And in the morning, the servant of the man of God gets up and sees the city surrounded with the Syrian Army.
And says What shall we do?
And Elijah was didn't seem to be worried at all.
And he prayed.
Lord, open the young man's eyes that he may see.
And he opened his eyes, and he saw the hosts of the Lord.
Chariots.
Fire round about It doesn't say Dothan roundabout Elijah.
Oh brethren, we need to have our eyes enlightened, and this is what this chapter does, doesn't it?
The tremendous blessings that we've been blessed with and we get so bogged down with material things, Lord, help us brethren. I'm not saying that material things are wrong in themselves, but.
They are a positive hindrance at times to our enjoyment of spiritual realities.
What we are taking up here in these first verses is spiritual blessings.
So in verse six he says to the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he is a has made us accepted in the beloved. Here's one of our blessings.
Accepted.
In the beloved.
I love this brother. I see so many people that just don't feel accepted.
Sometimes they don't feel accepted in their own home meeting.
Sometimes they don't feel accepted in the school. They're going to the kids that go to school.
You, if you are a believer, are accepted in the highest level possible.
Accepted in the beloved Where is the Lord Jesus now?
At God's right hand accepted there. And one of our spiritual blessings is that you and I are accepted in the blood. I mean, it is tremendous to think about.
That is, the whole Godhead is involved with this blessing. I just love to go back just a little bit, perhaps just section out the the verses we're going to talk about. I believe verse 4 to verse six we find there we can perhaps call that what what God has done. This is the work of God.
Chosen or election and predestination is the work of God.
Now I'm not trying to go ahead too far, but just to outline it briefly from verse 7 to verse 12 it tells us that what we have and are in Christ. So now we got God's to work toward us, now the the work of our Lord Jesus Christ he has in US. And then verse 13 and 14 will find that.
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The Spirit of God is working in us as well.
So we have to hold Godhead working together for our blessing if we notice that the result is to be the praise of His glory.
Now I just want to go back a little bit too, as we're to start at verse six There, I just want to mention a brief comment predestination.
We don't normally preach that in our Gospel meeting. We don't preach and say that while you were chosen, you were, some of you were predestinated and so on. And I enjoy.
A illustration that Brother Lloyd Judge, some of you may remember him.
As a young man, he gave me that. I didn't understand this, so we said, and I'm sure he also got a story from somewhere else, he said. It's like you enter into this city gate.
And on the outside of this gate is that whosoever will.
No one is turned down. You are allowed to come in, he said. But once you got inside this gate or this city, you look back on that gate.
A different sign on there, that's when it said chosen. So those many of us are chosen, but those who are lost can say that because they have the opportunity.
As the gospel of God's grace is presented to them, so they are just as responsible to it.
Many years ago a boy. Hopefully I'm not mixing up names and things.
I was at the gate of Windsor Palace.
And London?
And.
He was speaking with the guards and he said I would like to go in and see my queen.
And the guard said, you know, if you just, I'm going to put it in my terms, but you can't just show up and go in and see the queen. He stood there. He was persistent, said I want to see the queen.
Didn't get anywhere.
This wouldn't happen in 2023.
Along came another boy.
And got to the gate.
Guard saw him. The guards opened the gate.
And.
The boy was standing there, said. I want to see the Queen and.
The boy whose gate was opened said, Come with me.
The two of them went together.
Went up to Queen Victoria's room and he saw the Queen.
Who is he with?
He was with the Princess, The Prince. Excuse me, He was the son of the Queen.
That gave him acceptance that he wouldn't have on his own.
And our acceptance him before God is in Christ. We have access.
There wasn't any question as to whether Prince George could go through.
But there was a question for the other boy on his own. Well, thankfully we have a complete acceptance in the glory.
Through our blessed Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ accepted in the Beloved.
So it doesn't mean you have to be faithful to get in.
They didn't ask about his faithfulness.
It's a question here of position and I think that's important to see.
It's the place that you have been brought into by God if you are a believer in the Lord Jesus.
Accepted in the Beloved. I think it is so amazing that you young people that sometimes don't feel accepted in certain circles think about this.
Because this is wonderful.
You are accepted in the highest level possible.
Enjoy that. Let it sink into your soul.
So another way of saying the same thing, although at this point I'm going to assume things have gotten a little bit informal. Bob said we just done 5 verses in the first time we were talking about it. I'll just note that we'll do very well if we finish one sentence.
The sentence begins in verse 3 and ends in verse 14. In the Darby translation, that's one sentence. And that that brings together.
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The unity of the thought that's being described here.
But the comment I want to make is that.
We've been talking about spiritual blessings.
And verse sentence from 3:00 to.
14.
What would you have as a spiritual blessing if you took the Lord Jesus out of it?
0.
There would be no sentence here to talk about period.
Absolutely all of your spiritual blessings and mine that are being brought before us here.
Directly connect us with the Lord Jesus Christ, and without it we wouldn't have one of them.
So and that is in the beloved.
God has blessed us in the beloved.
For his son's sake.
Yes, for our blessing, But again, I want to emphasize comment made. Everything we have here starts with the blesser, and it's the delight of God to bless us because of what He sees and enjoys in the His beloved, His Son.
And we we we can relate to that a little bit when sometimes someone wants to do something for someone else because.
They see that they're trying to please maybe someone does something for a child and a family because they want to bring joy to the mother and that that child is identified with its mother in some way.
And so all these things have to do with the blessing that we receive, because the delight that the Father has in his own Son, he wants to bring joy to his heart.
And he can do so through us.
Following two verses, verse 7 on I believe speaks of what was just said, giving us, expounding to us why we have been accepted in the beloved. It's because well, as we read it, I think it's easy just to read and it tells us what it is in whom we have redemption through His blood. Well, that's the beginning of it all, isn't it? That it is through the blood of our Lord Jesus Christ.
And that blood is said the forgiveness of sins. And that is always a big question for man. For all have seen and come short of the glory of God, and all this is according to the richest of His grace is His grace that have brought this blessing to us as mankind, and then to continue on to say we're in here abounded toward us in all wisdom and prudence.
We need wisdom. We need understanding and all this. And someone mentioned Proverbs 8 this morning. That was wisdom personified, isn't it? And and I'm thinking of verse that we had on the Sunday school paper not a few weeks ago when we said the fear of the Lord is beginning of wisdom. But then to go on in the sense that to have understanding of the holy we need to go a step further than just having wisdom.
We need to have understanding or to have the knowledge of the holy. So he gives us that and then it tells us to. More than that, he said there is a mystery as if it were in verse 8, having made no unto us the mystery. What about that mystery? With this particular mystery really is the mystery of his will, God's will. And we mentioned yesterday that his will was mentioned a number of times.
We find in verse five there it was according to the good pleasure of his will. And here in verse nine we find that it was made known unto us the mystery of His will. And if you go down to verse 11, we'll see that is after the council of his will. What is that? Will of God, I believe, is important for us to know. So it tells us further that according to good pleasure which he has purposed in himself.
1St 10 That in the dispensation of the fullness of time, it's going to come that time.
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The fullness of time in that millennial reign, that he might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven and which are on earth, even in Him. Do we enter into that mystery, something that seems to be a secret, but it's not a secret, something that you and I that have been revealed have been made known to us, that Christ the one who today was despised and rejected.
The one whom this world would mark, the one we know and seen him as that man of sorrow.
But now it tells us that he's going to gather up together all things in Christ, the mystery of his will. I know there are many mystery, this mystery of God, this mystery of Christ, which is something we should learn in order to understand his will.
Mentioning verse 7 again, we have there's a present possession.
Redemption and redemption is the basis, the groundwork of all blessing. And the blessing we have here is the forgiveness of sins according to the riches of His grace.
Brethren, this is a wonderful blessing. I don't know if we stopped to think about it, but.
I have found in my own experience in talking to believers.
That are with different Christian groups that many of them do not have the knowledge of the forgiveness of sins.
Member visiting a brother on the High Plains of Peru one time and he was an older man.
And he said, I've been a believer for 41 years and I ask for the forgiveness of sins every day of my life.
Well, we opened this verse.
In whom we have the redemption through His blood.
The forgiveness of sins according to the riches of His grace, I said. Do you see it, brother? We have it. You don't have to ask for it any longer. You can just say thank you God, for the forgiveness that we already have. But there's so many that don't enjoy this truth.
And I think it is a, he said to me. He says I've been a a believer with a evangelical group for I forget how many years and I've never heard that said.
Isn't that tragic? Here it is written out pretty clear.
We have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins according to the riches of His grace.
One time in the penitentiary in Walla Walla WA, we were preaching the gospel and we took up this question of the forgiveness of sins.
And I said, if God is offering the forgiveness of sins as a free gift, you don't have to ask for it. All you have to do is accept it.
And I said if I had my hand extended and I had $100 bill out there, I say anybody that comes up can have it.
And somebody comes up and keeps asking for it, I say you're not understanding what I'm saying this, you can just take it.
There is an older man sitting way in the back of the group. I have no clue what he was in there for.
But he came up afterwards and said, All these years I've been asking God to forgive my sins. Today I accepted.
In this beautiful run, you know, it seems like a kind of a basic question.
But this is a spiritual reality. We have it.
The forgiveness of sins. And it's not because we're great.
It's according to the riches of his grace.
I think another fabulous part of it is the rest of the verse is so beautiful. We skipped the 1St 2 words in our thoughts, but it says in whom.
It's so it's it's it's something that's not transactional. I've used the illustration, just used I think it's an excellent one and I'm glad I heard it again about reaching out to receive. I just used it very recently and and sharing the gospel.
But it skips over part of the beauty of it. It's not transactional in the sense that forgiveness or redemption is something handed to me which I could lose.
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It says I have it in whom we have. Doesn't say by whom, doesn't say through whom. It's through the blood, but it's in whom because that's the Fort Knox where it's going to rest forever and it can't be lost.
Christian creeds include the phrase I believe in the forgiveness of sins, and it's something that people desire greatly.
It's something they anticipate from God, but as has been brought out, it's not something that they've recognized is.
Available.
And acceptable. There's another verse. I think it's helpful in Colossians chapter 2.
Colossians chapter 2, verse 13 And you being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh.
Have he quickened together with him?
Having forgiven you all trespasses, it's nice to see it in the historical perspective.
And not mention to people that the Lord Jesus in the so-called Lords prayer taught his disciples to pray. Forgive us our sins as we forget our forgive our debtors. So that was a proper thing to ask for.
Before redemption was accomplished.
But after redemption was accomplished.
You'll never find in Scripture, in the book of the Acts, or in the Epistles that says anything about asking for the forgiveness of sins.
Yes, amongst brethren we might have to ask for forgiveness, but not of God we have it and look through the book of the Acts.
And the epistles, you'll never find any place that says that we should ask for the forgiveness of sins. We have it. I think this is so amazing because people go back to that so-called Lords prayer and they say, well here it says we should.
But put it in its place. That was before redemption was accomplished. That was proper then, not now.
Romans It seems that the Spirit of God builds from the from the bottom up.
He convinces all after the introduction. He convinces all that there is no difference. All have sinned, and it begins to build from the bottom up, the blood of Christ on the mercy seat.
Justification by faith, and he builds it up piece by piece.
How God has addressed the believers sins and then the wonderful truth that we have a justified life.
And we're freed from the power of sin, and up and up he goes until at the end of.
The chapter 8, and even at the middle of chapter 5, there's joy at being reconciled to God, but he builds it up piece by piece. But here it's it's from the top down.
And that's why we didn't get to forgiveness of sins until verse verse seven and eight is because it's from the top down. There's a type of construction they do in inner cities called top down construction.
Where they start at St. level and they build a certain structural pad that can keep everything in place. And then they then they dig down in the next level and the next level and they get down to the hit hit the very bottom and that way they save tremendous money and effort in trying to hold back the foundation under the surrounding buildings. It's called top down construction and I think of Ephesians one as top down because it starts at these high blessings of.
That have come from the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. They're all spiritual blessings.
We've been chosen to be in this place of being holy and without blame before him in love. We've been predestinated unto sonship, which is relationship. It's kind of what Dean was bringing before us with the other son. He's there because of the of the of the special son, and he's given not only access but.
In the story, I'm sure that little boy went home again at night, but the sonship that you and I have been given is to be in in in Christ place before God.
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As as Steven has been saying, and this upper aspect of it is to the glory of his grace, it's that you might say, the top end, the display of what God has done to display the excellence of his of his glory.
In grace.
Accepted then in the beloved. And now we come down to the riches of His grace. He's so rich that he could afford to pay such a price for our redemption. He gave his Son who gave all that he had to redeem us. And so it comes down from from these.
This wonderful place and condition he's put us in because we have a new position and a new condition.
By the grace of God and comes down and gets to the foundation that you as you point out of the riches, the forgiveness of sins, redemption through His blood, and then of course moves on to other blessings. But appreciate the sequence of it here.
God unfolding.
From his own vantage point, if I could put it that way.
What's Here begins.
Not only at the top, but what's the top?
It's the heart of God.
And the truth of this chapter is God bringing out to us what's in his heart.
Toward his son, the beloved, and toward us.
To try to illustrate by contrast, we've talked about the little boy and Buckingham Palace area, whatever. Suppose you met?
A child on the street that was ragged.
Without food.
What would it be if you decided to take him, buy him some clothes and give him some food?
In and of itself, that's mercy.
Mercy is looking at the need of someone and meeting that need.
And so if you took that child, and you carried your compassion and care for the child, and you met that need, you were showing mercy.
But suppose you looked at the child and said I'm going to adopt them.
Is going to be my child.
That's love and grace.
Because it starts with what's in your own heart that goes beyond meeting the need. Grace is an expression of the heart, of the one that gives it and does it.
That's why here it's not according to his mercy that we're redeemed.
Because what's being brought out here is not so much our need. We had it. We needed forgiveness.
Another scripture gives us that side of it, but here it's the bringing out of the heart of God. And that's why it's the glory of his grace and the riches of his grace, because that's the expression of what God is in his love for his beloved and in bringing us into the blessing. I would say that's also why it says in whom?
Because it's looking at.
The Beloved 1.
And God will do in the greatness of his love to Him anything that brings pleasure to him.
Always says to take those and work redemption to bring about forgiveness and bring them into that place of those that you've said, Father, I will.
Concerning them and the heart that the Lord Jesus had toward them. And then God and grace does what is necessary to bring us into that place of goodness and blessing. And so it's very top down and it's really to take just one other example of forgiveness and it's absolutely true. You don't have to ask for it.
You wouldn't ask for it if you had any true sense of the heart of God.
You wouldn't wonder if God was going to forgive you if you truly entered a little bit into what his heart is toward you.
Sometimes a child.
Does something wrong? And there's a matter of, you might say, the need for forgiveness. But I never wondered in my family if my father and mother was going to forgive me or not. I might have to answer for what I did, and sometimes I did.
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I wore a belt that I always reminded me the last time I'd gotten a spanking and the but the point though, in it was I never remember having a question of have I done something that my father mother will not forgive me because they had shown their heart toward me, even in that which required discipline. And of course I knew I was a child in the family.
But I think it's important for us, when we're trying to help a person to realize that they're forgiven is to realize that the heart of God is toward them more than simply exacting governmental judgment.
After.
At the Brett his Joseph's brethren came to them, came to him.
And concocted. It seems to me they concocted a story that.
Hey, please be kind to to to your brethren.
And Joseph having already reconciled to him, to them, to himself, and forgiven them.
They come and ask for forgiveness again. What does Joseph do? He weeps. He weeps.
Just it just touched it disappointed his heart that they had not already long ago.
Accepted the grace that he had shown to them.
Yes.
Multiply examples. I either like thinking of the in whom as the eye of God.
Looking on the blood of Christ, That's the redemption side. Looking on the blood of Christ, It's the eye of God. Looking on it and the lighting in it and the.
Forgiveness, the part of the in whom is the year of God. Listening to those words it is finished, And listening to them on repeat forever.
It's in whom?
Saying God, looking on and listening to his Son, that we have that redemption and that forgiveness.
We can have a tendency to have a greater appreciation for what we have in Colossians and what we have in our chapter.
In Colossians.
The first chapter.
The 27th verse to whom God would make known, which is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles, which is Christ in you.
And there's that tendency, as as young believers to have a great appreciation of Christ in us, which is is much different than what we have. If you look at the Acts 13, it's really what we have in our chapter.
Acts, Chapter 13.
And verse 38.
Verses 38 and verses 39 Verses 38 is really what Peter and John preached.
They preached. Be it known unto you, therefore, men and brethren, that through this man is preached unto you the forgiveness of sins. But 39 is what Paul preached. I appreciate you making the comment, Steven, that it's not by him, and if you look at verse 39 it says by him. But Mr. Darby renders that in him. It's not by him, it's in him. All that believe are justified from all things. So if we look in our chapter to see how much that is emphasized.
In in Ephesians 1.
Just to see the number of times we have that expression.
Just to go through them in the first verse we have, it's addressed to the faithful in Christ Jesus.
In the third verse, it's blessed with all spiritual blessings.
In heavenly places in Christ the fourth verse, according as he hath chosen us in him the sixth verse that we've just looked at.
Made us accepted in the beloved.
The verse that we're looking at now, in whom we have redemption, the ninth verse, the end of the verse He hath purposed in himself. The 10th verse, which is often looked at as the the key verse to the whole of Scripture, that in the dispensation of the fullness of times he might gather together in one.
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All things it should read in the Christ, both which are in heaven and which are on earth, even in him the 11Th verse, in whom also we have obtained an inheritance.
The the 13th 1St in whom he also trusted, the middle of that verse in whom also after he had believed.
The 15th verse we're also aware for I also after I've heard of your faith.
In the Lord.
The 20th verse, which he wrought in Christ. It's a much different concept than Christ in US. And so over and over and over again we have this truth of being in Christ. It's really beautiful.
Going on to verse eight, he says, wherein he has abounded toward us in all wisdom and prudence.
And the Spanish translation is super abounded.
And I still remember Eric Smith talking about this verse. He says this.
Is thinking God's thoughts?
He has super abounded toward us in all wisdom and prudence.
And what is the purpose? Is because he has made known unto us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure, which he had purposed in himself.
Never. I don't think it'll ever happen that the president of the United States would come to my house and say.
Mr. Tony, I have chosen you to share all my purposes for the United States of America. I'd say what in the world would he choose me for that?
But rather, and we're not talking about the president of the United States. We're talking about the God of the universe.
And his purpose is to bring us into the intelligence of his thoughts. That mystery. And what is the mystery? It's in verse 10.
Like David said, it is the.
Somebody said it was. It's the key to the whole Bible. It's.
We that all things are going to be brought into one in Christ, both which are in heaven and which are in earth. That's the mystery that it's talking about here, brethren. It is an amazingly wonderful how many Christians today understand and enjoy.
These things that we're talking about, I don't think it's very well known in general, but that you and I can enjoy it, and that's what God means us to enjoy. And because of that, he is super abounded toward us in all wisdom and prudence.
Wonderful grant when my oldest children were three or four.
Or five years old.
Really delighted in them.
On the weekends, my, my little, my boys would do stuff and they'd be full of questions and it was just a sweet and happy time.
But how much richer and fuller as the years have gone on and now that they're in their mid 30s or in their early 40s?
And you can sit down at times when there's opportunity and rehearse things and talk about things. They have children of their own, and the communication is richer and fuller and in a sense, more satisfying.
And so it is that God wants us to enter into to His thoughts.
That's a desire that he has. He desires to be loved and he desires to be understood. A servant doesn't know what his master does, he just he gets tasks and he just does them. But he's brought us into the place of sons, and he wants and appreciates when our understanding and capacity grows, that we can enter in in a practical way more to the fullness.
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That's in God himself. He wants that relationship, and so Paul reproached the Corinthians severely.
Because their carnality kept them as babes, kept them as little 3 or 4 year olds.
And whoever wrote the book of Hebrews, I suspect it was Paul.
Exhorted them because they were remaining as babes, because of the position that they lingered in, and they weren't moving on and out into the liberty that was theirs in Christ, so theirs was a positional hindrance. Later on, in Ephesians, the apostle exhorts them in chapter four they be no more children, you know, no more babes tossed to and fro, carried about with every wind of doctrine, and so on, But holding the truth and love may grow up.
Unto him and all things which is the head, even Christ. So they needed to avail themselves of the nourishment and the gifts that would provide that nourishment in the in the body of Christ and grow up. But my point basically is this, that it's God's desire that we grow because he desires intelligent fellowship with us.
That's connected with Just make a few comments on the word mystery.
Generally in the New Testament, where you find the word mystery, it's referring to something that had not previously been made known, particularly up to that point in time. And so it was a mystery until it's made known and it's no longer a mystery.
The things we have in this chapter are not mysteries to us. They are revealed.
Truth concerning God's heart and God's work.
But to look at it from God's side of it, we had already that there were certain things before the foundation of the world that were in the heart of God.
And purposes of God, and will of God.
God is a God of patience.
And for 4000 years after he brought man into this world, he couldn't reveal what is in his heart, in its fullness.
There was some mystery. It was in the heart of God all through the history of the Old Testament.
But it couldn't be made known yet.
It wasn't the time yet, but once the Lord Jesus went to the cross, and as we had this morning on that very point in time, the veil of the temple is rent.
Why? Because up until then, there was no one that could go in, if you will, and enjoy the the mysteries of God.
Man was on the outside.
But I think in part when you see the veil rent in the heart of God is I'm now free.
Now I can start to make known what's been in my heart since before the foundation of the world.
And I'm going to make it known.
And so we have when Christ.
Rose from the dead.
And return back to heaven. That's the point at which many mysteries could now be.
Made known, I say. That's the point. It goes beyond the cross itself because as was already brought out in the last meeting.
The eternal life which we have, the character of eternal life, is resurrection life.
And that is life beyond death. And it wasn't until Christ rose from the dead and returned to glory that that he's the first one, if you will, as a man.
That was to live out that character of life in man. And now it's imparted to us. And so in those ways, there's nothing in the heart of God that no longer, for God has to be kept as a mystery.
But I'll make this comment.
Don't make it harder for God.
To be able to reveal it to your soul and mine very often it wasn't at first given to the Corinthian Saints, as was just said, because their state of soul wasn't in a state that God felt free because of the carnality to reveal what was in his heart to them in its fullness.
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And the first time really in Scripture that it's given to us is to those in Ephesus, because there was nothing in that assembly that was a hindrance to God using the Apostle Paul to start to reveal all the blessings of his heart.
And the delight that he had to do it. And so again I would just say, may the Lord help each one of us, that they're not be things in our lives that are a hindrance.
To God, bringing out what's in his heart. To us individually, the mysteries made known, but through our enjoyment and entering into it individually, there can be things that are a hindrance. And so we want to.
To put it this way, not for our sake, but for the joy of God's own heart.
Let him do it and not hinder him.
So we find perhaps in a quick brief summary, is that what three things in the sense that our Lord Jesus have done for us. We talked about that in the seventh verse, Redemption. We've been redeemed. And that's important to know, isn't it? And then the second thing is that mystery.
Has been revealed to us and for us, as it was mentioned already, it should no longer be a mystery. And the third one thing we haven't touched on yet in verse 11 is that inheritance in whom we have obtained an inheritance. How precious that we because we were made sons of God and we now have inheritance. And in other place we learned that we are air and Co air with our Lord Jesus Christ.
So in verse 10 he says that in the dispensation of the fullness of times.
That's the millennial day, I believe, isn't it?
He might gather together in one all things directly brought unto thee.
Control of the Lord Jesus.
Both which are in heaven.
And which are on Earth. Even in him we think of the Earth. That's the sphere we live in. And I suppose that's why most of our thoughts are centered on Earth.
But in heaven?
Satan still has access.
As we have in the Book of Revelation.
To those heavenly places and is the accuser of the brethren.
Is that what we have in verse 10? Well, those things are going to be rectified in that millennial day. Everything brought directly under the control of the Lord Jesus.
O brethren, as we look around this world and see the.
Conflicts. The misery caused by.
Mankind and their aspirations.
You have to shake your head and say what is the answer to it all? Here it is, brethren.
God's eternal purpose is to bring everything directly under the.
Control of our Lord Jesus in that millennial day.
Those in heaven and those which are on earth, even in him.
And then it goes on from there to talk like you mentioned David the inheritance because when the Lord Jesus.
Takes his place in power and authority is going to be accompanied.
By his pride we heard in the last meeting. I think it's so tremendously beautiful. We're going to have an intimate place in it as well. Oh brother. And the Lord help us to think God's thoughts about everything. It seems like so much of the time we are.
Wound up with things down here, I have to confess myself.
The end of a day, Stop and think What percentage of today have I been thinking about heavenly things? We're told they were exhorted to set our mind on things above, not on things on the earth. But how much of time do you spend the things above in a day's time?
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Rather, the percentage is pretty low for me.
I don't know about you, but I say it's a challenge, isn't it, when you think of the vastness?
Of what we are called.
To enjoy and the Lord help us breath. May the Lord help us.
When the Lord Jesus was born, the Roman emperor was Augustus. Caesar Augustus was adopted. Augustus was named in Julius Caesar's will, and when Julius Caesar died, Augustus received the name, the lands and allegiance of Julius.
When Augustus Caesar died, the Caesar that was then took his place. As Tiberius Caesar he was.
Augustus, Caesar's adopted son, and he didn't come into the good of his position until the will of Augustus was executed. He was the one sitting on the throne of Rome when the Lord Jesus was put to death on the cross.
We have that adoption and the Roman ears that would have heard these verses would have known all about Augustus and Tiberius that would know enough a lot about them.
The we have that adoption, but what it says, and they've already brought it out in verse 10, is can one all things in the Christ.
Christ, and we had a truck sitting out here these last two days. Bremen and Sons, there's going to be a reigning over this millennial scene, and it's Christ and his sons. We come into it as his adoption through adoption, but we don't wait for the death. We only come into it because he's alive.
We enter into it in that way, in a way that's even better than, far better than those Roman emperors. We enter into it because he's there, because he's alive, and as his sons won all things in the Christ.
Christ the head body united to him.
In the New Testament, where the word inheritance, and I'm a little foggy on this, the word inheritance speaks of our spiritual inheritance that we have.
In other places like here, I think it speaks of that which Christ will soon take to himself. It's already his by right. He will take it in fact when he comes in power and glory, and we as the Lambs wife will, will reign with him in that coming day.
But right now we are joint heirs of it. Is that the right thought, this inheritance is, is all things that have been created by him in heaven and in earth. He will head it all up.
And I believe that's the inheritance that's referred to in verse 11, if I'm not mistaken.
Ask of me I shall give thee the heathen for thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth, for thy possession shall break them with a rod of iron. Thou shalt dash them in pieces like a Potter's vessel.
That's what you're talking about, isn't it?
We're getting close to that moment when.
We're going to be raptured out of this world and then after seven years of tribulation, there's going to be the appearing.
Brethren, it's thrilling to think that you and I will be eyewitnesses of the most glorious event in in human history. I really believe, brethren, that the revelation of Jesus Christ.
Is there will be nothing like it in the past, nothing like it in the future. This will be the event when God.
Brings back the Lord Jesus.
In power and glory.
The world saw him last in that battered body on the cross dead.
He's going to be bringing bringing him back in power and glory.
With the hosts of heaven.
Think of the millions, the billions of the redeemed that will be accompanying him.
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And think of the host, the innumerable hosts of Angels as well.
I like to refer to it as a major invasion from outer space.
Into this world and he's going to take the Kingdom.
I really believe it'll be the most glorious event ever in human history.
You and I are intimately connected with it.
This should really form our thoughts, brethren, about our lives here in this world.
We're here, yes, but it's a brief moment.
Like to connect what we have.
In the inheritance with the last address.
And join the two together. A little bit in thought.
In the Revelation.
Where we have Christ to take His inheritance, we have His right to judge the current state of the earth and change it.
To take control if you will, and administer it in chapter 4, it's by right of creation.
In chapter 4, his rights to the earth are by redemption.
Thank you, Bob. Then Chapter 5, it's the right of redemption. And then in six on to the end is the activity to do it.
But I I want to go back and connect it, and he's sharing it with us, with what we had earlier in Genesis, when God said it is not good that man shall.
Dwell alone.
I will make a help mate for him. God was thinking in the very creation of us, of his Son.
His son was going to become a man.
In order to redeem.
In order for the salvation of souls.
But once he becomes a man, he becomes a man forever.
Is he going to remain alone?
In manhood.
That's the very thought of marriage that is in the heart of God before we came into it. No, it's not good that man should dwell alone and be alone.
I will make it help me his like.
And consequently, God's work is so that when his Son the beloved.
Takes his inheritance. It won't be alone.
And he won't be alone in it. He will have his helpmate, his like and in order to accomplish that.
To make a suitable helpmate, it had to be his like.
And the work of the Lord Jesus at the cross opened the door for God to give us the very life that we had in the previous meeting, that eternal life, the life of the sun. The life I have is the life of Christ. Does that make me like him? Yes, it does.
Do I have the same desires in that life that he has? Yes, I do. Do I enjoy the same things he enjoys? Yes, I do, because that's the life I have.
And so there is that work of redemption that removes the sin.
Of the first Adam and the results of the first Adam. We could never be a suitable helpmate in Adam.
There had to be new creation and so in the new creation we are made suited.
To satisfy the heart of God, to satisfy the need, if I can use that word, the need of Christ as a man, not to be alone.
And now look at his side of it.
Both Christ's side of it.
If you go to the Revelation, you what I might, if I were writing it, decide of course the wedding is going to be.
Time sequence revelation Chapter 4.
Because of course, immediately you want to have a marriage.
That's the 1St order of business, if you will, in that sense of love. And yet it's not till the 19th chapter.
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Why? Because there's somebody on earth that claims to be his bride.
There's a rival, there's someone else who's making claim and will make claim after we are raptured before the marriage that it will be here on earth and say I'm the bride of Christ.
I have that claim, and it's not until the 18th chapter that that bride and that claim is put down.
And then the marriage can take place and it's after the marriage takes place.
That the Lord patiently, even in his work, does not claim his whole inheritance until he can have it with his bride.
And so it's a it's a wonderful expression of the heart of God before the foundation of the world, that mystery which is now made known to us, even why marriage exists, even why we have that natural relationship as to the earth. But in the heart of God it was for his Son before he ever created the world.
I was thinking when you mentioned the Book of Revelation, we know the CEO's being opened. We're trying to make a connection in the 32nd chapter of Jeremiah. We don't have time to turn to it. If you recall, Jeremiah went and bought the land and he took the deed and he put it in a jar and he sealed it.
Why did he see all that? And I believe that when he or his his descendants returned back to the land, he will open the seal to prove that he is the rightful heir of that land. So we find our Lord Jesus will be the one. He's the only one who's worthy. He's the only one who's able to open the CEOs. They're off to claim what is rightfully his.
In advance of.
Of the redemption of the purchased possession, that is, when he comes and takes.
It in power and in fact.
It's amazing, Italy gracious, that he gives us an earnest in advance as a.
I don't know what word to use as a as a pledge that we're going to have part in that inheritance. That's verse 14. Not to skip over those other verses, but the Holy Spirit, given when we believed as individuals the gospel of our salvation, we were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise. Then it says, which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession that God should.
Give.
I think to myself I should be able to just trust him that this is what's going to happen. But even beyond that, I'm going to give you the Holy Spirit, among other reasons. He's the pledge. He's the earnest until the purchase, possession till you're in the good with with my son of the actual possession of the inheritance.
Speaking about that and given this illustration, he said.
Supposing there's a piece of property that somebody is selling for $100,000.
You say, well, I want to put a down payment on it and so you put down $1 million.
And say, well, it's only costs $100,000, but that's really what God has done, isn't it? The earnest of the inheritance is the Holy Spirit of promise. Which is greater, the inheritance or the earnest? The Holy Spirit of promise. Definitely the Holy Spirit.
Amazing. That's our God.
And actually take possession of it. The earnest is given back or dissolved, but this earnest is going to be with us.
The earnest is for enjoyment.
The Lord help us, brethren.