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Ephesians chapter one and verse 5.
Having predestinated us into the adoption of children by Jesus Christ 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 is abounded toward us in all wisdom and prudence, having made known unto us a mystery of His will, according to His good pleasure which He has 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 the 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 council of his His own will. That we should be to the praise of His glory, who first trusted in Christ.
And whom he also trusted. After that he heard the word of truth.
The gospel of your salvation, in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise.
Which is the earnest of our inheritance, until 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 ashward 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 have put all things under his feet, and gave him to be the head over all things to the Church, which is his body, the fullness of him that filleth All in all.
Meeting that the chapter really has two parts to it. Uh, after you complete the 1St 2 verses, which are the opening salutation that, uh, we have the apostle blessing God with regard to these incredibly wise plan that he has to glorify his son. And then we have the latter half of the chapter from verse 15 on, we have the apostle praying to God that the Saints would have an enlarged understanding.
To take in these things and to.
Uh, understand them for the purpose of walking in it.
I've noticed that this great blessing that he's Speaking of in verse three, these various blessings.
In these, in the first part of the chapter, it breaks down into three heads in relation to the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. You've probably seen this before, but it needs to be mentioned as we go through these things. Verses 4 through 7, we have, uh, the blessing of God, uh, or the place that we have as sons in relation to the Father sonship. And then verses 8 through 12, we have our place with in relation to Christ, umm, as heirs of the inheritances.
In the coming administration of the world to come, then versus 13 and 14, we have the work of the Spirit of God in us to enable us to know and to appreciate these wonderful things. And it's interesting that each of these little subsections are punctuated with a note of praise. So you get down to the end of.
Verse in verse six is to the praise of the glory of his grace. Then you get it again in verse 12 That we should be to the praise of his glory.
And then again, you have it in verse in the verse 14 to the praise of His glory. So we see the whole Godhead involved with this eternal purpose, Father the Son and the Spirit of God. So let me say that again, he's focusing on verses 4 through 7.
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Our place before God has sons in relation to the Father. Then we'll get in verses 8 through 12, our place that we have as heirs in the inheritance with Christ.
Over the the world to come.
Then lastly the Spirit of God that is been given to us to make it good in our souls.
So having said that.
Verse five is speaking about sonship. Now I realized that it doesn't say in this verse sonship. If you get a better translation of Jan Darby's, you'll see from this footnote that that expression, the adoption of children, should be translated sunship.
Sunship.
You've probably heard that Wayne said this morning that sonship is the highest conferred blessing that we have in relation to the Father. It's a special place that God has put believers who receive the Lord Jesus Christ and uh, and believe the gospel and receive the Lord Jesus Christ in this present time. God puts us in that place in his family. It's a favored place. It's a place that Saints from other eras and times ages do not have.
It's a special place that results from the Spirit of God dwelling in US and Christ having first taken that place on high.
So it's a, it's a, a wonderful, uh, blessing to think about, uh, this afternoon that we are made sons of God. He could have lifted us up and put us in a place of angels, lofty as that is, or even gone so far as to put us in a place of Archangel. But he didn't do that. He put us in a place that's far higher than that, put us in the place of his own son, and we're there before him.
Without blame, in love. That's the place that you occupy and I occupy. This is a place that Abraham, Isaac and Jacob did not know before God.
They are classified in Scripture as children of God. They're in the family of God and they've been blessed of God, but they don't have the favorite place that you have and I have, but by grace and because of the work of redemption being accomplished. So sonship is a very favored and special place that has been reserved for Christians who have received the Lord Jesus Christ as their savior. Is that is that why umm the Lord when Speaking of John the Baptist?
Can say, you know, I can't quote it, but there's no greater profit. But the least in the Kingdom is greater than his.
We're in the place of sun, but we'll never take the place of the only begotten of the Father, because while heaven will be filled in a coming day with the sons of God, that one will retain that special place as the only begotten of the Father. God is going to have a vast.
House full of his children, but what a place that Blessed One will retain.
So it's sometimes been said and I think it was alluded to this morning, that in John's ministry where children by birth, we have the very nature of God as born into the family of God. But in Paul's ministry, we're more generally Suns by adoption. We're children by birth and sons by adoption because that has to do with choosing and the dignity of the place that we've been brought into in an in a family, naturally speaking.
There may be some of both. There may be a child who was adopted, chosen. There may be a child or children who were born into the family. But so there may be some of each. But a child in a family can't be both. That child was either adopted or they were born into that family. But in the family of God, we're both, aren't we? We have the very life and nature of God, and we have been chosen and brought into the place of sonship.
Why did he choose you, Jim?
Just because he chose to.
The last part of verse five gives the answer, isn't it? Yeah, according to the good pleasure of his will. That would be a question we'll never perhaps know. But.
Wonderful to realize, dear brother, and that you and I have been brought into that place. We need to revel in it, brother. It's true of us.
It won't make a cloud. Understanding and appreciating this won't make us pride prideful. It will take the pride right out of us if it's properly understood that you see in the third chapter illustrated in the apostle when he spoke about the unsearchable riches of Christ and so on, he spoke of himself as being the least and the least of all the things.
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That's what it does for us because the 2nd chapter brings in that it's all of grace, what we were, and apart from the grace of God we have nothing. And an understanding of our position and what we have and are in Christ will give us a true understanding of grace and as Bruce said, that will humble us.
What's the special of our sunshine? What are there some points that we did profit by?
Well, the word sonship means sun place, and it's the work of God in placing us in His family in the favorite place that His own Son has. As Jim said, we'll never have the place in deity or anything like that that the Lord Jesus has. Interesting to notice in this very epistle that were said to be in chapter 2.
Seated in heavenly places in Christ, but only the Lord Jesus is spoken of as being seated at the right hand of God the Father. We are seated in heavenly places in Christ, but only he is said to be seated at the right hand of God the Father. So it, it, it separates him or it distinguishes him of having that, uh, that place. But nevertheless, uh, as you speak, Vern, umm, you know, uh, sunship involves, uh, not only having that place of favor that the sun has.
But we share in the, the life and nature that he has. We have eternal life and, uh, we have the sons liberty. We have this. We share in the sons inheritance and we're going to share in the display of the sun's glory. These are things that are part of sunship.
Were brought into the uh, intelligence of his thoughts. So we have later on in these verses verse 8 he's abounded toward us in all wisdom and prudence, having made known unto us the mystery of his will. So his son is one who.
Has intelligence, understanding of the Father's thoughts. Angels do not have it in the same way, brethren, they do not. They are not.
Indwelt by the Holy Spirit of God that you and I are, and we have that capacity now to enjoy, to understand his thoughts, how important it is if we're going to walk properly in this world, to have such an understanding. And that's why He's given us that. I often think that.
There's no gift in taking in the precious truth of God.
There is a gift of giving it out. Perhaps there's a teacher and but there is no gift for taking it in. So none of us are can say I don't have as much gift as those other brothers. No, you have the same blessing in that way. You've been brought into that position of understanding the Father's love and the Father's thoughts and I find often that some of our sisters.
Are really more alert sometimes than even the brothers in our meetings. There is no difference as to understanding the Father's thoughts. That's part of it, isn't it? This is not eternal that they might not be the only true God and Jesus Christ whom thou has said that gives the definition in Scripture of what life eternal is about knowing God the way it can be known today.
We know him as Father, you know, He was always known by his own as God.
Uh, not as farther, you know, father is used as the originator in the Scriptures, but when it speaks of it like this in the New Testament, if we first to relationship of being part of the family and only Christians are in that position knowing him as father and Kai ABBA father as we have expressed in him.
Beautiful to come to realize that and that we can approach without fear. Don't be afraid to address him as father. He likes to hear that. You know, any of us who have raised children, when they came to us and addressed us as Daddy, we were happy. We weren't we, you know. And so how wonderful.
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That we can know God.
His father and he wants to be.
Looked at by us in that way.
ABBA Father.
That's not something we grew up to either, is it, Hines? I've heard somebody say once it takes teeth to say father, but a little baby can say ABBA. Yeah.
That's like daddy, you know, the way it would be today.
In description, the word ABBA, the meaning is like a child today would say daddy. I'm not suggesting we should address Paris daddy, but it gives the idea, you know, of one that is so close that he can say ABBA and he wants to be addressed by us in that race.
You get it in Galatians 4. You just turned back a couple of pages in your Bible in Galatians 4.
And, uh, just to pick up the thread of our read from verse 4-5 is verse, uh, six that I'm thinking of. Umm, when the fullest of time was, uh, come, God sent forth his son made or come of a woman, made or come of the under the law to redeem that we're, that we're under the law that we might receive. It says the adoption of sons. It could be translated that we might receive sun chip what we're talking about. And because we are sons, God has sent forth the spirit of his son into.
Your our hearts crying ABBA father. So ABBA father is an expression given in scripture to that denotes that, uh, access that we have that Old Testament Saints did not have. ABBA implies intimacy. Father implies intelligence. We have both as we approach God, we can be intimate with him and we are also able to share.
In the understanding of his thoughts with regard to his purposes concerning.
His son and so on. And so ABBA implies intimacy.
Father implies intelligence.
And that's really what the first part of that 4th chapter is bringing out. Because the the child, as long as he's a child, he differs not the heir. As long as he's a child, he differs nothing from a servant. There is an intelligence, a young child sitting here, a very young child may not be intelligent as to.
What their father is doing in the family and his purposes and so on, they know the father and they turn to the father, but they don't have the intelligence that they will have in the normal course of things as they grow up and enter into the purposes and into communion and the purposes and counsels of the father and so on. That comes with maturity. And so in sonship there's also the thought of maturity. Yes, there's the simplicity of intimacy. And brethren, we never want to lose that.
We never wanna lose that simplicity of ABBA Father, but there does need to be that growing in the things of God and the purposes of the Father, so that there will be the enjoyment of that sonship. If as long as the heir is a child, he differs nothing from the servant. But as he grows up and matures and communes with the Father, then intelligence comes in, and in our chapter he goes on to say that he's abounded unto us in all wisdom and intelligence.
What marks Christianity is intelligence. He's given us the capacity now to be intelligent. In the Old Testament there wasn't intelligence. There was communion to a degree, and a with Abraham and different ones, the friend of God and so on. But there wasn't the same intelligence that there is now in divine things, because we have the full capacity to take these things in and to walk in the dignity of them.
There's a couple of verses in First Corinthians I'd like to read in that connection.
This is so often improperly read that we need to get it right. First Corinthians 2 and verse 9 quotes from Isaiah and it says, But as it is written, I have not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man the things which God hath prepared for them that love Him. And too often that's where the quotation ends, doesn't it? That's the Old Testament position, isn't it? And that's clearly pointed out in the next verse when it says but.
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Now here's the New Testament. God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit. For the Spirit searcheth all things. Yeah, the deep things of God. That's what we have in Ephesians, don't we?
Are the deep things of God now too often and I SUS I I really believe this is one of the greatest veins of Christianity Today is a shallow Christianity. We're not much different from Jews. In fact, the Lord Jesus warned about that, didn't he? He warned about the danger of simply putting a new patch on an old garment or new wine into old bottles. That's what Christendom has become, hasn't it? Just merely a new patch and so many people well meaning I don't doubt, but they end their quotation at verse 9 because they say, see that's our position.
It's not our position that just as our brother Jim was saying, that's the Old Testament position.
But the Christian position is just this. But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit.
That's the intelligence, that's the indwelling by the Spirit, for the Spirit searcheth all things. Yeah, the deep things of God.
God wants us to enter into and value the deep things of God. Let's not be satisfied with this shallow Christianity. That's that's, that's a mile wide and an inch deep. God has prepared.
A place of sonship, just as we've been saying now, if I, if I understand it correctly, first of all, uh, my father-in-law mentioned that in the German, the word adoption is actually sonship. Mr. Darby makes a note in the eighth of, uh, Romans where that's mentioned. He said sunship and adoption is the same word in the Greek. And so we don't need to be confused about that, do we? They're the same word. And the German was a little clearer on that. We checked it out here too, but it is sunship. So it's a different thought from merely becoming part of God's family.
It's a particular position within God's family. The youngest child is a child in God's family. He's also a son, but he doesn't realize his sonship until in England. What is it until we're 21?
We reach our, uh, our, uh, our maturity, and then we take our position as sons, as sunship before that's essentially its servants. But we should distinguish John the Apostle, we might mention, I don't believe he ever mentioned sons. It's always children. Now I know in the King James it says that a few times. Behold, now are we sons of God? But if you notice the new translation, it's children of God because he speaks of that nature which was with the Father from all eternity and was manifested in the Son. And in John's epistle, it's manifest in the family of God. He does not speak of that peculiar position of sonship.
That's exactly what we have in our chapter is Sonship.
So if I could just add, uh, and sort of summarize what we've been Speaking of with setting sunship in its proper and scriptural light.
Sunship is to, as I said, to share the life that the sun has with the Father, which is eternal life. This is something that not all the family of God from the beginning of time knew or enjoyed. Abraham did not have eternal life, he had divine life. He was born of God as part of the family of God.
Eternal life is what characterizes.
That, uh, which we have is being Suns, not more than that. We have a place of favor and acceptance before God in Christ. Again, that's something that does not mark Old Testament Saints, you know, speak of, of the Old Testament Saints as being in Christ. The term in Christ is connected with the new position of Christ as as uh, opened up by going through death and back into heaven on high in the glory. Well, he wasn't, he hadn't accomplished redemption in the Old Testament time, so.
It would be confusing things to speak about the Old Testament Saints as being in Christ, though with Christ now, and they're blessed and so on, uh, in association with them. But in Christ is a New Testament position that belongs to Christians who are sons of God. Now, another thing, as I said, we have the sons, liberty and sonship, and that is as we've already been speaking, we have that kind of access and intimacy with God to say ABBA father. Well, you'll never read that kind of language in the Old Testament.
They address God at a distance. They did not have that kind of liberty within the veil as we do because of accomplishment, redemption. Another thing, as they say, we're gonna share in the sun's inheritance. Romans 8 picks that up. Uh, Eric has alluded to it. And of course, again, the, the Old Testament Saints are not said to be, uh, having the place that we will have in the administration of the world to come in, uh, sharing in the administration of it alongside of Christ. And then lastly, uh, we share in the sun's glory.
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Again, that's not said of Old Testament Saints. Uh, so, uh, you need, we need to realize that we have been born at a very favored time in the dealings of God with men. To be a Christian and to have an opportunity to believe the gospel and get saved and have the seal of the Spirit of God is an incredible privilege that was never even offered to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and Elijah and all those Old Testament Saints. We don't realize how.
Distinctly blessed we are, and we need to understand that sunship, uh, is something that is not.
A common thing in the family of God, but it's for a special company that he has marked out for blessing because he's going to use those who are sons with the Father are going to be in union. We are in union with Christ and there's a coming day when that's going to be displayed in glory. And God is forming the vessel, the church, for the purpose of displaying the glory of Christ in the coming day. And so these favors that have been bestowed upon us are nothing to do with because we're any better than Old Testament Saints.
But because God has a purpose and he's not gonna be satisfied until his purpose is accomplished, because it's all been done according to the good pleasure of his will. And it satisfies the heart of God to see this company, this favorite company, brought in alongside His Son as a compliment to share and to to transmit His glory in the coming day to come. Why did God pick us up for such a privileged place? I can't answer that question.
But it's true.
Is that right, Bob?
All right, go ahead.
To the phrase of the glory of His grace, nothing to our glory. You know, the glory of His grace, His grace is magnified and demonstrated by what He has done with us. And the day is coming when this will be realized and witnessed by the world generally when He comes back with us. You know, I've often like to refer to the story of Joseph.
At his brother.
You know what a beautiful picture we have in his rejection He rises to power and glory. And when he spread on our reconciled to him, what do we find? A Gentile bride shares his glory. That's a picture of Christ and the church and Isaiah will be reconciled through the law. They will see the church sharing the glory of Christ the King. We will reign with him.
Beautiful. Not only has He saved our souls, but He will also share His glory with us.
What grace? You know, we didn't deserve that. We didn't deserve it. But there is a side to it in connection with the Kingdom. Some will be over so many cities and some will be over so many cities, depending on how faithful.
The Christian lives is gonna be in the Kingdom a difference.
You know, wouldn't it be nice if he can magnify his grace in showing what he has accomplished in our life in the position that he gives us in the California coming Kingdom? You know, we were laying with him, but, uh, we come to realize and the world will realize.
It's all His grace accomplishers in US, and that's what he's working at. Now you know, to resubmit.
Through his efforts, we better go on in close fellowship with him. You know, that's possible even now to go on in fellowship with him, and it will be demonstrated in the coming day. But our life here on earth now was, you know, when we come back with him.
And it's in that grace that He has made us accepted in the Beloved. I got so precious to enjoy our souls, brethren.
At the highest level possible, we are accepted in the beloved. I see so many people, sometimes young people seem to struggle. They don't seem to be fit in, they don't seem to be accepted. And they like to. They want to be accepted.
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Stop a minute, young person, if you're struggling that way, just to consider that at the highest level possible, you.
Are accepted in the beloved Wonderful to think about. If there could be any question as to your position now of favor before God, God would have to call in question the position of his own beloved son, because we are accepted in the beloved. Like the way the new translation reads, it says taken into favor.
In the Beloved God looks at you.
And I in a way of unchangeable favor because of the position that you and I occupy before him in Christ. And even if he has to discipline it, and he does have to discipline us at times, brethren, but why does he discipline us? Because we occupy that place of supreme favor before Him in love. Oh, it's wonderful just to let that sink into your soul and to realize that that's our place.
Remember a story that, uh, was told? I'm sure many have heard it, but I enjoyed it so much of a little country boy over in England who had the desire to see the Queen. And he came to Buckingham Palace and presented himself there at the main gate and wanted to get in to see the Queen. Of course, the guards turned him away and evidently had come from some distance and he.
Was quite disappointed and he stood off to one side crying.
As they stood over there to one side, another little boy runs down the street towards the gate and as he comes to the gate he, the guards stand at attention. It was the Prince of Wales and of course he ran straight in to the gate. But just after he got through the gate he stopped. He had seen that little boy crying and he asked the guards.
Why is he crying? Said, oh, he wanted to see the queen and he can't go in. The little boy walks out onto the street to that little country boy and says, you come with me. And that little boy went right in to the presence of the queen. What made the difference? He was accepted in the beloved. That's your place. We go right in to the favor of God's supreme favor. That's the way.
God looks at you and I in the Lord Jesus. It's not the future acquisition. And I've always enjoyed whenever we find a quotation in the New Testament to go to the Old Testament, see if there's a variation in the one that Eric read about, uh, prepared for them that love him is in Isaiah 64, four and it reads for those that wait for him, but not for us, it's love him.
In First Corinthians chapter 2, because we're not waiting, we have now as a present possession all these things, it'll be manifested future, but we have a present possession now. And the response, a result of that is we love him and I think that's important due to make mention of that all our blessings.
Are eternal and unchangeable and no one can take them away from you, ever.
They're yours forever. That's the difference between material earthly things. You have a house now you have a car. You can lose those things, but not our blessings. Brethren, what is characteristically our Christian blessings are things that are ours now and will be ours forever. We'll never lose them. I'd like to think of material things more as mercies that the Lord loans to us.
Every moment and we use them in view of the fact that he's given them to us, but they're really properly speaking in the sense we're Speaking of here, not blessings, their mercies that he gives to us. One comment I wanted to make before we pass on to chapter our to verse 7. But our our brother Hail, of course, often used to remind us that the things we're speaking about are a mountain peak beyond which God himself could not go. Isn't it? And there is a family of God. We can read about it in Hebrews.
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The family that there will be, it has different members and, uh, that's a wonderful thing. But when we ask the question of why did he choose us, we have to stop looking at ourselves, don't we? Because the answer is not in US, but it's in the one who did the choosing. And I've often enjoyed in the First Kings when Solomon was reigning in his glory and the queen of Sheba came up. What did she notice? Just to read it, you know, I need to turn to it, but, uh, First Kings 10.
And umm, and verse four. And when the Queen of Sheba had seen all Solomon's wisdom, and the house that he had built, and the meat of his table, and the sitting of his servants.
And the attendance of his ministers and their apparel, and his cup bearers, and the ascent by which he went up into the House of the Lord, there was no spirit in her. And she said to the king, it was a true report.
That I heard in my own land of the accent of Thy wisdom. Howbeit I believe not the words until I came in. Mine eyes had seen it, And behold, the half was not told me. Thy wisdom and prosperity exceedeth the fame which I heard. What credit was it to those who were around Solomon? Well, they had a blessed place, without a doubt. But whose glory did they reflect? They reflected the glory of Solomon. And so it is. We don't need to ask the question why the Lord chose me. It was His sovereign grace. But what He does?
And why he wants us to enter into the deep things of God is because he acts according to his own glory and dignity. What a wonderful position that is. So he doesn't hold us like Solomon clothes his men.
With just, uh, just nice clothes. But he does that which is, as Mr. Hale used to say, that which is a mountain peak beyond which God Himself cannot go. So it's for His glory, isn't it? And it's for our blessing the 2GO together.
But the forgiveness of Finn is such an important point.
Uh, he has cast them from us as far as the East is from the West. Cast them into the depth of the sea. That's what scripture states. You know, there is no fixed point when it comes between east and West like the North and South. So indefinitely he has removed the distance is indefinite.
Tremendous and into the depths of the state. You know, there are some places in the sea that are very, very deep, you know, and people couldn't find anything that falls in there. Uh, but that's what scripture says.
And we are forgiven and we are redeemed.
And it says reconcile.
And well, how wonderful, But it is the richest according to the riches of this frame. If you wanna see the riches of the grace of God, look at yourself as a Sinner. Remember all that you have done.
In Way of Sin, and then to remember that he has forgiven them and that he will not remember them anymore. He has removed them from us as far as the East as they're from the West. Cast them.
Into the depths of the C God himself will not remember them anymore. Not that he has poor memory, but he has selected and chosen not to remember them.
So that's how we can be comfortable in the presence of the Christ, holy God. That's how complete because our things are completely removed from us.
Our privileges in verse 6.
Are according to the glory of his grace, aren't they? It's because of his dignity that he has set us in such a position. But in verse seven you are alluding to our redemption then had to do with what we were. Verse six has to do with what God is. Verse seven has to do with what we were and as a result he meets our needs. That's the riches of his grace that he could save such as one of us. The angels that fell have no recourse.
The lake of fire is prepared for them, but what about the ruined race of men? The riches of grace, of God's grace, have found a way to save and redeem the ruined of mankind.
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But as far as this way, the two phrases that we're now focusing on in verse 6, verse 7, the glory of His grace and the riches of his grace, someone put it this way, it's really stuck with me. And that is the riches of his grace emphasize emphasizes how far down He reached to get us, but the glory of His grace emphasizes how high He reached to set us in that favorite place in Christ.
And it's interesting to see that he brings in redemption here. Remember, we're reading about God's eternal purpose.
Redemption and eternal purpose. Yes, that tells us that the fall of man, the entrance of sin, was not an afterthought with God. When He drew this plan and a past eternity, He knew that there would be the fall and the need for redemption. And this whole plan was based on the redemption of Christ to bring out His heart of love that otherwise would not be known if there was not redemption.
Beautiful app puts it here in verse seven. We have redemption present possession. We have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins according to the riches of his grace. And I think it's important to see that the forgiveness of sins that we have have is on the basis of redemption. There was a price paid and because of that.
We have, as a result the forgiveness of sins. I don't know that this is well understood in Christian circles. You hear so often people in prayer saying forgive us our sins.
Why did they say that? I I don't know exactly. I think it's probably poor teaching, but it is if you look in scripture carefully. Before redemption was accomplished, the Lord Jesus taught his disciples to pray forgive us our sins as we also forgive our debtors. But after redemption has been accomplished, you never again are told to ask for the forgiveness of sins.
Not even the unbeliever is told that.
They can have the forgiveness of sins through faith in His name. God is offering it. And I sometimes say when I'm preaching the gospel in the prison, if I were offering you $100 bill on my hand, would you sit there and keep asking for it? No. What would you do? I'd take it. You don't have to ask for the forgiveness within God's offering it to you.
Through faith in Christ and all you have to do is accept the forgiveness He's offering you.
And sometimes then they say, well, what should we do when we sin as believers? What God says is confession. If we confess our sins, Confession is different than asking for forgiveness.
Sometimes say if I did something bad to Brother Jim, I could go to him and I say Brother Jim, forgive me. Why do I say that? Because I see he's kind of mad at me. I don't really want him mad at me, so I say forgive me.
We don't have to ask God to be disposed to forgive us, brethren. He already has shown himself to be disposed to forgive. What he wants is confession. And confession goes deeper. I have to con to be able to confess. I have to judge myself and say what I did to the Lord. That's confession and that's important for restoration to fellowship.
But we don't ask for the forgiveness of our sins now, and the common practice in Christian circles is to pray that prayer to ask for the forgiveness of sins. It's not understanding the place of favor and blessing we've been brought into. Brethren, let's enjoy it before a thrice holy God, I can say I have redemption.
The forgiveness of sins according to the riches of His grace.
Number one time in the Washington State Penitentiary in Walla Walla preaching the Gospel and we are speaking on this subject. An old man in the back of the crowd came up afterwards and he said all these years I've been asking forgiveness from God. Tonight I accept it and say thank you for the forgiveness that now I have. Wonderful blessing, brother. We're going to enjoy God's thoughts. We have to understand what this means.
00:45:27
Going back to which Brother Bruce mentioned earlier, the fact that redemption is mentioned in the internal councils of God, what's the purpose behind that?
Is it because you you already alluded to it, Bruce, It's not to remind us continuously that we were sinners. It is to remind us of his love again, it all goes back to the love of God. His eternal counsel wasn't to shake his finger at us for eternity to say now what we know you've been bad. His eternal counsels is to have us look at him to say we know you are perfectly good and at perfect good comes out in the love and that love was in these councils that you mentioned Bruce in eternity passed. Why did God.
WW why did they make this this council this this this plan of salvation. It is to show forth the heart, the very essence of who God is. And the only way he could do that was to offer himself as a sacrifice for your sins and mind. And it just elevates the glory of God tremendously to think that in bazillion years ago. Yeah. How do how I don't know how else to measure Eternity passed.
They they'd have that council because.
They love me because they knew that I would be a fool as a man and I would need redemption so that we have the perfect plan for Dave. This is what we're gonna do. And what did that do? I show it brought out love for me because he loved me first. So that's the idea behind it. Don't. And again, in ignorance. Christianity always brings it back to all. You're a Sinner. You're this. Why not? I'm sorry. I'm a St. Now I sometimes sin because I'm a human. But God has so perfectly loved me and exposed that to me in the person of his Son. And that's why this is here.
Versus A to 11 Is that the riches of his grace or the glory of his grace?
The glory of His grace is to set us before Himself as sons in verse 5.
Versus 8 through 11 is more to do with the display of Christ's glory through the especially fashion vessel that God has in mind to make, which is the church which we're part of.
And tremendous.
That there is a day coming when we will reflect fully and unhinderedly the glories of Christ. He's coming to be glorified in His Saints and admired in all them that are about Him. In that day, His purpose isn't going to be frustrated, as we were saying in a previous meeting, it is going to be brought to fruition. And when heaven opens up to reveal Christ in that day, every one of us are going to reflect perfectly the glories of Christ.
We ought to reflect something of it now, and we will in the measure in which these things get down into our souls and we walk in the enjoyment of these things with Christ as the object and so on. But to think, brethren, that there is that day coming. But I would like to just say this in connection with the redempt, with redemption. It's a God can reach out to us and God's purposes.
Are founded on a perfect person and a perfect work.
That's how God can bring in this tremendous blessing, and that's how God is going to display these things in the coming day. In whom you know, it's interesting that when you have a SIM, this similar quotation in Colossians, Mr. Darby leaves out through his blood. Because there is a stress on the person, because it's the person that gives weight to the work. It's not just the work of any person. I speak carefully.
No, it's the work of God's beloved Son, the Lord Jesus, that perfect man, that sinless sacrifice. And so it's a perfect person. But then that perfect person undertakes a perfect work. And we have redemption, brethren, because the blood of Jesus has been shed. It's in him. But it's through that blood on the basis of that work, and it's a price that has been paid.
00:50:08
A price that doesn't change in value, we're redeemed as Peter says, not with corruptible things as silver and gold not my redemption doesn't isn't based on something that changes in value. If we were to check the price of silver and gold when the markets closed yesterday in comparison to the price of silver and gold when they when the markets closed next with the end of next week.
We might find it's very different, it goes up and down and it varies and money varies in value, the US dollar compared to the euro and the Canadian dollar and the Japanese yen. And I don't understand all that, but it changes. But brethren, to just think that we rest our souls on something and God is satisfied because a perfect work has been accomplished by a perfect man and we're never to forget the cost, even when Israel went into possess their inheritance.
To take possession of what in type, as we said, speaks to us, of what we're taking up as our as to our spiritual blessings. Were they ever to forget what had brought them there, how God could bring them into the land? No, there was to be a remembrance year by year of the Passover. Did they do it? Well, we only read of it done a few times, but they were to remember, they were never to forget that it was on the basis of redemption that they had not only been delivered from Egypt, but eventually.
Brought, uh, brought into the promised land and given their inheritance. And brethren, are we ever to forget? On Lord's Day, we're going to have a memorial, the breaking of bread, because we never want to forget what the great cost was. No, these blessings have been given to us free of charge, but they weren't cheap. They were secured for us at great cost to God. The cost was his Son. The cost was the shedding of the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. But that is precious to God and it will never change in value.
And you and I have that security this afternoon redemption.
Go ahead, brother. I like to point out that the prudence.
In Mr. Darby's translation is translated intelligence that helps to better understand it, you know, about towards us in all wisdom and intelligence. You know, it's wonderful to see some of the fine points of difference in the translation, you know, but, uh, how wonderful.
That behalf the word of God in our hand and that we have even a rendering that is more accurate and critical. Prudence has got to do with a practical wisdom in everyday matters of life. Well, that's not the subject here. We're looking at the eternal purpose of God and it should be intelligence because the thought here in verses 8-9 and 10 is that not only has God redeemed us and brought us into this wonderful place of favor, but he wants us to be intelligent as to his counsel and purpose with regard to the.
Coming day of display, when he's gonna glorify his Son in two spheres as we've been speaking. Heaven and earth in the world to come.
And so he wants us to have insights. Uh, so we are now been come because of this great blessing, we have become depositories of the counsels of God with regard to what he is going to do.
And the display of the sun, the world doesn't know it, but we've been let in on God's plan, uh, now. And this is a wonderful, uh, privilege that he's given to us. So it says in verse 8, wherein he hath abounded.
Toward us in all wisdom and intelligence, having made known unto us the mystery of his will. And so the mystery is a secret that God has helped kid in his heart before he even made the world. And he never revealed it through, uh, the Old Testament times until he saved the apostle Paul and gave him the, uh, umm, the privilege to, to make known that revelation that he tells us in chapter 3. And it, uh, the mystery now is no longer a secret. It's been made known.
It's been disclosed and it is of course to do with the purpose of God glorifying his Son in two spheres. And so God would have us to have insight in this and he has purposed that would be so based on redemption verse seven, we have been LED into the the heart of God, a secret that even Abraham didn't know.
00:55:06
So it's not a mystery any longer. As you say, sometimes we think of a mystery in connection with something that's very hard to understand and may never be figured out. You know, there are many mysteries on the books that Scotland Yard or the FBI or the CIA that they've had to shelve and say we're probably never figure those things out. We'll really never get to the bottom of that. But that's not the thought, as Bruce has been saying in the in the mystery, in the sense that it's taken up.
In the Old Testament, I just want to react or the New Testament. Thank you. I just want to re echo what Bruce has said because it's helpful. And that is that it is a mystery in the sense that it was something not previously revealed in a past age or dispensation. These things the prophets didn't understand, Abraham, the friend of God didn't understand. These things were not revealed in the Old Testament, but now they have been revealed.
It's not a mystery in the sense of that it's still hard to understand or something that only a certain element can delve into, or a certain vent of mind, like a detective's mind or something like that. No, these things now have been fully manifest, brethren, for you and I to enjoy. Now. Now I'm going to raise a question. I'd like somebody to perhaps give us a thought. Why is it, if he's abounded to us in all wisdom and intelligence?
We find that there are some believers who seem more intelligent in the things of God than others. Just on a practical note, we could get some help. Brother Eric, what would you say?
Well, that's what we talked about before, isn't it? Some, uh, uh, first we need to understand our privileges and then we need to walk in the, in the good of them. And that's what we have later on in the chapter, don't in the epistle, don't we? And we need to read them. We need to have a knowledge too, don't we? You know, we, we say knowledge isn't enough, but there has to be a knowledge as well. And I, I just wanna on a very practical note for my, I just want to encourage all of us to open this book. And we need all the word of God, of course.
But to go to these portions like this and to get a knowledge of this, then with that knowledge, the Spirit of God can take and apply to our souls and give us the grace to walk in and to meditate on these things. But if you don't know what your blessings are, if you're not intelligent in these things, how are you going to walk in them? We have to. We talk about our walk in a pro and practical Christianity, and that's true.
But if we don't have knowledge and divine things by reading the word of God and understanding them, we're not gonna know how we're gonna walk. We talked about the maturity of sonship. As the Prince of Wales grows up, he's tutored and schooled. And as he grows and, uh, is, is tutored, he's taught that he's the son and heir to the British throne and that there's a conduct in keeping with that, and that there's going to be things he's going to need to take up in the administration.
Of the Kingdom as he grows into that and so that that when the day comes when he takes the throne, he's been well taught as to what is expected of him. Well, it says we're to grow in grace. That's true. And in and in the knowledge we've got to have knowledge if we're going to then have wisdom and understanding. That is the ability to take that knowledge and to walk in the practical good of it. Yep. There's another step too, isn't there? It tells us in John's Gospel.
If any man will do his will, he shall know as a doctrine. And that's why, uh, we have here in, in the verse 8, wisdom and intelligence. As we've noticed when we turn over to 1St Corinthians, we find that the preaching of the cross is foolishness to the Greeks. And so I'd just like to add this to what mystery means. It is a revealed secret, something that was secret in the Old Testament times. It has been revealed in the New Testament, but it's still foolish, foolishness to the Greek.
Why is that? Because even though it's revealed, it still requires what we might call to understand the mystery to be initiated. I don't wanna be secretive by that, but we know that it means that we need a new nature, doesn't it? We need the Spirit of God ultimately indwelling us to understand the deep things of God, as we read in First Corinthians. So a mystery is not only a revealed secret, but it's of such a nature that it requires.
01:00:06
A new nature and the Spirit of God in order to enter into it. So if any man will do his well, he shall know of the doctrine. So it's not merely knowing these things as important as that is in its place, but there's also a right condition of soul, isn't there before we learn these doctors. You're just speaking between the meetings. Our brother Vern can maybe help out and help me out on this some but the very important point that our soul has to be in the right condition to receive the truth.
Doesn't it? The apostle Paul did not give Ephesian truth to all the believers necessarily. Not that he was trying to be secretive or any such thing, but there's a danger of pride when it comes to these things, isn't it? And if we're not on the right sole condition, then it becomes, can become a matter of spiritual pride. So it's important, isn't it, that if any man will do his will, he shall know of the doctrine?
Like to read in the third chapter rather not, I think it's important to see like it's been brought out that these were things that were not revealed in Old Testament times and are now revealed. Tremendous men of God in the Old Testament, Daniel and Moses and Abraham, who, uh, understood many things, but this was a mystery that was not revealed. And it's very clear in the third chapter in verse 3.
Now that by revelation he made known unto me the mystery, as I wrote a four and few words, whereby when you read, you may understand my knowledge in the mystery of Christ, which in other ages was not made known unto the sons of men. As it is now revealed unto his holy apostles and prophets in the Spirit, that the Gentiles should be fellow heirs, and of the same body partakers of his promise in Christ by the Gospel.
Whereof I was made a minister according to the gift of the grace of God-given unto me by the effectual working.
Of His power unto me, who am less than the least of All Saints, is this grace given.
That I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ, to make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery from the beginning of the world hath been hit in God. It doesn't say it was hidden in the Old Testament, was hid in God.
Who created all things by Christ, by Jesus Christ, to the intent that now unto the principalities and powers in heavenly places might be known by the Church, the manifold wisdom of God. In other words, those principalities and powers those angelic hosts learn in the Church, the manifold wisdom of God, the Church has become the display.
Of God's wisdom. And so they learn in us as they watch us. What do they learn, brethren?
210.
210.
Nsnoise.
100.
And 5.
That means the Treasure Choir whenever she is in heaven.
Good morning.
And.
01:05:02
Crying.
Let's go by crying all crystal.
And so far like.
The best of the time.
There we go.
Very easy now the width of the flow.