← Back to sermon library

You can turn with me in your 
Bibles to Ephesians chapter 1. Ephesians chapter 1, I'll read 
the chapter and then our focus this evening will be on verses 
3 to 6. So Ephesians 1, beginning in 
verse 1, Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, 
to the saints who are in Ephesus and faithful in Christ Jesus, 
grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus 
Christ. Blessed be the God and Father 
of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual 
blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, just as he chose us 
in him before the foundation of the world, that we should 
be holy and without blame before him, in love having predestined 
us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to himself, according 
to the good pleasure of his will, to the praise of the glory of 
his grace by which he made us accepted in the beloved. In Him 
we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, 
according to the riches of His grace, which He made to abound 
toward us in all wisdom and prudence, having made known to us the mystery 
of His will, according to His good pleasure which He purposed 
in Himself, that in the dispensation of the fullness of the times 
He might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which 
are in heaven and which are on earth, in Him. In Him also we 
have obtained an inheritance, being predestined according to 
the purpose of Him who works all things according to the counsel 
of His will, that we who first trusted in Christ should be to 
the praise of His glory. In Him you also trusted, after 
you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, 
in whom also, having believed, you were sealed with the Holy 
Spirit of promise, who is the guarantee of our inheritance 
until the redemption of the purchased possession to the praise of His 
glory. Therefore, I also, after I heard 
of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints, 
do not cease 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 to 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, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance 
in the saints, and what is the exceeding greatness of His power 
toward us who believe, according to the working of His mighty 
power, which He worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead 
and seated Him at His 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 age, but also in that 
which is to come. And He put all things under His 
feet, and gave Him to behead over all things to the church, 
which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all. 
Amen. Well, let us pray. Father in 
heaven, we thank You for Your Word. We thank You for this glorious 
chapter of Ephesians. We praise You for the work of 
the triune God and the salvation of sinners. And Lord, help us 
tonight to understand these things in an experiential way, and may 
it lead us to praise and to glorify You the way the Apostle Paul 
does in this anthem. We ask as well, Lord God, that 
You would forgive us now for our sins and our transgression. 
We thank You that in Christ we have redemption through His blood. 
and we pray that even now you would wash us and purify us in 
that fountain that is open for sin and uncleanness. Fill each 
and every one of us with your Holy Spirit, guide us and lead 
us into truth, and we pray through Christ our Lord. Amen. Well, 
as we look at this particular chapter, we'll notice that chapter 
1, the apostle starts off in praise to God. He blesses God. We'll look at that definition 
of that word in just a moment. But it's one long sentence that 
we have in this first part of Ephesians 1. So chapter 1, verses 
3 to 14, again, one long sentence. The only other long sentence 
in the Bible or in the New Testament that Paul wrote is Colossians 
1, verses 9 to 20. And essentially, What Paul does 
here is he praises the triune God for the glory of salvation, 
specifically the Father, and then through the Father, the 
Son, and the Holy Spirit. So it is trinitarian in nature. 
It reflects what we refer to in theology as the covenant of 
redemption, the purpose and plan of God Most High to save His 
people from their sins. The Father elects the Son covenants 
to go and rescue, and the Spirit applies that finished work of 
the Redeemer to God's elect. And in broad strokes, that's 
how Paul treats this particular section. Verses 3 to 6 refer 
specifically to the work of the father. So the father is praised 
for what the father does in redemption. Verses 7 to 12, the father is 
praised for what the son does in the work of redemption. And 
then in verses 13 and 14, the father is praised for what the 
spirit does in the work of redemption. So it is triune in nature, It 
does reflect the God that we serve, the only true and living 
God. So tonight, we'll just take up 
that first section in verses 3 to 6, under the head, the gracious 
purpose of the Father. And there are two specific points 
I want to observe. First, the apostles' praise to 
the Father. You see that in verse 3a, and 
then secondly, the apostles' reasons for praise to the Father 
in verses 3b to 6. So notice in the first place, 
the apostles' praise to the Father, the definition of blessed. Paul 
uses the word blessed in a double sense here. Notice, blessed be 
the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed 
us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ. 
So there are two uses of the word bless that is used by the 
Apostle. This first instance, blessed 
be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, essentially 
means to speak well of God, to praise God. The word in a dictionary, 
Greek dictionary, simply means that. The word means blessed 
or praised. It is an act of speaking in favorable 
terms. And then the convention that 
Paul utilizes here is not unique to the Apostle Paul. If we go 
back to the book of Genesis, in the oracle of Noah, in Genesis 
chapter 9 at verse 26, he blesses Yahweh before he speaks concerning 
what God is going to do. Genesis 14, Melchizedek. meets the patriarch Abraham, 
and he blesses God, and then blesses Abraham. As well, you 
have in Nehemiah, the religious reformer there, in Nehemiah chapter 
5, the Levites take the stand, and they bless the Lord, and 
then provide a whole host of reasons why God should be praised. Solomon does this in 1 Kings 
8, in verses 15 and then again in 56, where he blesses God and 
then gives specific reasons why we are to bless God. And then 
in the New Testament, just a couple of examples, turn back to Luke's 
gospel, Luke 1. Luke 1, verse 68. The reason 
I point this out is because it ought to be a part of our praise 
life, our prayer life. It ought not to be something 
that only Paul does under inspiration of the Spirit when he composes 
the letter to the Ephesians. Rather, it ought to find its 
way into our hearts, it ought to find its way in our closets 
and in our prayer meetings. We ought to bless God, and we 
ought to bless Him for the various reasons that the Bible ascribes 
to Him. Notice in Luke chapter 1, specifically 
at verse 67. Now His father Zacharias was 
filled with the Holy Spirit and prophesied, saying, invokes this 
particular convention. And he says in verse 68, blessed 
is the Lord God of Israel. And then notice in 68b, for he 
has visited and redeemed his people. He blesses God. He praises God. He speaks well 
of God. He ascribes praise to him. And 
then he has specific reasons as to why he would do that. Turn 
over to 2 Corinthians 1. Same sort of a convention used. 
It's called a barakah, which is the Hebrew word for blessing. In 2 Corinthians 1 at verse 3, 
notice, blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, 
the Father of mercies and God of all comfort. who comforts 
us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort those 
who are in any trouble, with the comfort with which we ourselves 
are comforted by God. He continues on in that particular 
vein, but you see again, the convention, blessed be the God 
and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Why? Because he comforts 
us in all our tribulation. And then turn over to the book 
of 2 Peter, I'm sorry, 1 Peter, chapter one, same sort of a convention, 
same sort of an issue that we see here. 1 Peter 1 at verse 
3. Notice, blessed be the God and 
Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to his abundant 
mercy has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection 
of Jesus Christ from the dead to an inheritance incorruptible 
and undefiled and that does not fade away, reserved in heaven 
for you, who are kept by the power of God through faith for 
salvation, ready to be revealed in the last time. So back to 
Ephesians chapter 1, just by way of a practical observation, 
shouldn't this be the way that we pray? Certainly it is right 
to petition God. Certainly it is right to ask 
of God. Certainly it is right to seek from God forgiveness 
for our sin. But it's also right to praise 
Him, to bless Him. to honor him, to ponder him, 
to consider his works, to consider creation, to consider providence, 
to consider, as Paul does here, redemption, and using those particular 
reasons as a vehicle for praise to our blessed God. It is a wonderful 
convention that the people of God should employ following what 
the apostle does, what other men do, and what the church throughout 
her history has done in terms of her praise for our blessed 
God. Gil describes the language this 
way, it is either to congratulate his greatness and goodness, to 
ascribe blessing, glory, and honor to him, or to give thanks 
unto him both for temporal and spiritual mercies. So it's not 
just the spiritual that we find here, but it's also the temporal. That psalm that Steve read at 
the beginning of worship, that is a psalm at the time of harvest. Now, it certainly includes redemption, 
blessed is the man whom you choose, and cause to approach unto you, 
but all of that language referring to nature is to extol the goodness 
of God because He has given them bounty, because He has given 
them increase. Psalm 68, the psalmist says, 
I praise the Lord daily. Why? Because He has loaded me 
with benefits. When we come to pray, brethren, 
it's not wrong to ask, it's not wrong to fetch blessing, it's 
not wrong to seek forgiveness, but it is wrong to do so at the 
expense of worship and praise and adoration to our great God. Now, notice in Ephesians 1 at 
verse 3, the object of praise, the object of blessing. He says, 
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. And 
again, that's the object throughout. So God the Father is blessed 
for election and predestination unto an object. God the Father 
is praised or blessed for the redeeming work of the Son of 
God. God the Father is blessed or praised for the work of the 
Holy Spirit who seals and guarantees. Again, it reflects something 
concerning our triune God. It reflects something concerning 
the notions. The missions reveal or reflect 
the notions, and this is what Paul's tactic is in this particular 
instance. So notice, with reference to 
this, blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. 
Notice who he's not blessing. Notice who he doesn't say, praise 
be to you, Ephesians, because you are altogether smarter than 
everybody else in your fair city. Because in Acts 19, when I came 
to preach there, you wise ones, you good ones, you law-keeping 
ones, you saw that it was quite essential for you to save yourselves. Yes, perhaps with a little bit 
of assistance from on high. He doesn't do that, brethren. 
If free will is the mechanism by which sinners are saved, then 
sinners should be praised for exercising their free will. But 
the Bible will have none of that. It is God's will. will that is 
primary in the matter of salvation, and therefore it is God who is 
to be praised for salvation. That's Paul's tactic here. And then notice how he describes 
Him, the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Notice over 
in verse 17 that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father 
of glory. He is referring to Christ in 
his mediatorial office. He is referring to Christ as 
prophet, priest, and king. He is referring to Christ as 
the one who became flesh and dwelt among us. As Gil says, 
God, the first person in the Trinity, is the God of Christ, 
as Christ is man and mediator. He chose and appointed him to 
be the mediator and made a covenant with him as such. He formed and 
prepared a human nature for him, anointed it with the Holy Ghost 
above measure, and supported it under all his trials and sufferings, 
and at last glorified it." So God the Father of our Lord Jesus 
Christ is the object of blessing in Paul's praise to our God. Now that brings us secondly to 
the Apostle's reasons. for the praise to the Father. 
So you're not just saying, blessed be the God and Father of our 
Lord Jesus Christ. Now let's move on to husbands love your 
wives just as Christ loved the church and gave himself for her. 
Let's move on to wives be submissive to your own husbands as unto 
the Lord. He's going to do that. He is going to address the interpersonal 
relationships of God's people when he gets to Ephesians chapter 
6. He is going to deal with how we function with one another 
in the context of church and in the context of family. But 
prior to that, and I know this is a big, you know, sort of a 
blast against our ego, God comes first. His glory, His honor, 
His preeminence, His majesty, His excellence. And so the Apostle 
wants us to reflect on this. The Apostle wants us to follow 
Him in this. The Apostle wants us to understand 
that there are times where praising God, glorifying God, is enough 
practical application out of a sermon. So notice, he gives 
reasons for praise to the Father. There's a general statement in 
3b, there are specific reasons in verses 4 and 5, and then there 
is this goal or this redounding anthem in verse 6 that'll be 
repeated again in verses 12 and 14. So not only is God to be 
praised, but His grace and His glory are extolled throughout. 
Now notice the general statement. So blessed be the God and Father 
of our Lord Jesus Christ. And now he says, who has blessed 
us? Now, blessing us does not entail to praise. It does not 
entail to speak well of. Rather, blessing us means to 
bestow a favor or to provide with benefits. That's the difference. We bless God by our words. We bless God in our song. We bless God in our prayer. We 
bless God in our worship, whether it be private, whether it be 
family, whether it be church worship. We bless God by speaking 
well of him. The blessings that Paul is praising 
him for is not his praise for us. Oh, you're so wonderful, 
you're so splendid, you're so wise, and you're so good. That's 
not it at all. The blessings that we find in 
verse 3b are the gifts that God gives to us, the bestowal of 
benefit, the provision of good things. John Edy says, God blessed 
us and we bless God, but his blessing of us is one of deed. Our blessing of him is only in 
word. He makes us blessed, we pronounce 
him blessed. That's the difference in the 
usage of the word in the first part of the verse and in the 
latter part of the verse. So we speak well of God, we ascribe 
praise to God, we extol the majesty of God because of what God has 
done for us. Now notice the general statement. He has blessed us with every 
spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ. He is going 
to provide specific details to follow, but right now let's just 
focus for a moment upon that. who has blessed us. Who's the 
us there? The us obviously are the Ephesian 
Christians, those described in verse two, verse one, to the 
saints who are in Ephesus and faithful in Christ Jesus. But 
in Acts chapter 19, at the founding of the church in Ephesus, how 
was it the case that these persons became part of us? It was by 
grace through faith in Christ Jesus, our Lord. And so when 
we look at the us in verse three, it includes the Ephesians that 
were saved, but it includes the early church. It includes the 
medieval church. It includes the Reformation period 
church. It includes the modern church. 
It includes Abel. It includes everybody retrospectively 
and prospectively. All sinners saved by grace through 
faith in Jesus Christ. But again, notice who has blessed 
us. If we weren't Calvinists or Reformed 
or we weren't in tune with some degree of biblical sort of consciousness, 
we might think, that's a pretty special class of people. It's 
a wonderful class of people. If God chose them, God predestinated 
them, they must be pretty special among the lot of humanity. No, 
as we move through the passage, it's not based on the us, why 
God chose us. It's not based on the us, why 
God predestinated us unto adoption as sons. We find us in chapter 
2 at verses 1 to 3. Notice, and you he made alive, 
who were dead in trespasses and sins, in which you once walked 
according to the course of this world. according to the prince 
of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons 
of disobedience, among whom also we all once conducted ourselves 
in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and 
of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, just as the 
others." So lifeless, helpless, and hopeless sinners. That's 
the us in verse 3. Just, or rather, he has blessed 
us with every spiritual blessing. Notice over in chapter 2 at verse 
11. Chapter 2 at verse 11, therefore remember that you, once Gentiles 
in the flesh, who are called uncircumcision by what is called 
the circumcision made in the flesh by hands, that at that 
time, now he's talking in terms of category, he's talking about 
Gentile inclusion in the covenant promises of God. Israel is already 
there, and now the Gentiles have been brought nigh through the 
blood of Jesus Christ. But the description that he gives 
of the Gentiles here is true of these Ephesians. It is true 
of us. It is true of the Jews as well 
in terms of their sin and rebellion. They just had a few different 
privileges in terms of inclusion in the old covenant people. But 
then notice what he says in verse 12, that at that time you were 
without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel 
and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope and 
without God in the world. Incidentally, that's the only 
place the word atheist appears in the Bible. It's right there, 
without God. It's not a positive. It's not 
a philosophical position. It's not the default position 
that resides in the universities and among the academics. No, 
without Godness is a bad thing. Atheism is a horrific thing. 
But notice that at that time you were without Christ. You 
were aliens from the Commonwealth of Israel. You were strangers 
from the Covenants of Promise. You had no hope and you were 
without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus, you 
who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of 
Christ. So we go back to verse 1, verse 3 specifically, who 
has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places 
in Christ. These are not deserving people. 
We're not deserving people. We're not good people. We're 
not picked out by God because of something that we will do. 
We're not picked out by God because something that we will be. We're 
not picked out by God because of something that we are. We're 
picked out by God according to the pleasure of his will. It 
is all about God in the matter of salvation, and Paul doesn't 
do this to defend himself on Facebook. He's not engaged in 
polemics, but rather this is praise to God. You mentioned 
election today. You mentioned predestination. 
People raise an eyebrow, and people are suspicious, and people 
might even say, are you a Calvinist or are you reformed? What is 
Paul doing here? He's praising God for God's sovereignty 
in the matter of salvation. He has blessed us, guilty, vile, 
helpless sinners, with every spiritual blessing. And I think 
that's better rendered, every blessing of the Holy Spirit. It's not just a Trinitarian structure. Verses 3 to 6, the Father. Verses 
7 to 12, the Son. Verses 13 to 14, the Spirit. There's Trinitarianism embedded 
in verse 3. Notice, blessed be the God and 
Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, first and second person, who 
has blessed us with every blessing of the Holy Spirit, the third 
person of the triune God. That's the better rendering. 
Baugh argues that way, and I think he's absolutely right. But then 
notice, these blessings are associated with the heavenly places. A bit 
of a difficult clause, brethren. I'm not going to lie to you. 
I think the idea is that God in heaven conveys blessing through 
the sun by the Spirit to the sinner on earth. Those things 
that are true of God, those things that are blessings by God, are 
received by us as gifts from Him from the heavenly places. 
And then notice, he speaks specifically that these blessings are in Christ. He uses this emphasis on many 
occasions, and this is something we must never forget. Any good 
that you and I have is by virtue of Christ. It's not by virtue 
of us. It's not by our wisdom. It's 
not by our power. It's not by our ability. It's 
not by our works. It's all based on what Jesus 
Christ has done and who Jesus Christ is. So that's the general 
statement in verse 3b. But then notice specific reasons. The spiritual blessings he will 
detail, he will highlight. Election unto holiness, verse 
4. Adoption as sons, verse 5. Redemption through blood, verse 
7. The sealing and guarantee of 
the Holy Spirit, verses 13 and 14. We might just sort of say, 
in terms of theological language, justification, sanctification, 
and glorification. He has blessed us with every 
spiritual blessing. Everything that we stand in need 
of God provides. Isn't that glorious about our 
religion? Our religion isn't one of try 
harder and do better, and perhaps God will accept you. Just stop 
that and do this, and if you do it well enough, then God will 
receive you unto himself. No, God confers every spiritual 
blessing. upon the undeserving. God gives 
us justification for our status with God, our standing before 
God. He gives us sanctification for our growth in grace. And 
He promises and vouches to us this whole idea of glorification 
wherein we'll enter into heaven with Him. So Paul does praise 
God for these specific things. Now let's look specifically at 
election in verse 4. A few things to consider here. First of all, the fact of it. Notice, just as he chose us. It's hard to sort of wiggle out 
of that, right? Have you ever debated with an Arminian or met 
somebody like that? Election's not taught in the 
Bible. I'm sorry, but just as he chose us, I mean, you may 
not like election, you may not like the concept, you might not 
like the whole theology behind it, but to say that it's not 
there, just as he chose us. Now this word, it's a tough one, 
so hang in there for a moment. It means selection. It means 
choice. It means special choice or election. This whole idea of He chose us 
shows us something, again, about God's supremacy and about our 
unworthiness. The unconditionalness of election 
is loud and clear in the passage. It doesn't say He unconditionally 
elected us, but it says He unconditionally elected us. There was no condition 
in the creature, there was nothing outside of God's good pleasure 
that provoked Him to set His choice upon us. It was, as Paul 
says, according to the good pleasure of His will. So the particular word used is 
simple. It means election. It's a middle 
use or middle voice. That means the subject of the 
verb participates at least to some degree in the action. So 
the idea is that he chose us for himself. Now brethren, on 
most days I wouldn't choose me for myself. The fact that God 
chooses us for Himself is absolutely mind-boggling. It is absolutely 
mind-blowing that the Lord God Most High does this. Then notice 
again the object of His choice. Just as He chose us, the us in 
verse 3 has not shifted to a different us in verse 4. Remember the general 
statement in 3b, and now the specific details in verses 4 
and following. So the just as he chose us refers 
again, not just to the Ephesians in Acts chapter 19, but as well 
to those who are in Christ, to those who have by grace received 
every spiritual blessing, those who were lifeless, helpless, 
hopeless, those who were without God in this world, those who 
were afar off, those who had no no spiritual life whatsoever. He chose us, and then again, 
notice, in Him. In Him. We'll get to the before 
the foundational world in just a moment, but I want to look 
at a few other passages. So just as He chose us, in Him. 
Remember, nothing good comes to us apart from the mediatorial 
office of our Lord Jesus Christ. It's not as if, you know, there's 
something outside of Christ that comes beneficially to us. Our 
salvation is by virtue of our union with our blessed Savior. 
But in terms of election as a concept, turn back to the book of Romans. 
Of course, you'll know that Romans, the apostle, deals with this 
at great detail in 9 to 11. 9 to 11, the apostle deals with 
election. This whole idea of special choice 
or selection or choice. Just a couple of passages. I 
won't inundate us with the amount of data. We saw it in Psalm 65. 
Again, as our brother read today, or read tonight, you know, blessed 
is the man whom you choose and cause to approach him. I mean, 
how do you get away from election in passages like that? How do 
you get away from election in passages where they clearly state 
that God chose and drew them to himself? Notice in chapter 
9 of Romans at verse 11, for the children not yet being born, 
nor having done any good or evil, that the purpose of God, notice, 
according to election might stand, not of works, but of him who 
calls. And then turn over to chapter 
11, verse 5. Chapter 11 at verse 5, even so then at this present 
time there is a remnant according to the election of grace. God 
in his grace chose us in him before the foundation of the 
world. Notice in 11.28, concerning the 
gospel, they are enemies for your sake. Talking about Jews, 
ethnic Jews. But concerning the election, they are beloved for 
the sake of the fathers. Turn over to Colossians. Colossians 
chapter 3. Colossians chapter 3, we not 
only see the verbal use of the word, but we see the noun form 
as well. In Colossians 3.12, therefore 
as what? The elect of God. Now as we move 
on in verse 4, we'll notice that the election is not predicated 
on our goodness. The election is not predicated 
on any conditionality. The election is not predicated 
on what we did think or say, but rather it is based on God's 
will, God's will alone. So verse 12, therefore, as the 
elect of God, holy and beloved, put on tender mercies, kindness, 
humility, meekness, long-suffering. Look at 1 Thessalonians 1 at 
verse 4. 1 Thessalonians 1 at verse, well, 
look at verse 2. We give thanks to God always 
for you, for you all, making mention of you in our prayers, 
remembering without ceasing your work of faith, labor of love, 
and patience of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ in the sight of 
our God and Father, knowing, beloved brethren, your election 
by God. How do they know or how does 
Paul know their election by God? Because they have faith in our 
Lord Jesus Christ and they have fruits that reflect their position 
in the Lord Jesus Christ. It's not because they did good 
things and therefore God elected them. It's not that they exercised 
their faith and therefore God elected them. You have to remember 
Ephesians 2.1. You being what? dead in your 
trespasses and sins. Dead sinners can't believe the 
gospel. Dead sinners can't just exercise 
their free will. Their will is bound by their 
wicked heart. And the prophet, the apostle 
Jeremiah says, the heart is deceitful above all things and desperately 
wicked. So the doctrine of election ensures 
that if anybody's gonna be saved, it is due because of God's grace 
and not because of what we do. Notice in 2 Thessalonians 2.13. 
2 Thessalonians 2.13, but we are bound to give thanks to God 
always for you, brethren, beloved by the Lord, because God from 
the beginning chose you for salvation through sanctification by the 
Spirit and belief in the truth, to which he called you by our 
gospel for the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. 
Therefore, brethren, stand fast and hold the traditions which 
you were taught, whether by word or our epistle. Notice that. 
The fact that we're elect, the fact that we're chosen, the fact 
that we're set apart does not mitigate the necessity of faithful 
perseverance. Paul was not a hyper-Calvinist. 
There'd be no verse 15 if Paul was a hyper-Calvinist. If God 
has elected you, if God has sanctified you, God has set you apart as 
an object of his mercy, well then, just don't worry about 
it. No, Paul actually argues just the opposite. Because God 
does this because God's exercised his sovereignty because God has 
drawn you out of darkness into marvelous light It's therefore 
brethren stand fast and hold the traditions which you were 
taught whether by word or our epistle Titus chapter 1 verse 
1 Titus chapter 1 verse 1 any greeting to his ministerial companion 
Verse one, Paul, a bondservant of God and an apostle of Jesus 
Christ, according to the faith of God's elect and the acknowledgement 
of the truth, which accords with godliness. Well, who are these 
elect? Well, they're the ones Paul's 
talking about in Ephesians chapter one, verse four, just as he chose 
us in him. Now notice, secondly, the timing 
of election in one form, just as he chose us in him before 
the foundation of the world. Again, this underscores the unconditionalness 
of election. It was before the foundation 
of the world. Look at two passages that underscore 
the same thing. 2 Timothy 1, 2 Timothy chapter 
1, again a context referring to the covenant of redemption. 
2 Timothy 1.9, God, who has saved us and called us with a holy 
calling, not according to our works, but according to his own 
purpose and grace, which was given to us in Christ Jesus before 
time began. You see, brethren, it is not 
conditioned upon the performance of the sinner. It is not conditioned 
upon what we will do or what we will say. It is not conditioned 
on our faith. It is not conditioned on our 
repentance. We have faith and repentance 
because God chose us in Him before the foundation of the world. 
Election is the cause, not the consequence, of faith and repentance. Same emphasis in Titus again. Turn over there. Titus chapter 
1, continuing on in verse 2. After he speaks of God's elect 
and the acknowledgement of the truth which accords with godliness, 
in hope of eternal life, which God, who cannot lie, promised 
before time began. but has in due time manifested 
his work through preaching, which was committed to me according 
to the commandment of God our Savior." So in both passages, 
you have the covenant of redemption meets the covenant of grace, 
what God has done in the past in terms of the triune council 
to save his people from their sins, and then the covenant of 
grace where Jesus comes on that redemptive mission to save us 
from our sins. Now, one more passage just to 
underscore the unconditionalness of our election. Go back to Romans 
9. I read the text, but I made no 
comment because it fit here better. Because some, of course, have 
taught that before the foundation of the world, God looked down 
the tunnel of time and he saw that these people would jump 
on. These people would get on the train that leads to heaven. 
And so those are the ones that he chose. That is to get the 
Bible absolutely backward. That is to reverse the ordo salutis 
completely. In Acts 13, 48, we read that 
all those who were appointed unto eternal life believe. They 
didn't believe and therefore were appointed unto eternal life. 
They believed because they had been appointed unto eternal life. Notice the emphasis here in Romans 
9, 10. And not only this, but when Rebecca 
also had conceived by one man, even by our father Isaac, for 
the children not yet being born, nor having done any good or evil, 
that the purpose of God, according to election might stand, not 
of works, but of him who calls. Again, could he make it any more 
conspicuous that this concept of God looking down the tunnel 
of time, seeing what persons would jump on the train of faith, 
those would be the ones that he'll elect? This goes absolutely 
positively contrary to that. That is, again, to get the Bible 
absolutely wrong. It is to reverse the order of 
salvation. It is to put man's will as primary. And it is to subjugate, ultimately, 
God under man. Paul will have none of that. 
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who 
has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places 
in Christ, just as He chose us in Him before the foundation 
of the world. Now notice thirdly, the purpose 
of election in verse four, that we should be holy and without 
blame beforehand. Again, you're going to get tired 
of hearing it, but this is the unconditionalness of our election. We are not chosen because we 
are holy and without blame. We are chosen unto holiness and 
blamelessness. That's the text. That's the emphasis. Just as He chose us in Him before 
the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without 
blame before Him. It is a most glorious emphasis. We're not chosen because we're 
holy. We're not chosen because we're 
without blame, but we're chosen so that once by God's grace, 
we believe the gospel. Once by God's grace, we come 
to the savior. Once by God's grace, we are freely 
or justified freely by his grace. We then enter into the life of 
sanctification, the holiness and the blamelessness. That is 
true of God's people. Now, it's true of God's people 
in varying degrees. I would argue that Paul was a 
lot holier and a lot more without blame than Jim. But with reference 
to the reality, the reality is that God's people manifest this. And again, in light of remaining 
corruption. Romans 7 teaches that the good 
we wish to do, we don't always do. The evil we don't want to 
do, we find ourselves doing. Galatians 5.17 tells us the flesh 
lusts against the spirit and the spirit against the flesh. 
And these two are contrary to one another so that you don't 
do the things that you want. So there's this tension. There's 
this turmoil. There's certainly struggle, there's 
certainly a necessity to watch and pray and cry out to God and 
use the means and all that sort of thing, but there is a degree 
to which the people of God who believe the gospel of God, who 
have come savingly to our Lord Jesus Christ, will manifest a 
degree of holiness and blamelessness. Now, incidentally, that's a great 
fruit or evidence or manifestation of someone who's a believer. 
Spurgeon made the observation, I don't go looking around for 
people who have ease on their backs before I preach the gospel 
to them. We preach the gospel indiscriminately 
to all creatures. We preach to all men everywhere, 
believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you shall be saved. But sometimes 
those creatures have come to faith in our Lord, and then they 
wonder, well, there was no fireworks display. Nothing felt different. 
It's kind of like Mormonism. You know, for Mormonism, they 
have you survey their books and pray for the burning in the bosom. 
If you get the burning in the bosom, then you know they're 
right. I'm not making this up, brethren. Some of you are looking 
a little bit puzzled. That's how you know that Mormonism is 
right, when you get the burning in the bosom. I had a friend 
who asked a Mormon, how do you know it wasn't heartburn from 
the pizza that you had previous to that? That is such a subjective 
and mystical approach. And at times God's people are 
like that. Nothing felt different. I believe 
the gospel and I'm still me. What do you think? You're going 
to come out on the other side of faith with bigger up muscles and, you 
know, better hair and nicer teeth? It just doesn't happen that way. 
Well, Paul says in 2 Corinthians 5 that we're new creatures in 
Christ Jesus. Yeah, absolutely. But not better 
in the sense of physical specimen. So there may not be a feeling. 
There may not be a tingling. And in fact, brethren, if you 
look for that, you're going to be a miserable person. If you're 
looking for the subjective emotional response that causes you to know 
that God loves you, you're in a sad and sorry state. We believe 
what the Bible says. Martin Luther said, feelings 
come and feelings go, but feelings are deceiving. My warrant is 
the word of God, none else is worth believing. If you are a 
subjective mystic, you are not going to be a happy camper as 
Christ a Christ person, but with reference to evidences or fruits. Is there holiness? Is there blamelessness? Sometimes new believers can get 
discouraged. Sometimes new believers can say, 
well, I don't have that kind of fruit. Well, Paul had been 
converted about 30 years when he's writing these things. Believers 
coming out of the womb of regeneration or people coming out of the womb 
of regeneration and then believing, make sure I got my order correct, 
they are not Paul. They are not Peter. They are 
not mature people. Brethren, this ought to help 
us with reference to our children. A 12-year-old who believes the 
gospel is not going to be 30. He's not going to automatically 
be mature. He's not going to automatically 
be ready for the big decisions in life. He's still 12. You see, 
but with reference to a 12-year-old, a 22-year-old, a 52-year-old, 
a 72-year-old, an 82-year-old, there will be fruit that manifests 
through his life and character. Again, it will vary in degrees. There will be ebbs and flows. 
There will be struggles. There will be heartaches. There 
will be difficulties. I'm not promising you a rose 
garden in the pursuit of holiness and blamelessness, but these 
fruits are evidence that God has, in fact, chose us in Him 
before the foundation of the world. Again, not because we 
are holy and without blame, but that we might become holy and 
without blame because of Him. Charles Hodge makes the observation, 
if men are chosen to be holy, they cannot be chosen because 
they are holy. If men are chosen to be holy, 
they cannot be chosen because they are holy. You get that, 
right? I've often thought in theology 
that if persons make the distinction between consequences and causes, 
they'd be a whole lot better off. Consequences and causes 
are most important in theological endeavors. And in this instance, 
it is a consequence of God's election. It is not the cause 
of God's election. Oh, that particular fellow, he's 
going to be holy and blameless, so I'm going to go ahead and 
elect him. That just sounds foolish. Even if we didn't have a Bible, 
that just sounds bizarre. That a God who not only knows 
the end from the beginning, but determines all of the way to 
that end. The God who is in absolute control. Look at verse 11 and see what 
Paul says there. He says, in him also we have 
obtained an inheritance being predestined according to the 
purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel 
of his will. God by definition, brethren, 
is a sovereign being. God by definition must choose 
if persons are going to be saved because those persons will never 
choose for him. It is never the case that a dead 
sinner will raise his hand and say, I want Jesus to save me 
from my sins. We see in Ephesians chapter two, 
he made us alive together with him. It is regeneration. Jesus' teaching of Nicodemus, 
you must be born again in order to get from A to Z, God must 
undertake on your behalf. And a beautiful component of 
that is the doctrine of unconditional election. as set forth here in 
chapter 1, verse 4. John Gill says, election does 
not find men in Christ, but puts them there. You understand that? That's so important. Election 
does not find men in Christ, but puts them there. This is 
sort of the Calvary Chapel. I know there's one in Langley 
here, Brent Smith, faithful brother, kept his church open during the 
lockdown, a good man, a solid man. But that Calvary Chapel 
group tries to navigate, not but, as if he's a horrible person, 
that Calvary Chapel group tries to navigate. Well, we're not 
Calvinists, but we're not Arminians, and they try to explain it that 
way. The tunnel of time, and God looks down that tunnel, and 
who he sees will believe the gospel, those are the ones he 
elects unto eternal life. So they get to maintain election, 
they get to maintain free will, they get to maintain what their 
particular position is, but they don't have any biblical foundation. 
They don't have any exegetical warrant. They can't navigate 
a verse 4 in Ephesians 1, just as He chose us in Him, before 
the foundation of the world. That we should be holy and without 
blame. The Lord God Most High is sovereign 
in terms of who it is that He will save. So election does not 
find men in Christ, but puts them there. He says, Gil, it 
gives them a being in Him and union to Him. It is a most glorious 
and a wonderful doctrine, and I don't want to shove predestination 
in to the last 10 minutes here. So we'll pick up on verse 5, 
God willing, next week when we gather together for our Lord's 
Day evening worship. But in conclusion, just a few 
thoughts in terms of what we've seen thus far. First of all, 
the context of Paul's declaration. This is important. The context 
of Paul's declaration. See, a lot of times as Reformed 
believers, we butt heads with Arminians and increasingly more 
now Pelagians, people that have You know, no concept whatsoever 
of God's absolute sovereignty in the matter of salvation. And 
we find ourselves defending. We find ourselves fighting. We 
find ourselves, and I don't mean physically, kids. I don't mean 
we're actually duking it out over who's right. But we find 
ourselves embroiled in controversy. Well, brethren, that's not Paul 
here. It is Paul in Romans 9. Romans 9, he's throwing down. 
Romans 9, he's engaged in stopping shows. Romans 9, he wants to 
shut the mouths of gainsayers who want to call into question 
the righteousness of God. When that happens, the apostle 
Paul takes to polemics and he shuts the mouths of his interlocutors. But here in Ephesians 1, it's 
not that way. He's praising, he's worshiping, he's glorifying, 
he's blessing before he gets to the demonstration of God's 
power in chapter 1, before he gets to the individual salvation 
in chapter 2, and then it's implications for Gentiles coming into the 
promises of God that were given initially to Israel. as he waxes 
on that in chapter 3 in his particular role as an apostle to make this 
happen in a human way. Before he gets to the whole idea, 
the ethics of the new man in chapter 4 on how we're to conduct 
ourselves leading into chapter 5 and the relationships that 
we bear with one another in the church. before he gets to the 
whole idea of husbands and wives and parents and children, before 
he gets into that combat in chapter 6, verses 10 and following, with 
reference to fighting the good fight, or rather putting on the 
whole armor of God. Before all that, he praises. He worships, he blesses, he glorifies 
God. You see, brethren, that is our 
calling. The chief end of man is to glorify 
God and to enjoy Him forever. If we're only ever debating, 
if we're only ever attacking, if we're only ever polemicizing, 
we've missed Paul's point in Ephesians 1 at verse 3. There 
ought to be seasons and occasions and times in our lives where 
we just bless God for the good things that He has given to us. 
Now certainly when people are there and they want to fight, 
they want to complain, and they want to argue, we deal with that 
to a degree when it's a necessity, but we don't bypass this very 
emphasis or this very necessary emphasis on praise to God Most 
High. That sovereignty, that glory, 
that majesty is the occasion for the Apostle Paul for worship 
and for praise and for adoration. Secondly, the blessings of God's 
salvation, the doctrine of election itself, Again, brethren, I don't 
know if you've had this interaction with people. They get upset. 
They get offended. They say, well, how could you 
dare suggest that God is actually God and that God actually chooses 
whom He chooses? I mean, come on, how would you 
suggest that? Well, I'm just parroting what Paul says in Romans 
chapter 9 at the very basic level. But secondly, it's because it's 
who God is. Do you think there's any sense 
where God looks down the tunnel of time and sort of orchestrates 
the program of the universe based on what He sees? Is that the 
God of Holy Writ? Is that the God who is described 
by Paul in Ephesians 1 at verse 11, "...and Him also who obtained 
an inheritance, being predestined according to the purpose of Him 
who works all things according to the counsel of His will." 
Now you might say, well that's just in the matter of salvation. 
No! It means he works all things according to the counsel of his 
will. Notice over in chapter 1 at verse 20 when Paul is exemplifying 
or demonstrating the power of God. He says, which he worked 
in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him 
at his 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 age, but also in that which is to come. And 
he put all things under his feet. Now notice, and gave him to be 
head over all things. Christ has absolute, comprehensive, 
universal sovereignty to the church. There is a special affection 
in the heart of Jesus for the church, if I can speak in the 
manner of men. Christ has universal authority. He's over Justin Trudeau. 
He's over Joe Biden. He's over Eastern Europe. He's 
over Putin. He's over Zelensky. He's over 
all of them. That is according to the counsel 
of his will. But with reference to election, 
that is as well, and it's God's choice of His people. So the 
doctrine of election is not something that should incense or outrage 
Christians. It is something that should form 
as the matter for praise unto our God. And if you meet somebody 
that has this axe to grind, Try and be patient with them and 
try to set forth the truth as it is in Jesus. Ephesians 1 is 
most helpful. Romans chapter 9, most helpful. 
Matthew 11, 25 to 30, most helpful. John 6, most helpful. Intriguingly, 
Jesus feeds these people in verses 1 to 14, and then remember in 
verse 15, they want to seize him by force and make him a king. Why? Because he can make bread. He can make fish. A man like 
him would be a wonderful king. He could put down the Roman armies. 
Do you know when they start to depart from him at the end of 
the chapter? It's when he preaches to them sovereignty. When he 
preaches to them those things like, no one can come to me unless 
the father who sent me draws him. It is at that point that 
many of his disciples, John calls them disciples at the end of 
John 6. Now we hear that and we say, oh, they must have been 
saved and lost their salvation. Disciples has a narrow use, those 
who believe the gospel, but it also has a broader use, those 
who follow somebody even for a little time. And that's how 
I think we understand those disciples who left him. It's on the heels 
of that that Jesus then looks at his disciples and says, do 
you also want to leave? And what does Simon Peter says? 
Lord, to whom shall we go? Thou hast the words of eternal 
life." In other words, those persons did not like the hard 
sayings of the Savior in terms of God's comprehensive and absolute 
sovereignty, so they left. Insofar as their bellies were 
filled, they would follow Jesus. But insofar as Jesus preached 
the glory, the supremacy, the majesty, and the honor of God 
Most High, well, that was too much for them, and so they left 
off. So know this, that not everybody 
likes this doctrine, not everybody welcomes this truth. There's 
whole swaths in the history of theology that have rejected it 
wholesale. Arminianism is one, Pelagianism 
is another. Obviously, atheists go nuts when 
you preach to them a sovereign God. I think it's only the doctrine 
of God, as the Bible sets forth, that can ever give us a good 
polemic against atheism. I think that an Arminian and 
a Pelagian will fail in his presentation of the truth of who God is to 
an atheist or even an agnostic. In the other religions, you want 
to get a Jehovah's Witness off your doorstep? Start talking 
to him about predestination. Start talking to him about sovereignty. Start talking to him about Ephesians 
1, 4, and God chose us. And see them swerve. Brethren, 
people don't like this. It grates against the flesh. 
Why? because it extols God as God 
and it humbles man. And we don't like that. We don't 
like that one bit. We like to be the master of our 
own fate. We like to be the king of our own destiny. We like to 
say with Frank Sinatra, I did it my way. Well, God Most High 
is not mocked. God Most High cannot be shaken. God Most High is the one who 
saves to the uttermost all who draw nigh unto Him through His 
Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. Those He chose before the foundation 
of the world. We don't know who they are. We're 
not told to try to figure out who they are. We're told to preach 
the gospel indiscriminately to every creature. We are told to 
go, therefore, and make disciples of all the nations, and to baptize 
them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. 
We are to teach them to observe all things that the risen Christ 
has commanded, and he has promised a special blessing with us. We're 
not told to try and figure out who's elect and who isn't, who's 
predestinated and who isn't. We tell sinners the truth. The Lord God Most High is holy. You have sinned against him and 
transgressed his law, but he in his mercy sent his son to 
live, to die, and to rise again, and that everyone who believes 
in him will have everlasting life. And I know for the hyper, 
there's a problem there. Well, how can we tell sinners 
that weren't chosen? Because the Bible tells us to 
tell sinners whether we know they're chosen or not. The Bible 
tells us to preach the gospel indiscriminately to every creature. 
The Bible tells us that in the wisdom of God, the world through 
wisdom did not know God, but it pleased God through what? 
Through the foolishness of the message preached to save those 
who believe. We preach faithfully, believe 
on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you shall be saved. And we let 
God do God's work. God chose, God predestinated, 
God works all things according to the counsel of His will, and 
in God's time, He opens the heart like He does with Lydia in Acts 
chapter 16, so that she receives the word spoken by Paul and she 
comes out of darkness into marvelous light. It is a most blessed and 
a most glorious and a most wonderful thing that our God saves. That's why Paul praises Him. Well, let us pray. Our Father 
in heaven, we thank you for your word. We thank you for this very 
clear statement concerning the sovereignty, the absolute sovereignty 
of God Most High and the salvation of sinners. We know, Father, 
it's not conditioned upon what we think or what we believe or 
what we would do. We are dead in our trespasses 
and sins. If you don't choose us or hadn't 
chosen us, we will never choose for you. So we give You praise 
and glory for our own salvation. We give You praise that even 
though we were lifeless and helpless and hopeless, You called us out 
of darkness into marvelous light. You gave us new hearts. You gave 
us faith. You gave us repentance. You gave 
us holiness and blamelessness. And we pray, Most High God, that 
we would glorify You each and every day as we ponder these 
truths. And we pray that more and more people would appreciate 
the Godhood of God as set forth in Holy Scripture. Go with us 
now and bless us in this coming week. We pray for the situation 
going on in Eastern Europe. We do pray that there would be 
a ceasefire there. We pray, Most High God, that 
you would protect your people in both countries. and that you 
would bless your people throughout this world and give us the grace 
and the boldness to shine as lights in the crooked and perverse 
generation in which we live and give us that zeal to hold forth 
your word of truth. And we ask these things through 
Christ our Lord. Amen. We'll close with a brief 
time of meditation.