Good morning to everyone. Got a little frog in my throat, so pardon me if my voice fails on me. I wanted to ask you all, when we begin here, to pray for Gabriel. Gabriel is going into the Navy this week. Is that right? You're going into the Navy? Next Monday. Oh, next Monday. OK. So this is his last Sunday here with us. He's going to be six years in the Navy. So pray for Gabriel, and we wish you all the best. Thank you. 

OK. We are digging into the book of Ephesians this morning in chapter 1, verses 1 to 6. And as we said last week, it's vital when we come to God's word to observe the words, the words that God has given to us, the revelation of himself. And we are to consider these words in their context. Seems like a simple thing, but it's an important discipline as we study God's word. So this is a tremendous passage for learning this discipline and understanding why it's important. 

In these first few verses, we find a couple of very challenging words. Challenging not because they're hard to understand or because of what they say in their context with their intent in this letter, but challenging because of all the theological meaning that has been injected into them by the systems and thinking of men. So what we want to do here in our study together this morning is to see what God is saying, because these are tremendous truths. They are for you, you who believe Jesus. And they are incredibly rich with meaning and application in our lives. 

I'd like to begin by looking at another verse like this, 1 John. 1 John is another epistle that was written to believers with the express purpose of encouraging them and giving them assurance of their faith and salvation in Christ. It was not written to cause doubt or questioning or testing of their faith, but to give them assurance, to encourage so that we might know that we have eternal life. John tells us this explicitly in chapter 5 at verse 13, 1 John 5, 13. He says, these things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God. Then you see that purpose word, that. These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life, and that you may continue to believe in the name of the Son of God. 

These things I have written to you, the purpose of this epistle, who believe in the name of the Son of God. Let me ask you, do you believe in the name of the Son of God, all that he is, all that he's done and accomplished for you and you? If you are a believer, that's the qualification here, as well as in our text in Ephesians, to you who believe, John wrote to those who believe for an express purpose that you may know, that is, you may know that you have present possession, eternal life. John wrote this letter to believers to give them assurance of their salvation, that they may know that they have eternal life. 

You know, this was one of the greatest lies in the religion that I grew up in, that you could not know that you were going to heaven. That you could not know that you have eternal life. And the reason that you could not know was because the whole system was a lie. It was built on the deception that I could do something in and of myself, some work, some religious rite or ritual, some suffering in the world to earn or to accomplish my salvation. And the premise was that I could do enough good to make up for my bad. And of course, this is a lie, because no matter how much good that I did, I still had broken God's law, sinned against him, and deserved his wrath. But I could never know that I was saved, because I could never know that I had done enough. 

That's not what the Bible teaches. And my friends, here's the good news of our text this morning, the great, wonderful, profound truth, assurance, confidence, life-changing fact. God wants me to know that I am saved. And not only this, but that I possess eternal life now today. And what that means is that my sanctification is a certainty. God will conform me to the likeness of Christ, producing his life in and through me as I walk by faith. And God will glorify me. And it will be revealed. The truth of who I am in him now will be made manifest to all creation at the glorious revealing of the sons of God. 

I will die in this physical body, unless the Lord comes first. But I will be raised. I will be transformed and given a glorious body at that time. I will be released from the very presence of sin in me. And my spirit will inhabit a new glorified body. And I will be with Jesus. And I will know him fully, for I will see him face to face. What John is telling us in 1 John, in this great message for our assurance, is that these things are a surety. 

In 1 John 3.1, he says, behold, what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us that we should be called children of God. Therefore, the world does not know us because it did not know him. Beloved, now, now we are children of God. It has not yet been revealed what we shall be. But we know that when he is revealed, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. And everyone who has this hope in him purifies himself, just as he is pure. 

And these are the same truths that Paul wants us to understand in Ephesians chapter 1. Look at Ephesians 1.3. It says, 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. 

Paul writes these words to the faithful, to the believers in Ephesus, those who are in Christ. And all of these truths are true in Christ. If you have believed, you are in Christ. And every spiritual blessing is yours in Christ. This book is for believers, for assurance, for confidence, not in myself, not in my works or my doings. Paul says, in this new covenant time in Christ's blood, we have no confidence in anything as being from ourselves. But our confidence is in God. And that's what our text is all about this morning. Our confidence is in God.

These words have nothing to do with how a man is saved. He'll mention that down in verse 13. But this is not about justification or coming to faith in Christ. This is not in the mind of the apostle here. These words are for those who are saved, those who believe Jesus. And they are meant to give us assurance and hope and confidence in God and his grace for the fullness of our salvation. And my friends, this frees us. This allows us to just praise him, live for him, trust him, and be fruitful for his glory. 

That's the very thing that Paul's doing in these first 14 verses, praising God for what he has done and the promises and blessings we now have in Christ by faith. So please keep this in mind. Remember the context and intent as we study the words. And take for yourself, fully believe and receive the great blessings of these truths in Christ. 

Let's look at our text, Ephesians 1.1. 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 has made us accepted in the beloved. 

Well, I've given you five points on your outline. First, every spiritual blessing in Christ. Second, chosen to be holy in him. Third, predestined to glorification by Jesus Christ. Fourth, accepted in the beloved. And fifth, to the praise of his glory. 

Well, verse one says, Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God. And we see right away that Paul's going to emphasize the sovereignty and power, the will of God. Down in verse 11, 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. This section of scripture is about what God has done. It's about what he is accomplishing and will bring to consummation in Christ. This is not about man coming to faith, believing Jesus. This is assumed in the next words of verse one, to the saints who are in Ephesus, the faithful in Christ Jesus. This is vital to our understanding. 

Much like Romans 5.1, I want to just take a little detour here to Romans for a second. After the introduction to the book in Romans 1.1 to 17, Paul begins to discuss the condemnation of all men in 1.18 to 3.20. And then in 3.21 through chapter four, Paul discusses justification, how a man is made right with God by the sacrifice of Christ on the cross, by grace through faith in him. But in chapter five, Paul makes a transition to regeneration, to sanctification, to our security in Christ by God's grace. This is his topic and intent in Romans 5 to 8 and why he ends those great statements, those chapters with the great statements of our security in Christ in 8.28 to 39. 

So what we see in Romans 5.1 is that everything that Paul is going to talk about concerning regeneration, sanctification, glorification, our death to sin, our freedom from the law, all of these things are true of those who have been justified by faith. So in 5.1, he writes, therefore, having been justified by faith, we have. We have, pay attention to those words. We have what? We have all these things in Christ, these wonderful truths of our salvation, this amazing joy and peace, this eternal hope of glorification, all of this, if we have been justified by faith. 

It's the same thing we see in Ephesians 1. Our faith, our justification, our salvation is assumed. He makes this clear in verse 13. He says, in him you also trusted after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and whom also having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise. Who is sealed with the Holy Spirit? Those who have heard the gospel, placed their faith in Christ alone, who have believed. All that Paul says in Ephesians 1 to 14, and particularly these truths of being elect and chosen and predestined, are true of those who have believed, who are in Christ, who are the faithful saints in Christ Jesus. Don't miss this contextual truth. 

We have grace and peace. And we see in verse three that we have every spiritual blessing in Christ. Verse three, 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. Blessed be the God and Father. Paul's speaking well of God. Bless the Lord, oh my soul. Same type of thing, right? He's eulogizing is the word here. He's speaking well of God. 

And he begins here to praise God, and he continues this praising of God all the way down through verse 14 in one sentence, 202 words in the Greek. He just can't stop. Paul begins to expound how it is that God has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing, and he can't stop praising God, speaking well of him. When we bless God, we praise him, we speak well of him. When he blesses us, it's not that he speaks us good, but he does us good. Expositor says, in word and thought, we bless God, because in deed and positive effect, he blesses us. 

When Paul says God blesses us with all spiritual blessings, this speaks of the source of the blessings. Now, this is important because it's not, as we often think in our minds, contrasting spiritual with physical, okay? Rather, it's saying that all of God's blessings to us come from, find their source in the Holy Spirit. Expositors, again, comment saying this expression is a large one, listen, covering all the good that comes to us by grace. Like when the cows didn't run away this morning. That was good that came to me by grace, right? That's included in these blessings. 

Next, Paul says these blessings are in the heavenlies. Expositors concurs with Vincent in viewing the expression as referring to heaven as a locality. Now, this is kind of interesting, because we would kind of think that the blessings came from heaven, right? That their origin is in heaven, but what it says is the blessings have their seat where God himself is and where Christ reigns. Our blessings are in heaven. So these blessings come by the Holy Spirit, they are in the heavenlies, and then Paul says they are in Christ. Let's be.

the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ. This phrase, in Christ, is the theme that permeates this epistle. It's the ground of our blessing. We have all of these things because we are in Christ, and we are in Christ by grace through faith. This is important as we move into verses 4 and 5 to note again that Paul's talking about those who are in Christ. That is that these blessings, these truths, are found in the realm, in the sphere of Christ, as opposed to in Adam where the sons of disobedience now live. We who have believed Jesus now live in Christ. We are in Christ, and therefore we experience all the blessings that are in him, and our sphere of living is in him, and he is in heaven, and we are seated with him. 

So know this, that you are in Christ, and because you are in him, all of these blessings are yours. Now let's look at chosen to be holy in him, verse 4. 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. The words just as place the blessings discussed in the previous verse as grounded in the choosing. The verb chose is in the middle voice, meaning that the one acting is acting in his own interests or for himself. God chose us for his interests, his purposes. The sphere of this choosing is in him, in Christ. Those who are in him, follow me now, those who are in him are chosen for a specific thing, for a specific purpose or goal. 

God chose, it says, before the foundation of the world that those in Christ would be holy and blameless before him in love. So again, the point here, the intent of Paul is to encourage the believer, the one who's in Christ, that he in Christ will be made holy and blameless before God. That is, that his sanctification is as sure as his justification, which is already accomplished in Christ. The choosing here has nothing to do with justification or salvation in this sense, but he is speaking to those who are in Christ and assuring them of their certain salvation by the will and power of God which he purposed in himself before the foundation of the world. 

I can know that God chose before the foundation of the world that those in Christ would be made holy, and I can know that I am in Christ, and therefore this is true of me. How do I get in Christ? Again, Paul makes it clear, verse 13, 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. I heard the gospel, the word of truth, a message about Jesus, I believed, and then I was sealed, I was placed into Christ by the Holy Spirit, and therefore I am in Christ. And I know that God chose that I, because I live in this fear, this fear of Christ, that I will be holy and blameless before him. My confidence is in God, my confidence is in his grace and what he has said that he will do. 

Next we see that we are predestined to glorification by Jesus Christ, as I've been made accepted in the beloved. Verse 5, 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. When we see this word predestined, the right question is not who, okay, not who did God predestine, the question is to what did God predestinate them? The word means to set limits or mark boundaries beforehand. The idea is to determine one's destiny. And again, the context is in the sphere of being in Christ. In Christ, our destiny is determined. What is that? It's the full adoption as sons. 

Now this phrase is interesting, it speaks of being legally placed as a full son with all the rights of such a born one, okay? In regeneration, God makes us a technon, a born one with full status as sons. Now here in this verse, Paul's talking about God's plan to bring this status, this being co-heirs with Christ, to realization, to consummation, in glorification. What is your destiny in Christ? What boundaries has God set beforehand for those who are in Christ? Glorification. A revealing and a realization of our place as God's born ones, co-heirs with Christ, sons of God. This is the adoption, the redemption of the purchased possession, he says a little further down here. 

He uses the same term in Romans 8 at verse 23, you might want to look at that passage, Romans 8, begin in verse 22. In 8.22 he says, For we know that the whole creation groans and labors with birth pangs together until now. The context here, Paul's talking about the sufferings we have now in this world under the curse, and the resolution of that in the coming of Christ, glorification, and the revealing of the sons of God. He says, The whole creation groans and labors with birth pangs together until now, and not only that, but we also who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves, grown within ourselves, look at this, eagerly waiting for the adoption. What's the adoption? The redemption of our body. 

The adoption we have been predestined to in Christ is the redemption of our body at glorification. In verse 28, if you go down in Romans 8, it says, And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to his purpose. For whom he foreknew, he also predestined, what, to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren. Moreover, whom he predestined, these he also called. Whom he called, these he also justified. And whom he justified, these he also glorified. It's done. It's accomplished. If you are in Christ, you will be glorified. 

Here we see the same promises of encouragement to the believer that we have in our text in Ephesians 1, and the fullness of this promise is that all that he has justified, he has also glorified. It's an accomplished fact, although yet to be revealed. It will be revealed at the adoption of sons, at our glorification when we come with him. This is what Paul calls the glorious revealing of the sons of God. So what we've seen by way of encouragement already in these short couple of verses is that if you are in Christ, if you are a saint, then all of these things are true of you.

You were placed into Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation and believed. Now you are in Christ, and this means that you have been chosen to be holy and blameless before him. You have been predestined to glorification, and who you are will be revealed at the glorious revealing. John, again, we are children of God now. It has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when he is revealed, we shall be like him. We shall see him as he is. This is the love the Father has bestowed on us. These things are certain and true for you because you are in Christ. All of this is because of and in the sphere of God's love. 

Now in my Bible, verse 4 ends with these two little words, in love. In your Bible, these two words might be at the beginning of verse 5. You read these scholars and Greek students, and usually they have a full explanation and understanding of why it means this or it means that or it goes here or it goes there. The scholars are hopelessly divided on this, and Wyss says there's no way to know for sure. But it doesn't matter, because we were chosen to be holy in love, and it is because of his love that we are predestined to adoption as sons, full and final salvation in him. 

Let me ask you, are you feeling encouraged yet? Because this is what Paul's intent is, is to encourage you. Do you have assurance because of his grace as a result of his plan and purpose and promise in saving you? See, he saved you for these purposes. He works all things according to the counsel of his will. You don't need to worry. You need to be freed to live for him, praise him, walk by faith, stand in grace, and be fruitful for his glory. 

In 2 Corinthians 3, 4, Paul says we have such trust through Christ toward God. Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think of anything as being from ourselves, but our sufficiency is from God, who also made us sufficient as ministers of the new covenant, not of the letter, but of the Spirit, for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life. Peter gives us some similar beautiful words, comments on these truths in 1 Peter 1. Turn over to 1 Peter 1 with me. When you read these passages, it's almost as if God wants you to know that you have eternal life. 

1 Peter 1, 1. Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ to the pilgrims of the dispersion in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father and sanctification of the Spirit for obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ. Grace to you and peace be multiplied. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Peter's speaking well of God. Blessed be God, 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 that does not fade away, reserved where? In heaven for you, who are kept by the power of God through faith for salvation, ready to be revealed in the last time. 

In this you greatly rejoice, so now for a little while, if need be, you have been grieved by various trials, that the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ, whom having not seen you love, though now you do not see him, yet believing, you rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory, receiving the end of your faith, the salvation of your souls. 

Are you beginning to understand the assurance of salvation you can have because your salvation is not dependent on you, on your works, your religious participation, living up to some standard or set of laws, but your salvation is because of the grace of God that you are kept by the power of God, that he is accomplishing your salvation as you abide in him by faith, that your sufficiency is not from yourself, but your sufficiency is from God because of his grace, because of his eternal plan and purpose in Christ. 

God wants us to know, and he wants us to live in grace and have his peace and joy because of all that is true in Christ. He indeed has made us accepted in the Beloved. We have been transferred from the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of the Son of his love. We were in Adam, but we now are in Christ, and it is because of Christ, his death, burial, and resurrection, and our union with him in that death, burial, and resurrection that we can have a clear conscience before God, 1 Peter 3. We can have assurance of our salvation based on what Jesus did, on the grace of God, his word, his promise, and his very life in us. 

So we see every spiritual blessing in Christ, we see that we are chosen in him to be holy, we see we are predestined to glorification by Jesus Christ, we are accepted in the Beloved, and finally we need to see that all of this is to the praise of his glory. Verse 6 of our text, to the praise of the glory of his grace. This is where this all goes. What is God's intent in our salvation and all those who are in Christ by grace through faith? To the praise of his glory. 

Our new life, our transformed life, and all that God is doing in and through us, culminating in the glorious revealing of the sons of God, is for the praise of the glory of his grace. Turn over to 1 Corinthians with me. Let's look at chapter 2, 1 Corinthians 2.1, and then we're going to back up and read in chapter 1. 

1 Corinthians 2.1, and I brethren when I came to you did not come with excellence of speech or of wisdom declaring to you the testimony of God. We might often think of Paul as like a great orator, an arguer, but that's not true, right? They said his speech was contemptible, he was powerful in letter but in person unimpressive. He says here, I didn't come to you with wisdom of speech. I determined not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. I was with you in weakness and fear and in much trembling and my speech and my preaching were not with persuasive words of human wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power," look at verse 5, "...so that your faith should not be in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God." 

Now go back to 1 Corinthians 1, at verse 21.

It says, "...for since in the wisdom of God the world through wisdom did not know God, it pleased God through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe. For Jews request a sign, and Greeks seek after wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified, to the Jews a stumbling block, to the Greeks foolishness. But to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ, the power of God, and the wisdom of God. Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men. 

For you see your calling, brethren, that not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called. But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty, and the base things of the world, and the things which are despised God has chosen, and the things which are not, to bring to nothing the things that are. Why? That no flesh should glory in his presence, but of him you are in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption. That as it is written, here it is, he who glories, let him glory in the Lord. 

You see, in Christ, in the new covenant, under grace, our confidence is in God, not in ourselves, not in the flesh, but in God. And therefore we glory in the Lord. We praise him, we speak of his goodness, we glory in him, and what he has planned and purposed in Christ. I don't know if you caught that before, but when we speak well of God, we glory in him, his character, his nature. When he blesses us, it's not about us. He imparts to us all these wonderful things and transforms us and changes us. He blesses us indeed. We speak well of him because of who he is. 

God wants us to have assurance, he wants us to know that we have eternal life. He's written these things for this very purpose, and in this salvation, in his grace, in Christ, he wants our lives to be a testimony of his goodness, of his grace, to the praise of his glory. We will see that this is God's plan and purpose in the church in chapter 3 of Ephesians. Chapter 3 at verse 4, he says, "...by which, when you read, you may understand my knowledge in the mystery of Christ, which in other ages was not made known to the sons of men, as it has now been revealed by the Spirit to his holy apostles and prophets, that the Gentiles should be fellow heirs of the same body and partakers of his promise in Christ through the gospel, of which I became a minister according to the gift of the grace of God given to me by the effective working of his power. 

To me, who am less than the least of all the saints, this grace was given, that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ." Now look at verse 9, "...and to make all see," to make all see, "...what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the ages has been hidden in God, who created all things through Jesus Christ, to the intent." What is your intent, God, in this salvation, in saving me, in saving the church? "...to the intent that now the manifold wisdom of God might be made known by the church to the principalities and powers in the heavenly places, according to the eternal purpose which he accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord." 

He saved you, he placed you into Christ, chose you to be holy, predestined you to full sonship and glorification, so that in the church his manifold wisdom might be shown, might be made manifest to all creation, and this for his glory. Now to him, now to him, Ephesians 3, who is able, he is able, now to him who is able, to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, to him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen. 

I write you these things so that you may know that you have eternal life. Let's close in prayer. Father, we're so thankful, so thankful for your grace, your mercy, your eternal purpose in Christ. We're humbled, we're privileged to be part of this salvation, to be part of your plan, to be manifesting your wisdom in this world because of your grace, your power. Help the church to be the church, help us to be who we are, to live out the truth of who we are because of our union with Jesus, because of our regeneration, our new heart, our new spirit in your life in us. Help us to do all these things for your glory in Jesus' name.