We come again today to the first chapter of the book of Ephesians. Our subject is what God has done. Verses 3 through 14 compose one of the most expressive paragraphs in the Word of God. Actually, in the Greek language, it is one sentence of 202 words. That's the longest sentence you have ever written. I would dare say it probably wasn't composed of that many words. But the Apostle Paul begins to write, and he can't stop. One word after another flows from his inspired pen
until he writes to us what God has done. It is something like a snowball that begins rolling down a hill and picks up both mass and momentum. As the Apostle Paul writes, the paragraph gains in glory and praise to God for his master plan of redemption. Last week we discussed what God has done initially, and our first subject was that God has blessed us. In other words, God has provided us with eternal benefits because we are in Christ Jesus. These benefits, it is
said, involve every spiritual blessing. That is, everything that we need pertaining to life and godliness. He has lavished upon us spiritual resources that are inexhaustible. These blessings are said to be in the heavenlies. That is, the sphere of reality having to do with the supernatural. It is the realm or the dimension of spiritual reality. He has blessed us. Then we began to
study, secondly, that he has chosen us. Verse 4, just as he chose us in him, in Christ, before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless. What this means is that God has selected us for himself out of the peoples of the world. This act of choosing is an unconditional act of God. What that means is that it was not done on the basis of our worth or our works. Paul writes to Timothy a very poignant verse
in 2 Timothy 1 .9. For he says, 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 granted us in Christ Jesus from all eternity. And so this act of God in choosing out people for himself was an unconditional act. It was not based upon the worth or the merit of any of the individuals involved. It was not based upon their works. It was based solely upon his grace and his purpose, which is from all
eternity past. It is an unconditional act, secondly, because it is not based upon our foreseen faith. Again, I'd like you to turn to 2 Peter chapter 1. Right at the beginning of this book, Peter addresses the recipients of the letter, who are those who are scattered in various places, and he says about them, who are chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father by the sanctifying work of God. of the Spirit, that you may obey Jesus Christ and be sprinkled with
his blood. And notice Peter also uses this term, who are chosen. He goes on to say who are chosen according to the foreknowledge of God. Now there are those who believe that this explains this matter of election. At least it does to their satisfaction. They say God foreknew, he knew ahead of time. Who the ones were who were going to believe. He knew ahead of time who was going to receive his word. And based upon his foreknowing that they would believe, he chose them. And there's
only one problem with that. Foreknowledge means more than knowing something ahead of time. The idea in foreknowledge is that God knew intimately the people. that he had in view, and that he selected them. You see, inherent in the biblical term foreknowledge is the idea of God predetermining and choosing. But Peter is not saying here that God saw ahead of time who was going to believe and chose them. That would be a very meaningless kind of choice. In fact, it completely undermines
any idea of God's choosing. If God simply chose those who were going to believe. The idea in foreknowledge is that God saw ahead of time the individuals involved. He knew them intimately. He selected them and chose them. And then in time, the sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit took place. That is, the Holy Spirit wooed those individuals, drew them. to the faith in the Lord Jesus Christ so that they would obey Jesus Christ
and be sprinkled with his blood. My friend, the choosing of God was unconditional, absolutely and totally. God did not choose on the basis of our works, our worth, or a foreseen faith on our part. Now this does not violate at all human responsibility. The Word of God also teaches that each person is responsible for his own choice to reject God's revelation. And the Bible says that man naturally does that because of his sinfulness.
There is none who seeks after God. As we stated last week, God's sovereignty and man's responsibility are a paradox to our minds. These two parallel truths can only be... reconciled and resolved in God's infinite intelligence and wisdom. How they work together, only God knows. It is a secret that belongs to him. But we can say for sure that the Bible teaches both of them as being equally true, that God sovereignly chose. But on the other hand, every man is responsible for
his own decision. We see this once more, if I may take time to point this out, in 2 Thessalonians 2, 13. And here we have the work of the Holy Spirit in setting these two truths side by side in a beautiful balance. 2 Thessalonians 2, 13. That we should always give thanks to God for you, brethren beloved by the Lord, because... God has chosen you from the beginning for salvation. You see, there is this doctrine again. But he goes on to say, through sanctification by the
Spirit. And so here is another word similar to what Peter said, we read a few moments ago. But said in balance here against God's choosing, through the sanctification of the Spirit, is the next phrase, and faith in the truth. There is man's part. There is man's decision, man's choice to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ to be saved. So once again, the Bible presents the two truths in parallel, in balance. They are
a paradox. They cannot be reconciled in our minds, but God works them together in his infinite wisdom so that we are saved. Someone asked, will a person then be saved without faith? Can he be elect but unbelieving? The answer is absolutely not. For every person that God has chosen will come to faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. It is impossible for a person to be saved without faith. But then will a person believe without elective grace
working in his life? Apart from God's choice, God's divine grace, the work of the Holy Spirit wooing him, will he believe? Again, the answer is no. He will not. For man's heart is depraved, totally depraved. Every part of his being, including his will, is in opposition to God. No person will believe on the Lord Jesus Christ under the saving of his soul apart from this grace on the part of God. We sang about that in the last hymn, if you noticed, in the last verse. We praised
God for his sovereign grace. That's exactly what we're talking about. That God has chosen some does not mean that he is unjust to the rest. Because God has chosen some to salvation does not mean that he has therefore chosen to send others to hell. That doctrine is not taught in the Bible. Election, God's choosing, predestination, however you want to term it, these things are always used in relation to the saved. But never does it say, never does God reveal to us that
he chooses some people to go to hell. The matter of the fact is that he simply allows them the loss. to go on in the direction of their own choice. Their choice is disobedience and rebellion against God. God simply allows those people that he has not chosen to go on to the destiny that they themselves choose of their own will. But he intervenes on the part of some, thank God. by the work of the Holy Spirit, lest there would
be none saved, not one. Election is the work of God in choosing the instruments or the vessels which he would use in accordance with his eternal and sovereign purposes. This doctrine is used in the Bible of several groups or individuals. For example, Israel is said to be God's chosen people. One example of that is Isaiah 41, verses 8 and 9. But we see it many times in the Old Testament, and we see it in the New Testament.
In Romans 9, 13, for example, there is a quotation from Malachi 1 in which God says, Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated. Those are the two sons of Isaac. Did God hate Esau? No, God loved Esau. Indeed, Esau received blessing. What does it mean, then, when it says, Jacob I loved, Esau I hated? Well, it means in relation to God's elective purposes, God's choosing of an instrument to use, he chose Jacob and did not choose Esau. Now, was that because Jacob was a particularly nice fellow?
As a matter of fact, if you were back in those days and you had to know them, you were neighbors of Isaac, you would probably choose Esau over Jacob. He was a whole lot easier to get along with. He was a sportsman. He was a man of the earth. He was the kind of a person you could identify with. Jacob seems to have been a mother's boy. Some say even a little bit of a sissy. He was a deceitful person. He probably wouldn't have chosen Jacob. But God says, I have chosen
Jacob. He is my choice. And it was through Jacob's descendants that he brought the Redeemer into the world. Why? Because Jacob was better than Esau, not in the least. Simply because that was God's sovereign purpose. And then there are angels, 1 Timothy 5 .21, who are called my... or whether his chosen angels, his elect angels, evidently referring to the holy angels, the ones who did not fall. The Lord Jesus Christ is said to be
elect or chosen. 1 Peter 2, 6, I lay in Zion a choice, a chosen, an elect stone, a precious cornerstone, speaking about the Lord Jesus Christ. The apostles were chosen. They were elect. Jesus said to them, you have not chosen me, but I have chosen you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should remain. Paul makes it clear in Galatians 1, verses 15 and 16, that he was chosen for the office
of apostle from his mother's womb. before there was any opportunity for him to do good or bad. God simply said, I choose you. And then it is used, this idea, this word, elect, choose. It is used in relation to believers in this age. It is the church, the called out body of the Lord Jesus Christ. I'd like you to turn to Romans chapter 9. with me and look at verses 22 and 23. Now we're cutting into the middle of a wonderful chapter here, but I want you to try to glean
with me what we're talking about. That is that God has chosen us to be a part of this body and this age. Election is the work of God choosing the vessels that he would use according to his
own sovereign eternal purpose. But if God, although willing to demonstrate his wrath and to make his power known, endured with much patience vessels of wrath prepared for destruction, and he did so in order that he might make known the riches of his glory upon vessels of mercy, which he prepared beforehand for glory, even us, whom he also called, not among Jews only, but also,
from among Gentiles. So you see, once again, we see the truth that God has chosen, on the basis only of his sovereign eternal purpose, you and me who are in Jesus Christ, not of Jews only, but of Gentiles as well. We are a part of his chosen body, his vessel in this age for the declaration of his word to the world. It seems to me that this doctrine about which we speak is a wonderful antidote for low self -esteem and self -worth. For you see, if you are a Christian
today, God sees you as eternally valuable. The Lord Jesus Christ shed his blood to save you. You are of infinite worth to the eternal God. You have been chosen by him. Not of your own doing, but of his alone. And so if you struggle with feelings of inadequacy or worthlessness, please try to come to an understanding of who you are in Christ Jesus. Ask the Holy Spirit to enlighten you to that truth and to help you understand what the spiritual resources are that
you have in Christ. Now, all of that by way of review from last week. In our outline, we come now to this point. We have talked about what God has done for us. He has blessed us. He has chosen us. We've talked about the objects, us, the likes of us. We've talked about the action, God's choice. Now notice with me, back in Ephesians, chapter 1 and verse 4, the basis. of this act of God, just as he chose us in him. Now, in those two words, we have the foundation for salvation.
You see, it was not enough that God simply choose a people to rescue from their own chosen destiny of hell. It was not enough that God look ahead and select a people for himself. In order still to be just and holy and righteous, God had to do something to deal with their sin, these people that he would choose. He simply could not overlook their sin. He had to deal with it in an honorable and eternally just way. And so God chose a way to do that. It is in Jesus Christ that our sins
have been cared for. That is why the Lord Jesus Christ is said to be the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world. Notice that language. We are said by Peter to be redeemed by precious blood as the Lamb without blemish and without scrap who was foreknown before the foundation of the world. In other words, before creation, and we'll get to that in a moment, God not only chose us, But he chose the method by which he would save us, and that is through the death
of his own son. God appointed the son to come into the world to be the sin bearer of his people, so that he then might be just in saving those people from the condemnation that they themselves deserve. The basis? of our salvation is found in him, the Lord Jesus Christ. And apart from him, there is no salvation. A man of another generation wrote, To thee, O Lord, alone is due all glory and renown. Ought to ourselves we dare not take or rob thee of thy crown. Thou wast
thyself our surety. in God's redemption plan. In thee, his grace was given us long ere the world began. And that does indeed bring us to the next point in our study in verse 4, and that is the time. When was it that God chose us? Well, it says, before the foundation of the world. That exact phrase is found two other times in the New Testament. I have referred to one, 1 Peter 1 .20, where Christ is said to have been foreknown as the sin bearer before the foundation
of the world. The only other place it's found is in John 17, where Jesus speaks in verse 24 about the Father loving him before the foundation of the world. This phrase refers to eternity past, as we call it. It refers to action that took place before God laid the foundation of creation. It is before Genesis 1 -1 that God looked ahead into the creation of time and space. and chose a people, you and me, to be in Jesus
Christ. God's elective decree was formed in eternity before anything could have influenced that choice. That is again why we talk about the grace of God. There is nothing that influenced God's choice, nothing whatsoever, except that God chose. a people out of the peoples of the world to be his own. Now, what is the purpose of God doing this? Well, it says in verse 4, he did this that we should be holy and blameless before him. Notice that it says that we might be before him. That
means in his presence. Or another way of saying it is this, that as God sees us, We're talking here about what we refer to as positional truth. God chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world so that we would be in his sight as he would see us a holy and blameless people. Holy refers to that which is set apart for special use for destiny. God chose you that you might be before him as a vessel reflecting the purity
of his own holiness. So the glories of God may be reflected in you for the rest of eternity. You say, how can that be? But how God is going to do that, I do not know fully. He doesn't tell us. He gives us a hint or two when we get into chapter 2. But there is some way in which God has set you apart if you are today trusting in the Lord Jesus Christ so that throughout all eternity to come, that is forever and forever
and forever, he might point to you. and exhibit you as a reflector of the glories of his purity and holiness. He has chosen us that we might be holy before him, but also that we might be blameless. There's not a great deal of difference here in thought. It literally means without blemish. There's a word that is used in some places of the absence of defect. in animals that were to be sacrificed under the old covenant. There is a word that is used of the Lord Jesus Christ
in 1 Peter 1, 19, again in Hebrews 9, 14. And it is used of the church in its future state in Ephesians 5, 27, and we'll look there in a moment, and then Jude 24. And it is said... could be descriptive of us right now as well in Philippians 2, verse 15. We are to be the blameless sons of God in this generation, right here and now, Philippians 2, verse 15. Is not it a marvelous thing that God has taken vile and unholy sinners
like you and me? and has chosen us that we should in eternity to come be the objects of his grace and his glory, so that as he lavishes these upon us, we then will reflect that glory and grace to all of God's creation, whatever that entails in the future. God has chosen you to be set apart for a special destiny. that you might be blameless
and unblemished as he sees you. My friend, if God sees you this morning, if you are in the Lord Jesus Christ, if you have trusted him as your Savior sincerely and genuinely, God sees you without any fault whatsoever. You say, yeah, but you don't understand what I've done this week or how I acted this morning or what I said. Look. I don't know. That's right. You see, as God sees you, he knows all those things, but he still chooses to see you as blameless and
unblemished in his sight. Because he sees you in his Son. And there's nothing in all creation that can change that. There's nothing that can separate you from the love of God. which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. God loves you just as much as he loves his own dear son. As God sees you, you are as holy, you are as unblemished before him as the Lord Jesus Christ is. That is why John remarks in his first epistle, as he is, as Jesus is, so are we, he says, in this
world. Isn't that an amazing thing to you? That God sees you that way? You see, really the goal, the aim of the Christian life is for us to live, to conduct ourselves in such a way that more and more we walk according to the way that God sees us. The whole idea of the Christian life is to get the practice of our walk up to where the position is that we are in Christ Jesus. Turn with me over to chapter 5 and look at these marvelous verses. He says in verse 25, Husbands,
love your wives. How are we to love our wives? Well, he says, just as Christ. also loved the church. There's not a husband here this morning who's able to do that in himself. We are to love our wives as deeply, as utterly, as completely as the Lord Jesus Christ has loved the church. He goes on to say, and gave himself up for her. that he might sanctify her. Now there's the idea of holy again. That he might set her apart, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the
word. Now there is a sense that when you and I hear the word of God and we believe it, there's a washing that takes place in us. We are cleansed from our sin. forgiven of all of our trespasses. We're washed. And then there's another sense in which every time we come to the Word of God and read it, meditate upon it, every time we come to a church service and we hear the Word of God, that we are cleansed. We're washed in our walk. The Word washes us. And he says this
all takes place that he might... Present to himself the church in all her glory. That's something that's going to take place in the future. It hasn't happened yet. The Lord Jesus Christ is our bridegroom. We, the bride, are still being called out. The bride is still being formed. The gospel is being preached today around the world. People are trusting the Lord Jesus Christ. They're being saved, being added to the bride.
So the bride is still being called out. The Lord Jesus Christ is waiting for that day when the bride is complete. You see, if God has chosen the people, as the Bible says he has done, then it means that somewhere, sometime, The last chosen person is going to believe in this age. The church, the body, or the bride, as it's called here in Ephesians 5, is going to be complete. I believe it is at that moment that the rapture of the church will take place. I think that is a great
motive for soul winning. If you want to see the Lord Jesus Christ come back to the earth, if you want to see the church caught up, that the church might be presented to the Lord Jesus Christ, if you want to see that take place, then my friend, be busy winning people to Jesus Christ. Because only God himself knows who that last person is that God has chosen. Now when that person is chosen, the church is leaving. It's going out of the world, and it's at that time that he will
present to himself the church. And notice that it's in her glory, so it's in our glorified state. After the changing of these lowly bodies, after the rapture, this is going to take place. He says that he might present to himself the church. The idea is that he might place the church beside himself. That is a tremendous thought. What is it, do you think, that is exciting to a bridegroom when he walks out of that door over there and comes to stand here in the front of the church?
Do you think it's that his parents are sitting in the front row? Do you think that his future mother and father -in -law are sitting on the other side is exciting to him? My friend, the bridegroom has one thing in mind, and that is a beautiful, person coming down the aisle. And he can hardly wait until she's there to be beside himself for their union in marriage. You see, the Lord Jesus Christ is waiting today, waiting
for the bride to be complete. And when that day comes that the bride is complete, she will be called out to go to her destiny. And all of her glory will be caught out from the earth to be beside the Bridegroom, the Lord Jesus Christ. Notice that the last sentence of this verse says, Having no spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be holy and blameless. The same two words is back. in chapter 1. You who have trusted in the Lord Jesus Christ have a
glorious destiny. Are you today living like it? Considering the fact that one day you will be like him in every respect and will stand beside him At his throne in the heavenlies where he's seated now. Considering the fact that he has chosen you before time even began to live right now as a vessel to reflect his glory. But not only for now, but for all of eternity to be his chosen instrument and vessel that throughout all of his creation His creatures might know
what is life by you. Considering that, are you walking worthy of the calling with which you've been called? You say, well, Pastor, I'm not even sure that I'm one of those people. How do I know that God has chosen me? You can know that for sure. If today you will trust on the Lord Jesus Christ, if today you will obey his command to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and be saved, you can know without any doubt whatsoever that you are one of his. Will you do it? Will you
trust him? Do you feel that tug in your heart? Is the Holy Spirit right now sanctifying you, as the Word of God says? Is he wearing you? Is he showing you your sin? Is he revealing your need, your utter selfishness to you, your lostness, the mess you have made of your life? Let me tell you, you're not coming to that understanding by your own effort. That's the work of God in your life. If you have not yet trusted in the Lord Jesus, well, today you do it. Believe on
him. Let's pray together. With our heads bowed, our eyes closed, as the Spirit of God does his work in my heart and yours. I wonder if there's some friend here who would say, Pastor Carl, I have not ever sincerely, honestly, truly given up hope in myself and thrown myself on the grace of God. I have never honestly received the Lord Jesus Christ as my Savior, knowing that I couldn't save myself. or at least help in it. But I'm beginning to understand that there's nothing
I can do except receive and believe. And today I'm right on the verge of that. My friend, will you take the step of faith? It is not enough for you to see your need. You have to start there. But you have to see the one who has met your need at Calvary by his death and by his resurrection. He is alive today and he stands ready to save you if you will trust him. Father, I pray that in the quietness of these moments, there will indeed be those who will make that decision.
And who, being prompted by the Holy Spirit, will open their hearts and believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and be saved. I wonder, my friend, if right now you would pray that within your own heart and silently use your own words telling God that you know your sinner. but you're trusting him, receiving the Lord Jesus as your army. Will you do that right now? like me I once was lost but now am found was blind but now I see Lord,
thank you for that grace. with sovereignly worked in our hearts to rule us to christ that we might obey him and be sprinkled with his blood we give ourselves up to you as fully as we know how lord having begun to understand something more of what your word teaches regarding the mystery and the miracle of our salvation May we go out from here to be faithful declarers of this gospel, loving men and women, showing them the kindness and the grace of God in our lives, and sharing
with them by our lips how they might come to know him. And Lord, we pray then that you will use that word that we share. to bring to yourself those whom you have chosen before the foundation of the world. Amen.