Thank you. This is a wonderful, wonderful weekend for our choir. We were privileged, Marty and I last night to be a part of their reunion supper here at the church. Wonderful evening in which we were reminded in a lot of different ways of the ways in which God has hid His hands on this local church from the very beginning and down through the year. We are so grateful, Marty and I, to be a part of this worshiping congregation in this place, a part of this local church. As with many of you, the local church has always been right at the center of my own Christian experience. As I was growing up, the church was the focal point of activity for me and for my family. Even during those years of spiritual rebellion in my teens and twenties, I still maintained, I guess, just out of habit, a regular church attendant. My conversion came early in 1970. It came as the result of regular exposure to the gospel through the preaching of a local church and it was in a worship service in that church that I came to Christ. My call to the gospel ministry came as I was serving as a member and an officer in that local church. When I went to seminary, my training was very much complemented as I served in a local church throughout my seminary time. Marty and I have now been privileged to serve local churches for over 30 years. As a local congregation here at First Presbyterian, we are now moving through a time of transition. You are preparing to receive a new senior pastor. As we move through this time of transition together, we want to continue to look at what the Bible teaches us about the church. Today, we're going to begin a study of the first two chapters of the book of Ephesians. Why Ephesians? Well, Ephesians is all about the church. In fact, some people have called Ephesians the gospel of the church. We all have a tendency. I don't need to remind you of this. I include myself. We all have a tendency to be kind of private people. But is particularly here in Ephesians, I think, that we learn that Christianity is not just me and the Lord, but that Christianity in many ways is we and the Lord. This church owes its existence to God. The church is a spiritual society, not a human institution. The church, this church included, has been blessed by God. And that's the focus of our text this morning in Ephesians chapter 1 verses 1 through 14. That's page 976 in your Pew Bible. Let's stand now together for the reading of God's holy word. Ephesians chapter 1 at verse 1. Paul in apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God to the saints who are in Ephesus and are faithful in Christ Jesus. Grace to you in 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 in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places. Even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love he predestined us for adoption his sons through Jesus Christ according to the purpose of his will to the praise of his glorious grace with which he has blessed us in the beloved. In him we have redemption through his blood the forgiveness of our trespasses according to the riches of his grace which he lavished upon us in all wisdom and insight making known to us the mystery of his will according to his purpose which he set forth in Christ as a plan for the fullness of time to unite all things in him things in heaven and things on earth in him we have obtained an inheritance having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will so that we who were the first to hope in Christ might be for the praise of his glory. In him you also when you heard the word of truth the gospel of your salvation and believed in him were sealed with the promise Holy Spirit who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it to the praise of his glory the grass withers the flower fades with the word of our God stands forever. Will you pray with me? Our Father as we turn to your word now we are conscious of the fact that we need your spirit to help us understand that word and more than understanding O Lord we want to be able to apply that word in our lives we don't want to be hearers of your word we rather want to be doers of your word and we need your help in doing that and so Lord we pray that your spirit would come now work with your word work in our hearts for Jesus sake amen you may be seated
after his brief greeting here in verses 1 and 2 the apostle Paul launches into what is a great hymn of praise in which he praises God for his spiritual blessings blessings that you and I share together as members of his church now this hymn of praise is probably a single sentence a long sentence in the original Greek language but there is an order there would seem to be three stanzas each followed by a refrain to the praise of his glory that refrain occurs in verse 6 verse 12 and verse 14 verse 3 is the introduction to this great hymn of praise praising God for his spiritual blessing verse 3 says praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ who has blessed us notice the plural blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ and the first stanza of this great hymn of praise the apostle notes the blessings in our common paths and verses 4 through 6 take us back to the beginning in fact even before the beginning as you and I know it you and I it says we're chosen for holiness he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight notice that it says here that he chose us to be holy you and I did not start out in holiness in fact we started out in sinfulness and then it says he chose us in him in Christ the only way that God can see a sinner like me and like you the only way that he can sinner see a sinner as a saint is to see us in Christ dressed in his righteousness alone faultless to stand before the throne the church is blessed by God he has blessed us in our common past if you're trusting in Jesus Christ this morning you have been chosen for holiness and then it says we've been predestined for sonship in love he predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ in accordance with his pleasure and will now if you're like every other congregation that I've pastored there are some of you at least out out here this morning who have trouble or problems with this word predestined the Bible has it and it says also at verse 11 that God works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will everything in the words of the confession of faith it says God ordains whatsoever comes to pass confession is not the Bible it's the words of man but it reflects clearly here the words that we find in the Bible Romans 828 for an example in all things it says God works for the good of those who love him who have been called according to his purpose now here is how at least I understand that he predestined us to be adopted as his sons I believe that God so arranged the events in my life that when the gospel came to me notice the gospel had to come to me I had to hear the gospel that is the message of Romans chapter 10 where it says how will they hear unless someone preaches to them and how will they believe unless they hear and how will they preach unless they are sent that's why we send missionary that's why we're going to have a missionary conference in a couple of weeks when the gospel came to me it came as an offer that I didn't want to refuse I wasn't forced into the kingdom I wanted to come into the kingdom God had worked on the inside of me you see to make me willing willing to respond but I had to respond I had to come to Christ there is human responsibility there is also God's sovereignty the Bible teaches both of these and those two things I don't know about you but they're hired for me to put together in my mind but the Bible teaches both of them and then it says that we who are once the enemies of God not only become his friends but more than you and I become God's sons and daughters why does God do that is it because you and I are such likely candidates I mean does God look over the whole human race like perspective adoptive parents might might look over a whole room full of children and does God somehow choose the most attractive candidates because we are so fit for his adoption oh no it's quite the contrary we are predestined for sonship our adoption is not based upon anything in us it says in love God's love not my love in love he predestined us to be adopted in accordance with his pleasure and his will the church is blessed by God he has blessed us in our common past as believers we have been chosen for holiness we have been predestined for sonship and therefore we are recipients of his grace all of this occurs verse 6 to the praise of his glorious grace which he has freely given us in the one he loves our version here talks about the grace that he has given but I like those words from the old King James translation where it says he has made us accept it made us accept it in the beloved we are recipients of grace it's a free gift that I can't earn that I don't deserve membership in this and every other church is undeserved there are no levels there are no gradations in church membership not one of us myself included these elders included not one of us deserves to be here this morning the church has been blessed by God blessed in our common past even before creation how much we were all in need of these blessings from God we were so and still are so undeserving and so unworthy and then the church has been blessed by God in our common present the second stands of this great hymn begins at verse 7 now as I look out here this morning I would understand and you would understand that our life stories are very different our salvation testimonies are very different they're not all the same God did not come into our lives in identical ways but we do as believers enjoy identical blessings in the present blessings like first of all freedom and forgiveness says we have redemption through his blood the forgiveness of our sins in accordance with the riches of God grace that he lavished on us with all wisdom and understanding verses 7 and 8 sin is a prison on one hand I cannot stop sinning on the other hand I know it's wrong and I'm so guilty when I trust in Jesus Christ when I continue to trust in his blood as payment for my sins that load is lifted and I'm redeemed I'm like the man from whom Jesus cast out all those demons and I'm like him I'm I'm seated at the feet of Christ closed and in my right mind we're blessed by God in Jesus Christ there is freedom and there is forgiveness and we know it you notice what it says here his redemption his forgiveness is lavished on us with all wisdom and understanding we know it and so I'm free I'm free from the fear of tomorrow I'm free from the guilt of the past I've treated my shackles for a glorious song I'm free praise the Lord free at last the church has been blessed by God and among our present blessings are freedom and forgiveness and then we enjoy the blessings of purpose and participation verse 9 he made known to us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure which he purposed in Christ to bring all things in heaven and on earth together under one hand even Christ some of you are here this morning you might remember what it was like trying to live your life with no purpose some of you might be sitting out here this morning and still wondering what your purpose in life is you see God has a purpose God has a plan and Paul says here it's a revealed mystery he made known to us the mystery of his will you know it's such a blessing to know we take it for granted to know that God is at work and that he's doing something in human history Paul says it's still something of a mystery at times I don't know about you but at times I wish I knew more of God's will and he's playing but one of the real blessings that we enjoy as believers is to know that God is doing something in our lives and so we know just enough of his plan so that you and I can do his will isn't that the the thrust of Deuteronomy 29 29 where it says the secret things belong to the Lord our God but the things revealed belong to us and to our children forever that we may follow all the words of this law perhaps the greatest blessing here is not just to know God's purpose but to be called to be called by him to participate in that purpose you see as I am a member of his church I'm blessed to be a part of something blessed to be a participant in something that is real in something that is eternal and you cannot say that about any other institution upon the face of this earth you cannot say that about any other activity or endeavor that you might participate in and God's plan and God's purpose was fixed before the foundation of the world it was predicted throughout those Old Testament times his plan came into being at the cross and it will be completed when Jesus returns in great power and glory on the clouds of heaven the church is blessed by God we're blessed in the present with freedom and forgiveness with purpose and participation in that purpose and then we're blessed with security and satisfaction in him we were also chosen verse 11 having Bren predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will in order that we who are the first to hope in Christ might be for the praise of his glory it's here at verse 11 that were reminded of our security you and I are part of his plan the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will now you and I I suppose every day that we live we don't know everything about everything that God is doing in our lives but he is working out everything in your life and he's always up to what's good what is best for you he's working out in conformity with the purpose of his will now it's a great blessing if you ever thought about the fact that he's not working out everything in conformity with the purpose of your will now that's a great blessing it's a great blessing not to have my own way in life oh there are days that I want to more than I'd want to admit to you but it's a great blessing that he's not working out my will he's working out his will there's great great security in his will for my life Paul was confident of this in Philippians that he began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus in that security there is great satisfaction surely it's a blessing for you for me to be satisfied with God but in and a greater blessing by far that God is now satisfied with me you understand what it says here at the end of verse 12 we who are the first to hope in Christ might be for the praise of his glory God is satisfied God is praised when you and I put our hope in the Lord Jesus Christ have you put your hope in the Lord Jesus Christ is he your only hope for this life and for the life to come if you haven't trusted in Christ let me invite you right here and right now to do that to reach out to God in prayer to confess your sins put your hope in the Lord Jesus Christ put all your eggs in that basket it's the only place to be as his church then we have been blessed by God and this blessing is common to all of God's people we're blessed in the past we're blessed in the present and then we hear the refrain again at verse 12 the praise of his glory and so we come finally to the third and final stanza of this great hymn of praise as his church we praise God for our common past we praise him for our common present and then we praise him for our common future and we know all about the future we don't know all about the future but we know what we know through the ministry of the Holy Spirit he is God's present instrument of our future blessing when we sing the doxology as we will in just a few minutes we're going to end by singing praise father son and holy ghost the doxology we've been studying this morning and that's what it is here in Ephesians 1 is also about the Trinity the first stanza God the father is praised for our common past the second stanza God the son is praised for our common present and now in this third stanza God the Holy Spirit is praised for our common future terms of the future the Holy Spirit it says is first of all the spiritual seal verse 13 having believed you are marked in him with a seal the promised Holy Spirit the Holy Spirit dear people your believer the Holy Spirit is God's mark upon your life he is if you will your membership card in the church of the Lord Jesus Christ your Christian you know when you have that spiritual seal that's what it says in Romans 8 verse 16 the spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God's children the Holy Spirit in us is God's seal of ownership the church is blessed by God we're blessed in our common future blessed by the Holy Spirit as our spiritual seal and then as the very guarantee of God the Holy Spirit is a deposit it says verse 14 guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God's possession a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance he's speaking in financial terms here when you purchased your home you began with a purchase contract and in connection with that contract you put down some money several thousand dollars perhaps the guarantee that you were serious about buying that house there were probably some contingencies in that contract on your on your new home God's promise here is without any contingency the Holy Spirit is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God's possession the Holy Spirit is God's guarantee he's a foretaste of glory divine a bit of heaven if you will right here on this earth a deposit a down payment of all of our future blessings in Jesus Christ then of course verse 14 ends to the praise of his glory that refrain marks the end of the third and the final stanza the end of the doxology for God's spiritual blessings blessings in the past the present and the future praise God from whom all blessings flow do we pray like this do we do I maybe you only think preachers pray like this and then we only do it in the church well I'm afraid we don't often pray like this because you see you and I don't often think like this instead of thinking very much about God's blessings I'm usually thinking about my problems and all of the pressures that they bring it hasn't been the greatest of all weeks I mean just when we thought the gas prices were coming down they've shot right back up again and then we really don't understand what this financial crisis is all about at least most of us but we somehow think it's a threat to us and we wonder what's going to happen we don't know do we and we feel the pressure of all of that well the man who wrote this great hymn of praise he had a few problems and pressures of his own he was a prisoner wasn't he probably wasn't in the jail yet he was under house arrest I guess we call it he was probably chained to a Roman soldier everywhere he went that soldier got come along Paul's body was chained his body was confined but not his heart and so he looked back before creation and then he he looked forward to the fulfillment of time and then and then he looked to the blessings of God that he was enjoying even in that moment and suddenly the situation in life his situation was no longer defined by being chained to that Roman soldier he found himself rather in the heavenly realm with every spiritual blessing in Christ how small is my perspective on things how narrow is your horizon
why don't we think more like Paul did quite simple for me I think I'm just too preoccupied with myself my own petty little problems in situation notice the emphasis over and over again here upon praise continued emphasis upon the will of God how much do you pray how much do you pray for this church how much of your praying is praise praise for these spiritual blessings brothers and sister these blessings belong to you and to me if you're trusting in Christ this passage of scripture is not just theology it's not just theory and therefore somehow impractical from my daily life and not helpful doxology and praise is what the church of Jesus Christ is all about praise God from whom all blessings flow God has given me in Christ a whole new existence praise God from whom all blessings flow he's made me a part of a spiritual society he's blessed us and continues to bless us right here at first Presbyterian church praise God from whom all blessings flow who has blessed us together as the members of his body in the heavenly realm with every spiritual blessing in Christ Jesus praise God from whom all blessings flow
Father we thank you and we don't do it near enough for the blessings that we have in our Lord Jesus Christ you've given us everything everything that we need for life and for godliness Lord we get off on tangents we get off on the many temptations that lie before us here on this earth sometimes we just get so preoccupied with the things of earth that we don't think about heaven Lord we pray that you would give us a heart for you change us make us more like the Lord Jesus help us to focus on you in the midst of this brief very brief walk among the things of this earth help us to fix our eyes on that which is unchangeable that one particularly who is the same yesterday today and forever thank you all Lord for blessing us in the Lord Jesus Christ or we pray in his name oh man I'm going to give the benediction here in a minute and we'll sing the doxology together how appropriate after that we'll reassemble in a little bit for our informational meeting we'll give time for people to come over here from the chapel have one little change on the announcement earlier about your children if your children are three or above you need to go pick them up it is the children below that age that we're going to continue to take care of okay let's stand for the Lord's benediction and now make grace and mercy and peace from God the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit be with you now and forever amen