Sermon – To the Praise of His Glory

“To the Praise of His Glory” – Ephesians 1:3-14           

Rev. Don A. Wicks, PhD  — A message delivered at First Baptist Church, London, Ontario, Canada  — Sunday, February 28, 2016       

Scripture Reading:  Ephesians 1:3-14 ESV

³ Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. ⁴ For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love ⁵ he predestined us for adoption to sonship through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will— ⁶ to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves. ⁷ In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace ⁸ that he lavished on us. With all wisdom and understanding,⁹ he made known to us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure, which he purposed in Christ, ¹⁰ to be put into effect when the times reach their fulfillment—to bring unity to all things in heaven and on earth under Christ.

¹¹ In him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will, ¹² in order that we, who were the first to put our hope in Christ, might be for the praise of his glory. ¹³ And you also were included in Christ when you heard the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation. When you believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, ¹⁴ who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession—to the praise of his glory.

Introduction: 

Late last fall, in support of one of his messages, our Pastor [Rev. Al Roberts] used as a scripture, Ephesians 1:3-14. He was speaking, I think, on worship and didn’t specifically address this passage but had it read in the service. I recall reading along in my Bible and being carried along with in the beauty of this section. The language lifts you and carries the theme of praise. It is a beautiful scripture. In speaking with Pastor Al about what I was going to speak on today, he said, “Yes, there are some themes that seem to require poetry to convey what the Lord wanted us to get from the passage.” One commentator says of this scripture that it is “a lyrical song of praise”. Another says, “This is surely one of his [Paul’s] most glorious statements”, but adds that we should not be content with the aesthetic effect alone, but must also search and analyze it for its “tremendous richness of content”. Today, we will consider some of that richness.

Theme:

The theme is also the title of my message: “To the praise of His glory” – a phrase found 4X in11 verses (1,6,12,14). The theme is summarized in verse 3.–  ³ Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ.

God is to be praised because He has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in Christ. (Notice also the emphasis on Jesus Christ as the agent for this purpose to be accomplished.)

Praise and thanksgiving are to be ongoing and continual characteristics of the Christian life. It is to be characteristic of us. Praise is found in our worship and prayer. Do we think of and express gratitude to God for His goodness to us, or do we just ask and ask some more? Do we delight in His presence? We praise Him for who He is and for His blessings to us.

Outline:

The passage can be divided into four parts:                                     PURPOSE  PROCESS  PRODUCT  PROTECTION

(1) PURPOSE

v. 4 – ⁴ For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight.

We were chosen in Jesus Christ before creation to be holy and blameless. God’s purpose for us involves holiness and freedom from blame. 

These two terms (holy and without blame) indicate that it is God’s purpose to undo or remove the results of sin and the Fall. “For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil. (I John 3:8)

HOLY              :  a state of inward purity

BLAMELESS   : an outward condition of purity

This purity is “in His sight” – in a right relationship with God

We can’t escape another important word in v. 4 –  “chosen”. This word is a problem for some people. The word tells us, in part, how these spiritual blessings became ours. He goes back to before creation. Those who enjoy such blessings were chosen to do so. One way to understand this is to believe that this is so simply because of God’s own good pleasure and in spite of ourselves. Another way to understand it is that God has perfect foreknowledge and He saw that we would exercise faith and decide to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ for salvation. It is a difficult teaching but not to be avoided for that reason. 

First, we must accept the authority of the Word of God. the Bible is the Word of God. The Pastor actually emphasized this fact last Sunday. 

We may not understand what God says but we are not to question it. Romans 9:20 But who are you, a human being, to talk back to God? “Shall what is formed say to the one who formed it, ‘Why did you make me like this?’” 21 Does not the potter have the right to make out of the same lump of clay some pottery for special purposes and some for common use?

II Thessalonians 2: 13 ..God chose you as firstfruits to be saved through the sanctifying work of the Spirit and through belief in the truth. 14 He called you to this through our gospel, that you might share in the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Later in our passage, Paul uses the term “predestined” (=  pre-determined, v. 11). 

These are really statements of the great love of God, who would choose the likes of me. I don’t know which of the two interpretations you prefer – God chose us in spite of ourselves; or God knew in advance that we would choose to believe in Him. Personally, I have no trouble with His choosing of me because He is a loving and powerful God and I am a sinner who left to myself would spurn Him. And it gives me a sense of security and certainty that God did this from beginning to end. He has brought those of us who know Him through the work of Christ into this blameless relationship with Himself. No wonder He is to be praised. 

So, that’s the purpose. Beyond the “choosing”, how did He do this?

(2a) PROCESS

 v. 5 – In love ⁵ he  predestined us for adoption to sonship through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will –

PREDESTINED           : this can mean determined beforehand or declared beforehand. It means that it was God’s ultimate plan to save us. When we think of it that way, it begins to explain why this whole section is about praising God’s glory. It is amazing that God has done so much for us.

ADOPTION…SONSHIP : The Apostle uses a Roman concept of “adoption”. An adopted child in Roman law had a right to the name and property of the one who did the adopting. It was a legal term of standing and privilege and position. Now, Paul would go even further because when a person becomes a Christian he or she is born again – this is Jesus’ language in John 3 – we partake of the divine nature. We are born from above. We now have the name of the Father (children of God); the Spirit of God lives in us; we are heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ.

(2b) PROCESS – further explained in vv.6-8.

vv. 6-8a – ⁶ to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves. ⁷ In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace ⁸ that he lavished on us.

We have some great words here: grace, redemption, and forgiveness.

GRACE…FREELY GIVEN       : grace is a way God’s glory is shown. We should always be in awe of it. He “freely” or liberally gives us grace – unmerited favour.

REDEMPTION            : “through His [Jesus’] blood”. This is a clearer explanation of the process God used to secure our salvation. There is no salvation apart from Him. That is why the Bible declares in Acts 4:12, “Salvation is found in noone else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved.” This is another truth hard for many to accept. Salvation is accomplished by the death of Christ on the cross as payment for our sin. Luke 19:10, “For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.” He came to save us. 

“Redemption” means deliverance by the payment of a ransom.  Ransoms were paid to free slaves, even as today a kidnapped person might be ransomed by the payment of a demanded fee. Jesus gave His life as a ransom for many – all of us who were in bondage to sin. And this required His blood. 

FORGIVENESS           : That is the way we get forgiveness. Unless we realize we need forgiveness, we cannot become a Christian. Repentance is difficult; we don’t like it. It is humbling. We need forgiveness. God gives us forgiveness when we trust in Him for the salvation Jesus has accomplished.  This is an example “rich grace” “lavished upon us” (v.8).

Now, given this description of the process of taking us to a position of being holy and without blame, it is fully understandable why Paul says in v.6 “to the praise of His glorious grace”, and then repeats that phrase in vv. 12, and 16. 

But there’s more.

(3) PRODUCT

vv.8b-12 – With all wisdom and understanding, ⁹ he made known to us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure, which he purposed in Christ, ¹⁰ to be put into effect when the times reach their fulfillment—to bring unity to all things in heaven and on earth under Christ.¹¹ In him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will, ¹² in order that we, who were the first to put our hope in Christ, might be for the praise of his glory.

This is the product – what is produced by this amazing work of God in Christ Jesus. He has made known to us the mystery to bring into unity all in Jesus Christ

Uniting all things in Christ is a common theme in the Bible. What are these “all things”?         Colossians 1:15-19 tells us this: 15 The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. 16 For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him. 17 He is before all things, and in him all things hold together. 18 And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy. 19 For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him,          

The “all things” has to do with the way things were in the initial creation. Jesus was the head of all principalities and powers, dominion, thrones, – the head of angels and the universe, everything made – including the world and  animals, angels, human kind, etc. – all in perfect harmony. Then came the fall into sin, and now we are told God intends to restore this lost harmony. I like to read a newspaper and news sites on the web, but sometimes I wonder why – it is full of disharmony whereas the Bible speaks of restoring the lost harmony in Christ.          

This is something previously hidden to the unaided mind but now revealed (a MYSTERY MADE KNOWN) to God’s children. God has made known to us His plan. 

(4) PROTECTION

Finally, the passage ends with a stated assurance that all this that God planned and carried out through His Son will never be lost.

vv. 13-14 –¹³ And you also were included in Christ when you heard the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation. When you believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, ¹⁴ who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession—to the praise of his glory.

 We who trust in Jesus are sealed with the Holy Spirit, the guarantee of our inheritance. 

A SEAL is used 

– to authenticate an agreement (as in the expression, ‘signed, sealed and delivered’)

– to indicate ownership (as in a brand on cattle)

– to secure an item that may pass through the hands of others (as in a legal document or perhaps an envelope that has your signature along the seal; or the seal put on the tomb of Jesus)

There is much more that we could go into on this point of sealing. But suffice for today to say that God has made our salvation sure. Some apply this term to engagement (a DEPOSIT GUARANTEEING OUR INHERITANCE, v. 14) – the engagement ring is a promise that the marriage is coming. It provides assurance. 

Thomas Goodwin (puritan theologian, 1600-1680) wrote, “There is a light that comes and overpowers a man’s soul and assures him that God is his and he is God’s, and that God loves him from everlasting.”

John Wesley (referring to an experience on May 24, 1738) said, “I felt my heart strangely warmed, I felt I did trust Christ, Christ alone, for salvation, and an assurance was given me that He has taken away my sins, even mine, and saved me from the law of sin and death.”

This is the protection the passage convinces us we have as believers.

Now, in light of the great love of God, which inspired His great work of forgiveness and salvation to those who trust in His Son, should not there be great praise to His glory? Is it no wonder that the Apostle directs us to that end? 

Conclusion:

What is your life about?

            it should be for praising and glorifying God

How do you get there?

            >get a life – salvation

            >live every moment with that in mind

            >remember that the life is God’s doing, so you are not left to your own resources

          >keep the focus on Jesus Christ

TO THE PRAISE OF HIS GLORY

AMEN.

Benediction:

³ Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ.

—————–