Let us go before the Lord and pray and ask for his blessing upon his word. Heavenly Father, Lord, we bless you. We thank you for the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of David, according to the flesh, testified to be the Son of God by the resurrection from the dead, according to the scriptures. We thank you for the testimony of the finished work of Christ. We thank you for the testimony of the Holy Spirit. in us, to us, by the scriptures, to hear what Christ accomplished and what that means and should mean to all the redeemed. Lord, we thank you for the time that we spent in the past few weeks in the Old Testament, gleaning the gospel nuggets. And Lord, we now seek your direction and teaching illumination as we go back to the book of Ephesians, praying for those who in the hearing of this message they may teach them, speak to them, and show them things of Christ. We thank you, honor you for things we pray in Jesus name. Amen. Amen. Amen. Welcome one and all to another gospel installment, Sovereign Grace gospel teaching. And today we are going to be in the book of Ephesians, Ephesians 1 verses 15 to 22. where Apostle Paul recorded for us and said, 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 be head over all things to the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all and in all. And that is the word of the Lord. And for our sermon title, we only have one title, even though there are multiple things from which I could have drawn two or three more titles. But I'm content with this one. Your faith in the Lord Jesus. Your faith in the Lord Jesus. After seven weeks in the Old Testament, we come back to the Book of Ephesians to continue from where we left off. And may the Lord help us with understanding of His Word, because whether in the Old or the New, it is still the same Lord speaking by His Spirit. But his subject matter never changes with seasons. It is about the testimony of the one Christ Jesus. And if we are not talking about Jesus and what he did and God's purpose in him, we have nothing useful to tell a real sinner. And even most importantly, God is not interested in hearing our story. There's a lot of people, professing Christians, preachers, they have a lot of interesting stories, very captivating stories, but those are their own stories. God is not interested in their stories. He is interested in the story of the one Christ Jesus. So he wants to hear about his own Christ. And that to say, every time we speak of the gospel, our audience has to be one, it is God. There's only one audience when it comes to the preaching of the gospel. It is God himself. And God is he who gives understanding to as many as should have understanding of his word. But he is the main audience of the gospel message because this is what makes him happy. This is what glorifies his name. And so about Christ, we shall speak. Just by way of, I don't know if I should say, a question or a statement, I have some, I think they call it, tennis elbow from just doing a whole lot of things. I've just had a very, very busy year, starting even from last year, and my arms have not had much rest, and I'm gonna need to have a little bit of rest. So I won't be speaking much like you are accustomed to me speaking but that is fine because the Lord will give you exactly what you need to hear whether it's two minutes or five minutes or three hours. understanding comes from the Lord. Okay. So be praying for me that the Lord will strengthen my hands again, because I need to do a lot of things. I need to write a lot of things, right? Gospel things. And I also need to work to provide for my family. Okay. So apostle Paul said verse 15, 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." Paul was writing to the Ephesian church. And when Paul wrote, he did not try to apologize for God. He was not writing something that they would agree with, or those parts of the gospel that Paul agreed with. Paul was not doing a selective exposure of the Word of God and trimming off all the offensive stuff. But he was speaking as one who was sent of God, sent with a very specific message as to how the Ephesians, the pagan worshippers, had become saints. and how all of God's people have been made saints. The only way that God makes saints. And it had nothing to do with them, because it is impossible for a pagan to become a saint, and that is wholly by anything that they do. That is contrary to the foolishness of Roman Catholicism. No man can make another man a saint. It's impossible. It has never happened. So if they should be made holy and righteous, it will happen only one way, election. Chosen in Christ and redeemed by the blood of Christ. Chosen in Christ and redeemed by the blood of Christ is the only way to sainthood. Apart from that, all this other stuff is just foolishness. cannot, even with this counsel, cannot make a sinner a saint. There's no person who is redeemed of Christ who is not a saint. Everyone who is in Christ is a saint, even if they never feed anyone. Because sainting or sainthood has nothing to do with you doing anything. It cannot be end by anything that we do. But the Greek word for saint is hagios, it just means to be set apart. And so all those who have been set apart in Christ by God's election have the title of saint. That's great teaching. And so Paul says in verse 15, therefore I also, after I heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints." Poor head of their faith. Poor head of their faith. But what faith? Faith in who? And what was the content of their faith that poor head they were confessing? Because to some level, all men and women have some version of what they call faith. but it is not the faith of the gospel. You hear of the Jewish faith, the Islamic faith, Buddhist faith, you name it faith, Kabbalah faith, but that is not the faith of which we are speaking and certainly not the faith of which Paul was speaking of. The faith that Paul had in mind was particular. And that means it respected a particular person called Jesus. It respected a defined deity as the God of the Lord Jesus. The faith of Paul was trinitarian, but fundamentally Christ-centered. Christ-centered the person and the work of Christ. And in both respects, it spoke to what the Father and God of our Lord Jesus Christ had done for them in Christ. Because it is not only the Lord Jesus who did something in salvation, even the Father is involved or was involved in our salvation. So the content of their faith, which Paul expounded straight from the beginning of the decree of salvation, and that means from before the foundation of the world, with God the Father choosing a people according to his grace, and that means apart from consideration of their works, whether good or bad, and determining that these should be made holy and righteous, and that means without blame, on account of the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, that is what God meant with Christ Jesus with respect to those whom he calls the saints, chosen of him. And that means these would have none of the sins imputed to them because they are sinners. The saints are not holy and righteous people in themselves. They are sinners. The only way for them to be holy and righteous is because their sins were not imputed to them, they were not accounted to them, they were not reckoned to them, but rather they were imputed to Christ Jesus. Christ is He who stood in their place and made payment for their sins. That is how one becomes a saint. And God has adopted these cold sayings in his son and made them children or sons and thus have obtained an inheritance. The saints, the believers, the redeemed have obtained an inheritance. They actually possess that inheritance. The inheritance of an eternal life and imperishable salvation in Christ Jesus. There's no eternal life, there's no righteousness apart from Christ Jesus. And God did all this according to His good pleasure or the kind intention of His will. It pleased God. It made Him glad to bless certain people, not everyone, to bless only certain people This way, to the praise of the glory of His grace, His grace has to be praised. Because He is blessing a people who did not deserve His blessing and He is doing it freely. And so, His grace alone has to be praised and shall be praised. And grace cannot be praised where it is made to work by the decision of you, the sinner. Grace does not wait for a sinner to decide. Otherwise, it ceases to be grace. And guess what? If God were to wait for you to decide, you'll be waiting forever and ever and ever until donkeys grow horns. And if you know anything about donkeys, donkeys don't grow horns. Thus, human free will cannot be praised for having cooperated in salvation. for one who cooperates in Salvation becomes a shareholder in that work. And they have to get some dividend of sorts, as should happen with every legitimate organization where there is some shareholding. If you have your shares, then you are entitled to the dividend of whatever the company is doing. And Paul in Romans 4 is going to argue that if Abraham earned salvation by something that he did, then he has something to boast. Let's go and read Romans 4 just for you to hear the argument that Paul makes there. Romans 4. Paul says, Romans 4. Romans four verse one to eight, Paul says, what then shall we say that Abraham, our forefather, according to the flesh has found? For if Abraham was justified by works, if Abraham was justified by anything that he did, he has something to boast before God. He has something to boast about, but not before God. And this is not limited to Abraham alone. It applies to every single person who is served and shall be served. For what does the scripture say? Abraham believed God and it was credited to him as righteousness. Abraham believed, which means he didn't do anything. Now to the one who works, Verse four, his wage is not credited as a favor, but as what is due. If you earn your salvation, then God has to serve you as a paycheck that you worked for. Just as when you have a job, every month or whatever pay period, the company is obligated to pay you because you did some work for them. So the company is not doing you a favor by paying you, they have to pay you because they owe you. And so if salvation is by works, then God is obligated to give it to you, not by grace, but as something that you earned. Now God has to owe you salvation that you work for yourself. This is verse five. But the one who does not work, but believes in him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is credited as righteousness. The one who does not work, the one who does nothing, the one who sits on the lazy boy chair and does nothing for their salvation, that's the one who is justified. The one who does nothing, The one who is ungodly is he to whom God credits righteousness freely just by faith or through faith. Just as David also speaks of the blessing on the man to whom God credits righteousness apart from works. Righteousness is apart from works. Let me repeat that. Righteousness is apart from anything that you have done, are doing, and will ever do. It is apart. It is 100% apart from works. That's what Paul is saying. This matter is not understood in the church. This matter is not understood in the church. 100% of grace. That's God's righteousness. That's salvation. Blessed are those whose lawless deeds have been forgiven, David said in Psalm 32, and whose sins have been covered. Blessed is the man whose sin the Lord will not take into account the sin that the Lord will not impute. The saint is the one to whom their sin has not been imputed. That's scandalous. That's some real scandal. for God to not impute my sin to me because I am me. I sin every opportunity that I get, not because I'm forced by someone and sometimes I just sin even when I don't want to, but that's what I do. That's my nature. And the scandal of the gospel says, none of my sins have been imputed to me. Zero. That's scandalous. That's offensive. That's offensive stuff to people who trust in their own righteousness. Yeah. So the gospel message speaks of a work that began in God and ended in God. but accomplished by God's Son, Mediator and High Priest, the Lord Jesus Christ, who said, It is finished. So the Ephesians, like all saints of all time, were in the state in which they had obtained an inheritance, and that means they were counted as heirs in Christ. They have been adopted as sons, have been adopted and accepted in their beloved, their beloved, and that is Christ. They have redemption, which means they were set free from any demands of the law on their life by way of a ransom that was paid in full by the blood of Christ. the blood of Christ be the ransom price. And these saints, even the Ephesians, even us who believe, possess these things and freely. We have them. And they've come to us freely. This is not what they get if they become better people or if they became faithful people. The gospel of which Paul preached to them declared that they were already these things in and by And because of Christ, it was great news from God's desk to them, that they may know where they stood with God in respect of their sin and salvation and judgment, as those who were loved and redeemed in Christ, as those who did not owe the law anything. And this is the faith that Paul had, they possessed. And so Paul says again, verse 15, Ephesians 1, Therefore I also, after I had of your faith in the Lord Jesus, and your love for all the saints. Do you hear? These are the commandments of the New Testament. As apostle John wrote also, faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints. Let's see what Apostle John said in that respect. This is what Apostle John wrote. This is exactly the same statement that Paul said in Ephesians 1 verse 15. And here, what Apostle John wrote in 1 John 3, starting from verse 21 and following, John says, Beloved, if our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence before God. and whatever we ask we receive from Him because we keep His commandments and do the things that are pleasing in His sight. Now, the majority of the church world, unfortunately, even the Reformed world, do not know how to read. Read with understanding because as soon as they see commandments, they think, oh, 10 commandments. And yet, that is defined for us in the teaching of John and in the context of the text. What did John say were the commandments? Here, verse 23, this is his commandment. So listen to what John is saying, that we do what? We believe in the name of his son, Jesus Christ, and love one another. just as He commanded us. The one who keeps His commandments abides in Him, and He in Him. We know by this that He abides in us by the Spirit whom He has given us. The keeping of the commandments, faith in the Lord Jesus, and love one another, love the saints, as he commanded us which is in keeping with what Paul said therefore I also after I heard of your faith in the Lord hear that faith in the Lord and what else and you love for all the same which is exactly the same thing that John said in 1st John chapter 3. So Paul heard of the faith in the Lord Jesus that is the fundamental distinguishing mark of those who are redeemed of the Lord. Their faith is in the Lord Jesus. It is not in themselves. It is not in their faith, but in the Lord Jesus. That is what the Holy Spirit teaches, the redeemed faith in the Lord. And faith in the Lord is just not saying, believing some wishy-washy things about Jesus. It is not necessarily believing what your church believes because not all churches belong to the Lord Jesus. Some churches in Revelation he called the synagogues of Satan. So the faith of which Paul was speaking is based on the truth of the Lord Jesus and what he has done and in respect of that, what happens for those who have such faith. See the connection. Those who have such faith in the Lord possess and your love for all the saints. It follows. If you have faith in Christ, you also have love for the saints. These are distinguishing marks of the redeemed. They have faith in the Lord Jesus and also have love for all the saints, those who name Christ according to the truth of his gospel. no matter where they are, no matter who they are, no matter their economic status, no matter their race, their whatever. So those who have the faith in the Lord Jesus, love those that Christ redeemed. That's what Paul and John are saying. Because they've been made into one family. They believe the same. They have the same destiny, same spirit, same baptism of the spirit. So we need to know as believers, is if someone professes to know Jesus, we want to hear if they have faith in the true Jesus. Faith in the true Jesus, which means that faith has content. It is not some fuzzy faith. It is not some ignorant faith. It is content about the person and work of Christ. And if they believe that, they are one with us. They are one with you. They are in Christ. They belong to Christ because no one can say Christ is Lord in truth and spirit apart from the Holy Spirit. Galatians 3, 26 to 28, hear this. For you're all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. You're all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus, which means anyone who does not have faith in Christ Jesus is not a son or child of God. For all of you, verse 27, who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ, all who were dipped into the knowledge, into the truth of the faith in Christ, have clothed themselves with Christ. Christ is the garment, baptized by God through faith by His Spirit. That is the baptism that causes one to cloth themselves with Christ. Just dunking someone in water does not cause one to have true faith. It does not cause that kind of baptism that is in the mind of Paul. If you don't believe the truth, your baptism is just getting a shower for free. For all of you, who were baptized into Christ. Have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek. There is neither slave nor free man. There's neither male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. We are all one, justified, at the same level, same holiness, same righteousness, because we have been clothed with Christ. That's what God sees. If you have your outer garment, that's what people are going to see. If you're wearing some long dress, big jacket, whatever it is, That's what we are going to see in those who are in Christ have been clothed from head to toe with the garments of Christ. The righteousness of Christ. So this matter of verse 28 is not saying there's no more gender distinctions or roles in the church. That's not how to read it. That's not what Paul is arguing. Paul is not talking about the erasure or removal of gender distinctions, women are still women, men are still men, God still has his order, right? Here he is speaking to the standing of believers as they are in Christ, that they are on equal footing, okay? And so we love all who name Christ according to this gospel, no matter where they are and no matter their struggles with sin, for none is made saints or assigned by themselves, it is a status conferred or freely given by God's grace on account of Christ. It has nothing to do with good works whatsoever because you can't earn this title. It is impossible. It can only be conferred upon you freely, okay? And because of the gospel testimony that Paul heard of them, that Paul heard of the Ephesians, he said, on account of this, verse six, I do not cease, verse 16, I do not cease to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers. And so Paul was thanking God for them. He was happy for them. praying for their salvation, for their being counted among the holy and the righteous, thanking God for their ability to believe, for their being elected in Christ, and so he made mention of them before God. as we ought to make mention of other believers wherever they are, praying for true believers and thanking God for His grace towards us and them to bring the knowledge of the light of salvation in Christ. Believers ought to thank God. We are saved to give thanks to God for what He has done We thank God for the food that perishes, for jobs and family and friends, but we seem not to thank God enough for his salvation because much of what we are taught has us trying or helping God somehow. And thus, the grace that is mostly preached in many churches is not amazing grace. It is not wonderful grace. It is a failing grace. It is a grace that enables, not grace that finish salvation. If you hear much of the speaking from the pulpits, even professing Christians, the grace of which they speak of did not accomplish salvation. It only made things possible. Made it possible for you to be righteous. And it is a bridge to nowhere. Grace that enables you to be holy and righteous is a bridge to nowhere. For grace to be grace, it has to take you straight to the door of heaven. That's grace. And that grace will open even those doors for you. That's grace. But what was the content of the things of which Paul prayed for the Ephesians now in the light of what he had heard about them? Verse 17, Number one, that the God of our Lord Jesus, the Father of Glory, may give to you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him. Paul was praying to the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of Glory. and that is the designation of the true God. And to say the God of our Lord Jesus Christ does not mean that Jesus was not or is not God. That was not Paul's point. We have much testimony to affirm the deity or identity of Christ as the Word of God who was in the beginning with God. The Word through whom all things were created. This same Christ who upholds all things by the Word of His power. This same Christ having the fullness of the Godhead dwelling in Him in bodily form. So the matter of The God of our Lord Jesus Christ is a relational term because that is how the Lord Jesus relates to God as the Son. But Paul wanted them to know that the Father of our Lord Jesus is the Father of glory and his prayer was that God would give them the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him. And that means the wisdom and revelation of who God is comes from God himself. And wisdom is insight into the true nature of things, of things as they truly are. And revelation is the unveiling of God to the believer by the spirit of God or by God himself. The spirit of wisdom and revelation was in the knowledge of him, in the knowledge of God, not in the knowledge of other people's business or balancing your checkbook or just being a very prosperous businessman. No, that's not what Paul was praying and that's not how to know God. These are things Even the unregenerate people do end very well. They can balance their checkbooks. They are very smart in many ways, but about Christ, they're dead with respect to spiritual things. And to get the wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of God requires the Holy Spirit. And know God is to know him as he has revealed himself in his word in regards to Christ as the Holy Spirit gives spiritual illumination to our hearts or minds that we may know him. That we may know him and the hope of his calling. God wants his people to know him and even The redeemed who are not highly educated are capable of knowing Him because God the Spirit gives them the knowledge and revelation. They are all taught of God. And that is to say, a preacher does not cause the knowledge and revelation of God. They have no power to cause that. This is way above me as a preacher. I do not cause the knowledge and revelation of God. This is what I do. God has me to declare. I only declare, but God is a teacher and the revealer of the hidden things. If God does not teach you what I'm saying now, you won't get it. And it's not because I didn't speak well or explain myself well, but it's because to understand spiritual things requires more than the physical hearing. You need a spiritual hearing and that God alone causes. Secondly, Paul prayed that verse 18, that the eyes of your understanding be enlightened that the eyes of their understanding and this seems to me like a commentary on the first point to say the end of which Paul was praying the spirit of wisdom and revelation would lead to their understanding being enlightened their understanding like our understanding had been born in darkness and thus needed spiritual truth, the light of the gospel, for them to see things as they truly are in Christ, who is the light, for none can see in darkness And the light that brings the knowledge of God is not natural to men and women. It is given freely by God to the redeemed. Those who say, look to or into yourself, you have the natural light. Look to yourself. Look into your heart. No, they're lying to you. There's nothing but darkness in our own minds or hearts apart from the Spirit of God giving knowledge, wisdom, revelation, and understanding. And this does not happen apart from Christ. If you remove Christ, then it's darkness. Okay? But Paul continues and says that you may know what is the hope of his calling. the eyes of your understanding being enlightened, that you may know what is the hope of His calling. That was the end of it. Among other things, that they may know the hope of God's calling of them. That is what God wants you to know with this knowledge and enlightenment and wisdom. It is for you to know the hope of His calling. the hope of your gospel calling, what God means by the gospel. And that is not speaking to your occupation at work or to being a father or mother. And people say, oh, I wonder what is God's purpose for me? What is my purpose in my life? They're thinking, oh, God wants you to be a pilot. God wants you to be the governor. God wants you to be a doctor. That's not what Paul was praying for. Paul was praying that you be given wisdom, enlightenment, you be given understanding of the gospel calling. This is your calling in Christ, in the salvation that he accomplished and what he means by it. God wants you to know because it is important. It is the only important thing. The hope is not a weather forecasting type hope. For instance, there's a 70% chance of rain tomorrow. That is weather forecasting. It may rain, it may not rain. That's not the hope of the gospel. This hope in Christ is a sure and steadfast expectation based on what God has done, which is backed by everything that God is. It is absolute and guaranteed victory over all things, the possession of all things, promised us by God because of God and His faithfulness to Himself, to Christ. How is it assured? This hope, the hope of your calling is ultimately Christ. It is salvation by grace alone. That is the hope of your calling. It is salvation by grace alone in Christ. As Paul said in 2 Timothy 1-10, Therefore, do not be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord or of me, his prisoner, but join with me in suffering for the gospel according to the power of God, who has saved us and called us with the holy calling, hear that, the holy calling, the gospel calling. What is so special about this calling? Why is it holy? Not according to our works. Not according to our works. I don't care how well behaved you are. It's very, very good that you be well behaved. But this gospel, not according to our works but according to his own purpose see the distinction but according to his own purpose and grace which was granted us in christ jesus purpose and grace granted in christ to the ones called us not everyone but to the us people from all eternity but now has been revealed by the appearing of our Lord, of our Savior, Jesus Christ, who abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel. That's the gospel calling. That's the holy calling. Your hope is secure because salvation is not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was granted us in Christ. In Christ, not in Moses, not in you, not in your family, in Christ. Not in Buddha, not in Mohammed, not in, in Christ. Not in the Dalai Lama, not in Gandhi, not in, but in Christ, granted us in Christ. not in the Roman Catholic Church, not in the, but in Christ. But when, but when from all of eternity granted for as long as God has existed and as he has been God and God has never ceased to be God. Now you can't put your money on Wall Street for a thousand years. and expect to come back and find it there. It will be gone. It surely will be gone. Big companies have come and they have melted. They are no more. You lose your money, you lose your investment. But that is unlike the gospel calling. The gifts and calling of God are without repentance. The gifts and calling of God without repentance. Salvation was already granted in Christ before you showed up. Before you showed up, before your parents showed up, before your grandparents, before Christ came in the flesh, before Adam was created, before the angels were created. Salvation already granted in Christ and there's absolutely nothing that you can do to mess it up. It's impossible. People get too carried away by themselves and their foolishness and think that salvation is waiting for them to throw in their two cents, their pennies, for it to work. My dear friends, there's no preacher who causes your salvation. There's no preacher. If anybody believes that, they are deceived. There's no preacher who causes your salvation. Christ alone is your savior. Christ alone is he who redeemed you. God alone is he who granted your salvation from before the foundation of the world. So you can't mess such kind of salvation. It's impossible. Because it was determined before you showed up. Because if salvation was up to you, guess what? 100%. You would mess it up. You would lose it and you'd march merrily to hell. That's right. And Paul, my dear brothers and sisters, is summarizing this statement here of himself as he wrote to the Philippines when he's speaking of the knowledge of Christ. Because he's praying for the Ephesians to have the knowledge, the wisdom, the revelation, the enlightenment of who God is. For them to know of the hope of the gospel And Paul, being a Jew, being under the law, and delighting in his law keeping, which had no salvation, which had no hope for him, not the way that he was doing the law. Because these things were hidden. These things were hidden. But were now made manifest by the appearance of the Lord Jesus. Because the law only had the types and the shadows. Paul then says, Philippians 3, 7 to 11, but whatever things were gained to me, those things I have counted as a loss for the sake of Christ, whatever. Whatever things, which Paul had a ton of things on his resume, on his CV, to say, look at me, I am so righteous, I am so cool, I'm so cute, I'm so beautiful, I'm all these things, and Paul says, those things used to be gained to me. But in the knowledge of Christ, in the revelation of the knowledge of Christ, I have counted as loss all these things for the sake of Christ. More than that, I count all things to be lost in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. Did you hear the comparison? Everything else compared to Christ is loss. is dung to be flushed down the toilet or put in a compost heap somewhere to feed the maggots, the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus. You hear a lot of preachers, unfortunately, so-called, even so-called sovereign grace people diminishing the thinking, the teaching, the idea of knowing Christ. They'll say, oh yeah, if you talk about knowing Christ, then you are conditioning salvation or knowledge. No, salvation is not conditioned on knowledge. It's conditioned on the grace of God. It's conditioned on the cross of Christ alone. But here Paul say, I count all things to be lost. In view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ, there's nothing that can be compared to it. knowing Christ, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things and count them but rubbish, count them but dung, so that I may gain Christ. You see the exchange, the math in that, the loss and profit statement. All those things that Paul thought were of value, he put them on the liability side of things and said, no, that's not good for me. My righteousness before the law is not good for me. My good works not good for me. My heritage, being of the stock of Israel, Hebrew of Hebrews, descended from Abraham, the tribe of Benjamin, circumcised on the eighth day, Oh, that's lost. Oh, that's done. Oh, someone please flash it for me. Yeah. And many prophets and Christians don't want to come to this point. They don't want to come to this Testament of Paul. because of seniority. Do they think God respects their many years in the church? No, God doesn't care for your many years in the church. God cares that you tell the truth on Christ. And to tell the truth on Christ is to say all that I considered gain is now lost and done. Oh, I thought I was saved. I thought I was saved when I walked down the aisle and I chose Jesus. I invited him. I made him Lord and Savior. Lost and done. You did not choose Jesus. You did not make Jesus Lord and Savior. God is he who made the Lord Jesus both Lord and Christ. Jesus is he who made you saved. You did not make Jesus anything. that I may be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own derived from the law, but that which is through the faithfulness of Christ, the righteousness which comes from God on the basis of faith, on the basis of doing nothing, that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, that I may know Christ And the power of His resurrection, the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings being conformed to His death in order that I may attain to the resurrection from the dead. Being conformed to the death of Christ in union with Christ, in the sufferings of Christ being imputed to Him, to me as righteousness, to you who believe as righteousness. God wants you to look into these and understand them. My dear brothers and sisters, the believer is not called to ignorance, but to knowledge. Because ignorance is death. My people die for lack of knowledge because they refuse knowledge. The Jews did not submit the righteousness of God, because they were ignorant of God's righteousness, which is by faith alone, in Christ alone, they did not submit to it. But they went on to establish their own righteousness through their law keeping. So the believer is not called to ignorance, but to knowledge, to the truth, not called to falsehood, not called to darkness, but from darkness to light. So what are some of the things that are contained in the hope of the calling of the believer that the true believer should know about? That you may know what is the hope of his calling, what are the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the sense. the riches of the glory of his inheritance in a sense. The riches speak to an abundance of something. And the riches speak to the weight of the glory of God's inheritance in a sense. The glory, the weight. God did not serve us on a meager budget. a measly budget, a cheap budget. It did not go to Congress, where Democrats, Republicans, Independents just be arguing with each other. And then they come to a compromise budget. Salvation is not a compromise budget. riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints. Salvation by grace is a showcasing of the abundance of riches, the riches of God in Christ. And this salvation is God's inheritance to the saints in Christ. This is true prosperity gospel. Not the name it and claim it. Come get your car. Name your house in Jesus name. Type foolishness. That's not what Paul is talking about. This gospel has riches. The riches are overflowing. The inheritance of the saints. It is glorious and it is to be unveiled in due time in the appearance of Christ with his people. What else Paul, verse 19, and what is the exceeding greatness of his power toward us who believe? This has to be known about God's power towards us who believe. His power is exceedingly great. but great to do what? To serve and to keep us served to the end, and that is to say, do not believe in a weak God, because that is not the God of the Bible. The God who loses those that he granted salvation from all of eternity has no power, no glory to talk about. If you believe in a God who loses you, you don't believe in the God of the Bible. You believe in Dagon, you believe in an idol, you believe in Buddha. There's no difference. is a useless God and not worthy of worship. And that is the God believed by many professing Christians. Yeah? The one whom they chose. The one whom they can forsake at their own command. The God who needs them, who desperately is hoping that they will come and make their mind and choose him. the God who is overpowered by human will or choice. That God is not the God of our Lord Jesus Christ. Okay? So in what is God exceedingly great towards us who believe? In other words, what is the reference point for us so that we may see this kind of power in action? How do we get to know about this power because the text says this is the kind of power that God has towards the saints and he has demonstrated before. Hear this. 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." This power God demonstrated in the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. This power raised the Lord from the dead. But it did not stop there. It had him seated at the right hand of God in the heavenly places. And thirdly, it enthroned Christ above all of creation, even far above principality, even far above all principality, power, might, and dominion. And those are the words of wicked angels. This power of God in Christ is incomparable. It is the power that is available or backs up the salvation of the redeemed, those who believe. It is an omnipotent power, an unfailing power that overcomes all resistance. It is irresistible power as we saw the Lord Jesus just coming and speaking things and commanding things and they would happen telling a man with a withered hand to stretch out his hand and it was made straight, made well instantly or immediately. That is power. Christ has been seated in authority far above both the human and the superhuman or angelic beings, whether holy or fallen, far above every name that can be named. There's no other name that is above the name of Christ. whether fallen or of holy angels, whether spiritual or physical, there's nothing that compares to Christ. And that is to say, Jesus rules and reigns. My dear friends, the Lord reigns. Jesus is not getting old fighting against demons. Jesus is not losing sleep. He never sleeps, nor slumbers. He sits way above them and all of his creation in the heavenly places know this. It's only here, down here on earth that we're ignorant of this matter. But by how much, by how much is Christ above all things? Verse 22, and he put all things under his feet and gave him to be head over all things to the church. which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all. God the Father put all things under the feet of Christ, and that means under the total authority of Christ. All power and authority has been given me, said the Lord. Christ Jesus has all things. He is the head of all things. Colossians 2, 8-10. See to it. that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deception, according to the tradition of men, according to the elementary principles of the world, rather than according to Christ. For in him all the fullness of deity dwells in bodily form, and in him you have been made complete and he is the head over all rule and authority, Christ the head of all rule and authority. In the name of Christ every knee shall bow and every tongue confess that he is Lord to the glory of God the Father. But do you see what is happening in the background? God the Father put all things under Christ. Two persons of the Trinity are introduced to us. And the Father is not the Son, but He is one with the Son. The Father is God, and the Son is God. But He is not the Father, and yet He is one with the Father. The Father is He who raised Christ and enthroned Him. But we are also aware of the Trinitarian confession of the resurrection of Christ. That the Father raised Him from the dead. That the Son raised Himself from the dead. And that the Holy Spirit also raised Him from the dead. So even the resurrection of Christ was a Trinitarian resurrection. But we know that the son is God because God has put all things under him. Because you can't do that with one who is limited in power, limited in knowledge, limited to all matters or attributes that make God to be God. Because if God were to say everything is under your power, Guess what? You faint from exhaustion. You die. And that is it. This creation is not spinning around aimlessly. It is held together by someone, by the word of his power, and his name is Christ, Jesus. And Paul is saying what? Paul is telling us that Christ Jesus is God. Because he fills all and in all. Because if you fill all and in all, it means you are God. Because only God can fill all and in all. And this one, this Christ is the head of the church and this church is his body as Eve was formed from the body of Adam. And that is to say, the incomparable Christ is he who fills his church. Even us believers and we are complete in him Every believer is complete in Christ. They lack nothing before God. And this faith, and in this Jesus, God has given us faith. In this Christ, the one who is seated, the one who came and died and accomplished salvation, the one who is our righteousness, our holiness, our sanctification. this one God has given us faith in him and this faith beholds all things in him and Paul prayed that God would give the Ephesian saints wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him in the knowledge of God for them to increase in understanding, in enlightenment, spiritual enlightenment of eternal matters, not of things that are perishing. And this, my dear friends, my brothers and sisters in Christ, comes by the Holy Spirit teaching the Scriptures and drawing the knowledge of Christ in them for us. And as Paul prayed, I pray also for you. that God may give you spiritual wisdom and knowledge and enlightenment of who He is and the hope of our calling in Him who loved us and saved us in Christ Jesus from before the foundation of the world. And to that we say, Amen. And we are done. Pray the Lord. Let us pray. Dear Heavenly Father, Lord, we praise you. We honor you for your kind. We thank you for what you have done for us in Christ Jesus. We thank you for the teaching of the Holy Spirit, for the enlightenment, for the understanding, for the increasing knowledge of who you are. We pray that this knowledge will increase, will be formed in the hearts of as many as were given to Christ, called saints. We will be praying for one another, We thank you Lord for your kind to us. May you bring us again and enrich our understanding of our salvation from this book, this blessed book of the Ephesians. We pray and thank you in Jesus name.