Amen, great singing, great hymn. It may have been familiar to you, but it is tremendous words in that hymn. We're turning to Ephesians chapter one, please. We began a series on this on a Lord's Day morning, and then we meant to continue it on, but there's been different things happening in between the week of prayer, I lost my voice one week and then I was away taking meetings. So we're sort of catching up on Ephesians chapter 1. Remember we preached in the first few verses about this church made up of Jew and Gentiles, many of them slaves. We know that from later in the book. Many of them Gentile slaves, poor. and how Paul is writing. And the theme of the first chapter is, actually the first three chapters, is to know who you were, who you used to be. And then that's chapter two, you were dead in trespasses and sins just like every other sinner. But then God quickened you. So you need to know who you are and what you have in Christ so that you'll be able to be what you are and enjoy what you have. And really, a lot of the problems in the Christian life is we forget who we are. You forget who we are. Now, of course, what I mean is, of course, remember our name probably, but we forget that we're in Christ. We are exalted, we're sitting with him in the heavens. We're blessed with all spiritual blessings. You remember verse three? We took two weeks on that. We already have everything we'll ever need in Christ. We mightn't be enjoying it, but we already have every blessing in Christ. So we need to know who we are, what we have, so that we will live as we ought to live. And tonight, we're coming to the first of these wonderful blessings. There's a whole list of them. Lord willing, we'll get over them over the next few weeks. But tonight we're starting blessings that come from God the Father. Remember, if you read the chapter, you have the blessings from God the Father, from God the Son, from God the Holy Spirit. And each time a section finishes, you have to the praise of his glory. You have the work of the triune God and our salvation. But we're looking at verse four tonight, the very first blessing listed. Verse four, Ephesians 1. according as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love. Now, remember the background. You understand scripture is always good to remember to whom the passage was written and the context. This was written to members of the church. You can imagine it being read on a Lord's Day morning because no doubt many of the congregation couldn't read or write. There were slaves, although not all slaves were illiterate. Some could have very high jobs, but they still didn't have their freedom. But no doubt many could not read or write. And this was being read. And many of them were poor, had nothing. They weren't free citizens. But 35% or more of the Roman Empire were not free citizens. They were just slaves, no rights. And so this is to encourage them in their Christian life and what they'll face. Remember the great temple of Diana was there with all its awful worship, an evil day. So he's not writing it to theologians to discuss and debate. He's not writing to those who think they're in the deep theology to argue all night on what election means. He's writing to ordinary believers like you and me to encourage us. So keep in mind why it is written. Now when Paul's telling them you are saints. Remember separated unto the Lord and all those kind of things. Well then you when that said to them they began to wonder why me. When you wonder that, maybe you wonder that too, but for them, being Gentiles, and the church is just established, they were living in paganism to Paul Cain, Paul's writing back from prison, and they would have come and thought, why me? Why am I a believer? Was it just lucky chance that I happened to be there in the marketplace when Paul preached? Was it just luck? Well, you know, that's not true, don't you? Was it because I had more faith than those other people who listened? Was it because I was better than other people and more deserving of God's grace? No. No, of course not. Of course not. And here's the blessing that Paul says. First, foremost foundational believer, your blessing is you were chosen. You were chosen. And in verse 5, according to the good pleasure of his will, And then in verse six, to the praise of the glory of his grace. In other words, you had nothing to do with it. That's what grace means. Unmerited favor, the very opposite of what we deserve. We deserve hell. But Paul is writing, you were chosen, not because of anything about you, but God's unconditional, free, sovereign grace. Those are terrible. It's really just describing what the word means. It's according to his will. chosen. But somebody will say, are you actually teaching that God chose certain individuals to be his? Yes. And immediately human nature goes, but how can that be true? Surely we believe that anybody who wishes to be saved can be saved. Of course we do. Of course we do. But the same opposite. Now those are the words, same. Hold your finger there a moment. Now this can't be a whole study in the doctrine of election. By the way, the word chooser is the actual word elect, if you're reading it in the Greek or the other way it's used. Turn back to John 6 to show you something. If you say, how can I explain just in a few phrases what I believe about this or what the Bible teaches, it doesn't matter really what I believe, what the Bible teaches, all right? So John chapter 6, remember Paul is saying you were chosen You were chosen in Christ. Ah, but somebody says, we have the question, but if God's chosen, how then can we say anybody who wishes to be saved can be saved? How can both be true? Well, John 6, 37, last part of the verse. John 6, verse 37. All right, him, of course it means women too, he or she, that cometh unto me, I will in no wise cast out, and that's the gospel we preached. Not the gospel we say, whosoever will may come. No matter who you are, no matter your background, no matter where you come from, if you'll only come to Christ, he will what? In no wise cast you out. Come and welcome to Jesus. That's the way as a church to preach. That's what Paul preached. Paul was in jail for preaching that. Ah, but if your finger is on 637, look at the first part of the verse. This is Christ speaking. All that the Father giveth me shall come to me. Oh. Is the second part of the verse true? That whosoever will may come? Yes, we believe it. Is the first part of the verse also true that Christ said God had given him a people true? It must be. But how can you reconcile them? How can you reconcile those two statements? Well, as C.H. Spurgeon, the famous Baptist preacher, was asked that in his day. You know what he said? Why do I need to reconcile friends? To us it may seem opposite. But remember, the secret things belong on to God, Deuteronomy 29, 29. I can't explain it, but I believe both. They may seem opposite to our human mind, but we're talking about God's revelation, not our human reasoning. You see, human tendencies go to one extreme or the other. But John 6, 37, to me, sums up. Yes, we preach the gospel to everybody. Well, let's go back to Ephesians chapter 1, and we'll look a little bit closer. Remember, it's a blessing. This isn't something to argue over or to debate. It's a blessing. It's a blessing. Well, I want to just go through it very simply. Verse 4, the meaning of the word. Well, I've already said it's electus, or elect. out of. You know, we've got exit, ex, you see, in a place. Well, that word there is a Greek prefix. It means to choose, to choose or select out of. What Paul is saying, Christians, you've been blessed by God, and the first blessing was God chose you out of humanity. You can't get away from the word. That's what it means, that God is sovereign, not man. Salvation is of the Lord, Jonah said. Now, whom did God choose? Well, look at verse 4. Us. Us. Or as they say in Belfast, ussens. But anyway, that's not a proper grammar, so us. Who does he mean? This is the congregation in Ephesus, believers. Rich, poor, Jew, Gentile, slave, free. He chose us undeserving. And so tonight you're saved. He chose me. He chose us. We believers. And then he says, when did God choose you? Before the foundation of the world. Well, therefore, it can't be because we did anything. It can't be because we're deserving. I like C.H. Spurgeon, the Prince of Preachers, called, he said, God must have chosen me before I was born, but there's nothing good about me afterwards to make him choose me. He's a very witty man. But I'm just taking the scripture. See, we're not here tonight to talk about, some time people talk about Calvinism and this. We're not here to talk about that. We could go into the creeds, the Westminster Confession, the Savoy Creed of Historic Congregationalism, the Baptist Creed 1689. We'll go to the Heidelberg. Yeah, those are good and I'll hold. But it's the scripture we're turning to. It's a scripture. When did God, where did God choose us? Look, in him. That's interesting, in him. Here's what that means. There is what we call doctrine, simply teaching, that we are in Christ, union with him. Now, it's hard for our minds to get hold of, but what it means is this. Later on, Paul says we're part of his body. We're in him. Romans 6 talks about that too. In other words, God chose us in Christ. So when Christ came into the world, believer, you're in him. You were in him, I should say. that you could never live. He was living it for you because you were in him. When he died, you died in him. When he was buried, you were with him. When he rose again, you were in him and with him. That's what it means. You're in union with him, and he's in heaven, and you're in union with him. That's why it says later you're seated with him in the heavenlies. You say you're seated in the moor. Yes. But as God looks at you, you're in Christ. God the Father looks upon you as already in heaven, but you're in Christ. It's this doctrine of union. You see, in chapter one, our salvation, it's good to know this, God the Father planned it. God the Son purchased it. We'll get to that in the chapter. And God the Holy Spirit called you and convicted you and converted you. That's the plan of salvation. That's why we sang Jesus my Lord will love me forever. That's why our salvation is sure because God the Father is involved. Now that does away. with a very common view. And sometimes they said from pulpits, which we don't believe, that salvation and election, well, God votes for you to be saved and Satan votes against you and you cast the deciding vote. No, no. Just look at verse four. That's not what it's saying. It's not what it's saying. Well, let's come to the misconceptions. And I know it gets a bit technical away from the actual passage here, but misconceptions. Some people try and explain this away. Because they can't rest in what I talk, the twin truths. God's sovereignty, man's responsibility. I believe both. You say to me, but reconcile them. I can't, but I believe both. And people try and delve deep into it and try and explain it. And I've heard some explain it this way, that God elects races and nations but not individuals. Now we know Israel was elected in a sense as a nation in the Old Testament, we know that. So it just says, well, God's elected the church. One man, he put it this way, just as you have a train, we have a train from Moira to Belfast and you look at the time cable, that God has elected a train, as it were, the church to go at a certain time and that's his elect way of salvation. Train equals salvation. So if you get into the train, well then you're on the elect train, so you're one of the elect. No, it doesn't work. It doesn't work. Ingenious idea, but it doesn't work because verse four is referring to individuals, us. Us. It's individuals. Then some people say election is to an office. Well that can be because God selected Christ. He's the elect son Isaiah. Paul remember when he was saved the message came that he's my chosen. Paul you're my elect you're my chosen. It's the same word 51 times in the New Testament to be an apostle to the Gentiles. So he was chosen. Paul would have had to be saved to be chosen to be an apostle. This is talking in verse 4 not about the idea of to a position. I could take you to Romans but I won't for time but in Romans 16 it talks about Rufus and his mother who it says were chosen in the Lord. It's not talking about an office they had in the church. Not talking about that. Yes, we elect, same word chose, officers in the church. God elected, chose Paul to be an apostle, but it's not talking, it's talking about individuals. It's talking about individuals to salvation. Turn to 1 Peter 1, because here's another, what I'll call a misconception, where men and women try and explain it. I just rest in God's word and believe what he says. But 1 Peter chapter 1, I'm sure if you've ever thought about this subject, you would have come across this one. Here's the Apostle Peter and he's writing to the believers. And in verse 2 of 1 Peter 1, look what he calls them. Elect. That's the same word chosen. Same word chosen. Elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father. So keep your Bible open. We'll just stop there. And some will say, well, there you have it. It's God's foreknowledge. You would hear the gospel and believe and be saved. And therefore God predestinated you. It's according to his knowledge beforehand. No. No. No. You say, but that's what it seems to say. No, that's what it doesn't say. You know what that would be? God chose me because he saw I would choose him. No, no, that's not what Paul said in 1st Ephesians 1 and 4, says, God chose me, that's why I chose him. To get it back to front. Well, if you have your Bible still there at 1st Peter chapter 1, go down to verse 20. And I'm speaking about the Savior now in 1st Peter 1 verse 20, who that's Christ, verily was foreordained. before the foundation of the world but was manifest in these last times for you. See that word foreordained? I assure you it's exactly the same word translated foreknowledge. in earlier in verse 2. Now is Peter saying that God the Father just knew beforehand that Christ would be born in Bethlehem? Did he just know beforehand that that would happen? Now of course you know that's nonsense. God planned it. God planned it. I'm not turning to it for time, but it's a verse in this subject, very important. Acts 2, 23. Peter, the writer of 1 Peter, was preaching. This is only about 50 days after the crucified Christ. Some of the same people were there. You know what he said? You by wicked hands took him, you slew him, you crucified him. But, but, but, he was delivered by the determinate counsel and for knowledge of God. Now does that mean God just knew beforehand that he'd be crucified? Of course not. You know better than that. It means there God, yes, wicked men took him, slew him, but God planned it for our redemption. So what I'm saying is, people who say, oh, this election just means God looked down time and saw it. No, no, it can't be true. And by the way, Peter said for whom, whom he foreknew. Peter didn't write for what he knew about you. It's who. Remember we sang about the shepherd? The shepherd knows his sheep. It's the people he knows, the individual. Or in the Old Testament, do you know in the book of Amos, you'll read there a strange statement. Well, it's not really strange when you understand this truth. In Amos 3 and 2, you know what the Lord said about Israel? You only have I known of all the families of the earth. God said of Israel, you are the only nation, you are the only people I have known. Now, did God not know about the Philistines and the Egyptians and the Assyrians? Of course he did. Ah, but there's that word no in the sense, they're mine. I know you in a special way. That's what foreknowledge is. God set his love upon you, upon you. Misconceptions, misconceptions. We could go on so much. Well, I want to think about the misrepresentations of this. There's some people who would go to this doctrine of election, teaching just really, and they come to a verse like this, verse four of Ephesians one, according to hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world. No, that can't be. Well, it's in the scripture. You have to believe it. It can't be. It can't be. And they said, but if you believe this, If you believe, and remember Christ said it in John 6, 37, all that the Father giveth me shall come to me. Those are Christ's words. But that means God has elected people to go to hell, and that's awful. And I've seen books with those titles. There's one, I never bought it, but I saw it. Predestinated to hell, damnable heresy. Now, I've never heard anyone in our church preaching that. I don't believe that. There's nowhere in the Bible where it's been chosen as mentioned or election. There's nowhere I read that. And somebody says, ah, but hold on. If God has chosen a certain people, it means that he must have chosen people. Hold on. You're using your mental reason. Hold on. I think it was Spurgeon who put it this way. Keep your theological mind on a railway track and the train will go all right. God's sovereignty. Man's responsibility. We believe both. Just keep the train on the right tracks. You remember in Matthew 25 where the Lord spoke. It's amazing how clear scripture is. Remember the judgment of the nation the sheep and the goats. And it says there, the Lord will say to those in his right hand, remember, when did we visit the sick? When did we do this? Inasmuch as you've done it unto one of the least of these, my brethren, you've done it unto me. And he'll say to those in the right hand, come ye blessed of the Father. Remember? Into the kingdom prepared for you from before the foundation of the world. God prepared it for his people. but to those on the left who've rejected him. You know what the father will say to them? Actually it'll be the son in those days. Depart from me ye cursed into everlasting fire, prepared for you from... No, no, no, no, no. The words are so important. Prepared for the devil and his angels. In other words, when we stand before the judgment day and we're separated, Anyone in heaven will have to say, Lord, it's your grace. I'm only here because I'm just a guilty sinner. Why me? Why did you ever choose to set your love upon me and enable me to hear the gospel and convict me and save me? Why was I not born away in a part of the world where they don't have a Bible? I can't explain it. Why was I caused to come to a church and preach the gospel? Why, Lord? It's all of you. It's all of you. But anyone who's cast into hell forever, not one will be able to say, God, you put me here. I had no chance. No. You didn't choose me. No, no. It'll be because deliberately, defiantly, They turned against God and would not believe, would not respond to the light they had. You read Romans chapter one and chapter two. That's why men or women are lost. So it's no excuse to say, oh, I'll just go. Well, and remember, God never does anything that's unjust or unfair, never, never. Shall not the judge of all the earth do right? Then there's some say, oh but if you believe this, and I have to believe it because it's there, you're chosen in Christ before the foundation of the world, well then it makes people into robots, you have no choice. No, the Bible doesn't say that. The Bible doesn't say that. What about Calvary? Does anybody seriously believe that Pilate was made to do what he did, he had no choice? Of course he had, Judas. The men who crucified the Savior, the religious leaders had called for him to be crucified, the men that spat in his face, the men that buffeted him. It was their own choice. They weren't robots. God didn't force them like a robot against their will, no. And yet, from all eternity, God had all that planned. Were those men that gambled for his garments? Were they forced to do it, whether they wanted it or not, like some type of these robes? No, no, no, no. But yet God already prophesied it. That's the amazing thing about God's wonderful, wonderful sovereignty. And then, of course, people say, well, if you believe this, God is a people chosen. then you won't evangelize. I remember when we first went to America in 1969, I remember we were in a certain place, and this pastor, I went up to him afterwards, and I was gracious, believe it or not. I was only very young then, but it might have been more sharp if I was older, but I was very gracious. But he actually said in his message, you know, there's this thing where people believe God chooses a people, and you know, it destroys evangelism, and people believe that have no burden to see souls saved. And he talked in the context of missionary work. And I remember saying, can I just speak to you a minute? Livingstone, Carey, Whitefield, Spurgeon, Pat, you start naming all the famous missionaries from history. They all believed it. They all held to the word of God on this. And of course, the apostle Paul, who wrote this, What does he say over in chapter 6 of Ephesians? In chapter 6, if you want to turn to it, I'll read it to you quickly, Bob, as I want so much we could say in this. But in chapter 6, remember he's writing from prison. And look what he says in verse 19 of chapter 6. The man that wrote this, believers in the church at Ephesus, you've been chosen out of humanity to be the Lord's, but in chapter 619, and for me, pray for me, that utterance may be given unto me that I may open my mouth boldly to make known the mystery of the gospel for which I am an ambassador in bonds that therein I may speak boldly as I ought to speak. My Paul had a burden for souls. He was whipped, he was beaten, he was stoned. And he says, no, I have to preach. I have to preach. I suffer all things for the elect's sake." He says, God is a people. No, it's no deterrent to evangelism. I love the life of James Patton. You should read it. I have his actual autobiography. Famous missionary, went to the New Hebrides. Tremendous story. I always feel like telling this life story, but it's tremendous. Maybe you know it anyway. When he leaving the Scottish church there, and one man says, don't go to those islands in the South Seas, because many missionaries had been actually martyred and eaten by cannibals. somebody says you'll be eaten by cannibals if you go there you'll be eating the cannibals he says well sure you'll die one day and you might be eaten too anyway not going into any more gory details but he said you're going to die too but out in that island alone on the island cannibals Some days he intervened in fights. We're talking the mid-1800s now. His wife died giving birth. He buried his wife. A few days later, buried the young son. He wept over the grave, and his autobiography wrote, why would a man like that stay there? Why would you stay on that island with no converts? This is what he wrote in his autobiography. I stood over the grave of my wife and child and says, Father, you have chosen a people out of every tribe and tongue to be saved. And I believe some of those chosen ones are on this island. And I will not leave this island until they're safely in the fold. Does that display somebody who has no love for souls? No, because he believed God has a chosen people. Well, very quickly, what's the message of chapter 1 and verse 4? The message of election. It's not something to debate over. It's not something to argue about. Something we just have to bow before the Lord and say, I don't understand it, but it's a blessing. Why you should ever choose me? Why, Lord? It's a precious blessing. God, the Father, hath chosen us. It doesn't create pride. I know the world picture is sort of stern, Presbyterian, so proud. No, no, no, no, no. No, no. When you understand this, it humbles you. It's all of good. It gives you confidence. My, if God has chosen me, not because of anything about me, well then he'll keep on keeping me on. No, the man was saying that to him. Remember, Jesus, my Lord, will love me forever. He's not going to let me go. If he chose me way back in eternity, he's going to keep me. And that's why Romans 8, I'm sure you know the golden chain, how we've been chosen in him and so on, and we're going to be kept, justified, and glorified. God's eyes were already glorified. and so it's a wonderful confidence and of course it'll give us praise because in verse is it six there you've got it to the praise of the glory of his grace oh you'll feel like praising god forever choosing us why lord i've mentioned my mother before in banger listening to that open air Even the 92s used to say, Ron, I don't know why that day, when I was there with the different girlfriends from Sandy Row, they went in the boat, used to sing a wee song with us, Bangor. Wasn't that for a bob, was it? No, sixpence, something to Bangor and back and all this, or thruppence, anyway. Used to talk about a wee song when we were young. And they went, and she stopped, and the other girls went on and says, why me? Why did the Lord stop me there to listen? That wasn't pride, that was just grace. And of course, it makes us fearless and it challenges our behavior. Because look at verse four. Why did God choose you? Well, it says in verse four that we should be holy and without blame before him in love. Holy, that's our attitude before the Lord, without blame, that's towards others. You see, if you get somebody and they say, well, I'll just live the way I want. God's chosen me so it's okay. I'll just live the way I want. I'll still be in heaven because I'm elect of the Lord. Well, I can't judge people's heart. I think you're fairly sure they're not a believer. Because that's not the response of a believer. God sent the son to die for me and he chose for me from eternity that I would be holy. Forgive me Lord for the times I haven't walked the way I should. That's the evidence. That's the evidence of someone is there. You don't continue in sin. And what do you say to an unbeliever who comes and they might have heard us talking. Well I'd say first of all listen it's a family doctrine. Ephesians 1 was written to the saints. Are you one of the believers? Well, what are you reading? Letters don't belong to you. Well, of course, all scriptures benefit. But still, just to shock them, I might say that. Of course, chapter 2 tells us that by grace you save through faith. They say, this is written to believers. Your duty is not to try and understand God's mysterious providence. Your duty is to repent and believe the gospel. And don't allow anyone to twist the doctrine of election or what this means to put you off coming and to say, just sit. If you're going to save, God will save you anyway. That's a horrible teaching. That's not the teaching of the word of God. Yes, I do believe this verse, but I also believe it's our duty to tell people, you have to come. And you have to make every effort to make your calling and election sure. You have to give all diligence. Come. So I'd say to an unbeliever who maybe has heard all this about election and maybe heard it twisted in the wrong teaching, I'd say, no, don't just sit there. I've had people say that to me. I have talked to some elderly men sometimes, oh no, I heard in church when I was young about election, I'm going to go save God, he'll save me anyway. You feel like, don't you shake in the mouth, you don't understand the Bible, that's not what this means at all. No, you have to come. Your duty is to come and repent and believe. Well, I trust this verse will be sweet to you. It's a precious doctrine that the Lord loved you and give himself for you. Well, just we're going to sing a couple of verses of a hymn and get down to prayer. 380. Just mentioning the Lord's Day, Reverend Fred Greenfield will be here in the morning as the Lord's Table. He'll be giving his testimony in the evening service, so do remember that please, and our Elders and Committee will be down at Presbytery. We and another church have been examined there. We're going to Dungannon. But do remember us on Friday. And then just remember the work of God here. 388, Robert Murray MacShane. Of course, when you think of some of the words here, you'll see that he believed in this. And he's a man at age 29. You all know the story, don't you, of the preacher wanted. I visited his church, actually. There's hardly anybody going now. He saw a revival. It was an extension church in Dundee. just for the poor people. Ended up a thousand people going. And he's only in his 20s. Great, great move of the Spirit of God. Preacher years later came and said, oh, I'd love to see. Let me sit where, you know, he sat, Robert Murray McShane. Oh, I'd love to see him. And the caretaker said, all right, you sit there. There's a seat. You sit there in the seat. Now put your head down on his desk and weep the way he wept. before he preached on the Lord's Day. Great man, Robert Myrdida, 29. Lord, make me as holy as is possible for a saved sinner to be. That was his famous saying. We'll sing just the first three verses for time. When I saw your radiant star When I sat with Christ on high Looking o'er thy sistery when I saw ♪ When I see thee as the morn ♪ ♪ Love me when I'm sailing on ♪ ♪ Then, Lord, shall I thoroughly know ♪ till then I'm chosen from Living in the Savior's sight By the Spirit sanctified Teach me, Lord, on earth to show Well, can we get down to prayer as time's going? We need to have a very brief meeting with the committee just tonight after the service, but let's have many take part in prayer and come and thank the Lord for his grace in our lives. Father in heaven, we think of what the Apostle John wrote, that we love him, because he first loved us. And Lord, we can't understand why you should ever set your love upon sinners like us, why you would so order our events. in our life to bring us onto the sound of the gospel. But Lord, we'd simply praise Thee tonight for Thy grace. Lord, help us tonight in prayer. Thank Thee that one of the blessings is that in chapter 2 and 18 of Ephesians that we have access onto Thee in prayer. And Lord, we come as Thy people tonight Not because we're worthy of ourselves, but Lord has chosen us and saved us and cleansed us and made us into New Testament priests and part of our ministry. Even as New Testament priests, we read in various places in the New Testament to offer sacrifices of praise and prayer and worship unto thee. Help us to do that tonight. Help us to intercede. We think of the priest in the Old Testament, how he would intercede for the nation, for the different needs of people. And Lord, help us tonight to bear up before thee those that are upon our hearts, members of the congregation, families, members not yet saved. Oh Lord, help us tonight in prayer we ask in our Savior's name. Amen.