All right, so we are in Ephesians. We have covered through verse four of chapter one, so we're gonna look at verses five and six in chapter one. So in verses, having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will, to the praise of the glory of his grace, where he hath made us accepted in the beloved. So we are looking at the praise section of this letter. Verses three to 14. comes before the Thanksgiving and prayer section, and I divided this section into parts. It's really all just one long sentence, but I divided it into parts based on these in whom statements here. So we're looking, let's see, verses three to six, which give the blessings of, election versus 7 to 10 blessings of. Redemption. Versus 11 to 12. Blessings of. Inheritance. And first, 13 to 14 blessings of the Holy Spirit. So I just kind of broke it down into parts. Again, it's all one long sentence in the original. So we're in this section here in verses three to six. So we're gonna be looking at verses five and six. But we looked last time at verses three and four. that started this and Paul began listing the blessings that God has blessed us with in Jesus Christ. And essentially for all these blessings, we bless God. We talked about how Paul began by blessing God and what that means and how that is different from God blessing us. So we talked about that last time. Paul has emphasized that all blessings, and it just continues to run throughout, this section in particular, all blessings are in Christ, in and through Jesus Christ. And we also talked about spiritual blessings and spiritual blessings have to do with their source, have to do with their nature, have to do with the means of those blessings. So spiritual blessings includes immaterial, and material. And one example of that is when Paul talks about our resurrection bodies as spiritual bodies. But they do have physical presence and tangible substance. So we talked about those blessings. And then we talked about election. God has chosen us in him for the foundation of the world. So this refers to the selection of persons to be made holy and righteous, essentially, and that this took place before the foundation of the world. And so verses five and six are continuing. This isn't any sort of a hard break. He's continuing, going right along with this choosing. He continues these blessings of election. So verse five, having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself according to the good pleasure of his will. We noted last time, we noted in blue all the references to in Christ and in green, all the references to the will of God. And so those do run throughout this section. So he chose us, he has just said that he chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world to be made holy and righteous. Now, just as a reminder, we wanna continue to remember who is the us. It's Paul and those faithful saints in Christ who are at Ephesus. So in the immediate context of the letter, this is who Paul is talking about. Now, It is true that the things that he's saying, as far as being blessed with spiritual blessings in Christ, that that is true of every believer, regardless of nationality or the time that they are living in, as this was written 2,000 years ago. But Paul's point is much more local with this church in Ephesus. And so he's referring again, continue to develop this theme of unity and showing at the very base, the very bottom most foundation is equal footing, particularly between Jews and Gentiles. And that becomes more obvious and clear as the letter goes on. We have been chosen, he said, before the foundation of the world to be made holy, to be made righteous. And then he says, having predestinated us under the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself. Now. The word for. Predestinated, we can see. Here we go. This is one five. predestinated for it's us right there is that word for predestinated and it has a root which is this part here that's the root of the word or it's oh and then it has a prefix which is this part here which is pro So the root, orizzo, means to limit, to mark out. In fact, there's a few places it's used that refer to sort of like a boundary. It's used in a little more figurative sense of determining. And we're very, very familiar with that. Used with this prefix, the prefix pro means before, or in front of, or in advance. So essentially, to limit beforehand, to determine beforehand, something along that line would be this word. And it's used a few times in the New Testament, so we're just gonna look at these. Let's see, we're in Ephesians, so let's go up to Acts. For to do whatsoever, Acts 4.28, for to do whatsoever thy hand and thy counsel determined for to be done. Now this was Peter referring to the crucifixion of Jesus and the fact that they were gathered together against Christ, but they were gathered to do what, this is part of that prayer in Acts 4, they were gathered together what God's hand, and God's counsel had determined before to be done. So God had determined beforehand this crucifixion of Jesus Christ. And we even know that some places in the New Testament, he's referred to as the lamb slain from the foundation of the world. So this is what Peter was talking about. They were gathered together to do what he had determined to be done. We have another usage of the word that appears here, predestinate, predestinate. For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren. Moreover, whom he did predestinate, them he also called, and whom he called, them he also justified, and whom he justified, them he also glorified. Of course, that's Romans chapter eight, verses 29 to 30. It also shows up here in 1 Corinthians 2.7, But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, even the hidden wisdom which God ordained before the world unto our glory. And then we have this usage here in Ephesians 1, also down in verse 11, whom also we've obtained an inheritance being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will. So predestinate, even that word in English gives us the idea of destining beforehand. And that is the way that Paul is using this word and the way that it's used otherwise in the New Testament. God has determined beforehand. So he has determined beforehand Those who were selected in Christ. We still have this connection here. This is the same. He chose, He selected before the foundation of the world, and He predestinated us as well unto the adoption of children. So those who were selected in Christ to be made holy were also destined to adoption as the children of God. Now, adoption, means being made the children of God and also. Brothers and sisters of Jesus Christ, and so if we think about. What Paul said in? Where was that Romans? Paul made a very a very similar statement here in. Let's go over here. Yeah, here we go. Romans chapter 8, verses 28 to 30. And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to His purpose. For whom He did foreknow, them He also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren. Moreover, whom He did predestinate, them He also called, and whom He called, them He also justified, and whom He justified, them He also glorified. Now, if you notice, verse 29 in particular is very similar to verse 5 in Ephesians 1. He predestinated to be conformed to the image of his son that he might be the firstborn among many brethren. And back in Ephesians 1.5, He was predestined to the adoption of children, which this would mean being sons and daughters. of God, being brothers, sisters with Jesus Christ, being conformed to his image, being made holy and righteous, just like he talked about in verse number four. So this is a very similar statement to what he made in Ephesians 1, 1, 4 and 5, really, and says it pretty much the same, except here the predestination is conforming to the image of his son, which he then explains, makes him firstborn among many brethren, gives him many siblings, you might say. Well, furthermore, about adoption earlier in chapter 8 here in Romans, Romans 8, 14 to 17, For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God. For you have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you have received the spirit of adoption whereby we cry, Abba, Father. And again, that Abba, Father is a term of endearment. He's talking about how that we cry to God as our Father, not just as, a supreme being or maybe other things we might think of that are true of God, but because we've received the spirit of adoption, we actually cry to God as our father, the spirit itself, bear witness with our spirit that we are the children of God. And if children, notice this, then heirs, heirs of God, and joint heirs with Christ, meaning obviously being his brothers and sisters by adoption, as it were. So this is the blessing that Paul is talking about, this adoption, and the heirs actually connects with Paul's reverence to inheritance later in Ephesians. But these are a part of the blessings. Remember, these are the all spiritual blessings that God blesses us with in, by, and through Jesus Christ. So we are predestinated unto adoption by Jesus Christ. These all spiritual blessings that he spoke of earlier, all spiritual blessings in Christ, these all spiritual blessings in, by, and through Jesus Christ is referring to the fact that these are what He accomplished, these are what Jesus secured by his life, by his death, by his resurrection, his ascension to heaven, his future return. This is what Jesus Christ accomplished in his incarnation and through that work to his exaltation. So that's how all of these blessings come to us. And election and predestination, we're told here, are according to the good pleasure of his will. They're according to God's purpose and determination. And we talked previously about various references to God's will, God's purpose, God's counsel that we see particularly in this praise section as being behind all of these actions. Blessings that God blesses us with these are actions in the part of God that he actively in and through Christ blesses us with these blessings and all of all of those actions are based on not some sense of fairness, some sense of equal distribution, not some sense of, you know, whoever may be the fittest or the best or most suited, but they're based entirely on God's own will. that gets overtly emphasized here in verse 11, according to the purpose of him who works all things after the counsel of his own will. So Paul is definitely making an emphasis on this, all of these blessings that he's talking about, they come to us in Christ and they come about because of God's will. Now, this word for good pleasure that's used here, I think it's used again, down in verse number nine, it's the same word there. This word for good pleasure is essentially saying what God is pleased to do. It can have the idea of delight, it can have the idea of satisfaction, being satisfied, but it's what God is pleased to do. So what is being emphasized here in his determination, what God is pleased to do in his determination? What is being emphasized here is what we might call God's free choice. In other words, Paul is emphasizing the fact that God is not constrained by anything, anyone outside of himself. He's not obligated. He's not confined. He is only constrained by his own determinative purpose. In other words, all of God's actions are according to his purpose, which we've already seen reference to, which is from before the foundation of the world. God is making free choice in blessing us with these spiritual blessings. So he's showing the will of God that is within himself, no outside forces, pressures, obligations, nothing of that sort. So he continues on in verse six, to the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved. So, we can ask the question, what is the purpose, the end, the final, ultimate goal of God's choosing and predestination? And the answer is given to us right here, to the praise, the glory of His grace. And honestly, and I know that predestination and election, they can be hot subjects. They can be causes of debate and disagreement and all sorts of things, splits of churches and what have you. But I've come to see that really, this right here is the most controversial statement in this chapter. is for the praise of his own will. That really is, I think, where the, where the rub is, you might say. Now, Mr. King says a little later in verse 11 that God works all things out for the counsel of his own will, not the counsel of any other, the counsel of his own will. And he does all things so that he himself will be glorified. So you just want to look at a few verses. God doing all things for his own glory. So Psalm 19, very familiar verse, verse one, the heavens declare the glory of God and the firmament showeth his handiwork. The fact that the creation itself, whether animate or inanimate, but the creation, particularly you might think of the inanimate aspect of the creation, are declaring the glory of God. In other words, that's his purpose in creating them. Let's go to a New Testament passage, Colossians. Colossians chapter one and verse number, 16, for by him were all things created that are in heaven and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones or dominions or principalities or powers, all things were created by him and for him. And then Revelation. Chapter four and verse number 11. Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honor and power, for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created. Let's look back to, oh, let's go to Proverbs, Proverbs chapter 16. Verse number four, the Lord hath made all things for himself, yea, even the wicked for the day of evil. And one more here, Romans chapter 11. Romans chapter 11 and verse number 36. For of Him and through Him and to Him are all things. To whom be glory forever. Amen. Now that's just a little. group of verses of many that we could look at that speaks of God doing things for his own glory. When we studied the covenant with Israel and have studied some of those books, we've seen God making those statements sometimes in the prophets as well to Israel that He's going to save them, but not for their sake. He's going to do it for the sake of His own name and for the sake of His own glory. So, Paul is really speaking here in very ultimate terms. And if we're thinking about the unification of everything, which is, uh, I do believe comes out, um, in this letter, if we're thinking about that unification of everything, well, then we S we see it here in that all things, all things come together to this one single purpose. And that is the praise of God's glory. So this, when we think about God doing all things according to his own will, just like he's spoken of in Job, he doesn't give account of his matters, he doesn't seek advice for his work, for his will. He does all things according to His own will and ultimately does it to the praise of His own glory. Well, that really is the very, that's the very Godhood of God. It's really the very essence of what it is for God to be God. And it is also what is supremely God. controversial, particularly when people have a habit of fashioning a God after their own image. Well, I think God is like this. I think God is like that. When God has revealed himself through the word to us. Well, that brings us to another question, though. What is God's glory? That's something that can almost just sort of become almost a trite phrase, that we throw that around so carelessly. And if you look at different scholars and things, the descriptions can be all over the place. And I think part of that is because it's somewhat hard to describe. And when the Bible speaks about God's glory, I really think that we go back, first of all, to the Old Testament and how that comes through from the old into the new. Now the words are different. In the Old Testament, we saw that word kavod used in the Psalms. We spent quite a bit of time talking about it and gleaning what is meant by that. The New Testament word is doxa, and it is a little, It is a little different, but the concept of God's glory, concept of glory that comes forward from the Old Testament has this idea of weight. And it's weightiness and can be used more figuratively of a person of being of a weighty presence. in that sense, a weightiness of their being. And typically we saw it used in contexts that have to do with reign, authority, power, these sort of things. And it's really, to sum it up, I would say that God's glory is His supreme sovereignty and the glory of Jesus Christ in particular is seen in His exaltation, which His exaltation leads to where? It leads to every knee bowing before Him and every tongue confessing that He is Lord to the glory of God the Father. So the idea of God's glory, I think that it's His power, all of these things brought together. And we also get another word here, and that's this word grace. And grace appears a few times. this in this passage that God's actions that he that he takes they are actions of grace they're they're not They're not actions of debt. They're actions of grace. Again, emphasizing God's free choice. No one made or obligated God to choose or to determine anything before the foundation of the world. He did that freely of himself. And so grace becomes also thematic, particularly in this in this opening praise section that we're looking at. So when you think about grace, grace has the idea of, let's just say, a free gift. that it's not owed, it's not due, it's not something that's earned, it's not something that can be achieved or accomplished. It's a completely free gift, which goes quite along with God's free choice in election, predestination, and all aspects, every aspect of God's will. So it is a free gift, a truly free gift. And so in bestowing a gift, a truly free gift, it is God's ultimate sovereignty. In other words, it reflects His power. So when we're talking about the glory of His grace, We're talking about one who has all resources. And so it's not a great illustration, but if you think of someone, I guess that was just extremely wealthy. They had power and connections and possessions, all these kind of things. and they would just truly, because they wanted to, just give something freely to another without any idea of repayment or any obligation implied, anything like that. So again, it's not a great illustration, but if we're talking about the glory of His grace, I believe that it emphasizes that His grace is exercised freely in His power according to His own purpose. And so that is obviously seen in election and predestination that Paul just talked about. And so this is that ultimate purpose, again, why these things have been done. Now, the last part of the verse says, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved. And I have that highlighted in blue there, because I do believe that's a reference to Jesus Christ in him, which is contextually throughout this passage. Now, this made us accepted, that's one word in the Greek. And it only occurs in one other place. And it has the idea of favoring. And I think we get a pretty good description if we look at, where's the passage? Oh, I've lost my passage. All right, well, we'll go to, we'll go to Luke chapter one and verse number 28. So verses 28 to 30 in particular. So this is when the angel came to Mary. And the angel came in unto her and said, Hail, thou that art highly favored. The Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou among women.' And when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and cast in her mind what manner of salutation this should be. And the angel said unto her, Fear not, Mary, for thou hast found favor with God." The angel said to Mary in verse 28, that she was highly favored. And that's the same word that is used there in Ephesians 1.6. And later in verse 30, uses a different word, but explains how that Mary was highly favored because she had found favor with God. Well, of course, in the greater context, We know that the angel is speaking of the fact that Mary had been chosen to be the mother of Jesus, that the Holy Spirit would conceive within her a son, a child, the Son of God, in fact. So, Paul is saying here that the glory of His grace, according to the good pleasure of His own will, he has highly favored us in the beloved, which is in Jesus Christ. And this, of course, refers to the election, to the predestination, to the adoption that he has spoken of. Now, when we think about these few verses here in the opening part of this praise section and election and predestination being those two big blessings that Paul has started out with, the spiritual blessings that have come to us in Christ. It is entirely antithetical, it's entirely opposite to understand election, what Paul's talking about here, and then to be proud of it. I mean, Paul is greatly emphasizing that this is God's free action, and it is of His grace, it's a gracious gift to us, meaning that we can't merit it, we don't deserve it, anything of that nature. But to understand something of this idea of being chosen, being predestinated to adoption, was something that Israel was actually guilty of. So if we look at Matthew chapter number three and verse number nine, this is John to the Pharisees. And think not to say within yourselves, we have Abraham to our father, for I say unto you that God is able of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham. So Israel had a tendency, and it comes out especially in the gospels, they were confronted by Jesus, and even later some, in later books as well, they had a tendency to think themselves secure, safe, as God's children, because they were descended from Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. I mean, they were rebuked for this in the prophets, in the Old Testament as well, and that continued to be a problem. In other words, they thought of themselves as special and better than all those other nations. So this was one of the sins of Israel, and Israel was actually, or is being humbled for this particular sin. If we look at Romans chapter number 11, Verses 7 to 10, what then? Israel hath not obtained that which he seeketh for, but the election hath obtained it, and the rest were blinded. Now he's talking here about the fact that there is a remnant according to the election of grace. So there are some of those that are descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob who have believed. But the rest, he says, were blinded. That's the major part. According as it is written, God has given them the spirit of slumber, eyes that they should not see and ears that they should not hear unto this day. And David sayeth, let their table be made a snare and a trap and a stumbling block and a recompense unto them. Let their eyes be darkened that they may not see and bow down their back. So Israel is really being humbled, being greatly humbled, much because of this sort of pride. And they're being provoked to jealousy. Verse 11, I say then, have they stumbled that they should fall? In other words, Paul was talking about the fact that there were the major part of those of Israel that were unbelieving. Does this mean that the nation is gone? they're destroyed, or he says, God forbid, but rather through their fall, salvation has come unto the Gentiles for to provoke them to jealousy. So these spiritual blessings that God is pouring out on those of the nations is also a sort of a thorn in the side of a humbled Israel. But the interesting thing is is that Paul recognizes that this scale can tip and go the other way. So Israel was very proud, thinking themselves secure in this election, and then they're humbled, and then God extends grace to the nations, and then Paul says in verse 18, boast not against the branches, but if thou boast, thou bearest not the root, but the root In other words, he does give a caution to his Gentile readers. Don't boast yourselves against Israel. Don't boast over them because God's grace has been extended to you. Don't boast over them as they boasted over the nations. And ultimately he says, what that all Israel shall be saved. Verse 25, for I would not brethren that you should be ignorant of this mystery, lest you should be wise in your own conceits blindness in part is happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles becoming and so all Israel shall be saved as it is written there shall come out of Zion the deliverer and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob. Obviously, Paul is blessing God for these blessings that have been received in and through Christ. And we talked about before how we are to bless God for these spiritual blessings, not that we should become in any way arrogant, in any way proud, in any way boasting in ourselves, or sort of maybe thinking of ourselves as something and lording over someone else, but rather it's all to the praise of the glory of His grace. So Paul is essentially saying that God graciously saves everyone that He graciously has chosen and graciously predestined to adoption. And this again is just an inescapable foundation of unity in Christ among believers in a local body. Because again, he's concerned with those at Ephesus. And he's starting out in talking about these spiritual blessings. And again, these things are true, whether those that are reading this, part of them would have been Jews, part of them would have been Gentiles, But regardless of whether they're Jews or Gentiles, or whether they're slaves, or whether they're masters, or whatever, and there's several divisions he talks about in this letter, regardless, that same foundation is true, that God has chosen us in Christ before the foundation of the world to be made holy, to be made righteous in Him, and predestined us to be adopted sons and daughters of God, making us brothers and sisters of Jesus and heirs of God and joint heirs with Jesus Christ, meaning that we have a share in his inheritance, but again, it's all by the grace of God. And again, this theme of unity. Paul is laying a very strong foundation for this case as he proceeds through this fall.