Our passage today is taken from Paul's letter to the Ephesians 1, verses 1-14. Ephesians 1, verses 1-14. Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, to the saints who are in Ephesus and are faithful in Christ Jesus, Grace to you and peace from God our Father and our Lord Jesus Christ. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love he predestined us for adoption through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace with which he has blessed us in the beloved. In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, which he lavished upon us in all wisdom and insight, making known to us the mystery of his will according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ as a plan for the fullness of time to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth. In him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will, so that we who were the first to hope in Christ might be to the praise of his glory. In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it to the praise of his glory. Let's pray. Father, we assemble, we come before you this morning to the praise of your glory for what you have done for us. And I pray, I pray for wisdom. I pray for wisdom to convey what your word teaches and that you would give us ears to hear. and a mind to understand your word, what you have called us, the name that you have given us, and our purpose in this age, in this world. We lay these things before you and we beseech you that you would help us understand. We ask these things in your holy name. Amen. As we move through our passage today, we'll encounter among others Two prominent themes. One, that we the elect are blessed by God, by God the Father in Christ. And two, that this is a revealed mystery which God the Father has set forth in Christ and revealed to his saints in all wisdom and insight. The mystery of the gospel is a prominent theme in a number of Paul's letters. In his closing remarks to the Romans, he describes this mystery of the gospel as hidden or kept secret for long ages past, but now, that is at the time of the apostles, is disclosed through the prophetic writings, that is the Old Testament scriptures, and revealed to all nations, both Jew and Gentile, and that this revelation is by decree of God, the purpose of which, he continued, he goes on, the purpose of which is to bring about the obedience of faith. to bring about the obedience of faith. That's Romans 16, 25 through 26. God's revealing of this mystery to the apostles can be traced through the book of Acts. And the revealing of this mystery coincides with the calling and the commission of Paul. The progress of the gospel in Acts, or the stages of the gospel, as some call it, is laid out by Jesus himself in Acts chapter one. Verse eight, the disciples asked Jesus, Lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel? And Jesus replies to them, it is not for you to know the times or the seasons that the father has fixed by his own authority, but you apostles will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you. And you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria and to the ends of the earth. Acts reads as high drama as Luke tracks the unfolding of the mystery of Christ. We'll try and make this introduction overview of Acts real quick, as brief as possible. So we'll pick up in chapter 7 with Stephen. Here, Luke records Stephen's brilliant defense before the Jewish council. If you remember, that discourse ends with the Jews enraged, dragging Stephen out of Jerusalem and taking up stones to kill him. And they lay their garments at the feet of a young man named Saul, also called Paul. As we see, Paul, at that moment, heartily approves of Stephen's murder. Immediately following the death of Stephen, a great persecution breaks out against the church in Jerusalem. The church is then scattered throughout Judea and Samaria, except the apostles. And those who were scattered went about preaching the word. At Acts chapter eight, we see Saul begin to ravage the church. Philip carries the gospel to the Samaritans and then to the Ethiopian eunuch. We then arrive at chapter nine, where Luke details Saul's encounter with the risen Christ. This is about three years following Stephen's death. Now, as he, Saul, went on his way, he approached Damascus. And suddenly, a light from heaven flashed around him, and falling to the ground, he heard a voice saying to him, Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me? And he, Saul, responds, who are you, Lord? And Jesus said, I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. But rise, enter the city, and you will be told what you are to do. An immediate takeaway from that encounter considering Paul's intent when he departed Jerusalem on his way to Damascus, is that we really don't know what's going to happen next. The very one whom Paul was persecuting is the one in whom he will soon be blessed and seated with in the heavenlies. To fully appreciate Paul's conversion and commission, we must understand his mind and his worldview the exclusivity of the Jews at that time. As Paul writes in Romans 9, they were descended from Abraham. To them belonged the adoption, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the worship and the promises. Joel's prophecy, Ezekiel's prophecy. In the Jewish mind, they understood that they were to rule over the Gentile nations who were unclean. All of this understanding All of it. And Paul was considered to be a Pharisee of Pharisees, a Hebrew of Hebrews, the most zealous. All of this was to be upturned in his life. His calling and his commission, his encounter with Jesus had to have been, if momentarily at that moment, cataclysmic. We see the specifics of Paul's calling and his commission in Jesus' words to Ananias. Edex chapter 9, 15 and 16. He, Saul, is a chosen instrument of mine to carry my name before the Gentiles and kings and the children of Israel. For I will show him how much he must suffer for the sake of my name. About six years after Stephen's death, we find Peter in Joppa on Simon the Tanner's rooftop praying and anticipating lunch. Peter has the vision of the great sheet lowered from heaven. Here, we see God's gentle instruction in the leading of his people and the furthering of his gospel. God sends Peter a vision preparing his mind and his heart for the house of Cornelius, a Gentile. In his vision, Peter sees the sheet filled with unclean animals and he is commanded three times to rise, kill, and eat. Here, at this moment, we catch a glimpse of Peter's ceremonial devoutness. He exclaims that he has never eaten anything that is common or unclean. And the vision ends with these words, what God has made clean, do not call common. Immediately following the vision, Peter is asked to enter a Gentile's home, which it is clear from the passage that he would have had reservations if outright refused. We will never know, because when Cornelius' men arrive asking for Peter, Peter is commanded by the Spirit, rise and go down and accompany them without hesitation, for I have sent them. It is clear at that moment that God is revealing a mystery to Peter, the mystery of the gospel. We see Peter's understanding of the kingdom of God. At that moment, we see Peter's understanding of the kingdom of God and the gospel at this juncture in Acts, when he confesses to Cornelius that it is unlawful for a Jew to associate with a Gentile. And this is the, But has only the day before, Peter has begun to truly understand that God shows no partiality, but in every nation, anyone who fears him and does what is right is acceptable to him. Peter then begins to explain the gospel, and while he is still speaking, the Holy Spirit falls on all the Gentile hearers at that time. Between Acts chapters 10 and 11, the apostles in Jerusalem come to this important understanding, setting the final stage of the gospel's progress. At the meeting in Jerusalem, Peter is speaking to the apostles and to what Luke writes as the Jewish circumcision, the circumcised Christians who were very devout. They continued keeping the law. At the meeting in Jerusalem, Acts chapter 11 verses 17 and 18, Peter's testimony is this. If then God gave the same gift to them, the Gentiles, as he gave to us when we believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I that I could stand in God's way? When they heard these things, they fell silent. They were stunned. It was a stunned silence. And they glorified God saying, then to the Gentiles also, God has granted repentance that leads to life. We have been, this was 2000 years later, It is, we must understand our mindset at this time that today we might say the reverse of that, that the gospel is for, and the Holy Spirit is for the Jews also. It is, we are so far removed from this moment. This is an understanding we must return to as it is framed and always on display in the Word of God. God has granted us Gentiles repentance that leads to life. This, I'm getting ahead of myself. On the heels of Peter's testimony, Luke reminds us, and again, this is on the heels of Peter's testimony, this is the very next verse, what we just read was 17 and 18, and verse 19, the continued prevailing understanding among the Christian Jews. Verse 19, now those who were scattered because of the persecution that arose over Stephen traveled as far as Phoenicia and Cyprus and Antioch, speaking the word to save none but Jews only. Finally, is that Acts 13, this is 11 years, or 17 years following Stephen's death, and 11 years following the salvation of the house of Cornelius, Barnabas has gone and sought after Saul, also called Paul, and he has brought him to Antioch, that we see the hand of God at the beginning of the final stage set forth by Jesus of the gospel's progress in the book of Acts. the ends of the earth. Acts chapter 13, the Jews are jealous of the crowds that are listening to Paul, and they begin to contradict and revile him. Upon seeing this, Paul announces in the synagogue at Antioch that it was necessary that the word of God be spoken first to you, since you thrust it aside and judge yourselves unworthy of eternal life. Behold, We are turning to the Gentiles, for so the Lord has commanded us, saying, and notice Paul's use of the scriptures. He's quoting Isaiah 49.6. And when the Gentiles heard this, the Gentiles, that's us, They began rejoicing and glorifying the word of the Lord, and as many as were appointed to eternal life believed. It is about 14 years later, after this, that Paul will pen or dictate his letter to the Ephesians. As we walk through Ephesians, we will, with God's help, better understand the mystery of the gospel that Paul, the apostle, by the will of God, and through the grace and faithfulness of God, made known to our fathers, who then faithfully passed the gospel to the next generation, and so on. This gospel has not changed in 2000 years. God's faithfulness and grace, which abounds, abounds towards us, has delivered the gospel to us in its entirety. Not one word has been left out. It is God's faithfulness. Paul opens his letter. It's that bad. Paul opens his letter to the Ephesians with this customary greeting. Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, to the saints in Ephesus who are faithful in Christ Jesus. There are a number of very important early manuscripts of Paul's letter that do not bear the city name of Ephesus. Others do. It's understood that Paul's letter was intended to be a circular letter, encyclical, to be read in all of the churches in the Roman province of Asia, not just in the capital city of Ephesus. We get the backstory of Paul's work in Ephesus in Acts chapter 19, verses eight through 10. Paul enters the synagogue and for three months, he speaks boldly, reasoning and persuading them about the kingdom of God, the gospel. But when some became stubborn and continued in unbelief, speaking evil of the way before the congregation, he withdrew from them and took the disciples with him. reasoning daily in the Hall of Tyrannus. This continued for two years so that all the residents in Asia heard the word of the Lord, both Jews and Gentiles. Considering Paul's length of stay in Ephesus, reasoning daily for two years, possibly 52 through 55 AD, that the Hall of Tyrannus became a launching point for the word of God and the gospel. It's justifiable to call Paul's letter Ephesians. Ephesus was the capital city of the province of Asia, modern-day Turkey. The other churches of Asia where the letter would have been read would be the same churches mentioned in Revelation 2 and 3 along the Lycus River Valley, including the city of Colossus. To the saints, the saints in Ephesus were those Jews and Gentiles who heard Paul's gospel and believed. Those who hear the gospel and believe are saints. They are the elect of the living God and found in Christ. This belief is not so much, this belief is not so much about a mental acknowledgement as much as it is about a belief that brings the believer into a living fellowship with the risen Christ and in Christ. fellowship with one another. Grace to you and peace is Paul's standard greeting. It is found in his letters no less than 13 times. Martin Lloyd-Jones observes that grace always precedes peace. Grace always precedes peace. For by grace you have been saved through faith. This is not of your own doing. It's the gift of God. It is only through the grace of God that we are able to enjoy the peace of Jesus Christ. Paul continues, Following the introduction, Paul begins what is a truly sublime doxology. From verse 3 through verse 14, Paul expounds magnificently the glory and the wisdom of God. These 11 verses are a truly singular, complete Pauline thought. There's no punctuation in those 11 verses except Paul's wonder. Unlike his other letters where he will greet and then comment on any news from the readers or begin addressing doctrinal issues in Ephesians, Paul immediately In Ephesians, immediately following his customary greeting, Paul at once strikes the theme of the entire letter, that we are in Christ. We are in Christ. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places. It's not a throwaway set of words. Who has blessed us in Christ. What does it mean? What does it mean to be in Christ? The phrase, In Christ, both literal and inferred, occurs no less than 14 times in our section of Scripture today. If you read through, note that. 14 verses. Those who have believed the gospel and put their faith in Jesus Christ, are found in Jesus Christ, are found in Christ. Those who are found in Christ are those who share in Jesus' resurrection life and, as we'll see, are seated with him in the heavenly places. These, these are blessed with every spiritual blessing. Most of us will understand what the common grace of God is, the common grace. That's rain and sunshine fall on the just and the unjust, and the blessings common to man, family, friendship, fellowship, laughter, music. We understand these to be the blessings that flow from the common grace of God to all men. That is the gracious character of our God. The spiritual blessings Paul mentions, these are the new covenant Christian counterpart to those blessings promised to the nation of Israel, such as those found in Deuteronomy chapter 28. I'll just read the first verse. And if you, Israel, faithfully obey the voice of the Lord your God, being careful to do all of his commandments that I command you today, the Lord your God will set you high above all the nations of the earth. Make notes of that phrase, will set you high above all the nations of the earth. And all these blessings shall come upon you and overtake you if you obey the voice of the Lord your God." And for the next 13 verses are the blessings listed out. 14 verses later begins the warning for disobedience. But if you will not obey the voice of the Lord your God, or be careful to do all of his commandments and his statutes that I command you today, then all these curses shall come upon you and overtake you. The blessings promised to Christians and to Israel are the same in that they are both exclusive. They differ in that the blessings noted in Deuteronomy were contingent on perfect obedience from the heart. And as we know, Israel failed to obey the voice of the Lord as all mankind has fallen short of his glory. But scripture has promised an heir, a victor from Genesis 3, he will bruise your head, you will strike his heel. To Genesis 22, your offspring shall possess the gates of the enemy. It is Christ Jesus, the son of David, the seed of Abraham, the son of God, who was victorious. He perfectly obeyed the voice of his father in heaven, who testifies of his son. This is my beloved son, in whom I am well pleased. Listen to him. Christ Jesus is the true and faithful Israel. He is now set high above all the nations of the earth. Jesus secured all of the promises and the blessings as the Son of Man and the Son of God. The blessings in Christ differ from those mentioned in Deuteronomy in this way. Where Israel's blessings were contingent on obedience, the blessings of God the Father are upon those who believe in his son, Jesus Christ. We, who have heard the gospel of Jesus Christ, again, and believed, are blessed in Christ and seated with him in the heavenly places. The heavenly places, that phrase, is used 17 times in the New Testament, five of which are found in Ephesians. I think the first mention of it is Jesus to Nicodemus when he's kind of chastising Nicodemus and saying, if you do not understand earthly things, how will you understand heavenly things? It's the same Greek word, heavenly places, is that realm where believers seated with Christ receive God's divine blessings. It's not an abstract idea. It is reality. Again, Paul refers to this realm five times in his letter. It is where Ephesians 1.3, we just read, we are blessed in Christ. Ephesians 1.20, It is the heavenly realm where Christ Jesus, after his resurrection from the dead, is exalted and he is now presently seated at the right hand of majesty. Again, he is set high above all the nations of the earth. Ephesians 2.6 where we who were dead in our trespasses and sins have been made alive with Christ and raised up with him and seated with him in the heavenly places." Ephesians 3.10. The heavenly places are where the principalities and the powers and the rulers see the manifold wisdom of God. and they see it displayed through the church. I told Helen I was going to do this and she said, you didn't write it down. But I want to read Ephesians 3, starting in verse 8. And just walk through this. I'll just back up one verse. Verse 7, Ephesians 3, 7. Of this gospel I was made a minister according to the gift of God's grace, which was given me by the working of his power. To me, though I am the very least of all the saints, this grace was given, to preach to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ, and to bring to light for everyone what is the plan, that is the administration or the stewardship, of the mystery hidden for ages in God, who created all things, so that through the church the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places. Why is this? This was according to the eternal purpose, that he has realized in Christ Jesus our Lord, in whom we have boldness and access with confidence through our faith in him." It adds perspective and depth to the heavenly places where the rulers see the manifold wisdom of God displayed. It has bearing on how we understand our Christianity, that it is timeless. It has bearing on how we live our lives and how we carry our Christianity into the world and how we relate to one another in Christ and in the church. Ephesians 6.12, the heavenly places are where the spiritual forces must be resisted. It is where the saints resist the evil one with the armor of God. All of this, all of this is a present reality. Before we move on, there's one last thing. It's one last thing we must understand about the spiritual blessings from God. And if you're like me, you've asked the question and I have read, I don't know how many times I've read Ephesians in my Christian life. And I've read through that and I've always saw spiritual blessings and I've never given it very much thought. First, spiritual here is not to be understood as limited in scope, but rather spiritual is its origin. Our tendency in this postmodern culture is to compartmentalize. And I know not all of us do that. It's a difficult thing to think otherwise when we swim in it day in and day out. We must discipline our minds to comprehend that all creation belongs to God. All of creation belongs to God. Abraham, I forget his name, has said, every square inch of your life, your soul, your being, every square inch of creation, this earth belongs to God. He declares it is his, it is mine. We must discipline our minds to comprehend that all of creation belongs to God, whose seat of authority is above all authority. It is in the heavenly places Our spiritual blessings originate from God the Father and are a present reality. They are unshakable. They are a present reality to those who are found in Christ. They will be fully realized at the resurrection. We must walk in faith and we must believe. Second, we are now spiritually seated in the heavenly places with Christ and in Christ. This is to be understood It is in the heavenly places, the seat of all authority, where God blesses the saints. But we live here on earth. We live here on earth where the days are evil and where the enemy, that great serpent and his great wrath is arrayed against and making war on the saints of God. Paul addresses this This Christian tension in his letter to the Romans, chapter 8. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? As it is written, for your sake we are being killed all the day long. We are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered. Is that defeat is the question. Does that mean defeat? No. In all of these things, we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. There is a godly irony. There's a godly irony. G.K. Beal refers to it as the irony of overcoming. The irony of overcoming. There is a godly irony found in the blessings of Christ in this world that we live in. We are not to view our earthly state of being, which will have the appearance of being killed all the day long to one degree or another, as a measure of our unshakeable heavenly blessings. Rather, the reality of the blessings of Christ are fixed upon the faithfulness of Yahweh. We must not associate bad circumstances or feelings or sickness or troubles as an indication of God's displeasure. This is not so. Paul continues. For I am sure that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor heights, nor depth, nor anything else in all of creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. This is what Jesus promised, if you go back to the Gospels. I have said these things to you. I have said these things to you, Jesus, speaking to his disciples, that in me you may have peace. In the world, you will have tribulation. You will have it. But take heart, I have overcome the world. How are we to then confront the world in all of its wiles and all of its connivings and this worldly wisdom? in the way the world frames things, wanting you to be like it. I'm reading off and on when I get to it, a biography of Winston Churchill. It's a very good biography by Andrew Roberts. One of the comments, one of the quotes from Winston Churchill, he says, I like a man who smiles in battle. When the odds are against you, What is there to lose? If you're going to die, die in Christ, but do not die a coward. You smile, and it is a grim smile. It's not a foolish smile, but a grim smile, understanding the circumstances. It is the elect of God that are blessed with every spiritual blessing. in the face of a world that hates God and hates the saints. This is the irony of overcoming. Jesus' counsel to the church at Smyrna, do not fear what you are about to suffer. Be faithful unto death. and I will give you the crown of life. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. The one who conquers will not be hurt by the second death." Again, every heavenly blessing rests on those saints who are found in Christ, who believe in him and have set their hope in him. This is an immovable certainty. It is not going to change. Many of us will remember the very day we first heard and truly believed the gospel. Some of us may have had our faith awakened over a period of time. We don't know exactly when it happened. For myself, it was sometime between the age of 16 and 17. God knows. Nevertheless, there was a moment when we were born from above and made alive in Christ. Ephesians 1 verse 4 continues Paul's thoughts. Even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, here we come face to face with the mystery of election. We see that our God has no earthly temporal constraint. We, the elect, have been objects of his eternal choice since before the foundation of the world, In the next phrase, we then see and understand when we read that, let me just read the whole thing. Even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless in him. It is here that we see somewhat of a glimpse as to the immense depth of what our salvation in Christ holds and expects of us. It is nothing less than our entire sanctification. This is unceasingly at work in our soul, in our mind, and in our affections while we have breath to be finished at our death and then fully bodily realized at the resurrection. From this reading, it is the clear will of God that those who are in Christ should be holy, wrought, formed, and shaped into his image through the word of God. You were chosen in Christ before the foundation of the world to be holy and blameless in him. This understanding, this doctrinal understanding, that we should be holy and blameless in him. overturns any belief that our manner of living, our manner of thinking, that what we love is of no consequence. To be holy is to be set apart in our thinking, our speech, and in our conduct. As it is written, be holy for I am holy. To be blameless is to be without blemish, without stain. without wrinkle, no blemish of sin. Paul writes in his letter to the Philippians, do all things without grumbling or questioning that you may be blameless and innocent. Children of God, without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation among whom you shine as lights in the world. As an aside, continuing on, that we should be holy and blameless before him in love. In love, he predestined us for adoption through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will. If you're reading the ESV, you'll notice that verse four reads that we should be holy and blameless before him, followed by a full stop. And in love begins the following full sentence and brings verse four to an end. The KJV and ASV versions end the sentence with, in love, thus closing the thought at the end of verse 4, allowing verse 5 to begin a new thought. However it is read, it is either describing our standing that we should be holy and blameless before him in love, or it will describe God's actions. In love, he predestined us. Both readings are true. Both are consistent in scripture. So we will read verse five. In love, he predestined us for adoption through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will. It's clear that those whom God predestined in Christ are those he has set his love on and marked before creation for ordaining his elect to the blessed privilege of adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to himself. Adoption into the household of God is more than being children of God, which is indeed part of our new birth. Adoption through Jesus Christ brings with it not just the privilege but also all of the responsibilities for those whom God has acknowledged as freeborn, full-grown sons in his house. The house of God is a well-ordered house. We're no longer sons of disobedience. We're no longer slaves. But we are now truly free. We are sons of the living God. Our behavior is an indicator, our words, our actions, our thoughts. Are we walking in a manner worthy of our adoption and our placement in Christ? There is no hedging, there's no hedging in the kingdom of God. We belong to Christ or we're slaves to sin. According to the purpose of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved. Paul makes it clear that the grounds of our adoption will in no way be found in us. It is the purpose of his will. Our adoption Our adoption is to the purpose of his will, not ours. Our natural will, as Paul makes it very clear in Romans 8, leads us away from the counsel of God's will. Our natural will leads us away from the counsel of God's will. We would never choose him. So God predestined us according to the purpose of his will. Praise God. He predestined us according to the purpose of his will for adoption through Jesus Christ. This, this is the high blessing that flows from God's grace to us. Our adoption as sons through Christ Jesus frames and displays the glorious grace of God. This merits all of our praise according to the purpose of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace with which he has blessed us in the beloved In Ephesians, In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses according to the riches of his grace, which he lavished upon us. In Ephesians 2, Paul describes our nature prior to our redemption as dead. It is dead. Dead in trespasses and sins. This was our nature. Now, after what Wilberforce would call the great change, great change, we are sons of God. Our salvation, Our redemption in Christ, the moment we were saved by all right, is the most important moment in our lives, our salvation. And our salvation in Christ is, by right, the most important thing in our lives. It really, the gospel works into every aspect, we'll see this later, the gospel works into every aspect of our life. I read a couple of years ago, a biography of William Wilberforce, which is a wonderful biography. It's the one written by Eric Metaxas. When I was finished with it, I almost wept. I really liked the guy. The guy is amazing. This is an excerpt from it, just talking about his salvation. Wilberforce conversion to Christianity in 1785, what he called his great change, was without question for him the central and most important event in his life. Indeed, as far as Wilberforce was concerned, faith in Jesus Christ was the central and most important thing in life itself. So it can hardly surprise us that sharing his faith with others was central and important to Wilberforce too. And so everywhere he went and With everyone he met, he tried as best he could to bring the conversation around to the question of eternity. Wilberforce, who is a member of Parliament, he brought the question of the slave trade to Parliament, if you've seen the movie Amazing Grace, which is just a microcosm. You should read the book. brought it kicking and screaming into parliament and the entirety of his life. And it was the gospel, the gospel in the center of Wilberforce's life that was the driving force behind his wanting to liberate the Africans. Wilberforce, he would bring the conversation around to a question of eternity. Wilberforce would prepare, this is what he would do. This is what he would do. He made time to do this. Wilberforce would prepare lists of his friends' names. It's not saying that you have to do this. And next to the entries, make notes on how he might best encourage them in their faith. if they had faith, and toward a faith, if they still had none, he would list subjects he could bring up with each friend that might launch them into a conversation about spiritual issues, eternity. He even called these subjects and questions launchers and was always looking for opportunities to introduce them. His efforts to draw his friends into conversation about first things sometimes failed, as we all know, and the objects of his kindness The objects of his kindness may on occasion have felt more like his quarry, but in many cases, Wilberforce's conversations bore great fruit. We should begin to order our lives in that direction more so. And some who had not known it was possible to be sincerely Christian and yet, as far as Wilberforce was concerned, witty and charming, found in Wilberforce an inspiration. It was in his public person that Wilberforce may have done the most to make goodness in the culture of England, which was very much like our culture when he went into Parliament at the beginning of his salvation. But he and his wife and those surrounding him were so high profile that making goodness fashionable again, he ushered in an age of Christianity in Victorian England that demonstrates that it is your public life as a Christian Your public life as a Christian has bearing and has impact on those who fall within your sphere of influence in your work and in your neighborhood. Your Christianity should exude from you. It is a public thing as Jesus Christ was public. Prior to our salvation, we were sons of disobedience. It isn't, it is not that we were automatons having no free will. As Luther writes, we have free will, we freely follow, well, we freely will to follow the course of this world. Even so, as we have seen, It was God's good pleasure and purpose to predestine the elect to adoption, the means of which is through the blood of Jesus Christ. In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses according to the riches of his grace. To be redeemed is to be purchased out of slavery to sin and death. It is to have our trespasses and our sins forgiven, paid for. The purchase price is the precious blood of Jesus Christ. It is the only means, it is the only means to be made alive in Christ. This is a precondition for adoption as sons into the household of the living God. We are no longer slaves to sins. We are slaves to Christ. That is life. We are sons of the living God. This is his glorious grace, which he has lavished upon us. And if that wasn't enough, in all wisdom and insight, making known to us the mystery of his will. This is a mystery. God the Father brings his saints into the council of the mystery of his will. Mystery, the word in Greek is used 27 times in the New Testament. Three in the gospels, all of which are the same repeated verse. The first of which is a Matthew 13, 11. To you, it has been given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them, it has not been given. Those to whom the mystery is not understood are those to whom the father has withheld it. The gospel, to you it has been given, to them it has not been given. Mystery is used 20 times in Paul's letters. Paul even mentions in his letter to the Corinthians, this is how one should regard us, as servants of Christ and stewards, that is administrators, of the mysteries of God. Paul uses the word six times in Ephesians. Mystery, in the same sense, is found eight times in the Hebrew scriptures, and all eight are found in a single book, the book of Daniel. A short definition of mystery as used in scripture is the revelation of what once was hidden, or more succinctly, hidden, but now revealed. We must understand it is not that the prophets and the saints in ages past were inferior at all. It's that the mystery of Christ, as Paul explains in Romans, was hidden in the scriptures by the will and the command of God. The time for disclosure had not yet been fulfilled. The revealing of the mystery as we tracked through the book of Acts is by the command and purpose of God. Also, to be clear, we are not describing a mystery religion or a secret cult. Jesus' ministry was public. I have spoken openly to the world. I have always taught in synagogues and in the temple where all Jews come together. I have said nothing in secret. The great mystery hidden for ages past in the scriptures is this, the Son of God manifest in the flesh. It is the mystery of God's will, which is set forth in Christ and preached to the world. Paul exclaims the mystery of Christ in his letter to Timothy, his first letter to Timothy 3.16. and without controversy. Great is the mystery of godliness. God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the spirit, seen of angels, preached to the Gentiles, believed on in the world, and received up in glory. The mystery of God's will is Christ sent at the fullness of time. Jesus proclaims this at the beginning of his ministry recorded in Mark's gospel, chapter one. The time is fulfilled. The kingdom of God is at hand. Repent and believe the gospel. Paul writes of this in Galatians also, but when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his son to redeem those who were under the law so that we might receive adoption as sons. There are not a number of mysteries with limited scope, but one great mystery of God, Christ manifests in the flesh, which has manifold implications for all things, things in heaven and things on earth. So the mystery revealed is the Word made flesh, the appearance of Christ Jesus in the world in the fullness of time. This begins the plan of God which is to unite or to sum up all things in Christ. All creation has found its end time unity in Christ, things in heaven and things on earth." Paul, a steward of the mysteries of God, Christ Jesus is the steward uniting all things in himself, such as the enmity between Jews and Gentiles, the corruption and division in man, and in the earth, the divisions in the heavenlies. All of these things are being reconciled under the stewardship of Christ. Jesus All of these things are to be reconciled under the stewardship of Christ Jesus, to be completed for all times at the resurrection, his appearance, the second advent. Paul continues, in him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined. A literal treatment of this verse will read, in him we were made a heritage by lot, having been predestined. to be chosen by lot and made a heritage or possession of God. Paul makes an allusion to Deuteronomy 7, verse 6, The Lord your God has chosen you to be a people for his treasured possession. as does Peter when he writes, but you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession. A good example of this action of choosing by lot is the conversation between Jacob and Joseph when Joseph presents his sons Manasseh and Ephraim to his father Israel. Genesis 48 reads, And Jacob said to Joseph, God Almighty appeared to me at Luz in the land of Canaan and blessed me and said to me, behold, I will make you fruitful and multiply you. And I will make you a company of peoples and will give this land to your offspring after you for an everlasting possession. And now your two sons who were born to you in the land of Egypt before I came to Egypt are mine. Ephraim and Manasseh shall be mine, as Reuben and Simeon are. They are mine. They are no longer sons of Egypt, but will be hereafter sons of Israel. His possession, his heritage. We were once sons of disobedience, but we are now sons of the living God. Paul then restates another running theme that is predestination. A quick summary, verse four, we were chosen before the foundation of the world to be holy and blameless. In verse five, we were predestined to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ. And here in verse 11, we were made a heritage by lot, having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will. In verse five, we saw that through Jesus Christ, we were predestined to adoption. Here in verse 11, we see that from before creation, it was the purpose of God to elect a people for himself. And we see that whatever God wills, he is able to work. All things work together according to the purpose and counsel of his will. And whatever God has purposed, is sure to be fulfilled. There is great comfort in knowing that an all-wise God has all power and authority to work all things according to his own will. Paul closes with these words. In him, you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it. to the praise of his glory. How do we know if we are sealed with the promised Holy Spirit? And an obvious question, how do we know if we are the elect of God? Calvin answers this question in his sermon, in his sermon series through Ephesians. And I commend those to you. I highly recommend you read those. Calvin says, many fanciful people will say, oh, as for me, I shall never know whether God has elected me. And therefore I must still remain in my perdition. And it's a very fatalistic view, but Calvin answers. I lost my place, sorry. Here we go. Yes, yes. But that is for want of coming to Jesus Christ. How do we know that God has elected us before the creation of the world? By believing in Jesus Christ. By believing in Jesus Christ, saints. I said before that faith proceeds from election and is the fruit of it. Faith proceeds from election and it is the fruit of it, which shows that the root is hidden within. Whosoever then believes is thereby assured. Whoever believes is thereby assured that God has worked in him. With redemption, faith, and adoption, we are sealed with the promised Holy Spirit. He is the guarantee of our inheritance until the appearance of the Son, He the Holy Spirit. That is when we will take full possession of the blessings and the promises of God in Christ. Until then, we wait with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God, and then creation itself will be set free from its bondage to decay and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. This is the summing up of all things in Christ. Be steadfast, be immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord, your labor is not in vain. Let's pray. Father, we thank you. And many times words escape us. How can we say it? How can we describe, except repeating your word? Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty. The whole earth is full of your glory. We give thanks to you. Worthy is the Lamb. For you have done great things, great things in us and through us. I pray that you would Work, continue your work in us, sanctification, that you would give us strength and wisdom and understanding for the days to come. In this evil day, we lay these things at your feet. Amen.