The God Who Blesses and Chooses

0:16Thank you for listening to the Sermon Audio Podcast for Crossroads Bible Church in Rockdale, Texas. Crossroads Bible Church is a Reformed Confessional Baptist Church that meets every Lord's Day at 10 a.m. for Bible study and 11 a.m. for corporate worship. For more information about our church and for directions, you can find us online at www.crbcrockdale.org. Grace and peace to you from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Once again, we're not making a whole lot of progress in Ephesians this morning, only covering two verses. We'll be in verse 3 and verse 4. I'll begin by saying, by way of illustration, that I'll use at least one other time. This idea of, and I don't know who coined this phrase, word salads. This idea that so often we hear people say things and they are just perhaps so profound that we don't even know or not even critical of what they're even saying. They are just words. We have a tendency to be captured by language. And because of our tendency to be captured by language, often we hardly move on to what that language is actually saying to us, what is actually communicating to us. We just delight in the word salad. And get used to me quoting him or at least referencing him, but Martin Lewin Jones teaches with respect to this idea, and it's not enough to just listen to the eloquence of language. Not enough to just be captured by words. Because language is intended to communicate something, to tell us something. And if it can communicate and be eloquent and beautiful, and that would be great. But it is the substance of this communication, it is what the language is communicating that is important. We must desire to hear what is being communicated in the language. Otherwise, we can just listen to someone speaking in French and be enamored by the language. Quite honestly, we can say some of the stuff that we hear might as well be French. We must consider words. The content and meaning behind the words, the truth behind the words. We must see what they mean. We must mine the plain truth from them. And then we can glory in both the beauty of the language and the truth that it is communicating. And this is certainly something that we must consider when we look at the wonderful and beautiful language of Ephesians. It is indeed telling us something today. So that's what we will do. And we will try to find what the Lord is communicating to us through Ephesians, and we will do that by looking at the God who blesses and the God who chooses. And remember where we came from last week. What does it mean to be a Christian, we considered? What does it mean that we are saints? That you are saints. If you are in Christ, you are a saint. You are set apart. You're faithful in Christ Jesus. Remember that. What a blessing it is to be shown such grace in Christ and to receive such everlasting peace from Him. Remember that. And this morning then is the response or the effect of that identity as Christians, as saints, faithful in Christ Jesus by the will of God. This morning is the response or the effect of that. And to that end, we will see then how knowledge leads to praise. We will see how praise comes from the joy of his blessing. And what a blessing it is to be chosen by him. So those are the things we're looking at in our text this morning. So please stand with me once more. As we read two verses, Ephesians 1, starting in verse 3. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ Jesus 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. This is the word of the Lord. Lord, we thank you for your word. We pray and ask, would you speak for Christ's sake this morning, Lord, and to the hearts and minds and ears of those who are here. It is in the name of Christ I pray. Amen. Knowledge leads to praise. Knowledge leads to praise. 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. I'm going to come back to this theme a few times this morning. Um, but I had to go to the eye doctor this past week to get my eyes checked. Everything's great with my eyes. But it was perhaps fitting that I was thinking this week about uh the reality that hindsight is always 2020. We've talked about this a lot. And in that same theme, 1 Corinthians, Paul says in 1 Corinthians chapter 2, that the knowledge and wisdom of God, the knowledge and wisdom that God gives, is given by way of the Spirit, and it is spiritually discerned, right? And he says that if those who had crucified our Lord had had that spiritually discerned knowledge and wisdom, knowing exactly what it was that they were doing and exactly who it was that they were doing it to, they would not have crucified the Lord. Just practically speaking, if all of us in this room would have known in the past what we know now, we very likely would have made decisions differently, wouldn't we? And this is why I think there's so much wisdom literature in the Bible. Why a complete gospel presentation always includes knowledge about sin. Knowledge about who we were, knowledge about why we were that way, knowledge about how our sin has separated us and alienated us from God. Knowledge about how Christ, the Son of God, God in flesh, came to fulfill that which we in our corruption could not do. Knowledge about the righteousness of God, his glory, his love, his sacrifice, his salvation, and the glory that awaits those who trust in him. Without that knowledge, we will never see him. But with that knowledge, given to us in his word and illuminated to us by his spirit, we do find ourselves saying, Well, if I would have known all of that, I would have served him and praised him a long time ago. This is an experience that we've all had, especially when it comes to things like doctrine in scriptures, when we, for whatever reason, the Spirit illuminates something to us and we finally read it or hear explained in such a way that we grasp it. We always say, Have I gone so long and not known that? How have I gone so long and missed that? The fundamental problem with us and our Christian faith is the same problem has always been, apart from the obvious, which is sin, the lack of knowledge. The lack of knowledge. Or sin suppressing knowledge. We don't really know the true God. And as a result, we don't really love the true God. And because we don't really love the true God, we don't really praise the true God. Because we don't know the true God, we stay just feeling around in the dark. I'm convinced, as I've said many times, maybe too many times, but probably not, if you truly know what it means that God is sovereign over all things, if you truly know what it means that God is sovereign over all things, if you sit and you wrestle with that notion that all things, that the whole of the universe, that every atom is responding to and subservient to God's word and his will, if you come to believe that God, according to his will, has set his affections upon a peculiar and particular people, and in his time has called them from darkness and into light, he has set them apart to be consecrated for his glory. If you believe that this God has given you faith as a gift, overflowing to believe these truths, if you grasp with those eyes of faith what it means to be rescued from a union of sin and death, to be transferred to a union of righteousness and life, you will always with that knowledge praise him. This is what Paul does consistently through his epistles. For example, Romans 11. He goes into a very deep and all throughout Romans, write that down and read that this afternoon. But Romans 11, he goes in the very deep and very difficult explanations into the identity of Israel, the grafting in of the Gentiles, disobedience leading to mercy, and ultimately he says in Romans 11, 32 that he, God, has consigned us to disobedience so that he may display his mercy in us. That God has consigned us to disobedience so that he may display his mercy in us. But it is the knowledge of this mystery, as mysterious as that is, that doesn't send Paul into some social media rant, it doesn't spiral him into spiritual deconstruction, it doesn't embolden him to spend all of his life proving that such a thing is illogical or doesn't align with the character of God. Rather, from that knowledge, Paul bursts forth in perhaps one of the most eloquent and beautiful lines of praise in the hall of Scripture. Oh, the depth, the riches, wisdom, and knowledge of God. How unsearchable are his judgments, and how unscrutable his ways. For who has known the mind of the Lord, or who has been his counselor, or who has given him a gift that he might be repaid for from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be the glory forever. Amen. So knowledge given by the Spirit always leads to praise. Knowledge given by the Spirit always leads to praise. And this is exactly what happens in our text this morning. I know that was a long way to get there, but this is what happens in our text this morning. Upon the revelation of the sovereignty of God over Paul's life, as he has admitted in the first verse, Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus, by the will of God. So upon the revelation of the sovereignty of God over Paul's life and over Paul's mission, upon the revelation of all that God is doing in and through Paul, upon the revelation that we are in Christ as faithful saints, who have been given grace and peace from God, and our faith that comes from and through the Lord Jesus Christ. From the revelation of this knowledge, Paul brings praise. Not skepticism or doubt, questions. He brings praise. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ who has blessed us in Christ Jesus with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places. We'll talk a little bit more about the specifics of that praise. But my hope and my prayer for us this morning and every morning. And my goal is that no one here looks back ten years from now and says, if I'd only would have known that God, if I only would have known the true God back then, I would have praised him more, differently, better. I would have lived for him more if I only would have known the true God. Don't wait for hindsight. See the true God revealed in the scriptures today. Know the true God shown in the depths and the riches of his wisdom and knowledge. Know him. Love him. Praise him. Serve him. So then we move by the aid of the Spirit to try and know the true God this morning. We will try to know the true God. This is the joy of blessing. The joy of blessing. Going back to then how I started. These words from Paul. This is not a word salad. Anything but, but this is communicating something very vital to us. And that is that in Christ, the Father has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places. Think about that. But the Father has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places. This communicates first to us that we worship a triune God. The Trinity is here. Even here. We have been blessed, it says, by the Father. We have been blessed through the Son. And this was revealed to us by the Spirit. These are spiritual blessings. These blessings are spiritual, given to us by the triune fullness of the one true God, Father, Son, and Spirit. And what are these spiritual blessings that we have been blessed with, if not spiritual rebirth? As Christ says to Nicodemus, John chapter 3, being born again. This is salvation. This is the spiritual fruits that accompany salvation. These are the spiritual blessings. I'll also emphasize that these blessings were the plan and purpose of God all along. These blessings were the plan, the purpose of God all along. As someone may poke holes in this illustration, I was thinking and working through this illustration this week, and as we've said, all illustrations, at least in some respects, fall short. But I think this is, I think this will work. Have you ever planned or played a trick on your spouse or perhaps your kids, maybe for their birthday or anniversary or something? Where you lead her, him, to believe that you have forgotten about the day. But behind the scenes, you have been planning everything for weeks. Has anybody done this before? So when the day comes, he or she wakes up assuming that she has been forgotten about. And that this will just be another day. Only to find out that evening that her house is filled with a host of friends, family, bringing great joy that she was in fact not forgotten. How often do we live? How often do we do our theology like the forgotten wife? Who assumes that when God created man he must have forgotten about the fall? Or not seen it? Or that he is trying to put something together last minute in reaction to his lack of knowledge? Or that he is simply figuring out how to make things work the best that he can with what he has? Or even worse, that God has just shotgunned invitations out to a bunch of random people and is just sitting there hoping maybe somebody will show up to the party. Just like the joy that it would bring a wife when she finds out that her husband had been planning the blessing all along. How much joy and praise would you have this morning? To know that your God has had in mind to bless you with every spiritual blessing and has ordered every detail of it so perfectly and so intentionally that we have no choice but to say to him, For me, Lord, you did all this for me. This is theologically true, but it is so practical for us as well, because no matter how much you despair, no matter how much in any given moment you may feel neglected, forgotten about, you can return again to this same thought. The will of God is in control of all things. He has not forgotten you. Not for a second. And according to his great and mysterious will, he is blessing you with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places. And when you return again to that thought, even in the midst of despair, and when you really know that truth, I believe that C.S. Lewis best articulated the experience that inevitably follows, you will be surprised by joy. You will be surprised by joy. How can I have joy when all seems lost? How can I have joy when I'm anxious and in despair? How can I have joy when it seems like our country is walking on this razor's edge of falling apart? Because Christ is King. Because the all-knowing, all-sovereign, Lord of all is on the throne. Because God has known all things, He has decreed all things, He has remembered all things, He is working all things. And even now He is blessing you, His child in Christ, with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places. If that doesn't bring you into a state of awe, a state of wonder. If you don't even know what awe and wonder feels like, you don't know Christ. It's for that reason. Martin Low-Jones does say, quote, the highest point of our growth, the highest point of our growth and grace. The measure of all true Christianity is when you and I become lost in wonder, love, and praise, that we are really functioning as God means us to function in Christ. And again, he says, we should not come to God's house simply to seek blessing or to desire various things for ourselves or simply to listen to sermons. We should come to worship and adore God. Do you come to worship and adore God? At the revelation of how great He is, how much He is blessing you? Are you surprised by joy? Are you lost in wonder and love and praise? We must be. We must be. It is an affront to his blessing then not to fall before him every week and cry out for me, Lord. You've done all this for me. 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. You may be wondering, how do I know? How do I know that these blessings are for you? And that God has known you and has planned everything for you. How do I know? I know because that's exactly what his word says. If you are in Christ this morning, then receive these words as from the Father. Verse 4. Even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy, blameless before him. I'm not even going to attempt to figure out what kind of conversations the Holy Trinity was having prior to creation. Or even how those conversations took place, I don't know. Maybe one day we will. But what we do know is that before creation there was a covenant made between the persons of the Trinity, whereby the Father promised to give the Son a particular people, consigning them to disobedience for a time that he may show the depths of his mercy to them, and through them. And the Son then promised to be that instrument of mercy, agreeing to humiliate himself to the point of death, even death on a cross, that he may bear the sins of his people and save them unto everlasting life. The Spirit promised to be the instrument of revelation, opening our hearts to these truths, working faith in us, abiding in us, and sealing us and keeping us according to the will of the Father and the work of the Son. This is the eternal covenant. And after such a plan and such a covenant was made, the tribune God declares, Let it be. And it was. Planted all along. Your table setting at the feast has been set by the triune God before the foundation of the world. There's nothing left to be done but trust in Christ and come home to the party. Come to me. All who labor and are heavy laden and I will give you rest, says the Lord. Come to Christ, all who are anxious about eternity. Come to Christ, all who feel unworthy and alone. Come to Christ, all you sinners who have made a mess of your life. Come to Christ, you skeptic, you doubter. Come to Christ, declaring, Lord, have mercy on me. A sinner. And in doing so, the lights will surely come on. And the joy of your heart will surely say, Oh Lord, you did all this for me? Yes. Yes. If you come to him, if you believe him, if you trust in the precious blood of the spotless Lamb, then you have been chosen in him before the foundation of the world. To be his people, to be holy, to be blameless before him. So come to him, come to him. This doctrine of election, as it's called, the God who blesses and the God who chooses, is a mystery, to be sure. A mystery that the church has wrestled with. Reconciling in our feeble minds for two millennia now. What I need you to see this morning is that the Bible never tries to defend the sovereign will of God against those who question it. Never does it try to defend the sovereign will of God against those who questioned it. The text simply declares the nature, the will, and the intent of God. And that is that you, dear Christian, were his before the foundation of the world. And his intent was to redeem you, to show you mercy in Christ, and to make you holy and blameless before him. Full stop, as they say. No explanations, no caveats, no nuance, no philosophy. Just that truth. Even more. Paul butts in often in our stammering and our attempts to find a better explanation, and he says, Who are you to answer back to God? Who are you to question the God who blesses and the God who chooses? So find comfort in that truth, not complaint. Find comfort, not complaint. Truly rest in and trust in the God who has all things under control. This doesn't have to be a doctrine that gets so many Christians stirred up and hot under the collar. We don't have to try to reconcile the mystery. We can just receive his word and trust in it. Because we know that God knows all things, right? Amen. We know and we confess that God is in control of all things, right? That all things are from him, through him, and to him. So what is it for us to know exactly how he knows? What does it profit us to know precisely how it is that he controls all things? What profits us then, what brings us joy and assurance, is not how he blesses and chooses, rather that he blesses and chooses. This is the joy. Not the how, but that he does. I guarantee that every Christian will stand before our Lord, having been made holy and blameless, and will stand in everlasting joy, having beheld the face of God, knowing the fullness of grace, knowing the fullness of peace, and will say, Oh, if I had only known you had me all along. Oh, if I was only sure that everything was going to end like this, Lord, I would have lived with joy. I would have lived with joy. Don't wait for hindsight. Don't wait. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, 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, blameless before him. That is your beginning and your end if you're in Christ. Chosen by the God who was, the God who is, and the God who is to come. Receive that truth this morning. Praise the God of this truth this morning and live in the blessing and the joy of your salvation. Amen. Let's pray. Lord, we confess this morning that we often live our lives. Lord, in anxiety, despair, blindness of ignorance, Lord, of the things that you have going that we do not see. Lord, we commit those and confess those to you, Lord, and ask that you would help us, Lord. Help us in our uncertainty and our despair to stand firm on you, knowing that you are in control of all things. You have planned all things. There is nothing outside of your view, outside of your control, outside of your hand, Lord, you are working all things for our good. Help us to know that this morning, to receive that, Lord, to rest and trust in that. Let us approach your cross as you have called us, Lord. Empty hands, bringing only our sin, and that you may cover it by your righteous blood. We thank you, Lord, that you have thought of us, that you have loved us, that you have called us and you have saved us. Ask all these things in the wonderful, blessed name of Christ.