GOD S DEFINING PURPOSE Text: 1 Pet.2:9 Main Bible Reading: Eph.1: 1-6 Sermon Outline: Introduction to the book of Ephesians Overview of the book of Ephesians Three dimensional blessings The concept of Predestination What does the Bible say? God s overruling purpose Conclusion Hymn: Take the World, but Give Me Jesus! Introduction to the Book of Ephesians This month, we begin a series of 12 to 15 sermons from the book of Ephesians which is one of my favourites Pauline epistles. Paul s letter which was addressed to the saints in Ephesus (and to christians everywhere), who were also referred to as faithful in Christ (Eph1:1,13; Rev:2:1-3,6) has been the subject of great controversies as different sects and scholars have viewed the subject of predestination from various viewpoints which are totally different from the simple approach of the Holy Spirit as communicated to God s people through Paul, the apostle. The epistle is described by some scholars as the store house of the Bible as it talks mostly of our riches, blessings, inheritance, fullness which are all in Christ, mentioning the words riches (5 times), grace (12 times), fullness (6 times), and the phrase in Christ (27 times). It is my hope and prayer that at the end of these series, we might reach a common understanding of the defining purpose of God which constitutes the basis for our faith and that this understanding may spur us to greater thankfulness for all the spiritual blessings which we continually obtain in Christ. Overview of the book of Ephesians Paul s letter to Christians at Ephesus was written around 60A.D from the city of Rome while he was in prison, awaiting trial. In strengthening the Christians at Ephesus through this epistle, Paul confirms that his call was brought about by the riches of Christ s grace (Eph.3:8) SSA_13042014 God s Defining Purpose Page 1 of 7
and the essence of his call was to preach among the gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ (Eph.3:8). From Acts chapters 18, 19 and 20, we understand that Paul was close to the Christians at Ephesus as he had spent over 3 years with them. In Acts.20: 17-38, he met with the elders of the Ephesians church at Miletus and admonished them before his departure. This letter gives the blueprint regarding unity in the body of Christ. In Chapter 1, Paul presented God s divine purpose which defines our character, nature, and blessings in Christ. In chapter 2, the apostle deals with our spiritual position in Christ, thus defining our transformation. The apostle, in Chapter 3, deals with the revealed mystery, thus defining what our response to this revelation should be. Furthermore, Paul s discourse in chapters 4 and 5 bothers on our responsibilities in Christ, defining the way we walk. Before closing his letter with a gracious greeting and benediction, Paul reminded believers in the final chapter, of our constant battle with the forces of darkness and the imperative to put on the whole armour of God. In summary, the epistle under consideration deals with God s purpose, Christ as the central theme of God s purpose, the description of the nature of Christ s church (which is His body) and our responsibilities in response to our election, defining the Christian conduct. Three Dimensional Blessings From the stand point of Paul s Epistle to Christians at Ephesus, our blessings involve the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit and this underscores my reason for describing our blessings as three-dimensional in nature. According to the book of James.1:17, Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning. In Eph.1:3, Paul did not only acknowledge the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ as the main source of our blessings, he blessed Him for this great deed (...Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ). Paul blessed God in this passage and this suggests the idea of praise as rendered by the NIV and the New Living Translation. The same idea is suggested in 2 Cor.1:3 (Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort) The words blessed be.. comes from the Greek word Eulogetos (yoo-log-ay-tos) which means worthy of praise, used only of God i.e. blessed (as entitled to receive blessing or praise from man). It is the root of the English words eulogize, eulogy (which means well spoken of, to speak well of, or to celebrate by praising). These blessings are also three-dimensional because they come to us according to three factors. Paul explains that these blessings come to us according to: the riches of God s grace (In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace - Eph.1:7), the riches of the glory of His inheritance (... the eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints.. - Eph.1:18) and the SSA_13042014 God s Defining Purpose Page 2 of 7
riches of God s grace in His kindness (... that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus... - Eph.2:7). In Eph.2: 8, Paul says the grace by which we have been saved through faith is not of ourselves, but it is the gift of God. Paul further says in Eph.3: 7(6-8) that he became a minister of Christ s gospel according to the gift of the grace of God. In verses 4-6 of the first chapter of the Apostle s Epistle to the Ephesians, Paul further demonstrated how the Father is significantly involved in the Christian blessings... just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love, 5 having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will, 6 to the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He made us accepted in the Beloved. In just three consecutive verses, we see constant reference to God using the pronouns He, Him, His, Himself. Nothing can be more emphatic to show God as being hugely involved in our blessings- He is indeed the sole source of these blessings. One of the key verses of Paul s letter to the Ephesians can be found in Eph.1: 3 and here, we read the central thought of the entire letter: Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ. For the purpose of this sermon, I will just briefly mention that Christ is also hugely involved in the Christian blessings as we can see in many verses of this book, particularly chapter 1, but this aspect will be comprehensively covered in my next sermon following the same series. It is important to state at this point that the Holy Spirit also plays a significant role in our blessings. According to Eph.1: 13-14: In Him you also trusted, after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation; in whom also, having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, 14 who [b] is the guarantee of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, to the praise of His glory. Also, we will look into this aspect in more detail in one of the sermons in the series. For now, we need to understand that the completeness of the Godhead is involved in our blessings. Little wonder Chas Gabriel (1905) in his hymn, I Stand Amazed sang: Oh how marvellous! Oh how wonderful! And my song shall ever be, O how marvellous! Oh how wonderful! Is my Saviour s love for me! The Father therefore elects, the Son redeems and the Holy Spirit who seals. Another three dimensional blessing is found in Rev.1:3 where John says: Blessed is he who reads and those who hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written in it; for the time is near. These sermon series from the epistle of Paul to the Ephesians are designed to enable us partly capture these three-fold blessings stipulated in Revelation as we strive to give earnest attention to reading, hearing and keeping the words of the entire scripture through the riches of God s grace. SSA_13042014 God s Defining Purpose Page 3 of 7
The concept of Predestination What does the Bible say? There are several theories and beliefs regarding the all-important subject of predestination. We will examine 2 of them in the light of God s words as we progress in this sermon. Paul talked about us being chosen by God in Eph.1:4 and in verse 5, the apostle mention the dreaded word pre-destined and also adoption ( 4 just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love, 5 having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will, 6 to the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He made us accepted in the Beloved. The word chose originates from the Greek words exelexato or eklegomaee (ek-leg'-omahee) and this means to pick out, to choose, to select, "speaking to a conclusion" properly, to select (choose) out of, by a highly deliberate choice (i.e. real heart-preference) with a definite outcome. This is synonymous to the concept of election (eklego: meaning the act of choosing or picking out). The same verse 4 identifies the time when God made His choice to be before the foundation of the world. In terms of the people chosen by God, the Calvinist theory postulates that only a certain group of individual men and women have been chosen or elected and that this election or selection was unconditional and final, eliminating the possibility of falling away from grace. In the same vein, the Arminian theory (as taught by Jacobus Arminius) asserts just like the Calvinist theory that God s choice was individual, unconditional and final, also eliminating the possibility of falling away from grace. However the difference between these two theories is that the followers of John Calvin believes that God s choice was not based on any foreknowledge of good or evil on the part of those chosen, whilst the Arminian theory submits that God s choice was based on the foreknowledge of those people who would obey the gospel of Christ and endure to the end. Without any complications, the way Paul puts it suggests that our election by God in Christ is generalistic in nature (not specific), corporate (not individualistic). This also suggests that God chose the Church (which is the body of Christ) in the corporate sense for His gracious purposes in Christ. This aligns with the way the entire nation of Israel was chosen, not necessarily individual Jews. Again, the choice is unconditional and final only in the corporate (family) sense, but on individual basis, every Christian is enjoined to be diligent to make their calling and election sure (2Pet.1:10). With respect to predestination as indicated in verse 6, it is important to first consider that the greek word for predestined used here is proorizo and this suggests the idea of deciding in advance or to predetermine. Paul identifies us as the people who have been predestined. Again, the term us here refers to God s people in the corporate sense. We shouldn t forget that he addressed the epistle to the church at Ephesus. God has thus predetermined that the body of Christ SSA_13042014 God s Defining Purpose Page 4 of 7
Why Calvinist and Arminian theories of predestination are wrong God s love for mankind is unquantifiable. He demonstrated this by creating us in His own image (Gen. 1:26-27)... so God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. God wouldn t have done that for man if His purpose was to be wicked to him. In Gen.1:31, God saw all that he had made, and it was very good. God likes what He had created! He has good intentions (or purposes) for His creation. God desires to have fellowship with mankind. His purpose of creating us was not to set us aside. The entire old covenant demonstrates how God cared for His people. He helped them, corrected them, guided and defended them. He also sustained them. Christ says O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing Lk.13:34). God s purpose for people can be perceived from the viewpoint of Paul in Eph.1:5. God predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will to show us love and thus adopt us as His children! He wants us to be with Him: 2 Peter 3:9, He is patient with us, not wanting anyone to perish, but that all should come to repentance. How then can anyone say God has selected some identifiable individuals for salvation? God wants to bless us. As previously stated, Eph.1:3 shows that: God wants to bless us with every possible spiritual blessings (i.e. blessings of eternal value). God spends the entire history trying to bless His people. God loves us dearly much and does not want to be separated from us. He therefore gave His Son to die for us! Man s greatest problem is sin. Rom.3:23 says all have sinned and fall short of God s glory. In Rom.6:23, Paul stated that the wages of sin is death but the gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus. Paul says to the christians in Ephesus (2:1-3) As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. Isa.59: 1-2 states that sin separates us from God. As much as God loves the sinner, He hates sin because He is a perfect and holy God. Paul says to the Ephesians in Ephesians 2:12, remember that at that time you were separate from Christ, excluded from citizenship in Israel and foreigners to the covenants of the promise, without hope and without God in the world. God proffered solution to man s problem of sin by preparing and sending His Son the greatest gift of all ages! He planned it before He started the creation; Ephesians 1:4-5, For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love 5 he predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will. God is just. He does not ignore the sin. He is justifier as He pays the price, making the atonement for all in Christ. Eph. 2:4, But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, 5 made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in SSA_13042014 God s Defining Purpose Page 5 of 7
transgressions it is by grace you have been saved. Ephesians 2:8, For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God Christ is God s propitiation for man s sin. Acts 4:12, Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by whom we must be saved. Jesus says in John. 14:6, I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. Man need to accept God s offer of salvation. According to Acts.2, on the 1 st Pentecost after Christ s ascension to heaven, when Peter s audience realized what they had done, they asked Peter and the other apostles, Brothers, what shall we do? They were told in verse 38 by Peter to Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 39 The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off for all whom the Lord our God will call. Has God called everyone by the gospel? Yes! But will all obey the gospel of salvation? Probably not as men loves darkness more than light! God s defining purpose God has predetermined that the church i.e. His people be adopted as His children. The overruling purpose of God s predetermination is for adoption as sons. Some scholars argue that election refers to people but predestination refers to the church, implying that God has predetermined that the church (constituting all saved souls) would be adopted into His family. The latter part of verse 5 of Eph.1 identifies that God s predestination was done in accordance with the good pleasure of His will. The term accepted as used in verse 6 was derived from the greek word (Charitoo) and this means to be highly favoured or to honour with blessing. God s people in Christ are highly favoured in God s view. The bedrock of our acceptance is in Christ (Eph.1:3-4) and by Christ (Eph.1:5). By being in Christ, we have become highly favoured by God and He Himself has therefore qualifies us for the wonderful blessings that abound in Christ. God therefore defines us (the church) in line with His eternal purpose and His will, which are to purchase and adopt us as His children who would love and serve Him till the end of time. Conclusion The idea of being chosen by God suggests that we are not saved because we merit it, but because God is gracious and freely offers salvation. We did not influence God to save us but He saved us according to His eternal purpose in Christ His Son. The concept of predestination also suggests that salvation is God s work and not our own making. He adopted us as His own children through the supreme sacrifice of Jesus. Loved ones, like Paul, let us be eternally thankful for the riches of His grace in Christ Jesus. He truly posits: For this reason I bow my knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, 15 from whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named, 16 that He would grant you, according to the SSA_13042014 God s Defining Purpose Page 6 of 7
riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man, 17 that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love, 18 may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height 19 to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God (Eph.3:14-15). God said it, I believe it, the Bible is right. SSA_13042014 God s Defining Purpose Page 7 of 7