Ephesians 1:3

that? 1241. Good. All right. Now you all have no excuse but to turn there. Oh, 976. Okay.

So if you turn to 1200 and you just get a list of like metric conversions from old ancient things,

you know, you've got the wrong addition, according to Jonathan. Thanks, Jonathan. Thanks, Eric.

Great. All right. Hey, we are in Ephesians chapter 1 verses 3 through 14. Let me read this text for us.

Ephesians 1:3–14

Paul writes,

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 as sons

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.

It was the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it to the praise of his glory.

Well friends, imagine you're visiting a new city for the first time. Let's say it's New York City.

You've never been there. You're visiting for the first time and after you do some sightseeing around

town, you decide to take an elevator up to the top of one of the great skyscrapers. Maybe it's the

Empire State Building or maybe it's Rockefeller Center, say, and imagine that at each floor as you go up,

you could sort of take a look out the window. So, well then, you'd say maybe 10 stories up,

you could look out and you could maybe see around the whole city block. And then as you went up maybe

20 or 30 stories, maybe you could start to see the whole neighborhood. And then 40 or 50 stories up,

maybe you could see the whole borough, maybe you could see all of Manhattan. But then as you kept

going 60, 70, 80 stories up, well from there you can probably see the whole city or most of it

stretching out in every direction. And from that height, you get to see things you never noticed

before when you were down on the ground. You start to see how all those streets and avenues,

which just felt like a jumbled mess down below, now sort of make this beautiful grid of intersecting

lines and pathways. And you get to see how all those green spaces and parks, which before just sort

of felt randomly tucked here and there, now they sort of dot the landscape and they add margin and they

add nature to what you're seeing, almost like brushstrokes from an artist all around the city.

In other words, you're able to kind of take in the whole of it from that height and the whole

actually starts to become gloriously more than all of its parts. And for a moment, as you're standing

up there sort of taking the whole thing in, you're in awe. It's actually a bit breathtaking

to stand up there and to see the scope, to see the grandeur of this city as it kind of stretches out.

Well, in our passage tonight that we just read, it's as if we've taken an elevator up,

as it were, to the 80th or the 90th floor so that we can see the grand scope, not merely of some

earthly city, but to see the grand scope of God's eternal plan of redemption.

And when we take it in, as Paul sort of pushes us up to the heights, as we take it in from this

kind of dizzying height, we're meant to be awestruck. We're meant for a moment to have our breath taken

away. We're meant to be swept up in worship and praise of God. That's how this whole section begins

in verse 3, right? Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Now the word blessed here is

just another word for praise, an expression of praise, of delight, of wonder. Blessed be this God.

Now chapter 1 as a whole is actually structured very simply. Verses 3 through 14 are praise to God,

and then verses 15 through 23, prayer to God. Very simple chapter. But you know, it's worth pointing

out that this praise of God in verses 3 through 14, that kind of extends for like a whole column

in our English Bibles. In the Greek, in the language that Paul actually wrote it in, it's actually one

long, intricate sentence. It's one long, 12 verses worth of one long, unbroken, unfolding,

firework display of praise to God. This is the kind of long sentence that your composition teachers

would say, fail, too long, cut it up. But no, for Paul it's this long, unfolding thing.

Now in the next three coming weeks, we're actually going to look a little more closely

at each section of it. But you know, even if we do sort of break it down in that way in the coming

weeks, I want us to see tonight that we're meant to view it all as one piece. We're meant to actually

sort of take it all in together to get the kind of rooftop view of the whole thing. Because if you

read the sentence in the original, as we just said, Paul almost doesn't let you stop reading.

He doesn't stop the sentence. You're actually driven further and further and richer and richer

until you step out onto that 80th floor observation deck and then gasp in wonder at who God is and what

God has done. Now, as we sort of stand up here, viewing at this sort of skyline view of God's

redemption, I think Paul wants us to see, and I think we can at least take in four things.

First, something about God's nature. Second, something about God's story. Third, God's goal.

And then fourth, our participation in all of this, our way in. So first, let's take a look at God's

nature. Scan your eyes over the whole of this text. And although it is one long sentence, you kind of

discern a three-fold structure here, do you not? Verses 3 through 6 speak mostly of the Father who

chose us. Verses 7 through 10 focus on the Son who redeems and unites us. And then verses 11 through

14 highlight the work of the Holy Spirit who seals us for an eternal inheritance. Father, Son, Holy Spirit.

Look again closely at verse 3. It's actually right there from the start if you kind of have eyes to see it.

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ who has blessed us in Christ the Son with

every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places. And most commentators will point out that the word

spiritual there is actually a pointer at least to the work of the Spirit, the Holy Spirit, as verse 14 says.

So you see, in the unfolding of God's grand work of redemption,

we see an expression of his eternal nature as the triune God. That this one God has existed

eternally in three persons, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

Now, of course, if you were to grab your concordance or if you would go online and jump on Bible Gateway and

do a search for the word Trinity, you would find it nowhere in your Bible.

It wasn't until the third century that Christians started using that word Trinity with frequency.

But it is a word that captures and summarizes a very basic biblical truth about God.

So it's a very helpful word. It's a very helpful language for us to describe a biblical reality.

You know, if you were able to kind of go back in time and ask the Apostle Paul or the Apostle Peter or the Apostle John

and you would sort of pull them aside and say, hey, Paul, do you believe in the Trinity?

Paul would probably say, what the heck is the Trinity?

And then you would say, well, here's what we mean.

We mean that there's one true God, but he's eternally existed in three persons, the Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit.

And then Paul would say, oh, yeah, that's exactly what I believe.

In fact, that's a pretty good way of talking about it. I wish I would have thought of that.

And in fact, you know, this idea of God being by nature triune is something that Jesus himself actually taught.

After his resurrection, Jesus instructs the church to go make disciples and baptize them, do you remember,

in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.

Notice very carefully the language that Jesus uses there.

In the name, singular, not names, but the name, one name, one God,

but three persons, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

In fact, in the book of Ephesians, you see God's triune nature coming up actually all over the place.

It's like water in the ground that just keeps seeping through all the cracks.

Look down at chapter 2, verse 18.

Skip ahead another chapter.

So we've seen it in chapter 1.

Now look at chapter 2, verse 18.

Paul's speaking of our peace with God and our peace with one another that comes through the work of Jesus' cross.

And he says, through him, through Jesus the Son,

we both, that is Jews and Gentiles, have access in one spirit to the Father.

Through the Son, by the Spirit, to the Father.

And at the end of chapter 3, look at the end of chapter 3, verses 14 through 19.

Paul prays now for spiritual strength and insight.

And again, it's unmistakably Trinitarian.

He says,

And it keeps going on and on and on and on through this book.

I'd actually encourage you this week, take some time, read through this whole book of Ephesians in a sitting or two,

and take note of how many times you see this kind of Trinitarian shape or structure to Paul's thinking.

And then note the context.

What's the context in which Paul is saying?

Is he talking about redemption?

Is he talking about prayer?

Is he talking about ethics?

And you'll see that it just colors everything.

That for Paul, God's nature matters for almost everything.

Once you start looking for it, it's all over the place.

Now, why is God's triune nature so important?

Who cares, in other words?

Well, there are a lot of things that we could say here.

If you're looking for a good book recommendation, I'm going to recommend a book.

So, this is a book by a guy named Fred Sanders called The Deep Things of God.

How the Trinity Changes Everything.

A friend of mine gave me this book, and I probably wouldn't have read it otherwise, but I read it, and it's really good.

So, if you're looking for a good book to just start to get your toes wet in this understanding of God as Trinity, that's a good one.

The Deep Things of God by Fred Sanders.

He's a theologian out of Biola in California.

But, let's stick to our text tonight.

What is Paul doing here?

He's praising God for his work of redemption.

And we see here that the work of the Father, and the work of the Son, and the work of the Holy Spirit are like unbroken links in a chain.

That they can't be divided, or separated, or staved off from one another.

Augustine, the great church father, put it this way.

He said, the external works of the Trinity are undivided.

In other words, what God does in creation as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit can't be broken up into bits.

What the Father does can't be cut off from what the Son does.

And that can't be separated from what the Spirit does.

And you see that in our text, don't you?

The Father chose.

But if the Father chose, then certainly the Son will redeem those that the Father chose.

And if the Son has redeemed those that the Father chose, then certainly the Spirit will seal those that the Son has redeemed.

They can't be broken, and they can't be divided.

What the Father plans, the Son accomplishes.

And what the Son accomplishes, the Spirit applies and brings it to completion.

And friends, that means that God's very nature, who He is from all time, ensures that the whole of our salvation is complete.

That it will be done.

You know, I often have plans that never come to completion.

I began a project painting the exterior of my house this summer.

And it started out as a plan.

I chose the wall of my house that was going to get painted.

Because I knew I wasn't going to get the whole thing done.

So I just picked one side.

And then it took me a few weeks to go out and purchase the materials to redeem them from Sherwin-Williams to get the job done.

And then I worked on it for a few weeks.

And the summer got busy.

And I still haven't brought that project to completion.

I got the primer coat on and all the sanding done.

But I still need to actually put the final coat of paint on the thing.

And at this rate, I'm hoping just to get it done before Christmas.

Before it snows.

And then it's too cold to paint.

And it won't dry.

Now friends, how many of our best laid plans are like that?

The best laid plans of mice and men often go wry.

Wrote the Scottish poet Robert Burns.

That's true of us.

Often our best laid plans go wry.

But friends, what's true of us is not true for God.

Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

The one true God.

His plans will not be thwarted.

They will not go awry.

What he plans, he performs.

And what God performs, he perfects.

You see.

It's in the very nature of God.

In saving you, Christian.

Brother and sister.

It's in the very nature of God.

In saving you.

To save you all the way.

God's not going to stop halfway and get distracted.

He's not going to leave off three quarters of the way.

He's not going to purchase a salvation for you in Christ.

And then wait around to see if you're going to get it.

He's going to make sure that it sees you the whole way home.

He's not going to leave us until he's done.

He cannot.

It's in his very nature.

Friends, I wonder if we meditated on that fact.

How much of our anxiety and our worry and our fear would start to subside.

To know that what God plans, he performs.

And what he performs, he will perfect.

Well, let's move on to the second thing that we see.

As we take in this skyline view of God's redemption.

What do we notice here?

We notice.

We notice God's story.

Take a look again at the movement from father to son to Holy Spirit here.

And you'll see that it's also a movement from election.

Which is just another word for choosing, by the way.

To elect, to choose in verse 4.

It moves from election in verse 4.

To redemption in verse 7.

To inheritance in verse 11.

Election, God chooses his people for his very own.

Redemption, God sets them free.

Purchasing them from slavery.

And then inheritance, God gives them a home.

Gives them a place where they can dwell with him forever.

Where they can have this intimate relationship with him.

Now, if we were to keep those three movements in mind.

And we were to go back to the very beginning of the Bible.

Go back to the very beginning of the Old Testament.

And we were to just start reading the story.

What would we find?

That this is exactly the story of Old Testament Israel.

God chose them.

First Abraham, then Isaac, then Jacob.

Then all of Jacob's family, Israel.

God chose them.

And then what happened?

God redeemed them from slavery in Egypt.

Well, that one happened.

God gave them an inheritance in the promised land.

God chooses and he redeems.

And he gives them a home.

But you know, the Old Testament was actually just the first movement of the symphony.

This is a story that God's been telling from the very beginning.

But in the Old Testament, we just sort of get the first movements.

The first sort of melody line of the great symphony that God's telling.

In the New Testament, that melody starts to just blow open into full shape.

And suddenly, all the instruments are playing.

And all the harmonies.

And all the transpositions are added.

It's being played in this higher key.

With full orchestration.

And suddenly, we find in the New Testament, as the gates are sort of opened up,

that it wasn't just about Abraham's family.

But it was about men and women from all nations.

And it wasn't just about redemption from Egypt.

But it was about redemption from sin and redemption from death.

And it wasn't just about an inheritance in Palestine.

But it was about an inheritance in the new creation.

And the whole earth made new.

Paul says, church, this is your story.

You know, friends, whether you like it or not,

you're actually living your life according to some story.

There's some plot.

There's some narrative that's running at a deep level in your heart

that shapes your thinking and your feeling and your acting.

You might not have thought of it that way.

But I guarantee you it is true.

Have you ever taken a moment and just examined what that story is?

Have you ever taken some time to reflect and ask deep down,

what is the narrative that's shaping my life?

What story do I see myself a part of?

Am I a collection?

Of just time and chance and energy?

A big pile of chemicals and stimulus and response?

And is the best that I can hope to do

is leave things a little better than I found them

and hopefully get a little happiness

before my brief spark is extinguished

and we all return into nothingness?

Well, that's a bit existential for most of us.

That's probably not the story we think we're living by.

Most of our stories are a bit more mundane, aren't they?

Get a good job.

Earn a decent wage.

Find the right person.

Live comfortably.

And hopefully when my life ends,

well, I don't really want to think too much about that.

What's the story for you?

Friends, the Bible here is inviting us

into a whole new story.

It's actually inviting us into God's story.

The true story of everything that is

that begins with God's creation

and ends with God's new creation.

In fact, the way Paul would tell it here,

it begins in eternity past

with God's burning desire

to redeem his people.

It begins with creation

and ends in new creation.

In the middle,

in the middle of that story,

in the face of our rebellion against God

and in the face of the death and decay

that it brings,

this story tells us of a God

who chooses and redeems

at the price of the blood of his own son

and who seals and secures us

by the person of his own spirit.

And if you lived in that story,

it would begin to change

your view of everything.

And it wouldn't just change

your view of everything again.

It would change how you feel

and how you think

and how you act.

You know, suddenly,

the material world that we inhabit

isn't just raw material

to be used and manipulated.

No.

This world is a gift of God

to be cared for

and to be cultivated

if we're living by God's story,

the one true story of all that is.

And suddenly, your job,

your job isn't just a means

of building wealth,

but your job is an avenue

to serve others

and to play a part

of shining God's kingdom

into the world.

And suddenly,

your relationships

don't just exist

for a little mutual pleasure

and a little mutual help,

but suddenly,

they become these opportunities

to call forth in one another

the image of God.

And they become opportunities

to exercise forgiveness

and grace

and on and on and on.

Suddenly,

nothing gets untouched

when you begin to live

into God's story.

And Paul's inviting us.

We're being invited

to step into it

and to realize

how much better it is

than so many of the parodies

that we try to live our lives by.

Third thing.

Third thing we see

in this skyline view

of God's redemption

is God's goal.

Now,

what's the end

that God

is after here?

Why is God doing all this?

Why does the Father,

Son,

and Holy Spirit

choose and redeem

and steal for an inheritance?

What is God doing?

What is his chief end,

his ultimate goal

in doing all this?

Well,

again and again

it came through

that refrain.

Did you catch it

when we read it earlier

in the service?

Again and again

we read

to the praise

of his glory.

To the praise

of his glory.

In other words,

God does

all things

to put on display

how beautiful he is.

to communicate

his infinite

splendor

to his creation.

Now,

at first this sounds

a bit strange,

doesn't it?

It sounds a bit,

I don't know,

how would you put it?

It sounds a bit

kind of egocentric

of God,

doesn't it?

I mean,

think about it.

If you did something

noteworthy,

let's say you gave

a very generous donation

to a charity

of some kind

and a news reporter

found out about this

and they came to your door

and they asked you,

hey,

why did you give such this,

why did you give

such a generous gift?

That was really amazing.

What would people think

if you answered

and said,

well,

I did it to show

how incredibly glorious

I am?

I guarantee you

that social media

would explode

with people calling you

a self-centered jerk

and all sorts of other names.

You would be trending

on Facebook

but not in a very positive way.

But you see,

friends,

it's very different

with God.

And it's different

with God

because,

well,

because God is God.

A number of years ago,

my wife and I

took a trip to Italy

and in Rome,

as it turns out,

there are a number

of museums

that you have to get

tickets to

like weeks in advance.

And even if you have

a ticket to these museums,

you have to wait hours

in line to get in.

Now,

why?

Some of you are thinking,

I would never wait hours

to see a bunch of dead art.

That sounds dumb.

Why do people

wait hours

and plan weeks,

months in advance

to be able to get in

to see these things?

Because the things inside

are worthy

to be beheld.

Because they're beautiful

and they're worthy

to be taken in

and experienced

and enjoyed.

But friends,

if that's true

of human works

of art,

of just artifacts

that we've made

in our finite

human capacities,

how much more

infinitely is it true

of God

to see God

in his beauty,

to really get a glimpse

of God's splendor.

You know,

oftentimes,

the psalmist

had it right.

I'd rather sit

in the house of God

and behold the beauty

of God

than do anything else.

God's splendor

and what Paul

is saying here

is that God

has blown

open the doors

and he's done

something

to put

his heart-thrilling,

his soul-satisfying

glory

on display

for everyone

to see

and to savor

and to know

and to enjoy.

So you don't need

a ticket

and you don't need

to wait hours

to get in.

God's goal

is the praise

of his glory

and that's really

good news

because praising

God's glory,

savoring his beauty,

knowing his just

manifold splendor,

that's the thing

our hearts were made for.

It's what we're

starving for,

really.

It's the thing

that haunts us

every time

we encounter

some finite beauty,

whether it's

beholding nature

or a piece of art

or taking in

a breathtaking

city skyline.

In each of these things

there's an echo

of a voice

that says

there's a deeper

beauty to be had.

A beauty

that won't fade

and that won't

grow old

because behind

these finite

encounters

with beauty

stands the glory

of the

infinite creator.

And this

infinite creator

has put

his glory

on display

in redemption.

salvation.

And he says

anyone now

can come

and they can

drink without

price.

And that leads us

to our last point.

We've seen

God's nature

and God's story

and God's goal

but then how do we

participate in all of this?

What's our entry

point into this

thing?

How do we get

in?

There's a new

candy store

on Chapel Street

I forget what

it's called

but when I walk

by it with my

kids

it's like a

magnet

and we're just

stuck to the

window

staring at these

stacks and

stacks and

stacks of

sugary

confectionery

beauties.

And we never

go in

because they'll

never take a

nap if they

eat all that

sugar

but there we

are sort of

standing at it

and it's like

bright pink

and we can't

get away.

But friends

is that us

with respect

to God?

Are we always

looking through

the window

at God's

glory and

redemption?

Always out

on the street

never partaking

always just

separated and

one step off?

What's our

way in?

Look again

at verse 3

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.

Now we've

just been

rehearsing

those spiritual

blessings

and we're

going to

unpack them

in the weeks

to come

to be chosen

by the

Father

to be

redeemed

by the

Son

to be

sealed

by the

Spirit

to have

our hearts

unleashed

in the

praise of

God's

glory

and how

does all

of that

come to

us?

In

Christ

He has

blessed us

in Christ

with every

spiritual

blessing

in the

heavenly

places.

In other

words,

all that

heaven has

to give,

every

spiritual

blessing

that never

fades

and never

decays

and never

grows old

has been

gifted to

us free

of charge

in Christ.

Christ.

Do you

notice how

many times

that phrase

in Christ,

in Him,

through Him

occurs in

verses 3

through 14?

That's almost

a dozen

times.

In Him,

in Him,

in Him.

Christ is

the mediator,

the channel

of all

these blessings.

God hasn't

left us

out on the

street forever

staring through

the window.

No,

He's come

out to

us and

He's put

His arm

around us

and He's

led us

personally

inside and

He said,

welcome,

it's all

yours.

Friend,

if you are

in Christ,

if you have

united your

life to

Him in

faith,

then you

are chosen,

redeemed,

sealed.

Every

blessing

in the

heavenly

places

is yours.

Not a

single

one

has God

withheld

from you

in His

Son.

Every

spiritual

blessing.

And of

course,

that's so

much better

than every

material

blessing in

the earthly

places,

isn't it?

I remember

studying this

book quite

some time

ago and

coming across

verse 3 and

thinking,

that's great,

every spiritual

blessing in

the heavenly

places.

What about

some material

blessing once

in a while,

right?

But you

know,

God doesn't

promise us

that in

Christ.

He doesn't

promise us

material

blessings in

the earthly

places.

But what He

promises us is

so much

better.

And why is

it so much

better?

Well,

lots of

reasons and

we could

enumerate

them all,

but I

mean,

just to

get right

down to

it,

to put it

bluntly,

because

material

blessings

won't

make you

happy.

They

might for

a little

while,

don't get

me wrong,

if your

car breaks

down,

a new

car will

make you

happy.

I get

that,

right?

They

might make

you happy

for a little

while,

but not

for long,

not in a

lasting

way.

And of

course,

God isn't

against

material

blessings.

He wants

us to

care about

economic

injustice.

He wants

us to

care about

the poor.

It's not

what this

verse is

about.

But friends,

you and I

both know

that if your

bank account

is full

and your

heart is

empty,

that you

would cash

out the

bank account

in an

instant to

fix your

empty

heart.

You would

cash it

out in an

instant to

find someone

who loves

you and

who looks

at you

with all

of your

flaws and

chooses you

and who

would lay

down their

life for

you and

who would

stick by

you to

the end

no matter

how many

times you

screw up.

You would

cash out

your bank

account in

a second

for someone

like that.

And don't

you see,

friends,

that's exactly

what God

has done

for you

in Christ.

He has

looked at

you,

he has

loved you,

he has

bled and

died for

you,

and he

has promised

to be

with you

to the

very end

and let

nothing

tear you

away.

And you

know now

in him,

whether you

have material

blessings or

not,

your heart

is full.

And that

means that

if you

get material

blessings,

they won't

rule you.

And if you

don't get

them,

it doesn't

crush you.

You're free

because you

have every

spiritual

blessing in

the heavenly

places.

every

spiritual

blessing in

the heavenly

places in

Christ

Jesus our

Lord.

Friends,

are you in

him?

Or are you

still outside

looking in?

God has

unleashed from

heaven.

We've been

staring out the

80th floor

observation tower

out at God's

plan of

redemption,

and there's

God's nature,

and there's

God's story,

and there's

God's goal,

but at the

end of the

day,

it all comes

down on

this razor's

edge that

is pointed

directly at

each one of

us.

Are you

in him?

God has

unleashed from

heaven every

spiritual blessing

in Christ.

There's not a

single one he's

withheld right

there in his

son.

And all you

have to do

is lay down

your pride and

lay down your

despair and

trust in him

and take hold

of him.

And suddenly

God's goal

becomes the

thrill of your

heart and

God's story

becomes your

story and

God's nature

becomes the

one that you

get to

commune with

for all

eternity.

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.

Let's pray.

God, thank you

tonight that we

can draw near to

you and call

you our

Father because

of our Lord

Jesus Christ

and because of

your spirit.

Lord, help us

tonight to

really believe

these things that

you tell us in

your word.

And give us,

as Paul will

pray later in

this letter,

give us

strength in

our inner

being by

your Holy

Spirit to

really grasp

Jesus in

all of the

manifold,

unrelenting

love that you've

given us in

Christ.

God, wake up

our hearts

because they're

so sleepy.

Remind us

because we're

so forgetful.

Lord, even

for some of

us here

tonight, call

us forth from

death into

life.

For those who

are far off,

God, bring

them near.

Bring them

near in

Christ so

that we might

live to the

praise of

your glory.

Amen.