Can I be sure I am one of God's elect?

And we're reading Ephesians chapter 1 and verses 1 to 14.

Ephesians 1 · chapter mention

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 the 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 to himself 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,

who is the guarantee of our inheritance,

until we acquire possession of it,

to the praise of his glory.

Well, good morning, everyone.

Why don't we pray as we come to God's word?

Lord, we praise you for your nature,

that you tell us that a bruised reed you will not break

and a smouldering wick you will not snuff out.

Lord, we thank you for your gentleness and your patience with us

when we struggle to be sure that we are even a Christian.

Thank you that you are for us in your gentle nature.

Please reassure our hearts this morning by your word.

In his name, amen.

Amen.

Well, one of the lovely images that the Lord gives us

so that we can have confidence that we will receive a warm welcome into heaven

is that of a heavenly book, a book.

I'm not sure if you're into books or not,

but this book you will be into.

It's called the Book of Life,

with each and every name listed of those

who are going to receive a warm welcome into heaven.

One place we see this book appear is in Revelation 20 at the Last Judgment,

the picture of the Last Judgment,

where each individual person has their own book,

a record of everything they've done.

Now, that is a terrifying thought,

but then onto the scene comes this other book,

the Book of the Lamb who was slain.

And it's those who are written in that book,

not their own book of what they've done,

but the Lamb's book.

They're the ones who have the warm welcome into heaven.

It's a very personal image, this book.

Your name is written.

And it's a permanent image.

You don't write something down to forget it.

It's to remember it.

It's permanent.

It is written there.

For all those who put their hope in Christ,

the Lord reassures our hearts that your name,

my name is written in this book of life.

Now, this divine guarantee of salvation

is what our series in the Doctrins of Grace has been about, really.

The Lord wants us to be secure in his arms.

Now, just to recap the series,

because in a sense we're kind of finished

the Doctrins of Grace.

There's an acronym to remember the five points,

the five doctrines.

It's called CHULIP.

So you might want to write this down

if you haven't heard this before.

So like the flower, CHULIP,

let's quickly run through what we've covered so far.

So it's not the order we did it in in our series,

but here goes.

So T.

Actually, let's get some audience participation.

Can anyone tell me?

What's T?

Total depravity,

or another name is total inability.

That, you know,

born in Adam,

we are dead towards God,

Ephesians 2.

It's not total depravity

in the sense of

we're as evil as we possibly could be,

but it's total in the sense

that sin has infected us

in every faculty,

in our mind,

in our desires,

in our abilities.

In and of ourselves,

we're unable to want God

and seek God.

Okay, you.

What's you?

Anyone?

Heard these before?

Joel?

Help.

Unconditional election.

Unconditional election,

what we looked at last week.

The only election that matters.

The only election.

Yeah.

Thanks for that political comment.

The only election that matters.

In eternity past,

the Father chose,

by his mercy alone,

those sinners

he would adopt as his sons.

Unconditional.

Nothing in and of ourselves

did he look at us and go,

you're worthy of my choosing.

It's not about that.

It's unconditional.

It's his mercy alone.

Okay, L.

Limited atonement.

Another name for it

is particular redemption.

So,

it's not that Jesus died for the whole world

and goes,

whoever wants to take up my offer,

come and get it.

It's that God,

the Father,

sent Jesus into the world

with a particular mission

to save his people.

And he did it.

He actually redeemed.

He didn't just make it possible.

He saved his sheep.

He died for his sheep.

Okay, I.

Irresistible grace.

While we're still dead towards God,

God intervenes.

The Holy Spirit works inside us

to make the gospel message

effective in our hearts,

making us new on the inside,

opening our blind spiritual eyes

to see Christ

and so put our trust in him.

It's irresistible.

The Holy Spirit just go,

just makes us want

to put our trust in Christ.

Okay, last one, P.

Yeah, so,

perseverance of the saints

or better still,

as Don said,

preservation of the saints.

That God is working,

is totally committed

to finishing what he starts.

He's working in us

to keep us for heaven

and therefore,

we're going to persevere

because God is working

to get us home.

So these are beautiful truths.

Some start to finish.

Our salvation is resting

in the sovereign grace of God,

the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

It's a free and utter gift.

It's all him.

So, in a sense,

we kind of finished our series,

but there are some common questions

that come up

to do with God's sovereignty

and salvation.

And we just didn't have time

in each of the sermons

to deal with these

important questions properly.

So, we're going to change gear a bit

and try and address

four of these common questions.

And those questions

that we're going to cover

over the next four weeks are,

can I be sure

I'm one of God's elect?

We're going to do that one today.

And then,

can a Christian lose their salvation?

Does predestination mean

that evangelism and prayer

are pointless?

And do the doctrines of grace

really matter in 2021?

Like, can't we just

put them to the side?

Do they really matter?

Okay.

So, that's where we're going.

So, it's a bit different

in these next four weeks,

but let's get into the first one.

Can I be sure

I am one of God's elect?

There was this one wedding

where Emma and I

and some friends

we thought were invited to.

Emma and I

weren't as confident,

but our friends

weren't sure

if they were invited or not.

So, they went to the reception

before the bridal party arrived

and they went up to that list

of table place names

and checked out

is their name there?

No, it wasn't.

So, they rushed out again.

I tell that

because I imagine

when I talked about

this book in heaven,

those who are asking

this question

at a personal level

this morning,

can I be sure

I am one of God's elect?

Are probably feeling like

those friends

who went to the wedding reception

going,

I really don't think

my name's going to be there.

This is a very personal question.

It is an agonising question

to wrestle with.

It's a restless place to live.

You're stuck between

the beauty of the gospel

that God is absolutely

sovereign in salvation

and yet you're also,

but then you think

God is angry at you

because of your sin.

The very one you want to rest in

is the one who's angry

at your sin

and you're just stuck in between.

Which one is it?

Amen.

Now,

I want to say from the outset

that I do not expect

this sermon

to be a quick fix.

It could even be dangerous

because if in tomorrow

or during the week

you wake up in despair again,

you might think,

well,

that didn't help.

I'm even more stuck.

What do I do now?

I don't expect this sermon

to be a quick fix.

Unlike what Simon says,

I don't have all the answers.

But I do want to hopefully

give you some tools

to go away with.

Some new perspectives

that you can keep preaching

to yourself

whenever this fear arises

within you.

So the five perspectives

I want to touch on this morning,

you'll see it in the outline.

The first one has to do

when it comes to passages

in the Bible

that seem to question

our security of salvation.

So,

when you come to those,

we need to be asking ourselves,

am I sure

that this is what God

is saying here?

The second thing

you need to keep asking yourself

is when doubt arises,

doubt your doubt.

Ask questions of your doubt.

Why are you doubting?

The third is,

is this even a good question

to be asking?

What is God's question of you?

The fourth perspective is,

when you look inside yourself

and you see the muck

of your sin,

don't live there.

You need an external

reference point.

You need to look to Christ.

And the last one is,

don't dwell on yourself,

dwell on what God has done.

So,

let's just go through

each of these

one at a time.

Okay,

what about those troubling texts?

Am I sure

that I've understood

the text correctly?

So,

we're going to use

2 Peter 1.10

as a case study.

We don't have time

to go to the text

that can really trouble people.

But 2 Peter 1.10,

gee,

that's it.

This one's,

this one's up there

as one that troubles people.

Could you turn there

with me actually

because we'll spend

a few minutes here.

So,

2 Peter 1.

And we'll come back

to Ephesians

towards the end.

So,

here's 2 Peter 1.10

and I'll read

verse 11 as well.

Therefore,

brothers,

be all the more

diligent

to confirm

your calling

and election.

For if you practice

these qualities,

you will never fall.

For in this way,

there will be

richly provided

for you

an entrance

into the eternal

kingdom

of our Lord

and Saviour

Jesus Christ.

So,

it's talking about

an entrance

and falling

and it's saying

be diligent

to confirm

your calling

and election.

now,

if you read

that,

it just jumps

out at you

and it

sounds like

you must

confirm it.

It's up to you.

If you've got

to be diligent

to confirm it,

then it mustn't

be settled.

If I don't,

then I fall

and not enter

the eternal kingdom.

And you think,

okay,

what are these

qualities I'm

meant to be

putting into

practice?

And you go

back and read,

supplement your

faith with

virtue and

virtue with

knowledge and

knowledge with

self-control and

self-control with

steadfastness and

steadfastness with

godliness and

godliness with

brotherly affection and

brotherly affection with

love.

And that list just

hits you hard,

doesn't it?

Virtue?

I can list a

dozen things I've

stuffed up this

week or today

alone.

And then

knowledge.

I don't read the

Bible as much as

I want to.

Self-control,

my lust,

my impatience,

my anger,

steadfastness.

I waver in and

out of faith all

the time.

Godliness,

brotherly affection.

That list just

hits you.

You come to the

conclusion,

I must be

failing the test.

Maybe I'm not

elect.

When a passage has

this effect on you,

the emotions just

are strong.

They're very

strong.

Those strong

emotions I think

can make you think

you've interpreted

it correctly but

can I encourage you

to pause,

take a deep

breath,

maybe even get

the help of

another believer

and make sure

you've understood

what God is

saying correctly.

slowly.

Slow down

and re-read.

Look at the

details.

Let's do that

together.

I'm not going to

leave you hanging.

Let's do that

together in this

case.

firstly, look at

verse 5,

the start of this

little section.

It starts with

for this very

reason.

For this very

reason,

it goes on to

say,

confirm your

calling in

election.

So it should

indicate,

well,

what's the

reason?

Where's this

coming from?

So let's

go back.

Verses 1 and

2.

To those who

have obtained

a faith of

equal standing

with ours by

the righteousness

of our God

and Saviour

Jesus Christ.

Now we

elevate the

apostles and

they do have

an authority

because they

saw the

risen Christ

but if we

trust in

Christ we

have the

same standing

of faith as

the apostles

in the sight of

God.

How does

that come

about?

By the

righteousness

of our

God and

Saviour

Jesus Christ.

That's an

encouraging verse

but verse 2.

Why is Peter

writing this

letter?

May grace

and peace

be multiplied

to you in

the knowledge

of God and

of Jesus

our Lord.

Grace and

peace.

He wants us

to have grace

and peace.

I think even

there that

should make

you think

that's a funny

way to give

you peace

to then

make you

question

whether

you're

one of

God's

people or

not.

Even there

it's like

I'm not

sure I've

read this

correctly.

But then

we go on.

Keep

analysing the

detail.

Verses 3

and 4.

What's the

truth for

this very

reason

confirming

you're

calling an

election?

What is

that reason?

We find

it in

verse 3

and 4.

His,

God's,

divine power

power,

has granted

to us

all things

that pertain

to life

and godliness

through the

knowledge of

him who

called us

to his

own glory

and excellence

by which

he has

granted to

us his

precious

and very

great

promises

so that

through them

you may

become

partakers

of the

divine

nature,

having

escaped

from the

corruption

that is

in the

world

because

of sinful

desire.

God's

divine

power

is given

to you

and me

for all

things,

for life

and godliness.

Growing

in the

knowledge

of him,

he's given

us his

precious

promises

that we

might partake

of his

divine

nature.

All

God's

power

is at

work

to save

you,

to transform

you

into his

likeness.

So for

this very

reason,

God is

at work

in you.

You have

all his

help

to become

like him.

So for

this reason,

add virtue,

knowledge,

brotherly love

and so on.

He's at

work,

therefore

add these

things,

do these

things.

things.

That's

the basis,

what he

has done.

And then

if you

go,

look on

the other

side of

the text,

verse 12.

Therefore

I intend

always to

remind you

of these

qualities,

though you

know them

and are

established

in the

truth you

have.

He's not

talking to

people who

are out of

the faith,

he's saying

you're in

it.

God's

power is

at work,

therefore

join him

in that

transformation

process.

All this

should make

us re-examine

verse 10.

Have we

understood it

correctly?

Is it a

test that

you pass

or fail?

I don't

think it

is.

It's not.

Because if

it is a

test,

it would

be demanding

perfection.

And no

one can

pass that.

It's not

a test,

it's a

road map.

It's a

road map

of what we

should be

striving

towards.

Having been

saved through

the faith in

God's promises,

having God's

power on

our side,

verse 10

is saying

join God

in working

towards that

same goal

that he

is calling

you towards,

that he

is working

you towards.

It doesn't

mean you

have to take

great strides

each day in

becoming more

like Christ,

but if you're

stumbling in

that direction,

that same

direction,

that's evidence

that God is

at work

bringing you

towards

himself.

I think we

can get

confused here

because when

the Bible

talks about

salvation,

it can talk

about it in

three ways,

past,

present and

future.

So some

verses are

saying you

have been

saved,

Christ has

saved you,

you are

saved.

Other verses

are saying

when Christ

returns you

will be

saved.

Here is an

example where

a passage is

saying you

are being

saved.

And we're

meant to be

active in

that process.

God is

saving you

to transform

us to

become like

him,

sharing in

the divine

nature,

so let's

be active

in doing

that.

That's what

verse 10

is saying.

Get on

board with

what God

is already

doing inside

you.

It's not

a test,

it's a

roadmap to

say keep

striving towards

that.

An

unbeliever

doesn't have

that as

the goal.

But if

you want

that,

even though

you're so

aware of

failing that

so often,

if that's

your trajectory,

even though

you might

stumble one

day,

you might

even stumble

for a

period of

years,

but if

your overall

trajectory is

that you

want to

be with

God and

like him,

that is

great evidence

that God

is at

work in

you to

bring you

to himself.

So I

hope that

demonstrates

that when

texts

trouble you,

just slow

down,

pray,

get the

help of

other

Christians,

and just

make sure

you're

actually

hearing God

correctly.

So that's

the first

one,

troubling

texts.

Another

perspective

that can

help someone

who's

wrestling

with this

question

is

doubting

your

doubt.

Now,

how do

you do

that?

Just ask

questions of

where is

this question

coming from?

So for

me,

it makes

me think,

what kind

of person

asks this

question?

Can I

be sure

that I

am one

of the

elect?

This isn't

a theoretical

question.

I.

Can I

be sure

that I

am one

of the

elect?

It's

someone who

wants to

be saved.

But it's

someone who

for some

reason

thinks they're

not elect.

And the

only thing I

can think

of is

that they're

so aware

of their

own

failings.

Now,

who would

be aware

of their

own

failings?

Someone

who doesn't

want God

or someone

who does?

It's

someone who

does,

who would

be aware

of their

own

failings.

Or you

could ask

the question,

what does

a person

already

believe in

order to

ask the

question,

am I

one of

the elect?

They

already

believe that

the Bible

is the

authority on

this matter,

God's

word is

the

authority

on whether

you're

saved or

not.

They

already

believe in

sin,

that sin

is real

and that

it's a

big problem

that you're

going to be

saved or

not.

They

already

believe in

their sin

that they

need a

saviour.

They

already

believe in

this is

they already

believe in

Jesus,

that he

is the

saviour.

and they

already

believe that

their only

hope is if

God

sovereignly

works to

elect.

That's a

lot of

truths that

you're already

believing to

even ask

this question.

How else

can you

doubt your

doubt?

I'm looking

at the word

sure there.

Can I be

sure that I

am one of

God's elect?

How would

you go about

proving that?

What evidence

would you look

to to go,

okay, I'm

looking at

that, I'm

sure I'm

one of the

elect now.

It's got to

be irrefutable.

It's got to

be absolutely

rock solid.

If you're

looking to

your own

fruit, then

you would

need 100%

good fruit

for you to

be sure

you're one

of the

elect, if

fruit is the

measure of

being sure.

But then you

already know

that's not the

gospel.

you know it's

not by works,

but by

trusting.

So if it's

not our own

fruit, what

else could

make you

sure?

There's only

one thing

really that

could make

you sure

that you're

elect.

That's if

God says,

you are

elect.

I think

that's the

only place

that would

be solid

enough for

you to

go, I

must be

elect.

God says

so.

Which then

just pushes

us towards

faith.

Trusting,

not what

we do, but

him saying

so.

So there's

just a few

ways to

just doubt

your doubt.

Your doubt

can feel so

strong, but

when you ask

a few

questions of

it, it's

not as

strong as

you think.

Only

someone in

the arena

of faith

actually cares

about this

question.

You're

believing so

much of

the Bible

by even

asking this

question.

And it

drives you

towards not

looking at

your fruit,

but what

God says

is true.

So doubt

your doubt.

A third

way to be

thinking is

well,

maybe this

question isn't

a good

question.

Does God

want me to

ask this

question?

Can I be

sure that I'm

one of the

elect?

Is that

God's

question of

you and

I?

When we

hear the

gospel,

are we

meant to

think,

okay,

now I

need to

work out,

God wants

me to

work out,

is my

name written

in the

book or

not?

Am I

elect or

not?

Is God

asking us

that question?

Well,

where in

his word

does he

ask us

to work

that out

or not?

I can't

think of

anywhere.

You can

correct me

if I'm

wrong,

but every

time election

is mentioned,

it's spoken

as words of

love from

God,

saying to

reassure

you,

you are

one of my

people.

And it's

spoken like

we saw in

2 Peter,

because you're

one of my

people,

strive to

become holy

like me,

because I'm

at work in

you.

It's never

spoken in

the Bible

as work

out if

you're

elect or

not.

Now,

why would

that be?

That's because

election is

God's business,

that's his

divine business,

that's what he

does in

salvation,

that's not

our responsibility.

And he

tells us

about that,

not for us

to do

anything with

it,

except be

reassured and

motivated to

keep striving.

So what

question does

God ask us

to answer?

What's our

responsibility?

And this is

where we come

to Simon's

question that

you guys were

discussing

before I

started.

So when it

comes to the

doctrines of

grace,

these are

wonderful truths

of the Bible.

They are

central in the

Bible.

They are

central in

understanding

salvation.

And so as a

church, we

want to keep

them central.

They're

beautiful truths

that we can

rest in God's

sovereignty in

our salvation.

But do you

need to believe

in total

depravity to be

saved?

No.

believe in

sin, you

don't need to

believe that to

be saved.

Do you

need to

believe in

the irresistible

call of the

Holy Spirit to

be a Christian?

The call of the

gospel, yes,

but the

irresistible

call, no,

you don't have to

believe that to be

a Christian.

Do you

need to

believe in

Christ's

particular

redemption to

be a

Christian?

That Christ is

the only way to

be redeemed,

yes, but in

particular redemption,

no.

Do you

need to believe in

the preservation of

the saints to be

saved?

that a

Christian needs

to make it to

the end

believing, yes,

but that that's

guaranteed, you

don't actually have

to believe that to

be saved.

Do you

need to believe in

unconditional

election to be a

Christian and be

saved?

No.

Now let me

reiterate, these

are beautiful

truths.

I wouldn't give

them up in a

moment.

I pray anyway.

These are

beautiful truths.

We want to keep

them central in

our church.

But there are

other Christians,

evangelical

Christians, who

don't believe

these points.

Now that, and

we should call

them brothers and

sisters because

they look to

Jesus' death and

resurrection alone

to save them.

They are

Christians.

Now that should

make us stop and

think, is

wondering if I'm

elect or not, is

that a good

question?

question or what

is the most

fundamental question

that God is

asking us to

answer when we

hear the gospel?

Let's look at a

few passages to

illustrate what that

question is, what's

our responsibility.

So Acts 13, 48.

Paul is preaching to

a crowd about who

Jesus is, what he

has done, and then

Luke makes this

observation.

When the Gentiles

heard this, they

began rejoicing and

glorifying the word of

the Lord, and as

many as were

appointed to eternal

life, believed.

Now, these non-Jews who

believed, were they

asked to work out if

they were appointed to

eternal life?

No, I doubt they were

even aware of that at

this stage.

That's Luke's divinely

inspired interpretation of

why they believed.

What was their

responsibility to work

out?

They heard from Paul who

Jesus is, what he has

done.

The question they

needed to work out was,

will I believe this or

not?

Will I trust this?

How will you respond

to Jesus?

That's the question that

you and I have to ask.

That's the question God

asks of us and we have

to answer.

Or consider the thief on

the cross.

He has minutes to live.

What question is he

confronted with, with

Jesus hanging beside

him?

He doesn't have time to

go into the depths of

God's sovereignty and

salvation.

Yet Jesus says, today

you'll be with me in

paradise.

From this man's words,

we hear that he says

two things.

Remember me when you

enter your kingdom.

Your kingdom.

He recognises that

Jesus is king and he

asks for mercy.

Remember me.

I deserve to die.

Remember me.

Give me mercy.

Jesus is king.

Give me mercy.

That's the question.

He was responding,

what are you going to

do with Jesus, says

God.

And the thief on the

cross says, you are

king.

Please give me mercy.

That's the question of

the gospel.

Not are you elect?

What are you going to

do with Jesus?

Or John 5, 24.

Truly, truly, truly, I

say to you, whoever

hears my word and

believes him who sent

me has eternal life.

This is Jesus speaking.

He does not come into

judgment, but has passed

from death to life.

He who believes has

crossed from death to

life based on believing.

So the question of the

gospel isn't, are you

elect?

The question of the

gospel is, what are you

doing with Jesus?

Are you trusting him?

Are you looking to him as

your only hope?

Because if you are, you

have crossed over from

death to life.

So that's the third way we

need to be talking to

ourselves.

What question is God

asking us?

Am I, how am I

responding to Jesus?

The fourth one is to do

with self-reflection,

self-evaluation.

When we look inside

ourselves into our mind and

desires and feelings, and

when we look, we just don't

see much excitement for

God, but instead we just

see all this sinful muck.

What do we do with that?

What do we do?

At first we can

rationalise that and go,

well, I'm a sinner and

therefore I need to be

saved.

But if we keep our eyes

fixed on ourselves and

just see all the muck, it

just becomes overwhelming.

You're not seeing any

change.

If your gaze is just

fixed within yourself, you're

so desperate to want

improvement.

But the problem is, because

you want improvement, you're

just so sensitive to your own

failings.

What do we do?

Is there a better way to be

self-reflective?

Because I think doing that is

like sitting in a dark room,

straining your eyes to see some

skerrick of light within

yourself.

But it's not going to come.

All you're going to find is

darkness if you just stay here.

There's got to be a better way to

do it.

The better way is to open a

window.

I'm not sure if this picture is

going to work or not.

Open a window and let some

light in.

In other words, don't use

yourself as the reference

point.

You need an external reference

point.

You need God's grace to speak

into you, not just keep

looking at yourself.

The Lord doesn't want us to

stay staring at our own failings

of faith or obedience.

He wants us to look at the

light, at Christ, his

forgiveness, his divine help,

his relational warmth.

We need him pouring into us.

Now, can I pause and say that

some people don't look inside

enough.

Some people just almost make a

habit of not looking inside.

Their problem will be a

superficial understanding of sin

and of God's holiness and

therefore of God's wonderful

grace.

But that's not this person's

problem if you're asking this

question this morning.

We should be looking inside.

The light of the gospel exposes

more darkness within us.

But don't live there.

Don't stay there.

Don't set up camp within

yourself.

When you see darkness, that's

meant to drive us to want

light.

So don't have yourself as the

reference point.

Have Christ as the reference

point.

And we do that by his word

pouring into us.

And I think his word can pour

into us through the community

of the church and his word,

obviously, his written word.

We need his light flooding

into us.

So don't just live within

yourself.

We need to be feeding off his

word, his promises, his

gospel.

So let's do that for the

remaining time, shall we?

We've come to the last

point.

Don't dwell on what you have

or haven't done.

Dwell on what God has done.

That's the reference point.

That's the light that floods

in.

So please turn back to

Ephesians as we finish.

We'll spend our remaining time

here.

So just jumping to 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.

Paul starts not by looking

within ourselves, but looking

to what God has done.

This is a...

I love this passage.

If you're allowed to have

favourites, I think this is my

favourite chapter in the Bible.

It's...

It's...

It's...

It's awesome.

Now, every spiritual

blessing...

I used to think, okay,

that's cool.

I've got this undefined

spiritual blessing somewhere

up there that I suppose I'll

see one day.

I don't know what that is.

That's not what Paul's

saying here.

He goes on to define what

we have, what that blessing

we've received.

Verses 4 to 14.

At this point, I want to

hand it over to you.

Not talking to the person

next to you, but I want to

practice focusing on letting

the light in.

So, I'm going to give you a

minute just to write down,

and we'll start with that

first question on the

outline.

I want you to list all the

ways the Father has given

you every spiritual blessing.

How has the Father blessed

you?

Just list it.

So, let me give you a

minute to do that.

Okay, I'd love to hear...

Let's just do this really

quickly.

I'd love to hear some input

from some...

Whoever.

Let's just work through

this together.

What has he done?

What has the Father done,

given us?

Just call out.

Verse 4.

He chose us before the

foundation of the world.

He chose us.

It was his initiative.

Okay, what else?

Sorry, Will.

I'm just going to go with

the first one, adoption.

Yes, he's adopted us as

his sons.

He's called us to the praise

of his glorious grace.

Can I go back there?

He's predestined us.

He's decided beforehand,

I'm going to save you.

You're going to be on a path

of destruction, but I'm going

to intervene.

You are going to be adopted.

You're going to be one of mine.

And even before that, that we

should be holy and blameless

before him.

I think we can feel pressure

there.

I need to be holy and blameless.

That's true, but this is a

commitment here.

God is determined to make us

holy and blameless.

This is more a promise here than

anything.

Okay, what else?

Verse 7.

Thank you, Will.

I'm just trying to get lots of

input.

Verse 7.

He's redeemed us through his

blood.

We were caught in sin.

He's bought us.

We belong to him now.

He's redeemed us through his

blood.

Okay, forgiveness of our

trespasses.

Verse 9.

Yeah, he's made known to the

mystery of his will.

He's told us where the world's

heading, that everything is going

to be united in Christ.

We're not aimless and purposeless

in this world.

We know where it's heading.

He's got a good plan and we

know it.

We can live in line with that.

We can get on board with it.

Yeah, verse 6.

Accepted in the beloved.

Yep.

Okay, verse 11.

Obtained an inheritance.

Again, we've got that

predestined.

I think verse 12 there.

To the praise of his glory.

I think that's a gift as well.

We have a great purpose.

It's a purpose outside ourselves.

It's to the praise of his glory.

Even that is a gift.

What about verse 13?

Yeah, we're not alone, are we?

The word here is, it's like a

pledge.

It's like God has given us a down

payment of eternal life.

His Holy Spirit himself.

Eternal life has begun.

I would argue as well in verse 13

that when you heard the word of

truth, even hearing the word of

truth, I would argue from other

parts of scripture that God sends us

the gospel.

Even that is a gift.

Okay.

Let's do that again.

Can I give you another minute?

What part does Jesus have to play in

all this?

And you're going to see in him, through him.

I would really love you to write it down

every single time.

So can I give you another minute?

What part does Jesus have to play?

Okay, there's probably not quite a minute.

I'm conscious of the time here.

Instead of getting responses, I'm just going to

read all the times.

I'm not going to read all the verses, but in him,

through Jesus Christ, blessed us in the beloved.

In him, we have redemption.

Through his blood, we know the plan that he set forth in

Christ.

Christ is the one bringing about this plan.

And Christ is the object of our faith.

In him, we are included.

That we hope in Christ.

It's just in him, through him.

It's just all about Christ.

It's everything we receive from the Father is in Jesus.

It doesn't come to us by another means.

It's in Jesus.

Okay, one last one, and this one should be really

quick.

What part do we have to play in all this,

in salvation?

What part do we have to play?

I can only see two things in verses 12 and 13.

Put our hope in Christ and believe the gospel.

I think they're describing the same reality there.

It's all him.

It's just putting our hope in him.

It's a beautiful passage.

Salvation is by God.

Dwell on what he has done, not what we have or haven't done.

Let the light in.

If you are sure, in and of yourself, you have no hope of

entering heaven based on what you do.

If you have any hope, it's got to be only what God gives you in

Jesus.

Then whether you believe it or not, whether you feel confident or not,

in a sense, it doesn't matter whether you feel confident or not in that.

But if your only hope is in Jesus, God says,

your name is written in the book of life.

This might plague you, but know God's love.

He speaks these words of love for us.

Your name is written in the book of life.

You will receive a warm welcome.

Why don't we pray to finish?

Would you pray?

Lord, we praise you for just your goodness, your patience with us,

that you are the one who guarantees that we'll make it home to glory.

Lord, I pray again that you would be comforting the hearts of those

who are really wrestling with this personally.

Lord, we know that no one can snatch us out of your hand.

Your hand is too strong.

So I pray that you might, in your good time,

give them peace and rest in you.

But Lord, we thank you that ultimately it doesn't come down to our sense of

assurance, but it comes down to the fact that you are a faithful God

in that we do, that we are secure.

So we praise you for that.

In Jesus' name, amen.