Church, Praise The Holy Spirit

Our sermon passage for today is Ephesians chapter 1, verses 11 through 14.

Ephesians 1:11–14

! This is the third and final section of this glorious doxology with which Paul opens up this letter.

!

We focused on the Father, then we focused on the Son.

Now, today, we have the joy of keeping our focus on praising God on the Holy Spirit.

Please follow along, verses 11 through 14.

God's inspired, inerrant, infallible, clear, sufficient word for you and me.

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 whom 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.

The word of God for the people of God.

Thanks be to God.

Please be seated.

The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of the Lord stands forever.

Let's pray.

Oh Lord, we praise You that You have created all things by Your Holy Spirit who goes forth to accomplish Your will.

We praise You that Your Holy Spirit has breathed out the very words of the Bible,

and it's Your Holy Spirit who now helps the preacher and helps Your beloved church to receive the word as from Christ,

the living word of God the Creator.

And it's Your Holy Spirit who takes the gospel as it is preached

and does the miraculous work of bringing life to those who are dead,

causing the blind to see, the deaf to hear,

the good news of Jesus Christ to save sinners like us.

Lord, we confess we are powerless on our own.

We pray for Your glory that Your Holy Spirit will work in power through Your word as it is preached.

Amen.

Well, here in Colorado, we're about as far as you can get from the ocean,

but picture that you traveled east or west or south to one of the bodies of water,

the Gulf of Mexico, the Pacific Ocean or the Atlantic Ocean,

and there you are standing looking out over it all.

And then someone hands you a little match box.

You're going to take that match, scrape it on the box,

and you throw it out into the ocean.

How long until that match is extinguished by this great body of water?

That match probably doesn't even have a chance of hitting the water, does it?

The vapor, the mist from the ocean spraying up will probably put it out.

A pastor from centuries ago named John Owen,

in reflecting on the Holy Spirit, marveled with that illustration in mind.

Quote,

among all the glorious works of God,

next unto that of redemption by Jesus Christ,

my soul does most admire this of the Spirit,

in preserving the seed and principle of holiness in us,

as a spark of living fire,

in the midst of the ocean,

against all corruption and temptations,

wherewith it is assaulted, attacked, and fought against.

That's the end of Owen's quote.

Do you get what he's saying?

He's saying next to the redemption that Christ accomplished,

it's the work of the Spirit

to keep a faith in Christ alive inside of me.

The Holy Spirit protects that small spark of spiritual life

inside believers like you and me,

keeping it burning like a match

in the midst of a massive ocean of sin and trials

all around the Christian.

Isn't that marvelous?

So beloved congregation of our Lord Jesus Christ,

today I invite you along with Paul

who invites the church in Ephesus

and every church that will read this,

we have the joy of praising the Holy Spirit together.

In this passage we'll see four reasons to praise God,

focused on the person of the Holy Spirit.

I'll give them to you quickly so you know what they are

and you can see them, verses 11 through 14.

Number one, it's the Holy Spirit

who is working all things.

Number two, it's the Holy Spirit

who leads you and me to trust in Christ.

Number three, it's the Holy Spirit

who seals you and me in Christ.

And four, it's the Holy Spirit

who guarantees your inheritance in Christ.

So church, praise the Holy Spirit.

Praise the Holy Spirit.

Number one, praise God the Holy Spirit

who works all things according to God's will.

Look at verse 11.

His flow through each person of the Trinity continues,

saying,

In Him also we have obtained an inheritance

being predestined according to the purpose

of Him who works all things

according to the counsel of His will.

Well, how do we know the focus

is now shifting to the Holy Spirit?

Well, we're told this in verse 13.

Let your eyes drop down to verse 13.

This is the work of the Holy Spirit who seals you.

But also, when He says in verse 11,

Him who works all things.

This is how the rest of the Bible teaches us

the Holy Spirit works.

This is what is ascribed to the third person

of the triune God.

The Holy Spirit works all things

according to the counsel of God's will.

Think of, for example, Genesis 1.26.

The triune God, here's His will.

He says in the first person plural,

Let us make man in our image, in our likeness.

That's the will of the one God.

And then how does the Bible describe

the way that God did that?

The rest of the Bible says it's the Holy Spirit

who accomplishes this.

Psalm 104.30 says,

You send forth your spirit.

They are created.

You renew the face of the earth.

Alluding back to the description in Genesis,

how there's the face of the earth

covered in this deep, chaotic water.

And the Spirit of God hovers over it,

bringing forth the creation.

Job 33.4 says,

It's the Spirit of God who made me

and the breath of the Almighty who gives me life.

The Holy Spirit is the person who works all things

according to the counsel of God's will.

1 Corinthians 12.11 says,

It is the one and same Spirit who is in each believer

who works these things.

Specifically, he says,

It's the Spirit who works all these good gifts

from the Father within the local church,

the local body,

for the good of God's people.

In verse 11, we read that,

In Him, in God,

through Jesus Christ,

we are,

the words here are literally,

we are assigned an inheritance.

inheritance.

It's a verb that refers to,

to casting a lot,

to being assigned an inheritance,

to be given a portion.

For the people in the church

that were familiar with the Old Testament,

and for us as well,

this is the way that

the division of the promised land was described.

So in the book of Joshua,

God leads them into the promised land

and there's a casting of lots.

But that's a way of saying,

it's not for any tribes to fight with one another,

we're going to trust the Lord

will assign the portion to each one.

And that's how he describes

our union to Christ.

We are assigned as an inheritance to Christ.

Believers are claimed

as Jesus Christ's allotted portion.

His name, Jesus, is Yeshua.

It's Joshua.

He comes to fulfill this,

this apportioning,

and we are the ones that he takes

as his gift from God.

Verse 11 goes on,

having been predestined.

Here's this word one more time.

So this word was used earlier

in describing how the Father,

God the Father,

elected you.

He predestined you for adoption.

And now in describing the Spirit

going forth and working all things,

we're told,

who is it that the Spirit

calls and regenerates?

It's the same group of people,

those whom God foreordained,

whom he determined in advance,

who he marked out beforehand.

And that word is fascinating.

I learned this week,

it comes from two words

being put together.

The first word is pro,

which means before.

The second word,

it's going to sound familiar in English,

it's horizon.

And it's where we get the word for horizon.

So it means that

the boundary markers of the horizon,

where this line will stop,

has been determined before.

See what he's saying

is that the Holy Spirit

is accomplishing,

he's applying,

he's working out

those borders,

those boundaries

that God decreed long ago.

God drew out

the lines of human destiny.

Who would believe in him?

Who would hear his gospel?

Who would believe in Christ

and trust in him

before time even began?

And that's the purpose

that the Holy Spirit

is now going forth to accomplish.

He does this,

verse 11 says,

according to the purpose

of him who works all things.

According to the purpose,

that's the plan.

It's God's design,

his decree.

I love how the Holy Spirit

is called here,

him who works all things.

It's really like one combined term

describing the Holy Spirit.

We could say this is a name

for the Holy Spirit.

Word for word,

it would read like this.

The all things working one.

That's the Holy Spirit.

The all things working one.

Who is operating,

who's making effectual,

and who's producing everything

according to the counsel,

the purpose,

the intent

of the triune God.

According to God's will.

It's literally according

to God's desire,

his inclination,

his pleasure.

You see how the Holy Spirit

is described in Scripture?

The Holy Spirit

actively orchestrates

all things

that God has ordained.

He orchestrates

the daily steps

each of his people will take,

even before they believe.

He is the one

who opens doors

for ministry

at some points in time

and closes them

at other times.

The Holy Spirit

is the person

working out

God's counsel

in time and space.

Paul knew this

when he's describing

the Holy Spirit

as the one

who is working out

all things

according to God's counsel.

He knew how active

the Holy Spirit

was in doing this.

We read in Acts 19

how that's when

Paul first traveled

to Asia Minor

and arrived at Ephesus.

But there was a close call

where he wanted

to go to Ephesus sooner.

It's three chapters

before that.

We read in Acts 16

Acts 16:6

verses 6 and 7

now when they had gone

through the region

of Galatia

they were forbidden

by the Holy Spirit

to preach the word

in Asia.

Remember Ephesus

is the gateway

to all of Asia.

So Paul and Luke

and their company

tried to go

into Ephesus once.

Then they tried

to go to another city

but the Spirit

did not permit them.

So I looked up

how much time

would have passed

between Acts 16

and Acts 19

when they actually

did arrive in Ephesus.

And it's four

to five years.

Well we just celebrated

recently this church

being planted

four years ago.

And you might think

back on your own life

four years ago

ten years ago

and I find myself

doing this

because I'm not wise.

God is all wise.

But we can easily

look back and think

man why didn't

this or that

and we can start

to question ourselves

and wish we could

have done things

differently.

At least that's

how I do in my flesh.

Paul could have

done that with Ephesus.

He could have said

man I wish I could

have gotten to Ephesus

five years ago.

Maybe it felt like

even a waste of time

here I'm doing

these other

getting beat up

thrown in prison.

No this was God's

decree and it was

the Holy Spirit

orchestrating

working all things.

So that when it

was time

Paul would arrive

in Ephesus

he would preach

the gospel

he would make

disciples for

two or three years

the Lord would

plant a church

this church

would be a

demonstration of

the power of God

toppling over the

demons that had

a hold of that city

to the whole city

is now praising

the demon God

and we have a

spiritual battle

over Ephesus.

That was the moment

that the Spirit

orchestrated

the right time

to apply the gospel

so that those

believers in that

city at that time

would hear and

believe.

Isn't it glorious

how Father, Son, and

Holy Spirit

all accomplish

their will

each fulfilling

this beautiful

ministry

to redeem us.

What the Father

purposed

the Son

executed

and the Spirit

works out.

all that the

Father

willed

the Son

accomplished

and the Holy

Spirit

applies.

The Spirit

arranges all

things for the

salvation

of those

that the Son

redeemed

to ensure

that God's

counsel

would be

realized.

Isn't this

glorious church?

This is how

Father, Son, and

Spirit work

to ensure

that you

will be

adopted

by the

Father

in every

aspect of

the Christian

life

from the

moment

that you

first heard

the gospel

explained to

you

to the

final breath

that you

and I

take on

this earth.

It happens

by the

active

work

of the

Holy Spirit

who works

all things

according to

the counsel

of God.

Praise

God

the Holy

Spirit

church

who works

all things

according

to

God's

will.

Number

two,

praise

God

the Holy

Spirit

who

leads

you

to

trust

in

Christ.

Praise

God

the Holy

Spirit

who

leads

you

and

me

to

trust

in

Christ.

Look

with me

at

verse 12

and the

beginning

of verse

13

next.

According

to the

counsel of

God's

will

that we

who

first

trusted

in

Christ

should

be to

the praise

of his

glory.

Verse

13

says

in

him

you

also

trusted

after

you

heard

the

word

of

truth

the

gospel

of

your

salvation

in

whom

also

having

believed.

You

and I

can only

understand

the

gospel

if it's

revealed

to us

directly

by

the

Holy

Spirit.

It's

the Holy

Spirit

who must

lead

you and

me

to

trust

in

Christ.

Paul

says

the Spirit

is working

all

things

according

to

the

counsel

of

God's

will

and

part

of

that

working

resulted

in

Paul

as a

Jew

believing

and

now

it's

also

resulting

in

the

Gentiles

the

people

of

Ephesus

receiving

the

gospel

trusting

in

Christ.

1 Corinthians

2

9 and

10

confirms

how

we

cannot

believe

without

the Spirit

leading

us to

trust

in

Christ.

Here

Paul

writes

He's

saying that

it's the

Holy

Spirit

who

shines

a light

on us.

He

illumines

us.

He

reveals

the

glory

of

God,

the

righteousness

of

Christ,

our

sin,

our

need

for

a

Savior

and

He's

the

one

who

draws

us

to

God

to

trust

in

Him.

It's

the

Holy

Spirit

who

leads

you

and

me

in

this

way.

Jesus

had

already

declared

this

is

how

you

will

believe.

In

John

John 16:7

16

verses

7

and

8

and

14

Jesus

told

His

disciples

the

helper

this

is

referring

to

the

Holy

Spirit

he

will

come

to

you

after

I

depart

I

will

send

Him

to

you

and

when

He

has

come

He

will

convict

the

world

of

sin

and

of

righteousness

and

of

judgment

He

will

glorify

me

for

He

will

take

of

what

is

mine

and

declare

it

to

you.

So

when

you

hear

the

gospel

this

is

because

Jesus

Christ

sent

the

Holy

Spirit

to

declare

and

minister

the

gospel

to

you

as

a

helper

as

one

who

will

advocate

!

to

draw

us

to

God

to

lead

us

to

trust

in

Christ

in

Acts

Acts 16:14

16

verses

14

we

get

another

example

of

how

God

does

this

Lydia

heard

us

preaching

Luke

wrote

and

then

he

records

by the

inspiration

of the

Holy

Spirit

the

Lord

opened

her

heart

to

heed

to

pay

attention

to

the

things

spoken

by

Paul

and

Lydia

believed

and

he

says

the

same

thing

now

of

the

church

having

heard

the

word

of

truth

the

gospel

of

your

salvation

you

believed

also

having

heard

this

to

believe

the

gospel

we

must

hear

it

listen

to

it

understand

it

by

the

ministry

of

the

spirit

and

then

his

spirit

will

cause

us

to

respond

with

faith

and

obedience

you

heard

the

word

of

truth

the

gospel

of

your

salvation

the

good

news

of

your

deliverance

your

preservation

your

safety

in

Christ

he

uses

the

word

gospel

here

evangelion

that's

where we

get the

word

evangel

evangelize

evangelize

I

learned

this

week

it

was

not

originally

a

religious

term

though

it

referred

to

official

imperial

announcements

so

back

in

Rome

if

the

new

Caesar

was

born

or

a

major

general

came

back

to

the

capital

announcing

a great

victory

in

battle

or

there's

been

a

change

in

power

now

a

new

ruler

has

taken

the

throne

each

of

those

would

be

an

occasion

to

send

the

messengers

out

and

declare

the

evangelion

the

good

news

the

big

breaking

news

for all

to hear

across

the

empire

well

the

news

for the

church

the

gospel

is

the

gospel

of

your

salvation

this

is

the

greatest

news

that

we

need

to

care

about

we

don't

care

about

what's

happening

at the

temple

of

Diana

or

to

Caesar

in

our

setting

we

don't

care

about

too

much

what's

going

on

with

oil

and

prices

of

gas

or

artificial

intelligence

or the

president

or the

elections

in

Colorado

in

November

we

don't

even

care

too

much

about

the

Broncos

the

news

we

care

about

here

in

the

church

is

the

gospel

of

Jesus

Christ

there's

no

greater

announcement

there's

no

greater

word

of

truth

to

declare

Jesus

was

born

Jesus

won

the

battle

Jesus

ascended

on

high

Jesus

rules

over

his

church

and

it's

the

Holy

Spirit

who

trusts

you

and

me

to

receive

and

embrace

and

rejoice

and sing

about

this

great

gospel

news

Jesus

said

to

Nicodemus

in

John

3

no

one

can

believe

unless

they

are

first

born

of

the

Spirit

1

Corinthians

12

3

no

one

can

say

that

Jesus

is

Lord

except

by

the

Holy

Spirit

church

praise

God

the

Holy

Spirit

who

leads

you

and

me

to

trust

in

Christ

number

three

praise

the

Holy

Spirit

of

promise

who

seals

you

in

Christ

praise

the

Holy

Spirit

of

promise

who

seals

you

in

Christ

verse

13

continues

having

believed

you

were

sealed

with

the

Spirit

of

promise

other

translations

also

handle it

very well

by saying

the

promised

Holy

Spirit

Jesus

said

I

will

send

you

my

spirit

the

spirit

of

promise

we

read

in

Acts

2

33

that

having

been

exalted

to

the

right

hand

of

God

and

having

received

from

the

Father

the

promise

of

the

Holy

Spirit

he

poured

out

his

spirit

which

you

now

see

and

hear

so

the

Holy

Spirit

was

promised

to

Christ

and

Christ

now

from

his

session

seated

at

the

right

hand

of

God

sends

forth

his

spirit

to

his

church

he

uses

this

language

of

as

the

spirit

is

poured

out

on

the

church

on

those

who

believe

in

Christ

they

are

now

sealed

it

means

you

are

stamped

you

are

marked

you

are

secure

how

is

this

so

it's

with

the

spirit

of

promise

the

spirit

there

it's

it's

the

wind

the

breath

of

God

the

inner

life

the

spirit

of

God

himself

now

who

rests

on

his

people

making

them

God's

holy

ones

in

whom

he

can

dwell

that

verb

to be

sealed

to the

people

of

Ephesus

would

have

had a

big

importance

to

them

it

would

have

reminded

them

of

how

they

trade

with

other

nations

and

you

can

picture

yourself

being

on

a

big

ship

in

the

middle

of

the

Mediterranean

ocean

and

on

this

ship

are

a

bunch

of

logs

that

were

chopped

down

somewhere

north

of

Israel

by

the

Phoenicians

maybe

and sent

on

this

ship

to be

brought

to

Asia

Minor

and

to

know

who

owned

this

lumber

who

owned

this

good

that's

being

sent

to

another

place

they

would

take

either

a

piece

of

clay

that

was

still

wet

and

soft

or

wax

and

they

would

bind

the

ropes

with

that

seal

and

on

that

wax

that

was

soft

or

the

clay

they

would

take

a

signet

ring

of

the

owner

and

mark

it

that

meant

three

things

it

meant

ownership

authenticity

and

security

no one

gets to

come and

steal

this

lumber

this

product

that's

being

shipped

it's

authentic

from

that

region

that

you

bought

it

from

and

those

that

are

in

charge

of

the

shipping

have

to

keep

it

secure

all

the

way

and

he

takes

this

term

that

the

Ephesians

know

about

and

he

says

that's

what

the

Holy

Spirit

does

in

you

the

church

the

Holy

Spirit

seals

you

who

are

in

Christ

you

bear

God's

mark

of

ownership

by the

Spirit

in

you

we

have a

special

blessing

a special

privilege

because

after

Christ

completed

his work

and

breathed

out

the

Holy

Spirit

the

ministry

of the

Holy

Spirit

is

it's

the

same

spirit

from the

old

covenant

to the

new

but

what's

new

about

the

new

covenant

is

that

the

Spirit

has

been

poured

out

over

the

church

in a

way

that

the

church

is

the

corporate

temple

of

God

wherever

we

gather

to

meet

in

his

name

he

is

with

us

the

church

by

the

ministry

of

the

spirit

unites

us

in a

special

spiritual

way

as

the

habitation

of the

holy

God

the

Holy

Spirit

encourages

us

in a

special

way

that

Paul knew

about as

well

in

Philippians

119

he knew

it was

the

spirit

in him

that was

preserving

him

sustaining

him

God

owns

him

God

will

keep

him

secure

to the

very

end

and

Paul

wrote

all

things

referring

to his

trials

and

suffering

will

turn

out

for

my

deliverance

how

by

the

supply

of

the

spirit

of

Jesus

Christ

in

me

and

this

is

the

blessing

we

have

of

belonging

to

him

being

sealed

by

him

now

I

know

that

for

some

of

us

these

have

been

hard

weeks

life

has

felt

unstable

we've

been

shocked

and

reminded

how

unpredictably

things

can

turn

and

if

you

are

in

Christ

he

is

your

only

comfort

in

life

and

in

death

and

his

spirit

reminds

you

again

and

again

and

again

you

belong

to

him

he

owns

you

you're

secure

in

him

that's

the

seal

of

the

Holy

Spirit

in

you

the

Holy

Spirit

is

never

surprised

never

overwhelmed

never

out of

control

and

it's

this

powerful

Holy

Spirit

of

God

that

dwells

in

you

and

me

his

people

he

causes

us

to

trust

the

truth

that

Christ

owns

me

by

his

sealing

work

the

spirit

in

you

and

me

causes

us

to

trust

that

our

adoption

in

Jesus

Christ

is

authentic

it

can't

be

taken

away

from

us

by

his

sealing

work

the

Holy

Spirit

causes