Church, Praise The Beloved Redeemer!

Joy to proclaim this to you. I want to read a bigger passage, verses 3-14 first,! And then we'll zero in on our sermon passage for today, which is only verses 6-10.

! Hear the Word of God. It says, inspired, inerrant, infallible, clear, sufficient, powerful word for you and me, his people.

Ephesians 1, starting at verse 3. 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, 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.

In love, he predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will, to the praise of the glory of his grace, by which he made us accepted in the Beloved.

In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace, which he made to abound toward us in all wisdom and prudence, having made known to us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure, which he purposed in himself, that in the dispensation of the fullness of the times, he might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven and which are on earth in him.

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, that we who first trusted in Christ should be to the praise of his glory.

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, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession to the praise of his glory.

The word of God for the people of God. Thanks be to God. Please be seated. Oh Lord, we rest in the promise that Jesus Christ, our Redeemer, lives to intercede for his people.

We rest on the promise, Lord, that through his churches, his word, his gospel goes forth. And by the ministry of the Holy Spirit, it works with power.

Lord, we pray along with Christ that his word will work powerfully in his people today. Lord, you may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may That your Holy Spirit will cause those who are blind to see Jesus.

Those who are deaf to hear the good news for themselves. Those who are in slavery, Lord, to send captive in bondage. That the gospel of Jesus will work with power and set them free.

Those who are orphans, hopeless in this world. Lord, in darkness, Lord, that your Holy Spirit will draw in Christ to yourself, into your family.

Please do this, Lord, for his precious namesake, for your glory. Amen. Amen. There is a love that is so deep.

Words can't explain it. There is a love that you feel that can only come from heaven. Do you know this love I'm speaking of?

There are times where God's people are moved to tears. With a love from God, a love from Christ. And I know it's from heaven because it would make no sense according to our flesh.

No sense according to the world. There are times when the Lord will so stir the hearts of his people for one another. And it's because God so much loves his people that way.

Some of us have known this love even thinking of our missionaries or reading a report from one of them. Some of you, you've told me, you've been moved to tears this week. Out of love for one another.

Concern for one another within the body of Christ. This is the love that is put on display in the person of Jesus Christ in this passage.

Our focus is verses six through ten. Notice how how our focus now moves from God the Father. Up to verse six to God the Son.

And look with me one more time at verse six. How God the Son is described. Up to verse six, we're told that God the Father chose us in him, in Jesus Christ, before the foundation of the world.

He predestined us to be adopted in Jesus Christ. Verse six, why did he do this? It's to the praise of the glory of his grace by which he made us accepted.

Notice how he calls God the Son. In the beloved. Jesus Christ, the beloved, is our great focus for today.

And in these verses six through ten, Paul gives us at least four reasons why we can praise God through Jesus Christ. I'd like to walk us through these one by one today, starting right here on verse six.

Praise the beloved in whom God accepts you. Praise the beloved in whom God accepts you. You may be wondering if you really are accepted by God today.

On the other hand, we may have a false sense that we are accepted by God when we have no right to claim that. Satan has these these two lies that are really stemming from the same deception.

The first lie is this. God can never accept me because fill in the blank. About me. But here's the second lie.

You might think, of course, God accepts me because blank. About me. Both of these lies are from hell.

And both are deceiving us with the same trick. They deceive because they begin with a faulty premise. The premise is this, that your life, whether you're focused on what you think is good or what you think is so bad, is what determines your acceptance by God.

This way of thinking is robbing the beloved of God, Jesus Christ, of the glory that he deserves instead of you and me. Look at verse six one more time.

God made us accepted on what basis? What are the next three words in yours? He made us accepted in the beloved.

Beloved to the praise of the glory of his grace. Well, let's focus on that for a moment. How is this something for which we are to praise God?

That we are to praise God, focused on the person of Jesus Christ, because we are accepted in him whom God calls the beloved. So God is the lover.

Christ is the recipient of God's love. The one from whom love flows is God. And that's because the Bible tells us in first John 416, God is love.

God is so loving, so holy, so pure that he cannot love that which is evil. In a sweeping way, the object of God's love is and can only be the holy God himself.

But from this verse, we can see in a particular way, the object of God, the father's love is and can only be God, the son. This is how God, the son is described throughout all of scripture.

It's prophesied in Isaiah 41 one. We know this speaks of Christ because it's quoted in Matthew 12, 18. God says, behold, my servant whom I uphold, my elect one in whom my soul delights.

The servant, God, the son is the one in whom God delights in his soul, so to speak. Because God is infinite and holy, he can only rightly love a recipient of his love who is perfectly pure.

God can't love what is evil. God can't love what is sinful. So from all eternity, the perfect object of the father's delight is God, the son, his beloved.

Notice how when God, the son takes on flesh, this is exactly how the voice from heaven, the voice of God confirms him in his ministry.

At his baptism, God confirms that this man now, Christ Jesus of Nazareth, is the son of God in the flesh, the beloved of God.

Can you picture that scene there in the brown waters of the Jordan River? The beloved of God in the flesh is prepared to serve as the great high priest.

And in Matthew 3, God's voice comes from heaven saying, this is my beloved son in whom I am well pleased. Then at the transfiguration, God confirms that this man, Christ Jesus of Nazareth, is God, the son in the flesh, the beloved of God.

There at Mount Tabor, God gives the authority of Christ as the perfect prophet who alone can reveal God's wisdom in its full brilliance.

Matthew 17, Matthew 17, the voice of God declares, behold, and with a bright cloud overshadowing them, the voice comes out of the cloud saying, this is my beloved son in whom I am well pleased.

Hear him. So he's washed by the water to prepare him to serve as a priest. And now he's declared, this is my beloved. Hear him. He will serve as a prophet.

And the Holy Spirit confirms that this same man, Christ Jesus of Nazareth, is God, the son in the flesh, the beloved of God. And summing up his completed ministry, now sitting at the right hand of God, the father in John 335, we are told that the father loves the son and has given all things into his hand.

This is language of a king. All things given to Christ who rules from authority. We are to praise God through Jesus Christ, who from his baptism as our priest, his transfiguration as our prophet, and now in his heavenly exaltation, he reigns as the king of kings.

He stands as the only mediator who can carry God's love perfectly. Unblemished. The worthy recipient.

The beloved of the holy God. And the good news of our passage, praise the glory of God's grace. It's through Christ that we have been made accepted.

How? In Christ. The love that God has for Jesus Christ, his beloved, is now that same love coming with all the force of God on you, his people who are in him.

And this thought that the holy God who elected and predestined his church is is now viewing his people, you and me, blamelessly embraced, welcomed, accepted in the beloved before the face of the holy God.

With that thought at the end of verse six, it's like like popping off the cork of the next overflow of praise that comes from Paul's pen.

The next focus of doxology is is how this can be so. How can you and me be found accepted in his beloved and Jesus Christ?

And so he overflows into verse seven in him. We have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace.

Let's open up each of these phrases before we do. Put the first pin there on verse six. Our first reason to praise God through the person of Jesus Christ, the beloved, is because it's in him that God accepts you and me.

Praise the beloved in whom God accepts you. Now, here comes the second reason, starting at verse seven. Praise the beloved in whom we have redemption.

Praise the beloved in whom we have redemption. Verse seven calls Jesus Christ, the beloved, the one in whom we have redemption through his blood.

The word redemption, it can also be translated in English as deliverance. It means to buy something back or to ransom something. In these ancient times, you can picture the marketplace in Ephesus.

You would go to buy not just something made by goldsmith, not not just something that you could take back and use within your home as a vessel. You could go and buy a human being, a slave.

But first, you have to ransom them. You have to pay the price that the slave owner demands. To ransom something. It means to to move their status.

They were in captivity and bondage, but now they've been moved. They are now under new ownership. Their status is no longer in bondage to that slave master.

And he says we have redemption through his blood. The forgiveness of sins. That's what we're delivered from. That's what we're redeemed out of.

It's both the guilt and the power of sin. Sin. This passage tells us in verse seven that sin is bondage. Do you know that sin is bondage?

Every Christian is saying, at least in your heart, amen. May I never have to go back to that again. Sin is bondage. Sin is slavery.

Psalm 107.10 says, because we rebelled against the words of God. That's what sin is. Because we rebelled against the word of God.

We sat in darkness, in the shadow of death. Bound. Tied up. Chained down. In affliction. As with iron. Through Micah, chapter 6, verse 4.

God has promised. I buy back and bring up my people from slavery. He points to the story of the Exodus. How the nation of Israel was in captivity to Egypt.

And the Lord himself redeemed them from that house of bondage. This is the language. He's speaking to Jews mixed with Greeks. And he's bringing the weight of the Old Testament to bear on what Christ accomplished as redeemer.

As deliverer. In the beloved, Paul is preaching. In Jesus Christ, we have redemption. We have deliverance. And it's through his blood.

Redemption means we are emancipated from slavery. Redemption means we are released from captivity. Redemption means we are ransomed from bondage.

Redemption means we are released from slavery. In verse 7. We have redemption through his blood. The blood of Jesus Christ. The beloved of God. The forgiveness of sins. Do you know this forgiveness of sins?

Our sin problem is most likely deeper and worse than we understand. We are born in sin. We are guilty of sin even inside the womb of your mother.

And we are born carrying this curse of sin from Adam in the fall. And on top of that, every inclination of our own hearts is away from God.

It's toward evil. The problem of sin, the bondage of sin is so pervasive. The wages of your sin and mine are death.

What we deserve for our sin is for the blood to be let out of our bodies. Until there is no more life in that vessel of your body and mine.

You and I deserve this because we have sinned against the holy God. And God, in his righteousness, cannot justly pass over your sin and mine.

The price that we owe God must be paid in order for us to be ransomed. The problem for us is worse than that, though. Even if we were to pay for our sin with our own lives by dying for our sin, we still have failed to merit the eternal life.

Because God not only must punish sin, he must also have a people clothed in perfect righteousness. And none of us born under Adam's curse are capable of living a righteous life.

We cannot buy everlasting life for ourselves. God requires a sinless savior who will then also pay the penalty that sin deserves.

None may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may gracious he abounds in his mercy and he's pleased to declare what he has purpose to do all along in isaiah 61 1 which is we know it speaks of christ it's in it's called forth in luke 4 18 we're told the spirit of the lord has anointed me that servant that god prepared to preach good tidings to the poor he has sent me to heal the brokenhearted to proclaim liberty to the captives and the opening of the prison to those who are bound this is the mission of god the son the beloved it's to do what no man could do how is it that god the son the beloved accomplished this great plan of redemption that god prepared all along it's through his own life in the flesh and his blood shed for his people it's one thing if you have to see yourself bleed uh emergency nurse told us some people have a real phobia of blood but others have a real phobia of needles and the two are not the same she said her boyfriend works as a police officer and he sees blood a lot it doesn't bother him but when he sees a needle he he gets wheezy to see your own blood is is one thing but now to see one of your loved ones bleeding that's a whole different thing isn't it to see a loved one it's a horrible thought but i do invite you to go there because this is the gospel it's a bloody gospel because we need this i mean picture your beloved losing blood hemorrhaging unstoppably to the point of death first peter 1 18 and 19 says you church you have been redeemed not with corruptible things but with the blood the precious blood of christ as a lamb without blemish you see jesus christ the beloved of god lived a life that was sinless faultless righteous which god can bless and promise to bless and secure eternal life because of his obedience and jesus christ the beloved of god bled out before the face of god on the cross for the forgiveness of sins of his people this is the gospel you and i need the blood of jesus christ he has redeemed us with the precious blood of his beloved if you're sitting there wondering was his blood for me did he purchase me with this precious blood we need to ask this question looking at our passage

who is it that jesus christ ransomed who is it that he redeemed look at our passage starting at verse 3 he's writing to a local church gathered hearing the word of god and he says you are blessed with every spiritual blessing in verse 4 he tells the same people you were chosen in christ before the foundation of the world in verse 5 you were predestined to be adopted by him in verse 6 it's you you same ones who were accepted by him now verse 7 it's the audience has not changed the recipients of god's grace have not changed it's those same people that christ has redeemed it's the one that he has loved before time and space began in christ this is who christ has ransomed it was helpful for me in preparing to picture myself at that marketplace in ephesus and here's a row of slaves and i'm one of them i'm chained up and i'm standing there and the slave traders would would show the teeth i mean they treat human beings like like a horse you know test your strength we're told that christ actually ransomed from that row of captives those whom he loved those whom he predestined to be adopted actually purchased them with his blood if you put your faith in jesus christ today you don't need to wonder if you're the ones that he has done this for that he's purchased that he's claimed you trust in him because he purchased you with his precious blood he took you off of that row and said this one is my child i clothe this one with my own robes this one belongs to me see when we preach the redemption of jesus christ by his blood this can be taken in three different ways but only one fits with what the bible teaches the first way that does not fit is to say that the blood of christ was shed to save all human beings universally this is a false gospel it's a lie to say that love wins in the end you know in other words no one will receive the wrath and the judgment that they deserve for their sins outside of christ they'll still be forgiven there is no forgiveness outside of jesus christ that's universal redemption that's false the bible does not teach that we need to shut it down the second option is called hypothetical universalism and this basically says god didn't actually save anyone by the blood of christ it's like saying he paid the price but he just set it off over here and then whichever ones of these slaves want to come over and take the ransom price then they can be free that means he didn't actually ransom those people that he loved before the foundation of the world he didn't really redeem anything with his blood he just hypothetically made it available if you want to come grab it that does not fit what the bible teaches what the bible teaches is definite redemption definite atonement the blood of christ actually purchased you who trusted in him you are redeemed this made me want to study this wording very carefully in verse 7 he says we have redemption redemption

we have redemption that verb to have to have it can it can be translated in the three most common ways throughout all the new testament it can mean to hold something you actually hold this redemption it can mean to count something i'm counting the exact price he paid and it can mean to wear something to wear this redemption isn't that beautiful this is the relationship between the christian and the redemption that christ purchased with his blood here's how you have it we hold what christ secured for us truly we apprehend this we can have assurance of salvation in christ and the way you hold it is faith not looking to anything else it's my my poor beggars empty hands holding christ's promises of redemption we can have this redemption by by counting by seeing his blood and his wisdom is it's perfect he fully paid for all my sin there's nothing left not a penny left i owe him of good works not a not a single ounce of my blood that i need to go shed now i counted and his wisdom is perfect i am redeemed completely by christ and we can wear this redemption i'm a slave there dirty neglected injured he takes me as his child and washes me and heals my wounds and and robes me with his righteousness like that prodigal son i mean jesus told this parable the prodigal son before he even went to accomplish the redemption on the cross and there's the son loved by the father embraced clothed in his righteousness brought home wear this redemption that christ has purchased for you praise the beloved in whom we have redemption amen here's our third reason to praise god the son praise the beloved who reveals god's gracious will toward us praise the beloved who reveals god's gracious will toward us he says in verse 7 these are the the riches of his grace which he made to abound toward us other wonderful translation is he lavished upon us well paul has used that language speaking of allusions to the ceremonial law the blood of a perfect lamb the lamb of god and he's reminding them how christ fulfills all the promises of the old covenant and now he makes an allusion next to to ephesus i believe to the greco-roman world remember how ephesus was that international hub for trade people coming from all over east meets west and bringing their goods ephesus housed one of the largest ancient banks of the world and it was a bustling city with extravagant wealth from that great temple of diana where people would come from all over the world as tourists as that that providential provincial capital for asia of the roman empire he's saying you want to see wealth you want to see riches and abundance lavished don't go to the temple of diana don't go worship the demon god has come to meet with the church of god's people this is where the creator god lavishes he abounds in pouring out his riches the riches that he has stored up in the heavenlies upon his people in christ

to abound means that god's riches they excel toward you it's like opening up the floodgates and here come the the blessings of heaven flowing forth excelling gaining momentum and speed like an avalanche poured over god's people it all can also mean that may these riches of god's grace increase in you may they remain in you this is what it means to be lavish to abound it's never going to be a part of a christian's life that's lacking god's grace you can look here and there there's not a dry spot you are smothered in grace why us everyone must ask whether you're in ephesus or right here well let's recall the words of deuteronomy 7 and 8 because god does not change the lord did not set his love on you nor choose you to sum it up for any reasons based on you for you were the least of all people but because the lord loves you he loves you in the beloved he always has loved you in his beloved jesus christ now how do you and i enter the the treasure house of god's grace where his love runs toward you and grows in you and grips you with a fatherly embrace that he will never let go we read next in verse 8 here's how we go into this this treasure house it's through the wisdom and prudence that he's made known to us so he reveals this to us through christ pulling us deeper and deeper and deeper and deeper in he has shown christ's perfect fulfillment of the jewish ceremonial law and now he says it's all in all wisdom and prudence i believe this is alluding now to the greco roman reasoning of this church in ephesus which is mixed all wisdom and prudence all wisdom and prudence every wisdom anything that's that's wise anything that's prudent will be proved in christ for those who studied aristotle wisdom referred to eternal truths the overarching nature of things first principles so for the church this is saying come in and behold god's plan see the wisdom of god see the true nature of reality see god's purpose all along that's wisdom and then prudence refers to the practical judgment or discernment executing what all of this means in real life day to day it's the capacity to evaluate a situation to navigate different human affairs and take those wise principles of belonging to the kingdom of heaven and by the help of the spirit to apply them in a real world decision paul's emphasizing here that god does not merely reveal this grand plan of redemption but he also lavishes on his people the daily discernment we need to belong to him in the heavenlies while still walking here on earth he doesn't take us out of this fallen world but we taste by faith his grace now we are in the world but not of the world verse 9 says having made known having declared or certified to us the mystery of his will he's kept it veiled he's he's been

saving this great moment for the fullness of time and he's been promising it and and prophesying and casting shadows forward toward the substance which is coming Jeremiah 31 3 we're told that the Lord appeared to me of old see this has been God's revelation all along he says I have loved you with an everlasting love therefore with loving kindness I have drawn you see you can look back on all of God's word and it's always been pointing toward being loved by God in Christ this is what it's all built toward God makes this known to us the mystery of his will when we hear the word mystery in our Bibles it doesn't mean to hide something it's the opposite of that mystery is a form of revelation it's a loving unveiling of something that had been been wrapped up until the perfect moment you picture

God taking the most precious gift which is this that you were loved in his beloved and he now by faith by the ministry of the spirit he he pulls off the veil he uncovers this precious gift to you for his people to receive this this is how God will keep all of his promises in Jesus Christ and it's for me and it's for you who trust in him he did this we read in verse nine according to his good pleasure which he purposed in himself now if you're like me you want to touch stuff and see it for yourself look at verse nine I want to highlight three words the first one is this it's the mystery of his will that's the first one the will of God number two according to his good pleasure so his will is the first one his good pleasure is the second one which he purposed in himself that's the third one he purposed in himself

Paul is putting one two three in a row the will of God the purpose of God the good pleasure of God he's repeating himself but he's rounding it off in such a full way to paint the full picture of what is unveiled by the person of Jesus Christ his will his good pleasure that which he purposed in himself what do each of these words mean his God deliberately determined this glorious salvation for us what he purposed it means this is what he has set forth it's what he has designed it's what he has planned all along according to his good pleasure he's using language of of the perfect God who is unchanging so the good pleasure of God is good pleasure to the extreme there could be no more goodness added to

God's good pleasure and God could know no more pleasure than he already knows all wrapped up in the salvation through Jesus Christ 1st John 4 9 and 10 tells us this way in this in this gospel of Jesus Christ the love of God was manifested toward us that God has sent his only begotten son into the world that we might live through him in this is love not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his son to be the propitiation for our sins you see the great love of God for you in Jesus Christ praise the beloved who reveals God's gracious will toward us his good pleasure toward us in Christ well the fourth and final reason to praise

God the son is this praise the beloved who is reordering his new creation including you and me in himself praise the beloved who is reordering his new creation including you and me in himself we read in verse 10 that in the dispensation of the fullness of the times or in the administration of the fullness of the times God might gather together in one all things in Christ both which are in heaven and which are on earth in him that word dispensation or administration it's the same word from which we get our English word economy so it's in God's management of everything in his disposal as our providential ruler of all he's setting it up for the fullness of time to accomplish to arrange all of human history to fulfill the final aspect of this redemption which is the culmination of

Christ's work he's just talked about the blood of Christ what's already happened but now he's pointing us to look forward also how all things will be consummated in Christ the kingdom of Christ the ministry of Christ is an already and not yet ministry he says that in Christ all things will be gathered together in one they will be summed up comprehended headed up under Christ at the fullness of times Colossians 1 19 and 20 helps us to see other light and clarify this we read that it please God the father that in Christ all the fullness should dwell and by him God will reconcile all things to himself by Christ whether things on earth or things in heaven having made peace through the blood of his cross see this is promised and it's in motion if you belong to Christ now you are brought into the sweeping motion of all of redemptive history he has already started bringing things together in

Christ first and foremost within the church in the church Jews and Greeks are made part of this one body under Christ the head of all in the church slaves and free were made part of this one body under Christ as head of all in the church the rich and the poor are made part of his one body under him as the head of all in our church young and old no matter what our backgrounds are no matter what our life stories has been we are brought together as one in the body of Jesus Christ to his head over all Isaiah 25 8 prophesies where this reordering of all creation is heading we're told that Christ will swallow up death forever it's already happened inaugurated but it's not yet consummated it's yet to come the Lord God will wipe away tears from all faces the rebuke of his people he will take away from all the earth

Romans 8 20 21 picks up on this says the creation itself also will be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God all of creation will share in what the church is already experiencing spiritually around his throne in heaven the great cloud of witnesses!

they under new in

Christ both in heaven and on earth new in him so you and me who he redeemed whom we receive him by now by faith we know that we have been loved by the father in Christ we have been predestined for adoption into his family in Christ we have been purchased by his own precious blood we have been bought with his high price and he lavishes the riches of his grace upon you and me to remain in his grace so that it grows in you you hear the shepherd's voice you obey him and he promises you in John 15 9 as the father loved me I also have loved you having loved his disciples he loved you and me to the end and he says abide in my love praise the beloved who is reordering his new creation including you and me and himself praise our redeemer who reveals

God's gracious good pleasure toward you and me who he purchased with his precious blood church praise the beloved let's pray Lord we thank you we thank you for this great salvation that you accomplished for us through the person of Jesus Christ we pray that as your people we can receive this we can know this glorious truth that we we not only will accept it in our minds but we'll we'll bask in your love that we'll receive this Lord with our hearts that will stay in your presence will stay near you abiding in your love praising you for it giving you all things you did all of this for the glory of your grace Jesus Christ for us we praise you father amen may!