[0:00] Please take your Bibles and open them up this morning to the Gospel according to John.! We'll be in chapter 17, verses 1-5. And then if you would flip just a few pages over and also put your finger in the letter to the Ephesians, chapter 1, verses 1-14.
[0:20] John 17, 1-5, and Ephesians 1, 1-14. And when you found that, let's stand in honor of the reading of God's Word this morning. Amen.
[1:00] And this is eternal life, that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent. I glorified you on earth, having accomplished the work you gave me to do.
[1:12] And now, Father, glorify me in your own presence with the glory that I had with you before the world existed. We'll flip to Ephesians chapter 1.
[1:23] 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.
[1:37] 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.
[1:54] 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.
[2:07] 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.
[2:33] 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.
[2:49] 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.
[3:07] The grass withers and the flower fades, but the word of the Lord endures forever. Father, there is one gospel of Jesus Christ from all eternity, and we pray now as we open up the scriptures one more time for one more Sunday sermon, Lord, in this year, 2025, we pray, Father, that you would fix our eyes on Christ, and would you be magnified in the gospel of Jesus this morning, we pray in Jesus' name.
[3:39] Amen. You may be seated. You've probably heard it said before that the gospel is like the ocean. It's shallow enough for the youngest child to wade in the shoreline, but it's also deep enough for an elephant to swim.
[3:58] In other words, it's accessible to all, and yet, at the same time, it is deep enough that the furthest depths will never fully be explored. Well, this morning, together, as we close out 2025, we are going to dive into the deep end, and what better way to close out the year together.
[4:18] Some of you probably know that the Gerrards and the Gillums, they're not here this morning, so I get to call them out. This is shared entirely without permission, by the way. The Gerrards and the Gillums planned to surprise their kids with a trip to Disney for Christmas.
[4:33] They'll be surprised when they listen on the way back home, and they hear us talking about them this morning. They decided to surprise the kids, and of course, that whole thing had to be planned out in advance, well in advance.
[4:45] I don't know at what point this plan was cooked up and hatched, and I don't know exactly how it went down, but at some point, an agreement was made. I imagine maybe some texts were exchanged.
[4:57] Maybe they cooked up the plan over dinner. I don't know, but an agreement was made. We are going to give this gift, surprise these kids with a trip to Disney.
[5:08] The terms were agreed to. You will drive. You will plan out the meals. You will plan out what rides we ride first. Here's the day that we're going to give this gift to these kids.
[5:19] Here's the plan that we're going to execute. And then on Christmas morning, they executed the plan and delivered the gift. And now, what they're doing right now as we speak is they are now enjoying the fruits of their labor.
[5:33] What was planned out well in advance was then executed to perfection in time. And it's a little bit like what we're going to see here this morning with what we call the covenant of redemption.
[5:49] Kevin DeYoung says it like this. He says, The covenant of grace in time, what we've been studying over the past four or five weeks now, is made possible by the covenant of redemption in all eternity.
[6:02] So here's the big idea this morning. God in eternity past has made an incredible plan. God has planned to magnify His glory by redeeming a chosen people in His Son.
[6:19] In other words, the covenant of redemption is God's plan to magnify the glory of God in the gospel of Jesus Christ. This is our mission, church. So let's take a look together this morning.
[6:32] And we'll see it in two parts here this morning. First, if you're taking notes, first, God from eternity past plans redemption. God from eternity past plans redemption.
[6:47] What we're doing this morning is we are peeling back the curtain a little bit on what we've seen over the past several weeks. Maybe you've been to a show before, been to a play, a musical.
[6:58] And you go and what side of the curtain do you sit on? You sit on the side where you get to see the drama unfold in real time. But you know that on the other side of the curtain, there's all sorts of things that go into making that play happen, right?
[7:14] There's moving parts and moving pieces. There's directors. There's stage managers. There's costume designers. What we're doing is we're peeling back the curtain of human history here for a minute to see what stands behind all of human history.
[7:31] What is it that undergirds and supports all of the covenants that we've seen over the past month with Abraham and with Moses and with David, ultimately all of it leading to this new covenant of grace in Christ.
[7:48] Today we're actually going further back than that, all the way to the writer's desk where God scripts out the plan for human history, an eternal plan of redemption written behind the curtain, so to speak, that will unfold in covenants in front of the curtain, all leading up to the new covenant of grace, the gospel of Jesus Christ.
[8:14] This is week five now thinking about these covenants, and so we ought to know how covenants work by now, hopefully, right? There's promises made between parties with certain prescriptions to fulfill.
[8:29] Parties, promises, prescriptions. I want to just take a look at each part here. So let's ask, well, who are the parties of this eternal covenant? Who are the parties of this eternal covenant?
[8:43] The parties of the covenant of redemption are God the Father and God the Son. And then by extension, all who are in God the Son.
[8:56] The parties of the covenant, God the Father and God the Son. And then by extension, all who are in God the Son. You might have to just listen along here.
[9:08] If you're fast, you can flip with me. I don't expect you to keep up. I'm going to be all over the place this morning. So you might think of Titus chapter 1. Titus chapter 1. Paul, a servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ, writing for the sake of the faith of God's elect and their knowledge of the truth, which accords with godliness, in hope of eternal life, which God, who never lies, promised before the ages began.
[9:34] And at the proper time, manifested in his word through the preaching, with which I have been entrusted by the command of God our Savior. So Paul says, God, who never lies, made a promise.
[9:48] What's the promise? The hope of eternal life before the ages began. Now we should ask, well, promise to whom?
[9:59] Because we weren't there, were we? You and I were not there before the ages began. No one was there but God before the ages began. And that's exactly right.
[10:09] Clearly, this is a promise made amongst the members of the Godhead before the ages began. Or you can look to 2 Timothy chapter 1 verse 9.
[10:22] Paul says, God saved us and called us to a holy calling, not because of our works, but because of his own purpose and grace, which he gave us in Christ Jesus before the ages began.
[10:35] Just mind-boggling, isn't it? Because again, we weren't there. How did he give us anything before the ages began?
[10:47] This is a peek behind the curtain here. Before you and I even existed, God gave us redeeming grace in Christ.
[10:58] And verse 10 says, This plan of grace now has been manifested in time, in front of the curtain, we could say, through the appearing of our Savior Christ Jesus, who abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel.
[11:18] So who are the parties here? Clearly, God the Father, God the Son, had an agreement, a covenant in place before the ages began that has now been manifested in time.
[11:33] How's the water? Are we drowning yet? You with me? What are the promises? What are the promises of the covenant? They are twofold. God the Father promises to give God the Son a kingdom and a kingdom people.
[11:53] These are the promises made. You might think of Luke chapter 22, verse 29. Jesus says to his disciples, I assign to you as my Father assigned to me a kingdom.
[12:08] Or Psalm chapter 2. I will tell of the decree. The Lord said to me, You are my son. Today I have begotten you. Ask of me and I will make the nations your heritage and the ends of the earth your possession.
[12:21] You shall dash them, break them with a rod of iron and dash them in pieces like a potter's vessel. All things in all human history is headed in this direction.
[12:33] All the kingdoms of the earth, all the nations of the earth, one day, all of it is going to end right here. God has promised the Son an eternal kingdom where he will rule and reign for the rest of eternity.
[12:49] We sing about it at Christmas, don't we? And he shall reign forever and ever. Why do we sing that? Because God the Father has promised this kingdom to God the Son before the ages began.
[13:04] We saw several weeks ago God promised David a son, a child whose dominion will have no end, who will reign forever. Why does God promise David this? God makes this promise to David in time because God has promised it to the Son in eternity.
[13:23] God the Son will rule over an eternal kingdom. And praise God, the kingdom will not be empty because God the Father promises the Son a kingdom people.
[13:40] The kingdom has subjects. People of the kingdom, citizens of the kingdom, people who will bow the knee to the king, people who will serve him gladly, people who love the king and worship the king and exalt the king, a transformed people of the kingdom.
[14:00] Who is that? It is all of the redeemed from every nation, every tribe, every tongue. From eternity past, God gave a people to the Son.
[14:13] This is what Jesus says in our passage in John 17. Look there with me. Look there with me. Jesus prays right before he goes to the cross. Right before he steps into the cross.
[14:24] What does he say? Father, the hour has come. Glorify your Son that your Son may glorify you since you have given him authority over all flesh.
[14:37] What authority is that? What authority has Jesus been given? What has he been given the authority to do? Verse 2. To give eternal life to all whom you have given him.
[14:53] Or you could look to John chapter 10. Jesus says again, of his people. He says, I give them eternal life and they will never perish.
[15:05] No one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father's hand. Ephesians chapter 1.
[15:18] We just read it. Paul says, God chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world. He says, in love he predestined us for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ according to the purpose of his will.
[15:34] Revelation 13 talks about those who were written in the Lamb's book of life when? Before the foundation of the world. Now I realize this raises a lot of questions.
[15:47] Now I won't pretend that it doesn't. I'm going to disappoint you because this sermon is not the space to answer all of those questions as much as I might want to do so.
[15:58] Clearly though, I think we can say with absolute confidence, okay, no qualification here. The scriptures are clear. There is a giving of a people in eternity that determines the giving of eternal life in time.
[16:14] I have authority, Jesus says, to give eternal life to all whom you have given me. So, recap. Parties, God the Father, God the Son, promises, kingdom, and a kingdom people.
[16:28] What are the prescriptions? What must be done to fulfill this covenant? What's the mission? Here it is. You will receive a people and a kingdom if you will purchase them with your own blood.
[16:49] The mission is the gospel. What's the mission? It's what we've celebrated all month long, isn't it? The mission is you will become man, you will become incarnate for the first time.
[17:05] the eternal Son of God will take on human flesh. You must become like the people that you will redeem in every way yet without sin. You will live perfectly as the ideal man, the perfect human representative.
[17:21] You will fulfill perfectly every aspect of the law. You will be perfectly righteous, perfectly holy in every way and then you will die as a substitute in the place of your people.
[17:35] This is the plan. This is what you will do. This is the mission. You will take on flesh and blood and then your flesh will be torn and your blood will be shed for your people.
[17:49] This is what makes what we've just celebrated all month long at Christmas so beautiful and so powerful, doesn't it? We need to connect the manger to the cross, don't we? Why did Jesus come?
[18:01] Jesus came to die for his people. I came across this quote from John Piper this week. He says this, listen to this. He says, the incarnation is the preparation of nerve endings for the nails.
[18:17] The incarnation is the preparation of a brow for thorns to press through. He needed to have a broad back so that there was a place for the whip. He needed to have feet so that there was a place for the spikes.
[18:30] He needed to have a side so that there was a place for the sword to go in. He needed cheeks so that Judas would have a place to kiss and there would be a place for the spit to run down that the soldiers put on him.
[18:43] He needed a brain and a spinal column with no vinegar and no gall so that the exquisiteness of the pain could be fully felt for you. Jesus came in time to fulfill the mission God gave him in eternity.
[19:01] The plan is die for your people and in so doing you will earn eternal life for all of your blood-bought people.
[19:13] In so doing you will be exalted as king of an eternal kingdom. In so doing you will rule forever over all your kingdom people.
[19:24] That's the mission rooted in eternity. And so Jesus says in John chapter 10 again I have the authority to lay down my life. I have the authority to take it up again.
[19:36] This charge I have received from my Father. Friend, the good news of the gospel that we proclaim each and every week is that praise God Jesus has come and completed the mission.
[19:58] Praise God Jesus has come in the flesh. He has been made like us. God has stepped into our human nature. God himself has been tempted and tried as we are yet without sin.
[20:12] Praise God we rejoice. Jesus has suffered and grieved and felt pain and felt loss. He's been rejected and humiliated and he has given his own life for our salvation.
[20:28] And praise God it doesn't end at the grave. He rose from the grave in resurrection power so now as a result of fulfilling this eternal plan of God now he lives as the head of a new and better covenant.
[20:42] And now he can offer eternal life to any who come to him in faith. And now he's able to offer entrance into his kingdom because the kingdom has come in him. Now we're able to stand and proclaim week in and week out come and repent of your sins put your faith in Jesus Christ and you will be saved because Christ has come to accomplish the eternal plan of redemption.
[21:10] This is the gospel. Church what can we say to these things? It's overwhelming isn't it? on the sheer scope of it you see God's grand plan of redemption unfolding here.
[21:26] And before the world existed God planned to redeem the world. Before you existed God planned to purchase you and redeem you by the blood of Christ.
[21:40] Before sin existed God planned that Jesus would be the lamb who was slain before the foundations of the world as the perfect sacrifice for sinners.
[21:52] This whole grand story of redemption from Adam to Christ from Genesis to Revelation all of it flows downstream from this one grand plan made in eternity before the world began.
[22:08] What can we say to these things? I'll tell you what we ought to say church. Praise the Lord praise God for the gospel.
[22:20] Praise God that he has planned all of this out. Praise God that it doesn't start with us and our work. Praise God it's not dependent on me.
[22:31] It's not dependent on you. Praise God it's so permanent and effective. It's a perfect plan. It's executed to perfection.
[22:42] God the Father plans it. God the Son accomplishes it. God the Spirit applies it exactly as he wills it to be. Praise God for the hope of the gospel. Praise God for the finished work of Christ.
[22:54] Praise God. What can we say to these things? The right response to God's eternal plan of redemption is praise to the Father and that's exactly as God intends it to be.
[23:09] God planned redemption in eternity past so that second God receives praise for all eternity future. Ask yourself why has God done this?
[23:26] Why has the Son agreed to this? Yes I'll go and die. I'll go and suffer. I'll humiliate myself and become man. Why has God done all of this like this?
[23:36] There's one grand overarching purpose in all of it. The covenant of redemption is God's plan to magnify His glory in the gospel of Jesus Christ.
[23:50] This is the whole point. The whole point of creation. The whole point of redemption. The whole point of this unfolding story.
[24:03] This plan of salvation in Christ. the whole point of all of it is the glory of God. Look again at our two passages John 17 and then Ephesians 1.
[24:17] Look at John 17 first here and just ask yourself here moments before His crucifixion what is Jesus most concerned with? What is weighing most heavily on His mind?
[24:29] Father the hour has come glorify your Son that the Son may glorify you. Verse 4 I glorified you on earth having accomplished the work that you gave me to do there's the mission and now Father glorify me in your own presence with the glory that I had with you before the world existed glory glory glory glory look down at verse 24 look what he prays Father I desire that they also whom you have given me may be with me where I am why that they may see my glory that you have given me because you loved me before the foundation of the world do you see it God's glory is the main reason for everything God does he's the only being in the universe for which that is not sinful if you and I seek our own glory that's sinful right that's pride that's self exaltation why is that sinful for us because all glory belongs to
[25:37] God there is no greater purpose no higher end than to magnify and to honor the glory of God God sent his son to save a people for the praise of his glory glory our focus in alignment with God's focus is our emphasis the same as God's emphasis are our desires the same as God's desires what does God care most about God's primary mission and everything that he does ultimately is the magnification of his glory are we in alignment here ask yourself as you talk about your testimony maybe you got together with family this past week maybe you have plans like
[26:59] I do to go and meet with family this upcoming week ask yourself who is at the center of your story is it you or is it God and his glory when you pray is it mostly about you or is it about God's glory the way you approach and read scripture is it you centered or is it God centered the songs that you sing the songs that you listen to who's it about is it is it ultimately about you or is it about the glory of God the goal the end result of this grand plan of redemption made before the ages began is that Christ would be above all that the glory of God would be exalted that his glory would be magnified look there to Ephesians 1 again and just listen to this refrain it's constant it's like this beating of a drum that that that that goes it provides the rhythm behind
[28:01] Paul's theology 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 why 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
[29:14] Christ might be what to the praise of his glory in him you also when you heard the 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 what's the result of our salvation glory glory glory glory glory to the praise of his glory all blessing and honor and power and glory is all to the praise of his glory the praise of his glorious grace what other response could there be this is the response of God's people the blood bought grace drenched people of God look at what he's done see the scope of what he's planned they look at what
[30:16] Christ has accomplished what he's given and they say this God is glorious beyond all compare God's glory is magnified in the gospel of Jesus Christ it's like every attribute of God as you look to the gospel every attribute of God is plugged into the amplifier and it's turned up to 11 his infinite wisdom is magnified who could dream up a plan of salvation like this his measureless grace is magnified who among us has earned this who has merited salvation it's the free gift of God in Christ Jesus our Lord his mercy his love are magnified God shows his love for us in this that while we were still sinners Christ died for us who could imagine a God who would die for sinful man who could fathom a
[31:18] God who would come as we are to make us as he is who can imagine a God who loves his enemies and adopts them as his own sons and daughters his holiness is magnified in the perfect life of Christ his justice is magnified in the sacrificial death of Christ his power is magnified in the victorious resurrection of Christ from the grave it is all about his glory and the good news church we get to enjoy it for the rest of eternity yeah I used to when I was a kid try and imagine what heaven would be like you ever do that and in my mind I couldn't think of anything that could occupy my attention for that long eternity is a long time what would
[32:18] I do and all I could think was just some better version of all the stuff I already do now maybe I just play basketball up there I could jump I don't know I don't know no what eternity has in store for the redeemed is a never ending unveiling of the praiseworthy glory of God it's like Christmas morning except there's always another present to open and you always have enough time to enjoy the one you just opened before you move on to the next You mean there's more?
[32:56] yes you mean I get to enjoy more? yes as much as you want come on there's always more to see there's always more to enjoy there's always more to delight in there's always more to exalt God for just put a time on it how long do you think it will take for an eternal God to reveal himself to a limited temporal people like us all eternity it will take forever for an infinite God to reveal his limitless power his limitless wisdom his limitless grace his limitless kindness towards us in Christ if you are in Christ we have all of eternity to soak in the glory of God it will take all of eternity for us to unveil uncover all of the glory of God there is no limit to the depth of this ocean and in Christ we are given an endless supply of oxygen and told to go dive in as deep as you want and stay as long as you want if you are in
[34:06] Christ by faith God has saved you Ephesians 2 tells us so that in the coming ages he might show you the immeasurable riches of his grace and kindness towards us in Christ Jesus that's just incredible hope isn't it church the good news is we don't have to wait until then to start now I realize that these are deep waters church this is deep theology I understand that but if we don't take this and apply it to our lives we've missed it this morning this truth ought to shape the way that we live our lives this truth ought to shape the way that we leave this place here in just a few minutes the way that we interact with our families the way that we go to work tomorrow morning the way that we venture into a new year as individuals and corporately as a church if you are in
[35:15] Christ now by faith you have already obtained eternal life if you are in Christ by faith you are already in covenant with the Lord if you are in Christ by faith you already have all the blessings of all his promises to you in Christ if you are in Christ by faith you already belong to his kingdom you can already begin feasting on the goodness of God right now do you need encouragement this morning Christian do you have the winter blues coming into the season a little empty look at this grand plan and we see God so loves you in Christ that he has bound up his glory with our good all things work together for good for those who love him and are called according to his purpose do you need assurance this morning do you doubt do you waver we look here and we see because your salvation does not come from you good news it cannot be lost by you because your salvation doesn't originate in time nothing that happens here in time can ever take it away from you nothing can separate you from the love of
[36:46] God in Christ Jesus your Lord do you need a reset here the beginning of a new year of your priorities of your mission of your ambition do you need a punch and a kick and a motivation for what you ought to be up to this new year look here and see what is God's mission God is committed to magnify his glory in the gospel of Jesus Christ you align yourself with that mission and your plans your mission will never fail you will not waste your life giving it to this cause!
[37:21] we exist as a church this is our mission statement Treg's going to unpack this more next week we exist to magnify the glory of God in the gospel of Jesus Christ why is that our mission that is our mission because that is God's mission you were created for this and if you are in Christ you were chosen before the foundation of the world for this and you will be about this for the rest of eternity yeah I thought about those kids this week down at Disney riding rides you know they're having the time of their life eating junk staying up late spending time together as a family they are enjoying the result of a gracious plan put into action for them friend if you are in
[38:24] Christ you are called to delight in him right now do you need real joy the end of the year rejoice in what God has planned for you before you even existed rejoice in what Christ has accomplished for you in his life in his death in his resurrection rejoice in experience enjoy what the spirit has applied to you what he works in you even now as we wait for the hope of eternity all to the glory of God church as we finish out this year what can we say what can we say all glory be to Christ our king all glory be to Christ his rule and reign will ever sing all glory be to Christ let's pray father what a glorious thing you've done we praise you for your grand plan of salvation we praise you for what you have done in sending
[39:41] Christ for us we praise you Lord for the hope of eternal life we pray now if there are any here who have yet to receive that God would you give them the gift of faith would they put their faith in Christ right now or repent of their sins and trust in him and we praise you Lord for the kingdom yet to come all glory!
[40:05] be to Christ we