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­­­­LSB  Ephesians 1:11-14

11 In Him, we also have been made an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of Him who works all things according to the counsel of His will, 12 to the end that we who first have hoped in Christ would be to the praise of His glory. 13 In Him, you also, after listening to the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation—having also believed, you were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of promise, 14 who is given as a pledge of our inheritance, unto the redemption of God’s own possession, to the praise of His glory.

We began our study of Ephesians together with a simplistic little outline.  The Wealth, chapters 1 - 3, the Walk, chapters 4-6a, and the Warfare, chapter 6b, of the christian.  Wealth, walk, warfare.

And we're in chapter 1 trying to fathom our wealth we've received being In Christ.  And we used the analogy of looking into the Grand Canyon in vs. 3, the flyover, the overview if you will, and then the descent into the depths of our wealth in vss. 4 - 14.

v3 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.

And this morning we come to the final look in Paul's opening salvo, at the depths of our wealth, In Christ.  Everything revolves around us being In Christ, and we see that over and over and over again.  Sometimes, simply stated with pronouns.  In Him or In Whom.  Always the reference is to our new position.  

We have come out of Adam.  Come out of a condemned race, a world lost in sin and darkness, ruled by Satan.  We are called out of Adam, in a sense, and we are called into Christ.  Christ is our new federal head.  We have been adopted into His family.  We are hidden, In Christ.

Paul puts it like this in Romans 6.  He pictures being IN Christ as immersion;  3 Or do you not know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? 4 Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life. 5 For if we have become united with Him in the likeness of His death, certainly we shall also be in the likeness of His resurrection,

The word baptized pictures immersion.  We don't have a little bit of Christ sprinkled on us, we are immersed into Him.  If I dive into the pool at Keough's Hot Springs, I am encased in water.  Baptism into Christ pictures that.  I'm IN that pool, IN that water.  It's touching every part of me.  All of me is wet.  

We are baptized into Christ.  Into His death.  We leave our sins with Him at the cross.  We rise again, with Him, from the dead into newness of life.  We wait for the day when we will leave this flesh behind and see Him face to face, because John tells us on that day, we will be like Him.

1 John 3:2 Beloved, now we are children of God, and it has not been manifested as yet what we will be. We know that when He is manifested, we will be like Him, because we will see Him just as He is.

Previously, we were in Adam.  Born into rebellion and condemnation.  Then we were called out of this world, called out of Adam and into Christ.  That's our present.  In the future, our transformation in Christ will be complete.  Past, present, and future.

It turns out that this long sentence about our wealth in Christ can be broken up into those same categories.  Eternity past, eternity present, and eternity future.

Past;  Vss 4 - 6.  God chose us in eternity past, before the foundation of the world, to be His.  To be in Christ.  Predestinated election.  Before time, God knew me and chose me as a gift to His Son.

Present;  Vss 7 - 10.  Redemption and forgiveness of our sins.  He gives us wisdom and insight into future things.  We still live in this fallen world, and we still struggle with our old fallen flesh, but we are separated from this world and we strive to be more like Jesus through His extended grace.

Future;  Vss 11 - 14.  Future glory awaits us.  A double inheritance.  We'll talk about it.  But after our time here, we receive glory and we spend eternity glorifying our Redeemer.

So then our wealth in Christ spans all eternity from before the worlds were formed until forever in heaven with our Saviour.  And everywhere in between.  

Let's dig in then in vs 11 and try to untangle Paul's effort at telling us who we are, In Christ.  

11 In Him, we also have been made an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of Him who works all things according to the counsel of His will,

That's a mouthful.  But it gets worse, or as it were, better.

11 In Him, we also have been made an inheritance, or, your version and actually the most common rendering of the verbs and tenses is;  

In Him also we have obtained an inheritance,  NASB, KJV, NKJV, and others.  

I had to bore down on this, because these kinds of interpretive decisions are interesting.  To me, and I hape I can make it interesting to you.

In the original greek, if we could read and understand the text in it's original language to it's original readers, we come to a single compound greek word;  eklērōthēmen.  That single word is translated into our multiple words;  we have obtained an inheritance.  OR, because of verb tenses it can also mean we have been made an inheritance.

Either we are the inheritance, or we received an inheritance.  Which is it?  So we bore down into the word and we find out that what the word itself would have meant to the original receivers, the believers in Ephesus is that someone gained something because of the casting of lots.

The root word in there, klayroo, literally means to cast lots.  Something is assigned, something is decided, by the random casting of lots.  

We don't know exactly what those were, in the ancient world.  But we have a modern equivalent that is close enough to get the picture.  Whether it is the drawing of straws, spinning the bottle, or throwing of dice, the idea is the same.  Something is chosen, by a random win, or lose, I suppose depending on how you look at the outcome.

When Jesus was on the cross, dying, the soldiers cast lots to see who would get His clothes.  When the disciples were trying to make a final choice of who would replace Judas as the 12th apostle, they had more than one candidate and they cast lots.  

Arguably, they sort of said, we've narrowed it down to these guys who all qualify, God, now you choose, and they rolled the dice to see who God chose.  Did that limit God?  Theologians argue that Paul was actually God's choice, but, Jesus told Peter, whatever you bind on earth shall have been bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall have been loosed in heaven.”  Matt. 16:19b

Nobody eliminates Matthias as the 12th apostle.  But we never hear of him again, but we've got 13 books in our Bibles that stem from Paul.  And roll the dice all you want, is there really such a thing as random choice?  Proverbs 16:33 tells us;  33 The lot is cast into the lap, but its every decision is from the LORD.

In our verse this morning, someone gains a limitless inheritance because of random casting of lots.  What's the inheritance and who got it.

11 In Him, we also have been made an inheritance,
or we also have obtained an inheritance,   

Which is it?  Well, let's see if the context helps us.  Let's finish the verse;  having been predestined according to the purpose of Him who works all things according to the counsel of His will,

So we've got choice, selection of a group, not by random, but according to predestination which is fullfilling the purposes of God.  predestined according to the purpose of Him who works all things according to the counsel of His will

We won the lottery because God chose us, for His divine purposes.  Let's see if we can get some help in a parallel passage that is very familiar because of the first thing it says, which is something we like to hear, and then we dismiss the rest;  Romans 8:28 - 30

8 And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are (the) called according to His purpose. 29 Because those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brothers; 30 and those whom He predestined, He also called; and those whom He called, He also justified; and those whom He justified, He also glorified.

Calling, foreknowledge, predestination.  God rolled the dice and selected us.  Give it up.  Your brain is too limited to understand.  But the purpose of all of it is stated, even though we can't fully understand the choice part.  

What's the stated purpose in all of that.  He predestined that we would become conformed to the image of His Son.  We were lost sinners in Adam.  God chose us, called us out of Adam's race, placed us into His Son, for the purpose of being conformed to the image of His Son.  We're no longer worthless filthy dead decaying waste.  We, because God selected us, are being remade, restored, regenerated, renewed into the image of Jesus.  Sinless perfection.

Why?  so that He would be the firstborn among many brothers

We won the lottery and God chose us to be brothers and fellow heirs, with His Son.  and those whom He predestined, He also called; and those whom He called, He also justified; and those whom He justified, He also glorified

The progression there is from excrement to glory.  Sorry to shock you.  In Adam, to put it more mildly, we are ruined.  Spoiled.  Decayed.  Dead.  Defiled.  Filthy.  But God chose us and at the end of all those words we can't understand, that sort of scare us a little bit, we've gone from being filthy decaying waste, to being glorious creatures.

God selected us to be a bride, for His Son.  We are given to the Son as a glorious gift.  An inheritance.  We see that over and over.  Jesus speaks of it often.  This idea of His Father giving Him elect people.  Brothers.  Bride.  An inheritance.

John 17:1,2  Jesus spoke these things; and lifting up His eyes to heaven, He said, “Father, the hour has come; glorify Your Son, that the Son may glorify You, 2 even as You gave Him authority over all flesh, that to all whom You have given Him, He may give eternal life.

John 6:37,39
All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out…

John 10:29
My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father's hand.

God selected us, for reasons our brains are too small to understand, rolling the dice is as good an explanation as we're going to get, He chose us, in order to give us, to His Son, who in turn, died on the cross to purchase us, to give to His father.

So, then, back to verse 11.  Either way you want to go with this selection and inheritance idea, is correct.  We are selected to be the gift and inheritance given to Christ.  But then we are glorified and made His brothers.  Who gets the inheritance.  We both do.

I was listening this week to a portion of John chapter 20.  And Mary Magdelene is the first person, post resurrection from the dead, the first person after His resurrection that Jesus appears to and speaks to, is Mary.  

vs. 17 Jesus said to her, “Stop clinging to Me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father; but go to My brethren, and say to them, ‘I ascend to My Father and your Father, and My God and your God.’”

It's the first time, in the Bible, that Jesus refers to us as His brothers.  Go to my brothers.  Go tell my brothers.  I'm alive.  

God selected me.  God gave me to Jesus.  God gave Jesus to me.  We inherited each other, because of God's choice.  We are brothers.  We are joint heirs with Christ.  

We're back in Romans 8.  16 The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are children of God, 17 and if children, also heirs, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him so that we may also be glorified with Him.

Joint heirs.  We inherited each other.  And we are heirs together with Christ of everything God possesses.  That's quite an inheritance.  Unfathomable, really.  He inherits us.  We inherit Him.

In 1890, Wade Robinson of Dublin Ireland wrote these words to the tune we sing with the title, Everlasting Love;

1 Loved with everlasting love,
drawn by grace that love to know,
Spirit sent from Christ above,
thou dost witness it is so.
O this full and precious peace
from his presence all divine;
in a love that cannot cease,
I am his and he is mine.

Who inherited what?  I am His, and He is mine.  OK. let's go back to Ephesians chapter 1 and read that verse again and see if it's beginning to come together for us;

11 In Him, we also have been made an inheritance, (or obtained an inheritance, if you prefer) having been predestined according to the purpose of Him who works all things according to the counsel of His will, 12 to the end

To the end.  To the end.  OK now we're getting somewhere.  God chose us to give to His Son, to give His Son to us, why?  What's the end game here.  Paul's going to tell us to what end all of this selection and giving is for;

12 to the end that we who first have hoped in Christ would be to the praise of His glory.

Glory is the answer.  We glorify Christ.  We cause praise and glory to be cast onto Christ.  Glory is what this is all about.  We glorify Christ.

You say, but that verse is specific.  It's about those who first have hoped in Christ.  They bring Him the glory.  What about us 20 centuries later?  Next verse.

13 In Him, you also, after listening to the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation—having also believed, you were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of promise, 14 who is given as a pledge of our inheritance, unto the redemption of God’s own possession, to the praise of His glory.

That's a mouthful, and there's a lot in there to look at.  But to begin with, let's just look at the first words of vs. 13 and the final words of vs. 14.  

13 In Him, you also, . . . . to the praise of His glory.

From the first to believe, to the final person called into the church, we are all chosen for the purpose of rendering glory unto Christ.  God did that.  God sovereignly did it all.  From predestination before the foundation of the world to the call, to believing, to belonging, all of it, done for the glory of Jesus.  Caused by the Father, for the glory of the Son.

Now then, let's go back and look at what's in the middle there, of vss 13 and 14.  Because there we have the definition of who is a christian.

13 In Him, you also,  That's us.  Right down to this very day.  You also is us.  

Paul divides this group into those who were the first to believe, the apostles of the church, who first took the good news everywhere, who defined in that apostolic era what the gospel is, what Jesus accomplished for us in His death and resurrection, and what is provided for those who will believe the message.

Then we have the you also's.  That's you and me, after 20 centuries of christians, us, who are alive in 2023.  

13 In Him, you also, after listening to the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation—having also believed,

The apostles brought to us the the word of truth, the gospel of our salvation . . . That was their part.  They brought the message.  It's a message of words.  But that doesn't make people christians.  Lots of people hear the message.  Especially these days.  It's not hard for any seeker to hear the message.  (although it can be rare to hear the correct message in the midst of all the noise.)  But hearing isn't enough.

you also, after listening to the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation---having also believed.

It's been some months since we were in Galatians 3.  Paul says the same thing to the Galatians.  He's scolding them a little bit though because they didn't remain in faith alone.  Some false teachers fooled them into adding works to the bargain.  But listen to this connection of hearing connected with believing.  That's what saves people.  Paul says;

Gal. 3:2 This is the only thing I want to learn from you: did you receive the Spirit by the works of the Law, or by hearing with faith?   vs. 5 So then, does He who provides you with the Spirit and works miracles among you, do it by the works of the Law, or by hearing with faith?

The combination that saves us is hearing the true message, and believing by faith that God has purchased you with His Son's blood.  Hearing and believing.  Not hearing alone.  Not believing alone.

Neither hearing without faith, nor faith in the wrong thing, will save you.  Faith in the wrong message saves no one.  Faith for the sake of faith is useless.

I believe for every drop of rain that falls
A flower grows
I believe that somewhere in the darkest night
A candle glows
I believe for everyone that goes astray
Someone will come to show the way
I believe
I believe
I believe above the storm the smallest prayer
Will still be heard
I believe that someone in the great somewhere
Hears every word
Every time I hear a newborn baby cry
Or touch a leaf
Or see the sky
Then I know why
I believe

I believe that song made some jewish song writer a lot of money, but none of that believing will save anyone.

I believe that somewhere in the darkest hell
demons believe.  
At least the demons have the sense to tremble then,
with knocking knees.

Sorry I couldn't keep the metre going.

Hearing the true gospel isn't enough.  Believing a false gospel isn't enough.  Hearing the good news message of the finished work of Christ, for you, in your place, and believing in Him.  His finished work enough to rescue you.  That's enough.  That combination of faith in the true gospel is what saves true christians.  That's why we commonly call each other, simply, believers.

13 In Him, you also, after listening to the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation—having also believed, you were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of promise,

When someone hears the gospel and believes and places their faith in the Lord Jesus for redemption and forgiveness, that causes a reaction by God.  God then comes to dwell in the new believer, by the indwelling of the Holy Spirit of God.   you were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of promise

In Roman times a seal was the proof and guarantee of a document.  Someone with authority would write out an edict, or whatever it might be, a deed, or an order, and then the document would be rolled up, and sealed with hot wax, and in that wax, the king or authority would stamp the impression of his unique seal.

We used to have a press that would make the seal of Galli Enterprises Inc. pressed into a piece of paper.  You didn't know we were that important did you.  We paid incorporation fees and that press with a unique seal with our name on it was part of what we purchased.  About 1983 or so.  

That seal was unique and it added proof that the document was created by us and uniquely sealed.  I don't think we ever used it once.  But it was a valid corporate seal, if we'd ever had anything of value to sell.

God puts a seal on His elect.  It's the proof, beyond any doubt, that the person who has that seal belongs to God.  The Holy Spirit, dwelling inside your heart, is the seal, from God, that you are His and He is yours.

Back in Romans 8.  Again!  vs. 9.  However, you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. But if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Him.

Ephesians 1:13 In Him, you also, after listening to the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation—having also believed, you were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of promise, 14 who is given as a pledge of our inheritance, unto the redemption of God’s own possession, to the praise of His glory.

The Holy Spirit dwelling in your heart, and the incontrovertible evidence of a holy life lived in conjunction with the Helper, the Holy Spirit, in you, is the seal from God that declares that your christianity is real.

Lots of people claim they are christians.  Hey, 40% of the world's population makes a claim to being christian in some form or another.  That math is simple enough.  If there are 2400 people in Tonopah Nevada, that means 960 of them should be worshipping God with us this morning.  

Where are they?  4% would tip me over.  96 people would be stunning.  We get less than one percent.  

You can say you're a christian all you want.  Show me the seal on you of the evidence that the Holy Spirit is dwelling in you, minimally, a holy life.  That's the minimum.  

If He dwells IN you, where is the hunger for more of Him.  People should be beating my door down begging for more of this book.  But 40 minutes a week is more than enough for most of the actual faithful.

The seal of the Holy Spirit on your life should have some visible evidence.  
The indwelling Holy Spirit is God's seal on us that we are His.  He has purchased us out of Adam and placed us into Christ.  Can that happen without any visible distinctions?  Is it possible to be a Spirit filled christian with no evidence?

2 Cor. 3:16b For we are a sanctuary of the living God; just as God said,
“I will dwell in them and walk among them;
And I will be their God, and they shall be My people.
 17 Therefore, come out from their midst and be separate,” says the Lord.
“And do not touch what is unclean,
And I will welcome you.
 18 And I will be a father to you,
And you shall be sons and daughters to Me,”
says the Lord Almighty.
 
One final word to consider this morning.  Pledge.  

having also believed, you were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of promise, 14 who is given as a pledge of our inheritance, unto the redemption of God’s own possession

We're in this strange limbo in this current world.  Purchased out of Adams race and placed into Christ.  Separated out of this sinful world.  Satan and sin are no longer my masters.  I live under the authority to reign of God.  I am delivered from Satan's authority to reign in this world.

But I'm still in this world.  My spirit is quickened and joined together with God's Holy Spirit.  The Spirit of Christ dwells in me.  I am regenerated with newness of life.  Old things are passed away.  All things are new.

And yet, I dwell, for now, in this broken down body that retains a lot of the old desires and influences.  My old fallen flesh pulls on me towards depravity and sin.  The Spirit of Christ pulls on  me towards holiness and godliness.  I'm in this strange waiting place.  Waiting for the fullness of my redemption and eternal life, waiting for the day that I see Jesus, physically, for the first time.

How do I know that the fullness of the promises will indeed ultimately happen.  What guarantee do I have that all of the pie in the sky will finally be realized.

The Holy Spirit, who has come into my heart, who dwells with me, and in me, is the downpayment.  That word pledge is the word for an engagement ring.  It's the promise of a future not yet realized.  But the pledge says, it will come.  

I was working on a truck deal a couple of months ago and I asked the fellow if he needed earnest money to hold the truck while I was working with the bank to secure the loan I would need.  Earnest money is a pledge.

It isn't the full payment, but it's the pledge that I'm dead serious about what I've promised in payment, but there will be time involved before the full payment is realized.

When I asked my dear bride to marry me, and she was foolish enough to say yes, I placed an engagement ring on her finger.  The promise that what we hoped for would in time be realized.  That ring was my pledge to her.  This will happen.  The ring is my promise.

We can't even comprehend the glories that await us in eternity.  Paul went to the third heaven and saw things that he had no words to describe.  Glory is waiting for us.  In the next life.  Not this one.

MacArthur has been taking a beating on some different you tube channels over something he said.  He said, we don't win down here.  Christians lose the battles down here.  We win later.  Up there.  

There is an eschatological component to what he says.  In his eschatology, this world gets worse and worse and the gap between christians and those in this world who are duped into following the ruler of this world only grows wider and more dangerous.

Most reformed people don't believe that.  They are post millenial or a-millenial.  They believe this world gets better and better over millenia.  Christianized.  That's where this new idea that's getting lots of bad press comes from.  Christian nationalism.  It stems from an eschatology that believes christians make this world better and better and better until Jesus finally returns.

That's a whole 'nother discussion of course.  But the idea of a pledge, a down payment, a promise of a future that is beyond our comprehension, with the Holy Spirit to dwell with me and in me, as my engagement ring for later glories to be realized in the next world, fits well with what I understood MacArthur to be saying.

We don't win down here.  That promise, that engagement ring is for a future world, not this one.

Here's the scenario that makes perfect sense to me.  For now, an engagement ring.  A pledge.  A good faith deposit in my account.  The Holy Spirit to live in me, during this time in this world.  The promise of future worlds and future glories.  

Then the rapture, or perhaps death, either way, those who are asleep in Christ will rise first, and then those of us who are alive, will meet Him in the air.  We will see Him as He is.  We will be like Him with new glorified bodies.  Eternal bodies.

Then the marriage supper of the lamb, in heaven, with Him.  And then we will follow Him out of heaven as He returns to this world to wage war with the evil usurper who stole this world.  Satan will be deposed, and we will reign with Christ, in this renewed world, for a thousand years.  The millenial reign of Christ.

Then a new heavens and a new earth that are eternal.  The Holy Spirit, who I have right now, living in me, is the down payment for all of those future glories.  He is real.  He is my promise that all of the rest is real and will happen, in His time.  I have a real connection with that future glory.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Everlasting Love by Wade Robinson  1890

1 Loved with everlasting love,
drawn by grace that love to know,
Spirit sent from Christ above,
thou dost witness it is so.
O this full and precious peace
from his presence all divine;
in a love that cannot cease,
I am his and he is mine.

2 Heav'n above is deeper blue,
earth around is sweeter green,
that which glows in ev'ry hue
Christless eyes have never seen.
Birds in song his glories show,
flow'rs with richer beauties shine
since I know, as now I know,
I am his and he is mine.

3 Taste the goodness of the Lord:
welcomed home to his embrace,
all his love, as blood outpoured,
seals the pardon of his grace.
Can I doubt his love for me,
when I trace that love's design?
By the cross of Calvary
I am his and he is mine.

4 His forever, only his--
who the Lord and me shall part?
Ah, with what a rest of bliss
Christ can fill the loving heart.
Heav'n and earth may fade and flee,
firstborn light in gloom decline,
but while God and I shall be,
I am his and he is mine.