Image: "In Praise", 2020, Severna Park, Md
Ephesians 1:4–6 ... 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, 5 having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will, 6 to the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He made us accepted in the Beloved.
Ephesians 1:11–12 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, 12 that we who first trusted in Christ should be to the praise of His glory.
Ephesians 1:13–14 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, 14 who is the guarantee of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, to the praise of His glory.
Ephesians 1:17–18 that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him, 18 the eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints,
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Samuel Taylor Coleridge called the Letter to the Ephesians "the divinest composition of man." Some may quibble at the superlative but few can deny that the letter ranks near the top if not at the peak. I personally hold it to be my favorite "short" book in Scripture and Ch. 1 as pretty much my favorite chapter in the Bible. I cannot read this chapter without melting into a spirit of adoration and praise. It may very well be that chapter from which I have preached most often.
The teachings here are so deep and rich a book would be required to develop them adequately. But even a superficial scan readily grasps the main points. (1) What confronts us, in all of our deepest concerns, is an absolutely sovereign God whose name is to be blessed forever through the lips of His creation, (2) This blessed God and Father has, in His turn, blessed us, in the most unimaginable ways. He chose us to stand before Him "holy and without blame" as the recipients of His love, and (3) all of God's works in blessing us are directed toward the highest good of all creation, His own glory.
His choosing and predestining us, before the creation of the world, was to bring about "the praise of the glory of His grace." (vs. 6)
His sending of His Son into the world, bringing about the fulfillment of time, was such that He "might gather together in one all things in Christ." This amazing idea points to an ultimate unification when all the contrary and competing ideas, goals, actions, and distinctions which constitute the chaos of diversity in our world, will be settled. All will be understood in terms of its eternal place in God's wisdom and all "evil" as well as "good" will be understood as having worked together for God's ultimate purpose. At the heart of this unification will be those who "trusted in Christ." For they are the down-payment, the first installment of this unification. In them, at least in part, the distinctions that divide have been put away and the common motive prompting their every effort is to show forth "praise of His glory". (vs. 12)
This is further amplified by the witness of the corporate body, the Church of Jesus Christ, which shows forth the marks of being "sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise." (vs. 13) These are they who have heard and responded to the gospel of salvation and believed. As such, they possess the guarantee of "our inheritance", the "redemption of the purchased possession", and therefore will be preserved unto that time of redemption which in joyous concert, this entire body of saints, will sing "to the praise of His glory." (vs. 14)
Do you see the pattern here? It's plain as day. Our lives are not a product of chance. From all eternity we have been the subject of God's intense focus and care. We have been set aside to the most exalted privilege any mortal, fallen human being can attain, or even aspire to attain. We are reserved for God Himself unto the end that in us He shall be glorified! Angels and Demons alike will be (and are) astonished at our witness and testimony. Here I do not speak so much of our conscious testimony, though that is included. Rather it is our individual and corporate history that bears witness to our All Sovereign, All Gracious, All-Merciful God.
He is beyond words. No human voice can adequately utter His praise, but some have been set aside to do it to the best of their ability. That which will glorify God as He has purposed to be glorified is not their words or voices, but their very fact! They are the testimony. Through God's gracious gift of His Son, they have been purified, redeemed, established, and glorified.
There they stand, His family, with Jesus as their Brother in their midst, an irrefutable witness to the glory of His grace.
Magnificent, isn't it?
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