Ephesians 1:7-14
Title: Embrace Some More of What’s Too Amazing to Grasp.
This morning, we’re picking back up where we left off in a pretty mind blowing passage.
I thought it appropriate to simply call this message - Embrace Some More of What’s Too Amazing to Grasp
We’re continuing to get our minds blown from last week.
In a lot of ways, trying to grasp the edges of God’s work is like a goldfish swimming in his bowl.
The goldfish bowl is sitting on a window sill in a beachfront condo.
And he’s looking at the ocean.
He swims in his little bowl, looking out at that big blue expanse, saying,
“I think I get it — it’s like my bowl, just...bigger!”
It’s actually nothing like his bowl except that both it and the ocean have fish in it.
How could he comprehend that he could swim forever and never come to a glass wall where the ocean water stops?
How could he comprehend that the ocean isn’t filling something but instead it’s covering the majority of a ginormous
sphere?
That’s kind of like us trying to understand God.
We know a little — what He’s revealed, what He’s done for us.
But He’s infinitely larger than our fish-bowl-sized brains can contain.
Still, the amazing thing is: God wants the us to know Him!
He doesn’t mock our smallness — He invites us to swim deeper.
And we need to get used to being satisfied with what God tells us about Himself since our minds can’t
comprehend all of Him.
As we’ll read in a few weeks as Paul prays for them
“to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.”
For now, we’re going to keep trying to understand this 12 verse run-on sentence of 1:3-14.
So, let’s read Ephesians 1:3-14 again.
3 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, 4 even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we
should be holy and blameless before him. In love 5 he predestined us for adoption to himself as sons
through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, 6 to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he
has blessed us in the Beloved.
7 In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of
his grace, 8 which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight 9 making known to us the mystery of his
will, according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ 10 as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all
things in him, things in heaven and things on earth.
11 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, 12 so that we who were the first to hope in Christ might
be to the praise of his glory. 13 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, 14 who is the guarantee of our
inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory.
As we Embrace Some More of What’s Too Amazing to Grasp, we’ll start to
1. EMBRACE OUR COSTLY REDEMPTION THAT’S BIGGER THAN US. (7-10)
7 In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of
his grace, 8 which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight 9 making known to us the mystery of his
will, according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ 10 as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all
things in him, things in heaven and things on earth.
Believers in Christ experience redemption in Christ.
7 In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of
his grace, 8 which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight 9 making known to us the mystery of his
will, according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ 10 as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all
things in him, things in heaven and things on earth.
The term redemption describes a slave being purchased out of bondage in order to be set free.
Redemption involves the forgiveness of our sins, which means God declares,
“You’re debt is paid in full.”
And it could only take place through the shedding of Christ’s blood on the cross as our substitution.
It’s because our sin is so devastating and far reaching that it could require nothing less than the sacrifice of
Jesus Christ to redeem us from it’s penalty.
And God’s willingness to give His Son as our Savior reflects the immense riches of His grace.
At salvation, God’s grace, in all of its richness is lavished on His redeemed children.
7 In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of
his grace, 8 which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight 9 making known to us the mystery of his
will, according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ 10 as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all
things in him, things in heaven and things on earth.
This picture of God lavishing His grace on believers is like a fountain spring, spraying out of the earth
not a well which requires one to pump it out laboriously.
And with God’s saving grace came the revealing of truth that was a mystery, which means that it was
previously hidden but has been revealed by God.
Think of how Adam and Eve only knew that one of their descendants would crush the head of the serpent
Or how Abraham simly knew that, through his descendant, all the nations of the earth would be blessed.
The mystery of God’s rescue plan has been revealed in God’s saving purpose of that Redeemer -
Jesus Christ.
And the endgame is the final redemption of all of creation by our Savior, Jesus.
7 In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of
his grace, 8 which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight 9 making known to us the mystery of his
will, according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ 10 as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all
things in him, things in heaven and things on earth.
The whole universe will be restored/united in pursuing it’s original purpose for the glory of God
Every action taken by man or beast or water droplet will be for the glory of God in it’s purest sense.
So, Embrace our costly redemption that’s bigger than us
And as I think about this, I think of a prophet in the Old Testament named Hosea.
God wanted Hosea to display God’s grace to His people Israel in a unique way.
So, He told His prophet to go and marry a prostitute even though she was going to continue in her ways.
She would leave Hosea several times and return to her sad life.
Eventually, the situation degenerated to the point that Hosea’s wife was so used and abused that she was
being auctioned off as a slave -she likely could no longer use her body to pay her debts.
In one of the most beautiful pictures of the Old Testament, God tells Hosea to go and to buy her back.
He REDEEMED her.
He does so and takes her back to his home because he had made a covenant with her as her husband.
God had Hosea show this amazing act of redemption to illustrate His covenant love for His people.
Now, God’s people the church live under the New Covenant, which we celebrate in communion.
And God’s steadfast covenant love is even more radical than what Hosea displayed.
We can believe it even though it is too amazing to grasp.
If you know Jesus as your Savior, do you thank God regularly for what He paid for your redemption, which
is the sacrifice of His Son?
Let me share with you something that I either learned this week.
Verses 11-14 depict God’s plan of salvation throughout History showing - two examples of God’s saving
grace: Jewish & Gentile believers
11 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, 12 so that we who were the first to hope in Christ might
be to the praise of his glory. 13 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, 14 who is the guarantee of our
inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory.
These verses continue to unpack the spiritual blessings that belong to followers of Christ.
Paul is speaking of God’s work among Jewish believers in 11-12.
And in these verses he speaks of the Jews as those “who are the first to hope in Christ” - the Messiah.
He addresses the salvation of Gentile believers in v.13 as he opens it with “YOU ALSO,” referencing the
Asian readers of this letter.
Then he brings both groups back together in v. 14 to express the guarantee of heaven for believing Jews &
Gentiles, speaking of the Holy Spirit as the guarantee of OUR salvation.
But don’t take the truths in these verses to be only true of Jewish believers or only of Gentile believers.
The truths brought up about salvation are true of both Jewish and Gentile believers.
Just allow this understanding to help you get why these verses are worded the way they are and a little
repetitive.
With these being true of all believers, I want to encourage you to -
2. EMBRACE GOD BEING IN CONTROL OF HIS PLAN FOR SALVATION. (11-14)
11 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, 12 so that we who were the first to hope in Christ might
be to the praise of his glory. 13 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, 14 who is the guarantee of our
inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory.
first we learn from -
2a. JEWISH EXAMPLE: GOD’S PREDETERMINATION TO SAVE A PEOPLE FOR HIS GLORY. (11-12)
11 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, 12 so that we who were the first to hope in Christ might
be to the praise of his glory. 13 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, 14 who is the guarantee of our
inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory.
Now, let me first point out that not ALL of Isreal was predestined for salvation.
Romans 9 explains how not all the nation of Israel walk in a saving relationship with God.
But those individuals among God’s covenant people who trusted in Christ for salvation received an eternal
inheritance.
Let’s dig into how God did His predestining work among the Jewish people.
Certainly, throughout the Old Testament, we see God being God.
And exercising His sovereign will over man’s decisions is a large part of His being God.
The Old Testament Proverbs that teach this in –
Proverbs 16:9 9 The heart of man plans his way, but the Lord establishes his steps.
Any reader of the Old Testament will agree that God chose and predestined people to walk in a special
relationship with Him.
As students of the Old Testament, we’re comfortable with
God choosing Noah’s family to survive the flood,
God calling Abraham to be the father of a great nation,
God declaring that Jacob would be the brother that would be blessed over his older brother, Esau
God allowing Joseph to suffer for God’s greater purpose
God sending Jacob’s family to Egypt to be slaves
God raising up Moses to free His people and hardening Pharoah’s heart
God raising up one king after another good and bad to carry out His sovereign plans.
We’re generally comfortable with the predestining work of God in the Old Testament according to the
purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will
It can be difficult for us to grasp that God will unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth
But He will.. because He says He will… not because we think He will.
It can be difficult for us to grasp that God works all things according to the counsel of his will?
But we can still embrace that He does… because He says He does.
We have the entire Old Testament to show us how God worked His will with human counterparts.
And the result of Jewish believers trusting in Christ because God predestined them to do so is the same
purpose we see in v. 6.
It’s for the praise of His glory.
So, I mentioned that Paul deals with the saved and unsaved Jews in Romans 9-11.
Specifically, he defends God from the accusation that unsaved Jews are evidence of God’s failure.
Similar to his explanation of believing Jews having been predestined, he states in -
* Romans 9:14–16 14 What shall we say then? Is there injustice on God’s part? By no means! 15 For he says
to Moses, “I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have
compassion.” 16 So then it depends not on human will or exertion, but on God, who has mercy.
Paul is defending God’s justice and sovereign right as God.
And God’s predetermination is an appropriate explanation for why some are saved and some not.
And it should ease our concern about whether God is truly just or not.
Or as the ESV Study Bible states, “God’s predestination gives his people tremendous comfort, for they know
that all who come to Christ do so through God’s enabling grace and appointment.”
We’re going to talk next week about what God’s sovereignty in salvation means for evangelism and prayer.
For now, I want to ask you this question -
Can you accept that God is in control of His saving work?
We can agree that man’s free will is certainly exercised in his choosing to trust Christ as His Savior.
But if you’re concern is that you want to believe that man is in control of his salvation, I don’t think the
Scriptures backs that up.
Moving on to verse 13, we see the -
2b GENTILE EXAMPLE: GOD’S AMAZING RESPONSE TO OUR SIMPLE RESPONSE TO THE GOSPEL.
11 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, 12 so that we who were the first to hope in Christ might
be to the praise of his glory. 13 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, 14 who is the guarantee of our
inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory.
We Gentiles were welcomed into the ranks of God’s redeemed people,
But for us, it didn’t involve hoping in the coming Messiah like our Jewish brothers.
Instead, Paul isolates our HEARING the true truth of the gospel -the good news of salvation.
But obviously, only hearing the gospel wasn’t enough.
God requires a response of faith to the gospel of Christ’s death and resurrection for the forgiveness of sins
We must BELIEVE which means “to entrust oneself to something/someone with complete confidence”
Certainly, this the response is highlighted in verses like
* John 1:12 to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of
God,
* John 3:16 whoever believes in [Christ] should not perish but have eternal life.
It is man’s moral responsibility to believe the gospel.
And this highlights God’s response to our response to the Gospel
God would be perfectly justified to say,
“I think I’ve done enough.
I’ve been at work since before creation to save you.
I sacrificed my son.
I arranged for someone to share the gospel with you.
You’re on your own.”
Instead, He responds to our saving faith by sealing us with the Holy Spirit.
A seal would be something that a person would use to show their ownership.
Think of a podium with the seal of a college or a government agency.
A seal would also be used to seal a package to warn others of who it belonged to and to ensure that no one
tampered with it along the way.
If you bought a bottle of pills and the seal was broken, you’d be wise not to use it because it might’ve been
tampered with.
In the same way, the Holy Spirit is our seal in that He marks us as belonging to God and he protects our
salvation from being tampered with.
I want you to ask yourself –
Do I experience the ministry of the Holy Spirit in my life -His convincing, conviction, comfort, etc?
We’re provided with one last rich image which is intended to assure us of the security of our salvation.
Paul goes on to describe the Holy Spirit -
14 who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory.
Throughout the ages, if one party wanted the right to purchase something that wasn’t available yet, they
would provide a down payment.
This down payment was called a guarantee.
The same term is used in modern Greek for an engagement ring, which is given in anticipation of moving
into betrothal and then to marriage.
This isn’t the only place that the New Testament speaks of the Holy Spirit in this way.
2 Corinthians uses the same idea in -
* 2 Corinthians 1:22 22 [God] has also put his seal on us and given us his Spirit in our hearts as a
guarantee.
* 2 Corinthians 5:5 5 He who has prepared us for this very thing is God, who has given us the Spirit as a
guarantee.
In this same letter of Ephesians we’ll read Paul’s warning to follow to the Holy Spirit’s leading
* Ephesians 4:30 30 And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of
redemption.
The presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives results in God ministering to us numerous ways.
He convicts of sin, grows us through trials, and rightly assures us of our salvation.
Our assurance of salvation comes directly from the ministry of the Holy Spirit.
* Romans 8:16 16 The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God,
The indwelling Holy Spirit allows us to trust of God as our heavenly Father.
* Galatians 4:6 6 And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying,
“Abba! Father!”
What the Holy Spirit guarantees for us is our inheritance of heaven -unfettered relationship with God.
This means the ministry of the Holy Spirit is only a foretaste of the full experience.
And once again, we’re reminded that all this is to boast of God’s grace or be to the praise of his glory.
So, I encourage you to Embrace God Being in Control of His Plan for Salvation.
You know, becoming more and more of a Hoosier comes with advantages.
And it also comes with its disappointments as I cheer on the Colts; although we’re looking really good.
A particular disappointing episode came at the end of a 75 yard pass completion, which should’ve been a
touchdown.
In their recent game against the Losa Angelos Rams, Colt’s receiver, Adonai Mitchell, carelessly dropped the
ball as he was crossing into the endzone.
He bobbled the ball because he was showboating before he’d scored the points.
And the Colts lost the game by seven points.
It would’ve been so easy for the rookie, Adonai Mitchell to celebrate his 1 st NFL touchdown.
Instead, he’ll always remember it as a regretful example of celebrating too early.
We don’t have to worry that THE Adonia God dropping us inches before crossing the goal line.
If you know Christ as your Savior, you are sealed in Christ by the Holy Spirit of promise, who has specifically
been given as a guarantee/a down payment of your full experience of heaven.
