You would turn in your Bibles this morning to the letter of Paul to the Ephesians. The letter of Paul to the Ephesians. We'll be looking at chapter 1, verses 3 through 14, which, it's hard to tell from our English translations, is a hymn of praise, a doxology. And I have, for your benefit, on the back side of your sermon outline, Reproduced the NIV text, but reformatted it to look more like a hymn. So you can see the structure of it as we work through it today. Ephesians chapter 1, verses 3 through 14. Hear God's word. Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. for he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight in love he predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ in accordance with his pleasure and will to the praise of his glorious grace which he has freely given us in the one he loves in him we have redemption through his blood the forgiveness of sins in accordance with the riches of God's grace that he lavished on us with all wisdom and understanding. And he made known to us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure, which he purposed in Christ to be put into effect when the time will have reached their fulfillment to bring all things in heaven and on earth together under one head, even Christ. In him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will in order that we who were the first to hope in Christ might be for the praise of His glory. And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. Having believed, you were marked in Him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God's possession to the praise of His glory. Here ends the reading of God's Word. When I was growing up, What's It All About, Alfie, was a popular song about the meaning of life, about having something to believe in and a purpose to pursue. What's it all about? Everyone has an answer to this question, from the greatest professor of mathematics who contemplates his quantum theory to the smallest baby who wants his bottle right now. For some, the answer changes over time. For others, all they can do is throw up their hands and say, I don't know. I don't know what it's all about. But the answer to this question has consequences. It informs our answer to an equally important question, and that is, how then shall I live? What's it all about? How then should I live? We're questions that the Ephesians were asking, and they're questions that we ought to be asking today. many religious and spiritual groups promise answers to these questions secret answers that are jealously guarded and the mystery religions in Ephesus were no different and the many spiritualities marketed today like them leave their followers as Ephesians 2 verse 1 and 2 says dead in their transgressions and sins in which they live when they follow the ways of the world Paul merely introduced the question or the answer to the question how then should we live when he says in verse 4 that we are to be holy and blameless in his sight and we will consider this question anew when we reach chapters 4 through 6 where Paul expounds on what it means to live a life worthy of the calling you have received but today we will focus on the first what's it all about? Well, there's only one true answer to this question, and it is known only from the Word of God. And the answer informs the entire letter to the Ephesians, and our text in particular. Our text, the Apostle Paul's resounding doxology to the praise of God's glory. It's a beautiful and glorious Word of God that reveals the work of our triune God throughout, yet highlights in each stanza the particular work of each divine person. This is a one sentence, 202 words long, that rolls like a snowball downhill, gathering weight and force. It leaves you breathless at the end. And it begins in verse 3. Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. When Paul says every spiritual blessing, he means every spiritual blessing. But he classifies all of them under but three heads. Election, redemption, and certification. These blessings are spiritual, not only because they have their origin in the heavenly realms, but because they are blessings to the regenerate spiritual nature that God has imparted to his people. And though these blessings are spiritual, they benefit both body and soul, both now and for eternity. May we today, as we work through this text, be moved to bless our God whose glory is revealed in his triune work of salvation that reaches from eternity to eternity and encompasses the whole of creation. Let us join with Paul and the church of all ages in the praise of God's glory revealed in the Father's election, the Son's redemption, and the Holy Spirit's certification. In the first stanza of our doxology, this doxology of praise, Paul emphasizes God's glory as revealed in the Father's election. Many islands, if we look at the map, or if we've been on a boat, we see many islands that appear as tiny points of land appearing above the sea, only a few thousand feet, small and insignificant. But things are not as they appear, for the foundation of these peaks is often far below the water. So far, in fact, that many of these islands, these mountains under the water, by comparison, would tower over Mount Everest. And in a similar way, the salvation that the saints, the believers in Ephesus enjoy, and which we enjoy today, involves far more than we can see in our brief span of life. Our salvation extends back through time. In fact, beyond time to eternity. And our finite minds cannot fathom the depth of this salvation. We can only know it through faith by what God has revealed in His Word. And while all three persons of the Godhead accomplish our great salvation, it is God the Father who takes the lead in the divine work of election. John Calvin rightly noted that it is election that is the foundation and first cause of every blessing of God. And we're told in verse 4 that He chose us. He, that is the Father, chose us and He chose us for Himself. To choose is to pick out and separate some from all the rest. Young people, when you did your back-to-school shopping, you chose for yourself some of all the clothes in the world. Yes, you would have liked to have had them all, but you had a budget, and you have your personal standards, and you have the school dress code to worry about. And because you could not choose all, you chose some, and you left the rest. And God the Father's choosing is like your choosing only in this, that He chose some. and did not choose all. But his choosing is different than your choosing because he didn't choose based on a budget. His resources are unlimited. He could afford to purchase or choose all. And he didn't choose based on the qualities of some that he preferred over the qualities of others. All of them don't measure up. All of them are unholy and faulty, and he is holy and perfect. Isaiah the prophet said, All of us have become like one who is unclean and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags. What a selection. Even so, we are told in verse 4 that from all, He chose some to be holy and blameless in His sight. And this Father's choosing, His election is not an impersonal act. It is the very personal and binding act of adoption as his own children from among those who are not his children, from among those who are his enemies. Well, why did God the Father choose some? Was it simply because he was able to determine that some would come to believe in Christ in time and therefore from eternity he should pick them? Well, God indeed knows all things And he certainly knew in eternity all who would choose and believe in Christ. But this does not explain his choosing. We're told in verse 5 that he predestined us to be adopted as sons, as his sons. And the language here is clear. To predestine does not mean simply to know about something beforehand. It means to determine something beforehand. God the Father determined beforehand. He appointed beforehand. He ordained beforehand. He marked out beforehand the chosen. His elect. From before the foundation of the world. And He did this not because there's anything in us to be chosen. Rather, it's according to Himself. See, the Father's election is by grace alone. His unmerited favor shown to those who are dead in their transgressions and sins. Verse 7 and 8 tell us that every spiritual blessing is given in accordance with the riches of God's grace which He lavished upon us. It was not merely from His riches that God gave His grace. It was according to His riches that He poured forth His grace. And to understand this a little better, consider two very rich persons who, when asked to provide lodging to a visiting dignitary, both gave of their riches. The first provided a room at Motel 6, a lodging to be sure, but not in keeping with his riches. The second provided the presidential suite at the Hotel Del Coronado, an extravagant lodging in keeping with his richness. You see, the second lavished according to his riches. And in like manner, God forever gives and forgives according to the riches of his grace. And he is rich indeed. And he does this, his lavishing on us, as verse 8 says, with all wisdom and understanding. And you will see a note in your NIV Bible that this verse can be understood in one of two ways, or this phrase. The NIV translates it beginning in verse 7, In accordance with the riches of God's grace that he lavished on us with all wisdom and understanding, period. But the New American Standard opted to translate it the other way, which reads, In accordance with the riches of God's grace that He lavished on us, period, with all wisdom and understanding, He made known to us the mystery of His will. And it is difficult to prefer one reading over the other because both make sense and both are true. Certainly, God gives of His grace according to all wisdom and understanding. For He alone is all wise and He alone is all understanding. But it is also true that God desires to give His elect all wisdom and understanding. In Colossians 1.9, Paul prayed for God to fill the saints with the knowledge of His will through all spiritual wisdom and understanding. So I prefer to understand it both ways. Again, this is one sentence. But in terms of application for us by means of God's gifts of wisdom and understanding, the Holy Spirit enables us with those gifts to know what it's all about and how then we should live. Understanding and wisdom. In the Father's election, His predestination unto adoption is, as verse 11 says, according to the plan of Him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of His will. See, God the Father has a plan. And it's not just a plan, it's a plan that directs everything. And this plan that directs everything is in perfect conformity with the purpose of His will. That is, it's in conformity, it fits perfectly with His good pleasure. There is no law or force apart from God to which God must adjust His plan. And there's no creature that He has ever made that can force God to readjust His plan. It's His plan for everything. And it's according to His will. His good purpose. And in His good pleasure, He elected some from all. His good pleasure that we be holy and blameless in His sight. That we be adopted as sons of God. and that we bless the glory of His grace now and forevermore is certain. It will be accomplished. And lest we be tempted to think that God is all talk and no action, we are told that He is the God who works out everything. That is, He accomplishes everything, and that by the very power He worked in Christ to raise Him from the dead. God's election, His predestination, His adoption is certain. It will be accomplished. The truth of this glorious revelation for which we ought to praise God's glory was signified for us this morning in the sacrament of baptism. And we read in the form that God the Father thereby witnesses and seals unto us that He makes an eternal covenant of grace with us and adopts us for His children and heirs. The Father's election. In the second stanza of this doxology of praise, Paul emphasizes God's glory revealed in the Son's redemption. Verse 7 tells us that in Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins. We learn of redemption in the Old Testament, where God made provision for a relative to buy back or to redeem a piece of property or a person passed from an original owner to another owner. This is the law of the kinsman redeemer. The law that allowed Boaz to redeem Ruth as his wife. And it's the law by which the Son of God redeems a people for himself. The Lord God redeemed the nation of Israel from Egypt as we are reminded this morning in the law as we read it. And he redeemed them not because of anything that was in them. We're told in Deuteronomy 7, 8 that it was because the Lord loved them and kept the oath he swore to their forefathers that he brought them out with a mighty hand and redeemed them from the land of slavery because he loved them. And likewise, the Father did not set his affection on the elect because of anything that's in us. But rather, verse 4 tells us that in love he predestined us to be adopted. as his sons through Jesus Christ. In love, by grace, he redeems those who were sold into slavery to sin in the fall of Adam. Well, how is it that God could choose some to adopt as children of God from among all the children of wrath without violating his holiness or his unchanging law? Only by choosing in Christ. Only by adopting through Christ. Verse 7 tells us that in the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God in the flesh, we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins. He has freed us from the power of sin, the guilt it brings and the punishment that it deserves because God made Him who had no sin to be sin for us so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God. As the Son promised to the Father in eternity, He came into history, into time, and He said, as Hebrews 10 tells us, Here I am. It is written about Me in the scroll, I have come to do Your will, O God. You see, He is the Beloved One. As verse 6 translates it, the One He, that is the Father, loves. He is the Beloved One, And it is He in whom the Father said at His baptism and on the mountain of transfiguration, This is my Son, whom I love, and in Him I am well pleased. You see, the elects of the Father are not their own. They've been bought with a price. As it says in 1 Peter 1, verses 18 and 19, a price paid not with perishable things such as silver or gold, But with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect, the Lamb of God came into the world and was slain. And with His blood purchased men for God from every tribe and language and people and nation. The truth of this glorious revelation for which we ought to praise God's glory was signified for us this morning in the sacrament of baptism. We read, the Son seals unto us that He washes us in His blood from all our sins, incorporating us into the fellowship of His death and resurrection, so that we are freed from our sins and accounted righteous before God. No longer filthy rags. The best of fare, the robe of Christ's righteousness. Because we have redemption in Christ, God the Father has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in Christ. And only in Christ can these blessings be had. He is the golden string upon which the pearls of this doxology are strung. In Christ, in Him, in whom? The Beloved. He is the golden string on which our salvation is strung. In Him we are chosen as God's own possession. In Him we are adopted as God's children. In Him God the Father lavished upon us the abundance of His grace. In Him we are made citizens of the kingdom of God. In Him we are appointed heirs of the kingdom of kings. And in Him we will receive our eternal inheritance. It will be Him who says to us on the last day, Come, you who are blessed by my Father, take your inheritance. The kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. And in him are found all manner of men, both Jew and Gentile. And Paul introduces in verses 11 through 14 a major theme for the book of Ephesians about the reconciliation between the Jew and the Gentile, between the people of God and those who are not. And we'll pick this up when we get to chapter 3 in detail. But for now, you just need to recognize the language he speaks particularly here. He speaks of we, and he speaks of you, and he speaks of our. And when he speaks of we, he's speaking of the Jews who hoped in Christ before he came. And when he speaks of you, he speaks to the Ephesians, Gentiles, like most of us, who came to know Christ only because we heard the gospel preached. And then he speaks of our, the two brought together in one, in Christ. Just read with me verses 11 to 14, and just with that understanding, plant that in your mind for now. In him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will, in order that we, who were the first to hope in Christ, might be for the praise of His glory. And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. And having believed, you were marked in Him with the seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God's possession, to the praise of His glory. We're faced with a minor question in verse 10, and that is, when is this to come about? When we read verse 10 in the NIV, we might be inclined to think that Paul is speaking entirely of something future, even for us. When it says that God's will, which he purposed in Christ in verse 10, is to be put into effect when the times will have reached their fulfillment, To bring all things in heaven and on earth together under one head, even Christ. But if we come away with that understanding that it's all future, we're going to miss the truth. And we will reduce the assurance that is ours today and the praise that we are to render today to God's glory. The Revised Standard Version is helpful here when it says that God's will, which he purposed in Christ, is, in verse 10, A plan for the fullness of times. To unite all things in Him, things in heaven, and things on earth. So the question is, when is the fullness of times? God's plan which He purposed in Christ was and is for the fullness of times. Or as we might say, when the time is ripe. The word time here refers to a particular time or particular season. Decisive times in the fulfillment of God's purposes. And according to the Father's purpose, the fullness of times is when all things are summed up in Christ. Things in heaven and things on earth. And Paul makes it clear, beginning in Ephesians chapter 1 verse 20, that the fullness of times is now. For when Christ was raised from the dead and ascended into heaven, God the Father seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly realms, far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every title that can be given, not only in the present age, but also in the one to come. And God placed all things under His feet and appointed Him to be head over everything for the church, which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills everything in every way. The fullness of times is now. Christ has ascended to His throne, but the fullness of times is not complete. And it will not be completed until the return of Christ, for as Paul explains further in 1 Corinthians 15, verse 26, he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. The last enemy to be destroyed is death. We live in the fullness of time. And until the fullness of time is complete, we must continue on in this world where, as the theologian Herman Bobbing said, Round about us we observe so many facts which seem to be unreasonable. So much undeserved suffering. So many unaccountable calamities. Such an uneven and inexplicable distribution of destiny. And such an enormous contrast between the extremes of joy and sorrow. That anyone reflecting on these things is forced to choose between viewing this universe as if it were governed by the blind will of an ill-willed God or upon the basis of scripture and by faith to rest in the absolute and sovereign yet however incomprehensible wise and holy will of him who will one day cause the full light of heaven to dawn upon these mysteries of life. When we consider our church bulletin today and over the last several weeks and months. Just considering this congregation alone out of the entirety of the world, we have seen what Bobic has described. The extremes of joy in the birth of babies and baptism today to the depths of sorrow in death and disease. We've seen calamities and suffering come upon people that we cannot explain. How is this possible? Why is this so? And may we, as we reflect on God's Word today and the glories that He's revealed here, be enabled to praise God's glory now in this fullness of times, standing by faith in Christ on the promises that we have here. And in the last stanza of this doxology of praise, Paul emphasizes God's glory revealed in the Holy Spirit's certification. Now you'll not find the word certification in your Bibles. The word used there is seal. But it helps us understand what it means in verse 13 that the elect in Christ, whether Jew or Gentile, are marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit. Paul tells the Gentiles, you were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. Two things are said here. We know that the knowledge of the truth of the gospel comes by hearing. We also know that many hear and do not believe. For hearing alone is vain without faith, and faith is the gift of God. It's the work of the Holy Spirit. Those who are marked with the seal of the Holy Spirit are those to whom the Holy Spirit has granted faith. To believe the gospel. It's much more than the great seal of the United States is on our dollar bill that tells us it's the real thing. That it's protected by the Federal Reserve and that it's legal tender. The Holy Spirit of God absolutely certifies at least three things to God's people. To those the Father has elected. To those redeemed in Christ. He certifies authenticity. He certifies ownership, and He certifies protection. First, the Holy Spirit certifies to the elect that the Word of God and the promises it contains are authentic. They're the real thing. And not only that they're true rather than false, more importantly, they are true for us. This aspect of the seal we call true faith, which Heidelberg Catechism 21 tells us is not only a sure knowledge, by which I hold for truth all that God has revealed to us in His Word but also a firm confidence which the Holy Spirit works in my heart by the Gospel that not only for others but for me also remission of sins, everlasting righteousness and salvation are freely given by God merely of grace only for the sake of Christ's merit. That's a seal, A certification of the Holy Spirit. Second, the Holy Spirit certifies that we belong to God. Those sealed by the Holy Spirit can confess with Heidelberg Catechism, number one, that we are not our own. But we belong, body and soul and life and in death, to our faithful Savior, Jesus Christ, who has redeemed us with His precious blood. You see, the elect in Christ have, according to Romans 8, received the Spirit of Sonship. And by Him we cry, Abba, Father. And the Spirit Himself testifies within our spirit that we are God's children. And third, the Holy Spirit certifies that the elect are protected against harm. By the sealing of the Holy Spirit, we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose. And finally, in verse 14, we find the Holy Spirit of promise is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God's possession. The Holy Spirit promised to the elect through the Old Testament prophets is the same Holy Spirit promised by the Lord Jesus Christ Himself, the Son of God in the flesh to His disciples before He ascended to His throne in heaven. The Holy Spirit poured out on the church at Pentecost is the down payment. That guarantees all. All. Every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms in Jesus Christ. When we make a down payment on a house, we are guaranteeing that we're going to pay for it in full. And this deposit remains a deposit until we have accomplished what we promised. When the mortgage is paid, we're given the full deed and title. We own it outright. No encumbrances. In a much greater way, the Holy Spirit secures us for the day when our redemption is complete. When our faith has become sight to the praise of God's glory. And the truth of this glorious revelation for which we ought to praise God's glory was signified for us this morning in baptism. By which the Holy Spirit assures us that He will dwell in us and sanctify us to be members of Christ, imparting to us that which we have in Christ, namely the washing away of our sins and the daily renewing of our lives until we shall finally be presented without spot among the assembly of the elect in life eternal. What's it all about? The Westminster Larger Catechism asked it this way, what is the chief and highest end of man to which it answers to glorify God and fully to enjoy Him forever. What's it all about? Our text tells us about the praise of God's glory. Praising Him for what He has done for us in Christ from before the foundation of the world and what He has promised to do for us in His Holy Spirit until we meet Him in eternity. May the revelation of our triune God's glory in our great salvation move us to gratitude, to praise God's glory in our thoughts and in our words and in our lives. Let us remember what Paul said in 2 Corinthians 2, verse 20. No matter how many promises God has made, they are yes in Christ. And so through Him, the Amen is spoken by us to the glory of God. Amen. Let's pray. Oh, Almighty God and Father, we are overwhelmed this day by this doxology of praise. Oh, that you have recorded for us through the Apostle Paul such wonderful promises and truths that you and your Trinity from eternity have accomplished our redemption in Christ and elected us in Him for that purpose and that You have sealed us for eternity by Your Holy Spirit. Oh Lord, help us to pause and to be changed by this truth. Have it affect us as Paul would have it affect us and as You would have it affect us. That it affects our lives and how we live. Not only how we praise You here on Sunday, but how we love our wives on Monday and how we nurture our children on Tuesday and how we serve our boss on Wednesday and on and on, that it would be all to the praise of Your glory because of what You have done for us, electing us only by Your good pleasure, redeeming us by the precious blood of Christ and sealing us by Your Spirit to where we will see Him face to face and we will be changed. Oh Lord, thank you. In Christ's name we pray. Amen.