The Sovereignty of God (Ephesians 1:11)

Good morning everyone. It's so wonderful to be with you all and Pastor Nathan and I called an audible this morning. So we will be taking just a short break from the Sermon on the Mount, but I'm really excited because I want us to be all thinking about a question at the forefront of our mind as we go throughout the rest of the sermon this morning.

I want us to be thinking, who is God? And so we're going to begin to unpack the answer because that actually can be answered in so many different ways. But I want us to begin to think the only way we could know who God is, is if he reveals himself to us.

And so this is why we must go to his word. This is how he has chosen to reveal himself in a very specific way. God has revealed himself in other ways too. If we just look at creation, we realize that it points back to our sovereign creator God who made everything, but we don't know him personally unless he reveals himself to us.

So that is very important that the scriptures are the authority in which God speaks and declares himself to us. We have to be careful that we don't just formulate our own opinions about what we think God is like, right?

Because what will happen is we will begin to make a God in our own image. We will fashion a God with our own hands and that will no way tell us who God actually is. But because of our sinful tendencies, that's what we often tend to do.

So we must start with God's word and let him tell us who he is. I'm actually reminded of a story back in Job. Remember the whole story how Job had it probably worse than anyone, right? But God had a purpose in it all and his friends came alongside him in the beginning, right?

They didn't say a word and that's probably the best thing that they did. They were just there for their friend. But the moment they started telling their thoughts and opinions is when it started to go south.

And by the end of the story of Job, God said this directly to Job's friends. He says, my anger burns against you, for you have not spoken of me what is right as my servant Job has. And so when I say that it's important for us to understand who God is, that is a huge understatement.

A failure to do so is to set up a false God and idol. And we cannot do that. The most important thing about you is what you think about God. That is why we must begin with his holy word. And so let's answer that question directly this morning.

The Trinity and the Attributes of God

Who is God? Well, it's the Trinity. When we look to scripture alone and all of scripture, we understand that there is one eternal God who exists in the Father, the Son, and the Spirit. We only come away with that conclusion when we look to the whole counsel of God.

And so he is the one creator God who has existed in perfect harmony with himself and three divine persons. And so as we begin to look at God's word, we learn about many qualities of God called attributes.

So one of the attributes of God is that he is eternal, meaning that he has always been. He is self-existent. Some theologians refer to this as God's aseity. He is ase. God is who he is. In fact, that's exactly what God said to Moses in the burning bush.

He said, I am who I am. Now we may look over that and say, doesn't that sound a little redundant? It's not because there's no way to describe God by anything else in this world. God is who he is, and he is who he reveals himself to be.

And so God is self-existent. He is ase. Now God also possesses a spiritual nature. So this is another attribute of God that he is spiritual. In fact, Jesus said this in John chapter four, God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and in truth.

God must be spirit in order to be infinite. God is not limited to one location like man because he is omnipresent. His presence is felt by all of creation. And so that's important to understand because the second person of the Trinity, who is Jesus Christ, he took on flesh and dwelt among us.

And so Jesus is the one making this connection between God being spirit and then worshiping him correctly. Worship him from spirit and in truth. And so what that means is we must worship him accurately in truth according to how he's revealed it.

We worship him in spirit, meaning from the heart, right? God calls us to love the Lord our God with all of our heart, soul, mind, and strength. So we must worship God in spirit and in truth. And we can worship God wherever we're at.

We're not bound to one particular location. It's wonderful that we all gather together on the Lord's Day, but we can worship God wherever we go. His presence is everywhere, and he's called us to worship him in spirit, from the heart, and in truth.

And so those are a couple of attributes of God that he is spirit, right? That God is self-existing, he's assay. But then I want to focus the rest this morning on another attribute. I want us to talk about the sovereignty of God.

The Sovereignty of God in All Things

I really do believe that if we really meditate, and we really dwell on the fact that God is sovereign, that his rule and his authority is spelt in all of creation, it will actually change how we live our lives.

And so don't turn to this passage necessarily. Actually, if you do want to turn to Ephesians chapter 1, that's what we're going to spend most of our time. But there is a verse that really pinpoints that God is the only sovereign in this world.

And this comes from 1 Timothy chapter 6. And so I just want you to hear this, setting it up for Ephesians chapter 1. God, he is the blessed and only sovereign. He is the King of kings and the Lord of lords, who alone has immortality, who dwells in unapproachable light, whom no one has ever seen or can see.

To him be honor and eternal dominion. Amen. And so with this passage on the I want us to think about that word sovereign. It means to have authority or power over. So if we're thinking about an earthly king, right, he would have a particular authority and power over a kingdom.

But we have to realize that we're talking about God. He is eternal. He is self-existing. He is immaterial. He is the creator. So he is all powerful. He has the supreme authority and he has the right to do whatever he pleases.

The psalmist says in Psalm 115 verse 3,. Our God is in the heavens and he does all that he pleases. That's what it means that God is sovereign. He has absolute rule over all of his creation. The psalmist continues to say in Psalm 135 verse 6,.

Whatever the Lord pleases, he does, whether it be in heaven or on earth, in the seas, in all the depths. And so I really think that the sovereignty of God is the foundational truth for all Christian theology.

God is and God who is is the God who reigns supreme. God upholds the universe by the word of his power. And when I think about this, I tell myself, Jeremiah, you can trust a God who is sovereign because he is reigning over everything.

When he makes a promise, it is a guarantee that he can bring it to fruition. I can trust in his promises and there is no greater authority than God himself. Satan can't thwart God's purposes, not human beings, not even our circumstances.

God has a purpose in all things that we're going to continue to unpack this morning. The scriptures declare hallelujah for the Lord our God almighty reigns. And so I believe his sovereignty is the bedrock doctrine for all doctrines.

And so I want us to be captivated. I want us to be in awe of the triune God that we worship because every moment of every day, God is reigning. He is ruler over every aspect of life. That means every event.

He is ruling over creation, nation, circumstances, human minds, human hearts, even human wills. Proverbs 21 .1 says the king's heart is a stream of water in the hand of the Lord and it's the Lord. He turns it wherever he wills.

Ephesians 1:11 and the Counsel of God

So if you have your Bibles this morning, please turn with me to Ephesians chapter one, where we're going to do something a tad different. I want us to focus on one particular verse, verse 11. But you know me, we're going to be looking at the context and we're going to be grabbing scripture from everywhere.

And that's just really so we understand the depths of what the apostle Paul is telling us here in verse 11. So look with me in verse 11. In him, talking about Christ, 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.

Let's pray this morning. Heavenly father, thank you so much for this wonderful body of believers that we get to fellowship with and we get to worship you in spirit and in truth. God, I pray that you would bless us, that you would give us truth, that you would give us ears to hear and a heart that's willing to obey and understand and to live our lives differently in light of who you are.

God, some of the things that we will be talking about are going to be very hard to grasp and God, we can't grasp everything that you have revealed to us. And so Lord, I just pray that you would meet us where we're at and that God, we would let your word dictate what is true.

God, please help us to remove our opinions, our thoughts, but to trust in you, allowing you to make our paths straight. Lord, we love you. We praise things in your name, Jesus. Amen. So as I want to develop in our minds is how God has a sovereign purpose in all things.

And he is, he is bringing about his plan of redemption for a fallen, undeserving people. And so look with me again at verse 11, in him that is Christ, 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 my four major points this morning are going to be talking about that word predestined. We're going to also talk about his purpose, God's counsel and his will. Okay. So this all flows out of this verse.

And if you carefully pay attention, I think that this actually begins with God's counsel. Okay. So this is the first and major point. We start with God's counsel, God's counsel within himself as the triune God existed first.

So in your mind, I want you to think back as far as your mind will possibly let you go, go before the foundation of the world before angels were created before anything. All you have is God, the father, God, the son, and God, the spirits.

Okay. You have this heavenly counsel going on and it's a Trinitarian counsel. What was going on before the foundation of the world was the father, son, and spirit were counseling and considering every conceivable possibility within a created world.

And so in Ephesians one, this is kind of the context, right? We actually see the whole Trinity here in Ephesians one. If you just glance back at verse three, we read blessed be the God and father of our Lord Jesus Christ.

And then later in verse 13, you see the Holy spirit. And so this is why the council begins first with God and him alone. And so out of this divine council brings forth their will. Okay. So that was the first major point that was pretty quick.

God's Will, Election, and the Purpose of Redemption

So let's talk about God's will. We're going to camp on this one for a little bit. So this is the second major point. The triune God's will means that they made a decision, a choice was made and please do not miss this.

Their decision to create is all inclusive. It's all encompassing of what will come to pass and exist. I think the writer James in James chapter four really brings this to a practical application. James says, come now, you who say today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit.

Yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life for you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes. Instead, you ought to say, if the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.

And that good James is saying, look, you can make the plans for tomorrow and the future, but you have no idea what is going to happen. You know, who does know God? Why does he know? Because they counseled about what is going to be in this world.

And there's, there's a major where I'm jumping ahead of myself a little bit, but a major purpose of what God is accomplishing. And it is his plan of redemption. Everything is ultimately cultivating, coming together for that particular end.

And so James is trying to encourage us. If you trust in him, the one who does know the future, make your plans. Don't worry about them, plan for them, but trust in God. And so God alone knows the future.

And he is the one working. I want you to hear this a number of times this morning. He is the one working all things together after the counsel of his will. Once again, the prob the writer in Proverbs says, many are the plans of the mind of a man, but it is the purpose of the Lord that will stand.

And so we are talking about God's will ultimately of what he will bring to pass. And so something else that's actually an encouragement. I've had many tough conversations about this next point, but I think it's very encouraging.

God has a particular people in mind. You've probably read your Bible and come across the word, the elect or God exercising election. And I think people are just like, man, I don't like how this is coming about.

And I think it's because if we, if we look to ourself and think, well, if I was God, I wouldn't choose a certain people to lavish grace, love mercy upon. And so this is one of those deals like with Job's friends.

We have to think, okay, God, I'm going to let you reveal who you are to me, show me in your word. And so I do want us to examine more of the context in Ephesians chapter one, look back with me at verse three, where I think we get a little peek into God's plan of redemption for a particular people called the elect.

Verse three says, 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. And so as we're doing hermeneutics, as we are studying our Bibles, we need to make an observation and ask the question, who is the us referring to here?

Well, I can tell you, since God is sovereign, since he knows all things and sees all things, this us isn't a nameless faceless group that God has no idea who it's going to be. It's a very particular group of people.

It's the Christians at Ephesus, right? He's referring to saints. God is showing his love towards a people that he chose. And verse four goes on to say, even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him.

Why would God do all this? Well, he says in love, in love, he did all this. He predestined us for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will. That's what that's what this major point we're talking about is God has a will.

The triune God made a decision to create a very particular world and spoke it into existence. And at the very core of this world is there is a plan of redemption of God, showing his love and affection towards a people that does not deserve it.

And it's all encompassing. Once again, God has marked out where the elect are going to be born in history, who their parents are going to be, what their gender is, who they're going to marry, even the point in time where they come to saving faith in Jesus Christ.

There is no end to all of God's prescripted will here in this creation because he is the master. He has an eternal master plan that he is accomplishing. This is God's will. We are spending time in the Sermon on the Mount, right?

We've been looking at the Lord's prayer. This should be our heart. We should pray, God, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. And so God's will will not be thwarted and it cannot be thwarted.

And so this leads us to major point number three, where we're talking about God's purpose. Out of God's counsel from eternity past came forth his will and God's purpose is his divine determination to execute his will.

In fact, it is certain that God will accomplish his will because he is the one declaring the end all the way from the beginning. I want us to take a moment to look at a passage from the prophet Isaiah, one of the most spectacular passages in all of scripture.

And if you're in the youth, you hear me say that a lot because I feel that way about all of scripture. But in Isaiah chapter 46, I remember reading this for one of the first times and having to just sit back and thank God you are so much bigger than what my mind can comprehend.

Isn't that what the scripture tells us in Isaiah that God's thoughts and ways are higher than our own? So we should expect to have our minds blown when we read about the sovereignty of God. Now Isaiah 46, starting in verse eight, we read God is speaking through the prophet Isaiah.

He says, remember this and stand firm or call it to mind you transgressors. Remember the former things of old for I am God and there is no other. I am God and there is none like me declaring the end from the beginning and from ancient times things not yet done saying my counsel shall stand and I will accomplish all of my purpose.

Calling a bird of prey from the east, the man of my counsel from a far country, I have spoken and I will bring it to pass. I have purposed and I will do it. So when we ask a question like, oh yeah, God sees the future and he knows what something's going to be, it's so much deeper than He's purposed it to happen in a very particular way.

You can't just look at one event in history and say, yeah, God had a purpose for that, but not necessarily everything else around it. Think about all of redemptive history. All of history is connected in some way to itself.

And that's why verse 10, I just, I look at that. God is the one declaring the end from the He doesn't just know it, but He is the one declaring it. And when you look at a broader context in Isaiah, you could almost look at this context starting from Isaiah chapter 40 all the way through 48.

Isaiah is comparing, contrasting false gods that are made with human hands with Yahweh. Okay. So the false gods made by human hands, they can't tell you anything of what, why something happened in the past.

They cannot make prophecies about what's going to happen in the future. This is what Isaiah said earlier to the false gods, give us an explanation of what has happened in the past. And surely you can declare to us the things that will come into the future.

Guess what an idol is going to do. It's just going to look at you, especially if it's a statute made with human hands, not going to do anything. How foolish is it to look to something in this created order and worship that what a waste that Solomon would say that it is vain, right?

It would be like grasping for the wind. And so Isaiah continues to say, behold, you idols, you are nothing. And your work is less than nothing. And abomination is he who chooses you. And so Isaiah is comparing, contrasting false idols made by human hands that can't do anything with the one true living God.

He gives us an explanation about the past and he's able to give us prophecies about the future. He is the one working all things together after the counsel of his will. And so there are other views out there that say, well, God doesn't know the future.

And that honestly really gets me frustrated. I mean, it's sad, but God knows the future all too well, but they realize the implications that if God knows the future, it's going to happen, right? It's connected with him having purpose.

And I just want to say, look, let God be God. He does know the future. He does have a purpose in all things, right? The scripture even tells us in first John three 20, that God knows all things he is omniscient.

And so that really bothers me when people try to bring God down to man's level, we don't know the future, right? So how dare you say that God is a being that doesn't know the future as well? What it tells me is that they maybe have looked at their Bible and they don't like what they're reading.

Remember when we're after truth, we have to let God tell us what truth is because he sees everything. And so there's another view out there that says, well, sure, God is all knowing, but he had to somehow look down through time and learn what was going to happen in order to make his choices.

Let me ask you, is God like a man that he should learn? No, God is omniscient. He tells us what to do. We don't inform him of anything. He is triune. He is all knowing he is all powerful. He is sovereign.

And so he has an eternal purpose to redeem an undeserving people to himself that he might put his glory on display. And we say his glory. We're talking about all of the attributes that tell us who God is.

We know God is love. He is graceful. He is merciful. He is patient. And those are the attributes that people really cling to and hold tight to. And you should. Those are wonderful truths. But the scripture tells us, God tells us also that he is holy.

He is also just and he is also wrathful against sin. And so when we ask the question, who is God and what are his purposes, we must look to the whole counsel of God. So our main text this morning is Ephesians 1 verse 11.

But if you would please turn a page over with me in your Bibles to Ephesians chapter 3. We're going to look starting in verse 9, where the apostle Paul is talking about the grace of God in his life and how he is called to preach the unsearchable riches of Christ.

And look with me at verse 9, where he starts by saying it is God who created all things so that through the church, the manifold wisdom of God might be might now be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places.

This was according to the eternal purpose that he has realized in Jesus Christ, our Lord. What a wonderful passage to kind of examine with Ephesians 1 verse 11. I want to highlight a couple of things here.

So we started off by looking at number one, God is the creator of all things, right? God is eternal. He himself is uncreated. He is self-existing. However, everything else that exists is created by God.

This includes time and space. He has carefully planned everything to come to be the way that the triune God counseled. And so I think about what are all the implications of that? Aren't there the good and the bad and the ugly that we see?

Yes, everything has purpose. Proverbs 16 verse 4 says, the Lord has made everything for its purpose, even the wicked for the day of trouble. And so we have to be reminded that there is a huge distinction between the creator and the creation.

Guess which category we belong into? The creation, right? So when we look at God, we should bend the knee and say, you're creator of all things. I submit to you. Tell me how I ought to live. And so this kind of transitions into the wisdom of God.

We should not be setting our minds on the thing below, right? We should be looking heavenward, right? We should be looking to God and his truth. And so back here in verse 10, we read about the wisdom of God.

Verse 10 says, so that through the church, the manifold wisdom of God now be known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places. And so as I was thinking about this passage, I thought, you know, all of God's wisdom and his creation is like a theater being put on display, right?

It is beautiful. And us as people, we can recognize that, right? We see the creation. It testifies to God's handiwork, right? And when he says to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places, I think there's other agents that exist in this world, right?

Angels, right? God is putting his glory on display for human beings and for angels. Now, also, as I was studying this, I came across a really good quote from a 20th century theologian by the name of A .W. Pink.

I wanted to share this with you. He says, from all eternity, God designed that our world should be the stage on which he would display his manifold grace and wisdom in the redemption of lost sinners. For the accomplishment of the glorious design, God has governed the world from the beginning and will continue it to the end.

It has been well said, we can never understand the providence of God over our world unless we regard it as a complicated machine having infinite interwoven parts directed in all of its operations to one glorious end.

Now, that sounds like the prophet Isaiah. God is the one declaring the end from the beginning. And he tells us that his purpose, his counsel would stand. And I believe that the angels, right? They are seeing God's plan unfold.

Angels long to look into the things of man in terms of redemption. Now, I think it's interesting that I have so many questions about angels, right? And I think angels have a lot of questions about us.

But both of us, both kinds, angels and humans alike, we get to see God's plan unfold before our very eyes. And so God has a purpose. It has always been God's purpose to create a world. Now, this is hard for me to understand and for other people that I in creating this world in such a way that we would fall into sin.

But what would the purpose be behind that? God is a savior by nature, right? So he creates a world that falls into sin so he can redeem it. And I want us to think about this. God has always had plan A.

He's never resorted to a plan B. That's why the scriptures tell us that Jesus Christ is the lamb slain before the foundation of the world. What does that tell us? That God always had, before the foundation of the world, he had a plan that he was going to execute.

Now, that may make some of us feel a little strange. Well, guess what? God is sovereign. He's going to do things that blow our minds. I just want to rest in the fact that he has shown me grace and mercy.

And I want to show that same love, grace and mercy to other people. And I'm going to trust God with the rest. I can put my head on my pillow at night and sleep because God is the one upholding his universe.

So with that being said, let's go back to Ephesians chapter 1 verse 11. We're kind of to refresh our minds out of God's counsel, right? This Trinitarian counsel from before the foundation of the world came forth his will and he is determined to accomplish all of his purpose.

And so now this brings us to that scary word, predestined. So this is major point number four. Predestination is God's guarantee that his sovereign will, his eternal master plan will be brought to pass.

From God's perspective, everything is a done deal. Everything created has a predetermined purpose in God's universe. Now you may say, well, then what's the point, Jeremiah? The point is that God is putting his glory on display.

And if you sit down and say, well, I guess I can do nothing and be disobedient and God's going to, you're right. That will not thwart God. Your disobedience will not thwart God's sovereignty. So why not choose to be obedient and to be blessed?

Because that's also ordained. There's also purpose in that. But if people wrongly conclude unbiblically that I guess I can just stay at home, you can stay at home. And guess what? God's sovereignty is not thwarted in any way.

And so rather I'm fueled to know that my prayers are ordained. Those are the means in which God uses. I know that my prayers are sanctifying to me. We talk in the youth all the time. Do our prayers change God?

Delaney's saying, uh-uh, no, right? God knows all things. He tells us to pray and he knows what we need even before we pray and ask him. So what does that tell us about prayer? That prayer changes us.

Prayer allows us to commune with the creator, the sovereign ruler of the universe. That fuels me to continue in prayer. Actually, not the opposite. Honestly, the people that say, well, why pray? I'm like, God told me to and I am so blessed by it when I do, right?

And the same principle applies to evangelism, sharing the gospel with others. We're like a magnet saying, hey, here's bread, here's how to have eternal life. God's going to give the increase, right? I trust him in that, right?

So I think when we go forth preaching the gospel, my gospel proclamation has 100 success rate because God is sovereign. He's even sovereign over the small things in this world, things that seem random to us.

Have you ever rolled the dice? Now, you probably have seen some loaded dice, man. That's about as close as we can get to being right every time in our prediction, right? But when we roll dice, it's random to us, right?

When we look at dust molecules, they're just firing around. It all seems random to us. Guess what? God has a purpose with everything in this world. The Proverbs, once again, say in Proverbs 16 and 33, the lot is cast into the lap, but it's every decision is from the Lord.

The casting of lots was real similar to rolling dice. God has a purpose in every single outcome. And so I think where this really starts to make application for us is when we do look to things that do have significance.

Like, remember when Jesus, he suffered and he was beaten and he died on the cross? From a human perspective, we might have looked at that and said, oh no, is this the plan of God for him to suffer and to die?

Is everything happening the way that it should? Because from a human perspective, we might be saying, oh no, is God losing? And what we're reminded with is God doesn't lose. That's an oxymoron. That's actually impossible to happen according to how God has revealed himself.

God has always been sovereign, even though we might think that Satan was perhaps winning or that wicked men were overthrowing the will of God. No way. In fact, the cross was guaranteed to happen at Calvary with Jesus Christ from before the foundation of the world.

If you have your Bibles, I think we'll actually have this on the screen, but turn with me to Acts chapter four. This is another one of those Bible passages like Isaiah 46, where I'm like, Lord, I had this kind of small view of who you are according to what I thought.

And then this just blew my mind all over again. This is one of those passages that I take rest in knowing that God is upholding the universe and that he executes everything that he has determined to take place.

Acts chapter four, starting in verse 27 says, for truly in this city, there were gathered together against your holy servant, Jesus, whom you anointed both Herod and Pontius Pilate, along with the Gentiles and the people of Israel to do whatever your hand and your plan had predestined to take place.

I think about all of the evil that was involved with Jesus going to the cross of Calvary, about so many wicked men, pride, selfish gain, the Pharisees, they all disagree with each other that they all united on one thing and it was to take down Jesus.

Right. And so what I'm getting at is these men will be held accountable for their heart's desire and for their sin that they committed. Right. But all of this was happening by the sovereign hand of God.