In Him Chosen Part 2

Please stand for the reading of God's Word. The Old Testament reading today is going to be in Hosea 11, 1 through 4. That's chapter, that's on page 757 in your pew Bible. When Israel was a child, I loved him and out of Egypt I called my son.

The more they were called, the more they went away. They kept sacrificing to the Baals and burning offerings to idols. Yet it was I who taught Ephraim to walk. I took them up by their arms, but they did not know that I healed them.

I led them with cords of kindness, with the bands of love, and I became to them as one who eases the yokes on their jaws. And I bent down to them and I fed them.

New Testament reading is Romans 8, 12 through 17. So then brothers, we are debtors not to the flesh to live according to the flesh. For if you live according to the flesh, you will die. But if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live.

For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the spirit of adoption as sons by whom we cry, Abba, Abba Father.

The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God. And if children, then heirs, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him.

You may be seated.

Well, good morning.

Spiritual Blessings in Christ and Election Before the Foundation of the World

Open your Bibles to Ephesians 1, please. Before we were so rudely interrupted by this thing called time God made up, we were right in the middle of this first in hymn that we have in chapter one of the spiritual blessings we have in Christ that is supposed to lead us to truly worship Christ in light of it.

Remember, we're in that first in hymn part of this first chapter to get a grappling to understand what spiritual blessing means. If you remember, it's easy for us to know what physical blessings are. We can taste, touch, see, experience them with our senses.

But Paul calls us to a higher blessing that we can have in Christ and that is spiritual blessings, which is better than physical because it really animates the physical. And that's a whole nother conversation.

That's not the point of this message. But nevertheless, as we look at to understand what does it mean that I am to worship Christ in light of not my physical blessing, but my spiritual blessings in him.

Well, here Paul's laying it out one after the other of in him, in him, in him. And we're in this first in Christ, we have all spiritual blessings. And we see the first one, if you remember, he says in verse 3, Blessed be God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places.

And then here's the first in him, the first understanding of the spiritual blessing, even as he chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. And so we highlighted this nature that the first understanding of the blessings we have in Christ is that we chose Christ, if you have chosen Christ, because he first chose us before the foundation of the world.

And the magnitude or the breadth of that beautiful canvas painting of that picture, of the painting of God first choosing a people that enables them to then choose him. And we see that this happened before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless, that we should walk in holiness, or we should walk blamelessly because of Jesus, right?

And here we are now, I'll read the text, we'll go in prayer as we unpack. He says very much the same thing, only with a few different nuances that we'll point out. He says in him, he, verse 5, predestined us for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace with which he blessed us in the beloved.

Let's pray. God in heaven, thank you so much for your word unfolded before us. Lord, help us not to be a people that are in need of flashy show of constant noise and and imagery before us, Lord, to keep us focused or entertained.

But God, let us be a people that are satisfied with the simplicity of Jesus Christ in him, crucified and declared. God, it's so easy in our flesh to want more. And I know that there's, even as I battled in my own flesh, there's Christians before me that have that battle to wage right now.

Help us all, Lord, to focus on what Jesus has done that enables us, that shows us, that furthers our praise of him. He has done great things for his people. So may his people now before me, may they be satisfied with these things as they see that it is their life of these things that Jesus has done for us.

Lord, for those people before me who are not believers, oh, that they would repent and become saints in Jesus by their faith in him. And so may we all collectively here now look at your word and be satisfied with it and be changed by it and to live a life glorifying you because of your promises that are very sweet to us.

Thank you for being so good to us in him. May we respond in praise to him now in listening to his word and applying it to our hearts by the aid of the Spirit. Thank you. In Jesus' name, Amen. If you just spend a few moments in God's creation and you look around, you see that everything has purpose.

Everything has a DNA, a purpose behind everything, orchestrates or operates with definite purpose. To the weather patterns above us, to the ant below, you can see that everything works in a way that is very purposeful and it lacks any kind of understanding of randomness.

Everything seems to happen with purpose in God's creation from the constellations marching in order above us in lockstep together, even to if you look at our cells and if you're able to look at it, it looks like they're all tiny cities that are full of purpose and they're working and operating with this purpose that's been imprinted on them by their Creator.

All things around us is created with purpose and we all function as we look at creation with that purpose. And we see here that humanity in sin is plagued with a lack of purpose. And if you see, the reason why young men get in trouble as they do and beat up old ladies is because they have no purpose in their life.

The reason why all the counseling sessions that pastors have, the bad things that are going on in the person's life is in some way directed by the fact that they are not operating with purpose in their life, whether it be a bad marriage or a bad individual who's just not living a life that is complete.

It's because in some way, even though God created all things to be done with purpose, that purpose is lost in their life. Since God is one of purpose and he operates within purpose, he has created us to operate with purpose as well.

And really, it's not accurate to say that young men use their time to beat up old ladies because they have no purpose. I hope by that you see that the general thing that I'm saying, right? We live in a society where young people have no purpose in their life, and they spend their lives purposelessness, right?

And it's a plague in our society, and it's not just for young people, but it's for all people. And it's really not accurate to say that people live with no purpose in their life because again, God created us to be purposeful.

We can't help but have a purpose in our life. And so it's not accurate to say that these things happen, marriages are bad or whatever because there's no purpose, but rather the purpose that we can't help to live by is not rooted in the purpose God has for all creation.

It's a purpose rooted in self and to satisfy the desires of the flesh rather than a purpose that reflects the purpose God has and all that he's done even before time began in his preordaining all things to come to pass.

As we look at being chosen in him today, we will highlight what Paul highlights as a nuance in this verse and that is the purpose God had in preordaining or predestinating or in choosing before time began a people.

Paul highlights a purpose that he has and we'll see that as we apply that purpose to our own lives, we will experience the spiritual blessings that are found in Jesus. And what do I mean by that? Well, look at verse 5 again.

Only look at this, you know, a few words before it. Of course, Paul didn't write verse 3, blessed be God the Father, verse 4. He didn't write the verses. He just wrote it. Someone later on wrote the verses.

So I think in love really belongs with verse 5. In love we see the purpose or the motivation that God has for what he has done and choosing or predestinating. We see that really the verse 5 is sandwiched with purpose of God and why he did what he did.

Again, think about it. God always acts with purpose. His creation is always acting in purpose because this is the way God is. He doesn't ever do anything willy-nilly. Just like, I guess I will make people here.

We'll see what comes about. Maybe I'll save them later. No, everything God has done has been with definite purpose. And we see here Paul underlines it in this doctrine of election and predestination and saying that in love he predestined us for adoption.

And I think he sandwiches it in a very similar language when he says at the end of verse 5, according to the purpose of his will. In love he predestined people to be adopted as sons. In love he's chosen us for salvation.

And he's done it according to the purpose of his will. Now the ESV is kind of a lone translator and just translating that word purpose there. According to the purpose of his will. Really you can, it's translated that the Greek word there for purpose is Eudokia and it means good pleasure.

So really most translations you'll see according to the good pleasure of his will. So in love he predestined the people and it's according to his good pleasure that he did it. That, so really how we can understand God's motive is our God is driven not by sheer.

Determination.

But rather he's driven by supreme delight. You get the difference there. Our God and all that he's done, the purpose and all that he's done and and all that he's planned to do before time began and as it comes to issue, it's all determined or it's all driven by his sheer delight in his people.

Not determinism, not because this was just what was bound to happen but because he had a supreme delight. He had a will of love for his people and he was going to determine that this would play itself out in all of creation.

This is what drove God to predestine all that has taken place. It's because he loves a people. Because he delighted in that people and he wanted to shower them with all goodness. He is driven by his good pleasure, his love, supreme delight.

And we see it goes on, in love he predestined. He predestined. Now we know that the context of what Paul is saying that he's predestined a people for salvation. God is driven by love for this people that he is predestined.

But I want to see before we go on to that, I just wanted to perch for a moment on just he predestined. This is kind of what got us in trouble last week with taking so long on one verse. But whenever we saw that chosen, he chose the people before time began to be holy and blameless.

There's a lot of implications to the fact that God chose a people and didn't choose another, right? There's a lot of implications of God choosing a certain people and not choosing another and we had to unpack that to see the beauties of what God is doing.

And in so doing we're doing the same thing here. He predestined a people. And for him to predestinate people for all this goodness, God predestined or ordained all things to come to pass. If I tell my son I'm going to give them all blessings in Disney, everything you could think of, I'm going to give it all to you.

But yet I have no money and I have no will or able to accomplish that. I can't really make good on that promise. God has predestined in his love and good pleasure, because it was his sheer delight to do so, to predestine us to adoption all these blessings in Jesus.

And if he doesn't predestine or predetermine all things to come to pass, he cannot make sure that goodness for his people will come to pass. So my point that I want to just hang on for a moment is that God, it was his delight, it was his good pleasure to predestine all things that would come to pass.

Predestined means to determine beforehand. God is sovereign and he's determined beforehand what will come to pass that will most express his love to his people. And if he could not predetermine all things that would come to pass, he wouldn't be able to make good on that.

Again, God desires to express his love to his people. And it's not just a little bit of his love. I'll express a little bit of my love, but all the full expression of my love. I'm going to do it in my creation to my people.

And he can do that because he has determined all things that comes to pass. And love, according to his good pleasure, he predestined or chosen a people and Jesus. That's the focal point of all creation.

But the implications of that is he determines all things that come to pass in general in order for that focal point to come to pass. He predestined a people for spiritual blessing. He must predestine all things surrounding that too.

So he makes good on that good thing for his people. I hope that's making sense. And we see that doctrine of God predestining all things that come to pass according to his good pleasure in Isaiah 46. If you want to go there, a wonderful passage to meditate on.

Isaiah 46. Look at verse 8. Isaiah 46 verse 8. Again, the prophet Isaiah is prophesying that Israel, you have messed up and God's going to judge you, right? But then there's also a prophesying of salvation to come.

And he talks about God's sovereignty in light of the whole thing. He says remember this and stand firm. Recall to mine 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. He explains how that is and to some degree. He says declaring the end from the beginning from ancient times things not done. So what he's saying is that I can declare the end even from the beginning.

I know what's going to happen in the end even from the beginning. But he goes on to say more. He says saying my counsel shall stand. So the point he's saying is not that I know what's going to happen because I know what other other people are going to do.

But he says I know what's going to happen because my counsel what I decide to do is going to happen. He says I will accomplish some of my purposes. No, all of my purpose. And so you can see that God predetermines or knows what's going to happen because it's according to his counsel and it will come to pass.

He even says calling a bird of prey from the east. What is he talking about there? The armies are about to come and destroy Israel. He's saying I'm the one that did that. Now, why would that be so mind-boggling?

Because Israel being destroyed by a foreign army the foreign army would assume well their God isn't powerful enough to stop it. But he's like I'm the one who's called them in my sovereignty. It's according to my counsel my will even the judgment upon my own nation is coming because of the counsel of my sovereign will.

He says calling a bird of prey the armies from the east the man of my counsel from a far country I've spoken and I'll bring it to pass. I have purposed it and I will do it. He says listen to me you stubborn of heart in verse 12 you who are far from righteousness.

I bring near my righteousness. It is not far off and my salvation will not delay. Why is that? Because he is determined it to happen. He has foreordained it for happen and it will happen according to his counsel.

He says I will not I'll put salvation design for Israel my glory. Just a very natural the big picture there is God predestines or he controls or he knows what's going to happen because it is according to his counsel.

All things come to pass because of that counsel and it's for the good of his people and salvation. We see that throughout all of scripture that God is in control of all creation as he is creator. We see from the very small things of life.

Remember what Jesus says about God and his control even over the sparrow that falls to the ground in Matthew 10 29 he says that no sparrow falls to the ground apart from him. In other words that God even controls the sparrows that die in the field.

How many sparrows have you seen this season? They're everywhere, right? And not one of them is going to have its heart stop beating and it dead on the ground apart from God's foreordaining it without him.

Predetermining it.

So even the small thing like that God ordains. And the great things as well the small things like the sparrow God ordains the great things as well. You remember what Peter says in Acts 17. We'll be at Acts 17 again later.

But in Acts 17 verse 26 Peter's talking to these gentiles in Athens and he says and God made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their dwelling place.

What is he saying there? Is that God ordains empires rise and fall that Rome would reach this far and no further. That Assyria, that Greece, that Alexander the Great, that his empire was built and was destroyed in a day.

That was God predetermined his predetermined plan. So the point that Paul's getting here is that our God is sovereign even over the nations even the people how far the empire or the empire goes how far nations go the peoples go God is sovereign over that.

He's sovereign over the sparrow dying. He's sovereign over the nations and beloved. He's sovereign over United States as well how long we may last. Our God has predetermined it and it shall happen according to his counsel.

Look at Psalm 148. Look at Psalm 148. Psalm 148 the psalmist verse verse 3. Praise him sun and moon. Praise him all you shining stars. Praise him you highest heavens any waters above the heavens. Let them praise the name of the Lord for he commanded and they were created and he established them forever and ever and he gave a decree and it shall not pass away.

God is sovereign over the good things of creation. It's his decree that enables all to be and it will not pass away because of that decree. It shall stand. It shall stand stand and never go away until he determines it to go away.

He's sovereign over the good but he's also sovereign over the evil. What I mean by that what is Amos 3 6 say? He says Is a trumpet blown in a city and the people are not afraid? Does disaster come to a city unless the Lord has done it?

So even over creation and it flourishing God is sovereign over and even a city left to destruction God is sovereign over that God is sovereign and his purpose comes to pass in all things over his creation.

He's even sovereign over the greatest evil ever to happen in the existence of his creation and we see that in acts 4. If your fingers are getting tired, that's fine. You can just listen to me in acts 4 27 Peter preaching.

He says for truly in this city there were gathered together against your holy servant. Oh, I'm, sorry. This isn't peter preaching. These are the christians praying praising god for truly in this city.

There is a there's gathered together against your holy servant Jesus whom you anointed both Herod and Pontius Pilate along with the gentiles and the peoples of israel. To do whatever your hand and your plan had predestined to take place.

So we see that God is even sovereign over the greatest evil that was ever committed on this earth when Jesus Christ our Lord Was murdered by sinful men. This was according to God's predetermined plan.

The point is that God predestines. God predestines and we see the bigger picture what Paul's laying out or the focal point that Paul's laying out is he predestines a people to bless them in the spiritual blessings all spiritual blessings and love.

That's what he's motivated by and he's able he's able to do that because he predestines all things that come to pass. That come to pass according to his will. God is driven by love for his chosen people.

So he has predestined all that has taken place to express that love to his chosen people. I know that can be a very offensive thing to hear. That God has it's one thing to say that he's predestined all the good things that happen in creation for the love of his people.

And and so we can attach that to God. But it can be easy for our minds to say but all the bad things see that does that's not involved there. But that's not the teaching of scriptures. The teaching of scripture is that he's preordained all things to come to pass and the focal point is his love for his people.

And so we need to express what the bible expressed that he has predestined all that has taken place to express or in love for his people now again. It can be hard for our minds to grapple with that as we consider the fact that there's a lot of bad things that happen.

There's a lot of bad things that happen in our lives. Today we are celebrating the seventh birthday of uh of our daughter yana that we lost at birth.

Um.

We that uh, that was that was seven years ago today. And even as I consider that right that God has predestined all things to take place and he has done it in love. Because it was his good pleasure for his people as I consider that then I got to apply that to my own life and say.

And understand that even seven years ago when we lost our baby at birth. That was an expression of God's love for sarah and I. And if I just leave it at A baby, I held in my arms and and felt her grow cold.

That should never happen. I can't make sense of that. But whenever I attach that to the deeper meaning that God was expressing his love in Jesus Christ. And holding my dead baby that there it was there.

It starts to make sense. And that's what my wife and I said to ourselves. We said God is showing his love somehow hard to know right now. But that's what he's doing. He's expressing Jesus to us in this situation and we are going to have the faith to walk through this in that expectation.

And that's why we were able to name yana, which means a gift from God. We named her yana irene gift from God and we said begotten with peace. That despite the tragedy of it. We know that yana was a gift from our God and it was and it was expressing his peace to us.

As we walked in that by faith. She truly proved to be a gift from God begotten with peace. This truly did show an example Of God in love determining all things to come to pass for the sake of his people.

And this is really the story of scripture. That although man meant it for evil God means it for good for a greater good to come to pass. So as we consider the fact that all things are pre-ordained by God predestined by God.

In love for his people and we say but there's evil in the world. How can that be predestined because that is the way God expresses his love to his people? I know again, it can be difficult. You mean that God uses things that aren't pleasant to express his love to us?

Yes.

Those things that aren't pleasant God uses to show his love in a way that we would not have experienced without it. And this is a story of scripture in general. Look at Job. Let's just go through this.

I know you guys who have been Calvinists for a long time. You're like, yeah, I heard this. I heard this. There's a few of us who haven't been in the reformed community all that long. So let's just be patient for their sake, right?

This is a beautiful doctrine that we should remind ourselves all the time about especially when we're going through something that's difficult. You know, this is a story of Job, right? Just read through the story of Job.

If you haven't done so in a while read through it again. It is amazing. We see bad things happen to him over and over again, right? Job 1 .13. Now there's a day this rich man that Job was right with a family and possessions.

And look at just these bad things that happened to him. Now there was a day when his sons and daughters were eating and drinking wine in their oldest brother's house. And there came a messenger to Job and said the oxen were plowing.

The donkeys were feeding beside them and the sabians fell Upon them and took them and struck down the servants with the edge of the sword and I alone have escaped to tell you. That'd be enough to be like wool.

But while he's yet speaking so they're telling him the bad news there came another. And said the fire of God fell from heaven and burned up the sheep and the servants and consumed them and I alone have escaped.

To tell you it's okay. There goes those possessions and while he's yet speaking there came another so that's not even done yet. It's almost like God's messing with him. The chaldeans formed three groups and made a raid on the camels and took them.

And struck down the servants with the edge of the sword and I alone have escaped to tell you. And while he was still speaking it's like enough is enough. There came another and said your sons and daughters were eating and drinking wine in their oldest brother's house and behold a great wind That came from God came across the wilderness and struck the four corners of the house and it fell Upon the young people and they are dead and I alone have escaped to tell you.

And then of course the only one who's left. What I mean, how does how does if you go to chapter 2 verse 7? The text says so satan went out from the presence of the lord and struck job. With loathsome sores from the sole of his feet to the crown of his head.

And he took a piece of broken pottery with which to scrape himself while he sat in the ashes. So not only has he lost all his possessions. Not only has he lost his children, but now he is riddled with sores that are painful.

He is in the most miserable state and he only has his wife to comfort him who comforts him with these words. Do you still hold fast your integrity curse God and die, but God wouldn't end her life. The point being is that we have all these bad experiences that God has ordained job to go through all these terrible afflictions that we can't even conceive of.

And what does job learn from it all? If you look at the end of job, it's beautiful. What does job conclude with in 42 verse 5? I had heard of you by the hearing of my ear, but now my eyes see you. What is he saying referring to that?

I knew of you before by the hearing of my ear. But since i've experienced these terrible things that you have predestined to take place to me now.

I.

Know you more.

Now I see you in a deeper way. You have ordained if I can add commentary here. You have ordained this for my good that I would know you more through it. Joseph sold by his brothers in chapter 37 of genesis.

Thrown in prison chapter 39. Forgotten by his friends in chapter 40. And what does he conclude with in chapter 50? That although man meant all this stuff for my evil God meant it for good. And that I think right there.

It's at the very have you ever noticed that great saying that we're all used to have you ever noticed. It's at the very end of genesis. It's at the very end of the book in which the beginning is all about how evil came to earth.

It's all about the start of evil of sin. And I think that's like a concluding remark that God wants to highlight genesis with that there is evil. It came about and man means it for evil, but God means it for good.

It's not just a little bit of good. In love God predestined all things that take place even sin. For our good that we would experience his love in ways that we wouldn't have without it. That is the meaning.

Of these.

Painful in the moment, but overall we experience his good. God has predestined everything that has ever and will ever happen in love for his chosen and predestined people. All that he allows to happen is for the purpose that it would express his love most fully.

That without that it would not Be expressed as well. And we see that purpose. Or we see what that in love he is predestined what for adoption if you look back at ephesians. If you look back at ephesians chapter 1 He predestined us for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ according to the purpose of his will.

He has predestined That we would be adopted to himself as sons and daughters through Jesus Christ. And it's very important for us to get the blessings that are inherent here. It's very important for us to understand that we are not all children of God.

I know it's it's a very um. Common thing that we hear from evangelicalism today is that we're all God's children. And that's supposed to be expressed to the unbeliever as a way to make them feel good I guess and maybe if they feel good enough, then they'll come to God.

But we need to understand that in scripture that's never expressed. We are not all children of God. If we were all children of God, we would not need to be adopted as a spiritual blessing in Christ. Would we?

We are adopted in Christ. That means we are not children of God naturally. We need to be adopted in Christ and there's that spiritual blessing showing itself out. The only place that we see in scripture where that kind of language is almost used Is Acts 17 29.

We were there before but Acts 17 29 Paul is talking to a bunch of unbelievers and he says that we're all descendants. He says Acts 17 29 being then God's offspring. We not we ought not to think that the divine being is like gold.

And so here Paul calls Um everyone coming forth from God as their as their as his creation offspring. But that word offspring is not children. Offspring is a different greek word and it and it's not children if you look at Ephesians 2 3 back there.

He calls he says among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh carrying out the desires of the body and the Mind and were by nature children of wrath. That word children is not the same thing as offspring.

So there's a there's a a point in which all people are created by God and are offsprings. But it's not the same thing as saying that they are children Of God because that greek word children that we see in Ephesians 2 3 to express that we are children of wrath by nature Is of like kind.

You see what i'm saying? It's it's of like kind so that the greek word denotes the fact that we are of like kind with the father. And so all of creation in their sin are not of like kind with their creator.

Why because of sin? But those who are in christ become children of God because they become of like kind with the father. Adam entered the garden. By nature a child of God of like kind with him. But adam left the garden because of his sin by nature a child of satan.

He became of like kind with satan. He became.

Um.

Um, he he began because of sin to follow the prince of the power of the air. And we see in genesis 5. I feel like i've been going through scripture a lot. But in genesis 5 we see it's very interesting language that moses uses in genesis 5 1 through 3.

Moses says this is the book of the generations of adam when god created man. He made him in the likeness of god. Male and female he created them and he blessed them and named them man. And named the man when they were created when adam had lived 130 years.

He fathered a son in his own likeness after his image and named him seth. I think there's a point that moses is saying is that although adam was made in the image of god a child of god adam sinned and so he created offspring after him after his own image that is Image of that sin that he brought to earth.

But even this Was according to god's good pleasure. To reveal his love to adopt a people to him. Even god allowed this fall right for people to go from being children of god and adam right to to people of The evil one or children of wrath.

He even allows that to express his love to adopt them back to himself. If there was no fall if there's no people going to another father the devil God would never be able to express his love and adopting them back to himself.

So we keep in mind the motivation. That god predestined all things to take place to express his love to his predestined people. And the way that is done most fully is that he would allow his people to become children of the devil.

So that he could bring them back to being children of his through the work of jesus christ. This is an expression of god's love that he would allow people to abandon him to become Children of satan so that he would win them back in jesus and bring them back to be his children in christ so that christ be.