Ephesians 1:1-14, What’s In It for Me?

Ephesians chapter 1 verses 1 to 14 hear the word of the Lord Paul an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God to the

Saints who are in Ephesus and are fateful in Christ Jesus Grace to you and peace from God our

Father and the Lord Jesus Christ 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

Even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world that we should be holy and blameless before him in Love he predestined us for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ According to the purpose of his will to the praise of his glorious grace

With which he has blessed us in the beloved in him We have redemption through his blood the forgiveness of our trespasses

According to the riches of his grace Which he lavished upon us in all wisdom and insight making known to us the mystery of his will according to the purpose

Which he set forth in Christ as a plan for the fullness of time to unite all things in him things in heaven and things on earth 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

So that we who were the first to hope in Christ might be to the praise of his glory 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 who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it to the praise of his glory

May the Lord add his blessings to the reading of his holy word Well, one thing academics teaches you is to avoid putting things saying things in sweeping

Statements for which people can find exceptions. You'll be shown to be wrong. You'll be embarrassed you say something like Everyone likes pizza.

You may think that's probably true, but then someone raised their hand, you know, not me I hate it and then you're starting to be wrong

But here's a sweeping statement for which I don't believe that you can find an exception

Everyone always does everything they do Because they think it's best for them

Now people are constantly asking in their mind. What's in it for me in business?

This is so basic. Most people don't even bother to mention it. You have to offer something, you know an incentive a benefit for buying your product

Receiving your service you don't just ask people to do things because it's good for it, you know for you Now our restaurant people here might wish customers would choose their restaurant just because it's it's good for you for them

So you'll make money, but you're not gonna you're not going to really expect that You know, you're not going to advertise come to our shop because we need your money

That just won't sell very well. You're gonna offer the customer something better food at a cheaper price

People do what they do from the restaurant they go to To every cent they spend because they think it will make them

Happiest given the choices that they have now some people will tell you well, it shouldn't be that way

That you should be self less that you should make your business decisions by what's good for other people

Not yourself don't even want don't even think about the profit margin that you should watch movies by which movies need more viewers

Not what entertains you we sometimes hear that about, you know So called Christian movies that we should go to see them just to support them

Even if the acting is bad and the it's tilted and the writing is trite and it's just not very entertaining

But you should you should just go go see it because they need your support or you shouldn't vote for someone based on what they

Will do for you that they'll cut your taxes or give you a bit bigger check But even when people argue like that and trying to persuade you

To go along with that they end up appealing to your long -term interest, you know They'll say you should go to Christian movies because we need

Moral movies so the next generation grows up moral and this is a better society. So your kids will live in a better place or You need to think about the country you need to think about the debt

Possible inflation in the future what we're leaving for our children. And so what they're really doing is

Appealing to our long -term interest are really still our selfish self -interest enlightened self -interest

They'll call it and so people are still asking What's in it for me? Well just last night we took back out for his birthday to the checkered pig

We had some ribs there in the middle and there was one and I to I too many because they eat faster than the rest

There was one rib that a lot meaty rib to I'm not talking about just bare a little bit of meat around it one fat

Rib and I reach for it. I started I thought you know, this is only I think it was the last one left last one

Left and I thought well, maybe they want you know, Micah and Mary maybe they want this rib And so I asked do you want this rib now?

I wanted that rib It was in my interest to eat that thing, but then I asked him Mary said yeah, she wanted it

So I gave it to her now was I being selfless? Not really It's in my two long -term best interest that we have a family that just doesn't gobble up food

Fastest of the quickest and just everyone thinks of themself It's in my interest to give up that rib and hopefully in the future

I'll have another fat rib coming to me. You understand you're still asking what's in it for me It's just more long -term and the

United States early United States There was a theological movement called the new divinity Which taught that Christians should be so absorbed by the glory of God and so willing to love their neighbors

Even if nothing was in it for them just so totally selfless Well what they called disinterested benevolence that that the day or we should be quote willing to be damned for the glory of God Others you're willing to go to hell if that's what glorifies

God the most that was in fact one of their test That if you're truly saved you're truly mature

Believer in God and you've encountered the Lord in salvation then you were then you were supposed to be Willing to be damned for the glory of God Willing to let

God send you to an eternity of hell if that would got that would give God more glory Than by saving you it was the goal of perfect selflessness the quest to glorify

God and Love others which so consume you you wouldn't even care you wouldn't even consider your own happiness anymore

Not only willing to sacrifice earthly things, you know, let goods and kindred go this mortal life also

But even give up eternal life Willing to be damned for the glory of God Now the problem with that is that that is not how loving

God in the Bible now How loving God being enraptured by his glory taking up our cross and following Jesus That's not how is presented to us

Even when Jesus says if anyone wants to come you think of that if you want to come and follow me

You must take up your cross So you're considering do I want to follow him if you do

Then you will take up your cross, but you're getting what you want Aren't you it's still that you're still considering is in my best self -interest to follow

Jesus and so in my best interest To take up my cross Well, the goal is really not to be so selfless that somehow we have no thought about our salvation and fulfillment

The goal is that we be so transformed that now we see that God himself is

Our greatest satisfaction as John Piper well puts it. God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in him

It's not as though God's glory and our joy are two separate things

Kind of at war with each other you have to choose one or the other you can't have both No, it's that now we believe that God's glory and our happiness are the same thing and We see that here in Ephesians chapter 1

Especially this opening praise we see here one main point, you know, we usually have several points and a

Rhyme or alliterate here's just really one main point and it's it's an exclamation Which is the basis for most all of this blessed be

God and then seven things that God does for us God's glory and our happiness intertwined interdependent

First of the letter begins with an introduction stating who it is from and who it is for is from Paul who is an apostle

Not by his own selfish aspiration not through political manipulation or human nomination, but by divine

Designation it is to the Saints. He calls them. That's the Holy Ones and that's not he doesn't mean by that This is few special super believers who are called

Saints like st. Matthew st Paul high above the rest all the rest of us lowly believers, but all those

Saints are all those who are set aside Deemed holy by God from the world

Saints and believers he says fateful those in other words who are full of faith

The letter we have here went to Ephesus But this is a general letter and so it's just as relevant to us as it was to them and then to them and us he says in verse 2 is grace and peace

Prophet Jeremiah said false prophets tell the people that they have peace peace when there is no peace

We have a lot of that today Preachers out there telling peace peace. Don't worry about anything. God loves you.

Don't worry about you have to repent. It's all peace Well here the Apostle tells us that there is indeed there is true peace believers can have it now

Notice from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. That's where the peace comes from if God is your father and Jesus is your

Lord you have peace that's What's in it for you?

Then after that short introduction Paul launches into a great praise of God it is one incredibly long

Complex sentence that in Greek goes all the way from verse 3 to verse 14

Okay, that's all one. It's a little seriously. It's all one sentence I think it's five sentences and two paragraphs the way they have it here in the

ESV translation in English But in Greek it's all one long sentence and all of that Most of our passage is just that one sentence in the core of that sentence the core of it the verb and the subject

It's contained in the first phrase of verse 3. It is simply blessed be the

God and father of our Lord Jesus Christ Okay, if you were out,

I don't know how you would diagram the sentence It would be amazing if you want to try you ever seen remember that sentence diagramming from school you put the put the main part up on the line and then the

Phrases going out and below and above well Well, the the main part of this sentence is blessed be the

God and father of our Lord Jesus Christ everything else from that Kind of branches out so the simple statement that unfolds and this incredibly complex compound sentence is the statement that God himself is

Blessed now, what does that mean? When we speak of someone being someone else being blessed if I say you're blessed by you've been blessed you say

I've been blessed We mean that they have received special favor from God. God has done something gracious for them

Something that makes them happy. You may be blessed to have a child Ben's been blessed recently with a child you blessed to have family who can help look after the kids

That's maybe to have a good job Blessed to be in good health. Hopefully everyone here has that blessing blessed that your business is doing

Well, all those things are gifts from God that make your life easier and they make you happier

They are benefits, but what does it mean that God is blessed? How is he blessed?

Well, it means that God has blessed himself By giving himself that which makes him happy What is a pleasure?

To him. What are pleasures to God? What's God enjoy? Well, you know, what do you enjoy?

We may be enjoying food. Maybe you enjoy sports, whatever What does God enjoy you with all that? Well here he has benefited himself.

He's given himself what he enjoys God has looked at the world and said

What's in it for me? And then he's done that which gives him pleasure.

Oh But you could say that that sounds awfully like you're debasing God. You're making him sound selfish

Surely God's not selfish You see some assuming that Selflessness is the goal

Assume then that God must be perfectly selfless and Sometimes Jesus is presented that way by some liberal theologians who call

Jesus the quote the man for others never thinking about himself It's just for always for other people and that's why they really can't understand that story about a woman pouring out very expensive perfume on Jesus's feet and the days prior to his crucifixion

I forgot how much how much we've been worth in modern terms tens of thousands of dollars just poured out like that Why all this expense for a luxury

Why not sell it give it to the poor do something useful for it. Think of others others

It's a waste You know who said that at the time? It's Judas But Jesus said it was well spent our lives are well spent poured out for Jesus Well, does that make

God selfish then? And you're gonna think well, of course you're gonna say no God's not selfish well, no,

I'm not gonna say that maybe That's what you mean by selfish, but you have to understand

God is the only being in the universe Who can be quote selfish if you want to use that term?

without sin The first and greatest command think about it the first and greatest command remember what

Jesus said to love the Lord with all your heart with all that you are above all others and If we love anything above him

Even like our children our money love anything above him. We are idolaters

You know God keeps his own first command You understand that God obeys his own first command

He doesn't love anything above God above himself if he loved us above himself

He would be an idolater. And so what God asked himself what's in it for me? maybe you're maybe you're asking you're asking him for Whatever your need is something in prayer for healing for peace in the family

For more money a better job a better relationship more church members

You're asking him for that and he's thinking What's in it for me? You think well

God would never think that way cuz that's selfish Well Maybe he's putting his glory above your needs ahead of you when he does that He does that with perfection

Seeking his own blessing How is God? How is God blessed what in whatever you're asking him for in your health and having good?

Relationships in a peaceful family and more cash in a bigger church That's why above all we should be willing to pray like Jesus did not my will

Was not what's in my self -interest But yours be done. What's in your?

interest glorify yourself Do what blesses you?

Always do what makes you happiest God Remember this mind -blowingly complicated sentence unfolds from a simple statement

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. That is God himself Blessed be

That's the state. He is in Blessed means joyous fulfilled He's he's joyous because he's receiving the benefits happiness fulfillment.

He's not frustrated You're frustrated when you don't get what you need what you want. He gets what he needs.

He gets what he wants He's not desperately in need of something from us that he has to beg us for He's a joyous God.

We will find our joy and Satisfaction in him no Psalm 103. We just read two weeks ago.

Bless the Lord. Oh my soul and All that is within me bless his holy name.

Bless the Lord. It was make him happy. Oh my soul and What's next you remember

The wish to be damned for the glory of God. Is that what it says? Bless the Lord. Oh my soul it and wish to be damned for the glory of God.

Is that what comes next? No Forget not all his

Benefits and here Paul tells us that God is blessed and here are

His benefits at least seven of them in this one complex incredibly long sentence first the satisfied joyous God satisfies and makes us joyous The blessed

God makes us blessed and The second half of verse 3 God has blessed us He says with every spiritual blessing and the heavenly places in Christ every one of them

In other words, you're not lacking anything. That is every spiritual blessing means that not one spiritual thing we lack

Because we have it already from God So we don't need to go looking for you know spiritual blessings elsewhere

Maybe in our own meditation Philosophy maybe in horoscopes lucky charms and food and chewy ancestors power words

No, we don't need it we don't need to do those things because we have every spiritual blessing already in Christ and he's done so he says in heavenly places that is it's safe and secure there in heaven

He's done it in Christ and what Christ did when he was glorified on the cross and in the resurrection

Now now think what that says about God the only being who can be selfish without sin

He is blessed. He's satisfied. He's joyous. He's happy because He blesses us blessing us blesses him second

He is blessed because he chooses us in verse 4. He blessed us with every spiritual blessing as That is in this way

Every word is so key here as in this way by choosing us and he chose us in him

That is in Christ and this phrase that you're in him and Christ or some variation of it Occurs over and over again in this great statement saying that our blessings which bless

God They were accomplished in what Jesus did. Okay, that's what he's saying

Every time he says in him in Christ and what Jesus did That's where we get all these blessings and all these things happen not of what we do not in our religion our morality or even

Not in our our choices and it is saying in verse 4 God's choice of us was made in him that what

Jesus did for the Saints the believers that's That's how

God got his people not because he was thinking of us above all Remember that song is about 20 years ago began to get popular

Christian song like a rose trampled on the ground something and thought of me above all

I Thought the first part was nice and then that that was the last line. I know that's wrong

Jesus was not on the cross thinking of me above all by the way, it was me. It wasn't you It wasn't he wasn't he didn't think of you above all cuz he know that of course that's that's not right

He wasn't thinking of us above all but he was thinking of the father's glory and the father was seeking to bless himself and he blesses himself by blessing us

Making us happy Makes him happy and he wants to make himself happy By making people who don't think first How to make themselves happy So God made his choice of us for Christ to die for us and be raised to life for us in the middle of verse 4

Before the foundation of the world before the universe was even created before Genesis chapter 1 verse 1

God made his choice for us and he chose us that we should be holy and blameless before him

That's there's another key there. I he chose us for this is the purpose that we should be holy and blameless before him

It was never planned to be what the false gospel of antinomianism today makes it out to be, you know

Antinomianism is so -called free grace. You can say you're saved just because you believe the doctrine and it doesn't change your life

They say well what it was meant to be is forgiveness. It doesn't transform You can choose to be different if you want, but you don't have to be you can choose to be holy

But you want but you don't have to be that's this false gospel of antinomianism. It's a choice They say that makes no change but to some people the gospel is that we make a choice

It depends on us a choice to believe a few basic doctrines You know

Jesus died for our sins and rose from the dead we make that choice and Even if that choice makes no change, then they say we're still eternally secure.

We're still safe. The choice is ours and Change is not the point they say but here

Paul shows us. First of all, the choice is God's Right, he chose us in him the choice is

God's and Change is the point God chose us That we should be holy and blameless before him

But you could say well Too late for that For me to be blameless.

There's this already so much about me It can be blamed. I have blemishes already

But that's where it's important to understand that we were chosen in him in Christ, so he sees us clothed

With Christ we're in him We're not just exposed as we are by ourselves.

We're in Christ. So father looks at us. He sees Christ She's a clothed with Christ who was blameless for us

So because we are in him our blemishes are covered up by him and we appear blameless

No visible blemishes To him Third thing that he did for us beginning at the end of verse 4 and into verse 5 was that he

Predestined us he determined our destiny as children of God now

Was it as though there was ever any doubt because this is what some people think they said, you know There's this like there's this drama going on and we don't really know

God and Satan fighting over souls Who will be winner who will lose and it all depends on whether we say the gospel, right?

Whether people make the right choices now here There's never any doubt that we would be sons and daughters of God that it kind of hung in the balance whether the preacher would communicate to us or Our parents would tell it the right way or we'd understand the message

Or whether we'd be born into a Christian family that would take us to church or that we would read the right book the fate of God's children doesn't depend on coincidence or environment or chance or just being lucky or Even the power our power of persuasion.

No God determined it before Before everything before the universe was ever even founded before Genesis chapter 1 verse 1

God was selecting his children. It's based on God's predestining his sons and daughters

Now, why does he do that? Predestined some people hate that idea.

So we're out of a control. So what does he do it? He wants to control us. Is he a control freak? No at the end of verse 4.

He predestines in love He chooses to love some people

He chooses to make them his children and he ensures that that will happen by predestining them.

He loves these people So he predestined them. He left them to left us to ourself. We would all go astray.

We would all be lost But he instead decided to predestine some to save some and he does that through Jesus Christ did what he did for us and that happens according to literally in verse 5 not our will now

Yes, our will is eventually evolved. We're not like robots. It's kind of like our puppets on the strings But the predestined doesn't happen according to our will

As a result of our will now our will our choice of him is a result of his choice of us we freely choose him because He freely chose us

We love as Apostle John put it we love Because he first loved us so predestination happens according to literally

The good pleasure of God. That's what the word translated their purpose and the ESV here means it means good pleasure

It gave God pleasure to predestine to adopt you as his son or daughter that What was in it for him?

Why did God predestine you to be one of his children Well, we just answered that question. Did you get it?

Why did God predestine you to be one of his children? It's a good pleasure because he wanted to you know, why do you do what you like to do because you like to do it

He predestines he had saves his people because he wants to do it He enjoyed doing it and that produces in us in verse 6 praise of his glorious grace

The doctrine of predestination is not supposed to produce debates and lectures and dissertations is supposed to produce praise

Amazing grace how sweet the sound that predestined a wretch like me and how did how did we get that amazing grace?

How did we get grace? Because we make the right choice. Is that it? We did the right thing.

We got baptized in the right church That's not how you get grace Those are things we do so that would be works if it depended on those things

It would be works and wouldn't be grace at all be just merit be your points We are he tells I hear at the end of verse 6 the

SV says he he blessed us with it the end of verse 6 He blessed us with grace

But literally that word translated blessed there is that he graced us with grace

It's the verbal form of the word grace. So which is grace is a verb to give graciously to grace

So to the praise you could translate it this way to the praise of his glorious grace which he graced us with We get grace by grace and That grace comes to us again in the beloved the one the father said this is my beloved son

Not only did we get grace in Christ we get redemption. That's the fourth blessing the fourth blessing that God gives

To bless himself Now redemption means to buy back to purchase out of My cousin though Lisa used to be overheard earlier refurbishing houses and they're probably a house that would condemn to destruction

I would think sometimes and he could go in there and salvage it and save it make it and he would be there for Redeeming it saving it

Salvaging it from destruction making something good out of it. That's redemption God has bought his children out of the penalty the power and the presence of sin through what his beloved son

Did especially he says his blood without the shedding of blood. There is no forgiveness of sin

That's the lesson of the Old Testament sacrifices, you know with every animal sacrificed they were saying

Bring in their cow or whatever Sacrificing that my sin deserves death.

It deserves the shedding of my blood that's lesson number one lesson number two someone else can do that for me and Really the animals were just an object lesson.

The animals could not take away the sin They were just teaching them someone else there can be a substitute It's not really gonna be this cow or this goat or the sheep.

It's gonna be someone else But this is the lesson the Lord will supply the sacrifice Abraham told

Isaac and he did his the beloved his blood provides in verse 7 the forgiveness of our trespasses

We broke God's law. We trespassed his limits. We crossed over the boundary of what he had laid out

But God's love supplied the sacrifice to meet the demand of his holiness.

That's how we have forgiveness We need to understand that it's not like some people think just because you know

God decide we have forgiveness because well God just decides to be lenient He just kind of shrugged his shoulders. I'm gonna let some of these things slide.

Just let it slide. No Blood had to be spilled God supplied the blood

So we could have forgiveness We have forgiveness according to the reaches of his grace according to means in proportion to The amount of forgiveness we get is in proportion

To the amount of grace he has you think about that? we have forgiveness according to in proportion to his grace

Now Most of probably a paid by an employer Who pays you in proportion to how much money the company has and and then other factors command?

Now if you get paid in proportion, maybe you get if you got paid in proportion to how much money Bill Gates had Okay, you'd be you'd be paid pretty well

Here getting forgiveness according to God's grace in proportion to how much grace he has

It's getting a lot of forgiveness all the forgiveness you will ever need Because he is rich notice these terms.

He's Paul is just reaching for this is the most Exorbitant extravagant terms God is rich in grace.

And so he lavishes it on us in verse 8 we get

We just get an abundance of grace now. So imagine the picture he's painted here We've been chosen before the universe was created

Predestined to be a child of God so that God can grace you with grace

Which he does lavishly because he's rich in grace. So he just lavishes. He pours it out on you and What's in it for God?

What does he get out of it all this? his Good pleasure. That's what

God likes to do Next fifth God has blessed by making known to us that the mystery of His will mystery and was something was hidden in the past Well, if any of you like to read mystery novels starts out

You don't know what happened and then by the end you're supposed to Here there's something we didn't know and now we we do know it

To make it he's made known to at the mystery of his will in verse 9. He likes to enlighten his people He likes to show them that they are his sons and daughters.

That's the mystery that he's Disclosed that's why he sends his spirit to us the spirit of adoption.

So we cry Abba father We now know the answer to the mystery That's what happens when we first pray to the

Lord in faith seeking him in love truly confessing that we believe in Jesus It's not that by doing that by making that prayer

Confessing in Jesus confessing our sins and believing in Christ It's not that our by our doing that that we then turn on God's grace

That's what some people how but some people think of it Like we might turn on a little on a light by flipping the switch

No, that's not how some people think they do that with God's grace that they come at the invitation They say the right prayer they turn on God's grace with our knowledge our confession our our acceptance

No, that's not how it works. It's that God flipped the switch on in us

He turned the light on in our heart and he does that here in all wisdom and insight

He shares that revelation with us and finally we understand but finally we know him

We cry Abba father. We understand God's grace That's what happens when you got saved

Now some people think they did it because they responded to an invitation. They said a prayer they think well that I did that and So God didn't gave me grace.

No, that's not really what happened What really happened was that they became aware? When they prayed that prayer when they felt the need for their sins and they and they believed the

Lord That that's when they became aware of what God had done. The mystery was solved He revealed to you the mystery the truth that was hidden in the past about who you are

About what you should do that Jesus is Lord that he's your Lord Maybe you thought you were your own person.

You should always live for yourself, you know, always asking those five key words What's in it for me?

And then you finally saw the Holy Spirit was working your heart you finally saw maybe you had kind of believed it

You said you believed it in the past, but you didn't really make any impact in your life Then you finally saw the mystery that there is someone higher and greater to live for You got wisdom and insight and finally saw the mystery.

You're a child of God You should live for glorifying God and Enjoying him forever

So we didn't turn on God's grace with our knowledge and our acceptance of it.

We got knowledge revelation Because of God's grace we did that in the second half of verse 9 according to His good pleasure.

There's that word again Now the ESV kind of drains the the joy out of that word it translates

It's just as purpose according to his purpose, but in Greek literally it means good pleasure

God enjoys making himself known and he makes himself known Not to our speculation not to our philosophy not through other religions or what we think is reasonable or more our morality

We're a good person and we could earn earn it but through Christ through Jesus He reveals his purpose for us not just for us individually, but in verse 10 his purpose for the whole universe

He has a plan like you might you might have a plan how to run your house. The universe is

God's house Heaven and earth physical and spiritual and the end result of that plan

What what's in it for God that Christ will be the head of all things?

The word in verse 10 translated unite He will unite all things under Christ literally means to head up God's plan the mystery that he is making known is to head up everything everything in the entire

Universe every virus every star every atom and he made he may have made it known to you at one time

Revealing to you that you should let him head up your life Showing you what was in it

For you that that he was so good to you But he's so lavish and he's going to bless you that you want to make

Jesus your head. God is right now revealing that plan person by person, but eventually to every one of his people and eventually heading up and so uniting all things under King Jesus What's in it for you?

Good pleasure Six Is that single sentence continuous into verse 11 in him as in Christ the beloved we bless

God Fulfill him we make him happy by getting an inheritance and inheriting is the easiest way to get something

You know, you don't have to work for it You don't have to even buy a lottery ticket

Only because you are related to someone or maybe they just chose you you're related to someone and they die

Do you get the inheritance? Here we are related to God Because God before the world began chose to adopt us and then

Jesus died leaving us an inheritance his right relationship with the father

But what if we make the wrong choice What if we don't go to the right church or we don't pay attention when the preacher is telling us the gospel

What if we're born into a country where less than 2 % of the population is Christian or into a town or family where?

Most of the people are Buddhists or atheists How are we going to get this inheritance then? How is it that too much for God to overcome won't

God be disappointed? He's disappointed. He's no longer blessed. It's no longer happy and satisfied

Will that happen then will he be the unblessed unhappy frustrated God then well,

I suppose that would be the case if our salvation our inheriting life If it depended on us if it depended on our choices and our prayers or our opportunities or religion but notice in verse 11 we get this inheritance because again

We are predestined and in case there's any doubt as to what that means. He tells us we're predestined according to Not according to our choices.

That would be post estimation predestined according to the purpose again the word good pleasure

According to the good pleasure of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will now for God's people that is

Those he has determined to give the inheritance to God will work in every situation

You know all situations. He says he's working according to the counsel of his will so they work they accomplish what he determines they will do

Every event every good or bad tragedy or trauma or triumph to get that inheritance

He uses them all to get that inheritance to his children so you can be born where only 2 % of the people are

Christians and no one in your whole extended family and the Father will find you won't he?

You could go to church your whole childhood and not pay attention to a word that said But when he wants to God can get through to you through a book from the public school library if you're one of his children

He will work through anything and everything to get his inheritance to you he'll overcome it all and He'll look back and think

Well, that was fun according to his good pleasure and Our response in verse 12 to all this praise

His glory bless the Lord. Oh my soul and forget not all his benefits finally seventh way

God blesses himself by blessing us is

That he seals us with the Holy Spirit in verse 13 again in what

Jesus in Christ That is in what Jesus did for us in his perfect life and death for our sins rising from the dead in Christ We were he says sealed with the

Holy Spirit and that happens when it says You know not not in ages past and some spiritual or theological idea some abstraction

But an actual event in our lives that happens when you heard the word of truth

The gospel of your salvation when you heard it you believed it you were saved you were sealed

Faith comes by hearing hearing by the Word of Christ We heard the gospel about Jesus the father revealed himself to us through it and we believed

And the father gave us the Holy Spirit. So all three persons of the Trinity were involved and to be sealed

It's like I'm there in those days They would seal a letter But you got official letter with wax and then a signet ring which kind of add to each person's

Little emblem on it like a trademark to show it was authentic who it was from to identify it

So that you wouldn't get a forged letter God seals every one of his children to identify them as is his to show that you are his

Marked like you have a trademark on you from whom you belong. This is one of mine stamped by him

The Holy Spirit he says is also the guarantee of the whole inheritance

Yet to come you have this huge inheritance coming you get a guarantee of it like earnest money

Sometimes you buy something big like a house. You got to put up earnest money to show you that you're serious The Holy Spirit is

God's earnest money to show that he's serious He's putting up front that he's earnest about finally saving us

Holy Spirit's the sample or the foretaste and what God has prepared for those who love him

Eventually, you will inherit a new heaven and a new earth Now your guarantee of that is a new heart where the

Holy Spirit is living in you so What's in it for you?

Well God himself Protecting you bequeathing to you speaking to you buying you out of sin and hell

Predestining you choosing you blessing you by giving you the same good pleasure that he already has perfectly

That's a lot, isn't it? He did all that because he wants to because it was his good pleasure now

What's your good pleasure What do you enjoy? Augustine said love

God with all your heart and Do as you please, of course now that you love

God with all your heart What pleases you? glorifying God Enjoying him forever

Being satisfied in him giving him good pleasure so when we say invite people

Glorify God and someone asks well Okay, but what's in it for me?