Scripture
We are currently in a series of sermons on Ephesians 1 that I am calling, “God’s Supreme Purpose.” The Apostle Paul’s emphasis in chapter 1 is not on what we must do for salvation, but rather on what God has done for us in Christ. Ephesians 1:3-14 shows us how each Person of the Trinity is involved in the salvation of God’s people. Our salvation was planned by the Father (1:4-6), purchased by the Son (1:7-12), and sealed by the Holy Spirit (1:13-14).
Let’s read about the Father’s plan of salvation in Ephesians 1:4-6. For the sake of context, we shall begin reading at verse 3:
3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, 4 even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love 5 he predestined us for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, 6 to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved. (Ephesians 1:4-6)
Introduction
Dr. J. I. Packer wrote a famous introductory essay to John Owen’s (1616-1683) Death of Death in the Death of Christ. In the essay, Dr. Packer suggests that the statement, “God saves sinners,” is a summary of the gospel. Here is what Packer wrote:
God saves sinners. God – the Triune Jehovah, Father, Son and Spirit; three Persons working together in sovereign wisdom, power and love to achieve the salvation of a chosen people, the Father electing, the Son fulfilling the Father’s will by redeeming, the Spirit executing the purpose of Father and Son by renewing. Saves – does everything, first to last, that is involved in bringing man from death in sin to life in glory: plans, achieves and communicates redemption, calls and keeps, justifies, sanctifies, glorifies. Sinners – men as God finds them, guilty, vile, helpless, powerless, blind, unable to lift a finger to do God’s will or better their spiritual lot.
We would be hard pressed to find a better summary of the gospel. “God saves sinners” is a simple and short statement but, properly understood, a deep and profound statement.
The Apostle Paul also gave a deep and profound statement of the gospel in Ephesians 1:3-14. It is not a simple and short statement. In fact, Ephesians 1:3-14 is one, long, complex sentence in the original Greek. However, as we unpack that sentence, we learn how each Person of the Trinity is actively involved in our salvation. And it all begins with God the Father’s plan of salvation.
Lesson
The analysis of the Father’s plan of salvation in Ephesians 1:4-6 shows us seven elements in that plan.
Let’s use the following outline:
1. The Method in the Father’s Plan of Salvation Is Election (1:4a)
2. The Object in the Father’s Plan of Salvation Is the Elect (1:4b)
3. The Time in the Father’s Plan of Salvation Is Eternity Past (1:4c)
4. The Purpose in the Father’s Plan of Salvation Is Holiness (1:4d)
5. The Motive in the Father’s Plan of Salvation Is Love (1:4e)
6. The Result in the Father’s Plan of Salvation Is Sonship (1:5a)
7. The Goal in the Father’s Plan of Salvation Is Glory (1:5b-6)
I. The Method in the Father’s Plan of Salvation Is Election (1:4a)
First, the method in the Father’s plan of salvation is election.
Paul said of God in verse 4a: “. . . even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world.” This passage teaches us about the doctrine of election. It is one of several passages that teach that God elects sinners to salvation, and it is one of the clearest. However, many people struggle with the doctrine of election. So, let me address a few objections to the doctrine of election.
First, some believe that the Bible does not teach election. People who hold this view say that God has revealed himself and has provided a way of salvation to people through the sacrificial death and resurrection of his Son, Jesus Christ. That demonstrates his grace, they say. But, that is as far as God’s grace goes. He has done everything on his part to save sinners. The rest, however, is up to us. God is a gentleman and he offers salvation to all people. And people, who have free will, must choose – or reject – the salvation offered by God. That is how salvation works, they say, and election simply does not factor in to the plan of salvation at all.
The problem with this position is that the Bible does in fact teach the Father’s sovereign election of sinners! John Stott says, “The doctrine of election is a divine revelation, not a human speculation.” And he goes on to say, “It was not invented by Augustine of Hippo or Calvin of Geneva. On the contrary, it is without question a biblical doctrine, and no biblical Christian can ignore it.”
And second, some believe that the Bible teaches that election is based on foreknowledge. People who hold this view say that God elects sinners on the basis of foreseen faith. In other words, as God looked down the corridor of time, he saw each person who trusted in Jesus Christ and, on the basis of seeing their exercise of faith, elected them to salvation.
What is the problem with this position? James Montgomery Boice says, “This is patently impossible. One problem is that an election like that is not really election. In such a reconstruction, God does not preordain an individual to anything; the individual actually ordains himself.” Moreover, the Bible teaches us that “no one seeks for God” (Romans 3:11). So, how could any person trust in Christ when our basic nature is to turn away from him rather than turn to him?
People who hold this view of election believe that people are basically spiritually sick rather than spiritually dead. They believe that people have some internal ability to turn to Christ in faith by themselves, when in fact all people are spiritually dead and have no internal ability whatsoever to turn to Christ in faith. That is why Paul wrote to the Ephesians in Ephesians 2:1, “And you were dead in the trespasses and sins.” Spiritually dead people have no internal ability to change themselves. That is why J. I. Packer said that it is God who saves, “Saves – does everything, first to last, that is involved in bringing man from death in sin to life in glory: plans, achieves and communicates redemption, calls and keeps, justifies, sanctifies, glorifies.”
The biblical position regarding the doctrine of election is that God elects sinners to salvation. Boice said of the Bible’s teaching:
It teaches that we are too hopelessly lost in sin ever to partake of God’s great spiritual blessings on our own. Instead, God in his mercy chose us and then made his choice effectual. First he made our salvation possible by sending the Lord Jesus Christ to die for our sin. Then he made us capable of responding to him by sending the Holy Spirit to open our eyes to the truth and glory of the gospel. Thus, all the blessings we enjoy must be traced back to this sovereign electing purpose of God toward us in Jesus Christ. And Paul does exactly that in these opening verses of Ephesians.
Not only did Paul teach the doctrine of God’s election, but so did Jesus. He said, “No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him” (John 6:44). Only those whom the Father has chosen for salvation will be saved.
Some may question what role our faith plays in our salvation. Faith is essential for salvation, but even our faith is a gift from God, as Paul said in Ephesians 2:8, “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God.”
The fact is that the Bible teaches God’s sovereignty in election and also human responsibility for our actions. Both truths are taught in the Bible, and they seem to be in contradiction to each. However, they are not contradictory; they are both Biblical truths. Commentator Tony Merida wrote, “Someone once asked Charles Spurgeon how he reconciled God’s sovereignty and man’s responsibility, and he responded, ‘I never reconcile two friends.’ Someone asked another pastor about this ‘problem,’ and he replied, ‘That’s not my problem. That’s God’s problem. And for God, it’s not a problem.’” Merida concludes, “Just believe both truths and let God harmonize them.”
That is good counsel. Believe that God the Father elects sinners to salvation, and that we are also responsible for our actions.
II. The Object in the Father’s Plan of Salvation Is the Elect (1:4b)
Second, the object in the Father’s plan of salvation is the elect.
Paul said of God in verse 4b: “. . . even as he chose us.” The object of God the Father’s election is not everyone. God did not choose everyone to salvation. He did, however, choose a certain number for salvation, which Revelation 7:9–10 tells us is “a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, and crying out with a loud voice, ‘Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!’”
III. The Time in the Father’s Plan of Salvation Is Eternity Past (1:4c)
Third, the time in the Father’s plan of salvation is eternity past.
Paul said of God in verse 4c: “. . . even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world.” Every believer was chosen by God for salvation before the cross, the law, the covenants, the Fall, and even the creation of the world. God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit designed the plan of salvation long before time as we know it began. The plan of salvation involved the Father electing a people to salvation, the Son securing their salvation through his life, death, burial, and resurrection, and the Holy Spirit applying that salvation to the elect.
In the Father’s plan of salvation, Christ was crucified for the elect “before the foundation of the world” (1 Peter 1:20). In fact, the inheritance of the elect was determined at that time, for Jesus taught in Matthew 25:34, “Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.” Furthermore, the name of every believer was “written before the foundation of the world in the book of life of the Lamb who was slain” (Revelation 13:8).
And so, I agree with John MacArthur, who said, “We belonged to God before time began, and we will be his after time has long run its course.”
IV. The Purpose in the Father’s Plan of Salvation Is Holiness (1:4d)
Fourth, the purpose in the Father’s plan of salvation is holiness.
Paul said of God in verse 4d: “. . . even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him.” A person who is holy and blameless is a person who is growing in sanctification, in Christlikeness, in godliness. It does not mean that such a person is perfect, because perfection is never attained in this life. But, it does mean that an elect believer looks more and more like Jesus Christ.
Some people think that election means that a person can live as he pleases, because if he is elect, it does not matter if he sins; he will be saved anyway. Nothing could be further from the truth! The only evidence of election is that we should be holy and blameless before him. Election leads to holiness; never to sin. Election and holiness go together like root and fruit. “So,” as John Stott says, “far from encouraging sin, the doctrine of election forbids it and lays upon us instead the necessity of holiness. For holiness is the very purpose of our election. So ultimately the only evidence of election is a holy life.”
V. The Motive in the Father’s Plan of Salvation Is Love (1:4e)
Fifth, the motive in the Father’s plan of salvation is love.
Paul said of God in verse 4e: “. . . In love.” The only motive ever given in Scripture for God’s election of people is love. This is most clearly stated in Deuteronomy 7:7–8a, “It was not because you were more in number than any other people that the Lord set his love on you and chose you, for you were the fewest of all peoples, but it is because the Lord loves you.”
Why did God choose you for salvation? Is it because you were good? Or kind? Or attractive? Or moral? No. God’s election of sinners to salvation is never based on anything in us; rather, God’s election of sinners to salvation is because he has determined to set his love on sinners and chose them for salvation.
VI. The Result in the Father’s Plan of Salvation Is Sonship (1:5a)
Sixth, the result in the Father’s plan of salvation is sonship.
Paul said of God in verse 5a: “In love he predestined us for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ.” It is interesting that Paul did not say that God adopted us to himself as “children.” He says that we were adopted as “sons.” Now, why “sons” and not “children”? In the Roman culture of Paul’s day, wealthy Romans who did not have a male heir sometimes adopted a son to be the heir. The adoption was usually not of an infant but often of an adult slave. That way, when the slave owner died, he would be assured that his slave had already grown up and could inherit fully all his possessions and titles and so on. Paul wanted to convey the truth that when God elects people for salvation (both sons and daughters), they are adopted into his family with all the rights and privileges that go along with sonship.
Further, Jesus taught his disciples to call God “Father.” For example, he taught them in the Lord’s Prayer to pray, “Our Father in heaven” (Matthew 6:9). It was what makes being a child of God so rich! To have God as “our Father”!
Dr. J. I. Packer believes that our understanding of God as our Father and our adoption as sons is essential to our spiritual wellbeing. He wrote in his fabulous book, Knowing God:
If you want to judge how well a person understands Christianity, find out how much he makes of the thought of being God’s child, and having God as his Father. If this is not the thought that prompts and controls his worship and prayers and his whole outlook on life, it means that he does not understand Christianity very well at all. For everything that Christ taught, everything that makes the New Testament new, and better than the Old, everything that is distinctively Christian as opposed to merely Jewish, is summed up in the knowledge of the Fatherhood of God. “Father” is the Christian name for God.
VII. The Goal in the Father’s Plan of Salvation Is Glory (1:5b-6)
And finally, the goal in the Father’s plan of salvation is glory.
Paul said of God in verses 5b-6: “In love he 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 has blessed us in the Beloved.” God’s ultimate goal is his own glory. When all creation stands before him at the second coming of Christ, all creatures in heaven and on earth will praise God for his inexpressibly wonderful plan of salvation. Believers will praise God for his election of them and sing praise to his glorious name.
Conclusion
Therefore, having analyzed the Father’s plan of salvation in Ephesians 1:4-6, let us thank God for his election of sinners.
So, briefly, what are some practical take-aways for us? Boice suggests four areas of application.
First, election eliminates boasting. Suppose salvation was based on something we had achieved or earned or merited. We would have something about which to boast in heaven. Thank God, however, that we contribute nothing to our salvation. Election is entirely the work of God. As Paul said, “he chose,” “he predestined,” “he has blessed us,” and this is “to the praise of his glorious grace.”
Second, election gives assurance of salvation. Suppose the ultimate ground of salvation is in ourselves. If that were true, we could never be sure if we had done enough. But, because our salvation is grounded in the Father’s election of us, we can be sure that he will never lose us or let us go.
Third, election leads to holiness. We have already mentioned this. Election does not promote sin. Election leads a person to live a life of growing holiness. Election enables a person to look more and more like Jesus. In fact, if we are not growing in holiness, we are not elect. We are still in our sins.
And fourth, election promotes evangelism. We do not know who God’s elect are. The only way we can find them out is by their response to the gospel and by their subsequent growth in holiness. Our task is to proclaim the Word boldly, knowing that all whom God has elected in Christ before the foundation of the world will surely come to Jesus.
So, let us thank God the Father for his plan of salvation, which begins with the election of sinners. Amen.
