Calling
A Written compostion of the Heavenly Calling Network Study Group
Chapter
9
Ephesians
1:4 According as he -that is the Father has chosen us in him -that is
Christ. When? before the foundation of the world, -what for, what is
the object? that we should be holy and without blame before him in
love: Those are words that are wonderfully rich. According as the
Father has elected us in Christ before the foundation of the world. Now
the next thing you should understand, besides being of a very
controversial context matter, this question of election. The word is
quite plain in the Greek. Plain word to elect or translated to choose,
that is all the word means. Is election found in scriptures? Absolutely
it is. And the Apostle Paul uses it six times.
The
first time the Apostle Paul uses it is in a very precious chapter to
God's children. In the middle of this precious chapter Paul deals with
the revealed plan of God and likened it to a great chain. And in every
step is a link that is fastened to the next. Romans 8:28 And we know
that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them
who are the called according to his purpose. Now that word purpose is
our plain word planned. The Hebrew says the same thing if you would
like to compare the English translation for your own certainty. The
Orthodox Jewish Brit Chadasha - And we know that for those who love
Hashem everything co-operates toward HaTov for those who are HaKeru'im
(the summoned/called ones) according to tochnit Hashem (purposeful and
willed plan or goal-- It is grand to realize that the scriptures is a
book of Revelation of God's plan. A lot of people look at the
scriptures as a hazard, a collection of books together as one volume.
Oh dear, no, it is a glorious unity. It is God telling us something of
a plan that He made and all this plan is centered in one person. In His
blessed Son. In Christ. And it is going to touch the whole of this vast
creation. Or at least it is going to touch two parts of it. Heaven.
Earth. There is a heavenly side of the plan revealed here, and there is
an earthly side of the plan. If we can only get these things clear and
separated in our minds oh things would just fall in their proper place
in scriptures. Instead of it all being a jumble of confusion. It is
just like a jigsaw puzzle where every part fits. And then it starts to
speak its message.
So
there is a revelation of a plan. Sometime when you get a chance read 2
Timothy. There you get a chance to read something else about the plan.
That we were called and saved according to this plan, it says. This
purpose of God. You have this tremendous big aspect, God making this
great Universe and working out a plan for all His redeemed people.
Billions of them. He alone knows. And He says, everyone of you are not
lost in the crowd. Every single one, you were chosen and you were
called. You were saved, picked out because you come in to, by God's
grace, this glorious plan. Your not lost in the crowd! How can God deal
with billions of people like that and yet know them individually each
and every single one? It is wonderful to know that it is true.
Here
is a plan then, and this plan is in Christ. Here are the links in this
plan, Romans 8:29 For whom he did foreknow, The first link in the chain
is God's foreknowledge. And it is very important to get the order
right. The order that the scripture gives us. If we turn these around
the wrong way we shall make such problems that will never be solved.
And some religious conceptions of the scriptures have done that and
have made their own problems. All the problems that theologians have
had over election and predestination are of their own making. Now God
does not put election and predestination first. Nobody puts first His
foreknowledge. It says, whom he did foreknow, then, he also did
predestinate... Predestination comes next. to be conformed to the image
of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. The
first link then is foreknowledge, then is predestination or election.
Peter does the very same thing in 1Peter 1:1 Peter, an apostle of Jesus
Christ, to the strangers ... the dispersion actually. A technical name
for Jews who lived outside the land of Palestine. Not all were
concentrated in the Land of Palestine in the Lord's earthly ministry,
of the day of the Apostles. Some for business reasons and other reasons
lived out side the land. And others were exiled there or dispersed
there during the dispersion. But they would come up to Jerusalem to
keep the feasts as Orthodox Jews every year. Then they would go back to
their homes. The Hebrews scriptures translated into English gives you a
witness to this word dispersion. The Orthodox Jewish Brit Chadasha
Shimon Kefa a Shliach of Rebbe, Melech HaMoshiach Yehoshua to
haBechirim (the Chosen ones), to the Exiled ones of the Golus,
Sojourners living as aliens in the Diaspora, scattered in Pontus,
Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, ...
Now
note. Back to the Authorized version, 2 Elect according to the
foreknowledge ... Here it is again- of God the Father, ... They are
chosen through God's foreknowledge. It is useless to try and understand
election before you appreciate foreknowledge. This means that God knows
before hand, foreknows. He has a capacity that we have not got.
Scripture says that we don't know what a day or one hour may bring
forth. We can have a pretty good guess. We can guess pretty well what
is going to happen in ten minutes time. But of course we may be wrong.
Something of a surprise may come in that we may have never thought of.
We can't be certain, but God knows. He knows the whole length of time
in the future, and it is open to Him, just as though it has happened.
That is difficult for us to realize isn't it. In a sense, God is
standing apart from time. You and I are creatures of time. We are bound
by two things, time, and space. You and I can not occupy more than one
time or place at one time. The sun rises and the sun sets, the day
comes and the night comes and you can't do anything about it. We are
creatures of time, but God, no. He stands out side it all and He can
watch the whole thing, as it were, going on. That is bound up with His
foreknowledge.
God
knows a million years ahead what is going to happen because He isn't
bounded by time. Supposing we have the capacity to know what is going
to happen with out infallibility for one year. There is no doubt about
it we know exactly what is going to happen in every little detail for
twelve months. If we had that, we at this moment could start making
plans infallibly for twelve months time. Couldn't we, because we know
what is going to happen. Now you magnify that in a much bigger scale.
And perhaps you will begin to understand what foreknowledge is and what
election means that follows it. God knows all the way through what is
going to happen. He can start making His plans right back before even
time starts. He can start to choose people and will that they should go
here and go there in His plan that He is making with out compromising
free will at all. Because His foreknowledge looks ahead and can see us
responding to the truth. Foreknowledge comes first. And because He
knows before hand millions of years ahead that you would be born and
that you would hear the gospel and that you would respond. He then can
make a plan concerning you and your future and put you somewhere where
He wills in that plan. Yet He hasn't compromised your free will.
That
has been the trouble of theologians, not putting foreknowledge first.
The most awful things have been written from this doctrine for they say
that God arbitrary chosen some and then of course He must have chosen
all the rest to be damned. But that is awful. He hasn't done that. He
has merely elected or choose whom He knew in His foreknowledge would
respond. He says in effect that there will be some that I will bless
upon the earth when my kingdom comes on the earth. Some I am going to
bless in the heavens when my kingdom comes there. Well; God is
sovereign as to where He puts His children. You and I are in no
position to argue about what He is going to do with us. The creator
must always be greater than the created. So we are in no position to
argue with our Savior as to what He has elected us to. Or where He
intends to put us. But oh how thankful to think that His love and His
foreknowledge has seen and made provision for us in Christ. And has
chosen us IN Christ BEFORE the foundation, or perhaps before the over
throw, going back more, the over throw, but for the moment, the
foundation of the world. God could do it because everything is present
to Him. He has done it because God's word says so. It is part of His
plan. It doesn't compromise our free will because it was made know to
Him because He could see before hand what we were going to do any way.
And He chose us long ago, how long we don't know. Before the foundation
of the world.
Lets
look at this phrase, before the foundation of the world, because there
is another one that is very much like it. And that is since the
foundation of the world. Now the hope is that no one says, why bother
about that, surely that is good enough for it more or less the same
thing. Well, is it? The more we know about God's word and its wonder
and its perfection the more we realize that what the Apostle said is
true. Its words in which the Holy Ghost teaches. Not word singular but
words. The Holy Ghost, which has written this book, had put every word
with precision in to it. And He means what He says. He has got meaning
for everything. When He says before and event and after an event there
is reason for it. And if we are careful enough to search and to see and
ask for guidance and light we shall get wonderful enlightenment and
blessing.
It
is good that we look at every phrase, before the foundation of the
world. There aren't many. So it won't be very laborious. 1Peter 1:18
For as much as you know that you were not redeemed with corruptible
things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by
tradition from your fathers; 19 But with the precious blood of Christ,
as of a lamb without blemish and without spot: 20 Who truly was
foreordained before the foundation of the world, ... foreordained,
prepared before hand. That is something like the work election. before
the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for
you, ... Christ as the Lamb. Christ as the Savior. The one who has
given His life. That was no accident then. God had that in His mind
before the world was ever thought of. He was foreknown and what He was
going to do was foreknown, before the foundation of the world. The
Greek is precise in this verse, for it literally says, It has been
foreknown indeed before the throwing down of the world making manifest
moreover on this last (in time or place) which at this time was a
channel of an act for you, ... Then of course He must have known then
this tragedy was coming on. Yes, He did. Again His foreknowledge comes
in. You see, God was not caught napping when satan fell. God wasn't
caught napping when Adam and Eve fell and brought sin and death in to
this world. He knew the end from the beginning and are all ready
prepared for it. Foreordained His Son to be the Lamb, the Savior.
Before the foundation of the world.
There
is only one more occurrence and that is used by Christ Himself in that
wonderful prayer to the Father. John 17:24 Father, I will that they
also, whom you have given me, be with me where I am; that they may
behold my glory, which you have given me: for you loved me before the
foundation of the world. Now that is the only occurrences of that
phrase in the whole of the bible. Two of them refer to Christ. Either
looking at Him as the one that was loved by the Father before the
foundation of the world or as the Lamb foreordained or foreknown. And
the only other one is used of this church in God's mind. And if you and
I are members of it by grace well that is almost unique isn't it. Here
is the whole scheme of redemption in God's mind before the foundation
of the world and in it was this church. Every single member chosen in
Christ before the foundation of the world. Well that is a time period
going back isn't it. That is going back far enough. And we are going to
see this epistle in time covers the greatest length. It goes right back
before time ever started. Presently your going to read in the ages to
come that He might show exceeding kindness to us. There is ages yet to
unroll. What a tremendous stretch of time we've covered by the plan of
God. And yet to Him it was nothing. This is all written not to please
God, it wasn't written for His edification. He has written it for ours.
That is the one object isn't it. So that we may enjoy by faith and see
something of the wonderful purpose and love He has for us in Christ.
Now
what has He chosen us before the foundation of the world for? Ephesians
1:4 According as he has chosen us in him before the foundation of the
world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love:
There seems to be something about this word holy that you feel that we
can hardly use it. It is not used very often in our modern talking is
it. Can you remember when in an ordinary conversation you heard the
word holy last? It is so far removed from us and by experience that we
hardly ever use the word. No matter if you come a cross a good person
that you admire. Your probably don't say that the person was holy, do
you? Your almost dealing with something that really only belongs to
God. He is the one that is holy. Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty.
Yet, He has planned that you are going to be as holy as He is. So
something has got to be done about it. Because if we know our selves as
we really are, we are nothing like holy. And here comes the great
gospel story again. That is the reason why we are going to get in to
the work of the Son. So that what the Father willed will finally be
carried in to affect by the work of the Son. The Father wills that we
should be holy. And the work of the Son makes it so.
These
very things are picked up in Ephesians 5:25 Husbands, love your wives,
even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it; Now here
is the work of the Son then. That He might sanctify and cleanse it with
the washing with water by the word. What for? That He might present it
to Himself a glorious church not having spot or wrinkle. Or any such
thing. But here are the two words of chapter 1, to be holy and without
blemish. The word blemish is the same as the word blame in chapter 1.
The Father willed that every man of this church to be holy and without
blame, or blemish. And the Lord Jesus Christ has died so that everyone
shall be holy and without blemish. Never have in your mind that you can
make yourself holy and without blemish. Because you couldn't. If that
was left to us we would never attain it. But the same God who has
willed it is the same God who made it possible. For He has come down to
our human experience and died and taken our sins and imperfections upon
Himself and born them away righteously. And its place He has given us
this glorious holiness as a free gift. And one day we are going to be
presented that way.
Lets
see the way Colossians puts it. Colossians 1:21 And you, that were
sometime alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now
has he reconciled 22 In the body of his flesh through death, ... here
is His redeeming work on Calvary's cross, What for? to present you holy
and blameless and unreproveable in his ... God's ... sight: So when He,
as we are told in scripture has eyes of flame of fire, that is how the
Apostle John saw Him in the book of Revelation, when He with that
searching glance as we stand before Him, He could see not a spot. We
are as holy as He Himself. And God doesn't rest, and God's plan doesn't
come to fullness until every one of us who are redeemed stand like
that. What a day it will be when we leave all the sin and imperfection
behind for ever and we stand before Him. In another words, we are going
to be replica's of the Lord Jesus Christ Himself. This is what He
willed that we, every member that constitutes this glorious company
should be as spotless as He is. And thank God we can see, and that we
understand that it is not because of anything that we have done. It
will be only through what He has done and what we just by simple faith
believed. That is what the gospel brings, His redeeming work on
Calvary's cross.
Should
be holy and with out blemish before Him. Before Him. And the motive is
inexhaustible. Love. Sometimes when we think about these things what do
we ask? We ask why. Why Lord? Why have you done this? This is to good
to be true. What was there in me that you could see? The truth is,
there wasn't anything. And don't you try to see something in your self
either. Because there wasn't any thing. It was nothing but His
fathomless love. And the riches of His grace saw fit to choose us as we
are. And to give us such a glorious destiny. It magnifies His grace.
You might remember it says in 1 Corinthians 1:26 For ye see your
calling, brethren, how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many
mighty, not many noble, [are called]: 27 But God hath chosen the
foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen
the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty;
What for? Well to magnify His grace of course. So that He may be
magnified. If He chosen us because of some goodness that He saw in us,
well of course we might boast in that day of our little bit of
goodness. But no, we will have to boast in that day so in Christ and
all He has done. He will have all the glory then and we shall have none
and we shall not want it. We shall gladly give it to Him. To whom it is
given.
Now
God's children from the very beginning have always wanted to see God.
Haven't they? What is God like? What does He look like? Well what does
he look like. And you remember that Moses wanted to see Him. He said,
oh Lord show me thy glory. He pleaded with God. And do you remember
what God did? He said in affect to Moses, look Moses your asking for
something that is impossible. I can't show you now for your not in a
position to see my glory. But I'll tell you what I will do, I'll make
my glory pass by but I will cover you with my hand. You shall see my
back parts, but my face shall not be seen. Well you know why don't you?
Simply because in our human bodies we are not constituted to bear the
glory of God. If we saw, it would burn us up like a cinder, we would be
consumed. Now it was God's love that said that to Moses. He didn't want
to see Moses consumed. So He protected him as His glory passed by His
own hand for His face shall not be seen. But we are going to be before
His face one day. We are going to see Him. And that tells you why we
have to have different bodies for this. It says in scripture, flesh and
blood can not inherit the kingdom of God. And in scripture we are told
that we wait and look for the Savior who shall change this body of
humiliation. What for? And again we are a body of glory. A body
fashioned like the body of His glory. When we get these new bodies,
these heavenly bodies, these resurrection bodies, that will be the body
that can see the glory of God and won't be consumed. But until then God
graciously veiled this thing. We are walking by faith. But then we will
be walking before His face.
What
is the motive for all this? Love. Lets anticipate it and look at the
second prayer of this wonderful letter. This is what he prays,
Ephesians 3:17 That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that you,
being rooted and grounded in love, 18 May be able to comprehend with
all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height; 19
And to know the love of Christ, which passes knowledge, ... Surpasses
the Greek says, or exceeds, for the word is huperballo. Exceeds
knowledge. To know it, but it will surpass all that you will get to
know. He is not saying it is unknowable, but however much you know
there are depths yet waiting. It is just like an ocean, you can never
get to the bottom of it. To know the love of Christ which surpasses
knowing. Now that is the love. That is the motive. That is the answer
to why. Why has God done this? Why has he picked me? Why is He going to
share all these wondrous things on me in Christ? Because I believed on
the Son of God. Why? It is an abounding love.
In
the scripture God's love isn't always presented like that. Nearly
always it is presented in a way that you can understand because the
divine love is not just an emotion. Not just a feeling. We are quite
wrong imagining God's love to be like that. Its not like its coming all
over you feeling funny like we may think love is. It is a practical
thing.
Nearly
every time you read it in the New Testament of the love of God you find
it in the terms of God doing something for you. Now what about the most
well know gospel text, John 3:16? God so loved, well how? Well, He gave
His only begotten Son. You want to know what love is? God gives Himself
in the person of Christ. And gives without limit, and Christ goes all
the way to the cross. Well that is love, isn't it. Beyond
comprehension. And this was manifested that God sent His Son in to the
world, In other words, God's love is always measured by His giving. And
that is a good measure for real love, always. We talk about loving
don't we. And we talk about loving one another. And we talk about
loving God. And we talk about loving our Savior. But how much. You can
tell by just the amount that we are prepared to give. Or think of
loving one another. You say, I love somebody. Well that love is measure
by just how much your prepared to spend your self for that person. This
is not talking about money, it is about time, talent, everything. And
that is the measure of our love.
Ephesians
1:5 Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus
Christ to himself, ... Now you have election in verse 4, chosen us, and
you have predestination in verse 5. There are some that say they don't
believe in election or don't believe in predestination. If you don't
believe it then you don't believe the scriptures, that's all. What we
ought to say is that we don't understand it. That may be true. But to
say that you don't believe it then you rejected something that God has
plainly put in the scriptures. Someone says, I believe in free will and
I don't believe in predestination. But that is in scriptures to. Both
are in scriptures. Both are there and are not contradictory. Sometimes
we just stand to close to it and stand there cross eyed and mixing
these two things up. Some might say that you can't have one and the
other at the same time, but you can. If you could stand back like God
does you would see that there was no contradiction between election and
free will. From predestination and human responsibility. But here we
got it, and either we have got to believe it or reject it.
He
has predestinated us unto a position, something called the adoption of
children. This word predestination in the Greek, proorizo, simply means
mark before hand. And a few of the English translations put that
forward as you can see with the following examples. Rotherham's bible
... marking us out beforehand unto sonship, through Jesus Christ, for
himself, according to the good pleasure of his will, ... Darby's bible
... having marked us out beforehand for adoption through Jesus Christ
to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will, ...The Emphatic
Diaglott ... in love having previously marked out us for sonship
through Jesus Anointed for himself, according to the good pleasure of
the will of himself, ... The Living Oracles NT ... having formerly
marked us out for adoption through Jesus Christ, to himself, according
to the good pleasure of his will, ... To mark off before hand for a
purpose. He has chosen us before hand, before time started, and He has
marked us off before hand for a specific position called the adoption
of children.
What
does the New Testament mean by the term adoption of children? It just
means when a parent adopts a child in to a family. That is the way we
use the term in the modern day. But it was not used like that at the
time the Apostle Paul wrote it. What did it mean when he wrote it? When
we search we find that this term adoption is a legal term. It is a term
used by anyone making a will. What you and I today will call an
appointing and heir to a property, and is what Paul would call making
an adoption. In Paul's day it was a public thing. You could not make a
private will. We can today of course. You can make your will and nobody
would no anything about it except yourself and the people that you have
chosen. You could not have done that in Paul's day. Every single will
had to be exhibited on the town hall. Publicly put up for anyone to see
and once it was made it could never be altered. You could not revoke
it. You couldn't cancel it and make another will. You couldn't even add
to it.
Now
then, do you understand what Paul means in Galatians chapter 3. He
gives an illustration of a point that he has made about will making.
Its called a covenant or testament, but it means a will. Galatians 3:15
Brethren, I speak after the manner of men: ... He says, I am going to
give you a human illustration... Though it be but a man's covenant, ...
or a mans testament or will ...yet if it be confirmed, no man cancels,
or adds thereto. ... Here is something that every man in Galatia new.
Once you made a testament and it was confirmed publicly no man could
add to it. No man can cancel it, it is finished. Keep that in mind for
you will never understand will making in the New Testament unless you
have got that figure in your mind. Now what is Paul going to say then?
God has made His will. And He is never going to change it. That is your
assurance. God is not going to scrap it and make a new will. Once He
has appointed His heir He has done it forever. And He has, that is the
point. He has appointed His heirs. And you and I are called heirs of
God. Joint heirs with Christ. He has appointed an inheritance. Yes. And
He will never change it. Because the gifts and callings of God are
without repentance. Without a change of mind on His part.
Making
the adoption was appointing the heir to the property or geometry. That
is the meaning of it. God has appointed the heirs and those heirs are
you and me, by His grace. So it could be said with truth as Paul puts
it, Romans 8:17 And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and
joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with [him], that we
may be also glorified together. If your are a child of God, if you have
been redeemed you must have a divine inheritance that God is preparing
for you some where. It is sure and secure. And it can't be lost, you
can't lose it because He has got it safe and secure. You haven't got it
yet. You only got the faith. But you will get it when you get to glory.
If children, then heirs. That is the meaning of that word adoption. It
means much more than adopting and outsider into a family. For God is
never saying your not really my child and I just brought you into the
family. We are the children of God. That is the point. We certainly
are. We have been redeemed. We have been quickened by God. We have been
saved. We have been given new love. We have been born again. Not just
ones brought in there and adopted. We are children, first born
children. We've got the inheritance in view.
You
see, in the Old Testament days, and The New Testament days it was the
first born of the family that inherited. It was the first born son. He
typically was the priest of the family. The hatred of Joseph and his
family was because of that of course. Because Jacob gave the coat of
many colors to him. That was the first born's raiment. And he wasn't
the first born son. But Jacob willed that he should have it. Oh, it is
terrible hatred from his brothers. What him? The younger one? He was
given the position of the adoption by Jacob. He was given the first
born's place.
The
will of God the Father. Ephesians 1:3 Blessed be the God and Father of
our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with all spiritual blessings
... That is their character and that is their number. Every blessing
that is spiritual. And where? Why in heavenly places. And that is where
the Savior is now exalted. And they are safe because they are in
Christ. Every thing that is of value is found in Him. When we go to the
epistle that is the companion of this wonderful letter we'll find that
even our life is hid in God. So how secure is our position? All the
blessings. Our life. Our Salvation. Our heavenly destiny. Everything
secure in Him. In Christ.