Chosen In Christ

This week we discussed Ephesians 1:4 where it talks about God choosing us IN Christ. What does it mean that he chose us before the foundation of the world? Do we really have free will? As I share my beliefs and how I interpret these verses, I am well aware that many people smarter and more learned than me have argued these points for centuries. I am humbly sharing my beliefs. This is a pretty large and sweeping topic, so I hope you will be able to understand and follow what I am saying. 

Buckle up and come along for the ride!

Transcript

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Well, good morning. Joel and I went to a marriage retreat that was put on by the conference earlier this week, and it was really good. In one of the sessions, they asked us to, you know, be able to embrace the mistakes that we've made in life, and immediately the women got up and hugged their husbands. This one's called the storm. A passenger jet was going through a severe thunderstorm, and as the passengers were being bounced around by the turbulence, a young woman turned to a minister sitting next to her with a nervous laugh, asked, Reverend, do you think uh you're a man uh can you do something about this storm? To which he replied, Lady, I'm in sales, not management. There's a church sign that says, How will you spend eternity, smoking or not smoking? Our scripture that we've kind of been circling back to recently is John 17, 3, and Jesus is praying, and he says, This is eternal life, that they may know you, the one true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent. We've been talking about John 15, that's kind of another anchoring point we keep coming back to, and it's talking about abiding in the vine, and that Jesus Christ is the vine, and we are the branches, and the Father is the vine dresser. And this was the reality that Adam and Eve were created into. I was telling the guys yesterday at our men's group that we have the first three chapters of Genesis, and then all the rest of this is us trying to get back to those first chapters. And so this abiding, this knowing God and being known by Him, is the centerpiece of the narrative of the gospel and of the scriptures, I believe. And so when man fell, the Spirit of God left man, and the fallen nature, the carnal nature of the flesh, those are all terms used in the Bible, began to rule and reign in men's hearts and minds. And I called this the cancer of the human existence. It talks about how a cell that goes rogue becomes cancerous, and the nature of man is it has become rogue, has become cancerous, and it's ultimately destroying, killing, stealing, and destroying ever since. But God, and we talked about the gospel of Jesus Christ, but God, and it's Ephesians 2, 4 through 10. I'm just going to read again, but but God, when we were in this state, when we're in broken connection with God under this cancerous effects of this worldly nature, God, who is rich in mercy because of his great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead and trespasses, made us alive together with Christ. By grace you have been saved, and raised us up together and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus. And we've been really highlighting these phrases in Christ or in him, again referring back to us being connected to that bond. That in the ages to come he might show the exceeding riches of his grace and his kindness towards us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith, and it's not of yourselves, it's a gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast, for we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them. So as you look at these verses, it's talking about the love of God. He made us alive, he made us to sit in heavenly places in Christ. Again, how do we become connected in this way? It's this grafting. We talked about grafting, how it's taking one plant and inserting it into another. And the process by which those grow together creates different fruit, different flowers, different characteristics that are expressed that are unique not only to the, they're completely different than the rootstock and the scion, which is the piece that's been grafted in. There's a conglomeration and it expresses something new and different through it. And this is a picture of us abiding in this place of the gospel of Jesus Christ, believing that he has saved us and that his payment has made us now connected, accepted, beloved by God. Alright. But we uh, and then last week we started into Ephesians chapter 1, and we talked in verse 3 about blessings that says, Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in heavenly places. Again, in Christ. So when we see in Christ, we need to remember that this is talking about those who have put their faith in Jesus Christ, who've been grafted in by believing the gospel of Jesus Christ. Alright, it says blessings in heavenly places, I think for two reasons. One, because many of the blessings are spiritual in nature. Right? We talked about how Jesus was spiritually blessed, but it has physical fruits, physical manifestations of spiritual realities, right? So that Jesus, knowing the will of God, went around doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with him. That's in Acts. And so his spiritual reality gave fruit to physical realities. So yes, they are spiritual. Many of the blessings are spiritual in nature, but they have physical repercussions and fruit. And two, I believe that he talks about spiritual blessings because there is no lack or limit in heaven. And that is where our hearts and our minds are to live from. So if you want to write these things down, Colossians 3, 1, it says, seek those things which are above where Christ is. Set your mind on things above and on things in this world where you died and your life is hidden with Christ in God. So the idea is that these blessings are limitless, are in alignment with the will of God, the desire of God. What we see in heaven is now what God wants on the earth. You think of the prayer, the model prayer, and Jesus says that your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Heaven is the prototype of what God wants on earth. And so we started to unpack what it means about blessings. Blessings are to flow out of us. And we went back to Genesis 12, 1 and 2, and it was talking about Abraham, and God was talking to him and said, You are going to be blessed so that you will be a blessing. And I liken that to the Sea of Galilee that's on the Jordan River, that has that water flows in and water flows out, and it's full of life and it's teeming. And then we have later in the Jordan River the Dead Sea, which water only flows into and not out of. It's brackish, it's very, very salty, nothing lives there, it's desolate. And I think last week I called it the Sea of Capernaum, which Capernaum is a city on the edge of the Sea of Galilee, but just if you got confused, I was too. Apparently, it's the Sea of Galilee. So this idea that we are blessed to then be a blessing. Blessing, divine blessing, I was saying, isn't truly divine until it flows out of your life to those around you. So if God has given you an ability, a talent, time, energy, wisdom that you pour out, that is and it becomes a blessing. Blessings are not just for us, they're for us to share with those around us. And that will begin to change not only our family dynamic, but our communities and our churches. If we become the conduit by which God can flow through us to those around us. And these are some scriptures I didn't use last time, but just kind of piggybacking on this idea, really could spend several some days talking about blessings and what I believe it is, and how do we live in that? But that's not for today. But anyway, Deuteronomy 28.2. After this, God kind of says all these blessings that will come upon the children of Israel if they follow his word and his precepts. And it just says, All these blessings will come upon you and overtake you because you obey the voice of the Lord your God. You know, we all talk about or can probably mention different times where we have this feeling of impending doom. We'll hear God saying you should actually have a feeling of impending blessing. The expectation of the goodness of God overtaking you and your life, your family. The impending, instead of impending doom, impending blessing. Because it says it's going to overtake you. Like you cannot run, you can't get past it if you do these things. Now, what it's saying is the requirement is a righteous standing before God. So in the Old Testament, that means they have to follow all the law. And you'll see different seasons in the Old Testament where they really followed the Lord and everything went really well. And then they didn't follow the Lord and everything went really soft. So in 2 Corinthians 1.20, it now says all the promises, oh wait, where? In him are yes, and in him, amen. To the glory of God through us. The promises aren't just for you, they're for pouring out through you, and then it goes, and then it's glorifying God. So when we start to understand that not only are the promises for us because what? We're grafted into Jesus Christ, those promises are actually for us because we're connected to Him and we're righteous and holy in His eyes. So now we actually have the legal ground and standing to say, these are my promises. But then the real purpose of that is so that they can pour out and give glory to God. That gets kind of exciting, and that I think is something that doesn't come natural to the world system, to our carnal nature, right? This is something of, so I'm gonna be generous so that I get more. No. But it happens that way. But that's not the purpose, that's not the heart posture. As you live in the nature of God, these things will overtake you, these things will come upon you. So blessings are to come through us so that God gets the glory. And then I didn't I didn't share this verse last time, but you know, some a safe prayer is one that you find in Scripture, right? So like in Ephesians later in chapter one, Paul says, you know, I pray above all things that you would you have the spirit of revelation and knowledge so that you would know God and the power that's inside of you. So that's like a safe prayer to prayer, right? Like we understand like that so on the will of God, right? So here's a prayer you can be praying. 3 John verse 2, it says, I pray that you may in all, or prosper and be in health, even as your soul prospers. So it's the desire of God that you prosper, that you're in health, and that your soul prospers, which is your mind, will, and emotions. So you know we can pray that prayer in confidence that that is the nature and heart of God, because it's in Scripture. Alright. So if you're finding the whole blessing thing a little hard to swallow, just pray that prayer. Get over it. So we are blessed to be a blessing. So that was the first of several verses here that we're going to go through in Ephesians, particularly looking at this phrase in Christ, and what will unpack each one of these things that we find there. And so I'm going to pray really quick, and we'll get into it. So, Lord, we just thank you for today. Lord, we just, Holy Spirit, we ask you to reveal truth and the nature of God, of Jesus Christ, that we might know you, that we might abide in you, and that we might live out in these blessings and the goodness of God, not for us, but for those around us, that we'd have your heart and nature in it. Lord, I pray that you would make things clear to us today. And if anything is not clear, Lord, that you would continue to reveal and bring light to it. In Jesus' name, amen. Okay, so I felt to continue on in Ephesians, and you're wondering probably why I'm having a chair up here. It's not because I'm injured or anything. I just thought maybe Mr. Rogers looked would kind of go over better today. Will you be my neighbor? No, I felt in my own heart that what we're going to talk about, begin talking about in the next couple of services are election and how God has chosen us and predestination. And I'm well aware that there are men and women much smarter than me, much wiser than me, through the centuries that have debated on these things very deeply, probably the places that my little pea brain can't even go. And so I recognize that today in sharing with you, I am I am truly sharing what I believe is to be right. But recognize in humility that I could be wrong. I'm just going to say that. Because I see so many people get up on TikTok, YouTube, or even on a stage and boldly blast what they believe is true, which they may be, but I never want to get to that place of pride that I think you guys have to believe the same way I do in order to know God or have a relationship with him. But I believe that for me, what I believe has brought clarity and peace in my walk with the Lord. Is that enough caveat? I know that someday I'm going to have to give. It talks about in the word that leaders are going to have to give an account for the things that they have preached and taught other people, and so not to do it quickly or hastily. And so I feel that somberness in it. Okay? That's why I'm sitting. I'm trying to be physically lowly so that my heart and mind stay lowly. Okay? Alright. Let's go, let's read Ephesians chapter 1, verse 3, 4, 5, 6. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ. Just as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love, having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will, to the praise of the glory of his grace, by which he made us accepted in the beloved. Again, these like so many little run-on sentences that just kind of link together, and there's a lot in it. But what I want to focus on is verse 4 today, just as he chose us in him, in Christ, before the foundations of the world, that we should be holy, without blame, before him in love. Now, before we kind of unpack this, I want to establish a few foundational truths or realities that I think we all need to see clearly before we can progress into this. So one is this idea of free will, which is commonly referred to as free will, but it's essentially the ability to choose. The ability to choose between the will of God and every other will, every other desire outside of that, whether it's the enemies, our nature, the world. We can choose. Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane says, not my will be done, but yours be done, Father. So we see two wills, two options we have in the garden, a tree that they're not supposed to eat, and every other tree that they can. There's a choice. There is what we call free will. So if you I would encourage you, if you have paper, maybe write some verses down. Because I'm going to kind of go through them quick and they're not going to be up on the slides. If you care to talk about this more later or not, that's fine. But at least you can understand my thought process if you looked at your notes later or whatever you write down. So Acts 17, 30. I'm just going to read portions of these scriptures, I'm not going to turn to them. Now, God, now, God, it's talking about God. Now he commands all men everywhere to repent. So God is calling all men everywhere to repent. Meaning everybody, right? So my question is, is everyone saved? Alright, we'll keep going. It's a hard one, so we'll go. Titus 2.11. That the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men. Titus 2.11. Matthew 10, 28, Jesus says, Come unto me all who are weary and heavy laden, and I will give you rest. I'll call to all men, all people. John 3.16, for God so loved the world, not just meaning the globe, but meaning mankind. God so loved all mankind that he gave his only son, that whosoever believes in him shall not perish for everlasting life. For God did not come into the world to condemn the world, but that through him they might be saved. That might is like an option. It's a choice. It proves that not just everyone gets it. 1 Timothy 2.4, God desires that all men would be saved and come to the knowledge of truth. So then again, I say, is everyone saved? It says there's no other name by where man might be saved other than Jesus Christ. Alright. 2 Peter 3.9. God wills that none should perish, but all should have eternal life. The first building block here that I want to set is that we have a choice. There is at some level upon each and every man and woman a choice to accept or reject Jesus Christ to the level that God has revealed Himself to them. It says here in Titus that the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men. Okay, but anyway, the idea of free will, I think, is very much understood at a heart level. We have some sway and say in our eternal. Reception of Jesus Christ or rejection of Jesus Christ. And even by nature, love requires a choice. You see, even the angels rejected God. They were in his presence, and yet they had the capacity to reject all that is good. And so this idea that, well, did God create evil? No, he created the choice to live outside of goodness. Cold actually isn't a thing. It's just the level of heat or energy that's in an object. If there's zero energy in an object, it's absolute zero. And as there's more energy within the particles, it gets hotter and hotter. Likewise, manner, God is that energy or heat, and the absence of heat is coldness, but it's actually just the absence of good. And we call it evil, but it's the absence of good. Alright, so we have that building stone, that building block, and now another one is foreknowledge is not predetermination. Foreknowledge does not mean something is predetermined, pre-selected. I will go into that. So what does God know? These are easy. Everything. He knows everything. So we call that omniscient, all-knowing. To fully know something is to know its past, its present, and its eternal future. Like in the way that God knows things, it is limitless. And we start to look at the scriptures where it talks about what God knows and it begins to really warp our minds. It says he knows the hairs on each one of our heads. We'll multiply that by a few billion people, and he knows the hairs on their heads. Now add to that every person that's ever been alive, and he knows those hairs. And at the same time, he knows when a sparrow falls out of the sky, when a sparrow dies. He knows that. It says that he's named all the stars in the sky. We haven't even figured out if there's an end to the stars. And yet he's named them all. We can't find the end of the universe, but whatever's out there, he's already named it all. And so whatever star is created or implodes, God knows it. That is the level to which he knows and understands all things. And he exists outside of time. In a way, time is like walking down a hallway backwards. We see everything right where we're at and behind us, but we don't see the other end. We're in a hallway of time. God exists outside of that. So it's almost like time is like in this room. He can see all of it at once. At one time. Now I know you probably didn't come here for like a quantum physics exercise yet. So I go back again to what we had talked about before. So who does God want to be saved? Everyone. All men, everywhere. So then who is saved? Those who choose Jesus Christ. So God's will is not always done. It says that Jesus was coming into Jerusalem. He says, I will to take you as a bunch of chicks, as a hand takes her chicks, but you would not have me. They rejected Jesus Christ. So now we understand that just because God knows something beforehand doesn't mean like he selected it. That's what I was kind of trying to unpack, the time timeline. He exists out of time. So just because he knows that this person will accept him or reject him does not mean that he is choosing that for them. And we'll look at that some more. Okay? Matthew, chapter 20. So here's a question. This popped in my mind yesterday as I was about to go home from prepping. And let's say two people choose something. How do we know who chose first if one doesn't exist in time? I know. That one you could actually go. We understand things in time because we live in it. If I said I turn the light on first, I can prove it. Or let's say I invented something. Joel's brother used to invent things. So he invented something, then he prioritized, mailed it to himself, so it puts a stamp and a label on it, and then he didn't open it. So there's a timestamp and there's a paper trail to show that if someone else comes up with this, he invented it first. Brilliant idea. Pretty cheap. He can prove that he invented this first, because he has pictures and the product. But if somebody comes along, like God, who doesn't exist in time, and he says something like, you know, Jesus Christ, it says in Revelation, the Lamb was slain before the foundation of the world, what happened first? Was Jesus slain before the world existed or on the cross? Yes. Amen. So just put that on the mental shelf. Hopefully, it doesn't break your shelf like it was mine yesterday. Just put that up for a second. Matthew chapter 20. So how do we know who chose who first? Well, we have to start looking at what God says. How he interprets Scripture. Okay, starting in verse 1. For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner. Alright? When Jesus says the kingdom of heaven is like this, it means heaven and the realities of the ruling, reigning sphere of Jesus Christ is like this. The landowner went out early in the morning to hire laborers for his vineyard. Note that they are hired. They are not servants. They are not invention servants. He is hiring people. Now when he had agreed with the laborers for denarius a day, he sent them out into his vineyard. And when he went out about the third hour and saw other standing idols in the marketplace, and he said to them, You also go into the vineyard, and whatever is right I will give you. So they went, and again he went out the sixth and the ninth hour and did likewise. And about the eleventh hour, which is like towards the end of the workday, he went out and found other standing idol and said to them, Why have you been standing here idle all day? They said to him, Because no one hired us, he said to them, You also go into the vineyard, and whatever is right, you will receive. So when evening had come, the owner of the vineyard said to his steward, Call the laborers and give them their wages, beginning with the last of the first. And when those came who were hired about the eleventh hour, they each received a denarius. When the first came, they supposed that they would receive more, and they likewise received each a denarius. And when they had received it, they complained against the landowner, saying, These men have worked only one hour, and you made them equal to us, who've borne the burden in the heat of the day? But he answered one of them and said, Friend, I'm doing you no wrong. Did you not agree with me for denarius? Take what is yours and go your way. I wish to give to the last man the same as you. Is it not lawful for me to do what I wish with my own things? Or is it your eye evil because I am good? So the last will be first and the first last. Aha. For many are called, but few are chosen. Okay, so this landowner went out to hire people. And the first guys he found early in the morning, he said, Hey, how would it denaris? They said, sure. And they worked, right? And he continues to go out to find people who are willing to be hired. Now, other than the first person, the first couple guys, the other ones decide to work for what the landowner says is a fair wage. Whatever is right, you will receive. So here's what I'm here's what I'm doing at. This phrase at the end, many are called, but few are chosen. What is being chosen in those verses? What is actually, who is choosing what in that story? Because the men, the men determined, I'm gonna hire on for this amount of money. They were choosing to work. Okay? So this is what I believe it is. This is what I how I see this. Jesus Christ is going about throughout the world revealing himself to people and calling them to believe in him. Those are all those scriptures we read earlier. And the people who say yes come and are now working with Christ. And they receive salvation. They receive this divine life that will continue forever. They are, in a sense, when they die, going to heaven. But they also get a life with God now. That doesn't matter if you get saved when you're two or when you're two minutes from dying, you get the same wage. But what is being chosen? Many are called, so obviously this landowner went out and asked a lot of people to work, and only a few people said yes. So then, God, what? He chooses to give them a denarius. Your free will in choosing Jesus Christ allows God to choose you to receive eternal life. Chooses, He can now choose you to receive adoption, holiness, blamelessness, peace. Okay? So the response is that we say yes to him first, and then he chooses us. Okay? Maybe that doesn't look as clear in this one, but let's, Matthew 22, here's another parable. Again, he says this is how the kingdom of God works. Matthew 22, verse 1. And Jesus answered, spoke to them again by parables, and said, The kingdom of heaven is like a certain king who arranged a marriage for his son, and sent out his servants to call those who were invited to the wedding, and they were not willing to come. So again, the invitation is there. He is presenting it to them, and they reject it. Again, he sent out other servants saying, Tell those who are invited, see, I have prepared my dinner, my oxen, my fatted calf, or killed, and all things are ready. Come to the wedding. But they made light of it and went their ways. Isn't that interesting? Again, there is a choice. There's an invitation to every person. They choose whether to receive it or reject it. They either go with it or they go what it calls their own ways. And the rest seized the servants, treated them spitefully, and killed them. But when the king heard about it, he was furious, and he sent out his armies, destroyed those murders, and burned up their city. There is judgment that is coming upon the world that does not receive Jesus Christ. Eternal judgment. And this is being played out in this parable. Therefore, go into the highways, and as many as you find, invite to the wedding. So now he's just like, invite everyone. Good, bad, doesn't matter, invite everyone. So those servants went out into the highways and gathered together all whom they found, both the good and both bad and good. And the wedding hall was filled with guests. Now when the king came in to see the guests, he saw a man there who did not have on a wedding garment. So he said to him, Friend, how did you come in here without a wedding garment? And he was speechless. Then the king said to the servant, Bind him hand and foot, take him away, and cast him into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Okay, so then this phrase again, for many are called, but few are chosen. Everyone is given the invitation to receive Jesus Christ. That doesn't mean that we aren't a part of that. That doesn't mean we sit back and just, yeah, God's gonna do that for me, but I don't need it to do that. We are an active part of this. Each person has the free will or the choice to receive that or reject it. But here, what we find, as many as received that invitation, they are given that one, that garment that it talks about, which shows up again in Revelation as righteousness, the garment of righteousness. They are given this garment, but they're also given a feast. They are with God, and they are not in outer darkness with weeping and gnashing of teeth. So everyone who answers that invitation has been chosen to receive righteousness, communion with God, and life with him eternal. Alright. So now let me try to bring this all together. Let's go back to Ephesians 1, verse 4. Just as he, God, chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love. Now I hope I've made a decent enough argument for free will. And maybe everyone in here has no problem with the idea of free will. But what do we do with this idea that God chooses people? And next week we'll get into predestination. So he chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world. Now, this is what I believe this is saying. And again, you can get on YouTube or something and find more eloquent people who will say different. But he's talking to specific people, just as he chose us in him. Those who are grafted in by the gospel of Jesus Christ are in the body. He's talking about believers. He chose us in him. So kind of Erlen and Trava. Go put your hand on the cross. So, okay, these are people who have. So everyone, so I would hand out a ticket to every person for the wedding, alright? Everyone would get an option to go. So these two say yes, and now all of a sudden they are grafted into Christ. They have received the gospel, and these people have not. So these two have received Jesus Christ. And now I want to choose someone to receive what this talks about holiness and blamelessness. But I can't choose them because they've already, they will not allow my will to be done. So who do I get to choose from? Those who are in Christ. So now those who are in Christ, in him, grafted into Jesus Christ, he is chosen because he knew them before the world began. I know that they're going to choose me. So I choose to make them blameless and holy and above reproach in my eyes. Now in time, it's saying that Jesus, that God did that first, but because he's outside of time, he's actually doing it in response to their yes that he knows they will say to his will. Does that make sense? So now I've put upon them holy, that they should be holy and without blame before him in love. So now they can receive my love, they can receive blamelessness and peace and joy because they have accepted the invitation to be connected to Christ. It's like if there was a sweepstakes, and absolutely everyone who applied for the sweepstakes would get a ticket to Florida. And all these other accouterments. We'll talk about those next week. All these other perks. Some people throw it away immediately because they think it's too good to be true and it's a scam. Other people would just say, I went down to Florida once I got such a bad sunburn. I'm never going to be there. Or whatever reason, right? Like there's a whole list in this parable earlier that people went their own way. They had a field, they were getting married, they're too busy for this or that for the Lord, they didn't really want to go there. Okay? So all of a sudden, they just throw the ticket away. The sweepstakes. But everyone who fills out the sweepstakes is chosen to go to Flora. Does that make sense? Just because it says He chose us does not mean He made the choice for us. It's saying that He's choosing to now put upon us holiness and blamelessness because we've received Jesus Christ. And that's what I think when it starts talking about election, election, and He chose us in Him. I believe that He is talking about this dynamic. All those who will fill out the sweepstakes, who show up to the way, will be given life everlasting, freedom, joy, holiness, all these things come upon us. I do not believe that God does not give us a choice and that everyone is just either in or out because God says so. We respond to him. And just because he knows we will respond to him in the future does not mean he is negating or taking away our free will. How is that possible? That's where the mystery is, and I don't know. And yet I choose to live in that. So next week we'll talk about predestination, which kind of gets, I think the definition is so kind of broad, usually when people use that to get amorphous. But I feel like again, we can come back to this picture of what we're talking about. Those who are in Christ who have chosen to receive the goodness, the love, the salvation of God. And when we unpack it, hopefully it'll make a little more sense.