God’s Ultimate Purpose
By Pastor Matt Black
01
October 2006
Lord's Day morning
Ephesians 2:5-7
Open your Bible to Paul’s letter to the Ephesians. The title of this morning’s message is “God’s Ultimate Purpose”. Let’s stand together and read Ephesians chapter 2 and verses 1 through 10.
[Stand and read Ephesians 2:1-10]
Introduction: Think about God’s purpose for your life. Now think about what you have going on this week. What are your goals for this month? This year? What are some of the overarching goals for your entire life? What do you hope to accomplish? Someone once wisely said that if you aim for nothing you will hit it every time! So we set goals. But are our goals Biblical? Are they at all related to God’s plans? My life is quite different than what I thought it would be at this point. That’s how it always goes. Proverbs 16:9, “A man’s heart deviseth his way: but the LORD directeth his steps.” What it comes down to is that in order to be a follower of Jesus Christ, you must scrap all your plans and let God lead the way. Take up your cross and follow Jesus. Let all of your highest ambitions and dreams die on the altar of your devotion to God. We so rarely live that life of a living sacrifice, and that is why we are so often disappointed.
It is said that there are two kinds of disappointments in life. The first is when you don’t get what you want. And the second is when you do. It is quite true—even when we get the things we think we want so much in this life we get them and we find that they are not perfect. They break. The best this world can offer eventually becomes outdated and unsatisfying. So people look to the next great fad. As Christians, we ought to see through the world’s toys and trinkets. We ought to be looking far beyond this world. When most people look to the future, they don’t know whether to look at it with hope or with fear. If you are saved, you have great reason for hope. God’s got great plans for you!
God has saved us for a purpose for the future. God’s future for you begins the moment that you are saved. He’s regenerated us—given us light and life—enlightened our understanding—so that he could magnify Himself now and for all eternity. That is what our text says that future holds for us. Look at verse 7, “That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus.…”
What will you be doing a thousand years from now? Christians are marked by the fact that they are heavenly people. They are not of this world. Most people live for the here and now. They have a hard time thinking beyond this week’s trials and troubles. And then when life is over, they are everlastingly lost, forever separated from the bliss and praise and joy of God. Listen, God is a saving God. Perhaps you are here today without Christ. My hope is that you will see your need for Christ and turn from your sin and put your faith in Him—not in some religion or in your good works, but in what Christ alone has done. We are praying that you need to heed His call, and that you would not harden your heart, and that you would respond with submission to Jesus.
In verse 7, we come to a declaration of God’s eternal purpose. We will look at verses 5 and 6 also, but our main focus is verse 7, ““That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus…”
Review:
We come to verses 5 through 7 this morning.
What is it that gives your life purpose? Where is all this that we see headed?
I. First we see God purpose in our regeneration together with Christ. Have you been regenerated? If not, you really have no meaning in your life.
How does God save a sinner?
A. God’s method is regeneration. Verse 5 tells us how God saves a sinner. He makes him spiritually alive. He places them into a new realm, into a new kingdom, a new family. We can never be again what we were in Adam (1 Corinthians 15:22, “For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.” We are now in Christ. Perhaps you don’t know what regeneration is. Regeneration is a hidden “act of God in which he imparts new spiritual life in us. This is sometimes called ‘being born again’”. By this amazing power, God raises us from the dead. He births us into His own family! We see it right here in our text in verse 5, “Even when we were dead in sins, [HE] hath quickened us together with Christ”. When God wakes us up with the power of His own life being infused into us—this is regeneration. It’s a transformation of the soul.
I want us to examine a verse that is very much related to this. Before we turn there, remember what our text says, “Even when we were dead in sins, [HE] hath quickened us together with Christ”. We were dead, but in Christ we are made alive. How does this happen? Turn over to Romans 10:17, “So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” Faith, or the conviction of God’s presence and action in your life comes by hearing, which comes via the Word of God. Now, this hearing is not simply the listening to the words of the Bible. For if that were the case, every single person who has ever heard the Gospel would be saved. That is not the case. So this hearing must be something more. Consider some of the following verses:
John 6:44 No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him:
The next verse is important…
John 6:45, “It is written in the prophets, And they shall be all taught of God. Every man therefore that hath heard, and hath learned of the Father, cometh unto me.”
John 6:65 Jesus said, “no man can come unto me, except it were given unto him of my Father.”
So God must open the ears. So God must give the hearing. So this hearing that comes from the Word of God is a spiritual understanding. It is a spiritual comprehension that comes from God.
Jeremiah 13:23, “Can the Ethiopian change his skin, or the leopard his spots? then may ye also do good, that are accustomed to do evil.”
Look at Titus 3:4-7, we read that something happened to us—something became plain to us. What was it? Verse 4 of Titus 3 says it: “the kindness and love of God our Saviour toward man appeared,” And what did it reveal about how we come to God? Verse 5 says it: “Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost; 6 Which he shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Saviour; 7 That being justified by his grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life.”
Remember all this comes by faith. Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God. So what was the difference in us than in all those who hear the Word of God every day and never respond? It is the regeneration given to us by the Spirit of God!
B. What is God’s motive in regeneration? What moved God to save us? Verse 5 says it “By grace ye are saved”. Verse 8 says the same thing—saved by grace! It’s not anything found in the sinner that motivated God. Once you know that it will bring such a relief to your life. You cannot earn your salvation.
So what was it that moved God to save you and me? God’s love, God’s mercy, and God’s grace! Grace means that God was not compelled by anything in us to save us. It was a gift from Him. A billion years ago, it was God’s motive to bring you into existence in time. Why? Grace! He is good to bad people like you and me. Grace send Jesus into this world to hunger and thirst and in the circumstances of finite humanity to live an infinitely perfect life and die an infinitely perfect and vicarious death. He died in your place. He’s robed you in His robe of righteousness. He’s taken all your sins to His account! He prays for you even when you hardly prayed to Him. That is grace!
C. The manifestation of regeneration. So what has God done for us? Verse 5 says we’ve been made alive together with Christ. Verse 5, “Even when we were dead in sins, [HE] hath quickened us together with Christ”. We’re told in verse 6 that He raised us up with Christ and seated us with Him in the heavenly places. This is nothing less than a spiritual resurrection and ascension. When you think about the resurrection and ascension of Christ, God says that is exactly what you should think about when we look at what God has done in your life spiritually. Christ was dead physically—you were in a spiritual grave and dead spiritually. God the Father raised Jesus from the dead.
So we’ve seen God’s purpose in regeneration with Christ—we’ve been made alive!
II. Secondly, we see God purpose in our reigning in Christ. Verse 6 tells us that God “hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus”. 2 Timothy 2:12 tells us that we shall “reign with” Christ. What does that mean?
A. First, we need to understand the definition of reign with Christ.
To reign with Christ means to be seated with him. We are joint heirs with Christ (Romans 8:17). To reign with Christ is to reign with him as a prince. The name Israel means prince with God. We live for Christ. We live as a living sacrifice. We are vessels of His sovereignty. We are vessels in His hand!
B. Second we need to see our position with Christ. When the Bible says God has “raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus” it is speaking of our position with Christ. We no longer are where we were. There’s been new life. We were dead in the grave. Now we are sitting in the heavenlies.
C. Notice finally, our union in Christ. God “hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus”. Christ ascended to the Father and sat on the right hand of God. That’s where we are. We are raised with Christ and ascended to the Father’s right hand. All of this is done verse 6 says in union with Christ. Christ is intimately involved in saving us. We are made alive with Christ; we are raised with Christ; we are seated with Christ. Everything God has ever done for you, He’s done in union with His Son. Just as Adam was representative of the human race when he fell into sin, even so Jesus Christ is the representative of a new humanity—a redeemed humanity! 1 Corinthians 15:22 “For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.”
Explanation: Everyone who is saved here tonight—every person who has ever been saved—from Adam until today, and for all of human history, every redeemed saint on earth or in heaven is in a vital union with Jesus Christ. So to be a Christian means you are in the Lord Jesus Christ. You are in union with Him. He is our beginning and ending; He is the Author and Finisher of our faith.
Application: Think of where you spend your time. What do you do with your time? Are you spending your time on heavenly things?
· Is there sin in your life? Have you broken any of Christ’s commandments? Have you lied this week? Tell the truth! Have you lusted? Your desires should be heavenly! Don’t spend your time on sinning!
· When you go places, are your ready to give an answer? Do you pray for boldness? Are you speaking of the Lord or gossiping?
· Do you cover sin in your life and uncover it in others? Do you gossip or speak disparagingly of others? Are you kind to others?
· What am I getting at? Are you going where Christ wants you to go? Are you doing what Christ wants you to do? Are you in union with him in every area of your life?
Verse 6 says it so clearly that God “hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus”.
Are you doing all things in union with your Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ?
Wow, we are in union with Christ!
But when we come to verse 7, we are told what God’s purpose is in doing all of this. What is God’s intention in saving you? Where is all of this headed?
“that in the ages to come he might shew [PUT ON DISPLAY] the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus…”
III. We see finally then in verse 7 God’s purpose in our reflecting Christ.
Six thousand years ago, God made the heavens and the earth. Where was it all headed? There was sin—Adam plunged us all into iniquity. God begins redemptive history by sacrificing animals for Adam and Eve to give them a covering. That covering was simply a picture of a reality that had been planned from eternity past, for Jesus Christ is “the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world” (Revelation 13:8). And all who are saved are washed in His blood and clothed with His righteousness! So Adam and Eve were taught the blood sacrifice from God Himself. You have Able sacrificing a blood sacrifice. Able learned it from Adam, and Adam learned it from God. Go through the Old Testament and see the Creation, and the Fall, and the Flood, and Babel, and the Kingdom, and the Captivity, and all the prophecies of Christ. Where’s it all heading? Verse 7 tells us where it’s all heading. Verse 7 tells us of the purpose of God in creating the universe. Since before the creation of the world, and after this earth is a burning fireball and there is a new heaven and a new earth—from beginning to end there has been an eternal purpose for all of this that you see. Your salvation and my salvation is a key part of that eternal unchanging purpose.
You see, all of this is headed toward a demonstration that will go on throughout the ages. Verse 7 says “that in the ages to come”—beginning now and going beyond your lifespan—beyond the lifespan of this planet—into eternity—“ in the ages to come” God is going to be putting on a show. So “that in the ages to come he might shew [TO PUT ON DISPLAY] the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus…”
Ephesians 3:10 says the same thing but with a different emphasis, “so that the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known through the church to the rulers and the authorities in the heavenly places.”
In Revelation 7:9-12, we enter into actual history—we see ourselves in the future. Turn there if you would. John writes, “After this I beheld, and, lo, a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands; 10 And cried with a loud voice, saying, Salvation to our God which sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb. 11 And all the angels stood round about the throne, and about the elders and the four beasts, and fell before the throne on their faces, and worshipped God, 12 Saying, Amen: Blessing, and glory, and wisdom, and thanksgiving, and honour, and power, and might, be unto our God for ever and ever. Amen.”
So we ask ourselves this question again: Why has God saved us? Verse 7 of Ephesians 2 is a purpose statement. It is God telling us what God’s goal is. What is God’s ambition in saving us? What is his intention? What is His purpose? We should be asking, “Why?” Why does God save sinners like you and me? We ought to look at the whole redemptive history of the Bible and ask why?
· Why did God call Abraham from Ur?
· Why did He call Moses to the Promised Land?
· Why did He command Joshua to conquer in His name?
· Why did He make David a king and Elijah a prophet?
I want to answer that question “why” this morning and tonight.
Verse 7 tells us why. So “that in the ages to come he might shew [PUT ON DISPLAY] the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus…”
A. We need to reflect God’s eternal plan.
1. We need to reflect God in time!
“In the ages to come”… Most men are great in this present world, if they are marked by our present age. My grandfather came to America from Scotland and had to have that new fangled car. No more horse and buggy. He wanted what Henry Ford was making. My father lived in the time of the American dream, where every one had a three bedroom home and a two car garage and a swimming pool. I remember growing up, and looking out my back yard to all of the neighbors. Each yard had a pool in it. You could look to the left and right, and almost every single yard had a pool. It’s not that it was necessary, but it was a mark. Today people put their stock in the same fading things. We have our computers. We live in a day of mass communication and mass transportation. We can travel around the country or around the world. We can fill our heads with all kinds of information about everything in the universe with the Internet. Most men are marked by this world. If God allows this globe to spin another hundred years it will be something else.
But we are not most men. We are those whose lives are marked by that which is unchanging and eternal. Our eyes are fixed on heaven, and we count all that we see in this world as we would a flower that has been cut from the garden. It may look pretty for a while, but in a very short amount of time, it’s going to shrivel up and die. James 4:14, “For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away.” Listen to the words of Christ to you this morning, “He that findeth his life shall lose it: and he that loseth his life for my sake shall find it” (Matthew 10:39).
Matthew 6:19-20, “Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: 20 But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal.”
“in the ages to come”
a. God’s work in us is eternal. Here is another thought. When Paul says, in the ages to come”…, we see that what God has done in us will last forever. If God saves you, you can be sure that a billion years from now you will still be saved. “whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life” (John 3:16).
b. God’s message to us is unchanging. What saved Paul on the Damascus road is what saved you. Our message is not constantly changing because it is founded upon an unchanging Redeemer. “For [HE SAYS] I am the LORD, I change not” (Malachi 3:6). We can listen to the Saviour before His incarnation preaching the Gospel to every creature, “Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth: for I am God, and there is none else” (Isaiah 45:22). Don’t you know that “Jesus Christ [IS] the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever” (Hebrews 13:8)? Listen to the voice of Jesus speaking to you this morning: “I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.” (John 14:6).
2. We need to reflect God in eternity. Paul says God’s purpose is that “he might shew [PUT ON DISPLAY]” We are trophies of God’s grace.
B. We need to reflect God’s power. Paul says this demonstration is to “shew the exceeding riches of his grace…” What God has is enough to save you. It’s all you need. It is “superabounding”! That’s what exceeding means. Our biggest snare in this life is that we think Christ’s grace is not all that we need for any given situation. Do you understand that your life is bigger than the trials you are facing? God’s plan goes far beyond the hurt you feel in your life. Think of some Biblical examples.
· Joseph: Think of a man that is sold into slavery and put in jail unjustly. He told his brothers: “you meant it for evil, but God meant it for good!”
· Job: all was taken from him, and he responded by worshipping God.
· Moses: he refused to be called the son of pharoah’s daughter
· Paul: he counted all things as dung that he might win Christ. Let patience have her perfect work.
C. We need to reflect God’s kindness. I love the words that Paul uses here in verse 7. God wants to show off “his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus…” ! Wow! Remember where you came from? God wants to show that off for all eternity.
Conclusion: In closing, let me ask you what you are living for. God’s purpose ought to weigh in to all your plans. You ought to clear your agenda and ask God to fill it for you. Do you trust God enough to work in your life His ultimate purpose?
Closing Hymn: 635 I Have Decided to Follow Jesus