LORD’S SUPPER

04/07/13

EPHESIANS 1.7;12-14

 

Eph 1:7 In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace.

Eph 1:12 That we should be to the praise of his glory, who first trusted in Christ. 1:13 In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise, 14 Which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory.

 

An Old Anglican prayer went something like this…..Gracious God, what we know not teach us; what we see not, show us; and what we are not, make us.

 

In light of the passages that we will be using this morning for The Lord’s Supper, my devotional in the bulletin is entitled “No doubt about it!” Make no mistake about it beloved, the salvation that God reveals in Scripture through faith in Jesus Christ is a sure thing. And the basis of that assurance is God Himself.

• Eph 1.3-6 tells us that salvation is the based upon the eternal plan of God the Father.
• Eph 1.7 tells us that this salvation was accomplished by the perfect sacrifice of God the Son.
• Eph 1.13,14 tells us that the personal guarantee of salvation to the believer is the sealing of God the Holy Spirit.

 

One of the many amazing things about Ephesians 1 is how the chapter gathers all of God’s investment in us through Jesus into one sentence. We receive adoption from God according to His love for us (v.5), redemption from God according to His grace (v.7),and an inheritance from God in Christ according to His will (v.11).

 

These verses in Ephesians are inspired by the Spirit of God and were written to us who have trusted in Jesus Christ. To the saints which are at Ephesus, and to the faithful in Christ Jesus (Eph 1.1).

Because this is the very Word of God, you and I must give the most earnest heed to every single word. These Spirit inspired words were given unto us By our gracious Father that we might have full assurance of our salvation through faith in Jesus Christ.

 

Remember that I mentioned in the intro to these prison epistles that these letters are God centered, Christ exalting, Spirit filled documents.

Therefore, the first and most important thing that I want us to see this morning in verses 12-14 is that they begin and end with God's ultimate purpose to glorify Himself.

• Verse 12: we should be to the praise of his glory, who first trusted in Christ Verse 14: The Holy Spirit is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory.
• Everything that God has done to provide salvation for His people is meant to be a display of His glory. The entire universe exists to proclaim the glory of God.
• The people of God in heaven declare, Rev 5.13 Blessing, and honour, and glory, and power, be unto him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb for ever and ever.

 

Eph 1:7 (1) In whom we have redemption (2) through His blood, (3) the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace.

• (1) In Whom. Redemption is in the Person of Jesus Christ.
• (2) Through His blood. That is the price of our redemption. Without the shedding of blood, there is no remission of sin (Heb 9.22).
•  (3) The forgiveness of sin, according to the riches of His grace.
• The word sin is seldom used from the pulpit anymore. Sin has been replaced with words such as failure, mistake, bad decision, wrong choices. The word sin is nearly becoming extinct in modern preaching and teaching. But the absence of the word sin doesn’t change what it means in the eyes of God!
• The Greek word for sins in Eph 1.7 is paraptoma. Strongs defines it this way: a side-slip (lapse or deviation), i.e. (unintentional) error or (wilful) transgression:--fall, fault, offence, sin, trespass.  In other words, sin is when…..

§  The glory of God is not honored.

§The holiness of God is not reverenced.

§The greatness of God is not admired.

§The power of God is not praised.

§The truth of God is not sought.

§The wisdom of God is not esteemed.

§The beauty of God is not treasured.

§The goodness of God is not savored.

§The faithfulness of God is not trusted.

§The promises of God are not relied upon.

§The commandments of God are not obeyed.

§The justice of God is not respected.

§The wrath of God is not feared.

§The grace of God is not cherished.

§The presence of God is not prized.

§The person of God is not loved.

§  Sin is esteeming and valuing and honoring and enjoying man and his creations above God.(Romans 1.25).

 

Because sin is ignored, it is not acknowledged. Because sin is not acknowledged, it is not confessed. Because sin is not confessed, there is no godly sorrow that leads to repentance.

• Beloved, The Father did not send His Only Begotten Son, Jesus Christ to die that brutalizing death on the cross because we made a mistake, or because we made a wrong decision. He laid down His life because we have sinned and rebelled against a holy, just God.
• Sin, my sin, your sin, is both an affront and an offense to a holy and just God. Sin needs to be paid or man cannot be saved. Remember Jesus prayer in the Garden about if there was any other possible way to save us?

 

To fully grasp the meaning of the gospel, each and every one of us here this morning need’s to ask themselves a very serious and sobering question. What did Jesus come to this earth to die for? Why did The Father have to send His One and only begotten Son? One word…SIN.

• When you and I observe The Lord’s Supper this morning, we only drink one cup. But when the Jewish Passover is observed, they drink 4 cups of wine. The first cup being the cup of sanctification. The second cup being the cup of praise. The third cup being the cup of redemption. The fourth cup being the cup of anticipation.
• The cup that we will be drinking of this morning is meant to coincide with the cup of redemption. This cup is the new covenant in My blood that was shed for you (Luke 22.20).

• Jesus told us that every time we take The Lord’s Supper, it is to be done to remember Him Who has redeemed us. The Greek word that is translated redemption is a description of a deliberate purchase. In verse 14, we see that the body of Christ is a purchased possession.
• It is the word used for ransoming a man who is a prisoner of war or a slave; for freeing a man from the penalty of death. It is the delivering of a man from a situation from which he was powerless to liberate himself or from a penalty which he himself could never have paid.That is why it is according to the riches of His grace!
• Beloved friends, do you know the power of the blood  of Jesus to take away sin, the power of the blood of Jesus to speak peace to your conscience, the power of the blood of Jesus to give you access to the throne of grace? Do you know the quickening, restoring, regenerating power of the precious blood of The Lord Jesus Christ?

 

Eph 1:12 That we should be to the praise of his glory, who first trusted in Christ.

·      I want us to see beloved that there is a direct connection between believing God's Word and living for the praise of His glory. We have been redeemed to glorify God. That is not just good news for eternity, but good news each and every day. It means that our times are in His hands.

·      Contrary to the heretical health and wealth gospel. Salvation is not about perfect health and abundant wealth; it is about living for the glory of God in whatever state we find ourselves in.

·      The gospel is not if you love Jesus, then you get everything you want. The gospel is that when you get Jesus, He will be enough for you no matter what. Matt Chandler

 

1:13 In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that Holy Spirit of promise, 14 Which is the earnest (guarantee) of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of His glory.

 

There are two great words here that aim to help us feel secure in God's love and power: the word "sealed," and the word "earnest." Let's see if we can unseal this word "sealed" and look inside. What does it mean that believers have been sealed by the Holy Spirit (v. 13)? The word is used at least three different ways in the New Testament.

• In Matthew 27:66, the tomb of Jesus was secured by sealing it and putting guards around it. In Revelation 20:3 God throws Satan into a pit and seals it over so he can't escape.

• So one meaning is locking something up, closing it in.

• Another is found in Romans 4:11 where Abraham's circumcision is called the sign and seal of the righteousness he had by faith. And in 1 Corinthians 9:2 Paul says that his converts are the seal of his apostleship.

• So a second meaning of sealing is giving a sign of authenticity.

• A third meaning is found in Revelation 7:3 where the seal of God is put on the forehead of God's servants to protect them from the wrath coming upon the world.
• In other words, being sealed with the Holy Spirit is a message of safety and security in God's love and power. God sends the Holy Spirit as a preserving seal to (1) lock in our faith, (2) as an authenticating seal to validate our sonship, and (3) as a protecting seal to keep out destructive forces.
• The point is that God wants us to get is that there is no doubt about our salvation, because from start to finish, it is all the work of God.

 

The other word Paul uses to drive this message of eternal security home is the word "earnest" in verse 14. The Greek word for earnest here is arrhabon, which according to Strong’s means a pledge, i.e. part of the purchase-money or property given in advance as security for the rest: It was a part of the purchase price of anything, paid in advance as a guarantee that the rest would in due time be paid.

• Romans 8:9 But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his.
• In other words, the indwelling Holy Spirit is our assurance that we belong to Jesus and are saved and secure in Him. The Holy Spirit which we have in this world is a foretaste of the blessedness of heaven; and it is the guarantee that some day we will enter into full possession of the blessedness of God.

 

 

True assurance of forgiveness of sin is found in God’s sufficiency through faith in the blood of Christ for our past, our future, and our present sins. The guarantee that we have repented and believed in Jesus is the indwelling Holy Spirit.

 

Why did John write his gospel? But these are written (in other words, I chose my material) so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name” (v.31). What will happen if I believe? By believing, you may have life in His name.

 

Here is the gospel:

·      2 Corinthians 5:21 For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.

·      Galatians 3:13 Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree: 14 That the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ; that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.

o   The glorious gospel of The Lord Jesus Christ is the overflowing grace of God for the worst of sinners that is grounded in His finished and perfect work of redemption on the cross. No doubt about it.

o   The Spirit of God draws sinners to Jesus through the preaching of the gospel. By believing, we have life through His Name.....after believing the word of truth, the gospel of our salvation, we are sealed with the Holy Spirit of Promise.....may we take the elements with a holy sense of reverence and adoration.

o   The bread and the cup speak of the perfect, sinless sacrifice of The Lord Jesus Christ on the cross for our sin. Whether it be for the 1,000 time or for the very 1st time, may we look to Jesus and Jesus alone as the one and only acceptable sacrifice for our sin before God.

 

If God has opened your heart to receive Jesus Christ as Lord this morning, the Scriptures tell us that That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed (Rom 10.9-11).

 

There will be elders and deacons up front or in the back hallway to your left who would love to pray with you and give you a booklet to help you get started in your walk with Jesus Christ.