A Three-Fold Cord

Known for his unique ability to simplify profound truth so that it can be applied to everyday life, Adrian Rogers was one of the most effective preachers, respected Bible teachers and Christian leaders of our time. Thanks for joining us for this message.

Here's Adrian Rogers. Ephesians chapter one. Now folks, this thing that we have called salvation is a wonderful thing because it's great that God saves us. That's a wonderful thing to know. I mean that God would save us.

That's great. But it is even more great to know that we can be saved and know that we're saved. We don't have to say, I hope I'm saved. I think I'm saved. Maybe I'm saved. We can say, praise God, I'm saved and I know it. That's doubly great. But my dear friend, it is thrice great and gloriously great to know that not only can we be saved and not only can we know that we're saved, but we can also know beyond the shadow of any doubt, if we are saved, we can never lose our salvation.

Now folks, you're going to have to admit that if that is true, and it is true, if it is true, it's wonderful. It's wonderful that not only does he save us by his grace, he keeps us by his grace and what he keeps us with, what he binds us to himself with is a threefold cord. Now the Bible says that a threefold cord is not easily broken. I'm going to break into Ephesians chapter one in verse two, and I'm going to read the longest sentence in the Bible. Now this sentence just goes on and on and on and it goes all the way to verse 14 without stopping. Paul got so excited he couldn't stop.

Have you ever gotten that excited? You just keep on talking and it just seems like he can't take a breath. It reminds me of that little piece of poetry.

There was a young poet from Japan whose poetry no one could scan. When told it was so, he said, yes, I know, but I always try to get as many words in the last line as I can. Now that's what Paul is doing here. Paul is just trying to cram it all in and he just won't stop.

He just keeps talking and talking and talking and when he's finished, are you listening? When he is finished with this, the longest sentence in the Bible, it begins with grace, it ends with glory, and it is the most complete statement of the gospel you'll find. Actually, in this sentence, you're going to find that he mentions God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit, and what part each have in our salvation and in our security. Now let's begin reading. Grace be unto you and peace from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ.

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings and heavenly places in Christ, according, as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love, having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will, to the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the Beloved, in whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins according to the riches of his grace, wherein he hath abounded toward us in all wisdom and prudence, having made known unto us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure, which he hath purposed in himself, that in the dispensation of the fullness of times he might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven and which are on earth, even in him, in whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated, according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will, that we should be to the praise of his glory, who first trusted in Christ, 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, which is the earnest of our inheritance, unto the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory. Period. Amen. It's a long sentence, isn't it? I mean, he's on a roll. He can't stop talking about what we have in the Lord Jesus Christ. Now, as I read that to you, if you were trying to pay attention, you couldn't keep up. You couldn't digest that sentence, and it just turned into words after a while. And you say, well, I'm just listening, but he's rattling off words, and I can't stay up, and I can't keep up.

So what we're going to do is we're going to back up now, and we're going to look at it in three divisions. And actually, what you have here is a hymn of praise to the Trinity. Look in verse 6. He speaks of God the Father, and then he says, to the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein it hath made us accepted in the Beloved. And there he's speaking about God the Father. And then look in verse 12, that we should be to the praise of his glory, who first trusted in Christ, and there he's talking about God the Son, because he's talking about what God the Son has done. And again, he says, to the praise of his glory.

And then look, if you will, in verse 14. He speaks of the Holy Spirit, who is the earnest of our inheritance unto the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory. So he says, praise to the Father, praise to the Son, and praise to the Holy Ghost. And you have a hymn of praise to the Trinity, and he talks about what God the Father has done in our salvation. He talks about what God the Son has done in our salvation. He talks about what God the Spirit has done in our salvation. Now, first of all, let's see that our salvation has been planned by the Father. All right, it has been planned by the Father.

Look, if you will, in verse 3. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ, 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. Now, this tells us that God the Father planned our salvation before he laid the foundations of the world, before he swung this planet into space, before he scooped out the seas and heaped up the mountains, flung out the sun, moon, and the stars. It was in the mind of God, verse 4, he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world. Now, you talk about old-time religion, folks.

That's old-time religion. God is love, and love is not content to live alone, so we have been chosen. We've been chosen, verse 5 says, we have been predestined or predestinated.

Now, a lot of people get bent out of shape by this, but you ought not to get bent out of shape by this. You ought to get blessed by it. You see, dear friend, that God has chosen you to be saved.

Now, pay much attention. This does not mean that God chose one sinner above another sinner, but what it does mean, that God had you in his heart and in his mind before the foundation of the world. Don't get the idea that some people are predestined to go to hell and some people are predestined to go to heaven. Don't get that idea.

If you get that idea, dear friend, and you think it on through, it's going to give you some strange thoughts indeed. I believe in a sovereign God who has chosen us, but I also believe there's not a man, not a woman, not a boy, not a girl on planet earth that God doesn't want saved. And I believe that anybody who comes to the Lord Jesus Christ can be saved. No one is chosen to be lost. If men are lost, it is because they will not come to Christ.

Let me make that plain. Jesus did not simply die for the elect. He died for the sins of the world. 1 John chapter 2 and verse 2, he is the propitiation for our sins and not for ours only, but for the whole world, for the sins of the whole world.

He died for the sins of the whole world. And God wants all people saved. Scripture, 1 Timothy 2 verses 3 and 4, for this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, who will have all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. God wills that everybody be saved. Again, Peter says in 2 Peter chapter 3 and verse 9, the Lord is not willing that any should perish, but that all, A-double-L, should come to repentance.

All right? The Holy Spirit of God convicts every man. That's what the Holy Spirit does. The Bible says Christ is that light that lighteth every man that cometh into the world. And therefore, everybody is invited to come to Jesus. Revelation chapter 22 and verse 17, and the Spirit that's speaking of the Holy Spirit and the bride that's speaking of the church say, Come, and let him that heareth say, Come.

Anytime you hear the gospel, you can tell it to somebody else. Let him that heareth say, Come, and let him that is athirst come. You want God? You can have him. Are you thirsty for Jesus?

Wonderful. Let him that is athirst come, and whosoever will, let him take of the water of life freely. We sing it whosoever heareth.

Shout the sound. Spread the blessed tidings all the world around. Tell the joyful news wherever man is found, whosoever will may come. Now, the death of Jesus, therefore, is sufficient for all, but it is only efficient to those who believe, but God has chosen us. Now, you say, That's confusing to me.

Well, that's fine. It's confusing to me, too, and has been confusing to theologians down through the years, but let me tell you this, dear friend. We were in the heart and mind of God before he made this planet, but God gives everyone an invitation to come to Christ, and we can only choose him because he first chose us. Thank God for that. Now, that is when he chose us. When he chose us was before the foundation of the world. Why did he choose us? Look in verse 4. According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that in order that we should be holy and without blame before him in love.

The greatest miracle in the world is not walking on water, changing water into wine. It is, dear friend, taking a hell-bound sinner and transforming him and making him holy and blameless. When God looks at me tonight, he sees someone holy and blameless. You say, I don't believe it.

You're a two-legged rascal. Well, it may be in your eyes, but, dear friend, I am holy and without blame before him in love. You know, there's a little girl was asked by a Sunday school teacher, Is there anything God can't do? She said, There's one thing God can't do.

He can't see my sin through the blood of Jesus Christ. Praise God. Who shall lay anything to the charge of God's delay?

Now, listen. When did he select us before the foundation of the world? Why did he choose us? That we should be holy and blameless. Wherefore, therefore, has he chosen us? Well, look in verse 5.

It even gets better. Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ according to the good pleasure of his will. Now, it says here that we're chosen before the world and then predestinated to be like the Lord Jesus. Again, predestination is not saying from eternity that this man will go to heaven and the other man goes to hell. Predestination says that those who trust the Lord Jesus are going to be like the Lord Jesus. Now, predestination teaches me on the authority of the Word of God that because he chose me and because I have trusted him, it is settled forever that I'm going to be like the Lord Jesus Christ.

And, friend, that settles the question of my security. I mean if I am predestinated unto the adoption of children. I mean if I am predestinated to be adopted into the family of God. Tell me, what can stop it?

What can stand in the way? Nothing. I am predestinated. I've been chosen to be like the Lord Jesus. Now, I'm predestinated here to the adoption of sons.

Look at that. We are spiritually born into the family of God. That deals with our position in Christ, but we are legally adopted into the family of God and that deals with our privileges in Christ. Now, are we born into the family of God or adopted into the family of God?

Both. Now, when this was written, a man may have had a number of slaves and some of the wives were slaves. This man may have had many wives and some of his wives would have been slaves and therefore not all of his sons would have been his heirs, only the sons that were freeborn and not the sons of slaves. But if he wanted one of these slave sons to be his heirs, then there had to be a legal ceremony in the city gates to make this son that was his son in the flesh his legal son.

So, a son might be physically born, but then legally adopted. Now, we are spiritually born and we are legally adopted into the family of God and therefore, because he has done this to the praise of his glory, verse 6 says, he has made us accepted in the beloved. Now, you think about your salvation. You've been chosen in the past, predestined to the future, and accepted in the present.

That's where you are. You are accepted in the beloved. Now, who is the beloved?

Jesus. When Jesus was baptized, what did God the Father say? This is my beloved son in whom I'm well pleased. Now, why am I accepted before God the Father?

I am accepted in the beloved. Now, therefore, how much does God love me? Now, you're going to disagree with this mentally at first, but I want to tell you how much God loves you and me and us. He loves us as much as he loves Jesus.

Now, let that sink in. You say, Pastor, that's too hard to take. He couldn't possibly love anything as much as he loves his own son. Well, let me give you a verse of Scripture. John 17, verse 23. Jesus said, I in them, thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one, and that the world may know that thou hast sent me.

Now, listen to this. And hast loved them as thou hast loved me. He loves you like he loves his own son, the Lord Jesus. See, you are accepted in the beloved. You are a part of the body of Christ, and therefore, if God loves his son, he certainly loves his son's body.

And if God loves his son's body, he has to love you because you are the body of Christ. We are in the beloved. Now, what should all of this cause us to do? This salvation that's been planned by the Father before the foundation of the world that causes us to be adopted legally into the family of God and accepted fully in the beloved.

What should that do? Well, look in verse 6. God says he does this to the praise of the glory of his grace.

Do you know what your reaction ought to be right now? Your heart ought to swell up and your soul with passionate, emotional praise to God the Father. Oh, how you ought to praise the glory of his grace.

Now, that's the first chord. Your salvation has been planned by God the Father before the foundation of the world. But not only has it been planned by God the Father, but it has been purchased by God the Son. Now begin to read in verse 7, in whom the beloved, in whom in Jesus, in whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins according to the riches of his grace, wherein he hath abounded toward us in all wisdom and prudence, having made known unto us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure, which he hath purposed in himself, that in the dispensation of the fullness of times he might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven and which are on earth, even in him, in whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will, that we should be to the praise of his glory, who first trusted in Christ. And then verse 14, he speaks of the earnest of our inheritance unto the redemption of the purchased possession unto the praise of his glory. Our salvation has been planned by the Father and purchased by the Son, purchased by the Son.

You see, listen, we were children of slaves. Adam was a slave of Satan. He sold his inheritance to Satan.

He sold his birthright to Satan. But Jesus redeemed us with his blood. We have, first of all, been freed by his blood. Look in verse 7. In whom we have redemption, that is, he bought us back with his blood, we have come from sinful slaves to saintly sons. Thank God for the blood. But not only are we freed by his blood, we are forgiven by his grace.

The Bible says, according to the riches of his grace. Now, the word forgive means to carry away, to carry away. In the Old Testament, they had what they called scapegoats.

You've heard the phrase today, a scapegoat. Actually, they had two goats. On the Day of Atonement, the high priest would take one goat, lay his hands on the head of that goat and confess the sins of the people. And then he would lay his hands on the head of the other goat and confess the sins of the people. Then one goat would be killed and the blood of that one goat would be sprinkled on the mercy seat in the tent of meeting the tabernacle.

And then the other goat would be led away into the wilderness and he would be carried far, far away and turned loose to be lost forever in the wilderness. Now, what was God showing by that? God was showing that our sins redeemed by the blood are carried away never, never to be brought back again. Now, listen, this is the grace of God that does this in whom we have forgiveness, verse 7 says, the forgiveness of sins.

Look, we're freed by his blood, we're forgiven by his grace, but he's not finished with us yet. We are filled with his wisdom. Look in verse 8, wherein he hath abounded toward us in all wisdom and prudence, having made known unto us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure which he hath purposed in himself. Now, folks, God, the great God of the universe, because we're saved, gives us his mind. We have an insight into the things of God. God has an eternal purpose and we are a part of that eternal purpose.

Now, you're an insider. You know what God is doing. We're the only the saints can understand our existence here on earth. To everybody else, history is a mystery.

Only the saints know the truth. Now, God's plan concerns us, but it centers in Jesus. Do you want me to tell you what God is up to? Look in verse 10, here's what it is. The word means that in the dispensation, that means that in the plan of the fullness of times, he might gather together in one all things in Christ which are in heaven and which are on earth even in him. Now, what God is saying is this, that one day in the last glorious age, in the dispensation of the fullness of times, God is going to bring everything into harmony. At that time, the world is going to be free from stress.

Right now, we're all stressed up and nowhere to go. But in the fullness of time, everything is going to harmonize. According to verse 10, there's coming a time when everything's going to be in tune with Jesus.

People want to know what the world's coming to? It's coming to Jesus. Everything is going to be in tune with Jesus.

Now, you think about it. If everything is in tune with Jesus, then everything will be in tune with one another. If we tune this piano to a tuning fork and tune the organ to the same tuning fork, it stands to reason the piano and the organ are going to be in tune with one another. When everything is in tune with Jesus, everything is going to be in tune with itself and with one another. You see, in the fullness of time, God is going to bring together the spiritual and the material. In the fullness of time, God is going to bring together heaven and earth. In the fullness of time, God is going to bring together God and man. And in the fullness of time, God is going to bring together man and man. All of this is because of what the Lord Jesus Christ did on the cross, and God lets us in on that. But not only are we filled with his wisdom, we're also fixed with his wealth. Look, if you will, now in verse 11. In whom also we have obtained an inheritance predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will, that we should be to the praise of his glory who first trusted in Christ. One day, the riches of his grace that we enjoy now will turn to the riches of his glory. It's absolutely certain. Again, he uses the word predestined.

It can't be stopped. It is all because God the Son purchased you. You see, the first chord is God the Father planned your salvation. The second golden chord is that God the Son purchased your salvation. In verse 14, he calls it the purchased possession.

The purchased possession. In that, you have freedom. In that, you have forgiveness. In that, you have fellowship in the wisdom of God. In that, you have the full inheritance of the children of God. Now, there's one other thing that you have.

Here's a threefold chord now. He talks about what God the Father has done. Then he talks about what God the Son has done with his own blood, and then he talks about what God the Spirit has done. Now, listen. Our salvation planned by the Father, purchased by the Son, preserved by the Spirit.

Now, watch. I want you to see what Paul is saying here, and God the Holy Spirit is saying through him. He moves now into the third area of praise in this hymn of praise to the Trinity. In whom, after you trusted, after that she heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, in whom also after that she believed, you were sealed with that Holy Spirit of promise. Now, folks, it gets strong.

Here's the threefold chord. Now, you're preserved by the Spirit. You are sealed with that Holy Spirit of promise, which is the earnest of our inheritance.

You know what the earnest, the word earnest means? It means pledge or down payment until the redemption of the purchased possession unto the praise of his glory. Now, what does this verse mean when it says here that we are sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise? What do we mean by sealed? When I say sealed, different people think of different things. If you're a child, you probably think of an animal in the zoo. If you're a homemaker, you might think of the thing that you put on the top of the mason jar when you make preserves.

But if you're a man, you probably think of the thing that's causing your transmission to leak. If you're a lawyer, you're probably thinking of a legal stamp put on a document, and that's the seal that he's talking about right here. You are sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise. Now, what Paul is doing here is now using a legal term, and he's being legal all the way through here when he's talking about the adoption and all of this and the inheritance and all of that. How do we know that all of this is true, and how do we know it's sure? Well, we know it's predestined.

We know it's planned by God the Father. We know it's purchased by God the Son, and now we know it is preserved by God the Spirit, for God the Spirit becomes the seal and the earnest, the pledge, the down payment. Now, in Bible times, when a seal was put on a document, it meant three things. Number one, it meant there has been a finished transaction. Number two, it means ownership has been transferred. And number three, it means the document is secure. It is sure, and therefore the seal is put upon it. Now, folks, when you and I got saved, it simply means there's a finished transaction.

Jesus paid it all. It is a purchased possession, a purchased possession, okay? It also means that now we belong to him, that we are adopted legally into his family.

Ownership is there, and it means because the seal is put there, that it is fixed, it is sure. Now, you have an illustration of this type of a seal in the book of Esther, and in the book of Esther, there's a great verse that illustrates what we're talking about. Let me give it to you, Esther 8, verse 8. Write ye also for the Jews as it liketh you in the king's name, listen, write it in the king's name, and seal it with the king's ring. Now, the king had a ring with his insignia on it. They would write a document, roll it up, fold it over, put hot wax on the margin, put the king's ring in that hot wax, the king's insignia on it.

Now, what happens this? Write ye also for the Jews as it liketh you in the king's name, and seal it with the king's ring, for the writing which is written in the king's name, and sealed with the king's ring, may no man reverse. Amen?

Now, if that's true of a earthly king, how much more true is it of the heavenly king? See, we are sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise. I want you to understand, folks, what you have in Jesus. Your salvation planned by the Father, chosen in him before the foundation of the world, your salvation purchased by the Son with his own blood, and the Bible calls it in verse 14 a purchased possession, and then it is preserved by the Spirit. Now, he uses another term, not only a sealing, but he uses in verse 14 the earnest of the Spirit. You know what this word earnest means? It means a down payment. Now, our pledge, if you were going to buy a house and you put up some money to begin with, you put up a sizable sum, that means you're coming back for the whole thing. Now, the Holy Spirit that you have in your heart who seals you into Christ is also the earnest, the pledge that one day our Lord is coming back for his purchased possession, okay? That's what it means. I mean, folks, he's coming for me.

Why? He's got so much invested in me. I mean, he's put the down payment in my heart. And look, here's a word that I love. Oh, what a blessed word this is.

Look at it. Verse 14, which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption. Not if, but until. Just put a circle around that word until. My heart can sing when I pause to remember. A heartache here is but a stepping stone.

Along a trail that's winding always upward. This troubled world is not my final home. But until then, my heart will go on singing. Until then, with joy I'll carry on. Until the day my eyes behold the city. Until the day God calls me home. Which is the earnest of our inheritance until.

Not if, but until the purchased possession. And again he says it. Unto the praise of his glory. He mentions what God the Father did. And then verse 6 he says he did it to the praise of his glory. He mentions what God the Son did. And then in verse 12 he said to the praise of his glory.

And then he mentions what God the Spirit does. And in verse 14 he says to the praise of his glory. And friend, if we don't praise him, what ungrates we are for this great salvation we have in the Lord Jesus. Let everything that hath breath praise the Lord for a threefold cord that cannot be broken.

Let's pray. Father, I thank you so much for the salvation that we have. Lord, where others who don't know you are wandering like a ship at sea on a dark and stormy night without a rudder or compass, chart our plan. Lord, we thank you that you have pulled back the veil of eternity.

You've shown us, Lord, what happened before the world was brought into space. You've shown us, dear Lord, what we're going to be and what we're going to have. Lord, then you put the down payment in our hearts. Thank you for it, Lord. God the Father, I praise you tonight. And we the people of this church praise you, our God. God the Son, fairest Lord Jesus, who suffered in agony and blood, we praise you tonight for what you've done for us. Blessed, precious Holy Spirit, our seal, our security, the earnest in our heart, oh, Spirit of God, we praise you for the glory of your grace. In the name of Jesus, amen. .