We are being saved, beloved. Because we are caught up in a glorious Divine expression of love between the Father and the Son. It is way beyond us. Welcome to Grace to You with the Bible Teaching Ministry of John MacArthur. I'm your host, Phil Johnson.
It's a point of worry for many Christians. You have friends or loved ones who aren't believers. You've given them the gospel a lot, but they've never embraced it. What am I doing wrong? you ask.
Is their rejection of the gospel somehow my fault?
Well, nothing can free you from anxiety over whether a loved one is saved than the simple fact that God is sovereign over all things, and that includes the eternal destiny of every person. Today on Grace to You, John MacArthur looks at God's sovereignty in redeeming sinners, a concept called election. It's a message that may answer questions you've had about what specifically causes a sinner to repent and to accept Christ. The title of John's series, The Doctrines of Grace. And now here's John MacArthur.
Why did God choose to rescue sinners from his just judgment? And the answer really is staggering. The whole of salvation comes from God. It is all about his own purpose. And it is granted on behalf of Christ.
So, what you have then to understand this great doctrine of election is this. The father At some point in eternity past, Says to the Son. I am going to redeem. Sinners And I am going to do it for you. I'm going to do it for you.
Why would God do that? Because he loves the sun. And the Father determines in his eternal love within the Trinity that he will express his love for the Son by giving the Son a gift. And that gift essentially is going to be a redeemed humanity. If you will, he gives his Son a bride.
The father chooses a bride, writes the name down. In time, as history unfolds, those whom the Father are. has has chosen are given to the Son. As they repent and believe, the Son receives them. The sun does not reject them.
The sun Never loses any of them, but raises them up at the last day. And it is not based upon value that's inherent in us. We become precious. Because the Son cherishes the gifts. of his father.
This same language Comes to us again in the 17th chapter of John. You might want to turn to it.
Some have called this chapter the Holy of Holies of Scripture. Here you get deep into the communion. within the Trinity between the Father and the Son. In John 17, Jesus is talking to the Father about us. Talking to the Father about His bride.
Those that the Father has given. Verse 9. I ask on their behalf, he says. I do not ask on behalf of the world. I'm not talking about the world, but of those whom thou hast given me, for they are thine.
I mean, in that sense, the elect have been God since they were chosen. They've always belonged to him. And he gives them as gifts of love to the Son. And the son says, I'm asking about them. I'm praying for them.
I'm not praying on behalf of the world. but of those whom thou hast given me. Verse 11. He anticipates leaving, getting near the cross. And he says, I'm no more in the world.
The time is coming when I'll be gone. Yet they are in the world. And I come to thee, Holy Father.
Now listen to this. Keep them in thy name, the name which Thou hast given me. that they may be one even as we are.
Now this is really a very deep moment in this prayer of Jesus. I'm about to leave, he says, and they're going to be here. And I'm coming to you. And I'm asking you, Father, to keep them. I've kept them up to now.
Things are going to change. And I want you to keep them. Verse 12 he says, While I was with them, I was keeping them in thy name. Here it is again, which thou hast given me, and I guarded them, and not one of them perished. Except, of course, Judas, who never was for real.
You see, Jesus says, I kept them, Father. I kept them because you gave them to me. I think Jesus is feeling the separation that's going to come. And he's saying, Father, There's going to be a time here when I'm not going to be able to keep them. Father, could you keep them for that time that I can't keep them?
And when I come back to you, Would you keep them then too? And in that moment when Jesus was separated from his father, God stepped in. And kept his own. And since Christ ascended to glory, he sent the Holy Spirit, who is the guarantee, the down payment, the one who keeps us. who seals us.
Why all of this? Because we are precious. Why are we precious? Not because we're inherently any better than anybody else, but because we've been given to the Son. as gifts of love.
from the father. Again. In verse 24, Father, I desire that they also whom thou hast given me be with me. Where I am. I want him to see my glory.
Father, I want to have them come to the great wedding. And I want you to keep them. He will lose none, the father will lose none. The Spirit seals us unto eternal redemption. What is the purpose of all of this?
Well, the father has chosen to give to the son a bride for what reason? to love the sun forever. to serve the sun forever, to praise the sun forever. To glorify the Son forever. I mean, just think about it.
I mean, from a very earthy analogy standpoint, I mean, it would be like saying. Um To your wife, man. I just love you so much. I don't know how to express that love. And so what I've done is I've collected a A huge group of people.
And they're going to spend all their time and all their energy. Following you everywhere you go. Serving you. praising you. They're going to be your own private hallelujah chorus.
Just extolling your virtues, doing everything you desire them to do. And not only that. They're going to reflect your glory. They're going to be as much like you as possible. They're going to be a.
They're going to be a whole hallelujah chorus of clones. Who are just going to radiate everything that's beautiful about you. You say that is. That's wacky. Sure, because we can't conceive of any human being deserving that kind of.
Praise What Christ does And in the mind of the Father, He is worthy of a redeemed humanity who will fill eternal heavens With praise and honor given to the Son. They will be, as Revelation 4 and 5 pictures them gathered around the throne of God. Crying out forever and ever, worthy is the Lamb, worthy is the Lamb. And they will serve Christ. And more than that, they will even be made like him, for they shall see him as he is.
They will have a body like unto his resurrection body, Philippians 3.20 and 21 says. As much as Glorified humanity can be like Deity? Incarnate will be like Christ. This is the way that one must understand Election. This is what Paul calls in Philippians 3 the prize of the upward call.
The prize of being called up is to be made like Christ. Being made like Christ so that we can reflect his glory, so that he's the prototypeos, the premier one among many brethren, that is, many who are made like him. We're going to bear his image. Redemptive history ends. When the last name is redeemed.
It's over. And in the final Ending The father will have gathered the bride in total. and presented the bride. to his son. And it will be at that great final glorious.
Location, the new Jerusalem that is adorned as a bride. For her husband, it will eternally be the city of the bride. And all the saints of all the ages We'll make up. That redeemed humanity, and all will ever do forever and ever and ever and ever is honor the Lord Jesus Christ. And that will satisfy the Father.
Who has perfect love. For the sun. Let me show you another remarkable feature of this. Turn to 1 Corinthians. 1 Corinthians 15.
In uh There's a lot about Consummation here. The end of everything. But verse 25 talks about how Christ is going to reign and finally put all his enemies under his feet. This is looking at the last ending of everything. And verse 26, the abolishing of death, which comes at the very end of this universe as we know it.
And in the final Ending. Verse 27 says, Everything is in subjection under his feet. That's where the father takes the bride and gives the bride to the son. Everything is there. Everything is subject to him, which means all redeemed humanity.
We'll all be there. The story of redemption will be complete. This earth and universe, as we know it, will be dissolved like. Elements melting in fervent heat, Peter says. It'll be all over human history.
And the bride will be complete. and given to the Son everything put in subjection to him. And then look at verse 28. Really amazing. When all things are subjected to him, Then the Son himself also.
will be subjected. to the one who subjected all things to him. that God may be all in all. Boy, that is a staggering look. Into The glory of our future.
What is it saying? It's saying this. That when the Father gives the Son the bride, When everything is done, And all redemption is over, and all the redeemed are gathered. And the father has given the son the bride. The sun.
in an act of reciprocal love. Gives The bride and himself. back to the Father.
So that God is all in all. If you have some superficial, shallow comprehension of Salvation. This has taken you places your mind has never gone. We are being saved, beloved. Because we are caught up in a Glorious.
Divine expression of love between the Father and the Son. It is way beyond. Yeah. We are, in a sense, saved not as ends in ourselves, but as a means to an end. We don't deserve to be saved.
Hell is not unjust. Hell is just. Eternal punishment is just. But God is merciful to us, not because of some value which we possess, but because He so values His Son as to give to His Son a redeemed humanity who will adore Him. Forever for saving them.
adding a dimension of adoration and praise that angels can't give. And the Son, having received his bride, will give himself and his bride. Back to the Father. in a reciprocal act of love. This is where it all Finally ends, and this is what Paul must have had in mind when he wrote to the Galatians and said, I uh I have pain until Christ is fully formed in you.
I want to present you, he said to the Corinthians, as a chaste virgin to Christ. He understood this. This doctrine of election is not some philosophical thing. It's not some abstraction. It is the heart and soul of all redemption.
And you are a Christian because the Father chose you. The Father wrote your name down, the Father drew you, you therefore came, the Son received you, and the Son will not lose you, and the Son will raise you, and the Father will glorify you. Because that's what he determined to do at the beginning. You are precious. Because of what it is that you have been chosen to do throughout all eternity.
The price The father said to the son, There is a price for your bride. And it was a profound price. He bore in his own body our sins on the cross. We were redeemed not with corruptible things like silver and gold, but with the precious blood. the blood of Christ Like a lamb.
Spotless and unblemished. He who was rich, the Son, rich in heavenly riches, became poor that we through his poverty might become Rich. You know, when you think about the doctrine of election from that viewpoint, it is just so staggering. The Father makes the Son. Since the sin to pay the price.
for an unworthy bride. We're very little different than Hosea's wife, who was a prostitute. And Hosea went into the marketplace and paid the price to buy her back from her prostitution. And then he set his love on her as if she were a virgin, it says. We are a precious bride.
Bought With the impoverishing of the Son. and through his own death. We are precious now because We have been chosen by the Father. for the sun. Let me tell you in closing how you ought to think about the doctrine of election.
Election is Pride crushing. That's the first thing I want you to think about. It just It just produces nothing but humility. It is not that you believe because you were smarter than anybody else, or better than anybody else, or wiser than anybody else. It is that you were chosen.
Spurgeon called this doctrine the most stripping doctrine in all the world. He said, I know nothing, nothing again that is more humbling than this doctrine of election. He said, I have sometimes fallen prostrate before it when endeavoring to understand it, but when I came near it and the one thought possessed me, God has chosen me from the beginning unto salvation, I was staggered by that mighty thought, and from the dizzy elevation down came my soul prostrate and broken, saying, Lord, I am nothing, I am less than nothing. Why me, why me? That, my dear friend, that crushing of all pride is at the very heart of worship, isn't it?
On the other hand, this doctrine is God-exalting. It gives all the glory to God. This doctrine declares that understanding of the truth, belief in the truth, repentance from sin, and the power for obedience to the gospel all comes from God. Not unto us. Not unto us, O Lord.
But to thy name give glory. And I think thirdly, this doctrine is not Only pride crushing and God exalting, it is joy producing. In fact, it plants in your heart a sort of a. overwhelming joy. It is the mystery of it that contributes to the joy.
It is the hopelessness of our own abilities that strengthens that joy. I mean, I just continue to be floored with joy. Psalm 65, 4 says, Blessed is the man whom you choose. and cause to approach you? If the Lord hadn't chosen us, we'd be like Sodom.
Destroyed. Rather than sit around and question the rational sentiments that sometimes get attached to this doctrine. Celebrate it. You have been loved by God. with an everlasting love.
Fourthly, it is a privilege granting. Truth. It grants to us unspeakable benefits. And Benefits that we could never earn. We have been blessed with all spiritual blessings in the heavenlies in Christ.
Not only that, fifthly, it is a holiness producing. Doctrine. I don't know about you, but I can't think of anything more motivating to live a godly life than gratitude for this holy calling. I really believe to understand the doctrine of election is to produce the most significant motivation for holy living. Spurgeon said again, nothing.
Nothing under the gracious influence of the Holy Spirit can make a Christian more holy than the thought. That is chosen. Shall I sin? After God has chosen me? Shall I transgress against such love?
Shall I go astray against such mercy? Shall I spurn such eternal kindness? My God, since you have chosen me, I... We love you. I will live for you.
I will give myself to you. Forever. And number six, it is strength giving. Frankly, it makes me at peace with every situation. I'm chosen.
And Philippians 1.6 says, Who began a good work in you will? Perform it until the day of Christ. And if The Father draws you. And you come and you believe, and the Son receives you, and he never loses you. But raises you at the last day Therein is great encouragement.
great strength no matter what the circumstances. of life There is a certain Boldness? a certain confidence. A certain firmness. A strength.
A fearlessness, if you will. that belongs to those who understand They are Chosen. And that the gifts and callings of God are without. Repentance. This is the blessedness of this doctrine.
It is pride-crushing, God-exalting, joy-producing, privilege-granting, holiness-promoting, and strength-giving. And dare we ignore such a doctrine if we ignore it? or deny it or reject it, we steal the glory from God. We must glorify God as our Redeemer. We must glorify God as the giver of life and understanding and repentance and faith, of which we are incapable.
If we deny this doctrine, then we are left with a misunderstanding of our own weakness. And we lose the entire sense of the scheme of all redemptive history. And somebody at this point is going to say, well, how do you know if you're elect? Do you believe? The gospel?
Have you repented of sin? Do you desire to obey the Lord? Do you love the Lord Jesus Christ? That's the proof. Because that's not possible.
A part. from the mighty sovereign work of God. Let's pray. Father, we thank you for this Stirring and overwhelming. Glorious truth.
The whole thing is beyond us. It it just leaves us limp. On the one hand. and overwhelm with joy on the other. For redeeming us.
We don't know why you chose us. We don't know why you awakened us. But oh God, how we thank you, you have chosen us. Then we ask that you'll continue to cause us to be filled with. Praise.
May we become very Well versed. In this life, in doing what we'll do forever. praising and glorifying your name for our redemption. And we pray, Lord. That you would save other sinners.
Adding them to your church. to your bride. And use us. as instruments, like you did Paul. To bring the truth so that the elect can hear it.
and believe. And so that those who believe can have the knowledge that produces godliness. and learn to live in the hope of our eternal glory. We know this is what you planned before the world began. And you'll bring it to pass.
We... Praise you and thank you. and are overwhelmed with joy. That you have chosen us. We respond as only we can respond.
in obedience and faithfulness to you. To express our love, we love you. Because you first loved us. We again offer ourselves to you. In your Son's name.
Amen. You're listening to Grace to You with the Bible teaching of John MacArthur. John's current study is titled The Doctrines of Grace.
Now, in the closing minutes of today's lesson, John mentioned specific benefits of the doctrine of election, including this one. It produces joy. And that's only one blessing you get from this doctrine. And, friend, to help you get all you can from these lessons, I encourage you to get a copy of the newest book by John called The Doctrines of Grace. It unpacks critical truths about the gospel of Christ and sinners like you and me who need it.
Order the doctrines of grace when you contact us today. You can order your copy online at gty.org or you can call us at 800-55 GRACE. That's our customer service line 800-55GRACE. Shipping is free for the Doctrines of Grace. It costs $20.
See what Scripture says and how much it says about God's mercy towards sinners. Again, to order the doctrines of grace, Call our customer service line at 80055 GRACE or shop online at gty.org. And while you're online, remember you can listen to any of John's 3,600 sermons, including today's, free of charge. You can also download the written transcripts for free. Also, be sure to check out the Grace to You blog with articles about some of the most debated issues in the church today.
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Now for the entire Grace DU staff, I'm Phil Johnson. Remember to watch Grace to U television this Sunday on DirecTV Channel 378. Or check your local listings for station and times, and make sure you're here tomorrow when John MacArthur looks at what it means to be dead in trespasses and sins. and what that teaches about your salvation. It's another 30 minutes of Unleashing God's Truth one verse at a time on grace to you.
