We constantly ask God for what we already have. Have you noticed that? Because we don't know our resources. We go to God and we say, Oh God, I need more love. I just want you to give me more love.
And the Bible already says that the love of God is shed abroad in your heart. You say, Well, what am I supposed to ask for? James said ask for wisdom and wisdom's the sense not to ask for what you got. Mm-hmm. Welcome to Grace to You with the Bible Teaching Ministry of John MacArthur.
I'm your host, Phil Johnson. It's true in any professional sport. The athletes who enjoy the richest contracts are typically the best at what they do. They produce on the field, on the ice, on the court. They make few mistakes, and clearly they help their teams because of the skills they bring to the game.
Now compare that scenario to salvation. Frankly, there's nothing you bring to the game, so to speak. There's nothing that you or I or anyone can do to convince God to save us.
So the question is, why did God choose to save certain sinners and not others? How do you explain this doctrine of election? And what's the connection between the doctrine of election and our spiritual riches? Keep those questions in mind as John MacArthur continues his study called Richer Than You Think. And now here's John with to day's lesson.
In most of Paul's discussions of the church as the body of Christ, in most of his discussing that, he is referring to the present here and now operation of the church. But In the first chapter of Ephesians, he goes way back into eternity past and shows how God master-planned the church as the body of Christ before the world began.
So this is really a look way back before history. Look with me at verse 3 through verse 6a. There are six aspects of blessing in verse 3. Let's see what they are. First of all, the Blessed One.
Is God. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Second element I see here in blessing is that God is also the blesser. He's not only the blessed, but the blesser. Who hath blessed, who hath blessed.
Where does all blessing come from? James put it this way: every good and perfect gift cometh down from. The Father of lights, in whom there is no variableness, neither shadow of turning. Every good thing comes from God. You know, even when it looks bad, He makes it good.
Romans 8:28.
Now we know that all things work together for what? For good. To them that love God and are called according to His purpose. God blesses because God is the source of every good thing. Get that in your mind, will you?
God is not the source of some good things, He is the source of what? Every good thing. He made creation, made the entire thing, got all done, looked on it, and said, It is what? Good. It's good.
The bad things in this world come because man is a sinner.
So we see the God is the blessed one and the blesser also. who are the blessed. Right after the the word blessed, it says us. That's us, folks. We're the blessed.
In God's wonderful grace and His marvelous providence and His sovereign plan, He has chosen to bless us. Who are the blessed? Who are the us? Those who believe. Galatians chapter 3.
In verse 9, it says, So then they who are of faith are blessed. They who are of faith are blessed. You see, it's we who, chosen by God, have believed in faith. We are the blessed. And I'm telling you, folks, when you start to think about how rich you are in Christ, it's really incredible.
We are blessed beyond our imagination. Blessed. He lavishes good gifts on his children. When we bless God, we speak good of him. When he blesses us, he does good to us.
That's the difference. Our blessing is our words to Him. His blessing is his deeds to us. How much blessing does he give us? Look at the fourth element, the blessings themselves.
It says, blessed us with all spiritual blessings. He blesses us with all that is possible to be dispensed to us through the agency of the Spirit of God. And you know, it's so ridiculous for Christians not to think they have any resources. I said, well, I don't know if I can really do that. Oh yeah.
Have you ever, I was studying Romans 8 one time and reading that text where he says, We know not what to pray for as we ought. You remember that one?
So, the Spirit makes intercession for us. You know, one of the things we do is we constantly ask God for what we already have. Have you noticed that? Because we don't know our resources. We go to God and we say, Oh, God, I need more love.
I just want you to give me more love. And the Bible already says that the love of God is shed abroad in your heart. You say, oh. Don't need that. Lord, what I need is peace.
I'm so distressed. And Jesus said, When he left, My peace I leave with you, not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Never let your heart be troubled. Oh. I got that too?
Right.
Well, what I need is, I need joy, I'm unhappy. No, read John 15. He said that he was going to leave his joy in us, that our joy might be what? Fall. Oh, I don't need that either?
No. Oh, I know what I need. I need strength. No You can already do all things through Christ who already what? strengthens you.
You see, we spend a lot of time asking for what we got. You say, well, what am I supposed to ask for? James said, ask for wisdom. And wisdom is the sense not to ask for what you got. You see, God has already dispensed to us all spiritual blessing, all blessing connected to the Spirit.
And people say, well, have you received the second blessing? I always say yes. And the five thousandth, too. All when I receive Christ, I receive how many? all spiritual blessings.
Look at 2 Peter chapter 1 for a minute. It says this in verse 3. According as His divine power now there's the source, people. His divine power hath, past tense, given us all things that pertain unto life and godliness. You see, he's already given us all things that pertain to life and godliness.
There is no missing ingredient. The Blessed One is the Blesser who has blessed us with everything we need. All the resources are there. They're all there. And in Philippians 1:19, Paul calls it the supply of the Spirit.
The supply of the Spirit. Sadly, though, we don't always appropriate our possessions. But I want you to know, people, you're rich. Bless God, He couldn't give you more than He gave you in Christ. There's nothing else to get.
I mean, there's nothing else to get. It's all there. All the pneumaticos, blessings, all the good things that the Spirit can dispense have been dispensed to you in the presence of the indwelling Christ. They're yours. It's not a question of finding something else, it's a question of using what you've got.
So don't go stumbling around saying, Well, I don't know if I can do it. Oh yeah, you can do it. The resources are there. You're rich. You are rich.
Incredibly rich.
So The blessings. You say, but where are these blessings?
Well, he tells us the blessing location. In the heavenlies. in the heavenlies.
Now, where is the heavenly?
Some people say, well, that's heaven.
Well, not strictly speaking, I think it includes heaven. But I think the heavenly simply means the supernatural world of God, the domain of God. The divine realm. It isn't just heaven. It says, for example, in the sixth chapter, we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against spiritual wickedness in the heavenlies.
So it's the domain of the supernatural.
So we're not just citizens of the earth, but we're citizens up there. We really aren't even citizens here anymore, although we're roaming around here. We start out being citizens of this world. We're saved. We become citizens of heaven according to Philippians 3:20.
Our citizenship is in heaven, from which we look for our Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.
So we're citizens of heaven. We live in the heavenlies, it is the dominion of God. It is that dominion by which we are able to understand the supernatural. The natural man understandeth not the things of God because he is of the earth, earthy. Jesus said in Luke 16:8, they are the children of this world.
But we have been transformed into God's kingdom, the kingdom of his dear son. Our minds have been elevated. Colossians 3 says, We are ascended into the heavenlies. Our citizenship is there. And so we live in a paradoxical kind of two-level existence here on the earth and yet citizens of heaven.
You have all the rights and privileges belonging to a citizen of heaven. Our life is in the supernatural, in the heavenlies. We commune with God. Our Father is there. Our home is there.
Our Savior is there. Our friends are there. Our loved ones are there. Our name is there, our throne is there, our room is there. It's in the heavenlies that we live, and we're trapped in the tension of being heavenly citizens with an earthly sojourn.
It's like the king, you know. The king who by virtue of the right to rule is the king. is still the king when he's not sitting on his seat, right? I mean, the fact That he walks in the world and mingles with the common people and comes out of the palace and comes down and trips around with the folks on the street and the peasants doesn't mean he's not the king. Because someday he'll go back and sit on the throne because he has a right to do so.
And you and I are kings, the Bible says. And we're right now walking among the commoners of the earth, but one of these days we're going to be going back to the home where our throne is, and we're going to be seated with Christ in His throne. In fact, in Ephesians 2:6, it says we're already seated in the heavenly places, it's as good as done. As you see, we are citizens of an eternal kingdom. We belong there.
Everything we love is there. And we're trapped in a tension of the earthly and the heavenly. That's why Paul could say in the midst of that paradox, I am sorrowful yet always rejoicing. I am poor, yet I make many rich. I have nothing, yet I have everything.
I am troubled on all sides, but I am not distressed. I am perplexed, but I'm not in despair. I am cast down, but I am not destroyed. You see, it was the tension of being in two worlds. And you may have nothing, and you may be poor in this world, but let me tell you, man, you're so rich in the heavenlies that it's uncountable.
You say, my problem is pulling it down. To get it here where I need it. That's the work of the Holy Spirit. And listen to me. Galatians 5 says, If you walk in the Spirit, now watch, you walk in the Spirit.
The Spirit will produce everything you need. Watch. Love? What are they? Joy?
Peace. Gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, self-control. All the virtues. You can pull all the riches right down. By walking In the power of the Spirit of God.
You're rich. You've been blessed with all spiritual blessings in the heaven. You say, how come? Why is God, who is to be blessed, becoming the blesser to bless me with all these things in the heavenlies and allow me to be a citizen of his world? Why?
The answer comes at the very end of verse 3: because you are, what are the last two words? In Christ. You see, when you became a Christian, you were placed in a marvelous union with Christ. 1 Corinthians 6:17 says, He that is joined to the Lord is one spirit. And you became one spirit with Jesus Christ.
And as such, all that is His is yours. Is that incredible? In case that boggles your mind, you maybe need to affirm. Uh Romans chapter 8. where the Apostle Paul Reiterates for us a truth that never ceases to thrill me.
Verse seventeen. 16 says we are the children of God, and 17 says, if children, then heirs, heirs of God, and what? Joint heirs with Jesus Christ. All that is His is ours. We are in Christ.
We are as rich as He is. All the resources He had, we have. Listen, beloved. You are a part of the church of Jesus Christ because you were planned into it before the world began. And in so being planned into it, when you came to know Jesus Christ, you became a joint heir with God, a joint heir with Christ, and God dispensed at your disposal all the riches of everything the Spirit of God could transmit.
And by walking in the Spirit, it all becomes yours. That's rich. No wonder he blessed God, huh? No wonder. We are in Christ.
I don't understand that. It's a fabulous thought. I am one with Jesus Christ, so that his righteousness is imputed to me, so that his inheritance is my inheritance. Let me sum it up by saying it four ways: I am in Christ, so his position is my position. His privilege is my privilege.
His possession is my possession, and his practice is my practice. I'll say it another way: where he is, I am. What he has, I have, and what he does, I do. And I'll tell you something: if I'm in union with Jesus Christ and to be so planned before the foundation of the world, then I am significant.
So are you. But only because I'm in Christ, not because of myself, right? Remember what Paul said in 1 Corinthians 15:10, I am what I am by what? the grace of God. Not because I'm worthy.
Well Having blessed God. in that third verse. He moves on to discuss how this blessed God formed his body In eternity past, let's go to verse 4. 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 sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace.
Now, stop there. That little section from 4 to 6A is the first part of this longer section through verse 14. And the whole section through verse 14 discusses the eternal forming of the body, but that little section discusses the past aspect of it. The next section, the present aspect, the third, the future. The past aspect can be summed up in one word, election.
The present aspect, verses 6b through 11 or so, can be summed up in one word, redemption. That's the present aspect. The future aspect, the rest of it, inheritance. Election, redemption, inheritance. Three key words that show the three different aspects of God's eternal plan.
Let's look at the first one, and we're not going to get through it. We're just going to get through the first point in the first part. What is the past aspect of God's eternal plan?
Well, we see in verses 4 through 6a. Seven aspects. Of God's past. Plan, seven aspects. First one is the method.
Which is election, verse 4. According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world. Stop there. You know why he blesses God in verse 3? He blesses God in verse 3 because he's absolutely just overwhelmed that God has chosen him before the foundation of the world.
That it isn't a question of saying, hey, you're a good guy, you deserve to be in my kingdom. Hey, you're a nice lady. You deserve to be in my kingdom. Isn't that at all? It's God before the world began setting his love on me.
You see the method The method. by which God formed the body was election. You say it says, according as he has chosen us in him before the foundation of the world. People say to me all the time, do you believe in election? I say, I believe in the Bible.
And the Bible teaches election. You mean you believe that God chooses people to be saved before they're ever born? The Bible teaches that. You believe that before the world even began, Jesus and the Father and the Spirit wrote down in the book of life who would be saved already down there, and they planned that whole thing out? Absolutely believe that.
You say, well, what about free will? In the first place, free will is no biblical term. It's never used in the Bible because man may have a will, but it isn't free, it's bound to sin. But aside from that, what about Will? You believe that man has a choice?
Absolutely. You believe that anybody who wants to can come to Christ? Absolutely. I believe the Bible teaches absolute sovereignty of God and election, and I believe that Jesus said, Him that cometh unto me, I'll in no wise what. Cast out.
And I believe Jesus said, Whosoever will, let him come. I believe that Jesus simply put it this way: come unto me, all ye that what? Labor and are heavy laden, I'll give you rest. And you see, God has some things that He can do that I can't do, and that's fine. Listen, if I understood everything, I'd be God, and if I was God, we would be in lots of trouble.
I don't need to resolve it, but don't do this. Don't take God's sovereignty and man's choice and try to find some middle ground, or you've just destroyed both of them. Leave them alone. Let the tension be there. Let it be that God says He's sovereign.
Don't worry about how He harmonizes that with people coming to Christ. That's His problem, not ours. He just says, Come. Come Look, the terms here. He hath chosen It's an Aorist middle of Eclego.
Which means to choose out, to pick. And the middle voice is reflexive, which means that God is picking for himself. And nobody else is involved in this. God didn't have anybody whispering in his ear: well, I'd like it if you could include so-and-so. No.
And there wasn't anything for us to do with it. God chose for Himself. He did it for himself, that it might be for his glory. It says that in verse 6, to the praise of his glory. It says it in verse 12, to the praise of his glory.
It says it in verse 14, to the praise of his glory. You see, when God chose the church, He chose it for His own glory before He ever chose it for the church's own good. In fact, it says in chapter 3, verse 10, that the reason He put the church together was that He might display it to the angels, that they might see how wise He is. not how wonderful we are. And so we're elect.
Before the foundation of the world, we were chosen. In Revelation, that is also stated in two passages, thirteen, eight. And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him whose names are not written in the book of life from the foundation of the world. The book of life, folks, was written before the world began. The same thing is true in 17:8 of Revelation.
It says at the end of the verse: names were not written in the book of life from the foundation of the world. The book of life was written from the foundation of the world. What's up? Election, don't have a problem with election. It just means God chooses everybody who's saved.
That's right. And it's always positive. You never see it in a negative sense. God chooses who will be saved. Jesus, for example, let me back up a little bit and show you another angle on it.
When God chose Israel, He didn't say, all right, all you nations are going to have a contest. And the best nation gets to be my nation. Oh no. If that was the case, I don't think Israel would have made it. He says to them, I didn't choose you because you were the most righteous.
I set my love upon you because that's what I chose to do. And in the Old Testament, it says, Israel, mine elect. Did you know that? Israel might elect. God elected Israel.
What's up? When it came to angels, 1 Timothy 5:21, God says they are the elect angels, the ones that are. still glorifying God. They were elect to that. First Peter 2:6 says, I shall lay in Zion a cornerstone, elect.
Precious, Jesus Christ was elect. Jesus said to his apostles, You have not chosen me, but I have chosen you. And of Paul, he said, He is chosen by me as an apostle of the Gentiles. Israel is elect, angels are elect, Christ is elect, believers were elect for apostleship. And believe me, when it comes to the church, he doesn't switch gears and say, well, now it's a free-for-all.
God will be consistent with his nature. The church was chosen before the foundation of the world. In 2 Timothy chapter 1, verse 9. It says that he has saved us. And called us with a holy calling.
Listen. Not according to our works. It had nothing to do with us. It had nothing to do with what we did or did not do or what He anticipated we would or would not do, but according to His own purpose and grace, which was given to us in Christ before the world began. Can you believe that?
God set his grace on you before the world began. Your birth in this world Was not incidental. It was the consummation of the divine plan of God. Listen. You don't need to go to some psychological seminar to get a sense of value.
Is that enough? You were master planned by God. in his eternal plan. 2 Timothy 2.10. Therefore, Paul says, I endure all things for the elect's sake, that they may obtain the salvation which is in Christ Jesus.
In other words, he says, I'm trying to reach the elect, the ones who are already chosen that they might. take hold of the faith that has already been granted them in God's sovereign decree. 2 Thessalonians, I just would. Remind you of 213. We are bound to give thanks always to God for you, brethren, beloved of the Lord, because God, listen to this, hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation.
Boy, it can't be any clearer than that. You're chosen, chosen before the foundation of the world. You are strategic, you are important to God. In the book of Acts. It says, and many believed in chapter 13, 48, because they were ordained unto eternal life.
They were ordained unto eternal life.
Now, listen, you say, but if God chooses everybody, what do we have to do with it? We have something to do with it too, because the Bible presents that part of it. Just leave those two where they are and believe them both. And let God resolve it in his infinite mind. But I'll tell you one thing.
God is never a victim. And it is the doctrine of election that lets God be God and God be the sovereign of history. And it is the doctrine of election that says to me, you are of value eternally in the heart of God. You matter to him. Jesus came to shed his blood to purchase you.
You're important. And so God has eternally formed his body. Beloved. You're a part of that if you're a Christian. Don't struggle with a sense of self-worth.
You are worthy. And don't struggle with a sense of inadequacy. He has dumped on you all spiritual blessings in the heavenlies. The resources that are available to you are unlimited and you need to use them. Capitalize on them in order to live on God's best level.
used them in order to minister with the greatest amount of power. Use them in order to build the church. That Jesus purchased with his own blood. Let's pray. How wonderful it is, Father, to know that.
When all the world about us seems so confused, and sometimes we wonder where it's going, the Word of God tells us it's all according to plan. The blueprint is being followed. The church is being built, and the gates of hell will not prevail against it. All that the Father Gives to me, said Christ, shall come to me, and I have lost. None of them.
You'll build your church. We'll all be there. Because that's the way you've planned it. And Father, help us to know that each of us is important. Important in the ministry we have toward you.
toward each other, toward the world. Help us to realize that you have equipped us with all spiritual blessing. with all things pertaining to life and godliness.
so that we can do your work in your way. for your glory.
Well, thank you, Father, for what you can do and what you want to do. As we become available in Christ's name, Amen. Uh You're listening to Grace to You, the Bible teaching ministry of John MacArthur. John's current series is showing you why you're richer than you think if you're a Christian. In fact, that's the title, Richer Than You Think.
Now, the issue of election that John talked about today, certainly a lot of people struggle with it. You might be wondering what is the main reason for that struggle? Why does the doctrine of election stir up so many people?
Well, here's how John answered that question.
Well, I think there's a natural tendency in the part of the human heart, the fallen human heart. uh to want to be in control, to want to be in in charge. Uh and you know, those of us who were raised in the great American democracy uh have given almost divine uh proportions to the idea of freedom of choice.
So I think there's some sort of sociological and some ontological reasons why we fight against the idea that God is absolutely sovereign. But think about it this way. Either God is sovereign or He is not. Which world would you want to live in? The one in which God is sovereign and works all things to His own glorious and perfect end?
or the one in which God is not sovereign, and reacts the way we do to controls and events and circumstances and choices that are beyond his power. That's really a frightening world. That's right, friend, and no doubt you have many questions about this challenging teaching. To see what Scripture says about the doctrine of election and related teaching, I encourage you to pick up a copy of John's book called The Doctrines of Grace. It walks you through critical and thought-provoking teaching about salvation in Christ and the blessings that come when you understand and embrace them.
To order a copy of the Doctrines of Grace? Contact us today. Call us at 80055 Grace or visit our website, gty.org. The doctrines of grace cost $20 and shipping is free. Again, to order, call 855 GRACE or shop online at gty.org.
And if John's verse-by-verse teaching is helping you apply the life-changing truth of God's Word to your life, We'd love to hear from you. Your input is more important than you might think. Also, make sure you let us know all the ways you hear us on radio, on podcast, on the GraceTU app. Whatever means you use, you can email your note to letters at gty.org. Our email address one more time: letters at gty.org.
or drop a note in the mail addressed to grace to you. Post Office Box 4000. Panorama City, California, 91412.
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 watch anytime at gty.org. And join us again tomorrow as John continues his series from Ephesians chapter 1 titled Richer Than You Think. It's another 30 minutes of Unleashing God's Truth, one verse at a time, on grace to you.
