A Three-Fold Cord

Do you feel secure in your salvation? Welcome to Love Worth Finding featuring the dynamic lessons of the three-fold cord that cannot be broken. Ephesians chapter 1 describes the three-fold cord of the Holy Trinity, God the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. If you have your Bible, turn there now as Adrian Rogers begins this message, a three-fold cord. Ephesians chapter 1 in verse 2, 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 fulness 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 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-L-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. Now the death of Jesus therefore is sufficient for all, but it is only efficient to those who believe. But God has chosen us. 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 has 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.

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, 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 am 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. 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 fulness 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. 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.

Now, 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 is going to be in tune with Jesus.

People want to know what the world is 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. 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. 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. This is the third area of praise in this hymn of praise to the Trinity. In whom after ye trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, in whom also after that ye believe, 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.

Do you know what 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 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, and 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. 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, 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. 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. 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. And what a powerful message about the assurance we can have of our salvation. Maybe today you have questions regarding your faith.

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