Ephesians– overview of 2:7-10; Saved with an end in mind, part 4 – Blessed Assurance.

Tuesday June 4, 2019

 

EPH 2:7-10 - Saved with an end in mind.

 

EPH 2:7 in order that in the ages to come He might show the surpassing riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.

 

EPH 2:8 For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God;

 

EPH 2:9 not as a result of works, that no one should boast.

 

EPH 2:10 For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.

 

Grace is at the head of the sentence and so it is emphasized as the head or leader in God’s work for your salvation. If grace is the band-leader, so to speak, then works and boasting find absolutely no place in the salvation of any man.  

 

We sinners are a proud race, and our pride is oftentimes the worst of our sins. Therefore, God humbles us by His compassion.

 

We can boast of nothing. Righteousness, salvation, life in Christ are all free gifts. We must be content to receive salvation attained for us by the blood of Christ. Upon gospel hearing, the person is faced with this issue. His faith in Christ would have to be simultaneous with understanding that he can contribute nothing towards his deliverance from death.

 

God’s compassion, grace, and mercy strips man of his pride and vanity.

 

“you have been saved” - perfect passive of sozo. Here is Paul’s doctrine of assurance.

 

The perfect passive directly reveals the doctrines of grace and eternal security. We receive salvation and when we do, it is forever, not ever to be lost for any reason.

 

With his foundation secure, the house of life in the believer’s soul can be steadily built up.

 

There are no fears or worries about the foundation. The foundation always provides the groundwork for building. It is never too late to start building. Our foundation is Christ and that foundation never moves, cracks, or decays. If I have wasted time, building on the sand instead of the rock, it is never too late to begin, and with the understanding of the weakness of sand, you will be wise for rapid construction, meaning that you can mature quickly. It’s never, ever too late.

 

Without eternal security, every believer would have quit on the plan of God at some point. Either they quit or they water down the requirements of holiness. With a firm foundation, the believer is not afraid to seek the perfection that He is called to. And God will not help us on any other path than the path of perfection.

 

For this reason, a believer having blessed assurance will work harder, work more, study harder, study more, pray more than a person who thinks they have to work for their security or hope. It seems like a paradox. If a man believed that his life depended upon his work then you would think he would work the hardest, but in fact, it is the free man who works the hardest.

 

1PE 1:3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,

 

Living hope: We walk and breathe eternal security every day.

 

1PE 1:4 to obtain an inheritance which is imperishable and undefiled and will not fade away, reserved in heaven for you,

 

1PE 1:5 who are protected by the power of God through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time [the redemption of our bodies].

 

1PE 1:6 In this you greatly rejoice, even though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been distressed by various trials,

 

1PE 1:7 that the proof of your faith, being more precious than gold which is perishable, even though tested by fire [dokimazo: tested for purity], may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ;

 

1PE 1:8 and though you have not seen Him, you love Him, and though you do not see Him now, but believe in Him, you greatly rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory,

 

1PE 1:9 obtaining as the outcome of your faith the salvation of your souls.

 

1PE 1:10 As to this salvation, the prophets who prophesied of the grace that would come to you made careful search and inquiry,

 

1PE 1:11 seeking to know what person or time the Spirit of Christ within them was indicating as He predicted the sufferings of Christ and the glories to follow.

 

The prophets understood that the redemption of God was to come through Messiah. They had the promise of eternal security but not the reality. Yet, the promise of God is iron clad, and so they also had blessed hope, but they longed for the possession of God’s completed work and redemption.

 

1PE 1:12 It was revealed to them that they were not serving themselves, but you [the recipients of the completed work], in these things which now have been announced to you through those who preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven —  things into which angels long to look.

 

Such a curious and intriguing thing that angels long to look into salvation - is it because they are not fallen and so know nothing of being snatched from a deadly fire? Always dutiful servants, the elect angels never have or will experience a deliverance from death and judgment. And yet, it is only the saved of mankind who know of it. The unsaved are ignorant of their looming judgment, but the saved look over the chasm which they almost fell into with clear eyes and marvel at the grace of God. And they know they could never again be in danger of it, and therefore they have blessed hope.

 

Now, without the foundation of assurance, despite the realization of personal sin, no doctrines, nothing of the Bible, nothing of virtue, no divine work will take firm root in the believer’s soul.

 

God’s life and virtue can only flow and fully possess the person who has no doubt in his salvation, his sonship, his eternal and abiding presence in the Trinity of God.

 

1PE 1:13 Therefore, gird your minds for action, keep sober in spirit, fix your hope completely on the grace to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.

 

1PE 1:14 As obedient children, do not be conformed to the former lusts which were yours in your ignorance,

 

1PE 1:15 but like the Holy One who called you [election], be holy yourselves also in all your behavior;

 

1PE 1:16 because it is written, "You shall be holy, for I am holy."

 

1PE 1:17 And if you address as Father the One who impartially [Greek: without respect to persons] judges according to each man's work, conduct yourselves in fear during the time of your stay upon earth;

 

We can be good sons who please Him or bad sons who are disciplined by Him. We fear the results of sin and disobedience due to our love of Him and love of His way. None of us are “special sons.” Our Father is impartial.

 

1PE 1:18 knowing that you were not redeemed with perishable things like silver or gold from your futile way of life inherited from your forefathers,

 

1PE 1:19 but with precious blood, as of a lamb unblemished and spotless, the blood of Christ.

 

We were not redeemed by any of the ways of man. Economy in the world is done in markets were one good is exchanged for another or for a service. Not so with God. God the Son came into the world and gave His very life without asking anything in return but your acceptance, or your “yes” through faith. I have given God nothing, yet here I stand as a son forever. We are not always motivated to be obedient, and as sons we must always be obedient, but the grace of our salvation, further and better understood, will motivate us with the joy of doing our Father’s will more and more as we mature. And even that is a blessed assurance. 

 

1PE 1:20 For He was foreknown before the foundation of the world [He too was foreknown, elected, and predestined], but has appeared in these last times for the sake of you

 

1PE 1:21 who through Him are believers in God, who raised Him from the dead and gave Him glory, so that your faith and hope are in God.

 

Without eternal security, every believer would have quit on the plan of God at some point. Either they quit or they water down the requirements of holiness. With a firm foundation, the believer is not afraid to seek the perfection that He is called to. And God will not help us on any other path than the path of perfection.