Saved For A
Purpose
Ephesians 1:1-14; 2:1-10
The text before us this morning is
one of the more remarkable texts of the entire Bible. Ephesians, chapters 1 and
2, represents one of the most thorough treatments of the subject of salvation.
Paul begins this letter by launching, almost immediately, into a lengthy
doxology. In the original Greek, verses 3 through 14 read as a single sentence;
it is written like a hymn, and is aimed at ascribing praise to all three members
of the Trinity for the work of salvation.
This hymn has three discernable
strands running throughout. First, there is the origin of salvation;
second, there is the means of salvation; and, third, there is the
destination of salvation.
Or, to use an analogy of a tree, we
have a view of the root and the processes within that root, which
bring about the fruit.
Since our proposed sermon series
relates more closely with the destination of salvation, or the fruit
of salvation, the emphasis of this sermon will be placed there. We must,
however, be nonetheless mindful of the root of salvation. For, by
understanding the nature of the root, we will become better acquainted
with our ability to bear the necessary fruit.
I confess to you that a careful inspection
of the root of salvation has precipitated much debate over the
centuries. My intention is not to revisit those debates here, but simply to
acknowledge them as we consider questions relating to the origin of our
salvation.
The origin of salvation addresses questions like, ‘Why
are we saved?’ and ‘On what basis are we saved?’ The complexity, and, perhaps,
the controversy, of this study has to do with the relationship between God’s
sovereignty, and human responsibility. How does the human will
relate to God’s will? Where, in the process of salvation, does our will
lead us to Christ? According to the apostle Paul, at the root of
salvation, man’s will has no part.
Paul tells us that the Christian is
chosen in Christ “before the foundation of the world” (1:4). He restates
the same saying that “(God) predestined us to adoption as Sons”
(1:5). And if we seek to know the basis of this adoption, Paul replies that it
is “according to the kind intention of (God’s) will” (1:5). That is, the
reason, or the basis, for salvation does not lie with us, but it lies entirely
with God.
Again, in verse 7, Paul says that “we
have redemption . . . according to the riches of (God’s grace).” In verse 9, we are told that redemption is “according
to (God’s) kind intention which (God) purposed in Him(self)”—and, just in
case we missed it the fifth time, verse 11: “we have obtained an
inheritance, having been predestined according to (God’s) purpose who works all
things after the counsel of His will.”
In short, the basis of our
salvation is bound up in God, and in His eternal purposes. There is great
comfort in this doctrine. We would not want it any other way. For example, if I
had a role to play in the origin of my salvation, if my will was at the
root of my salvation, then the stability of the entire structure would lie,
at least in part, on me. And, if my will is responsible for the ongoing health
of the primary structure, then the perpetuation of my good standing before God
would be tenuous, at best.
If, however, God’s will alone is at
the root; if the primary structure of salvation is entirely bound up in Him,
then the likelihood of me bearing spiritual fruit is certain. What I will have
a hand in is determining how much spiritual fruit I bear.
A person may ask, ‘For what
purpose are we to be bearing spiritual fruit? And, what does bearing
spiritual fruit even look like?’ As we seek to answer these questions, we now
move into the emphasis of our study. The apostle Paul tells us that, indeed,
God has an end, God has a purpose, God has a destination
in view when He saves us.
Too often, I fear, the purposes of
salvation are framed in terms of what we are saved from—we hear how we
are saved from our sins, and how we are saved from wrath. But, if the purposes
of salvation stop here, we have little more than a ‘get-out-of-hell-for-free
card’. Salvation, of course, involves much more than simply escaping
punishment, and, for this reason, we need to make ourselves attentive to the
positive benefits of salvation.
Following his initial greeting to
the Ephesians, Paul launches immediately into praise for these positive
benefits, exclaiming the fact that, in Christ, we have been “blessed with
every spiritual blessing” (1:3). In other words, salvation is accompanied,
not only by heavenly rewards, but also, by heavenly resources.
And, as we move along in the passage we begin to see the purpose for
which these heavenly resources are given.
The destination God has in mind for
those He redeems is given in verse 4: “that we would be holy and blameless
before Him.” Salvation then, is not merely about the removal of my sin, but
it also has a view towards my growth in holiness.
And what end does God have for our
growth in holiness? Why is it important for us to be holy? The answer is given
in the oft-repeated phrase, “to the praise of His glory” (1:6, 12, 14).
Paul begins his hymn with the words,
“Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ” (1:3), and he
ends the hymn on precisely the same note, explaining that the destination of
salvation is “the praise of (God’s) glory” (1:14). In other words, from
beginning to end, salvation is God-centred. The root of salvation is
God’s will, and the fruit of salvation is God glorified in the life of the
believer. And while, we could not participate in the former, we must
participate in the latter.
In the second chapter of his letter
to the Ephesians, Paul qualifies, and expands upon, this point. Lest we think
that our participation in God’s purposes earns us salvation, Paul writes, “by
grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the
gift of God; not as the result of works, that no one should boast” (2:8,
9).
The qualification has to do with the
role of works, or, what we might call, ‘good deeds’. Paul is adamant: Good
deeds cannot save anyone. And yet, in the very next sentence, Paul teaches
about the necessity of good deeds.
This two-pronged message teaches us
that our good deeds are not the ground of salvation and, in no way, are
good deeds the means of salvation, but they should be the overflow of
salvation.
In order for us to live “to the
praise of (God’s) glory” it is necessary for us to participate in certain
good works that God has designed for us to do.
This requires serious reflection on
our part: ‘What good works, what kind of spiritual service, has God ordained
for me to engage in, that I might live “to the praise of His glory”?’
Most of us lack this kind of
intentionality. Most of us are going about the business of life hoping that God
will see that ‘we mean well’ and that ‘we are doing the best we can’. But how
many of us manage our household like this? Do we not plan, and schedule, how to
best serve the interests of our family? Do we not make careful calculations
with our resources and time as they relate to our family?
Then why would we not give the same
attention to how we apportion our time and resources for God? Because, after
all, we have been redeemed for the purpose of living primarily for Him.
This past Wednesday, during our
children’s program, I was startled by a question asked me by one of the
children. The question put to me was: “Did Jesus have any fun during His time
on earth?”
“What prompted that question?” I
asked the young boy. He then pointed to one of the catechism questions we were
studying. The catechism question asks: “What kind of life did Christ live?”
Answer: “A life of obedience, service, and suffering”.
Granted, suffering is not fun but,
evidently, this nine-year-old boy had grouped “obedience” and “service” in the
same category as “suffering”. I began to think to myself, wondering, “What
might prompt a nine-year-old boy to think that obeying and serving God was not
fun?”
Jesus told His disciples that it was
His “food” to do the Father’s will (Jn. 4:34). Jesus delighted in
obeying God the Father; Jesus enjoyed serving His Father’s purposes. What then,
might cause a nine-year-old boy to think that obeying and serving God was not
fun?
Could it be that the nine-year-old
boy has not sufficiently witnessed Christians who are enjoying their service to
God? Could it be that this nine-year-old boy has be unable to detect Christian
adults having “fun” while living in obedience to Christ?
Beloved, it would be commendable if
you left here today determined to serve Christ by “walking” in “good
works” (2:10). And yet, it would be a travesty if engaging in such service
did not maximize your joy.
Paul says we were “created in
Christ Jesus for good works”. Worshipping Christ, obeying Christ, is not
intended to be a once-a-week pit stop before we resume what really matters. Obeying
Christ is what really matters. It is what we have been designed to do.
As you can probably imagine, when I
lived in Beeton, Ontario, I got to spend some time on farms. I got to see,
first hand, what I had learned in school: Pigs enjoy lying in the mud, and
horses love to run in open fields. Now, picture this: Picture a horse spending
the day lying in the mud, and picture pigs running for hours in open fields on
a hot, and sunny, day.
Difficult to imagine, isn’t it?
That’s because the scenario runs contrary to natural design. Pigs haven’t been
designed to go for long runs in the sun, and horses haven’t been designed to
roll in mud.
Why then, do Christians so often
contradict the design of their salvation?
Paul insists that we have been
saved for a purpose. God “chose us in (Christ) before the foundation of
the world, that we should be holy and blameless before Him” (1:4). “We
have obtained an inheritance . . . to the end that we . . . should (live) to
the praise of His glory” (1:11, 12). “We are His workmanship,
created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand,
that we should walk in them” (2:10).
The Scriptures do not require us to
be something that is beyond our capacity. The Scriptures require us to do that
which we were designed from all eternity to do.
We have been saved in order to
serve Christ, and to reflect back to Him His own glory.
Let’s commit ourselves to doing
that; let’s commit ourselves to doing that together, and let’s expect to
have some fun in the process. Amen.