Praise of His Glorious Grace (Ephesians 1)

A number of years ago, Rachel and I noticed a quirk in the way we responded to our children’s apologies. When they would misbehave, part of the disciplinary process was having them apologize to the person they sinned against--sometimes that was the parents. Eventually we noticed that our response to their apology wasn’t appropriate. It’s a fairly common response that many people give when being apologized to. Someone apologizes and then we respond by saying, “It’s alright.” We don’t remember the exact incident that triggered this, but we both remember having a moment of feeling like, “No, that wasn’t alright. That’s why you’re apologizing.” The better response was to say, “I forgive you.” By saying, “I forgive you,” you are not downplaying the sin and you are showing them grace. It became a powerful practice in our parenting, adding gravity to the sinful action but also adding a joyful release when the grace of “I forgive you” was spoken.

However, it doesn’t take long for us to take grace for granted. It was a while after this practice became part of our daily lives when our children got into a large argument. We were spending the weekend at Rachel’s parents’ cabin, the kids were playing in the lake, but soon began to argue about something. It soon unraveled into a situation where we had them all get out of the lake and sit on the couch in the cabin until they got it under control. As the kids sat on the couch, I could see the wheels turning inside their head. All of a sudden they all put their “halos” on their head and said, “Mommy, Daddy, we’re sorry for fighting. Will you forgive us?” Rachel and I looked back at them and said, “Yes, we forgive you.” To which they responded with a “Yes!” and attempted to run out the door to the lake. Rachel and I yelled, “Hold on! Just because you’re forgiven doesn’t mean there aren’t any consequences for your actions.” Grace had become something that was expected--something deserved. Grace had lost its joyful release from sin and become something to be used to get what we wanted.

In reality all of do this all of the time. Not only do we take grace for granted when shown to us by the people around us, but we take God’s grace for granted on a regular basis. Every breath, every step, every blessing is a result of the grace of God in our lives. He lavishly pours out grace after grace after grace and we often walk through life taking these things for granted--assuming that we deserve them. Some of you have grown up in the church your whole life. It’s easy for us to become apathetic to the grace God shows us.

I became a Christian around age 10, I remember being amazed with God’s grace. Yet, it didn’t take long before I noticed myself becoming apathetic to His grace. I would sin and walkaway thinking, “Eh, God will forgive me,” and think nothing else about it. We become so used to God’s grace that we can easily take it for granted and no longer be amazed by it OR we can become so busy with life that we simply ignore God’s continued grace poured out on our lives.

Paul wasn’t doing that in this passage. This entire chapter is one long song of praise from Paul’s lips and it's all about God’s grace. He dives into the deep end, praising God and doesn’t come up for air until verse 14 but immediately dives back in until the chapter is finished. Paul is amazed at God’s grace and can’t keep himself from offering up praise. Let’s take a look at Ephesians 1. [Read Ephesians 1 from NIV]

In verse 3 Paul erupts with praise saying, “Blessed be the God who blesses us with blessings.” The NIV says, “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ.” (Ephesians 1:3, NIV). This is setting the tone for the rest of the chapter, as Paul breaks forth in praise to God for pouring out blessings on His people. Then, he gives four reasons why he is praising God for his glorious grace.

He begins by praising God for his electing grace. Paul says, “For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love he predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will--to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves.” (Ephesians 1:4–6, NIV). I’ve grown up in various environments where people have believed different things regarding the doctrine of election. Some have joyfully embraced the doctrine, others have frustratingly rejected it, and others want to debate it all the time. Yet, as we read through God’s Word, the doctrine of election comes up all over the place in almost every one of Paul’s letters, but when Paul mentions election it is always in the context of comfort or praise. In this situation, as he breaks forth in praise to God, he is reminded of God’s initial grace toward him when God chose him before the foundations of the earth. It’s grace because none of us deserve it. God did not choose anyone because of anything they did or because they were better than anyone else. God did not choose anyone because he looked down the corridors of time and saw good works or faith. God chose “in accordance with his pleasure and his will--to the praise of his glorious grace...” Because of this work of God before the foundations of the earth, we choose Him and look to Him in faith, and receive the poured out blessing of God in our lives.

Calvin says this is the foundational element in every blessing poured out in our lives. Have you ever asked, “Why God? Why do I have the blessings I have?”? Calvin says, “If the reason is asked why God has called us to enjoy the gospel, why he daily bestows upon us so many blessings, why he opens to us the gate of heaven--the answer will always be constantly found in this principle, that he has chosen us before the foundation of the world” (198). Not only has he chosen us before the foundation of the earth, but, as part of this, he has also adopted us as sons. We are now part of the family of God. We can call God Father and we are called his children--and God takes care of his children.

Let us praise God for this reality! Let us not take it for granted that we can be called the children of God. Let us not assume that we deserve this gracious gift. Let us not think that we are children of God because we are better, smarter, or cooler than anyone else. We’re not. Let us simply be in awe that God would want us to be his child and he made that decision before he created the world. He looked at you and said, “You are mine! And I want you to be my child.” Let us praise Him for this glorious grace!

Paul also praises God’s gracious redemption. He says, “In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God's Grace that he lavished on us with all wisdom and understanding. And he made known to us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure, which he purposed in Christ to be put into effect when the times will have reached their fulfillment--to bring all things in heaven and on earth together under one head, even Christ.” (Ephesians 1:7-10, NIV). In Christ we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins. Like I mentioned at the beginning of this message, it is easy for us to take this for granted. It’s especially easy for us to take this for granted in a culture that assumes everyone is “basically good.” If we are all basically good, then who needs forgiveness, right? Or, if we need forgiveness, we don’t need that much forgiveness. Yet, the Bible never says that we are basically good. We’ll talk about this more next week, but the Bible says we are dead in our tresspasses and sins, slaves to sin. If anyone recognized this about himself, it was the Apostle Paul. Paul was an amazing man of God, yet he still said of himself, “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners—of whom I am the worst.” (1 Timothy 1:15, NIV). Paul, the worst of sinners. Yet, as one who recognized his sinfulness, he also broke forth in praise to God for his redemption. The more accurately we see our own sinfulness, the deeper will be our thankfulness/gratitude/praise to God for his redemption.

Next, Paul praises God for graciously drawing together the church. Paul says, “In him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will, in order that we, who were the first to hope in Christ, might be for the praise of his glory.” (Ephesians 1:11-12, NIV). This one is a little harder to see because of some translation difficulties. On scholar offers a better translation, “It was in Christ, too, that we were claimed by God as his portion...” (F.F. Bruce, 262). Throughout the Old Testament, God always called his people his portion. Now, as God chose his people from before the foundations of the earth, and redeemed them through the forgiveness of sins, he also calls them into fellowship with one another as His people--his portion. This gathering of God’s people into “the church” is a tremendous grace--something we don’t deserve. We could not do this on our own. There is no following Christ by ourselves. He has called us to be part of His Body, a congregation, the church--His people, his portion. As He calls us together, we are called to walk alongside one another, pointing each other to Christ over and over again. This fellowship of believers is a grace that we should cause us to praise God. Is the church perfect? No way. Is the church going to mess up and make mistakes? Of course, it's full of sinners. Yet, God has called us together into fellowship with one another, has called us His people, “in order that we...might be for the praise of his glory.” Let us not take this grace for granted. Let us praise God for the grace of the congregation in which he has placed us.

Finally, Paul praises God for the grace given by Holy Spirit. He says, “And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God's possession--to the praise of his glory.” (Ephesians 1:13-14, NIV). Paul praises God for two things the Spirit does in our lives. He seals us and He is a deposit. In sealing us, the Spirit marks us as God’s possession. We are not our own but belong to God. In marking us as his own, we have confidence that He will carry us to the end. No one can take you out of the Father’s hand. What a tremendous grace in our lives. If we needed to rely on our own strength to keep the faith, we would faith every time, but the Father has marked us as His and will never let us go. Let that cause you to break forth in praise. Also, the Holy Spirit is a deposit--or a downpayment--giving us a taste of the blessings we will receive in eternity. We do not receive all of God’s blessings in this life, we still look forward to the eternal blessings he will give us, YET, we still get tastes--glimpses--of these blessings in this life. What a gift! What a grace! Do we take this for granted? Do we often complain that God doesn’t give us enough tastes, enough glimpses? Let us not take these tastes/glimpses for granted. Let us praise God for the gift of the Holy Spirit.

I love how Paul concludes this chapter. After spending twelve verses praising God in one long run-on sentence, Paul looks at the Ephesians and prays for them. He says, “I keep asking that the God of our Lord

Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better. I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you  may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and his incomparably great power for us who believe.” (Ephesians 1:17-19, NIV). Now, pay close attention to Paul’s prayer. Notice that he doesn’t pray, “Lord, pour out more blessings on this people. Show more grace to these people.” He actually says, “Open their eyes to see the tremendous blessings you’ve already given them.” He knows that we don’t really need more blessings from God, we simply need to SEE the blessings that have already been poured out on us. We need to stop taking God’s Glorious Grace for granted and break forth in praise for the work He has already done in our life--the grace he poured out before the foundations of the earth, the grace he is pouring out in our lives RIGHT NOW, and the grace he will pour out on us in the future.

The question is, “How do we do that?” How do we stop taking God’s grace for granted and begin praising him for his glorious grace? The first step is to what Paul does at the end of this chapter......PRAY. We cannot change our own hearts, only God can do that work. So, let us look to God and pray Paul’s prayer over our lives, “Lord, open my eyes to see your glorious grace. Open my heart to praise you for your glorious grace.” Then, as we pray to God to do this work in our lives, let us meditate on the truths Paul lays out in this chapter. Spend time meditating on the fact that God chose you before the foundations of the earth. Spend time meditating on God’s redemption in your life. Spend time meditating on God calling you to be a member of the body--this congregation. Spend time meditating on the grace being given you through the Holy Spirit. As we pray and meditate on God’s Word, he will begin to open our eyes to his glorious grace. He will begin to stir our hearts in praise for his glorious grace. He will open our lips to say, “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ.” (Ephesians 1:3, NIV).