EPHESIANS CHAPTER 1, VERSES 5-7 KJV

By Dr. Ken Matto

We’re going to be starting in verse 5 this evening. Last week, we got through one verse, Ephesians Chapter 1, verse 4. And we went through basically the Abrahamic covenant. And we saw whom Abraham’s seed was, especially when we got to the point of where it says: "According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world…" And we wanted to talk about a little bit of who He has chosen. And we see it was Abraham’s seed who was the chosen and not the physical seed of anybody, but the spiritual seed of Abraham, which we saw progressing in Genesis when He talks about the land and then He uses the term, "for ever." Then finally in Genesis 17, He uses the word "everlasting covenant." And any time you ever see the word "everlasting covenant," or "for ever," you can be sure the LORD has in view SALVATION.

Alright, let’s look at Ephesians Chapter 1, verse 5. And like you, I’m going to [be] flipping Bible passages too. I don’t have them printed out anywhere, so I’m going to be kind of in sync with you, so it’s easier for us to study together. Alright, Ephesians Chapter 1, verse 5. We read there: "Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will," Now let’s look at some of the words in there. First of all, "Having predestinated us.." The word "predestined" comes from a Greek word "proorizo." And it means "to appoint beforehand" or "to determine beforehand." I remember once being in a Baptist church and the fellow was reading Jeremiah Chapter 1, verse 5. And that’s the part where God says to Jeremiah, "Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations." Now, this was a free-will Baptist church and the teacher was real quick to point out that this is NOT predestination. And as I was looking at those verses, saying, "How can it NOT be?" Before the LORD formed him, He knew him and sanctified him. THAT’S salvation! Jeremiah was saved in the womb, as the apostle Paul was, as we read in Galatians 1:15 ["But when it pleased God, who separated me from my mother's womb, and called me by his grace,"], where God set Paul apart in his mother’s womb, yet Paul did not become saved for quite a number of years.

Now, I remember this teacher taking us to Romans 8, verses 29 and 30. Let’s look at Romans 8:29, 30. And let’s see what God says about predestination. I know we’ve read these verses many times, but it’s always good for us to read these verses again. It’s something that we need to do to continue to ingest the Word. You know, we eat three times a day, or if you’re on a diet, you eat six times a day, or whatever. But it’s always good to continue to eat the food that God gives us –the spiritual food [so] we’re able to continue to grow. If you don’t feed a baby enough, that little baby is never going to grow so you’re going to have somebody who’s 45-years-old, and they’re going to be one foot, two. So let’s take a look at Romans 8:29,30, the Bible says: "For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren. Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified."

We are to be formed like Christ. We already have the mind of Christ. And therefore, we are to be predestinated to be conformed. But before we can be conformed to the image of Christ, we have to be saved. So to be predestined --to be conformed to the image of Christ-- means you have to be saved. And you cannot separate predestination from salvation. In Ephesians 1:5, it says: "Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children…" Isn’t that interesting? --Adoption of children. And how many times the LORD says in His Word that you must be as a little child. And you know, of course, that’s misread too, that little children are somehow under this mythical "age of accountability" that they are saved because they’re children. Well, that’s not true because every human being –no matter what age—is accountable before God. Even believers were accountable to God, but their salvation was procured in Christ. So therefore, the believer does not have to give an account for their sins, because they are all taken care of by the Lord Jesus Christ. So we see a progression in this verse too: "Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he called…" And those whom he’s called --in other words, those whom he’s called unto salvation— then he also justified… declared totally NOT guilty. We don’t have to stand before the bar of God’s justice at all because the Lord Jesus Christ paid for that. Paid for our sins. He stood before the bar of God’s justice. He stood before the judgment seat of God, and He took our sins on him. And it says: "…and whom he justified, them he also glorified." And we are going to see the glorification in heaven someday. We are going to see the full glory of salvation. Right now, our bodies are not that glorious, because our bodies hurt, they’re in pain, they’re filled with disease or they hurt, or whatever. And we don’t see that glory. But the glory of salvation right now on this earth is in our spirit…that we know that we have been resurrected unto new life. And it’s one of the most beautiful things that God reveals to us in the Scriptures that as He says, the outer man perisheth, but the inner man is being renewed DAILY. That’s a beautiful passage of Scripture.

Turn with me to Psalm 87. And this passage was always a great mystery to me. But as you study predestination, and if you study the word of God closely when dealing with salvation, then these verses open up. In Psalm 87… let’s see, okay, let’s look at the whole Psalm, it’s only seven verses. In verse 1: "His foundation is in the holy mountains." There’s a key. The word "mountains," this is telling us that this is the Kingdom of God. [verse 2] "The LORD loveth the gates of Zion more than all the dwellings of Jacob." Zion, an Old Testament term for the body of believers. [verse 3] "Glorious things are spoken of thee, O city of God." That’s one of my favorite hymns. ‘Glorious things of thee are spoken.’ One of those noble hymns. And in verse 4, He says: "I will make mention of Rahab and Babylon to them that know me: behold Philistia, and Tyre, with Ethiopia; this man was born there." What did He mean, ‘this man was born there’? Listen to this, let’s go on [verse 5]: "And of Zion it shall be said, This and that man was born in her: and the highest himself shall establish her." Now, WHO has established the church? Was it me? Was it a bunch of ecclesiastical people in a certain place? Absolutely not. The Highest Himself, the LORD High God, shall establish her. And then He goes on in verse 6: "The LORD shall count, when he writeth up the people…" When He writeth up the people… now isn’t this interesting? The Lamb’s book. We saw last week in Revelation 13:8 and 17:8, that the Lamb’s book of life was filled out BEFORE the foundation of the world. And it says here: "The LORD shall count, when he writeth up the people…" That means, when He predestinated us… Look at Psalm 87, verse 6: "…that this man was born there…" --because of predestination. Because of predestination, God sees us as being born in Zion. You see that? Do you see what a beautiful Truth that is? That "And of Zion it shall be said, This and that man was born in her…" You see, even though for a time, we were in the world, and we were walking according to the things of the world. God looks and says, wait a minute, God himself established the church and He said this one was born there, and when the Lord wrote up, WHO was to be saved in the Lamb’s book of life…THIS man was born there. And if you’re a child of God, He says YOU were born in Zion, YOU were born in Zion, YOU were born in Zion. Isn’t that a wonderful Truth? "…As well the singers as the players on instruments shall be there: all my springs are in thee." He’s even going to have singers there. And players on instruments shall be there. And the true church of the living God [shall be there]. That means, there’s JOY in the True church. There’s JOY in salvation. And let NO one ever take your joy away. Your JOY is one of the greatest benefits of salvation that you you’ll ever have! And it’s a great gift that God gives us! Even when times get tough, when times get rough, God gives us that joy. And it seems even when you’ve walked away from God or times seem when you’re dry or you pray, and your prayer seem to hit the ceiling and it just bounces right back, God says: "this man was born there." He’s mine. She’s mine. They’re my children. They were born in Zion. I predestinated them, I wrote them, I chose them, I adopted them NEVER for them to roam again!

Let’s go back to Ephesians Chapter 1, verse 5. He says this: "Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will," The word "good pleasure" here means "good will" or "favor." And we can see that in the good pleasure or good favor of his will, that the term "favor" is definitely associated with grace --unmerited favor. And we see that it’s according to the good pleasure or the goodness of His will. You see, God’s will or favor, it is GOD delighting in revealing the hidden things of Scripture. Now, we are able to see some of the hidden things of Scripture through the power of the Holy Spirit. Why? Alright, let’s take a look at Isaiah Chapter 62, verses 4 and 5. This is two of my FAVORITE passages in Scripture. Two of my all-time favorite passages because when I first became a believer, Family Radio used to play a song which was done by the Gaithers, and it was called "Beulah Land," It started with "is not this the land of Beulah." And God delights in revealing the hidden things of Scripture as we study the Scriptures, because look at what He says about us in Isaiah Chapter 62, verses 4 and 5. He says this: "Thou shalt no more be termed Forsaken; neither shall thy land any more be termed Desolate:" No more, no more are there going to be desolation. No more is there going to be dryness in the believer’s life. You know why? The Bible is your fountain. The Bible’s the fountain, the living waters that came from the Lord Jesus Christ. The living waters. You know when you feel dry, you go to the Scriptures and when you read like Isaiah 61, 62, 63, 64, you get rejuvenated, because the Spirit of God rejuvenates you when He works through His Word. Okay, in Isaiah 62, verse 4, He says: "…neither shall thy land any more be termed Desolate: but thou shalt be called Hephzibah, and thy land Beulah: for the LORD delighteth in thee, and thy land shall be married." Married. Now, Hephzibah means "my delight is in her." The LORD’s delight is in His church. The LORD’s delight is in the ones He’s predestinated, the ones who were BORN in Zion, the one whom He says THIS man was born here, THIS man, and THAT man was born in her… Zion in God’s Holy mountain, in His Kingdom, in His family. He says here my delight is in her "…and thy land shall be married." We are married to the Lord Jesus Christ. We are His bride. Verse 5: "For as a young man marrieth a virgin, so shall thy sons marry thee: and as the bridegroom rejoiceth over the bride, so shall thy God rejoice over thee." Oh, poor, poor Christian who walks around with their face so long they could scrape the sidewalk! You know, some Christians faces are so long, they could shovel snow in winter without a shovel. TERRIBLE, TERRIBLE! --God EVEN REJOICES over salvation. God even rejoices!

You know, I’m going to throw this in as a freebie. When the Lord Jesus Christ went to the Cross… Turn with me to Hebrews Chapter 12. This wasn’t part of the Study, but you know, you always let the LORD lead. If you ever Study the Bible, or if you ever going to teach a Sunday School class, if you ever go outside your lesson, don’t worry about. The Holy Spirit is LEADING, you know. We can’t be afraid of that term "leading," because He leads even us who believe in the Doctrines of Grace. In Hebrews Chapter 12, verse 2. It reads: "Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith;" Of course, the word "our" is not in the original. You look at that, you see that it’s in the italics. So it would be: "…the author and finisher of faith." "…who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God." And that word "despising" –He despised the shame-- it didn’t mean that He hated it or He couldn’t stand. That word means He set aside… The shame didn’t PHASE Him of what happened there, because He looked beyond the shame of the Cross. He looked beyond it. And what did He see? That glorious Church without spot or wrinkle. We saw last week in Revelation 14:4-5 how the child of God is completely faultless before the throne. Completely! And this is one of the most beautiful passages in Scripture, because if we are faultless before the throne, then we have NOTHING to worry about, because ALL our sins have been paid for. This is why God says ‘my delight is in her because we’re married,’ because there’s nothing more intimate than the marriage relationship. And marriage with God is an intimate relationship. This is why God chastises us when we sin. Not because He’s waiting to throw a lightning bolt at us, it is because He knows that sinning causes adultery in the marriage between us and Him. Even though when we are not faithful as Timothy says, HE is still faithful. God knows that sin can RUIN a relationship with Him. So you see, Hephzibah –my delight is in her-- and Beulah --because we’re married. Beautiful, beautiful words! And I think it’s something we have take as part of our salvation and not just put under a rug. It’s something that needs to be proclaimed! A lot of believers are walking around in sorrow and sadness, like they’re the ones going to Hell, and there’s no need to be. I am one who personally refuses to walk around with a long face. The only time I have a long face is when I have a sinus headache. And that’s ONLY until my Tylenol Sinus kicks in. That’s the only time.

Okay, let’s head back to Ephesians now. Alright, Ephesians Chapter 1, verse 6: "To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved." Now, let’s take a look at these words. And first of all, the word here for "praise," when translated in the Greek, means "recognition" or "commendation." So we see that, it’s to the recognition of the glory of His grace. Now, let’s ask the question: "What is the glory of His grace?" Because something that has glory is something that shines or makes it visible, or makes it stick out like a sore thumb (for want of a better word). I want to give you five things –and there’s many more— sort of five tenets of what the glory of God’s grace is.

Now, let’s go back to Ephesians Chapter 1, verse 6 and take a look the next part of that verse, where he says: " To the praise of the glory of his grace…" --HIS grace, NOT my free will, HIS grace-- "…wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved." Okay, now the term here: "…he hath made us accepted" –HE made us accepted. WE did NOT make us accepted. HE made us accepted. Now turn with me to Job Chapter 42, verse 9. Of course, it’s one the best books to ever read whenever you’re going through tough times. In Job Chapter 42, verse 9… In Job 42:9, the Bible says: "So Eliphaz the Temanite and Bildad the Shuhite and Zophar the Naamathite went, and did according as the LORD commanded them: the LORD also accepted Job." You see, here’s a verse that says that the LORD accepted Job. Job didn’t accept the LORD. The LORD accepted him. And it really means that He made us objects of grace. You see, God’s grace was pointed towards the believer. He made us accepted in the beloved. Now, when He made us objects of grace… "accepted" –this term is in the aorist active indicative. Aorist means that it’s a past work that continues to this day, but there’s no hint of when it’s going to end. Active means an actual action took place. And indicative means God was the one who did it. We were PASSIVE in it. He made us accepted. Even the terms in the Greek says how God has made us accepted in the beloved. Now, when we talk about the beloved, we have to ask the question: "Made us accepted in what beloved?--What am I talking about?" Well, let’s take a look at Matthew Chapter 12, verses 18 to 21. And we discover again comparing Scripture with Scripture, that we can see that the beloved is the Lord Jesus Christ Himself. And of course this is a quote from Isaiah. And it says… it starts in verse 17: "That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Esaias the prophet, saying, Behold my servant, whom I have chosen; my beloved, in whom my soul is well pleased: I will put my spirit upon him, and he shall shew judgment to the Gentiles. He shall not strive, nor cry; neither shall any man hear his voice in the streets. A bruised reed shall he not break, and smoking flax shall he not quench, till he send forth judgment unto victory. And in his name shall the Gentiles trust." And so we see here that the beloved is the Lord Jesus Christ Himself. So to the praise of His glory, He made us accepted in the beloved in the Lord Jesus Christ. And that’s one of Paul’s favorite sayings throughout the entire Scriptures. And that’s in Christ. And if you ever notice that term "in Christ" –or "in Him"—is used throughout many of his epistles, because he’s driving home the point a hundred times over that we have to be IN Christ, NOT in church, NOT in synagogue, NOT in some religion. We have to be IN Christ. And tomorrow morning, millions of people are going to be go to a building thinking they’re pleasing God when in essence, they are building up the wrath of God against them because they are trying to appease and please God by works.

Okay, let us go on to Ephesians Chapter, verse 7. And this is another tremendous verse. Let’s take a look at this verse: "In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace;" In verse 6, we saw the glory of His grace. Now we see the riches of His grace, because now God is dealing with the issue of sin. So the riches of His grace always out does the riches of sin. You see, the parallel verse is Colossians Chapter 1, verse 14, where the Bible says: "In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins:" If you have a Modern Bible version, they left out –or they deleted—"through his blood." And I don’t know why they did it, but in a way, they did it just so they can attack the Lord Jesus Christ, basically that’s why they did it. They got to make money, so they have to… well, I don’t want to get into the subject of new versions. Okay, first of all, it says: "In whom we have redemption through his blood…" Now, only through Christ can one become saved. These four words completely repudiate ANY idea of salvation outside of Christ. "Redemption through his blood." You CANNOT have salvation outside of Christ. You CANNOT get around the Cross and get to Heaven. You CANNOT go above the Cross, under the Cross, and get to Heaven. You MUST come THROUGH the Cross of Christ for salvation.

Now, the term here, "the forgiveness of sins" actually means "the remission of our offenses." And that’s removed ONLY by the blood of Christ, as we see here in this particular verse: "…through his blood." Now, the word "remission" --or "forgiveness of sins, remission of our offenses"-- is a word "aphesis." And it’s an important word in the New Testament, because it speaks of deliverance or the release from sin’s eternal penalty. You see, the "forgiveness of sins:" That means, you were released from any eternal penalty of sins --of committing sins— because the Lord completely took away those sins… 100 percent. It actually means "remission of our offenses." The word "offenses" or the word "sins" here is the word "paraptoma." It denotes a falling besides something where we should have stood firm. But you see, we can’t stand in the Lord, if we’re not in the Lord. You see, so… He’s saying that we’re outside the Lord, we’re falling. We have fallen. We’re fallen people. We’re a fallen race.

Now, let’s take a look at Isaiah Chapter 43, verse 25. And you’ll notice that some of these verses are in the Old Testament. You know, the Bible is one cohesive whole. There’s no such thing as the Jews having one salvation plan and we have another salvation plan. Delete that thought. Okay, in Isaiah 43:25: "I, even I, am he that blotteth out thy transgressions for mine own sake, and will not remember thy sins." Well, why do we want God to remember our sins? I do not understand why we expect God to remember our sins. He says ‘I will not remember your sins.’ Let’s ask another question… You know, they talk about rewards. Every work we do is sin tainted. Why would we want God to judge our sin tainted works and expect Him to hand us a $20 dollar gold piece for every good work? I never understood that. Turn with me Hebrews Chapter 8, verse 12. Another excellent verse. He says: "For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more." Will I remember NO more. Now, He says He’s going to blot them out, He says He says He’s NOT going to remember those sins anymore. That means once your sins have been paid for, you stand before God totally clean without guile… not even so much as craftiness found in your mouth, as Revelations 14:4,5 speaks of. Turn with me to Hebrews Chapter 10, verse 16 and 17: "This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, saith the Lord,…" --By the way, when you come to that word, "saith" – it’s [pronounced] "seth" NOT "sayeth." You see, a lot of people pronounce it "sayeth" because it sounds so religious: "Thus ‘sayeth’ the LORD!" --That’s "Thus ‘seth’ the LORD" Okay, just a little bit of English there.

And He says: "…after those days, saith the Lord, I will put my laws into their hearts, and in their minds will I write them; And their sins and iniquities will I remember no more." Will I remember NO more. This is why when we get to Heaven. I believe it’s in Isaiah 65. We’re going to have NO remembrance of this world. Well, He says in Isaiah 65:17, He’s removed them. He’s REMOVED them. [" For, behold, I create new heavens and a new earth: and the former shall not be remembered, nor come into mind."]. Turn back to Romans Chapter 8, verse 33. Very popular verse that we need to look at. And because God has completely forgiven us, He asks this question in Romans 8:33: "Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God's elect? It is God that justifieth." Not even Satan could lay a charge against Job. And I’m talking about one that sticks. Satan made accusations. But what unbeliever in this world can make a charge against you being God’s elect, Because when they say that, God says, ‘What sin? My Son took care of that sin. I don’t remember any sin. I don’t know what sin. That sin was forgiven, it was removed, it was taken away.’ Now, this is the riches of His grace, the wealth or the abundance of the grace of God, which can never be depleted.

Turn with me to Lamentations, Chapter 3, verses 22 and 23. And of course, we sing this beautiful hymn and sometimes we don’t look at the real importance of these words. In Lamentations Chapter 3, verses 22 and 23, we read this: "It is of the LORD'S mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not." You see the LORD’s mercies, because [of] the LORD’s salvation, we are not consumed. And then He says: "They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness." So, when there comes a time when we look at this, the riches of His grace, we see that [it is of] the LORD’s mercies, that we are not consumed. You see, the richness of God’s mercies and the richness of God’s grace outweigh sins and iniquities and misdeeds and everything --completely outweighs that… because the grace of God is higher than the sin of Satan. It’s a wonderful, wonderful Truth!

And I think we’re going to end up here now, and we’ll pick up with Ephesians Chapter 1, verse 8 next week: "Wherein he hath abounded toward us in all wisdom and prudence;" And I think we can see now why glorious things of thee are spoken, because He’s taken the covenant… it’s almost like a covenant of amnesia… because He’s totally forgotten our sins, and He says, ‘I will remember them no more.’ He’s not going to bring it up. Remember what you did on that day? You know, we have a wrong interpretation of God, if we ever think He’s going to do that to us. He has forgiven us, totally, and He has totally forgotten those iniquities. And God works with us as saints, He works with us as REDEEMED saints, NOT as sinners in need of salvation. He works with us through the power He’s placed in us, and that power is the Holy Spirit. And through us, we send forth the Gospel, we minister to people, we disciple people; and as a result, we bring forth the next generation of believers.

Back