Ephesians - From Bankruptcy to Riches

.Now let’s pray together as we open the word of God. Father, our hearts today do cry out, Hallelujah, Amen, praise the Lord. As we consider Ephesians 1, Father, teach us from it, give us joy, give us much blessing for our own hearts. Help us to be easier to live with, easier to work with, and I pray that we will show forth the love of the Lord Jesus. We pray in His name and for His sake. Amen.

Imagine if you will that you are in prison. In fact, you are on death row. You are a prisoner in bondage. You are guilty. They have the record, and the sentence has already been passed except that the execution has not yet taken place. As you look back at your life, you see how foolish you have been to get into such a situation. You’ve made wrong decisions, wrong values. But down in your heart, there is hostility. You hate the policeman who arrested you, and you hate the prosecutor who convicted you, and you hate the judge who sentenced you, and you just hate everybody. There you are, a prisoner, guilty, foolish, hostile, bankrupt—bankrupt, even if you did have any money, it wouldn't do you much good, there’s nothing that will buy your way out, you’re bankrupt. And in your better moments, you’re filled with shame. You’re just ashamed of yourself for the way you’ve acted.

You say, well, I’m glad I’m not in that situation. Well, I’m glad you aren’t too, but you know, that’s the situation of every lost sinner. Every lost sinner, everyone who’s never trusted Jesus Christ as Savior is like a prisoner in death row. A prisoner, bondage, the bondage of sin. Guilty, convicted by God’s law. Foolish and ignorant, having done so many stupid things. Hostile, enemies of God. Bankrupt, unable to pay. Full of shame and disgrace. That’s what sin does to us. 

Now, what can change all of that? Jesus Christ. If you want to change the picture, turn to Ephesians 1 and read Ephesians 1:7-12 to find out what the Lord Jesus Christ has done for those who have trusted Him. Paul is singing a hymn of praise. "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ." And then he lists the blessings of God the Father in Ephesians 1:3, Ephesians 1:4, Ephesians 1:5, and Ephesians 1:6. God the Father has blessed us with every spiritual blessing. He has chosen us. He has adopted us. To the praise of His glory, He has accepted us. 

Now in Ephesians 1:7, Paul focuses on the blessings of God the Son. You see, he is singing a hymn of praise to the Trinity, to God the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit, all of whom are involved in your salvation. What are the blessings of God the Son? Well, just the blessings that we need. You see, we are prisoners, and He brought us redemption. "In Him we have redemption through His blood." We need forgiveness because we are guilty and the record is dirty. "The forgiveness of sins according to the riches of His grace." We have been foolish, and we need wisdom. "Which He made to abound toward us in all wisdom and prudence, having made known to us the mystery of His will, according to His good pleasure which He purposed in Himself." We need reconciliation with God. We are hostile toward God. "That in the dispensation of the fullness of the times He might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven and which are on earth—in Him." 

Isn't that marvelous? We have in Him redemption, forgiveness, wisdom, reconciliation. Oh, but it goes on. Remember our prisoner is bankrupt. Ephesians 1:11, "In Him also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestined according to the purpose of Him who works all things according to the counsel of His will." And what about our shame and disgrace? "That we who first trusted in Christ should be to the praise of His glory." Oh, here are six marvelous blessings from the Lord Jesus Christ, and they are exactly what we need. We are prisoners; He brings redemption. We are guilty; He brings forgiveness. We’ve been foolish; He brings us wisdom. We are hostile; He brings reconciliation. We’re bankrupt; He gives us an inheritance. We’re filled with shame and disgrace, and He makes us partakers of God’s eternal glory. No wonder the Apostle Paul was praising God and singing this hymn of adoration.

Let’s touch upon these blessings now. First of all, redemption. "In Him we have redemption through His blood." This is the bondage of sin. Now in the Bible, this word "redeem," at least in the New Testament, this word "redeem" has three different shades of meaning. It means to buy out of the slave market. Now that’s what you find in 1 Corinthians 6:20, "For you were bought at a price; you're not your own." You were bought at a price, bought out of the slave market. But you know, you could buy a slave and then sell that slave again, or you could buy that slave and put the slave into worse slavery. And so in 1 Peter 1:18, we have another aspect of redemption: "Knowing that you were not redeemed with corruptible things, like silver or gold, from your aimless conduct received by tradition from your fathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot." Now that word "redeem" means to buy and set free. Isn't that beautiful? Here’s a person who goes down to the slave market, purchases a slave to set the slave free. That’s what Jesus did. And don’t forget that the price that He paid was His own blood. It was not money; it was His own blood.

There’s a third aspect to this word "redeem" in the New Testament. It means not only to buy in the slave market, to buy and set free, but to buy for oneself. Why did Jesus purchase us? For Himself. But that’s not slavery; that is our freedom. If the Son shall make you free, you shall be free indeed. You see, when we lived for ourselves, we were in bondage. Now that we belong to Jesus Christ and live for Him, we have true freedom. Galatians 3:13 talks about this: "Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us (for it is written, 'Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree')." Now that word "redeem" means to purchase for oneself. That’s a beautiful thing. Why did Jesus purchase me? He wanted me. What was there about me that He wanted? Nothing in me; ah, it was His great love. In Him we have redemption through His blood. The person who redeems us: the Lord Jesus Christ. The purpose for which He redeems us: to set us free for Himself. The price that He paid: His own precious blood.

We’ve been redeemed from the law, we’ve been redeemed from the curse of the law, we’ve been redeemed from this present evil world. He has set us free. It’s the freedom of the love of the Lord Jesus Christ at work in our hearts. Redemption. 

But he goes on to say, "the forgiveness of sins according to the riches of His grace." Our prisoner is set free from the prison, ah, but what about the record back there in the prison office? There’s that awful record of everything he’s ever done. Oh, says the Lord Jesus Christ, the same blood that purchased you will cleanse you. We are cleansed by the blood of Jesus Christ. We have forgiveness. Guilt is a terrible burden. Oh, there are people who can’t work well in the daytime, they can’t sleep well at night because of guilt. There’s something on the record they hope nobody ever sees. Ah, but God sees it, and God says I will forgive you, "the forgiveness of sins according to the riches of His grace." Throughout Ephesians, you’re going to find an emphasis on God’s riches. Our poverty is pretty obvious; His riches are found in the Lord Jesus Christ.

This word "forgive" means to send away. The forgiveness of sins, the sending away of sins, the remitting of sins. It reminds us of the ceremony on the annual Day of Atonement in the nation of Israel. Beautiful ceremony. They had two goats there in front of the tabernacle. And the high priest would confess the sins of the people over the one goat, and that goat would be taken out into the wilderness and never seen again. It’s an object lesson. The other goat was killed and the blood was sprinkled in at the mercy seat. What is it that washes away our sin? What can wash away our sin? Nothing but the blood of Jesus. What can make us pure within? Nothing but the blood of Jesus. And as that goat was taken out into the wilderness and turned loose, never to be seen again, God says that’s what I’m going to do with your sins. As far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us. Oh, we get thrilled as we study these scriptures. We have redemption; we are no longer prisoners. We have forgiveness; the guilt is gone, the record is clean. And God accepts us in His beloved one, according to Ephesians 1:6.

All right, our man has been set free from prison and the guilty record has been destroyed and will never be held against him again, but he is so foolish. Is he going to get back into trouble again? Ephesians 1:8, "Which He made to abound toward us in all wisdom and prudence, having made known to us the mystery of His will." God gives to us wisdom. Now Paul is talking here about God’s eternal plan to save sinners. The word "mystery" does not mean something eerie and strange in the New Testament; a mystery was something hidden in the Old Testament but now revealed in the New Testament. A part of God’s great plan that had not yet been seen by His people. Someone has defined a mystery as a sacred secret—one of God’s secrets. 

Now the mystery of His will is that in the dispensation of the fullness of the times, He’s going to gather together everything in Christ. That’s one of the major themes of Ephesians. God is putting things together. He’s reconciling lost sinners to God. He’s reconciling Jews and Gentiles in the church. He’s reconciling husbands and wives and parents and children. Throughout Ephesians, God is putting things together. Now that encourages me. There are days when I get discouraged and God says, well, remember I’m at work, I’m doing all things after the counsel of My will. Ephesians 1:11, "the purpose of Him who works all things according to the counsel of His will." And so here is our prisoner, and he steps out and God gives to him the wisdom that he needs to live his daily life. 

Let’s connect Ephesians 1:7 and Ephesians 1:8. "The forgiveness of sins according to the riches of His grace, which He made to abound toward us." God’s grace is lavished upon us in all wisdom and prudence. That word prudence means understanding. You know, the dumbest people in the world are people who try to live outside the will of God. Christians who try to live outside the will of God do the dumbest things. They spend money in the dumbest ways. They make plans that are so ridiculous. And yet when you follow the wisdom and understanding given to us in the word of God through Jesus Christ, oh, how God guides your life. No wonder Paul is praising the Lord. The Lord Jesus Christ gives to us redemption, forgiveness, wisdom, and fourth, reconciliation. Ephesians 1:10, "That in the dispensation of the fullness of the times, He might gather together in one all things in Christ." That word "gather together in one" has the idea of summing something up, like adding up a column of figures and getting a total. 

Now I look around and things don’t add up—at least not according to my adding. But they add up as far as God is concerned. God knows what the total is already. The dispensation, the administration, the stewardship of the fullness of the times. Who is in charge of time? God is. And God is little by little working out His plan in this world. There are so many things that disturb us—there are assassinations and plane crashes and earthquakes, there are so many things that are immoral and unjust that are going on and we cry out, "How long, O Lord, how long?" God says, "Just calm down now, do your job, because the times are being put together and one of these days, I’m going to gather together all things in Christ." The lost sinner is no longer hostile toward God; he’s a part of God’s gathering process. You see, every single one of us is either gathering or scattering; Jesus said that. If you’re not gathering with me, you’re scattering. If you’re not pulling things together, you’re tearing them apart. Are you tearing your home apart because of sin? Then be reconciled to God and let God put your life together, then He can put your home together and your job and your future. I’m glad that God is in control of the stewardship of the times. He doesn’t need my counsel to tell him how to run things. Our times are in His hands. 

Well, we must move on. Ephesians 1:11, here is our prisoner now. He’s out of prison, the guilty record has been destroyed, he’s got the wisdom to know how to live for the Lord, he’s been reconciled to God and the hostility is gone; instead of tearing things apart now, he’s helping God put things together, but he’s broke, he’s bankrupt. And so God says, all right, "in whom also we have obtained an inheritance." We are a part of His inheritance, and His inheritance belongs to us. We are heirs of God and joint heirs with Jesus Christ. By the way, do I have to remind you that the most costly thing in the world is sin? Most expensive thing in the world is sin. I was glancing through a magazine the other day and here was an advertisement for some jewelry, and I looked at the prices and I could not believe it. I thought, that’s awfully expensive. But the most expensive thing in the world is not jewelry, even the crown jewels in the Tower of London. The most expensive thing in the world is sin. Oh, how costly it is. And the word of God tells us that we have an inheritance. We are His inheritance and we share His inheritance. He is working all things according to the counsel of His will. He has predestined that one day we shall be in heaven. 

Now Ephesians 1:11 ties down to Ephesians 1:5, "having predestined us to the adoption as sons." Talking about that adoption when we see the Lord Jesus Christ and we get new bodies and we enter into our heavenly home. Predestination in the New Testament does not apply to unsaved people. Predestination is God’s predetermined program for His own children. He wants us in heaven, and we’re going to be there because God has determined that. Well, Ephesians 1:11 says that I have all of God’s riches. I’m a part of His inheritance, and every time I pray and claim His promises, I’m writing a check on the bank of faith. The riches of His grace. "The riches of His glory," Ephesians 1:18. "The riches of His mercy," Ephesians 2:4. "Unsearchable riches" in Jesus Christ, Ephesians 3:8. Oh, how rich we are. 

Well, here is our prisoner. He’s free, he has redemption. The record has been destroyed, he has forgiveness. He has wisdom now to know how to run his life. The hostility is gone and he’s reconciled to God and he is having a ministry of reconciliation. He has all that he needs spiritually. He’s been blessed with every spiritual blessing. There’s only one more thing left—that disgrace and shame of sin. Ephesians 1:12, "that we who first trusted in Christ should be to the praise of His glory." Now he said that in Ephesians 1:6, he’s going to say it again in Ephesians 1:14. Why does God save us? To the praise of His glory. Not to make us happy; that’s a byproduct. Not to solve our problems; that’s a byproduct. The main reason for your salvation is that you might be moved from the shamefulness of sin into the glory of God to glorify Him. Jesus Christ has done all of this for us. We don’t deserve it. Oh, how we ought to lift our hearts in praise and adoration for such a wonderful Savior and such a wonderful salvation.