Sermon by Pastor Brent Kompelien

June 19, 2022

INTRO (SLIDE 1)

1. We are continuing our series called “Paul’s Prayers” where we are looking at a different prayer of the Apostle Paul each week to learn about the character of God and what gospel-centered prayer looks like.

2. Today we are turning to the letter to the Ephesians, and we will be spending three weeks in this letter from Paul to the church in ancient Ephesus. This is one of the most beautiful and rich pieces of writing in all of the Bible.

   1. In this letter, Paul describes how God revealed his grand plan for history through Jesus Christ as the culmination of his salvation work. Paul calls this the “mystery of the gospel,” the unfolding of God’s perfect plan through Jesus, and his formation of a new people of God who declare his glory.

3. ILLUST — You may know this already about me, but I am a planner. I love to make a plan, write a list of tasks, and then check off those boxes when I get things done. It is so satisfying to check those boxes!

   1. One of my favorite hobbies is woodworking. I haven’t done as much recently, but I have really enjoyed learning carpentry skills throughout the years.

   2. The end product of woodworking is nice and all, but I think I like woodworking because of the process. I love drawing up the plans, making detailed preparations and measurements, and making sure my tools are tuned up and ready for the job.

   3. Sometimes I have to learn the hard way. I once made a chess board with walnut and maple so it would have alternating colors. The smart way to make a chess board is to rip strips of wood, edge glue them, and then cross-cut them and flip alternating sections to make the squares.

   4. Well, I didn’t think of that, so I cut each piece individually on my table saw! That is 64 two-inch squares of wood that I cut one-by-one, and they had to be perfect because one tiny mistake would be multiplied over the chess board and everything will get out of whack!

   5. You know what: I did it! I made the chess board the hard way! But I’ll never do it again!

   6. IMPORTANT: You see, the key to woodworking is not just the planning and measuring, but the executing! You have to be able to execute your plans with the skill and precision required, or the plans are worthless!

4. The same goes for God’s plans for history. Not only does God have the perfect wisdom to make a perfect plan and design for his creation, but he has the perfect power and perfect sovereignty to execute his perfect plan!

   1. He has drawn up his plan for history, he has measured the scope of time, he has precisely marked out the path toward his redemptive purposes.

   2. And God has the ability to fully carry out his plan!

5. So friends, when the Apostle Paul pondered the reality of God’s sovereignty, when he reflected on the revelation of the mystery of God’s plan for history, and when he described how God’s plan was carried out with perfect power and wisdom through Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection, it caused him to do one thing: praise.

6. The opening of Paul’s letter to the church is Ephesus is a prayer of praise. The word “praise” is repeated 4 times, sown throughout this prayer.

   1. When was the last time you prayed a whole prayer of just praise? Often, we can be quick to bring our requests, complaints, or struggles before the Lord, which he wants us to do! But we need to be careful that we don’t treat God like a vending machine, sticking a prayer in the slot so that we will get an answer out the bottom.

   2. Remember, one of the goals of our series is to learn about Paul’s priorities in prayer. We need to learn how to pray prayers of praise.

PROP — We are going to learn a simple lesson this morning. God is worthy of praise because the gospel is all about him. It is about God’s initiative, God’s grace, God’s power, and God’s promise fulfilled in Jesus.

Let’s read, and you’ll see what I mean. Be sure to look for the word “praise” which is repeated throughout. READ Ephesians 1:3-14.

ORG SENT — Here’s how we are going to tackle this passage. A gospel-centered prayer of praise focuses on three central truths about salvation: God planned it, God achieved it, and God guarantees it. Each one of these highlights one of the persons of the Trinity, and so we are going to see how Paul shapes his praise around the work of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

MAIN 1 — God planned salvation. (SLIDE 2a)

1. The most important word to focus on here is the word “will”. (SLIDE 2b) It occurs three times, and it is worth focusing on each one of these for a moment, because it will reveal something incredibly important about our understanding of God.

   1. Verses 4-5 (SLIDE 2c) — God chose you in accordance with his will. READ vv. 4-5.

      1. Key feature: God has an eternal plan. The text explains the timeline: “before the creation of the world.” He had a plan to bring you to salvation from eternity. That blows my mind!

   2. Verse 9 (SLIDE 2d) — God made known the mystery of his will. READ v. 9.

      1. Key feature: He revealed his plan because he wanted to. The text says, “by his good pleasure.” It is a gift that we know his will and his plan.

   3. Verse 11 (SLIDE 2e) — God works out everything in conformity to his will. READ v. 11.

      1. Key feature: Everything works towards God’s ends. The text says, “in conformity with the purpose of his will.” There is nothing outside of God’s control.

   4. IMPORTANT: The launching point for Paul’s praise is God’s sovereignty. (SLIDE 2f) He is in control of history, he is in control of circumstances, he is sovereign over your life, and he is sovereign over everything! This drives Paul to praise: READ v. 6.

      1. Friends, what is so incredible about the gospel is that God is the initiator, He has a plan, and he has carried out his plan freely as a gift, a gift given through Jesus.

      2. You see, Paul builds on the reality by not only praising God for planning the gospel, but also achieving the gospel.

MAIN 2 — God achieved salvation. (SLIDE 3a)

1. You all know I’m a grammar nerd. So is the Apostle Paul! One of his favorite phrases is the phrase, “In Christ,” (SLIDE 3b) or variations of it like “in him,” or “through Jesus,” or “with Christ.”

   1. Each one of these prepositions sheds light on where our salvation lies, in whom we can truly trust, and by whose power we are forgiven and made new creations.

   2. Just look at a few example from this passage: (SLIDE 3c…list)

      1. Verse 1 — We have every spiritual blessing in Christ.

      2. Verse 4 — God chose us in him before the creation of the world.

      3. Verse 5 — We have adoption to sonship through Jesus Christ.

      4. Verse 7 — In him we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.

      5. Verse 9 — God made known the mystery of his will, which he purposed in Christ.

      6. Verse 10 — All things will come into unity under Christ.

      7. Verse 11 — In him we were chosen.

      8. Verse 12 — We put our hope in Christ.

      9. Verse 13a — You were included in Christ when you heard the message of truth.

      10. Verse 13b — When you believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit.

      11. KEY — Jesus is the center, the pivot-point, the instrument, the location, the source of life, the source of power, and the person by which the work of redemption is dependent and is achieved!

   3. One of those verses we just read reality crystallizes this. In verse 10 Paul says that God has made known the mystery of his will, “purposed in Christ, to be put into effect when the times reach their fulfillment — to bring unity to all things in heaven and on earth under Christ.” The language here is of the end times. It is talking about the scope of history, and the perfect timing of God. In other words, when God decides that it is the right time, he will bring history as we know it to a close, and it all pivots on Jesus.

      1. This word “unity” is important (bolded). It could be translated “sum up”.

      2. ILLUST — In Greek or Roman culture, this word was used when a public speaker “summed up” his arguments at the end of a speech. It has this idea of making a cohesive whole out of various parts and pieces. So when Jesus comes back to earth, God will “sum up” all things in heaven and earth under Christ. All things will be submitted to him. He will be Lord.

      3. How do we know this will be true? God has guaranteed it through the deposit of the Holy Spirit. Let’s look at the last part of the text that highlights the role of the Holy Spirit in the gospel.

MAIN 3 — God guarantees salvation. (SLIDE 4a)

1. Let me read verses 13-14 again, just to clarify exactly what Paul is saying about the Holy Spirit. READ vv. 13-14.

2. There are two metaphors here that describe the role of the Holy Spirit: (SLIDE 4b) seal and deposit.

   1. Seal:

      1. ILLUST — The idea of “sealing” in the ancient world actually refers to marking a scroll. If you wanted to make sure a scroll was only opened by a designated recipient, you would seal it with wax and mark it clearly for the person you wanted to open it. We do the same thing today with letters — we write the recipient’s name and address on the envelope, and it is actually a crime to open someone else’s mail.

      2. Well, this word “seal” or “mark” in the New Testament has the idea of identifying ownership, (SLIDE 4c) but it also carries with it the idea of protection. ILLUST — Its kinda like writing your name on your food in the fridge. You are identifying that it belongs to you with the goal of protecting it from others. You are broadcasting to everyone else that if they mess with this food, they will have to answer to you.

      3. This is exactly what happens with the Holy Spirit. God has marked us by giving us the Holy Spirit to indwell us. We are identified as belonging to him, and he is protecting us and making clear that anyone who messes with us will have to answer to him.

   2. Deposit:

      1. This word could also be “downpayment”. (SLIDE 4d) It is a commercial word, or an economic word. In the ancient world, similar to today, someone could put some money down or offer some collateral in order to reserve an item. They could then return later and complete the purchase.

      2. Paul says that this is exactly what God has done in the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is the downpayment of our inheritance. Our inheritance is eternity in God’s Kingdom, his new heaven and new earth, in his personal presence, free from sin and death, forever living in God’s glory.

      3. But don’t miss this: the idea that the Holy Spirit is a downpayment drives home the point that God has paid mightily for you and for me and he will not give us up! Friends, Jesus has paid the ultimate price for you. God sent his own Son to die on your behalf. God has worked out the details of history for his glory. He has chosen you as his possession. And he is so serious about guaranteeing your place in his family that he has made a downpayment — the Holy Spirit.

APPLY

1. Remember, we set out this morning to learn a simple truth: God is worthy of praise because the gospel is all about him. (SLIDE 5a)

   1. God the Father planned salvation from eternity past. (SLIDE 5b)

   2. God the Son has achieved salvation through his blood. (SLIDE 5c)

   3. God the Spirit guarantees salvation as a deposit of the coming Kingdom. (SLIDE 5d)

2. This is what drove the Apostle Paul to praise God in his prayer: (SLIDE 5e) That God is the center of the gospel, the achiever of our salvation, the reason we have life today and a future hope to be in God’s new creation. This is gospel-centered prayer of praise, declaring the truths about who God is and what he has done.

3. ILLUST — Theologian Michael Reeves, whom I’ve mentioned recently, just wrote a book called “Gospel People: A Call for Evangelical Integrity.” (SLIDE 6a) In this book, he provides an incredibly helpful framework, using the same Trinitarian shape, to explain what we mean when we say we are a gospel-preaching, gospel-believing, gospel-sharing evangelical Christians.

   1. Reeves puts it this way: The gospel is all about…

      1. Revelation from the Father (SLIDE 6b)— God’s revealed truth and his revealed will are supreme and trustworthy.

      2. Redemption by the Son (SLIDE 6c)— God’s perfect work through Jesus to atone for our sin is the only way to salvation, and it comes by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone.

      3. Regeneration through the Spirit (SLIDE 6d)— We are born again, we have new life, and we are formed into a new people who have the very presence of God within us as a foretaste of the Kingdom of God.

4. Here’s my prayer for us as a church: That when we say we are “gospel-centered” that we are able to articulate a fully-orbed, deeply biblical, rich and beautiful picture of God’s salvation work that is worthy of praise.