To the Praise of His Glorious Grace – Ephesians 1:5b-6

Now church, we’ve got to ask ourselves two very important questions this morning: what made God choose and predestine us for adoption, and what is the ultimate goal of all this? The answer is right here in the Word: it was all “according to the purpose of his will.” That little Greek word for purpose, eudokia, means good pleasure, delight, and satisfaction. You see, God didn’t adopt you because he was obligated to, and he didn’t do it because he was duty-bound or forced by some human law of “fairness.” If God were “fair” by our definition, he would have chosen nobody because we are all guilty, dirty rotten sinners. But God delighted to set his love on unworthy sinners; it brought him sovereign joy to choose you and bring you home as his child, and that truth ought to kill your pride and your doubts every single day.

And why did he do it? It was all “to the praise of his glorious grace.” Christian, your life is not about your own happiness or your success; it is about displaying the glory of God so that the whole universe can see his beauty and majesty on display. We were remade for one purpose: to be a showcase for how great God’s grace truly is. And notice that he has lavished this grace on us “in the beloved,” which is Jesus Christ. Because you are united to Jesus by faith, the same infinite love that the Father has for the Son, he has for you! Never ever separate your identity from Jesus, because when the Father looks at you, he sees his beloved Son—and that truth should motivate you to live every moment for his glory and praise.

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Now let’s turn in our copy of God’s word to Ephesians chapter 1. As is our practice here at Tumbling Shoals Baptist Church, we preach line by line through books of the scripture, through books of the Bible. We are in the letter of Paul to the Ephesians, and we have made our way all the way to the second half of verse 5 so far. This morning we will finish verse five and six. We’re going to get a verse and a half—I tell you what, make up for Easter. Last week we looked at the main clause of verse five: the fact that God predestined us for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ. He predestined us—real people chosen in love, as those previous two words remind us—for adoption as his children. As you meditate on that truth, does that not fill you with gratitude? Does that not make you want to just weep with joy at how wonderful it is to be a child of God?

Just like we have done since the beginning of verse three, let’s not forget that this is all one sentence from verse 3-14 in the original Greek. That’s just one bit of the full sentence that Paul presents here at the beginning of his letter, this doxology of theology presented in one long sentence. We’re taking it phrase by phrase. We have our sentences in the English translations to help us break it down, but in the original Greek, it’s all one big long sentence. Everything is connected; all of God’s salvation from beginning to end is connected together here. We’ve already looked at verse three, where he blesses us with every spiritual blessing, and verse four, where he chose us before the foundation of the world to be holy and blameless. He predestined us for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ, but Paul doesn’t stop there. Within this simple section here, there’s more to what we’ve already talked about.

There’s the “why” God did these things. He tells us why and he tells us the whole point of his choosing and predestining. The rest of verse five and all of verse six answers two very important questions that we have to ask: what made God choose and predestine us for adoption, and what is the ultimate goal of all this? That’s what the rest of verse five and six tells us. So if you will, stand with me for the reading of God’s word. Since we are so close to the beginning of the letter, let’s start from the beginning. I’ll read beginning in verse one: “Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, to the saints who are in Ephesus and are faithful in Christ Jesus: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love he predestined us for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the beloved”.

Father, this morning as we continue through this glorious sentence at the beginning of this letter to the Ephesians, we humble ourselves and recognize that your ways are higher than our ways. Your thoughts are higher than our thoughts. Lord, what you have given us here is for us. Just as you told Timothy, we’re reminded here again this morning that all scripture comes from your mouth. It’s your word and it’s given for the purpose of teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness. So Lord, for those who are learning something new, teach us. For those who have misunderstood, reprove us and correct us. For those who have heard this a thousand times, let us hear it a thousand and one times so that we might continue to be trained in righteousness, so that we may be complete and equipped for every good work. Lord, do this for your glory this morning in your church. Do this by your spirit alone; we cannot understand these things or carry out these things apart from your spirit at work within us. Do it all for the glory of Jesus Christ, in whose name I pray, amen.

You may be seated. Those of you who are visiting or are here this morning and haven’t been here for the last few weeks, you’re coming in at the middle of a sentence. We have just covered being chosen before the foundation of the earth to be holy and blameless, and being predestined to be God’s children through Jesus Christ. Now is the answer to those questions: why, how, and for what purpose? Here’s the answer: “according to the purpose of his will”. Notice first here God’s sovereign delight. This little phrase, “according to the purpose of his will,” explains both the standard and the motive for everything that God has done. The Greek word for purpose here is eudokia; it means good pleasure, delight, or satisfaction. It’s more than just purpose that “must be done” like a rule not to break; it has more to do with being satisfied, delighted in, and taking pleasure in. The Greek word for will is thelema, which means intent, plan, inclination, desire, or just simply choice. The point is that all of God’s choosing of who he would save, make holy, and adopt as his own children was according to the purpose of his will.

It means God didn’t choose us and adopt us because he had to. He didn’t do it because he was obligated. Nobody goes to God and twists his arm and says, “You need to save me, God”. God is not obligated to any part of his creation. He chose and predestined us for adoption because it pleased him to do so; it brought him joy to choose you, believer, to save you, Christian. God only does what he does for his own joy and his own satisfaction. You see the same word Jesus uses himself in Matthew 11:26: “I thank you Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you have hidden these things from the wise and understanding and revealed them to little children; yes Father, for such was your gracious will”. And again in Luke: “fear not little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom”.

God was not reluctant to save anyone. God wasn’t forced by some higher law of fairness. We live in a culture and a context nowadays that believes fairness is the law above all things, and if it’s not fair according to our understanding, then it’s not true. God is not bound to act by our understanding of what is fair. God predestined us for adoption; he chose you before the foundation of the earth so that you would be his if you are a believer. I’ve mentioned it already: that’s not “fair”. Why does God’s choice have to be based on anybody but himself? Isn’t he the standard of all that is good and right and pure and true? Then would not all of what he has chosen to do be for what is perfectly good and right and pure? The most fair thing he can do for all people is to do exactly what pleases him, because that is the only thing that is good and right and pure.

If God were “fair” in our definition, he would have predestined to choose nobody because we’re all guilty sinners. We are all at the mercy of a holy God; he is not at the mercy of us. But God delighted to set his love on unworthy sinners and bring us home as sons and daughters. This is God’s heart. This is his grace. It flows from the joyful, happy, delighted, free choice of a loving holy Father who finds great satisfaction in doing good to those who don’t deserve it. So, beloved Christian, what does this do to us? When we’re tempted to think God must have made a mistake choosing me, remember he didn’t choose you duty-bound; he chose you with joy. Pastor, you don’t know what I’ve done. God does, and he chose you anyway. He delights in you. You don’t have to perform to keep your status as a child; he’s already adopted you and you have nothing to fear that he will ever let you go.

Let me give you some homework: take five minutes every morning and go to this chapter. Read verses 3 through 14, or at least 5 and 6. Focus on the phrase “according to the purpose of his will” and ask yourself: “How does knowing God adopted me because it delighted him change the way I face today?”. He adopted you; he delights in you. How is that going to change the way you live the rest of today? Practice that and keep renewing your mind with God’s word to overcome the lies. It was God’s sovereign joy to choose you. This understanding kills both our pride and our doubts, and it cultivates within us a humble, joyful desire to obey him every day.

He predestined us according to the purpose of his will, but it doesn’t stop there. Next, he says “to the praise of his glorious grace”. He doesn’t just tell us why; he tells us the outcome. Paul states the final glorious purpose of all these wonderful truths. Everything that God has done is to the praise of his glorious grace. This phrase will appear again in verse 12 and verse 14: “to the praise of his glory”. This doxology, this hymn of praise, is just flowing out of him. God saves so that he will be praised. The purpose of your salvation is so that God will be praised, not just that you’ll be saved. The goal is his praise; the way he gets you there is to save you. You can’t live for his praise until he saves you, and he wants you to live for his praise.

What is glorious grace? Grace is God’s undeserved favor to people who actually deserve the opposite. “Glorious” means that this grace shines with the very radiance of God’s character. It’s not just grace; it’s glorious grace because only God is glorious. When he shows grace, it shines and reveals who God is. It magnifies who God really is. When God saves dirty rotten sinners like us, what he’s doing is putting his beauty, his majesty, and his glory on display for the whole universe to see. Isaiah 43:21 says, “The people whom I formed for myself that they might declare my praise”. He chose and predestined you to be adopted so that you might declare his praise. We were made, and then we were remade, to showcase how great God’s grace truly is. Every forgiven sin, every answered prayer, and every transformed life is meant to make people say, “Wow, look what only God can do. How glorious, how marvelous, how wonderful”.

Your life is not about your happiness or your success. Christian, your life is not about happiness or success. Some people make that mistake and think Christianity is about being happy. No, it’s not. Your life is about displaying the glory of God. The catechism says the chief end of man is to glorify God and enjoy him forever. When we do all that we do to the praise of his glorious grace, God gets all the glory. When others see you forgive people who are unforgivable, or love people who are not lovable, or trust God in the midst of the worst pain and suffering, they should think, “That’s got to be God”. That is our opportunity to point people to the one true holy God.

One way you can apply this specifically is in your prayer. Sometimes we come to God to confess sin just because we feel guilty. When we commit sin, we are guilty and we need to confess; he is faithful and just to forgive us. But when you confess, don’t stop at “I’m sorry”. Turn that into praise. Say, “Lord, I’ve sinned, but I realize that this only highlights how great your grace really is. Thank you that you have already blessed me with the grace I need in your Son and that you have already forgiven me”. Thank God for the cross and for forgiveness. My sin—not in part but the whole—is nailed to the cross and I bear it no more. Praise the Lord, oh my soul! When we do that, we are training our hearts and minds not to live out of fear, but for the praise and glory of God.

He predestined us for adoption according to the purpose of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace, “with which he has blessed us in the beloved”. Finally, Paul adds one more layer to this wonderfully delicious parfait—it’s got layers. He says the same grace that saved us is the same grace that carries us day by day. The word “blessed” here means that God has freely and generously favored us; he has poured his grace out on us. It’s grace upon grace, richly lavished upon us. God has helped us where we could not help ourselves. And where has he done this? According to this verse, “in the beloved”. Your help comes through Jesus Christ alone; it’s not in yourself, not through the church, and not through other people. If you try to find blessing apart from Jesus, you ain’t going to find it. You’ll find fleeting pleasures that lead to a cliff, but in him are all these blessings and goodness.

Jesus is called “the beloved” because the Father loves the Son perfectly. We believe God is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and the bond that keeps those three together is love. Before anything else existed, the Father loved the Son, who loves the Spirit, who loves the Father. They had perfect love. Yet, according to his perfect will, he has chosen to create us “dirt,” pour his spirit into us, and pour his love onto us. Jesus is the Father’s Son in the godhead, and his infinite love rests on him perfectly. At the baptism in Matthew 3:17, a voice from heaven said, “This is my beloved son with whom I am well pleased”. Because we are united to Jesus Christ by faith, that same love that the Father has for the Son, he has for you. He doesn’t give Jesus 99% and give you leftovers; his love is infinite. In Christ, we exist forever in that same love shared between the Father and the Son.

Never ever separate your identity from Jesus Christ. When you feel worthless, remember that the Father looks at you and sees his beloved Son. Because the sinless savior died, my sinful soul is counted free. Your standing before God is in Jesus Christ; it is not in your performance, your good works, or your merit. When you share the gospel, tell people God wants to pour his grace on them not because they deserve it, but because he loves his Son and wants them to come to repentance and faith. Whenever we feel unworthiness or failure, we need to take those thoughts captive and replace them: “I am blessed with glorious grace in Jesus Christ not because I earned it, but because God has willed it and placed me in his beloved son”.

That truth must motivate every area of our life. Christianity is not a Sunday thing; it is an everyday, every moment existence. The truth that you are in Christ Jesus should motivate your confessing sin, your forgiving others, your serving, and your trusting. We need to be renewing our minds so we focus our attention on Jesus instead of all the things that distract us. Keep your eyes fixed on Jesus, calling you to walk towards him.

I’ve shared some objections over the last couple of weeks because election and predestination are topics people have strong opinions about. But are there any objections here to the truths we’ve talked about this morning? No true follower of Jesus would dare to argue that salvation is anything but God’s grace. No one would dare to think they deserve the glory or the praise for God’s salvation. Paul doesn’t tell us we are elect and predestined in order for us to argue about whether man has responsibility for his sin. No, he said all of this in order to magnify the great and glorious grace of God that he would save a wretch like you and me. It’s not for us to argue; it’s to the praise of his grace and glory that is in the beloved.

Here’s the full picture: before the foundation of the earth, God chose us. He predestined us for adoption as holy and blameless sons and daughters according to the good pleasure of his will. He did it all so that we would praise and display the glory of his grace, the grace he has lavished on us in his beloved son, our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Christian, this is why you exist. This is why God brought you into this world and why you were saved—not for our comfort alone, but so that forever the whole universe would see how glorious God’s grace is and give him the praise he deserves.

If you have never trusted in Christ, today is the day of salvation. God sent his son Jesus to redeem and save sinners. Sin requires a payment, and Jesus willingly paid this debt by his death on the cross and by his resurrection from the dead. God proved that Jesus’s payment was made and accepted in full. Now all who receive him—who confess Jesus as Lord and believe in his death and resurrection for the forgiveness of their sins—will become children of God by grace alone. If you’re already his, then live like it. Give him the glory he deserves. Praise him with your lips and display his grace in your life. Tell everyone who will listen that the Father’s arms are open wide in Jesus Christ. Amen.