6 Spiritual Blessings: #1 Election
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INTRO:
INTRO:
ILL: How to make friends—someone has to make the first move.
Blessed is the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavens in Christ. For he chose us in him, before the foundation of the world, to be holy and blameless in love before him
Who’s shy?
The Bible teaches that everyone is by nature shy when it comes to God—we don’t seek Him.
But, God has made the first move through Jesus. Even if we don’t seek God out, He still chooses us to be with Him.
Blessed is the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavens in Christ.
INTRO:
God has blessed His people with every spiritual blessing.
6 of those spiritual blessings follow.
Blessed is the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavens in Christ.
For he chose us in him, before the foundation of the world, to be holy and blameless in love before him.
God has blessed His people with every spiritual blessing.
6 of those spiritual blessings follow.
The first is the doctrine of election—the idea that God has chosen you to be with Him. (you didn’t choose God, God chose you)
For he chose us in him, before the foundation of the world, to be holy and blameless in love before him.
Parallel passage with more details and application
But we ought to thank God always for you, brothers and sisters loved by the Lord, because from the beginning God has chosen you for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and through belief in the truth.
He called you to this through our gospel, so that you might obtain the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.
So then, brothers and sisters, stand firm and hold to the traditions you were taught, whether by what we said or what we wrote.
What I see in these passages is 3 principles of God’s choosing that will enable us to stand firm in our faith. The first is that we are chosen…
What is true?
What is true?
(We were chosen… 3 Principles of God’s choosing) — The doctrine of election.
In Christ
In Christ
in Christ == not in the world
in Christ means to be about the things Christ values and not what we in our flesh or in the world value
…he has chosen us in him… (1)
...God has chosen you for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and through belief in the truth… ()
What does this mean?
1) To be ‘in Christ’ means that we are being sanctified—or perfected—by God’s Spirit.
ἐν Χριστῷ is always translated in the NT as ‘in Christ’ as in is the most common meaning of ἐν. However, ‘through Christ’ is almost always the sense of the passage.
2) Gods choosing of you is through your belief in the truth of Jesus Christ.
Gods choosing of you is through your belief in the truth of Jesus Christ.
ἐν Χριστῷ
Do you believe in Jesus? Then God has chosen you in Christ.
What does it mean in kid talk?
What does it mean for kids?
This means that if you are a follower of Jesus, God chose you to be with him forever.
Aren’t you thankful that God has chosen you to be with Him and to enjoy Him in heaven forever?
IMPLICATION: We spend too much time and effort worrying if we are good enough. (The world is concerned if we are good enough.)
If God chose you, it wasn’t because you were good enough, but because Jesus is good enough.
YOU are chosen in Christ, and Christ has done everything marvelously.
YOU are chosen in Christ, and Christ has done everything marvelously. The second principle of God’s choosing is that you were chosen…
Before the Foundation of the World
Before the Foundation of the World
That’s a long time ago!
Before you were even born, God knew you.
Before anyone—even Adam and Eve—were born, God knew you.
…he chose us in him, before the foundation of the world… ()
…from the beginning God has chosen you for salvation… ()
What does this mean?
It means that God is bigger than you think (live like) He is.
God isn’t waiting to see how things pan out.
God isn’t waiting to see who chooses to follow Jesus.
God isn’t anticipating who will enter His Kingdom.
Before the world was even created, God decided exactly which people would enter into His holy presence for eternity.
That’s incredible knowledge!
What does it mean for kids?
What does it mean for kids?
ILL: BDAY Party Invites: When you get invited to a friends party and you’re so excited because you didn’t realize you were that good of friends. And there’s no social obligations, like when your Mom makes you invite someone to your party you don’t want there. God has chosen you.
So, if you follow Jesus, just know that God has chosen you to recline and feast at His table for all eternity.
You are chosen in Christ, before the foundation of the world, and the third principle of God’s choosing is that you were chosen…
To be Holy and Blameless Before Christ
To be Holy and Blameless Before Christ
What does God want with someone like me?
God hasn’t just chosen you to be with Him, he chose you in order to make you perfect.
…He chose us … to be holy and blameless … ()
…He called you to this through our gospel, so that you might obtain the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. ()
What does this mean?
We know that we all sin
Sin separates us from God’s presence
Jesus died so that we can be forgiven for our sins
God wants us to be with Him, but he had to deal with our guilt for sin before we can be with him.
But, forgiveness is not the same thing is sinlessness
A forgiven sinner is not the same thing as someone who doesn’t sin.
ILL: If I steel your lunch, you might forgive me, but you probably won’t leave your lunch where I can find it again, not unless something seriously changes in me. — That’s what God does by His Spirit. He seriously changes you from the inside out.
THE PROMISE: When we go to be with Jesus in glory, He will make us actually holy and blameless—completely without sin or fault in us.
DON’T Read this as, “If you want to be with Jesus, you’ll have to be holy and blameless.”
The reality of the doctrine of election is that Jesus wants to be with you and so He will make you holy and blameless.
You can’t earn Jesus; Jesus chose you before you could have ever did a thing.
What does it mean for kids?
What does it mean for kids?
CONCLUSION/APPLICATION
CONCLUSION/APPLICATION
What makes election a spiritual blessing?
What makes election a spiritual blessing?
What makes election a spiritual blessing?
The Apostle Paul described Election as a spiritual blessing.
PODCAST ONLY:
Fatalism, determinism, and free will
If you do what you want, that is, in a sense a free act of your will.
Limitations to free will.
You can only do by free will what you are able to do.
You are welcome to dream, but you can only accomplish what you are able.
Dreaming beyond what is reasonable is the very human faculty that has progressed society and is a wonderful thing.
That we are unable to be reconciled of our own accord and thus require God to call us unto himself is not to stifle your will;
rather, it is an act to free the will to do the very thing you were previously unable to do.
Fatalism
Fate is the idea that no matter what you do according to your free will, there are certain fated realities that you can’t escape. No matter what you do, because of fate it will occur.
Christianity isn’t fatalistic in the day-to-day sense, but there are inevitable realities, like judgment and death itself, which are institutions fated for all humankind.
Weakness of Calvinism here is that it can lead to fatalistic thinking—if God chooses the elect then why bother doing anything
As Christians, we aren’t called to fatalistic thinking; we’re actually called to be inspired by God’s determinitive work in the world.
Determinism — biblical fatalism, in a sense
This is the idea that God determines things for you at times. (full determinism is just fatalism)
Last week I said that as I look back on my life at things I did as expressions of my free will, many of them look more like expressions of God’s will not my own—i.e. that God determined them not me.
That God calls or elects you for salvation is a biblical reality. The question of will comes when you ask the question, When God called me to Himself for salvation, did I respond or did God determine my choice?
Bull-dogmatic theologians who get red in the face if you even suggest God calls or elects because they hear that as a violation of the will. (Arminians)
Bull-dogmatic theologians who get mad because you suggest people have free will. (Calvinists)
For me, so long as God calls and I respond, it doesn’t matter one way or the other if it was according to my will or God’s will that I responded, because I am thankful that He called; and I am thankful that I responded to the Gospel.
At any rate, there is a certain amount of determinism that we cannot deny, that on a cosmic level, God ordained the way the world has come together because in His divine foreknowledge He created all things. And if He wanted a single thing different, He would have created the world differently than He did. So, there is a certain cosmic determinism that no one can deny.
cf. “Will the potter say to the clay, why have you made me this way?”
(IME, the same group that wants to talk about God’s design of the lamanin cross in DNA is the same group that wants to deny God’s sovereignty in salvation—I think we all need a little more humility here, because, if God designed DNA with a cross in it, God did that on purpose because he does everything on purpose. And if He does everything on purpose then he chooses and elects for salvation on purpose.)
19th century German philosopher, Friedrich Nietzsche called free will ‘folly resulting from the pride of man.’ He made this claim purely in philosophical terms, not biblical.
Nietzsche was anything but a Christian. He argued that Christianity was discredited by history, because it was inconsistent with reality. But, he argued that ‘the will that is not free needs an external will.’
the will that is not free needs an external will.
And yet, in philosophy he was deterministic.
N was something like a full-determinist or a fatalist.
But, he recognized that there was a necessary cosmic force to enable the will to act, because the human will will never act as it knows it ought.
What N doesn’t account for is the reality that our wills have been freed by the One who created the will. And in regeneration, our wills are further freed to please God as God has ordained we ought to please Him.
The biblical perspective is that God has created you in such a way that you are a particular creation, and although he knows our actions, He has freed our wills to act as we please and to act as pleases Him according to His Holy Spirit.
The biblical perspective is that God has created you in such a way that you are a particular creation, and although he knows our actions, He has freed our wills to act as we please.
What do we do?
What do we do?
So then, brothers and sisters, stand firm and hold to the traditions you were taught, whether by what we said or what we wrote.
Answer the Call
Answer the Call
Holy and Blameless
Holy and Blameless
Blameless
Blameless
For Paul, the entire concept of election should motivate your perseverance in the faith.
Before Christ
Before Christ
If God chose you then you can stand firm in your faith, even in the light of opposition and persecution.
The Lord is your light and salvation
He directs our lives and protects us from our enemies.
The Lord is your strength and your stronghold
When we are weak, He is strong
If you have been chosen by God then there is nothing in life or death that you should fear
He chose you before the foundations of the world were laid
He continues to go before you in all things
Go, be fearless witnesses of the glory of Jesus Christ
Further, Paul tells us to be faithful in the traditions. What traditions?
Many of our traditions only go back a couple hundred years
I’ve been very cynical about traditions, but I’m talking about human traditions
Many of Paul’s traditions are doctrinal—what to believe
Some are practical
The Lord’s supper,
Baptism,
Unity of the church
Partnering for Gospel work
Bearing one another’s burdens
Paul isn’t just talking about the traditions he passed on
James, pray for one another and have the elders pray for the sick
Author of Hebrews, be faithful meeting together for worship
Encourage one another with Psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs
Peter, be hospitable to one another
The list could go on and on
How do you know if God chose you? — You want to be a Christian