Sermon Tone Analysis

*How to Get Elected*

(Ephesians 1:4-6)

 

*Introduction*

When I was a little boy, my friends and I built a clubhouse.

You should have seen it – or maybe it was better that you didn’t see it.

There was a small lumber yard not far from our home in Hutchinson, Kansas, and when they had small pieces of scrap wood they used to throw it onto a trailer out back and we could go down and bring any of that wood home with us to do with as we wanted.

It was great.

But of course, there was no consistency to the pieces, most were small and to fill in, we sometimes resorted to cardboard – all of which was destroyed every time there was a rain.

Truth is, that clubhouse was a hodge podge that didn’t look very good and wasn’t very functional.

My dad, a master carpenter, finally took pity and built us a wonderful framework, large enough to walk in and with consistent dimensions.

I learned the value of a plan and the benefits of something being built by one who knew what he was doing.

Well, the book of Ephesians is all about God’s masterpiece of construction – the church.

It doesn’t always look like it, but someday it will be revealed that He knows just what He is doing and its future is truly glorious.

It is to be the means by which he accomplishes His purpose, kept secret as a mystery until the time of Paul’s writing but now revealed in verse 9 9) making known to us the mystery of his will, according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ 10) as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth.

As Paul thinks about all this, he became so ecstatic in his dictation that before he knew it, he had composed a wonderful  202-word single sentence doxology  -- thought to be the longest sentence known to literature, other than one I think I penned in a 9th grade composition class!

This single sentence by Paul covers everything from election, to predestination, to forgiveness, to redemption, to sanctification, foreordination, adoption, acceptance, enrichment, enlightenment, inheritance, glorification, sealing, -- the list goes on and on – all in one sentence!

All three persons of the Trinity are here – in verses 4-6 we have the Father playing His part in the past in /choosing/ those who would be in the church.

In verses 7-10 we see the Son providing /redemption/ now and then in verses 11-14 we have the Holy Spirit sealing us as a guarantee of /future/ blessings.

In all of this, Paul constantly gives God the glory: “to the praise of the glory of His grace” (v.

6); “that we…should be to the praise of His glory” (v.

12); “to the praise of His glory” (v.

14).

Paul’s doxology is a wonderful foundation for this book.

Today we begin by looking at God the Father’s part in the formation of His Church – the choosing, the election of its members.

We’ve just been through a nationwide election.

You may or may not have liked the outcome, but there is no doubt that elections are controversial.

And some strange things happen in elections, too.

I heard of one candidate who came home late on election night filled with elation.

He gave his wife the glorious news.

“Honey, I’ve been elected!”  “Honestly?”

she replied with enthusiasm.

“Hey,” he said, “Why bring that up?”

 

Well, we have a great passage before us the next couple of weeks and it deals with an election that is as honest and as sacred and as holy as anything could ever be – and folks, if you are “in Christ” as we discussed last week – if you are a believer, then this election is definitely about you.

If you are not /sure/ that you are “in Christ” today, then I want to invite you to listen closely, because /I think you will want to be and we will tell you how /to get elected.

Now I am perfectly aware of how many viewpoints are probably represented here today on this topic -- of how fraught with baggage this topic is – of how much controversy surrounds it – of how heated the discussions sometimes get.

/I *know* all of that/.

I also know that such reactions totally miss the spirit of this passage and rob us of the comfort and glory and majesty and blessing that should be ours in considering the subject.

So – I want to ask you to put aside any pre-conceived notions you may have on the topic today.

Just put them aside whatever they may be.

I want us to remember that John Calvin did not invent election.

Augustine did not invent election nor did Martin Luther.

Neither did Arminius or John Wesley invent free will.

/Both/ were invented and introduced by /God!  Both/ are taught in Scripture.

And so as we study this passage on election I want us to consider that /God /authored these words.

And he did not author them for argumentation or to create hard feelings.

He authored them for our edification, for our insight and for our /joy!

/Paul /blesses/ God for his election, so I beg you, look at this subject as never before.

Let’s revel in the truth of election – of /your/ election!

We’re going to unpack this passage in detail and examine eight elements of election presented here.

You will see yourself and your God differently by the time we get done.

So, hang with me here, leave your prejudices behind, and let’s ask what does this passage teach us about God’s election – His choosing of you and me /by name/ to be part of His body, the church?

*I.

** The Method of God’s Choosing – Election*

* *

So, let us begin our examination of God’s building His Church.

First the method.

We find it in verse 4:  4) even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him in love.

What was God’s method?

Very simple.

He chose.

The Greek word is the word εκλεγομαι and it means in Greek exactly what it means in English.

It means to select one or some subset out of a larger group.

In classical Greek it was used of rulers selecting certain soldiers for guard duty or certain candidates to be their oarsmen.

It was used of men who singled out those grey hairs from their head to pull out.

They chose them.

In the Greek version of the OT it is said that David chose certain stones for his sling when he went to fight Goliath.

There are a couple of things worth noting about the concept of choosing as it is used in the Bible.

First of all, the choice is always made from all known options.

Nothing and no one is overlooked.

Second, the choosing of one never indicates that something or someone not chosen is spurned or disliked.

Third, the choosing is always based on the will of the one choosing.

It is never based on the goodness, attractiveness, merit or value of the thing or the one chosen.

Never.

And so it is in the case of the election of believers.

We are chosen totally based on the grace of God – never on our own merit.

The Bible is also pretty clear that apart from God’s choosing there would be no blessing for anyone.

In Deuteronomy 7:6 God chose Israel out of all the possible nations and they were blessed as a result and they were themselves a blessing to others as a result (Gen.

12:20).

The angels were elect (I Tim.

5:21).

Christ was chosen (I Pet.

2:6).

But in particular, believers are chosen -- elect, specially selected  by God.

Jesus said to His disciples, “You did not choose Me, but I chose you, and appointed you” (John 15:16).

And in the same Gospel, John said, 12) But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, 13) who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh /nor of the will of man,/ but of God.(1:12–13).

Paul taught the election of God in his other epistles like 2 Tim.

1:9: “9) who saved us and called us to a holy calling, not because of our works but because of his own purpose and grace, which he gave us in Christ Jesus before the ages began,” He says in 2 Thess.

2:13: “But we should always give thanks to God for you, brethren beloved by the Lord, because God has chosen you from the beginning for salvation”  The point -- we can run, but we cannot hide.

If we are “in Christ” today, it is simply because God chose us and /that/ is what makes us special.

It was a great thrill for me the first time I got to visit the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, NY.

I had followed baseball since I was a child and to actually get to that place when I was well over 40 years of age was still very exciting.

One of the first things I sought out was an exhibit that included a red New York Yankees locker with the number 3 on the outside.

Babe Ruth.

And inside that locker was the long, heavy-handled bat that Babe Ruth had once used.

Millions of baseball bats have been made over the years.

Why, of all things, was that one any different from all the others that I might have been interested in?

Why was it there?

Very simple reason.

Because in the late afternoon of September 30, 1927, Babe Ruth came out of the Yankee dugout to take his turn at bat.

It was the bottom on the 8th and the game was tied at two when Ruth emerged, looked at the bats available to him and selected one.

With that bat in hand, he walked to the plate and on a 3-2 pitch from Tom Zachery of the Washington Senators, Ruth hit a curve ball deep to right field for his 60th home run of the year.

That is the bat that I saw in the Hall of Fame.

Its presence there had nothing to do with its inherent quality.

It was neither better nor worse than any other bat.

But on that day, Babe Ruth /chose/ it and it’s whole future changed.