With Him and as Him forever

With Him and as Him forever – Ephesians 1:4-9 It is a positive fact of the choice in the words "He chose us." Then there is the positional aspect (appearance) (position, posture, attitude) of the truth "in Him"; it is in the Person and work of the Lord Jesus that all of God's purposes for His people are accomplished.

I. The time of God's election is indicated by the expression "before the foundation of the world."

A. And the purpose is that we should be holy and blameless before Him "in love."

1. This purpose will not be fully realized until we are with Him in heaven (1 John 3:2), but the process "should" go on continually in our lives here below.

2. (Ephesians 1:5) Predestination or foreordination (destiny is already written).

3. Let us be able to know our times, let us not lose sight of our lives for a moment, we may not meet the times; and that destiny that God prepared for our existence, we can very well stop being the fulfillers of what He wrote for us.

4. Predestination means that God determined in advance that all the saved would also be adopted into His family "as sons".

5. God could have saved us without making us His children, but He chose to do both: save us and have us be His children.

6. Our adoption of children "is in no other way than through Jesus Christ".

7. God would never have brought us into this position of "intimacy and love" with Himself while we were in our sins.

8. That is why Jesus came to earth, and by His death, burial, and resurrection settled the question of sin "for the satisfaction of God".

9. It is the infinite value of "His sacrifice" at "Calvary" that provides a righteous basis on which God can adopt us: "as sons".

10. Well, brothers and sisters, let us fulfill our times responsibly.

11. According to pure affection, encouragement that His love produces in Him, His approval of His will.

12. He did, He could not be satisfied until He had surrounded Himself with children, conformed (action and effect of agreeing) to the image of His only begotten Son, with Him and as Him forever.

13. You must keep your times if you are with Him and like Him forever.

14. (6) He made us accepted in the Beloved.

15. He first chose us and then predestined us to be His children.

16. "He chose us to praise the glory of His grace."

17. It is an explanation "that the object (matter of knowledge) and result of all God's dealings with us is His own glory, we are under His glory always".

18. (7) In Him we have redemption.

19. We are redeemed. (suffering, punishment)

20. "His blood" is the ransom price; "nothing less could do".

21. In redemption is the forgiveness of sins.

22. Forgiveness is not the same as redemption; it is one of its fruits.

23. Christ had to make full satisfaction for our sins "before we could be forgiven".

24. The measure of our "forgiveness" is given in the words "according to the riches of His glory".

25. His "grace" is infinite! And so does His forgiveness!

26. (8) It was in grace that He chose us, predestined us, and redeemed us.

27. But it is not everything.

28. God has abounded in that same grace toward us in all "wisdom" and "understanding".

29. God has made known to us His plans and purposes.

30. His desire is that we should have intelligence and knowledge of His plans for the church.

31. (9) By making known to us the mystery of His will.

32. This glorious plan originated in the sovereign will of God: it was according to His good pleasure and approval, that He gave good or sufficient to someone.

33. And the great theme of the plan is the Lord Jesus Christ; this is indicated by the clause (contract, provision), which had been proposed (for one's knowledge or to induce you to adopt it) in Himself. Amen