Series: The Believer's Bank 

The Plan Revealed-Part 1 

Ephesians 1:7-12 

PSBC 2/27/00

In a nutshell: Paul reveals that three more of our blessings have to do with Jesus Christ and God's plan of salvation. Specifically, God's plan through Jesus gives us three things that people who are not "in Christ" don't have–Pardon, Perspective, and Purpose. This week we'll focus on "Pardon".

I. Introduction

A. George MacDonald quote (front of bulletin)

Most of you, I would guess, are familiar with the name C. S. Lewis. But not many of you are probably familiar with a man by the name of George Macdonald. But it was George Macdonald's writings that were responsible for C. S. Lewis coming to know Jesus Christ as his Savior. Lewis once said that he never wrote a book without referring to something written by George Macdonald. Well, one of the things Macdonald said is on the screen, this evening...

God hides nothing. His very work from the beginning is revelation—a casting aside of veil after veil, a showing to men of truth after truth. On and on from fact divine he advances, until at length in his Son, Jesus, he unveils his very face. George Macdonald (1824–1905)

Friends, I've been telling you the past few weeks that these first 14 verses in Ephesians 1 are a kind-of pulling back of the curtain that reveals and enables us to see God's work, in the process of salvation. In the beginning of this section we got a glimpse into the work of God the Father. In this section, tonight and next week, we will see the work of Jesus Christ. Then in two weeks, we'll see the work of the Holy Spirit.

An through all this revelation, God's intention is to "reveal His face", as George MacDonald said. Or, in other words, to reveal his character, values and the driving force behind what He does and why He does it.

When we understand the process of salvation, and God's part in designing it, we are seeing His true character. Now, that's important, because... –when bad things happen to good people..., –when the junk, disappointments, tragedies, and difficult times of life come our way..., –when we are faced with a choice to believe what is expedient rather than what is eternal... ...by knowing God with the intimate knowledge that the apostle Paul is showing us in this beginning statement, we can have confidence and hope that one of the most incredible promises ever made to human beings, really is true...

Romans 8:28 28 And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.

B. Transition

Now, saying all that, let's get into verses 7-12, and get a clearer look at God's face, by understanding the work of Jesus Christ in the process of salvation. The activity of Jesus, God, the Son, can be outlined in three words... Pardon, Perspective and Purpose. We'll look at the first one of those three, this evening, and the other two next week.

II. Pardon

The first blessing we see, that God gives us through Jesus Christ, is a pardon...

Ephesians 1:7-8 7 In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God's grace 8 that he lavished on us with all wisdom and understanding.

A. Redemption

When this verse says, "in Him we have redemption through His blood", it is using a Greek word which meant "to release from captivity."

It was used in Roman times for the paying of a price to purchase a slave.

Explanation: By New Testament times the Roman Empire had as many as six million slaves. You can imagine what a major business there was in the buying and selling slaves. Now, imagine if someone was a slave and another person, who was not his owner, wanted that slave freed. To do that, would require that person who wanted to set that slave free, would have to buy the slave from its owner in order to release the slave from captivity.

This is what is going through the apostle Paul's mind when he uses this word, redemption. It is the paying the price to release from captivity. And that is precisely what Jesus Christ did for us.

Verse 7 tells us that the price that we cost, was the blood of Jesus Christ. In other words, your redemption and mine took a sacrifice which cost Jesus His life.

B. Shed Blood

Gene Getz tells an interesting true story in his book, "Looking Up When You're Feeling Down".

Illustration: One day a man by the name of Max Walsh left the warm environment of a mountain lodge in the Austrian Alps. The weather was nice and "friendly." But, as can happen in high altitudes, the weather changed suddenly and dramatically. Max found himself in a blinding snowstorm. Losing all sense of direction, he finally succumbed to the elements and collapsed.

The owner of the lodge, knowing the man had no doubt lost his way, sent his best dog to look for Walsh. Following his God-created instincts, the well trained dog soon discovered Max, still lying where he had fallen and in a semiconscious state.

Responding to his masters orders, the dog grabbed the sleeve of Walsh's frozen jacket and began to jerk and pull. Responding, Walsh began to regain his senses, saw the dog but mistook him for a wolf. Fear gripped him! Pulling his hunting knife from his sheath, he managed to reach out and stab his would-be savior.

Getz writes, "Badly wounded, the dog let go and limped back to the lodge, where he fell dead at his master's feet. Sensing immediately what had happened, the owner of the lodge made his way through the blizzard, carefully following the trail of blood. He found Walsh, once again in a semiconscious state, but was able to carry him back to the safety of the lodge where he survived. Walsh's life was saved because a faithful dog carried out his master's command, literally shedding his blood in the process.

This story pulls a lot at our emotions, doesn't it? But let me ask you this..."When was the last time you felt a stirring in your emotions for Jesus and what He did for you on the cross, like you've just felt for the dog in that story?"

That's one of the reasons why we come to the Lord's Table on a regular basis. It helps us remember the nails, the spear in the side, the crown of thorns, the agony, and the loss of life-blood that is wrapped up in the horror of Calvary. You see, human nature being what it is, requires that we re-sensitize ourselves on a regular basis, to the great price it cost Jesus to release us from captivity.

The apostle Peter reminds us...

1 Peter 1:18-19 18 For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your forefathers, 19 but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect.

C. What did Redemption Buy?

So what did His redemptive act buy us?

You see, a redeemed slave in Paul's time received freedom when he or she was redeemed. But for us, according to the text, the price Jesus paid bought you and me something far greater than mere freedom to do what we want. His blood bought us FORGIVENESS OF OUR SINS.

William Barclay, in one of his commentaries, wrote... "There is one eternal principle which will be valid as long as the world lasts. The principle is--Forgiveness is a costly thing. Human forgiveness is costly. A son or a daughter may go wrong; a father or a mother may forgive; but forgiveness has brought tears. ... There was the price of a broken heart to pay.

Divine forgiveness is costly. God is love, but God is holiness. God, least of all, can break the great moral laws on which the universe is built. Sin must have its punishment or the very structure of life disintegrates. And God alone can pay the terrible price that is necessary before men can be forgiven. Forgiveness is never a case of saying: "It's all right; it doesn't matter." Forgiveness is the most costly thing in the world."

The sign in sign language for "Jesus" is made by taking the little finger of the right hand and drawing the letter J, then ending in the palm of the other hand to signify the imprint of the nail at Jesus' crucifixion. It's amazing..., the very name of Jesus tells us of the costliness of our forgiveness.

But the blessing, because of that price which He paid, that is deposited into our spiritual bank account... is that when God pardons, he sends our offenses to everlasting forgetfulness.

D. The Riches of His Grace

But not only do we have this redemption and therefore, the forgiveness of sins. We have it "according to the riches of His grace".

This statement is like the window sticker on a new car.

Illustration: A year an a half ago, we traded in a car we owned, in order to purchase my black pickup truck. The night before the day we went in to make the deal, we walked the car lot at the Nissan dealer in Missouri, when it was closed and looked at all the trucks they had. This way we knew exactly which truck we wanted and could do some research on the Internet before we went in, on dealer costs and financing and rebates.

Some of the trucks on the lot were very stripped down versions, these were the base priced vehicles. Then there were other trucks, that were basically the same truck as the base model, but with all the options that Nissan offered. Some of these fully loaded trucks cost $10,000 more than the stripped down versions, because of all the options and comforts and value they added to the truck

Well, I see a parallel with those truck window stickers and what verse 7 is saying. –The window sticker told us how much the truck was worth according to the riches of the options that were added to the truck by the Nissan Motor Company. –Verse 7 tells us how much our salvation is worth according to the riches of the options that God adds to the Salvation Process.

The Salvation Process's window sticker has just one package available on it--GRACE.

Grace is like most extravagant option package you can get on a new vehicle. It includes a lot of things. You see, literally, GRACE is God's unmerited or undeserved favor toward us. Grace is all the "factory options" that are available for a meaningful and abundant life right here and right now, that the Creator of the universe has at His disposal, packaged into one word.

–Grace is receiving the favor of God when we deserve His displeasure. –Grace is the power to be a comfort or encouragement when it is needed. –Grace is the ability, as we'll see next week, to understand God's mysterious plan for how and why things happen. –Grace is the ability, and desire and inclination to uniquely partner with God to move His Kingdom into the hearts of people we know. –Grace is demonstrating a portion of who God is through your life. And that's just a partial list of what's in this extravagant package that God loads into the process of Salvation.

Then keep in mind, you don't have to pay for it! This grace is freely given to each of us regardless of our past, our present , or our future. When we receive the grace of God, we are receiving something purchased by the death of Jesus Christ, and given to us, not because of anything we did, but because of what Jesus Christ did. We don't deserve it, but it's been given to us, regardless.

E. Given in a specific way

But that's not all. God has chosen to give us this grace in a specific way. Don't miss the phrase at the end of verse 7 and beginning of verse 8. It is given "according to the riches of His grace with all wisdom and understanding."

Now, don't miss what this is saying. God could either choose to give us His grace from His riches, or He could give it according to His riches. There is a huge difference!

Illustration: John D. Rockefeller, was one of the richest men in the world when he was living at the turn of the last century. He was even richer than Bill Gates, if you adjust for inflation. One of the things he used to do, was to have himself photographed dressed in a top hat and cut-away coat, giving out dimes to poor children in the slums of New York.

He was giving away money from the famous Rockefeller fortune. Now, a dime doesn't seem like much today, but back then, to those boys who grew up in poverty, a dime represented quite a lot, and it was a huge honor to receive it from the Rockefeller fortune.

But just imagine what it would have been like to have received a gift from John D. Rockefeller, according to Rockefeller fortune. Instead of a dime you might have been given a beautiful home, complete with furniture, and manicured lawns. Sitting in front of that home might be a Rolls Royce.

You see, there's a vast difference in receiving from a fortune and receiving according to a fortune.

Well, God has a vast, limitless, storehouse of grace. And when God gives ACCORDING TO HIS RICHES, we don't simply get a little bit of grace. ACCORDING TO HIS RICHES MEANS THAT He lavishes grace upon us in the most extravagant way. When we are "In Christ" we don't get the leftovers, we get the main course. That's what's wrapped up in the PARDON that we received in Jesus Christ. And we've just scratched the surface on what Jesus has done.

Next week, we'll look at the new PERSPECTIVE Jesus gives us, AND THE new PURPOSE.

III. Conclusion

But let me close with this question... How does understanding this PARDON make you feel?

–You've been purchased by the blood of Jesus Christ, and have been given forgiveness from sin. –You've been given a life that is full of grace–not some stripped down version, but the top of the line. –And you've been given all this ACCORDING to God's riches, not just FROM His riches.

How does that make you feel?

We're going to sing a song as we close, tonight, that expresses how we should feel. It puts words to what should be our heart attitude as we learn of our Pardon through Jesus Christ. Philip Bliss wrote it a number of years ago. It's number 357 in our hymnals...

JESUS LOVES EVEN ME!

I am so glad that our Father in heav'n Tells of His love in the Book He has giv'n. Wonderful things in the Bible I see-- This is the dearest that Jesus loves me.

Tho' I forget Him and wander away, Still He doth love me wherever I stray. Back to His dear, loving arms would I flee When I remember that Jesus loves me.

O if there's only one song I can sing When in His beauty I see the great King. This shall my song in eternity be: "O what a wonder, that Jesus loves me!"

Let's sing it together as we close tonight's time together...