God’s Sovereignty Part 9

Subject – God’s Blessed Grace
Text - Ephesians 1:6a “To the praise of the glory of his grace…”

I believe to have this is proper context we need to read verses 5 and 6 together. “Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will, To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved.” Christians that understand the bible understand about the grace of God. We understand it is God’s gift to us and in every part of our life here on earth and beyond this fleshly life. After Nebuchadnezzar’s chastening of the Lord Nebuchadnezzar said these words about God, “And all the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing: and he doeth according to his will in the army of heaven, and among the inhabitants of the earth: and none can stay his hand, or say unto him, What doest thou?” Daniel 4:35 As horrible as it must have been for Nebuchadnezzar it was God’s grace that brought him to his proper senses about God and His power and Grace. Now, God could have just brought Nebuchadnezzar’s heart right with God, but it was God’s pleasure to lead him through the fire to deliver him. It was also God’s good pleasure to deliver His own dear Son into the hands of Satan and mankind to be crucified so that we as Christians could be delivered from Satan, as He prophesied in Genesis 3:15 “And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.” The Lord Jesus had His heel bruised but by that bruising, Jesus Christ crushed and will eventually crush the serpent’s head until he is dead of all powers. All of this was accomplished by God’s good pleasure of His will before the foundation of this world was ever created and manifested in “due time”.  God told us in Ecclesiastes 3:1 “To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven:” The word “season” means an appointed time, that is “to every purpose under the heaven” and God will exercise His Appointed Will as it is manifested according to His predetermined “due time”. Then we see these words written by the hand of Paul in Romans 5:6 “For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly.” Then we also see these words also written by Paul, Galatians 4:4 – 5 “But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law, To redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons.” God the Father ordained to sacrifice His one Beloved Son on that cross at the hands of Satan and lost people to redeem a remnant of lost unworthy souls, because it was “the good pleasure of his will” to do so. All this because it was also “the good pleasure of his will” to make us His “adoption of sons.” Some people falsely proclaim that salvation is a merit or work on our part, but salvation is a glorious gift of God’s grace because He willed it before the foundation of the world. “But now being made free from sin, and become servants to God, ye have your fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life. For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” Romans 6:22 – 23 Because it was God’s good pleasure and will to save your soul, not because of any works on your part.

But God said, “To the praise of the glory of his grace…” One must ask, why, why did God do this and how we bring glory to God. God said in verse 3 “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ…” One must ask, if God is self-existent and God is eternal and if God is unchangeable, then how exactly is God blessed in us? God is only blessed in Himself every blessing from God is to return the blessings to God. We do not add anything to God, because we are not doing anything to add to God. If we study the bible in it’s proper context then we see that everything we do in this life as Christians is God’s blessing to us being returned to Him in our actions. This is exactly why Paul said “But by the grace of God I am what I am…” 1 Cor. 15:10. Paul understood that everything he was as a Christian was by God’s grace to him and the Holy Spirits working thru him. He never gave himself credit of glory because all glory was God’s working in Him. For example, God elected us, saved us, called us to preach, gave us the knowledge of the bible, gave us a church or work to minister, advances our ministry, saves sinners, adds to the churches, and brings our ministries to an eventual end. Therefore, I must ask this question, what blessings belong to us? Every detail of my ministry is to God’s credit by God’s grace to me, I am blessed of God, therefore, I deserve no credit or praise, God does, and all blessings is God’s. If is a scriptural fact that God has ordained or predestinated every inch of your life before the foundation of the world. Acts 15:18 “Known unto God are all his works from the beginning of the world.” If it is a work of God, He ordained it before the foundation of the world. God does not work by chance as time moves on.