Calvary Road Baptist Church
“WHAT THE FATHER DID”
Ephesians 1.3-6
First Thessalonians 5.23:
“And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
Taken at face value, this passage suggests that those of you here today who are Christians are trichotomous beings. That is, you have three parts to you: a body, a soul, and a spirit.
If that be true, then your worship of God should involve and engage those three parts of you. Such worship of God involving your whole being would employ your body, soul, and spirit. If it was worship that was pleasing to God, it would be by the Word of God. Amen?
I bring these matters to the attention of you, who are genuine Christians and not just pretenders, because in my 40+ years of knowing and walking with the Lord, I have only rarely seen Christians worship God in a manner that I believe is pleasing to Him. Some might be thinking in your mind, “Yeah? Then you should go to such and such a Church. They really know how to get with it.” Oh, but my friends, I used to go to such and such a church. And just getting with it is a practice that is no more pleasing to God than sitting in the pew and thinking to yourself, “My what a marvelous point the pastor has just raised.”
But I get ahead of myself. Let me define what I mean by worship. As I understand God’s Word, worship is giving to God what is due Him and what He wants given to Him at any particular moment. When it’s time to pray, the real worship of God is prayer to God. When it’s time to give, the real worship of God is giving to God. And when it’s time to sit under Bible preaching, the real worship of God can be nothing other than being where God wants you to be and listening to His Word being proclaimed from the pulpit. So, worship, as I understand the concept, is far different than merely singing choruses and chanting and is far different than raising up your hands on cue and swaying to the sound of rhythmic and repetitive music. Of course, real worship is also far more than sitting in a pew and doing your best imitation of a department store mannequin.
Let me focus on just one occasion of worship at present. Let me exclude your private devotional time, your closet prayer time, your tithing time, and you're leading your family in prayer at the evening mealtime. Let me focus only on the worship, specifically when the Word of God is being preached.
Do you remember what the Lord Jesus Christ told the Samaritan woman at the well about worship in John chapter 4? When she erroneously claimed that her people worshipped in such and such a fashion, the Lord Jesus rebuked her and told her that her people didn’t really know what they were doing but that there was a time coming, John 4.23 & 24,
“When the true worshipers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship Him. God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and truth.”
I do not see a great deal of worship in many Church services that I have attended, or that I have viewed, where God’s people get together under the preaching of God’s Word, that is, worship that is in spirit and in truth. I have witnessed comedy routines passing for sermons. I have heard discourses on wildlife passing for sermons. But I have rarely observed people gathered to worship outside this congregation using Bible preaching.
I have seen a great deal of hand waving and emotionalism in a spiritual and truth vacuum in some settings that more resemble discos I once attended before my conversion than places honoring God. I also see in other settings a great deal of antiseptic and sterile intellectualism that is void of anything smacking of the body and the soul.
Do you realize that it’s a sin not to worship God in a manner He prefers? Do you know it’s wicked ingratitude to be silent in His grace and mercy? And do you know that it’s the height of foolishness and insult to Him to lather and froth without the slightest idea of what His Word says about Him?
Notice just a few phrases from the Psalms. These passages will show just a little bit of what’s expected of us, His people:
Psalm 145:
1 <<David’s Psalm of praise.>> I will extol thee, my God, O king; and I will bless thy name for ever and ever.
2 Every day will I bless thee; and I will praise thy name for ever and ever.
3 Great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised; and his greatness is unsearchable.
4 One generation shall praise thy works to another, and shall declare thy mighty acts.
5 I will speak of the glorious honour of thy majesty, and of thy wondrous works.
6 And men shall speak of the might of thy terrible acts: and I will declare thy greatness.
7 They shall abundantly utter the memory of thy great goodness, and shall sing of thy righteousness.
8 The LORD is gracious, and full of compassion; slow to anger, and of great mercy.
9 The LORD is good to all: and his tender mercies are over all his works.
10 All thy works shall praise thee, O LORD; and thy saints shall bless thee.
11 They shall speak of the glory of thy kingdom, and talk of thy power;
12 To make known to the sons of men his mighty acts, and the glorious majesty of his kingdom.
13 Thy kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and thy dominion endureth throughout all generations.
14 The LORD upholdeth all that fall, and raiseth up all those that be bowed down.
15 The eyes of all wait upon thee; and thou givest them their meat in due season.
16 Thou openest thine hand, and satisfiest the desire of every living thing.
17 The LORD is righteous in all his ways, and holy in all his works.
18 The LORD is nigh unto all them that call upon him, to all that call upon him in truth.
19 He will fulfil the desire of them that fear him: he also will hear their cry, and will save them.
20 The LORD preserveth all them that love him: but all the wicked will he destroy.
21 My mouth shall speak the praise of the LORD: and let all flesh bless his holy name for ever and ever.
Psalm 148:
1 Praise ye the LORD. Praise ye the LORD from the heavens: praise him in the heights.
2 Praise ye him, all his angels: praise ye him, all his hosts.
3 Praise ye him, sun and moon: praise him, all ye stars of light.
4 Praise him, ye heavens of heavens, and ye waters that be above the heavens.
5 Let them praise the name of the LORD: for he commanded, and they were created.
6 He hath also stablished them for ever and ever: he hath made a decree which shall not pass.
7 Praise the LORD from the earth, ye dragons, and all deeps:
8 Fire, and hail; snow, and vapour; stormy wind fulfilling his word:
9 Mountains, and all hills; fruitful trees, and all cedars:
10 Beasts, and all cattle; creeping things, and flying fowl:
11 Kings of the earth, and all people; princes, and all judges of the earth:
12 Both young men, and maidens; old men, and children:
13 Let them praise the name of the LORD: for his name alone is excellent; his glory is above the earth and heaven.
14 He also exalteth the horn of his people, the praise of all his saints; even of the children of Israel, a people near unto him. Praise ye the LORD.
Psalm 149:
1 Praise ye the LORD. Sing unto the LORD a new song, and his praise in the congregation of saints.
2 Let Israel rejoice in him that made him: let the children of Zion be joyful in their King.
3 Let them praise his name in the dance: let them sing praises unto him with the timbrel and harp.
4 For the LORD taketh pleasure in his people: he will beautify the meek with salvation.
5 Let the saints be joyful in glory: let them sing aloud upon their beds.
6 Let the high praises of God be in their mouth, and a twoedged sword in their hand;
7 To execute vengeance upon the heathen, and punishments upon the people;
8 To bind their kings with chains, and their nobles with fetters of iron;
9 To execute upon them the judgment written: this honour have all his saints. Praise ye the LORD.
Why is it, when the Word of God is preached, that some people just sit there? Why do some not shout and clap their hands and stomp their feet when God is glorified in a manner they agree with, in a manner that they want to join in with? Why is there no shout of “Amen” and “Praise the Lord?” Why is there no “That’s right!”
Please understand that I only want to edify you. I only seek to build you up in the faith. So realize it has always been God’s will for God’s people, and it has always been the practice of God’s people, not that you interrupt the preaching of God’s Word, but that you erupt during the preaching of God’s Word to underline, to accentuate, to validate, to reinforce, the truths of God’s Word preached. When you do this during Bible preaching, you worship God.
Remembering that we seem comprised of body, soul, and spirit, and remembering that God wants to be praised, I intend to preach a passage you ought to be quite familiar with. In the past, I have instructed and informed you what Paul sought to convey to his readers in Ephesians 1.3-6, which shows God the Father’s involvement in the salvation of lost souls.
Paul tells us, and I remind you, why God the Father informs us of His role in our salvation: God wants His people to praise His graciousness. And since only we are recipients of God's saving grace, only we can give Him the worship that is due Him for His grace. The point of this message is to allow you to worship your heavenly Father.
The message I bring is simple. The points are familiar to most of you. I seek not to bring anything new to you. I seek only to cover ground that is familiar enough that the Holy Spirit of God will provoke you, and by the simple and profound truth of God’s Word, to praise your Father’s marvelous grace when you realize that, by Him, you have been blessed, you have been chosen, by Him you have been predestinated, and by Him you have been made accepted in the Beloved.
What is lost on so many these days is that the proper worship of God is not without decorum. Some like to point to David dancing before the Ark of God to illustrate how God is to be worshiped.[1] Yes, David did dance. But he was not in a place or an attitude of worship when he did that but was excited that the Ark of the LORD was being transported into the city of David.
There is no sanction in Scripture for irreverence when worshiping God. But neither is the worship of God formal and stultified. It is real without being rude. It is passionate without distracting from the preaching. It is verbal without calling attention to yourself. Praise God, people. And why should you praise God, rather than sit like a mummy in your pew?
First, PRAISE GOD BECAUSE YOU HAVE BEEN BLESSED
Ephesians 1.3:
“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ.”
Three things about God’s blessings:
First, notice who you have been blessed by. According to the Apostle Paul, we who are saved have been blessed by God the Father. He is the One Who is the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Praise His holy name. But if you look elsewhere in God’s infallible and inerrant Word, you find other things about this great One Who has blessed you. You discover, for example, that not only is He the One Who blesses, but He is also the One Who created all things.[2] He is also all-wise, and holy, and righteous, and good, and true, and omnipotent. What an amazing thing that the Creator of heaven and earth, the all-wise and righteous God, the only true and living God, the Almighty God, has blessed you.
Next, notice what you have been blessed with. You have been blessed “with all spiritual blessings.” Not many spiritual blessings. And not most spiritual blessings. You have been blessed “with all spiritual blessings.” Why have you not been blessed with all carnal blessings, or with all material blessings, or with all mundane blessings? Because that which is carnal, that which is material, and that which is mundane is temporal. It won’t last. Someday it will be burned.[3] But the things God has given to you, Christian, the things He has given to His blood-washed and blood-bought children, will endure forever.
Third, notice where and by whom you have been blessed. You have it all. And you received it all from God the Father. But you received it only by trusting Jesus Christ as your personal Savior. You don’t receive these blessings by believing in God. And you don’t receive these blessings by doing good work. Only in Christ, which is to say only by trusting Jesus Christ by faith, are these blessings received as part and parcel of your salvation. “But pastor, Paul says that these blessings are in heavenly places. What does that mean?” It means that the full benefit of these blessings will not be realized on this side of heaven. And this is for a good reason. Being spiritual, these blessings will not be thoroughly enjoyed by us so long as we remain in these bodies of death. Only when we have received our glorified bodies will we be able will we have the capacity to experience and make use of all the blessings God has for us. So, you have been blessed by the only true and living God, Christian. You who have been genuinely converted have, through the Lord Jesus Christ, been given every spiritual blessing. There is no blessing you don’t already have ownership of, awaiting only you taking possession in glory of what is already yours. Amen?
Second, PRAISE GOD BECAUSE YOU HAVE BEEN CHOSEN
Ephesians 1.4:
“According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love.”
Three brief questions to bring this great truth home:
Chosen, by?
“According as he hath chosen us in him.”
This reminds me of John 15.16, when the Lord Jesus Christ pointedly reminded His apostles that, “Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you.” Think about the grand and glorious truth that you, because of your hopelessly depraved nature, who would never in a million years choose God, have instead been chosen by God. Understand that, predicated on the fact that there is nothing about you or me that would make us worthy of salvation or that would merit our selection by God, isn’t it wonderful that God chose you? Isn’t it marvelous that God saved your wretched soul, Christian? Chosen by God.
Chosen, when?
“Before the foundation of the world.”
What’s complicated about this phrase? And whose theology should be given more credence than this clear statement from God’s holy Word? The clear fact of the matter is that God chose you before He created the world. What comfort does that give to you? What comfort ought that to give to you? It comforts me to know that I am a part of God’s great plan of redemption, and not an afterthought. That He loved me before I loved Him. And He chose me, knowing that I would never, on my own, choose Him.
Chosen, for?
“That we should be holy and without blame before him in love.”
Please recognize that the word “should” not only indicates how things ought to be, but the way things will be for the sinner who trusts Jesus Christ. You were chosen, Christian. And you were chosen by God. You were chosen before the foundation of the world. But understand that you were chosen for a purpose. God chose you so that He might someday stand you before Him. But understand. God is holy and righteous, and He cannot and will not look upon sin. Therefore, because it is required to be in His glorious presence, you will become holy and without blame. How foolish, therefore, are those lost people who think they can get to heaven without being washed in the blood of Christ. Only the blood of Christ washes away sins. Amen? Are you washed in the blood, in the soul-cleansing blood of the Lamb? If you are, then praise God for having chosen you in Christ.
Third, PRAISE GOD BECAUSE YOU HAVE BEEN PREDESTINATED
Ephesians 1.5:
“Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will.”
What an ugly sounding word this word predestinated is to some people. But it’s a Bible word. Amen? And Bible words ought to be wonderful sounding to our ears. Isn’t that right? But what does this Bible word “predestinated” mean? Proorizw, is the word, and it means to mark out beforehand, to determine destiny ahead of time.[4] It’s a word that is used only of saved people. Never does the Bible say that God predestinated lost people to Hell. So, you can praise the Lord for being predestinated. Why? For two reasons:
First, because of what you have been predestinated to:
“The adoption of children by Jesus Christ unto himself.”
God actually predestinated you, decided before you were ever born, to adopt you to be His child. This could not have happened, of course, without the sacrifice of the Lord Jesus Christ on Calvary’s cross, the shedding of His precious blood for our sins. But God planned that ahead of time, too. You see, the Lord Jesus is the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.[5]
Additionally, praise God for what you have been predestinated for:
“the good pleasure of His will.”
When are these evangelical frauds going to realize that God is not the great bellhop in the sky? Who exists to make life easier for us and to do our bidding when we pray to Him according to a specific formula? No, no. This is all done, as is everything done, for the good pleasure of His will. God created everything because it pleased Him to do so. He saves people because it pleases Him to do so. He does everything that He does because it pleases Him to do so. Aren’t you glad that it pleased God to decide so long ago to send His Son, Jesus Christ, to die on the cross and to shed His blood for the remission of your sins? And aren’t you glad that, so long ago, your destiny to be adopted into the family of God was decided? Who is the only One Who is powerful enough and wise enough to be entrusted with making such a decision? Why, God, of course.
Finally, PRAISE GOD BECAUSE YOU HAVE BEEN ACCEPTED
Ephesians 1.6:
“To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved.”
Two things for believers in Jesus Christ to consider:
First, you have been accepted in the Beloved. It’s a theme that’s repeated over and over and over and over again. In Christ. In Him. In the Beloved. Through Jesus Christ. Over and over and over again. Why is that so? Because “there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus; Who gave himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time,” according to First Timothy 2.5-6. Because the Lord Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me,” in John 14.6. Also, because the Lord Jesus said, “I am the door: by me, if any man enters in, he shall be saved,” John 10.9. Jesus Christ is God the Father’s only means to approach Him. There simply is no other means, no other avenue, no other conceivable access to the Father. Do you want to approach the Father? Do you want to pray to the Father? Do you want to receive from the Father? Do you want grace from the Father? Do you want His favor? Do you want to go to the Father when you die? Such is granted only to men and women, boys and girls, who are in Christ, who trust Jesus, who have been cleansed in His blood. Are you trusting Jesus Christ today? Have you been converted? If not, you’re simply not acceptable to God. He won’t accept you into heaven. He won’t accept your prayers and petitions. Instead, He will, ultimately, reject you. That’s why you need to be saved.
But if you are trusting Jesus Christ you have been accepted. Why? That is, to what end does God accept us who are trusting Jesus?
“To the praise of the glory of His grace.”
God desires praise for His great grace. And who can rightly and adequately praise Him for His grace better than those of us graced by Him? So, praise God for your salvation, Christian. Because that’s one of the foundational reasons why He saved you. A final thought. Where in our passage do we see the concept, much less the words, suggesting that a sinner becomes a saint when he accepts Jesus as his Savior? You have heard, as I have heard people say, “I accepted Jesus as my Savior.” I know some wonderful Christians who make such claims. However, such claims are not supported by God’s Word. As we see in this passage, you do not accept Jesus. Rather, it is God who accepts you ... in Christ.
Read Psalm 150 with me:
1 Praise ye the LORD. Praise God in his sanctuary: praise him in the firmament of his power.
2 Praise him for his mighty acts: praise him according to his excellent greatness.
3 Praise him with the sound of the trumpet: praise him with the psaltery and harp.
4 Praise him with the timbrel and dance: praise him with stringed instruments and organs.
5 Praise him upon the loud cymbals: praise him upon the high sounding cymbals.
6 Let every thing that hath breath praise the LORD. Praise ye the LORD.
“Praise ye the Lord.” That means, “You people. Praise the LORD.” “I can’t do that. I am a rather quiet and reticent person.” So what? I do not see this command restricted to certain personality types. Do you?
“Praise God in his sanctuary: praise him in the firmament of his power.” This tells us the locations wherein God is to be praised. His sanctuary is here on earth. Firmament refers to the heavens. So, God is to be praised up there and down here. In other words, God is to be praised everywhere. This would certainly include a preaching service. Would it not?
“Praise him for his mighty acts: praise him according to his excellent greatness.” This tells us why we should praise Him. For what He has done and for what He is. And think about this: Of His mighty acts, only we who are saved can praise Him for His saving work. Angels can praise Him for everything else, but only we who are redeemed can praise Him for His redemption.
Notice Psalm 150.3-5:
3 Praise him with the sound of the trumpet: praise him with the psaltery and harp.
4 Praise him with the timbrel and dance: praise him with stringed instruments and organs.
5 Praise him upon the loud cymbals: praise him upon the high sounding cymbals.
This tells us how to praise the LORD. In other words, make some noise. Use your voice and accompany yourself with instruments but praise Him. This does not suggest that we abandon decorum and propriety. But neither does it suggest that we say and do nothing.
Psalm 150.6:
“Let every thing that hath breath praise the LORD. Praise ye the LORD.”
The Psalmist concludes with what he started with: a challenge, a command, a duty, a holy obligation. Everyone who has breath should praise God. You should praise God.
And here is what you should praise Him for, Christian. He blessed you. He chose you. He predestined you. And He accepted you. If you cannot praise Him with your life and your lips, if you will not praise Him with your life and your lips, likely, you do not know Christ as your Savior.
Christian? Learn to worship God during the preaching of His Word. Verify. Authenticate. Underline. Accentuate. Testify. Reinforce. But participate in worshipping God during the preaching service by involving yourself physically, emotionally, and spiritually. Amen? Amen.
__________
[1] 2 Samuel 6.12-16; 1 Chronicles 15.29
[2] Genesis 1.1; Psalm 8.3; 33.6; 89.11-12; 102.25; 136.5; 146.6; Isaiah 40.21; 44.24; Jeremiah 10.12; 51.15; Zechariah 12.1; John 1.1-3; Acts 14.15; 17.24; Colossians 1.16-17; Hebrews 1.10; 11.3; Revelation 4.11; 10.6
[3] 2 Peter 3.10, 12
[4] Fritz Rienecker & Cleon Rogers, Linguistic Key To The Greek New Testament, (Grand Rapids, MI: Regency Reference Library, 1980), pages 521-522.
[5] Revelation 13.8
Would you like to contact Dr. Waldrip about this sermon? Please contact him by clicking on the link below. Please do not change the subject within your email message. Thank you.
Pastor@CalvaryRoadBaptist.Church