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“The Manifold Wisdom of God”

God’s Wise Provisions of Grace

Ephesians 1:3-14

In Ephesians 3:10 God the Holy Ghost tells us that the intent of the triune God in saving sinners by the redemptive work of Christ and in the preaching of the gospel is “that now unto the principalities and powers in heavenly places might be known by the church the manifold wisdom of God.” I have shown you how that God’s wisdom is revealed in redemption by Christ alone, and that redemption as the revelation of God’s glory shows forth his great wisdom. God’s wise provisions of grace are another display of his great wisdom in saving sinners through the substitutionary, redemptive work of the Lord Jesus Christ, his dear Son.

Salvation by Christ alone is salvation most worthy of the infinitely wise God, because the salvation he bestows upon us in Christ meets our every need in this world and in the world to come, and does so “to the praise of the glory of his grace.”

Most Needy

Fallen man is a needy creature. We are full of needs. But all the needs of fallen man are fully met in Christ. Whatever we need to make us truly happy and satisfied is in Christ. Every demand of our circumstances, every craving of our natures, and every requirement of our souls is fully met in and by the Lord Jesus Christ and the grace of God bestowed upon us in him. That fact is stated most clearly in Ephesians 1:3-14.

Unconditional Blessings

These blessing of grace are all freely bestowed upon all God’s elect, without condition or qualification, from eternity. — The grace of God is not for sale. God does not need anything from man. Therefore you cannot buy, earn, or win anything from God, except his wrath. And anything you get from God, other than wrath, must be obtained by free grace alone.

Ephesians 1 declares that every blessing of God upon his elect is the result of free grace alone. If you are one of God’s elect, if you trust Christ, you have been blessed of God. The blessings of grace I am talking about are divine, eternal, covenant blessings. — “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us.” These blessings come from God. They were bestowed upon us before the world began. These blessings were given to us in the Lord Jesus Christ, our Covenant Head and Surety.

These eternal, covenant blessings are infinite, full, unlimited, spiritual blessings. — Our God “hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places.” Yes, all the blessings of grace and salvation have been given to all God’s elect from eternity. They are all spiritual, heavenly blessings. They cannot be measured in terms of that which is material and earthly.

And they are mediatorial, unconditional blessings of grace, heaped upon us “in Christ.” All the blessings of God upon men, all the blessings of grace are in Christ. They are all (I repeat myself deliberately.) unconditional. They are unconditional because they are gifts of grace. They are eternal gifts of grace that cannot and will not ever be taken away (Romans 11:29). They are in Christ.

Rightful Inheritance

Moreover, every blessing of grace, for time and eternity, is the rightful inheritance of every believer (Ephesians 1:11). That is to say, every believer has a rightful, lawful, indisputable, undeniable claim to everything that heaven and eternal glory have to offer, because everything regarding the inheritance of God’s saints is a matter of grace. — Just look at the blessings named in our text: Election, Predestination, Adoption, Acceptance, Redemption, Forgiveness, Faith, Sealing, and Resurrection Glory!

Notice the language Paul was inspired of God to use, and rejoice. In Christ “we have obtained an inheritance.” Though we have not yet entered into our heavenly inheritance, we have already obtained it by God’s decree, by the purchase of Christ’s blood, by Christ our Forerunner, Representatively, and by faith in our blessed Savior.

Our mystical, representative, and spiritual union with Christ gives us a rightful claim to all that he possesses in glory as our Mediator (Romans 8:17; John 17:22). If ever a person comes to understand the substitutionary work of Christ, salvation by grace alone, and the basis of our acceptance with God, he will cease to imagine that there will be degrees of reward in heaven! Eternal glory, in all its fulness, belongs to every sinner who trusts Christ.

Purchased Possession

And every blessing of grace, which we enjoy on earth and in heaven, was earned and purchased for us by our blessed Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. Ephesians 1:14 tells us about the consummation of our salvation in resurrection glory, called “the redemption of the purchased possession.” All the fulness of salvation, resurrection, and glorification have been purchased for God’s elect by Christ. And the bestowment of this fulness shall be to “the praise of His glory.” If ever one particle of heaven’s eternal glory were conditioned upon the works of man, before conversion, at conversion, or after conversion, then God could not rightfully claim praise, honor, and glory for it (1 Corinthians 1:29-31).

The church triumphant round the throne, purchased with precious blood,

In scenes of glory here unknown, adores the Christ of God.

Soon I shall join the heavenly throng, and in their pleasures share,

Triumphant in eternal song, — The Christ of God is there!

Don Fortner

Pastor Fortner’s