25-0928p - Detailed Summary

The preacher greets the congregation with "Good evening, everyone," and expresses hope that everyone had a pleasant day. He announces that the evening sermon is continuing from the morning’s discussion on Ephesians chapter 1, verses 1 through 14, focusing on what it means to be in Christ. He recaps verses 5 and 6, reminding the audience of the morning’s talk on election and predestination. Referring to the preceding verse 4, he explains that before creation and before anyone sinned, God, through His foreknowledge, had a plan of salvation in place to address the sin issue that mankind would face.

The preacher elaborates that God’s plan was offered to all mankind, with Jesus as the Lamb of God who would atone for sin by dying on the cross in humanity’s place. When people hear the gospel, those whose hearts are not calloused can be touched by God’s gentle drawing power through His Word, leading them to believe in Jesus and accept the gift of salvation. Such individuals are adopted into God’s family and considered "in Christ." Verses 5 and 6 continue the thought from verse 4, emphasizing that due to God’s love for His Son—whom He declared as His beloved in whom He is well pleased—and for the world, He predestined believers before time began to become His children through His glorious grace, which is Christ’s sacrifice on the cross. This plan was established before any time passed, with the Father, Spirit, and Son deciding to create spiritual and physical realms to display Their love, allowing intelligent beings—both spiritual and physical—to participate in a scheme of redemption with free will to choose good or bad, provided with laws and tools for life.

God predestined those whose names are in the Book of Life before creation, offering salvation to all mankind, who can choose to believe or reject it. At any point, due to behavior, one could be blotted out of the Book of Life, as will be discussed later. This predestination to become children is through glorious grace freely given to all who accept it, like a gift that must be taken, not forced. In Romans 6:23, Paul states that the wages of sin is death, which all have earned through sin, necessitating the free gift of eternal life through Jesus. Verses 7 and 8 state that in Him, believers have redemption through His blood, forgiveness of sins according to the riches of God’s grace lavished with wisdom and understanding. Only in Him can one claim to be redeemed, with sins washed away by His blood, exemplifying mercy and grace.

In 1 Peter chapter 1, verses 1 and 2, Peter addresses God’s elect, strangers in the world, chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through the sanctifying work of the Spirit, for obedience to Jesus Christ and sprinkling by His blood. This outlines the salvation process involving all three members of the Godhead. The elect are chosen by God, who works on hearts through His Word and the gospel, using an invisible drawing power. The Spirit convicts hearts of sin, and God selects and persuades souls to believe in Jesus, creating faith if hearts are tender. If hearts are calloused from sin or worldly cares, they resist and miss salvation.

Jesus explains in John 6:44 and 65, and John 8:47, that no one can come to Him unless the Father draws them, and those of God hear His words; others do not because they are not from God. Those with tender, searching hearts are drawn by God, an offer extended to all, but some reject it due to unwillingness to change. Upon showing faithfulness through baptism, believers receive the promised Holy Spirit. Through the Spirit’s sanctifying work, they are spiritually sprinkled with Christ’s blood, sins removed, becoming fit to serve the holy Lord. Sanctification sets believers apart for God’s service, impossible in a sinful state. This demonstrates the Trinity’s collaborative role in salvation.

Verses 9 and 10 state that God made known the mystery of His will, according to His good pleasure purposed in Christ, to be effected when times reach fulfillment, bringing all things in heaven and earth under one head, Christ. From before creation, God had the salvation plan in mind, unfolding over human history from the Garden to Christ’s resurrection, through divine providence protecting His people and the Savior’s bloodline, involving all characters in this passion play. It pleased God to reveal these hidden mysteries in the Gospels and New Testament, as Paul noted revealing previously unknown truths from Old Testament times. The crowning achievement is Christ as sovereign King of Kings and Lord of Lords, given all authority, to whom every knee will bow.

God has revealed as much as possible for now, as the story continues with His return. Verse 11 affirms that in Him, believers were chosen, predestined according to the plan of Him who works everything in conformity with His will. This reiterates God choosing special people as His children from before time, all per His pre-creation plan with the Trinity, without reactions to unforeseen events or counters to Satan. Verse 12 states that those first to hope in Christ are for the praise of His glory. The chosen benefit from God’s perfect salvation plan and hold hope that Christ will return for His church, taking them to heaven eternally when the time is right.

No one knows the time of Christ’s return; only God the Father knows. Believers maintain hope in Christ for their place in heaven.

Verses 13 and 14 explain that believers are included in Christ upon hearing the word of truth—the gospel of salvation—and believing, marked with the promised Holy Spirit as a seal. This seal authenticates them as God’s children, a deposit guaranteeing inheritance until redemption of God’s possession, to the praise of His glory. Those in Christ, believing the gospel, are marked by the Holy Spirit for identification when Christ returns and angels collect the church—perhaps visibly, like glowing heads indicating "I belong to Christ." All are brothers and sisters in Christ, identifiable on the day of His second coming.

To join this "in crowd" in Christ, Romans 6:3-4 rhetorically asks if believers know that those baptized into Christ were baptized into His death, buried with Him through baptism into death, to rise to new life as Christ did. In Galatians 3, all are children of God through faith in Christ Jesus; those baptized into Christ have put on Christ, with no distinctions like Jew or Greek, slave or free, male or female—all one in Christ. Romans 13:14 urges putting on the Lord Jesus Christ without provision for fleshly lusts. Putting on Christ means being in Him, like wearing a cloak with the believer inside. Baptism is the way into Christ, noting a transition from one state to another, illustrated simply as moving a hand into a pocket: from outside Christ to inside upon baptism.

Outside Christ, there are no blessings. Baptism moves one into Christ, emerging from water as a new creation able to receive all spiritual blessings in Him. It’s that simple. Simultaneously, believers transition from one kingdom to another.

Everyone in the world is in Satan’s kingdom unknowingly until saved by Christ’s blood, when God transfers them into Christ’s kingdom. Colossians 1:13 illustrates God rescuing from the dominion of darkness into the kingdom of the beloved Son. Now in Christ’s kingdom, which is the church, God adds the baptized to it. Christ’s church is not physical brick and mortar; in Luke 17:20-21, Jesus tells Pharisees the kingdom does not come visibly—people won’t say "here" or "there"—because it is within you. Christ, the Prince of Peace, rules in believers' bodies and hearts as His temple. The church is the people; wherever they gather, Christ is present.

To be in Christ and part of God’s in-crowd, one has the opportunity now, joining the heavenly throng from Revelation 19:6, like a great multitude roaring like waters and thunder, shouting "Hallelujah for our Lord God Almighty reigns." That’s the in-crowd: those in Christ and in heaven. The preacher invites anyone with needs to come forward for assistance.