Truth That Changes Lives

JP Jones: We can speak with some certainty about the nature of God. And the reason we can speak with some certainty about the nature of God is God's revealed himself. He showed up.

Greg: Thank you for joining us on Truth That Changes Lives. Pastor JP Jones is the senior pastor of Crossline Community Church in Laguna Hills, California, and a professor of biblical studies at Biola University. Today on Truth That Changes Lives, Pastor JP will be giving us a message from a series entitled First Things First. Let's listen as JP gives us part seven of The God We Worship.

JP Jones: You have your Bibles, would you open to the book of Ephesians in the New Testament? As I said earlier, we are in a series called First Things First. We're talking about who is the God that we worship and how do we worship the true God? There's just a law of the soul that causes us to conform our lives to our image and our vision and our view of God. And that's why it is so important that we have a God-sized vision. When we have a small view of God, we have a small view of what it means to follow Christ.

We have a small view of the resources that we have to face trials and temptations with a small view of the call of Christ on our lives. And we have a big view of ourselves. Conversely, when we have a big view of God, we see God as the one who provides all the resources we need for every obstacle, every challenge, every temptation. We have a confident faith and we have a a sense of being captured by something that's bigger than ourselves. Our lives count for something that have eternal significance. And and the things that we face in this life, they may still be difficult and hard and cause us confusion, but we can trust in the one who is overseeing all those things.

That is the practical implication of having a big view of God. It's more than just what we do here on Sunday mornings in our worship response. It's living a life of worship. We cannot be the kind of worshipers that God has called us to if we have a small view of God. Our view of God determines everything. And so we've been looking at scriptures to determine what does the Bible say about God? How can we with a pure understanding and heart commitment see God for who he really is and then align our lives with that?

Because as Romans 12 says, I urge you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. So a a full presentation of our lives based upon what's true about God is the response of worship. Here in Ephesians chapter one, we are reminded again of what's true about God so that we might give him the worship that glorifies him and then experience the joy that comes from being true worshipers. Ephesians chapter one, verses three to 14 says this. Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ.

For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love he predestined us to be adopted as sons through Jesus Christ in accordance with his pleasure and will to the praise of his glorious grace which he's freely given us in the one he loves. In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins in accordance with the riches of God's grace that he lavished on us with all wisdom and understanding. And he made known to us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure which he purposed in Christ to be put into effect when the times will have reached their fulfillment to bring all things in heaven and on earth together under one head, even Christ.

In him we were also chosen having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will in order that we who were the first to hope in Christ might be for the praise of his glory. And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God's possession to the praise of his glory.

Wow, this is an awesome passage of scripture because it presents to us a God-sized vision. It proclaims who God is and how God is at the center of everything. I want to make some observations from this passage that I hope will help us more clearly see God and then as a result transform us into the worshipers that will bring him glory and will give us great joy. Here's the first observation. God's person is incomprehensible. God's person is incomprehensible. The nature of God, the being of God, the essence of God is incomprehensible when you think about it because we we're told here in this passage in the opening line, praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.

This is a phrase that's used quite often in the New Testament as a title for God, a name for God, a designation for God, the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. But then throughout the passage, seven times he refers to Christ and five times he refers to him or the one he loves. And then he concludes the passage by proclaiming that we've been sealed with the Holy Spirit. So here in a passage that's talking about the spiritual blessings that we have in Christ, implicitly it reveals the nature of God as Father, Son, and Spirit.

Now the purpose of this passage is not to teach the doctrine of the Trinity. But whenever you talk about God, you can't escape the reality of the Trinity because that's the person of God. He is the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. There is an eternal relationship amongst the persons of the one God. Now even in saying that, it's incomprehensible. I I I know that I can say those words and you can say those words and we can recite creeds, but that doesn't mean we fully understand them, nor can we ever understand them because the very nature of God is incomprehensible.

Now before you put that in a category of making you think, well, see, there you go. It's just one of those things that bug me about Christianity. You guys use double talk. The nature of the case itself should lead us to that conclusion. God is infinite, we're finite. We can never fully comprehend God's nature. What that should do is give us a humble awareness of our creature to creator relationship and a great appreciation for what we do know about God because God's made it known to us, you see. Rather than just groping around in darkness, we can speak with some certainty about the nature of God.

And the reason we can speak with some certainty about the nature of God is God's revealed himself. He showed up. He's let us know certain things about him because he wants us to know him and to worship him and to be in a relationship with him. But we can never know everything about him because we're creatures and he's the creator. He is by his very nature incomprehensible. The Bible teaches us that there is one eternal God, but this one eternal God exists as three persons, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. And in fact, the reality of this is is revealed in so many passages similar to this Ephesians one passage where the intent of the passage is not to teach us the Trinity, but it's talking about what God has actually done for us.

But in telling us what God has done for us, it reveals the person of God. First Peter one, two to four says, we've been chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father through the sanctifying work of the Spirit for obedience to Jesus Christ and the sprinkling of his blood. Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ because in his great mercy he's given us new birth. Now the point of that passage is telling us what we have from God. He's given us new birth. He's sprinkled us by his blood. He's saved us.

But in the course of saying that, it speaks to the fact that God is the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Hebrews chapter nine, a passage that's talking about the priestly ministry of Christ, what Christ actually accomplished with his work on the cross, how it's similar to the Old Testament type of a priest offering a sacrifice. Jesus himself is both the priest and the sacrifice. But it says this in Hebrews 9:11, how much more then will the blood of Christ who through the eternal Spirit offered himself unblemished to God cleanse our consciences that lead to death so that we may serve the living God.

What's the point of the passage? How Jesus Christ has offered a sacrifice that will completely cleanse us so we can serve God. But what does it say in explaining that? The eternal Spirit, the work of Christ offered to God the Father. Father, Son, Holy Spirit. Romans 8:9 to 11 talking about how to live a spirit-empowered life says this. You, however, are not controlled by the sinful nature, but by the Spirit. If the Spirit of God lives in you, and if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he didn't belong to Christ. But if Christ is in you, your body is dead because of sin, but your spirit has been made alive because of Christ's righteousness.

And if the spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead lives in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your bodies through his Spirit who lives in you. Here's a passage talking about spiritual living. But what does it say? Christ. Christ in you, the Spirit, the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead. The Spirit, Christ. It's speaking about the Father, Son, and Spirit not explicitly seeking to teach a doctrine of the Trinity, but teaching how to live a spiritual life in relationship with God. And who is God?

The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. God's person is incomprehensible. And so in Ephesians chapter one where the apostle Paul is laying out how God has taken the initiative to do everything that needed to be done to secure our salvation. He speaks of the work of the Father, the work of the Son, and the work of the Spirit, blessing us with every spiritual blessing. Now I want you to think Waikiki theology. Remember I I shared this with you about probably about a month ago while I was on vacation this summer with my family in Hawaii.

We're in Waikiki. It was right after the week that our kids went up to Hume Lake. My daughter was up at Hume Lake. She's a freshman in high school. She took the challenge to start reading the Bible. We're on the beach at Waikiki. She's reading the Gospel of John. She asked me a question about the Trinity. I shared this with you. She says, Dad, I don't understand the Trinity. We're laying on the beach on Waikiki. In the sand I draw a triangle and I say that represents God. And then on one side of the triangle I wrote the Father, the other side of the triangle I wrote the Son, the bottom of the triangle I wrote the Spirit.

I said there's one God who is the Father, the Son, and Spirit. I said then I wrote between the Father and the Son is not, between the Son and the Spirit is not, between the Spirit and the Father is not. And I said here, here's a key action. One God who is the Father, Son, and Spirit. But the Father is not the Son, the Son is not the Spirit, the Spirit is not the Father. They are one in essence, but they are distinct in existence. As soon as I said essence, there was this glazed look over her face.

I don't even know what you're talking about. She's eating her apple. I grab her apple. I said, okay. Look at your apple. You just took a bite out of your apple. You got the skin of the apple, you got the pulp, and then inside you got the core. Well, is an apple the core, the pulp, or the skin? Well, she said, well, it's all of it. I go, God is the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. You can't take one out and have God. It the nature of God is Father, Son, and Spirit in the same way the nature of an apple is the core, the pulp, and the skin.

Okay, I kind of I'm I I go, okay. I'm grandma's son. I'm mom's husband. I'm your dad. Which one am I? Well, you're all three. I said, okay. Now Ashton, each one of those illustrations I'm telling you doesn't fully in every way answer every question about the Trinity. But they give us an understanding, you see, of the three in oneness of God. We'll never fully be able to understand it. Why? God is incomprehensible. But we know enough to worship him. We know enough to worship him. What we see here in Ephesians chapter one is a statement of God's incomprehensibility.

And rather than that bothering us, it should humble us to want to surrender our whole lives to him in worship. Here's a second observation. God 's purpose is incomparable. God's purpose is incomparable because three times in this passage it repeats this phrase to the praise of his glory. Three times. Verse six, verse 12, and verse 14. And in each time it is a summary statement of what has been said right before it. And what has been said right before is how God has blessed us with every spiritual blessing. And in the first case, how God has blessed us with every spiritual blessing as it relates to the Father.

In the second case, how God has blessed us with every spiritual blessing as it relates to the Son. And in the third case, how God has blessed us with every spiritual blessing as it relates to the Holy Spirit. It is a statement of the work of the Trinity in our salvation blessing us with every spiritual blessing. And the conclusion as to why God did that and what that results in is to the praise of his glory. God's ultimate purpose for everything is his glory. God does everything that he does for his glory, even saving sinners which is huge because in Luke chapter 15, Jesus speaking to religious people to tell them how much God loves sinners and how God is committed to saving sinners, Jesus uses three parables.

It's very unique in the flow of the Gospels. Three different parables to explain one concept because he wanted these religious people to understand that God loves sinners. So he gives the parable of the lost sheep, the parable of the lost coin, and the parable of the lost son, the prodigal son, all implying how God will go to whatever length necessary to save sinners. And then there's great rejoicing in heaven when one sinner repents. But here's the point of what Ephesians one tells us. Even the salvation of sinners is not the ultimate end in itself. Did you know that?

Saving lost people is not God's ultimate goal. God's ultimate goal is his own glory. And he does what he does to bring himself glory. It's an incomparable purpose. Everything God does is for his own ultimate glory. It's it's the focus of eternity to eternity and the focus of time and space. Everything that God has done, is doing, will do is for his glory. Everything that God is doing in the world today is for his glory. Everything God is doing in our country today is for his glory. Everything God is doing in our church is for his glory.

Everything that God is doing in your family is for his glory. Everything God is doing in your life is for his glory cuz God is committed to his glory. Now that raises whoa, all kinds of questions. That 's why his purpose is incomparable. It's outside of our categories. One author put it this way. Real Christianity is God-centered. Real Christianity recognizes, as Jesus himself said, that the first and greatest commandment is to love the Lord our God with all our heart, soul, strength, and mind. Those who have glimpsed the greatness and the grandeur and the majesty and the excellence of our God through the eyes of trust in Jesus never get over that vision.

And obsession with the glory of God is the hallmark of true knowledge of God. What is the glory of God? The original meaning of the glory of God has to do with a waitingness. The glory of God summarizes the seriousness, the perfection, and the infinite significance of all the attributes of God. It sums up who he is in the awesome brightness and waitingness of all his perfections. What does it mean then for us to glorify God? We cannot add to his glory for he's already perfect and infinite and glorious. Rather for us to glorify God means for us to ascribe the glory that is due his name in worship.

It means that we acknowledge his glory by living as though his perfections are as serious and significant as they really are so that we reflect his glory through a pure mirror. It means that nothing horrifies us more than the thought of bringing dishonor to his glory. And nothing delights us more than to feel his pleasure as we live to the praise of his glory. Wow. God does everything for his glory. He created us for his glory. He commands us in 1 Corinthians 10:31, whatever you do, even eating and drinking, do all to the glory of God.

God's purpose, it's incomparable. God's purpose for your life is incomparable. God's purpose for your marriage is incomparable. God's purpose for your family is incomparable. God's purpose for this church is incomparable. God's purpose is higher and loftier than we could ever conceive. And worship means we surrender ourselves to this God and we yield ourselves to this purpose. So everything in life then becomes something that needs to be evaluated in light of this ultimate purpose, not just what we do for an hour and a half on Sundays, but everything we do all the time. Are we living fully to the glory of God?

Cuz that's what God is most committed to. And as worshipers, we learn to increasingly commit ourselves fully to that as well. Here's a third observation from this passage. God's plan is unstoppable. God's plan is unstoppable. See, God has a plan to sum up everything in Jesus Christ. He says this in this passage in Ephesians one nine through 11. He made known to us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure which he purposed in Christ to be put into effect when the times will have reached their fulfillment to bring all things in heaven and earth together under one head, even Christ.

And in him we were also chosen having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will. Whoa. That's a lot of heavy language there. It's saying God's sovereign. God's in charge. He rules. He's the king. And he is working out a plan. And he's decreed and foreordained that plan and he will accomplish that plan. It's unstoppable. God's will will be done. See, this passage speaks to the providence of God. We've been talking a lot about that as we've been in this series because it's inescapable.

God does not sit in the heavens ringing his hands and saying, oh my gosh, how could they have screwed that up? Now what am I going to do? God does not sit in heaven and go, I can't believe they elected that guy. God is not sitting in the heavens and going, whoa, what happened on Wall Street? God's not sitting in the heavens and going, oh, I don't know how he's going to pull himself out of that one now. That's a pretty tough problem. God in charge of everything, everything, everything. And he's moving history towards a fulfillment to sum up everything in Jesus Christ.

Greg: What a great message for all of us today. Pastor JP provides us with great insight. That is why we'd like to make it available to you on CD. Just get in touch and mention today's date. We'll send it your way for just $5. Or if you'd like to support this ministry, you can write us at Truth That Changes Lives, 233 31 Molten Parkway, Laguna Hills, California 92653. Or give us a call at 949 916 0250. That's 949 916 0250. For your gift of $25 or more, we will send you a signed copy of JP's new book Facing Goliath.

Please join us every Sunday at 9 or 11:00 a.m. at Crossline Church in Laguna Hills. The address is 233 31 Molten Parkway, Laguna Hills, California 92653. Or check us out on the web at crosslinechurch.com. We're going to get to the address and phone number again in a moment. But before we do that, Pastor JP, do you have any insight from today's message?

JP Jones: Thanks, Greg. We're in this study on the person of God, the attributes of God, the worship of God. Who is the God that we worship? Knowing God is the most important thing in life. Jesus said in John chapter 17, this is eternal life that they may know thee, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom thou has sent. The prophet Daniel said that those who know their God will gain strength and will do great exploits. Knowing God leads to a transformed life. It leads to a powerful life of significance and eternal impact because we know God, we worship God, and his knowledge transforms us.

Second Corinthians chapter three says that where the Spirit of the Lord is, there's liberty. And we all with unveiled faces behold as in a mirror the glory of the Lord and we are being transformed into that same image from glory to glory even by the Lord the Spirit. Having a face-to-face relationship with God without any mask, without any hindrances where we see God and we we understand his glory, it transforms us. We become more like him. Knowing God is the most important thing for any of us. It's the most important pursuit for any of us.

We've seen that God is holy and that God is sovereign. God is the king of the universe and God works providentially in history. In other words, God didn't just create this world and step aside to let it run its course. No, God is actively involved in the affairs of nations and kings and individuals moving history towards the fulfillment of his kingdom purposes. And Ephesians chapter one says that God is going to sum up everything in Jesus Christ. Do you understand God to be the sovereign one who's providentially working not only in history, but in your life?

Have you surrendered your life to God and to his holy purposes? Are you daily committing yourself to pursue God, to advance his kingdom, and to cooperate with him as he works out his plan for the ages? There's no more exciting thing in life than to be seeking first God and his kingdom. In fact, that's what Jesus called us to, to seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness. And then he said all other things would be added unto us. Let me invite you to see God for who he is as the sovereign king, the Lord who is ruling nations and ruling events and ruling history.

And let me invite you to surrender your life to him, to actively pursue him and to proclaim him to others. If that's your desire, then I invite you to pray with me right now. God, thank you that you're in charge. You're the king. You're the sovereign one. Thank you, God, that you have a plan, a kingdom plan, and you're moving history towards the fulfillment of that plan. And thank you, God. You have a plan for my life. I surrender my life to you. Empower me with the Holy Spirit to seek you and to proclaim you to others in Jesus' name.

Amen.

Greg: We want to help you in your relationship with Christ. Please get in touch with us at Truth That Changes Lives, 233 31 Molten Parkway, Laguna Hills, California 92653. Or call us at 949 916 0250. On the internet you'll find us at crosslinechurch.com. We hope to see you at one of our services every Sunday at our new campus in Laguna Hills. For more information and directions, please go to crosslinechurch.com. Please join us next time on Truth That Changes Lives.