The Church as The People of the Triune God: To the Praise of the Son—Part 2

The Church as The People of the Triune God:
To the Praise of the Son—Part 2

This article is now the fourth in this series. You can find the introductory article here, the second article here, and Part I of this article here. In addition to the articles, we will be including links to the sermons from which these articles have come. In the end, our hope is to be who we are in Christ, to the praise of his glory!

Who is Jesus?  Still the most important question! In the last article we began by considering the contribution of Chalcedon to the history of Christian thought ion the question and the importance of looking back to documents like these as foundational to our heritage in how we work out the meaning of the all-sufficient Word. Unlike Scripture, these statements are not beyond scrutiny, but Chalcedon is one that has stood against many accusations for over a millennium and remains important for us today.

Picking up from our last article, we are moving through the text of Ephesians 1:3–14, looking now at verses 7–13. As we consider the redeeming work of the Son, we see that:

We are a blood-bought people predestined for praise.

We are going to unpack that idea in two points, first that we are a blood-bought people brought into union with Christ (1:7-10) and that we are predestined for praise through our hope in Christ (1:11–12). The end result: that we might live to the praise of his glory (1:13). 

We are a blood-bought people brought into union with Christ (1:7–10)

This whole passage is predicated on the fact that we are who we are because we are “in Christ.” But what does it mean to be ‘in him’? Being ‘in him’ means that our identity has been fundamentally changed. Prior to salvation, all are ‘in Adam,’ identified by their relation to him under the dominion of sin. Nothing in our power can change that.

Apart from Christ and in Adam, we have no right to approach God nor to claim any of these “spiritual blessings in the heavenly places.” We can’t claim the faith of our parents or grandparents to get us in on the deal. And if you are here today and you have not come to conviction of your own sin, and you have not come to saving faith, there is nothing you can do to manipulate your way… but I know a guy. His name is Jesus. All who put their trust in him will be found in him because it is by faith that they are united with him. 

Friend, if you are trusting in Christ today, your life is hidden in him and when Christ who is your life appears, you will be with him and will be like him. This is union with him. This is an inseparable act of the Triune God bringing redemption to you.

Christ, by virtue of his sacrifice and perfect obedience to the Father—both actively in his life and passively in his submission unto death on the cross, bearing the penalty of our sin—purchased us for himself by his own blood. This is what redemption means: it is a release from ownership by the payment of another; it is freedom from bondage by the ransom of another. This is what Christ has accomplished for us.

In Acts 20, Paul calls the elders of the church at Ephesus, the very ones he would later write this letter. Listen to what he says to them in 20:28— “Pay careful attention to yourselves and to all the flock, in which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to care for the church of God, which he obtained with his own blood.” Friends, we are a blood-bought people. This is who we are. In him we have forgiveness. We are not our own, we have been bought with a price. 

Christ not only secured our forgiveness by his blood, but he also opened our hearts and minds to saving wisdom and by His Spirit is guiding us into all truth by the Word of God. The Spirit does not reveal new wisdom or information. The Spirit illumines the truth of God’s Word, shining its light in our hearts that we may increase in knowledge and wisdom. We have no need of going anywhere else. We have all we need in Christ.

The end game is no mystery for us. We are not on the edge of our seats wondering how this will play out. God has revealed the end of all things. This world, though marred and cursed by sin, will one day be renewed and untied in Christ. That renewal will come because of the redeeming work of the blood of Christ and all who are in him will taste of its fruit! 

We are predestined for praise through our hope in Christ (1:11–12)

The very language that Paul uses here assures us that this future hope and blessing has been secured for us by the finished work of Christ and points us to the purpose of all of this, that we might live to the praise of his glory.

The purpose of God’s revealing of his plan to us is that his incomparable goodness and glory might be on display for all the world through the church. That is precisely what Paul goes on to say a bit later in his letter…

“To me, though I am the very least of all the saints, this grace was given, to preach to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ, and to bring to light for everyone what is the plan of the mystery hidden for ages in God, who created all things, so that through the church the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places.”— Ephesians 3:8–10

We were predestined for the proclamation of God’s wisdom in Christ… I am reminded of a book that made a significant impact on me as a young believer. In John Piper’s Let the Nations Be Glad he makes the profound statement that “missions exists because worship doesn’t.” 

Conclusion: that we might live to the praise of his glory (1:13)

The very reason we proclaim the gospel to the ends of the earth is because we were created to worship God and because he is the rightful Lord of all creation. We were made to glorify God and enjoy him forever and he is worthy of praise from every corner of the earth. Every heart was created for worship but only those who come to saving faith in Christ worship the one true God who alone is worthy of praise. 

Only those who are in Christ will join in the everlasting song of redemption and this is our inheritance.

To the praise of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Coram Deo. 

**For a more detailed consideration of this article and the next, you can listen to the sermon here.