In spite of the unjust imprisonment Paul was undergoing, he was overcome by God’s grace and overflowing with praise in his letter to the Ephesians. In today’s message, Tyler Briggs highlights the riches of grace declared by Paul and displayed by God the Father to choose His Church, to adopt us into His family, and the practical implications for such amazing grace.

Tyler’s Main Points

• The doctrine of salvation should produce a doxology of praise to God in His Church.
• The Father’s choosing of us in eternity past results in our present and permanent adoption.
• The effect of the Father choosing us is holiness.

Key Takeaways

• Thematically, Paul presents Ephesians 1:4-14 through a Trinitarian perspective: The Father chooses (vv. 4-6), the Son redeems (vv. 7-12), and the Spirit seals (vv. 13-14). Each section ends with the refrain “to the praise of His glory.”
  
  
• What was God doing before creation? There was fullness of joy and perfect fellowship within the Trinity. Lacking nothing, God chose to create the world and to choose His Church to display His glory and to receive their glory.
  
  
• As modeled by Paul, the doctrine of salvation should produce doxology (“praise”).
  
  
• Doctrine without delight is a symptom of a dead or distracted faith.
  
  
• The doctrine of election is the truth of divine revelation, not the product of human speculation.
  
  
• There is mystery within election that the Bible does not answer. Mystery should move us to worship Him and marvel that His thoughts and ways are above our own.
   
• The Bible does provide clarity that God chose His Church for His glory and that His election corresponds to His perfect love and kindness.
  
  
• Election is the companion of human responsibility, not its competitor– God’s sovereignty and man’s responsibility go hand-in-hand. Rightly understood, the doctrine of election should assurance to preach the Gospel, rather than apathy.
  
  
• Election is cause for great humility. We did nothing to merit our choosing. It is the most stripping of doctrines and leaves man no room to boast.
  
  
• The redeemed are positionally perfect in Christ and progressively becoming more holy in this life through the power of the Holy Spirit.
  
  
• God is never done with the chosen. He will complete what He started when it comes to the redemption and perfection of His elect. 
  
  
• Apart from God’s grace, all of humanity is totally depraved and under the authority of Satan. All who believe have been chosen by the Father, redeemed by the Son, and adopted through the Spirit into His family.
  
  
• The Father has given His children a fixed identity and immeasurable worth. We have been purchased with the blood of Christ, we are God’s children, have a place at the Father’s table, and have unhindered access to intimacy with Him through Christ.
  
  
• We must not neglect the privilege of hearing from God through the Scriptures.
  

Discussion Questions/Application

Personal reading:

• Read Ephesians 1:3-14. Respond to God with a prayer of praise for the riches of His grace in salvation.

Personal reflection:

• Where are you most prone to find your identity apart from God? What truths from today’s message do you need to employ to combat these lies?
  
  

Discuss with your community group:

How is the doctrine of election good news? What reasons does it give us to praise God?

As Tyler preached, “Doctrine without delight is a symptom of a dead or distracted faith.” Where do you lack delight when it comes to your relationship with God, His purposes, and His people? Where is your faith dead or most in danger of becoming distracted?

Passages Referenced for Further Study
Ephesians 1:3-14, 2:1, 5:25-27, 4:1, 4:30; 1 John 1:10; Psalm 139:7-10, 4:3, 18:6; Hebrews 4:12.