This is the second sermon in a series in which I will share some of what I am learning at the GCTS Ockenga Fellows retreats. The program exists to help the church bring about renewal and transformation to our culture. Our first session was on the Great Awakening and Ministry in New England and the second session was on Business & Work. We read two books for this session:

Every Good Endeavor: Connecting Your Work to God’s Work by Timothy Keller and Katherine Leary Alsdorf

Redeeming Capitalism by Kenneth J. Barnes (Dr. Barnes is actually co-leading the Ockenga program.)

I highly recommend both of these books and am drawing a lot from Keller’s book in my sermon. Instead of citing him each time you can checkout my sermon’s endnotes on the website. Let me pray.

How do you view work? Is it something you enjoy doing or something you do to get by? Is your work something you see as valuable in and of itself or do you just do it to bring home a paycheck? The first chapters of the Bible actually tell us that work is a very good thing.

God created work to be good. (Genesis 1-2)

In Genesis 1 we find God working as he creates the world and everything in it. When God creates this world the account says, “God saw that it was good.” (Gen 1:10) God is saying his work is good. The Hebrew word for work, “melaka,” first appears in Genesis 2.

Genesis 2:3 By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day he rested from all his work. (NIV®)

This word for “work” appears all throughout the Old Testament to describe human work (Ex 20:9), but here we find it describing God’s work. The act of work in and of itself is not bad but good. Work comes before the fall. Work is pre-fall. It’s not a result of the fall. There’s work in paradise. When humans work we reflect God’s goodness (John 5:17b). In fact, God gives humans a “job description.”

Genesis 1:26b “…[humankind] may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.”

Genesis 1:28b “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground.” (NIV®)

This means that we as people are called by God to work. It’s not something we “have to do” but “get to do.” We do it because it reflects God’s goodness and character who is a working and creating God. We see this the most clearly in Jesus himself. Australian cleric Phillip Jensen writes:

“If God came into the world, what would he be like? For the ancient Greeks, he might have been a philosopher-king. The ancient Romans might have looked for a just and noble statesman. But how does the God of the Hebrews come into the world? As a carpenter.” (Every Good Endeavor, pg. 37)

Work is good, yes ministry work and office work but everyday service and blue-collar work too. Have you heard of the sacred-secular divide? It’s a false conception of work. The divide looks like this:

Sacred – Work & activity God cares about and calls people to do.

missionaries, clergy, pastors, Bible teachers, worship leaders, church committees/leadership, soup kitchens, prayer, devotions, Sunday activities, etc.

Secular – Work & activity God accepts but doesn’t specifically call people to do.

engineers, educators, nurses, doctors, government officials, scientists, artists, economists, politicians, plumbers, electricians, carpenters, hobbies, sports, vacation, school, weekday activities, etc.

But this is wrong. it’s all sacred! God cares about and calls people to do all types of work and activity. Already in the first chapter of Genesis God has knocked down this divide. God is a gardener a scientist a sociologist an engineer and he calls it all good work. Work is good. Work is good but… 

Work becomes difficult because of the fall. (Genesis 3)

Although God invites humans to join him in working, we mess it up pretty quick

I want to tell you about how God sees this church, how God sees our church. We’ve been reading and studying the book of Ephesians together, and it tells us how God sees our community of believers.

When God sees our church he sees holy and faithful people. (1:1)

God sees the ones he chose before the creation of the world. (1:4, 11)

God sees his adopted children—we’re sons and daughters like Christ. (1:5)

God sees those he has redeemed and forgiven by the blood of Christ. (1:7)

When God sees our church he sees a beautiful temple filled with his Holy Spirit. (1:13; 2:21-22)

God sees our church as his prized possession. (1:14)

God sees our church as the very body of Christ Jesus himself. (1:22-23)

When God sees our church he sees something that was spiritually dead but is now alive. (2:1, 5)

God sees our church like we’re seated right next to him with Jesus. (2:6)

God sees all the good things he’s prepared for our church to do. (2:10)

God sees the people of our church as citizens of his country and heirs of his kingdom. (2:12; 3:6)

God sees the people of our church as truly loving each other and loving Christ Jesus (3:17-18)

God sees us the people of our church as perfectly united together by the power of his Holy Spirit. (4:3) 

Do you see all the amazing ways God sees us? This is what it means to be “called” by God. He has “called” us to be holy and faithful and adopted and forgiven and filled and loving each other and perfectly united with each other. Why can God see us this way? Because he sees us through the lens of Christ Jesus. When he looks at us he sees the life and work of his Son, who was holy and faithful, the perfect son. 

But do we match this? If we look at ourselves as a church do we see these things? How are we doing as children of God? Are we filled with the Spirit? Are we doing the good things he has called us to? Are we loving each other and loving Christ Jesus? Are we experiencing real unity and peace with each other and God? In some ways yes. In other ways no. 

What then is the next step we can take as a church to become more like what God already sees us to be? What can we do to get closer to it? I think the ESV has a better translation of Ephesians 4:1 than the NIV. It says, “I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called,” The “therefore” is in reference to all the ways God has called and blessed and graced us in chapters 1-3, which we just reviewed. So therefore, because of all of these wonderful blessings, live a different kind of life. The NIV says “live worthy” but the ESV says “walk worthy.” Both are fine translations but I like how the ESV breaks it down into steps.

As anyone here walked the Appalachian trail? Where does it start? Georgia. Where does it end? Maine. Did you hike it all at once or in sections? Some hike it all at once or take several years to do so. The Appalachian trail goes along the Blue Ridge Mountains, the Appalachian Mountains, and the White Mountains and is 2,174 miles long. How many steps does it take to start that journey? One. Everyone who completes the Appalachian trail starts it the same way—by taking a single step. Today Paul is giving us a handful of steps we can take to “walk worthy” of the great calling and amazing grace God has given us. 

Step 1 – Humility

The first thing Paul calls us to in verse 2 in humility, “Be completely humble.” When we realize that God called and predestined us to salvation apart from any good deed or admirable character quality in ourselves it humbles us. In fact, God calls us to salvation despite our lack of good deeds and admirable character qualities. What’s the opposite of humility? Pride. Arrogance. Entitlement. My way or the high way. Ancient Greek culture thought humility was a waste of time. But the Bible says in 1 Peter 5:5b “…All of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because, “God opposes the proud but shows favor to the humble.” (NIV®)

What

Let’s start by reviewing the big picture of the book of Ephesians.

Chapters 1-3 How God is gracious to us

Chapters 4-6 How we are to live-out grace

The first three chapters, chapters 1-3, don’t include many imperatives, or commands. They don’t tell us how to live as much as they tell us what God has done for us. The next three chapters, chapters 4-6, tell us how to respond to grace and are full of imperatives and commands. Grace in. Grace out. 

Paul understands how difficult this is to get because he includes a prayer for the believers to get it in chapter 1 and again today as he wraps up chapter 3. He is praying for us to experience God’s grace—everything he has just finished talking about.

Have you ever put a lot of work into a gift and given it to someone with the hope that they would like it? That they would receive it as you intended? Maybe you’ve written a letter to your husband or wife and you hope that when they read it they will realize how much you’ve thought about them and care for them. Maybe you’ve spent a bunch of time knitting a sweater or hat for your husband (or your wife…), and you hope that when they open up their gift they will be happy with what you made. That’s how Monica feels about me every Christmas. Maybe it’s how children feel when they draw a picture or make a craft and bring it to their parents. If their parents looks at it and say, “You could have done better” and put it away, do you think the child will want to make them another picture or craft? We want people to receive the things we’ve prepared for them. 

Paul has brought the Ephesians a gift. He’s brought them the gift that God worked so hard to prepare—grace. And now he is praying they will receive God’s grace. In the first three chapters of Ephesians God has given us his grace—his love given to us without us having to do anything but believe in Jesus. Will we receive what God has given or will we put it away because God could have made something better? It’s better if you earn your salvation, because you’ll feel more accomplished. It’s better if God doesn’t offer this grace to everyone, especially bad people who don’t deserve it.

I know some of you probably love to receive gifts, but some of us can have a hard time receiving gifts. Instead of seeing the love and thought behind that hand-painted pink and yellow ceramic bowl, we see how it doesn’t match with all the other dishes and how we’ll have to find someplace to store it. That’s like when we read Ephesians, and although we know we’ve received God’s grace in chapters 1-3, what really wears us down is knowing we’ll have to live differently because of it in chapters 4-6. 

In order for us to be able to receive God’s grace the way he intends, and for it to change us in a positive way, we need a change of heart. We need something deep inside of us to move. And that is exactly what Paul is praying for today. He is praying for hearts that can receive God’s grace. That’s the same thing we pray for. We pray for hearts that can receive God’s grace. I don’t know about you but I can talk and talk about God’s grace and it doesn’t change me one bit. But if God get’s ahold of my heart, and your heart, our hearts, then not only will we appreciate the gift of God’s grace, we’ll be able to live differently because of God’s grace. Paul prays for four prayer requests in his prayer. The first is this… 

1) We pray for inner strength through the Spirit. (v14-16)

Like the Lord’s prayer Paul addresses our Heavenly Father and prays this in Ephesians 3:16 “I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being,” (NIV®). Paul prays for the Ephesians to experience inner strength. This Greek word for strength (krataioo) is also found in the Septuagint (the Greek translation of the Old Testament) in stories of King David. Before David became king while he and his men were being hunted by king Saul the Amalekites attacked his encampment while he was away, burned i

I like riddles. Do you like riddles? I like riddles but I’m incredibly bad at them. Here’s one I found on Reddit, which was in an advertisement (don’t shout out the answer). 

I am the destroyer of mountains, the killer of kings. I always fly by, yet I don’t have wings. I can end basketball games or marriages with similar ease. And though I flow like a stream, only water can freeze. I’ve murdered parents and children and houseplants galore. Yet despite all this you always want more. Who am I? 

Now I know some of you are thinking “Nicholas Cage…” But that’s actually not the correct answer. Someone guessed that on Reddit. What’s the real answer?… Time. How about this one?

A horse jumps over a tall building and onto a priest who is immediately taken away but only for a short while. What am I talking about? 

Why do we like riddles? It’s because they cause us to pause and think, and if we can figure out the answer, we feel intelligent and smart. Of course if we can’t figure out the answer and have to ask for it, we feel a little dumb. But there’s still that “ah-ha” moment. So what is this riddle talking about? Chess. 

The Apostle Paul tells us about a riddle in our text today. He tells us about one of the oldest riddles of all time that has finally been solved. Let me summarize Paul’s riddle in my own words.

What is unknown now known? Two now one? Weak yet strong?

Why should you care about this riddle? Because the answer to this riddle can change your life. This riddle is so profound that when we finally understand the answer, we will want to share it with others.

In Ephesians chapter 3 Paul is about to say a prayer for the believers but he interrupts himself to marvel at this mystery. In verse 1 Paul says this. 

Ephesians 3:1 For this reason I, Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus for the sake of you Gentiles— (NIV®)

But notice the dash at the end of the verse? That tells us Paul takes a detour. His train of thought returns in verse 14, “For this reason I kneel before the Father…” But before he prays, which we’ll look at next week, he speaks of a mystery revealed, which is the first part of our riddle.

What is unknown now known? (Eph 3:2-5)

2 Surely you have heard about the administration of God’s grace that was given to me for you, 3 that is, the mystery made known to me by revelation, as I have already written briefly. 4 In reading this, then, you will be able to understand my insight into the mystery of Christ, 5 which was not made known to people in other generations as it has now been revealed by the Spirit to God’s holy apostles and prophets. (NIV®)

Paul is writing to the believers at Ephesus and he begins in verse 2 by explaining his job description. He is an administrator. At Cornerstone we have an Office Administrator. She does things like order supplies, prepare the bulletin, and tell me what to do. My only complaint is that she is just too perfect. An office administrator helps run a church. Paul is an administrator of grace. The Greek word for administration (oikonomia) means to “manage a household.” Most of us don’t have enough money to pay someone to manage our houses. We do it ourselves. But Paul is the one God has called to manage the household of grace—to share grace with those lost in sin.

Our sermon series, “We Need Grace” ties nicely into this theme. Paul is saying that this riddle is a riddle of grace. That’s a hint, a clue. When God has made what was unknown known it clearly shows his amazing grace. When God reveals the mystery through Christ Jesus, we say, wow that’s grace! That’s amazing!

Paul actually tells us that God has withheld this mystery from previous generations. That means the believers who came before Paul and the people of the Old Testament didn’t fully understand. God hinted at this mystery throughout the Old Testament. When God promised to bless the father of the Israelite people Abraham in one of the first chapters of the Bible he hinted at it.

Genesis 12:3

I will bless those who bless you,

In seminary they taught us to preach a passage like it’s written. So if you’re preaching a narrative like a parable or story of Jesus’ life, you should try to tell a story. And when you preach one of Paul’s letters that tend to be more logical and reasoned, you should make a more logical and reasoned argument. But rules are made to be broken, especially if you think the Lord is leading you in another direction. So today I am going to start my sermon with a story that although is allegorical and metaphorical, will hopefully introduce both our hearts and minds to what the Apostle Paul has to say in Ephesians 2:11-22. 

So please imagine with me you live in a brown desert-like land. You were born there and you’ve grown up there. You grew up in a small town with very few job opportunities. You have some family there, but most have them have died. It’s not a safe place to live. You’ve done some bad things there and you know that if you stay there those bad things will catch up with you. This country is the land of no hope. There’s no hope for the present or for the future. 

But you hear of a better country—the far country. You hear the far country is a land of opportunity and hope. You hear there are green plants and living animals, birds, cows, horses, dogs, and rabbits. But there’s a problem. Your country, the land of no hope is at war with the far country. They are sworn enemies. As a citizen of your country you are considered an enemy, a terrorist, by the people of that other land. But you decide that maybe, just maybe, they will receive you. 

You begin to make the long hard journey. You travel through waste lands and desert plains. You pass dead bushes and trees and ghost towns. Ash falls from the sky. You pass the skeletal remains of cattle and birds and the human bones. And when you think you can’t go any further and are parched and dying of thirst you spot something on the horizon. At first you think it’s a mountain range because it stretches from the left to the right, but as you get closer you realize it’s a wall. It’s a one-hundred foot tall wall. 

The wall is straight up. It’s smooth and impossible to climb. No ladder is tall enough, and as you look at the base of the wall, you realize that even if you had a shovel you could never dig beneath it. There is no way over or under this wall. You’re stuck. But as you’re standing there looking at the wall you hear life on the other side. You hear birds chirping and cows mooing and the sound of a waterfall. You know if you can just make it over you’ll be saved. 

And then you hear the sound of laughter, so you begin to shout. “Help me! Help me! Save me! Save me!” A handful of people appear at the top of the wall, looking over. They’re each wearing white tunics. They throw a rope down the side of the wall and begin to lower it. You think, “At last! I’m saved.” But just before the rope reaches you they stop lowering it. You hear a voice call to down, “Are you one of us?” 

You don’t know what you mean so you shout back, “Who are you?” 

There’s a pause and you hear a second question, “Are you circumcised?” 

You shout back, “Why do you want to know that?” 

A third question, “Have you ever eaten pigs or dogs or cats or horses or donkeys or rats or seafood that has a shell like lobster and oysters?

“Yes! You shout back.” 

“Final question,” they shout back. “Do you work on Saturdays?”

“When I have a job” you reply.

There’s a pause, and then those on top of the wall begin to pull the rope back up. 

As they raise the rope your heart sinks. “Why?!” You shout. 

“Because you’re unclean” they reply. “Get away from here. You’re not one of us. You don’t look like us or act like us or obey our country’s laws. Go away!” And they begin to throw sticks and stones and rotten food down at you. You flee the wall—running for your life.

The people on the other side of the wall don’t want you, but you will die if you stay on this side. Others have died. You notice a burial site a little ways away. And whe

This is the first of several sermons throughout the next two years in which I will reflect on what I learn at the GCTS Ockenga Fellows retreat. The Gordon-Conwell Ockenga Institute is named after the seminary’s first President, Dr. Harold John Ockenga, and exists to help the church bring about cultural renewal and transformation. Our first session was on the Great Awakening and Ministry in New England, so I look forward to sharing some of what I learned in this sermon.

Why are you here? Why have you come to church tonight? Did you come because your friends are here? Did you come because your boyfriend or girlfriend or parent asked you to come? Did you come for the music or the sermon or because you think church is important? I come for the cheese and crackers.

A man named Nicodemus once visited Jesus under cover of darkness to find out who Jesus is. He was a Pharisee and “a member of the Jewish ruling council.” Nicodemus was an intelligent man, a man who knew the Hebrew Scriptures (what we call the Old Testament today), a man who had standing and authority. I think it’s fair to say that he was probably a good man too. We would call him “open-minded” today. Many of the Pharisees brushed Jesus off, but Nicodemus doesn’t do that. He goes to Jesus because he wants to know who Jesus really is. 

Do you see a little of yourself in Nicodemus? Are you interested in who Jesus is? Are you intelligent, at least moderately so? Are you a good-person? Are you open-minded? If yes, then can I say this of you?…

You’ve come to Jesus wondering who he is. (v1-2)

You’ve come to church to find out who Jesus is. And maybe if you already believe in Jesus you’ve come to church to remember who you think Jesus is. But there’s one problem with Nicodemus. He is spiritually blind. Nicodemus came at “night.” By including this detail the author of this gospel, John, isn’t just recording when it happened, but telling us a little something about the spiritual state of Nicodemus. 

Why do we do things at night? Because we don’t want people to see us. When we were teenagers my brother and a couple friends and I got dressed up in camouflage and tried to sneak from one end of my hometown to the other end of town under cover of darkness without anyone seeing us. People spotted us in the first thirty seconds. Nicodemus doesn’t want to be seen. But that night isn’t just on the outside. It’s inside too. Nicodemus’s heart is dark. He’s spiritually blind (John 11:10). He doesn’t know who Jesus is.

John 3:1-2 Now there was a Pharisee, a man named Nicodemus who was a member of the Jewish ruling council. 2 He came to Jesus at night and said, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God. For no one could perform the signs you are doing if God were not with him.” (NIV)

Nicodemus doesn’t come outright and say it, “Who are you Jesus?” but you can see it implied in his statement. “Rabbi, we know you are from God because you do miracles… but who are you really?” Have you ever asked Jesus that, “Jesus, who are you really?” I hope you’re asking it right now because Jesus is going to answer you different than you expect. Do you want to hear how Jesus answers Nicodemus? 

To get into God’s kingdom you have to be born again. (v3-4)

John 3:3 Jesus replied, “Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again.” (NIV)

Instead of telling Nicodemus who he is Jesus calls him out, “Nicodemus, you’ve got it all wrong. You think you’ve figured me out but you don’t know what it’s all about.” It’s like Jesus is pointing at you and saying, “You’ve got it all wrong. You don’t know half of what you think you know.” Most of us assume if we’re good people we’ll go to heaven. Nicodemus assumed that because he was born Jewish and knew the Scriptures that it would turn out okay for him, but Jesus says you have to be “born again” to see God. 

If you’re a normal human being like Nicodemus you probably think that’s the most ridiculous statement you’ve ever hear

Read or listen to Andy Bradshaw preach Ephesians 2:1-10 and our need for God’s grace. You can access a PDF of his sermon by clicking “Save” and “PDF.”

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Do you remember prayers? Are there certain prayers that stick out in your memory, maybe from your childhood or more recently? When I was a kid my dad put us to bed every-night by praying something like, “Heavenly Father, would you put a hedge of thorns and a wall of protection around Jonathan, and would he wake up refreshed and ready to go. Amen.”

What prayers do you remember? Maybe your parents or a sibling or your pastor or an elder praying? I remember that when the elders prayed in the church I grew up in they always seemed to pray forever. Praying for several minutes can feel like an eternity when you’re a kid. 

When I lived near DC and helped lead a small group at George Mason University I remember how one of the students prayed. His name was Jim and it just felt like he was talking to God, like God was sitting in the room and the two of them were having a conversation. It made my heart feel something. Prayer is supposed to be real. Prayer is talking to God. Prayer is pouring out your heart to God. 

Today we get to “eavesdrop” on a prayer. We get to “listen in” as the Apostle Paul tells the church at Ephesus what he prays for them. This prayer isn’t what you might normally expect from a prayer. Although they live in a culture hostile to Christianity, Paul doesn’t pray for God to protect them. Although some of them may be sick or poor Paul doesn’t pray for healing or for financial stability. Although some of them may be wrestling with sadness or hurts Paul doesn’t pray for happiness for them. 

What Paul prays for is so much deeper than my normal prayers, and maybe yours too. I hope today’s prayer will serve as a model for the way you pray this upcoming week. It’s already challenged my prayers. So what Paul prays for the Ephesians I also want to pray for us today.

This is my prayer for you: (v15-16)

Ephesians 1:15-16 For this reason, ever since I heard about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all God’s people, 16 I have not stopped giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers. (NIV®)

Paul hears how well the church is doing at Ephesus—that they’re loving Jesus and loving each other—and it so moves him that he can’t stop thanking God and praying for them. Why is that? It’s because Paul knows this church. Paul preached in Ephesus and pastored them for several years starting in Acts 19 (Acts 19:10). At Ephesus, “God did extraordinary miracles through Paul” (Acts 19:11). If Paul touched a “handkerchief” or “apron” and those things were taken to the sick, they were cured of their diseases and evil spirits left them. 

But despite all this the new believers at Ephesus had a hard time giving up some of the witchcraft they’d come to trust. The temple of Artemis was built in this city and it dominated the religious life. This is a model of the temple. It was so big and so grand that it was one of the seven wonders of the ancient world. So this tiny group of Christians is trying to follow Jesus in a city ruled by a foreign religion and so you can see how they might struggle to completely believe. 

That changed when some men called the “seven sons of Sceva” tried to cast out a demon in the name of Jesus and Paul, but didn’t actually believe. They demon said, “Jesus I know, and Paul I know about, but who are you?” and then he attacked them. Acts says “they ran out of the house naked and bleeding” and this scared everyone. A bunch of believers brought their witchcraft scrolls and burned them, amounting to 50,000 drachmas, or 50,000 days labor . 

After this the silversmiths in Ephesus started a riot because they were afraid Paul was going to ruin their business selling idols of Artemis, which is true. He was. This riot led to Paul leaving Ephesus (Acts 20:1). 

So do you think it’s good news when Paul hears that the people of Ephesus are still loving Jesus and still loving each other? Yes! It’s huge because there was a huge temptation to either start practicing witchcraft and worshipping Artemis or to give in under the s

What’s one of the best gifts you’ve ever received? Maybe some of you are leaning into your spouse right now and saying, “My husband” or “My wife.” Aww… That’s so sweet. But chances are you had to work for your spouse. You had to date them, try and look attractive for them, treat them nicely. No I’m talking about an item or thing someone gave you that you really like—pure materialism. 

On one of my favorite childhood birthdays I received Fort Legoredo. It was a lego fort filled with soldiers and guns and cannons and horses. You can see why I as a little boy would be super excited about this gift. I think when my parents bought the set it probably cost about $60. But now since it’s retired it sells anywhere from $62 to $952 online. 

I still have this lego set and the original box. I have all the pieces because after I was done playing with them I would pack the pieces away in individually marked ziplock bags just like other normal children. I already have some legos ready for Elijah. When I see him putting his lego sets away in ziplock bags I’ll say, “Son, you’re ready” and I’ll bring out Fort Legoredo. 

Maybe some of you really like receiving gifts. On the Five Love Languages Quiz you score high in “Receiving Gifts.” Maybe some of you don’t like receiving gifts, so you score really low. Today’s sermon is about a gift that I hope all of you will want to receive. It’s the gift of God’s grace. Mercy is not receiving a punishment we do deserve and grace is receiving a gift we don’t deserve. Grace is a gift. Paul starts our passage and his letter to the Ephesians this way.

Ephesians 1:3 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. (NIV®)

Today’s text, Ephesians 1:3-14 in the original Greek is one long continuous sentence in which Paul describes the blessings we have in the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. A blessing is a gift. A blessing is anything good we receive from God. In this passage Paul explains three gifts we receive from God, the first of which is the most controversial. Grace is a gift and the first gift we receive is this… 

1. We are chosen by the Father. (v4-6)

Ephesians 1:4-6 For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love 5 he predestined us for adoption to sonship through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will— 6 to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves. (NIV®)

My three gifts (or points) are adapted from Richard Coekin’s Ephesians For You. The first gift we receive is that as Christians we are chosen by our Heavenly Father. There is probably no other gift in the history of the church that has caused more division, disunity, distrust, and disagreement. We’re really good at arguing and getting mad over the doctrine of election and predestination. 

I’ve been reading George Whitefield’s biography. He was the most famous preacher during the Great Awakening in the 1740s in both America and England. He preached on the Boston Common to 25,000 people without any microphone. The entire population of Boston was only 17,000 at the time. George Whitefield believed in the doctrine of election and predestination but his mentor, Charles Wesley, rejected it. And they very publicly argued about it and condemned each other in the newspapers. It caused a huge rift between them for years. I don’t want that to happen here.

This is still a touchy subject today. When I was the graduating seminary I interviewed with a church that told me they liked my interview and would consider me as long as I didn’t talk about election. I don’t think I’ve preached much on this topic at Cornerstone, maybe because we haven’t had a text that emphasized it or maybe because I didn’t want to cause division. Can we agree on two things?

The church should be a safe space to talk about difficult things, like election and predestination.

Whether we ag

Today maybe you’ve come to Cornerstone because it’s the beginning of the fall season or a friend invited you. I want you to know that I have the most encouraging message prepared for you. In fact, I want to start off with a word of encouragement I received at the last church conference attended. My encouragement to you is this… “You are good for nothing.” 

You are good for nothing… You, are good, for nothing. Would everyone say this phrase with me:

“I am good for nothing.” 

Ready? “I am good for nothing…” This is the definition of grace. You are good… for nothing. There’s nothing you’ve done or can do or won’t do that can make you good. You’ve been made good for free. Today we’re launching a new sermon series, We Need Grace. That’s what grace is—being made good for nothing you’ve done or accomplished. Christians tend to define grace this way:

Grace: the free and unmerited favor of God. 

Maybe you’re sitting here and you’re thinking, “No Jonathan. I’m not good. I haven’t received God’s favor. He isn’t pleased with me.” By the end of this sermon, you will know how to receive grace. You will know how to be good for nothing. 

One of the first Christian converts to receive grace was a man named Paul. But he didn’t start pro-Christian. In fact, he was responsible for persecuting and killing Christians. But one day Jesus appeared to him on the road to Damascus and Paul was completely transformed. Jesus forgave him for his sins and he traveled the ancient world telling others about God’s grace. Here’s some of the things he said. 

Romans 3:23-24 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. (NIV®)

Paul is saying that we’re just like him. We’re all sinful and broken. We’re all not good. This is why we often tell ourselves how great we are because at our core we know we’re not. We’re fallen. But God can make us good—he can justify us—by his grace through Jesus. 

To justify something is to say, “That thing is right” or “that thing is good.” As humans, we spend much of our time justifying ourselves, don’t we? “I am right” and “I am good.” But no matter how many times I say it I’m not very convincing. Isn’t it great when a friend or your husband or wife says, “I know you and you’re a good person”? But what if God who knows me inside and out told me I was good? What if God said, “Jonathan, you are good, at no cost to you.”? That would be amazing. That would change my life. 

Paul really wants us to believe that although we’re not good in ourselves we can be made good by God. He says it over and over again throughout the New Testament. Paul even believes that God’s grace, God’s favor and power, are enough for him when he’s not strong enough. 

2 Corinthians 12:7b-9a …I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. 8 Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. 9 But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” (NIV®)

God’s grace saves Paul and gives him the strength he needs to live life in a broken world. Do you have that? Do you have God’s grace? Is God’s grace as real as the air you breathe? I want grace to be real not theoretical. That’s why we’re doing this sermon series, because I need grace, you need grace, we need grace. In Ephesians, which Paul wrote in A.D. 62 as he sat imprisoned in Rome he explains grace further.

Ephesians 2:8-9 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— 9 not by works, so that no one can boast. (NIV®)

Somehow through Jesus you and I can be saved by God’s grace. God uses our faith in Christ like a tool to extend grace to us. This morning at the trash pick-up teams used grabbers to pick up trash. Our volunteers were the ones picking up the trash, but they used the grabbers as tools. God saves us by his grace, but uses our faith in Christ as the tool that does it. Gr