Good morning. Grab your Bibles open to the book of Ephesians if you need the table of contents to help. No worries, it's towards the back. But this is our next book study and we're excited to kick it off this morning. Um. This letter is regarded as one of the most significant letters in human history. I don't want to oversell it, but there's no other letter other than probably the book of Romans that has had more influence, uh, on Christian thought, doctrine and practice than the letter of Ephesians. Um, and we're going to be in it for a while. You can see, uh, on our slide here, it's just, just part one. And we've broken Ephesians down into five parts, uh, probably over the next eighteen months, we're going to be in there, but there's only six chapters in the book. Uh, the first three chapters are doctrine, doctrine, doctrine, and then the, the last three are practice and how that doctrine shapes our lives. Um, so I'm excited for this. Hopefully you're excited for this, but I want to know or stir up. Why should I be excited for this? Why should I care? Other than it's the Bible, it's God's Word and we should be hungry to feed on God's Word and be directed by it. But. But really, why should you lean in and listen up here? Why should you take notes? Why should you like? If you miss a Sunday, want to catch up and not miss any verse that we're going to look at in this letter? Uh. Why is it a big deal? Um, that you should really just have an angst to, to learn from, uh, even as we get into the introduction, uh, we got two verses that we're going to look at today. But, but even when we get into the introduction, you're not like nicely or gently wading into the pool here. This is like a cannonball into the deep end. Uh, even the first two verses we get into some, some four hundred and one theology, uh, that's we're going to tackle. And Paul is wanting his audience to, to lean in and listen up because he's Unraveling or unpacking or explaining God's plan of salvation as somebody who's experienced it. He's talking to us about God's ability to transform people as a transformed person. He's he's telling us God's plan of redemption that's been established from the foundations of the earth. As somebody who's been let in on it and kind of got the peek behind the curtain, and he's excited and optimistic and hopeful, and there's some energy in his explaining of this. And I don't want us to miss where he's writing this from. This is one of Paul's prison epistles. So he's writing this from jail, and he has hope and excitement about the message he's sharing to us from jail, which to me means this is also about peace, like an unshakable kind of peace, the kind of peace that that can be shown in prison or in a hospital room, or through a difficult divorce or any kind of trial or difficulty that comes their way, that you have this unshakable peace. And we want to ask, well, where's that come from? Does anybody else want to know where that comes from? Like, how do you have that kind of peace? All right. A few of us are excited about this, but it is it's weighty stuff. And I want to get into this because, um, you can imagine if Paul's writing this from prison, how are the churches feeling? Like if our leader is in jail, you can imagine the opposition and persecution and difficulties that the rest of the followers are experiencing. Even though the gospel was spreading rapidly and showing itself in power as it goes to new places. Um, you're still in this like, crazy, pagan, broken culture. And with that opposition and with your leader in jail, you could start to ask some questions that I imagine we might find ourselves asking, like when the world is so broken and there's so much dysfunction and so much sin, how do you hold on to, like, this unwavering optimism? How do you not just fall into cynicism and just depression and despair? How do you have this like, unwavering hope, this unshakable peace that no matter what happens, there's this demeanor like from prison, like a continued excitement about God and what he's up to and a confidence in his unwavering plans and his power to accomplish those. And that's what Paul's getting at here. And we want to better understand. I just want to kind of put my cards on the table, uh, up front and just tell you, here's what it comes down to. And then we're going to go back and look, look at a little closer. But here's what we need to know. Grasping God's grace leads to having God's peace. And if you want to make that a little bit more theologically robust, I would say it this way grasping God's sovereign grace leads to having God's unshakable peace. Like, it's not only his kindness that we need to understand, but it's like his unstoppable kindness that his plans will be accomplished and his plans involve saving people. But I didn't say receiving God's grace leads to having God's peace, because I think there's a lot of genuine Christians that aren't experiencing the peace that's right before them to lay hold of. I think they're plagued by worry and fear and anxiety and just kind of on edge. But yet there's this wonderful peace that can be theirs with a greater grasp of God's grace or a greater understanding of God's grace, because that's what Paul's doing. He's trying to explain God's plan of salvation. He's trying to explain or unpack God's plan of redemption for us, or to kind of use words from the letter. He's revealing the mystery of the gospel to us. He's like, you guys got to get this. This has been a mystery. And it's not like mystery the way we think of mystery. Like you're trying to solve it before it's done. Like on a mystery show, the way the Bible uses the word mystery, it's like you would never come to this conclusion. It's hidden until it's revealed. And Paul's revealing it to us. And he's like, if you get this, what I'm revealing to you, it stirs up a confidence in God. It stirs up an excitement for God, um, a greater peace in the midst of turmoil because of what, you know, and Paul's wanting us to get this amazing mystery of the gospel because maybe you're somebody who knows of salvation, but you don't know a lot about salvation. In fact, I heard one pastor make this observation, which I would agree with, and he he made a conclusion that most Christians don't know how they got saved. And it's not that you don't like know when it happened. I mean, you may have that story of I was eight and my mom was put me to bed and we prayed together and I received Christ. Or I was in college and, and, and somebody came and spoke and they explained the gospel and it clicked. And it's like this, you know, kind of unfolded. It's not that you don't know the moment, but but you don't know how it happened. You don't know, like everything behind the work that brought you from death to life. And then he went on to conclude that if they did, they would sing amazing Grace a lot differently. Like there would just be a greater sense of understanding how amazing it is, a greater sense of awe and appreciation. And, and we want that. So I want to I want to get into this. And, and my hope is to give us a greater understanding of grace that leads to an unshakable peace and stirs up more passionate worship. Okay. So that's, that's, that's the heart behind this. And I just want to warn you, on the front end, we're going to stretch our intellectual comfort zone a little bit. There's going to be some waters that we wade into. It's like, I don't know if I can comprehend all that. I don't know how that all goes together, but I want to take us below the water to look at how big the iceberg of salvation is. You guys get that analogy because what do they say about an iceberg? Like ninety percent of it is under the surface. And when you look above the surface, like you can make this conclusion, but, but you're missing out on everything that's around that or everything that's involved in that. I want to take us below the water to get a better look at this. But I know we don't breathe underwater real well, do we? So there's going to be some resistance to this, but I trust you to be good Bereans. Do you know what I mean when I say that? So the Bereans were people that listened to Paul's teaching, and they went back and searched the scriptures. It's like, is this right? So I'm going to teach. We're going to go through the first two verses of Ephesians, and we're going to see some some deep theological concepts coming forward in this. And I just search the scriptures right now. That doesn't mean go home and think about what you think about it, or talk to other people to find out what they think about it. Search the scriptures to find out if this is what God's Word teaches. Amen. All right, so let's get after this. Two verses. Here we go. Paul, let's stop there. Fifty minutes. This is eleven o'clock. We'll take all the words. We're going to look at all of them. All right. Uh, I don't want to just assume, like, maybe it's your first Sunday and you're just like, we're just going to talk like everybody knows who Paul is. Well, let me tell you who Paul is, because this is important to understand what he's getting at. He introduces himself, he's Paul. Well, Paul was a Pharisee of Pharisees. He was kind of a prominent religious person who was persecuting the Church of Jesus Christ. In fact, the first martyr, the first Christian martyr, Stephen. After he was killed, people kind of laid their garments in front of Saul or Paul's feet. And as he the kind of approved of this. And not only was he kind of watching over it. He was leading the assault on the church. Um, he was traveling around leading out on the persecution of Christians. So it starts out with his name. He identifies himself, but then he clarifies his office. Paul. And what an apostle. Um, now, in a generic sense, the word apostle just means one sent out or sent on mission. And sometimes that word in Scripture gets used in a generic sense, a sense of just sent out there on mission. But, but here and most often in Scripture, I would say that this word gets used to describe a person's position or their formal office or their role in this plan of redemption of Jesus Christ. So they communicate authoritatively on behalf of behalf of Christ. So Jesus gathered his twelve apostles, and he gave them a mission and he sent them out. But Judas flunked. He failed. So they try to. When you look in acts chapter one, they're going to pick Judas replacement. Um, and not just anybody was qualified. There was some qualifications that needed to be met. And there was two guys, um, that kind of fit this qualification. One of the qualifications was, hey, they needed to be around us from the beginning. They needed to be a witness of the resurrection. Right? So it's like, okay, two guys kind of fit within that qualification. But the next thing was they need to be chosen by the Holy Spirit. Well, how are they going to do that? Do you know what they did in acts one to do that? They cast lots. They rolled the dice. And you might think like, that's a pretty big decision. Maybe we could have made a pros and cons list. Maybe we could have done a vote and got everybody together, but they just cast lots. And you're like, why did they do that? Well, one of the reasons is they believed in the sovereignty of God. Proverbs sixteen thirty three says, the lot is cast in the lap, but every decision comes from the Lord. There's no random. There's no like up for chance. Like God is purposely involved in everything. So there's like, even when it comes to who's next, like we're trusting God to choose. So. So they saw that as God selecting this next apostle. And then later we also see that an apostle is someone who can validate their position through signs and wonders. You see that in second Corinthians twelve twelve. So let me just say this. If somebody today wants to call themselves an apostle big a apostle, like they them in themselves carry the authority of God, and they're not over two thousand years old and doing miracles. Run, okay. Don't buy a rag from them. Don't get into money. Don't get a little bottle of oil. Just run. Because there is absolutely no evidence that the original apostles were replaced when they died. Their role. They had a unique role in the founding of the Church of Jesus Christ, where they would go and take the gospel to new places and display or validate the message with signs and wonders in which other people like prophets and. And teachers and pastors and elders and evangelists would build upon this church, and that church would multiply. And that's what they did. And that's what's happened. But how does Paul call himself an apostle? Because he wasn't with them, and he's not the one that they chose to replace Judas. That was somebody else. But Paul in this letter refers to himself as an apostle. How can he do that? Well, who led Paul to Jesus? Jesus, right. That's strong on the resume. So the resume, he's like, you got to have a witness, the resurrected Jesus, like I did. He showed up, right? And he called me to himself and he sent me on mission. And as we'll see, because we're going to we're starting in these two verses, but next week we're going to go back to acts eighteen and nineteen and spend three weeks like looking at the work of the church in Ephesus, which is amazing. And Paul does some pretty amazing signs and wonders to validate his ministry, and he gets endorsed by the other apostles as well. But something else to notice here. Why does Paul say Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus? But then you get down to verse two. He says, Grace to you and peace from God our father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Why does one time he refer to Jesus as Christ Jesus, and the next time refer to Him as Jesus Christ? Why does he flip that? Like, what's he trying to say? I think there's some intentionality behind these words. So Paul unique ministry and his call was to take the gospel to the Gentiles. Now, he preached to Jewish people as well. But a large part of his ministry was was taking the gospel to Gentiles, but he wasn't the first to do that. Who was the first person to bring the gospel to Gentiles? Anybody? Peter. Yeah. Peter in acts ten takes the the gospel first to the Gentiles. So the reason I say this like this isn't something Paul made up. And he just kind of, uh, did his own thing. Like, this is part of the plan. But a large part of his ministry was to continue to bring the gospel to the Gentiles. And let me tell you, that was really controversial. Like that stirred up a lot of problems. In fact, he's going to address these problems as we get into chapter two by saying, hey, this vertical reconciliation between people and God that Jesus accomplished also has a horizontal effect with reconciliation between Jews and Gentiles, that Christ tore down the walls of hostility. And he's reconciled us into one person together in one family. But that was controversial. So why is Paul leading out by saying he's an apostle of Christ Jesus, but then later flips it and identifies as Jesus Christ in the very next verse. Well, the term Christ is the Greek word for the Hebrew word Messiah, and the Messiah is the promised coming deliverer of the Jewish people. So what Paul is saying he's emphasizing is, I come from that guy, I come from that guy, and he wants Gentiles in too. So if you got a problem with my ministry and my message, you got a problem with your Messiah. Like he's saying this, this is part of the ministry that I've been called to and to go deeper, he says, Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus, this Messiah by what? The will of God. So let's, let's dive under and see how big this iceberg is. On one level, Paul is supporting the authority of his message. Like, I'm not making this up. This is the will of God. This is what he I'm saying, what he wants me to say. This is his message. But on another level, he's also letting them in on his origin story. I am who I am because of God. Like God, God did this to me. And the way he puts it is I'm an apostle by the will of God. Now the will of God. It gets referenced a lot in Scripture. It's a it's a pretty deep thing that Christians can discuss and talk about. Everybody wants to know what the will of God is for their life. What does God want me to do? Who does he want me to marry? Where does he want me to live? What am I supposed to. You know, what's my job supposed to be like? What's God's, like, kind of personal will for my life? And sometimes people claim to be very certain about what God's will is and what God's will isn't, especially when horrific things happen. Like people fly planes into buildings or a tsunami or an earthquake kills thousands of people. We can be very quick to be like, well, that's not God's will. And you're kind of left wondering like, well, then why did it happen? Like, is he God or isn't he? Is he in control or isn't he? Is he good or isn't he? And when it comes to the will of God, you start asking these questions like, are there things that God wills? That doesn't happen. And those are things that happen that aren't his will. Like, you're kind of left confused on this with just the problem of brokenness in our world. Well, I think there's something in the way the Bible talks about the will of God that we need to understand that can be helpful in understanding a lot of Bible talk and a lot of life stuff. And that's this. There's two wills of God. The Bible talks about having two wills of God. There is what's called the will of decree, and then there's the will of command. Or sometimes it's like his decreed will and his moral will. Stay with me here. I know we're underwater. Um, or sometimes you'll hear theologians say it's God's sovereign will and his revealed will. Now, let me just kind of point out in Scripture, different places where we see these different kinds of wills referenced to this is in Isaiah forty six. He says this remember the former things of old, for I am God, and there is no other. I am God, and there is none like me declaring. So. He's like stating I'm God. But then he's going to give this job description of. What does it mean to be God declaring the end from the beginning and from ancient times things not yet done. He said, here's what God does. God determines what happens from the beginning to the end. Things not even done yet, setting them in motion, saying my counsel or my will shall stand, and I will not. I might, but I will accomplish all my purposes like it's it's going to happen and it's going to happen because I'm God. And I said so. So this would be like the will of decree. Now we can debate if God causes everything, but I don't know how you can take the Bible seriously and not conclude that he can at least stop anything he wants to write. Does the wind and the waves obey him or not? So a tsunami is coming. It's going to wipe and he can either say no or yes, and it's his world and he rules it. So when it comes to the will of decree, everything that happens is the will of God. And Paul gets into this. If you look further down in Ephesians chapter one, verse eleven, he says this, in him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined. Now don't be scared by that word. It just means to determine beforehand, having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works what all things according to the counsel of his, what his will. So all things, everything works through the counsel of his will. So in that sense, when it comes to the will of decree, everything that ever happens is the will of God. But then you have other places in Scripture that kind of talk about his will that doesn't lead to a certainty of its outcome. This is in first Thessalonians five eighteen. Give thanks in all circumstances. How many of you are doing that? We got to work on that. For this is the what will of God in Christ Jesus for you. Or you go back one chapter, he says this, for this is the will of God, your sanctification, that you abstain from sexual immorality. So sometimes there's this like we overcomplicated the will of God. Like, what does he want me to do? Where does he want me to go? He wants you to stop sleeping with your girlfriend. Stop looking at porn. Like join a church, follow him, share the gospel. Like it's not complicated. Like he has this revealed will, this will of command, things he's calling us to. But those things don't always happen. In fact, there's rebellion against those things. But he also has this decreed will. It's like it's going to happen. This is the unfolding plan that I have set in place before the foundations of the earth. So you've got these two wills of God that Scripture talks about. And get this, it's more mind blowing. God can command something. He doesn't decree and decree something that goes against his commands. Imma say that again because I want you to process this right? God can command something. He doesn't decree and decree something that goes against his commands. For example, God desires that none shall perish, perish. Second Peter three nine And God has prepared vessels of wrath for destruction. Romans nine twenty two. How does that work? Or what about this one? God clearly commands don't murder. Exodus twenty thirteen. You shall not murder. But then we get this in acts four. For truly in this city there were gathered together against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anoint, whom you anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, along with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel to do. Now what did they do? They murdered Jesus to do whatever your hand and your plan had predestined to take place. So the greatest evil in all of human history was planned by God. And that was a decreed will, and it went against his command. So here's the challenge, guys. Scripture talks about both, both the decreed will of God or the sovereign will of God and the revealed will of God. And some people want to major on the sovereign will of God and not really talk about the moral will of God and fall into this fatalistic, passive. Just who cares? Why do I have to do anything? Why should I ever pray? And other people want a major on the revealed will of God and just kind of undermine the ultimate sovereign authority of God over everything. But here's the reality. Scripture clearly teaches both, And we're Bible people. And if it's in the Bible, we gotta deal with it. We gotta wrestle with it. But here's my pastoral council to you. Okay? Don't shrink God down to the size of your own comprehension, because then he's not much of a god. You are. And you think he has to fit in. Whatever you can explain. His ways are higher than our ways. His ways are too wonderful for us. And rather than making the complexity of God frustrate your mind, let it stir up your worship. How big and awesome is our God and how amazing is his grace. So let's go back to our passage here. Here's my question. Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, which will. Is this a will of decree, or is it, uh, will of command? And what I mean by that is, is God going to Paul is showing up in Jesus Christ and saying, like, I sure hope Paul chooses me. Like I'm going to show up in power and I'm going to blind him with some light and I'm going to call him. I'm going to make a really good sales pitch, but I sure hope he, like, puts his faith in me and follows me. Or does Jesus Christ show up and say mine? Which one is it? Mine. It's a will of decree. And here's why I say that. If you go back to acts nine and his conversion, it says, but the Lord said to him, this is somebody that's going to help Paul out. Um, in this time of conversion, he says, go for he, Paul, is a what chosen instrument of mine to carry my name before the Gentiles and kings and the children of Israel. He's saying, I chose him. I went and get him. But here's what Paul says about himself in that conversion experience. But when he who had set me apart before I was born, and who called me by his what his grace Paul's saying, like before I was even born, like he set this in motion. He is so sovereignly in control. Paul is saying, I am an apostle because God willed it, not me. It wasn't my will. My will was anti-God, anti-Christ. I'm going to kill Christians. I'm persecuting him. God invaded and kind of changed and switched teams for me. Now, is that just a special situation? Because it's Paul like that's that's the apostle Paul. Like, of course there's like a special situation for that. Or is that kind of a picture into how God works with everybody? I don't think this is like a special situation for Paul. I think this is a window into how God works. And we could look at a lot of texts to point that out. But let's just look at the context of this text. He's saying he is an apostle because of the will of God. But then he goes on to say this, blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, even as he chose us. So he didn't just choose me. He's saying he's chosen us in him before the foundation of the world. So when Paul is like before I was even born, applied to me, but it also applies to you before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. He loved in love. He predestined us for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his. What his will. The same will that made me an apostle is the will that makes you a Christian. Now. Paul is starting out referring to God's miraculous work in his life to help us see the miraculous work of God in our lives. Why is he doing that? Because Paul, Understanding the miraculous work of God in his life is what brought him peace. And when we understand the miraculous work of God in our lives, that's what brings us peace. When Paul was in prison and he's not rattled, he's like, Because I've experienced the unstoppable power of God. Like I was against Christ, and he came and just rescued me and saved me and changed my heart just like that. Like I'm supposed to be worried. I'm in prison, guys. He's got a plan from the foundations of the world and it's unfolding. So ride the wave like it's going to happen. Like he's bolstering confidence. And a case study, a case study of Paul's salvation is God's will invading and changing Paul's will. And we live in a culture that so quickly says, well, God wouldn't do that. Right now, if you get your theology from Bruce Almighty. He's like, well, I can't invade there, but let's go to the Bible. He he does this. It left to our will. We're not going to make the right choice. Left to our will. We're not going to come to the right. Conclusions left our will. We're just going to be lost. But here's the good news. God doesn't leave us to ourselves. He comes and rescues us. He comes and opens our eyes. He comes and gives us spiritual sight. All glory to God. And here's what Paul is saying. I am an apostle because God willed it. And you're a Christian because God willed it. And listen, we like Paul like there's so much parallel hill. We're hostile to God. We're just like he was on a path to persecute Christians. We like undermine the things of God. We're against God. But God, in his grace comes to our rescue. We were enemies, not just bystanders, enemies of God. And God came to our rescue. And if we understand that, I think we sing amazing Grace a little differently. I was blind, I couldn't see anything, and now I see I was lost and now I'm found. I wasn't just kind of like, oh, I'll make my way out of here with a look for no. I was lost and he came and got me. And everyone in here that claims Christ should say along with Paul, I'm a Christian because of the will of God. And if you think somehow that violates your autonomy, are you trying to take some credit for your own salvation? Do you not know how lost and blind you are? And if you're trying to take some credit for your salvation, are you trying to take some glory from God? What's that going to do to your worship? Now I get it. Like above the surface When we're just looking at this iceberg, it's like, no, I'm a Christian because my mom explained the gospel and I put my faith in Christ, or I'm a Christian because I went to soul company and they explained the gospel and I put my faith in Christ. I get it like, yes, but let's get beneath the surface and see this massive work of God drawing people to himself, and his sheep hear his voice, and they follow him like God is at work. And this is a work of God. And knowing that, guys, it stirs our worship. It's football season. So I'm kind of get into this of like, when you look at a team over time, a team kind of builds a reputation. Like if you play the Hawks, Ben don't break defense. You know they're going to play solid fundamentals, solid defense. I mean they put up points yesterday. That's a surprise. But like the reputation is like strong defense right. I just like as a church that I help pastor, my heart's desire is that we would have a reputation. Man, those people worship. They're so in love with God. They're so excited about grace. They're just so pumped about who God is. But that's about keeping God central. Showing like, how great he is. I. I heard John Piper point this out and I thought it was hilarious. And he never means to be funny. So. But that's part of what makes it funny. But I would agree with it. Nobody writes worship songs about our will. It's not that glorious. It just undermines glorious. Nobody's going to write a worship song about that. How great is my will. Sing with me. How great is my like, I can't sing right? But I'll be embarrassed to make a point. What can wash away my sin? Jesus in my good decision. I don't know, right? You don't. Nor do you like use the means of God to celebrate either. What can wash away my sin? Jesus and salt company. I don't like that works. But it's like, yeah, he used that. But that's not what saved you. It was a tool. But it's God and God alone who saves people. And when God and God alone saves people, God and God alone gets the praise, he gets the worship. That's why Paul is so excited. It's why he's so hopeful. Why he's so full of peace. Even in prison, he knows firsthand God's saving power. You think I'm going to sweat prison? God changed my heart like he. He met me on the road. He opened my eyes like. Like shutting my eyes. Like he. He showed me his power. Like he is in control. He's unstoppable. Guys from the foundations of the world. He has a predestined plan that cannot be stopped. And his plan involves lavishing his grace upon us because he's rich in mercy. And the work of God is so amazing. Look at what he says next to the who. To the saints. Don't miss this. Don't miss how. What. This would mean to be called a saint, especially to a mostly Gentile audience. And maybe wherever you're at, you need to hear this too. You are not some outsider second class person. You are a saint. It is your special status in Christ. I don't know how many of you grew up Catholic, but a saint is not reserved for a super Christian that just has a lot of devotion and piety. And every time the church doors are open, they're there. That's not what makes a saint. John Calvin said this no man is a believer who is not also a saint. On the other hand, no man is a saint who is not a believer. It's not our devotion and our religious acts that make someone a saint. I know we talked that way like we contend. It's like, oh, he's a saint. Oh, she's a saint. You're kind of thinking of their devotion and their piety, but that's not true. And if you're somebody who's like, yeah, I know Jesus and I believe the gospel, but I'm no saint, then you have terrible theology. You are a saint. Not because of what you do. You are a saint because of what Christ has done. He makes you a saint, not your religious actions. He changes our status and position. And he does it. But sainthood shows he says this. Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, to the saints who are in Ephesus. And are what. Faithful. We'll get into this a little bit, but Ephesus and really Asia Minor. This was most likely a circular letter. Those churches was a grossly pagan context. Debauchery and witchcraft and idolatry. Sexual immorality was rampant. And Paul's like, you're faithful. They're like, I see you. You, you, you are living countercultural lives for the glory of God. But where does that come from? It's not just like a motivational message to do better, That kind of lifestyle comes out of a doctrine that you embrace and believe. Like when you're like, where does the resolve to like live counterculture come from? Where where does the unwavering hope come from? Where does the peace, even in your prison come from? Where do you get that? Well, it comes from seeing the connection between verse one and verse two. So Paul, an apostle, like, that's wild. I was like me and a can you believe that I used to kill Christians and I'm an apostle. That's crazy. You know what's even crazier? You're a saint. Like that's wild. How'd that happen? The will of God. Like his amazing grace. You're in Ephesus and are faithful to Christ Jesus. Grace to you, and peace from God our father and the Lord Jesus Christ. This is what he's wishing upon them grace and peace. That's what I want for you. But it's an interesting combination of words peace, grace. Because peace, that's like, everything's going well, you're at peace. But grace, just by the word itself, communicates everything hasn't gone well. If you need grace, it hasn't gone well. But it's putting those two words together that's the key. And the order in which he puts them. Grace comes first. God came to me. He forgave me of my sins. He adopted me into his family. I'm a fellow heir with Christ. Then peace and peace is an effect of that grace. I have peace because of grace. I'm at peace because I'm forgiven. I'm at peace because I'm redeemed. I'm at peace because I'm adopted. I'm at peace because I'm a saint. And that peace, or the result of that, is seeing God as my father and Christ as my Lord, and myself as a saint. Do you know who you are? Do you see yourself as a saint? Do you see yourself as forgiven, redeemed, adopted? Do you act like it? Do you worship like it? Do you doubt it? Because maybe some of you doubt it. You don't know me. You don't know what I've done. You don't know where I've been. I'm no saint. But Paul's not only the messenger, he's the display. He's saying like, guys, I'm an apostle. It's ridiculous. I was literally killing these people. So if you doubt his grace. Look at me. There's no one he can't save. No one he can't redeem. No one he can't rescue. When you get that, that's when peace comes. When you get how amazing his grace is, that's when peace moves in. like the kind of piece that even when you're in prison, you still got it. Even in the valley of the shadow of death, you fear no evil. You got a shepherd. He loves you. Guys. God's people find God's peace when they grasp God's grace. If you grasp it. Let me put it this way. Have you been slapped in the face by it? How amazing and profound it is that you're a saint. That you've been forgiven, redeemed, adopted. And if that's true, how grateful the people should we be? And if that's true, how loud should we sing every time we get to praise God. And if that's true, how full of peace should we be no matter what happens. Amen. Look at me, church. God's grace is amazing. Don't ever cheapen it. And don't ever let your own sin get you down when you're just focusing on your failures and not your Savior's success. You, if you put your faith in Christ, are a saint. And it's not to do with you and what you have done or any decision you have made. It has to do with who God is and what he's done and his will that's been put upon you. Amen. Let's pray. Fathers, we transition into a time of worship. I'm reminded of the letter that was written to the church in Ephesus in revelation two, and the critique of that church was that they had abandoned their first love. Protect us from being a group of people that get so sidetracked by the brokenness of our world, or even the ministries of our church, that we just forget to be in awe of your grace. That we would be people who are so blown away by the salvation you provide to us. Make us a people that live in response to who you are and what you've done. And may we have a reputation of a church, of being madly in love with you, because we understand how far reaching and amazing your grace is. We pray in your name. Amen.