"Chosen in Christ" - 09.27.26

"Chosen in Christ" - 09.27.26 Scripture: Ephesians 1:3-14 Sermon Series: The Gospel and the Church: Studies in Ephesians Sermon: "Chosen in Christ" (Rev. Dr. Chris Ganski) Worship Folder: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1jxs2... Reflections: Before the foundation of the world, by sheer grace, according to the free good pleasure of his will, God chose in Christ to salvation a definite number of particular people out of the entire human race, which had fallen by its own fault from its original innocence into sin and ruin. Those chosen were neither better nor more deserving than the others, but lay with them in the common misery. God did this in Christ, whom he also appointed from eternity to be the mediator, the head of all those chosen, and the foundation of their salvation. God did all this in order to demonstrate his mercy, to the praise of the riches of God’s glorious grace. ~Canons of Dordt, Art.7 The ancient man approached God (or even gods) as the accused approaches his judge. For the modern man the roles are reversed. He is the judge: God is in the dock. He is quite a kindly judge: if God should have a reasonable defense for being the god who permits war, poverty, and disease, he is ready to listen. The trial may even end in God’s acquittal. But the important thing is that man is on the bench and God is in the dock. ~C.S. Lewis, “God in the Dock” The flesh cannot hear the wisdom of God without being at once disturbed by perplexing questions and it struggles to call God by some means account . . . The predestination of God is truly a labyrinth from which the mind of man is wholly incapable of extricating itself. But the curiosity of man is so insistent that the more dangerous it is to inquire into a subject, the more boldly he rushes to do so. Thus when predestination is being discussed, because he cannot keep himself within proper limits, he immediately plunges into the depths of the sea by his impetuosity. What remedy then will there be for the godly? Must they avoid every thought of predestination? Not at all. Since the Holy Spirit has taught us nothing but what it is to our interest to know, this knowledge will undoubtedly be useful to us, provided we shall confine it to the Word of God. Let this, therefore, be our sacred rule, not to seek to know anything about it except what Scripture teaches us. Where the Lord closes his holy mouth, let us stop our minds from going on further. ~John Calvin, Commentary on Romans