The sermon titled 'Made to be to the Praise of His Glory,' delivered by Jason Dohm, focuses on the theme that believers are saved to manifest and display the splendor of God. The sermon explores the concept of inheritance, emphasizing that believers are predestined to this inheritance through Jesus Christ, as part of God's eternal purpose. It highlights the Trinitarian work in salvation, where God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit each play a significant role. The sermon underscores that the ultimate objective of salvation is not the benefit of man but the glory of God. The inheritance is described as incorruptible and all-encompassing, being part of Christ's inheritance. Dohm stresses that believers should be happy and humble, recognizing that God's eternal deliberations are unchangeable and that the praise belongs to God alone. The sermon also encourages believers to actively live out their faith, showing that God's transforming work results in good deeds that glorify Him.

The sermon text for this morning will be verses 11 through 12, but for context we will be starting at verse 3 and reading through 14. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ. Just as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love. Having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will, to the praise of the glory of his grace, by which he made us accepted in the beloved. In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace, which he made to abound toward us in all wisdom and prudence, having made known to us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure which he purposed in himself, that in the dispensation of the fullness of the times he might gather together and one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven and which are on earth, in Him.

In Him also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestined according to the purpose of Him who works all things according to the counsel of His will, that we who first trusted in Christ should be to the praise of His glory. In Him you also trusted, after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, in whom also having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased Possession to the praise of His glory. Let's pray. Almost holy and heavenly, Gracious Father, do praise you and thank you again for another Lord's Day to come before you, to worship you, and to hear your word preached and read aloud in public. We pray for the sermon today.

We pray for Mr. Dohm that you would give him the words to speak, give us ears to hear, Give us hearts ready to receive your word, to see more of Christ today than we have in the past, to see more of your glory, and to repent, Lord God, where there needs to be repentance. And for those that aren't saved in this room, as we speak of the glories of what God has done in salvation, may today be the day of salvation for them. Give them new hearts, hearts of repentance and faith. Bring them to, draw them to yourself today.

Thank you Father for this time. Your son to me pray. Amen. The title of the sermon this morning is made to be to the praise of His glory. The idea of our text being that believers are saved so that the splendor of God might be known.

The splendor of the Savior might be known, made manifest, to be displayed by those who are saved, in the saving of those who are saved. Last week at the end of verse 9, Paul spoke of the good pleasure of God. What pleases God. And then he tells us in verse 10, That at the perfect time, He'll do the perfect thing and gather together into one all things in Jesus Christ. And I don't think it's an unfaithful extension to say, in and under the Lord Jesus Christ.

Nothing in heaven will be exempted from that. All in heaven will be gathered in and under the Lord Jesus Christ. Nothing on earth will be accepted. All things on earth will be gathered in and under the Lord Jesus Christ. Nothing on earth will be accepted.

All things on earth will be gathered in and under the Lord Jesus Christ. He will be given the name above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow in heaven and on earth to the glory of the Father." So this is just wrapping in some of the words from Philippians chapter 2. In our text today, Paul continues to speak of the believers' treasures in Jesus. So he's heaping them up to make you happy, believer. And it's just a continuation of it.

He started really early in the chapter, now we're in verses 11 and 12, and he just keeps adding to the pile. So believers, I hope you're not missing the treasures that are yours. You have a claim to them all. They're designed to make you happy. Paul's piling them up to make you happy.

And I hope that is having an effect on us to just give us joy in the Lord as we consider the treasures that are ours because Jesus bled and died on the cross. The particular treasure that's added to the pile today is called an inheritance. So we'll talk about that as we work through the text. And Then Paul gives us the ultimate objective. What does he have in mind by giving a heap of treasures to sinners?

Well, that believers should be to the praise of his glory. That is the end of the salvation of man. Man is not actually the end of the salvation of man. The glory of God is actually the end of the salvation of man. Which is actually wonderful.

We shouldn't be sorry about that. We should be pleased by that. That God receives honor for his many perfections and his beauties. So as we come to the text let's pray. God I know that every believer in the room knows what he or she really is apart from you.

And knows What a wonderful miracle it is that he or she has been captured by grace, made a son or a daughter, and given an inheritance. There is such a glory in this. Glory in this. If we go no further than that, if we just say that sinners were without God, without hope in the world, But that because you're rich in mercy, you changed all that. There's such a splendor in it.

I pray that this splendor would be like a vista before our view today. That we'd be looking out over a beautiful landscape today and our hearts would be filled with praise. May it be so in Jesus' name, amen. Alright, well let's take these verse at a time. We only have two verses, verse 11 and verse 12.

So Let's reread verse 11 together and then consider it. These are chapter 1, verse 11. Paul writes, In him also we have obtained an inheritance, Being predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will." That's sort of a tangle of phrases to me. There's a lot of phrases interrelated here so let me just read it again. In him also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will." In this verse, Paul is teaching us that believers are pre-appointed to an inheritance because of the Lord Jesus Christ.

So if you're taking notes on the handout, filling in the blanks, inheritance fills in the blanks. Believers are pre-appointed. They've been given an appointment, a pre-appointment, to an inheritance because of the Lord Jesus Christ. No Jesus Christ, then no pre-appointment. I want to keep beating this drum.

The organization of this text is as follows, verses 3 and 6. Paul talks about what God the Father has done, his work in the salvation of sinners. And it ends with Paul stopping to praise God the Father for his work in the salvation of sinners. Then the very next section, verses 7-12, where we are ending that section today, is the work of God the Son for the salvation of sinners. And again, Paul stops at the end of this section to praise God.

He stops to praise Jesus for His work, His part in the great saving work of sinners and then in verses 13 and 14 Paul talks about the work of the Holy Spirit Are you tired of me giving this these divisions yet? Well, I'm gonna I'm gonna drum and a drum beat it into our heads so we know that this is actually Trinitarian teaching. God the Father, God the Son, God the Spirit all have praiseworthy work to do to save sinners. So at the end of each of these three sections, Paul stops to praise the Father, then the Son, then the Holy Spirit. So our passage, because it ends one of these sections today, ends with Paul praising Jesus for his work in the salvation of sinners.

Our section is really the long one. It's verses 7-12 about the work of Jesus. Within that section, there are subsections. It begins in verse 7 with Paul saying, in Him we have, in Jesus we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins. And now in verse 11 we have this other subsection that begins the same way in him in Jesus also we have and we've obtained an inheritance so so Paul has subsections within the section, both beginning with, In Jesus we have.

These are about things that we have, and only have, in the Lord Jesus Christ. The Greek word, rendered inheritance, means very literally to bestow a possession by casting lots. You get something because lots were cast and it fell to you to assign someone's portion by casting lots. You get what you get because the lot fell to you. Now apply that here.

In Jesus Christ we have been assigned our portion by the casting of lots. Surely that sounds terribly arbitrary. I get what I get because somebody rolled dice? I get what I get by chance? No, not at all.

What does scripture say about lots? That it's the rolling of dice? That it's chance? That it's arbitrary? No.

Proverbs 16-33. The lot is cast into the lap, but every decision is from the Lord. We think of dice and chance, but Scripture thinks of an appointment of God. When you cast a lot, every decision is from the Lord. And that's just what Paul says as we work our way through the verse.

Not chance, not arbitrary, just according to a well thought out plan and will and work. In Jesus Christ we have been assigned our portion by the casting of lots. God controls the lots. Now, what is this inheritance? In him also we have obtained an inheritance.

What inheritance? Well, let's consider two passages together. The first in Romans 8. So turn to Romans 8. Turn to Romans 8, our inheritance.

I'm going to read Romans 8 verses 15 through 17, follow along. Romans 8, 15 through 17. Follow along. Romans 8, 15-17. Paul writes, For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, Abba, Father.

The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God and if children then heirs. Heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ. If indeed we suffer with him, we may also be glorified together. The words, heir, or heirs, and inheritance, are unbreakably bound together. The heir receives the inheritance.

The inheritance is for the heir. So these words are joined together. In this text, believers are called joint heirs joint heirs with Christ, co-heirs with Christ, appointed to Christ's inheritance as a joint heir. So Paul starts here speaking of adoption and the indwelling spirit which cries out within us, Abba, Father, giving us an internal sense that we really are his children. An internal response to God as the response of children.

And then he says if we're children then we're joint heirs with Christ. We're heirs to His inheritance. We have a claim on His inheritance. Friends, joint heirs, joint inheritance. If you're joint heirs with Christ, then your inheritance is Christ's inheritance.

This should blow your mind. If you share in his sufferings, and all believers share in his sufferings, not all to the same extent, but there's no way to be a believer and not share in his sufferings, then you share in his glory. Then you share, you have a claim on his inheritance. Listen to what Paul says in 1 Corinthians 3, 21-23. 1 Corinthians 3, verses 21-23.

Paul says, Therefore let no one boast in men For all things are Yours now just think of the logic. I'm gonna stop there and just invite you to think of the logic Like don't boast in men Why would you boast in others when all things are yours? What other man deserves you boasting in him if you If all things are yours therefore let no one boast in men for all things are yours, whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas or the world or life or death, or things present, or things to come, all are yours. And you are Christ's and Christ is God's. In other words, through belief, through faith, we are brought into union with Christ, And union with Jesus makes all things mine.

All things. The world, life, Death, things present, things to come, all mine. That's why you shouldn't boast in man, is what Paul says. Why would you boast in someone else if you possess everything? This is the nature of the inheritance.

It's Jesus' inheritance, and all things are His. So all things are yours. It's right to say, heaven is a glorious part of our inheritance, But it's just a subset of the inheritance. The inheritance extends to all things in this life and the next. Second passage, passage number two, 1 Peter 1.

Turn to 1 Peter 1. Turn to 1 Peter 1. 1 Peter 1, Peter actually uses this exact same Greek word that's rendered inheritance here. Rather it's from the same family of Greek words. They're different parts of speech.

But it's from the same family of Greek words. 1 Peter 1 verses 3 and 4. Follow along as I read 1 Peter 1 verses 3 and 4. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. Listen to verse 4.

To an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and that does not fade away reserved in heaven for you. The first verse, he blesses God the Father for doing the great saving work in Jesus the Son. The second verse he says, this entitles to us to an inheritance. One that is incorruptible. One that is undefiled.

One that does not fade away. One that is reserved in heaven, where it is beyond touching. Beyond corrupting. Beyond stealing. Beyond ruining.

It is certain and untouchable. So what is the scope of the inheritance? All things. All things. When you're a joint heir with Christ, you're a sharer in His inheritance and Jesus's inheritance is all things.

And what is the nature of the inheritance? It is certain and untouchable. It is reserved in heaven for you. These things should make us so happy. Believers, please be happy with the truths that Paul is setting before us.

As verse 11 progresses, Paul continues to explain this. I'm going to reread verse 11 to just orient us where we are in the verse. In him also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestined according to the purpose of Him who works all things, according to the counsel of His will. So the believer's inheritance, his or her portion assigned by the Lord was determined beforehand by God. This inheritance that you now have a claim to, believer, this was all settled before you ever breathed a breath, before you ever thought, before you ever acted.

It was determined beforehand by God. We have seen this word predestined already in verse 5. Look at verse 5. Having predestined us to adoption according to the good pleasure of his will. So Paul has already said, it was determined beforehand, he actually says going one verse earlier into verse four, before the foundation of the world, this was predetermined that God would adopt you.

He chose to adopt you. He determined that He would adopt you before you ever thought a thought or breathed a breath or did anything. Paul continues to teach us more about this pre-planning, this predetermining, this predestining. This sovereign God's predeterminations are according to his purpose. He has an end point in mind that this fits into.

Predetermining that a believer would be adopted and brought into his family, and through that, appointing them to an inheritance that's not just them, it's part of a great scope of purpose, an end point that he's bringing all of history to. He works all things according to the counsel of his will. So he determines it in the past, in the ancient past, he predetermines it, but then He works it. He works all things according to the counsel of His will. Predetermined from eternity past, but worked out in time.

Now think of this. God has a great eternal purpose. It's perfectly wise because He's perfectly wise. There's nothing wrong with His eternal purpose. But he's much more than perfectly wise he's almighty.

There's nothing that he wants to do that he can't do. His arms never too short to accomplish his great eternal purposes and because he's almighty he can and does work all things according to the counsel of his will. He predetermines it and then it all works out like he planned it. Every little bit of it works out like he planned it. Now turn to Isaiah 46.

The first time we hit the word predestined in verse 5, I quoted this, I'm going to quote it again. If Paul can repeat himself, certainly I can. If Paul needs to repeat himself, how much more do I need to repeat myself? Isaiah 46, now this is wonderful. I think the same point is being made in Isaiah 46.

Isaiah 46, starting in verse 9. God says, Remember the former things of old. Remember your history. For I am God and there is no other. I am God and there is none like me.

Declaring the end from the beginning and from ancient times things that are not yet done saying, my counsel shall stand and I will do all my pleasure." Isn't that just what Paul is saying in our text? He declares the end from the beginning. You can go back to ancient times and he says exactly what he's going to do and then he does it all without exception. My counsel shall stand and I will do all my pleasure. We've already seen Paul say, according to the good pleasure of God's will in Ephesians chapter 1.

So Paul is saying exactly the same things that are being said here in Isaiah 46. Now look at verse 11. He gets specific here. Calling a bird of prey from the East, the man who executes my counsel from a far country. Indeed, I have spoken it.

I will also bring it to pass. I have purposed it. I also will do it." What is verse 11 about? Verse 11 is a declaration about what's going to happen. The judgment of God on the sins of backslidden Israel, the bringing of the Chaldeans, the Babylonians to take them into captivity.

They are the bird of prey. He hasn't brought them yet. He's raised up Isaiah to say, I'm going to do it. This is something that I determined from ancient times and now I'm working it out. And of course, that's much more understandable to us now, that it's fulfilled and it's history, and we can say, oh, this was that.

Then it's much clearer to us than it was to them when they received it. Now, just go left one page. Go to the end of Isaiah 44. The end of Isaiah 44. Isaiah 44 beginning in verse 24.

Isaiah 44, 24. Thus says the Lord, your Redeemer, and He who formed you from the womb. I am the Lord who makes all things, who stretches out the heavens all alone, who spreads abroad the earth by myself, who frustrates the signs of the babblers and drives diviners mad. Who turns wise men backward and makes their knowledge foolishness. Who confirms the word of his servant and performs the counsel of his messengers.

Who says to Jerusalem, You shall be inhabited to the cities of Judah, You shall be built, and I will raise up her waste places. Who says to the deep, be dry and I will dry off your rivers, who says of Cyrus, he is my shepherd and he shall perform all my pleasure, saying to Jerusalem, you shall be built and to the temple your foundation shall be laid. This must have been very confusing to the original recipients of these words. Like Jerusalem, you shall be built. This was sent to be declared to people in Jerusalem.

You'll be populated. You'll be built. Say to the temple, your foundation shall be laid. They're looking at the temple. They're worshipping in the temple.

But God, who declares the end from the beginning, knew that he would send a bird of prey, the Chaldeans, the Babylonians, to wreck the temple, to destroy the temple, to take the inhabitants out of Jerusalem and leave it in ruins. 150 years before Cyrus, he utters the name Cyrus. It's 150 years earlier. Josephus, The Jewish historian, roughly at the time of Josephus, records that Cyrus had been notified of this prophecy and that his name was in it and that it made him eager to fulfill the prophecy. So God actually used the prophecy to fulfill the prophecy.

It's amazing. He knew his name. Cyrus. It's 150 years before. And That makes it 80 years before they were even taken into captivity.

So to a people who aren't in captivity, who are in beautiful Jerusalem, he says Jerusalem is going to be rebuilt and Cyrus will send you back to rebuild it. Amazing. He declares the end from the beginning. So nothing is outside of God's direction. The salvation of an individual sinner is not outside of God's direction.

The future of a nation is not outside of God's direction. Friends, this should shape us. How would you live if this is true? It is true! Live that way!

It is true! The salvation of an individual sinner is not outside of God's direction and neither is the fate of a nation. It isn't fate. The casting of the lot isn't arbitrary. It's every decision is from the Lord.

How should this shape us? If this God is for us, who can be against us? That's what Paul concludes from this in Romans 8. If this God is for us, who can stand against us? Now a word on the phrase, the counsel of his will.

So we're back in Ephesians 1. According to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will. Paul could have simply said, God works all things according to his will. It's shorter and more to the point. Why didn't he?

Why the extra words? Why according to the counsel of His will and not just according to His will? Because in the end they mean the same thing. But the word counsel indicates deliberation. According to the counsel of his will.

God's will, God's intentions, the desires of God's heart, comes out of deliberation in ancient times. God's will is careful, thoughtful. It is the output of his internal deliberation. God is doing exactly what pleases him. Paul wants us to know It's not like the things that please us, sometimes the things that please us cause us to act on a whim.

To please ourselves. To react. To get something to please ourselves. Paul wants us to know with all certainty, God never does that. The salvation of a sinner or The future of a nation never hangs on the whim of God.

He's never reacting to anything. It is according to His ancient deliberation. It is thoughtful and careful. Consider Hebrews 6 verses 17 and 18. Thus God, determining to show more abundantly to the heirs of promise the immutability of his counsel, same word, counsel, exact same Greek word, determining to show more abundantly to the heirs of promise the immutability, the unchangeableness of his counsel, confirmed it by an oath, that by two immutable things, unchangeable things in which it is impossible for God to lie, we might have strong consolation who have fled for refuge, to lay hope, lay hold of the hope set before us.

God wants us to know that His counsels, His ancient, His eternal deliberations are unchangeable. He's thought them through. He's unchangeably committed to bring them to pass. God is unchangeably committed to bring the things that He determined in eternity past to pass. He will!

He will! He will! They're unchangeable. Why does He want us to know that? So we'll have strong consolation.

So we won't be left to wonder, is it possible that God would change His mind about me or about nations? No! It's not possible. If He set His love on you, if He adopted you, that's it. That's it!

He's unchangeably committed to seeing that through. One final note before we move on to verse 12. Look in Ephesians at 3, chapter 3, verse 11. It's right in the middle of a long sentence. That shouldn't surprise us at this point.

I'm not going to spend any time trying to set it in its context. The point can be made without it. Chapter 3 verse 11 says, according to the eternal purpose which he accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord. So there's the purpose and then there's the working out of the purpose. And we have that in our verse.

He explains it here. According to the eternal purpose, which he accomplished in Christ Jesus. That's why here in chapter 1 he says, in Him also we have obtained an inheritance. He accomplished it in Jesus Christ. That's why the inheritance is in Him.

He came and accomplished what God had pre-planned from eternity past. Accomplished in Jesus. Now verse 12. That we, who first trusted in Christ, should be to the praise of His glory. That we who first trusted in Christ should be to the praise of His glory.

In this verse we have the great outcome of trusting in Christ, what did God have in mind when He brought people to trust in His Son, being to the praise of his glory. Now, I need to point something out. Because we're crossing over preachers between this week and next. James is going to preach next week and he's inheriting something that I'm gonna say. So let me preface this, then I'll just dump it on him and run.

Come back in a couple of weeks. There is a we-you distinction which Paul makes in verse 12 and 13. Verse 12 is we, verse 13 is you. We who first trusted in Christ, verse 12, You also trusted in verse 13. Some commentators make a very big deal about this and insist that it is a Jew-Gentile distinction.

James and I have already talked about it, and we both take a much more literal view that it has less to do with heritage, genealogical heritage, less to do with Jew, Gentile, and more to do with receiving the Gospel in time. We received it first, now you're receiving it. Although, it was mostly Jews at first. It was that. But really, to take it literally, Paul doesn't say Jew or Gentile, he says first and then.

Let me say definitively and unequivocally that everything said of the we in verse 12 is true of all believers and everything said of the you in verse 13 is true of all believers. And that not to accept that departs from what Christians have believed for 2, 000 years. If you're a believer, 12 applies to you and 13 applies to you. Although Paul is making a distinction, Paul's point is not to separate out the Ephesian believers into some sort of a separate class. It is to convince them that they are in the same class in Christ.

Whether you came into Christ early or came into Christ later, the same privileges are yours. That's the point. Not to make a distinction, but to erase the distinction. That's the point being made here. It's not to enforce a distinction.

It's actually the opposite, to erase it. We trusted in Christ first, then you trusted in Christ. And when you go to verse 14, he's back to saying, our inheritance, we have a claim, Whether early or late into Christ, you have a claim on the same inheritance. It's our inheritance. That's the whole point.

So what does verse 12 mean? That we who first trusted in Christ should be to the praise of His glory. There are two possibilities. Possibility number one, it's an exhortation to those who have been transformed by the grace of God through Jesus to live to His glory. Paul is saying, Saved people live to his glory.

If you were to pick another Bible verse that teaches that truth, you might pick Matthew 5 verse 16. Let your light so shine before men that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven." Believers, it be a candle on a lamp stand. Let your light shine. People will see your light shining and glory will come to God. It could be, the possibility number one is, it's an exhortation to that.

Believers live like believers so that God is glorified by an onlooking world. Is that true? You better believe it's true. Is that what Paul is saying here? That's what we're considering.

Possibility number two. It's actually a statement of being, a statement of reality. In other words, that what God has accomplished in the salvation, the redemption, the adoption, the forgiveness of sinners through the work of Christ has its own splendor and must be, will be praised. So nothing is being exhorted. With possibility number two, Nothing is being exhorted.

It's not an exhortation at all. It's a statement of reality that the salvation of sinners, the redemption of sinners, the adoption of sinners, the forgiving of the sins of sinners is inherently glorious and draws forth praise just because of what God did. If we were picking a text of scripture that taught that truth, we might pick our favorite over the last few years, Revelation 5. Listen to Revelation 5, 9 and 10. And they sang a new song saying, You are worthy to take the scroll and to open its seals, For you were slain and have redeemed us to God by your blood out of every tribe and tongue and people and nation and have made us kings and priests to our God.

And we shall reign on the earth. You took sinners from all four corners of the earth, and you washed them, you made their own. And it's inherently glorious. Before they ever do anything good, your cleansing of sinners has a beauty all to its own that requires nothing from mankind to draw forth our praise for all eternity. The multitudes will be before Him for all eternity.

You bought us with your blood. We praise you. It requires nothing from mankind and extends through all eternity. Listen to this. I haven't quoted Martin Lloyd-Jones yet.

I just feel remiss. So I'm going to Fix that right now. Consider what Martin Lloyd-Jones says. What can be greater or more staggering than this? That God thought of me, thought of you there in the counsel of His own will.

He not only conceived the plan, He saw us in it. What is Martin Lloyd saying? He's saying place yourself there in Revelation 5. You're one of the ones saying this. You have redeemed us to God by your own blood and made us kings and priests to our God.

Place yourself there and know that God saw this in his mind in eternity past, and he saw you, he knew your name, he placed you there." That is stagling. Let me say two things about these two possibilities. First, I think it's possibility number two. You can tell by the way I preached it. I think what Paul is saying here requires nothing from man, and it will reverberate through all eternity.

There's a beauty in the salvation of sinners that is praiseworthy all on its own, and it must be praised, and it will be praised at the throne for all eternity. But secondly, these are not unrelated. Light shining out of believers is connected with God's transforming work at heart. Believers shine because they've been made different. That's why.

Believers' works in a way are our works, but in a way they're God's works. It is God who transforms us and works in us to do the good works that bring him glory. So these things are connected. We're going to see that in chapter 2. In chapter 2, look at chapter 2, Chapter 2 is this great section about salvation by grace alone, through faith alone.

And then he says this in verse 10, For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them. Maybe we don't have to make much of a choice between these two possibilities. I do think it is just the splendor of God's saving work that draws forth praise. Just all on its own. It has a beauty of its own, but it is connected with then, living as believers in the world and bringing glory to God.

One last point before applications. Let me quote a line from a song that we love to sing, Where is Room. Sinner, where is room for pride? Has not Jesus paid it all? Paul is saying in verse 12, the praise belongs to God.

The praise belongs to Jesus for His work. Sinner, where is room for pride? Will you take credit for your salvation? This good news is God centered. Our gospel needs to be centered on God.

Yes, the benefits to mankind are incalculable, but that's not what it's about. It is about God displaying what He's like through the salvation of sinners. Applications 3. All for Believers. Unbelievers, come back next week.

Maybe James will have an application for you. Number one, believers be happy. Paul keeps adding to the pile of the riches of his grace. And he's trying to convince you of all the things that you have a rightful claim to that should make you happy. He wants you to be happy.

He wants you to see with great clarity the things you have a right to claim and then just be happy about it. He's given you an inheritance. Incorruptible. Undefiled. Reserved for you in heaven.

No one can touch it. And the inheritance is all things. Joint heirs with Christ. Joint heirs, joint inheritance. If it's Christ's inheritance we're talking about, and your joint heirs, all things are yours.

And Paul says it explicitly in 1 Corinthians, all things are yours. Number two. Believers, don't be proud. Don't be proud. Paul is assigning the praise and you're not on the list.

Verses three through six, God the Father did this to save sinners, praise God the Father. Now we're finishing the second section, verses 7-12, God the Son did this to save sinners, praise God the Son. Don't you steal from that praise. It doesn't belong to you. You don't deserve it.

You didn't do it. You should be humble and happy. Humble and happy when we look at the pile of riches that he's been adding to, and He's going to keep adding to them. James is going to put a couple on the pile next week. He's ready.

He's chomping at the bit. See? He can't hardly sit down over there. You stay where you are. One more week.

Number one, believers be happy. Two, believers don't be proud. Be humble and happy. Number three, believers don't let this great doctrine be an excuse to stand still. I want you to think of who is preaching this great doctrine.

This great doctrine of choosing, of election, of predestination, of working out all things according to the counsel of his will. It's the man who knew cold nights and shipwrecks and floggings and preaching at midnight. I was watching a Utah Beach documentary, D-Day documentary, And one of the soldiers who landed on the beach, night was falling, and they were just under withering fire from the Germans. And allied troops were being slaughtered on that beach. And They were thankful for nightfall because it means the Germans couldn't see them to shoot them.

And he said, all through the night we prayed like everything depended on God, and we dug trenches like Everything depended on us. You know, that's helpful. I think we should pray and believe like everything depends on God it does, but Paul dug trenches like everything depended on him. He spared nothing to exert himself to bring the gospel to the ends of the world. And you owe him a debt for that.

It's really a debt you don't owe to Paul, you owe it to God who raised up Paul. But to receive this wonderful doctrine, but not hold it like him, would be so wrong. Can't you see that? To receive this doctrine that he traveled the world teaching, but he was exerting himself in traveling the world to teach this. He didn't believe that it just meant, well now I don't have to do anything.

He never held that doctrine in that way a day in his life. Don't be de-energized for Kingdom work by holding this great doctrine. Paul couldn't have done that. That's impossible. God, I do thank you for this great sweet doctrine that There is an inheritance, a co-inheritance, Christ's inheritance that believers have a claim to because of His great work.

It is inherently beautiful, inherently praiseworthy. A great multitude will be before the throne for all eternity saying, You have purchased us to God by your blood. You have made us priests and kings to our God. It is staggering to us, O God, that you had individuals in mind and that you've worked it out in history. We praise you in Jesus' name, amen.