The Passion of Christ

God Showed His Love For Us
As He Keeps Us

May 2, 2004
Genesis 1:1; Revelation 21:5-7

We continue our thoughts today upon another way that "God Shows His Love For Us."

We have clearly seen where God Has Shown His Love For Us
- In The Eternal Past
- When He Came To This Earth
- When He Died For Our Sins
- When He Raised From The Dead
- When He Saves Us
- As He Guides Us

But those things wouldn’t seem to be of much importance if it were not for the truths that we want to consider for these next few minutes. So think with me about how "God Shows His Love For Us As He Keeps Us."

And really, when we stop and consider these things, what real benefit would it be if God has shown His love for us in all the ways that we have thought about if He couldn’t keep us saved both throughout our lifetimes here upon this earth and then throughout all eternity?

Let’s take a moment and read a few verses together. We begin by reading that very familiar passage in John 3:14-18, "And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up: That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life. For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God."

Multitudes around the world can quote at least part of those verses, but many still cannot seem to grasp the truth that’s within them. Jesus speaks here about how he is going to be lifted up on the "Old Rugged Cross" and give his life as a sacrifice for each and every person who has or will ever live upon this earth. He tells us that the one and only thing that we have to do to inherit everlasting life and live with him throughout all eternity, is to simply trust what he did for us when he died for our sins according to the scriptures, was buried, and rose again from the dead after three full days and three full nights in the heart of the earth. He goes on to tell us that if we truly believe and trust in him, we are not condemned, but those that do not believe are condemned already, simply because they have not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.

Let’s continue to read another familiar passage that is found in John 10:27-28, "My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand."

Jesus tells us here about His sheep. His sheep are the ones who hear his voice, the ones that he knows because they have received him as their Lord and saviour, and they follow him. His sheep are the ones he has given eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. We have seen in these past few studies the omnipotent power that our Lord has and he says here that we are in his all powerful hand.

But he goes on and tells us more about the security that we have as a child of God. Listen carefully as he continues to tell us in John 10:29-30 "My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father's hand. I and my Father are one."

The Apostle Paul would later tell us in Ephesians 4:30 "And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption." How much more security could anyone ever desire than to know that we have been saved by the sacrifice and grace of a loving God. Then we are safely sheltered, protected, preserved, and kept in the very hand of an Almighty God. And then, even beyond that, we are sealed by the precious Holy Spirit.

Turn with me please to another precious passage that is found in Ephesians 1:1-14, "PAUL, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, to the saints which are at Ephesus, and to the faithful in Christ Jesus: Grace be to you, and peace, from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ: According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love: Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will, To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved. In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace; Wherein he hath abounded toward us in all wisdom and prudence; Having made known unto us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure which he hath purposed in himself: That in the dispensation of the fulness of times he might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; even in him: In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will: That we should be to the praise of his glory, who first trusted in Christ. In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also, after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise, Which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory."

Paul is sayings some things in these few verses that are way too special just to simply pass by. We must always remember that all Scripture is given by the inspiration of God for very special purposes. Within the precious pages of God’s Word, He tell us what He wants us to know, what He wants us to believe, and what He wants to claim.

In verse 1, we see that Paul is addressing the letter "to the saints which are at Ephesus, and to the faithful in Christ Jesus." So Paul is not confining these verses just to the saints at Ephesus, but is addressing them to all those who are faithful in Christ Jesus. We must also remember that we that are alive today and the saved throughout the millenniums could be referred to as the faithful in Christ Jesus. So basically, the Spiritual blessings that Paul is referring to are for all who are in Christ or all those who have been saved.

The term "in Christ" or "in Him" is mentioned over a dozen times in this epistle. And we must remember that everything that we have as children of God is because we are in Christ. So probably one of the best questions we could ask today would be, "Are you, am I, in Him?" Because if we are in Him, then we have all his spiritual blessings.

How many spiritual blessings is Paul talking about? He’s talking about All spiritual blessings! Who has these spiritual blessings? The faithful in Christ. Those that have placed their faith, their life, their will, and their future in him.

Now of course, I’m sure you remember that there are some special blessings that are only for the members of the church that our Lord instituted while he was here upon this earth, that will not be for anyone else. I would ask you to please remember that these are not my terms. They are what the Holy Spirit directed Paul to call "spiritual blessings." But the spiritual blessings we want to think about in this service are for all those who have been saved by the grace of God.

Let's also remember who it was that called them spiritual blessings. God the Holy Spirit has access to everything that exists, so if He calls something a blessing, then it must be a tremendous blessing indeed. A tremendous blessing might mean something different to different groups of people. A few pennies might be a huge blessing to a small child. A few dollars might be a huge blessing to a youth. A few hundred dollars might be a huge blessing to us adults. But to those that have vast fortunes, it might require billions to be a huge gift to them.

Think with me about some of the spiritual blessings that the Lord has told us about in His Word: eternal life, prayer, His provision, and on and on the list could go. Paul tells us in Romans 8:32, "He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things?" What are some of these things?

Look with me again at Ephesians 1:4, "According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love:"

First of all, we learn that We Are Chosen In Christ. This tells us that each and every one of us who believe in the Lord Jesus Christ as our very own personal Lord and Saviour was given this position in Christ even before the foundation of the world. Paul tells us this choosing was to be "that we should be holy and without blame before him in love." What a glorious position to be in! Simply because, no matter what might happen, there is no other position a believer can be in than one of holiness and without blame, in Christ and His love.

Furthermore, He has not chosen us because we deserve it, but because of His precious Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. We are what we are in Him. If we could be taken apart from Him, then we would return to nothing, just as we were before we came in Him. This doesn't mean that we had no choice of our own to be saved or not be saved. Certainly every one of us must make that decision for themselves. That isn’t what chosen means. We were chosen in Christ to become holy and without blame. Sin is no longer charged to our account because we are now in Christ. Satan no longer has a hold upon us because we are now in Christ. We no longer are blamable before God because we are now in Christ. And what a wonderful spiritual blessing it is to be chosen in Christ.

But not only has he chosen us, but He has predestinated us, or determined before or ordained for us to be conformed to the image of His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. Surely there can be no doubt that God’s will for every believer is that we become more and more like his only begotten Son each and every day of our lives.

How do we become like Christ? We look to him as our example and rely upon the Holy Spirit to help us in our thinking, our praying, our speaking, and our living. In short, we need to look at the things of the world with the same eyes that our Lord looks at them.

Why should the Lord be so concerned with us being conformed to the image of his Son? Oh friend, God is a loving God and he wants his absolute best for us in both our hearts and our lives. And the real truth of the matter is that the areas in our lives that we don’t let him conform us will be dealt with at the judgment seat of Christ. Because it is as Paul said in II Corrinthians 5:10, "We will all stand before the Judgment Seat of Christ." He also gave us some more details about this thought when he wrote in I Corinthians the 3rd chapter. What it basically comes down to is this, the more like Christ we become in this life, the less we will have to be ashamed of when we stand before him at the judgment seat. So surely that should give us an incentive to try to become more and more like him each and every day that we live upon this earth. Yes, He has chosen us in Christ and wants us to be conformed into his image.

We read in Ephesians 1:6, "To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved." His grace has been given to us, it prevents His wrath from acting against us, and it keeps His justice from demanding our death. God’s grace means that there is no payment left for us to pay.

And truly it is as Elvina M. Hall wrote:

Jesus paid it all,
All to Him I owe;
Sin had left a crimson stain,
He washed it white as snow.

God’s grace doesn’t just help to be saved, it is complete within itself. It does it all. Man under grace is not living on a trial basis to see if they’re going to be faithful until the end, because once the Lord bestows his grace upon us, he never takes it away. As to our past life, it has been forgiven and doesn’t exist before God. That’s why we as Christians should sing that old song that was written by Julia H. Johnston with joy in their hearts

Grace, grace, God’s grace.
Grace that will pardon and cleanse within;
Grace, grace, God’s grace.
Grace that is greater than all our sin.

Oh listen beloved, not only has God the Father chosen us in Christ, not only does He wants us to be conformed into his image, and not only has He poured out His marvelous grace upon us, but He has redeemed us.

Wasn’t that what the apostle said in Ephesians 1:7, "In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace;"

Redeemed means to buy back what was once His. Remember that God created man in a state of innocence. He put Adam and Eve in a perfect environment. They sinned against him and the entire human race was plunged into sin and hell became our eternal home. But He loved us enough to buy us back and bring us back into the right relationship with him. What a wonderful God we have!

A God that loved me enough that He gave His life for me. He suffered on the Cross for me. He shed His life’s blood for me. So that he could redeem me and give me eternal life. How much more of a blessing could anyone ever desire or ask God for?

Oh friend that the reason that we can sing that old song by Fanny J. Crosby with the joy bells ringing in our souls.

Redeemed, redeemed,
Redeemed by the blood of the Lamb;
Redeemed, redeemed,
His child, and forever, I am.

And what an eternal blessing it is to be redeemed by the precious blood of the Lamb of God.

He has redeemed us from the Law. According to Galatians 4:4-5, "But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law, To redeem (or to buy up, or to rescue) them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons."

He has redeemed us from the power of sin. According to what Paul wrote in Romans 8:2, "For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death."

He has redeemed us from the power of Satan. Paul writes again in Colossians 1:13-14, "Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son: In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins:" Beloved, the Christian is no longer under the curse of the law, no longer under the power of sin, and no longer under the power of Satan. Simply because, praise God, when he redeemed us and saved us by his marvelous grace, he set us free from these things and we’ll never be under their power any more.

He has gathered all things together in Christ. Paul continues in Ephesians 1:9-10, "Having made known unto us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure which he hath purposed in himself: That in the dispensation of the fulness of times he might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; even in him:" One day, and probably very soon, all of God’s people will be united together with him and we will never be separated from him anymore. But as for now, he has given us still another blessing.

He has revealed His will to us. We don't have to grope around in the darkness wondering how we should be serving Him. He has already told us what he wants us to do in his word.

He Has Given Us An Inheritance. We read again in Ephesians 1:11-12, "In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will: That we should be to the praise of his glory, who first trusted in Christ." When we think about the price that God paid to make us part of His inheritance, it should make the Spiritual Blessings he has poured out upon us, both now and throughout all eternity, have a tremendous meaning in our hearts and lives. Jesus refers to us as His own in John the 17th chapter. And I like that verse that Paul wrote in Romans 8:17, "And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ" Now if we are going to be joint-heirs with Christ, that means that He can’t claim His inheritance apart from us, because we are going to share it with him. I don’t know about you, but that’s getting very close to "shouting ground" right there. That simply means that everything the Father has, we are one day going to share, as a joint heir, with the Lord Jesus Christ. Think about that when you’re soaking your pillow with tears, when things are not going so well, when you or one of your loved ones is in pain, or when you are pressing your dying pillow. We’re not just an heir, we’re a joint heir with the Lord Jesus Christ and the things that he has to share with us will last throughout all eternity. That’s not bad for just a group of sinners like you and me that have been saved by the grace of God, is it?

Here’s something else that’s good about God’s special blessings. There is absolutely no way that we can lose out on them. He isn’t going to change his mind. He has it written down in His Word.

We are sealed by the Holy Spirit. Look again at Ephesians 1:13, "In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that Holy Spirit of promise," This speaks of Ownership. It is a final transaction. It speaks of Security. It is a guarantee that the Lord has made to us. And Praise God, it's final. It is complete.

Let me close with these thoughts.

We are in Christ because of our salvation. A salvation where the Father planned it, the Son paid for it, and the Holy Spirit applied it to our hearts and lives. A salvation where God has blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ.

We have clearly seen where God has shown His love for us:
- In The Eternal Past
- When He Came To This Earth
- When He Died For Our Sins
- When He Raised From The Dead
- When He Saves Us
- As He Guides Us.

But I ask you, how wonderful would those things really be if it were not for his power to keep us saved throughout all eternity?

But praise his precious name, God does have that power and He will continue to show him wonderful love for us. He will keep us saved throughout all eternity.

Have you ever put your complete faith and trust in the Lord Jesus Christ as your very own personal Lord and Saviour? If not, will you trust him this very day and let him show his love for you throughout all eternity?

Copyright © 2004 by Dr. Kennith Atkison

This material is provided for personal study or for use in preparation of sermons, Sunday school classes, or other oral communication. This material may be quoted in written form with appropriate credit and may be copied or reprinted for distribution as long as it is given away and no charge is made for copies, shipping or handling. It may not be reprinted for commercial publication.