Sermons on Ephesians (II) - What the Triune God Has Done for Us

The Apostle Paul Was A Servant of God Who Devotedly Preached The Gospel of The Water and the Spirit

Paul was imprisoned no less than three times while preaching the righteousness of God. Yet even while imprisoned, he wrote numerous epistles to the saints of his time, including Colossians, Philemon, Philippians and Ephesians. Through his Epistle to the Ephesians, Paul is testifying that the Triune God’s plan is the very righteousness of the Lord that is revealed in the gospel of the water and the Spirit.

We are profoundly grateful to the Apostle Paul and other predecessors of faith for bearing witness of the work of salvation fulfilled by the Triune God. Accordingly, we should never lead our lives of faith emotionally. Far from it, we ought to understand and verify the Triune God’s plan of salvation through the gospel of the water and the Spirit. It is incumbent upon us to believe in the righteousness of God that Jesus Christ has fulfilled by sacrificing Himself in our place out of His love and by fulfilling the Old Testament’s prophecies, and we ought to lead our lives of faith based on this foundation.

You should take a moment now and ask yourself if you are really leading your life of faith with a clear understanding of the righteousness of God. When you profess to believe in the Lord, you ought to know exactly how His love for you has been fulfilled and revealed in God’s righteousness. As we are now living in the end times, I admonish every reader with all my heart to come into His embracing arms by believing in the gospel of the water and the Spirit that constitutes the righteousness of God. I hope and pray that God’s righteous love would descend upon all of you along with the gospel of the water and the Spirit.

Sermons on Ephesians (II)

What the Triune God Has Done for Us

Smashwords Edition

Copyright 2008 by The New Life Mission

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means without the written permission of the author.

Scripture quotations are from the New King James Version.

ISBN 978-89-282-1027-5

Table of Contents

Foreword

1. Our Salvation Was Prepared in the Righteousness of Jesus Even before the Foundation of the World (Ephesians 1:1-4)

2. We Have Become God’s Possessions by His Grace (Ephesians 1:1-14)

3. We Have Been Saved through God’s Love and Sacrifice (Ephesians 1:1-6)

4. We Thank God for Calling Us as the Members of His Church (Ephesians 1:20-23)

5. We Have Redemption According to the Riches of God’s Grace (Ephesians 1:7-14)

6. Were We Made for the Lord’s Righteous Work? (Ephesians 2:1-10)

7. We Must Acknowledge God’s Authority and Grace In Our Life of Faith (Ephesians 2:1-22)

8. What Kind of People Were We in God’s Sight? (Ephesians 2:1-7)

9. We Had Been Estranged from God the Father Because of Our Sins (Ephesians 2:14-22)

10. Immeasurable Blessings of Christ Are in the Heart of Every Saint Who Believes in the Gospel of The Water and the Spirit (Ephesians 3:1-21)

11. Defend Your Faith in Your Life (Ephesians 4:1-6)

12. Emulate God as His Beloved Children (Ephesians 5:1-2)

13. Do Not Partake in the Sins of the World (Ephesians 5:1-14)

14. What Does It Really Mean to Live with The Fullness of the Spirit? (Ephesians 5:1-21)

15. Those Who Live with the Fullness of the Spirit (Ephesians 5:15-21)

16. Stand Against the Wiles of Satan (Ephesians 6:10-17)

Foreword

Although there are numerous so-called Christians in this world, only few of them actually believe in and preach the gospel of the water and the Spirit that constitutes the righteousness of God as the Apostle Paul did. The Apostle Paul met the Lord on his way to Damascus, and from then on he spent the rest of his life as a captive servant of the righteousness of the Lord until he was embraced in God’s arms. We have also received the remission of our sins by believing in the righteousness of God and the gospel of the water and the Spirit which was preached by this Apostle Paul, and our hearts are being thoroughly transformed as a result.

In his Epistle to the Ephesians, the Apostle Paul declares that our salvation was achieved once and for all in God the Father and Jesus Christ. And today, just like the Apostle Paul, there are those who believe in and preach the gospel of the water and the Spirit which is testified in both Testaments of the Scriptures. These saints are bearing witness of the gospel of the water and the Spirit in this age and even to you.

In all my sermons it has been my consistent aim to bear witness of the Truth that the Lord has fulfilled the will of God the Father through the gospel of the water and the Spirit, and to testify God’s blessings that come to those believers once they receive the remission of their sins by believing in the righteousness of God. I have also done my utmost to bear witness of the true life of faith that is led by today’s Christians who believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit. Now, through this book, I would like to show the infinite love of God and His profound will to everyone alike, both those who already believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit and those who do not. So, as you proceed to read this book, you will come to realize what the Triune God’s intention is for you. I hope and pray that the Triune God would bless you.

June 7, 2008

Rev. Paul C. Jong, Author

SERMON 1

Our Salvation Was Prepared

In the Righteousness of Jesus

Even before

The Foundation of the World

< Ephesians 1:1-4 >

Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, To the saints who are in Ephesus, and faithful in Christ Jesus: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. 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.

The Love of the Lord Is Clearly Woven into the Screen Gate of the Court of the Tabernacle!

In our hymn book, there is a lyric written by the sister Jihae Kim in our Church that goes like this:

"Before Creation God planned Salvation;

The Lord who made us and knows us so well

Called and showed Moses the law of His salvation,

Water and the Spirit

(Lord of mercy and love)

The gate of Tabernacle shows us the love of Lord,

The King was baptized by John the Baptist,

Give all thanks to God our Lord,

(Blue and purple thread)

Fulfilled all His Word, the law of salvation by bleeding and deadly pain

(Scarlet and white linen); (the law of life)

With His baptism and His death on Calvary

(Blue tread, purple thread)

Lord revealed us His perfect salvation

(Scarlet thread)."

A line in this gospel song states that the gate of the Tabernacle shows us the love of Lord. Yes, we can discover the true love of the Lord on the gate of the Tabernacle. The Scriptures state that the Lord’s sincere love for us is manifested all in the blue, purple, and scarlet tread and fine woven linen. And in that God’s love, Jesus has manifested the remission of our sins by the baptism Jesus received from John the Baptist and the blood He shed on the Cross. The colors engraved on the screen gate of the Tabernacle shows more obviously our salvation that Jesus fulfilled by the baptism He received from John the Baptist, the blood He shed, and His resurrection from death.

As we know, God the Father’s great love of salvation has combined in the love of Jesus Christ that was prepared even before the foundation of the world. Through this love, we can receive the gift of the remission of sins that God has granted to humanity by believing in the gospel of the water and the Spirit. The Book of Ephesians states that the salvation out of the love of God the Father was planned in Jesus Christ even before the foundation of the world. It states that only the people who believe in the truth of the gospel of the water and the Spirit can receive the gift of salvation through the remission of sins God has given us all. The gospel of the water and the Spirit is the greatest gift God has given us.

Therefore, we must first receive the remission of sins before the presence of God by believing in the gospel of the water and the Spirit that contains the love of Jesus Christ. Therefore, we had to know that we had not received the cleansing of sins by offering so many prayers of repentance. We must be the saints who give thanks to God for the remission of sins through the gospel of the water and the Spirit. We have to know and believe that the Lord’s love is revealed in the truth of salvation that has manifested in the gospel of the water and the Spirit. We have to become the people who receive the blessing of the remission of sins that God gives by believing in the gospel of the water and the Spirit. Most Christians today have fallen into mystical beliefs without knowing the gospel of the water and the Spirit. We must know that it is because of their wrong faith that has drifted far away from immensely great love of God. Such mystical belief has been very different from the faith that believes the gospel of the water and the Spirit God has given us. Today’s mystical belief places great emphasis on the emotional experiences, and therefore it is a very wrong faith from the perspective of the gospel of the water and the Spirit. They have thought very highly of visions, speaking in tongues, and tremors they feel.

Therefore, we should believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit that saved us from all our sins and thus enjoy the privilege that was prepared before the foundation of the world by believing in the righteousness of Jesus Christ. We had to return to the faith of knowing and believing in the gospel Truth of the water and the Spirit now by turning away from such a mystical faith.

The People Who Have Mystical Faith Are Still Suffering Due to the Sins in Their Hearts

They try hard to have some different experiences instead of receiving the remission of sins by believing in the gospel of the water and the Spirit which God has given. Moreover, the mystical faith of such people is becoming a huge obstacle for them meeting the gospel of the water and the Spirit. They should have known that their mystical faith is preventing them from knowing and believing in the gospel of the water and the Spirit that can cleanse them from all their sins. However, there have not been that many Christians who recognize such a problem exists. They must rather give up their mystical belief they have been relying on so far. And they should become more concerned about the love of the Triune God that was planned even before the foundation of the world and which was manifested in the gospel of the water and the Spirit.

Today’s Christians should find a way out from their confused faith, and this is only possible by believing in the Truth of the remission of sins that is allowed in the gospel of the water and the Spirit. All of us believers had to also come to know and believe in the gospel Truth of the water and the Spirit that was prepared in Christ before the foundation of the world. We can receive the remission of sins for eternity if we believe in this powerful gospel. We can all escape from all sins and Satan’s traps by having faith of believing in the gospel Truth of the water and the Spirit which is manifested in the Tabernacle right now.

The problem, however, is that too many Christians are beholden to confused beliefs that are reliant upon their own experiences. They long to experience mystical feelings, such as paranormal sensations while praying or seeing God in their dreams saying, Son, you have become my child. But all such experiences are not of God’s work, but they stem from devil spirits that are working through their own fleshly thoughts (2 Thessalonians 2:9-10). Therefore, when you have a chance to listen to the true gospel of salvation, that is, the gospel of the water and the Spirit, you must first defeat all mystical beliefs by believing in this true gospel. Only then can you abide in the Truth and come into the presence of the holy God by relying on His love that’s found in the gospel of the water and the Spirit. You must realize clearly here that experiencing these strange sensations while praying or speaking in tongues is not the work of the Holy Spirit.

This Absolutely Indispensable Truth That You Must Know and Believe in Is the Gospel of the Water and the Spirit

Only when you believe in the baptism of Jesus and His blood on the Cross will all your sins blotted out and washed away for sure (Matthew 3:15; John 1:29; and 1 Peter 3:21). Therefore, even if you have devoted all your life to God and served Him piously, this does not necessarily mean that you have put on God’s love or reached your salvation. Nor have you become one of God’s own people just because you have seen a mysterious vision or even experienced the gift of healing. So long as your faith is experiential, emotional, or mystical, you cannot say that you have received God’s true love.

As all of us believe in the written Word of God, we ought to clearly grasp the Truth of the washing away of sins which is manifested in the Tabernacle — that is, the gospel Truth of the water and the Spirit and God’s love — and believe in this Truth. God the Father has granted the true gospel of the remission of sins to all sinners because He wants to give this salvation of the washing away of sins to all of us. This blessing of salvation can be received only by believing in the gospel of the water and the Spirit that is found in Jesus Christ. Like this, the Lord Himself wants to teach about the real salvation to every sinner. The gospel Truth of the water and the Spirit is the real Truth of salvation manifested in the gate of the court of the Tabernacle. Put differently, the genuine gospel of the remission of sins for all human beings is the gospel of the water and the Spirit. The shadow of this gospel is manifested in the gate of the court of the Tabernacle. So, it’s very important for you to learn about the mystery of salvation revealed in the blue, purple, and scarlet thread and the fine woven linen that were used to make the gate of the court of the Tabernacle, and understand this mystery.

The sacrificial system of the Tabernacle entailed two absolutely indispensable elements: The laying on of hands, and the shedding of the blood of the sacrificial animal. Unless you comprehend these requirements of the sacrificial system, you cannot realize God’s love that’s revealed in the gospel of the water and the Spirit. Like this, God’s love, which makes all sinners God’s own people, is manifested in the gospel of the water and the Spirit, and its evidence is recorded in the Old Testament’s laying on of hands and the shedding of the blood of the sacrifice. In the age of the New Testament, Jesus Christ Himself has fulfilled our salvation through the baptism He received from John the Baptist and the blood He shed on the Cross, and He has granted the perfect remission of sins to whoever believes in this salvation. In other words, our God has given all of us the gospel of the water and the Spirit, which is His salvation, and He has granted the remission of sins and the gift of His Spirit to all of us who believe in this true gospel (Acts 2:38).

Our Salvation Is Found in the Gospel of the Water and the Spirit Exactly as God Planned It Even before the Foundation of the World

It is written in today’s Scripture reading: 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 (Ephesians 1:3-6).

By faith, every sinner has to accept the salvation that was prepared in Jesus Christ even before the foundation of the world. And even at this very moment, God is working in the same way through the gospel of the water and the Spirit according to this way of salvation that was planned by God to make all sinners His own people. The real Truth of this salvation was manifested in the four colors of the materials used for the gate of the court of the Tabernacle. These materials were blue, purple, and scarlet thread and fine woven linen. This plan by which the Lord decided to save us from all the sins of the world was found in the plan of the Triune God.

God the Father, His Son, and the Holy Spirit are the same one God to us, but they each had a different role to play. God the Father oversaw the plan of our salvation, while Jesus Christ implemented this plan of salvation made by God the Father, and the Holy Spirit guarantees us our deliverance from sin that the Father and the Son have accomplished. Although the role of each Person of the Triune God is different, every one of them is the same God to us. Out of His love for us, God wanted to give the gift of true salvation to all of us through the gospel of the water and the Spirit.

Now, according to God’s predestination, this gospel of the water and the Spirit has come to all of us who believe in God’s promised salvation. Even before the foundation of the world, God had planned to save us from all our sins and make us His own children in Jesus Christ, and He has thus accomplished this plan. It was therefore the Lord’s will to make us God’s children by blotting out all our sins with the gospel of the water and the Spirit. Like this, the will of God the Father was to adopt all the believers in the gospel of the water and the Spirit as His own children in Jesus Christ, and to live with them forever in Heaven. And to fulfill this great plan, God has given the gospel of the water and the Spirit to this world.

God has now made it possible for us to receive the true remission of sins and enjoy all the glory of the Kingdom of Heaven if only we understand and believe in the Truth of salvation manifested in the blue, purple, and scarlet thread shown in the gate of the court of the Tabernacle. All who believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit can now reach the Truth that saves them from all their sins. It’s through the gospel of the water and the Spirit that God decided to save every sinner from all their sins (1 John 5:6-8). The salvation of the remission of sins that God planned for us was decided entirely by God Himself. We know that our salvation was prepared in Jesus Christ even before the foundation of the world, and this salvation is revealed in the gospel of the water and the Spirit.

The love of God was fulfilled through the blue, purple, and scarlet thread shown in the gate of the court of the Tabernacle. Every utensil in the Tabernacle revealed the love of God and the Truth of salvation. The Truth manifested in the gate of the court of the Tabernacle was the shadow of the true remission of sins that God has fulfilled in the gospel of the water and the Spirit. The real substance of this salvation, in other words, is fulfilled in Jesus Christ according to God the Father’s plan. It was the Lord’s will to deliver us from all our sins and make us God’s own people, and He has indeed delivered us from all our sins according to this providence. God’s purpose was to enable us to receive His abundant love and obtain everlasting life and to enjoy it forever. And according to this purpose for which God decided to save us from all our sins, the Lord has made the gospel of the water and the Spirit known to us and blessed us to realize the love of God and the Truth of salvation, so that we would lack nothing to be saved from each and every sin. In short, God has made it possible for all of us to praise Him forever for the salvation that He has brought to us.

The problem, however, is that some people question God’s love and purpose that were planned even before the foundation of the world. But the answer to every question is found in the salvation that God planned in Jesus Christ out of His mercy before the foundation of the world. Of course, this may be problematic to those who question God’s will, but it’s completely flawless from His point of view. Having fallen into sin, we were all destined to die, but God had decided even before the foundation of the world to save us in Jesus Christ, make us His own people, and bless us to enjoy His glory. Was it then wrong for God to make this decision? No, of course not! It was God’s plan of love to save us from all our sins and bless us to enjoy His glory in Jesus Christ, and this plan was absolutely flawless.

However, we still see some people complaining about God’s plan of salvation, protesting that God made His plan all by Himself without asking any human being. These people say that it was unfair for God to decide to save the human race from all its sins and destruction through the gospel of the water and the Spirit. By any chance, are you such a complainer? Of the work of salvation that God planned for you, what is it that makes you so unhappy? If you really believe that Jesus Christ has saved you from all your sins through the gospel of the water and the Spirit, then you should not have anything to complain about. Once you believe in the salvation revealed in the gospel of the water and the Spirit with all your heart, you too will come to thank God. Indeed, there can’t be no complaint at all once you accept by faith that God has saved you through the gospel of the water and the Spirit.

God’s Love Entails Holy Jealousy

In the Bible, God often revealed Himself as the God of jealousy, as He said, You shall worship no other god, for the LORD, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God (Exodus 34:14). God’s jealousy is another expression of His unfathomable love toward us humans. Out of His love of jealousy, our holy God punished the angels that challenged His authority and saved human beings whom He had made in the likeness of His image. His love for us is so deep-seated that He does not allow us to love anyone or anything else in this world. The salvation that God is offering to everyone through the gospel of the water and the Spirit not only reveals God’s love and mercy, but it also demonstrates how just His love is.

It is in the righteousness of Jesus Christ that God has saved us. This love of God bestowed on us can have no flaw whatsoever. All of us had fallen into sin, and all of us were destined to be put to death for our sins. Yet despite this, God has saved us through the gospel of the water and the Spirit, so what is there to complain about? As mere creatures, none of us could ever become God’s own child without His grace. But to bless such wretched beings like us to become His own children, God sent Jesus Christ to this earth, and He has ultimately saved us through the gospel of the water and the Spirit. This was God’s will. We were indeed fundamentally disqualified from entering into the Kingdom of Heaven because of our sins, yet God the Father drew up His plan of salvation even before the foundation of the world to make all the believers in the gospel of the water and the Spirit sinless and adopt them as His own children. So if this is true, then far from complaining, we ought to believe in God’s plan and thank Him all the more.

What Was Hidden in God’s Holy Jealousy?

In God’s holy jealousy were hidden His justice, His salvation, and His curse. In the righteousness of Jesus Christ, in other words, it’s not just the remission of sins and God’s love that are found. On the contrary, God renders His fearsome wrath on all who ignore His authority and love, and bestows His mercy only on those who seek it humbly. This shows that God gives His special blessings to those whom He loves.

Through His Son Jesus Christ, God the Father wanted to show us His mercy. So He sent the Lord Jesus to this earth, and Jesus, in turn, bore all the sins of this world once and for all by being baptized by John the Baptist, died on the Cross while bearing all those sins, and has thereby saved us all forever. Such is the jealousy that comes out of God’s mercy, out of this love of jealousy, and out of His merciful plan that had been in existence even before anyone or anything in this world came into being.

It was God’s plan to save us from all the sins of the world through the Truth of salvation, which Jesus Christ achieved by coming to this earth, receiving His baptism from John the Baptist, shedding His blood on the Cross, and rising from the dead to become our Savior. This salvation was fulfilled according to the love of God, which entails His holy jealousy, His just judgment, and His plan. This gospel Truth of the water and the Spirit that God has given to us demonstrates both His love and His justice simultaneously to everyone, the believers and unbelievers alike. While God blesses whoever believes in His love and obeys Him to become His own child, God justly condemns everyone else for the sin of unbelief. It is only fitting for each and every sinner to face God’s just judgment and be destroyed. Like this, God’s justice and love are completed in the God-given salvation and His wrath. This is the real Truth of salvation that’s completed in Jesus Christ, and you must not only realize it but also believe in it with all your heart.

Satan had actually been an archangel, but because he stood against the will of God, he was cast out of Heaven by God. The Devil therefore has no other choice but to suffer forever in wretchedness. Human beings, in contrast, can still find deliverance, for God has established the law of salvation for everyone in this world to be saved from all their sins. When we turn to Isaiah 14:12, we see God saying to Satan:

"How you are fallen from heaven,

O Lucifer, son of the morning!

How you are cut down to the ground,

You who weakened the nations!" In rebuking the angel who stood against God and all his followers, God said that He would judge them all for their arrogance. And even now, we see that the angel who rebelled against God is still busy trying to entice everyone away from God. Having thus challenged the authority of God, Satan became His enemy as his pride was exposed in God’s sight, and in the process, the Devil ended up asking for God’s just condemnation. It’s written in Isaiah 14:13-14:

"For you have said in your heart:

‘I will ascend into heaven,

I will exalt my throne above the stars of God;

I will also sit on the mount of the congregation

On the farthest sides of the north;

I will ascend above the heights of the clouds,

I will be like the Most High.’" This is the reason why Lucifer came to face God’s just judgment.

God absolutely does not tolerate any creature challenging His authority no matter what that creature might be. Far from it, God justly punishes all wickedness and transgressions. God’s judgment of justice is not unfair to anyone, but it is only appropriate. After all, when a God-made creature forgets his standing and stands against God’s authority, how can it be wrong for God the Creator to punish such a vile and arrogant creature? We know that it’s only fitting and just for God to punish all such rebellious creatures. But even now, the angel that challenged God’s authority is alive and well in the thoughts of the people of this world, and he is inciting them to stand against God’s love and reject His grace by misleading them to rely on their own works to reach salvation. Deceived by this fallen angel, more and more people are rejecting God’s love. And as a result, God is pouring hot coals on the heads of all who have departed from His love. God’s just condemnation is the most appropriate punishment for everyone who rejects His love.

In fact, you and I ought to be grateful to God for granting us the gospel of the water and the Spirit and blessing us to step inside this gospel of salvation by faith. If God had no plan of salvation for us, then we would have been in the same wretched situation as that fallen angel awaiting destruction for arrogance. Given the fact that Satan is not only alive in this world but he is also gathering together anyone who would stand against God with him and be destroyed in the end, it’s clear that without God’s grace, we would also have been ensnared by the Devil’s trap only to suffer forever. Thankfully, however, God did not abandon us, but He had so much compassion on us that He blessed us to come into His love, gave us the gospel of the water and the Spirit, saved us from all our sins, protected us, and used us as His workers. Therefore, as you and I believe in this love of God, we have all put on God’s special love and mercy.

In contrast, those who have not found God’s mercy will be condemned; they are still standing against God with their faithlessness. As they have not found the grace of God that can save them from all their sins, all that awaits them is God’s just judgment that’s devoid of His mercy.

God has set aside the fallen angel and all his wicked followers to be punished for their sins, and this was our fate as well. We had to therefore escape from this punishment by believing in the gospel of the water and the Spirit through which Jesus Christ has saved us all. We had to believe in this gospel of the water and the Spirit to receive God’s merciful love and obtain new and everlasting life. And as God’s mercy abounds to us, He has granted us our eternal salvation by giving us faith in the gospel of the water and the Spirit that’s found in Jesus Christ. As we believe in the great mercy of God and His love, God has forever delivered us from all the condemnation of our sins and given us new life. And that’s precisely why all of us ought to thank God. If you still have not stepped inside the gospel of Truth by faith, the gospel of the water and the Spirit that enables you to glorify God, then you must come into this life-giving gospel right now.