Scripture reading: Psalm 149.

Sermon text: Ephesians 1:11-23.

“To be ignorant of what occurred before you were born is to remain always a child.” - Marcus Tullius Cicero

“The consciousness of being borne up by a spiritual tradition that goes back for centuries gives one a feeling of confidence and security in the face of all passing strains and stresses.” -Dietrich Bonhoeffer

These 2 quotes eloquently state the importance of remembering the history of our faith. I find it troubling that so many Christians and churches today discount the history of the Church at large, only to scramble in panic when they encounter some “new” heresy or deviation from orthodox interpretations of the Scriptures. As I’ve said before, we’ll never face anything the Church hasn’t faced before. It remains our duty to study the history of the Church and determine the solution others have found to our challenges.

Today, New Hope celebrates All Saints Day. On this day, we remember all those who died in faith awaiting the return of Jesus to judge the living and the dead. (As Protestants who believe that all believers stand before God upon their deaths, we cannot celebrate the day known as All Souls.) This congregation has inherited a rich legacy of faith, handed down from generation to generation, that has survived 171 years now. The words of St. Paul in the sermon text today remind us of our ultimate inheritance: The eternal glory God has prepared for all believers. St. Paul’s words also challenge us to stand firm in our lives and pass our faith to those who will succeed us in the work of God’s kingdom.

St. Paul wrote his letter to the Ephesians in c. A.D. 62 while he awaited his hearing before the emperor Nero. At this point, St. Paul had no idea how the hearing would go. He knew he stood innocent of the Jewish charges leveled against him in the incident recorded in Acts chapter 21. In spite of his circumstances, St. Paul could write to the Ephesian believers that he joined with all believers in awaiting vindication before God, His true judge. St. Paul knew that before God, he had no reason to fear judgment. God had already given him everything he would need to face any human emperor or judge.

St. Paul opened this passage by reminded the Ephesians from whom they had received their “inheritance:” Jesus, the divine Son of God Himself. First, God had “predestined” every believer “for adoption through Jesus Christ” (v. 5); God the Father had determined that everyone who believed in Jesus would receive membership in an eternal spiritual family. Jesus had also purchased an “inheritance” for all believers “through His blood” (v. 7) that included “the forgiveness of our trespasses” (v. 7). Jesus had voluntarily accomplished this on the cross when He bore the penalty of death for our sins.

In Jesus, believers “have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will, so that we who were the first to hope in Christ might be to the praise of his glory.” We need to notice that the verb for “obtaining” our inheritance really is a past tense verb in the Greek as well as in the English translations. In a mystical sense, God has already determined our inheritance belongs to us.

This shouldn’t sound strange. We’ve all heard of families who pass vast wealth to their children. In a sense, the child already has riches in his infancy, even though he will not receive them until he comes of age. Christians also experience this, although most of our “wealth” awaits us in the new Creation.

God has “predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will” those who will receive this inheritance. Don’t fall into the trap of reading only “predestination” language here and fall into the legalistic void of what’s known as “Calvinism.” (I suspect Calvin would roll over in his grave if he heard even a fraction of what people claim he said.) This should also remind us of earthly inheritances. Often, the child in a wealthy family has to prove himself worthy of the inheritance by demonstrating a level of responsibility to his parents or guardians. Although no one can claim worthiness of salvation  (see last week’s sermon for details), I need to remind you that God never chose anyone in Scripture without investing that person with a vast responsibility. Read the Scriptures yourself and prove me wrong. If you’re predestined for salvation, you bear a responsibility before God to carry the gospel in your life and words.

Why would God choose anyone for this task? He predestines believers “so that we who were the first to hope in Christ might be to the praise of his glory.” In a sense,  all who believe in Jesus bring glory to His name. We bring glory to Jesus’ name by declaring to the world that we have believed in His sacrifice for us and have accepted His victory over sin and death as a gift He gives us. We confess to the world that we could never have achieved this victory ourselves, but we instead celebrate victory through Jesus’ work, not our own.

I love verses 13 and 14 in this passage: “In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory.”

The word for “sealed” would have reminded the Ephesian believers of the wax seals used to insure a scroll had not suffered tampering. When a Roman citizen finished his will, he would seal it with a wax seal bearing his insignia. The citizen would also choose 6 witnesses who would seal the scroll with their seals as well. The will was invalid if any of the 7 seals were tampered with before the will’s owner died.

St. Paul wrote that the Holy Spirit, God Himself, “seals” us when we “heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in” Jesus. The Holy Spirit also serves as the “guarantee of our inheritance.” The word translated as “guarantee” (also translated as “earnest” (KJV) or “down payment” (HCSB)) refers to something given as an insurance against someone backing out of a deal. Do you understand what this means? The Holy Spirit, the Third Person of God Himself, serves as the promise that we will inherit the eternal rewards God has promised us, again, “to the praise of his glory.”

We may ask, “Why would God do all this? Why would He send Jesus to die and rise again? Why would He then promise all these eternal riches to those who believe in Jesus?” We’ve already read the reason twice thus far: “to the praise of his glory.” God the Father, in His love for Jesus the Son, desires that all praise Jesus for His sacrifice and His defeat of sin and death. As believers in Jesus, everything we do must bring praise to Jesus; everything we say must bring praise to Jesus. Our lives, our attitudes, our words, our actions must lead people to praise Jesus.

Because we have this promised inheritance, St. Paul said, he did not “cease to give thanks” for the believers in Ephesus. He remembered them through prayer and prayed that God would give them — and all believers — “a spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him” that would “enlighten” their hearts. St. Paul wanted the believers to remember the benefits of believing in Jesus, benefits that would empower us to fulfill the responsibilities for which God chose us.

First, St. Paul wanted believers to remember “the hope to which he has called you;” we have hope in spite of our circumstances, because we know that we have received victory over death, humanity’s worst enemy.

St. Paul wanted believers to remember “what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints;” we will inherit a new heaven and a new earth one day (Revelation 21) untainted by sin or death.

St. Paul wanted believers to remember “the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the working of his great might that he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come.” When you feel powerless against the forces that oppress you in your life, remember that God’s power has already defeated sin and death; remember God’s power has raised Christ from the dead and raised Him above every earthly power and ruler.

God also “put all things under his feet and gave him as head over all things to the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all.” We serve as the Body of Christ here on earth. As such, the Church has often lacked political or military power, but we have always possessed the power of God Himself to overcome our enemies.

I think this bears remembering on All Saints Day. The rolls of the martyrs in the Church will never be completed in this earth. We’ll never know the names of all those who gave their lives for the faith; they died that others could hear of Jesus’ victory and believe in His name. We’ll never know the names of all those who died awaiting Jesus’ return; they passed their faith on, from generation to generation, that we would inherit their teachings and actions. We may remember many people in our lives who passed their faith on to us, but countless others through the generations remain unknown.

Our nation celebrates our war dead at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Arlington National Cemetery. This week, we’ll commemorate our veterans on Veterans Day, and we’ll witness ceremonies at this tomb. I believe the Church should also commemorate those who died in faith, known and unknown, upon whose works we build, and whose responsibilities we now bear. Their sacrifices and works prepared the foundation on which we build today. As our veterans have preserved our freedom here in the United States, our faithful departed have preserved and passed the faith onto us who live today.

On this day, we must remember the eternal inheritance we’ve received through our belief in Jesus. We must also bear the responsibility to pass our beliefs onto our children, and we must certainly bear the responsibility to pass our beliefs to those who do not yet believe in Jesus. Every unbeliever today could become a faithful believer who will pass his faith to another generation.

We cannot pass this day without “For All the Saints,” a hymn written by William How and first published in 1864:

For all the saints, who from their labors rest,
Who Thee by faith before the world confessed,
Thy Name, O Jesus, be forever blessed.
Alleluia, Alleluia!

Thou wast their Rock, their Fortress and their Might;
Thou, Lord, their Captain in the well fought fight;
Thou, in the darkness drear, their one true Light.
Alleluia, Alleluia!

For the Apostles’ glorious company,
Who bearing forth the Cross o’er land and sea,
Shook all the mighty world, we sing to Thee:
Alleluia, Alleluia!

For the Evangelists, by whose blest word,
Like fourfold streams, the garden of the Lord,
Is fair and fruitful, be Thy Name adored.
Alleluia, Alleluia!

For Martyrs, who with rapture kindled eye,
Saw the bright crown descending from the sky,
And seeing, grasped it, Thee we glorify.
Alleluia, Alleluia!

O blest communion, fellowship divine!
We feebly struggle, they in glory shine;
All are one in Thee, for all are Thine.
Alleluia, Alleluia!

O may Thy soldiers, faithful, true and bold,
Fight as the saints who nobly fought of old,
And win with them the victor’s crown of gold.
Alleluia, Alleluia!

And when the strife is fierce, the warfare long,
Steals on the ear the distant triumph song,
And hearts are brave, again, and arms are strong.
Alleluia, Alleluia!

The golden evening brightens in the west;
Soon, soon to faithful warriors comes their rest;
Sweet is the calm of paradise the blessed.
Alleluia, Alleluia!

But lo! there breaks a yet more glorious day;
The saints triumphant rise in bright array;
The King of glory passes on His way.
Alleluia, Alleluia!

From earth’s wide bounds, from ocean’s farthest coast,
Through gates of pearl streams in the countless host,
And singing to Father, Son and Holy Ghost:
Alleluia, Alleluia!