A Three-Fold Cord

Sermon OverviewScripture Passage: Ephesians 1:2-14As children of God, we have the privilege of knowing not only that we are saved but also that we can never lose our salvation. God has saved us by His grace, and He keeps us bound to Himself with a three-fold cord that cannot be broken.Ephesians 1:2-14 describes the three-fold cord of the Holy Trinity: God the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.First, this passage reveals that our salvation was planned by God the Father.“...to the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He made us accepted in the Beloved” (Ephesians 1:6).We have been chosen to be saved. Adrian Rogers says, “You've been chosen in the past, predestined to the future, and accepted in the present.”This does not mean that God chose one sinner above another sinner; it means that God had us in His heart and in His mind before He laid the foundation of the world. God gives everyone an invitation to come to Christ; we can only choose Him because He first chose us.Our salvation was also purchased by God the Son.“In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace…” (Ephesians 1:7).In the Garden of Eden, Adam sinned and forfeited our inheritance to Satan; but at Calvary, Jesus redeemed us with His blood. We are freed by His blood and forgiven by His grace; we are filled with His wisdom and fixed with His wealth. We have fellowship and a full inheritance as we become like Jesus Christ.Adrian Rogers says, “The greatest miracle in the world is not walking on water or changing water into wine; it is taking a Hell-bound sinner and transforming him, making him holy and blameless.”Finally, our salvation is preserved by God the Holy Spirit.“...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” (Ephesians 1:13-14).Because of the Holy Spirit, our salvation is a finished transaction; our ownership has been transferred to God and we are secure in it.Apply it to your lifeIf you are a Christian, your salvation is found in a three-fold cord that cannot be broken.Do you recognize that you are chosen by God the Father, in fellowship with Jesus Christ, and sealed by the Holy Spirit?