The Epistle to the Ephesians Dec 27, 2009 Bob Eckel 1 Eternal Security and Spiritual Growth What is eternal security and can it be separated from spiritual growth? –How does the epistle to the Ephesians address this issue? –Why is this topic so important to each of us who are saved? –How is spiritual growth measured? How are you doing here?

The Epistle to the Ephesians Dec 27, 2009 Bob Eckel 2 Eternal Security and Spiritual Growth Christianity 101 –What does it mean to be saved? Rom 3:10 “As it is written: "There is none righteous, no, not one;” Rom 3:23 “For all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.” John 3:3 “Jesus answered and said to him, "Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God." I Tim 1:15 ‘This [is] a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am chief.’ II Cor 5:21 “For He made Him who knew no sin [to be] sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.” Eph 2:4,5 “But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved),”

The Epistle to the Ephesians Dec 27, 2009 Bob Eckel 3 Eternal Security and Spiritual Growth Why is eternal security so very important? –Because it’s founded on the principle of grace not works Titus 3:5 “not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit,” Eph 2:8,9 “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; [it is] the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.” –Because it’s grace not works and God never changes, eternity must be secured and assured, i.e. you can’t ever lose your salvation! John 3:36 “He who believes in the Son has everlasting life; and he who does not believe the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him.”

The Epistle to the Ephesians Dec 27, 2009 Bob Eckel 4 Eternal Security and Spiritual Growth Rom 6:23 “For the wages of sin [is] death, but the gift of God [is] eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” I John 5:13 “These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life, and that you may [continue to] believe in the name of the Son of God.” Heb 10:10, 14 “By that will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once [for all]. For by one offering He has perfected forever those who are being sanctified.” Christianity 401: How does eternal security provide the needed foundation for our spiritual growth! –It all begins with position Eph 1:3 “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,” Eph 2:10 “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.”

The Epistle to the Ephesians Dec 27, 2009 Bob Eckel 5 Eternal Security and Spiritual Growth Eph 4:1 “I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called,” –Is this walking worthy of the calling on any different grounds than that by which we first believed? –Remember, the being saved in Eph 2:8 is a perfect passive participle »completed in the past for/upon us but having existing and ongoing results Eph 4:7 “But to each one of us grace was given according to the measure of Christ's gift.” Eph 4:14,15 “that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting, but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head--Christ—”

The Epistle to the Ephesians Dec 27, 2009 Bob Eckel 6 Eternal Security and Spiritual Growth –What does this walk look like? Eph 4:17-32 –Not in the vanity of your mind –Not in ignorance … because of blindness in your heart –By learning Christ!!! »What does learning Christ mean to you? –The old man put off »Renewed in the Spirit of your mind –Putting on the new man »Created in righteousness and holiness »Rom 6:11 “Likewise you also, reckon yourselves to be dead indeed to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord.” It is the Christ life –Phil 1:21 “For to me, to live [is] Christ, and to die [is] gain.” And what is the process?

The Epistle to the Ephesians Dec 27, 2009 Bob Eckel 7 Eternal Security and Spiritual Growth –None but the Hungry Heart, Miles Stanford, Dec 27 – ‘All of His servants in the Word stand before us as vivid illustrations of the value and necessity of broken material. All had to be broken to be made whole – to be emptied in order to be filled – to learn that, of themselves, they could do nothing, in order to be ready, in the Lord Jesus’ strength, for anything and everything.’ II Cor 12:9 “My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness” How is spiritual growth measured? –According to the Christian Top 1000 and Baptist Top 1000 website it’s a list of books under each of the following topics: Worship Discipleship Ministry Evangelism Fellowship –How are you doing here? –After feeding the multitudes, Jesus walked on the water, and the people came on boats from Tiberias to Capernaum and asked Him:

The Epistle to the Ephesians Dec 27, 2009 Bob Eckel 8 Eternal Security and Spiritual Growth John 6:28 “What shall we do, that we may work the works of God? Jesus answered and said to them, "This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He sent.” –What does this Christ life look like? It’s like a fragrance –II Cor 2:14 “Now thanks [be] to God who always leads us in triumph in Christ, and through us diffuses the fragrance of His knowledge in every place.” –II Cor 2:16 “To the one [we are] the aroma of death [leading] to death, and to the other the aroma of life [leading] to life. And who [is] sufficient for these things?” –Let’s be cloaked with His armor (Eph 6:11-20), walk by faith and let God be the judge. Eph 2:10 “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.” –Let’s quit working at our spiritual growth and rest, walking by faith that He is fully capable of His promises. –KEEP LOOKING DOWN!