The Riches of His Glorious Inheritance in the Saints
Westminster Larger Catechism Q57-89
Setting the background…
• GOAL: Know what you believe and
why you believe it!*
– We teach various ways in the SS:
• Bible survey: book of the bible, or other
scripture passages
• Doctrine survey
• Church history survey
• Special Topic
*
Borrowed from “White Horse Inn”
Our theme for the next several weeks:
“For this reason, because I have heard of your faith in
the Lord Jesus and your love toward all the saints, I do
not cease to give thanks for you, remembering you in
my prayers, that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the
Father of glory, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and
of revelation in the knowledge of him, having the eyes
of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is
the hope to which he has called you, what are the
riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and
what is the immeasurable greatness of his power
toward us who believe,…” (Eph 1:15-19)
Our theme for the next several weeks:
“For this reason, because I have heard of your faith in
the Lord Jesus and your love toward all the saints, I do
not cease to give thanks for you, remembering you in
my prayers, that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the
Father of glory, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and
of revelation in the knowledge of him, having the eyes
of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is
the hope to which he has called you, what are the
riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and
what is the immeasurable greatness of his power
toward us who believe,…” (Eph 1:15-19)
More background…
• The WLC (and the WSC) is an OUTLINE of doctrine
extracted from the Bible.
• Answers many (most) of the questions that we might ask
regarding the Christian life and experience.
• We will look at the “Benefits of Redemption” or as Paul
stated, “…that you may know what is the hope to which
he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious
inheritance in the saints,….” (Eph 1:18)
• First the context in our outline of doctrine to establish the
FOUNDATION:
The WLC Begins with the End
Man’s Chief End:
Glorify & Enjoy God [Q1]
An Apology for God’s Being [Q2]
God’s Revelation of Himself
[Q3]
An Apology for God’s Word [Q4]
A Summary of God’s Word [Q5]
What to Believe
What to TWO
Do (Man’sthings!
Duty) [Q91-196]
Gods
only teaches
(God’s & His word
Works) [Q6-90]
A Biblical Pattern: Believe => Do
This pattern is not arbitrary – why did they outline it this
way?
Because it has its roots in Scripture:
• Belief begets practice. What you believe WILL dictate
how you behave. Examples:
– Paul’s letters – Romans 1-11 explain the work of God then at
12:1 “I beseech you therefore brethren by the mercies of God to
present your bodies a living sacrifice…”
– Ephesians 1- 3 declares the work of God in salvation then at 4:1
“I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner
worthy of the calling to which you have been called,…”
– Even in the giving of the 10 commandments we see this pattern:
““I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of
Egypt, out of the house of slavery. You shall have no other gods
before me….” [God: “This is Who I am and who you are –
therefore DO this…”]
Can you think of any other examples in the scriptures where this pattern is evident?
What is the difference between this and the “Power of Positive Thinking?”
"This book is written with the sole objective of
helping the reader achieve a happy, satisfying, and
worthwhile life.“
-- Norman Vincent Peale
The precursor to The Secret, The Power of Positive
Thinking has helped millions of men and women to
achieve fulfillment in their lives. In this phenomenal
bestseller, Dr. Peale demonstrates the power of faith
in action. With the practical techniques outlined in
this book, you can energize your life -- and give
yourself the initiative needed to carry out your
ambitions and hopes. You'll learn how to:
• Expect the best and get it
• Believe in yourself and in everything you do
• Develop the power to reach your goals
• Break the worry habit and achieve a relaxed life
• Improve your personal and professional
relationships
• Assume control over your circumstances
• Be kind to yourself
What to Believe
(God & His Works)
[Q6-90]
A Summary of what to believe about God [Q6]
Who God is… [Q7-11]
What God is… [Q7]
The Persons of the
Godhead
[Q8-11]
What God does…[Q12 –
90]
Man’s Duty:
How to Glorify God
[Q91-196]
The sum of man’s
duty.
[Q91]
The moral law.
[Q92-152]
The means of
grace.
[Q153-196]
Where are we going?
Question
Topic
57, 58
59, 60
The benefits of redemption & how applied
Who are the recipients?
Justification and Sanctification: What’s the difference?
Dr. David Van Drunen
The visible church
The Invisible Church
Union with Christ &Effectual Call
Communion in Grace with Christ – Justification
Justifying Faith
Communion in Grace with Christ – Adoption &
Sanctification
The Difference Between Justification and Sanctification
Perseverance and Assurance of Believers
Communion in Glory with Christ – in this life
Communion in Glory with Christ – after death
The Final Judgment
61-63
64-65
66-68
69-71
72-73
74-76
77-78
79-81
82-83
84-87
88-89
Week
1
2
10/13/2013
10/20/2013
10/27/2013
3
4
5
6
7
8
11/3/2013
11/10/2013
11/17/2013
11/24/2013
12/1/2013
12/8/2013
9
10
11
12
13
12/15/2013
12/22/2013
12/29/2013
1/5/2014
1/12/2013
Q. 57. What benefits hath Christ procured by his
mediation?
A. Christ, by his mediation, hath procured redemption, with
all other benefits of the covenant of grace.
me·di·a·tion /mēdēˈāSHən/
noun: mediation; plural noun: mediations
1. intervention in a dispute in order to resolve it; arbitration.
"the parties have sought mediation and it has failed"
• intervention in a process or relationship; intercession.
"they are offering sacrifice and mediation between God and man"
synonyms: arbitration, conciliation, reconciliation,
intervention, intercession, good offices;
negotiation, shuttle diplomacy
"mediation between victims and offenders"
Q. 57. What benefits hath Christ procured by his
mediation?
A. Christ, by his mediation, hath procured redemption, with
all other benefits of the covenant of grace.
re·demp·tion /riˈdempSHən/
noun: redemption; plural noun: redemptions
1. the action of saving or being saved from sin, error, or evil.
"God's plans for the redemption of his world"
synonyms: saving, freeing from sin, absolution "God's redemption of his
people"
• a thing that saves someone from error or evil.
"his marginalization from the Hollywood jungle proved to be his redemption"
2. the action of regaining or gaining possession of something in exchange for
payment, or clearing a debt.
synonyms:
retrieval, recovery, reclamation, repossession, return "the
redemption of their possessions“, exchange, cashing in,
conversion "the redemption of credit vouchers"
paying off, paying back, discharge, clearing, honoring
"the redemption of the mortgage“ fulfillment, carrying out,
discharge, performing, honoring, meeting "the redemption of
his obligations"
Q. 57. What benefits hath Christ procured by his
mediation?
A. Christ, by his mediation, hath procured redemption, with
all other benefits of the covenant of grace.
OLD FRENCH
redimer
LATIN
redeem
redback
LATIN
redimere
buy back
late Middle
English
LATIN
emere
buy
late Middle English (in the sense ‘buy back’): from Old French redimer
or Latin redimere , from re(d)- ‘back’ + emere ‘buy.’
September 1931. A dark and stormy night. Windy, at any rate. On the grounds of
Magdalen College, Oxford, two tweed-jacketed, pipe-puffing professors go
crunching down the gravel path known as Addison's Walk, under the deeper
shadows of an ancient grove of trees -- a mysterious, murky wood where, in the
blustery darkness, it's easy to imagine elves among the branches.
"Look!" says one of them, a tall, long-faced
fellow with the furrowed brow and twinkling
eyes of a sage or wizard. He points to a
large oak. "There it stands," he says, "its feet
in the earth, its head among the stars. A
majestic miracle of creation! And what do we
call it? A tree." He laughs. "The word falls
absurdly short of expressing the thing itself."
"Of course it does," responds the other, a
round-faced, slightly balding, bespectacled
man in his mid-thirties. "Like any word, it's
just a verbal invention -- a symbol of our own
poor devising."
"Exactly," says the first man. "And here's my point: just as a word is an invention
about an object or an idea, so a story can be an invention about Truth."
The other rubs his chin. "I've loved stories
since I was a boy," he muses. "You know
that, Tollers! Especially stories about
heroism and sacrifice, death and
resurrection -- like the Norse myth of
Balder. But when it comes to Christianity
well, that's another matter. I simply don't
understand how the life and death of
Someone Else (whoever he was) two
thousand years ago can help me here and
now."
"But don't you see, Jack?" persists his
friend. "The Christian story is the greatest
story of them all. Because it's the Real
Story. The historical event that fulfills the
tales and shows us what they mean. The
tree itself -- not just a verbal invention"
Jack stops and turns. "Are you trying to
tell me that in the story of Christ all the
other stories have somehow come true?"
A week and a half later, Jack -- better known to most of us as C. S. Lewis,
teacher, author, defender of the Christian faith, and creator of the beloved
Chronicles of Narnia -- writes to his friend Arthur Greeves: "I have just passed on
from believing in God to definitely believing in Christ -- in Christianity. My long
night talk with Tolkien had a great deal to do with it."1
1
Carpenter, Humphrey, Tolkien: A Biography, Ballantine Books, New York, 1977; pp. 163-165
Are we not surrounded by those whose attitude is summarized as Lewis said: “I
simply don't understand how the life and death of Someone Else (whoever he
was) two thousand years ago can help me here and now.”
As believers in Christ – do we fall into that same trap? Do we know what He has
done for us? Do we believe what God has said about what Jesus Christ did – for
us, on our behalf? Do we know what Christ did on our behalf?
The rich theme of redemption – the subject of classics:
Crime and Punishment
by Fyodor Dostoyevsky — published 1866
Even our children’s stories…
Why are stories of redemption so popular?
The world is broken ….
and we all know it.
We see the atrocities
committed by monsters and
we know that sin is real ….
What about ourselves? Are we any better?
Robert Murray McCheyne, the nineteenth-century Scottish Presbyterian minister
whose life was extinguished before he reached thirty, wrote in his posthumously
published Diary: "I have begun to realize that the seeds of every known sin still
linger in my heart."
What about the Old Testament history?
And he said to them, “O foolish ones, and slow of heart to
believe all that the prophets have spoken! Was it not
necessary that the Christ should suffer these things and
enter into his glory?” And beginning with Moses and all the
Prophets, he interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the
things concerning himself. (Luke 24:25-27)
What did Christ’s work accomplish?
Heb 9:11-12 But when Christ appeared as a high priest of the good things that
have come, then through the greater and more perfect tent (not made with
hands, that is, not of this creation) he entered once for all into the holy places,
not by means of the blood of goats and calves but by means of his own blood,
thus securing an eternal redemption.
Mark 10:45 For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to
give his life as a ransom for many.”