Declare a Doxology

And take your Bibles if you would please and turn to Ephesians chapter 1. Ephesians chapter 1 — I'd like to speak to you today on a particular subject from the observation of the text, and that is to declare a doxology, to declare a doxology, to declare what God has done. So "to the praise of His glory" is a theme today, and that is to declare a doxology — some things that you declare about God is to praise His glory. In the text, it will read from Ephesians chapter 1 verse 3 all the way to verse 14, almost end-capped with this idea of "to the praise of His glory." Any time you see a repeated phrase in the text, you can take special note of that, and so "to the praise of His glory" is something that is mentioned in verse 6, verse 12, and verse 14. So you'll hear that.

I also want you to listen not only to that repeated phrase in the text today but also listen for how this particular doxology moves from the thought of God the Father to God the Son to the Holy Spirit, and you can structure your thoughts in a similar fashion when you are praising God yourself. And so Ephesians chapter 1 and verse 3 and following says, "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 would be holy and blameless before Him in love. He predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the kind intention of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace which He freely bestowed on us in the beloved. In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace." Verse 8, "Which He lavished on us in all wisdom and insight. He made known to us the mystery of His will according to His kind intention which He purposed in Him, with a view to the administration suitable to the fullness of the times — that is the summing of all things in Christ, things in the heavens and things in the earth. In Him also we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to His purpose who works all things after the counsel of His will, to the end that we who were the first to hope in Christ would be to the praise of His glory." There's that repeated phrase again. "In Him you also, after listening to the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation, having also believed, you were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of promise, who was given as a pledge of our inheritance with a view to the redemption of God's own possession, to the praise of His glory."

And so that phrase "to the praise of His glory" there at the end of verse 14 was also mentioned in verse 12, "to the praise of His glory," and then again in verse 6, "to the praise of His glory." I also want you to notice how this particular section starts off with praising God. In verses 3 through 6 it is talking about "Blessed be the God and the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ," and so everything there from verses 3 to verse 6 is focused upon God the Father. And then in verse 7, "In Him" starts the section that praises Jesus Christ for redemption and forgiveness and so on. And then when you get down to verse 13 — 13b, the last half of verse 13 — it says, "You were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of promise." And then verse 14, "Who was given as a pledge of our inheritance with a view to the redemption of God's own possession, to the praise of His glory." And so this being sealed by the Holy Spirit of promise moves to the section in which He praises the Holy Spirit. And so in this doxological statement Paul praises God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit.

So I want you to observe this particular section of Scripture with me. As if you are perhaps a law officer, ask yourself the question: "What was just accomplished?" or "What was just done?" What are the facts here? Analyze this section with me, perhaps if you were a lawyer, and ask, "Why did they do this?" or "Why was this done?" Analyze this section with me as well, perhaps as if you were a judge, and determine what happened and make a ruling — make a personal judgment call as to whether or not these actions are just and need to be continued and even copied for your own life. Today I want you to be the judge, to analyze what is happening, and to see whether or not what is happening in this passage is something that you should do. So I am calling the children to think about what they are doing among their friends and see if what Paul is doing they should also do the same thing, with youth among their peers, same thing with students among professors, and the same thing with adults among their co-workers. What Paul is doing by declaring a doxology — I ask you today to make a personal ruling to determine whether or not you should do the same thing.

And so to follow the train of thought in today's observation, this text, this sermon, I want you to turn with me to 1 Corinthians 11:1 and follow my train of thought. You need to see what Paul says in 1 Corinthians in chapter 11 and verse 1 so that you understand where I'm going and why I'm pulling these truths out of the text today. 1 Corinthians 11:1 clearly states for the Corinthian church to "be imitators of me," that is Paul, "just as I also am of Christ." And so the command then is to mimic the spiritual aspects that they see in the apostle Paul because he is mimicking Christ. He is being like Christ. And so today I'm calling us, every single one of us, to mimic Paul, and what he has done — for every man, woman, and child to be ready to praise publicly God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit.

And so as you have read with me back to Ephesians verses 3 to 14, you have seen a declaration of a doxology. And the outline is very simple: God, Christ, Holy Spirit, and from all of those subjects, "to the praise of His glory." And so Paul simply glorifies what these entities have done. Let me summarize the subject matter for you. In verses 3 to 6 it starts with God the Father. This section is easy to remember because you have this Trinitarian doxological proclamation. So God the Father — Paul declares that God is the Father of Christ who has blessed us like Him in holiness, that He adopted us, that His kind intentions have brought us to Himself, and that His glory and grace are to be praised, and that He bestowed grace upon us. And so that is "to the praise of God's glory." That's what Paul is saying that God did.

And now verses 7 through 13a — Paul gives praise to Christ. Paul declares our redemption is through the blood of Christ, that the penalty of our transgressions was paid for by Christ from His rich merit. In that rich value He has lavished on us. Christ further then reveals His mysterious will in us, in His fullness of time, which reconciles heaven and earth eventually to Himself as the Head of the church, Ruler of the universe, and Creator. Paul further declares Christ gave us Himself as an inheritance, and this was planned and purposely worked out according to the counsel of His will. Therefore Christ is our hope, and the end — or extent, or supreme purpose — is to praise His glory, for which Paul proclaims that the glory of Jesus Christ is the true thing that saved people do. And that is what Paul says about Christ.

And then he moves to the Holy Spirit in verse 13b and verse 14. And in summary, Paul proclaims our soul was saved by Christ and is now sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise. This promise is a pledge that Christ is our inheritance, which the Holy Spirit's pledge and promise seals us. This triple proclamation is this: God gave, Christ saved, and the Holy Spirit retains. Your salvation was given to you by God. And then Christ saved you and the Spirit retained you. This repeated theme of "to the praise of His glory" in verses 14, 12, and 6 is something that Paul is doing, and I'm calling for us to mimic Paul — to praise the glory of God, God the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit.

And so now the original question was, what is this section? It is most certainly a public declaration of faith. It is a public doxology. It is speaking up and saying who God is in His essence and what He has done and what you believe in Him and what you're going to do. You know that Psalm 19:1 says that "the heavens are telling of the glory of God." But did you know that in Psalm 19 not only does it start with declaring the glory of God and all the heavens declare this, but it ends with "let the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart praise His holy name." And so Psalm 19 is very clear that we not only are to observe His glory but we are to speak about His glory. "Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight, oh Lord my rock and my Redeemer." Psalm 19:14. And so this sermon is entitled "Declare a Doxology." That's the title — Declare a Doxology. And I want you to declare a doxology, to be ready to think about what you can declare as a doxology of your faith and what God has done.

I guarantee you that you will have an opportunity to declare what God has done publicly. And it's a matter of whether or not you are ready to declare what God has done, and be bold in your faith and proclaim the glories of God, or you'll shrink back on the day of battle so to speak, or you'll shrink back when you have the opportunity to proclaim the wonders of Jesus Christ and your salvation. And so this is a public declaration of faith, a public declaration of God. This is Paul's doxology. A doxology is a liturgical formula of praise to God.

I look back in the Old Testament to see something similar. The Jewish Barakah is a public declaration of thanksgiving for God, of His goodness, of His blessings. And it is a passionate acknowledgement of God's being, the source of all good things. It expresses gratitude. It educates the hearers. And it's designed to make everyone aware at all times that God exists. And so this public Barakah, this declaration of the goodness of God, was normative in Israel. Reciting God's blessings before a function or a meal was normal in Israel.

Let the food get cold and proclaim the glories of God. Pause for just a moment and talk about God. The Puritans were known for eating cold food because when they started praising God, it went on, and on, and on, and on. How beautiful would that be — to have heard so much of what God is doing in your family's life at the table that the food got cold. Reheat it. Food is second to the meat of God, to the Word of God, to what God is doing, to give the opportunity for your family and for yourself to declare what God is doing, to recite the blessings.

May I beg, may I plead, may I persuade you today, and even insist, that we reinstate biblical traditions, that we get back to the biblical basis. I ask you, do you think if the Barakah would have continued as a tradition for Israel, would all of Israel seemingly have fallen away? Do you think if the fathers regularly proclaimed the glories of God and gave their family members the opportunity to proclaim the glories of God, that a whole generation would have slid away from God? I ask you another question. Do you think if our fathers and our families regularly proclaimed the glories of God out loud and declared a doxology of what they believe, that our youth and our young adults today would be falling away by massive numbers?

I don't think so. I think we need to carry on with our biblical traditions and get outside of our American tradition, find out what it is to live a New Testament lifestyle. The function of the Barakah is to acknowledge God as the source of all blessings. Barakah is a valley that is mentioned by Jehoshaphat, and he was the king of Judah. 2 Chronicles 20:26–29 proclaims this. And because God gave Jehoshaphat victory, that valley that they were in was named Barakah, and he called it Barakah, which means Valley of Blessings. For the Hebrews, the Barakah became a benediction or an expression of praise dedicated towards God. Barakahs are customary before meals, but also Barakahs are blessings bestowed on others and they're pronounced in God's name. When have you sat at the feet of the head of the household and received a blessing upon you in the name of God?

This is a biblical tradition that seems to have slipped away from us, but may I call our men to be godly men and to declare publicly what they believe about God the Father, about God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit, and then those same glories, those same spiritual blessings that are talked about in verses 3 to 14, in turn be bestowed upon your family. Pray publicly for God's blessings to be bestowed upon your family members. "May the grace and the peace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with you, my son, my daughter. May the salvation rapture your soul. May His forgiveness captivate your heart and soul. May you be overwhelmed with the fact that God's mercy has saved you" — and you just continue to proclaim these spiritual blessings, not only what God has done in declaring them publicly, speaking up, but also in turn to bestow them upon your family. This is missing in our culture.

The Aaronic benediction in Numbers chapter 6 — turn there with me if you would — Numbers 6:24–26, was used on Sundays in Sunday worship by the reformer Martin Luther every single Sunday. Listen to Numbers 6:24–25, and could you imagine being in the sanctuary, in church, and having one like Martin Luther, whom God used to turn the tide of the world by way of a Protestant Reformation — can you imagine being underneath his leadership and him extending his hand and praying this blessing upon you? I would have loved to have been in the sanctuary when he prayed this prayer. Numbers 6:24: "The Lord bless you and keep you. The Lord make His face shine upon you and be gracious to you. The Lord lift up His countenance on you and give you peace."

I can imagine that the theologian Martin Luther would have said that this is a tri-fold blessing from God. Number one, it's a general blessing in verse 24. Look at it. "The Lord bless you and keep you." That's a general blessing of protection. We all pray this for our family members. We all pray that God keep and protect and watch after our family members, but this is just a general blessing. And "keep," in Hebrew, shamar, which means guard and watch over and protect — you're praying well if you're praying these things, but also be praying them publicly in front of them.

Not only that, it goes a little bit deeper in verse 25. In verse 25, it is praising God's glory as the Blesser and praying a blessing upon. Look at it. In verse 25, it is, "The Lord make His face shine on you." Now it's a blessing upon the hearers. This is an invitation for Jehovah God, the existing one, to make or illuminate His face — His bright presence — to be right in front of you, making you shine and reflect His glory. Don't you want your family to be so in the presence of God that God's glory reflects upon them?

I mean, you can see it in people's eyes and you can see it on people's countenance when they have been with God. You want that for yourself and your family. So pray that for them. And pray God's glory upon them as a blessing, so much so that their face is illuminated like Moses and that it reflects the glory of God.

But not only that, in verse 26, a prayer for completeness and blessing. In verse 26, "The Lord lift up His countenance on you and give you peace." That original word for peace means completeness, wholeness, inner tranquility. It's not just the lack of war, which they knew very well, but it is inner peace. This is a climax. This is praying that your children and yourself and your friends and your family members would be overwhelmed with the aspects of God. And you're pronouncing this as a blessing to be upon their heart, that their heart would be complete in Christ and the inner wholeness be at peace. This is a tremendous blessing. This is a tremendous doxology. This is a Trinitarian benediction and blessing. This is a Barakah. This is something that I believe with all of my heart that we as men need to be implementing and doing among our family members — not just family worship at home, where we read the Scriptures together and we sing and praise God together and we pray together as families, but also for the patriarch, for the leader of the home, to be praying out loud and declaring God's glories and all that God is doing and then bestowing God's blessings upon them.

This is not concealed in the Old Testament but it is revealed, and Paul even does something similar in Ephesians. But not only Ephesians — turn with me to 2 Corinthians. 2 Corinthians 13:14 is another blessing and such a Trinitarian benediction, a Trinitarian blessing. 2 Corinthians 13:14: "The grace of the Lord Jesus and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all." This again is a prayer for God's grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit to be not only with, but upon and through you all. This is a wonderful prayer and it is a summative prayer. I think we need to expand these prayers like Paul did in Ephesians.

And so, not to be subject to the ways of the world and raise up your glass and give a toast, but to give God the glory. To do something that marks the moment. To say, "Hey, everybody listen for just a moment. I've got something that I have to declare. Give me just a few minutes." If you're like Zeke, take 20 minutes. "Listen to me. I've got something that's going on inside of my heart and soul and you've got to know, or I'm going to explode, and declare God's glory. Acknowledge Him, thank Him, and keep your friends and family aware of the God who is." Not the little lowercase-g god that is being proclaimed in a shallow and broad way in this whole world. We've got to talk about who God really is. Otherwise, how will they hear without a preacher? How will they hear without one who is proclaiming the God of the heavens and the earth?

Something like this. "Yahweh, Creator of heaven and earth, I am so undeserving of Your blessings. God, I publicly thank You. I thank You for keeping me in the faith and I thank You for keeping me warm in the winter, full of food while many around the world are hungry. I thank You for providing for my basic needs and for giving to me regularly. Thank You, God, for caring for my family down to the simplest of details. Why You care for me, God, I do not know, but may my life bring You due honor and glory. Bless You, God, the God of my salvation, the Deliverer of my salvation. You've delivered me unmeritedly. Your blessings are undeserved. You're the Author of history, the Designer of the church, the only Holy One who works all things according to His pleasure and will. Praise Your holy name, and thank You that, according to verse 8 in Ephesians chapter 1, You have lavished upon me Your love. I'm grateful for Your Son spilling His blood and paying for my sin. Thank You, God, for making Yourself my redemption. You owed me nothing.

"Continue, God. Bring all things together for Your glory. Your plan is unfolding, Your purposes are unfolding, for Your glory — to God be the glory."

Paul, guys listen — he was a man. He wasn't a wimp. When he had the opportunity to praise God, he did not shrink back. No matter where he was, he went after it. You know who else did? Peter. Look in Acts chapter 5 with me. What a man of God.

Peter stood up and made a one-sentence proclamation that should shake your soul, that should make you want to imitate Peter just as Paul said to imitate me. When Peter made a public declaration of faith in Acts 5:29, in the face of legal repercussions, in the face of the senate of Israel, in the face of the Pharisees and the Sadducees, in the face of the chief priests, the high priests and all their associates, in the face of all of the religious council that were all together, in the face of the officers of Rome, in the face of the guards of the prison, in the face of the captain of the temple, in all of the people — he declared that he must obey God and not man. And so when all of the odds were against Peter to stand up, and with all of this pressure and all of these people of high rank around him pushing him to submit to the laws of the land, he stood and he said in Acts 5:29, "But Peter and the apostles answered, 'We must obey God rather than men.'" Listen to the context in verse 28: "We gave you strict orders not to continue teaching in this name" — that would be the name of Jesus — "and yet you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching and intend to bring this man's blood upon us." But Peter and the apostles answered, "We must obey God rather than men. The God of our fathers raised up Jesus, whom you had put to death by hanging Him on a cross. He is the one whom God exalted to His right hand as a Prince and Savior, to grant repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins." What a declaration — to stand up when all of your inner weakness is saying shrink back and go and hide in your bedroom.

You stand up and be filled with the Holy Spirit and you proclaim something about God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. And so I want you — every man, every woman, every child — to say this: "I praise God for —" and then unload on them.

And then after you get everything out that you can praise God for to your friends, to your co-workers, to your family, then you unload on them again. You say, "I praise Jesus for —" and then again for a third round, "And I praise the Holy Spirit of God."

This is an easy outline to remember in your mind, and we must be publicly professing our faith. What happens when you publicly proclaim God, the Word of God, and what God is doing? Three things: according to the Old Testament law, when the law was proclaimed, it convicts sinners to repentance, it restrains evil, and it guides the saved. Don't you want those three things to be happening in and among your circumstances, within your home, within your work? If you speak up, then the Holy Spirit of God can convict sinners and they will be brought to repentance. And if you speak up, it restrains evil. You just speak up and say, "Hey, no lies of the Lord. Don't be lying. I think that's a lie. Was that a lie?" Speak up. "We're not cheating around here. No matter what freedoms you may think you can take to evade taxes in our business here, we're not cheating. We're not cheaters." When you speak up, it restrains evil. And in the church, "Hey, we're not gossips around here. You're talking about somebody — I'm not listening. Let's just change the subject. We're not going to be gossiping in God's house about people. That loose lip sinks ships. That's like a little spark that'll cause a fire. We don't gossip around here." When you speak up and say what the Word of God says about that, then guess what? It restrains evil. And then it guides the saints. It guides people. It's amazing.

And so therefore, we must publicly proclaim the Word of God and say what God the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit is doing in our life. We must publicly speak up so that people can hear God's Word. The facts are we will slip downhill if we don't. That's the facts. You and I need each other.

I need you to speak up and encourage me, and you need me, and vice versa. We all need one another to be stirring one another into godliness. The facts are we will slip downhill spiritually if we don't keep studying and proclaiming, and so will our families and our friends. Paul kept this tradition of declaring a doxology about God alive, and so can we. So this means that we must speak up and practice praising God's glory, which is mentioned three times in the book of Ephesians — "to the praise of His glory, to the praise of His glory, to the praise of His glory." And if we don't, we'd be ashamed of His name.

Too long have we been silent in these areas. Too long in the public sphere have we been shamed into silence. Too long have we yielded to the wrong definition of the separation of church and state. Too long have we allowed for prayer to be removed out of the public square and the Ten Commandments. Too long. Now these little mile markers that Satan has gained affect our children. And so it's up to us to stand up and to speak up. Christians are bold. Christians, we are little Christs. That is to be like Christ. What did He do for us? Well, He died. He was martyred. He was crucified.

If you study like the ladies are through 1 Timothy, you will see Paul calling Timothy and the people to join him in suffering for the causes of Christ. Join him. And by the way, those will be trophies in heaven. Dare not go to heaven without any trophies, without any treasure, without anything that likens me unto Him except for His saving grace. I want to live for Him out loud.

Do you not think that God would give you another job if you were fired because you were a Christian? What's the worst thing that they can do to you? It's for you, not against you. If you are persecuted, Jesus covered this in the first sermon: "Blessed are ye who are persecuted for My name's sake."

You see how we don't live in a New Testament worldview, but we are caught and trapped and have shrunk back from a worldview that is biblical? And we believe the lies of the evil one. They are publicly on display, and it takes Christians to restate their faith publicly so that those things don't taint our next generation.

You know, there was one who was considered in AD 165 one of the most influential thinkers of the day. And so after the first century, the biblical era of Christ, you have this guy named Valentinus, who was one who influenced culture. In the second century he plagued, it seemed like, everyone with secular philosophies and wise-sounding speculations. We have that today. Valentinus combined some theology and worldly philosophy that was tainted with wise-sounding speculation, and he came up with three different classifications of salvation.

And if this happened in your area, would you be one who spoke up against a guy like Valentinus and influential thinkers of the day? Would you stand up against someone who really guides culture? Would you be on the narrow road, loud and proud?

Well here's what he proclaimed. He said from the Greek word psyche, meaning soul, the first classification that he came up with would be "psychics." Now that doesn't mean what it means today — that's the first classification of salvation that he derived. The second classification, from the Greek word pneuma, meaning spirit, was "pneumatics." The third classification, from the Greek word hyle, meaning matter, he derived "hylics." And here's his definition of three classifications of salvation that pervaded the day. The psychics were saved when they realized that the Gnostic teachings were true, that they were the higher class, and they were then guaranteed salvation. So those were the psychics — when their soul obtained the higher knowledge of Gnosticism. And then another classification was the hylics. On the other hand, this was the lower class, and he said that they were not able to be saved and were purely material. They had no hope to overcome their ignorance.

A third classification, for which he so arrogantly proclaimed himself to be in, was pneumatics. They were the elite, the truly spiritual, and by nature were already saved. They were self-righteous. They were good. They didn't need anything. And so, do you think that Valentinus was able to sway good people into silence through his wise-sounding philosophy? Do you think that through his influence and his power and his ability to articulate such heresies, he made Christians shrink back? Well I don't know — it would be speculative for me to say. But I know today when we have someone who stands up very confidently and sounds wise, that good people seem to be shrinking back rather than being like the apostle Paul — standing up — and rather than being like the apostle Peter who, with all of that combined pressure and all of those people right in front of him, stood up and said, "We must obey God rather than men," and just cut to the chase and be who you truly are.

And so there are lots of religiously lost who need this light proclaimed by you and me. And so I'm asking you to be like Joshua, who publicly proclaimed his faith in Joshua 24:15 when it says, "Choose for yourself today who you will serve, but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord." And then as well I'm asking you to be like John the Baptist, who, faced with the Pharisees and the Sadducees and their critical nature in Matthew 3:11, said, "As for me, I baptize you with water for repentance, but He who comes after me is mightier than I, and I am not fit even to untie His sandals." What a public declaration — to turn away from the Pharisees and Sadducees and put his back to them and speak to the people.

Now you think, "Okay, these are all men and I'm a woman. What about me?" Well, I'm so glad you're thinking that way. Should you make a public declaration of your faith? Well, Mary did in Luke 1:46 and following, this prayerful song. Mary said, "My soul exalts the Lord, and my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior, for He has had regard for the humble state of His bond slave. For behold, from this time on all generations will count me blessed, for the Mighty One has done great things for me, and holy is His name. And His mercy is upon generation after generation towards those who fear Him. He has done mighty deeds with His arm. He has scattered those who were proud in the thoughts of their heart. He has brought down rulers from their thrones, and He has exalted those who were humble. He has filled the hungry with good things. He sent away the rich empty-handed, and He has given help to Israel, His servant, in remembrance of His mercy, as He spoke to our fathers, to Abraham, and his descendants forever." What a public declaration of faith.

And I proclaim to you the same proclamation that Paul said in 1 Corinthians 11:1, "Imitate me as I imitate Christ." Look to Paul as an example. Look to good men in the faith and good women in the faith who are unashamed, and you support them and you mimic them. And so this Christmas season, you're going to have an opportunity to stand up or shrink back — guaranteed, whether it's on the phone or in person. And I pray that you will go through verses 3 to 14, outline it yourself, pick out the subject matter for which Paul is praising God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit for, and do likewise.

Let's pray together. Lord, thank You so much for this encouragement today. We have simply observed what the text is — a doxological statement, a public declaration of faith, to praise Your holy name. And now we have called everyone to do likewise. And Father, I pray that we would learn better how to stand up and praise Your holy name. I pray that You would give us Holy Spirit boldness when the time we'd need it. Give us the words to say. Help us, dear God, help us to have clarity of thought. It's just ours to be obedient and Yours to fill us, Lord. And as we submit to You and Your Word and Your ways, Your will will be done. God, I pray that the words of our mouths and the meditations of our hearts would be pleasing in Your sight. And it's in Jesus' name that we do pray. Amen.