God-Sized Changes From Christ Series

God-sized Changes from Christ

Ephesians 1:1-7

Sermon by Rick Crandall

Series: The Book of Ephesians

Grayson Baptist Church - February 17, 2019

(Revised March 1, 2024)

BACKGROUND:

*Today we begin a verse by verse study of the Book of Ephesians. J. Vernon McGee explained the background by saying, "Around the year 60 A.D. four men left Rome bound for the province of Asia, which was located in modern-day Turkey. Each man carried a Holy Spirit inspired letter written by the Apostle Paul. The Roman authorities never realized the significance of these letters from one of their little known prisoners. But if the empire had any idea of the power in those Heaven sent words, those four men would have been arrested and the documents seized.

*When the men said goodbye to their brother-in-Christ, the Apostle Paul, each was given a letter to carry to his particular church. These four letters are forever part of God's Word. And they are designated the 'Prison Epistles of Paul,' since he wrote them while he was imprisoned in Rome.

*Paul was there waiting for a hearing before Caesar Nero who was then the emperor of the Roman Empire. As a Roman citizen, Paul had appealed his case to the emperor, and he was waiting to be heard.

*The four men and their home cities can be identified: Philippians 4:18 tells us that Epaphroditus was from Philippi, and he had the Epistle to the Philippians. Colossians 4:12 tells us that Epaphras was from Colosse, and he had the Epistle to the Colossians. In Philemon 1:10 we see Onesimus. He was a runaway slave from Colosse, and carried a letter to his master Philemon. The last of the four men was Tychicus. We will see him in Ephesians 6:21, and he carried the letter we begin to explore today." (1)

*With this background in mind, let's begin by reading Ephesians 1:1-7. And as we read, please think about the God-sized changes that come from Christ.

MESSAGE:

*You know, people generally don't like change. Mark Twain once said, "The only person who likes change… is a wet baby." (2)

*There's a lot of truth to that statement. Many times, we think of change as being a bad thing, and we've seen a lot of bad changes in our lifetimes. But change can also be good, and that's especially true when it's a change made by God.

*The truth is that all of us need some changes in our lives, and Jesus Christ can give us the changes we need. The Lord wants to change us for the better! And today's Scripture shows us some of the God-sized changes Jesus makes when we put our trust in Him.

1. FIRST: WE ARE BLESSED WITH ALL SPIRITUAL BLESSINGS.

*Believers, we are blessed! Paul stressed this truth very strongly in vs. 1-3, when he said:

1. Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, to the saints who are in Ephesus, and faithful in Christ Jesus:

2. Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

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,

*Christians: We are blessed! These verses show us that the Heavenly Father has already blessed us, and He has blessed us to the fullest. We know this because vs. 3 tells us that He "HAS BLESSED US WITH EVERY SPIRITUAL BLESSING."

*Right now, we can't begin to comprehend all the spiritual blessings we already have in Jesus Christ. I say that because in Ephesians 2:4-7 Paul will tell us that "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), and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, THAT IN THE AGES TO COME HE MIGHT SHOW the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus."

*In this current age, we cannot fully measure the blessings we already have in the Lord. But we can get a glimpse of our spiritual blessings:

-Think about our salvation: We are saved! We are rescued forever from sin, shame, and the everlasting torment we deserved.

-Also think about our justification: When I am in Jesus Christ, God sees me "just-as-if-I'd never sinned!"

-Think about our regeneration: We are born again as new creatures in the family of God.

-And think about our liberation: We are set fully free from the punishment for sin, the power of sin in our lives, and one day we will even be free from the presence of sin.

*That's just a taste of the boundless spiritual blessings we have in Jesus Christ. And one thing is sure: nothing is left out, because "the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. . . has blessed us with EVERY spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ!"