Introduction: As we embark on this study we will see how we, who are IN CHRIST, have riches that the lost world knows nothing about and find that it’s not a difficult book to UNDERSTAND.
It is sad that sinners know nothing about these “riches to a lost world,” but sadder still is the fact that even many Christians don’t know of the riches they do have IN CHRIST.
Illus: Speaking of things DIFFICULT TO UNDERSTAND reminds me of the story of the man who was walking on the beach one day and he came across a bottle. He kicked it and a "Genie” came swooping out. The “Genie” thanked him for releasing him from the bottle and told the man he was so thankful that he would grant him any wish he wished to have granted. The man said, “Well, I have always wanted to go to Hawaii, but I am afraid of water, and afraid to fly, so I couldn’t go. Would you please make a bridge from California to Hawaii so I could drive there?” The “Genie” rubbed his forehead and said, “Look I am really grateful that you let me out of that little bottle, but it’s a bit ridiculous to ask me to grant such a wish. It would take me weeks, perhaps months, to have all that dirt hauled in to make a road across the ocean.” The man said, “Nevertheless, that is my wish.!” The “Genie” asked, “Is there anything else you would like me to do for you instead?” The man thought a few minutes and said, “All right, there is something else, I have always wished to be able to UNDERSTAND WOMEN?” Again the “Genie” rubbed his head and thought for a few minutes and asked, “Do you want a two lane, or a four lane causeway to Hawaii?” Yes, we don’t always UNDERSTAND things in life, and one of those things is the way the opposite sex thinks.
Illus: When I think of the book of Ephesians, I think of the story of the woman who woke up one morning and as she saw her husband getting ready to leave for work she said, with a big smile on her face, “Honey, I’ll bet you don’t know what day this is.” Her husband had a hard time remembering birthdays and anniversaries, but since he was about to leave for work he excused himself from the embarrassing situation by walking out of the door while saying, “Honey, how could I ever forget. This is the best day of our lives.” All during the day he kept trying to remember what month and what day his wife’s birthday was, and when their anniversary was, but he could not remember. The day wore on and it was getting close to time to get off from work and he knew he was going to have to go home and face his wife not
knowing what made this day so special. He finally thought of a plan to save his hide. He rushed into the house and said, “Honey, get your best dress on. We are going to paint the town red to celebrate this outstanding day in our lives!” While she was getting ready he rushed down to the florist and bought her a lovely bouquet of flowers. He took her to the most expensive restaurant in town. He had spent $150.00 to celebrate this day and he didn’t even know what he was celebrating.
It was on the way home that he finally discovered what day it was. His wife snuggled real close to him, placed her arm around his shoulder, planted a soft kiss on his cheek and said, “Honey, this is the best groundhog day that we have ever enjoyed together.
Now, I have a feeling, as we get into this study of Ephesians, many of you are going to say, “This is the best book I have ever studied.” Again remember, we are only going to touch on the first part of the book.
So. before we get too far along in Ephesians, let me give you some insights you might not see on the surface.
Paul’s letter to the Ephesians is similar to the book of Romans. How? In that both are virtually essays on theology.
Something else, I would like to point out is that...
Ephesians does not deal with theological topics as Galatians and Colossians does.
Nor does Ephesians deal with ethical problems in church as the two Corinthian epistles.
Ephesians has its own distinctive emphasis that deals with the doctrine of salvation that we have IN CHRIST.
The book of Ephesians makes us to appreciate what the Lord Jesus has done for us as BELIEVERS. One of the problems of being a believer is that it is difficult for us to comprehend what has happened to us. And if we can not fully comprehend what Christ has done for us, then we can not fully appreciate what He has done for us.
One of the reasons many our churches worship services today lack the show of genuine emotion is because saints of God do not know or at least understand what they have IN CHRIST.
Some say, “Oh, we are not the kind of church that has to have a show of emotion,” yet Sabbath after Sabbath they show the emotions of apathy, sadness, and of DOOM and GLOOM as they sit in their pews.
IF THEY KNEW WHAT THEY HAD IN CHRIST, THEY COULD NOT HELP BUT SHOW THEIR EMOTION OF HAPPINESS! IF Christians fully understood what they have IN CHRIST we would have to place seat belts in the pews to hold them down to keep order.
You can take the most reserved person on earth and announce that he has just won a great prize and he will go bananas. Why? Because the IMPOSSIBLE has become the POSSIBLE and he will have a hard time comprehending that it could happen to him.
It’s the same for Christians. What the Lord has done for us sounds impossible. It sounds like a fairy tale, but IT IS NO FAIRY TALE.
Let me show you a few things we, who are RECIPIENTS of this salvation, have IN CHRIST. Let me show you first...
OUR SIGNIFICANCE.
Look at Ephesians 1:1 2. We read, “Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by
the will of God, to the saints which are at Ephesus, and to the faithful in Christ Jesus: Grace be to you, and peace, from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ.”
There are two things in verses 1 and 2 that make us SIGNIFICANT!
A. Our sainthood.
Did you know that if you have been born again through the precious blood of Christ that you are not only A CHILD OF GOD, but you are A SAINT OF GOD.
Illus: I don’t know about you, but I have been called about everything, except a saint, but according to this Bible, the Word of God, I am taught that I am a saint! The good news is that we do not have to wait to become saints, WE ARE SAINTS RIGHT NOW!
The apostle Paul proclaimed they were saints, but notice, before he stated that, he stated WHO HE WAS. IS THAT IMPORTANT? Very important!
Illus: If I come up to you and look into your eyes and check your pulse and tell you I think you are going to die shortly, that should not concern you because I am not a doctor. But, if a Bona fide doctor walks up and looks into your eyes and checks your pulse and tells you that, then you should be concerned! What makes the difference? The doctor is qualified to make an assessment about your state of health, I’m not!
Before Paul told them they were SAINTS, he first told them WHO HE WAS showing he had the authority to declare they were saints. Who gave him such authority?
Look at verse 1. We read, “Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God...” Paul had a reason for proclaiming his apostolic authority.
When apostles spoke or acted, they spoke or acted with the full authority of the Messiah Whom they represented. The miracles they performed were the means by which they were identified as His representatives. So, before Paul told them WHO THEY ARE, he first told them WHO HE WAS.
But notice, after Paul addressed them as SAINTS, he dropped these words into that greeting. He said, “...and to the faithful in Christ Jesus.”
One way one can tell a SAINT OF GOD is because a saint is “...FAITHFUL
IN CHRIST.”
Saints are not like some of those people in churches today who profess to be saved, but whose salvation everyone wonders about. They are up and down, like a YO-YO, and most of the time they are more down than they are up.
Paul had just stated they were the SAINTS OF GOD, but he also wanted to state that they were”...FAITHFUL IN CHRIST JESUS.” Paul showed them, and us, as Christians, HIS SAINTHOOD, but he also shows the Christians...
B. Our salvation.
Look at verse 2. We read, “Grace be to you, and peace, from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ.” Now Paul showed the SAINTS HOW THEY HAD BECOME SAINTS. The second thing that made them SIGNIFICANT was that they were RECIPIENTS OF THE GRACE OF GOD.
Everything we, as saints, have is because God has been gracious to us.
Listen, you and I could never do enough good works to be voted into SAINTHOOD. But, WE ARE NOT SAVED BY OUR WORKS, BUT BY HIS WORKS. OUR
SIGNIFICANCE is that BY THE GRACE OF GOD WE HAVE BECOME SAINTS.
Let’s see something else about our state...
II. OUR SUFFICIENCY.
Our sufficiency is NOT WITHIN OURSELVES, but WITHIN CHRIST! Look at
verse 3. We read, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, WHO HATH BLESSED US with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ.”
We ought to preach about Heaven and look forward to going to that glorious place. One of the problems in the Christian life is that the devil has convinced people that
Christians can not enjoy life on earth to the fullest until they die and still go to heaven, AND THAT IS NOT TRUE!
Notice two things in verse 3...
(1) Paul is not talking about God blessing us one day in the future. He is talking about God blessing us in this life. Look at these words in verse 3, “...WHO HATH BLESSED US.” That is telling us that God wants to BLESS US NOW!
(2) Notice, in verse 3, the word is not “blessing,” but “BLESSINGS” plural...
Now.
Tomorrow.
Next week.
And next year.
God has many blessings for His children.
Our God WANTS TO BLESS US and the good thing about this is that HE IS
SUFFICIENT to bless us with BLESSING AFTER BLESSING.
Look at verses 3 6. We read, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ: According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love: Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will, To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved."
Many Christians often have a hard time UNDERSTANDING these verses, but it is worth the work to study it out.
Illus: This reminds me of how it is to eat hickory nuts. That is, the nuts are quite difficult to open, but once opened they are filled with goodies.
The Bible tells us that God did make a choice. WHAT WAS THAT CHOICE?
That choice was that, “...WHOSOEVER shall call upon the Lord shall be saved.”
and
John 3:16, "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life."
Men will be lost, but it is NOT BY GOD’S CHOICE, but BY THEIR OWN
CHOICE.
God has made His choice, and His choice, again, is “WHOSOEVER” wants to
be a SAINT of God can be one.
WHEN DID GOD MAKE THIS CHOICE?
Notice, God’s choice was made before the foundations of the world.
Look again at verse 4. We read, “According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love:"
The Word of God is teaching us this; if you think salvation ORIGINATED WITH MANKIND YOU ARE MISTAKEN! All that has to do with salvation, ORIGINATED WITH GOD!
God knew before He placed man on earth that man would need a Savior. Before the foundation of the world God chose to save lost mankind.
The point is this. You don’t do the FINDING, HE FINDS YOU!
JESUS is the ONE Who CAME TO SEEK AND TO SAVE THAT WHICH WAS LOST. We didn’t do this.
Everything that deals with salvation ORIGINATED WITH GOD BEFORE THE
FOUNDATION OF THE WORLD.
Jesus said it this way in John 15:16, “Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you...”
Our salvation ORIGINATED WITH HIM!
Look at the last part of verse 4. We read, “...that we should be holy and without blame before him in love.” God has chosen that we should live a HOLY life.
Some will say, “That man lives A HOLY LIFE.”
Others will say, about that same man, “That man is a kook.”
Illus: It was no different with the Lord’s disciples. Some people thought they were the greatest; but others were constantly trying to destroy those same disciples because they hated them so much. Those who didn’t like them tried to blame them for the disturbances and riots.
So then, how could we ever live A HOLY LIFE before mankind? WE CAN’T.
Notice again what it says. Look at verse 4 again. We read, “According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love:"
You see, we could never be HOLY and WITHOUT BLAME before all men; but,
BECAUSE of the LORD JESUS, Who hath CHOSEN US, and REDEEMED US and GAVE US HIS RIGHTEOUSNESS, we can be HOLY and WITHOUT BLAME “BEFORE HIM.”
Notice, men are not selected because they are holy. They are chosen to be made holy.
Look at verse 5. We read, “Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will,
Look at the word, “predestinated.” This is translated from the Greek, which means: “To predetermine, decide beforehand." Someone might be saying, “do you believe in PREDESTINATION?” NOT IN THE SAME WAY SOME FOLKS BELIEVE IT.
What verse 5 is teaching is, EVERYONE MAN, WOMAN, BOY AND GIRL HAS BEEN CHOSEN BEFORE THE FOUNDATION OF THE WORLD AND HAS BEEN PREDESTINED TO BE THE ADOPTED SONS AND DAUGHTERS OF GOD.
Notice, as Paul speaks of ADOPTIONS, he is not talking about a man and woman going to an adoption center and looking over a dozen children and choosing some and rejecting others. He was writing to Christians WHO HAD ALREADY RECEIVED THEIR “ADOPTION" IN CHRIST.
The lost are those who have been PREDESTINED by the “Good pleasure of his will,” but they have chosen not to come to Him!
Conclusion/Summary:
Illus: Wouldn’t it be wonderful if someone secretly deposited one million dollars into your checking account? But, did you know the million dollars would do you no good until you knew it was there? In the book of Ephesians there are many treasures, but they will do you no good until you discover that the Lord has these blessings for you. Paul saw that our security IN CHRIST is that we, having received Christ as our Savior, are ORGANICALLY BORN IN CHRIST and before we could ever be removed, the Lord would have to have spiritual surgery.
This became so real to Paul that he had to stop and just praise the Lord for what we have IN CHRIST.
In closing, look at verse 6. We read, “To the praise of the glory of his grace,
wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved.”
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