Intro
A man who had been a drunkard in the slums of Chicago for many years came to a mission one night. He heard the message, ate the meal, and went to bed. That was his last night on earth. He died poverty-stricken and friendless, never to see another day.
What he did not know was that he had an inheritance of over four million dollars waiting for him in England. The authorities had searched for him but were unable to find him because he had no address. Here was a man who had all the material wealth he could want, but he lived and died in poverty.
In this sense, he was just like many Christians who live bankrupt lives because they are not fully aware of their wealth in Christ
- The truth is, Christians have more than they could ever imagine
- The apostle Paul knew this truth only too well, using the expression “to the praise of His glory” on 3 separate occasions in chp. 1
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Q. What difference does it make knowing that you are now spiritually wealthy beyond measure?
Q. What difference does it make in how you live, knowing that you have been chosen by God to be part of His family?
- If you knew you had $100,000 in your bank account, I think you’d live differently, than if you knew you only had $1000 in your bank account
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- Today’s passage tells us that we have been blessed with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ
- These blessings are laid out for us from vs. 3-14
- We may have read these time & time again, but you know what, when we give ear to each individual statement & ponder them, we begin to realise just how blessed we really are
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- Take note that the source of these blessings for us is our Father in heaven – the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ!
1. The Source of the Blessings
- He is the blessed One, the One who worthy to be praised
- He not only has a will & purpose, able to make decisions according to His will – i.e. Has a mind/intellect - but He has a loving disposition & is able to demonstrate that through His actions
- His initiative is clearly set out here
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- He Himself is the subject of almost every main verb in these verses from v.3-14
- It is He who..
* Has chosen us
* Predestined us to be sons
* Poured out His grace on us through Jesus Christ
* Sent Jesus to be our redeemer
* Made known to us the mystery of His will
* Granted us an inheritance
* Sealed us with the Holy Spirit as a deposit of what is to come
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Q. Have you given God thanks & praise for these?
Q. Or are you too embarrassed to talk about them?
- To praise God means to boast about Him
- When we are really excited about these benefits God gives, then we will start to boast about Him
- When we are silent, perhaps we haven’t quite come to understand how amazing these blessings are
2. The Blessings Given...
- Before we look at these blessings, I want you to notice who the audience is & who are the “we” & “us” that Paul talks about here
- I believe that up to the end of v.12 he is referring to Jewish Christians – specifically, his own circle of Jewish missionaries/ but then we read
Eph 1:13 ..... 13 In Him, you also, after listening to the message of truth...
- These people – the “you also” – are the Gentiles in & about Ephesus - his mission field
- In chp. 2 it becomes even clearer...
Eph 2:11-13 ..... 11 Therefore, remember that formerly you who are Gentiles by birth and called “uncircumcised” by those who call themselves “the circumcision” (that done in the body by the hands of men)— 12 remember that at that time you were separate from Christ, excluded from citizenship in Israel and foreigners to the covenants of the promise, without hope and without God in the world. 13 But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near through the blood of Christ.
- In a way, while Paul is talking about Jewish Christians & what they have received, he is drawing the Gentile Christians in & including them in these blessings as well
- This is the amazing truth that has come about – that Gentiles (gross sinners) have been included in these blessings because of God’s choice!
- The first blessing Paul mentions is that God has...
1. Chosen from Eternity Past
- Get this, as a Christian, you were in the mind of God before He created the world!
- More than this, you were chosen by God
- This is a difficult teaching but a true one
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Q. The question we need to ask is this: “why are we being told this if it is not true”?
Q. Why make such a controversial statement if the source of salvation is us & our choices?
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- Here is another question:
Q. Does God have the right to do what He pleases?
- Most people would say yes, but they stop short when God does something they disagree with
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- Some parents buy all their children gifts when one of them has a birthday Why?
- Because of fear that the others may feel like they missed out
- Can I ask you this: “What is wrong with just buying a gift for the birthday child alone”? So the others miss out – so what?
Q. Is not the birthday child allowed to be singled out on their day?
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- You go into a pet shop to buy a puppy for the family
- But there are 20 puppy’s there in the cage
Q. Are you going to take all 20 home?
Q. Do you have the right to pick the breed type and the one that might be the cutest to your little daughter?
Q. What about all those little puppies left behind that may never get a home?
- We make these sovereign & discriminatory choices everyday & don’t think another thing of it
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- Imagine, someone bought you a ticket in Gold Lotto & you won!
- And the prize money is 20 million dollars
Q. Wow, how would you spend that?
Q. How great would you feel after knowing the odds of you ever winning the Lotto?
- But of course, you can’t have that all to yourself can you, because you are no more special than anyone else in Australia, so you have to share the 20 mill with the 20 mill other Australians
- Wonderful, everyone ends up with $1 each
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- Those examples may be a little ridiculous, however, many people say that God can’t make choices & elevate some over others
- We can do it, but God can’t!
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- But there is a point to this & it is precisely this...that God chose you to be in Christ & set you apart to Himself
- God designed you & set you apart for Himself from eternity past
- You find that hard to get your head around – then get use to it – you have been honoured & privileged by God to be His own
“Incomprehensible and immutable is the love of God. For it was not after we were reconciled to him by the blood of his Son that he began to love us, but he loved us before the foundation of the world, that with his only begotten Son we too might be sons of God before we were any thing at all (John Calvin, “Institutes”)
- The second blessing is that we are...
2. Chosen for Adoption in the Present
It is said by some that the advantage of adoption is that you are chosen for who you are, whereas, with the natural children, you have no choice – you get what you’re given
- Adoption speaks of relationship – family speaks of relationships – a whole network of relationships
Q. Where would we be without the love & support of a family?
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- There are children who have been abandoned & left with no one to care for them – we call them orphans
- It was largely the work of Christians who started orphanages so children may receive some care & support in life
- This was very true during war times – the first & second world wars left many children as orphans
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- What God decided long ago, He has brought about in the present
- Christians have been given the Holy Spirit which means God has adopted us as His own children
- Hence the principles of prayer Jesus taught His disciples to pray - “Our Father who is in heaven”
- To call God “our Father” speaks of a couple of things
1. God is the ideal father
- He is loving, but will discipline
- He is gracious, but expects change
- He is faithful & loyal, but expects that same loyalty
- He is our security, but we must stay in His loving arms
- Father speaks of relationship – of love – of tenderness
- We use the words, daddy, dad, pa, papa & a host of other words to express the tender relationship between us
2. God is not your Father alone – you belong to the family of God & therefore should fit in with the family of God
- Lone rangers are really praying “my Father in heaven”, but it is “Our Father in heaven”
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- The Christian NOW has the inner testimony of the Holy Spirit confirming that we are children of God
Ro 8:15-16 For you have not received a spirit of slavery leading to fear again, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons by which we cry out, “Abba! Father!. 16 The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are children of God,
- As a legal act, Roman adoption had to be attested by witnesses
- Here the Spirit is the witness to our adoption
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- But a time will come when that adoption will be in it’s fullness when we are resurrected to eternal life
Ro 8:23 ..... 23 And not only this, but also we ourselves, having the first fruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our body
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- Now it’s nice to speak about all these wonderful benefits God has showered upon us, but it would be wrong for us to miss the fact that we were...
3. Chosen for a Purpose
- v.4 reads that we were chosen before the foundation of the world that we would be holy & blameless
- With God privilege is never is an end in itself
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- Israel as a people were rejected by God because they bore no fruit
- John the Baptist had some scathing comments to make...
Mt 3:8-10 ..... 8 “Therefore bear fruit in keeping with repentance; 9 and do not suppose that you can say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham for our father’; for I say to you that from these stones God is able to raise up children to Abraham. 10 “The axe is already laid at the root of the trees; therefore every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.
- With great privilege comes great responsibility
Q. What is that responsibility? That we should be holy & blameless
- God wants His people to shine likes lights in the world
- Too often, His people are like torches fitted with el-cheapo batteries & they have to be hit a few times before they actually work & even then, they fade out pretty quick
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- “Holy” speaks of being “separated out for God’s use”
- It means that you don’t live to please yourself, but God
- “Blameless” is a hard call, but it speaks of what you are & what you are to become
- In the passage concerning the husbands role toward his wife, Paul says that Christ died for the church...
Eph 5:27 ..... 27 that He might present to Himself the church in all her glory, having no spot or wrinkle or any such thing; but that she would be holy and blameless.
- When a catepillar becomes a butterfly, he must act like a butterfly because he is one – we don’t see butterfly’s acting like catepillars
- So we have been made “holy & blameless” but also have the responsibility of being “holy & blameless”
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- This occurs only when YOU decide to shift camps
- When you move by faith in Christ from the family of disobedience to the family of obedience
Eph 2:2 ..... 2 You were dead in your sins & trespasses in which you formerly walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience.
- We are privileged to be sons of God, but with that comes the responsibility to live like sons of God
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- Finally, we need to address 2 topics which express the reason for our election as God’s children
- Firstly, our election is for His glory alone & secondly, our election can never be apart from the Person of Jesus Christ
3. Only for His Glory
- One reason God chose Israel was for them to bring Him glory
Is 61:1-3 ..The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me... 3 To grant those who mourn in Zion, Giving them a garland instead of ashes, The oil of gladness instead of mourning, The mantle of praise instead of a spirit of fainting. So they will be called oaks of righteousness, The planting of the Lord, that He may be glorified.
Q. What does glory mean?
- I think Keith & Margaret will understand this better than us since they have been involved in Gem collecting for sometime
- The word “glory” is found throughout the Bible
- In the OT, it carries the meaning of “weightiness” - are those Gems & rocks weighty Margaret?
- We could say glory is with someone who is weighty in importance
- Gems were associated with royalty – they glittered & sparkled
- They shone & radiated the importance of the person
- But it signified someone of significance
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- To have glory meant to have fame & fortune
- To be glorified, ones fame & fortune is magnified
- That person is seen to be significant, great, magnanimous
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- That’s what we do – we want to make God look great & attractive to the world
Q. In our living, do we make God look great?
- Paul says that God chose us, adopted us, to be to the praise of the glory of His grace
4. Only in His Son
- We must remember that while the teaching on election is true, so is man’s responsibility
- God calls everyone to believe in His Son Jesus
- And everyone who comes to Him, He will in no way cast out
- Here is an interesting passage about adoption...
Jn 1:12-13 ..... 12 But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name, 13 who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.
- We know that only God can work the miracle in the heart of a person so that they come to believe in Christ
- But no one knows on whom this happens
- All you need to know is that it is there for the taking
- The invitation is given to all & open to all
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- The clarion call of the media today is that all roads lead to God
- That whether you are a hindu, muslim, buddist, new age or whatever, we all worship the one God
- Wrong! Dead-set wrong – no one could be more wrong
- Only in Christ can anyone know the Father
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- All the benefits of heaven are bestowed on those who are in Christ & only those in Christ
- Christ speaks of God’s grace & provision to a lost world
- The clarion call of God is that all must come to Him in one way – the way He provided – through the death & resurrection of Jesus Christ
Conclusion
- I love the movie, “The Prince and the Pauper”
- There were 2 boys – identical in looks - one was a prince, one was poor
- Unknowingly to others, they swapped positions
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- The real prince went to live in poverty & the pauper, went to live in the Palace
- The truth came out just as they were about to crown the pauper, king
- However, through the experience, living on the other side, the prince realised the responsibility & privilege it was to be a royal son
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- Our position as Christians is not something we ourselves have given to ourselves, it has been given by God
- Let us boast about our God for these blessings
- Let us realise the unique privilege & responsibility that comes with being children of God
