May 2, 2010
Morning Worship
Text: Ephesians 1:3-14
Subject: Spiritual Blessings
Title: A Reason to Praise Him – Part 1 in the Ephesians Series
Today we begin a series through the book of Ephesians. We’re going to continue through the book on Sunday mornings and Sunday evenings as well. So you need to come back tonight in order to not miss out on anything.
This letter to the church in Ephesus was written while Paul was imprisoned in Rome. Paul had previously stayed with the believers in Ephesus for over two years. This letter was written after the letter to Colossians and like the other prison letters it was probably intended to be a letter that was to be passed from church to church. After writing Colossians it seems that Paul received continual revelation from God about the church and now, after being shown how the church is the body of Christ, he writes to further expound on this topic.
In it’s most simple form, Ephesians can be broken down into two parts. The first three chapters describe our position in Christ; the last three explain our responsibilities as a result of being in Christ.
Today we want to begin with chapter 1 verses 3-14. Before we begin let’s look at 1and 2.
1Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, to the saints in Ephesus, the faithful in Christ Jesus: 2Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
1. Written by Paul.
2. He was an apostle.
3. It was according to God’s will.
4. He wrote to the faithful In Christ
5. They were called saints
6. Paul extends grace and peace to them – not his own but the grace that is from God and Jesus Christ the Lord.
As we go through this first section of Ephesians today we want you to see that it is because we are “In Him” that we have a reason to praise Him!
Lord, open my eyes to see and my ears to hear what the Spirit is saying to the church.
I. BECAUSE WE ARE “IN HIM” GOD HAS… 1) Blessed us. 3Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. This is a very powerful statement to begin a letter. God has blessed us in the heavenly realms… You could read that as meaning that we are blessed in heaven and when we get there we’ll receive those blessings. But I am under the conviction that it doesn’t mean that. It means that the heavenly realms are the place of origin for the blessings that God wants us to have right here right now. And we are blessed with every spiritual blessing. Every supernatural work that God did through His Son Jesus Christ He is still doing through the church today. We have rights and privileges as children of the King and those rights and privileges include the things that come from the Spirit. The word that is translated “spiritual” means “non-carnal” or “not having to do with the flesh or natural man.” Those blessings include the gifts of the Spirit (the same word is used in 1 Corinthians 12:1) as well as the blessings that are indicated in the remainder of the passage. 2) GOD HAS Chosen us… 4For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. When it says here that God chose us, it does not mean that we didn’t have a choice in the matter. It does mean that he has offered salvation to all mankind to either accept and be saved or reject and be condemned. The plan was already set in motion before the earth was ever created. This tells us first, that the source of our salvation is “in Him”. Second, we see the time frame involved – before the creation of the world… and finally we see the purpose - to be holy and blameless in his sight. The only way to be holy and blameless in God’s eyes is to be “in Christ” or “in him”. It’s not something that we can do but we can only experience that kind of holiness through the cleansing work of the cross of Calvary. 3) GOD HAS predestined us… In love 5he predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will— the doctrine of predestination is probably one of the most misunderstood doctrines of the bible. Many understand this to mean that the Sovereign God has predetermined who will and won’t be saved. He has offered salvation to some and not to others. The reality is that God does know who will accept His offer of salvation – He has known it from the beginning of time. But He still offers it to all in order to give them the opportunity to make that decision. The passage says He predestined us in love… What kind of a loving God would pick some and leave others without a chance? Well isn’t that what He did in the Old Testament when He destroyed whole nations? Didn’t He then exclude people from salvation? The truth is God sends people to hell. He is the only one who has that authority. But, each individual has a chance to either sign his own death warrant or his own reprieve. It was no different in the OT than it is now. Among all the nations that were destroyed when Israel came into the Promised land, if there was one who, like Abraham, had righteousness credited to them because of their faith, like the prostitute Rahab in Jericho, they would have been saved even if they lost their life. 1 Peer 1:1-2, To God’s elect, strangers in the world, scattered throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia and Bithynia, 2who have been chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father… I could stand up here all day every day for the next month trying to get this point across to you and in the process miss what is really important in the passage. 5he predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ… according to Roman law of that time an adopted son had all the same rights as a legitimate son. At the same time he lost all the rights that he had in his previous family. In essence he became a new person. And that is what God has done for us in accordance with his pleasure and will 4) GOD HAS given us grace… 6to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves. The key here is grace that is freely given. Grace that is forced or graced that is earned is not grace at all. Romans 3:21-24, 21But now a righteousness from God, apart from law, has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. 22This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference, 23for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. When God gives grace it is above and beyond what we could ever imagine. 1 Timothy 1:12-14, I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has given me strength, that he considered me faithful, appointing me to his service. 13Even though I was once a blasphemer and a persecutor and a violent man, I was shown mercy because I acted in ignorance and unbelief. 14The grace of our Lord was poured out on me abundantly, along with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus.
II. BECAUSE WE ARE “IN HIM” WE HAVE… 1) Redemption. 7In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace… The word that is translated “redemption” comes from a compound word that means, “to break away”. We have broken away from our old life but we could only do it first of all through his blood. Revelation 5:9, 9And they sang a new song: “You are worthy to take the scroll and to open its seals, because you were slain, and with your blood you purchased men for God from every tribe and language and people and nation. Second, the forgiveness of sins… To be forgiven of sin is essentially what it means to be justified. More specifically, the forgiveness of sins under the New Covenant is the forgetting of sins. Heb 10:16,17 "This is the covenant I will make with them after that time, says the Lord. I will put my laws in their hearts, and I will write them on their minds." Then he adds: "Their sins and lawless acts I will remember no more." This he does richly, for there is no purgatory to make up for deficiencies in Christ’s atoning work. The believers’ sins are completely forgiven, past, present and future. Third, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace … God’s graciousness in no way is nullified by our cooperation in receiving the gift. In fact, if we were just puppets, then God’s gift would not really be viewed as a gift, nor would giving it be considered gracious. For then it would not have been a matter of who is deserving or undeserving, for everyone would be simply viewed as a puppet, and giving would be simply a matter of sovereignty having nothing to do with graciousness. So if He created us simply as puppets, He logically could not reveal his love, nor his graciousness, or his justice through us. For He would be simply viewed as playing with puppets. Fourth, WE HAVE abundance… 8that he lavished on us with all wisdom and understanding… God doesn’t just give us grace. The Greek word for “lavished” means, “to superabound.” No wonder Jesus told Paul “My grace is sufficient for you…” It’s because His grace superabounds. It is not just sufficient, it goes beyond sufficient. 2 Corinthians 9:8, And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work… 2) WE HAVE REVELATION… 9And he made known to us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure, which he purposed in Christ, 10to be put into effect when the times will have reached their fulfillment—to bring all things in heaven and on earth together under one head, even Christ. Part of what belongs to us as a result of God’s grace being poured out is revelation knowledge of what his plan is for our lives. The word “mystery” refers to what was once hidden from mankind but is now revealed in Christ Jesus. The final revelation will come when Jesus returns for His church and then seven years later sets up His millennial kingdom on earth. Meanwhile, He continues to reveal Himself to His people through his word and through the Holy Spirit. “No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him” - 10but God has revealed it to us by his Spirit. His desire for us is to be transformed by the renewing our minds so that we can know what His good and perfect will is. That is the mystery of His will and it is according to His good pleasure…
III. BECAUSE WE ARE “IN HIM” WE ARE… 1) Included. 11In him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will, 12in order that we, who were the first to hope in Christ, might be for the praise of his glory. 13And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. Boy, this is one of those verses that someone could take out of context and make a doctrine out of it and fool a lot of people. It sounds like Paul is saying that all it takes to get saved is to hear the gospel. Romans 10:17, Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word of Christ. That verse doesn’t stand alone. Verse 13-15, 13for, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” 14How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? 15And how can they preach unless they are sent? Because we had someone present the gospel to us in a way that made sense, and because we accepted that gospel as truth, we now are conformed to the purpose of His will. 2) We are sealed… Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, 14who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance… So here is the order of events in salvation.1. hearing… 2. believing… 3. sealing of the Holy Spirit… the idea of a seal when applied to the Holy Spirit is instructive. It is stamped on a document to ensure its authenticity. It was attached to goods during shipment to prove ownership and procure protection. It also represented a designation of office in a position of service. 3) We are guaranteed… the word translated “guaranteeing” in verse 14 is used only here in the NT in referenced to the Holy Spirit. He is our deposit – our down payment – the guarantee of the things to come when Jesus Christ is fully revealed. His presence and purpose in our lives is all the evidence that we will ever need that the balloon payment is coming and we will receive everything in its fullness. When I think of a down payment I think back when we bought our first house. Then you had to have a minimum of 20% down in order to purchase a home. In recent years we have seen 0% down loans and we have seen the disaster those loans have bought to the banking industry. Believers are like that. Some expect 20% or more down – what I mean is this, many of us expect the work of God to be displayed on the earth today, by the deposit of the Spirit, in a more prominent way than others. When Jesus said that those who believed would be doing the things that He did and even greater things, we expect the deposit of the Spirit to carry that out. When the word says that by His stripes we are healed we expect that to be fulfilled. Others are like the bank that asked for 0% down. They believe that Jesus saves and that they are going to heaven but there is nothing, no guarantee on the earth today that we can have those things. They ask little and they get what they ask for. 4) We are His possession… until the redemption of those who are God’s possession—to the praise of his glory. The deposit is good until the balloon payment is made and that comes when Jesus returns. And all this, the deposit, the guarantee, the seal, redemption, forgiveness, predestination, adoption and every spiritual blessing is for the praise of His Glory.
As most of you know I am a big sports fan. I like sports of every kind but especially professional football. And I am a hometown boy when it comes to my sports. I love the St. Louis Rams. I think that makes me a true fan because the rams are the worst team in the league over the past three years and I still follow them.
The Rams may have reached a milestone in their efforts to turn things around when last week in the amateur draft they selected Sam Bradford from the University of Oklahoma with their first pick. Sam was chosen because he was the best quarterback in the draft and probably will make an immediate impact on the team. He was chosen because of who he is.
Isn’t it good to know that you have been chosen as well, but not because of your abilities – maybe in spite of them? God has called us to be “in Him” and we have the opportunity to respond to that call. Even for those who accepted the call years ago God is still waiting for you to receive the spiritual blessings that He has for you in this life. He told us in Jeremiah 29, 11For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.
He has placed His good housekeeping seal of approval on you. You are an adopted child of the living God if you have accepted His invitation.
Now is the time to make up your mind – what will you do with what God has given you?
One thing I know for sure – we have a reason to praise Him.
