February 25, 2012
Morning Worship
Text: Ephesians 1:3-14
Subject: Spiritual Blessings
Title: Five Promises to Those Who Are In Christ
Today is National Women’s Ministry Day in the Assemblies of God. It is a day that we recognize the women of the church for the work they do and really, just for whom they are. The theme for this years Women’s Day is from 1 John 3:1 “Love Revealed”. 1 How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! That thought fits right in to what the Lord would have me preach today.
Have you ever noticed that you are closely associated with those whom you chose to be around? Sometimes that is in a good sense, but not always. For instance, when I was in high school I chose to hang around those kids who were radical. We didn’t want to be like all the other kids. We didn’t want to be associated with the jocks or the rich kids or the “clique”. And speaking for myself I can say that I just wanted to be different than the popular kids. Unfortunately, my association with that group connected me with the “radicals” in other areas of life, whether or not I was involved with any of their other activities. For instance, I was always an obedient child in school. I never gave the teachers any grief. I wasn’t as good a student that I could have been but I was very compliant. But, because many of the students I associated were viewed as troublemakers, I was also lumped into that group. Guilt by association…
It doesn’t matter what age you are, you will be connected by association to whatever group you chose to be with. Sometimes it can be a good thing. If I hang around good musicians then people might think I am one of them. If you spend time with sports enthusiasts you be seen as one of them. If you go to church you will probably be thought of as a Christian. We know that is not always the truth, but that is the perception that others will have. Sometimes it may not be such a good thing. Many people have been accused of crimes because they were connected to criminals. Though the connection is not always an indicator of who you really are, the perception is always there.
Now I said all that in order to say this; you are in a Pentecostal church today, but not everyone is Pentecostal. The Assemblies of God is a Pentecostal fellowship, but not all A/G churches are Pentecostal. The bible promises us many blessings for those who believe, but not everyone believes. Isaiah prophesied about those who were connected by association but the Lord had this to say in Isaiah 29:13, The Lord says: “These people come near to me with their mouth and honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. Their worship of me is made up only of rules taught by men.
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Today, as we read our passage, I want you to pay close attention to the phrase “in Him” or “in Christ” because it is this association that tells you what God sees through that association.
Let’s look together today to see 5 things that God’s word promises to those who are “in Him’.
Read Ephesians 1:3-12…
I believe this is God’s word…
I believe it is for me…
I accept it as mine…
And I appropriate it to my life today…
5 things that are promised to those who are “in Him”.
1. YOU ARE BLESSED… 3 Praise 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. #1 mention of being “in Christ”. Before we look at what it means to be blessed with every spiritual blessing I want you to see the purpose of the blessing - 3 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ… our blessings should invoke praise to God. Notice that Paul specifically tells us that this is not just any god. This is the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Now, let’s talk about the blessings. How many of you know that God, first of all wants to bless His people? It says here that He has blessed us… What does that mean? eulogeo (yoo-log-eh’-o) v. Where we get our English word eulogy. 1. to speak well of… For those who are In Christ, God speaks well of you. As a matter of fact, If you are born of the Spirit of God through Jesus Christ the Son of God, God cannot say anything bad about you. 2. to bless, (thank or invoke a benediction upon, prosper) Psalm 25:12-1412 Who, then, is the man that fears the LORD? He will instruct him in the way chosen for him. 13 He will spend his days in prosperity, and his descendants will inherit the land. 14 The LORD confides in those who fear him; he makes his covenant known to them. God has spoken well of us or has prospered us… Where? … in the heavenly realms… What does that mean? When we all get to heaven what a day of rejoicing that will be…? I mean the "heavenly realms" is referring to heaven right? The word means “above the sky”. That is true but what did Jesus, in agreement with the message of John the Baptist, says, (Matthew 4:17) “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near.” These heavenly blessings are not for the eternal life we will spend with Jesus, but they are for this life as well. Matthew 6:9-10, “‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, 10 your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. How has He blessed? …with every spiritual blessing in Christ… Pay close attention to the word that is translated “spiritual”. It is the same word that is used in 1 Corinthians 12:1, 1 Now about spiritual gifts, brothers, I do not want you to be ignorant. Pneumatikos… from the Holy Spirit. So God wants to speak well of you and prosper you with a blessing from the Holy Spirit. Not just in heaven but on earth as well.
2. YOU ARE CHOSEN, PREDESTINED, AND ADOPTED AS SONS… 4 For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love 5 he predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will— 6 to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves. 1) … 4 For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight… In love 5 he predestined us…: let the debate begin! The idea of being chosen and/or predestined invokes in the minds of some a God who from heaven looks down and says, “I’m going to save this one today, but not this other one. And then I’ll move over here and chose another but leave his neighbor behind. That is not the God of the bible. The truth is though that God has chosen us – He has predestined us, but He has also given us the free will to decide whether we will accept that choice or not. I read a really good explanation. An airline company has predestined a flight to go from Los Angeles to New York. That flight is going to get there. You have the right to buy a ticket or not. If you decide not to get a ticket, that plane is still going to New York with or without you. So the idea of chosen and predestination has been set in order by God. Those who are saved are saved because God initiated it. But as God’s created beings, created in His image, we make the choice. Our choice doesn’t save us. God’s election or choice does. But our decision completes the transaction. When were you chosen? Before the foundation of the world… Before anything was ever created God knew His total plan for creation and for mankind. He knew in would involve sin. He knew it would involve sending His Son to save mankind. He knew it would be extended in power through the baptism in the Holy Spirit to all who believe. In the same way that Jesus told His disciples that He had chosen them and not the other way around, they still made the decision to leave everything behind and follow Him. They did not have to. Nobody forced them. They willingly accepted the invitation. Not look at what it says about those who are chosen or predestined. By the way, those words simply mean that God had foreknowledge of those who would accept. But to those who are chosen and predestined in accordance with his pleasure and will, 5 he predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ… This idea of adoption has an enormous impact on the whole idea of being “IN HIM”. Before I go any further, I want you to see again that the whole purpose is — 6 to the praise of his glorious grace… Let’s look at adoption. Romans 8:16-17, 16 The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children. 17 Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory. That does not mean that we have to go around carrying a cross in order to be saved. The fact is Jesus carried the cross for us. Jesus has taken the punishment for us. Isaiah 53:4-6, 4 Surely he took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows, yet we considered him stricken by God, smitten by him, and afflicted. 5 But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed. 6 We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all. So as sons and daughters of God all we need to do is accept the shame of the cross that Jesus bore “for us” as well as accepting the future glory that we will have with Him. In ancient Roman culture and adopted son had the same rights as the natural son. And when he was adopted he gave up all the rights he had with his previous family – in our case our previously family is the world. We give up our rights as those of the world when we are adopted into God’s family. Let’s go back – we are chosen. We were predestined. We are adopted… here is what is expected from us … to be holy and blameless in his sight.
3. WE HAVE REDEMPTION… 7 In him we have redemption… Redemption means that the ransom is paid in full… When Jesus said, “It is finished” – He used the Greek word tetelestai which means just that – the dept is paid… Look how the redemption comes. 1) through his blood… Hebrews 9:22, In fact, the law requires that nearly everything be cleansed with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness. 2) the forgiveness of sins… The redemption through the blood of Jesus cleanses us. Andrew Murray in his book The Power of the Blood states, One of the most glorious blessings made possible for us by the power of the blood, is that of drawing near the throne, into the very presence of God. That we may understand what this blessing means let us consider what is contained in it. It includes: 1. THE RIGHT TO DWELL IN THE PRESENCE OF GOD; 2. THE VOCATION OF OFFERING SPIRITUAL SACRIFICES TO GOD; 3. THE POWER TO PROCURE BLESSING FOR OTHERS. 4. THE RIGHT TO DWELL IN THE PRESENCE OF GOD. That forgiveness of sins is in accordance with the riches of God’s grace 8 that he lavished on us with all wisdom and understanding. The word lavished in the NIV or abounded in the KJV are neither one strong enough to give the true meaning of the word. It means, “to superabound or to be in excess or to cause to excel.” Do you get that? God’s grace to you is more than enough. No wonder Jesus could say to Paul, “My grace is sufficient for you…” because it is a superabundance of grace. 2 Corinthians 9:10-11, 10 Now he who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will also supply and increase your store of seed and will enlarge the harvest of your righteousness. 11 You will be made rich in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God.
4. WE RECEIVE REVELATION… Look at verses 9-12, 9 And he made known to us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure, which he purposed in Christ, 10 to 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. When people read …the mystery of his will… they tend to take a wrong approach to the understanding of it. “Mystery” means it was once hidden from mankind. But now Paul says it has been revealed to us. God has revealed it to us by His Spirit. We have the mind of Christ… 9 And he made known to us the mystery of his will… Not only does He want us to understand the redemptive work of Jesus, He wants us to know how it will come to fulfillment in the end… 10 to 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. Does that sound to you like God intends for His people to have an understanding of the events that will take place leading up to the return of Christ? 11 In 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, 12 in order that we, who were the first to hope in Christ, might be for the praise of his glory. There’s that phrase again… for the praise of his glory… Is God’s revelation of himself in your life sufficient for the praise of His glory? Are you receiving the type of revelation that He wants to pour out into your life? That comes when you abide in Him and His word abides in you. That comes through constant contact with the Father through the ministry of the Holy Spirit. That comes from your willingness to allow the Spirit to reveal God’s word to you and then for you to live it out.
5. WE ARE INCLUDED… 13 And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, 14 who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession—to the praise of his glory. 1) And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God… 2) Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit… Look at what Paul says about the Holy Spirit. …14 who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance… When we bought our first house in 1974 20% down payment. For the bank, it meant that we had paid a substantial enough down that we would not default on our payments. We had invested sufficiently that we would not want to lose our down payment as well as all the principal that followed. That is what God is saying to the church today. There is a perfect kingdom coming. No sickness, no death, no oppression, no sorrow… and we have the down payment on that promise right now. Do you see the difference between the banks of 40 years ago and the banks of the present? Today, very little down payment. The bank doesn’t care if you default. They’ll just sell the house again. It didn’t work that way did it? Many in the church today don’t see the value of the down payment that came through the Holy Spirit. Many in the church today expect that God will pay off everything eventually. Until then they’re good… The down payment of the Spirit is for the work of God in the church today. If we jumped forward just a little to verse 18-19, 18 I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, 19 and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is like the working of his mighty strength…
You are blessed; you are chosen; you are adopted; you are redeemed; you have received revelation; and you are included in the fullness of the body of Christ.
I want you to look at one last thing. This section of Paul’s letter begins with praise to God and it ends to the praise of His glory. So what significance do you think everything else in between has. It is all for the glory of His name. Every promise, is not used brings no glory to God. The blessings, the adoption the mystery revealed, the power – if we don’t accept them God is not glorified. If God has given us a down payment on eternity to be used right now the only way for Him to be glorified in the church today is to use those gifts. And the Holy Spirit power is available to you today for that purpose – that God will be glorified.
