INTRODUCTION
• Based on the rest of Acts and Paul’s letters, several years have passed since he left the city of Ephesus.
• After his departure, the remaining believers organized a church and continued to gather regularly for worship and spread the good news of Jesus.
• When Paul writes this letter, he is a prisoner (3:1) in Rome (Craig Keener, “Ephesians: Situation,” in The IVP Bible Background Commentary: New Testament, [Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1993]).
• The church was thriving, reaching people of all ethnicities, both Jew and Greek.
• How did they grow?
• How was the church of Ephesus so successful in carrying out the mission?
• This goes to the question for us to consider.
• How can we be a church that reaches people and impacts our community?
• There are all kinds of theories concerning growth.
• Honestly, I am more interested in church impact versus church growth.
• If our goal is simply numerical growth, we are missing the boat.
• If we focus on numeric church growth, we could do that and miss the boat of being a church that makes an impact.
• A numerically growing church is not necessarily a church making an impact in the lives of people, the community, and the world.
• A church that is making an impact in the lives of people, which in turn impacts our communities, will be a church that grows.
• More importantly, you will grow.
• If you do not grow spiritually, your faith will not impact the lives of others or the church.
• So how was the church of Ephesus able to make such an impact, and what caused the lives of so many to be changed?
• How were so many lives changed that these new believers shook the world they lived in?
• It starts with the message that was proclaimed!
• If you want to change your life, world, and those around you, it has to start and end with Jesus.
• All the slick marketing campaigns, the building projects, and the proper use of technology will have no real impact unless it all begins and ends with Jesus!
Romans 1:16 (NET 2nd ed.)
16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is God’s power for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.
• We have a compelling message to share; today, I hope you will see some more exciting reasons!
• Today we will spend time in Ephesians 1:1-14 as we examine WHY Jesus has to be the center of all we do.
• From the passage, we will look at four reasons for Jesus being the center of all we do in life.
• We will focus on the phrase IN HIM and IN CHRIST as we examine our passage today!
Ephesians 1:1–3 (NET 2nd ed.)
1 From Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, to the saints in Ephesus, the faithful in Christ Jesus.
2 Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ!
3 Blessed is the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms in Christ.
SERMON
IN HIM:
I. Our blessings flow.
• How many of you here today want to be blessed in your life?
• How many of you have people you want to see be blessed in your life?
• One of the reasons we should be excited about making Jesus the center of our lives and message is that all of our blessings flow from God through Jesus!
• As Paul writes this letter to the church at Ephesus, he begins with a list of reasons to praise God.
• It is so easy to lose sight of why and who blesses us.
• When we live for our glory, life gets empty and, at some point, void of meaning.
• One thing that should excite us about Jesus is that God blesses our life through Him!
• Do you want to be blessed in your marriage?
• Make Jesus the center and focus of your marriage!
• Finances, parenting, life?
• Make Jesus the center.
• The word “blessed” comes from the verb meaning “to speak well of.”
• When we are BLESSED by God, it means that God has done something for our benefit, to help us to prosper, to give us contentment.
• We have people in life that we love and want to see be blessed.
• God loves you and wants to see you be blessed, also.
• What we find here are a couple of things.
• First, our SPIRITUAL blessings by God come through Jesus.
• In other words, without Jesus, we are not blessed by God; that only happens through Jesus.
• Second, how many blessings do those who are in Christ receive?
• EVERY SPIRITUAL BLESSING!
• What does this mean, what does it mean to have every spiritual blessing?
• It mainly means that since we know God, we have everything we need to grow spiritually!
• We do not have to ask for these blessings; God lavishes every spiritual blessing upon us in Christ!
• The blessings spoken of here are not physical nor the blessings given by the Spirit, but rather the word SPIRITUAL denotes the quality of the blessings as eternal and imperishable.
• God will not withhold from those obediently in Christ!
• These blessings from God do not refer to a FUTURE blessing but rather a current reality.
• We do not have to wait until the return of the Lord to receive our spiritual blessings; they all come now!
• God gives you all you need to foster a healthy, growing, fulfilling relationship with Him!
• Let’s look at verses 4-6
Ephesians 1:4–6 (NET 2nd ed.)
4 For he chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world that we should be holy and blameless before him in love.
5 He did this by predestining us to adoption as his legal heirs through Jesus Christ, according to the pleasure of his will—
6 to the praise of the glory of his grace that he has freely bestowed on us in his dearly loved Son.
IN HIM:
II. We are found holy and blameless.
• This is an excellent thought to contemplate.
• Before the foundation of the world, God decided that whoever believed in Jesus would have the privilege of being adopted into God’s family.
• Without getting too deep into the predestination issue, biblically, what we are told here is that God predestined the plan by which those of their own free will would be able to be a part of God’s family; they would be saved by accepting Jesus of their free-will.
• God did not pick people individually to be saved; He derived the plan by which folks could be saved.
• Notice verse 5 reminds us that in LOVE, HE predestined us (those who accept Jesus) to be adopted through Jesus Christ Himself!
• We were not forced upon God; He wants us!
• God did not make a last-second decision to want us; He has wanted us before the foundation of the world!
• In CHRIST, we are found holy and blameless!
• God is perfect and holy; the only way we can be with Him is to be perfect and holy!
• We cannot achieve that feat on our own!
• We are counted as perfect and holy when we put on Christ!
Galatians 3:27 (NET 2nd ed.)
27 For all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ.
Hebrews 10:4 (NET 2nd ed.)
4 For it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.
• When God sees you through the blood of Jesus, He sees you as holy and blameless!
• Our life is about striving to get as close to that as we can. God’s grace makes up the difference for those who are in Christ!
• Ephesians 1:7–10 (NET 2nd ed.)
7 In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our offenses, according to the riches of his grace
8 that he lavished on us in all wisdom and insight.
9 He did this when he revealed to us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure that he set forth in Christ,
10 toward the administration of the fullness of the times, to head up all things in Christ—the things in heaven and the things on earth.
In HIM:
III. We receive redemption.
• I bet we all, or most of us, have unresolved guilt over something in life.
• When you are riddled with guilt, it is hard to enjoy life.
• Being dogged by guilt will make life sad and miserable.
• Also, being enslaved to sin will make life rough.
• Sin seems fun for a season, but there is always a price to pay.
• Sin enslaves us, BUT in Christ, all that changes!
• We are told we have REDEMPTION in Jesus, through His blood!
• Redemption means to be bought back at a price.
• In Him. Sin is no longer our master, Jesus redeemed us from sin and brought us into His family!
• There were 60 million slaves in the Roman Empire, and often they were bought and sold like pieces of furniture.
• But a man could purchase a slave and set him free, and this is what Jesus did for us. Bible Exposition Commentary (BE Series) - New Testament - The Bible Exposition Commentary – New Testament, Volume 2.
• When you committed your first sin, you became a slave to sin; sin became your master!
• In Christ, you are freed from the bondage!
• Too many people think they can purchase their own redemption; they cannot; it is an exercise in futility to try!
Romans 6:17–18 (NET 2nd ed.)
17 But thanks be to God that though you were slaves to sin, you obeyed from the heart that pattern of teaching you were entrusted to,
18 and having been freed from sin, you became enslaved to righteousness.
• Being freed from the bondage of sin is reason to celebrate, but there is more!
• How many lives have been burdened with guilt and shame?
• How would you like to be forgiven for all your sins?
• How would you like to know that God loves you so much that He WANTS to offer you forgiveness?
• As humans, we tend to give the issue of forgiveness lip service.
• We say we forgive but tend to hold what they did against us.
• When God forgives, we are forgiven!
• We can quit carrying the burden of our sin!
• I bet we all have someone who has not forgiven us, and we feel the sting, pain, and hurt.
• Well, in Jesus, we are forgiven!
• We have a message of HOPE in Jesus amid this dark, unforgiving world!
Ephesians 1:11–14 (NET 2nd ed.)
11 In Christ we too have been claimed as God’s own possession since we were predestined according to the one purpose of him who accomplishes all things according to the counsel of his will
12 so that we, who were the first to set our hope on Christ, would be to the praise of his glory.
13 And when you heard the word of truth (the gospel of your salvation)—when you believed in Christ—you were marked with the seal of the promised Holy Spirit,
14 who is the down payment of our inheritance, until the redemption of God’s own possession, to the praise of his glory.
IN HIM:
IV. We are His!
• I love verse 11!
• When you are in Christ, you belong to God!
• In Christ, we are admitted to the ranks of the chosen people, the special possession of God. We get heaven—and God gets us! Kenneth L. Boles, Galatians & Ephesians, The College Press NIV Commentary (Joplin, MO: College Press, 1993), Eph 1:11.
• Hang with me here; this passage gets a little technical.
• Verse 11 explains that from the beginning, God planned that those in Christ would be a part of God’s inheritance!
• Those in Christ are predestined to be adopted by God! (THE PLAN, NOT THE PERSON).
• Verse 11 speaks of the Jewish Christians, and verse 13 includes Gentile Christians.
• The nation of Israel was God’s possession (heritage), and now in the New, that heritage is the church!
• Verse 1 1 explains that God had this plan in eternity and works on carrying it out!
• Verse 12 explains God's ultimate end in view for the Jewish people: that they would set their hope in Jesus!
• Verse 13 speaks of the Gentile Christians who were not a part of God’s heritage.
• When they come to Jesus, they are a part of God’s possession!
• The Jews heard the Gospel message on the Day of Pentecost; then, the Gentiles came to hear the Gospel!
• Verse 13 also reveals to us that when we believe in Christ, which according to Acts 2:38, believing for salvation includes repentance and baptism, we receive the Holy Spirit, which marks us as belonging to God!
• WE SHOULD BE EXCITED TO SHARE A MESSAGE THAT, WHEN ACCEPTED AND FOLLOWED, WILL LEAD TO ONE BELONGING TO GOD!
CONCLUSION
• In Him, we have everything!
• This is why if we are going to impact our world and be a church that makes an impact versus being just another social club, we have to focus all we do on Jesus!
• Jesus is the alpha and omega, the beginning and the end!
