Who Wants to be a Millionaire?:
Enjoying Your Spiritual Possessions
in Christ
Scripture Reading: Ephesians 1:1-14
It actually debuted in England--did you know that?
But YOU probably first heard of it sometime after August 16, 1999, when the primetime gameshow, Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?, premiered in the United States on ABC on, where it averaged about 29 million viewers per night in its first season.
As of last June, there were an amazing 45 versions airing in 71 countries, including Russia, India, and Japan.
Anybody here want to be a millionaire?
Of course, you do!
Except for Susan Myer, that is,
who’s already made millions as a school teacher.
But the rest of us
wouldn’t have turn down a million dollars.
After all, think of what you could do with it.
What WOULD you do with that kind of wealth?
Buy a house?
Pay off your car?
Throw a party?
Invest it?
Buy Mark Oglesbee a razor?
Buy Aaron Hostetler a haircut?
Buy ....
Well, guess what?
Whether you have that kinda money or not,
you can be--and maybe already are--
infinitely rich.
Good morning. My name is Bob Hostetler,
and I want to welcome you all
to Cobblestone Community Church,
a community-oriented,
student-friendly,
seeker-aware,
outward-focused church
serving the greater Oxford area.
And today we’re beginning a new series entitled, “Who Wants to be a Millionaire
(when you can be infinitely rich)?”
And for the six weeks of this series,
we’re going to find the answer to that question
by looking to the book of Ephesians in the Bible;
by the time we finish the series on November 11th,
we will have studied
an entire book of the Bible together.
So, let’s get started;
let me ask you to turn in your Bibles to Ephesians, the tenth book of the New Testament,
--that’s page #811 if you’re using one of the Bibles we’ve provided for you on the floor under the chairs throughout the auditeria.
Now, if you worship here regularly, I encourage you to get in the habit of bringing your Bible with you so you can read for yourself
with your own eyes
from your own Bible
what’s being taught up here at the front.
If you’re here without a Bible of your own this morning, please feel free to use one of the copies we provide for you, and if you don’t have a version of the Bible at home that you can understand, we would love for you to take one of ours home with you, absolutely free. We would love for you to do that.
So, having said all that,
please open your Bible to Ephesians,
and be prepared to follow along with me
as you discover your infinite wealth,
your possessions in Christ Jesus,
if indeed you have experienced new life in Christ.
After a very typical greeting and blessing in verses one and two,
Paul begins his letter to the Christ-followers who lived in the city of Ephesus, by writing,
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. For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love he predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will-- to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves. In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace that he lavished on us with all wisdom and understanding. And he made known to us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure, which he purposed in Christ, to be put into effect when the times will have reached their fulfilment--to bring all things in heaven and on earth together under one head, even Christ. 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, in order that we, who were the first to hope in Christ, might be for the praise of his glory. 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, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession--to the praise of his glory (Ephesians 1:3-14, NIV).
Now, although it isn’t clear from the English translation, the Greek text of Ephesians 1:3-14 is made up of one very long, run-on sentence.
In other words, Paul started this sentence in verse 3 with the phrase: "Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ," then proceeds to tell us what God has done,
without a pause,
without a period,
without stopping to take a breath,
until the end of verse 14.
He just can’t stop talking,
it’s too exciting to talk about the riches we have,
our infinite wealth as followers of Christ,
the recipients of all that God has and gives
to ANYONE and EVERYONE who will respond to his love and submit to his will.
And that includes YOU. . .
if you have experienced new life in Christ,
if you are his follower, his disciple, his servant.
He says, in verse 3, that
the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ . . . has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ (Eph. 1:3, NIV).
Underline every.
God has given you every spiritual blessing;
you’re not missing or lacking a single ONE!
Listen to Paul describe your possessions, your wealth. The first:
1. I HAVE BEEN REDEEMED.
In Him we have redemption through His blood... (Ephesians 1:7).
There are three different Greek words which have been translated for the idea of "redemption" in the New Testament.
The first is Agorazo: "To purchase." When we think of making a purchase, we think of buying groceries or a car or a house or some other inanimate object. We don’t talk about purchasing people - that went out with slavery over a hundred years ago. But slavery was commonplace in Paul’s day. And you would commonly go into the marketplace - the Agora - to purchase a slave.
The second is Exagorazo: "To purchase out." This is the same word with a prefix placed in front of it meaning "out." The picture is that you go into the slave market and you purchase a slave and then you bring him OUT of the market.
The third word is the word used here. Lutro-o: "To release or set free." It takes the picture one step further as you bring the slave out of the slave market. . . and then set him free.
This is what Christ has done for you.
He came into this world of sin.
He paid the ultimate price for you - His own blood--
And he did it to set you free.
You “have redemption through His blood” (Ephesians 1:7).
And as a result of that, you have another possession, and it’s this:
2. I HAVE BEEN FORGIVEN.
In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins (Ephesians 1:7a, NIV).
The fact that we have been forgiven of our sins presupposes something.
A nun once asked one of her students, “What do we have to do before God forgives us?”
A little girl’s hand shot in the air, and when called on, she answered proudly, “Sin!”
She was right. The fact of our forgiveness presupposes our guilt.
That is the bad news. The bad news is that we are guilty. And we don’t just deserve a parking ticket. The proper and just wages of our sin is DEATH - eternal separation from God. The bad news is really bad.
But the corresponding good news is really good. It is that Christ took our blame and our guilt and our sin upon Himself.
He was the perfect and holy sacrifice for sin.
Forgiveness did not come cheap. It never does. Forgiveness always costs somebody something; our forgiveness cost God the life of His Son. The payment was made at the cross.
John Bunyan’s classic allegory, Pilgrim’s Progress,
contains a scene early in the story,
in which Christian, the main character,
who has set out on a journey
to find a way of escape
from the City of Destruction, where he lives,
and some way to get rid of the terrible burden
that he carries over his shoulder,
like a novice backpacker trying to carry a hundred pounds on his back.
And, in the language of the 16th century,
here’s how Bunyan describes this forgiveness
Paul is talking about in Ephesians 1:
He ran . . . till he came at a place somewhat ascending, and upon that place stood a Cross, and a little below, in the bottom, a Sepulchre. So . . . just as Christian came up with the Cross, his burden loosed from off his shoulders, and fell from off his back, and began to tumble, and so continued to do, till it came to the mouth of the Sepulchre, where it fell in, and I saw it no more.
Then was Christian glad and lightsome, and said with a merry heart, He hath given me Rest by his Sorrow, and Life by his Death. Then he stood still a while to look and wonder; for it was very surprising to him, that the sight of the Cross should thus ease him of his burden. He looked therefore, and looked again, even till the springs that were in his head sent the waters down his cheeks. . . . Then Christian gave three leaps for joy, and went on singing. . .
How rich you are! To “have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins” (Ephesians 1:7). And yet that’s not all. There’s more. You can say,
3. I HAVE BEEN GIVEN THE RICHES OF HIS GRACE.
Look at Ephesians 1:7 again:
In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace that he lavished on us with all wisdom and understanding (Ephesians 1:7-8, NIV).
Now, there’s some interesting wording here.
You see, God could have saved us OUT of the riches of His grace. But He didn’t. He did something better. Our salvation was "ACCORDING TO the riches of His grace."
In the 1930’s, millionaire John D. Rockefeller used to dress up in a suit and a top hat and have his picture taken giving some poor boy a dime. A dime was a lot of money in those days. It would be the equivalent of $10 today. But even so, the most that could be said of Rockefeller is that he was giving OUT of the abundance of his riches.
However, if he had gone to one of those boys and purchased for him a mansion in the country,
given him a trust fund, maybe a limousine,
then it could be said that he was giving ACCORDING TO his riches.
That is the way God has saved us. Not merely out of His riches. But according to His riches.
How rich is God?
How much does He possess?
An inexhaustible supply.
All of God’s attributes are of infinite measure.
So, if He has given to us according to the riches of His grace, then we are INFINITELY rich!
Dr. Stanley Livingston, the great explorer and missionary, had a medical condition that required him to drink goat’s milk every day.
He was visited one day by a tribal king and he noticed that the king was eyeing his goat. Livingston felt that God would want him to give the goat as a gift to the king. So he did. And, in return, the king presented him with the staff he was carrying.
Later that day, Livingston confided to a friend, "I don’t know what I was thinking. How could I have been so foolish as to give my goat away. I don’t know what I shall do with this stick."
His friend replied, "You don’t understand. That isn’t a stick. It is a scepter. You don’t own just one goat any more; you own all the goats in the tribe."
Guess what? You have been given a scepter; you are infinitely rich! And you have been walking around thinking it’s just a stick.
But even THAT’s not all he’s given you. Look at verses 8-10, where you’ll learn this:
4. I HAVE BEEN SHOWN THE MYSTERY OF HIS WILL
And he made known to us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure, which he purposed in Christ, to be put into effect when the times will have reached their fulfilment- to bring all things in heaven and on earth together under one head, even Christ (Ephesians 1:8-10, NIV).
God has a plan for the universe.
History is moving toward a goal.
We don’t have to guess at the plan or the goal.
It has been made known to us. Verse 9 says that "He made known to us the mystery of His will."
That wasn’t always the case. Throughout the Old Testament era, God spoke to the fathers through the prophets, but He did not tell them all that would come to pass. They were missing a key element of the puzzle. But that has changed for us. The key element has been revealed. It is JESUS.
In the time of the first Testament,
they knew there was a promise of a perfect seed who would come and destroy the works of Satan.
They knew of a great prophet who would come. They knew of their need for a lasting sacrifice.
They knew of God’s covenant promises.
And they knew of God’s kingdom.
But they did not know exactly how it would all work itself out in the plan of God. You do.
The answer to the mystery is Jesus.
He is the perfect seed of the woman.
His death overthrew the devil and his angels.
Through His blood we have entered into a greater and more perfect covenant.
He is the Prophet, Priest and King.
And we have entered into His kingdom through faith.
We have the whole story.
We have the beginning of the story in the Old Testament,
the middle of the story in the coming of Christ and in His death and His burial and resurrection,
and we even have the end of the story, for we have His promise that one day He will return.
It will be at that time - the fullness of the times - that we shall experience the summing up of all things in Christ (1:10). When Christ returns, the entire universe - things in the heavens and things upon the earth - will be brought into conformity with and into submission to his will and nature.
But we don’t have to wait for that. We have been called today to be both conformed and transformed into the image of Jesus Christ.
So, I have redemption,
the forgiveness of sins,
the riches of his grace,
the knowledge of the mystery of his will,
and one more thing I would point out to you . . .
5. I HAVE BEEN GUARANTEED AN INHERITANCE
Look at verses 11-14 with me:
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, in order that we, who were the first to hope in Christ, might be for the praise of his glory (Ephesians 1:11-12, NIV).
Now, don’t get hung up on that word “predestined.” It won’t do you any good to get hung up there, especially if it causes you to miss the point of what Paul’s saying. But let me just say that the reason people have argued about that word for centuries is because WE live in time; GOD does not.
What that means is,
that anytime we use a time-sensitive word--
predestined
foreknowledge
Post Toasties,
words like that--
we’re referring to our “time-bound” perspective. . .
But God transcends time,
so neither he nor the things he does
are limited by our “time-bound” perspective.
Now, that’s a pretty mind-boggling concept
for our finite little brains,
which is why I say, don’t get hung up on that word.
Instead, the point of these verses is
your -- rich -- inheritance.
Look at verses 13-14:
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, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession--to the praise of his glory (Ephesians 1:13b-14, NIV).
We don’t use seals much today. But they were commonplace throughout the ancient world.
The seal Paul’s talking about here was a stamp pressed into a soft surface like wax in order to leave a symbol or impression.
Seals served a variety of purposes. They were used on invoices to authenticate them and establish them as genuine. A seal ratified a covenant or contract and guaranteed payment or fulfillment.
The Holy Spirit has placed a SEAL on you,
identifying you as a genuine member of God’s kingdom,
marking you as a prized possession of God,
guarantee your inheritance of all God’s promises, all God’s wealth, all God’s goodness.
YOU stand to inherit . . . EVERYTHING!
In fact, you are not only infinitely wealthy,
you are eternally wealthy.
Nothing can destroy it.
No stock market dive can devalue it.
No recession can deflate it.
No one can defraud you of it.
You--if you are a Christ-follower--
are God’s possession, and everything God has
is yours.
WHO WANTS TO BE A MILLIONAIRE
when you can be THAT rich??!
“But I don’t feel like I’m rich, Bob.”
Yeah, I know . . .
Because not everyone who is wealthy
knows how to enjoy it.
So how do I enjoy my possessions?
How do I act upon my wealth?
Let’s see if I can answer that briefly. Here goes:
You enjoy your possessions in Christ
by giving them away,
by sharing them.
You see, God’s wealth cannot be hoarded;
it is enjoyed only when it is shared.
You will enjoy the riches of your redemption in Christ when you see tears of joy falling from the eyes of someone who’s just experienced “redemption through his blood” thanks to you!
You will enjoy the forgiveness of your sins as you forgive those who sin against you.
You will enjoy the riches of his grace that he lavished on you with all wisdom and understanding as you lavish God’s love and grace on others.
You will enjoy knowing the mystery of his will as you help others discover God’s will for their lives.
And you will enjoy your inheritance of all God’s promises, all God’s wealth, all God’s goodness, as you live your life “to the praise of his glory” (Ephesians 1:14, NIV).
Now, if you’re a seeker here this morning,
meaning you’re just not sure--
about God,
about Jesus,
maybe about many of the things we teach
here at Cobblestone--
I wanna first tell you
how glad I am that you’re here.
I hope Cobblestone will always be
a safe and attractive place for skeptics and seekers to hear and confront and weigh
the claims of Jesus Christ.
But I also wanna say,
that since I’ve been talking about the riches
God lavishes on those who follow his Son, Jesus,
I don’t want you to feel left out,
unless you choose to be.
Because EVERYTHING I’ve talked about here
this morning can be YOURS--for the asking!
You can simply pray a prayer like,
“God, here I am.
I think I’m ready.
I’m sorry for the wrong things I’ve done,
and I ask your forgiveness.
I invite you into my life,
to change me,
to control me,
to give me all the things Bob talked about this morning, in Jesus’ name, Amen.”
Now, if you’d like a little help with that, or
if anyone here would like someone to pray with you--for any reason--or offer guidance--of any kind--prayer counselors will be available at the two tables to the south of the auditeria as we conclude this celebration, and other prayer counselors will be available throughout the auditeria following this celebration, wearing bright green name tags so you can identify them easily. We do that to make it as easy as possible for anyone who needs
comfort or counsel,
guidance or prayer,
to find the help you need before you leave.
Please pray with me:
For this reason--because of all this--I ask, Father, that you, the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give each of these your people the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that they may know you better.
I pray also that the eyes of their hearts may be enlightened in order that they may know the hope to which you have called them, the riches of your glorious inheritance in the saints, and your incomparably great power for us who believe, a power like the working of your mighty strength, which you exerted in Christ when you raised him from the dead and seated him at your right hand in the heavenly realms, far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every title that can be given, not only in the present age but also in the one to come, and it is in his mighty name I pray, Amen.
