DO YOU KNOW HOW RICH YOU ARE?
Ephesians 1:3-14
Ephesians 1:3-14
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.
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.
7 In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness
of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace
8 that he lavished on us with all wisdom and understanding.
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.
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.
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.
(NIV)
DO YOU KNOW HOW RICH YOU ARE?
Ephesians 1:3-14
Do You know your net worth? Your net worth is calculated by adding together all your
ASSETS and subtracting all your LIABILITIES!
How much would your net worth be? A couple of hundred bucks? You’d be surprised!
However, those calculations are really only a PARTIAL PICTURE!
Your real net worth is discovered “IN CHRIST”
Your Balance Sheet in the Bank of Heaven
1) You are BLESSED with EVERY BLESSING (vs. 3)
When Jesus Christ wrote His last will and testament for His Church, He made it possible for
us to share His Spiritual Riches. Instead of spending it all, Jesus paid it all! His death on
the cross and His resurrection make possible our salvation. He wrote us into His will, then
He died so that the will would be in force. Then He rose again that He Himself might
become the lawyer to make sure the terms of the will were correctly followed.
Some of the things Jesus has given us in His will:
a) we have redemption through his blood,(vs.7)
b) the forgiveness of sins, (vs.7)
c) wisdom and understanding (vs.8)
d) he made known to us the mystery of his will (vs. 9)
In fact, Paul told the Colossians in chapter 2, verse 10
“You have everything when you have Christ!” (TLB)
Since God has given you EVERY BLESSING, what do you lack? NOTHING!!!
2) You are in a FAVORED POSITION (vs 4 & 5)
You are CHOSEN & CHOICE!
God was thinking of you long before you ever thought of Him!
His purpose for your life predates your conception. Jeremiah 29:11-12 states:
“For 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 planned the purpose of your life before
you existed, without your imput! You may choose your career your spouse, your hobbies,
and many other parts of your life, but you do not get to choose your purpose!
And here it is! (vs 4) “You are CHOSEN to be HOLY & BLAMELESS”
What God wants to do is to use you as an example of what His love can do in a life! You can
never be holy & blameless without Him, only in Him!
(vs. 5) You’ve been ADOPTED, giving you all the rights of your INHERITANCE!
Adoption is NOT your entrance into God’s Family. You get into the Family of God by
REGENERATION -
John 3:3 - Jesus declared, "I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he
is born again." (NIV)
1 Pet 1:23 - For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable,
through the living and enduring word of God.
(NIV)
Adoption is an ACT of God by which He gives his Born again children an ADULT standing
in the family so that they might immediately receive an inheritance! In the Roman world, a
father had absolute power over his children as long as he lived. One was not considered a
adult until his father was dead. That’s why the Bible records certain men as “bar-joseph”,
meaning “the son of Joseph”, or “Bar-abbas”, meaning “the son of Abbas”. Under Roman
law, that child could not possess anything, and any inheritance willed to him was not his own
until his father died or until he was adopted. Often, in order for an adult child to be
considered a man, an adoption ceremony would take place to transfer the adult child to adult
status in the community. In the ceremony of adoption, a symbolic sale took place in which
copper and scales were used. Twice the real father sold his son and twice he bought him
back. The third time the father sold the son he did not buy him back. In this way the son
was now free. In the eyes of the law he was a new person. ALL DEBTS & OBLIGATIONS
CONNECTED WITH HIS PREVIOUS FAMILY WERE ABOLISHED AS IF THEY HAD
NEVER EXISTED!
2 Cor 5:17
“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has
come!”
(NIV)
3) Your life has PURPOSE in Christ (vs 12). “that we might be for the PRAISE of
his GLORY”.
You are not an accident! Your birth was no mistake or mishap! Your parents may not have
planned you, but God did! He was not surprised at all by your birth. In fact, He expected it!
It is not by fate, nor chance, nor luck, nor coincidence that you are breathing at this moment.
God never does things accidentally or haphazardly
The purpose of your life fits into a much larger purpose that God has designed for eternity.
The day-to-day challenges we face will cause us to lose sight of of our purpose, BUT GOD
DOES NOT!!!
“You are who you are for a reason.
You’re part of an intricate plan.
You’re a precious and perfect unique design,
Call God’s special woman or man.
You look like you look for a reason.
Our God made no mistake.
He knit you together within the womb,
You’re just what He wanted to make!
The parents you had were the ones that He chose,
And no matter how you may feel,
They were custom-designed with God’s plan in mind,
And they bear the Master’s seal.
No, the trama you faced was not easy.
And God wept that it hurt you so;
But it was allowed to shape your heart
So that into His likeness you’d grow.
You are who you are for a reason,
You’ve been formed by the Master’s rod.
You are who you are, beloved,
Because there is really a GOD!”
You and I are to be for the praise of His glory!
4) You have God’s GUARANTEE - the Holy Spirit! (vs. 13-14)
Indicates - a FINISHED TRANSACTION Like a notary seal on an official document
verifies the truth of the document, that the action spoken of in the document really happened,
so the Holy Spirit “testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children.” (Romans 8:16)
The Holy Spirit in your life indicates - OWNERSHIP . It is not so important who you are or
that you have enough degrees after your name that you are running a fever. What is
important is WHOSE YOU ARE!!!
The Holy Spirit in your life also indicates AUTHENTICITY. Just as a signature on a letter
attests to the genuineness of the document, so the presence of the Holy Spirit in your life
proves that you are the real thing! It is not our religious activity or our good works that make
us a Christian, but God actually places His Holy Spirit with in you to prove “your body is a
temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not
your own; you were bought at a price.” (I Cor. 6:19,20)
Since you have all these assests in your account, what are the liabilities? The liabilities to
your account are ZERO!
All this and Heaven too!
Hetty Green could be called “America’s Greatest Miser”. She ate cold oatmeal because it
cost to heat it. Her son had to have his leg amputated because she delayed so long looking
for a free clinic that his case became incurable. She died of an anyeurism which occured
while she was arguing over the value of drinking skimmed milk. Yet when she died in 1916,
Hetty Green left an estate valued at over $100 million! She had plenty but lived as if she
didn’t have any!
How about you? Having all this, how will you live your life? Will you live it as one who is
bankrupt or as a blood bought, born again child of the living God who “has everything he
needs for life and godliness?”
