The Position of Believers
Ephesians 1:1-10
Hetty Green was once known as America’s greatest miser. She ate cold oatmeal to save the cost of heating water. When her son injured his leg, Hetty took so long looking for a clinic to treat him for free that his leg had to be amputated because of severe infection. When she died, she left an estate valued at $100 million dollars.
Over the next 21 weeks with the exception of a Christmas message, we are going to be looking at the Book of Ephesians and how it relates to the life of Believers. Christians are in danger of living their life like Hetty Green, suffering from spiritual malnutrition because they have not accessed the great resources available as believers in Jesus Christ.
To maximize the full extent of this study, you will need to get a journal which has sermon notes, daily devotions and community group discussions. You also need to get involved in one of the several community groups so you don’t live a miserly life like Hetty but fully involve yourself in all Christ has at your disposal as we open the Believers Bank, the Book of Ephesians.
Paul begins the first two verses speaking of his position, 1This letter is from Paul, chosen by God to be an apostle of Christ Jesus. It is written to God’s holy people in Ephesus, who are faithful followers of Christ Jesus.
We know Paul is an apostle chosen by Jesus, writing to the Christians in Ephesus and by way of the Scripture, relaying information on to us which will be helpful in our life journey.
There are several key points we need to grasp in the opening verses of this book if we intend to fully live the Christian life.
1. We are Blessed. Paul said in verse 3 How we praise God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms because we belong to Christ.
We have been blessed with what? (Every spiritual blessing) Say that with me Every Spiritual Blessing Who wants a spiritual blessing? The Bible says believers have already been blessed with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realm. It is not a matter if you will be blessed, you already are, what you need to be asking is how to I access the blessings I have already been blessed with. That’s why you need to know God’s word.
A man, lost in the desert, dehydrated, in need of water stumbled upon an old shack where he found a rusty pump. Taking the handle, he pumped away but no water came. He saw a bottle on the ground with a note that read, “You have to prime the pump with all the water in this jug, my friend. P.S. Be sure to fill the jug again before you leave.”
He opened the bottle and now faced a decision. He needed the water to survive but the note said he needed to prime the pump with all the water to get the pump to work. He decided to prime the pump and when he did, a little water began to come out, then more, and more until he had a stream flowing from the spout.
It is time to prime the pump of blessings, they are down in the well just waiting to spring up, are you ready? You just need to remember when the blessings come…
2. We are blessed by God.
James said in James 1:17, reading from the Amplified version, 17Every good gift and every perfect (free, large, full) gift is from above; it comes down from the Father of all [that gives] light, in [the shining of] Whom there can be no variation [rising or setting] or shadow cast by His turning [as in an eclipse].
A bum was looking for a handout stopping at a pub with the name Inn of St. George and the Dragon. A lady answered the knock on the door to which the bum asked, “Please, ma’am, could you spare me a bite to eat?”
“A bite to eat?” she growled, “For a sorry, no-good bum—a foul smelling beggar? No!” she snapped almost slamming the door on his hand.
Walking away, he looked up and saw the name of the pub, St. George and the dragon to which he went back and knocked again. She opened the door and snarled, “Now what do you want?” To which he replied, “I was wondering if I could speak to St. George this time?”
If you have ever felt like you have knocked on the door and the dragon answered, it is time to realize as a believer, you have been blessed with all spiritual blessings, not by St George but by God. How does it work, my third point…
3. All Blessings come through Jesus Christ.
You have to be a believer in Jesus Christ to open the windows of heaven. It is through Christ blessings flow. Romans 8:16-17 16For his Holy Spirit speaks to us deep in our hearts and tells us that we are God’s children. 17And since we are his children, we will share his treasures--for everything God gives to his Son, Christ, is ours, too. But if we are to share his glory, we must also share his suffering.
How does this take place…
4. Blessings come through adoption.
5His unchanging plan has always been to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. And this gave him great pleasure.
6So we praise God for the wonderful kindness he has poured out on us because we belong to his dearly loved Son. 7He is so rich in kindness that he purchased our freedom through the blood of his Son, and our sins are forgiven. 8He has showered his kindness on us, along with all wisdom and understanding.
The Bible states For God so loved the world that he have his Son to die for all who would believe. Before the foundations of the earth, God had a plan to restore what he knew to be fallen mankind, to put us on a right footing. God knew Adam and Eve would fall in the Garden, God knows the struggles you have to live a sin free life, that you will struggle, and because He knows, He made a plan, a plan which included the Cross and His Son Jesus, so you would not have to pay the rightful penalty for your wrong which is death, separation of God. God loves us so much he does not want to send us away but desires to draw us in. He started the first adoption center and waits for us to decide we want to go home with Him.
I understand the concept of adoption, and perhaps some of you do as well. My father is not my biological father, he chose, when he married my mother, to take me in and for the almost 50 years they have been together, he has treated me as his son. He is my father.
Paul said in Romans 8:15 15For you have not received a spirit of slavery leading to fear again, but you have received a spirit of adoption as sons by which we cry out, "Abba! Father!" Eugene Peterson put it this way in the Message, 15This resurrection life you received from God is not a timid, grave-tending life. It’s adventurously expectant, greeting God with a childlike "What’s next, Papa?"
Everything God has I have through adoption, as a joint heir of the Kingdom.
5. Blessings are for the Redeemed
Ephesians states God has showered us with His kindness. God has made a way in the desert, he has provided us the water of the Holy Spirit to prime the pump of our soul so we can receive the blessings He has for those whom call Christ their own.
William McComb said: Chief of sinners though I be, Jesus shed His blood for me; Died that I might live on high, Lives that I may never die.
We read of God in Micah 7:18-19 where is says of Him, 18Where is another God like you, who pardons the sins of the survivors among his people? You cannot stay angry with your people forever, because you delight in showing mercy. 19Once again you will have compassion on us. You will trample our sins under your feet and throw them into the depths of the ocean!
Salvation is the greatest blessing anyone can receive, saved from sin set free to heaven. It is but one of a myriad of blessings available for those who believe.
6. The reason for blessings
9God’s secret plan has now been revealed to us; it is a plan centered on Christ, designed long ago according to his good pleasure. 10And this is his plan: At the right time he will bring everything together under the authority of Christ--everything in heaven and on earth.
We are blessed by God so that we can work in His plan to bring others to the understanding of his grace so together we come to Him under the authority of Jesus Christ.
So the question becomes, are you a believer? If not, today is the day of salvation, call upon the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved.
If you are a believer, are you living in the position made for believers? Are you blessed beyond measure, and if you, why not.
I want us to take a moment to search our souls, to look into our heart and see where we stand in relationship to Christ, and then to make a decision how we will live.
Closing prayer
Opportunity to made a decision for salvation
Opportunity to seek the Holy Spirit’s guidance to pursue the position Christ has made available to us.
