The Predestined Church: A Study Of Ephesians 1:3-14

The Predestined Church

Ephesians 1:3–14 NKJV

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love, having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He made us accepted in the Beloved.

In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace which He made to abound toward us in all wisdom and prudence, having made known to us the mystery of His will, according to His good pleasure which He purposed in Himself, that in the dispensation of the fullness of the times He might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven and which are on earth—in Him. In Him also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestined according to the purpose of Him who works all things according to the counsel of His will, that we who first trusted in Christ should be to the praise of His glory.

In Him you also trusted, after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation; in whom also, having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, to the praise of His glory.

We pick up this morning with the study of Ephesians which we started last week. Today, we will look at Ephesians 1:3-14 which sets the theological foundation for Ephesians. Martyn Lloyd-Jones reminds us that Ephesians begins with chapter 1 and not chapter 4 which is considered to be the practical application of Ephesians. It is as if some think that the first three chapters, though interesting, aren’t as important as just knowing what we should or should not do. Americans, in particular, have this pragmatic tendency. They just want to get to the point of the matter. Theology is hard labor as it requires us to think. But let us look at an example from athletics. People do not become professional athletes simply because they have God-given athletic abilities. They need to be trained how to use and develop these skills. In fact, there are some athletes who did not have the depth of natural abilities who achieved greatness in sports through hard discipline and hours of repetition. We also know of those who had great abilities who flopped because they did not practice.

The brain is the biggest muscle in the body. It has enormous capacity. Even the wisest person only uses a small percentage of one’s mental ability which tells us that we were created for a much higher purpose. This brain must be exercised to bring out its power. However, there is a tendency to be lazy and use just enough of one’s brain to get by. One will never become great with this attitude. And our great God has made us to reflect His glory and to be great in Him. So, let us realize that the study of the first three chapters of Ephesians is essential for proper development of our spiritual brain.

After Paul introduces himself to the Ephesians as can apostle called by the will of God. He is writing to the “saints” in Ephesus. The word “saint” means a person who has been set apart, in other words, “called.” This is the writing of a called apostle to a called church.

Paul begins the body of the letter in verse three in which he acknowledges the blessedness of God. We cannot properly “bless” God as He is blessed in His nature. The best we can do is to recognize His blessedness. The one who is blessed is God and the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. This means that we understand God the Father in relation to His Son. We cannot know the Father except through and by the Son. Then Paul reminds us that it is this God who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ. This tells us that this blessing is uniquely Christian. He is not referring to carnal blessings like food, raiment, shelter, or earthly riches here. This does not mean that God cannot or does not bless by carnal means. What is does mean is that the heavenly blessing in Christ is far superior to these other things. This blessing is heavenly; it is spiritual, and it is in Christ alone. We should also notice the word “us.” This blessing is not for everyone. It is for the Christian church alone.