Thourougly Blessed Series

Ephesians Series #2

“Thoroughly Blessed”

REVIEW

This letter to the believing saints living in Ephesus is a foundational book. It focuses on the identity, privilege and responsibility of the Church.

Greetings

I. Our Wealth and Worth in Christ 1-3

II. Our Walk and Work with Christ 4-6

III. Our Warfare for Christ 6

Farewell

I. Our Wealth and Worth In Christ 1-4

A. Paul blessed God for blessing us with every spiritual blessing 1:3-14

After his brief introduction and greeting, Paul broke out into a three stanza doxology celebrating the significance of what it means to be "in Christ" and the wonder of the blessings freely conferred on those in Christ by God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Prison would not be the first place you would think to inspire such praise to God. Paul’s spirit rises above his immediate unpleasant circumstances to inspiring unparalleled praise to God. Paul encapsulates his symphony of praise with a grand opening declaration of blessing to God.

His symphony moves from awe filled praise to passionate petition until the closing equally grand doxology in chapter three.

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenlies in Christ!

Paul's opened his letter by "Blessing God who has blessed us!" God’s abundant blessing on our behalf is his motivation to passionately bless Him. God is the beginning and the end goal. God took the initiative to bless us so that we in turn would respond by blessing Him. God’s work in the lives of his “called out ones” will result in offerings of praise & glory to Him.

"Bless"

The basic meaning of “bless” means "to speak well of". Paul uses the same word to communicate both blessing from the greater to the lesser and the lesser to the greater.

My thoughts are all in the notes from last week so even though we didn’t cover everything you can read and meditate on it yourselves.

Today we will focus on some principles mined from this verse. There are no wasted words in this verse. It is packed full of information. I will use a question format to get at the basic facts.

 Who confers these blessings? “God blessed”

Paul identified the blesser as “the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.

It is none other than God Himself who blesses us. He is not only Jesus’ Father but ours as well.

The Almighty God, Creator of heaven and earth is the One having already blessed. It is a done deal. It is not future. It is not even ongoing in the present. (At least these particular blessings)

The irrevocable blessing has already occurred. He is to be “blessed” because He has already imparted grand blessing. The fact of the blessing is settled, the experience of it will play out through the ages. There are past, present and future elements to His blessing. We serve a God who delights to bless us.

"If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more shall your Father who is in heaven give what is good to those who ask Him! MAT 7:11

Every good thing bestowed and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation, or shifting shadow. JAM 1:17a

He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him over for us all, how will He not also with Him freely give us all things? Romans 8:32

 Who are the recipients of the blessing? “us”

Paul infers by the use of the word “us” that this blessing has already been imparted to all believers. This is not a special blessing for the “worthy” (for there is none). This is not a limited blessing for the successful or great. This is a blessing for all who put their trust in Jesus Christ.

When do we get this blessing? By implication, it comes at the moment of new birth. It comes with the package. It is reserved for all God’s children at the moment of their adoption or birth.

Just as Old Testament fathers would pass on a blessing to their children, our heavenly father has blessed us. The blessing included…

Physical touch

Verbal affirmation

Material Goods

Future confidence

Peter affirms that God’s blessing is our destiny and calling.

To sum up, all of you be harmonious, sympathetic, brotherly, kindhearted, and humble in spirit; not returning evil for evil or insult for insult, but giving a blessing instead; for you were called for the very purpose that you might inherit a blessing. 1 Peter 3:8-9

So then those who are of faith are blessed with Abraham, the believer. GAL 3:9

This word is not used in classical Greek literature. For example, Zeus is not said to have bestowed any specific act of blessing on anyone. Rather he is said to have caused good luck or good fortune. However, the verb eulogeō is used over 400 times in the Old Testament, indicating that God bestows benefits to His children in every Age.