Advent: Joyful Expectation | Week 3 - Love (Ephesians 1:3-14)

GOD’S RICH BLESSINGS

3 Blessed is the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavens in Christ.

4 For he chose us in him, before the foundation of the world, to be holy and blameless in love before him.

5 He predestined us to be adopted as sons through Jesus Christ for himself, according to the good pleasure of his will,

6 to the praise of his glorious grace that he lavished on us in the Beloved One.

7 In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace

8 that he richly poured out on us with all wisdom and understanding.

9 He made known to us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure that he purposed in Christ

10 as a plan for the right time ​— ​to bring everything together in Christ, both things in heaven and things on earth in him.

11 In him we have also received an inheritance, because we were predestined according to the plan of the one who works out everything in agreement with the purpose of his will,

12 so that we who had already put our hope in Christ might bring praise to his glory.

13 In him you also were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and when you believed.

14 The Holy Spirit is the down payment of our inheritance, until the redemption of the possession, to the praise of his glory.

Ephesians 1:3-14 (CSB)

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Opening Prayer

Opening Illustration: Annie

The story is told of the freckle-faced, red-headed orphan who desires to be adopted into a family

...

v.3. 3 Blessed is the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavens in Christ.

Blessed is the God: He is the source of blessing. Blessing ascribed to God speaks to his worthiness of praise and adoration.

The Blessing Giver is always blessed

16 Don’t be deceived, my dear brothers and sisters. 17 Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, who does not change like shifting shadows. 18 By his own choice, he gave us birth by the word of truth so that we would be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures. -- James 1:16-18 (CSB)

where else would blessing come from if not from above?

Do you know where your blessing comes from?

“yeah, I put in the work and grind and hustle and I got it out the mud”

Ok. It’s nice that you have good work ethic, but a lot of people work hard.

When blessing is not returned to God, we’ve either ignored or forgotten where it’s from.

No— real blessing is from God the Father.

...blessed us… (past tense)

your season of blessing isn’t coming— it already came.

You have been blessed and you are blessed right now.

...every spiritual blessing...

not just some for you and some for me—but EVERY spiritual blessing in the “heavens”

the nature of true blessing is not something earthly but heavenly.

Genesis 12:1-3 “Now the Lord said to Abram, “Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you. And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.””

- “all the families of the earth will be blessed” through Abraham’s seed who is Christ

Galatians 3:16 “Now the promises were made to Abraham and to his offspring. It does not say, “And to offsprings,” referring to many, but referring to one, “And to your offspring,” who is Christ.”

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v.4. 4 For he chose us in him, before the foundation of the world, to be holy and blameless in love before him.

he chose us: God is the initiator of relationship.

He creates.

He chooses.

“We love because he first loved us” (1 John 4:19)

He chastines.

He convicts.

He conforms.

in him: This means that everything that Jesus did was planned. Everything that happened was a part of God’s sovereign plan to reveal himself through the person and work of Jesus Christ.

before: when? before you did anything, the choice was made.

this is consistent with Paul’s theology of salvation by grace through faith.

in fact “our faith” is what makes us the spiritual offspring of Abraham.

Salvation is not a merit-based scholarship to be determined by your ability to work hard and earn good grades in the school of life.

the thing about a merit-based scholarship is you work to earn it. But not only that, once you earn it, you must work to keep it; otherwise, you lose it.

This is not a random choice but an intentional one. It isn’t a lottery pick based on random chance, it’s a literal decision based on God’s good pleasure and sovereign will.

in love: What was the motivation for blessing us in this way?

LOVE

1 John 3:1 “See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are...”

God’s love is unlike our love.

Our love is often conditional—based on the worthiness of the individual.

We like to qualify who gets our love, based on their ability to earn it and keep it.

We trivialize and diminish the word love all the time:

“I love bacon”

“I love Chick-Fil-A”

“I love your hair”

“I love the Orlando Magic” …wait—do people say that?

Love is one of the most misunderstood and misused words in the modern english language. We take this word for granted because don’t really know what it means.

Q: How many of the parents in the room made your children certain things before they were deemed worthy to receive your love?

“that’s why this before is so significant”

What we need is to understand God’s love

First mention of love: Genesis 22:1-3 “After these things God tested Abraham and said to him, “Abraham!” And he said, “Here I am.” He said, “Take your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I shall tell you.” So Abraham rose early in the morning, saddled his donkey, and took two of his young men with him, and his son Isaac. And he cut the wood for the burnt offering and arose and went to the place of which God had told him.”

Context of “love”: in the context of a father who loves his son and is willing to sacrifice him and a son who is willing to submit to his father’s will to sacrifice him.

Isaac doesn’t fight back to save his life.

He surrenders himself to laying down his life.

As Abraham is about to go through with the sacrifice, God stops him.

Love motivated father Abraham

Love motivated God the Father

“Love is a choice. It is accompanied by emotion. It leads to action on behalf of its object.” ~Voddie Baucham

v.5. 5 He predestined us to be adopted as sons through Jesus Christ for himself, according to the good pleasure of his will,

v.6. 6 to the praise of his glorious grace that he lavished on us in the Beloved One.

Blessing is reserved for the Beloved One and lavished on the Beloved Ones.

love isn’t merely declared it’s displ

v.7. 7 In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace

v.8. 8 that he richly poured out on us with all wisdom and understanding.

v.9. 9 He made known to us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure that he purposed in Christ

v.10. 10 as a plan for the right time ​— ​to bring everything together in Christ, both things in heaven and things on earth in him.

v.11. 11 In him we have also received an inheritance, because we were predestined according to the plan of the one who works out everything in agreement with the purpose of his will,

v.12. 12 so that we who had already put our hope in Christ might bring praise to his glory.

v.13. 13 In him you also were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and when you believed.

v.14. 14 The Holy Spirit is the down payment of our inheritance, until the redemption of the possession, to the praise of his glory.

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Paul has a reason to celebrate: Blessings received lead to blessings returned

Don’t block the blessing and don’t be a blessing blocker

give to him what he rightly deserves!

1 Ascribe to the Lord, you heavenly beings, ascribe to the Lord glory and strength. 2 Ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name; worship the Lord in the splendor of his holiness. -- Psalms 29:1-2 (CSB)

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Christmas is about the initiative God takes to demonstrate his love through the willingness of God the Son to become like we are, so that we might become like he is. It is about God making him who knew no sin to be sin for us so that in him we can become the righteousness of God.

Before you get caught up in the hustle of the season.

Before you open the gifts around the tree.

Remember—Christmas is about LOVE. God’s Love.

Let’s Pray.

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