Ephesians: Rich With Blessings

Ephesians 1:3–14

Main Idea: Paul praises God for His sovereign grace in salvation, which believers enjoy through Christ.

Paul starts off in verse 3 with a general topic sentence and then widens out with phrase after phrase to touch on various redemptive themes without even stopping for a period!

In Greek this is one long (202 words), complex, and glorious sentence that oozes with God-centered worship.

From vs three to fourteen it is one continuous thought.

He starts off with giving God praise for all that He has given to us in Christ and then for the next ten verses, he describes our blessings and how each part of the trinity played an important role in our salvation.

By way of introduction this morning I want to look at the praise that Paul gives to God in verse 3, then we will look at the blessing from the Father as we start a two part look at Rich with Blessings

The Direction of Praise

This passage is so important. Why

because we were made for praise.

we must have the right object for the praise or worship

Look around and you will find expressions of praise:

teenage girls screaming at boy band concerts;

sports fans exalting the virtues of their team, paying big money for tickets, and adjusting their schedules for the games;

dads getting fired up about going to The Home Depot to work on a new project;

adulterers praising their mistresses; consumers praising their favorite stores; television viewers praising their favorite new series; and coffee drinkers commending their favorite coffee shop.

Humanity has never had a problem expressing praise.

In regard to functional idols, we like to take good things in creation (treasure, food, work, relationships) and substitute them for the Creator and Redeemer, turning those good things into god things, thereby committing idolatry.

This is no small matter. Paul says in Romans 1:21 that this failure to worship God is at the heart of sin.

Romans 1:21 KJV 1900

Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened.

Any sin problem is fundamentally a worship problem.

Idolatry can also happen as people have the wrong view of God.

God has revealed Himself in His Word, and worship is a response to that revelation.

We are not to worship the God of our imaginations but the God of the Bible.

We are required to believe that what the Bible says is true, not that what we want the Bible to say is true.

In Ephesus the people had numerous objects of worship, from Diana to the emperor.

The question then (and today) is not, Do I worship?

The question is, Whom do I worship?

Whom do you worship?

We should praise the triune God. We should praise Him for who He is and what He has done.

The Expression of Praise

Unfortunately this passage has generated a lot of debate because it mentions the concepts of election and predestination.

While this discussion in itself is not a bad thing, I think we can miss the spirit of this text.

The spirit is one of worship.

Let us look at the big picture of the passage for a moment.

A note of praise is struck in verse 3, and the sentence ends in verse 14 with praise. Paul begins with an outburst of praise to God in a typical Old Testament, Jewish style of extended eulogy (berakah).

Why bless God?

He says, because God “has blessed us with all spiritual blessing in heavenly places in Christ.”

The phrase “every spiritual blessing” shows the wide-ranging scope of God’s blessing to His people.

In the following verses Paul mentions blessing after blessing.

Verse 14 rounds out the sentence appropriately: “unto the praise of His glory.”

Notice how 11 times the phrase that our spiritual blessings are in Christ appears.

The great salvation God has provided is centered in the person and work of Jesus Christ.

Only through our union with Christ do we have these spiritual blessings.

He is to be exalted by believers.

We do not deserve these blessings of salvation; we did not earn salvation.

Paul speaks of “glorious grace” (v. 6) and “the riches of His grace that He has abounded toward us (vv. 7–8).

Those who have received these riches should praise the Giver.

We join Moses in praise: “From eternity to eternity, You are God” (Ps 90:2

Psalm 90:2 KJV 1900

Before the mountains were brought forth, Or ever thou hadst formed the earth and the world, Even from everlasting to everlasting, thou art God.

The Nation(s) of Praise

note who should share in this praise:

both Jews and Gentile.

Following these words of praise, Paul stresses that these blessings already described in verses 3–10 are for both Jewish and Gentile believers (vv. 11–14).

In verses 4–14 the same people are in view (O’Brien, Ephesians, 92).

In almost every verse Paul speaks of “us” or “we” to refer to the people of God.

They are for you if you are in Christ!

This passage, then—all of it written from prison—is about praising the Triune God.

Regardless of your circumstances, God is worthy of praise.

So the first part of the Blessing we want to look at this morning, is the blessings from the Father.

I. Blessings From The Father

EPHESIANS 1:4–6

This amazing passage highlights God’s gracious blessings towards sinners that come to Him in faith.

Now to some Baptist these verses can cause ringing of the hands or I have seen it cause division. My goal this morning is not to confuse you or get in some debate about Calvinism or Arminisim, I reject both of these beliefs. They both have some truth, but they are both filled with errors. My Goal this morning is to preach thus saith the Lord.

As you read these verses, you can not help but see the amazing sovereignty of God.

He chose us and foreknew who we were before the foundations of the world.

He predestinated us to be adopted children of God.

What amazing sovereignty.

God chose a people for Himself, and that people is made up of born again, believing, redeemed, forgiven sinners.

The first thing we see about the blessings from the Father is

A. The Blessing of Selection

v.4

Paul says that God “chose us” (v. 4) and that He “predestined us” (v. 5).

These words concern some people, making them tense up, but they should not.

These are Bible words.

These words should inspire awe and worship.

The idea of God choosing a people to display His glory is not new.

The Bible is a book of election.

God chose to create the world for His glory.

God chose Abraham to bring blessing to the nations (Gen 12:1–3).

God chose the nation of Israel that they might be a light to the nations (Deut 7:6–8; 14:2; Isa 42:6–8).

, Jesus chose His 12 disciples to bear fruit and multiply (John 15:16).

Paul adds that God chose “the base things of the world… that no flesh can glory in His presence” (1 Cor 1:28–29).

In Ephesians, as in other NT texts (cf. Rom 9–11; Acts 13:48; Titus 1:1; 1 Pet 1:1; 2 Pet 1:10), we read that God chose those individuals that come to Him for salvation.

These believers, both Jew and Gentile, make up the church.

Now lets be clear, man must make a conscious decision when it comes to salvation.

While God is fully sovereign when it comes to salvation, man has a free will to accept Christ or reject Him. John 7:37

John 7:37 KJV 1900

In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink.

John 10:9 KJV 1900

I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture.

Man must repent of his sins, which is necessary to show an understanding of ones need of salvation. Acts 17:30

Acts 17:30 KJV 1900

And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men every where to repent:

All who the Father calls to Himself will come in faith, and all who come in faith the Father will receive. John 6:44

John 6:44 KJV 1900

No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day.

There is an impenetrable mystery between the compatibility of God’s sovereignty and man’s free will.

Deuteronomy 29:29 KJV 1900

The secret things belong unto the Lord our God: but those things which are revealed belong unto us and to our children for ever, that we may do all the words of this law.

When attempting to understand God’s sovereignty and the free will of man, we are trying to compare the actions of an infinite God with the way He relates to finite man.

I am not sure there is a direct way of understanding this relationship that does not end in mystery.

God is truly sovereign and his ways are perfect and just.

THANK GOD HE SELECTED ME. HE FOUND ME AND SAVED ME. HE PULLED ME UP OUT OF CLAY. ALL I HAD TO DO IS REACH OUT.

The first thing we see about this selection is...

a. The Place of Our Selection

before the foundations of the World

God knew before the foundations of the world that you and I would come to Him in faith.

This means before God created the first ray of light or molecule of water God knew who His children would be.

This does not in any way give evidence to those that believe God ordined some to eternal salvation and others to eternal Hell.

God does not send anyone to Hell. The only one hell was made for is Satan and his angels

God knew before the foundations of the world that you and I that have been saved, would call out to Him in repentance and when we did He would recieve us not because of who we are but because of what His Son did for man kind.

So there was a place of our selection.

Next we see...

b. The Purpose of Our Selection

we should be holy and without blame before Him in love

Why did God select us?

So you and I would be holy and without blame

God’s purpose is to bring us into conformity to Jesus (Rom 8:29–30

Romans 8:29–30 KJV 1900

For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren. Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified.

Only in Christ are we holy positionally.

We can stand before God because of Christ.

In Christ our sin is removed, and His righteousness is given to us.

God sees us holy as His Son is holy if we are in Him.

We that are saved have that status.

It is mind-boggling!

Now we have the responsibility of pursuing holiness practically.

Ephesians chapters 4–6 will teach us all about that.

So praise Him this morning that He selected you from the foundations of the world To be holy.

The second blessing we see from the father is....

B. The Blessing of Adoption

v.5

Born again believers are part of the family of God.

What a privilege, What a blessing to know God as Father!

a. The Security of Our Adoption

What does it mean to be adopted?

It means to have all the same rights and privileges that belong to the Father’s own begotten children.

The word “adoption” is a compound word meaning “to place a son.”

Paul uses the word for “adoption” only five times in the New Testament, each time to those familiar with the Roman context of adoption (Rom 8:15, 23; 9:4; Gal 4:5; Eph 1:5).

Romans were familiar with adoptions.

Perhaps the most famous was Julius Caesar’s adoption of Octavian,

can you imagine being adopted by a Roman ruler.

if you were his only child, you were next in line for the throne.

Paul says, “That’s nothing compared with being adopted by the glorious Father!”

Did you know that a teen can get emancipated from there parents with a simple signature of both parents. When I join the usaf I was 17. In order for me to sign the paperwork, my parents had to both sign saying I was making this decision. In the eyes of the military I was emancipated from my parents.

Now let’s say u adopt a child and that child becomes to much to handle, you can’t just go and return them. to reverse an adoption it is extremely difficult and requires a judges approval.

hey, we were emancipated from our father the devil not by his signature but by the signature of Christ that was signed in His own blood.

We have now been adopted into the family of God and the only person that can release us is the Judge and He dont release those that come to Him in faith through His Son.

You and I that are saved are sealed unto the day of judgement.

So, we see the security of our Adoption

Next we see…

b. The Scope of Our Adoption

If we are God’s children, then we are here on purpose.

Paul tells us the “why” of adoption.

“according to the good pleasure of His will” (v. 5).

This means, the reason for God’s choice, for His foreordaining us to be His children, is not to be found in us but in His own goodness and in the deliberate resolve of His own mind.

The Greek word for “good pleasure,” found three times in the Gospels (Matt. 11:26; Luke 2:14; 10:21), six times in the writings of Paul (Rom. 10:1; Eph. 1:5, 9; Phil. 1:15; 2:13; 2 Thess. 1:11), and nowhere else in the New Testament, suggests a gracious purpose or resolve.

Salmond says that when Paul uses it of God, it is “a term of grace, expressing good pleasure as kind intent, gracious will” (p. 252).

Here it directs attention to the fact that God’s election is an act of His own pure goodness, of His own benevolent sovereignty.

What He did, He did solely because it seemed right and good for Him to do it.

Praise His holy name that we have been adopted and no one can void that adoption and praise Him for He did it because He wanted to.

So we have seen the blessing of selection and adoption.

The final blessing from the Father that we want to see this morning is…

C. The Blessing of Compassion

v.6

a. The Praise for His Compassion

“To the praise of the glory of His Grace”

We have been shown grace by the creator of all and the sustainer of all.

He would have been just to leave us in our sin and die and go to Hell

But He didnt, we have been given something so grand that it deserves our praise.

b. The Preciousness of His Compassion

“wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved”

How precious is his compassion?

Before the foundations of the world He knew we would be saved and He planned before the foundations of the world that He would send His Son to be the ultimate sacrifice for mans sins.

Before the foundations of the world He had already determined that His grace would come to those that accept it. Before the foundations of the world He loved us.

and because of all this, we have been accepted in the beloved.

That is how precious His compassion is.

Have you ever been a recipient of this wonderful compassion?

If not, you can be.

Conclusion

Paul starts out this set of verses praising God for all spiritual blessings and he ends in v.14 praising God for who he is.

Just like Paul we to need to praise Him for all that we have in Christ.

We have been selected, adopted and His compassion has been displayed towards us all because God wanted to.

Thank God from whom all blessing flow.

If you are here today and have never been born again, you cannot praise God for all spiritual blessings, because you are not in Christ, but you can change that this very day.

The Bible tells us if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God hath raised Him from the dead. It tells us, thou shalt be saved.

Confess, believe and receive. Its that simple.

Come this morning and become a child of God.