Riches in Christ (CCS)

Introduction:

Context: This letter was written by the Apostle Paul around AD 61, during his Roman imprisonment

**Most epistles were written to address a problem within a church

**However this letter was written to explain themes and doctrine of the Christian faith

**In the first three chapters, Paul is reminding us of what Christ has already done for us

**Paul is building up and encouraging the believer for a life of servanthood

‌It’s been said, “Before you can do anything for God, you must know what He has done for you”.

‌In chapter one Paul is unpacking all that we have in Christ.

My prayer for us, is that we will be reminded of the love of God which will helps us to walk in victory

(V1-2) Who is Paul?

An apostle by the will of God

To the saints / the faithful in Christ

Grace and peace from God

1.1 (V3-8) Praise for every spiritual blessing

(Spiritual Blessings)

1A) Chosen / Before the foundation of the world

He knows everything about us, yet He still chose us

If I was picking a team of football players and I knew that in the game, this player would drop five passes and fumble the ball twice, I wouldn’t pick him for my team.

Yet, God knew every mistake we would ever make and He still chose us

1B) Chosen to be holy and without blame

In context, Ephesus was filled with all types of sin, such as, pagan worship and temple prostitution

Many of the Ephesians came from that back-round

Paul reminding them not to go back, but to live lives that are Holy and set apart

Romans 12:2 “And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.”

1C) Adopted

In Roman law, when the adoption was complete, the adoptee had full rights to the new family as a legitimate son

According to Barclay, in the eyes of the law he was new person and any debt connected to the previous family was canceled as if it never existed

1D) Accepted

1E) Redemption through His blood

We have been purchased by the death of Christ

Eph 2:1 “And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins,”

Set free, that we shall not return to the bondage of sin

1F) Forgiveness of sins (Through His death)

The enemy wants to remind us of our sin that has been forgiven

Psalm 103:12 “As far as the east is from the west, So far has He removed our transgressions from us.”

Isaiah 43:25 ““ I, am He who blots out your transgressions for My own sake; And I will not remember your sins.”

1G) All of this according to the richness of His grace

Unlike our bank account His grace will not run out

1.1 (V9-10) Made known the mystery of His will

A) Gather together all things in Christ in heaven and on earth

Paul reveals in 2:14-18 that Christ broke down the wall of separation between Jew and Gentile

Two people groups that once stood divided, now one in Christ

1.2 (V11) Inheritance

Confident hope in the promise of eternal life

No more suffering

2) (V12-13) Trust in Christ

A) For salvation

We can all think back to that life changing moment

I came to Christ as I was, with a mustard seed of faith

We all have different stories of how we came to Christ, but the one thing we have in common is that we trusted in Him

B) Continued trust

Why?

We all deal with trials that require us to continue to trust in Christ

**The Lord has given me an opportunity to practice what I preach

About a year ago, I was dealing with issues with my vision that I couldn’t really describe.

One morning I woke up partially blind in my left eye.

The doctors tell me that it’s progressive in both my eyes

Currently the doctors are prescribing heavy medication to stop any further vision loss, but so far it hasn’t had the effect the doctors were looking for

Proverbs 3:5-6 “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths.”

Each day I choose to trust in Christ and not lean on my own understanding

Focusing His goodness and remembering the past victories helps to move through times of uncertainty

Many of us have dealt with or are dealing with situations that require us to continue to trust, even when we don’t understand

2.1 (V13) Having believed you were sealed with the Holy Spirit

The moment you believe you are sealed and the Spirit baptizes the believer into the body of Christ

John 16:7 It’s better that I go away and I leave you with the Holy Spirit

A) The Holy Spirit is our helper, comforter, He is our power, our teacher, and He sanctifies us

3. (V15-23) Prayer

A)(V15) True faith requires us to love one another

In his commentary, David Guzik said this, Paul gave thanks not for their love for God, but for their love for all the saints.

The real evidence of God’s work in us is not the love we claim to have for Him, but our love for His people

3.1 (V17-19) Paul praying that our eyes would be opened to...

a) The confident hope of His calling

b) The riches of His inheritance

c) His power towards those who believe

A) In the NLT it says, (V18) “ I pray that your hearts will be flooded with light so that you can understand the confident hope he has given to those he called his holy people who are rich and glorious inheritance”

A) Paul praying that we may fully comprehend these truths with our intellect, emotions, and our will.

May these truths leads us deeper in love with Jesus and His Lordship over our lives

B) We are His inheritance

4. (V19) His power towards those who believe

A) In Acts 1:8 “But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”

Thinking back to the gospels, the disciples failed often

After the day of pentecost, all of the sudden the disciples had power to do the work of God

The same power that raised Christ from the dead lives inside the believer