Union with Christ

Have you ever been so excited about something you could barely put it into words? That you had so much joy that it was just spilling out of you? I’m sure each of you will find someone that you “love” and when you have that first part of dating someone everything seems wonderful about them and you might do something like right them love letters, or call them late at night on the phone and just talk about how much you miss them. As Paul begins this letter he starts by speaking about the incredible blessings and benefits that come as believers in Christ.

Verses 3-14 combine to make one long sentence of 202 words. Like Paul just can’t stop talking about how wonderful this news is.

Blessings

Who does Paul first call blessed? Why are they called blessed?

God

And not just God, but God the Father. The maker of heaven and earth who send Jesus into the world. But here He is not just our Father but the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.

-Jesus OUR Lord, Jesus has a relationship personally with us.

-Jesus is the Messiah, the one who brings Salvation.

-He is Lord, He is master over creation

It says we have been blessed because of the spiritual blessings that He has given us.

It is not a wish “blessed be God” but rather “blessed IS God”

Why is God the Father blessed? Because He is worthy of praise. Because of the salvation He has offered us.

What does it mean to be blessed by God? “To receive benefits from God ins the sense of possessions, prosperity, or power.”

-But we have been blessed with “spiritual blessings” not physical ones.

-There are also blessings “in the heavens”.

What does it mean that they are blessings “in the heavens”?

Because that is where they are located, but that we are able to, in some small sense, access now. How many of you have a debit card? Is your money located with you? It’s located at the bank. But do you have access to some of the money that you have in the bank?

We have access to some of what are in the heavens but we don’t fully have yet.

BUT it is also the TYPE of blessing. A spiritual one. It is a blessing that helps us in a spiritual way, not a physical way. We will see that there are spiritual warfare that takes place, and these blessings in heaven are equipped to help us in those battles. We have been given “every spiritual blessing” that is need for our spiritual well-being here on earth.

The Father has blessed us, but who has He blessed us through?

Who are we blessed in? IN CHRIST

This is the most important belief that we have as Christians that you probably don’t know about.

The Bible tells us that all of us have been “in Adam”. We have the human nature given to us by Adam and the sin and death that comes with it. But Christ went to the cross and He took on Himself the sin of the world and paid our penalty, therefore, anyone who believes that Jesus died and rose again for us and took our sin also becomes “united” to Christ instead of being united to Adam. And to be “IN CHRIST” means we take on all the spiritual benefits that comes with Christ.

If our life is not in Christ, we will find that we are dissatisfied, because we are missing something vital, something we were made for, which is relationship with God. It is to enjoy God’s grace in your life, and to know that you don’t have to find your own meaning, your own purpose, your own strength to get through life. But the one who made you has given us the power to do this.

Let’s spend some time and see if you can help me name every blessing that this chapter says we have.

EVERY SPIRITUAL BLESSING

We are blessed IN Christ but blessed THROUGH the Trinity. The Trinity is the basis for all the benefits we enjoy as believers. But they aren’t just the basis, they are also spiritual benefits in themselves.

We were chosen by the Father

We were redeemed by the Son

We are sealed by the Holy Spirit

We were chosen

God chose us out of everyone on earth. This is a comforting thing. He selected each one of us.

God has a personal interest in each one of His sons and daughters. It was out of a love for us that He has chosen us.

He chooses based on personal interest towards us

He chose us, we did not choose Him.

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

Romans 3:10-11 “as it is written: There is no one righteous, not even one. There is no one who understands; there is no one who seeks God.”

We were not chosen because of some grand thing that we did. God chose us in spite of our rejection of Him.

We were chosen “In Him”. We are chosen because of our redemption through Christ. It is only because of Jesus work that we can be chosen.

We were chosen “before the foundation of the world”

God didn’t create a plan after sin entered the world through Adam. Rather, from the start He had a plan for those who would be called His Sons and daughters.

(Excursus if the question is asked) Notice there is nothing negative said about those not chosen, nor about the process by which He chose us. It isn’t an indictment on those not chosen.

We have been made holy and blameless

This plan that God has had from the beginning was that He might make us look like Christ. The plan was to make us Holy before Him.

That is, to be set apart and without blame before Him. We reflect His character in that way.

Romans 8:29 “For those he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, so that he would be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters.”

But this isn’t just some impersonal God who created people, but it says He did so “in love.” He made us Holy so that we might have a relationship with Him.

But where are we holy and blameless?

Before Him!

He made us holy and blameless in love

This is agape love that is a contrast to eros love. Eros love only loves that which is worthy and loves with a desire to possess. Agape love is not a love of those worthy of it and it isn’t a love that desires to possess. It is a love that seeks to give, that which is undeserved and for the good of the one who is being loved.

Our holiness and blamelessness is seen in the way that we love others who are undeserving and a giving of ourselves. It is according to God’s purpose that we would show love in this way.

Predestined to be adopted

He made us part of His family. To be adopted is a choice someone makes to receive someone into their family that they have no obligation to do.

During this time, to be adopted was to become a full heir of a families estate. It is God saying “you get the whole kingdom”.

This also means going from one family to another. Each family has different rules, different ways of life, different expectations. To be adopted doesn’t just mean you live with some people, but it means taking on this new way of life with a new family.

Having fostered some kids I have seen how difficult this transition is. Hearing kids say “well that isn’t how my mom does it”, or “I’ve never had to do that before” or just having to change old habits and build new ones are difficult things. To be adopted is to say “you are now under my rules” and as those under God’s rules we follow His rules rather than the ones we followed before following Him. But in following the rules you also need to remember what you are inheriting.

Have any of you seen the movie The Princess Diaries?

You have someone who learns that she is a princess, and that means she has to follow more strict rules, but it is because she has an inheritance she will possess if she is willing to follow them.

To be adopted by God means you have a new status, privilege, and also new expectations. Our expectation is to be loving towards others and to give glory to God. And it means no longer following the devil, the world and choosing something new.

This was done “according to the good pleasure of His will.”

God smiles, He enjoys being able to call us His children. He wants to give us good things!

Lavished us with grace

His grace is glorious because it is far more than we deserve. As it says in the next verse, we have been forgiven because of the “riches of His grace”. That is, so much grace that it will never run out. It is God’s abundant kindness that God has freely given to us, that we didn’t deserve.

Like a child who may have chosen to do make wrong choices leading up to their birthday but the parent still throws them a party, gives them gifts, and celebrates it with them. It isn’t because the child deserved it but out of the abundance of grace and love a parent has toward a child they do this thing for them.

But with God it is even more. And we praise him because His grace is so wonderful that we want to thank Him. Like this child would thank their parents after the wonderful gifts they have received, so should we.

Redemption through the blood of Christ

What is redemption?

It is a release or liberation from imprisonment from something. To be enslaved and to be set free.

How do we receive this redemption?

Through the blood of Jesus

What type of redemption do we receive?

Forgiveness of our sins

Forgiveness of our sins and trespasses

There was a price we needed to pay, it was a burden to us. It was something that enslaves us and needs to be paid.

Most of you don’t know, but one day you will probably get pulled over for a speeding ticket and you will have to go to court to pay off the speeding ticket. And you might think that you will forget about it until the day you have to go pay for it, but that isn’t the case. That ticket will be a burden for you until you have been forgiven of the trespass in court.

Made the mystery of his will known to us

Throughout the Old Testament there was a mystery to God’s plan, details that weren’t fully understood yet. But in Christ these things have been revealed. It was hidden but now it is disclosed. His plan was “purposed in Christ” and for Christ to “unite all things”

Received an inheritance

We received a heavenly inheritance.

Worked out our lives for the purpose of his will so we might bring praise to Him

Those who were chosen in Christ and put their hope in Christ will bring praise to God. That means they will reveal God’s power, His holiness, His love, His authority. We will declare Him as the one, true God.

Sealed with the Holy Spirit for the day of redemption

We have something that reminds us of our salvation every day. We don’t have to fear whether or not we are saved.

Gave us the Word of truth, the Gospel that tells us about salvation

We have the Bible that brought us to salvation and that brings us to belief in Jesus. We when believed through the Gospel that is when we received the Spirit.

Gave us the Holy Spirit as a down payment of our inheritance

A down payment is a portion we receive now that tells us we will receive everything else later

Will redeem us

Q: Who has given these benefits?

-God who is the object of praise and the subject of the blessings.

Q: To whom has he given these blessings?

-Believers

Q: With what has he blessed them?

-With every spiritual benefit

Q: Where has he blessed them?

-In the heavens

Q: How has he blessed them?

-In Christ

Why is God worthy of Praise?

He chose us

He redeems us

He has given us an inheritance

He has sealed us with His Holy Spirit

Questions for leaders

How does being chosen by God affect the way we see our purpose?

In what ways does being united with Christ provide you confidence?

How do you think the spiritual benefits Paul talks about impact your day-to-day life?

How many times is giving praise to God’s glory mentioned in v. 3-14?

Why do you think God made us to give glory to Him?

How does giving God glory benefit us?