It's All About the Praise

Let all that I am praise the Lord with my whole heart; I will praise his holy name. May we never forget the many benefits that God has done for us.

God promised His earthly people, Israel, material blessings as a reward for their obedience. Today, He promises to supply all our needs “according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus,” but He does not promise to shield us from poverty or pain. The spiritual is far more important than the material.

I want us to examine some spiritual blessings and why God is worthy of our praise!

The nature of these gifts is spiritual, bestowed upon us by the Holy Spirit, the initiator who applies the work of Christ to our hearts and lives.

First, we have God’s gift of being chosen and predestined “for adoption to sonship through Jesus Christ” (Ephesians 1:4–5). Just as Yahweh chose Israel to be His treasured possession, He chooses believers individually to receive the great honor and privilege of becoming His beloved spiritual children through the redemptive sacrifice of Jesus Christ. Our heavenly Father loves each of us so much that “he calls us his children, and that is what we are!” (1 John 3:1).

Paul writes that this plan was not a secondary thought with God but was developed even before the creation of the world. A big problem in church history and theology is understanding who or what was predetermined or predestined in the first place. Historically, two options have been considered: (1) God chose the individuals whom He would save, or (2) God chose the plan by which individuals would be saved.

Believers in God's foreknowledge as a specific choice of individuals emphasize His ultimate wisdom, power, and sovereignty. They think He picks whom and what He desires based on His perfect will. This perspective is known as determinism, which claims that God chooses who will be saved and condemned individually. Supporters of this idea believe that the recipients of this divine decision should be thankful for God's plan, whether it includes salvation or damnation.

Another interpretation of God’s predetermination emphasizes the plan of salvation, not the individual, which is where I stand on salvation. In this sense, Paul understands God’s plan as being “predetermined” or designed before its being carried out in history. The specifics of the determination would be the events of the plan, not its participants.

God’s choice in Ephesians 1:4 refers to the opportunity for everyone to become holy and blameless before Him. His predestination is adoption made possible to all who desire it, not forced on them. God’s plan provides the means of redemption and brings all things back together under the Headship of Christ.

God’s love is expressed by allowing all people to embrace His salvation. This love is also expressed in that God, knowing full well that humankind would turn from Him, created us anyway, even though to do so would cost the life of His Son, Jesus Christ.

This is the beauty of Paul’s litany of praise before God—not just that God would provide this heavenly blessing but that it was determined even before the fall of humankind, which made it necessary. This is the reality of prevenient grace, which God extends to all creation to prevent it from hellish decay.

Now, after understanding God’s plan and purpose for us, let's look at the blessings that we receive. This will help us know that we should be praising God even more than we are now.

Blessing #1 Holy and Blameless

Before the foundation of the world, God planned for us to be holy and blameless. Salvation means that we are separated from sin and consecrated to God. It is the position in which God’s redeemed are to exist within this world.

The church has always understood this separation toward God. This is inherent in the Greek term for the church—ecclesia—which means the “called out ones.”

God’s plan for His redeemed children was to separate and consecrate His people to Himself. God’s plan is realized in our lives as we move away from the world and are drawn to Him.

Now, to be blameless means we are completely restored. It is more than just being forgiven; we now have the victory over sin so as not to live under its daily controlling influence. The first great blessing Paul lists for humankind regarding our salvation is its complete work of restoration. God did not plan just to forgive us of sin but to separate and cleanse us from sin.

Blessing #2 Adoption

Because we are holy and blameless, we can now be adopted into God’s family, which is a restored relationship with God the Father. Sin’s tragic effect upon humankind was to sever the original relationship with God once enjoyed by the first couple, Adam and Eve. Because of sin, we were no longer children of God by our creation; now, we must rely upon God’s adoption for the relationship to be restored.

Adoption is found as an Old Testament theme relating to the redemption of humankind through God’s choice of Israel. This reclamation was defined as a father-son relationship. But Paul develops our most comprehensive understanding of adoption. Adoption was no longer achieved through the covenant of Abraham but by faith in the Son of God. This would be a spiritual adoption conceived by faith and germinated by grace.

This adoption by God carries with it several benefits:

(1) it frees us from fear;

(2) it allows us an intimate relationship, even to cry out “Abba”;

(3) it provides an inner certainty of the relationship as God’s Spirit testifies with our own; and

(4) it promises an inheritance equal to that of Christ’s—we become coheirs with Him.

We must PRAISE God for not settling for a secondary relationship with us. We would be forgiven, adopted, and made fellow heirs with His Son, Jesus Christ.

Blessing #3 Redemption

The third part of God’s salvation plan is experienced through redemption. For God to deliver us from our death because of sin, our debt must be paid. Paul calls this purchase by God our redemption.

Originally, redemption meant setting captives and slaves free. Paul described this experience of Christians in his first letter to the Corinthians, “You are not your own; you were bought at a price” 1 Cor. 6:19-20.

The price expended on our behalf was not of perishable items such as silver or gold but rather the blood of Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God. Jesus took away the curse of the law (death) by allowing himself to be made a curse (be put to death) for us. Because of this act, Jesus is the only one found worthy in heaven and earth to open the great seals described in Revelation. The celestial audience cries out His worthiness, proclaiming, “… You purchased men for God …” (Rev. 5:9).

We can join the heavenly choir today because we are now blood-bought sons and daughters of God!

Conclusion

All of these riches come by God’s grace and for God’s glory. Did you notice that after each of the main sections in Ephesians 1:4–14, Paul has added the purpose behind these gifts? Why has God the Father chosen, adopted, and accepted us? “To the praise of the glory of His grace” (Eph. 1:6). Why has the Son redeemed us, forgiven us, revealed God’s will to us, and made us part of God’s inheritance? “That we should be to the praise of His glory” (Eph. 1:12). Why has God the Spirit sealed us and become the guarantee of our future blessing? “Unto the praise of His glory” (Eph. 1:14).

We often think that God saves sinners mainly because He pities them or wants to rescue them from eternal judgment, but God’s main purpose is that He might be glorified. His creation reveals His wisdom and power, but His church reveals His love and grace. You cannot deserve or earn these spiritual riches; you can only receive them by grace, through faith.

And the best is yet to come; praise the Lord. As we walk with Him, there is always more spiritual wealth to claim from the Lord. The Bible is our guidebook; the Holy Spirit is our Teacher. As we search the Word of God, we discover more and more of our riches in Christ. These riches were planned by the Father, purchased by the Son, and presented by the Spirit. There is really no need for us to live in poverty when all of God’s wealth is at our disposal!

What a blessing we have because of God’s salvation plan! In one long, rambling sentence, Paul has chained together the most profound, life-changing truths known to humankind. He begins his letter with this message as a steppingstone to the results of faith worked out in our lives. Indeed, we have been blessed by all the spiritual blessings God provided us through Christ Jesus.