The Blessings In Christ
Review:
Set-Up:
I. The Blessings of Redemption & Forgiveness (v.7a)
A story which has captured and informed young imaginations for years is helpful here. In a city on the shore of a great lake lived a small boy who loved the water and sailing. So deep was his fascination that he, with the help of his father, spent months making a beautiful model boat, which he began to sail at the water’s edge. One day a sudden gust of wind caught the tiny boat and carried it far out into the lake and out of sight. Distraught, the boy returned home inconsolable. Day after day he would walk the shores in search of his treasure, but always in vain. Then one day as he was walking through town he saw his beautiful boat — in a store window! He approached the proprietor and announced his ownership, only to be told that it was not his, for the owner had paid a local fisherman good money for the boat. If the boy wanted the boat, he would have to pay the price. And so the lad set himself to work doing anything and everything until finally he returned to the store with the money. At last, holding his precious boat in his arms, he said with great joy, “You are twice mine now — because I made you, and because I bought you.”
Just so! Redemption is payment of a price or ransom
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… as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us. (
II. The Blessings of Grace & Discernment (v.7-8)
Sophia (wisdom) emphasizes understanding of ultimate things—such as life and death, God and man, righteousness and sin, heaven and hell, eternity and time.
Phronēsis (insight), on the other hand, emphasizes practical understanding, comprehension of the needs, problems, and principles of everyday living. It is spiritual prudence in the handling of daily affairs.
III. The Blessings of Revelation & Inheritance (v.9-12)
Stott summarizes this well: “In the fullness of time, God’s two creations, his whole universe and his whole church, will be unified under the cosmic Christ who is the supreme head of both” (Stott, Ephesians, 44).
IV. The Blessings of The Holy Spirit (v.13-17)
A seal was a mark of ownership and authenticity. It was used for cattle, and even slaves were branded by their masters. Owners were guarding their property from theft by branding them (O’Brien, Ephesians, 120)
A better analogy is the down payment on a house, which is the first installment of the purchase (Stott, Ephesians, 49). So God is not just telling us about something in the future, He is bringing the future into the present so that we may taste what the future is like.
