ABC - Adopted, Blessed, Chosen

Bible Passage: Ephesians 1:3–6 “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love he predestined us for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved.”

Introduction:

Imagine it’s 1955 and a young boy born to two young college kids where the situation they were in made them to make a difficult decision. The boy was placed for adoption shortly after birth. Now this boy was supposed to be adopted by two wealthy lawyers but as soon as they heard the baby was a boy, they backed out because they really wanted a girl. So the baby boy was all left alone and was not adopted and abandoned. Life was unbelievably hard. He had no stable home, no consistent school, and no real family. He was an orphan and he was bouncing around from foster home to foster home and many times living on the streets. He would be struggling to survive the cold nights and scrap for food every day. Growing up, he felt like he was never enough and was always trying to measure up. He was trying to prove himself in order to gain approval and to be chosen by someone.

Now imagine this same story but something else happens at the start. A young boy, put up for adoption from his real biological family. He was supposed to be adopted by two lawyers which would have been a great setup for the boy but they backed out because they wanted a girl. However, there was another family in line and they were thrilled to about the opportunity to adopt this young boy. The couple that adopted this boy weren’t lawyers but a machinist and an accountant. They lived a humble life but the boy grew up in an environment filled with love and support. His parents supported his passions and really encouraged the boy to live up to his full potential.

The boy in this story was chosen by loving adoptive parents, not based on any of his abilities but because they simply loved him. In the same way, we’re going to see in our passage today that God has already blessed us, chosen us, and adopted us if we are in Christ. The three points today are exactly that: 1. We are Blessed

2. We are Chosen

3. We are Adopted

1. We are Blessed

Ephesians 1:3 “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places,”

Let me ask you guys this - what was the best gift you’ve ever received? Maybe it was something that you’ve wanted for a really long time, or it was a complete surprise and you had no idea about it. *wait for answers from youth*. For me, when I was in middle school, I really wanted a playstation 2 so I can play crash bandit. My cousin had it and I would only be able to play it when I would visit so I would constantly ask my mom to buy it for me as a gift. One Christmas, I opened my gift and long behold, it was a PS2. Now my reaction was to run and hug my mom and say thank you.

When you receive a gift that you’ve really loved, our reaction most of the time is “yes!” or “yay!” or “thank you thank you thank you”.

Now this is what Paul does at the start here. The very first words in this section is a doxology or a praise to God. Paul begins by blessing God not simply because it’s expected of him but rather because his heart is full of gratitude. He says “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

Now it’s not strange for Paul to start off his letters with thanksgivings as many of his letters actually does this. He would sometimes start his letters by saying “we always thank God” or “I thank my God”. However, instead of using that language this time around, he chooses to say “blessed be God.” This language is actually used a couple of times in the Bible.

A couple of examples real quick on the screen here. I won’t read it all out loud but take a look.

Psalm 28:6 “Blessed be the Lord! For he has heard the voice of my pleas for mercy.”

Ruth 4:14 “Then the women said to Naomi, “Blessed be the Lord, who has not left you this day without a redeemer, and may his name be renowned in Israel!”

Genesis 24:27 “and said, “Blessed be the Lord, the God of my master Abraham, who has not forsaken his steadfast love and his faithfulness toward my master...””

Exodus 18:10 “Blessed be the Lord, who has delivered you out of the hand of the Egyptians...”

1 Samuel 25:32 “And David said to Abigail, “Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, who sent you this day to meet me!”

2 Corinthians 1:3–4 “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction...”

Typically this language of “Blessed be the Lord” or “Blessed be God” is followed by an explanation clause; a reason for why God is to be blessed. *repeat bold section*

We can see this in the examples I’ve shown and also in our text today. So why does Paul say blessed be God? Let’s look at verse 3 again.

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places,” God has blessed us in Christ.

He says this because God has blessed us in Christ and with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places.

Paul is telling us that every spiritual blessing that we can ever want and need has already been given to us in Jesus Christ. He doesn’t say who will bless us, but rather who has blessed us. This blessing is already ours that was already secured by Jesus Christ.

2 Peter 1:3 “His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness...”

To be clear, Paul is saying that all spiritual blessings has been given to us; not material blessings. Yes God does provide material blessings to us but Paul isn’t promising that all Christians will be blessed with material wealth. Paul is saying that if you are in Christ, you are not missing anything you truly need to live a godly and joyful life.

Everything you need to walk in power, everything you need to endure with joy, everything you need to love God and live for Him - it has already been given to you in Christ.

This is important and we should realize what’s already been given to us. If you don’t, it’s as if you inherited a million dollars but you don’t know about it. You’re going about life always anxious, always worrying if you have enough money to pay the bills, buy groceries and thinking you’re broke. In reality, you’re rich but just don’t realize it. Paul is saying that we are spiritually rich in Christ because God has already given us everything we can ever need.

This is such a blessing that when Paul writes about it, his reaction is to praise God as we saw earlier.

What are these spiritual blessings? Some but not all include things such as forgiveness, assurance of salvation, being chosen by God and adoption as God’s children. The beauty of this is that these are gifts that are given to us by grace alone. None of these blessings are things that we can earn by ourselves. They are heavenly blessings that come from the triune God.

We’re not going to go too in depth but just want to give some quick applications for these blessings.

Forgiveness, this is something we’ve heard plenty of times in church. But think about how amazing this gift of forgiveness is. When you became a Christian, God forgives you for ALL of your past sins. Have you ever had a time when you did something horrible and you had to ask for forgiveness? How relieving was it when the other party said “I forgive you.” Or think about the worst sin you’ve ever committed, the sin that makes you feel ashamed even now as you think about it. The bible says that if you are in Christ and you ask for forgiveness sincerely, you are forgiven. Psalm 103:12 “as far as the east is from the west, so far does he remove our transgressions from us.”. God forgives you not only for all your past sins but your future sins as well.

Another blessing is the assurance of salvation. If you are truly in Christ, your salvation is secured in heaven. God doesn’t look at you one day and say “ok let’s see how Dongmin does today - if he does good, i’ll save him.” No, Jesus says in John 10:28–29 “I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand.” This means that you can live in confidence and rest easy in His promise to you. This doesn’t mean that if you doubt, you’re not saved. It is very normal to have doubt because we live in this world and it will occasionally come; but what’s important is that when it does creep in, we go back to the promise of God and remember that no-one can take away the gift of salvation away from you. It is secured in Christ.

The last two gifts I mentioned are gifts that Paul mentions in our passage as well.

This leads us to point 2: We are chosen.

2. We are Chosen

Ephesians 1:4 “even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him.”

One of the spiritual gifts that we receive is that we are chosen in Him/in Christ. He says that we are chosen in him before the foundation of the world. So if you are a Christian, before you were born, before even God said “let there be light” in Genesis 1, you were already chosen personally by God to be saved.

This means that you weren’t chosen because you go to church, pray and read the bible. You aren’t chosen because you are religious or a good person. If you were chosen before the foundation of the world, that means that God choosing you was not based on anything related to any human actions but rather was God acting out of love.

John Calvin “For if we are chosen in Christ, it is outside ourselves. It is not because of our deserving, but because our heavenly Father has engrafted us, through the blessing of adoption, into the Body of Christ. In short, the name of Christ excludes all merit, and everything which men have of themselves; for when he says that we are chosen in Christ, it follows that in ourselves we are unworthy.”

This is the doctrine of election. The truth that some elect few are chosen by God; each christian has been preordained by God to believe in Christ. Before you ever chose God, God chose you. Now this is a source of praise and comfort.

Let’s look at a couple of scripture passages to support this.

Romans 9:8–13 “This means that it is not the children of the flesh who are the children of God, but the children of the promise are counted as offspring. For this is what the promise said: “About this time next year I will return, and Sarah shall have a son.” And not only so, but also when Rebekah had conceived children by one man, our forefather Isaac, though they were not yet born and had done nothing either good or bad—in order that God’s purpose of election might continue, not because of works but because of him who calls— she was told, “The older will serve the younger.” As it is written, “Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated.””

2 Thessalonians 2:13 “But we ought always to give thanks to God for you, brothers beloved by the Lord, because God chose you as the firstfruits to be saved, through sanctification by the Spirit and belief in the truth.”

The Romans passage refers back to the story of Jacob and Esau - twin brothers (same mother and father, born at the same time) - yet God has already made a choice before they were born, before they had done either good or bad. God has already chosen Jacob and passed over Esau. Now this was all done as it says in the passage for “God’s purpose of election might continue”. God is acting according to His will.

2 Thessalonians passage depicts a similar message. It says that “God chose you as the firstfruits to be saved.” The you here is the members of the Thessalonian church, God has chosen them to be saved and it was through the Spirit and in their belief in the truth.

Both passages here makes it clear that election is not just a concept that doesn’t apply to our lives. Rather it shows the divine love of God and the truth that if you are a believer - before you even chose God, God has already chosen you.

Ultimately it is God who chose us and not the other way around. We have to remember that everyone is walking a path to death and that the the gift of salvation is truly a gift from God that we don’t deserve. Jesus says in John 6:44 “No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him.” We can only be saved because God draws us to Him first.

For those who are still unsure about your faith, this isn’t meant to scare you away but rather it’s a reassurance. If you and I were in charge of choosing God first by ourselves, no-one would be saved. However we know that it is God who chose us before the world began and it is Him who continues to work within us. Our salvation isn’t dependent on your own strength or deeds but rather is in God’s hand. This is and should be a comforting truth for us all.

The result and purpose of being chosen is so that we should be “holy and blameless before him.”

While I said that it was not our actions that save us earlier, God does call us to live a life of holiness because we are saved.

We see this in Leviticus 11:44 “For I am the Lord your God. Consecrate yourselves therefore, and be holy, for I am holy...” as well as 1 Peter 1:16 “since it is written, “You shall be holy, for I am holy.””

God calls us to reflect His holiness because He is holy and as long as we are here on earth, we continue to live a life of sanctification and become more and more like Him.

The first question of the Westminster Catechism asks this: “What is the chief and highest end of man?”

The answer is “Man’s chief and highest end is to glorify God, and fully to enjoy him forever.”

God chose us so that we can glorify Him and enjoy Him forever. Why can we enjoy him? We can enjoy him because we were adopted as sons.

3. We are Adopted

Ephesians 1:5–6 “he predestined us for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved.”

Paul here refines election even more and goes on to say that we were predestined to be adopted as sons. God didn’t choose us so that we can mindlessly worship him but rather, he chose us and predestined us so that we can have a relationship with Him. We aren’t just forgiven, we are now considered family to God. This is something we probably heard previously but truly let it sink in. We have a relationship with an all-knowing, all-powerful, all-loving God of the universe. God adopted us as His children.

In the Roman laws, when a man adopted a son, that child immediately gained all the privileges of a biological son. He received the family name. He was given full inheritance rights. His past was erased—any former debts or obligations were canceled. He was, in every legal and social sense, now a true son. The adopted son stood no lower in the household than one born into it.

This is the beauty of being chosen by God. God didn’t simply choose us to save us from death but He also adopted us and this is what Paul is speaking of. He adopted us “according to the purpose of His will”, it was always his intention. It was always God’s desire to make us a part of His family from the start.

Romans 8:15 says it clearly “For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!”” and 1 John 3:1 “See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God...” The word Abba or Father is used only by a daughter or son. It is reserved for a child to their father where it creates a closeness and an intimacy that can’t be replicated elsewhere.

A child of the president can walk into the oval office or whit house unannounced because of their relationship. If you guys try to walk into the white house right now, you will be tackled and jailed, however a family member of the president has the rights to walk right in. In the same way, a child is given the freedom to be honest, to ask questions, to cry, and to confess to their parents without fear of judgment. Even when they fail or mess up, they can come back home to open arms and forgiveness, just like the prodigal son. A child inherits what belongs to the father, not by earning it, but by simply being who he is. A child is not connected just by name but they are made in the very image of their father.

In the same way, we can go to God unannounced and pray. We can cry and be honest with God knowing that He’s listens to us and cares about us. We can mess up and ask for repentance and forgiveness. We inherit the kingdom because we are heirs of God. In the same way, we are made in the very image of God.

These are all the amazing gifts and benefits that come because we are adopted into the family of God.

So if you are adopted, what does that mean practically for us? I mentioned some of these just now but to organize it a little more:

We have a new identity

It means we now have a new identity. We’re not outsiders but rather are chosen personally by God before the foundation of the world. We don’t have to live in fear or anxiety anymore. We have the Spirit within us that is reassuring us that we are God’s children and that is our identity. Just like I mentioned earlier, we are given access to Him in an intimate way. You can say my dad can beat up all your dads because my dad is the God of the universe. This isn’t something we did to earn but it was given to us only through His grace and mercy.

We have a new inheritance

Galatians 4:7 “So you are no longer a slave, but a son, and if a son, then an heir through God.” What belongs to Christ now belongs to us. We are heirs of eternal life, heirs of all the promises He made, heirs of glory. This inheritance are not treasures on earth where rust and moth can destroy but these are treasures in heaven that are secured and promised to us.

We have a new community

To be adopted by the Father is also to be brought into a family. You can’t have one without the other. So this means that we have a new family now. We are the family of God and this means that you and I are brothers and sisters. The church is our family and community. Just like a family cares and loves for one another, the church does the same. We forgive, serve, carry each others burdens, pray for one another because we are family.

We are saved

Most importantly, adoption means we are saved. Just like in a real adoption, your status doesn’t change depending on your actions. When God adopted you, He made that choice personally and knew everything about you. He knew that you would fall short and won’t be perfect while we’re here on earth. He didn’t adopt us and then was surprised saying this wasn’t what He expected; no, he knew everything there is to know and still adopted us. This adoption was made final with the blood of Jesus.

CONCLUSION:

Going back to the story earlier about the young boy being adopted by two humble couples. This actually happened in real life. The couple’s name was Paul and Clara Jobs. The young boy they adopted was Steve Jobs. The decision by Paul and Clara allowed the world to see the full potential that Steve Jobs had in his life. If he was to be abandoned and left alone, we would not have apple or iphones today. It was because he was adopted and was raised with parents that supported his passions that we got to see one of the most influential tech figures in the modern world today.

Growing up, Steve Jobs recalls a memory where a neighbor girl asks him “so does that mean your real parents didn’t want you?”. He remembers running back home crying and Paul and Clara responding saying “No, you don’t understand. We specifically picked you out.” Steve Jobs in an interview also says that while being adopted has helped him become independent, he has never felt abandoned.

This is what God has done for us in Christ. We were all living in spiritual poverty and we were all destined to a slow death. However, instead of passing by which He could have done, He reached out, adopted us and gave us a new life through the blood of Jesus Christ. If you are a believer today, God says “I specifically chose you.”.

This is the good news of the gospel. You and I were walking our own paths separate from God. We were just like the first scenario of the young boy where we were destined for death. However, through God’s grace and mercy, He had a plan to to rescue us from the start. God did’t abandon us but rather He sent his one and only son Jesus to come to earth as fully God and fully man, to live a perfect life as we were supposed to but failed, so that He can die on the cross for us. He took on the cup of wrath of God that was meant for us and died a death that we deserved. Jesus died and rose again so that we can have a relationship with Him today.

The beauty of all this is that this can apply to each and every single one of us today. If you are a believer, we should worship behind the truth that we are blessed, chosen and adopted. We should respond in praise and awe saying “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ” just as Paul does. If you are questioning your faith or still unsure, Pastor Kenny and all the youth advisors are more than welcome to talk to you more about it. But you should know that this truth is available to you as well and that you too can be blessed, chosen and adopted by repenting and putting your faith in Christ.