Ephesians 1:3-14

Introduction

Personal Introduction

Good morning. My name is Josh Ens. I am the Pastoral Assistant at River City Bible Church. It is my pleasure to work with the Youth Ministry at the Church, and do various other things around the Church.

General Introduction

During this Family Camp we will be studying the book of Ephesians. The book of Ephesians is found in the New Testament, and it is a letter written by the apostle Paul. Before we start into the book I want to explain a bit about what our sessions will look like this week. It would take far more time than we have together to study each verse of this letter, and the question must be then asked: ‘how do we decide which verses to study?’

All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.

All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.

We only have four sessions this week together, and it would be a near impossible challenge to cover each verse of the book in depth during those four periods, that is unless the sermons were each two hours or more. With that in mind, I do not want to give the impression that there are certain passages that are more important than others within the book of Ephesians.

All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.

English Standard Version Chapter 3

All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.

Similarly, says:

for I did not shrink from declaring to you the whole counsel of God.

The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. (2016). (). Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles.

English Standard Version Chapter 20

for I did not shrink from declaring to you the whole counsel of God.

This is one of the tasks of the preacher, and it is the result of . If one believes that ‘all Scripture is breathed out by God’ he will ‘not shrink from [teaching all of God’s truth] the whole counsel of God.’

It is not an elevation of the letter to the Ephesians to spend a week at family camp teaching from this book, nor is it a demotion of the book of Genesis or any other book in Scripture. In the same way, it is not as though I like certain passages of Ephesians better than others, or think that one verse is more important than another, rather it is a reality of time restrictions that are always present. As a result of us being unable to spend time in each passage, I want to give you the barest of outlines to allow you to better understand the context of the book, including the flow of thought that Paul traces from beginning to end, and also be able to place passages that we will be studying in more detail within that greater flow.

Textual Introduction

The book of Ephesians can be split into two sections. First, teaches truth about Christ. And second, answers the ‘so what?’ question. Paul declares three chapters worth about truth about the Christian life, and then it is almost as if he hears someone saying in chapter 4, ‘What difference does this make in my daily life?’ We see this demonstrated in chapter three ending with a doxology, praise given to God, and finishing with the word ‘amen.’ Likewise, chapter four begins with ‘I therefore,’ and as you may have heard before, ‘whenever you see the word “therefore” you need to pause and ask “What is it there for?”’

The fourth chapter begins with Paul saying ‘In light of all that I have said...’ or

I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called,

The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. (2016). (). Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles.

This is the pattern of Ephesians, and it is one that we see throughout the New Testament.

You have been saved.

Walk in a manner worthy of the salvation.

The order is crucial. We do not walk worthy in order that we might be saved, but rather God makes a declarative statement: this is true of you, and then he says ‘now, live like this.’ We can never misunderstand the order of these two aspects, not only of the the book of Ephesians but rather the greater truths of salvation and all of the Scriptures.

This week our four sessions will follow a similar outline as the book itself.

Session 1: Thanks be to God for our Great Salvation

Thanks be to God for our Great Salvation

Session 2: What did God save us from?

What did God

Session 3: Walking Worthy

Session 4: Armed for Battle

With that introduction, let us read our text, , and pray.

Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God,

To the saints who are in Ephesus, and are faithful in Christ Jesus:

2 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

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, 4 even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love 5 he predestined us for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, 6 to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved. 7 In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, 8 which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight 9 making known to us the mystery of his will, according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ 10 as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth.

11 In him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will, 12 so that we who were the first to hope in Christ might be to the praise of his glory. 13 In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, 14 who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory.

Pray

Let us Pray

Throughout the week I will give more background information as it relates to the text, but it is important that we at least see the background Paul himself gives us in verses 1-2.

Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, To the saints who are in Ephesus, and are faithful in Christ Jesus:Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

To the saints who are in Ephesus, and are faithful in Christ Jesus: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

2 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. (2016). (). Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles.

English Standard Version Chapter 1

Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God,

To the saints who are in Ephesus, and are faithful in Christ Jesus:

2 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

The author of the letter begins writing with a greeting to the people to which he writes. Paul writes the letter to Christians who are in Ephesus. This is important for us to realize, Paul is writing his letter to those who are believers. We dare not go further in ours study without realizing this truth.

Praises Given to God for his Blessings

Our passage today has four key points. The first point summarizes the entirety of the passage: Praise Given to God.

This passage (v3-14) is one of praise. Paul begins in verse 3 by saying:

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,

The rest of the passage also is an extended time where Paul gives praise to God for the things mentioned in verse three. Paul says, ‘Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,’ God be blessed is what he is saying, he is praising God. The obvious question to ask Paul would be, ‘why are you praising God?’ Paul answers that question quickly by saying that this God ‘has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places.’

Praise given to God

From this verse there are several key things to notice that will aid our study of the passage this morning. First, notice the blesser and the blessee. God is the one who has blessed us, the us referring to all believers: Paul and the church at Ephesus. Second, the time of the blessing is also important. Paul says that God ‘has blessed us.’ This is a blessing that has taken place in the past, therefore it is a blessing that all believers possess and it is one that they have been given by God sometime in the past. Third, the scope of the blessing is mentioned in this verse. Just what blessings have been given to us Paul? you may ask. ‘every…blessing’ God has already blessed us with. If we have been given every blessing, we are in need of nothing, we possess it already in Christ. Finally, the nature of the blessing is given: spiritual/heavenly. The distinction is made between that which is earthly and that which is spiritual or heavenly. These are not blessings that are things you can touch with your hands or smell with your nose, or taste with your tongue, they are invisible, but no less real, blessings.

To summarize this verse: God is active, he blessed us (past tense) with every spiritual blessing so that we lack nothing in Christ.

Why should we praise God? He is the one who has held nothing back, but given us every spiritual blessing. The next question to ask is: ‘what are these spiritual blessings?’

Predestined by the Father (v4-6)

Predestined by the Father (v3-6)

The first blessing given to believers is that we are predestined by the Father. This is seen in verses four to six. As we study our passage today there are two helpful ways to divide up verses 4-14. Verse 3 remember states: God has blessed us, let us praise him. The first way to divide the verses is to split the passage into sections based on time.

Past Blessings (4-6)

Present Blessings (7-10)

Future Blessings (11-14)

This is helpful in that it follows Paul’s train of thought from verse four ‘he chose us…before the foundation of the world,’ before moving into Christ’s work of redemption which took place on this earth at a specific time. And ending in verses 11-14 with a look towards a future inheritance that is still to come. Past. Present. Future.

A second way to break down the passage, and my preferred explanation is to understand the passage as the first section dealing primarily with God the Father, the second with God the Son, and the third with God the Spirit.

Purchased by the Son (v7-10)

Preserved by the Holy Spirit (v11-14]