Sermon Tone Analysis

The key thought in this chapter is the wealth of blessings we have as Christians, spiritual blessings that are ours because we are in Christ (1:3).

Paul informs us that each Person of the Godhead has blessed us (vv.

1–14), and then he prays that we might understand these blessings and the power they can be in our lives (vv.

15–23).

I. Blessings from the Father (1:1–6)

A. He has chosen us (vv.

3–4).

This is the wonderful doctrine of election, a doctrine that we cannot fully explain but one we can fully enjoy.

Do not try to explain away the mystery of grace.

God did not choose us in ourselves; He chose us in Christ, by grace.

Note ; ; and .

B. He has adopted us (v.

5).

“Election” refers to persons; predestination to purposes for those persons.

God elects us to be saints (set-apart ones), then predestines that certain purposes in our lives shall come to pass (see ). “Adoption” in the NT refers to the official act of a father who bestows the status of full adulthood on a son of minor status.

It is not the taking in of an outsider; it is the placing of a family member into the privileges and blessings of adulthood.

This means that even the youngest Christian has everything that Christ has and is rich in grace.

C.

He has accepted us (v. 6).

In ourselves, we are not acceptable to God, but in Christ, we are “made accepted.”

Read the Epistle to Philemon for a beautiful illustration of this truth.

Paul wrote, “Receive your slave Onesimus as you would receive me” ().

Though we have sinned, Christ says to the Father, “Receive this saint as you would receive Me.” Trace that wonderful phrase “in Christ” throughout Paul’s letters—you will be thrilled!

II.

Blessings from the Son (1:7–12)

A. He has redeemed us (v.

7a).

By giving His life on the cross, Christ purchased us from the slavery of sin.

We have a present redemption in that He has delivered us from the penalty and power of sin; we shall have a future redemption (v.

14) when Christ delivers us from the presence of sin at His return.

B. He has forgiven us (v.

7b).

The word “forgive” literally means “to send away.”

Sin is a terrible burden that is sent away when a sinner turns to Christ.

Christ carried the burden on the cross ().

It is pictured by the scapegoat on the Day of Atonement, taken into the wilderness ().

C.

He has revealed God’s will to us (vv.

8–10).

A “mystery” is a divine truth known only by God’s people through revelation.

In Christ we are a part of God’s eternal purpose to gather together “all things in Christ” (v.

10).

This present world is falling apart with war, strife, and sin.

But one day God will usher in a new creation, with all things united in Christ.

D. He has made us an inheritance (vv.

11–12).

God has not only given us an inheritance in Christ (), but He has made us an inheritance for Christ.

The church is His body, temple, and bride; we shall some day share His glory.

III.

Blessings from the Spirit (1:13–14)

A. He has sealed us (v.

13).

This important verse outlines the way of salvation.

The sinner hears the Word of Truth, trusts in Christ, receives the Holy Spirit, and is sealed forever.

“After that ye believed” ought to be “when ye believed,” for the Spirit enters the heart the instant the sinner trusts Christ.

This sealing means God owns us and will keep us.

Nobody can break God’s seal!

B. He has given us an earnest (v.

14).

“Earnest money” in business means money given as a down payment for a purchased possession.

Christ has purchased our future for us, but we have not yet entered into all the blessings.

God has given us His Spirit as the “down payment” to assure us that we will experience total redemption and receive God’s promised blessings in glory.

Please note that at the end of each of these three sections, Paul tells why the Father, the Son, and the Spirit have given us these blessings: “To the praise of His glory” (vv.

6, 12, 14b).

Salvation is by God’s grace and for God’s glory!

God does not have to save anybody; when He does save the sinner, He does so for His own glory.

IV.

Prayer for Understanding (1:15–23)

There are two prayers in Ephesians: (1) “that you might know,” 1:15–23; and (2) “that you might be,” 3:13–21.

The first is for enlightenment, the second for enablement.

Paul prays first that we might know what Christ has done for us; then he prays that we might live up to these wonderful blessings and put them to work in our daily lives.

Notice Paul’s requests:

A. That God may give you spiritual understanding (vv.

17–18a).

Spiritual truths must be spiritually discerned (), and this understanding can come only from the Spirit.

He wrote the Word; He alone can teach us what it says.

B. That you might know the hope of His calling (v.

18b).

Because God chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world, we have a blessed hope for all eternity that depends not on our goodness but on His grace.

Review vv.

4–6, where this calling is summarized for us.

The Christian who does not know his high calling (), holy calling (), and heavenly calling () will never be able to walk worthy of that calling (, where “vocation” is “calling”).

C. That you might know the riches of His inheritance (v.

18c).

We not only have an inheritance in Christ, but we are an inheritance to Christ (see v. 11).

The word “riches” appears often in Ephesians, suggesting that there is nothing lacking, nothing more that we need.

Christians mature in the Lord when they learn how much they mean to Christ and then start living to bring joy to His heart.

D. That you might know His power (vv.

19–23).

The very power that raised Jesus from the dead is available for our daily lives!

Christ has already won the victory over sin, death, the world, and Satan.

God’s people do not fight for victory but from victory!

We are seated with Him in the heavenlies, where there are power, peace, and victory.

Of course, all these blessings are only for those who meet the conditions set forth in vv.

1–2.

Note that Paul writes to living saints (not dead ones), people who have put faith in Christ.

These saints (set-apart ones) have experienced God’s grace and now enjoy God’s peace.

Nowhere does the Bible teach that the church makes people saints; only God can make a sinner a saint.

And the sinner must become a saint while he is still alive, for after death is the judgment ().

Chapter 1 emphasized our possessions in Christ; chapter 2 emphasizes our position in Christ.

Your position determines your possessions and authority.

Regardless of where the President of the United States may be physically, his position as the man who sits behind the desk in the White House gives him power and authority.

So with the Christian.

Regardless of where we might be physically (Paul was a prisoner when he wrote this letter), we have power and authority in the spiritual realm because of our position in Christ.

I. We Are Raised and Seated on the Throne (2:1–10)

A. What we were (vv.

1–3).

What a picture of the lost sinner!

To begin with, sinners are dead spiritually; that is, the inner man is dead to spiritual things and cannot respond to them.

The Gospels describe the resurrections of three people that Jesus raised from the dead: (1) a twelve-year-old girl, ; (2) a young man, ; and (3) an older man, .

Each of them was dead; the only difference was their state of decomposition.