It Feels Good to be Chosen

Let me begin by asking you this simple question: “do you remember when you were in school and the Physical Ed teacher would break you into two or three groups, depending on the game? They would pick captains and then they would in tern pick who they wanted to be on their team. Was it just me, or do any of you ever feel like you were the last one picked? Well, we discover in todays text is that you and I have been chosen First, to be part of God’s Kingdom.

Lets read

Ephesians 1:1–6 NIV

Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, To God’s holy people in Ephesus, the faithful in Christ Jesus: Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love he predestined us for adoption to sonship through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will—to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves.

Let me explain...

First, let’s look at how this book begins. It begins with a greeting or salutation. An acknowledgement of who is speaking into your life. Paul begins by identifying himself as an “Apostle” of Jesus Christ. An apostle is one who has seen or met Jesus and learned directly from him; or a Messenger for Jesus. Paul met Jesus on the road to Damascus, as recorded for us in . He is one who speaks with Authority, based on his relationship with Jesus.

1 Corinthians 9:1 NIV

Am I not free? Am I not an apostle? Have I not seen Jesus our Lord? Are you not the result of my work in the Lord?

Paul is speaking as one who has authority, representing Jesus Christ. So what we read in Ephesians is based on the Authority that God Himself has given to Paul. He is writing it as of ‘Great’ importance.

He is speaking to the ‘Saints” or as some translations have it “Holy Ones.”

Address the church as a “holy People” In He address the church as “people who are loved” and “called to be holy”

History: Circular letter to be read among other churches () Laodicea. Ephesus was a thriving Cosmopolitan city. Best known for it temple of Artemis, where they worshipped the goddess Diana - The Greek goddess of wild animals and the moon, and protectress of the household. It was a magnificent statue fashioned from a meteorite. At Ephesus she was worshipped primarily as an ancient Near Eastern fertility deity, in whose honor the Greek colonists built a temple. This temple provided a lucrative business for the guild of silversmiths who made miniature silver shrines of the deity (cf. ).

Myers, A. C. (1987). In The Eerdmans Bible dictionary (p. 88). Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans.

These are people who believe in the Lord Jesus Christ. They are people full of ‘Faith’ in the person and divinity of Jesus Christ and his teachings. They are a people whom Paul wants to remind them that are “Set Apart for God, in order to reflect His Glory. His Glory refers to the “Importance” of who God is; the “Weight” or impact upon who God truly is. They are a people who do things so that the Awesomeness of God may be seen.

All believers are to give witness to the greatness of God in our lives. Will get to this more in just a moment.

In this ‘Salutation’ or ‘Greeting’ he passes on God’s ‘Grace’ and ‘Peace’ that comes from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. This is God’s ‘Favor’ that is upon each person whom God has chosen and adopted into his family. Because you are here this morning, you too have been blessed with God’s favor.

His favor comes to you by Him speaking to you this morning, wanting you to know Him personally. You may not always feel his favor, but none the less it is present with you. That is why Paul could wrote in other books such as or in

Philippians 4:11–12 NIV

I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want.

Romans 8:28 NIV

And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.

Philippians 4:11–12 NIV

These next 4 verses are an act of worship or praise to God for what he has done by choosing us.

Verse 3 “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ… Verse 6 - “To the Praise of His glorious Grace”

So as we look at what it means to be chosen, we can respond in Worship to God, our ‘Father’ and Jesus, our ‘Savior.’

First he speaks of ‘Blessings’ He wants you to know that you are ‘blessed.’ To be blessed is another way of looking at God’s favor upon you; it can also be seen as a wish, expression of well being to the recipient. When you hear someone say or write to you, “May the Lord’s blessings be upon you” it is that persons prayer that God will indeed bring you joy and peace; grant you favor in all that you do for him.

Paul is saying in the present tense: “You have been blessed in the ‘Heavenly Realms.’ What this means is that in all of God’s creation of the universe, you are one who is favored by God. Your soul has been saved by Christ Jesus.

Ephesians 1:18–21 NIV

I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people, and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is the same as the mighty strength he exerted when he raised Christ from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every name that is invoked, not only in the present age but also in the one to come.

Secondly he says, God “Chose us” You and me.

Notice that is says He Chose you before the creation of the world. And to reiterate this he says, “He predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ.” Adoption is easily understood. Adoption as sons was a legal term in the Roman Empire. If you chose to “adopt to sonship,” you made your adopted child your legal heir in all senses of the word. In the eyes of the government, it was as if the adopted child had always been your biological child.

Paul writes about this in his letter to the Romans. He says, in , “The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship. And by him we cry, ‘Abba, Father.’”

Abba is the Aramaic word for "daddy." We don’t live in fear as God’s slaves. We live in joy as God’s children. He has adopted us into his family, and in a way as if we were always in his family: adoption to sonship.

I read a story about a child who was bummed to learn that he had been adopted. His father called him aside, apart from the other kids, and said, “Son, do you really know what adoption means? It means we didn’t just have you; we chose you!” Adoption is another word signifying that God chose us to be in his family.

Pastor Kerry Haynes writes: “Sometimes people get upset about the word “predestined,” which means to set the boundaries in advance. God knew from the very start of creation who all would be in his family. Does that mean we don’t have a choice? Does God force us into his family? No. I can’t explain it, but the Bible carries a holy tension between God’s choosing us (God always takes the initiative) and our responding freely to God. Even though God knows in advance, we are still held accountable for choosing or rejecting him. We choose him, even though he first chose us. Both statements are true. We may not fully understand how, but that doesn’t make them any less true. Just know that God chose you. That’s a good thing. That’s something worth responding to by choosing him! And then… ()

Romans 8:29–30 NIV

For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified.

He chose us to be his children. He chose us to be holy and blameless, representing God in all of his purity. He did all this because He ‘is’ LOVE! He did it ‘in’ LOVE! He continues to do this ‘because’ of LOVE.

It is not a hardship to have created you and chosen you to be his child. It was all done in accordance to his pleasure… It was his desire to create us. He wanted us to know fellowship as he had with himself, in his Son Jesus, and in the Holy Spirit who resides in us.

You bring him satisfaction, because you represent the expression of his being. No matter how difficult life becomes, a father will always find satisfaction in a child because they are part of him. Not all ones actions are pleasing to God or to a father, but that is where grace comes in and by God’s grace, his love for you never becomes less.

All that he gives us in meant for His glorious grace, which is freely given through Jesus.

Why does this or should this matter to you and me?

You are you, and God never intended you to be anyone else.

You are loved beyond measure, no less and no more, than anyone else.

you have and always will have, all that you need or want. Sometimes it may appear that we don’t have what we want or need, but when we trust in Christ, we will always have what we need and more, but not what we want.

Secondly, you are precious in God’s eyes… it is important that you not only know this, but that you accept this.

it has been said recently that Suicide in MN has become the 8th leading cause of death. Why? I’m not going to pretend to known and understand all that causes a person to fall into that deathly trap. However, I am here today to say to anyone listening, that God loves you! IF for no other reason, know this, that if you are listening to this message today, God is telling you, you are my child. I love you. You should know and need to know that I am hear for you. As you cry out in pain, cry out in my Son’s name - Jesus! I am hear to listen to you; to guide you into the help you need. All you need to do is ‘Believe in who I am, and you will find rest for your soul. I have created a universe of people in my image. If you feel alone, know that you are not. I am hear. I have promise that I will never leave you or forsake you. No matter how bad things might seem…

Circular letter to be read among other churches () Laodicea. Ephesus was a thriving Cosmopolitan city. Best known for it temple of Artemis, where they worshipped the goddess Diana - The Greek goddess of wild animals and the moon, and protectress of the household. It was a magnificent statue fashioned from a meteorite. At Ephesus she was worshipped primarily as an ancient Near Eastern fertility deity, in whose honor the Greek colonists built a temple. This temple provided a lucrative business for the guild of silversmiths who made miniature silver shrines of the deity (cf. ).

This temple provided a lucrative business for the guild of silversmiths who made miniature silver shrines of the deity (cf. ).

The Greek goddess of wild animals and the moon, and protectress of the household—the Roman goddess Diana. At Ephesus she was worshipped primarily as an ancient Near Eastern fertility deity, in whose honor the Greek colonists built a temple.

Myers, A. C. (1987). In The Eerdmans Bible dictionary (p. 88). Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans.

At Ephesus she was worshipped primarily as an ancient Near Eastern fertility deity, in whose honor the Greek colonists built a temple.

Myers, A. C. (1987). In The Eerdmans Bible dictionary (p. 88). Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans.

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