To the Praise of His Glorious Grace

Intro.

This text is one of the richest sections on the blessings of grace in sacred Scripture.

God’s grace is proclaimed in grand and lofty terms, yet as it sinks in there is a personal grittiness that says, “It’s for me.”

In the original language, verses 3-14 are one single sentence.

This is not, however, simply a frenetic gushing run-on sentence.

If you’re familiar at all with musical theory, you know that a major chord is made up of 3 notes played at the same time.

Chords provide a depth to music, and in the same way, Paul expresses his praise in numerous 3-note chords throughout this section.

The first two are layered here for us in verse 3.

Notice the three-fold use of the word “bless.”

Paul is writing to the Ephesians, but he directs this primarily to God.

In other words, he isn’t so much calling on the Ephesians to praise God as he is actually doing it himself.

The form of praise that we see here comes from the Old Testament where the Lord was regularly raised for his mighty acts.

Exodus 18:10 ESV

Jethro said, “Blessed be the Lord, who has delivered you out of the hand of the Egyptians and out of the hand of Pharaoh and has delivered the people from under the hand of the Egyptians.

Psalm 72:18 ESV

Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, who alone does wondrous things.

The three-fold use of the word “bless” corresponds to the nature of God.

We see the Father receiving the praise.

Then we see Jesus the Son who has secured the blessings for us.

The word spiritual here is actually a reference to the Holy Spirit.

Gordon Fee is a New Testament scholar, and he wrote this:

“’Spiritual’ has been understood to mean religious…, non-material…,mystical, pertaining to the interior life of the believer, or, in its worst moments, elitist (a spiritual Christian over against an everyday or carnal one). But in fact not one of these meanings can be found either in Greek literature or in Paul. For Paul, ‘spiritual’ in every case has some reference to the Spirit of God….[T]he ‘spiritual blessings’ of Ephesians 1:3 are ‘blessing that come from life in the Spirit.”

Three times in these verses, Paul refers to God’s will.

Look at vs. 5, 9, and 11.

These all correspond to the blessings and the three-fold refrain of praise.

Look at vs. 6, 12, and 14.

Finally, I want to point out the three eras of time that Paul references in this section.

The grand sweep of God’s work began before the foundation of the world—verse 4.

It looks ahead to that day when time will be all filled up in the future—verse 10.

So, in these verses there is all of history from eternity to eternity, but then look at how the present has not been overlooked.

Look at vs. 7 and 11.

There is so much here we are going to take three more weeks to take it in, but here is what I want you to take away from this section.

God is glorified when we gladly rely on his eternally-purposed, blood-bought, Christ-exalting blessings.

It is basic to the Bible that our fundamental purpose in life is to glorify God.

One of the ways that you can be sure that you are doing this in your life is by gladly relying on his blessings.

God had a purpose for these blessings in eternity past.

He purchased them for you with the blood of his Son, and every one of these blessings show the greatness of Jesus Christ.

I want us to see this in the text.

Then I want us to look briefly at three of these blessings.

God seeks glory by doing what is good for us, so we best give him the glory that is due to him by relying on his blessings.

He bought these for us in the death of his Son.

We see that in v. 7.

We are the recipients of these blessings, but the Father does this in a way that exalts his Son.

Jesus Christ is central to this entire blessing project.

Fourteen times in these verses we see a reference to these things happening in Christ.

That’s because the ultimate goal is to bring everything under the lordship of Jesus Christ.

Look at v. 10.

In Philippians 2:10-11, we see it expressed this way:

Philippians 2:10–11 ESV

so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

Now let’s look closer at these blessings.

A purposeful adoption (vs. 4-6)

a. There is a certain sense in which everyone is a child of God because he is our Creator.

Acts 17:28 ESV

for “ ‘In him we live and move and have our being’; as even some of your own poets have said, “ ‘For we are indeed his offspring.’

i. However, the prevailing idea in Scripture is that we have been alienated from God because of sin.

ii. This means, in a true sense, we’re not part of his family.

iii. Look at how dire this is expressed in 2:1 and 3.

iv. This is reinforced in Colossians.

Colossians 1:21 ESV

And you, who once were alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds,

b. However, we see here that before God ever created the world, he chose to adopt some to be his children.

i. Paul is focused on us seeing our status before God as the result of his gracious choosing, but John tells us how we can know whether or not we actually have received this blessing of adoption.

John 1:12 ESV

But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God,

c. God had a purpose in adopting people into his family.

i. If you have received Jesus as your Savior, you belong to God as his child and that’s never going to change.

ii. The reason why God chose you is in v. 3.

God’s purpose in adoption is that we would be holy and blameless before him.

I enjoy going to car shows.

Car shows embody this idea of being holy and blameless. These cars have been set apart, which is the idea of being holy. They are not for common use anymore, and the owners usually take great care to keep them spotless—blameless. One of the things that is great about car shows is seeing the transformation of vehicles from rusty or oxidized has-beens that didn’t even run to pristine, shiny hot rods that run even better than their prime.

v. On an even more magnificent scale, God adopted you to transform you.

e. To receive Christ is to receive the blessing of a purposeful adoption.

A purposeful redemption (vs. 7-10)

a. The idea of redemption brings our situation into clear focus.

i. When you think of redemption, think of being set free or delivered.

ii. In our culture today, we most often associate redemption with a second chance or proving that we really are good.

iii. This theme dominates Hollywood.

In the first Rocky movie, Sylvester Stallone nails what a lot of people think of redemption.

All I wanna do is go the distance. Nobody's ever gone the distance with Creed, and if I can go that distance, you see, and that bell rings and I'm still standin', I'm gonna know for the first time in my life, see, that I weren't just another bum from the neighborhood.

b. However, when the Bible talks about redemption, it is something that God does for us because we can’t do it ourselves.

John 8:34 ESV

Jesus answered them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who practices sin is a slave to sin.

i. Redemption is not God giving us a second chance.

ii. Redemption is God actually setting you free from the condemnation and power of sin.

c. God did this at great cost to himself.

i. This redemption came through the blood of Jesus Christ, but the blessing of redemption is priceless.

ii. It is nothing less than the forgiveness of our sins.

iii. The blessing of redemption is the declaration that you are free.

iv. This is expressed so well in the song “Redeemed” by Big Daddy Weave.

Bound up in shackles of all my failures Wondering how long is this gonna last Then You look at this prisoner and say to me "son Stop fighting a fight that's already been won"

I am redeemed, You set me free So I'll shake off theses heavy chains Wipe away every stain now I'm not who I used to be I am redeemed

d. Like with adoption, God has a purpose in this redemption.

God’s purpose in redemption is to unite us to Jesus Christ.

ii. This is a major theme throughout the letter, and we’ll continue to come back to it again and again.

iii. In fact, Paul never talks about believers as Christians.

iv. Instead, he talks about us as “in Christ.”

v. It is what we picture in baptism.

e. Here is what is important to remember.

i. To be united to Christ is to be identified with him in such a way that your life is no longer your own, but you are one with him.

Galatians 2:20 ESV

I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.

ii. A purposeful redemption is being rescued from sin by God that we might become like our Rescuer.

f. Adoption and redemption are two blessing that were secured for us in the past and are a present possession, but they both ultimately look forward to the third blessing.

A purposeful inheritance (vs. 11-14)

a. An inheritance is a future possession that is passed on from one generation to another.

i. Many people today probably tend to think of inheritance in monetary terms.

ii. An inheritance is an asset that can be spent.

b. However, in the ancient world, an inheritance was most often seen as resource that would produce and provide like land.

i. Children are even called an inheritance.

ii. What made an inheritance valuable is that it wouldn’t run out or be depleted.

iii. Land would produce crops year after year.

iv. Flocks and herds would continue to multiply.

c. These are shadows of what God has reserved for believers in heaven.

i. Peter described it this way:

1 Peter 1:3–4 ESV

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you,

ii. Stocks and bonds are uncertain, but the inheritance that is waiting for us is sure.

d. Now even though this inheritance is in the future, God has given us something to guarantee this inheritance.

i. He has given us his Spirit.

ii. Look at v. 13.

iii. The presence of God’s Spirit in a believer is the assurance of the inheritance.

iv. It’s not the day you prayed the prayer that assures you on this inheritance.

v. It’s not your baptism date.

vi. The guarantee of your inheritance is the Holy Spirit.

e. Now just as our adoption and our redemption had a purpose, God has a purpose in our inheritance.

i. Look at it in v. 12.

ii. It’s there again in v. 14.

God’s purpose in giving us an eternal inheritance in his Son was to secure praise for his glory.

Conclusion

· When we look at these three blessings, we see that because of Jesus Christ, God has given us three things that the human heart longs for—status, freedom, and hope.

o In adoption, God has given us the status of his chosen and loved children.

o In redemption, God has given us freedom from the enslavement of sin.

o In our inheritance, God has given us a sure hope that is more secure than any other hope in this world.

o To rely on these means they affect the way we look at life and take action in the world.