Blessing Inventory chosen by the father
Blessing Inventory: Chosen by the Father
Ephesians 1:1-6
“The Mystery of the Missing Owner” read the headline on an unusual section of the Chicago Tribune on Sunday, February 6, 2005. The supplement was actually a legal notice published by the Illinois State Treasurer’s Office seeking to give money away to rightful owners the contents of abandoned safe deposit boxes, forgotten bank accounts, security deposit checks, uncashed paychecks, and dividend checks.
More than a billion dollars is owed to nearly five million people and businesses that the Treasurer’s Office could not trace. The front page of the supplement listed the names and last known addresses of 10 individuals or couples each owed over $100,000. And what followed were 116 pages packed tightly with names from Lucilee Aakeberg to Leonard E. Zyzda 113,000 names of people all owed more than $100 in cash and/or stock!
How sad would it be to have such benefits and not be aware of them? Even more so, how sad it is when believers live each day without a true awareness of their spiritual blessings!
As we begin our study of Paul’s letter to the Ephesians, we are immediately drawn into a kind of blessing inventory. After Paul’s customary introduction of himself and greeting to his readers in vv. 1-2, he launches into a tremendous paragraph of praise in which he recounts the spiritual blessings which belong to those who are in Christ. Verses 3-14 are actually one long sentence in Greek. It is a sentence which flows in waves of praise for how believers have been blessed in Christ.
Over the next three Sundays, we will make our way through this blessing inventory. Before we look at the specific blessings highlighted here, let’s get a feel for the basic framework of this great paragraph of God’s Word.
Blessing God Who Blesses Us with Spiritual Blessings
Verse three introduces this paragraph. Three times a form of the word “bless” is used. The Greek term eulogeo literally means to say a good
word or speak well of someone or something. Looking at verse 3, we note that three times the concept of blessing is mentioned. We are to bless or praise the Father who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in Christ. So, this paragraph is focused on praise for what God has done for us in Jesus Christ.
We also notice as we look at the structure of this paragraph that it has a very Trinitarian flavor to it. In verses 4-6, we see the blessing of being chosen by the Father. In verses 7-12, we notice the blessing of being redeemed through the Son. In verses 13-14, the paragraph culminates in our blessing of being sealed by the Holy Spirit. Paul is calling us to praise the Triune God for our salvation which was planned by the Father, purchased by the Son, and applied by the Spirit.
Today, we will begin our blessing inventory by noting the fact that believers have been chosen by the Father. This action of God in choosing individuals for salvation is called the doctrine of election. Let’s look closely at vv. 4-6 as we seek to understand what the Scriptures teach about this important doctrine.
I. Those who are saved have been chosen by God for salvation.
A. He chose us.
1. This verb, he chose, is the verb that governs the
thought in vv. 4-6. The other phrases in these verses
serve to expand and elucidate the key idea of God’s
choosing of believers for salvation.
2. The idea of God choosing a people for Himself is a
common theme in Scripture.
a. God chose Israel from among all the peoples
(Deut. 7:6-8; 10:14-15).
b. God chose those who make up the church (2
Thess. 2:13; 2 Tim. 1:9; 1 Pet. 1:1-2).
B. He chose us before the foundation of the world.
1. This indicates that God’s choice of those He would
save predates creation. Before God created anything,
at some time in eternity past, He chose those He was
going to save.
2. This is important because it reminds us that God’s
choice was free and uninfluenced by anything
outside himself. It was not based on anything we
might do or fail to do. (Rom. 9:11-12) Our salvation
rests on the sure foundation of God’s sovereign and
gracious choice, not on the shifting sands of human
choice or merit.
C. He chose us to be holy and blameless before Him in love.
1. The ultimate goal of God’s choice was that He would
have a people that are holy and blameless.
a. Holy is the positive possession of a holy life.
b. Blameless is the absence of any blemish.
c. This thought encompasses progressive growth
in holiness which ought to characterize Xns.
It also looks to the final glory which will be
the state of all the redeemed when they stand
before God.
2. Clearly, this holiness and blamelessness are not the
basis of God’s choice, but the ultimate goal of it.
D. He predestined us to be adopted as sons.
1. Predestined = to determine or decree beforehand. It
is the idea that God predetermined something.
2. In this case, it refers to the fact that God determined
Beforehand that all those whom He chose would be
adopted into His family as sons. The ideas of election
and predestination are almost synonyms here.
3. Adoption is full reception into God’s family as sons
and heirs through Jesus Christ. Though we do not
natively belong to God’s family, he chose us to be
adopted into His family.
4. This is done according to the kind intention of His
will. Literally according to His good pleasure and
will. This reminds us that our adoption into God’s
family is something He willed to do because it
pleased Him. It is another way of reminding us that
our salvation ultimately rests on God’s will.
E.