Blessings in Christ (Eph. 1:1-3)

Introduction

· Today we begin a new study through the Book of Ephesians.

· If you have trusted in Christ this morning, you have a treasure more valuable than all the money in the world. It is a heavenly treasure that the Apostle Peter says is “imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you” (1 Pet. 1:4). Just found out last night that Natalie’s parents probably lost their vacation home yesterday in the fire Big Creek. It was our favorite place to go on vacation, and we’re pretty sure it went up in flames in the Creek Fire. We are hearing reports the whole town has been lost. Good friends of ours lost their home. We think the little country church is gone. The elementary school and community pool where my kids swam this summer is gone. It’s hard to imagine all of it is gone. I keep hearing the words of Jesus, “do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust corrupt, and thieves break forth and steal. But lay up for yourselves treasure in heaven.” Everything in this life is temporary. Hopefully it can be rebuilt, but it’s going to take a long time. And it will take another hundred years before there are trees that large and a forest that developed. But thankfully, there is an inheritance that you and I can experience that no flame can quench. Paul speaks of it here….

· Read Eph. 1:1-14

· Paul begins his letter with a fairly typical greeting (vv. 1-2). He is an apostle (sent by Christ, speaking on behalf of Christ), and he writes to the saints in Ephesus.

· Some early manuscripts omit the name of the city, suggesting this may have been a circular letter, intended to be copied and passed along to many cities throughout Asia Minor, including, but not limited to, Ephesus. Of course, this letter is meant for many churches, including ours.

· After Paul’s opening greeting, he launches into one of the longest sentences in all the Bible, and what some scholars say is the longest sentence found anywhere in the Greek language. Once Paul gets going, he just can’t seem to stop.

· He begins with a declaration of praise to God, and then begins to recount God’s blessing. He continues to gain momentum as he sends wave upon wave of God’s kindness and blessing to his children. We have election (4), not only that, but predestination (5, 11), not only that, but adoption (5), redemption (7), forgiveness (7), inheritance (11), the seal of the Holy Spirit (13). Paul is like the infomercial salesman who keeps saying, “But wait, there’s more!” Except this is no sales pitch. And there is no catch. It is a reality for those who are “in Christ.”

Union with Christ

· The term “in Christ” appears at least 9x in this opening section. All of the blessings listed are available to us and realized “in Christ Jesus,” that is based on our attachment to, and our relationship with, Jesus.

· An important theme in the letter. Ephesians 2:5–7 even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.

· It is though all the things that Christ experienced also happened to us. When he died, we died with him. When he rose, we rose with him. When he ascended, we ascended with him. And we are told we will reign with him in the future.

· Again and again in his epistles, Paul refers to our union and identity with Christ. It is as though we become joined to Christ and permanently fused together with him. Like marriage, our individual identities are not lost, but neither are we complete without the other part. The two become one.

· Think of a patient who receives an organ transplant, like a kidney or a lung. Something from outside the body is attached, and eventually becomes fused together. It can take months to know if the new body will “accept” the organ, but eventually it becomes a permanent part of the body.

· These believers may live “in Ephesus,” but ultimately their identity is not “in Ephesus.” Previously they would have been “in Adam” as part of his offspring, but they are no longer in Adam. Now they are “in Christ.”

· I wonder, where is your identity this morning? Where do you find purpose and fulfillment? In your car or pickup truck? In the success of your business? In the accomplishments of your children?

· Paul says we are the ‘faithful in Christ Jesus’ and are ‘alive together with Christ.” He says something similar in the Book of Colossians. 2:13 And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, In the previous verses he says, 2:12 [you were] buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through faith... Here he is referring not to water baptism, but to spiritual baptism. You have been surrounded and immersed into someone else [this is why we teach baptism by immersion.].

· Jesus anticipates this union in John 14:18f. Although he is about to leave his disciples, it almost sounds like he’s going to be closer to them than he was before. “I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. Yet a little while and the world will see me no more, but you will see me. Because I live, you also will live. In that day you will know that I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you”… John 14:23 Jesus answered him, “If anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him.

· Then in the next chapter he paints a helpful picture. I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser… Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. If anyone does not abide in me he is thrown away like a branch and withers; and the branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned.

· Object lesson: Show clippings of two branches – one from two weeks ago and one that I just clipped this morning.

· Physically, we may be separate from Jesus for a time while he prepares a place for us, but spiritually, we are already joined together eternally with him. There is a tight, inseparable bond.

· No wonder, then, that Paul can say, Philippians 1:21 For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. Galatians 2:20 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.

Applications

· What does this mean for you today? Trust in Christ. Have you personally trusted in Christ? Have you hidden yourself in God? Confessed your sin and ran to the only one that can shield you from God’s righteous anger?

· Think more on heavenly things. Colossians 3:1–4 If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.

· Learn to love one another. This doctrine has profound implications in our relationships. Christ is the head, and we are the body. Each of us are members, inextricably linked both to the head and to the other members. We must learn to love one another, to serve one another, to live in harmony and function together, for we all share one body. John Stott: “To be in Christ is to be personally and vitally united to Christ…it is impossible to be part of the Body without being related to both the Head and the members…To be a Christian is in essence to be ‘in Christ,’ one with him and with his people.”

· The year 2020 has brought with it many opportunities for us to love one another. Should we worship inside or outside? Masks or no masks? Should we submit to the government or just do church like normal? Everyone has an opinion and a personal preference. And then there is the whole issue of racial reconciliation. These are all opportunities for us to prefer one another, and to put others interests above our own. To display union in Christ.

Conclusion

· Our union with Christ is itself a mystery and a blessing. In a sense, it is itself the greatest blessing of salvation. But it is through this union we receive many more blessings – election, adoption, redemption, etc. All of these become ours because we are “in Christ.”

· A few years ago I attended a Bible conference in KY. On a plane with two other pastors. We had a layover together in Dallas. My friend Jonathan said I’m a frequent flyer and have access to the VIP lounge. Do you want to come in to wait during your layover? I said sure. Enter the frosted glass doors and walk into another world. You leave behind the sterile airport environment and walk into a fancy room with plush furniture, relaxing music, and free coffee and buffet service. Like stepping into a swanky hotel. You could kick off your shoes and relax in first class amenities. All of it was available because I was with my friend Jonathan. I had done nothing to deserve it. I could not be there apart from him. I was his guest. And because of him, I was treated like royalty. So it is with Christ.

· No matter what happens in this life, or what is taken from us, it is good to know that in both times of plenty and times of need, we are alive together with Christ.

Closing Announcements

· FOF begins next week (how many plan to attend? --- Newcomers Class tonight!