All Thanks to Him

Good morning, Ambassadors! I’m grateful for the opportunity to gather with you again this morning! Today we begin a 3 parts series in the book of Ephesians, taking us from chapter 1 verse 11 through chapter 2 verse 22. I’m looking forward to walking through this text together.

As we begin this morning, let’s pray and then we can read together our text:

Ephesians 1:11–19 ESV

11 In him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will, 12 so that we who were the first to hope in Christ might be to the praise of his glory. 13 In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, 14 who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory. 15 For this reason, because I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love toward all the saints, 16 I do not cease to give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers, 17 that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him, 18 having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, 19 and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the working of his great might

Our approach this morning will be to walk through each verse and read the letter from the Apostle Paul as it was intended to be read.

There are a few major themes I’d like us to observe as we walk through this text. My hope is to ask good questions of us to pray over and consider in the Spirit as we go home today and go about our week. Our themes this morning include:

Our inheritance of salvation in Christ

God’s power to secure our inheritance in spite of our best efforts

Our gratitude for the gifts of God, including God’s people

Our inheritance of salvation in Christ

Verse 11

We see here in verse 11 Paul talk about obtaining an inheritance. In whom have we obtained an inheritance? What is the inheritance? Well, the qualification is in the earlier verses to show us that this comes from being in Christ - in Him. It’s in Christ that we have been redeemed and baptized, and are being sanctified/made holy. Our inheritance is both from God but also IN God. When we are given the good gifts of God, primarily He is giving us Himself. He did this once and for all on the Cross, and all His people in time past and future received Him at that moment. Paul reveals this to us in the following phrase - “having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of His will.” Because we love and believe in the concept of free will, many of us are afraid of that word predestination. We immediately turn to fatalism or determinism in saying that nothing matters because God is orchestrating everything like a puppeteer. But being predestined according to purposes/design and predestined according to directives and absolute commands are very different. We ought not be afraid of this word predestination, but ought to be grateful that our salvation, our inheritance, our spiritual blessing does NOT depend on our free will but on the good grace of God according to His will. I would much rather live my life under the umbrella of the counsel of God’s will over mine, because mine is broken and sinful. Because God's purposes are higher than our ways, we ought to give thanks that our inheritance of salvation is dependent on Him and not us.

God’s power to secure our inheritance in spite of our best efforts

Verse 12-14

A further reflection on how/why/who God predestines or chooses is reflected in the Old Testament covenants between God and Israel. God had chosen Abraham to raise up a people that would be distinctly His. It was not because of Abraham’s race, character, or special characteristics, but God qualified Abraham for HIS purposes according to HIS Will.

Genesis 12:2–3 ESV

2 And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. 3 I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”

We know that Christ was born and lived as a Jew because of how God had raised His people beginning with Abraham. Paul is writing to Gentiles showing them that while Christ was a Jew and the Church began as a Jewish one, that God’s will was that His glory would be praised, not that any ethnocentric group would be seen as superior. He helps us with that in verse 13 by moving from explaining how God was using the Old Covenant people, Israel, to explaining to the New Covenant people, the Church, how they can be and are being used to bring praise to God’s glory. Then, in verse 14, Paul uses a welcoming and comprehensive phrase that echoes verse 11 - our inheritance. Throughout the letter, the beauty we can see is like a big brother saying to the little brother, “You’re one of us now, and it’s awesome.” The love that he has for this church is laced throughout this whole letter, but he really expresses this love and gratitude in...

Verse 15

He begins here with “For this reason.” He’s spent the whole opening of the letter laying out how God has moved and worked in his and their lives up to this point. I believe it begs the question of us:

How have you recounted the blessings of God lately?

What this season of life has done for us is to totally and completely upend what we saw as normal. Over the past 15 months, things that previously were easily accessed or easily taken for granted at one time or another suddenly became rare or came into question - our health, the health of our loved ones, toilet paper, employment, full shelves at the grocers’, family gatherings, vacations, and most recently, gasoline for our vehicles. But in spite of this terrible season for so many, God has moved and worked in ways we would not have predicted otherwise. We are not here to create a balance sheet for what we think God should or should not do. We are here to align ourselves to His commands, His law, His grace, and His will in our lives.

Our gratitude for the gifts of God, including God’s people

Verse 16

The title this morning is “All Thanks To Him,” and that comes from this verse, verse 16. Paul’s incessant thanksgiving to God for these people is nothing short of exemplary for us today. This leads us to another few questions of application.

Who have you thanked God for recently? Who have you remembered in your prayers? Who have you told this to?

How important it is for us to give thanks to God for not only what he has given us, but also who he has given us. And even if we are in a season of life where we don’t feel we have many people to be thankful for, we can yet give thanks for the Holy Spirit, who lives in us and is the keeper of our inheritance in Christ. Paul’s gratitude is that they are faithful in their love of God and of others. I am so thankful for so many of you who have remained faithful in this same manner, lifting up God’s church and God’s glory while working to bring more into God’s Kingdom. So this morning, be praying for ways to follow the example of Paul, and give thanks to God for whom He has put in your life and in mine.

Verse 17-19

Now in these verses we enter into the pastoral prayer and the hope that Paul has for these beloved people. This is most definitely my prayer for our church, and I know it to be the prayer of Pastor JP and our elders as well. One of the most beautiful things about this prayer and others like it from the Apostle Paul is that it is littered with doctrinal truth. When we pray, and especially when we pray for others, we ought to be praying in a manner that marries truth and love. God is a God that is the full essence and the beautiful marriage of all truth and all love. If we want to align ourselves to His will and have God draw others into His will, we should be praying for God’s truth to be communicated in love - just as this prayer is.

Verse 17 discussion

Verse 18 discussion - hope

Verse 19 - according to the working of his great might is a CIRCLE BACK to verse 11

How has God revealed Himself to you lately?

God reveals us to Himself through creation, through people, and through His Word. How are you looking for Him in those areas? Have you enjoyed the good gifts of God and praised Him for them? Or are you focused on yourself, your circumstances, your comfort, and your desires? God’s love for us is not oriented to make us comfortable or happy, it is the driving force for us to bring praise to His glory.