Praise To A Soveriegn God

Ephesians 1:1–2 KJV 1900

1 Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, to the saints which are at Ephesus, and to the faithful in Christ Jesus: 2 Grace be to you, and peace, from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ.

Ephesians 1:3–4 (KJV 1900)

3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ:

4 According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love:

Ephesians 1:5–6 (KJV 1900)

5 Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will,

6 To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved.

How did this happen?

Ephesians 1:7–12 (KJV 1900)

7 In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace;

8 Wherein he hath abounded toward us in all wisdom and prudence;

9 Having made known unto us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure which he hath purposed in himself:

10 That in the dispensation of the fulness of times he might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; even in him:

11 In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will:

12 That we should be to the praise of his glory, who first trusted in Christ.

Ephesians 1:13–14 (KJV 1900)

13 In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise,

14 Which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory.

To understand the book of Ephesians, you must understand the concept of the church as the body of Christ. All saved are the Lord’s body in this world and the need to be attached to a local, visible, body.

In the book of Ephesians, Paul introduces and expounds upon the idea that the church is a body.

The word body brings to mind images of visible, united, diverse, and mutually dependent.

In our human body, every muscle, every bone, every nerve and every fiber is essential to a proper functioning of this body. The same is true in the body of Christ.

1 Corinthians 12:18 (KJV 1900)

18 But now hath God set the members every one of them in the body, as it hath pleased him.

In verses 7-11 of that same passage, Paul reminds us that we have each been gifted a unique assignment with the body of Christ; a specific area of service. Just as your human body allows you to manifest yourself to the world around you, the body of Christ, when it is functioning as He designed it to, allows Jesus to manifest Himself to the world.

So in this letter of Ephesians, we see this idea of the church as a body at the way through.

The first instance is

Ephesians 1:22 (KJV 1900)

22 And hath put all things under his feet, and gave him to be the head over all things to the church,

Ephesians 2:15 (KJV 1900)

15 Having abolished in his flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances; for to make in himself of twain one new man, so making peace;

Ephesians 3:6 (KJV 1900)

6 That the Gentiles should be fellowheirs, and of the same body, and partakers of his promise in Christ by the gospel:

Ephesians 4:16 (KJV 1900)

16 From whom the whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplieth, according to the effectual working in the measure of every part, maketh increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love.

Ephesians 5:30 (KJV 1900)

30 For we are members of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones.

This concept of the body that we have highlighted in 5 of the 6 chapters is developed in the rest of the supporting verses of this wonderful letter.

The body concept really dominates the thinking of Paul as he delineates the theology of the church.

Where the Book of Acts is the history and expansion of the church, the Book of Ephesians is the Theology of the Church.

Most of the time in Ephesians or 1 Corinthians 12 when speaking of the body as a church, the Apostle Paul is speaking of how it came to be in the death of Christ and how He formed it and how it is to function today.

But in this opening verses of Ephesians, the Apostle Paul goes all the way back into eternity past and shows how God master-planned the church as the body of Christ before the world began.

So, as we look at verses 3-6 I want us to think about where we came from, our Past.

I think today, we put to much emphasis on individual Christians, we miss the point that only as a unified, local, visible, diversified, mutually dependent church body do we give a complete picture of Christ to the World.

As individuals, we are a broken, sinful, pitiful picture by ourselves.

Ephesians 1:3–4 (KJV 1900)

3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ:

4 According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love:

Ephesians 1:5–6 (KJV 1900)

5 Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will,

6 To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved.

I know in your English text we have a period right here in verse 6 and again in verse 12.

But understand this morning that verses 3-14 is 1 sentence made up of around 202 greek words to describe not just the process of salvation, but the complete process from Rags to Riches, this eternal forming of the body of Christ by God. From being dead and sinful to holy and without blame, from sinners to saints, from darkness to light, from unfruitful to fruitful, from strangers to children.

I hope we get caught up in the richness we have in Christ Jesus.

So many people today are looking for the meaning of life. As a matter of fact, it made Dr. Rick Warren a very wealthy man when he wrote the Purpose Driven Life.

Unfortunately self help and self worth books flood the reading market today.

We really do not need more books, what we need is to find our worth, our joy, and our meaningfulness in our position in Christ.

Your value comes because you are in Christ.

Our value comes as we Praise God for His Sovereign Work: 3-6

Before the Apostle Paul begins to put the eternal plans of God down on paper, He begins with praise to God.

Ephesians 1:3 KJV 1900

3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ:

The Source of God’s Sovereignty:

God is Blessed

“Blessed the God and Father”

“Blessed” translates “to speak good of, praise, and praiseworthy”. We get our english word “Eulogy” from this word.

God is good -

God is the Blesser

“who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings”

Every blessing we enjoy in this life and the life to come is from God above.

James 1:17 (KJV 1900)

17 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.

If it is good, it is from God. If it is not good, it is from Sin or Satan or both.

Our blessings are Words while God’s blessings are Deeds!

The Subjects of God’s Sovereignty:

Ephesians 1:3 (KJV 1900)

3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ:

Who is this us?

Ephesians 1:1 (KJV 1900)

1 Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, to the saints which are at Ephesus, and to the faithful in Christ Jesus:

The Size of God’s Sovereignty:

Ephesians 1:3 (KJV 1900)

3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ:

All - means “total, whole, of every kind.”

You have everything God has to offer.

The Style of God’s Sovereignty:

Ephesians 1:3 (KJV 1900)

3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ:

Spiritual here does not mean spiritual as opposed to physical, but rather those blessings attached to the Holy Spirit.

He blesses us with all that is possible to be dispensed to us through the agency of the Spirit of God.

Don’t ever say I can’t!

God has shed love abroad in heart, given you joy unspeakable and full of glory, strength through the power of Christ.

God has given you ALL Spiritual Blessings.

Who does this? The God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.

As I mentioned last week, as Christians, we are poor and destitute. But let me also let you know, it is not God’s fault.

Everything that the Spirit can dispense to you has been dispensed in the presence of the indwelling Christ.

John McArther said, “It is not a question of finding something else; it is a question of using what you have got.”

You a rich! Say it with me this morning.

I am rich!

We are incredibly rich.

Where are these blessings?

The Storehouse of God’s Sovereignty:

Ephesians 1:3 (KJV 1900)

3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ:

This does not necessarily just mean in heaven, but means the supernatural world of God, the domain of God, the divine realm.

Remember, the blessings are from the Spirit, spiritual blessings.

How do we get to these blessings kept in the domain of God?

The State of God’s Sovereignty:

Ephesians 1:3 (KJV 1900)

3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ:

What made us a saint and faithful to begin with? In Christ

When a person comes to faith in Jesus Christ, that person is brought into a wonderful union with Jesus.

1 Corinthians 6:17 KJV 1900

17 But he that is joined unto the Lord is one spirit.

When we met Jesus, we became one with Jesus. As a result, everything that belongs to Him now belongs to us.

Romans 8:16–17 KJV 1900

16 The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God: 17 And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together.

says, “The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God: And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together.”

Everything Jesus has the redeemed saints of God have. We have it not because we deserve it, but we have been given these things because of His work in our hearts and lives. We have been brought into such a close fellowship with Jesus that He shares every thing He has with us. We don’t deserve it. We didn’t earn it. Everything was given to as a free gift of His grace!

Conc: If you are in Christ today, you possess all spiritual blessings in Him. If that is your condition today, you should come before Him and thank Him for what He has given you in Jesus. When you come before Him, you should also ask Him to help you walk in the Spirit so that you can lavishly spend everything He has given you in Jesus. Then, you should get up and go out into the world living out His will and walking in His ways.

If you are not in Christ today, and He is calling you to come to Him, you should obey that call and come to Jesus Christ for salvation. I can’t promise you that you will not have trouble, but I can promise you that you will enjoy spiritual riches beyond all description.

Praise to Jesus Christ for His Saving Work: 7-12

Praise to the Holy Spirit for His Sealing Work: 13-14