Sermon Tone Analysis

Intro: Tony Merida introduces this idea that “We do not have issues of praise.”

People praise a lot of things in their lives.

We don’t struggle with that aspect.

People praise their sports teams.

People praise their favorite movies and TV shows.

People praise their favorite places to eat.

People praise the music they like.

People praise celebrities and politicians.

People praise the ones they love.

Praise is never a difficult thing for us to do.

We come to the body of the letter of Ephesians.

Remember that we are now venturing into Paul’s teaching on knowing who we are.

He begins this teaching with an extended 202 word sentence in the Greek praising God for his spiritual blessings that He has bestowed upon us.

And that’s the drive of our lives.

The church’s identity begins with praise to the triune God for the spiritual blessings he has blessed us with.

We worship what we love, and for those that believe in Christ, it should be natural for us to praise God, the one whom loved us from eternity past and will love us forever into eternity future.

READ EPHESIANS 1:3-14

CTS: Praise God for choosing to bestow on us the spiritual blessings of our salvation.

I am going to split up this text into two sermons, and this week I want to focus on verses 3-10, the spiritual blessings in regards to our choosing, adoption, and redemption...

The driving point of this text comes from verse 3. Blessed be.

In other words, Paul is saying God is worthy of our praise because of the things he begins to list.

This verse is the summary of what’s to come.

We praise, worship, and glorify the triune God (which is evident in this verse alone) because of the spiritual blessings that are given to us.

And remember, the locality of this blessing is in Christ, which is that important term that is used 11 times in this letter, with many more variations of that idea throughout.

In Christ, we have these spiritual blessings.

So what are these spiritual blessings?

I. Chosen in Christ (4)

A. Chosen from eternity past

The first spiritual blessing is that God has chosen us.

There is this doctrine throughout the Scriptures.

It is something that perks up the ears of those that read it.

But it should not make us afraid or bristle at the thought.

As a matter of fact, it should cause us to praise!

God has chosen persons and people throughout history to carry out his purpose.

Abraham, Moses, the Israelites, the prophets, etc. God sets out to choose people to do things.

And here, he chooses to save people and make them his own.

That should cause you to praise him this morning.

You have been chosen by God to be saved.

Now, how that relates to God’s sovereign plan means that God is in complete control.

He knows all things and brings all things to pass according to the purpose of his will.

And how this relates to the very clear call of Scripture that you must repent and believe, showing that we have responsibility to believe in Christ.

This gospel message is also offered to all, as we know that God is not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance (2 Peter 3:9).Yes, this is one of those debates on how that all works together that has been argued over and much ink spilt over the years.

But ultimately, that debate is not the point of this text.

You can hold varying positions how God chooses to save people by His grace, but you must affirm that He does choose.

If you would like to know where I stand on this in more detail, come talk to me after service, give me a call, or let’s go and sit down and have coffee one day and we can have that discussion more in detail.

I also tend to deal in more detail on these things when I do Sunday evening Bible studies.

But one thing you must remember and that I have said before.

Where you stand on this issue is an issue that does not indicate our salvation and doesn’t indicate whether I can work alongside people in the church that disagree with me on it.

We all believe the same Gospel message and we all have the same mission.

To go and proclaim that Gospel to all people, regardless of race, nationality, status, personality, political affiliation, or

But here is the takeaway.

You should praise God that before the foundation of the world, God chose people like you and me to save us.

And pay attention to where that choosing takes place.

In Christ.

You are chosen God to be saved in Christ.

It’s only in Him.

He is the “Chosen One” par excellence (F.F.

Bruce) .

He is the chosen Messiah, the means God has always planned to save His wayward and sinful creation.

He is the Lamb of God slain before the foundation of world.

Our salvation is located in the work of Christ.

In Him we are saved, and we are only saved by grace alone through faith alone.

It requires our own conscience decision.

Have you trusted in Him today?

If you have, you are in Christ!

Give praise and honor that He has given you this gracious salvation!

How could we not praise Him for choosing to save people like us!

If you have not, know that this salvation is made possible by faith in Jesus alone.

Respond to this gracious message today, and repent and believe in Jesus Christ alone for your salvation, for a new life, eternal life in him.

B. Chosen for a purpose

And that choosing has a purpose.

It’s clear here.

God chose you and me, individually and corporately as the church, for the purpose of being holy and blameless.

That means that we have been chosen to be a people that is holy and set apart, blameless.

That truth is described of us now, our identity because of the righteousness of Christ alone.

But it also describes that we are to live this truth out.

Before the One whom we have our salvation, we are to live set apart, different to live blameless.

There is a transformative purpose for us.

We are saved not to just get to heaven one day, we are saved to be set apart for the glory of King Jesus.

Paul says this elsewhere in Colossians.

And one day, that will fully come to fruition.

We will stand fully redeemed, holy and blameless before God because of what Christ has done for us, to us, and through us.

It is the already, but not yet aspect of our choosing.

Live who you are in Christ.

Live holy in your life.

Live differently.

Stand strong for the gospel.

Love people radically.

Be bold for Jesus.

Be compassionate and gracious, ready to forgive because Christ forgave you.

You are called to live holy and blameless, wherever you are.

Not just at church.

But at home, live out the Gospel.

At work.

At school.

Teachers should be different.

Students should be different.

Healthcare workers.

Lawyers.

Doctors.