Praise be to God For What he has Done In Christ Eph. 1:1-10

Intro: Good Morning Fellowship Espanol, we are glad you are here with us this Labor Day Weekend, my name is Josh Aguilar, I am one of the elders here at Fellowship Espanol. I hope you are as excited as I am to start our sermon series in the book of Ephesians.

Over the next several months we will study the book of Ephesians and we will discover what God’s word has to say about topics like identity, unity in Christ, authenticity in Christ, relationships and more. Open your Bible to to Ephesians 1:1-10

Ephesians 1:1–10 (ESV)

Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God,

Pablo, apóstol de Cristo Jesús por[a] la voluntad de Dios:

Paul is writing a letter to the church in Ephesus, more than likely this letter was a circular letter, meaning it was circulated to all the local churches in the area. Paul is stating who he is, his role as an Apostle, an Apostle to the Gentiles.

Romans 11:13 (ESV)

Now I am speaking to you Gentiles. Inasmuch then as I am an apostle to the Gentiles,

Pero a vosotros hablo, gentiles. Entonces, puesto que yo soy apóstol de los gentiles, honro mi ministerio,

I encourage to read Paul’s conversion story this week in Acts 9.

We discover Paul’s calling is by the will of God as an Apostle to the Gentiles. As we continue in Ephesians today and throughout this series we will discover that the will of God, God’s purposes and plans are an important theme in Ephesians. Let’s keep reading

To the saints who are in Ephesus, and are faithful in Christ Jesus:

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

A los santos que están en Efeso y que son fieles en Cristo Jesús:2 Gracia a vosotros y paz de parte de Dios nuestro Padre y del Señor Jesucristo.

We see Paul is writing to people who are in Ephesus, before we get to the people. Let’s talk about Ephesus, which in Paul’s day, it was a major port city. People who were traveling or business people who were selling, would come through Ephesus. It was a major trade city and it was a major entrance into what was known as Asia Minor. Historians estimate that the population of Ephesus when Paul visited was about 250,000 people, LR’s population is just over 198,000.

Ephesus was also a religious city, they were polytheists, they worshipped many gods, much like most of the Gentiles in their day. They were synchronistic and pluralistic, they would synchronize various beliefs and mash them together, as a result they were pluralistic also meaning various beliefs systems could co-exist in their society or culture, they had sites for Egyptian deities, they had synagogues for Judaism. But Ephesus is known for the temple of Artemis, which could also be known as the Temple to Dianna. The Greeks identified the goddess of fertility as Artemis, Romans as Diana. There were sacrifices and temple prostitution at this temple site, as religious activities and worship. This temple was beautiful and huge, it is known as one of the 7 wonders of the world. The Imperial cult was also in Ephesus, which is worship of the Emperor of Rome. They practiced magic and believed the spirit world influenced every aspect of life. There was gnosticism, which believed matter, anything physical was evil and the spirit or the spiritual is good. They also claim to have elevated knowledge or a “higher truth” known only to a certain few. Which made gnostics seek after spiritual experiences, which were considered more important than knowledge of the scriptures. This is the culture that existed in Ephesus when Paul was there and where Christianity thrived.

Ephesus had major attractions, like a theatre, this theatre could hold up to 25,000 people. They held theatrical productions, civil and religious meetings in it. When you read of Paul’s time in Ephesus in Acts 19, Christianity was thriving, people were responding to the Gospel, that it began to hurt the business of the silversmiths, because they were making idols. These business people brought charges against Paul and other believers, they rushed into the theatre and all these people were shouting in the theatre, imagine 25,000 people shouting “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians” for 2 hours! The people of Ephesus were hostile to Christianity, which is described as “the way” in Acts 19. Many people in Ephesus were turning away from their religous beliefs and heritage and were coming to Christ and Paul had a desire to disciple them and communicate with them the truths of the Gospel. You are no longer what you once were, in Christ you have been transformed. You are a new creation. So what does Paul tell them?

Saints in Ephesus - which Paul is saying, followers of the way, followers of Christ you have been set apart and now you are holy and blameless. You are a saint because God, through the power of the Holy Spirit sets you apart and makes you new and draws him into a new community known as the church. We have become a new person, with new priorities and with a new purpose. Every Christian is a saint and every saint is a Christian.

Faithful - they are people who have exercised their faith, which is people who have heard the historical facts of the person and work of Jesus and have place their trust in the Gospel, meaning they believe the truths of the Gospel and live in such way that their life resembles the teaching of Christ and His word, in other words we continue in the faith.

In Christ - Believers are also now “in Christ”. Paul uses this phrase 164 times throughout his writings. We will begin to discover what that means today, but being “in Christ” means we are joined with Christ in such a way that what is true of him is now true for us. In Christ, we have been radically changed, we have a new nature, a new position, a new community, new priorities and a new identity.

Many people in Ephesus, became followers of Jesus, they left their old life behind, for a new life in Christ. What exactly is this new life in Christ? The people of Ephesus gave up their religious beliefs, their political positions, they gave up how their culture, society or families defined them. Now what? Who am I now that I am in Christ? You may have some of those same questions, in our remaining time let’s discover what Paul begins to tell us about the work God has done through Christ in followers of Christ.

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,

Before, we answer the question, Who am I in Christ, we first have to acknowledge, something very important. Paul starts this section by saying “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ” Paul starts off by saying PRAISE GOD! So everything that follows, while it does describe what we have recieved in Christ and talks about our identity in Christ. Paul is first and foremost saying Praise God for what he has done for us in Christ.

The reason Paul says Praise God is because everything God has done for us in Christ, he has done it for the Glory of his name. God saved you, God saved me, for the purpose of bringing him glory, the words Paul uses literally is “to the praise of the glory of his grace.” Grace is what is being praised because it is the the supreme expression of glory, it is what spills over into our lives in Christ by the power of the Holy Spirit. We praise God for the greatness of God’s grace towards us because everything God has done for us in Christ brings us joy and we cannot help but say Praise God for what he has done for us In Christ. Praise God

who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love he predestined us for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved. In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight making known to us the mystery of his will, according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth.

3 Bendito sea el Dios y Padre de nuestro Señor Jesucristo, que nos ha bendecido con toda bendición espiritual en los lugares celestiales en Cristo, 4 según nos escogió en Él antes de la fundación del mundo, para que fuéramos[c] santos y sin mancha delante de Él. En amor 5 nos predestinó[d] para adopción como hijos para sí mediante Jesucristo, conforme al beneplácito[e] de su voluntad, 6 para alabanza de la gloria de su gracia que gratuitamente ha impartido sobre nosotros en el Amado.7 En Él[f] tenemos redención mediante su sangre, el perdón de nuestros pecados según las riquezas de su gracia 8 que ha hecho abundar para con nosotros. En toda sabiduría y discernimiento[g] 9 nos dio a conocer el misterio de su voluntad, según el beneplácito que se propuso en Él, 10 con miras a una buena administración en el[h] cumplimiento de los tiempos, es decir, de reunir todas las cosas en Cristo, tanto las que están en los cielos, como las que están en la tierra. En Él

I. Praise be to God: For blessing those in Christ with every spiritual blessing.

God has provided us in Christ every spiritual blessing. What does the word spiritual mean here. there are two possible options, that the blessings granted through Christ are applied in our lives through the Holy Spirit, which is true as you will see in vs 11-14. The second option is that the blessings which Paul is going to describe are spiritual rather than material, which is not to say God doesn’t bless us with material blessing because he does. But those material blessings are unimportant when they are measured against the spiritual riches we receive in Christ.

I believe Paul has the this second option in mind, which is why he says “in the heavenly places”, Paul is thinking in blessings that relate to your status in heaven, your status before the presence of the throne of God. Paul is about to describe how the God of the heavens and the earth, the God who created you, the God who sacrificed his son for you, how this God views you.

II. Praise be to God: For I am chosen in Christ.

even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world,

Think on the statement, Praise God because before the world was even created, he chose me. God chose me, before there was even a me, he chose me before he ever uttered the words “Let there be” from Genesis 1.

We can have discussions and debates about God’s election and free will and if you want to talk about those things, I would love to sit and talk about them.

For now can we just be amazed at the glory of God’s grace, the grace which reaches through the centuries, reaches from before there was an earth, a sun, a galaxy, a universe and says I chose you, you are mine and the mystery of God choosing us to be holy and blameless happened before the foundation of the world. God did this not because of anything we have done, but he did this to the praise of the glory of his grace.

2 Timothy 1:9 (ESV)

who saved us and called us to a holy calling, not because of our works but because of his own purpose and grace, which he gave us in Christ Jesus before the ages began,

quien nos ha salvado y nos ha llamado con un llamamiento santo, no según nuestras obras, sino según su propósito y según la gracia que nos fue dada en Cristo Jesús desde la eternidad

Paul again tells Timothy, your salvation, your calling is given to you not because of anything you have done, but for God’s own purpose and grace, to the praise of the glory of his grace, which is given to us in Christ before the ages began. Praise be to God: For I am chosen In Christ!

III. Praise Be to God: For in Christ, I am adopted into God’s family.

In love he predestined us for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved.

Because of God’s love for us, he adopts us into his family, we become sons and daughters of God through Christ. We are blessed to become part of the family of God, we are no longer enemies of God but we are his children, adopted into his family, blessed with every spiritual blessing in Christ.

Romans 8:15–16 (ESV)

For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!” The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God,

15 Pues no habéis recibido un espíritu de esclavitud para volver otra vez al temor, sino que habéis recibido un espíritu de adopción como hijos, por el cual clamamos: ¡Abba, Padre! 16 El Espíritu mismo da testimonio a nuestro espíritu de que somos hijos de Dios,

IV. Praise be to God: Because in Christ I am redeemed.

In him we have redemption through his blood,

In Christ we are redeemed. This idea of redemption may be lost to us. In ancient times, you could become a slave in 3 ways, be borne a slave, if your parents wee slaves, then you would be also. You could become a slave by be conquered by another city or nation. You could also become a slave if you had a debt you owed and could not pay it.

The Bible speaks of people being slaves to sin, we are born into sin.

Psalm 51:5 (ESV)

Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity,

and in sin did my mother conceive me.

He aquí, yo nací en iniquidad, y en pecado me concibió mi madre.

We are also conquered by sin, we are slaves to sin

Romans 6:16 (ESV)

Do you not know that if you present yourselves to anyone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to righteousness?

16 ¿No sabéis que cuando os presentáis a alguno como esclavos para obedecerle[a], sois esclavos de aquel a quien obedecéis, ya sea del pecado para muerte, o de la obediencia para justicia?

We are also slaves to sin through debt.

Romans 6:23 (ESV)

For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Porque la paga del pecado es muerte, pero la dádiva de Dios es vida eterna en Cristo Jesús Señor nuestro.

Paul says in this passage that we have been redeemed through his blood. In other Jesus’ life was the price of my redemption of your redemption. His life became the purchase price for my redemption and freedom from sin. We have been set free, because we have been bough with a price, which is Jesus christ. He is my redeemer.

V. Praise be to God: Because in Christ I am forgiven.

the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight

I remember when I was in my early teens, there was a vacant building next to our apartments. My friends and I thought it would be a good idea to use one of those vacant buildings as a hang out spot. Well one day, when we were hanging out at this vacant building, 3-4 cop cars rolled up on us and we were arrested. The cops took us to the police station because we were trespassing. We were doing something we shouldn’t be doing on property that did not belong to us.

Your life before Christ saved you is a long list of sins you should not have been doing on this earth which does not belong to you. But once you have chosen, adopted, redeemed by Christ that list of trespasses against you is wiped clean, you are forgiven and God declares you not guilty.

I also want you to notice something, we are forgiven “according to the riches of God’s grace, which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight”. The riches of God’s grace never runs out of treasure, God’s riches does not run out, there fore the sins you commit, there is forgiveness for you. You may have to deal with the consequences of your sins, but God’s forgiveness says your sins are wiped clean, they do not define you anymore. His grace is lavished upon. God does this with all wisdom and insight. In other words it doesn’t matter if it makes sense to you, God’s wisdom and insight has spoken, if you are a follower of Jesus, God in his wisdom and insight has said you are chosen, adopted, redeemed, forgiven. Praise God!!!!!

VI. Praise be to God: Because in Christ God has revealed the mystery of his will.

God has revealed the mystery of his will to us who believe. This word mystery, is not the same way we use the word mystery. The way the bible use the word mystery is that something that was hidden in the past but it is now made known to us. The question to ask is what is being made known to us?

The mystery being revealed is, that it is the purpose of God to unite all things under Jesus all things in heaven and all things in earth. What this implies is that at one time everything was united under Christ, then Adam sinned and now everything is corrupted by sin, but is to be reunited in Christ again by redemption. This is the purpose of God. This where all of history is headed. The truth is everyone will proclaim Jesus is Lord of all, the reality we face is will we do it now and put our trust in his Word and follow him or will we do it on Judgement day when it is too late.

For those of us who trust and follow Christ, the question was asked who am I now?

You are chosen by the God of all things, chosen to be holy and blameless, chosen to be his son or daughter. You are redeemed, purchased by the blood of Christ and set free from sin to live for him. You are forgiven by the riches of his grace. You are reunited with Christ and will one day experience eternal life with him. This is who you are now if you follow Christ.

This should want you to leap for joy and say Praise God! Praise God for what he has done for me in Christ!