GOD’S SECRET
EPHESIANS 3:1-9
EPHESIANS 3:1-9
I'm not sure how old the earth is, but for illustration let's say it is 10,000 years old. That means God has kept a secret for 8000 years. Finally, the Apostle Paul is given the secret by God and reveals it to us all.
Remember that all division lines are gone. Jews and Gentiles stand on even ground as the result of the work of the cross. You are really seeing the formation of the church in this favorite book. We continue with the things the Lord is doing in the church and the world.
In the first 9 verses of chapter 3 the word mystery is found 4 times. This is one of Paul’s goals in writing - to unravel “mysteries” for God’s people. These mysteries were previously NOT understood, but now are being uncovered.
Let’s be honest, most of us are nosey. Stop acting spiritual, yes you are. And you like secrets. You are sitting at a restaurant and overhear someone in the next both say, “You are not going to believe what I just heard.” Do you turn off your hearing or lean a little closer to make sure you catch it? Unhuh, we all know the answer. I want to know what they just found out. And so do you.
Paul has a secret. It is called a mystery. It has not been known before - not even mentioned in all of the Old Testament. Verse 5 says other generations did not know. Now, in accordance with God’s timing, the mystery is revealed.
Here it is - the mystery is the church. Yep, that’s right, the church. And maybe to open that a little more, let’s say the church age. Some call it the age of the Gentiles (v6). And Paul is its minister (v8). Peter was the minister to the Jews, but Paul is the minister to the Gentiles.
Jump back to verse 2 and find this very interesting word dispensation. The Greek word is translated “house” in English. It means “the law of the house.” It is the regulation, or the management, of the house. The word can also be translated as “economy.” Put it together and here is what you have - During the Dispensation of Grace Paul was appointed by God the steward of this new law of the house, so to speak,or the one who would regulate the new management. Read Romans 11:13 and see it in bold.
God hid something until its appropriate time. No one knew it before (hid in God v9). But now, under the guidance of Paul, a new dispensation began. Salvation has come to the Gentiles. God has not forgotten the Jews. But He has placed a parenthesis, a new dispensation, between His last plea with the Jews in the Gospels and Acts and His coming Millennial Age.
Let me reemphasize - the old theocracy was set aside. However, I believe that in the endtimes God is bringing back that nation Israel and setting up His theocracy again in a time we call the Millennial reign of Christ. But for now, it is set aside and we are in a new dispensation, a new time, called the church age.
What is difficult for us to see in the 21st century is how revolutionary this was. I mean the idea of Gentiles in the center of God’s workings was unheard. I think even some of the early believers struggled with this a bit. Fellow heirs and partakers is what Paul calls these non-Jewish believers (v6).
All of this is called the body of Christ. It is all centered around Him. That brings up an incredible truth - He, Jesus Christ, is the life principle of the body. It is His life, His breath, His blood that makes this body alive. My O My how we forget this in our local congregations. We forget it is His life. We center our congregations around preachers or deacons or systems or programs or denominations. That is all dead stuff on its own. It will only give us man’s wisdom. It is dry bones. Christ is the life source.
FROM A HOPELESS END TO AN ENDLESS HOPE
ENDING DIVISIONS
EPHESIANS 2:11-22
There have always been divisions, as we see from this passage of scripture. Divisions today include things like denominationalism, cultures, traditions, opinions, preferences, and theological viewpoints. Then within the church titles fly around like conservatives or liberals or whatever. We must fight against division. It destroys the unity of the body. God hates disunity. By the way, when everyone falls under the Word, divisions fade away.
Division in Paul’s day was huge. Jews and Gentiles were at opposite poles. Please note - God never intended for Israel to be a bucket, He chose them to be a channel. God wasn’t dumping everything into Israel for their own benefit. God intended to pour through Israel His blessings to the world.They were to be a vessel.
Once Helpless - vv 11-12a
Without Christ...nothing more helpless
Once Homeless - v12b
No citizenship in Israel
Did not have the surgical sign of Genesis 17
Once Hopeless - v12c
No expectation of a returning Messiah like the Jews - hopeless
Described as “without God.” That is the Greek word atheos which is our word for atheist. They were described as atheists even though they had many pagan gods.
Great Illustration
Having no hope – Writers H.G. Wells and George Bernard Shaw were brilliant men, yet they rejected the message of Scripture. They placed their trust in their own systems of belief, which were based on human reason. Yet they could not find lasting inner peace, and they slowly lost confidence in what they believed. Wells' final literary work, for example, has been aptly called "a scream of despair." And shortly before Shaw died in 1950, he wrote, "The science to which I pinned my faith is bankrupt. Its counsels, which should have established the millennium, have led directly to the suicide of Europe. I believed them once. In their name I helped to destroy the faith of millions. And now they look at me and witness the great tragedy of an atheist who has lost his faith."
FROM EXCLUDED TO INCLUDED - V13
This is reconciliation. NOTE: Reconciliation is not a process. It is an instantaneous act by which we are delivered from separation to fellowship with God. Far off by sin, brought near by blood.
Spurgeon, "I believe that the doctrine of Jesus paying for my sins is one of the surest proofs of the inspiration of Scripture, for who would or could have thought of the just Ruler dying for the unjust rebel?"
God does not keep distance...”brought near.” How incredible is that truth. God is not standing back as some oriental potentate. He brings us into His arms and His family.
By His blood - that is, the sacrificial death of Jesus. The blood means death. It was His shed blood, or death, that enabled us to come near to God. The barrier was removed. Access granted through Jesus Christ.
People seem offended by the blood. It seems too gory or demeaning or painful. It was all of that! And it was necessary. The book of Leviticus says the blood is the life of the body. So the shedding of blood meant the removal of life from the body. That’s what the whole sacrificial system was about. Likewise, the death of Jesus is synonymous with the shedding of blood. It took His life to bring us near and give us life.
“He Himself” - Notice the double emphasis here. “He himself” in the Greek is powerfully emphatic, which is meant to get our attention. So do not miss it. Why is that so important? Answer that, it is a good question. “He Himself is our peace.” Here what it means: Jesus Himself is the peacemaker between us and the Godhead.
Two results: He has made two one, and he has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility. This is graphic when you see the picture. Herod’s Temple had a dividing wall that separated the Court of the Gentiles from the rest of the temple. On that wall were inscriptions in Latin and Greek forbidding Gentiles to enter. If a Gentile refused the warning and entered, it meant death. This separation was serious; a matter of life and death.
June, 1987, Ronald Reagan stood at the Berlin wall and said, “Mr. Gorbachev, open this gate. Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall.” I still get chills when I hear that. 29 months later, the wall was opened.
2000 years ago Jesus, at the death of Jesus, He stood over that wall and proclaimed, “This wall must come down, now!” And it did, immediately. Two became one and access, for Jew and Gentile alike, was opened.
How did Christ’s death bring down the wall? 3 Ways:
First, He abolished the law - v15a
He is not talking about the moral law. This is a reference to the ceremonial law.
It is the rituals and traditions. The 10 Commandments are different - structured love.
Second, He created a new humanity - v15b
A FUN ILLUSTRATION
John Reed tells of driving a school bus in Australia which carried whites and aborigines. He tired of the squabbling and one day, way out in the country, he pulled the bus to the side of the road. He looked at the whites and said to the whites, “What color are you?” They answered “white.” He said, “No, from now on anyone riding this bus is green.” He said again, “What color are you?” They answered “green.” He then looked at the aborigines and said, “What color are you?” They answered “black.” He said, “No one can ride this bus unless they are green.” He asked again, “What color are you?” They answered “green.” The situation seemed resolved until, several miles down the road, he heard a boy in the back announce, “All right, light green on this side, dark green on that side.”
Mr. Reed had the right idea. What he needed was a new race, the “greens.” He couldn’t pull it off. But our text says Jesus did create a new race, a new humanity. He did pull it off.
It is as if this is a third race (greens), not Jew or Gentile, but Christians. He didn’t Christianize the Jews or Judaize the Gentiles. he made an entirely new man. This is the answer to alienation, racism, prejudice, and hatred. There is no east or west or north or south in Christ. There is one worldwide fellowship.
Third, He reconciled the new humanity to God - v17-18.
F. F. Bruce says "nothing is so apt to promote gratitude as a retrospective glance fixed on the whole of the pit from whence we have been dug."
Which Side Of The Cross Are You - Love or Condemnation?
Let’s take this question abroad. I posted this to my friends on Facebook and got some interesting responses - which proved a point of mine. Let’s take this to the masses and see what fire works will fly.
My Facebook comment was that Jesus hates the sin but loves the sinner. It stated that people who think it spiritual to reject people are pompous, prideful, and wrong. Jesus ate at the home of the sinner, not the pompous religious people.
A great response, which proved my point, was from a pastor friend of mine who spoke of God’s hatred of sin and angry with the sinner every day. Yes, that’s in the Bible in case you were wondering. He stated it correctly. Look at the cross and see how God feels about sin. No question that’s true.
Now, the rest of the story. The other side of the cross is the LOVE side. You know, “For God soooooooooo loved the world.” That He did what? “Gave His Son.” Where did He give him? The cross. Why? Payment for sin and God’s wrath satisfied. True, it is all true. So there are two sides of the cross displayed - condemnation and love. Both are there, inseparable.
Here’s what hacks me off: It is so much more common, in my opinion, to preach the condemnation side than the love side. Why is that? I can say that I pastored for 20 years myself and if I am honest, the first several years of preaching I preached much more on the condemnation side than the love. And I’m telling you I was not alone - that is common. Then I read a story....
D.L. Moody was a world famous Methodist pastor in Chicago during the 1800s. His church was one of the largest and his ministry lasts until today. Shortened version - he went on a trip and had a young man fill in while he was gone. The young man, Henry Moorehouse, preached every night on the love side of the cross and it revolutionized the church. When Moody returned his wife said he must attend his own church and sit on the front row and listen to this young man. He did, reluctantly. The young man, again, preached on the same subject, “For God sooooooo loved.” Afterwards, the famous Mr. Moody was forever changed. He for the first time he said he really saw the love side of the cross and not just the condemnation.
Next time I want to tell you why it is easier to preach on the condemnation side versus the love side. Post any thoughts you may have.
THE VERSE WE DO NOT BELIEVE
EPHESIANS 2:1-2
If there is a verse that goes against the grain of most people, even though they do not know it, it is Ephesians 2:1-2. I’m not sure there is a verse more anti free will and human ability than this one. It goes against the grain. Let me take a few paragraphs and uncover what the meaning for you.
First, this is an appeal for believers to remember where they came from, or from whence they came to sound corny.
Second, the Apostle Paul describes their former condition, the “from whence they came from” part. The words that he uses as he writes under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit are graphic. There is no mistaking the meaning. Let’s take a look:
“Dead in trespasses and sins”
DEAD - Do not show your ignorance and try to interpret dead as meaning anything but dead. I know, this is not an intentional oversight as to the real meaning of dead, but it is still ignorant. Here’s what I am ranting about - if you give a dead man any ability to anything, then you are killing me with your ignorance. What can a dead man do? Follow me! What rights does a dead man have? What free will does a dead man have? What power does a dead man have? None, none, none.
Ok, an example might make the point. So here is Lazarus. He and his sisters are close friends of Jesus. You remember the story. Lazarus dies and is dead for 4 days when Jesus decides the raise him back to life. Remember the protest - “you can’t raise him now, his body will stink.” Or the King James says “stinketh.” That’s my favorite. Now, when Jesus raised His voice and called out Lazarus, what did dead Lazarus do? Yep, he got up from the DEAD and came forth. You tell me, what did Lazarus have to do with this? What part did he play in coming to life? There is only one answer - NOTHING! He had nothing to do with it.
Paul describes all lost people as dead. He, of course, is talking about spiritually dead. Your spirit is that part of you that enables you to communicate with God. If you have a dead spirit, then there is no communing with God. There is no ability or possibility on your own. Why? You are dead. What ability does a dead man have? None. So be consistent and never insinuate that you or anyone else had anything to do with their salvation. It is not a 50 - 50 proposition. What did Lazarus have to do with his being raised? Nothing. Same goes for you. It wasn’t a decision of your free will. It wasn’t your ability to see your need for forgiveness. It all began when Jesus called your name and first raised you from the dead. Before that, your had no ability to respond. Only after your spirit was raised...made alive (v5), were any responses on your part even possible, and not before.
Does this raise some questions? I hope so. That’s a good thing. But one thing I ask - please do not throw out Paul’s truths because they raise question you do not understand.
Ephesians 1:15-23
Who Are you?
A fabulous passage - one of my favorites. Here are a few thoughts that preach brother, I mean preach!
Here are two summary statements that wrap up this passage succinctly.
- The Christian life is the process of becoming what you already are in Christ.
- When you were born into the family of God, you were not a spiritual polliwog or tadpole. You were complete. You have all the parts of Christian; you simply need to mature.
Paul then prays a series of requests, but they must be understood as related to a believers progress in his Christian growth.
He uses the phrase “that you may know” in verse 18. I would love to exegete every verse in this section, but instead, here are a few summary themes that fall under Paul’s prayer “to know.”
First, Proper Motivation.
What motivates a Christian? Pastors and churches use things like pep talks, imposing guilt, intimidation, or peer pressure. These types of motives bypasses the true motive for living the Christian life.
Internal motivation is the correct answer, not external. This is Paul’s prayer. Catch it in these verses? He prays for their understanding to be enlightened. He prays for their position in Christ to be known. How do you really know if someone knows their position in Christ? This is important because it may be the most important here. If you are teaching a group of students then have them verbalize their position. He goes on and prays that there would be an understanding of our riches in Christ.
From there it is an understanding of His God’s power. This is present power, today and tomorrow, not a past or future tense. How it works in us, benefits us, inspires us, energizes us, sets us on fire is his prayer. Do Christians really know this? My goodness - this knowledge is life changing. This is the prayer of the greatest Christian ever to live.
“Dear God in heaven, help us to know our blessings, our riches, and our position in Christ.”
Second, Position Versus Practice.
If you cannot distinguish between these two, then you cannot interpret the Bible correctly. Here is an example to clarify: Paul tells believers in 1 Corinthians 3 that we are holy, but then he tells us to cleanse ourselves from filthiness. Ok, I thought he just said we are holy? See the difference? In Christ, we are holy. This is how God sees us. But practically, in our daily walk, we are maturing and becoming in life what we already are in Christ. My practice must match my position. We are holy in our position, but not in our practice.
The GOAL of the Christian life, then, is to make our practice equal to our position.
Some people need steps to follow. Here they are:
- Step one is salvation - Receiving Christ as Lord and Savior.
- Step two is learning the facts about our salvation.
- Step three is experiencing the salvation we have come to possess.
Few people ever dig in and learn the facts about their salvation. Even fewer experience their salvation - I mean the practical daily effects it has on all we do.
One last thing - see the work of The Holy Spirit in all Paul is praying for in these verses. It is an inward work. Pray this prayer for yourself, your children, and whomever the Spirit brings to your mind.
What About Judas? Is He In Heaven Or Hell?
Election is a matter of God choosing people, but that doesn’t mean that everything God chooses is a matter of election. When Jesus said to the disciples that He chose them, they didn’t choose him, some read into that He was saying from all eternity they were chosen for salvation. If that is true, then Judas is one of the elect and went to heaven a saved man.
But the Bible doesn’t seem to take a high view of Judas, nor his future. I certainly think he died without salvation. There is nothing in the New Testament to make one think he was restored to a right relationship with Christ.
I think when Jesus was saying He chose the 12 to be His disciples, this was not a reference to salvation. He goes on to say that He knew all along that one of them was the son of perdition. The word “perdition” means eternal death. The word perished was also used of Judas. Jesus knew the state of Judas’s soul when He chose him to be a disciple.
Remember, in the ancient days a disciple was a follower who attached himself to the school of a particular rabbi and became his student. Jesus was a “peripatetic” rabbi, a rabbi whose school was the open air and not brick and mortar. He walked around and His disciples followed Him.
Jesus selected Judas to enroll in His school. It seems obvious that it was to fulfill the scriptures that spoke of Jesus’ betrayal. Jesus chose Judas because He knew Judas would betray him. Jesus did not put it into Judas heart to do so. Judas made that decision and is eternally responsible. But Jesus knew Judas was the one.
Judas was chosen to be a disciple. The rest of the 12 were not only chosen to be disciples, but apostles. They were chosen from all eternity to be pillars of the Kingdom of God. Not Judas. Jesus said that of those whom the Father gave Him, He lost none.
EPHESIANS
CHOSEN
Ephesians 1:4
INTRODUCTION
We now see the mystery of the church, the hidden secret, never known in the past nor mentioned in the Old Testament and now revealed in the New. This is the uncovering of the Church Age.
Unlocking the book of Ephesians is to understand that it is built around the concept of the church as the body of Christ. Paul uses a parallel between how the human body works and how the church works. It has been said that illustrations are a window into the message and Paul makes use of the idea here.
New Testament writers had different assignments when it came to their writing; different readers in mind and circumstances they were addressing. When you read Acts you see the history of the church. When you read this glorious book of Ephesians you find the theology of the church.
Verses 3 through 14 of chapter one are one long and magnificent sentence in the Greek text. It is as if Paul got on a role and couldn’t stop. This sentence has been examined and loved from the time it was penned. Stott said it is a “gateway, a golden chain, a kaleidoscope, a snowball, a racehorse, an operatic overture and the flight of an eagle; all the metaphors in their different ways describe the impression of color, movement and grandeur which the sentence makes on the readers mind.”
This incredible sentence gives the God-centered view of salvation. Please, do not twist it and make it a man-centered salvation - which is what so many do. So you do not understand? So what, you are not God. His ways are far above ours. You think there are other verses that seemingly contradict. They do not, except in your mind. All I am asking is let God be God and be honest with what the passage is saying.
Answer these 3 questions:
- Who chose?
- When did He choose?
- Whom did He choose?
- Why did He choose?
HE CHOSE US - Greek word means to choose or select for oneself
Why is this difficult? He is who? God. Good answer. OK, one step farther - you are not Him. We are getting somewhere now. It was God who chose you and not you Him. The opposite would violate Romans 3:10-20. A man in this condition (all lost people), will never choose God. Notice Romans 3:11 - “...no one who seeks God.” Now you tell me, who and how many seek after God? There is only one answer, only one, and that is NONE!
Do you know why no one seeks after God? First, because they do not want to. Read Romans 3:1-20 again and see why. This is a description of a lost man, a fallen man. Second, they can’t. Remember, a lost person is spiritually dead according to Ephesians 2:2. Seeking God would be a spiritual decision and how would a lost man with a dead spirit do that? Impossible...on his own.
There you go...easy as that... not rocket science.... Question number one answered. Time to rest. Trust me, climbing these heights will tire you...rest. By the time you get to eternity past, you will need a breather...rest.
WHEN DID HE CHOOSE US
“Before the Foundation of the world” is the time you were chosen. Before we existed, or for that matter, anyone existed, we were chosen in him. No matter how far back in time you put it - billions of years, squillions of years into the past - yet the statement stands that you and I, among the billions of people, were chosen in him.
How could that be? Does it boggle your mind? OK, so remember that we are dealing with an Eternal Being in with whom there is no past or future. These are time words for our sake, but God is above time. My advice is to sit in wonder and proclaim, “My Lord, how great thou art.”
You get up in the morning and look at the sun and say, "The sun rose this morning." It looks as though the sun were traveling around the earth. But you know better than that, don't you? You look out across the landscape and it looks flat, and you say, "The earth must be flat." No, you know better. Even though you can't see that the earth is round and revolves around the sun, you have learned to accept these facts despite your feelings. That is exactly what we are called on to do here. Accept the fact that God chose you in Christ to make you holy and blameless. And as you walk before him in his prescribed way, that is what you are. Why not just believe His word?
Some say, "Well, God can foresee the future, so he looks down and sees that we are going to make a choice, and on the basis of seeing what we will determine to do he then says, 'All right, I'll elect them to be part of my process.'" That sounds very simplistic, and it is, because it is not what the Scriptures say. Some say, "Well, God sees what we will be when we become Christians. He sees the value that we will have toward him, and so he chooses us on that basis." Again, nothing could be more unscriptural than that idea! You see, it is true that we are chosen of God. In John 6, Jesus said so himself. He said, "No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him," {John 6:44 RSV}. That's putting it plainly, isn't it? You can't come to Christ unless you are drawn by the Father. God has to initiate the activity.
Let me just interject, although this passage does not, in Matthew 11 Jesus made his appeal directly to the will of the individual, saying, "Come unto me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest," {cf, Matt 11:28 RSV}. And that means you must respond. So can both of these facts be true?
Some say, ”I don’t understand.” So what! Who cares? That has no bearing on the truth of this passage. This is where we tend to go astray. If it doesn’t fit into our understanding or pre-conceived scheme, we try to explain it away or squeeze it into our system.
WHOM DID HE CHOOSE?
Well, let the passage speak. Paul uses the term “us” when he writes under inspiration. Who are the us? Again, the context makes this simple. The us are the recipients of this letter - the Ephesian Church. We could accurately say believers/Christians of all churches. Remember, this letter was circulated among the churches of Asia Minor, so it was not applicable just to that local Ephesian church only, but all churches and believers.
It is unimaginable that anyone could suggest the us refers to all humanity. Universalism is a feel good doctrine, just not in the Bible.
WHY DID HE CHOOSE?
Notice two points:
- “To be holy and blameless"
- “In love”
This little phrase, "in love," seems to be out of place in most translations. For example, the NIV places it between verse 4 and 5. Do you see that? So most place it with verse 5. I do not think so. This is where a little deeper study is so exciting.
The translators, or the editors in this place, the editors did not bother, evidently, to look up the expression “in love” though the epistle to the Ephesians. It occurs a number of other places in the epistle, and in every case it’s always to be taken with what precedes, not what follows. And so in this case, this punctuation of the text is probably wrong. By the way, remember that there was no punctuation in the original text - it was all added later. “In love” should be taken with is the preceding verse. In other words, “We have been chosen before the foundation of the world that we should be holy and without blame before him in love” – that’s the goal of election, that we should ultimately be in the presence of the Lord, holy and without blame before Him in the possession of the love of God.
BIBLICAL SELF-WORTH
EPHESIANS 1:3
I remember reading years ago about an old Navajo Indian who had become rich because oil had been found on his property. He took all the money and put it in a bank. His banker became familiar with the habits of this old gentleman. Every once in a while the Indian would show up at the bank and say to the banker, "Grass all gone, sheep all sick, water holes dry." The banker wouldn't say a word -- he knew what needed to be done. He'd bring the old man inside and seat him in the vault. Then he'd bring out several bags of silver dollars and say, "These are yours." The old man would spend about an hour in there looking at his money, stacking up the dollars and counting them. Then he'd come out and say, "Grass all green, sheep all well, water holes all full." He was simply reviewing his resources, that's all. That is where encouragement is found -- when you look at the resources which are yours, the riches, the facts which undergird your faith. As we go through this letter to the Ephesians I hope you will read it in that way.
The self-worth industry is a multi-million dollar enterprise. If you doubt it, just go to the section of your bookstore with that title. You will find hundreds of bookS on that single subject. Not all of it is bad, but much of it misses the point.
People are looking for meaning and value and acceptance. The extremes they go to is off the charts. I mean crazy stuff - what do you think anti-social styles and covering your body with extreme tattoos and gothic and on and on is all about?
Psychology, even Christian psychology, has made attempts to rescue people who struggle with poor self image and weakness and fear, and I’m not going to throw all this out as bad. However, much of these psychological attempts still fall short.
The church seems to take another approach. It is a “spiritual” approach that I find more damaging than the psychological approach. Using our churchy terms we’d call it the “works righteousness” approach.
This is the person who feels like he isn’t up to par spiritually, that nobody respects him and maybe even God thinks of him as second class. So he thinks he will show others his value and how does he go about this? He begins this external works trip and volunteers here and there and begins showing up on Sunday nights and carrying his Bible. Guess what happens next? The church begins to take notice and says, “It’s wonderful how you have gone to work. After all, you are saved to serve.” The praise and acknowledgment makes him feel like a better Christian now and he is moving up in the ranks of the church elite. Is there a problem? Yes, a major problem.
He is obtaining his self worth from an external work, which is nothing more than a Pharisee. Does he know he is doing this? Probably not, after all, this is what the church often promotes. Churches may not come right out and say it, but you listen to the subtle messages from the pulpits and classrooms. You will walk away with a works theology that says if you come to church more regular and pray more and read your Bible more and tithe, then you will be closer to God. Even now, some of you reading this are wondering what’s wrong with that.
The Biblical response: What you need to have a sense of self worth, a sense of meaning that results into happiness and joy, is to understand your position in Christ. See the difference? Your value comes because of who you are in Christ, not what you do. It’s not on you, it’s on Him. It’s His work that gives you value, not yours. Your work promotes false value and pride and sets you up for a fall because you will blow it eventually. His work produces significance.
Eph 1:3 "How we praise God, the father of our Lord Jesus Christ, Who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms because we belong to Christ." NLT
"Praise be to God for giving us through Christ every possible spiritual benefit as citizens of heaven." Phillips
Three Points:
Eph 1:3 "How we praise God, the father of our Lord Jesus Christ, Who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms because we belong to Christ." NLT
"Praise be to God for giving us through Christ every possible spiritual benefit as citizens of heaven." Phillips
Three Points:
- Blessed us with every spiritual blessing - Lacking Nothing!
What do you lack as a Christian? How can you lack anything if you have been blessed with “every” spiritual blessing? The next verse will begin to uncover these blessings, but for now see the totality. God has already provided everything you need.
Come on Bible reader, look deep. Notice the tense used for the word “has” or “hath”? In the Greek it is called the aorist tense, equivalent to past tense. You are not waiting for these blessings, they are yours now. It is also in the active voice which reads like this: “I have been blessed, I am being blessed, and I will be blessed.”
God has held nothing back from His children. Everything to be content, successful, obedient, useful, and happy are yours...ALREADY!!
- In Heavenly Places - location of true blessings
The phrase “heavenly places” is use 5 times in Ephesians. It is used only one other time in the Bible. It really is a Pauline phrase. Paul says in chapter 2 that we are already seated in heavenly places. It is in this supernatural realm that we find ourselves as believers. I’m in Christ and where He lives is where I live.
These are not earthly in nature or origins. James said “every good gift comes from God.” It is not a reference strictly to heaven, but speaks more to supernatural. What’s the benefit? That means they are permanent and not temporary. Lasting blessings are spiritual in nature and can never be taken away from us.
Literally, “all spiritual blessings” does not mean just spiritual blessings, as opposed to earthly. But Spirit-bestowed blessings. Or attached to the Holy Spirit.
- Because we belong to Christ - you were born wealthy
Before you became a Christian, you were in Adam and possessed a sinful nature. You were in the earthly realm, if you would. But In Christ, you now have a divine nature. This divine nature causes you to want to do the will of God.
Only those in Christ have His resources available to them. Remember this is in “heavenly places” and not available in Adam. Being in Christ means you are wealthy. BEING IN CHRIST IS THE KEY TO THE TREASURY!
We are blessed with all that is possible to be dispensed.
Stupid prayers: “God, I need more peace...more strength...more joy.” Why is that stupid? Because you already have it. Quit asking for what you got. Yes, James says to ask for wisdom. True, but why? To know what you already have.
OK, stupid is too strong, let’s say uninformed prayers. Why? Because Paul said the love of God is shed abroad in your heart...already have it.
Jesus said that He left His peace with us...already have it.
Jesus again left his joy with us that our joy will be full...already have it.
Self worth is this feeling of meaning and significance. The world sells its soul for it. The believer has it if he can just see where he stands in Christ. There is no greater meaning or significance than our position in Christ.
The result of grasping this truth is that it leads to praise. The beginning of verse 3 says, “Blessed be the God and Father of out Lord Jesus Christ who has blessed us....” We can’t help but praise out Father for His incredible blessings.
The search for significance is over!
