Scripture Reference: Ephesians 1:3-14
In Christ – Continued
“Every spiritual blessing” is ours only “in Christ.” The Christian faith and the Christian life are all rooted and grounded in Jesus. This is what Paul is getting at in that difficult series of phrases in verses 9-10. In “the fullness of the times,” God made it clear that His whole plan, the whole mystery of His will for mankind, is summed up in Christ! Jesus is the key that unlocked our salvation. Jesus is the treasure chest from which all God’s blessings are drawn. Jesus is the axis point on the timeline of human history. Jesus is the center of heaven’s attention. God has ordered the world, Paul instructs us, that “He [Christ] might gather together in one all things” and that “all things” would be “in Christ.” Therefore, not least in Paul’s understanding of “all things” are the blessings of our salvation. We therefore have “every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ.”
Paul reminds us that we are also gifted with these blessings . . .
According to the Riches of His Grace (verse 7)
In verse 3, we are told God is the one who has blessed us. He has done so, not because we deserve blessing, but “according to the riches of His grace.” He has blessed us, not because of some goodness in us, but “according to the good pleasure of His will.” God treats us far better than we deserve! That is the very essence, the very definition of grace!
Grace is a theme that Paul elaborates famously in the second chapter of Ephesians. But even here in chapter one we are reminded of it again and again. We are “in Christ,” we possess “every spiritual blessing,” we have assurance of sins forgiven and heaven awaiting us, all simply because God is kind and gracious; because He, above all, is good and merciful. Instead of rewarding us according to the poverty of our characters, God rewards us “according to the riches of His grace.”
Once again, we ought to pause, with the apostle, and simply revel in the kindness and graciousness of our God! Think, for a moment, about what our sins deserve. Think about how we might have gone astray even in the last week. How might one feel about someone who snubbed, forgot, or ignored us over and over again? Yet, how does God feel about us according to verses 3-14? How kind is He, really, especially when we consider what we actually deserve from His hands? No wonder Paul revels as he writes these verses! No wonder he can scarcely put down his quill or finish his sentence! The kindness of God is too great for words! Paul could go on and on, describing “the glory of His grace” and “the good pleasure of His will.” Surely we ought to do so as well. Surely we ought to sometimes lose all track of time, and perhaps even sentence structure, as we praise “the riches of His [God’s] grace.”
Indeed, it is for this very purpose that God blesses us, that we might praise His wonderful and glorious name!
To Be Continued
FOR THE LOVE OF GOD 
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