FOR THE LOVE OF GOD

Scripture Reference: Ephesians 1:3-14

In Christ – Continued

From Last Lesson: Indeed, it is for this very purpose that God blesses us, that we might praise His wonderful and glorious name! Every spiritual blessing is ours in Christ, and according to the riches of God’s grace, for one purpose:

To the Praise of His Glory (verse12)

Here is another refrain that is repeated in this first chapter of Ephesians. God has predestined and adopted us, and he is making us holy, “to the praise of the glory of His grace.” He has given us our inheritance “to the praise of His glory.” He has made us His very own possession “to the praise of His glory.” God has bestowed every blessing upon us, He has opened up the treasure chest that is in Jesus and lavished gift after gift upon us, not merely so that we might enjoy the gifts, but so that we might praise and glorify the Giver! We have been made Christians, not first of all for our own sakes, but for God’s, “to the praise of His glory!”

So much of modern culture, even modern Christian culture, is geared toward the happiness and fulfillment of the individual. This is why the aforementioned televangelists have gained such a foothold. They say what we like to hear: “God wants to make me happy; to make me fulfilled; to give me blessings.” And they are not all wrong, of course. God does want to fulfill and delight His people. Nothing could be clearer when we read this first chapter in Ephesians! But where the prosperity teachers have erred badly, and where many other Christians fall into error as well, is by overlooking the fact that God blesses us and brings joy and fulfillment into our lives, not simply for the sake of our own joy and fulfillment, but so that we will turn around and bless Him, just as Paul is doing throughout this letter.

I say that many Christians, even those who see right through the sham of the prosperity gospel, sometimes miss this point. So what are some of the implications of that phrase “to the praise of His glory”? What does it mean, in practical terms? It means that we are made more holy, not so we can admire our reflection in the mirror, but so that we will admire the One whose image we reflect more and more! It also means that we are adopted into God’s family, not only so that we can revel in our possessing the rights of children, but also that we might revel in the Father Himself! We are forgiven of sins, not simply so we can feel a sense of relief from conviction, but also that we might praise and magnify the kindness of the God who forgives! We will someday receive our inheritance in heaven, not merely so that we will be able to sit back and think about how wonderful it is to live without sin, tears, or pain, but so that those blessings (and they will be spectacular!) will urge us to press as close as possible to God’s throne and praise Him, the Giver of the blessings!

The Apostle Paul in this opening to Ephesians challenges us and dares us to consider not just the fact of our “every spiritual blessing,” but also the why! Let’s continue to give thanks above all and to do so “to the praise of His [God’s] glory!”

Unless otherwise noted, Scripture taken from the New King James Version®, NKJV © 1982 by Thomas Nelson.
Used by permission. All rights reserved

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

Unless otherwise noted, Scripture taken from the New King James Version®, NKJV © 1982 by Thomas Nelson.
Used by permission. All rights reserved

Scripture Reference: Ephesians 1:3-14

Every Spiritual Blessing – Continued

Assurance (verses 13-14)

So then, in verses 13-14, Paul reminds his readers that this inheritance cannot be taken away. For, when we believed, we were “sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, who is the guarantee of our inheritance.” The Spirit’s presence in our lives is a seal, an evidence of the fact that we really are God’s people. He is like God’s wax signature stamp on the scroll of our lives, indicating that we are the genuine article, that we really do belong to God. Further, if the Holy Spirit’s presence in our lives is evidence that we belong to God, it is also a pledge, a promise, that, since we surely belong to God, God’s “inheritance” surely belongs to us! The Spirit’s presence in our lives, convicting (convincing, not sentencing) us of sin, illuminating God’s Word, helping us to pray, ordering our daily steps, and so on, brings about an assurance that we really are God’s people and that we will, therefore, surely inherit all the blessings the Apostle extols in this first chapter of Ephesians.

So, says Paul, we have been given “every spiritual blessing” in Christ. Moreover, through his own excitement and exultation, Paul informs us that, far from merely listing these blessings and mulling over each for a moment or two, we ought to bless God for them! Remember, Paul began this long sentence with the words, “Blessed be . . . God!” I hope you might pause, even in the middle of this study, to say, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing!”

Now, let us continue on with the concept that we have every spiritual blessing “in Christ!”

In Christ

Perhaps you noticed that the words “in Christ,” and “in Him,” as well as other similar formulas are repeated over and again in Paul’s register of spiritual blessings:

• “Every spiritual blessing” is ours “in Christ” (verse 3).
• God chose us “in Him” (verse 4).
• He predestined us to adoption as sons “by Jesus Christ” (verse 5).
• God’s grace was freely bestowed upon us “in the Beloved” (verse 6).
• “In Him” we have our redemption (verse 7).
• The forgiveness of our trespasses comes “through His blood” (verse 7).
• The mystery of God’s will unfolds “in Himself” (verse 9).
• “In Him” we have obtained our inheritance (verses 10-11).
• “In Him” we believed and were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise (verse 13).

Paul is emphatic about this point. Yes, God has given us spiritual blessing upon spiritual blessing. But He does not snatch these blessings out of thin air. No: the blessings of God are all ours “in Christ.” He is the chest in which are stored the treasures of sanctification, redemption, forgiveness, and so on. We would not (and could not) possess any of these things if Jesus hadn’t come and lived sinlessly where we didn’t and couldn’t; if He hadn’t died the death that we deserve; if He hadn’t risen on the third day; and if He wasn’t seated at the Father’s right hand, even now, interceding for us. “Every spiritual blessing” is ours only because of what Jesus has done on our behalf; only because God loved us enough to give us His only begotten Son; and only if we ourselves are truly “in Him.”

We can never sincerely and truly speak of heaven, of Christian growth, or of being God’s children without speaking of Jesus. We only possess these things “in Him!” Indeed, we should never even speak of the Holy Spirit divorced from Christ. For it is “in Him” that we have been “sealed . . . with the Holy Spirit of promise.”

To Be Continued

Unless otherwise noted, Scripture taken from the New King James Version®, NKJV © 1982 by Thomas Nelson.
Used by permission. All rights reserved

Scripture Reference: Ephesians 1:3-14

Every Spiritual Blessing – Continued

Redemption (verse 7)

In Jesus, Paul reminds us, we have “redemption through His blood.” Redemption is a slave-market term. In the ancient world, if a person desired to grant freedom to a slave (or if a slave had the wherewithal to purchase his or her own freedom), a redemption price would be paid to the owner of that slave; a sum of money would be handed over in order to redeem that man, woman, boy, or girl from his or her enslavement. This, says the apostle, is also what God has done for His people! We were enslaved to sin. We were in bondage to our own sinful natures and lusts. And yet our Father in heaven paid the price to set us free. We have “redemption through His [Jesus’] blood.” This is why we can now become “holy and without blame,” because we are no longer slaves to sin! Remind yourself of that fact when temptation tugs like a chain around your ankle, dragging you back toward your old ways. Say to yourself, “In Christ, I am no longer a slave! God paid my redemption price through the blood of Jesus! I am free! And I’m going to live like it! I have ‘redemption through His blood.’ “

Forgiveness (verse 7)

In addition to having been set free from sin’s power, Christians have also been redeemed from sin’s debts. “Redemption,” Paul says, includes “the forgiveness of sins.” An ancient slave, in some cases, might be not only a slave, but also a debtor. The whole reason he or she was owned by another human being was because of a failure to pay some debt. So, if such a person was redeemed, if his or her liberty was purchased, the debt was, at the same time, canceled out as well! This person was now not only free, but also forgiven! So it is with the Christian. We owed a great debt to God because of our trespasses and sins. But “through His [Jesus’] blood,” the debt was paid. “Through His blood” we are set free, not only from slavery to sin, but also from our debt to God and from its corresponding penalty! Restitution has been made in full. “Through His blood” we have “the forgiveness of sins.” Do you have forgiveness? Do you know that your sin debts have been or can be removed by the blood of Christ?

Inheritance (verse 11)

We have been predestined not only to adoption and to holiness, but also to “an inheritance,” Paul tells us in this verse. But what is that “inheritance”? Does Paul have in mind the list that we have been piecing together over the last few paragraphs? In other words, are sanctification, adoption, redemption, and forgiveness our “inheritance”? Or is Paul thinking in this verse about our “inheritance” in heaven? Perhaps both! We do have a great many spiritual blessings, even now, don’t we? But, all the more thrilling, these things will be perfected when our “inheritance” is deeded over in full, someday, in heaven! Moreover, on that day we will see Jesus face to face! We will see the nail prints in His hands and feet, and be with Him forever! What an “inheritance”! What a reason to say with Paul, “Blessed be . . . God!”

To Be Continued

Unless otherwise noted, Scripture taken from the New King James Version®, NKJV © 1982 by Thomas Nelson.
Used by permission. All rights reserved

Scripture Reference: Ephesians 1:3-14

Every Spiritual Blessing – Continued

Predestination (verses 4-5)

We are in the kingdom, we possess spiritual blessings, we are in Christ, Paul writes, not because we first chose God, but because “He chose us.” Nor did God choose us because He saw some spark of goodness or potential in our souls. Far from it! He actually chose us “before the foundation of the world” . . . before ever we existed or had any ability to demonstrate goodness or potential! We are set aside for holiness, “we should be holy and without blame,” and we are adopted as God’s children, not because of any merit in ourselves, but because we were “predestined” for such blessings!

These truths can be quite controversial if we allow them to be, but let’s stay on point. Let us remember that Paul’s tone, as he begins this chapter, is not that of argument or rhetoric, but of worship and praise! Paul blesses God that His salvation (like that of the Ephesians, and that of the author and the readers of this commentary) does not depend on human effort or present performance, but on the grace of God in eternity past! And we should join in the praise! “He chose us . . . before the foundation of the world.”

Sanctification (verse 4)

God “chose us” in order to make us “holy and without blame before Him.” This is what Christians are predestined for: holiness, conformity to the image of Christ, which is sanctification! If God has called us to Himself, Paul tells his readers, it is so that we might someday stand before His heavenly throne “holy and without blame.” But God also chose us so that we might grow in our character and Christlikeness even now. Sanctification, in other words, is part of the “spiritual blessing” that is ours in Christ. So, because it is, because God “chose us” in order that He might make us “holy and without blame,” we ought to examine ourselves by this biblical yardstick. Am I, as God intends, becoming more and more holy year by year? Have I grown as a Christian? If I am truly a Christian, I ought to be becoming everyday “holy and without blame before Him.”

Adoption (verse 5)

God predestined us not only to holiness, but also to “adoption as sons.” If you are in Christ, Paul reminds his readers, you are a child of God, adopted into His family and possessing every right that any child possesses in a good father’s house! Isn’t that amazing and delightful news? Though we know we are supposed to be “holy and without blame,” we often fail miserably. In those moments, what a help it can be to remember that, in Christ, we are not slaves who can be cut loose if we fail to measure up to our owner’s demands. No! In Christ, we are sons and daughters of God! And, as sons and daughters, we know our Father in heaven loves us regardless of our performance! He loves us the way a good father loves his children! And we ought to love Him, too, the way an innocent little child loves a good father.

To Be Continued

Unless otherwise noted, Scripture taken from the New King James Version®, NKJV © 1982 by Thomas Nelson.
Used by permission. All rights reserved

Scripture Reference: Ephesians 1:3-14

“Blessing” is not an unfamiliar term for today’s Christians. If we look through the bestsellers at many Christian bookstores, or watch much Christian television, we are likely to find the word sprinkled quite liberally into sermons and book titles.

God wants us to overflow with blessing, we are often told, most of it physical blessing, it would seem. Indeed, we may even hear this same emphasis in our own prayers. We are constantly asking God’s blessing on our bodies, jobs, cars, finances, and so on. Many times such requests are simply the pleas of a humble Christian asking God for his or her “daily bread.” Other times, especially when urged on or swayed by prosperity teaching, we may be engaged in sheer materialism.

When we read the first chapter of Paul’s letter to the Ephesians, however, we discover that there is a whole other world of blessing that God has stored up for His people; a whole other plane of reality that makes what the televangelists have to offer us seem like child’s play. What Paul is excited about in this chapter is “spiritual blessing”: blessing that comes to God’s people, not merely on an earthly plane, but “in the heavenly places.” In the first chapter of this epistle, Paul wants to set his readers’ minds on higher joys. To that end, he spends the entire first half of the chapter, the verses we are covering, praising God for the spiritual blessings He has poured out upon His people. Indeed, in Ephesians 1 Paul is so keyed up about God’s goodness that he begins a sentence in verse 3, extolling God’s “spiritual blessing,” and does not bring the sentence to a close until he reaches the end of verse 14! These twelve verses form one long sentence in the original Greek! You can’t tell it in the English translations, but Paul is so caught up with the blessings of God in these verses that he simply cannot take his pen off the page! So let’s begin this study of chapter one by taking a look at that marvelous, Spirit-inspired, run-on sentence.

Every Spiritual Blessing

Paul’s long and winding sentence of verses 3-14 provides a wonderful inventory of the spiritual blessings that belong to those who are in Christ. Indeed, these blessings belong not only to Paul and to the Ephesians, but also to every reader of these pages who belongs to Jesus.

But before we begin itemizing the blessings on Paul’s list, we should notice how Paul begins the sentence. The first words that spill out of his heart and onto the page are “Blessed be . . . God”! Those are important words to notice. “Blessed be . . . God [for] every spiritual blessing!” Paul exclaims. In other words, when he begins detailing the various kindnesses that God has shown toward His people, Paul is not simply giving a lecture or writing a textbook. His catalog of spiritual blessings comes in the form of doxology, in other words, of worship. I hope that sets the tone for the rest of this study. We must not merely gather a list or create an inventory when we read this chapter. We ought to praise the Lord for every point! Keep that in mind, now, as we begin compiling Paul’s list of spiritual blessings.

To Be Continued

Unless otherwise noted, Scripture taken from the New King James Version®, NKJV © 1982 by Thomas Nelson.
Used by permission. All rights reserved