Sunday Sermons
Ephesians 1:3-7
Ephesians 1:3-7
Ephesians 1:3 “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ”
“When we bless God we acknowledge His grace, praise His glory. We admit that His greatness and goodness deserve all praise and glory”(Boles p. 201). “Blessed" is translated from a root verb from which we get our words "eulogy" and "eulogize". The verb denotes the idea of praising or speaking well of. As Lenski observes, “No task should delight us more. There is too little contemplation of God, too little praise of Him” (p. 351). The Biblical writers often stopped to declare the greatness of God(Psalm 145; 66:20; 41:13; 72:18; 2 Corinthians 1:3-4; 1 Peter 1:3). “Who has blessed us”: God is the source or origin of every blessing that we enjoy. His initiative is set forth plainly. "He chose" (1:4); "He predestined" (1:5); "He freely bestowed" (1:6). These are wonderful verses to read for anyone who complains, “What did God ever do for me?” “With every spiritual blessing”: Those outside of Christ are even allowed to share in God's physical blessings (Matthew 5:45; Luke 6:35; Acts 14:16-17), but the same is not true for His spiritual blessings. Every Spiritual blessing is found "in Christ", which means that none exist outside of Christ. The only way into Christ is through faith and baptism (Galatians 3:26-27). Thus, faith and baptism stand between one and every spiritual blessing. Obviously, one is not saved prior to being baptized, and that is why Paul places baptism among a list of very essential and important truths (Ephesians 4:4-6). Specific spiritual blessings are mentioned in this context. Only those "in Christ" share in these blessings, that is, sonship (1:5); grace (1:6); redemption, and forgiveness of sin (1:7). Unfortunately, we often seek God's physical blessings more than we praise Him for the spiritual blessings He has freely and abundantly given us. Boles makes a good point when he says, “It may be a good index of our own spirituality to consider for which kind of blessings we are most likely to cry out, ‘Praise the Lord!’” (pp. 202-203). “Every”: How naive for any Christian to claim that they are "deprived"! 'The expression was evidently used by Paul to convey the idea that the totality of all blessings of a spiritual nature and having eternal value are to be found exclusively ‘in Christ’” (Coffman p. 118). This means that in Christ God has given the Christian everything they need to spiritually succeed (2 Peter 1:3; 2 Timothy 3:16-17). “In the heavenly places”: "Places" is supplied, the Greek meaning "in the heavenlies"' (Vincent p. 364). This expression is found five times in this letter (1:20; 2:6; 3:10; 6:12), “the realm of spiritual things, and a realm of reality which reaches beyond the earthly”(Caldwell p. 15). “Christ is exalted to the heavenly realm, and thus those who are in Him belong to that heavenly realm also”(Coffman p. 118). Vincent says, “The meaning is that the spiritual blessings of God are found in heaven and are brought thence to us” (p. 364). "In Christ", spiritual blessings that exist in heaven, such as fellowship with God, communication with God, true sonship grace, and worship are found. I am forgiven in heaven, God hears my prayers in heaven, when I worship or pray I draw near to the throne of God (Hebrews 4:14-16). “In Christ” one who is still in the physical body can be extremely near to God. Please note that baptism stands between one and entering this heavenly place (Ephesians 2:6). Are we living and thinking as one who inhabits a heavenly place? (Colossians 3:1ff)
Ephesians 1:4 “just as He chose in Him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and blameless before Him. In love”
“He chose us”: “He chose us. We were not forced upon Him--He wanted us! Neither was this a last-minute concession on His part--He made this choice before the world was even created” (Boles p. 203) (2 Peter 3:9; Romans 5:6-8). “In Him”: Notice the phrase "In Him". God foreknew, before the foundation of the world that He would save people "in Christ". Both the realm and conditions of salvation were foreknown (1 Peter 1:20; 2:4; Romans 1:17, but to say that God chose specifically "who" would be saved or lost, without any consideration of what decisions they would make in life, is incorrect. The people that Jesus and the Apostles preached to were called upon to "repent" (Mark 1:15; Acts 17:30). As Boles remarks, “and their destiny depends upon their response” (p. 203) (Acts 2:38,40; 13:46; Rev. 22:17; 2 Peter 3:9). The gospel, the means by which God "calls" men and women (2 Thessalonians 2:14), is to be preached to all creation (Mark 16:16). Therefore, God has not pre-determined the saved or lost status of any individual. “Jesus taught that to be included among the ‘chosen’, people must not only be invited--they must also accept the invitation (Matthew 22:1-14)” (Boles p. 203). The very people "chosen" in Ephesians 1:4, are expected to live a life that is "holy and blameless" (1:4). These same people can forfeit their salvation (Ephesians 5:6). Hence, if a Christian can end up lost (which the Bible clearly teaches: Galatians 5:4), then we know that God hasn't "locked" anyone into a "saved" or "lost" status. “Before the foundation of the world”: “Before the creation of the universe” (TCNT). Christianity is not an addition to Judaism, rather it is the fulfillment of God's eternal purpose.
I like what Stott said, “He destined us for a higher dignity than even creation would bestow on us” (p. 39). Some people think that God "blundered" somewhere in His creation of mankind. They reason, “Why create a free-willed creature, with a mind of its own? Are not such creatures an easy prey for the devil?” Ephesians 1:4 gives us another view of the creation of Adam and Eve and the fall. Some think that the devil pulled one over on God, with his temptation of the first couple, but when you see the whole "eternal picture", you see a different point of view. God places two free-willed people in the garden, He knows that devil will think that such are easy prey. He knows that eventually mankind will sin, for He did not create robots, but such "sin" will then allow Him to implement His plan of deliverance. The eternal plan was to bring man to heaven and rather than simply leaving them in an earthly paradise and in the process destroy Satan and the powers of evil (Genesis 3:15). In other words, the devil thought he had "entrapped" Adam and Eve and the whole human race, when in reality, God had just entrapped him. Sin opened the door for a powerful Savior, a Savior, who in turn would break the back of the devil- forever (Matthew 25:41). “That we would be holy”: God also foreknew what type of character He would expect from those "in Christ". 2:10 reveals that God also knew what type of mission in which He would have Christians involved. Man who has sinned can really only be “holy” when he is forgiven (1 John 1:8-10). The term blameless does not mean that we become infallible or that we never sin again, but rather means that in Christ we are forgiven and as long as we remain faithful and humble and repent when we sin, we can remain blameless. “In love”: Does this expression modify God's choosing us or our motivation to be holy and without blemish? In the end, either would be true. Boles points out: “The qualifying phrase ‘in love’ may be taken with the end of verse 4. In this case it would add a specific quality to holiness and blamelessness; they would be ‘coupled with love’. If ‘in love’ is taken with verse 5 (as RSV and NIV), it expresses God's attitude toward the people He is choosing to adopt” (p. 204).
Ephesians 1:5 “He predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the kind intention of His will”
God determined in advance that all those who manifest faith in Christ and obey His conditions for salvation, would be adopted as sons (Galatians 3:26-29). “Adoption as sons”: “The word adoption seems to stress the fact of the Christian's privileges in God's family being totally undeserved” (Coffman p. 124). In Roman law the adopted child enjoyed all the rights as a natural child would. “In the eyes of the law he was a new person. So new was he that even all debts and obligations connected with his previous family were abolished as if they had never existed” (Barclay p. 80). The adoption is only possible by being “born again” (John 3:5; Galatians 3:26-27). “Sonship implies responsibility too, for the heavenly Father does not spoil His children. On the contrary, "He disciplines us for our good" (Hebrews 12:10). It is inconceivable that we should enjoy a relationship with God as His children without accepting the obligation to imitate our Father and cultivate the family likeness” (Stott p. 40). Being a Christian is not a burden; rather it is the chance to live in a very good family (1 Peter 1:14-16; 1 Timothy 3:15). “Through Jesus Christ”: There is only one avenue to fellowship with God (John 14:6; Acts 4:12). “According to the kind intention of His will”: “Such being His gracious will and pleasure” (Wey); “because it pleased Him and was His kind intent” (Amp). And what motivated God to desire to bring sinners back into His fellowship? The "delight" to see people rescued from physical and spiritual ruin (1 Timothy 2:4). God never has regretted anything that He has done for man's salvation. Even though most have rejected His gracious offer, God still has no regrets about sending Jesus to die for our sins. “God is not merely willing to save us--He delighted to do so!” (Boles p. 205).
Ephesians 1:6 “to the praise of the glory of His grace, which he freely bestowed on us in the Beloved”
The result of being adopted into God's family should result in "praise" from those adopted. “How can the man who has been adopted into God's family fail to praise Him? Appreciation demands it!” (Caldwell p. 24). (Colossians 3:15 “and be ye thankful”). Many Christians seem to have forgotten, that our purpose is to declare to others the marvelous nature of the God we serve (1 Peter 2:9). “Yet such Christian talk comes into violent collision with the man-centeredness and self-centeredness of the world...man, imprisoned in his own little ego, has an almost boundless confidence in the power of his own will, and an almost insatiable appetite for the praise of his own glory. But the people of God have at least begun to be turned inside out. The new society has new values and new ideals. For God's people are God's possession who live by God's will and for God's glory” (Stott p. 50). “Of His grace”: "Grace", the most refreshing word that mankind could ever hear. Unmerited favor, undeserved compassion, and unearned mercy. That's exactly what a sinner needs! "Grace", the word that should forever destroy the idea that "God is out of touch" with the human condition, that God is too strict, that His rules do not work in the "real world", or that He does not care about my own personal happiness. "Grace", the one word that should place a big piece of duct tape on the mouth of very critic and sinner. “Freely bestowed on us”: Freely given and completely undeserved (Romans 5:6-8). “In the Beloved”: That is, “in Christ”. While grace is unmerited, it is conditional. Such grace is only found "in the Beloved", in Christ (1:3), and how does one get into Christ? (Galatians 3:26-27). Hence faith and baptism stand between one and the grace of God.
Ephesians 1:7 “in Him we have our redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace”
“Through His blood”: (Acts 20:28; 1 Corinthians 6:19-20; 1 Peter 1:18-19). The word "redemption", is the same word that was used in the ancient world for ransoming a man who is a prisoner of war or a slave; for freeing a man from the penalty of death. This word reminds us that all Christians were once "slaves" of sin (John 8:34). It took the blood of Christ to atone for our sins. Therefore "sin" is a very serious matter and it can never be trivialized. Coffman had a good point when he said, 'but one primary truth should be reiterated, namely that God in designing the creation of men with the express purpose of making men his sons through Christ would most certainly not have created men in such a manner that the highest happiness of them could be achieved in the service of Satan rather than in the service of Himself!” (p. 123). By calling "sin" a trespass, God is saying that there are certain acts and attitudes that we do not have the "right" to practice. When we sin we are "out of line", we are engaging in something which is "none of our business", and which can never legitimately "belong to us". “According to the riches of His grace”: “so abundant was God's grace” (Wey); “through that full and generous grace” (Phi); “Therein lies the richness of God's free grace” (NEB) 'The great opulence of God's affluence is freely and willingly shared with us even when our captivity has resulted from our own stupid, inane negligence and disobedience” (Caldwell p. 29). Well, what are we going to do? We were lost sinners, on the brink of eternal destruction, completely unable to save ourselves. We were self-centered, deceived, and living by our own wits, which only seemed to further entangle us in frustration, misery, and unhappiness. God came along, offered to adopt us into His own family. He offered us a new name, new friends, a new purpose for living, and a new way to live. Shall we turn our back on it?
Mark Dunagan/Beaverton Church of Christ/503-644-9017
www.beavertonchurchofchrist.net/mdunagan@easystreet.com
