Ephesians 1:3-14 3 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. 4 For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love 5 he predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will– 6 to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves. 7 In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace 8 that he lavished on us with all wisdom and understanding. 9 And h8made known to us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure, which he purposed in Christ, 10 to be put into effect when the times will have reached their fulfillment–to bring all things in heaven and on earth together under one head, even Christ. 11 In him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will, 12 in order that we, who were the first to hope in Christ, might be for the praise of his glory.
If you are a Christian you have been blessed by God!
Look at verse 3 again from the King James Version: Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ:
Paul isn’t talking about the physical blessings of life here in Ephesians 1, but he is listing the blessings that come in a through a relationship with God. See, we can’t get so focused on the things that we can see in this material world here and now that we forget that there is an entire spiritual world that is also very much real.
Paul also doesn’t say you have to wait to be blessed or that you have to do something in order to be blessed. He says that if you are in Christ, you are blessed. You possess a warehouse of blessings that will never need to be replenished and will never need a shipment of anything to be delivered. It is already yours. You must be pretty special for God to be so generous with you.
These blessings are accessed “in Christ Jesus.” That’s pretty important. If you are living for yourself, if you are going your own way, if you are counting on your own ability or work ethic or ingenuity, instead of looking to Christ to fuel your life and shape your dreams, you won’t have access to this warehouse of blessings like you do when you are walking in step with Jesus, the Blesser, the dispenser of the blessings of God. These are supernatural blessings. They aren’t coincidences. They aren’t good luck happenings. They are blessings in the heavenly realms which means they are supernatural, direct from the hand of God.
Not only are you blessed, but verse four says, If you are a Christian you have been chosen by God!
Doesn’t it feel awesome to be picked, to be chosen, to know that God wanted you in his family? But get this: He hasn’t just chosen you to be on His team, to serve Him, but He has chosen you to be a son or a daughter of His. That is what verse five says: In love 5 he predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will– 6 to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves.
Do you see the word “adopted” here? If you are a Christian you have been adopted by God!
God is a perfect Heavenly Father, a perfect parent. He has every resource we need, and He sees the future perfectly. He knows how to parent us to get us to our destination. He knows how to teach us as individuals in ways that will help us to grow in every way that matters. He knows what is best for us, and He knows how to get our attention. He is compassionate and patient with us. He allows for do-overs. He has all power and authority so He can take charge in any situation. His love is unconditional. God won’t give up on His children. Isn’t that good news?
Do you know what family status gives us? It gives us an inheritance, and we have inherited a lot. Everything Jesus had available to Him as He walked this earth is ours to receive.
Verse 4 says that God has chosen us to be holy and blameless in His sight. This truth tells me that If you are a Christian you have been made righteous. Oh, this is exciting stuff. II Corinthians 5:21 declares, “God made him (Jesus) who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.”
The blame that should be mine, the penalty that should be mine because of my bad choices, because of my sinful propensities, because of the evil that is part of my sinful nature, it was all transferred to Jesus when He hung on the cross. His perfect sacrifice was deemed acceptable to our Holy God, and when I began a relationship with Jesus, His righteousness, His holiness, His blamelessness, His perfection was transferred to me. My filthy robes were exchanged for His royal, stain-free, sin-free robes and when God looks at me, His child, He sees me as holy and blameless. I don’t have to live in fear because of what God thinks of me because what He thinks is “There is my holy and blameless and perfect daughter whom I love with an everlasting love. She looks awesome in her robe of righteousness.”
Verse 7 tells me that because of God’s efforts, If you are a Christian you have been redeemed and are forgiven!
The word for “redeemed” in verse 7 means to go to a market place and buy a slave and then to set that slave free. To redeem someone for the purpose of setting them free. That is the nature of this kind of redemption. We are born as slaves to sin, and we are bound to a task master, to Satan and we would be bound to him for eternity in the place the Bible calls Hell, but when we accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior, we are redeemed by His sacrifice, redeemed by His blood. You and I use coins, paper money, credit cards and e-commerce transactions to make a purchase, but Jesus bought us with His own blood.
1 Peter 1:18-19 tells us, 18 For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your forefathers, 19 but with the precious blood of Christ…”
In Christ we are redeemed and forgiven. It’s right there in verse 7. This forgiveness thing is so important. Not only does it enable us to be in God’s presence without any condemnation or shame, (Romans 8:1) but it gives us the ability to have a fresh start, a new beginning. Haven’t we all needed that? Forgiveness cuts us loose from the weight of our sin so that we can walk with confidence into our future. How many of us today would say we hope our future is built on every decision we have made to this point or on every deed we have ever done? Right? God knows that we have gotten it wrong and that we will get it wrong at times. That is why forgiveness is so incredible. Forgiveness is a miracle God offers in the wake of every mistake. And even your sin, when placed at the cross and repented of, becomes a teaching tool, a stepping stone, a trophy of God’s grace to create something new, something lasting, something full of faith, something that points other people to the God of fresh starts.
Because of Him, I am blessed. Because of Him, I am chosen. Because of Him, I am adopted. Because of Him, I am spiritually wealthy, and I have an amazing inheritance. Because of Him, I have been made righteous. Because of Him, I am redeemed and forgiven.
