The Epistle to the Ephesians
Lesson 3
Blessed Beyond Measure
Ephesians 1:3-14
Introduction
In Ephesians 1:1, Paul wrote to the saints at Ephesus as "the faithful
in Christ Jesus." This phrase, "in Christ Jesus," is found
many times in Ephesians. When we add such phrases about Christ as “in
him" and "in whom,” the number is more than 100.
Every Christian lives in Christ from the moment he believes and is
saved. In Christ is where God sees us and accepts us (Ephesians 1:6).
In Christ is where
we share all that Christ is and will ever be. In Ephesians 1:3 we saw the phrase "blessed
with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places." We can also translate
this phrase, "in heavenly places," as, "in the heavenlies." "In
the heavenlies" is that environment of the walk of the Christian in which
God blesses him with "all spiritual blessings" because he is in Christ.
In this lesson, we are going to see and explain seven of these great
spiritual blessings. You will realize how wonderful it is to be in Christ.
This lesson
actually extends from Ephesians 1:3 through Ephesians 1:14. In the English
King James Version of the Bible you will see that the whole passage is one
sentence.
Without doubt, it is the longest, and most glorious sentence in all literature
and has the deepest meaning. It is also the most difficult to explain and
fully understand. Importance of this Lesson
- Nothing
is more important to a Christian than to understand what he is and
what he has in Christ.
- It is important to understand what God has done for
you, and what He is doing for you now and what He will do for you
in the future through His marvelous grace.
- In this lesson, we shall see
that God chose, predestinated, accepted, redeemed, enlightened,
enriched and sealed every believer.
The Lesson
I. Ephesians 1:4 – "According
as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that
we
should be holy and without blame before him in love"
After you repent of your sins and receive Christ you are surprised, perhaps
shocked, to learn that God knew
you and chose you before He made the world. Of course, this raises questions
that theologians have been
debating for many years. I will try to answer some of these questions and make
the idea that God chose us
in Christ before He made the world as simple to understand as possible.
- Here
are some of the questions concerning this problem:
- Q: Does God chose
some people to be saved and all the rest of mankind to be lost?
A: There is no verse in the Bible that says that God chooses anyone
to spend eternity in hell.
- Q: Does God love every human being?
A: YES! Read 1 John 2:2, 4:10, and John 3:16-17.
- Q: Did Christ
die for every person ever born into this world?
A: YES! Read 1 John 2:2 and 2 Corinthians 5:14.
- Q: Does God want
every person to become a believer?
A: YES! Read 1 Timothy 2:4 and Isaiah 45:22.
- Q: Is every person
able to repent and does God want everyone to repent, to turn
from sin and
receive Christ as Savior?
A: YES! Read Ezekiel 18:21-23; John 7:37-38; Matthew 11:28;
and Revelation 22:17;
Acts 17:30.
- Q: Can sinners oppose the Holy Spirit and refuse the
grace of God and call of God?
A: YES! Read Acts 7:51; John 5:40; and Luke 13:34.
Since every person is able to reject or receive the Gospel of Christ
and the begging of the Holy Spirit, what does Paul mean when he writes, "He
(God) hath chosen us in Him (Christ) before the foundation of the world..." (Ephesians
1:4)? The answer, I think, lies in a word that is often overlooked or
considered of little importance. It is the word "foreknowledge." Paul
wrote in Romans 8:29, "For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate...." In
1 Peter 1:2, Peter wrote, "Elect according to the foreknowledge
of God…." We must keep in mind that the God we serve, the
God of the Bible knows everything. This means that His wisdom and knowledge
is without limits. He knows and He has always known all things from
eternity. This includes the knowledge of every person who will receive
or reject
Christ. In other words, God did not have to wait until you received
Christ before He took you and welcomed you as one of His own. He knew
you before
you were born. He knew before He made the world that you would answer
the call of the Holy Spirit and receive Christ.
God is never surprised. He knows the end from the beginning. Since
God knew you as His child before He made the world, it was no problem
for
God to choose you as one of the chosen ones. Remember this: God did not
make man a machine. Adam and Eve had the power to choose. Cain and Abel
had the power to choose. Every person today has the power to choose.
We can readily see this in both the Old and New Testaments.
As I understand it, before God made the world, He chose every person
that He foreknew would choose Christ. God's foreknowledge removes pride,
it makes the problem clear, and gives us an answer.
The following two statements are from great men of God and preachers
of the WORD. Some theologians may consider these views as too simple,
but consider the sources: Dr. H.A. Ironside, was a greatly beloved Bible
teacher. He was one of the best known Bible teachers in America in the
first half of the 20th century. D.L. Moody was also one of the greatest
evangelists of the 19th century and founded the Moody Bible Institute.
- "The fact that God knows all of mankind does not eliminate personal
responsibility. Only after a person repents, turns to Christ, and receives
Him as Lord and Savior does 'chosen in Christ' become a reality." – H.A.
Ironside
- "The 'whosoever wills' are the elect and the 'whosoever
won'ts' are the non-elect." – D. L. Moody
- "That we should be holy and without blame before him in love"
Here we see God's wonderful purpose in choosing us. His purpose is
that some day you and I will stand before Him in glory, beloved,
holy and
without blame. What a remarkable, glorious, and undeserved future!
But how is this possible? We all know that we are unworthy sinners.
We were saved completely by His grace. How will we stand as holy,
and
without
blame before a holy God? Here is the answer:
- Because of the sacrifice
of Christ and the cleansing of His Word (Ephesians 5:25-27).
- Through
the righteousness of Christ that God puts on the believer (Romans 3:22-25).
- Because Christ is our defense lawyer. "If any man sin, we have
an advocate" (1 John 2:1-2). As the
Sacrifice for our sins, Christ became our place of mercy. He
shed His own blood for us and in that way He satisfied all the
claims
of a Holy
God against us.
(If you have a Scofield Reference Bible, read the footnote under
Romans 3:25.)
- By the continual cleansing of the blood of Christ
(1 John 1:7).
II. Ephesians 1:5 – "Having
predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to
himself,
according to the
good pleasure
of his will."
- Predestinate simply means "to determine in advance," or
to pre-determine.
- Predestination is broader and it includes
more than election. It includes what God determined before for
the ungodly (Acts 4:27-28).
- Predestination is all about future events.
- We are "predestinated
UNTO the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself" (Ephesians
1:5).
- "Whom he foreknew he also did predestinate to be conformed
to the image of his son" (Romans 8:29). This is another glorious expectation!
- "Unto the adoption...." What does this mean? In the
Greek language, to adopt means "to place a
son." You may be asking, "Are we not already children of God by faith
in Christ"? Yes we are.
Read Galatians 3:26. This is what you must realize and remember:
We are children of God in two ways:
- Through regeneration – "new
birth," by which we receive
a new nature. This is called "positional sonship" (John
1:12-13,3:3-6).
- Through adoption – a divine, legal
transaction by which God officially guarantees our full rights
and benefits
as sons
of God and
as joint heirs
with Christ (Romans 8:15-17).
III. Ephesians 1:6 – "To the
praise and glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in
the
beloved."
- Wonder of Wonders! God approved you and me, by our faith in Christ.
He accepted us. He received us and welcomed us. What a blessing!
- God
did not accept us because of what we are, but because of where we are
as believers. We are "in the beloved." God does not
see us any more in our dirty rags of sin (Isaiah 64:6).
He sees us clothed with Christ and His righteousness. Because of where
we are, God says, "Welcome Home" (Romans 3:21-22).
IV. Ephesians
1:7 – "In whom we have redemption through His
blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace"
- Never
overlook the "in whoms" – they all refer to Christ.
- "Through
his blood" – the price Christ paid for our redemption
(1Corinthians 6:20, 7:23).
- The basic meaning of redemption is to “buy
back” or to “deliver
and set free by paying a price.”
- Before our salvation, God
sees us and all of humanity as:
- sold under sin and enslaved by it
(Romans 6:17, 20, 7:14).
- under the Law of Moses and cursed by
it (Galatians 3:10, 3:23).
- blinded and controlled by Satan (2
Corinthians 4:4; Ephesians 2:2).
- Because Christ shed His precious
blood and had power to redeem us, we are:
- set free from the guilt
and slavery of sin (2 Corinthians 5:21; Romans 6:6; 1 John 1:7).
- set free from the law and its curse (Galatians 3:13; Romans
10:4).
- delivered from Satan's kingdom, from his power, and from
his control (Hebrews 2:14;
Acts 26:18; Colossians 1:13).
- Christ paid to deliver us through
his shed blood that was a sacrifice for our sin. (1 Peter 1:18-19).
- "the forgiveness of sins according to the riches
of his grace"
- How wonderful! God included the forgiveness
of all our sins in our redemption
(Colossians 1:14).
- Grace is God's free favor that we do not deserve.
It is the overflow of His love for us. Our complete
redemption and total forgiveness are according to the
riches of His immeasurable grace.
V. ENLIGHTENED
Ephesians 1:8 – "Wherein he hath abounded toward us in
all wisdom and prudence"
- Wherein – refers
to God's abundant grace (2 Corinthians 9:8). In this verse the
word "prudence" (KJV) means the same as the word "intelligence."
- God
holds back nothing. God enlightens us and shares His wisdom and
intelligence with us plentifully through Christ (1 Corinthians 1:30;
Colossians 2:3,10).
- The lowliest saint, who has received Christ
and in whom the Holy Spirit lives, has more wisdom
regarding spiritual things than any professor in any great university
who refuses Christ.
- Ephesians 1:9 – "Having made known
unto us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure
which he hath purposed in
himself."
- the mystery of his will – What is a mystery? We must
never think of a mystery in the Scriptures as a secret that we
must fear. A mystery
simply is a hidden truth. It is a truth God did not reveal to the
prophets in the Old Testament. It is a truth God revealed and made
clear in the
New Testament. The word "mystery" occurs in Ephesians
six times, and there are eleven mysteries mentioned in the New
Testament. (These
mysteries are listed in Matthew 13, Note 2 of the Scofield Reference
Bible.)
- his will – According to His good pleasure, which
He purposed in Himself, God is giving us understanding concerning
His plans
for our future with Him.
- Ephesians 1:10 "That in the dispensation
of the fullness of times he might gather together in one all things
in Christ,
both which are
in heaven, and which are on earth; even in him"
- What is a
dispensation? It is sometimes translated as "stewardship" or "order." The
original English usage was "economy."
- Since Adam and
Eve, the world has passed through various dispensations or economies.
Immediately before our present dispensation of
grace was the dispensation of law. The dispensation of law ended
with
a shout when
Christ cried on the cross, "IT IS FINISHED." We are
presently under grace (Romans 6:14). This age of grace will end
when Christ returns
in glory and power and sets up His kingdom on earth (Matthew
25:31). According to our text that will be the time when the "dispensation
of the fullness of times" will be established. This is when
every knee will bow, of things in heaven and things in earth;
when every tongue
will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord (Philippians 2:10-11).
This is when Christ will bring all things back unto Himself,
whether they are
things in Heaven or things on earth (Colossians 1:20). What a
time that will be! All the TIMES (dispensations) through which
the world has passed
will be completed and fulfilled. Jews and Gentiles will be one "in
Christ." All the believers in Heaven and on earth will be
gathered together.
“ Jesus shall reign where 'ere the sun
Does his successive journeys run,
His kingdom stretch form shore to shore
'Til moons shall wax and wane no more.”
Think and rejoice in the light God gives to the believer.
The humblest believer knows exactly God's purpose and God’s
will concerning this world. He shows us the mystery of
His will in His Word.
VI. ENRICHED
Ephesians 1:11 – "In whom also we have obtained an inheritance,
being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things
after the counsel of his own will"
- In whom also we have obtained
an inheritance. Think of it. It is difficult to grasp such an amazing
fact. You and I, as poor unworthy sinners, will
surely receive a bountiful and glorious inheritance in the future.
We were "begotten unto...an inheritance that is incorruptible and undefiled
and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you" (1 Peter 1:4). "and
if children, then heirs ... heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ..." (Romans
8:17).
Many pages could be filled describing the riches we are to inherit.
I will just give a few examples:
- We will inherit a new body (Philippians
3:21).
- We will inherit Christ's likeness (1 John 3:2).
- We will share
Christ's glory (Romans 8:17-18).
There are many more, but these should certainly be enough for anyone.
- Ephesians 1:12 "That we should be to the praise of his
glory, who first trusted in Christ."
- Predestinated as discussed
in Ephesians 1:5, actually means to decide or determine in
advance or ahead of time.
- Here we see that God, according to
His own purpose and will, decided that all who have trusted
Christ will be to the praise of His glory.
Oh how rich we are! We are daily blessed by the "riches of His grace" (Ephesians
1:7). We will enjoy the exceeding riches of His grace in the ages to
come (Ephesians 2:7).
VII. SEALED
Ephesians 1:13-14 – "In whom ye also trusted, after that ye
heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after
that ye believed, ye were sealed with that Holy Spirit of promise, which
is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased
possession, unto the praise of his glory."
We now arrive at the seventh spiritual blessing we enjoy, because we
are in Christ (Ephesians 1:3).
- Something wonderful happened after you
heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and you placed
your trust in Christ. You were
sealed with the Holy Spirit. The moment we trust Christ, the Holy Spirit
comes into our hearts crying, "Abba Father" (Galatians 4:6),
and witnesses with our spirit that we are the children of God (Romans
8:16).
- The Spirit Himself is actually the seal. He did not seal us
with anything or anyone else. The Holy Spirit Himself is the seal and
in
that way He
becomes the "earnest of our inheritance" (Ephesians 1:14).
The earnest is the first payment, the assurance, and the guarantee
of our inheritance until Christ returns to complete our redemption "to
the praise of his glory."
A seal can be a number of things:
- It speaks of identification. "The
Lord knoweth them that are his..." (2
Timothy 2:19).
- It speaks of preservation. "Grieve not the Holy Spirit
of God by whom you are sealed unto the day of redemption..." (Ephesians
4:30). The Holy Spirit is responsible for our survival and arrival
in heaven.
- It speaks of ownership. Jesus said, "I know my sheep
and am known of mine..." (John 10:14 and 2 Timothy 2:19).
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