Blessed (Ephesians 1:3)

If you would, please stand for the reading of God's Word.

We're in our third week of the study of Ephesians, which is

going to take us in through the summer, and we're going to be

looking at one verse today. This one verse begins a section

of Ephesians which is some of the most remarkable things ever

written, one of the clearest expressions of doctrine in

theology. Don't let those words scare you.

Those words are important words. Doctrine, understood correctly

always leads to doxology. Understood correctly.

It is a deep, intimate connection between our hearts

and our minds that exits through our hands and our feet.

Primarily in doxology, primarily in worship, primarily in

repeating what we just sang together after the Carol.

And this is how Paul begins this sentence.

This sentence is over 200 words. It runs from verse 3 through

verse 14, though in most of our translation, it is broken into

five different verses. We're going to be moving slowly

through this passage today, again, looking just at a portion

of one verse, verse 3. So listen now as I read blessed

be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ who has

blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the

heavenly places. That's so short.

I'm going to read it again. I am listen, listen closely.

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ who has

blessed us, us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the

heavenly places. This is the word of the Lord.

Thanks be to God. Please be seated.

Oh Father, as we open your word, this one small portion of this

long magnificent Holy Spirit written carrying Paul along

sentence transform our lives for your glory in our good.

I pray in the name of Jesus, Amen.

The flowers behind me, the red ones represent 170 babies that

were saved through Thrives Women's Clinic and the white

flowers represent 37 new believers.

I want you to think about it for a moment.

And not move too quickly. Think about the women and how

overwhelmed they were in this moment.

The word overwhelmed, if you looked it up it will tell you

it's three things. Means to be buried underneath a

huge mass. It means to be defeated soundly.

It means to receive too much of something.

We celebrate 170 lives saved. We celebrate 37 women and men

who came to this place, this Thrive clinic, overwhelmed.

And some of you've been there and some of you did the very

thing that we call what it should be called evil.

And some of you paid for that and some of you probably parents

were overwhelmed when your daughter told you or your son

told you, and you may have done the unthinkable and gave counsel

that was anti God's word. And you feel that deep shame.

Bring it to the cross. Bring it to Christ.

I don't know one individual that's represented by these

flowers, but in the year 2000, if you're new to my this church,

you've never heard the story. Some of you've heard it before.

In the year 2000, spring, there was a girl named Aaron and Aaron

was being ministered to by Hillary Coffey, the

daughter-in-law of Roy and Janice Coffey, members of our

church, the parents of Cold Coffee who is a member of our

church. Their son, one of their twins,

Aaron, let a friend know that she was pregnant.

Not for the first time. She's had an abortion before,

maybe even to she let her friend know who's a Christian that she

was pregnant. That news reached Hillary and

Hillary and Clay were very powerfully involved in speaking

out against abortion. They found out that Aaron and

her boyfriend, the father of this child, we're going to have

an abortion. It was going to be on a

Saturday. And they came to me and said we

would like for you to go with us to the abortion clinic.

They get there before they do. They intervene.

I've never done anything like that.

I knew I had to go, and I did. We left West County, Saint

Louis, our town was called Chesterfield.

We drove across the Mississippi River, which is where you go if

you want to do this. And we got there before they

did. And we waited.

Finally, their car pulled in. And as they pulled in, I don't

know what to do but pray and act.

Same with Clay and Hillary. So I moved quickly to the

passenger's door. As Aaron opened the door, I just

kneeled down in between the door and between her.

Her boyfriend, the father of the child, hopped up out of the car.

Clay and Hillary prayed and talked to him.

Well, I just said whatever the Holy Spirit was encouraging me

to say, and it took a long time, probably an hour, until finally

she said OK. All I pleaded with her to do was

to come to my house to beat my wife, who was also pregnant with

our third child, Kaden, and she agreed to do that.

Her boyfriend said that's fine, I'll spend the money on a car

stereo. That's kind of how he thought

about it. She came.

She saw the sonogram of our little boy and they simply

talked and she said I'm going to keep the baby.

God, though, gave her courage to do more than just keep the

child, but to get involved in the youth ministry of church.

A couple months later we had our own Florida trip, much like the

one we do here, and she went in her second trimester putting on

a swimsuit with a baby bump on the beach.

And is that that week that she came to understand what

Ephesians 1/3 is all about. This represents her a woman who

came to saving faith. This represents the child that

was saved is God powerfully intervened.

I start here today because this is what Paul is Speaking of in

this long sentence that is profound.

There was a day when each of the red flowers representing a

child, that child took their first breath.

That happened in this past year. Some of them perhaps have been

born just recently, and now that child is being raised by a

parent or parents and grandparents that are going to

do what parents do. Soon.

They're going to be pointing things out to them.

And one of the first things that a child learns to do is to speak

the name of something that's being pointed out.

A light, a banana, Mama, daddy, grandma, grandpa.

And they say those words, words that they've never known are

understood. They're now able to speak even

without fully understanding. But that same thing that's

happening to those red flowers, those children that are born, is

also happening with the white flowers of those who have been

born again. They're learning to speak words

and give names to things that they've never known about words

like grace and election and adoption and holiness and favor

and inheritance, lavishness. Born again.

We are taught a new language and there is no greater sentence in

the Bible or anywhere else as great as this one and what it

clearly speaks of. So let's dive in.

What were we to tell Aaron about what just happened to her?

What are we to tell those represented by these white

flowers? Paul begins this benediction

with the word blessed. What does the word blessed mean

here? The word blessed means to speak

with favor. It means to speak well of

someone. In this case, it means to speak

glory. Paul, knowing what he is going

to write, carried along by the Holy Spirit, this rich doctrine

of who God is and His sovereignty and who we are as

sinners needing a Savior. And there's only one He can't

wait to burst into praise for all that he is about to say that

is going to be given to this church and other churches,

including this one. 2000 years later, he burst into doxology.

You should too. Constantly in our cars, at work,

in our homes, in the shower, all sorts of places, just sing the

doxology. Praise God from whom all

blessings flow. The word blessed means to speak

well of how do we bless God who needs nothing.

This word blessed is a powerful word.

Psalm one O 3 speaks of blessing God.

Psalm 145 speaks of blessing God and the New Testament.

You've got the priest Zechariah, who's told that his wife is

going to conceive a child, and this child is going to be the

one who will be the forerunner of Christ, who will speak of the

one who is to come, Christ. He struggles to believe, which

is understandable, and in his struggle he is given a

consequence, and the consequence is that he will not be able to

speak. And so for nine months, no words

come out of his mouth. When John is finally born, those

close to Elizabeth say, what is the name of the child?

She says his name is John. None of your relatives is called

by this name. And they made signs to his

father because he can't speak, inquiring what do you wanted him

to be called? And he asked for a writing

tablet. Picture this.

It really happened. The priest Zechariah, silent for

nine months, writes his name is John.

And they all wondered. And immediately this is in Luke

164. And immediately his mouth was

opened, his tongue loosed, and he spoke blessing to God.

In fact, the first words we hear that Zechariah spoke is recorded

in verse 67. And his father Zechariah was

filled with the Holy Spirit and prophesied saying, and it's the

same word in Ephesians 1/3. Blessed be the Lord God of

Israel, for he has visited, for he has visited and redeemed his

people. He's raised up a horn of

salvation for us in the House of his servant David, as he spoke

by the mouth of his holy prophets from of all that we

should be saved from our enemies and from the hand of all who

hate us, to show the mercy promised to our fathers and to

remember His holy covenant. He goes on, speaks of what his

Son will speak of to the one who's coming of the one who's

coming next. Chapter Mary and Joseph take

this baby Jesus and they take him to Jerusalem to present him

to the Lord, and they're waiting for them.

The one who's been waiting for so long is Simeon, verse 27.

And he came in the spirit into the temple.

And when the parents brought the child Jesus to do for him

according to the custom of the law, Simeon took him up in his

arms. He's holding Christ, he's

holding this child who is fully God, fully man and blessed God,

and said, Lord, now you are letting your servant depart in

peace according to your word. For my eyes have seen your

salvation that you have prepared in the presence of all peoples,

a light for revelation to the Gentiles and for glory to your

people. Israel.

Simeon was overwhelmed. Zechariah was overwhelmed.

The people witnessing it were overwhelmed.

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.

When Paul begins this benediction at the beginning of

the letter with this fantastic doxology, blessed be the God and

Father. He tells us who we're blessing,

the God and Father. If you pay attention to what's

happening in this letter, you're going to see this high value

that Paul is placing on the Trinity.

He begins with the Father because this plan of redemption

originates with the Father, the Trinity working together.

Now Jesus is born and begins to walk upon the earth, and he does

everything that is required to accomplish salvation.

And then the Holy Spirit who was promised, He is the one who

applies this redeeming work to the lives of his people.

This high view of the Trinity is present already here.

Blessed be the God and Father, the one true God and Father of

our Lord Jesus Christ. Then he says and gives us the

motivation, who has blessed us the word blessing, the root of

that word three times in this one verse.

Who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in

the heavenly places? We read our Bibles too fast.

If you're in a Bible reading plan, I'm grateful.

I'm glad you're in the word of God.

Continue to read that word each day, but don't read it just a

check a box. You are reading the living word

of God. In this one small verse

beginning of this enormous magnificent sentence, he says

blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ who has

blessed us, who is the US, It's the Saints.

If you have trusted Christ Jesus, it's you, it's me.

This is for us who are in Christ, blessed us in Christ.

But what has he blessed us with every spiritual blessing?

What a word. Each of those words matter.

With every spiritual blessing. God blesses us with material

things for sure, even common grace, which is for those who

are in Christ and those who are not in Christ exist.

But for those who are in Christ, we have these blessings that are

spiritual, and the Word tells us that He is giving us every

spiritual blessing. While the material blessings

vary, some born into great wealth or work hard for great

material blessing, others not at all.

God's in control, some born even as our dear sister mentioned,

with really good health, others with not good health.

There's variation in the material and physical blessings

with God, but with the spiritual blessings, they're for all of

us, all of them, each of them. Yes, there's differences in the

gifts that He gives us to bring Him glory, but in terms of these

spiritual blessings, every spiritual blessing is given in

the heavenly places. This is the motivation for our

praise. What are these blessings?

Listen to this just in the sentence that is about to

follow, and these are the words I was speaking about a moment

ago, some of them that are way above your intellect, way above

your understanding, complicated and mysterious for sure.

But in this one sentence, listen to some of the blessings that he

mentions and we're going to get into each of them in the weeks

to come. Election.

It's biblical, it's here, you may not understand it.

Welcome to the club. It's mysterious, mind blowing,

but nonetheless true. Adoption, Grace.

I'm only up to verse 6, redemption verse 7, forgiveness

verse 7, riches of grace verse 7, revelation of His will verse

9, and inheritance, verse 11. Sealed and guaranteed by God

himself, the Holy Spirit. These are the spiritual

blessings that are given to us in Christ.

We must become more and more acquainted with the privileges

we have in Christ. This is what a new believer is

to hear. This is what a new believer is

to seek to understand. And old believers as well.

Notice that their spiritual blessings, they're not material.

They're from the Holy Spirit. Each and everyone is given to us

and these blessings are given now, yes, Now, not just when we

go to heaven, yes, and fulfillment there and full glory

there, but these blessings are given.

Now. This language is spoken so that

it means effective now. Now let's talk about the

location of these blessings. This is why we have to read our

Bibles slow or we would miss a statement like this.

Who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in

the heavenly places? OK, So what is the location of

these blessings? Paul doesn't do much to explain

to us what he means by heavenly places.

Remember, they're hearing this letter being read to them.

They're wondering what it means to be a follower of Christ.

They're seeking to understand these things.

What does he mean by heavenly places?

Well, it's a phrase that he's going to use throughout the

letter. And what he is speaking to is a

realm, a spiritual realm, a Kingdom that we can't see.

Yes, we can feel it. Yes, we can understand it.

But it's not a physical Kingdom. It's not a physical dynamic that

we can touch. These spiritual blessings are in

a different realm. Richard Phillips says it this

way. This is where our blessings are

found, not in the realm of things you can touch and feel,

but our spiritual blessings are real, in fact, more real than

the worldly blessings that we can see.

That is why whether you are a brand new believer or today even

is the day you come to faith or you've been walking with the

Lord a long time, this living Word overwhelms us.

It reminds us that as clearly as God has given us eyes to see,

there is always more to see. He's going to speak about the

spiritual battle that we are in, in a realm that we don't see

that comes later, probably be like in July or August when

we're there. But it's powerful.

The location of these spiritual blessings is in the heavenly

places, but there's another location, and this location is

everything. And this location is in Christ.

The most frequently used phrase of Paul describing believers is

in Christ. In Him, the location of these

blessings is in the heavenly places, and those blessings are

not in anyone except for those who are in Christ.

So if you are in Christ, all of the spiritual blessings, those

we we will see in this letter and other letters in the

Gospels, the Psalms, throughout God's Word, these blessings are

in the heavenly places and they're in Christ.

And what that ultimately means is that He is the spiritual

blessing, the person of Jesus is the spiritual blessing.

And to me, this is one of the things that the church has

missed so badly. We, in conforming to the pattern

of the world, treat Christianity like it's just another

worldview, another set of standards to live by, another

guideline for how to vote, another self help manual to help

you improve. And that is not the essence of

Christianity. The essence of Christianity is

that we who have trusted in Jesus, his life, his death, his

perfect righteousness, his resurrection, his reign, his

promised return, his kingship, his lordship, it's because we're

in him. There is this mystical union

that exists that we don't feel physically, but it's real.

There was a wedding here last night.

Tommy Overton officiated. My granddaughter was a flower

girl, along with four or five others.

My grandson was the ring bearer. I got to sit right where Clint

Harrison is, right there. It was awesome just to sit and

watch. Tommy began to explain this

covenant that between this 2 Stephen Madora and Claire

Obenshane is a mystical union that exists between Christ and

His church in Christ is the location.

So let me finish with just a couple of questions.

First, how do you obtain this blessing?

Well, the only way, please listen, the only way.

And if you're new to our church and maybe you don't even know

why you're here, this might be why.

The only way to obtain these spiritual blessings is in

Christ. It is resting and receiving

Jesus alone for salvation, as he's offered in the gospel.

Jesus alone is the way, the truth, and the life.

No one comes to the Father except through Him.

And for all who have rested and received in Christ, this is your

privilege, privileges, all the spiritual privileges, all the

spiritual blessings. Today, if you're eager to know

what it means to be in Christ, please come and talk to us.

Even this day. If you're ready to pray for

salvation as I close in a moment, just pray the sinner's

prayer. I'm a Sinner in need of a

Savior. There is only one, the holy,

righteous Jesus Christ, Lord and King, God, Redeemer, Savior in

that moment, that grip which was born before all eternity, which

you'll hear more about even next week, becomes the reality of

your life. Now for those who are in Christ,

here's the question, does this verse mark your life?

Is your life every day? And when we gather together in

corporate worship, is it filled with the richness of this

doctrine that leads to the doxology where, like Paul, you

just can't wait to say, blessed be the God and Father of our

Lord Jesus Christ who has blessed us in Christ with every

spiritual blessing? Ian Hamilton says this, and I

want you to lean in and listen. If our individual and corporate

lives should be marked by anything, they should be marked

by joyful, thankful, glorying and the God of our salvation.

Listen to this. Our public worship services

should pulse with the wonder of sinners forgiven by grace.

Now they're called Saints and blessed in Christ with every

spiritual blessing. The reason our worship services

do not always throb with life. The reason our worship services

do not always throb with life is not because our liturgies are

antiquated, our praise lacks modernity, and our surroundings

are formal. The reason is more basic and

serious. We are not captivated and

overwhelmed by the Gospel. There's that word again.

Overwhelmed. Overwhelmed means to be buried

under a huge mass. It means to be defeated soundly.

It means to receive too much of something in the garden.

Jesus said my soul is overwhelmed to the point of

death. Pray for me three times he said,

Father, if you're willing, take this cup from me.

And then on the cross, Jesus indeed was overwhelmed.

He was buried under a huge mass, the mass of your sin and my sin,

the sin of all of his people and the weight of the Father's just

wrath. He was overwhelmed by receiving

too much of the penalty that you and I deserved.

He was defeated soundly. They went to break his legs so

he would die quicker. Recognizing that he looked as if

he was already dead. They pierced aside and out flew

fluid, a mixture of water and blood, signifying a heart that

it burst. His heart was overwhelmed.

He was defeated soundly, and that dead body of our Lord and

Savior Jesus Christ was taken down.

That body was placed in a tomb, sealed, guarded. 3 days later,

Jesus overwhelmed death. Death was buried underneath the

weight of His glory. Death received too much of His

resurrection power. Death was defeated soundly.

Everyone who comes to faith in Christ has Him.

He, the one who died, is the spiritual blessing.

We are in Him. If you're not in Him, these

blessings are not yours. If you are in Him and you're not

throbbing daily with the desire to praise Him with doxology,

it's because you're overwhelmed with something else, something

far less so. Ask Him, and trust that He will

do it, to open your eyes anew to the wonder of the Gospel.

About four years after we had moved here, about four years

after that little girl was born, Aaron's daughter, I'd gone back

to Saint Louis. I just so happened to see this

young mom with a toddler and another child in tow and a wagon

and I recognized it was Aaron. I stopped my car, I got out and

she recognized me. Mark and I looked and pointed to

the little girl walking beside her and I said is this?

Her Big Blue eyes looked up at me and she said my natural

instinct was to reach down and pick her up.

Her natural instinct was to yell stranger danger.

She wanted nothing to do with me.

And she jumped in her mother's arms right where she needed to

be. And now, with confidence, she's

25 or 26, Her mother sought to raise her with the promises that

Paul speaks of in this really long sentence, beginning with

doxology. Blessed be the God.

I hope you're ready to sing this hymn to God beyond all praising.

Father, as we prepare to lift our voices to you and exit this

place, let us be overwhelmed by you, cause us to be overwhelmed

by you. Let us be completely consumed

and owned by you and this word of truth.

We pray in Jesus name, Amen. Please stand.