Ephesians 1:3-14 “Blessed in Christ”

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What difference does it make?

You can't talk about union with Christ for very long without going to Ephesians chapter 1.

Ephesians 1 · chapter mention

Here in Ephesians 1, with overflowing joy in one really long Greek sentence,

the Apostle Paul unpacks wonders of good news that we can never exhaust.

We'll be exploring these for eternity.

I want to read this beginning of Paul's letter to the church in Ephesus

that is also God's encouragement to all of us today in the church of Jesus.

Ephesians 1 at verse 3.

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,

even as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world,

that we should be holy and blameless before Him.

In love He predestined us for adoption through Jesus Christ,

according to the purpose of His will, to the praise of His glorious grace,

with which He has blessed us in the Beloved.

In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses,

according to the riches of His grace, which He lavished upon us in all wisdom and insight,

making known to us the mystery of His will,

according to His purpose which He set forth in Christ,

as a plan for the fullness of time to unite all things in Him,

things in heaven and things on earth.

In Him we have obtained an inheritance,

having been predestined according to the purpose of Him who works all things

according to the counsel of His will,

so that we who were the first to hope in Christ

might be to the praise of His glory.

In Him you also, when you heard the word of truth,

the gospel of your salvation, and believed in Him,

were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit,

who is the guarantee of our inheritance

until we acquire possession of it to the praise of His glory.

Thus far, God's holy word.

Let's ask for His blessing.

God, you have promised that the word that goes out from your mouth

will not return void,

that it will accomplish the purpose for which you send it.

And so we ask that you would do that now,

and that it would accomplish in our hearts

the purpose you send it for.

Would you encourage us?

Would you enliven us?

Would you give us a passion and a zeal and a joy in Christ

that we've only dreamed of?

Transform us by your Spirit, we ask in Jesus' name.

Amen.

While I was in seminary,

Christy worked at Washington University in St. Louis.

And one of the things that she did was plan a big annual dinner

to honor distinguished alumni.

Over 1,000 people would attend.

Rudy Giuliani, who was the recent mayor of New York City,

would be the speaker.

And that was a big deal then

because it was right in the wake of 9-11.

And this event was a big deal.

And we had no right to be there.

Christy was working the check-in table,

which meant that she may or may not even get any food.

She may or may not even see inside the banquet room.

But that put me in an even worse situation.

Because with Christy gone for the night,

I would be alone on the couch,

and we're thinking frozen pizza at best for dinner.

There I am.

I'm not an alumnus of Washington University.

I am in no way distinguished,

so definitely not invited.

We were left out

until we got our big break.

We learned that the president of Clemson University

was one of these distinguished alumni

being invited to be honored at this event.

And since we knew them from our time in Clemson,

I emailed Mrs. Barker and said,

hey, Christy will be at the check-in table

working the event.

She's looking forward to seeing y'all there.

Except the next morning,

Mrs. Barker called the woman organizing the event

and said, we would like for Will and Christy

to attend the event as our guests.

Just like that.

In one phone call,

we went from the couch and the check-in table

all the way to table number two.

Whoa.

It was amazing, I tell you.

Incredible.

Throw your microphone kind of incredible.

For that night,

my name tag read,

Will Spink,

guest of Jim Barker.

Right?

I had nothing that I had done to be there.

The only way that I could sit there that night

and enjoy that wonderful steak dinner

at table number two

was that I was with President Barker

who had earned it.

He'd earned the honors he was receiving,

the right to sit at that table.

And only as I was connected to him,

could I then enjoy the food,

the company,

the speech,

the wonderful blessings

of that evening.

I want to ask you to think this morning

if you have ever felt

like a frozen pizza on the couch Christian.

I mean, I'm a Christian, I guess.

Not a Muslim.

Buddhist.

I mean, I'm a Christian,

but I'm only worthy of eating

frozen pizza on the couch.

Not steak at table number two.

I think many of us walk around

feeling many days like

second class Christians.

Maybe it's because we feel

the weight of our sin.

I'm just feeling overwhelmed by guilt.

I'm trapped in immoral behavior.

I just keep living the same old ways

as always.

Maybe it's because we feel

everyone else knows more

and does more

and we're just missing out

on the real action.

We didn't hear about Jesus growing up

and we still feel on the outside

looking in most days.

Maybe what we realize is

we're just content with getting by

spiritually.

Other things besides God

are frankly more important.

financially,

physically,

socially,

it's just more natural

to focus on those areas

and we're too ashamed

to ask ourselves why that is.

So we don't deserve

God's love and attention.

He's probably not interested in us.

Only in the really spiritual people, right?

They'll feast with God.

We'll settle for the frozen pizza

on the couch.

If you've ever felt that way,

I want you to realize

that what Paul does in Ephesians

is he starts by pulling us up

off the couch.

God himself has placed you

in Christ,

given you a new identity

and relationship with his son

so you have not merely

a distant view of God

but a direct seat

at his table.

He takes your name tag

and writes

guest of Jesus

and now you get

the full VIP treatment.

Nothing held back.

The delicious food,

the distinguished company,

the desirable seat,

the droning speech,

all of it is yours.

That was a reference to sermons.

Here, though,

the focus is not

a dinner that you'll eat.

It's spiritual.

Every spiritual blessing

in the heavenly places

in Christ.

This doesn't mean you'll dine

with the rich and famous

but that all of the care

of your sovereign heavenly father

that he gives

to his most beloved children

is yours.

All of it.

I mean,

something good happens

in our life

and we post it

to social media

and put hashtag blessed,

right?

Most of you don't do that

but anyway,

sometimes we do

that kind of thing

and this is so much more

than just a little hashtag

on a small piece

of your life.

If we'll only realize

the wonder

of how richly blessed we are,

that's what Paul wants you

to hear this morning.

The point he's making

is that when you receive

God's best gift,

kids,

you learned this week,

who is God's best gift?

That's right.

Jesus is.

When you're united

to Jesus,

you receive all

God's good gifts.

There's no second class Christian

left behind on the couch

with frozen pizza.

God doesn't work that way.

See, the gifts,

the blessings

that we're going to unpack

this morning

in Ephesians 1

are not individual gifts

that you may have some of

and not others.

It's not like that.

They come together.

It's a package deal,

if you will.

That's why 11 times

in these verses alone

we're told that a gift

comes in Christ,

in Him,

in the Beloved.

Our union with Christ

is not one among many gifts

that God gives us, right?

It's the package

in which all the other gifts

are found.

Don't you love that kind of gift

where you get one of those

big bags

and you keep opening it

and there's one present

after another?

That package

is union with Christ.

union with Christ,

in fact,

is like a stocking.

Anybody ever gotten

a stocking before?

You see this?

Ooh,

there's lots of stuff in here.

I wonder what it is.

When it has your name on it,

when you belong to Jesus,

all the gifts in the stocking

are yours too.

Isn't that how it works

on Christmas, right?

This is how it works

with stockings, right?

You don't go through

a stocking and think,

oh, I need to find

a gift tag and see

which one of these gifts

is for me.

That's not how a stocking works,

is it?

If your name is on it,

every gift in here

is for you, right?

When they start coming out,

let's see what's in here.

Oh, boy, we've got,

oh my goodness,

lots of gifts,

even some peppermints.

That's exciting.

All of the gifts

in the stocking,

including the last one,

are for you.

God who loves

to give good gifts

unites you to Jesus.

You receive that gift

by faith

and then all sorts

of presents and blessings

spill out

of that union

with Christ stocking.

Okay?

So, I have some volunteers

for this morning.

If I talked with you earlier,

if you would come up here

and help me

with some of these gifts,

yes, thank you.

Come on down,

we'll find the one

with your number on it.

All right, let's see.

Beck, were you five?

There's one.

All right.

Four.

Were you two?

Samuel, were you three?

Awesome.

Y'all can go back

to your seats.

We'll open these

in just a minute.

And Gracie is going

to get number six,

I think.

There she comes.

She was sitting

further back.

Oh, I meant to tell you

you could have a peppermint.

You can come back later

and get a,

you can come now

if you want.

Oh, man.

Here you go, Gracie.

All right.

You got a peppermint too.

That's pretty exciting.

All of these gifts,

thank you.

All of these gifts

come out of the one

stocking

of union with Christ.

So, y'all are going

to have to pay

extra special attention

so you know

when it's your turn.

Okay, when you're

united to Jesus,

the best gift,

you receive

all of God's

good gifts.

We're only going

to hit a few

that are mentioned here

as Paul starts

counting his blessings,

so to speak.

But would you,

would you enter

into that this morning?

Say, what,

what happens?

What gifts

do I have

in Christ?

Who has number one?

Caroline,

what,

what does number one say?

Can you open

the gift for us now?

What's in there?

Election.

All right, thank you.

Verse four,

even as he

chose us

in him

before

the foundation

of the world,

before

creating

the heavens

and the earth,

before

creating you

and me

even,

God

picks you

in his

sovereign

understanding

and he says

you

are connected

to Jesus.

He chose you

in him,

in Christ.

You should have

that feeling

of worth,

of value

that you remember

when you were

the first kid

picked for the team

on the playground,

welling up

inside of you,

except that it's,

it's not worth

that,

that you've earned.

this is chosen

only in

Christ.

Not in

your goodness,

not in

your wisdom,

not in

your hard

work,

but in

Christ.

Which means,

good news,

that your

badness,

your foolishness,

your laziness

can't

disconnect

you

from

Christ.

Christ.

Listen,

God knows

you.

He sees

you.

He has

a plan

for you,

including

a way

for you

to be

his

and to

be holy

in his

sight.

And all

of that

has to

do with

is centered

on,

hinges

on

Jesus.

That's

the gift

of election.

The spiritual

blessing

of knowing

the God

who made

us

is the

God

who is

remaking

us

in the

image

of the

son

that he

connected

us to

before we

were born.

Which leads

to gift

number two.

Can we

open gift

number two,

Sadie?

What you

got?

Adoption.

A great

one.

Verse

five.

In love

he predestined

us for

adoption

through

Jesus

Christ.

Remember

last week

God gave

us an

unassailable

identity

in

Christ.

He

defines

us

and

he

says

we

are

sons

and

daughters.

We're

not merely

invited

off the

couch

but amazingly

seated

at the

father's

table

forever

through

Jesus

Christ.

Not on

our own

but because

he is

the beloved

son

and we

are connected

to him

we receive

the love

the grace

the family

welcome

that he

himself

the perfect

son

knows

by

right.

These

first two

gifts

remind us

that we

were not

holy

not

blameless

not

his

sons

by

birth

we were

unholy

sinful

orphaned

because of

our sinful

nature

because of

our sinful

choices

we didn't

look like

sons of

God

we didn't

live like

sons of

God

we didn't

reflect the

spitting image

of our

father

but he

decided

that we

would

he

he was

committed

that we

would

that's how

much he

loved us

that when he

wasn't

obligated to

have us

in his

family

when he

didn't

get stuck

with us

nonetheless

he loved

us

not because

we were so

wonderful

but in

many ways

because we

weren't

right

the heart

of God

was attracted

to make

us

vessels

of his

mercy

trophies

of his

grace

children

beloved

by the

one who

is love

alright

gift number

three

redemption

thank you

Samuel

because you've

been united

to Christ

you have

redemption

verse 7

in him

we have

redemption

through his

blood

the forgiveness

of our

trespasses

according to

the riches

of his

grace

which he

lavished upon

us in all

wisdom and

insight

making known

to us the

mystery of

his will

according to

his purpose

which he set

forth in

Christ

as a plan

for the

fullness of

time to

unite all

things in

him

things in

heaven

and things

on earth

notice

God's

character

here

it is to

lavish

expensive

grace on

us over

and over

and over

he wanted

to unite

heaven and

earth

his people

and his

creation

in the

person of

Jesus

so he

had to

buy us

back

that's what

redeeming

someone meant

in Paul's

day usually

from the

context of

slavery

or servitude

perhaps because

you had

built up

such a big

debt

that you

actually had

to sell

yourself into

service to

someone else

in order

to pay off

that debt

until

you were

redeemed

you were

bought

back

how were we

bought back

with the

precious blood

of Jesus

Christ

right

in him

redemption

through

his

blood

now

just stop

and marvel

at that for a

second

how do you

get his

blood

to pay

for your

debts

union

with Christ

your debt

sin

and death

into his

account

his credit

righteousness

life

into your

account

second

Corinthians

5

21

whatever

happens to

Jesus

happens to

you

you're

connected

there is

no other

way

that you

deserve

death

and that

someone else

dies

and you

get off

the hook

in fact

you get

given life

eternal

instead

what an

incredible

mysterious

marvelous

plan

that God

has for

your salvation

do you see

what he had

to do

he had to

figure out

how do I

I take

this sinner

and without

punishing him

eternally

for his

sin

how do I

give him

life

oh I need

to connect

him to

someone who

deserves

life

who can

give him

that gift

and so he

unites you

to Christ

you are

personally

mysteriously

but really

connected

to Jesus

your accounts

are linked

so you can

transfer funds

or more

helpfully

he can

what good

news

because we're

going to need

a lot

of gift

number four

who's got

gift number

four

Lily

what do you

have

forgiveness

thank you

the forgiveness

of our

trespasses

verse seven

isn't this one

of our favorite

gifts

right

without it

I'm eternally

hopeless

right

I can't

forgive

myself

I've

sinned

against

the holy

God

of the

universe

not as

as some

these days

would like

you to

believe

just against

my own

conscience

no

no sin

is a debt

that I

can't pay

because only

the one

sinned

against

can forgive

the sin

right

it's related

to redemption

the price

of paying

the guilt

of our sins

our violations

of God's

law is

quite high

and perhaps

some of you

are wondering

and feeling

is my tab

continuing to run

higher and

higher every

day

did you notice

what this gift

is and what

it's like

we're told

elsewhere that

forgiveness is

in his name

through this

man

it's in

Christ

that forgiveness

of sins

is offered

all through

the New Testament

in Christ

forgiveness

is not

even

according

to the

cost of

your tab

like you

know

just enough

to cover

it

no no

what is it

it is

according

to the

riches

of his

grace

which by the

way he

lavished

on us

there's more

coming

and more

coming

right

this is

like going

to grandma's

house

and when we

would go to

grandma's

house

there were

always

cookies out

and if you

ate them

all there

were more

in the back

and when

grandma scooped

ice cream

for her

great

grandchildren

the bowl

could barely

contain it

it was like

magic how it

was hanging

on there

and if you

ate it all

and the

carton ran

out there

was another

carton in

the garage

freezer

always more

always given

generously

like the

riches

of God's

grace

and forgiveness

so the

very worst

things that

you've done

the very

most important

things that

you've failed

to do

the thoughts

and the

desires that

you're so

embarrassed of

that you've

never told

anyone

all of

those

forgiven

in

Christ

as you

trust him

to cover

what you

can't

you see

how Paul's

just dumping

out the

stocking

right

he's just

showing

look what

you have

in Jesus

look what

you have

look what

you have

what else

is in here

connected to

Jesus

number five

Beck what'd

you get

an inheritance

!

Verse 11

in him

we're back

in the

stocking

we have

obtained

an inheritance

that's a

big word

but it means

that God

never stops

providing

for us

sorry

I messed

the microphone

up earlier

and now

can't get

it fixed

that we

will always

have what

we need

especially

spiritually

right

spiritually

everything we

need always

see God

hasn't just

adopted you

temporarily

to see how

you do

and whether

he'll keep

you

no

no

he will

not change

his mind

he works

all things

according to

his wise

plan

so you

have not

merely

provision

today

but you

have a

stake

in

eternity

future

in the

Old Testament

the promised

land

and your

family's

part of

it

was your

inheritance

it was a

big deal

except if you

were a

Levite

one of the

priests

in which case

you didn't

get any

specific

spot

of land

do you

remember

why that

was

the

inheritance

for that

tribe

was Yahweh

himself

by the way

that wasn't

a penalty

for the

priests

don't feel

bad for

them

that was

a privilege

talk about

a spiritual

inheritance

in the

heavenly

places

God is

committing

himself

to be

with you

and for

you

forever

because you

are connected

to Jesus

co-heirs

with

Christ

himself

and nothing

can separate

you from

his love

remember

inseparable

an unbreakable

union

with Christ

and that's

going to help

number six

make even

more sense

what's Paul

talking about

here at the

end

the last

gift out

of the

stocking

this morning

although we

could name

many more

Gracia

what's in

in your

box

back there

holy

spirit

thank you

listen to

verse 13

in him

you also

when you

heard the

word of

truth

the gospel

of your

salvation

and believed

in him

were sealed

with the

promised

holy

spirit

who's the

guarantee

of our

inheritance

until we

acquire

possession

of it

to the

praise

of his

glory

how do

we know

that this

inheritance

is specifically

linked

to God

himself

and it's

not just

pastor

talk

because God

gives us

the Holy

Spirit

in our

hearts

right now

as the

down payment

the deposit

do you see

what he's doing

when he says

it's a guarantee

what he's saying

is this is

assuring you

that your

sovereign

heavenly

father

who chose

us

and adopted

us

that the

sacrificial

son

who

redeemed

us

who forgives

us

they will

be with

us

along with

the third

person

of the

triune

Godhead

working

together

to bring

us home

to heaven

forever

the whole

trinity

working

together

for

you

you have

the Holy

Spirit

now

now

it changes

things

the Spirit

gives

new life

so you're

not just

stuck

going around

living in

sin

right

in

sprocket

in

Christ

you're

not the

same

anymore

you're

a new

person

you have

the Spirit

to remind

you of

the power

and the

provision

of the

God

of the

universe

the

resurrection

power

that brought

new life

out of the

dead

is in

you

you

can't

get

Holy

Spirit

any

other

way

and

you

can't

have

Jesus

and

not

have

his

Holy

Spirit

now

living

and

active

in

your

life

both

of

those

things

are

true

there's

no

other

way

than

through

union

with

Christ

to

have

Holy

Spirit

and

you

can't

have

Jesus

and

not

have

the

Holy

Spirit

in

that

stocking

too

See

both

of

those

realities

are

true

for

all

of

these

good

gifts

that

God

gives

you

can't

get

any

of

them

apart

from

Jesus

apart

from

union

with

Christ

but

if

you

have

Jesus

you

can't

miss

a

one

of

them

they

are

all

yours

the

gifts

are

wrapped

up

if you

will

in

the

giver

that's

why

this

one

big

long

sentence

that

Paul

writes

is

a

sentence

of

praise

to

God

how

does

it

start

blessed

be

God

this

is

what

Paul

is

doing

he's

praising

God

he's

leading

the

worship

service

of

prayer

and

all

of

these

gifts

are

just

more

and

more

reasons

to

praise

God

every

good

and

perfect

gift

is

from

above

it's

from

your

father

it's

through

his

son

it's

secured

I hope

that even

even

right

now

as we

consider

these

gifts

and think

about

just

some

of

them

as

we

marvel

at how

richly

blessed

we are

that

that

that

that

you'll

realize

I'm

graced

so

abundantly

in

Christ

that

one

of

the

things

that

wells

up

in

my

heart

is

thanksgiving

for

all

these

gifts

is

praise

to

God

I've

forgotten

!

Father

how

good

you

have

been

to

me

and

how

great

you

are

we

never

could

have

found

these

gifts

on

our

own

we

never

could

have

done

enough

to

earn

them

and

yet

they

become

ours

in

Christ

God

forgive

me

for

sitting

on

the

couch

spiritually

for

thinking

that I'm

stuck

with

frozen

pizza

when

you

have

seated

me

in

the

heavenly

places

in

Christ

Jesus

and

God

praise

be

to

your

grace

that

while

I

am

seated

there

in

the

heavenly

places

but

still

living

here

on

earth

you

have

given

me

every

spiritual

blessing

possible

God

you

are

so

good

to

me

I

hope

that's

what

you're

thinking

I

also

recognize

it's

quite

possible

that

you're

sitting

here

this

morning

and

you're

thinking

yeah

but

I

don't

actually

believe

in

Jesus

so

I'm

not

sure

any

of

those

good

gifts

are

for

me

I'm

not

sure

they're

mine

if

that's

you

this

morning

first

of all

I

want

to

say

thank

you

for

listening

this

long

and

tracking

with

what

God's

word

is

saying

this

morning

and

there's

good

news

here

for

you

that

I

don't

want

you

to

miss

out

on

today

so you

don't

have to

keep

running

around

trying to

figure out

solutions

for all

of these

different

issues

in your

life

how to

get your

shortcomings

!

addressed

addressed

oh man

we all

have

shortcomings

none

of us

meets

even

our

own

standards

what

am I

going

to do

about

mine

how do

I know

I'm

loved

and I

belong

we all

long

for that

where

will

I

find

it

how do

I

address

the

future

to

have

hope

to

experience

deep

stability

and

security

so that

I

won't

be

shaken

see

if

you're

longing

for those

things

you might

have to

go to

six

different

places

and

different

relationships

and work

years

and years

to develop

all of

these

in your

life

and still

never

have

real

forgiveness

or

adoption

or an

inheritance

that you're

confident

about

and the

good news

is you

don't have

to

you could

chase all

of those

or you

could come

to one

place

to one

person

to Jesus

who offers

you all

of those

and say

to him

Jesus

you have

everything

that I

need

that's what

God is

offering you

this morning

on the

authority

of his

word

simply to

believe

into