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Our Spiritual Blessings Introduction: A. Lord’s Supper 1.
It's a special joy to come to our Lord's table
to celebrate the remembrance of His death for us. a)
When we come to the Lord's table to remember
His death for us, to focus on our salvation, we are really focusing on that which
is most praiseworthy of all. b)
Above all other things we are grateful to God that He has saved
us. c)
Nothing else would matter if that were not true. 2.
Our salvation is fully the work of God - He is worthy of all praise
for He has provided for us salvation. a)
It has been given to us – a gift. b)
It is all God's work and all the glory belongs to Him. 3.
We come to the Lord's table, we need
to focus on the reality that our salvation is totally the work of God so that
in partaking we may find our hearts filled with praise. B. A Sermon on One Sentence 1.
Among all the great passages of Scripture, this is one of the
greatest. a)
It deals with God’s eternal plan for the world. b)
It deals with the great blessings of God which He pours out upon
those who trust His Son Jesus Christ as their Savior. 2.
vv. 3-14 are all one sentence a)
It is highly structured: b)
Three distinct sections (1)the first addressing God the
Father (2)the second God the Son (3)the third God the Holy Spirit c)
Each section ends with the phrase “to the praise of His glory”
- vs. 6, 12, and 14 I.
The One Who Blesses (v. 3) A. God, the Father of Our Lord Jesus Christ 1.
Paul opens this passage by affirming that God receives all the
praise in salvation. 2.
This is really Who this passage is all
about – let there be no question about it! 3.
God is totally sovereign and all blessings come from Him. 4.
God has brought about salvation by His own will, purpose, and
design. a)
Salvation does not result from anyone's will or merit. b)
The credit for salvation belongs to God alone and only He may
be praised and glorified. 5.
The verb translated "He chose" is used reflexively,
meaning "to pick for oneself. " a)
That means the action of the verb is turned back on the person
doing the action. b)
Paul was saying that God chose us for His own sake--for Himself
personally. c)
His choice of the saved was made before the world began. B. The Description of His Blessings 1.
Every spiritual blessing a)
God’s best blessings are spiritual, not material blessings. b)
Spiritual blessings are vastly superior to material blessings.
2.
In heavenly places a)
They are the blessings of the inner man. b)
They are permanent and perfect and eternal, lasting forever.
3.
In Christ a)
Spiritual blessings are found only in Christ. b)
Jesus Christ has been raised from the dead and exalted to the
right hand of God the Father. c)
He is in heaven and all heavenly blessings are His. d)
He is King of Kings and Lord of Lords and all blessings are
in Him. e)
Therefore, if a person is to experience the spiritual blessings,
he must be in Christ. f)
To be in Christ means to believe in God’s Son. II. Our Spiritual Blessings (vv. 4-14) A. He chose us (v. 4) 1.
In Christ a)
Our only hope of ever living with God is to believe in Jesus
Christ 2.
That we should be Holy and without blame before Him in love a)
The word “holy” (hagious) means to be
set apart and consecrated to God. It is the same word that is used for “saint”
in b)
The word “blameless” (amomous) means
to be free from sin, dirt, and filth; to be above reproach and without blemish;
to be without fault and defilement. 3.
Before the foundation of the world a)
God determined before the world was ever created that He would
have a people... (1)who would be “in Him,” that is,
in His Son, Jesus Christ. (2)who would be “holy and without
blame.” (3)who would live “before Him in
love”—forever and ever. b)
God wants us to be with Him forever and ever! B. He predestined us to adoption as sons (vv. 5-6) 1.
The dimensions of our adoption a)
By Jesus Christ b)
To Himself c)
According to the good pleasure of His will d)
To the praise of the glory of His grace e)
By which He made us accepted in the Beloved 2.
God has adopted us as His children.—what a glorious privilege!
a)
It was predestinated, that is, foreordained (proorisas). 3.
This is most striking when we consider how sinful and depraved
we are and how much we have cursed, rebelled, and rejected God. a)
The word “predestination” (proorisas)
means to destine or appoint before, to foreordain, to predetermine. b)
The basic Greek word (proorizo) means
to mark off or to set off the boundaries of something. 4.
What God is doing for the believer: a)
The boundary is marked and set off for the believer: the boundary
of being adopted as a child of God. b)
The believer’s eternal destiny, that
of being an adopted brother to the Lord Jesus Christ, is determined. c)
The believer can rest assured of this glorious truth - God has
predestinated him to be adopted as a child of God. C. He redeemed us (v. 7a) 1.
Through His blood 2.
In Him 3.
God has redeemed us and forgiven our sins. a)
The word “redemption” (apolutrosin)
is one of the great words of the Bible. b)
It conveys the idea of deliverance or setting a man free by paying
a ransom. c)
God has redeemed man by the blood of His Son Jesus Christ. God
Himself has paid the ransom for our release through the blood of Jesus. 4.
God redeems man because of the riches of His grace. D. He forgave us (v. 7b-8) 1.
According to the riches of His grace 2.
Abounds toward us in all wisdom and prudance 3.
God has given us wisdom and understanding. a)
Again both blessings come to us through Jesus Christ. 4.
The word “wisdom” (sophia)
means seeing and knowing the truth. 5.
The word “prudence” (phronesei) means
seeing how to use and do the truth. a)
It is seeing the direction to take. b)
It is understanding, insight, the ability to solve day to day
problems. E. He made known to us the mystery of His will (vv. 9-10) 1.
According to His good pleasure which He purposed in Himself 2.
Gathered together all things in Christ 3.
God has revealed the mystery of His will to us. a)
This is the key thought and great theme of Ephesians. b)
In the Bible a mystery is not something mysterious and difficult
to understand. (1)Rather, it is a truth that
has been locked up in God’s plan for ages until He was ready to reveal it. (2)When the time came, He unlocked
the truth and opened it up to man. (3)The mystery of God’s will:
God is to gather together and unify all things in a spirit of peace and harmony—all
things, both visible and invisible. (4)All things are to be brought
under the authority and glorification of Jesus Christ. 4.
God has an eternal purpose and plan for the world, and it is His
pleasure to bring it about. a)
What He does is all good. b)
A new and perfect and eternal creation will be established for
the Lord and His followers throughout the universe. F. He gave us an inheritance (vv. 11-12) 1.
God has given us an inheritance, that is, made us the heritage
of God Himself. 2.
Predestined according to the purpose of His will a)
The inheritance or heritage was predestinated, that is, foreordained.
God works all things out after the counsel of His own will. 3.
To the praise of His glory a)
The reason God makes us His inheritance is that we should exist
to the praise of His glory. We shall live forever in the new heavens and earth
as the perfect demonstration of His glory. b)
The word “inheritance” (eklerothemen)
means heritage. God takes the believer and makes him His own heritage and
possession. c)
The believer himself is made the inheritance of God. (Ephesians 1:17-18). G. He sealed us (vv. 13-14) 1.
God has sealed us with the Holy Spirit. 2.
The word “earnest” (arrabon) means pledge,
guarantee, a down payment. 3.
The Holy Spirit is given to the believer to give the believer
perfect assurance of his salvation. 4.
How does a person receive the inheritance? This verse says there
are two ways (Ephes. 1:13). a)
By hearing the Word of God. (1)A person has to hear the Word
of God before he can ever know the truth, the glorious gospel of salvation. (2)He cannot believe in Jesus
Christ unless he first hears about Christ. b)
By believing and trusting in Jesus Christ. (1)We know that we are redeemed—that
we are God’s cherished possession—by the Holy Spirit who lives within us. 5.
Why does God give us such a glorious guarantee as His own wonderful
presence? a)
That His glory might be praised eternally. III. Why God Blesses Us A. To the Praise of His Glory (3 Times) 1.
Only God deserves credit for our salvation. a)
His blood b)
His grace c)
His purpose d)
His will e)
His good pleasure f)
His glory 2.
Jesus said that all who don't believe in God's Son are
condemned (John 3:18). a)
God in His sovereign grace has chosen to save those who are saved
(Romans 9:8-13). b)
That is a humbling truth, and should result in immense
gratitude on our part. c)
Why did God choose us and not others? d)
Not because we deserve salvation but to demonstrate "the
riches of His glory" (Romans 9:14-23). 3.
It is not that God’s sovereign election, or predestination,
eliminates man’s choice in faith. a)
Divine sovereignty and human response are integral and
inseparable parts of salvation. b)
Exactly how they operate together only the infinite mind of
God knows. 4.
God saved us by His own free will, yet from our perspective
we do two things: a)
we hope in Christ (v. 12) and b)
we believe in Him (v. 13). 5.
That too is to God's own praise and glory (v. 12). a)
God gives us the power to hope in Christ. Our faith comes
from Him (Ephesians 2:8-9). b)
He opens our ears to hear the message of truth, and enables
us to believe. c)
The entire process of salvation is powered by the Holy
Spirit, without whom no one could ever hope or believe. B. Because we are “In Christ” 1.
The phrase which qualifies the blessing of God is “in Christ”.
a)
“in Christ” is a key theme here in the
passage to verse 14, occurring 11x (including “in Him¡¨ and “in whom”) in the
sentence. b)
This frequency drives the point home hard “
it is only in Christ that we experience the blessings of God. There is
no other way. 2.
Charles Haddon Spurgeon a)
A benevolent person gave Mr. Rowland Hill a hundred pounds to
dispense to a poor minister a bit at a time, thinking it was too much too send
him all at once. b)
Mr. Hill forwarded five pounds in a letter with only these words
within the envelope, "More to follow." c)
In a few days’ time, the good man received another letter this
second messenger contained another five pounds, with the same motto, "And
more to follow." d)
A day or two after came
a third and a fourth, and still the same promise, "And more to follow."
e)
Till the whole sum had been received, the astonished minister
was made familiar with the cheering words, "And more to follow." 3.
Every blessing that comes from God is sent with the same message
"And more to follow." a)
"I forgive you your sins, but there’s more to follow."
b)
"I justify you in the righteousness of Christ, but there’s
more to follow." c)
"I adopt you into my family, but there’s more to follow."
d)
"I educated you for heaven, but there’s more to follow."
e)
"I give you grace upon grace, but there’s more to follow."
f)
"I have helped you even to old age, but there’s still more
to follow." g)
"I will uphold you in the hour of death, and as you are passing
into the world of spirits, my mercy shall still continue with you, and when you
land in the world to come there shall still be “more to follow”. - Charles
Haddon Spurgeon 4.
Our only proper response is, "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" (Ephesians 1:3). |
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Ministries