Ephesians 1:3-14 Blessed be God

What is Paul doing in this text? In vss. 3-14, Paul declares that God is worthy to be blessed/praise, and then offers a variety of reasons why. Much like Psalm 103 – “Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget none of his benefits (blessings).” David encourages himself to bless the Lord and then gives reasons why!

Four divisions in verses 3-14 Blessed be God Verse 3 God the Father’s work Verses 4-6 (Choosing, Predestining for Adoption) God the Son’s work Verses 7-12 (Redeeming, Forgiving, Lavishing Grace) God the Spirit’s work Verses 13-14 (Sealing, Guaranteeing)

Ephesians 1:3-6 “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 as sons 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.”

“Blessed be God” – The main point God is praiseworthy because of who he is and what he has done The saints in Ephesus needed to realize that God was worthy to be praised, even when life was hard Ephesians 5:20 “be filled with the Spirit . . . giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father.”

“God and Father of Our Lord Jesus Christ” God is Father of believers (v. 2) and the Father of Jesus in the Trinity. Jesus is Lord. Paul continually keeps this truth before his readers (v. 2, 3, 15, 17; 3:11; 5:20). Why? Jesus is not just the Savior who died to forgive our sins, but he is the Lord who deserves our allegiance and obedience.

“Who has blessed us” We bless God because He has blessed us Distinguish between these two forms of blessing We acknowledge God’s goodness and praise him, but we do not bless him by giving him something he needs On the other hand, God blesses us by giving us everything we need. We are to bless God because of the multitude of benefits with which he has blessed us! How, or with what, has he blessed us?

“in him with every spiritual blessing” Again, the only way that people can come to God and have a relationship with him is by place their faith in Christ. The spiritual blessings of God only come to those who are “in Christ,” those connected to him by faith. “spiritual blessing” These blessings come from the Holy Spirit Not material things (TV’s, cars, homes, clothes, food, etc.) Spiritual gifts (1 Corinthians 12; Romans 12; 1 Peter 4) Wisdom from above (Colossians 1:9) Strength to comprehend God’s love (Ephesians 3:17-19) All of the blessings about to be listed in Ephesians 1:4-14

“Spiritual blessings” “For a believer to live effectively in society, he or she needs benefits that have their source in God. So God has blessed the believer with every spiritual benefit necessary for his or her spiritual well-being” (Hoehner) “His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence.” 2 Peter 1:3

“in the heavenly places” Spiritual realm we cannot see, where God dwells and where spiritual warfare takes place. Paul believes firmly in the heavenly realm (1:20; 2:6; 6:12), and this is where our blessings come from. Because God resides in heaven, this spiritual realm, and our blessings come from God by His Spirit, Paul can say these blessings are “in the heavenly places.”

Two points of application: We should be motivated to praise God because of the spiritual blessings he has poured out on us We must not forget to give God thanks Do not become so enamored with material blessings that you forget the spiritual blessings and the one who gave them We should realize we have access to every spiritual blessing that is necessary for living the Christian life When you are struggling in your walk with Christ, realize that God has already provided what you need. Pray and ask him to help you use what he has given you Use you spiritual gift (teaching, serving, helping, encouraging, administrating, wisdom, etc.) to build up the body of Christ

God the Father’s Work (4-6) Paul focuses on God the Father’s work in these first three verses. It is significant that Paul discusses salvation as the work of the Trinity; we must never lose this teaching about God that is unique to the Christian faith.

What is God the Father’s Work in Salvation? He chose us He predestined us for adoption He works all things according to his will

Verse 4 “even as he chose us” Much like God chose Paul to be an apostle of Christ, so also he chose us to be his people. “God did not choose anyone because they were holy and had a legal claim to be chosen. On the contrary, all people are sinners and deserve rejection” (Hoehner) God did not HAVE to choose us to be his children, but he did! What love!!

If God chooses me, what part do I play in salvation? You place your faith and trust in God Ephesians 1:13; 2:8 If you ever feel unloved, unwanted, worthless, or unimportant, remember that God chose you to be his. He wants YOU. He values YOU. YOU are important to him. If you are not a child of God, you should not think “well God has not chosen me.” You have an opportunity to respond to God in faith and be one of his chosen children! Faith evidences God’s choosing (1 Thessalonians 1:4-5)

“before the foundation of the world” Paul tells his readers that God chose them before he had even created the world! How could God choose us to be his if we were not yet born? God has infinite knowledge. Although we were not yet born, he knew us and chose us to be his. Why would this message be so important for the Ephesians? Remember, it was likely that they were suffering. They were likely struggling to believe in God’s goodness in the midst of difficult circumstances, and Paul was reminding them that they should be able to praise God because he loved them and chose them to be his.

“that we should be holy and blameless before him” This tells use the purpose of our choosing: that we would one day stand before him in his presence as holy and blameless. Holy – different, set apart from the world and the wicked/sinful ways of the world Blameless – morally pure and upright, without moral defect When Christ returns, we will be made perfect (1 John 3:2), but until then we are called to grow in holiness (Ephesians 4-6) Philippians 2:14-15

Verse 5 - “In love he predestined us for adoption as sons” God’s love is extended to those who are unworthy and undeserving. Notice what we are before we come to Christ in faith: Ephesians 2:2-3 “sons of disobedience; children of wrath” In his love, God predestined us to become HIS children! “The point is that the one adopted acquired a new status, privilege, and property that would not have been available under his old father” (Hoehner). “the saints were under the tyrant the devil who was their slavemaster and who brought destruction. In contrast, the saints have a new father who is unselfish, loving, caring and wants the very best for his sons and daughters, the believers” (Hoehner).

“through Jesus Christ according to the purpose of His will” The only way that God is able to make us his children is through the sacrifice of Christ on the cross that pays for our sins. Purpose – good pleasure, kind intention God delighted to make us his children! He did it with kindness, goodness, compassion, and love!

“to the praise of his glorious grace” This is the goal of God’s work in choosing and predestining and adopting us: the praise of his glory His glory is the essence of his being; it includes all of who He is as a good, kind, gracious, merciful, just, holy, and perfect God. Some people think that it is selfish for God to save us so that we can praise him, but we naturally praise anything we enjoy and love. In fact, the more we love something, the more we give it praise through dedicating our time, energy, and love into it. When we receive God’s grace and become his children, praise should supernaturally flow from us!

”with which he has blessed us in the Beloved.” God has bestowed his grace on us, and he has done it because of our connection with Christ. “in the beloved” is the same phrase as “in Christ” and ”in him” in verse 1, 3, 4, 7, 9, 10, 11, 12, and 13. The blessings of God ONLY COME TO THOSE WHO ARE IN CHRIST In this verse, Paul calls Jesus the beloved to again emphasize the love of God for both his Son, and for those whom he has made his sons and daughters.

Summary God is worthy to be praise because he has poured out every spiritual blessing on us as a result of our relationship with Christ through faith. His choosing us to be holy and blameless one day in his presence, and his predestining us to be his sons and daughters are both blessings from him for which we should praise him. All of this is done according to his good pleasure and will, for the praise of his glory!

Application Pursue the holiness and moral purity! We will be made perfectly holy and pure one day, but until then we are to grow in holiness and purity. (read the commands in Ephesians 4-6 and begin obeying them if you arent already) Rest in the love of God for you! Don’t feel like you have to earn God’s love. He has chosen you and predestined you to be his child. You did not earn that, and you don’t have to! Instead of trying to earn God’s love, rest in it and allow it to motivate you to obey the Lord Jesus Christ who you love.