"SHARING HOPE THROUGH SCRIPTURE ABOUT GOD'S BLESSINGS IN YOUR LIFE"
Ephesians 1:3 How we praise God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms because we belong to Christ.
Ephesians 1:4 Long ago, even before he made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in his eyes.
Ephesians 1:5 His unchanging plan has always been to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. And this gave him great pleasure.
Ephesians 1:6 So we praise God for the wonderful kindness he has poured out on us because we belong to his dearly loved Son.
Ephesians 1:7 He is so rich in kindness that he purchased our freedom through the blood of his Son, and our sins are forgiven.
Some explanatory thoughts/application, and a prayer:
1. Paul was praising God for the fact of His blessings in the lives of the Christians in Ephesus. And these same blessings belong to each and every believer today, just as they did then. These blessings belong to those who are in Christ, ( this is the Bible's way of describing our position now that we are saved ) Here again, is what God said through Paul. Ephesians 1:3 How we praise God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms because we belong to Christ. So, let's look at some of these blessings, and may you be blessed as you do.
2. God loves you, and He chose you to be in Christ, and has set you apart, to be without fault before Him.
Ephesians 1:4 Long ago, even before he made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in his eyes. So, even before the world began, God loved you, and and picked you to be holy, or set apart to Himself, and that you would be without any fault before Him. Being in Christ means that there is no condemnation anymore.
3. God has adopted you into His family, as His child. See Ephesians 1:5 His unchanging plan has always been to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. And this gave him great pleasure.
Adopting you has always been His plan, and He accomplished His plan in and through Jesus Christ. And, having You as His child has given and does give Him great pleasure.
4. God has poured out His love on you. Ephesians 1:6 So we praise God for the wonderful kindness he has poured out on us because we belong to his dearly loved Son. What a thought. He has actually poured out His love. Not given it in drips and drabs, or now and then, but rather poured it out. And, He has done this because You belong to Jesus Christ.
5. God has both purchased us, and He has forgiven us of our sins. Ephesians 1:7 He is so rich in kindness that he purchased our freedom through the blood of his Son, and our sins are forgiven. Believers belong to God. The reason we do, is that He bought us, or He redeemed us. The price was the blood of Jesus Christ. And, not only did He purchase us, but He has forgiven us of all our sins. They are gone because of Jesus Christ's death on the cross for us. Jesus paid for our sins, and now as those who belong to Him, we are clean from our sins. They are forgiven.
6. A Recap of the blessings of God. (And, this is just a small sample of the many blessings we have in Christ)
There are many of them. Paul says, blessing(s)
We are loved by God.
God has chosen us to be His children.
The Lord adopted us into His family.
Our Father poured out His love upon us.
We have been purchased by God, and now belong to Him.
Finally, our sins have been forgiven.
A prayer:
Father, we stand in awe as we truly consider what You have done for us, and what You are doing, and what You will do for us. Thank You for all of the many, many blessings that belong to us. You have given us all of these blessing through Your Son Jesus Christ. You are the great blessing dispenser, and Jesus is the way that You have dispensed them. We are the blessed ones. And, we praise You this day for them. May our lives reflect to the world around us, of all that You have given to us. May we bring glory and honor to You, for You are worthy O Lord to receive it. In Jesus name, amen.
Pastor Bob Grenier
Calvary Chapel Visalia
