January 15, 2023
Morning Service

The new year often brings a sense of a new beginning for all of us.  In that there is often an assessment of where we are or an inventory.  Many of us go through our Christmas decorations, examine our budget, set new goals, start planning our vacation and even clean out clothes in the closet we have not worn in a while.  We take inventory of where we are and sets the direction of where we want to go in the new year.  We actually began our spiritual inventory last week as each of us was asked to identify a time in our lives when God moved saying “Yes” to our prayer request and granted a healing or met a need.  Today as we begin our study in the letter Paul wrote to the church at Ephesus, we will continue to focus our attention in that same direction.  In the first three chapters, Paul will help us to take inventory of where we are as Christ followers and review the some of the spiritual blessing God has blessed us with.  In the second half of the letter, we will focus on using those blessing as a base to grow in our faith by applying God’s Word to our lives and becoming the church God desires us to be.

            Last week, we set the table as we looked at the times in the Book of Acts that Paul visited Ephesus.  On his second visit, he stayed for three years teaching, working, and doing life with this church.  He built some very strong personal relationships here in that time period.  This letter was written to the church around 7-8 years after his first visit.  This is one of what is called the “prison epistles” which Paul wrote during his Roman imprisonment along with three others.  Here again is another example of God makes something beautiful out of something ugly.  He gave Paul time to focus solely on his writing these impactful letters that are Holy Spirit inspired.  As our circumstances change, don’t get upset and think God is done with you, realize He is simply planning on using you in a new and different way.  “All things work for good to those who love God and are called according to His purpose.” (Rom. 8:28) Let’s dive in and continue our inventory of all that God has provided for us through faith in His Son.

 Eph. 1:1-3Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, To the saints who are in Ephesus, and faithful in Christ Jesus: (2) Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.  (3)  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

            Paul immediately compliments the church here by calling them “saints” and stating their reputation as being “faithful.”  Here a “saint” is not a special title given to someone as the Catholic church does; a saint is simply a committed and faithful follower of Jesus.  One who does not only read and study the Bible but lives it out every day.  Paul had lived within this community and knew this encouragement to them was well deserved and true.  As we grow in Christ and learn to put Him first in our lives we become a “saint” as well.  We do everything for the glory of God and to fulfill His purpose in our lives; it becomes who we are, not what we do!  Paul then begins by blessing God who blesses us with “Every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ.”   He now begins to list these blessing for us as he begins our spiritual inventory.

 

  Eph. 1:4-6 just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love, (5) having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will, (6) to the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He made us accepted in the Beloved.

            Our spiritual inventory begins with Paul reminding us that God chose us from the beginning of time to be a follower of His.  In this we should grasp that we have a great value to God.  He sees us though eyes of love and sees great potential in each of us despite our many faults.  He loves us just as we are.  He proves that in His plan to “adoption as sons by Jesus Christ Himself.”  We are not chosen to be his servants, but His children.  He chose us, we did not choose Him.  Jesus explained this new relationship to the disciples in John’s gospel.

 

Joh 15:15-16No longer do I call you servants, for a servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all things that I heard from My Father I have made known to you.  (16)  You did not choose Me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit, and that your fruit should remain, that whatever you ask the Father in My Name He may give you.

            Wow!  That is very humbling to me.  In a world where many struggle to have any self-worth at all, we are blessed to know that God chose us to be part of His family.  That should be an encouragement for all us just as it was for these twelve men He was speaking to at the time.  He gives us value.  He gives us purpose.  God created you just as you are and has a plan for your life to bring Him glory.  He has chosen us to follow Him going forth and “bearing fruit” along our journey.  That motivates me to do my best not to let His trust in me be in vain.  Because I realize He chose me, I now choose to be faithful to His call.  This however sometimes causes doubt and fear in a believer.  Can I walk the path He is calling me to?  Am I worthy of being called God’s Son?  Paul quickly answers our questions of doubt in ourselves by revealing to us the second point in our spiritual inventory.  It is through Christ we are redeemed, not ourselves.

 

Eph. 1:7-8 In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace (8) which He made to abound toward us in all wisdom and prudence,

            We are not redeemed by our works, but solely through the blood of Christ.  It is His work that earns our sins to be forgiven not our own.  Our redemption and salvation comes solely from the grace of God.  You may often doubt yourself, but don’t doubt what Christ did for you upon the cross.  He completed His task to defeat sin and death and offers that gift to us who will believe in Him.  We are complete in Him! (Col. 2:10) We lack nothing as He has provided all we need and we can do all things through Christ! (Phil 4:13) When doubts in yourself arise, fix your eyes on Jesus and trust Him to pull you through the flames.  Next, we have been given access to the plans God has for all of us.

 

Eph. 1:9-12 having made known to us the mystery of His will, according to His good pleasure which He purposed in Himself, (10) that in the dispensation of the fullness of the times He might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven and which are on earth—in Him.  (11)  In Him also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestined according to the purpose of Him who works all things according to the counsel of His will, (12) that we who first trusted in Christ should be to the praise of His glory.

            God has revealed to us His plan for the future.  At the right time God will bring everything “together in one all things in Christ.”  Because He has chosen us as His adopted children we have obtained an inheritance through Him.  We play a part in His plan while we are alive, but more importantly we are included in His final plans.  There will be a day in which Jesus will return and call each of us that He has chosen to come into His eternal kingdom and dwell with Him forever.  He has spoken and promised and He will deliver; it will happen just as He says.  All that we have committed to serving our Savior will be rewarded in an instant; it will be worth it all.  Perhaps the greatest spiritual blessing that He has given us is hope.  Hope of a future that is without pain, tears, and death.  A hope that includes our Savior walking among us and John tells us “we shall see Him as He is.”  Hope of seeing our loved ones again and never again having to part ways.  “Hope does not disappoint!” (Rom 5:5)

            God blesses us in that He chose us and adopted us as His children.  We are blessed in that Jesus pays for our redemption through His blood and we do not have to rely on our own abilities to attain salvation.  God blesses is in that He has revealed to us the mystery of His plan to bring everything under Christ and we have obtained an inheritance in that plan which gives us a great hope of better things to come.  This is just the beginning of our inventory and the Lord willing, we will continue next week.

 

Heavenly Father open our eyes to see the abundance of spiritual blessing You have given to us, Your children.  Grant to us a confidence to walk our journey this week knowing that we belong to You and are children of the King of Kings!