GOD'S ABSOLUTE BLESSING FOR HIS CHILDREN

Ephesians 1:1-23

Key Verse: 1:3

“Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ.”

Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians and Philemon, these four epistles are called Paul's prison epistles. Apostle Paul wrote this letter in the Roman prison but he was full of praises and thanksgiving. What was his secret? Though he was living in the earthly realm, he was thinking about the heavenly realm with every spiritual blessing in Christ. Today let’s think about God’s blessings for his children.

PART I. GRACE AND PEACE TO YOU FROM GOD OUR FATHER (1-2)

This part is Paul’s greeting to the saints in Ephesus. Look at verse 1. “Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, To the saints in Ephesus, the faithful in Christ Jesus:” Paul introduced himself as an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God. He viewed his job as an apostle of Christ Jesus. Apostle means one who was sent. It was God’s will for him to become an apostle. His apostleship was not based on his qualification or ability but based on God’s grace. Do you have a conviction that it is God who called you to become a Bible teacher? Why do you teach Bible? Oh, my Bible teacher asks me to do so. No, it is the will of God. I thought that I became a missionary because I met M. Esther Lee. Whenever I had a problem in my mission life, I blamed her saying, “Because of you I am suffering.” But I was wrong. By the will of God I became a man of mission. Of course, God sent M. Esther to find me when I was lost. When we view our life from God’s will, it gives us absolute meaning of our life. Paul did not waver in spite of imprisonment and many hardships because he had a strong conviction that his calling was not his personal decision, but it was the will of God. He did not despair or complain but believed the absolute sovereignty and providence of God for his life. We can overcome fatalistic and adverse human situation and trials of many kinds because God called us for campus mission. It is God who sent us to the mission field. We can have absolute meaning of our mission life in spite of many rejections and hardships.

Look at verse 1b. "To the saints in Ephesus, the faithful in Christ Jesus." The emblem of Christian is faithfulness. To Paul, "Christian" meant faithful people, not pragmatic people. Paul called Christians in Ephesus saints because they were faithful in Jesus. We think that saints are super human beings in the picture frames. But we are saints when we are faithful in Jesus. Hebrews 13:8 says, "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever." Also, Revelation 1:8 says, "'I am the Alpha and the Omega,' says the Lord God, 'who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty.'" It is not easy to be faithful Christians for the people of the world are unfaithful. But God is faithful to us and Jesus is the same all the time. Therefore, we must become faithful in believing the promise of God. When S. Richard Anderson remained faithful to his doctoral program for 8 years when other people dropped, God blessed him to become a PhD shepherd. True Christians are faithful to Jesus to the end even though they have to give up something in the world. Look at verse 2. “Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.” This greeting was the kind of greeting the Ephesians needed. They were persecuted for their faith in Jesus. They needed peace comes from God and free gift of God’s forgiveness. We live in fear and shame due to our sins. In the past Kemi F. was paralyzed with fear and meaninglessness of life. But God gave her peace and grace when she studied the word of God. She found God’s solace when she learned that God created her in his image. By the will of God she will share her life testimony. We need God’s peace from heaven and his grace of forgiveness most when we live in this troubled world.

PART II. SPIRITUAL BLESSINGS IN CHRIST (3-14)

In this part Paul lists God’s spiritual blessings in Christ. Look at verse 3. “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ.” Paul starts his letter with full of praises and thanksgiving. How can it be possible when he was suffering in prison? He was overwhelmed with God’s spiritual blessings. He fixed his eyes on the heavenly realms. That’s the reason why he was full of praises though he was in prison. We must praise God instead of complaining. We must have full of thanks instead of being bitter and unthankful. We praise God when God blessed us saying, “Praise God! I have new sponge sheep today.” Some people say “Praise God, Hallelujah” when they receive good grades or promotion. But they stop praising God when some bad things happen to them. They start to complain. But hymn number 89 says, “When you are discouraged, thinking all is lost, count your many blessings, name them one by one. And it will surprise you what the Lord hath done.” Let’s say together, “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus.” Do you still have a complaining spirit? If you do, let’s say one more time. Praising God is normal in our Christian life.

As we know, human blessing is conditional and temporary. It will spoil and fade away. We must earn it or inherit it from rich parents like Bill Gate. But it can fall quickly. For example, people work hard to make money. They make money but gain a lot of weight. Now they want to lose weight with diet to maintain a slim body. So they just look at delicious foods but cannot eat them. What an irony it is! Human blessings are temporal and very meaningless because they die with death. So Peter said in 1 Peter 1:24, "For, 'All men are like grass, and all their glory is like the flowers of the field; the grass withers and the flowers fall....'" Human blessings are like one summer night’s dream. But the spiritual blessing is given by God and it is everlasting. God's blessings are stored in heaven. No one can steal God’s blessings. Look at the word “in Christ” or “in him”. This word is repeated throughout this chapter. All spiritual blessings came from Jesus when we are in Christ or united with Christ. It is important to be in Christ to receive God’s spiritual blessings. As long as we remain in Jesus, God’s blessings will overflow in our life.

Now, let’s count all God’s spiritual blessings one by one. Look at verse 4. “For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight.” It is incredible. It is unbelievable. God chose us even before the creation of the world. Wow! There are billions of people in the world. But God chose me. Why me? Why not me? Election as God’s people is a sovereign act of God’s grace. John 15:16 says, “You did not choose me, but I chose you.” We became chosen people by God’s one-sided grace. God chose us before the creation of the world. God had planned to choose us before we were born into this world. We did not volunteer to become God’s chosen people. God chose us according to his eternal plan. It is not a burden but a great privilege. There was a NBA draft last week. Wilcox was chosen by the Clippers as number 8th player. Dixon was chosen by the Wizards as number 17^th player. They were happy to be chosen by NBA teams. They did not feel burdened to be chosen by their managers. How much more we are happy to be chosen by God. Raise your hands if you feel blessed because God chose you. Raise your hands if you feel burdened. Verse 11 says, “In him we were also chosen according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will.” God chose us with a clear purpose according to his eternal plan. This is truly amazing grace given to us. We were not chosen by a random chance but by God ‘s clear plan. Shannon Smith was not chosen because he went to the Stamp Union to use the rest room. He was chosen because God wanted to save him from his sins. In the same way we are chosen because we are in God’s eternal plan of salvation. The purpose of calling was to make us to be holy and blameless in his sight. God chose us to make us a holy nation serving his will.

Paul knew that it was a great blessing to be chosen by God. He said in 1 Ti 1:15 “Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners-of whom I am the worst.” He said again in 1Co 15:9,10 “ For I am the least of the apostles and do not even deserve to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace to me was not without effect. No, I worked harder than all of them-yet not I, but the grace of God that was with me.” Humanly speaking, Paul deserved to be killed and was not qualified to be chosen because he was the worst of sinners, persecuting many Christians and putting them to death. But to our surprise he became God’s chosen instrument for the Gentiles. By the grace of God he was chosen. That motivated him to work harder than anyone else. Due to grace of Jesus, he worked hard for Jesus’ name. Abraham in Genesis was a useless, helpless, childless, and hopeless 75-years old man. But God chose him to become a faith of faith for all believers. He was the least likely person to be chosen. But God chose him and Abraham obeyed God’s calling and became a great nation and a source of blessing for all mankind. Inuka is happy to be chosen as one of the YDJ members and dancing team. The Israelite people are known for their stubbornness and constant complaining spirit. But God chose them out of all nations to make them become a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. In the same way God chose us in the 21^st century to make disciples of all nations among campus students. It means that we become Bible teachers and servants of God’s word by his grace alone. Two judges in the 9^th circuit court in San Francisco ruled that the pledge of alliance is unconstitutional due to the phrase “One nation under God.” They try to make America an atheistic nation. This is a big mistake. It is a great blessing to become a nation chosen by God rather than one nation under blank.

Let’s look at verse 4b-6. “In love he predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will- to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves.” Some people tremble when they hear the word “predestination.” Don’t’ worry because it comes from God’s love. Look at the word “In love”. Predestination is not a fate but an act of God’s love. Predestination is related to God’s initiative for our salvation “before the creation of the world.” Predestination refers to God’s choice of individuals for eternal life or eternal death. Don’t ask God why you predestined me to be your child. He predestined you out of his love. “Election” is the selection of some for eternal life, the positive side of predestination. The doctrine of predestination does not lead us to carelessness in morality, to a carefree attitude that we can continue in sin since our election is sure. Rather, knowledge of our election leads us to pursue a holy life. The way in which a believer can be sure of election is to see the Word of God transforming his or her life. We can have confidence that what God has decided will come to pass. His plan will be fulfilled, and the elect will come to faith. Jesus said that all those whom the Father gave to him would come to him (John 6:37) After we have done our very best for our sheep, we can leave the matter with the Lord. It does not nullify incentive for evangelism and missions. We do not know who the elect and the non-elect are, so we must continue to spread the word. Our evangelistic efforts are God’s means to bring the elect to salvation. Here we learn that the word "predestination" indicates God's sovereign will through which he predestined to save men from their sins through the Son.

Next, let’s think about the adoption. This adoption is a legal term. This adoption is possible through Jesus Christ. Once adopted as a son, he will enjoy all the privileges as the son- 1) to become the family of God, 2) to become an heir with Christ (Romans 8:17), 3) to imitate Jesus Christ (Romans 8:29) Though we were unworthy to be adopted due to our sinful nature, Jesus gave us the privilege to be adopted as God’s sons. In the movie “Ben Hur”, Judah Ben Hur enjoyed all the privileges as a Roman citizen because he was adopted as the son of the Roman consul. The Roman Consul, Quintas Arias, jumped into the sea and wanted to commit suicide, sensing that he lost the battle. Judah jumped in and rescued him. Finally, news came that Rome won the battle. The Consul Arias adopted Judah as his son. Suddenly, misfortune turned into great privilege as the son of the Roman consul. Once we were not God’s children lost in our sins and rebellion. But God adopted us as his sons through faith in Jesus. Now we can call “Abba Father” and enjoy all the spiritual blessings as his sons.

Look at verse 7. "In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God's grace...." In this verse, "redemption" relates to our former state. Once we were slaves of sin. We were the objects of God’s wrath due to our sins. We were not God’s people but children of devil. We lived as enemies of God. We were helpless due to our sins. But Jesus redeemed us by his grace. Redemption means forgiveness of sins. In order to save us from our sins, he gave his one and only Son in our place. God bought our freedom through the blood of Jesus. The best example might be a robber's story at Jesus' crucifixion. The religious leaders of Jesus' time finally reached the point of crucifying him. In order to make Jesus shameful, they crucified two robbers with him, one on each side of Jesus' cross. One of the robbers cursed Jesus out of his wickedness. But the other robber begged for Jesus' redemption. Luke 23:42,43 says, "Then he said, 'Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.' Jesus answered him, 'I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise.'" "Redemption" is indeed a beautiful word, and it is the utmost desire of God's heart. Do you believe that God redeemed you from your empty ways of life by the blood of Jesus? Then raise your hands. May God bless your beautiful hearts.

What is the mystery of his will which he has made known? Look at verses 9 and 10. “And he made known to us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure, which he purposed in Christ, to be put into effect when the times will have reached their fulfillment-to bring all things in heaven and on earth together under one head, even Christ.” The mystery of his will is God’s plan of world salvation fulfilled through Jesus Christ. It was hidden in the past. It is revealed clearly both to the Jews and the Gentiles alike when God’s appointed time came. The blue print of God’s salvation plan is to bring all things in heaven and on earth together under one head, even Christ.

Look at verses 12 and 13. ‘In order that we, who were the first to hope in Christ, might be for the praise of his glory. You also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of salvation.” Who are “we” and “you” here? We means the Jews and you the Gentiles. The Jews became the praise of God’s glory first. Then who followed? The Gentiles followed them. How? They studied the word of God one to one with M. Paul. Then they believed the gospel of Jesus and became the praise of God’s glory. What a mystery it was! The Gentiles accepted the word and were transformed into new creation. Paul was happy that the Ephesians accepted the word of God and received the gospel of salvation. After believing in Jesus, they were blessed to receive the promised Holy Spirit. The seal of the promised Holy Spirit can be compared to a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance. This is a commercial term. We deposit money to guarantee our contract when we buy a house. In the same way, the presence of the indwelling Holy Spirit is our guarantee of the inheritance. The Holy Spirit assures us the fulfillment of God’s salvation. The Holy Spirit protects us from Satan’s sweet temptation. The Holy Spirit reminds the word of God and empowers us when we go for campus fishing.

PART III. THANKSGIVING AND PRAYER (15-23)

This part is Paul’s thanksgiving and prayer topics. Let's read verses 15-17. "For this reason, ever since I heard about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints, I have not stopped giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers. I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better." He did not forget his sheep. He remembered them in prayers. This is a shepherd’s privilege and joy. Shepherd and sheep relationship are inseparable. It is beautiful. I see that Jay always prays for Sarah B. Even Paul was in prison, he was able to pray for his flocks. One pastor remembered Mother Barry though she could not remember him. He said, “I am the man you saved when I was sick 45 years ago.” We should pray for our flocks and fellow missionaries who work hard in the front line of mission fields. Paul did not pray for his sheep’s job promotion or good health. He prayed for them so that they might know Jesus better. Knowing God better was his prayer topic for them. I work hard to know computer technology better to keep my job. But I did not put my heart to know God better. I was busy doing many worldly things. I neglected deep Bible study. “Going back to the Bible “ is a key to know God better. Spiritual growth is a key for our spiritual life. Renew our faith through Bible study is important. Our utmost prayer topic is to know God better through the spirit of wisdom and revelation.

Look at verses 18-20. "I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is like the working of his mighty strength, which he exerted in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms...." It is important to remember hope of God’s calling. When missionaries forget the hope of God’s calling, it is the most sorrowful moment for their lives. What is your hope of God’s calling? It is to make disciples of all nations. When we read these verses, Paul compares worldly power and Jesus' resurrection power. When we think about worldly power, we think of many conquerors, such as Alexander the Great, Julius Caesar, and Napoleon Bonaparte. But their powers were not their own, they were the demand of the time and deception of Satan. And when we read about them we feel that they were not powerful men, but very pathetic people. Napoleon Bonaparte knew how to fight. But he did not know how to talk with women. Likewise, all the men of worldly power were powerful outwardly, but inwardly very weak, abnormal characters. But the resurrection power makes us more than conquers. (Rom. 8:37) The power of resurrection gives strength to overcome all kinds of hardships so that we can do all things. Jesus’ disciples were very weak before meeting the risen Christ. But they became powerful and changed the world upside down when they received the power of resurrection.

What is Paul's great vision of Christ's victory and what does this teach about our ultimate hope and true inheritance? (20b-23) Look at verse 20. "...which he exerted in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms...." When Jesus was on the earth as the Messiah, he was despised and rejected and finally crucified. But God raised him and made him sit at his right hand in the heavenly realm. Jesus who rose again from the dead is now King of kings and Lord of lords. To him every title can be given, not only in the present age, but also in the age to come. His authority and rule is forever. Jesus has the everlasting power and authority as the sovereign Ruler, sitting at the right hand of God. Our ultimate hope is that God may place all things under his feet and appoint him to be head over everything for the church. Our great vision is that Jesus unites all people through his church. We must thank God that Jesus was so despised and rejected, and even crucified as a criminal in order to adopt us through his blood. Now God raised him from the dead, because of his obedience to the world mission purpose and made him Everlasting Father and Ruler. Also, he gave us eternal life and the kingdom of God as our inheritance. Our inheritance is eternal life in the kingdom of God. May God bless us to praise and give thanks to God because he blessed us everything in Christ. Let’s read the key verse 3.