'Every Spiritual Blessing in Christ' - Ephesians 1:3-6

As Christians, we are blessed! Oftentimes we focus on blessings related to this life: blessings of God's provision, protection, good health, and family. And so we should! Every good thing in our lives comes from God. But the blessings spoken of in Ephesians are "spiritual blessings". They originate with God in the heavenlies and are ours because of our connection to Christ. It is so important to appreciate all that we have in Christ and to grasp, even just a little more, just how blessed we are!

 

WE ARE BLESSED not with a few blessings, nor with just some, but with "every spiritual blessing". These blessings are not temporary or potentially transient, as good health may be, but are higher, better, and more secure. WE ARE CHOSEN by God in Christ for salvation "before the foundation of the world". Doesn't this thought take your breath away? WE ARE HOLY. In choosing us, God purposed to call to Himself a people who would be separate, sanctified, holy. He has called us out of darkness and out of the world so that He might reveal Himself to the world through His holy church, in which He delights. WE ARE PREDESTINED specifically to "adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself". If God had only saved us from the power and penalty of sin and the hell we deserve, it would have been enough. But He has done so much more. Our Heavenly Father has adopted us into His family. We are His children, and He has predestined us to bear the family likeness and become more like His Son, Jesus (Rom. 8:29). Finally, WE ARE ACCEPTED. One of the great sorrows of life is to be rejected. God does not do that. Rather, He has "made us accepted in the Beloved". Our acceptance by God is not because of anything we have done or could ever do, but because Jesus, the perfect sacrifice for our sins, is fully acceptable to God, and we are in Him. So whatever blessings in this life you may or may not enjoy, be reminded again of just how blessed you are in Jesus!

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'Sit, Walk, Stand' - Ephesians 1:1-2

The saints at Ephesus were a well-taught church with a great pastoral pedigree. It is perhaps no surprise, then, that some of the richest and deepest theology in the New Testament is found in this book. Our Ephesians theme is SIT, WALK, STAND, and we see this progression throughout the letter.

 

Christ is seated at the Father’s right hand in the heavenly places, and spiritually we SIT there with Him. God the Father “has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ.” How important it is for us to understand our position and all the blessings that we enjoy, even today as Christians, because we are united with Jesus. In response to who we are in Christ, we are to WALK in the way God has called us to. We are to walk worthy of our calling, to walk in love, to walk as children of light, and to walk circumspectly. Theology is wonderful, and we should all be growing in our knowledge of Christ. Right doctrine should lead to right living, and this will be a major focus of our time in Ephesians. Finally, there is a spiritual battle raging in the heavenly realm, and so we must STAND. God has given us everything we need to fight and be victorious in the Christian life, and an important part of this is putting on the whole armour of God. My encouragement to us all is to be praying for one another, that God would pour out His blessings upon us as we study this book together and learn what it means to SIT, WALK, and STAND in Christ.