The Rev. Paul J Cain, Jr.
Ephesians 1:3–14
Every Spiritual Blessing
Proper [10] B, Sixth Sunday after Pentecost, 12 July 2009
Immanuel Lutheran Church, Sheridan, Wyoming
To the saints who are… faithful in Christ Jesus: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. (Ephesians 1:1b-2) Amen.
LSB 686: Come, Thou Fount of ev’ry blessing, Tune my heart to sing Thy grace; Streams of mercy, never ceasing, Call for songs of loudest praise. While the hold of endless glory Fills my heart with joy and love, Teach me ever to adore Thee; May I still Thy goodness prove.
St. Paul’s letter to the Ephesians begins with praise, doxology. And for good reason. The Lord is all about blessing His people. Just listen to verse 3.
3Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places...
Paul is very specific. You are blessed by the Lord in Christ. Reporters love to get a scoop. Store chains love to have exclusive products. What you have in Christ is not available elsewhere for any price.
You are blessed with every spiritual blessing. There are many such blessings, as Paul will soon explain specifically, yet each blessing would be precious all by itself. Two weeks ago we heard, “Whoever gathered much had nothing left over, and whoever gathered little had no lack.” As the Lord provided Manna to His people in the wilderness, know that with the Lord as your shepherd, you shall not want—you shall lack nothing you truly need. And neither shall your neighbor in need or the Lord’s work. You are blessed with every spiritual blessing in Christ.
Spiritual blessings. Those are not the kind of blessings we usually want to pray for. If we’re honest, we think we’d much rather have the “blessing” of that new truck, bike, tractor, house, or money. I’d love to have “five dollars more than I can spend.”
Paul wants you to know and believe in Jesus Christ and hold on to Him alone for dear life and eternal life. We pray for daily bread. Paul wants you to have eternal comfort, eternal blessings, spiritual blessings. He knows that only the Word of the Lord endures forever. The metal of fancy vehicles, the wood and stone of beautiful houses, and the gold, paper, and data of money will all rot, rust and fade. God’s spiritual blessings for you in Christ have no expiration date.
I’ve become more and more convinced lately that you are what you read. And watch and listen to. The Word of God renews, cleanses, and rewires your minds with God’s own heavenly perspective. Your Father above knows best what blessings will do you the most good for time and eternity. God has blessed you in the heavens above, infinitely superior to anything we have here on earth below.
3Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, 4even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love 5he predestined us for adoption through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, 6to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved. 7In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, 8which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight 9making known to us the mystery of his will, according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ 10as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth.
You were chosen in Him from eternity. (Lutheran Confessions, Formula of Concord, Epitome XI.) Concerning the Eternal Predestination and Election of God, our Lutheran forefathers wrote,
1. First of all, the difference between God’s foreknowledge and his eternal election, must be carefully noted.
2. God’s foreknowledge is nothing else than that God knows all things before they happen, as it is written, “God in heaven reveals mysteries. He has disclosed to King Nebuchadnezzar what will happen in future times” (Dan. 2[:28]).
3. This foreknowledge extends equally over godly people and evil people, but it is not a cause of evil. It is not the cause of sins, when people act wrongly (sin proceeds originally from the devil and the wicked, perverted human will), nor of human corruption, for which people are responsible themselves. Instead, God’s foreknowledge provides order in the midst of evil and sets limits to it. It determines how long evil can continue and determines also that everything, even if it is evil in itself, serves the welfare of God’s elect.
4. [Predestination] however, or God’s eternal election, extends only to the righteous, God-pleasing children of God. It is a cause of their salvation, which God brings about. He has arranged everything that belongs to it. Our salvation is so firmly grounded on it [cf. John 10:26-29] that “the gates of hell will not prevail against it” [Matt. 16:18].
5. This election is not to be probed in the secret counsel of God but rather is to be sought in the Word, where it has also been revealed. (end quote)
You were chosen for a purpose, that [you] should be holy and blameless before him. In Christ, you have been declared holy. It follows then, that we live as the Baptized children of God, not like the unwashed masses of humanity.
In love 5he predestined us for adoption through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, 6to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved.
Jesus is the Beloved Son. God has blessed you in Him, for God so loved the world. Adoption is legal language. Those so adopted are legally part of the family. Legal children are heirs and have an inheritance. That’s coming up soon in the text. You have been adopted as children of the Heavenly Father. That is the purpose of His will—that all would repent and believe and praise His glorious grace, undeserved, unmerited, truly a Gift and blessing of the Lord.
Here I raise my Ebenezer, Hither by Thy help I’ve come; And I hope, by Thy good pleasure, Safely to arrive at home. Jesus sought me when a stranger, Wand’ring from the fold of God; He, to rescue me from danger, Interposed His precious blood.
7In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, 8which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight 9making known to us the mystery of his will, according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ 10as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth.
Redemption. Language from the marketplace. (Just Words) The idea that Christ has purchased us or redeemed us…comes out of the background of the slave market. The redemption [way of speaking the Gospel] focuses…on the act of paying the price. God redeems us; now redeemed, we are owned by God…
The word “Forgiveness” (Just Words) is used several ways in Scripture. It is used as a commercial metaphor [for the Gospel], denoting the cancellation of a debt. It is also used as a personal metaphor to illustrate what happens between people…when the reason of the division is eliminated or removed…[It] signals the restoration of a wholesome relationship between God and His creatures. The way is now clear for the original relationship with God for which we were created…[The word “forgiveness is intimately connected to repentance and also forgetting, or at least not remembering. Now that’s a blessing in itself!]
God plans to unite all things in heaven and earth in Himself, to restore the relationship between God and man to the way He intended in Eden, before the fall into sin.
To do this, God reveals the mystery of His will, which Paul explains in Ephesians 3: When you read this, you can perceive my insight into the mystery of Christ, 5which was not made known to the sons of men in other generations as it has now been revealed to his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit. 6This mystery is that the Gentiles are fellow heirs, members of the same body, and partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel.
Oh, to grace how great a debtor Daily I’m constrained to be; Let that grace now like a fetter Bind my wand’ring heart to Thee: Prone to wander, Lord I feel it; Prone to leave the God I love. Here’s my heart, oh, take and seal it, Seal it for Thy courts above.
The list of spiritual blessings in Christ continue.
11In him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will, 12so that we who were the first to hope in Christ might be to the praise of his glory. 13In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, 14who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory.
Those who are adopted are heirs. Heirs stand to receive the inheritance. By faith, we hope in Christ.
You have heard the Word of Truth. Truly it is a Gospel of Salvation. Salvation is a word of deliverance. Salvation means that we need to be saved, or delivered from a life-and-death threat, a mortal enemy. Certainly the Devil, the world, and our own sinful flesh qualify.
And you are sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, the guarantee of your inheritance, the down payment of God Himself dwelling within you, as in a temple.
11In him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will, 12so that we who were the first to hope in Christ might be to the praise of his glory. 13In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, 14who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory.
We live day by day, but with eternity in mind. We have an eternal perspective while we pray for our daily bread, even in the midst of daily troubles.
Concordia Pulpit Resources: The old man had a visitor. His grandson had come to see him one last time before the old man died. “Grandfather, “he said, “how can you still cling to your faith when you’ve faced all this trouble in your life? How do you know God really loves you? “My dear grandson,” he replied, “it’s because of all this trouble that I’m sure Jesus loves me. Through it I’ve learned to depend solely on Him for all my needs. In these times of trouble, I’ve learned to take hold of Christ with all my might. He has helped me and kept me in every time of need. If there’s one thing I could leave you with, it would be to hold on to Christ! He will never disappoint you.” End quote.
Oh, that day when freed from sinning, I shall see Thy lovely face; Clothed then in the blood-washed linen How I’ll sing Thy wondrous grace! Come, my Lord, no longer tarry, Take my ransom’d soul away; Send Thine angels soon to carry Me to realms of endless day.
The apostle Paul wrote Ephesians to the churches around Ephesus (Acts 19) to display the scope of God’s eternal plans for all humanity—for Jews and Gentiles alike. This is the mystery of God, hidden for ages but now made known in Jesus Christ. The first three chapters focus on what Christians believe, unfolding the glorious riches of God’s grace in Jesus Christ. Dead sinners are made alive and gain eternal salvation “by grace . . . through faith” (2:8). The last three chapters explain the implications of God’s grace for the church, for individuals, and for families. This second section comes to a climax with a command to stand with the armor of God against the devil. Paul probably wrote this letter while in prison in Rome about a.d. 60.
Seven more readings from Ephesians follow this summer as sermon texts. Consider reading the brief book of Ephesians in your family devotions. Read it as a short story—all in one sitting. God’s Word is yet another spiritual blessing.
God has good Gifts for you at Immanuel Lutheran Church. You are blessed with every spiritual blessing in Christ. Amen.
Peace be to the brothers, and love with faith, from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Grace be with all who love our Lord Jesus Christ with love incorruptible. (Ephesians 6:23) Amen.
