Exploring the Blessings
Exploring the Blessings Part One
What are these blessings? We find them in Ephesians Chapter one.
- A blameless and holy life (v4)
- Destiny as the Sons of God (V5-6)
- Redemption and Forgiveness (V7-8)
- Knowledge of the Plan of God (V9-10)
- Freedom to live for God’s glory (V11-12)
- The promise of the Holy Spirit (V13)
- A guaranteed Inheritance (V14)
Introduction
God wants us to be with Him for eternity. He desired it so much that He was prepared to sacrifice His own beloved Son to make it possible.
God does not want us separated from Him in any way. This happens when we are held bondage by sin and shame; living in sorrow, guilt, and pain; or having a life that is a reflection of hopelessness. He wants us to live forever with Him. And in this present life He has chosen us – meaning all of those in Christ – to live with Him and to work with Him in bringing restoration to life on this planet.
Despite what it may seem at times, nothing will stop His purpose and plan. God WILL have a people who WILL live with Him, and He WILL bring about His purposes through their lives to whatever He expects that to produce, until Christ returns (Ephesians 3:10).
Difference between material blessings and these spiritual blessings.
In this life, things are a mixed bag regarding material blessings. Some people are favoured with health, and not with riches; some with riches, and not with health. Same with physical gifts, abilities, and attributes. To be able to understand your own situation in all of this, you need to seek the Lord personally.
But every person in Christ is able to lay hold of, ALL of these spiritual blessings. They are all available with no distinction. In fact, the Lord would have each one of us partake in all of them. That is why Colossians 3:2 tells us to “Set our mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth.” These blessings are way superior to anything we can gain in the natural on earth.
- A Holy and Blameless Life
Ephesians 1:4 – just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and blameless before Him.
The blessing of a holy and blameless life is something that God provided for us before the foundation of the world. God the Father chose that His people would be the heirs His heirs of salvation. All those in Christ, are recipients of guaranteed eternal life with Him.
This is not just talking about the age to come. We don’t have to wait until the next life to get it. In this very life today, we have been set free from sin, set apart for God, and are able to reflect His holiness and purity. We are empowered to reflect His holiness and purity.
Holy
The Greek word for “holy” (hagious) means to be set apart and consecrated to God. Paul uses this same word for “saint” in verse 1.
In the Scriptures, this word “holy” is first and foremost used to describe God. He is separate from all things that are profane; unclean and reflect a lack of moral integrity. His holiness sets Him apart as the absolute upholder of all that we call virtue.
Incredibly, this word for holy, translated as saints in English, is used to describe all of those in Christ. It should not be limited, which we often do, for a few people who have done great works for God, like St. Peter or St. Paul.
A saint is a true follower of the Lord Jesus Christ and as a result, has been set apart to live for God. For this to happen, all those in Christ had to be given a new heart by God: a heart that is renewed and recreated in righteousness and true holiness (Ezekiel 36:26).
Obviously, this is not something we can earn, or obtain through our own righteousness. It is done in and through Christ at the time we were in our unworthy state (Romans 6).
At the instant we receive Christ, we are exonerated and cleansed from our fallen ways, and are now free and able to boldly approach Him without any reference being made to our fallen nature or sin (Hebrews 4:16). God the Father receives us in the same way that He receives His Son Jesus – we are clothed with the same robe of righteousness that Jesus wears (Galatians 3:27, Revelation 3:5).
We Are Empowered not to Sin
We should not tolerate any measure of sin or unrighteousness in our lives. Because of all that He has made available for us, God has every right to have very high expectations of us. He has given us a living Helper – the Holy Spirit – who empowers us to achieve all that God requires of us. Because of this we are able to overcome our fallen nature at all times.
Blameless
The word “blameless” in Greek (amoœmous) means to be free from sin; to be above reproach and without blemish; to be without fault and defilement. In regard to us, it gives us the power to live a holy and blameless life means an entire consecration of ourselves to the will and purpose of God.
Point 2 will be left for a session on its own.
- Redemption and Forgiveness
Ephesians 1:7-8 – “In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace which He lavished on us. In all wisdom and insight.”
Paul is illustrating the way we are reconciled to God through or in Christ. His death and shedding of His blood for us, has restored us to favour with God the Father. This was the only way that the guilt and stain of sin could be removed from us.
We have been taken from a place where we were alienated from God, and as such, were subject to His judgement and lived under the control and influence of our fallen, sinful nature. Overriding this process, God redeemed us and forgave our sin. Without this, the seven spiritual blessings would not be available to us.
The Greek word translated as “redemption” here (apolutroœsin) is an amazing word. The POSB Bible commentary states,
It conveys the idea of deliverance or setting a man free by paying a ransom. For example, a prisoner of war or a kidnapped person is ransomed or redeemed; or a convicted criminal is freed from the penalty of death. In every case the man is powerless to free himself. He cannot pay the penalty demanded to liberate himself from his situation or bondage.
The curse is not just limited to human beings. The whole creation is corrupt (Romans 8:21).We live in a world where everything wastes away, rusts or goes to weeds, deteriorates and eventually dies. Each person who is not in Christ is under this life sucking influence of Satan. He blinds their eyes to the ways of the Lord and works to keep them in a place of disobedience and opposition to the Gospel (1 John 5:19).
Being reconciled to God through Christ is the only way for any person to escape this. Redemption has been made possible to all people by the blood of Christ and there is no other way to gain it.
According to the Riches of His Grace
The verse goes on to tell us that all of this has been provided to us because of the riches of God’s grace which He was delighted to lavish upon us. He loves us with an unbelievable love – a love so great that He was prepared to pay this price to bring us into an in-depth relationship with Him.
Summary
Sin is a violation of God’s holiness and righteousness and requires punishment. In its place, God offered a solution – He would pay the price by the life, suffering and death of His Son. This resulted in the cancellation of sins punishment to all who receive Jesus Christ as their Lord and Saviour. All of this has been offered to us by the riches of God’s grace.
We cannot get here with education, humanism, hard work or other such things – and nor can the government provide it for us. This is only available in Christ. The big difference between Christ and humanistic endeavours is that Christ did not come to bring us self-improvement – He came to redeem us in such a way that we can both call and experience God as Father. This results in the complete sanctification of our souls, our bodies, our complete being.
It brings a spiritual power to us that comes straight from the Godhead. The ongoing process of sanctification – which is about us being constantly transformed to the image of Christ everyday – is being carried out by Christ as He is seated at the right hand of the Father.
God Bless You.
Bruce Billington