Ephesians 1:3-6

                                                                 Ephesians 1:3-6

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love he predestined us for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved.

 

Each member of the Trinity is actively involved in our salvation.  The Father is the focus of the first gifts that make salvation possible to us.  The wonder of salvation is not only to rescue those who believe from sin but first and foremost is about the glory of God.  The proper response to the gift of salvation is worship.  Paul begins his examination of our salvation by pointing out the three gifts we receive from the Father when we are saved from our sin.

 

WE ARE BLESSED: The Father is to be worshiped for many reasons, but one of them is the fact that He has blessed us in Christ.  Tragically, many people only consider physical blessings such as health and wealth when they are “counting their blessings.”  By far, the greatest blessings that believers have are in the spiritual realm.  Too often we are fascinated by earthly blessings because they provide comfort to us in the present.  The problem with earthly blessings is that they are passing.  The spiritual blessings God provides are eternal.  These blessings in heavenly places are far more valuable and lasting than any of the passing pleasures this earth may offer.   

 

WE ARE CHOSEN: The Father has chosen us to be holy and blameless before Him.  This is a blessing beyond compare.  As we look at our lives and the motives of our hearts, there is certainly much for with we could be blamed and not much that we could honestly describe as holy.  However, because of the salvation God with which we have been blessed; our position before the Father is one of holiness and blamelessness.  We do not know why He chose us.  It certainly could not have been due to our own merits, because He chose us before the foundations of the earth.  It is a blessing beyond compare that God chose us to be conformed to the image of Christ.

 

WE ARE ADOPTED: For reasons beyond our understanding, God loves us.  The love caused Him to predestine us to be adopted into His family.  The truth that we can become sons and daughters of God is a blessing that should fill our hearts with joy and gratitude.  It is God’s will that this be accomplished, and it is for His glory that this is our reality.  The terms chosen and predestination are difficult one for us to understand because they seem to indicate that there are those who have been rejected by God and so we often accuse God for the condemnation of those who were not chosen or predestined.  The sovereignty of God seems to cancel the responsibility of man in our limited minds.  We must be very careful not to blame God for man’s lost and condemned position.  All men are justly deserving of condemnation.  The offer of salvation is made to all men.  What Paul is emphasizing in this text is that the glory for salvation belongs to the Lord.  The blame for condemnation rest squarely on man’s shoulders.

 

APPLICATION: Worship the Father for the glorious gift of salvation.  Place a far higher value on the spiritual and eternal blessings of our salvation over any physical blessings we might desire.  Don’t allow God’s choosing and predestination to confuse us into thinking that He is somehow to blame for man’s condemnation.  Marvel in glorious truth that through faith in Christ we have been adopted into the family of God.

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